Our Barking, Swinging, Singing Princess!

Lia is going thru a stage where she wants to wear her "Ni Hao Kai-Lan" purple tutu dress. Every. Single. Day. Never mind the fact that she has a closet full of adorable clothes that have been gifted to her over the past several years. Nope, the $5.99 Walmart Kai-Lan dress it is. Everyday. God forbid when laundry day comes around and the purple dress goes in the wash...it's not a pretty sight. There are tears. So if you look at my photos here and on Facebook and notice that she always seems to be wearing the same outfit. You are not mistaken.

This week Lia went to the park and actually enjoyed the toddler swing for the first time. The last few times we have tried it, she was very nervous, and would start to whine as soon as we got any real motion going. This week she got going fast enough to feel the wind in her hair, and she loved it!

Lia also decided that a good accompanyment to her purple tutu dress is a pink feathered princess tiara. So that was pretty much the get-up everywhere we went this weekend...Starbuck's, grocery store, Dollar Tree, Texas Roadhouse, Lake Coeur d'Alene, IHOP, etc. People stop and say to her, "How cute, is it your birthday sweetie?" and we tell them no, she just likes wearing this outfit. A few of them give me the stink-eye - like I'm indulging her "diva" behavior. And maybe I am. It's certainly not worth a power struggle in my opinion. I know I don't pressure my little girl to be a "princess". We don't call her Princess, we don't play Princess, and we really don't watch any Princess movies (since they all have scary parts). God knows I am not a girly-girl type! I'm lucky to remember to run a brush thru my hair and put on some lip gloss most days... But right now she is definitely attracted to all things girly. If it's purple or pink, and sparkles or glitters, then it's okay with Lia.

Another interesting habit she's picked up over the past week, has been crawling around on the floor, following us around and pretending to be a dog. Tongue out, panting away... This seems to disturb our real dogs more than it bothers Steve or I...again, no biggie. Lia's an only-child. I'm glad to see her using her imagination!

We also continue to have daily "concerts" in our home. TV talent shows such as "America's Got Talent" and "The Glee Project", have spawned a performer!  She grabs the flexible light from our portable lap desk, and uses it as a microphone, dragging it around the room as she belts out her tunes, uses hand gestures, and throwing her head back and closing her eyes on the big notes - it's hilarious! Once she is finished and we start clapping, she stops to take a bow...what a ham! Steve caught some of it on video the other night: