Sweet Boy

Nathan has been asking for a baby doll for months now.  Ever since he fell in love with a dirty old rubber baby doll at a friend's cookout and wouldn't put the thing down the whole party.  He buried the doll in the sand box, pushed it in a baby stroller and ran through a sprinkler with the thing.  I was reluctant to give into his requests not because I care that my son plays with baby dolls.  Far from it, in fact, I love that my son my old enjoys the doll house from when I was a child.  I embrace gender ambiguity!  My hesitation was that his love for the doll would not last and Id be stuck with another toy on another shelf.  [Ive been working really hard since school started to cleanse our house of all those toys on shelves collecting dust.  Ive gotten rid of over 12 bags of clothes and toys in the last couple weeks.  It feels so good.]  So, Ive been holding off on the baby doll.

Until yesterday when I saw this cute rubber baby doll similar to the one he adored at my friend's house.  Today I gave it to him.  He is in love.  Nathan calls the doll a "him" even though its clearly in a pink and purple shirt and has a "vagina" which he identified correctly (high fives all around for correct anatomy lessons by moi).  The baby doll which has yet to be named, has gone to the grocery store with us, naked (he took the clothes off in the car on the way to the grocery store and demanded that the baby was "hot" and needed to be naked.  The naked baby sat on its head in the cart next to Nathan the whole grocery trip.  The baby doll came to the bus stop with us.  Nathan carried the doll by one foot upside down while holding a Popsicle in his other hand, eating away.  His brothers were, ahem, not impressed by the greeting of Nathan with a doll in his arms.  Baby doll even took a bath with Nathan tonight.  Nathan washed his eyes really well with LOTS of soap!  

Its endearing, and also very comical, to watch him with the baby doll.  He takes such care feeding it from a cup and wiping its mouth after it eats.  But then he bangs it around while he walks and drops it in the dirt in exchange for a truck outside.  Its just the right amount of sweetness and boy-ness.