Angry Helmet Cat

Somewhere around age two kids REALLY start to exert their own preferences, like what color sippy cup they use and what outfit they're going to wear that day.  Some kids don't care- but my kids are not like that. Both of the girls began picking out their own outfits around this age. During that phase, it can sometimes be difficult to differentiate my daughters' outfits from those worn by toddler transvestite streetwalkers, flourescent hobos, or newly minted Asian immigrants (a look that the kids' grandmother occasionally sports).

This one I'm less sure about.

Accessories by Julia.

This isn't just limited to the girls, however. My little guy Matthew is going through a phase where he insists on wearing a cat tail that attached around his waist with a velcro belt. He has a set of matching ears as well, and prefers to wear both together, although, he is okay with just the tail.  The issue with the ears is that they don't fit very well under his helmet, and he likes to wear that a lot too. In the car for instance, in case his car seat doesn't function properly during an accident.  Or during Easter egg hunts. Or even just eating breakfast. Kids have gotten seriously injured during egg hunts as well as while eating eggs, and he somehow must know this instinctively.  This Darwinian safety trait will almost certainly serve him well in the future, and somehow makes me worry less, because whether or not he is ostracized to the margins of society, at least he will be physically safe.  And if he isn't able to directly avoid confrontation, perhaps his angry cat imitation will at least give people paws.  Oops, I mean, pause.