GirlyGirl/Tomboy

I scored a cool Duplo truck at the markets on the weekend and Lily has been playing with it constantly ever since! I just adore this girl - she is sooooo girly and loves pink and sparkles and jewellery like the 'ballerina fairy princess' she is convinced she is... and yet - she also loves playing with trucks, digging in the dirt and wrestling with her Daddy - doing full body slams with all the enthusiasm of a WWE wrestler! 

Yup, my little lady is just doing things her own way. She is a girl but she is deciding what kind of girl she wants to be, and I love seeing her exploring her interests, no matter what 'side' they may be on! Initially, I admit I cringed at the idea of my girl constantly swathed in pink tulle and fairy outfits but after I saw her natural joy and attraction to such things it seemed rather churlish to deny them. After all, boycotting pink has to be as extremist as mandating it, right?! I've come to my current frame of mind that as long as plenty of options are available to her - from fairy wings to dump trucks, sparkly shoes to tool kits, toy prams to toy computers, then hopefully she can not only choose what feels right for her, but also perhaps peer over the gender divide to understand that a whole world of options are available - she is not restricted by the gender stereotypes of what she 'should like' or 'should be good at' - and that it can be enriching to try different things sometimes too. Kids free to be kids is what I desire in these precious younger years, hopefully avoiding being boxed too early into what they should or should not be. Though it will no doubt come! Same goes for Eli of course - my Baby Boy loves him some baby dolls, and loves to push them in the pram! I just adore seeing him be so nurturing and I like to think his wife will thank me one day! ;)

However, I do have to admit that Mama often deliberately buys the non-pink clothes just to give her eyes a break from the constant pink tide that is ever creeping into our household! (And also to gently encourage Lily from being entrenched into an all-pink rut for eternity!). But I don't get too het up about it these days... after all, whether dressed in pink or blue, whether playing with dolls or trucks, most of all I hope she is defined and defines herself by what's on the inside, in her heart and mind. I just want her to know that the world is her oyster and she can beat her own path through it. I'm sure she will go on breaking down the gender stereotypes if she wants to - one body slam at a time!