Mommy Time

"Shopping!"

"Shoppppiiiiiinnnnggggg!"

Ginny grocery shopping with Mommy
when she was around 5 months old.

I hear Ginny, my toddler, in her car seat practically singing the word! For the last five minutes since we drove out of the driveway, it has been the only word I've heard come out of her mouth. It doesn't stop until we are very nearly at the store.

My fabulous daughter loves to go to stores and loves to shop. She has been this way since she was a baby. Once I recovered from my c-section from giving birth to her, she would go grocery shopping with me or to any other store I needed to shop at. She never once complained. Very often, you would see her in my cart with a huge smile on her face.

Ever since giving birth to her sister, Grace, we don't go grocery shopping together any more. It is quite rare that she shops with me in general. It is just too difficult to manage the baby and her on a shopping trip. I usually wait until my DH has a day off or he gets home before I do any shopping.

Ginny at the Children's Museum of South Dakota shopping!

Yesterday, though, Ginny went grocery shopping with me. As I was about to leave the house, my husband staying behind to parent the girls, Ginny followed me to the door and looked sad. She didn't want me to leave without her. For some reason, I had a hard time closing the door on that sweet face as I entered the garage. I had a bit of a revelation and made the decision to take her with me. Letting my husband know that I had Ginny with me, we left.

So, for several minutes I heard her joy at the impending event, shopping! As she chanted and sang the word, "shopping" over and over again, I had a huge grin on my face. I knew I did the right thing. Once at the store, she held my hand as we walked in and found a cart. Walking through the store, Ginny smiled and danced to the music playing through the store speakers. She had a great time helping Mommy put groceries in the cart. Granted, throwing them is not always the best way to do it, but Mommy was smart enough to give her items that wouldn't break or dent on their way down.  Ginny also enjoyed seeing people, talking to them, and waving.

She loved pushing the cart!! My little shopper!

After we left the store and headed home, it dawned on me that it had been a while since I spent any one-on-one time with just Ginny and me. Grace's presence has meant no time for just Ginny. I decided that I need to rectify that and occasionally take her with me to the store, without Grace or her dad. Not all the time, because I require time on my own, but I think one-on-one time in some form at least once a month.

Driving home, I no longer heard Ginny chanting the word "shopping." Instead, I heard her singing her favorite songs, like the ABCs and Row Row. I heard a happy two-year-old who thought that she had the best time ever. Well worth taking that moment to grab her and take her with me. A moment I will cherish.