
Name: Niki Cairns
Kids: daughter, age 4
Works: stay-at-home mom, singer
Favorite thing about being a mom: Teaching my child new things and getting to experience life through the eyes of a child
Least favorite thing about being a mom: No pay, long hours
Famous for: Being the world's biggest klutz and my sangria
Have you ever looked at your child and wondered "Now where in the heck did he/she get that from?" For my daughter, the question pertains to her fashion sense. Her father and I are pretty casual people, not too hung up on name brands, and are most comfortable in jeans and tees. But for Audrey, life is nothing but a fashion show.
Last week, Audrey was home 3 out of 5 days from school due to various illnesses ('tis the season). She hung out mostly in her jammies, but when it came time to go back to class, a choir of angels could be heard in her closet. "Ooohhh, what am I going to wear this day?" Audrey asked and the angels answered back "Pick something pink and pretty, my little dove." And so the daily process began. First it was a Barbie shirt with some pinks and browns and a pair of brown pants. That lasted about an hour until she decided the sleeves were too short so she found another brown and pinkish shirt that had some gemstone buttons. It was adorable on her, but the tag was too itchy and even after I cut it out, the moment had been ruined. She found yet another brown and pink shirt and decided it was good enough; now if only she could decide between the pink shoes with the purple flowers, the brown shoes with the pink flower, the brown Crocs with the fuzzy inside or the brown boots with the pink and white flowers. I think the Crocs won.
When she got back from school that day, we decided to take a run out to Johnson Creek to check out some outfits for my nephew and I promised she could pick out one shirt and one dress. The dress was very easy to find, purple and pretty. The shirt was agony. She didn't like any of the shades of blue or green they had, she already had a purple dress so she didn't want a purple shirt, and white was just ugly. She chose a brown and pink double-layer t-shirt (she must have forgot the 3 other pink and brown shirts she owned). She got home and needed to try on the new clothes and came in to model them for me. "I'm a fashion girl, momma." she said as she pranced around the room with pouty lips and hands on her hips, and at that moment I realized where this had all come from.
This is payback for the fact that she spent the first three months of her life in either yellow or green. Indeed, we did not find out the sex of our baby when I was pregnant so neutral colors meant either yellow with ducks or green with random sayings. We were asked constantly if our baby was a boy or girl and I'd always reply "This is Audrey" all the while thinking, my child does not need to be dressed in the customary pink or blue. She is a strong modern woman and yellow and green suit her just fine. I'd remind people not to buy things that said "Princess" or anything close to that because I didn't need her to think she was a spoiled princess. Karma is something else. At four, my daughter is clad mostly in pink (with a splash of brown), refers to herself as a fashion girl, calls her father "her prince", and wouldn't be caught dead in the wrong shade of green. She really is four and fabulous.
Tags: four-year olds : fashion
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