our little red shoes

Once a week, Poppa and I have been taking one child with us for a lunch date.  It is our way of making special memories with them one on one and they love it.  Of course, Matthew comes along since I am his permanent breakfast, lunch and dinner date.  As we were dressing him to come along, it hit me that he might be old enough to wear our little red shoes.  Until this morning, they sat in his cabinet, patiently waiting for my little Mateo to be big enough to wear them, big enough to almost walk.  I put them on him and they were a teenie bit big but with the laces tied, and they stayed on perfectly.

Where has the time gone?  Oh, I should explain about the little red shoes, sneakers really.  These little red Gap sneakers were purchased for Ronnie and she took her first steps in them.  She wore them all the time and I loved them, even though Poppa thought they might look like boys shoes back then.  Next John-Paul, then Christopher and Olivia and they all wore them while learning to walk and getting more sure on their feet.  Oh, they’ve been around the block for sure and the bottoms are starting to curl from the sole being worn, the sides are coming apart a bit, they have been through their fair share of replacement laces but still very usable and part of our baby story.

We all had a hankering for some not homemade, cooked by someone else, Cuban food and our town actually just got a real, true blue Cuban restaurant so off we went on our date.  Poppa, Nicholas, Mathew and I.  After we were done eating and boy did we ever, Poppa tried to get Matthew to take a step but he was really just happy to stand for now and that is just fine with this momma’s heart.  Soon enough he will take those uneasy first steps and his little red shoes will be with him.

Today I am packing for our trip to Kentucky.  Tomorrow, Alexandra will hopefully come home and give me a much needed hair trim (my hair is down to my waist) and then Monday morning, Poppa, Matthew and I will head to Kentucky.