Heir to the Throne

We've been out of town for the last couple of weeks, and in our sunny travels, we've begun a campaign to get baby Roo to love her sunhat. She does not. She tries to take it off the moment we put it on, chin strap be damned, and the only way to get her to leave it on is to distract her with something she finds especially fascinating. These days the category "things Roo finds fascinating" includes many objects, none of which are age-appropriate baby toys. On a recent jaunt through the mid-day sun in downtown Spokane, Washington (where my mom and stepdad live when they're not in our town doting on the grandkids), in a desperate bid to get her to focus on something besides ripping her sunhat off her head, I gave her the toothbrush I carry around in my purse for use by big brother O. She spent the next forty-five minutes gnawing it with intense concentration, not once throwing it on the dusty ground. Clearly, it's in her genes. I don't like to use the word "princess" (damn you, Disney, damn you to hell!) but I think it's safe to say that we have a female heir to the throne.