Friends

My four-going-on-14-years-old kid is not shy. She loves her friends and tries to talk to just about anyone she can (including the seemingly homeless man at McDonald's, which freaks me out a little). In fact, one of my current struggles is that she seems more interested in, and influenced by, her friends than her parents at the moment. I expected this about six years from now. I didn't expect it at age four.

This is the reason I'm pretty selective about who she plays with. The set of bratty neighbor kids two doors down is a bad idea, but Ashley behind us is sweet (and shy), and doesn't introduce Claire to words and ideas that are too advanced for her age.

And with the warmer weather, playing with Ashley has become almost a nightly event. In fact, it's a nightly struggle at the dinner table to get Claire to eat rather than skip dinner for more Ashley time. Tonight I caught them dressed up in princess dresses. The flash didn't quite do the job so the photo is a little hazy, but still cute.

TGIF. Claire has a birthday party to attend tomorrow, so she'll be hyped up about that! More friends!!