Mommy-Daughter Date

I took Kyla on a "mommy-daughter date" today....a/k/a I felt brave and decided to take Kyla for a day of shopping in Sioux Falls.  :)  I hadn't taken a day to go shopping in a VERY long time, and I had some things that I really needed to get.  The day went great!  I found a next-to-new Children's Place winter coat for $10 at Once Upon a Child!  (Love that store!)  Then I went to Children's Place and found a matching hat.  Very cute.  I also found Kyla's Halloween costume...not to be revealed publicly until Oct 31!

Kyla and I had a lot of fun together.  I had to be a little creative to keep her entertained, but she really did well.  I bought her some stickers at Old Navy, and she had a great time putting them on her hands and face.

As we were walking along through the mall, Kyla all of a sudden started pointing and saying, "mamamama" which is Kyla talk for "I want that."  I didn't pay a lot of mind and kept on moving and went into a store.  She continued to say it and pointed backwards where we'd come from.  At that point I paid her more attention and realized she must have dropped something.  So out we went to go find whatever she'd dropped.  As I got nearer to where she'd started pointing, she suddenly pointed at what she wanted.  I realized it was a group of quarter candy machines in the center of the aisle.  I laughed when I realized she'd seen that and kept on pointing until I brought her all the way back to it.  So, for all her efforts, she received a quarter's worth of M&Ms. 

As lunch drew near, I thought about all the horrors of trying to feed a picky one-year old lunch in the mall.  Lightbulb!  I picked up Charley's and took it and Kyla to the Sanford kids' play area.  I got to eat lunch, and Kyla got to play.  Perfect combination!

Shortly after, I had one very tired little girl!  She cried for a little bit, but was soon zonked out.  We took away her pacifier a couple months ago, but now that she is no longer addicted, I let her have it on occasion when she really needs some comfort (or when I am just plain desperate!).  Apparently, she's forgotten how to use it...or found a new and better way?

I finished up my shopping, and we left the mall.  I just had one more quick stop before leaving town.  Can't beat a day like this one!