I’m not sure where time has gone this year. People always say “remember these days.. they will pass too quickly..” blah blah blah. It’s like when people told me when I was in high school that “this is the best life gets.. enjoy it”. To hell with that, man.. high school sucked wind! I’d have to say that my 20′s had high points and low points and my 30′s have been generally wonderful with an occasional bug in the windshield.

We went shoe shopping over the weekend for Benji. Mr. Big Foot is now in a size 9.5w. Our experience at Stride Rite was appropriate for a Saturday morning with a 33 month old.. (i miss labeling his age by week.. i’ve even stopped saying that he’s “two and a half”.. most of the time i just say “almost 3″..blah..)

Ben doesn’t like change. Going to the shoe store is not filled with a little redhead pulling out all the shoes he wants to try on or arguments over whether to get the spiderman or dora snowboots. For us.. Ben holds onto his old, tattered, sneakers (complete with holes in the toes) and screams “no… MY patos!”

So we went into this visit with a bit of technique. We timed it so that we were there as the store was opening.. fewer crowds. Then.. Shiela took Ben out for a diaper change while I talked to the sales person and had her go get the shoes that we liked in my predetermined size range. I then went to the corner.. away from all of the people (and sales person) and sat waiting for Benji’s return.

When they got back, we managed to get his old shoes off before he realized what we were going to do and went “no-bones” and started swinging. Shiela managed to keep him from whipping my glasses off and sucker punching me in the gut (you think I’m joking) so that I could try on three separate pairs of shoes. Luckily.. I’m pretty good with the sizing thing.. 2 of the 3 pairs fit just fine (with room to grow).

The other moms looked on with sympathy and a few fathers looked on with horror as I managed to calmly check the fit of his shoe while he was sobbing and pulling my hair.

In the end.. we chose a very nice pair of brown leather shoes that are sort of like sneakers but seem a bit more durable. He blew through his last sneakers in less than a month. He drags his toes when he’s riding his bike… doh! We’ll see how long these last!

I want to post a photo of his new shoes along with a pair of his first shoes. Maybe tonight.

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