So... Dillen started a new gymnastics class yesterday. There is a new girl whose older brother (maybe 7 or 8 years old) was there. The instructor allowed him to stay at one part of the obstacle course making sure the girls followed through with doing their straddle jumps correctly over the cones. This gave him something to do and kept the girls in line. All but Dillen. This boy sat above them on a high mat and Dillen didn't even notice he was there until she got to the cones. He hollered down to her, "Don't forget to do your straddle jumps!" She was startled at first and looked up. The next thing that happened made my eyebrows immediately raise up and my thoughts quickly wander to what our her future with boys will be like. If only I was able to capture this on film. Once she looked up and saw him, her eyes magnetized to him, her chin dropped, she batted her eyes, smiled and giggled, brought her right hand up to her cheek and waved with just her fingers to him. She was 100% smitten. She flustered at the cones and couldn't complete anything knowing he was watching her. She'd jump a cone, look up at him and repeat the batting eyelashes, smile with a wave, jump a cone, look up at him and repeat the batting eyelashes, smile with a wave, etc. (there were about 5 cones). One of the moms sitting next to me said, "That's my worst fear right there. Keep them busy in after-school activities...that's what I'm going to do." The mom that belonged to the boy was MIA. Not sure what I would have said to her. All I could do in response to the mom who talked to me was nod my head. I was witnessing puppy-love in it's purest form; in my daughter; and realizing she's just FOUR YEARS OLD. She has friends who are boys. Even ones that she has said she'd like to marry (Cole and Peter being the ones she typically mentions). But this was different.

In the car on the way home I struggled with even mentioning what I had witnessed. I gave in to the curiosity of what her answer would be and asked, "So, Dillen. There was a boy who was helping out at the cones..." I couldn't even finish my sentence. She started giggling immediately, fidgeting in her car seat and blurted out, "I'm going to marry him when I get to be his age! I'm twitterpated!!" I had to laugh and ask, "Do you even know his name?" Her answer (excited and fast), "No. Can you find out for me?"

Yikes.

It's funny. I do remember my own first real crush. His name was Christopher and we were in the same pre-school class. I, too, was four. He and I both dressed as clowns for Halloween and that sealed the deal for me. He has remained in my puppy love memory ever since.