Today we walked up to the grocery store. We started with the stroller, which 1/2 a block in, Mary decided she didn't want to use, so Charlie ran back to the house for the backpack. Mary was happy in that until we got into the store, where she started to fuss a little about getting down. I let her walk and she had fun pushing the cart around. When I dared to help keep her from slamming into a shelf, she freaked out. She lay on the ground, crying, and screaming. I tried picking her up - she did the "turn to jello" move. I put her down, she threw herself back and screamed. I quickly tried to finish up with Mary in my arms, while other shoppers alternately gave me looks of sympathy and annoyance. We walked all the way home with her screaming, only to have her stop a few hundred feet from the house. That was fun.
Other ways to avoid a meltdown would include not daring to open any kind of singe serve food for her - Grandpa can attest to that. He was watching Mary a couple of weeks ago when he offered her a fruit leather. She indicated that she wanted it and he quickly unwrapped it and handed it to her - she promptly threw a fit. I've learned my lesson with string cheese. I open it , and then pull the plastic back up, so it
looks like it's still closed. Then
Mary opens it herself.
And the poor boys - if they do something offensive, like bring her to me for a diaper change, and she doesn't want to go, she tries to take a bite out of their shoulders. It's a good thing we love her!
Here she is in the outfit Charlie picked out before we headed out on our notorious walk ~
