 |
| Her first shoes |
 |
| sparkly Ralph Lauren |
 |
| Also a gift, furry boots |
 |
| I couldn't resist, denim with dots |
Evie has a shoe fetish. It is highly likely this is my fault as I just think baby shoes are the cutest and if I see some that are particularly adorable and the price isn't too high, then more often than not I buy them. I am apparently not the only one to think baby shoes are cute, as many friends and family send along shoes for Miss Evie. (Her first two pairs were Burberry and Ralph Lauren! I'd never even heard of designers until I was in college, and my daughter was wearing two before the age of one. I'm afraid this does not bode well for the future...) As a result, my 15 month old daughter has 7 pairs of shoes that currently fit. It's obscene. Most of them cost only $5, but really, that's 6 pairs too many for a baby her age.
We're currently on the Cape, and as I was packing up to come, seeing all her shoes together made me realize just how crazy it is. But, Evie just loves them. She has her favorites and often insists on wearing them. If I won't put them on her feet (usually because she already has a pair on), she squats down on the floor and attempts to put them on over the other shoes. Or, if she sees a favorite pair out of her reach, she points and squeals until I hand them to her.
 |
| Floral pattern, gift from Nana |
 |
| Glasses and shoes she chose |
 |
| Another gift, pink monkeys |
I think the obsession may go beyond shoes into most other accessories. She often runs around the condo pulling down headbands, hats, sunglasses, and belts and attempts to put them on. Sometimes these items belong to Will or me and we have to keep finding new drawers or hooks to hang things on so she can't steal them and hide them from us.
Because I haven't wanted to pay more than $10 for a pair of shoes, my friends tease me that I need to get Evie a "real" pair of shoes since she's now walking. I suppose the Old Navy and Target soft soled shoes aren't doing the trick on the wood chips at the playground. So, when I saw a "real shoe" sale online, I bought two in her current size and two in a future size so she could have some to run around in. When the box arrived in the mail, Evie was in sheer ecstasy. First, it was a
box she could play with. Inside the box was four smaller boxes. Amazing. And, inside those boxes were shoes! I think Evie thought she'd died and gone to heaven. She sat on our living room floor opening and closing the shoe boxes, taking out the shoes, putting them on and taking them off, running up to me for help and then running away squealing once they were on. Then, she'd run up with another pair and want to try them on. The best part was the new shoes have little squeakers in them (removable, thankfully). But, she was running around looking at her feet to try to figure out what was making the noise. Every time she took a step she started laughing and looked to me like "are you hearing this??"
One of the things I try to do to help Evie learn autonomy is give her choices in getting dressed. So, I give her a choice between two tops, two bottoms, two hats, and two pairs of shoes. She even gets to choose between two diapers. She really enjoys getting dressed as a result. I think it helps her to feel she has a tiny bit of control in an area where it's actually appropriate for her to have some. When I hear stories from friends about how their children are disasters to get ready, or how much they struggle with diaper changes, I am grateful I've been giving her these choices. While we all laugh about Evie's shoe obsession and they tease me for encouraging it, I can see some of my friends are jealous that Evie actually loves to wear her shoes and hats. It sure makes getting outside a much more pleasant experience.
Because I haven't wanted to pay more than $10 for a pair of shoes, my friends tease me that I need to get Evie a "real" pair of shoes since she's now walking. I suppose the Old Navy and Target soft soled shoes aren't doing the trick on the wood chips at the playground. So, when I saw a "real shoe" sale online, I bought two in her current size and two in a future size so she could have some to run around in. When the box arrived in the mail, Evie was in sheer ecstasy. First, it was a box she could play with. Inside the box was four smaller boxes. Amazing. And, inside those boxes were shoes! I think Evie thought she'd died and gone to heaven. She sat on our living room floor opening and closing the shoe boxes, taking out the shoes, putting them on and taking them off, running up to me for help and then running away squealing once they were on. Then, she'd run up with another pair and want to try them on. The best part was the new shoes have little squeakers in them (removable, thankfully). But, she was running around looking at her feet to try to figure out what was making the noise. Every time she took a step she started laughing and looked to me like "are you hearing this??"
One of the things I try to do to help Evie learn autonomy is give her choices in getting dressed. So, I give her a choice between two tops, two bottoms, two hats, and two pairs of shoes. She even gets to choose between two diapers. She really enjoys getting dressed as a result. I think it helps her to feel she has a tiny bit of control in an area where it's actually appropriate for her to have some. When I hear stories from friends about how their children are disasters to get ready, or how much they struggle with diaper changes, I am grateful I've been giving her these choices. While we all laugh about Evie's shoe obsession and they tease me for encouraging it, I can see some of my friends are jealous that Evie actually loves to wear her shoes and hats. It sure makes getting outside a much more pleasant experience.
No comments:
Post a Comment