I probably should make this a regular category unto itself to be fair or give a full picture of this little girl’s big personality.  From early on we’ve asked Zuzu this or that when getting dressed in the morning. We thought we were teaching her about choices and avoiding tantrums and maybe somewhat out-witting her. It didn’t take many months though for her to develop clear preferences: polka-dots, stripes, dresses, skirts, pink, hats, headbands, layers, multiple patterns within an outfit, a matching backpack or bag filled with her selected favorite things for the day, tutu’s, sparkles, hearts, sandals, flip-flops, a necklace and pink-sparkly toes if she can get Momma to sit down and paint them.

We worried at first what people must think with some of the combinations she came up with. But really, I don’t think anyone doubted that she dressed herself and if they did- well she is quick to set them straight.

Not that she hasn’t taken a cue or two from Dad. He is in charge of getting her out the door in the morning. So there are prompts about what “matches” means. And she’s pretty creative in her explanations as to how they match if she feels Lovey hedging, “But see how the tiny purple flower on the bottom of the skirt matches the purple in the plaid pants that go under it and how the green plaid stripe in my pants match the green in the polka-dot on my top Daddy!”

She tells me she wants her hair braided like Shana’s, or in a pony like mine, or needs her night-night headband when she’s done with the tiara for the day. She wears the sparkliest shoes she can get away with and in winter a jacket, hat, hood, mittens and a vest if she can get to them before it’s out the door time. There’s really no point in shopping for her without her consent any more. You can do it. But odds are it will remain folded in the bottom of her drawer. Unless of course it comes alongside a matching mini-version for her sis…

Since the Quail has come along, she’s tried to sneak herself back into the newborn size onsies when we aren’t looking and come out looking more than a little like a dancer, and not the reputable kind. She’s had complete and utter meltdowns if there are bear jammies on her sister and she can’t find a matching set for herself. She’s also quick to complement me if she catches me in a skirt or any color other than black. She would very much like us to  match but is less than inclined to don the solid basic colors of black and white.

The girl’s got style and maybe some day she’ll give me a make-over.