Grocery Shopping!

I remember when Alexis was 6 months old, I could put her in the cart and she'd be happy just kicking her legs and looking around at everything. I could spend hours at the grocery store and she'd never cry or make a sound. I remember saying "why do moms complain so much about taking their kids to the store? It's easy!" Ha! First time mama thinking I knew everything...boy was I wrong.

Fast forward a year later to when she was around 18 months old and it was a completely different story. I dreaded taking her to the grocery store, it was always a  nightmare. She was old enough to not want to sit in the cart but not old enough to walk around the store without getting into everything. I remember we were standing in line to check out when she threw a massive fit. It was one ginormous meltdown. She was done. I remember a mother standing behind me in line saying comments under her breath that were loud enough for me to hear "my child will never act like that" "get her under control!" "what a brat!" As I looked at this mother I saw her 6 month old baby sitting in the cart kicking her legs and smiling at everyone (just like my Alexis did) and I saw myself a year prior!

It took time and patience but we are at a point now where I can take her to the store and spend hours and not have any meltdowns. It's wonderful! She loves helping me get things off the shelf, she loves carrying around my list being "mommy's big helper!" and she really REALLY loves driving these car carts if we're lucky enough to snag one up!

So now when I see another mama with a child who is having a meltdown in the grocery store I offer her a big smile and let her cut in front of me in line. I hope someday those moms will return the favor to another mom with a toddler having a meltdown.