soda pop

We have a very good friend who moonlights as a clown named Soda Pop. When Butterfly met her for the first time, she clung to daddy and stared at the bright crazy clothes, the big golden wig and the silly painted face. But slowly, her curiosity won her over and she crept closer. She was almost a year and a half old at the time and too shy (or leery) to let Soda Pop paint her face. But at Soda Pop's suggestion, she held out her hand and her new friend painted a pretty flower on the back of it and she loved it.

By her third visit to Soda Pop (who was a regular visitor to one of our favorite restaurants and many fun events around town), she was brave enough to let Soda Pop paint her face. She was thrilled and immediately hooked, begging for not only her face but her hands to be painted too. By the time her second birthday rolled around, she adored Soda Pop and was always first in line for face painting and balloon animals. She loved her so much that we invited Soda Pop as the entertainment for Butterfly's birthday party. The best part was after getting her face painted, she carried around the little hand mirror Soda Pop had given her, admiring herself and then turning the mirror to others to "show" them how pretty she was (thinking that it always showed her face and not quite understanding how a mirror works).

And so it continued, seeing Soda Pop occasionally around town and eagerly getting her face (and hands) painted. A few days ago we visited Soda Pop at the ice cream shop. Butterfly was thrilled because we hadn't seen her in months. Butterfly squealed and ran to her, jumping up in the chair as soon as it was her turn and grinning happily. And for Ladybug, this was really her first visit to see Soda Pop. She's seen her before and watched Butterfly get her face painted but never dared get very close to this strange looking person (she did like receiving a little balloon animal though--her favorite is a little dog). So on this visit, she stared and clung to daddy. But then sitting on daddy's lap and with daddy's encouragement, she held out one hand to receive a painted flower. Her face lit up at the finished product and immediately, she thrust out her other hand and received a ladybug and then a rainbow. She apparently decided Soda Pop was a friend afterall and happily played while Soda Pop entertained and made them balloon hats.

Yesterday we took a long drive and Butterfly found an old (broken) cell phone that I'd given them to play with. She declared she needed to call Soda Pop and preceded to do just that. They apparently exchanged greetings and then she assured Soda Pop that she's been a good girl and told her the things she and her sister had been doing. She rambled for a long time and eventually distracted herself with another toy.

Today, she was wearing her balloon hat from our ice cream parlor visit and it popped. Butterfly began to cry and then consoled herself saying Soda Pop will fix it. She turned to me and said "Soda Pop can fix it. And then we get ice cream with gummy bears and cookie animals and sprinkles and you can get ice cream too mommy and see Soda Pop." I agreed and then she continued "Soda Pop is my friend" (and reaching out to rub my belly) "and Soda Pop loves the baby too."



and I bet you thought I would be writing about a beverage.