Beanie Baby

My son loves to dress up, but in his own way.

At three, he seems to have already developed his own sense of fashion. Depending on his mood, he carefully chooses his own outfit from his hat down to his shoes. And, more often than not, his sartorial flair involves dramatic costuming.

Each day our toddler traipses off to school, his teachers are always in for a surprise. They never know when to expect a firefighter, gladiator, cowboy, pirate, or even Bob the Builder to stride proudly into the classroom.

The problem arises when our picky dresser has to wear something that does not catch his fancy. He throws a tantrum and unceremoniously yanks on his undesired piece of clothing until we, the tired, hapless parents, eventually give in and remove the offending piece.

A few weeks back, we were faced with a dilemma when our family had to attend a formal wedding. How in the world were we going to make our headstrong son last more than five minutes in a long-sleeved collared shirt and tie???

I could not help but worry during the entire ride to the venue. I kept trying to sweet-talk him by telling him how handsome he would look wearing the ensemble hanging by our car window, but he would merely shake his head vigorously at me in response.

When we finally arrived at the event, I valiantly attempted to get our boy into the shirt and tie. Just as I predicted and dreaded, he immediately started wailing and pulling hard at his necktie and shirt buttons.

My husband quickly advised me to stop creating a scene and simply let our son go in casually attired. I knew I was losing the accoutrement battle. In the distance, I could see all the little children prancing around in their formalwear.

Out of desperation, I cried out: "MR. BEAN!"

Suddenly, our young bugger completely ceased fidgeting and stood perfectly still. He looked at me, albeit suspiciously, and said, "Mr. Bean?"

And I, latching on at the burst of hope, reiterated, "Yes! Mr. Bean! You're Mr. Bean!"

Lo and behold, a miracle occured. Our hyper nipper slowly took in his garb. Soon after, his previously distressed face broke into a pleased smile. He grabbed my hand and practically pulled me to the gathering.

He ended up contentedly wearing his Mr. Bean "costume" the whole evening. As an added bonus, all the guests we came across enthused that our lad looked so handsome in his get-up.

Whew!

Thank you for saving the day, Mr. Bean!