reason #467 why i consider him a third "child"

Shopping for E and A is pretty easy. Sure, they would be happy with a new bathing suit/pair of pajamas/ponytail holders. But, if it is a Dora the Explorer or Princess bathing suit/pair of pajamas/ponytail holders...well then, they will love it that much better.

In fact, on a recent outing to Super Target, they had a display of Dora Spaghetti O's at the register we were checking out at. A was flipping out at the chance to get some of those bad boys. They totally ignored things like candy and soda and cheap plastic toys in favor of canned Swiper-shaped pasta. A even refused to let go of her can during the checkout process, the walk to the car, the strapping into the car seat, and the ride home, relinquishing her prize only so I could make it for her.

But it's not just character clothing. When the recent copy of Lands End Kids came, she chose it as a book she wanted to "read" with me. And, by reading I mean flipping through the pages and having her point to everything that she wanted me to buy her on each page. The theme of her desires? Pink. Pink t-shirts, pink skirts, pink coats, pink shoes. In fact the *only* page that she didn't want anything on was the one pink-less page in the catalog.

And then there's John. Sure, you could buy John a new shirt or fleece jacket, and he'd wear them without second thought. But, buy him an orange shirt or fleece? He'll actually debate the merits of whether the orange is more of a Tennessee orange or a Virginia orange.

So when it came time to buy him a present, I knew *what* I was going to get him. Imagine my surpise when I found out that I could select what color I was going to get him.
(For the record, the girls got John this as their gift. My gift to him was setting it up, downloading songs and pictures and giving him the 3-second tutorial on how to use it without getting too annoyed that he kept asking me to get off the computer so he could check his fantasy scores.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOHN! WE LOVE YOU!