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Fast forward to 2006. We moved our business from our Lee Highway, Arlington, VA location of many years to our new location in the emerging, exciting neighborhood of Clarendon.

In the new location we have 5,000 feet of specialty toys, children’s clothes, books, and sporting goods. There is plenty of room to display everything well.

The store is decorated with beautiful Victorian woodwork and tile. We have a lovely play area with a canapé decorated with carousel horses. Inside the play area are two very popular train tables.

One day, a little boy about two or three came racing in the store ahead of his parents who were struggling to stay up with him. He made a dash for the train tables and stopped in stunned disbelief. They were gone.

We were having an event in the play area and had moved the train tables to another location in the store. When the little boy realized they were still there, he broke out in a huge smile. What a relief!

When Jeff (my youngest) was two and one half years old, I took him to the store one night after closing. I kept the lights off so people would know we were closed.

In those days, the store was very small, long and narrow with a high ceiling. It was in a strip mall with other specialty stores such as a wonderful bakery, a flower shop, and a decorator.

Every shop had its own awning color. Ours was red. The name of our store, Kinder Haus Toys, was emblazoned on the awning in German Gothic. Our logo, a rocking horse, appeared on all the shopping bags.

This night, Jeff roamed around the store nodding at all the different sections of toys. He checked out the games, the Lego, the Brio trains, the Britain’s soldiers and the brightly colored balls. Those were his favorites.

He circled the dimly lighted store a few more times. Then he stopped, put his hands on his hips like a little pirate surveying his bounty and proclaimed to nobody in particular, “These toys are all mine!” That night I didn’t argue with him.