clothes

more evidence that my kids are 1: getting big way too fast.  and 2: each one as different as could be.


L lets me pick out her clothes each morning.  Maybe just because she'd rather sleep another 5 minutes but really because she just does.  Sometimes she'll make a special request but for the most part, I can lay out her clothes and she gets dressed.

Recently we have begun having those "talks" when she wanted to wear a spaghetti-strap dress without a shirt under or skirt without shorts or tights under.  Fortunately, the cold weather is now on my side.  But we recently had our first day of her 100% refusing to wear what I picked.  And it just so happened to be picture day.  After rejecting three of my suggestions, she picked out a dress I had buried in the back as one of my least favorites.  And eventually, I gave up.  If it really matters to her, then it should be her choice (it is just clothes after all.  I'll pick my battles.)   But did it have to be on picture day?


As for child #2, A has NEVER been so easy going about clothes.  Most days I hold up two outfits and let her pick.  And even then, she will sometimes come downstairs in something entirely different and not at all appropriate to the cold weather outside.  She loves her shorts and skirts and with her long, naturally tan legs, she's just too cute and it makes me want to lock her up forever.  Even at age 2 she wanted to pick out her own clothes (almost always skirts) and regularly tries to change clothes in the middle of the day.  I always insist she change back, trying to cut down on the amount of laundry.

Our recent "growing up" moment with her was about shoes.  She LOVES her flip flops.  They're adorable little white sandals with brightly colored jewels adorning the straps.  (fun back story: L found them in Target one day, hugging them and loving them.  I said no and her crestfallen face was so heartbreaking as she quietly but obediently replaced the shoes on the shelf and followed me to the register that I knelt beside her and asked if she really wanted them.  She looked at me with big eyes and nodded silently.  So I told her yes.  With a HUGE grin, she raced back to them, hugged them tightly and carried them all the way to the car.  She wore them everyday until it got too cold.  After being stored for two years, A received them and has loved them every bit as much.)  Not near as white anymore, and badly scuffed on the toes, she wore them every day for the whole summer.  Our October temperatures are in the 50-60s, and her heels hang off the edge of the rapidly-growing-too-small sandals so I dug out the box of shoes and found the next size of more weather-appropriate shoes.  But to our surprise, she won't wear them.  I'm not sure what prompts it more: that she really just loves the sandals or if she is rejecting sister's "hand me downs". So I took her shopping, hoping that if she picked them out, she would wear them and keep her feet warm.  I tried to steer her towards something warm, an athletic style tennis shoes.  But as always, she's her own person and chose something that suits her perfectly.  They're more like a cross between keds and mary janes, pink and purple and sparkly and pretty dang cute.


And lastly child #3.  I boxed up all the summer clothes this week, with more than a twinge of sadness knowing my baby won't wear them again.  She's getting so big!  And more like A than L, she insists on picking her clothes every morning.  I try letting her choose between two outfits but even then, she often rejects them both and drags something else out of the drawer.  She has also recently mastered the art of stripping and frequently appears without her clothes.  When asked about them, she holds up her hands and with a look of innocent wonder asks, "where 'go?"  She's even begun hiding her pants, just so she can get a new outfit out of the drawer.  I wouldn't let her get away with it except that she's actually really good at it and I often genuinely can't find her old clothes before we have to leave.