Dedicated Shopper

After going out to lunch after church we went to Sears to pick up some things. We made a foray to the toy section, which was probably a mistake. Ava saw some Dora the Explorer puzzles that she HAD to have. She picked up two boxes of the same exact puzzle and started carrying them around. She perused the next aisle and saw a doll that grabbed her interest. She was willing to part with one of her identical puzzles as long as she could fill her empty hand with the doll. This doll didn't last for long as she saw a larger Dora doll. The nondescript doll was tossed to the side like a losing lottery ticket. At this point I told Doni and Ava that I would be down in the electronics section checking out their video games. Five minutes later I saw Doni and heard Ava coming. I say "heard" because Ava had discarded everything else and was dragging down the main aisle of the store a box that was bigger than her. Doni and I laughed as Ava glanced up at us, as if to say, "What are you looking at? I'm just shopping!"

Minutes later her tone changed dramatically as I pried the box from her cold fingers so we could head for the checkout. She fought me all the way from the back of the store to the front of the store. There was writhing, crying, and screaming, and Ava wasn't too happy either! When we got to the checkout I had to put Ava down so I could get my wallet out of my pocket. No sooner did her feet hit the floor than she started running down the aisle to where we had left the box. Doni was still looking over the racks, so I got her attention and she took off after Ava.

Ava cried all the way to the car. She cried and kicked at me as I buckled her in her car seat. She cried all the way home. She cried as I took her upstairs. She cried as I laid her in her crib. She cried as I shut her door. Five minutes later..... she stopped crying. Think she was tired?