Together time

The prize
Plain pretzel

hmmm...let's try to dip it

and bite it again

and soak up every last drop of the glaze with your finger before you can go back to shopping.

Ella and I went shopping last weekend for her back-to-school gear (now accepting donations). She's not quite into shopping yet but was a willing participant. We went to Justice, Target, the Disney store, and BBW. Her favorite store was probably BBW where I let her smell every single thing she wanted--an infrequent luxury for a girl with a pesky little brother--but her single most favorite purchase was the notebook in the top picture. Long time blog readers may remember this post where I documented Ella's love/obsession for writing in a Dora notebook. She has since filled that notebook (and yes, mother, I have stolen it and put it away for her when she gets older you don't need to remind or nag me) and needed a new one. I'm not sure what she liked more...the fact that it had a giant E on it or the fact that it came with not 1, not 2, but 3 glitter pens attached. Even thought it wasn't on the list (or in the budget--see also plea for donations), it was purchased.

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She also had a great time eating lunch with my friend, Jeanne (aka Natalie's Mom) and eating a pretzel from Auntie Anne's. For the record, she likes the cinnamon sugar ones with the glaze dipping sauce. She originally wanted an ice cream cone and I got the pretzel. She had one bite and instantly wanted to trade. I was ok for the trade because I was wearing a low cut shirt and the cinnamon sugar kept going into regions that were unpleasant for me.