To the mall!

At Alice's parent-teacher conference on Monday the only complaint her teachers had was that she tended to run inside and that she didn't have a hat and mittens for playing outside. She outgrew the ones from last year and I hadn't gotten her new ones yet.  We'd been sending her in warm jackets since it's still been fairly warm during the day. But, as the teachers emphasized, the playground is cold because of the sand and shade.  And they pointed out that Alice had a runny nose, so that was the evidence that her attire was inadequate.

The temperatures were forecast to drop this week, so I heeded their advice and that very afternoon I took Alice to the mall to get a hat and mittens. I'd already bought her a warm winter coat for $9 at the consignment store, so I had her wear it in order to find matching mittens and hats. 

It's so fun to be able to talk to Alice and have her understand. I told her we were going to the mall to get hats and mittens. For the short drive there, she kept telling herself, "We're going to the mall not the grocery store!" 

At the mall, Alice was interested in the Christmas trees. I managed to keep her fairly focused in order to get to the Children's Place store. Once inside I hobbled her by having her try on a pair of shiny boots that were tied together. I'm a sucker for the cute kids hats, so I got her two matching sets: one with kitty cats and one with owls. I figure she'll end up losing a mitten or hat this winter anyway, so it's best to be prepared. Did I mention I'm a sucker for the cute hats and mittens?

I thought we'd head right back home but Alice wanted to sit and watch "Christmas Claus" and she also wanted to see the train. Our mall has a cute little children's train that goes around one end of the mall. I hadn't planned on letting Alice ride it, but it turns out I'm also a sucker for cute little girls asking quite politely (and repeatedly) to "ride the caboose."  I think had she only asked to ride the train I would have succeeded in saying no, since we ride a much better children's train at Pullen park for half the price. But something about the word caboose in a little voice is quite persuasive. I also rationalized that she has a pretty short window of time in her life to get such joy from such a lame ride and that you can't put off things like this.  She was indeed quite happy to sit in the caboose, and was even happier when the conductor gave her a lollipop.  I told her she couldn't eat it until we got home, and I offered to put it in the bag. She was intent on holding onto it, but she did an impressive job coping with her delayed gratification. 

Every day since she has said something along the lines of "I'm sick. I need to go to the mall, ride the train, and get candy!"  I'm not sure what being sick has to do with it, unless she is remembering my telling Zac about her teachers saying she needed a hat because she was sick and that we'd go to the mall to get one.