This post mentions Aaron Neville three times

Yesterday we made a family outing to Toys R Us to pick out a birthday present for Clara. Toy stores are just as fun—if not more fun—for me now as they were when I was little. Does that tell you how mature I am? But shoot, have you ever been inside an FAO Schwartz?? And of course, Tom gets distracted by the first thing he sees the minute we enter. And Clara? Well, sure! I think she had fun too. Why not?

We wanted to get her EVERYTHING. First we got caught up in the seasonal aisle, with all the awesome sprinkler toys, bubble blowers and pool floaties. I kept losing my cool over all the amazing chalk devices they have these days, and I would excitedly poke Tom in the ribs about every 30 seconds upon finding something new. Like a chalk rake? And 3D chalk—3D glasses included? Seriously?? Then you should have heard the hulabaloo we made when we found this, and then I had the most brilliant idea. I proposed that we buy the blessed thing and charge all the children of Orchard Creek to use it all summer long. Tom shot the idea down, mumbling something about maintenance and who knows what else, but really, I think it's a killer idea.

Finally we made our way to the baby section and gazed at all the Little People paraphernalia. I was a huge fan of those guys when I was little. And now they're even cooler because they have about a million more sets to choose from, they're choke-proof (except for babies with enormous esophaguses, I suppose. Esophagi?) and frankly, the biggest perk the Little People have goin' for them nowadays is that Aaron Neville sings in all their videos! Who doesn't love Aaron Neville??

Next we drooled over the darling Calico Critter dollhouses (pricy little darlings, but darling just the same) and Tom vowed to make a dollhouse like it (but even better) some day. I gushed over all the little girl tea sets and Tom was enamored with the dinosaur poop—of both the herbivore and carnivore variety. Boys are so weird, I tell you. I really wanted to get this girl a doll so we headed to the pink section of the store—every girl knows right where that is—and started sifting through the million different dolls to choose from. After a good stare in front of them for who knows how long, Tom Thomas somehow talked me out of the doll idea (he's so persuasive sometimes) and after minutes more of endless wandering and endless distractions (to which Clara just sighed and rolled her eyes), we found ourselves mulling over the different shopping cart and play food options.

Then? Then. Tom pulled out his most eloquent rhetoric skills to try and convince me that a pink shopping cart would be detrimental to our daughter's health, mind, and ultimately, life. Suffice it to say, Tom has a real bone to pick with the color pink and good grief, don't ask me why. But I held firm to my wishes and in the end, a pink and purple shopping cart it was.

Despite my preferences though, I realize that I really don't have a ton of control over the things that Clara ends up being interested in. For all I know she'll end up gushing over dinosaur poop someday. Or, to Tom's ultimate horror, she could refuse to wear anything but pink when she's older.

We're excited to see who and what this little miss is going to turn into. And we're excited to welcome 1.

P.S. Next time you see Tom, ask him if he'll do his Aaron Neville impersonation. It's actually quite impressive.