Metro Man

I have a 5 1/2 year old daughter who developed her own fashion sense early. At first it had to be purple. Now pink is the color. I can buy adorable outfits but she will mix and match tops and bottoms to make her own. She is a girl. This is expected. I have learned not to shop without her for approval (or it will just sit collecting dust in the closet) and I just let her dress herself in the mornings.

But JT.....he is a boy. He is not even 2 yet. He is supposed to be easygoing and just allow me to put whatever I want on him. Well, he is turning into a little opinionated fashionista. His favorite shirt is his monkey shirt. It is really just a light blue t-shirt with a screen print monkey on it that his Cat bought him in St. John, but he has grown so tall this summer that now his belly hangs out. So now it is just a pajama shirt. But he loves that thing. Getting it off of him in the morning is torture. I will toss it in the dirty clothes and he will fish it out "monkey, peeeeze. Peeeeze mama. Peeeeze!" With the pleases escalating in urgency with each ask. Then he doesn't want just a plain red or blue shirt. Heaven forbid the seersucker shorts. It has to have something on it. A dog. A fish. A car. An alligator. A whale. A bear. He likes animals and cars. Even his diapers have cars on them (or fish for the pool) and he would rather pull his shorts off so he can see the diaper image than wear shorts!

JT also loves to watch me put on make-up and copy me. His favorites to use are the powder brush and the eyelash curler. And last week when Claire and I were having our "cure" day, he wanted his toes painted too. I managed to distract him with building blocks, but the painted toes are coming for sure.

He also loves to use the blow dryer. As soon as I mention shower he starts attempting to take his clothes off and runs screaming toward the shower saying "shou, shou!". Well, he used to love long showers playing with his car stick-on toys and rubber ducks, but now as soon as we are in the shower, he points to the water and demands "off". He pounds on the shower door " bow dry, bow dry, peeeeze." So, yes, all he really wants to do is blow dry his own hair. I think we need Ben to hang around the house more.