My feet are swollen, although this non-summer, non-preeclampsia pregnancy has been much kinder to my toes than the last go around was. But I’m not the only one in the Shove family with foot problems these days…
Emma Vance has a little foot. Let me be clear — she has a little foot, not little feet. Yup, that’s right, one of her feet is slightly skinnier than the other. Why do I even mention that, you’re wondering? Well, shoes are a constant battle around here, an “everyday woe” if you will. When I buy her shoes, I’m always having to buy for the bigger foot (and woe unto me if I accidentally try the shoe on the small foot and buy the wrong size!), which gets even more complicated when you factor in that each shoe brand has vastly different sizing standards — or the fact that E.V. just went through an overnight foot-growth spurt that left us temporarily shoeless! Buying for her bigger foot also means one of her shoes is ALWAYS slipping off. (I call it “Cinderella Syndrome.”) People are constantly chasing after me in public, shouting that she’s kicked off her tiny glass slipper. Sigh.
Because of our shoe woes, Emma Vance owns probably MORE pairs than Ryan and I combined, which is laughable. :) We’ve really struggled to find a brand that is comfortable, cute and affordable. It seems that either the shoes are pretty but leave red marks, comfy but hideous, or adorable and comfy but cost so much that I hate to even let her wear them outside! (True story.) When you take all those things into account, it means that her shoes never match her outfit (especially when playing) and that I never feel like I’ve gotten my money’s worth out of them. When Zulily put TOMS (which, at $30+ a pair for Tiny TOMS, I categorize as “too expensive” considering how quickly she grows out of them) on sale a few weeks ago, I finally purchased some (and by “some” I mean “a lot”). Hallelujah! We have success! Of course, her general sizing was a bit difficult to place and many of her Tiny TOMS are still a bit loose, however, they’re perfect! Cute, definitely comfortable, and finally affordable! Ryan and I about died seeing her run around in her mini-versions of our grown up TOMS, BTW. She’s such a little kid already! After a few days of trying them out, I’m happy to finally declare that Little Foot has found her glass slipper! (You’ll be seeing many more of her Tiny TOMS in the near future, be aware!)
Here’s happy E.V. enjoying her new kicks in the springtime sunshine!
