Shoes

The thing about little boys is that they are always growing.

If I buy myself a shirt, or a pair of jeans, or a pair of shoes, I consider the item purchased "new"
for at least two years. I expect it to last that long without ripping or tearing, or without accumulating stains. I am almost always disappointed. Especially when it comes to stains.

Boys grow much faster than this. If I buy the boys an outfit, that outfit is good for one season, and that's only if I buy it a little big. And shoes are the worst.

There is nothing worse than shoes that don't fit. But I take these kids to the shoe store every two or three months, and they have ALWAYS gone up at least a full shoes size. It's like there is some twilight-zone-esque gap, and they have actually gone up a size more often than there are sizes to go up to...

And shoes can be expensive. Which is why I try to get Nathan to wear Nick's old shoes as often as I can. But this doesn't always work, as Nathan's shoe size is quite often in that no-man's-land, falling in between the sizes of shoes that Nick owned.

So then I am faced with strange choices. It is fall, but it will be winter soon. The boys are currently size 9 1/2 and size 6 1/2. We have two pairs of boots, sized 9 and 6. Do I:
A) squeeze the boys in too-small boots for the season
B) buy them both new boots now
C) squeeze them into too small boots now and buy them bigger boots later
D) Buy Nick new boots and make Nathan wear the bigger ones with newspaper rolled into the toes.

For the record, I am facing a similar decision concerning snow pants. However, I do feel better knowing all these things will be worn by a third. If this new baby were I girl, I would be forced to go out and re-purchase everything in pink and purple.