Young Love

Little man has a secret.

He has a girlfriend. Her name is Chloe.

Little man has always been Mr. Congeniality. He has an uncanny ability to make friends with anyone and everyone.

However, I knew from the beginning that Chloe must be special.

Little man usually only talks at great length about really truly special things ... like "big trucks," boats and airplanes. Occasionally the subject will drift towards bugs or dooms, but as a general rule, trucks are little man's topic of choice. And despite his entourage of little friends, he rarely speaks about them.

Until Chloe.

I noticed it last week when on the way to "school," instead of telling mommy all about the trucks and "baby dooms" he was going to play with, little man kept asking me if he was going to see Chloe.

"I'm sure Chloe will be there today," I said.

"YAYYYYY!" little man exclaimed while clapping his little hands.

Ever the curious mommy, I had to delve further into the details surrounding little man's new friend.

"Tell mommy about Chloe," I asked little man.

Little man sat in silence. However, his coy little smile and blushing cheeks said all I needed to know.

"Do you like Chloe?"

More silence.

More smiling.

More blushing.

"Chloe's my fwend," little man finally shared with me.

I had it -- confirmation. Little man's first girlfriend.

And then I smiled.

And blushed.

And so the week continued. Each morning the same as the one before, as if it were on repeat.

After much assurance in the car ride there that little man would be seeing Chloe that day, we would finally arrive.

And as I would open the door to little man's room, there would be Chloe.

"Hi," she would say to little man with the same coy little smile little man would have on his face.

"Hi," little man would say back, giving mommy "the look."

(You know the one -- the embarrassed "mommy can you please leave now so I can play with Chloe?" look.)

And so I would leave little man and Chloe to begin their day together, taking little man's cue.

That is, after stealing one more kiss from little man, despite the embarrassed "I can't believe you just did that mommy" look scrawled all over little man's face.

But little man would quickly recover from his embarrassment, and together he and Chloe would take their place at the bin full of big rubber dinosaurs.