5 Princesses

Back before I had children, I planned that I was going to make it a priority not to dress my baby in pink or blue. A son would be exposed to dolls and a daughter to trucks. That works fine when your baby just lies there, allows you to pick out its clothes and toys and friends and experiences. But then, they start to grow up and have their own ideas and interests. And so, it is, that I find myself with a 3 1/2 year old in preschool, who when given free choice play time, will almost always go to the house area, put on a fuffy dress and be a "princess." But I haven't given in to it yet. While you won't find a princess dress or tiara in my house, I'm not going to deny her being a part of it either.

So, last week when my good friend Mary came to visit with her 2 girls, and then we went over to our friends Steve and Maile's house for dinner to join their 2 girls, it was a powder puff of an evening. Here we are with 5 little girls between 3 & 7 years old, and a flurry of dresses, dancing around and happy squealing. And even so, I know that we will raise strong, confident, smart, sensitive and bright young women in the years to come.

Eve, Grace, Marissa, Lauren and Maiya