The View Looks Pretty Good From Up Here On This Soap Box...

So this weekend Matt and I are going to a barbeque for a birthday party for one of our friend's little girls. Her name is Madyson and she's turning 2 this week. She is SO adorable and I wanted to get her something really cute for her birthday. So in our quest to find the perfect gift, our travels took us to the Disney store in the mall, and also to some toddler-esque clothing stores. (Oh, the shame!) We had a lot of fun on our hunt, mostly it was us getting dirty looks from cashiers for playing with all the toys but you've got to test toys out before you know they're a good gift, right? So finally, when we decided to get productive, we chose a Minnie Mouse dress from the Disney store and I decided we should probably get some little leggings to go with it because it was short and 2 year olds don't know what lady like is. :) After we left the store with the dress, we hit 3 or 4 clothes stores looking for a pair of cute leggings in a toddler size. And HOLY COW! Has anyone visited the little girl section lately?? In the first store Matt and I found ourselves wondering why a 7 year old would need a padded bra? And left the store thinking those people were a bunch of crazies, thanking our lucky stars there were less kid-hoochie places to shop. So the next store we visited, what did we find but Britney Spears mini skirts paired with belly shirts. WHAT? And the trend just went on and on until we realized it wasn't the store we were in. It is everywhere, and it's spreading like the plague! I mean, I knew it was bad, I love to shop for my sister, who is ten. So I know how frustrating it can be to find them decent non-sexualized clothing. Are you CRAZY, PEOPLE??? I heard on a radio show a few weeks ago that some agency or another suspects most kids these days have their first sexual experience at age eleven. ELEVEN!!! My baby sister is ten and there is NO way. For my sanity's sake and for the sake of all children everywhere I hope that is not true. But I grew up in a small town and I remember what school was like. And it only continues to get worse and worse and worse. We were both pretty close to keeling over, so I thought I could use a little venting. On a lighter note... here is a picture of Rufus getting himself stuck in warm laundry baskets. Who luckily, will never be little girl who we will have to stress about dressing. :)