Guys and Dolls

My boys have always had baby dolls.  I never really thought much of it until a couple of weeks ago.  Matthew and I were watching Cameron at TaeKwanDo and Matthew was holding Payo, one of his dolls.  Another mom leaned over and said, "That's so cute.  I was going to get my little boy a doll but my husband was like, 'No way is my son playing with dolls!'"  I thought that that type of sentiment had gone out of style in, oh, say, the 70's, so I was a bit surprised. 

Later, I was telling a friend about this encounter and she said, "You bought dolls for your boys?  Why?"

Why?  Why not?  Kids like to play with baby dolls, right?

Soon I was asking every mom of boys I know and finding out that, unbeknownst to me, I am a bit of a renegade for giving my boys dolls.  The common response seems to be, "Well, if he was interested in dolls maybe I'd get him one, but he's never expressed an interest."

But, see, Matthew hadn't really expressed an interest in dolls or anything else at his first Christmas and he still got this:

And the next Christmas he didn't ask for a doll, either, but it turns out that he loves Payo.

This year is going to be a little different though, as Matthew has clearly expressed his desire for Santa to bring a Knuffle Bunny.  But I think Payo and K.B. are gonna be pretty tight.  Because whether or not he ever expressed an interest, Matthew is a boy who loves his babies.