Shoe Shopping

Before craft time, the three of us hit the outlet mall, trying to find some clothes to wear for our one-year-old(!) photo session next weekend.

We struck out on that, but did get a few outfits that I'm sure you'll be seeing here soon (or not so soon, they are all size 12 months), a couple of jackets (one fleece and one lighter), a hat (with earflaps!), some socks (Had to get "boy socks" in order to have brown and black to match her very girlie outfits in those colors. WTF?) and Big Girl SHOES!

We weren't really planning on buying shoes today, but have been talking about them, so when we stumbled upon a Striderite outlet, we had her feet measured ("I'd start with a 4 wide - no, maybe you'd better go with the extra wide.") and finally bought her some real shoes.

We figured it was probably time, since it's starting to get nippy out and we don't want her to have frozey toezies. Also, she likes to walk on rocks and stuff, and that just seems wrong.

She tried on a pair of walkers, but we went with the cruisers, because the soles are more flexible. I actually wanted Robeez Treads, but they only pair in her size was totally boyish, with baseballs or some crap like that.

We got the most flexible ones that they had to fit because everything we read says that the softer the soles are, the better, until they are really walking very well.

(We actually had to get a 4W, not 4XW because that's what they had, but the girl who measured her said these run wide, and they seem to fit okay.)

In fact, everything we read says they should be barefooted unless it's too cold, or they're walking on rocks, so that's what we've been going with, but the little old ladies that we meet on the street are starting to have conniptions about it.

(I swear, if I hear, "Where are your shoes?!" or "Did you lose your shoes?!" one more fucking time. . . .)

Amazingly, we didn't run into any little old ladies the two chilly evenings in a row that we ended up out in public with not only no shoes, but no socks on her.

The first time, what happened is that we came home, took her socks off for a diaper change, and totally forgot to put them back on when we went back out again.

The second time was after swimming lessons, and the one pair of socks we had with us got wet in the locker room. I figured no socks were better than wet socks.

Right?