What have I done?!

Isn't this the opposite of every thing Anya was when she came? And slightly capitalistic? It was a fluke shot I took because it just caught my eye as she walked on ahead of me. I took Anya to the mall (which rarely happens) for a shirt for Christmas. I knew I'd get several fights about wearing a dress and knew she'd want to run around with her cousins and friends anyway at all the gatherings-pants are best for that. I didn't see anything she'd agree to that was fancy enough at Target that she'd like, so of to the mall we went.

I took Anya into Macy's and went to the girls' section. "Do you like this? This? What about this?" "No. No. No." After Anya found a toy Dora guitar on the floor and played it over and over and over, I put four shirts on a rack (that I had earlier slipped over her head to see them on) and pulled her over to them. The conversation that ensued was strange at best and there was a woman that pretended she was shopping, but kept circling around to see WHAT was going on. Some of the conversation went like this.

"Anya, come here. COME OVER HERE. Put the guitar down. DOWN I said. Pick a shirt."

"What DON'T you understand Mama. I DON'T like them. I'm not wearing a shirt. They are disgusting."

"Well, you won't wear a dress so you have to pick one."

"I DON'T LIKE them."

"Okay. Which two are the MOST disgusting?" (trying to eliminate two of them) "ANYA! Put the guitar DOWN! No you can't have it, it is $40. No, I will not give you $25 dollars. I said, WHICH...TWO... ARE... THE... MOST... DISGUSTING?!? This one? This one? This one? This one?"

Grumpiness followed.

"I''s sorry, you HAVE to pick one. You ARE wearing one. Which two? (point and point). Good. Now which one of these two is better?" She finally chose one. Obviously, not with any delight.

After I paid and we headed out, I passed Kids' Gap, where a dear friend works. We saw her inside and went in to surprise her. Anya actually wove in and out of clothing racks to scare her. Anya actually liked a pair of boots in the store. Finding a boot for an Achondroplasia dwarf is next to impossible. The length of the foot is very short. The width of the foot is very wide. The leg bones are short but the muscle length is the same as if the bones were long. That means that all the muscles in the legs overflow onto the ankles, knees and wrap around the hip to the butt making it look really large. So, her ankles are hefty and quickly angle out even wider to her knee. So, finding a boot that closes over her calf  is rare and one that isn't so long that it crams into the back of her knee is almost impossible. And that is a 3/4 length boot on an average height girl too. But, this pair fit the bill. I really didn't care how much it cost if she liked it (what, she likes something fashionable?!) and if they fit. Then I asked Anya about a lone coat in the store. She LOVED it. And my friend put a Russian type snow hat on Anya's head and then I heard the "please Mama?" with the sweet begging eyes. Need to remember to keep that girl our of the mall or at least out of the Gap...

I call her my Russian Snow Princess.

~Monica