Santa Will Bring it....in just 10 short months!

I know, I know. More talk about Allie. She is just way too cute to resist. I sometimes find myself just thinking about her and what a sweetie she is.

Lauren and I took her to Target early this week (big shock) just to kick around and do a little shopping. We didn't need anything in particular, but it was just an opportunity to hang out for a while.

When we arrive at Target, Allie inevitably decides that she cannot leave my side. Nor can she let Lauren and Caroline out of her sight. She just loves being with everybody so much that it really is difficult for her to decide which of us to join in the event that we have to split up to find separate things. If Lauren heads one way and I set out in the opposite direction, Allie keeps pleading, "Come on. Come on, Auntie." Eventually, I have to abandon my plans to go in the opposite direction because it would just be way too traumatic for the poor little soul to have to decide which of us she wants to accompany.

Normally, though, if pressed, she'll decide to come with me. I think this is just for a change of scenery. She sees me less frequently than she sees Lauren, so she soaks up all the Auntie time she can when I'm around.

It could also have something to do with the fact that she knows I'll buy her something.

Actually, though, Allie isn't like that. She's just really sweet and I think she would rather spend time with people than have new toys or whatever.

That said, I did buy her some princess story anthology. It was a lovely, hard covered book with all the Disney stories about princesses. It was surprisingly marked only 7.99. When I brought it to the register, it rang up at around 20 bucks. I told the woman I would not take it for that price. I really didn't even care, but I mentioned to the cashier that she might want to have somebody in books check it out; there were, after all, about ten of the same books mismarked on the shelf. She revealed that Target has a policy that if the price discrepancy is less than 20 dollars, the cashier can just change it. So, I bought Allie the book and she was very happy. But even when she thought I might not buy it, she didn't even care.




The cutest thing ever, though, involves Allie's totally calm acceptance of the fact that she has to leave most of the things she wants in Target and can't take them home. I take the wimpy approach and allow her to stick M&Ms and chips into the carriage only to remove them later when she's not looking. She forgets before we get to the register.

Lauren, on the other hand, is very straight-up with her and just tells her that she can't have everything she wants. And she just smiles, puts the desired item back on the shelf, and moves onto the next item.

Now she is into this thing where she'll go to a shelf, pick something up and ask, "Auntie, do you like chips?" When I tell her that indeed, I do like chips, she suggets, as if to make my life more pleasant, "We bring chips home?" Again, the purchase of the chips is presented as an act that will dramatically improve the quality of MY life.

I was a little worried that she would get upset if I told her no, but I was only carrying a little handbasket and I didn't have the room to carry around the bag of chips (even on a temporary basis), so I suggested that the chips might stay in Target. To this Allie replied, "I ask Santa to bring them???" I assured her that this was a "great idea!" She smiled triumphantly, as if pleased with her own clever idea and simply walked away from the chips.

Lauren, unphased by the whole exchange, explained that Allie has been doing this ever since Christmas, this being the first time she really understood the concept of Santa. I just think this is so damn cute! She completely accepts that Santa will bring her the chips or the dolls or the M&Ms and never insists that she wants it now. She never demands to have it now. She doesn't cry. She doesn't have a tantrum. She just smiles happily at the thought of Santa coming to bring her those Easter M&Ms and enjoys the rest of the shopping spree in Target.

Man, this is just one adorable, sweet, good natured kid. I don't have children, but if I do, I sure hope they're just like my little Allie Cat!