The Shoes of Summer

When Audrey was eight-months-old, she crawled for the first time - straight toward one of her grandmother's shoes. Her fondness for foot apparel has only grown as she's learned to put a few pairs on all by herself. These are her favorites of the summer, the ones she grabs time after time, no matter the occasion:



The new (at least to us):

I found these ballet slippers for $3 at a garage sale. They are the teeniest bit too big, but Audrey loves to slip them on and run around the house. Of course, she has not assigned the shoes a role, such as dancing. To her, they are anywhere shoes, any time, any place - just because she loves them. I have to catch her on her way out the door to the garden and try to reason with her as to why these may not be the best gardening shoes. (But, I have to admit, I love her devil-may-care attitude toward dressing that matches the fearless way she moves through life. Her style always makes me smile).

The old:

These cute lady bug boots were a gift from her aunt and have been worn everywhere: around the house; following Daddy around the yard (in 90 degree weather); to the store. They are just on the fringe of being too small, so she's soaking up all the moments she has left in them (literally at times - they have been sloshed through the baby pool) using all her might to tug them on, tight against her heels. Every time she asks me to help her yank the rubber backs up her calf, I can't help but think of how long they sat in the closet, too big to catch on her heels, waiting to be worn. And now, fitting so snug, I think of the too-quickly passing summer days and try to soak them up, one lady bug step at a time.