Rip is a Pillow Pet. (Roll him up, he's a stuffed animal. Flatten him out, he's a pillow.)
AJ has wanted a Pillow Pet for quite some time. He's wanted one with a longing that was deeply intensified when his sister received a Unicorn Pillow Pet for Christmas from their uncle and aunt in New York.
And so, with AJ's birthday just around the corner, it seemed like the perfect idea to have Sydney give AJ a Pillow Pet as a gift. My favorite grocery store had a large bin full of them, leftover from Christmas, and so I've been watching in case they marked them on clearance.
The price of them has not gone down, however the quantity has. And so last Friday while shopping with Sydney, I told her to pick out the one she thought her brother would like best.
Sydney is not ready to be involved in gift-buying decisions.
She proudly carried the Pillow Pet through the store and in the car on the ride home. I reminded her that it was not hers, that we were going to hide it when we got home, and give it to her brother later on his birthday.
She remembered the part about giving it to her brother.
Friday afternoon I got volunteered to work a shift in the concession stand at the Esko Hockey rink. Sydney and I headed there directly from the grocery store. Jeff met us a while later, took Sydney skating, and then took her home. By the time I got home, trunk still full of groceries, AJ had just gotten off the bus a few minutes earlier.
Sydney met me at the door. "Where's the surprise for my brother?"
"It's still in the car. Remember, it's a secret."
Jeff came to the door next, "It's not a secret anymore. Sydney probably doesn't have much of a future as a spy."
And so AJ got his first birthday present just a few weeks early.
He chose the name "Rip", because he'd just worked on an assignment at school involving a dog named Rip. Slightly more advanced than "Run, Spot, run.", this booklet included such lines as: "Rip can sit. I like to sit here. Rip can fit here. I like to pat Rip."
Incidentally, we also picked up Jeff's birthday present that day. Sydney promptly told him we'd bought him a present. She then told him it was a shirt. Which it wasn't. So I just grinned as I told Jeff, "Yes, that's right. We got you a shirt for your birthday."
Secrets are not Sydney's strong point.
Okay, Dana. You're expecting this one, I'm sure. Sydney's non-secret keeping is definitely a genetic thing. You've heard the story many times about when you were growing a plant at school for me for Mother's Day. It went something like this:
ReplyDeleteWeek one. We're making secret presents for you at school.
Week two. My present is starting to grow. but I can't tell you what it is, 'cause it's a secret.
Week three. My present isn't growing very well, but I can't tell you what it is because it's a secret.
Week four. My present died.
When I asked her what kind of a plant it was, I was seriously asked: How did YOU know it was a plant?
Yup, as Dad just said, "Your child is just a little bit more precocious, that's all." I'm surprised he didn't say his usual, "The apple doesn't fall far from the tree." I'll just say, "Like mother, like daughter" in this case.
That story your mom told is too funny!! Those pillow pets are amazing lol Emma got one for Christmas and I sleep with it half the time its so soft!!
ReplyDeleteNo future as a spy, or a CI, or in secret ops. Probably not the worst thing all around.
ReplyDelete