"Can I have some money?"

Yes, Emily knows what that means.

Today we learned 3 things. The first thing is that she knows she can go to the store, pick out something, ask for money, go to the cash register, give the cashier her item and her money, put the change in her pocket and be ready to go.

Greeaaat!

She's always been a shopper. I have no idea where she gets that from. I hate to shop. Rick hates to shop even more. Ever since she could talk... we'd go to a store, and she learned to say "another one?" and now it's "can we go to another store please?" I suppose as much as I hate it, it's partly my fault. Ever since she was born we'd go to the "coffee store" (Barnes and Noble) on as many Saturdays as we could. She learned the routine: Busia would come over, we'd go to the coffee store, and then we'd go to Meijer, or Kohl's, or Babies-R-Us, or Target... or gosh forbid all of the above and then some!! She loves it. I know I never loved it when I was little. I'm very sure I was a handful, and never ever ever never wanted to go to another store!!!!

But, my little girl likes to shop. Today, at the coffee store, I picked up a few Easter/spring books. (OK, so I don't like to "shop", but I like to go to the store and find exactly what I'm looking for.) Emily asked to get Winnie the Pooh's Easter Bear. OK. I told her I had to pay for it. "Can I have some money?" she asked. She walked up to the cashier, handed her the book, the money and waited for her change.... which promptly went in her pocket. "Can we put the change in your bank when we get home?" I asked. "No. It's mine." Huh.

"Can we go to another store please?" Sure.... Zachary needs a new pair of shoes.

So Babies-R-Us was next. We found Zachary 2 pair of shoes and an Easter outfit. Emily found a sun hat. We continued to look on the way back to the register. Emily was carrying (dragging) Busia's purse. Hmmm... what's that wadded up thing in her purse? Here's where we learned thing #2.... Emily wadded up and stuffed her sun hat in Busia's purse. Uh-Oh. Good thing we hadn't made it out of the store.

Oh, and then we had to go potty... (she likes to go at every store we could possibly go at... it is very frustrating for those of us phobic of public restrooms!!) Anyway, here's where we learned thing #3. It was at the coffee store's restroom actually, (because we also had to go potty there.) So thing #3 is... our voices echo in those kinds of bathrooms!! Busia and Emily enjoyed the echoes of Nick Knack Paddy Whack (is that right??) at the coffee store, and Emily and I enjoyed the enchoes of Winnie the Pooh at Babies-R-Us. I'm sure the ladies in the other stalls enjoyed our echoes also.

Oh... I suppose Emily learned 4 things... she can also say "Can I have some money?" to Busia, which she did to pay for the sun hat, (hopefully the klepto thing will pass.)

Here's Emily w/ her first self-purchased loot: