"Not a Kid Friendly Outing"

It was several weeks ago that Mr. Man and I engaged in a debate about something related to the children and Mr. Man had the audacity to proclaim, "Taking the kids to Nordstroms is NOT A KID FRIENDLY OUTING!" I was shocked, as Nordstroms is one of my favorite places on the planet. And Mr. Boy and AK LOVE to go to Nordstrom to try on shoes. So I was all set to prove him wrong by taking the kids with the camera to Nordstroms. However, the stars were aligned that day because in Mr. Boys own words, "The BEST THING EVER happened to me today" and I captured it on film.

But first we have to travel back in time to these days... Don't you just want to nuzzle that sweet chubby baby!? So, it is shortly after this time that Mr. Boy starts to walk. We hit the local Stride Rite store because the pediatrician had mentioned while chuckling, "You might have a hard time finding shoes for him, try Stride Rite." So I walked in the store and the salesman measured Mr. Boys feet and looked at them long and hard. Finally he said, "Uh Ma'am, I'm afraid we just don't have any shoes that are um.. uh.. well.. cube shaped." So, we resorted to Uggs and European type slipper shoes. Finding shoes for Mr. Boy is a BIG challenge, and we have not been able to successfully get him a pair of tennis shoes since we lucked into some hideous Sesame Street Shoes on a trip.

Everytime we go to Nordstroms, Mr. Boy wants to try on the Nikes. He loves them, and begs for me to buy them. He hobbles around in them trying to convince me, "They're not too tight, I promise, it's just a little pinch, no big deal." Here is a pic from a previous attempt to get me to believe they don't hurt. When we take off the Nikes, his feet have red pinch marks and his audible sigh as we untie them, means No Nikes. So, he's worn Crocs and Flip Flops since he was two, with an occasional pair of Vans that are 3 sizes to big to accommodate his little cubes.

When we arrived at the shoe department on Friday, we were informed that Nikes had just come out with a Wide Tennis Shoe.Here is Nina, our favorite shoelady at Nordstroms South Coast measuring Mr. Boy.I took this pic while holding my breath, hoping these will fit. Seriously, I have nightmares where the kid is wearing a Tux with Crocs to his prom. Also, random side note, this kid has only worn red shirts for the last two weeks.Hooray, they fit! He refuses to take them off so we check his feet. He knows that is where the dealbreaker always is. However, because Nina is fabulous she gets him to take the shoes off for 2 seconds, no pinch marks!! He insists on wearing them out of the store, which was my favorite part as a kid. I feign having trouble keeping up with him because he is just too darn fast with his new shoes. And like all our outings to Nordstroms we end it with a carousel ride....

Kid friendly outing... Yes?