Pants Off Dance Off

I have heard mothers tell stories about their "naked" children. They relay embarrassing situations and frustrations related to keeping their little one from what seems to be a natural propensity for indecent exposure. I couldn't relate. At least not from a parenting perspective. Wesley does not enjoy being without even so much as a shirt. Right before he was potty trained, I tried to put him down for a nap without pants on, thinking I would save myself the time of taking them off to change his diaper when he woke up. He just would not have it.

Enter child number two. Confession: I'm pretty sure I know where she gets it, and it is not her father. From the beginning, there has been an ongoing battle about wearing shoes that I have been determined to win. Mostly, I have, sort of. Then Cate developed the manual dexterity to remove articles of clothing. And this is not the first incident. In fact, I have posted 3 times about this behavior in as many months. There seems to be one outfit in particular that inspires nudity. Luckily, it is a summer frock, so I'm hoping that once the temperature drops and I pack away that particular jumper, all issues will resolve. (Please, there is no need to question my delusional thinking on the matter.) Still, for all my concern, I do still find it mildly amusing. I defy any of you to behold the following image and not crack so much as a smile....

Okay, if you passed that test, now imagine the following quote from that sweet face, "TA-DAH! Look, Mommy, I pretty!" And yes, she is wearing what you think that is.

I'm not sure if it is a positive sign, but the pendulum does seem to swing back the other direction as well. The other day when I went to get her up after a nap, she had donned the following attire....

Yes, that is two, count 'em, two dresses. She does get high marks for fashion coordination. The dresses are actually the same style, but different colors. Also, she was working the purple number in an avant-garde one sleeve on, one sleeve off maneuver. Again, there were self-congratulatory declarations of cuteness, but really, who can argue with that? Also, I don't think that she napped, but maybe that is splitting hairs at this point in the game.