Quincy's freedom of expression

Normally when I have to leave before Quincy is dressed, I lay out an outfit. Sometimes I forget though and then the mix'n'match ensues. Not only is my husband color blind, but he also thinks that some colors match that do not. This almost always annoys my mother, who likes it if Quincy is dressed cute. I do, too, although the cuter the clothes, the more quickly he gets them dirty.:)

I remember one day last Spring. I did not leave any clothes out so my husband picked out his own outfit for Quincy. Quincy had these cute little yellow, blue, and red plaid shorts and I always paired a little yellow golf shirt with them. He'd look so cute. My husband picked out those shorts, then decided that since they had red and blue in them, a red and blue shirt would match. Quincy arrived at my mom's in his plaid shirts and red and blue Elmo shirt. I could actually see the logic behind this outfit, but still, my mother did not. I think he looked kind of alternative. He was dressed like a lot of the teenagers I taught last year. Then there was the green shirt with orange shorts incident. I think he picked that outfit out himself.

Quincy has an artistic and musical side that I lack. I can barely draw a stick figure and I am tone deaf. He plays keyboards, drums, and guitar. Since he is a toddler with a lot of energy, sometimes he needs help positively getting that energy out. To do this, we take him over the practice space my husband's band uses and let him drum to his heart's content. He likes to use the drumsticks and hit the cymbals. He has way better rhythm than I do.He also likes to draw and paint. Both are good alternatives to messing up the house, so we encourage his expressing himself in these ways.

As he gets older, I don't know whether he will be very rebellious are not, but we certainly hope to curb some of that by encouraging him to express himself through his clothes and hair. If he wants to be the kid with the purple mohawk, then that will be fine by me. He can even dress in all black if he wants. I did that for years. Tattoos? Sure, if he is really certain he wants one and not just getting it to be cool. I have ten so it is okay by me. We hope that as he grows, he will continue to be artistic and musical and not outgrow the whimsical ways in which he expresses himself now.

If your child likes to mix'n'match outfits, maybe the Polly Pocket Pop 'n Swap at Toysrus.com would be for them. Check out other posts on this subject at Parents Bloggers Network !