I am dressing my 1 year old as a cheerleader.
Wow, I said it. The shock is still quite fresh. But let me explain.
I am a complete dork about wanting the kids' costumes to 'go together.' Last year, J and I saw a really, really cool idea for a costume- to be a road. Okay, sounds weird, I
know, but we turned it into 'Greenbelt Road.' The costume consisted of a gray sweatsuit (which we bought, but he has used a million times over since last year!), some white and yellow tape, some velcro pieces (which we had at home), and a few matchbox cars (which we had PLENTY of at home!). I also made a road sign that he wore on the hood. He looked cool. So, H had to match, and what could be easier than sewing three circles onto a black onesie to make a traffic light. Right there are two very comfortable kiddos. (And two creative, cheap, and actually 'home-made' costumes!! Go, Mom!)So, I felt like I started a tradition, at least for now while they are both young and forced to listen to me, and I wanted to continue it this year. J and I had difficulty coming up with ideas. Then I remembered the two UMD cheerleader outfits that had been passed down to me by friends, and in a fleeting moment of insanity, realized that J would LOVE to be a UMD player. I pitched it to him (still not thinking clearly about the whole cheerleader thing...) and discovered that I had predicted correctly. Amazingly, all it took was one post to a local list-serv, and I had an authentic UMD basketball player jersey borrowed from someone in town. J wanted to specifically be DJ Strawberry, so I dug out that white tape from last year's costume and created a number 5 on the back, and TA DA... basketball player. The cool part (at least to dorky me) is that he has this basketball designed basket (from an Easter past?), so that will be his trick-or-treating collection device, and it will accent his costume. Neato. But, that brings us back to H.
I tried the two cheerleader outfits on her, and lo and behold, they both fit perfectly. Of course. Lovely husband said one looked more authentic than the other, so there we go. H will be all dolled up with her UMD outfit, although I could not find appropriate pom-poms. (Which is probably best for an almost 18-month-old...) To her, it will just feel like another one of those strange pieces of clothing that Mommy ever-so-rarely puts on her body, i.e. a dress.
Now, I mean no disrespect to anyone out there who is, or has been, or ever wanted to be a cheerleader. It's simply not my thing. I have a personal history of negative relationships with cheerleaders in adolescence, and let's just say, it's not something I fervently hope my daughter will pursue someday. But, that being said, I will be putting her in the outfit in a few hours, and we will actually be parading around the town in our UMD gear. (To complete the pic, S and I will be wearing UMD shirts-- hey, we're the fans!) Go Maryland!
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