One Story Per Boy

Last night I noticed that I missed a hair the last time I gave Eli a hair cut. Here is the conversation that ensued:

Me: Hey Eli, you have one long hair -- I forgot to cut it.
Eli: But I'm still a boy!
Me: Yes, of course you're a boy. Were you thinking about how sometimes girls have long hair?
Eli: Yeah, and I have a girl backpack too.
Me: Oh, who said that?
Eli: Maybe some guys at school...
Me: Well, it's true that pink and purple are usually colors for girls' backpacks. (Eli has a purple and pink "Dora the Explorer" backpack.)
Eli: Yeah.
Me: But, you know, it's ok for boys to have pink and purple backpacks, if they want.
Eli: Yeah .... (looks unconvinced)
Me: I tell you what, next year for school, if you want, you can pick out a new backpack.
Eli: Ok!

I'm just so sad that he had to experience this so young! I mean, Dora is cool -- and why can't a boy have a girl hero? And why can't the stupid Nick Jr. people make some gender-neutral stuff so a boy can celebrate his love of all things Dora without wearing lace-edged panties and carrying a pink and purple flowered backpack? Argh. I'm torn between encouraging him to stand up for his pink and purple rights, and teaching him to conform so no one will mock him :(.

In other news, after several misadventures trying to inflate the family bike tires to the proper pressure, I believe Seth is once and for all off training wheels. He first learned to ride sans help two summers ago, but then gave it up as a bad job when he took a nasty tumble. I have been promising him that he and I would go riding while Eli is at school (Julian can ride in the behind-the-seat seat on my bike, but Eli is too painfully slow on his trike to have a whole-family bike ride) -- but I told him I wanted him to start practising riding with no training wheels. I could see the panic setting in, so I reassured him that he could keep the wheels on for long trips. However, at home, I wanted him to practise "just a few times" with no training wheels. Things went really well, despite the fact that he fell twice (once on his head! thank you, helmets!). I have high hopes that the training wheels will remain on the basement shelf until we forget where we put them when Eli inherits Seth's bike.

And what to say about Julian? He's a dear sweet squishable baby, and he finds me delightful when I pretend to bite his fingers, toes, and belly. The last couple of nights he's been up a couple times (unusual for him), so I felt around in his mouth this morning -- sure enough, there's a swollen spot right where a molar is working its way through his poor baby gums. Tonight's plan: Tylenol at the first wake-up, guaranteed.