1 Mother 2 Another

The verdict is in, and the hot new must-have accessory this winter is –

Sunglasses.

Last summer I spent the entire time trying to get my munchkin to wear toddler sunglasses. She refused. I eventually gave up, mostly because I knew her eyes were getting plenty of shade from those wide-brimmed hats I made her wear, but partly because it simply wasn’t worth the fight.

And then right around October, Maddie found her sunglasses hanging in her accessory bag. She pulled them out and brought them to me, a querying look on her face. Madeleine honestly wondered what they were; she’d clearly forgotten the countless struggles we’d had with them.

So we pulled them on and she blinked at me through the tinted lenses, curious. “Go look at yourself in your mirror,” I suggested. Maddie ran and found her play mirror, took one look, and fell in love.

Ever since then, she’s been a shades fanatic. She’ll go through days of pulling them out during playtime and accessorizing around them – picking a specific hat and purse, for example – then carrying around her mirror so she can admire herself constantly.

This sunglasses fascination has its practical side, of course; after a few days of insisting she be allowed to wear them whenever she set foot out of the house, Maddie settled for demanding “Gasses” at the park during swing time. She’s learned that the winter sun is right in her eyes when she tries to swing, and the shades allow her to smile and open her eyes, truly enjoying that flying sensation.

You can see in that smile, though, that she thinks she’s pretty cool at the same time.

Who knows how long this enamored state will last; I keep assuming it’s going to end any time. But on those days I’ve forgotten the shades it’s taken a lot of distraction to lure her out of her tears, so I know it’s at least a momentary deep-seated passion. And truly, I can’t complain – she looks so dang cute in them.

To be honest, I’m pretty sure she’ll fall out of love, oh, right around summertime.