Built for Barbies and Dollhouses and Princesses

I try to be the fun one. I can't really compete with He Who Can Make Disney Movies Magically Appear, but still, I try. So, on the way to dance class when I realized we had an extra 20 minutes or so, I offered Alexis a little treat. A walk! In the woods! By a lake!

Alexis was very excited at the prospect. Really. She practically bounced out of the car as I pulled into a parking spot and then went bounding down the path. With her little sundress swishing in the breeze and her flip-flops making little click-click noises as she walked, she looked for adventure amongst all of the nature.

And then a little nature found its way into her shoe.

She was not pleased.

I helped her clear the tiny bit of mulch out of her shoe and then we continued some more. Just as Alexis regained the spring in her step, she spotted a bug. She shrieked, much as you would expect of a ridiculously girlie girl who has spent time around people at daycare who freak out about anything with more than four legs. It took a few moments to calm her back down, but then we continued along the path.

Until more mulch attacked her foot.

Again and again, over and over, every time so much as a speck of mulch wound up touching her flip-flop wearing foot, Alexis HAD to stop and get rid of it. Finally, she sat on a big bench and sighed loudly. "Momma," she said, "I'm just not good at this forest thing."

She speaks the truth. Guess I'll have to knock "Walks in the forest" off the list if I want to try to find my way to The Fun Parent status.

Who Is This Child Who Poses for Photos?

She's a Rock Star

She finally noticed them. Or maybe she had noticed them before, but she certainly hadn't admitted it.

The kids.

All over the place.

Next door, across the street, down the street . . . our neighborhood is like one giant playground filled with kids of all ages. They spill out of the houses, onto the streets, and are generally unavoidable. They are just there. Everywhere.

Last summer, Alexis didn't so much as glance at a single one of them. All through the fall and winter, the same. If she knew there were kids her age around, she sure didn't let on.

And then we went to Disney, and Alexis opened her eyes to the joy that comes from making new friends.

So far, she has kept her eyes wide open. She happened to spot some of the neighbor kids the day after we returned from Florida and immediately set out to be their number one stalker. She spent her days running from room-to-room, window-to-window, searching everywhere her little eyes could see, just hoping she would spot a free-range kid or two. She never managed to find them at a time that I could turn into a chance to go make friends, but it wasn't because she didn't try hard enough. She most certainly did.

And then one day, there they were. She met @supahmommy's girls and lived to tell the tale. A few days later, she stood on the edge of our yard, staring down at them as they played in their driveway. She Who Is Really Very Shy thought about it for a few minutes and then looked at me and asked if she could go play. I, of course, told her yes, knowing full well she wouldn't go anywhere unless I escorted her there. The kid NEVER goes anywhere without me. Ever.

But she did.

She ran down that hill and joined in on the fun. I didn't see her for hours after that because she was too busy running and yelling and playing.

Alexis' first instinct is still to hide behind me and ignore any strangers who make eye contact with her, but it's there. The armor is cracked, The Shy is falling away, and maybe, just maybe, the kid has finally found her Inner Rock Star.