Shopping Up A Sweat

Tonight I attempted to go clothes shopping with my 13 month old in tow.  He wanted to walk and not be carried so I allowed him to roam around the store as I followed him and tried to look for clothes at the same time.  Ha!  That was a not so smart idea.  I barely got to see what size the clothes were let alone pick up any to try on.  Not only was I following my son around the store, but he was giving me a good workout also.  I was literally sweating, or as I like to call it, glowing.  The only time he stopped moving was if he was asking me for a cracker, or he saw a mirror.  He LOVES looking in the mirror.  It's almost like he sees an instant friend once he sees his reflection.  Needless to say, I didn't try anything on or make any purchases at that store.  

I then attempted to go to The Children's Place which was right next door to the store that we were "exercising" in.  I thought, it's a children's store, so it has to be kind of child-proof.  Nope.  My son found every pair of sunglasses and shoes he could get his hands on in the 30 seconds he had before I scooped him up and attempted to hold him for the remainder of our time in the store.  I was looking to see if they had sneakers for him, but much to my dismay, they did not have anything in his size.  I was kind of glad they didn't though.  I was able to leave the store quicker and get my gumby-like son back home to run around the house, take a bath, and head to bed.  In a matter of a week he has gone from the boy who listens when you say no, or make one of those annoying noises if he touches something you don't want him to touch (moms you know what I'm talking about), to the boy who gives you a devilish look and laughs at you if you tell him no.  I have to say, it's pretty funny and so hard not to laugh when he disobeys me and my husband.  But I want to give him his space to explore and not tell him no all the time.  It's easier to do in my own home because it is childproof (except for the dogs water bowl that he is constantly sticking his hands in these days). But when we go to other people's homes who do not have children, or they are younger or older than my son, it causes us to have to tell him no constantly.  We still take him everywhere, but we're trying to teach him to not touch everything he's not supposed to.  We say words like "yuck" if he goes towards the garbage can, but unfortunately it sounds a lot like duck, which is one of his favorite words to say these days.  We also say "hot" if he gets too close to the oven, but he doesn't really understand why that is a bad word since he THANKFULLY hasn't had to find that lesson out.

Each day we all learn something new and he's learning MANY new things everyday.  They say that a child's brain is 90% developed by the time they are 5 years old.  So as parents we have a lot to do to prepare our child for everything they need to know by then.  We are the people they turn to to learn about morals, values, language, emotions, love, and guidance.  I don't know about you, but I'm having a blast showing him all that I know. Not only is he learning so many new things, but I'm learning so much along the way too.  I can't wait to see what we'll both learn tomorrow!  I'm thinking that he may try to learn (from my husband and I) that the dogs water bowl is not a mini bathtub and he cannot splash around in it, and I might learn that taking my one year old son shopping in a stroller with toys is a better idea then letting him run amok all the clothes and customers in a store.  Although the customers and employees thoroughly enjoyed his visit.  

Do you have any stories of your child running around a store and giving you a good workout chasing them?  What kinds of things are you and your child learning about each and everyday?  I look forward to hearing from you.