New Shoes

Last weekend we went to Tacoma to get the boys new shoes for the fall. Surprisingly, both the boys had gone up 2 sizes since last year! I'm not sure how fast kids' feet are supposed to grow, but I didn't think it would be that much. Nathan is getting old enough to want to pick out everything he wears, and if he doesn't like it, he's not wearing it! So for this years school clothes and shoes, he got to make most of the decisions. (I should still have some say, right? Otherwise he would have bought out Gymboree!) He's pretty good about the clothes, but the shoes he picked out... ugh. Both Joe and I tried to persuade him into choosing something else, but he wasn't having it. "They've got bouncy balls on them, and they help me jump!", was his reasoning, while vigorously jumping up and down. (They're striderite 'superball') The shoes themselves weren't bad, but the colors were in our opinion, hideous. Drew picked out the Geox I was rooting for with Nate, so at least I got one! As much as I detest the 'bouncy ball shoes' I couldn't say no. They will be on his feet, and he deserves the freedom to wear what he likes. It was a milestone of his independence. These are the moments that empower our children and give them their sense of self. But man is it hard to hold back sometimes. Enjoy your 'bouncy ball shoes' Nate, and jump high.