When Big Guy and I agreed to have kids, I decided that if I had a girl I wanted to provide her the freedom to be whatever kind of girl she wanted (within the bounds of healthy, social behavior… which for me are quite broad). So when LadyBug was born, I bought her tons of clothes in alternative colors. Funky purple pants, delicate blue dresses, turquoise tops and some plain Jane jeans. She already had plenty of access to “boy toys” – blocks and cars and other building implements (all of which I preferred as a child), so I wasn’t too worried in that area. Our relatives, of course, showered her in pink and dolls and all things girly. I resigned myself to that and was consoled by the many other options we had provided.
Somehow, though, it happened anyway. When Bug claimed red and blue as “his” colors, LadyBug chose pink and purple. And now that her 3rd birthday is upon us, she has announced that she wants a “Pink Party” with lots of “pink toys.” I’m not upset or anything, but I’m finding the whole thing a bit ironic. When and how did she decide that pink was the “it” color?
My one consolation that I succeeded in my overall mission of not over-girlifying her as an infant is that she hasn’t yet requested anything involving princesses… I won’t be surprised if she does, but it won’t be because it’s what we expected of her all along. And I can also rest assured that her princess outfit will most likely be topped with something less regal…
And by the way, although she’s very clearly wearing a Sleeping Beauty dress, she calls it her “ballerina dress.”
[…] you’ve been reading along, you may know that my daughter is a bit of a girly-girl, occasionally (ahem) challenging to be with, a master spy, and possibly a split personality. […]