Present for Callie

This year we decided that the kids were old enough to pick out presents for each other. Since Brent took the day off, we decided to split up - him with Callie and me with Wyatt. I tried talking to Wyatt before we left so I could get an idea of what he wanted to get her, but all he knew was that he was getting her "A TOY!"

So, off we headed to Target to peruse the toy aisles. Two steps inside, he was immediately drawn to the $1.00 section and started grabbing at everything and dumping it in the basket. This definitely wasn't going to be as easy as I thought.

I put the buggy back thinking we could casually shop around to see what he would gravitate towards. Right behind the dollar section though, he hit up the jewelry counter, grabbing a necklace and exclaiming that he wanted it. Two seconds later, he dropped it when a rack of sunglasses caught his eye instead. Of course, he wanted those too.

I explained to him that we should at least go look at the toy aisle before picking out a present. He continuously protested, "I want to buy her 1-2-3-4-5 presents!", as I dragged him across the store. He spent a good hour mashing buttons, pulling levers, and jumping in front of the motion sensor baby dolls to make them cry. He wanted to buy her everything and I was getting exhausted.

This little dude was like a hunting dog in a sea of squirrels.

I devised a plan and walked him into a very boring bedding aisle and asked him, "Buddy, out of all the things you just saw, which toy would you like to give Callie?" No joke, he started grabbing for blankets and screaming, "I want to give her this!". At that point, I pretty much surrendered and decided we needed to break and eat lunch. He was still focused on buying her "1-2-3-4-5 presents".

I let him pick whatever he wanted for lunch, and after a big pancake breakfast this morning, he decided that sausage and pancakes for lunch too was the way to go. Whateva.

While we were eating, he decided he wanted to get a Rapunzel braiding hair doll thing. Unfortunately, Santa already bought that a long time ago. Still, I was impressed that he settled on something he knew Callie really wanted. I encouraged him to pick something else and again he came at me with the "1-2-3-4-5 presents!" thing.

So back to Target we went. This time, I handed him a basket and let him fill it up with all the dollar shit he wanted. He was very poignant about what he chose including a bag of Disney Princess ring pops, Princess lip gloss, Hello Kitty nail polish, Princess sticker earrings, a pink jelly ball thing, and a pink sparkly makeup brush set.

The kid knows his sister.

Finally, we headed home so he could wrap up the loot. On the way back, he wanted to look at some Christmas decorations in the neighborhood even though he knew the lights weren't lit yet. Thoughtfully he asked me, "Who's birthday is it again, Mom? Ethan's? We are celebrating Ethan's birthday?" I reminded him that people celebrate Jesus' birthday during Christmas to which he replied, "Oh yeah! I agot (forgot)!" Ethan's birthday. Heh. Cute nugget.

At home, Wyatt decorated a Christmas bag for Callie with markers and stickers. I fell in love with him all over again watching his deliberate color and sticker placement choices. He drew four alligators on her bag (each with a multitude of legs) and a red snake who he assured me was a nice snake when he placed a bird sticker by it's mouth. The kid is just too cute. He made sure that each sticker had a sticker friend so they wouldn't be lonely. It was, by far and away, my favorite part of the whole day.

I wonder how long they can keep a secret.