My girl

Anne, completely on her own, has decided she is a GIRL! Of course we dress her in pink and purple and pretty dresses and have given her dolls and such. But she also has always had blocks and cars to play with. In fact, at 9 months old I went out and bought her a chunky dump truck, which she promptly ignored. Despite that, we've never really pushed her to be a girl. We haven't taught her to like baby dolls or pretty dresses. We've simply given her opportunities and let her be who she is. Lately she has been letting her girly side show, without any encouragement from us. Here are some cute examples:

She is totally afraid of bugs. When she sees one she comes running and screaming, practically in tears that there is a bug. Although I, too, hate bugs, I've never had this sort of reaction in front of her, nor has John. She has adopted this girly reaction on her own.

I have never once shown her a Barbie doll. I'm not against them but I figure she's only 2 so when she's 4 or 5 and wants one, then I'll show them to her. However, at a garage sale last week, she went and sat on a blanket among a whole host of toys while I shopped. When I came back, she had 2 Barbie-like dolls in her hands and asked to take them home. We did and she's been playing with them ever since.

Yesterday I went to one of my infamous sales and bought her some fall clothes. I came home and showed them to her. One outfit in particular, she actually asked to try on. At 2 years old, on her own, she took off her own clothes and tried on a new outfit I bought her. Wow.

Anne frequently picks out her own shoes and will try on several different pairs or want to wear fancy shoes around the house for no particular reason.

Yep, that's my God-made little girl. Isn't it amazing that despite our nurturing, on her own as part of her nature she has decided she is indeed a girl?