squeak

in november, 2005, my friend amy headed to china with her husband to finalize the adoption of her long-awaited daughter maggie. it just so happens that i spent some quality time with amy shortly before her departure (we were having a scrapbooking weekend in a hotel) where i was sick....from being newly pregnant. it was a little known secret at the time but she made a mental note (maybe it was the fact that i wasn't drinking massive quantities of alcohol - which is how most of my friends and family determine that i MUST be pregnant...maybe i should see someone about that).

anyway - she tells me of this cool thing they have in china that she's heard about from other adopting families - squeaky shoes. they are designed for young tots who are learning to walk - to give them squeaky motivation. well, during her trip, as if she wasn't doing anything else - she bought me a pair, knowing i had another little one on the way. this was, of course, 7 months before #4 was born in our house. she placed her bets that we were having a girl. not that i wouldn't put these shoes on a boy...but for jason, that might have been an issue.

lucky for us, #4 ended up being molly - a brute, but a girl, too. so sunday morning i decided i'd bust out these squeaky shoes that i have stored, moved and restored for over 2 years. i dressed her in a dress and tights and put on the shoes. i lowered her from the changing table and set her on the wood floor in her bedroom.

squeak.

oh my goodness. the look on her face was that of 'FINALLY!!! I HAVE SHOES!' shoes that reflect the very inner core of 'the molls'. there was NO stopping her after that. she danced in her room. she danced in the hallway. the only other person home was jason, who was called from the bedroom by the sound of squeaking...she had SO much to tell him about her new shoes!! lifting her foot, stumbling, only to cause MORE squeaking.

then down to the kitchen. RUNNING. back and forth, back and forth. try as i might, this was the best video i could get:


because she did THIS everytime i asked to take a picture of her new shoes.


i think she thought i was going to take them away.

what i guess i'm really trying to say is that if you and/or any of your friends are making a trip to china, it's worth it to have another kid just to have these shoes.