Clothes Horse

So there I was, smugly thinking that only mothers of little girls had to address the issue of children who are very particular about what they want to wear, whether it be the same outfit repeatedly, multiple outfits daily, or crazy clothing combinations. Boy was I wrong. Ben has now entered that phase of toddlerhood.

It all started with his shoes. For the past month or so, we've gone through every pair of Ben's shoes at least once a day, with Ben wanting to wear a new pair every hour or so. Thankfully, he doesn't have all that many shoes, but he managed to discover where I stashed all the clothes he's grown out of, which opened up new opportunities. How do you explain to an insistent three-year-old that the shoes he has his heart set on will not physically fit on his feet anymore? There was much grunting and shoving as I tried to wedge his feet into whatever pair he'd picked out. Many of you also saw the post about the moon boots, which are still going strong. Well, this weekend we moved from shoes into clothes. See below...

Yesterday's ensemble: A 24-month sized snowman sweater with the sleeves halfway up his arms, size 12 month shorts that were a little tight (to say the least), and the always popular sock-with-sandals-that-are-two-sizes-too-small look. You can't tell very well in the picture, but his toes are sticking an inch off the front of his shoes. He wanted to wear this getup all day and we just laughed and obliged. I'd rather save the power struggles for a more important issue.
Ben's room, after' he's torn apart his closet full of too-small clothes, in search of the perfect outfit. If you're thinking, "This room looks like it was none-too-clean to begin with," you would be right.
At this rate, looks like we might have to look forward to a future full of outfits such as the one above (no, not the Iron Maiden one). Note: Photo courtesy of a friend's 80s themed birthday bash for her husband.
Ben, striking his best Blue Steel-esque pose. Work it baby, work it.