You've Got a Friend in Me...

We gave Nathan this stuffed Spider Man for Christmas 2007, his first Christmas.

We bought it because it was cute and it was a superhero...Greg's requirements for all of Nathan's gifts that year.   

Little did we know, Spider Man would become Nathan's bff. His trusty companion. The security object that he can't live, breathe, eat or sleep without.

I keep as close an eye on Spidey as I do on Natalie and Nathan because losing him would be a tragedy. Like a call-the-police-and-issue-a-missing-Spidey-report kind of tragedy.

Just last week Nathan told Greg "I love Spidey more than you." He tried to take it back, but we all know the truth. If there are ever any life or death choices involving one of us vs. Spidey, we're goners.

I don't even want to know how dirty poor Spidey is. He's been used as a napkin, a blanket and a step stool. He's been on every floor, in every shopping cart and dropped under every table in every McDonalds from here to Nampa to San Diego to Ames to Phoenix to Tucson and back again. Being a raging germaphobe, I've just had to come to terms with the fact that the fifth member of our family is a walking disease. 

But come to think of it, that's probably not that different from members three and four...