Nathan's Special Friend

Last week at the beach, Gran brought some toys from her house for Nathan to play with.  And the surprising hit (to me) was the baby dolls!  Nathan was so sweet and loving with the baby dolls - hugging them, carrying them around and giving them a bottle.  Sometimes I would even give him a baby doll at naptime and he would snuggle up with it under his arm. 

Before last week, I was slightly uncomfortable with the thought of little boys playing with baby dolls.  Not that I really think that playing with a baby doll or any other "girlie" toy is a bad idea for little boys, but deep inside me there's just a little bit of hesitancy.  And, coincidentally, I realized that we didn't have one baby doll at our house for Nathan to even consider playing with.  But after seeing how sweet and loving Nathan was with the dolls, my hesitancy disappeared.  Of course I want to teach Nathan that he should be caring and loving and nurturing!  I'm going to expect him to act that way towards any future siblings, so why not go ahead and foster those traits now?

After we got home, Nathan and I were playing in the basement and he found a little teddy bear that Gran had given him months before.  At the time, it had been given one look before being cast aside, but now it was a whole different story.  Nathan LOVES his bear!  He loves to give it hugs, he holds it while we do our pre-nap and pre-bed reading and singing, and he snuggles with it in his crib.  I think its so adorable!