Ella's Sports Bra

Last Saturday, Ella informed me she wanted a "top that goes up like this" as she moved her hands up from her chest and stopping at her shoulders... as if that even described anything other than basically every type of top.

I asked her to clarify -- it might have been as blunt as "I don't know what you're talking about" (I didn't) -- so she said the same thing.  "I want a top that goes up like this," again, moving her hands up from her chest and stopping at her shoulders.

It was the Wiggly-Wrigley thing all over again.  A year or so ago, Ella told us about her new friend, "Wiggly."

"Wiggly?" I asked.

"No, Wiggly," she responded.

"Wiggly?"

"No! WIGGLY." she got frustrated.

We went back and forth with this several times -- me somewhat entertained, Ella ramping up her frustration with me every time I said "Wiggly" -- until I realized that she was actually saying Wrigley, in her R-less, Ella way.

By some miracle, I figured out the kind of top she wanted.  I don't recall the exact chain of the conversation that brought me to the right conclusion (it really was a miracle), but I determined it was a sports bra.  I found this to be amusing and cute and complimentary, all wrapped up in a tight, stretchy band of fabric.  Of course she needed a sports bra -- she's a runner, and runners (the girl variety) wear sports bras.  She learned this from watching me.

This was one of those nutty requests that I feel like I had to oblige.  Clearly she doesn't need a sport bra and won't for several years.  But if it gets her out and active and proud to do so, I'm happy to help facilitate that.  Being out and active is a big part of who I am, who my friends are and how I got to this point in my life, and it's a path I'd like my kids to be on as well.  Worst case, they'll be in good shape.

So, with "sports bra" at the top of our clothes shopping list, we headed to Old Navy, not sure we'd actually find one her size there but feeling pretty good about it.  And what do you know?  They had a few.  The smallest size we could find was a 6-7, which turned out to be perfect for Ella.  It's hard enough putting a right-sized one on myself; a little too big for Ella meant it would still cover her privates but be loose enough to pull on without too much of a struggle.

So we bought it, along with a running tank to go over it.

I'm not sure where she got this, but she had no interest in putting a tank over her sports bra.  I always do -- no one's interested in seeing my abs (or, truth be told, trying to find them), and I'm not interested in letting them try.

It was chilly last weekend, and we really don't want her, at 4 years old, running around in a sports bra; so we introduced this rule: No sports bra without a top anywhere outside the house.  Inside, she could wear it sans cover; outside, she had to cover it.

On Sunday afternoon, Ella wanted to test out her new sports bra and go for a run.  She was already dressed and ready.  Knowing that I had already taken my post-run shower that day, she informed me that I didn't need to run with her, that I could walk since I had already showered and wouldn't want to "get sweaty."  Plus, I didn't have my own sports bra, or any bra for that matter, on.  But she'd run... in her sports bra... with her running top over it.  So cute!

Ella and her sports bra

A stickler for routine, Ella grabbed her water bottle, filled it up with water and ice and handed it to me to put in the BOB (jogging stroller).  We always take a water bottle when I take her running with me.  She told me that she wouldn't be able to push the stroller because she'd be running, so I'd have to.  A natural problem solver, I suggested that I just carry the water bottle and we leave the stroller here.  She agreed that was a good idea.  

Pre-run stretch

We headed out the door and asked Cal, who was playing basketball, if he'd want to join us.  He did and, for the most part, stayed behind and walked with me.  Ella ran and Cal and I trailed behind, sometimes too far behind for comfort.  With Cal and me yelling at her to stop, she made sure to stop at corners and wait for us and get a drink of water, and we never actually crossed a street. I saw a couple of cars slow until they saw me, either making sure she was okay and with an adult or getting ready to call the cops on me.  This was a high-stress run for everyone, and it would be the last time she'd run without me by her side, also running, for awhile.

Ella probably ended up running a good .75 miles before she was done.  As soon as she got home, she went inside to get some more water (her bottle was empty) and came back out without a shirt over her sports bra.  She was already breaking the rules.  When asked, she said she took it off because she "was sweaty" and had to cool down.  We were sitting on a couple of chairs just outside our garage watching the boys play basketball, so I let it slide.

We went out for a second run with Ella's sports bra yesterday.  This time I, too, had my running gear on and was ready to run alongside her.  About 10 steps in, she stopped to walk... started running after 20 walking steps... and stopped again shortly after.  It was a pattern I wasn't thrilled about, and, of course, I asked her, "why when I wasn't prepared did you run the whole way?"  It was a question lost on Ella whose sudden lost interest in our run was bugging me.  So I proposed something.

"Ella, how 'bout this?  We'll make some lunches and Mommy will run with you in the stroller to the prairie path where we can have a picnic lunch?" I thought it was brilliant.

Ella's eyes were wide.  She liked it.

I clarified, "so, Mommy will run first and then we'll stop at the picnic area at the path. We'll eat our lunches there, and we'll walk back home.  You can walk and push the stroller home after lunch <ugh> if you want."

It was a great idea in both our eyes.  So we went back home, packed some lunches in Ella's Minnie and Disney princesses lunch bags and headed off toward the path, me running and pushing Ella, her sports bra, and our lunches in the stroller.

I figure I got about 3 miles in before we reached the picnic area.  It was 3 miles complete with reminders at every half mile that I was getting my run in first but "don't worry, we'll get to the picnic area where we'll eat in about N <once it was 14, thrice 10 and once 3> minutes."

We made it to the picnic area where... of course... of all the days that this would be so it was when Ella and I had some plans for it... someone had rented out the picnic area and was having a party in it.  Ella actually handled this really well, first insisting that we could find an empty spot to sit and then quickly accepting my proposal that we just head to the park in our neighborhood instead.

So, after walking for a bit (she was out and pushing the stroller on our way back to our 'hood for lunch in the park), she complained it was taking too long.  Um, yeah, I know.  I jumped on this and told her that it would be faster if she hopped in the stroller and let me run ourselves to the park. To my surprise, she took me up on this.

Our lunch spread (it's not Ella's birthday)

Ella, her sports bra, our lunches and I got to our neighborhood park pretty quickly, found the benches to be too hot and just set up our lunch spread on a platform of one of the playsets there. It was just the two of us outside in the park for awhile, and I think we both enjoyed every bit of it.  I like to think Ella's sports bra played a role in that, justifying her having one at such a young age. We might have gotten out of the house anyway, but I know for sure her sports bra was behind our run and fun yesterday.