The (Very Masculine) Shoe Fairy

Eli is my neat child. He is (usually) a careful eater (probably more in an effort to savor every bite and not waste than to stay clean, but the end result is the same). He is usually the first to respond (and happily sing along) when it's time to "Clean Up, Clean Up". Best of all, he just seems to understand that I like things neat, and does his best to comply.

Recently, Jason and I discovered that Eli has figured out where we keep his shoes, and has started putting them away. Sometimes this is done at our request, other times of his own accord.

It blew my mind the first time I discovered that I could hand my 20-month old a pair of shoes on one end of the house, and tell him, "Go put your shoes away", and he understood (and was obedient) enough to walk down the hall to his (dark) bedroom, open the bottom drawer of his dresser, put them inside, and close the drawer.

Norah, on the other hand, at age 3 and a half, has yet to embrace this particular skill. She is constantly leaving her shoes all over the house, and is often scolded for taking them off and abandoning them the instant she comes indoors. (I blame Cinderella. She didn't exactly set a good precedent for shoe cleanliness, and it helped her bag a prince)

Yesterday, Norah had been busted on multiple counts of shoe offenses. Eli, being the loving, protective brother that he is, decided to take matters into his own hands. As I was putting away the laundry, I discovered that the "shoe fairy" had visited Norah's bottom drawer. (Which, incidentally, doesn't house shoes--they're kept in pockets on the back of her door...but it's the thought that counts, right?)