Shopping With My 8 Year Old

Finally, after being too busy to do it before the official launch of the 2009-10 school year, we hit the road tonight for some back to school shopping. Truth be told, we do most of it when the weather actually turns cold, but since my child grows each time he sneezes I thought I should at least get him some jeans so that he didn't look like some kind of refugee child.

Shopping with Ethan is quite the experience these days as he has developed a flair for drama and has actual fashion sense. He uses vernacular such as "color popping" and "bling" and "a little something special" on a regular basis when we hit the racks. I fully embrace the fact that this is rather unusual for a newly minted third grader. And while I understand that this is not language he should use on the playground, it does make me just a little bit proud when he tells me my earrings "rock my outfit".

There is a downside to this, however. I am seeing my little boy begin to grow up before my eyes. Where he once loved wearing striped polos he now says they are "Easter egg-ish" and starts to look at the thermal shirts. He has a definite style now, and it is not "little boy". Ethan is entering the world of "big kid" -- which has a style of its own. He has yet to discover the surprise Levis I bought for him tonight that have the holes in the knees, but I can't wait to hear his delight when he says, "Awesome!" in that special way he has been saying it lately. Ethan is growing up. From striped polos to the hoodie with the hole in the cuffs that fit his little thumbs, though, he is still my little boy.

And the best shopping partner I have.