Facing the problem

Skyler is learning to dress himself. Hooray! My youngest child is gaining independence! With potty training behind us, this is the next groundbreaking cause for celebration.

But it is not without its pitfalls. For instance, he is consistent at getting his clothes on backwards. Yes, consistent. This is not a 50%-of-the-time thing. EVERY SINGLE TIME he dresses himself, he comes out with his clothes on backward. Alan watched him the other day and explained to me--Skyler holds the shirt up in front of him, turns it so he can see the front of it, then smugly puts it on. Simple. Except the learning-to-do-it-right part, which is not so simple.

The other day, I attempted to help him correct his problem. "Honey, your underwear are on backward," I explained, showing him that the little dinosaur was in the front and the fly in the back. "You need to turn them around."

He peered down over his bellybutton in astonishment, then very sensibly grabbed the waistband and heaved it to the left.

"No, Sweetie, you have to take your legs out of the holes to turn them around." (How do I say these things without bursting into laughter and bruising little egos? I wasn't entirely successful, but I tried...)

Distracted by other responsibilities, I left him to his devices briefly (OK, was that a pun?), coming back to find him with his underwear on correctly, but his shirt and pants on backward as usual. Even his socks were upside down. "Sweetheart, your clothes are on backward again. You need to turn them around."

"Yeah," Anaya observed, walking past. "You look like you put your head on backward."