Brenna's New Shoes

After "losing" the car sandals, I decided it was time for Brenna to get a pair of running shoes, too.  Her shoe of choice lately has been a pair of green crocs that previously belonged to Hayden.  I hate these shoes for a few reasons.

1) They are ugly.  I bought them because they were cheap and I bought them for a boy.

2) They make her feet stink.

The initial appeal of the shoe was that Brenna was able to put it on and take it off without assistance.   I never thought that it would become a non-negotiable staple in her wardrobe.  

Shoe shopping seemed like the ideal activity for our weekly mother-daughter Tuesday outing.  At first, Brenna did not want to go.  Even though Brenna has a very strong opinion about her outfit every day, she has not shown any interest in shopping - so I was not surprised when she refused to get into the car.  However, I reminded her of Hayden's running shoes.  The fact that he had running shoes, and she did not, had taunted her all week. 

I promised her pink running shoes and she agreed to go.  I was ecstatic.  Shoe shopping is one of my guilty pleasures.

I took her to Payless and told her the coveted words that every daughter hopes their mother will say:  Pick something!  Anything!  I will buy you whatever you want.

Payless had a lot of sneakers that I was sure Brenna would love:  sneakers with rainbows and butterflies! princess sneakers that light up!  Dorah the Explorer sneakers! 

But the shoe that captivated Brenna was a very sparkly mary jane:

Not only was this not a running shoe, it was not a comfortable shoe.

And, it was not a shoe that they carried in her size.

Look, I get it.  I love sparkly shoes.  If ever a mother hoped their daughter would want sparkly shoes, that mother is me.  But I just couldn't bring myself to buy shoes that did not feet her feet. 

The end result was me dashing out of the store, clenching Brenna, who was clenching her green crocs.  Luckily the tantrum ended shortly after we started driving home.  Shocked by the silence, I started to tell Brenna about the best shoe store in the entire world:  Amazon.com.

Together, we perused pages and pages of pink toddler shoes until Brenna picked something out. They were pink.  They were sparkly.  They were perfect.

And, after an exuberant shipping fee, they arrived at our doorstep 2 business days later.

The first thing Brenna did was compare her new shoes to Hayden's  used and dirty shoes.  She was pleased.

Brenna has since worn her new shoes on multiple outings.  Like Costco.

And the Arizona State Fair (we used our passes).  She was very good about not stepping in any animal poop. 

I think the kids liked the fair.  I was surprised when the both wanted to go on the biggest ride that the fair offered - the grand Ferris wheel.  You can't see my left arm but it's firmly gripping the seat.  Unlike my three year olds, I don't like heights.