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If you've been following the whole fancypants party dress saga, you know that my Mother-In-Law gave Mazzy a dress to wear to her first brithday party that I deemed more fitting to wear to Buckingham Palace for tea with the Queen.

For clarity's sake, I should tell you that there were actually two birthday parties. One was a party for friends that I documented last week where Mazzy wore an entirely different dress and the other was the family-only party that we had at Grammy's house this past Saturday. Got it?

Long story short, I was less than enthused about Mazzy having to wear such a fancy dress to her party. It's not really mine or Mazzy's style.

But the joke's on me, because it turns out the dress and all of it's aforementioned fanciness not only looks obscenely cute on the baby but it photographs beautifully. I loved so many of the pictures of Mazzy in the thing that I included a link at the end of the post so you can see them all for yourself. (By them all, I mean a select few. If I were to show you "them all" you would not be able to leave your computer without several bathroom breaks and inquisitive phone calls from concerned family and friends).

And that's not even THE CRAZY PART.

Let's just say, the blogging gods were smiling down on me when they delivered this made-for-tv ending to the mother-in-law-gives-fancy-dress-to-granddaughter-and-ungrateful-daughter-in-law-blogs-about-ridiculousness-of-said-dress-on-rival-blog-but-savvy-mother-in-law-finds-blog-post-anyway-and-in-a-surprise-twist-finds-post-hilarious story.

Ready?

We've been trying to get Mazzy to walk for a while now since she started crawling so early. Not PRESSURING her or anything— just standing her up to see what happens. But she's so good at crawling (as evidenced here) that it seems like she doesn't feel the need to exert the extra effort. She'll humor us by standing still for a second but then drops to her knees to efficiently crawl wherever it is that she needs to go (baby luncheons and movie matinees and what not).

BUT. It turns out if you put a baby in a dress with a lining of crinoline underneath, crawling becomes a hell of a lot more difficult. Do you know where this is going?

MAZZY WALKED FOR THE FIRST TIME ON SATURDAY.

We put her in that fancypants dress with the golden pantaloons and she had no freakin' choice.

She tried her best to crawl but the crinoline kept getting in her way plus it must have been pretty uncomfortable on her knees. SO. I stood her up and Mazzy ended up taking her very first steps(!!!)

Here's the video evidence, pathetic crawling and all:


 

Once again, I must thank my awesome Mother-In-Law. Especially for the pictures below which never would have happened without The Gift of Awkwardness that ridiculously cute dress. Besides it being magically photogenic and forcing the baby to walk, the dress taught me that it is much easier to get Mazzy to sit still for the camera when she is encumbered by her outfit.

The lesson: If you want your baby to start walking (or sit still for a picture), put them in a hoop skirt, an over-starched tuxedo or a homemade Rubik's Cube costume. Lack of mobility will give them the motivation to explore other options.

Where was that in the parenting handbook?

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