The Big 2

Josie is 2! Hard to believe. She had a lovely birthday party with the California family and the Minnesota family briefly by phone. A video of Josie begging for birthday cake, although you have to listen closely ("Want some birthday cake!!"). You can see she is her mother's daughter the way she puts away a *huge* piece of cake.

Josie, these are not appropriate role models

Josie had her first trip to Disneyland. Cousin Emma is *obsessed* with "Princesses" which is the word that they use to describe all manner of female heroines from Disney movies nowadays. If you wait like 2 and a half hours you get to go in and have some one-on-one time to sit and chat with the "Princesses" (today, Cinderella and Jasmine - maybe both of them were actually Princesses, now that I think about it...).







I hate to be totally predictable here, but objectively speaking, these are not the women that I want Josie to look up to. I mean, when they sit and chat about the strategy involved in becoming a "Princess" (assuming that one can become a non-quotation-marks Princess only through birth or marriage, we'll leave that one aside), I would imagine it's like "sing well, be sweet (and just a little stupid), have huge eyes and a tiny waist" and that is the entire plan. So neither the ends nor the means are really something that Josie needs to aspire to.







However, the women who are actually in the costumes in these photos might actually be good role models. These are young women who have to wear a crap load of makeup, wear ridiculous outfits (Jasmine has a really raw deal) for hours and hours and be sweet and patient and kind to little children all day. Children who have waited two hours in line (which must seem like WEEKS when you're three) just to see you. Children who, at times, are probably not very nice. And they're probably working their way towards a degree in education from Cal State Fullerton or something.







I'll be sure to explain all of this to Josie tomorrow.







For now, PHOTOS!