Jon read this article earlier this week. We both thought it was great and wanted to share it.
Parents, Don't Dress Your Girls Like Tramps
By: LZ Granderson, CNN Contributor
April 19, 2011
Grand Rapids, Michigan (CNN) -- I saw someone at the airport the other day who really caught my eye.
Her beautiful, long blond hair was braided back a la Bo Derek in the movie "10" (or for the younger set, Christina Aguilera during her "Xtina" phase). Her lips were pink and shiny from the gloss, and her earrings dangled playfully from her lobes.
You can tell she had been vacationing somewhere warm, because you could see her deep tan around her midriff thanks to the halter top and the tight sweatpants that rested just a little low on her waist. The icing on the cake? The word "Juicy" was written on her backside.
Yeah, that 8-year-old girl was something to see alright. ... I hope her parents are proud. Their daughter was the sexiest girl in the terminal, and she's not even in middle school yet.
Abercrombie & Fitch came under fire this spring for introducing the "Ashley," a push-up bra for girls who normally are too young to have anything to push up. Originally it was marketed for girls as young as 7, but after public outcry, it raised its intended audience to the wise old age of 12. I wonder how do people initiate a conversation in the office about the undeveloped chest of elementary school girls without someone nearby thinking they're pedophiles?
Push-up bikini controversy 
What kind of PowerPoint presentation was shown to the Abercrombie executives that persuaded them to green light such a product?
That there was a demand to make little girls hot?
I mean, that is the purpose of a push-up bra, right? To enhance sex appeal by lifting up, pushing together and basically showcasing the wearer's breasts. Now, thanks to AF Kids, girls don't have to wait until high school to feel self-conscious about their, uhm, girls. They can start almost as soon as they're potty trained. Maybe this fall the retailer should consider keeping a plastic surgeon on site for free consultations.
We've been here with Abercrombie before -- if you recall, about 10 years ago they sold thongs for 10-year-olds -- but they're hardly alone in pitching inappropriate clothing to young girls. Four years ago the popular "Bratz" franchise introduced padded bras called "bralettes" for girls as young as six. That was also around the time the good folks at Wal-Mart rolled out a pair of pink panties in its junior department with the phrase "Who Needs Credit Cards" printed on the front.
I guess I've been out-of-the-loop and didn't realize there's been an ongoing stampede of 10-year-old girls driving to the mall with their tiny fists full of cash demanding sexier apparel.
What's that you say? Ten-year-olds can't drive? They don't have money, either? Well, how else are they getting ahold of these push-up bras and whore-friendly panties?
Their parents?
Noooo, couldn't be.
What adult who wants a daughter to grow up with high self-esteem would even consider purchasing such items? What parent is looking at their sweet, little girl thinking, "She would be perfect if she just had a little bit more up top."
And then I remember the little girl at the airport. And the girls we've all seen at the mall. And the kiddie beauty pageants.
And then I realize as creepy as it is to think a store like Abercrombie is offering something like the "Ashley", the fact remains that sex only sells because people are buying it. No successful retailer would consider introducing an item like a padded bikini top for kindergarteners if they didn't think people would buy it.
If they didn't think parents would buy it, which begs the question: What in the hell is wrong with us?
It's easy to blast companies for introducing the sexy wear, but our ire really should be directed at the parents who think low rise jeans for a second grader is cute. They are the ones who are spending the money to fuel this budding trend. They are the ones who are suppose to decide what's appropriate for their young children to wear, not executives looking to brew up controversy or turn a profit.
I get it, Rihanna's really popular. But that's a pretty weak reason for someone to dress their little girl like her.
I don't care how popular Lil' Wayne is, my son knows I would break both of his legs long before I would allow him to walk out of the house with his pants falling off his butt. Such a stance doesn't always makes me popular -- and the house does get tense from time to time -- but I'm his father, not his friend.
Friends bow to peer pressure. Parents say, "No, and that's the end of it."
The way I see it, my son can go to therapy later if my strict rules have scarred him. But I have peace knowing he'll be able to afford therapy as an adult because I didn't allow him to wear or do whatever he wanted as a kid.
Maybe I'm a Tiger Dad.
Maybe I should mind my own business.
Or maybe I'm just a concerned parent worried about little girls like the one I saw at the airport.
In 2007, the American Psychological Association's
Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls issued a report linking early sexualization with three of the most common mental-health problems of girls and women: eating disorders, low self-esteem and depression. There's nothing inherently wrong with parents wanting to appease their daughters by buying them the latest fashions. But is getting cool points today worth the harm dressing little girls like prostitutes could cause tomorrow?
A line needs to be drawn, but not by Abercrombie. Not by Britney Spears. And not by these little girls who don't know better and desperately need their parents to be parents and not 40-year-old BFFs.
We just found out that we will be having another ultrasound next week. My second trimester ultrasound with MFM (Maternal Fetal Medicine) is not scheduled until May 31st, and we thought we would have to wait until then to find out if we are having a boy or girl. Dr. Rhee, my OB, decided to do one earlier since that is a little on the later side. 
Now I will be having another ultrasound in May, next Thursday to be exact. Now is your chance to vote whether you think we are having a boy or a girl. Notice the poll on the left side of the blog. By the way, the pictures in thins post are of baby number 2. I have already had two ultrasounds. they were too early to tell the gender, but I will tell you there is only one baby in there. Of that, I am 99.9% sure.
When he saw the camera, he stopped hugging Woody.
Laying on the mattress while it is in the living room. 
Laying in his bed in his room.
I think James could feel the excitement, because he woke up a little earlier than normal (at about 8:30 a.m.). Here is James running down the hall to find eggs. 
He was really excited. The first egg he found he opened and ate all the M&Ms inside. 
Then, he searched for more eggs. 
Yes, those are packed boxes, but most are in the bedrooms. After most of the eggs he found, he would stop and eat the candy that was inside. 
Then, he would find more. The Easter Bunny also brought a stuffed animal seen in this picture. 
It is a dog dressed in a green bunny outfit, complete with bunny slippers. After all the eggs were found, I tried to feed him breakfast before he ate more candy. 
As you can see, it went really well. 
After breakfast, we went to the park. We walked and played while we enjoyed being outside. We even blew some bubbles, but it was really windy so they just blew away.
Kitchen. 
Dining room with a sliding glass door to the deck. 
Front room. 
Stairs to the upstairs, where there are two bedrooms and a bathroom. 
Master bedroom on the main floor. 
Master bathroom. 
Family room in the finished basement. 
Bathroom in the basement. 
Fourth bedroom in the basement, where I will most likely put my sewing stuff too. 
Back yard. 
I am really looking forward to all the space. Jon is a little worried about not having the furniture to fill a house this big, but it will be fine.
Outside the binders.
James loved that Daddy built a tower of paper. I think he was hoping to push it over.
Then James helped everyone else find eggs. Side note, if you look closely at James, you will notice powdered sugar around his mouth and a doughnut in his hand. He loved the doughnuts for breakfast!
Mmmm, chocolate!
James LOVES chocolate! When we were checking out the contents of his eggs, he wanted to hold all the chocolate and was mad when I would put it in his bag, but his hands were full very quickly.
Needless to say, the neck of this shirt is really stretched out!
James loves playing on this toy!
LETTER!
Driving.
Yes he is wearing my gloves. We forgot his and it was really cold.
Tic-Tac-Toe with bats and softballs.
Go get Daddy!
Here I come!
Stairs will not stop me.
The only way we could get James to leave the toy was to have him find all the letters on the way to the car. He had to point out all the letters on this sign.
