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I posted those developmental updates while I was away from home yesterday, so I didn't have a chance to add a photo. Here is Alex pretending she can make pie crust singlehandedly.

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Frivolous clothes post.

We went out grocery shopping this afternoon. As we turned the corner toward where I'd parked last night, we saw some neighbors having a little sidewalk sale. (People don't have yards here.) They had a little girl older than Alex and a baby boy, and they were getting rid of tons and tons of barely-worn baby clothes and little girl clothes.

This may sound like a perfectly normal everyday occurrence for those of you who live in the suburbs, but trust me: it never happens in the center city. It's pretty much inconceivable. The woman having the sale told me that I was the first person all afternoon who'd had any possible use for the clothes, and repeatedly urged me to "pick out a big pile, and I'll give you a good price."

Alex is more or less set for clothes, because I went to the consignment store two weeks ago. Niblet, however, is less well-equipped. I wound up buying:

- Seven warm sleepers and an incredibly warm never-been-worn snowsuit, size 0-3 months.
- Eleven onesies or summer playsuits and a sweatshirt, size 3-6 months.
- Three summer playsuits, size 6-9 months.
- Three shirts and a sweater in Alex's size (4/5).
- A hooded towel, barely used.
- A Hi Ho Cherry-O game for Alex.

...For a grand total of $10, which I would've been willing to pay for the snowsuit alone. In retrospect I'm thinking I should have offered her $15 for the entire box of boys' clothes - she probably would've taken it. Instead I just went through and picked the very cutest outfits. Lots of little dinosaurs and doggies.

I confess that, although I really hate buying clothes for myself, I love assembling baby clothes and Alex's clothes. I get a real sense of satisfaction out of having a whole little wardrobe put together, clothes that will be pretty and comfortable and weather-appropriate.

I dragged Alex through a number of stores at the mall a few weeks ago, looking for something I would be willing to contribute to her wardrobe. They seem to be offering a lot of garish prints, screaming colors, extraneous ruffles and sequins, and skimpy, ill-made styles for preschoolers these days. We came home from the mall with a pair of rain boots, a hooded fleece, and a hideous nightgown that I bought because she's been dying for a nightgown and they barely seem to make them anymore. Not a very adequate collection.

So the next week we went to the consignment store. It turns out that they do make tasteful, attractive, child-appropriate clothes in Alex's size. They're just mostly more expensive brands than I'd be willing to pay for new. In an hour, in the consignment store, I scooped up almost her entire winter wardrobe in brands like Little Me and Hanna Andersson, for about a hundred bucks altogether. I guess my taste in Alex's clothes runs fairly conservative/preppy: warm plaid flannel dresses, for example, and turtlenecks with cute little designs sprinkled all over them. But I was relieved to be able to get her a big stack of cute, well-made clothes that don't make her look like she aspires to be a Disney Channel star.

I hope I'm not dooming her to a lifetime of being uncool.