Ayden's Love

Our family went shopping the other day and Ayden did the cutest thing. We were at Marshalls trying on shoes for Taylor. Ayden had wondered off and found this pair of shiny red dress shoes. I heard Ayden say, "Mommy, I found shoes my size. It's a 7." She proceeded to put on the shoes and admire them in the full length mirror. I heard a number of customers comment to her how nice the shoe looked (to which I did hear her respond with thank yous). The look on her face and how she was modeling was priceless.

When Taylor and I finished, I asked Ayden to put the shoes away. She asked if I could buy the shoes for her. Since she did not need another pair of shoes (especially red ruby shoes), I told her we would not be buying them. She reluctantly took the shoes off, gently set them back on the self and stood by them to admire them one last time. As we left the shoe department I turned over to see Ayden leaning into the shoe (she was close enough to kiss them) and I heard her whisper in the sweetest voice, "I love you". I just about busted out laughing.

I don't think I've ever heard her say those three words to anyone and mean them as genuinely as she did when she spoke them to the shoes. It was cute and disturbing at the same time. We ended up going back to Marshalls a week later to return something and Ayden made a b-line right back to her beloved shoes. I did end up buying them for her. After all, it was on sale for only $10.00. I hope I'm not enabling a bad behavior.

To think that my child is 5 and she knows to love material things. For anyone who knows Ayden, she especially loves dresses (long and big), shoes (the shinier the better) and jewelry (the sparklier the better). I know we didn't teach this to her. I guess some people are just born knowing they want the finer things in life.