the happy shopper

generally i don't mind shopping. but i can't be hungry or tired b/c then i won't try stuff on  which leads to a pile of bags to return once at home. you know, blah blah blah.

but. my eldest, does she ever love shopping. i think amelia enjoys it, but love? probably not. early last week i met some lady-mom friends at a mall playground, the one we don't live around (important to the story here). i had planned to go into the children's place & find a bathing suit & jacket for adeline but then changed my mind once amelia became groucho marx & refused to walk (i had somehow neglected to bring a stroller that day & yea right--like i was going to pay a whole dollar to rent a stroller! stupid me). walking out of the playground adeline spotted the chilren's place store & raced inside.

folks, she refuses to go even step a toe into the polaris mall store. i have no clue why a different store is better...but it is apparently. i went with it, telling her first let's pick out a jacket. we walked over to the jacket section & she *gleefully* picked out a purple one. then i said she needed a bathing suit (i have been scoping them out for awhile but didn't want to wait too long like last year & make adeline wear a suit a few sizes too big). so anyway! adeline raced over to the bathing suits & starts to pick through them just like an adult. she would pick one up, make a few comments & then place it back. she actually picked out the one i had my eye on for her (maybe i gave a few hints that it was the best one). 

so i just went with the momentum...i told her she needed to pick out an easter dress. done--2 minutes, even with an accompanying sweater & headband. then i told her she needed a few spring & summer outfits & she was exuberant but very picky while putting together a few outfits. but i have never seen such *BRIGHT* outfits before...once they are all washed & such i must have her do a fashion show.... hmm. until then, just know that there is apparently one fashionista in the making. who came from my husband & i...seriously?

another crazy thing? ALL the clothes were from the big kids section...not the toddler/baby section! *gasp* i know we were buying not what fits her well now, but what will fit her this spring & into the summer (& hell, hopefully next year!) but still. my first baby is growing up. & she knows how to accessorize.

here are a few sneak peeks (sorry, couldn't figure out how to get the pics here instead of linking them):

bathing suit

sha-ZAMM! pants

matching sha-ZAMM! shirt (these are much brighter in person)

then we have one of the two sparkly-rhinestone shirts

i really don't think i've *ever* owned anything that i wore which sparkled. i love it, really i do, that she gets into fashion & sparkles & such. so cute. & on the last shirt, i had to talk her out of the bright yellow version. i was like: DUDE. you are going to have a really weird nickname that involves the sun or something along those lines. her response? laughing & then: mommy call me duuuuude! *sigh* then i picked the purple one up & gave her the look of terror. she loves purple also, so whatever.

i will wait & let her easter outfit be a surprise for everyone, but trust me, it's bright & cute (with a matching headband accessory!).

& what was amelia doing this entire time? well, she was glued to me until my arm & shoulder felt as though they were disconnecting from my body, held on only by my skin...so then i put her down, at which time she promptly ran over to a pile of folded clothes & pulled them all down onto the floor. so then i held her in my other arm until it started to dislocate as well. then she finally caught the attention of a worker who bribed her with stickers while adeline decided on her final outfit. so apparently amelia enjoys shopping but only when it's combined with a high level of destruction.

this will be us for years to come, shopping. but probably in a few years adeline will detest my opinion. but we will never just let her go, with our credit card. b/c she would probably accessorize our entire credit limit.