I wish...

P has taken to safety pinning Medium Size BB to his pant leg for even more constant companionship and ease of reach...


Before leaving town, P and I spent an evening hanging out in Unions Square, watching the skateboarders. Feeling inspired, the Little Man flipped, jumped and flung himself from the stairs and bike ramps, eventually landing at the wishing fountain (by the Ghandi statue.) There, a little girl tossed in a penny. P was hot to make a wish too and started to scrabble for a penny from the bottom of the fountain, eventually tossing in one from my bag instead :) As he whirled his arm, he muttered under his breath, but all I caught was the word "BB."

"Whaja wish for?" was met with a "Its a secret, Mama." I patted his head and we headed towards E's office. Not ten steps further, P was gushing. "Ok. I can tell you, Mama. Do you know what I wished for?" Me, head shake. P, uncomfortable squiggle. "I wished for BB to be real."

My heart actually seized up on this one :)

P and BB are suuuuch good friends. Best friends, really. The only catch being that.... BB isn't real. I've gone back and forth and back and forth over the years, swaying between concern (is this totally loony???) to heralding its fabulousness (built in play therapy!) and more. I know its normal, especially for onlies, to have imaginary friends. And for kids to role play with their parents. And for certain dolls/toys to seem larger than life in childhood. (P actually believes BB to be magic. He's not one for anything non-factual, but one day we left BB in the middle of the playroom. When we returned, BB was under Papa's desk. P was beside himself with excitement. I had no explanation for the situation and P, ever the scientist, went through all possible theories and found flaws in each and every one - except for the most obvious. BB is magical, really and truly.)... Anyway, BB combines all of these childhood standards. Nevertheless...well, I don't even know. Just, nevertheless :)

So, here we are back in Kansas, and P and BB are having a blast exploring together. (I'd prove this with pics but.... we forgot to pack the camera card transfer thingamajiggy that gets the pics from the camera to the computer...) So, anyway, P and BB were enjoying their little slice of heaven yesterday, playing with this teeny tiny ladder from an old fire truck. The ladder stands about a foot tall by a few inches wide, with a few rungs, and P was putting it up against anything and everything and then wiggly balancing his way up. He'd then turn and watch BB climb up. Or, snatch it out from under BB as BB started to climb. Its always a toss up :)

As they skipped across the wall they had just scaled, I lost my hold on BB and he fell into the hedge below. And bounced. P looked on in surprise, then quickly swept BB up and tossed him into the hedge again. Again, the doll rebounded without sinking through the leafy top. The Little Man loved it. It was pretty funny to see, especially P's astonishment, so after a few more goes, I started to raise my camera to capture it all on video. As I reached for the camera it all went into slow-mo though, because I heard P mutter "Hey, I want to try that."

Do I raise the camera and capture what is sure to be utterly hilarious, or do I throw myself across the hedge to protect my kid? At the same time that my hands are working on the camera and my mind is working on a decision my mouth is trying to form the words "Stop!" and "It won't hold you!" Of course, the kid is waaaaay too fast for any of this. I accomplished absolutely nothing, no capturing of the kid or the camera and couldn't even spit out a warning, before he'd already taken a flying leap.

Needless to say, he didn't bounce. And it was, honestly, gut busting. I know that sounds awful, but he was fully clothed (read: padded), not very high up (its not a ginormous hedge or anything) and its a really leafy bush. By the time he cast a confused glance my way (wha? I didn't go boinga?) I was, well, already busting a gut. He instantly grinned too, seeing the humor in the situation. Then he shrieked, "BB!! Did you see that?!!!"

Ahhh, one of the pitfalls of having a 10 ounce, fluffy best friend. He bounces when he pounces on a privet. The Little Man, not so much....