Also, how do YOU dress, Susan?

More or less the grownup version of how Annabel likes to dress, actually. No one would mistake me for a man, but I prefer dark colors and jewel tones to pastels, and I think simple lines flatter me far more than elaborate, ruffly things. And I shed my work clothes for jeans or shorts the instant I'm home. So that's probably a factor.

And, really, I don't care what she wears as long as it's reasonably appropriate to the weather and the occasion. I'm certainly not the type who wants to dress her up like a doll or anything. It's just kinda tough when her grandmothers buy her things and she refuses to wear them, you know? Though her grandmothers have both been around enough children that they understand and don't seem hurt or anything. Also, if we had to go to a wedding or a funeral anytime soon, I'm not sure how we'd persuade her into something appropriate, though she's probably only a few months from being old enough to understand that sometimes we have to wear clothes we wouldn't otherwise choose because that's just how you dress for certain occasions.

Do you have the tracking number? you can track the package. Also, go downstairs and see if there's a note on the door. Sometimes the FedEx people are lazy and assume that you're not home and not bother to call and check. It's particularly egregious in my apartment because there's no call box, so they don't want to climb the stairs.

Why does the Universe hate me? It is not letting me find the silver converse I now absolutely NEED in my size! Stupid Universe.

Susan, you might also consider if ruffles, etc., irritate her skin. Or it could be that there was one dress or something that had ruffles and rubbed, or itched, or was otherwise uncomfortable and she now associates frills with being uncomfortable.

Can't see the front door, but I've been here teh whole time...don't have the tracking number--it's my job offer info.

Maybe if I take a shower, he will magically come in the middle of it. Right?

How much Annabel dresses herself depends on how awake she is and how much we're in a hurry. This morning I was rushing to get her to daycare so I could catch my bus, and DH was asleep because he'd taken my MIL to the airport at 4:00 a.m. Annabel was barely awake, blinking bleary eyes and begging for her blankie, so I dressed her like a rag doll, though I put her in something I thought she'd like--a jumper with a Supergirl logo that I treat as a shirt because it's too short for her, but she wants to wear it because she's on a superhero kick, with jeans and her pink-and-white sneakers. When she woke up enough to notice what she's wearing, she didn't complain. At other times, we usually give her a few choices--that's one of the things we started when we were trying to encourage he language development, and the habit stuck.

Or it could be that there was one dress or something that had ruffles and rubbed, or itched, or was otherwise uncomfortable and she now associates frills with being uncomfortable.

She tells us when things itch. Though, when she first discovered I'd immediately change her clothes if she said they itched, she tried to use that as an excuse to stay in her pajamas by claiming ALL her clothes itched...

Though, when she first discovered I'd immediately change her clothes if she said they itched, she tried to use that as an excuse to stay in her pajamas by claiming ALL her clothes itched...

They crack me up with stuff like this. Em will do something, get warned not to do it, do it again, and then just as Joe or I start to go through the motions of her discipline, "I wanna go potty." cause she knows we'll take her and put off her naughty spot time for a few minutes, anyway.

Heh. The potty is Annabel's favorite sleep stalling technique.

I am accustomed to a very LARGE social circle. And OMG scared by the concept of having to create one. It's been a while. And I worry that maybe it's easier to create one in a transient place like DC, or when you're 22. Erm.

I did it! Well, kinda. My social circle is def. much smaller than what it was, but it's still a good one. It is harder, but do-able. Especially if you keep up with the kinging.

I put a lot of stock by how people are dressed. I don't mean labels or any of that shit - people can look just as awesome in Target stuff as they can in Chanel - just how they are put together.

I am with Aimee on this. (Just not on the gauchos front.)