We were looking through old pictures, and when Sutton saw this one, she squealed, “Heart shirt!”
Two words that quickly changed our lives.
The last time she’d worn that shirt was months earlier, and it wasn’t a big deal. Now, finding that shirt and putting it on was the most important thing in the world.
It barely fit her anymore, but she loved it. She wore it all day and went back to the mirror over and over to admire it – or to make sure she wasn’t dreaming, and it was still there. The next day, the first words out of her mouth were “Heart shirt!” She wanted to wear it again.
Three weeks later, she was still wearing the damn heart shirt. Drew washed it every night, because Sutton wouldn’t consider wearing anything else – and oh, we tried.
Finally, two days ago, I was tired of seeing it, and I was tired of seeing her diaper underneath it every time she raised her arms, because the heart shirt didn’t quite cover her back.
“Guys, let’s do something fun today,” I told them. “Let’s go clothes shopping!”
They fell for it.
I told Sutton she could pick out any shirt she wanted, as long as it was long-sleeve and they had it in her size. I figured she might wear something else if she felt some ownership of it. It was worth a shot.
She picked out five new shirts. Four of them were pink and the other one had a heart on it. Actually, I picked the heart one out for her myself. It was light blue, and she had no interest in it. “That’s for Bennett!” she insisted.
Maybe it wasn’t the heart she was into after all.
She couldn’t wait to show Daddy her new clothes when he got home at night. The next day, she didn’t even mention the heart shirt. She wanted the “flower shirt”. This one:
As soon as I had it on her, she asked if she could wear it during her nap, too. She was already afraid I’d take the flower shirt away from her.
This morning, she asked for it again.
“What about all the other shirts we bought yesterday? Let’s try one of those.”
“No! I want my flower shirt!”
So here we go. Day 2 of the flower shirt. And counting.
Maybe I will put the blue heart shirt on Bennett. At least we’ll get some use out of it.
jerry-mahoney.com 
Well now I want a pink flower shirt.
Children’s Place has ’em!
Adorable! Just give in, and go exchange the other four shirts for four more pink flower shirts. At least you won’t have to do laundry every night.
Ha! Not a bad idea, but I’m optimistic we can get her out of the flower shirt faster than the heart shirt. Maybe 2 weeks instead of 3 this time?
Oh the clothes battle! Still struggling with that and Madison is 14! Good Luck Jerry!
OH! The clothes battle! We still struggle with that battle and Madison is 14! Good Luck Jerry! It doesn’t get easier!
Thanks for the warning! I’m bracing myself. We have a stubborn kid, for sure!
gabriel wears the same pajamas every night–i mean EVERY night–it has been thhis way for a YEAR!!!!! he will not wear anything else–they do not even fit him and still–the dam little einsteins PJ’s win!
he also wears only 1 pair of shoes–nothing else–welcome to the determined 2’s!!!!
Oh no! Boys do it too? I’m doomed! I thought for sure only Sutton was going to get this attached to her clothes.
I always thought I’d fight them on the clothes thing and not let them go out in the same thing every day, but it’s just not an argument that’s worth winning. I know someday we’ll look back and she’ll say, “Why was I wearing the same heart shirt in every picture for months?” and then it’ll be funny.
My daughter does the same thing, and she is 5 years old. Good luck with the growing out of it thing. 🙂 Love your blog…actually so much that I’m going to put a link onto mine. 🙂 Feel free to check it out sometime!
http://www.vodkaandmotherhood.com (sorry that it has the M-Word in it!!)
Aww,kids. Gotta love them! And one day you will all laugh at this 🙂 She’s adorable.