Conquering fears

Until recently, we didn't own a single ball for Naomi to play with. I had wanted to buy her one for a while, because I rememberd her playing with some at her cousins' house, and she seemed to have a lot of fun. And besides, every child needs a toy ball! So one day while at Walmart, I splurged and bought a pink ball for a dollar (because when you're poor, anything unnecessary can be called a "splurge", even if it's only a buck!)

I debated for a minute or two about whether to save the ball for a birthday present or to give it to her immediately, but I quickly decided that I couldn't wait even a few weeks. We don't have a ton of toys for Naomi, and I was just SO excited to give her something new! For the entire drive home (which took about 60 seconds--we live VERY close to Walmart), I envisioned how happy she would be as I presented her with her fun, new toy and the delighted little smile that would appear on her face as she saw her pretty pink ball.

But when I arrived home and proudly offered Naomi my little gift, instead of giving me a big smile and a happy squeal, she screamed! She screamed and crawled to Jacob, trying to climb up his chest to get as far away from it as she could. I tried to hold her while I bounced the ball and smiled, to show her how much fun it was, but she continued to cry and scream and push it away. It was hilarious. What kid is afraid of a ball? Especially such a fun, girly, pink one?

I'm happy to say that after a good night's sleep and a few hours to get acclimated to her new toy, she had a complete change of heart. She now LOVES her pink ball and will roll it and kick it and squeal with delight as she plays... It is just as I had imagined. :)

I'm also happy to say that we were able to take a video to document Naomi's silly little fear. So, for your viewing pleasure: