So sweet. Not so sexy.

While browsing around the internet for shorts for Ava I came across something that totally threw me for a loop: little girls cutoff denim shorts WITH POCKET LININGS HANGING OUT THE BOTTOM OF THE LEG! Oh, and it doesn't stop there, oh no. The pocket linings were embellished with sequins. You know, in case anyone fails to notice that there are pocket linings hanging out of the bottom of your little girls' shorts with the first glance! Ugh!

These shorts can go right into the pile of unacceptable along with the behind-bedazzled jeans, padded triangle bikinis and the priceless princess shirt I saw at the store. The one that had the body on the shirt with the neck running up to the neck hole, so it looked like your daughter was the character on the shirt. So, what's the big deal, right? Well, the princess had cleavage. Yes, that's right, the shirt would give your daughter BOOBS!

Can we please, for all the sweetness in the world, let our little girls be little girls. Let them enjoy twirling in puffy dresses, dreaming of being a princess (sans chesticles), admiring the simple beauty of flowers and butterflies and whipping up the occasional plastic meal in their play kitchens!

I hope for Ava and Alice's sake they never try to fight me in a store's fittingroom over a pair of jeans I deem too tight or a skirt too short. They will not win. Not because I am a mean mommy or particularly enjoy confrontations with my daughters. No, they stand no hope of winning such an argument because I love them too much to let them grow up too fast.

My daughters will grow up with a sense of self respect. They will know that a boy or man that treats them any less wonderfully than their father just will not due, so dressing in a manner that attracts less is unacceptable. They will know that there is more power in modesty than in over-sharing.

I know I had my days of wearing the shortest skirt possible, squeezing into jeans that cut off my circulation and donning tops so low cut they left nothing to the imagination. But, in all honesty, I regret allowing myself to ever dress that way. Those skimpy outfits did their job; they garnered attention. But, all that attention came at a hefty price. I lived in a haze of wondering which boys in my life liked me for my personality, and which liked me simply because of how I presented myself.

Most females want to feel sexy. Letting it all hang out, however, isn't the way to harness that strong feminine power.

All this to say, if we start our little girls down the road of short shorts and tight tops at the ripe ole' size of 5T, does she really ever have a chance at learning that a knee length pencil skirt and cardigan sweater do much more for her feminine charm by the time she is old enough to dress in an attractive manner?

I love watching Ava's face light up when she puts on her newest dress. A dress that reaches her knees and comes up to her collar bones. She smooths her hands over the material. She twirls in delicate circles. She tells us over and over again that it's, "So pretty!" And that is exactly how I want her to feel. So pretty, along with so smart, so capable, so caring, so tough, so sweet. Not so sexy.