{date with mommy}

I decided that Dean needed a special date with Mommy because (1) he deserves it for just being a really good kid, and (2) because I've resigned myself to the fact that we expect a lot of him for a kid of his age. Sometimes, for no reason other than he's the oldest, we forget he's still a baby - a three year IS still a baby, after all. We require a lot of responsibility, good examples and lessons learned of him so that his little brother won't pick up on bad habits. But the truth is that I know when Ava is Dean's age she is going to get away with a lot more and probably be expected to behave a lot less because there won't be any siblings younger than her to be a good example for. Sometimes it's just the pits being the oldest. (And sometimes, on nights like tonight, it's awesome because you get to stay up late and eat a whole lotta ice cream all by yourself.)