Normal Wear and Tear

Pictured here is my precious son Matthew Manuel and three pairs of his blue jeans, which he got NEW for Christmas. Take special notice to the knees (click on the picture for a close-up). Is this not a great visual representation of an ACTIVE 7-year old boy? Matthew has two other pair of jeans that look the same way. AND a pair of corduroys AND 2 pairs of sweats with the SAME holes in the knees. Notice how they're not just small holes. They're like shredded.

It's kind of funny and cute-but also kind of frustrating-how quickly he will wear out the knees in his pants. He LOVES to slide on floors and he's always crawling around doing something on the floor or ground. He still loves setting up his dominoes and he plays with Koopa a lot on the floor. Also, he's recently discovered the fun of skateboarding, and enjoys "riding" the skateboard on his knees, pushing himself forward with his hands. (You can imagine the look of his hands after that, too!) The knee pads I have for him are a little big for him, and thus kind of uncomfortable, and I haven't insisted he wear them. But I think I'm going to have to now, not only to protect his knees but to save me in clothing replacement costs! I have patched some of the pants that were patchable, but a few of them have been reincarnated into SHORTS for summer.

I was just thinking about how few of Matthew's clothes get passed down to cousins, compared to Hannah's clothes. Matthew's stuff just gets too worn out to be worn anymore. Boys will be boys! ;-) I am thankful that Matthew is healthy enough to run around like he does. Those dirty handprints on the doors and worn-out knees are sweet in their own way, you know?? I really don't mind it.