My Little Hot Dog

Allison Clare loves going to all kinds of stores--so much to see! But she especially enjoys the "dresses store," which is what she calls Target because the main entrance is near women's clothing. She began recognizing Target long ago, first saying, "Walk hand!" to indicate that she remembered being able to walk by herself, holding our hands, and wanted to do so again. Then she started calling it the dresses store, and after we had once eaten a snack in the little cafe there, she bolted into it the next time and cried happily, "Snack snack snack!"

Today she, Gillian, and I went there to pick up a prescription for Gilly around lunchtime, so while we were waiting, we shared a kids' meal and some "tatin chips." The cashier praised AC's angelic behavior. To which I thought, thank goodness she caught us at a good moment--but AC truly was behaving well then, sitting in her little red high chair, sweetly eating her hot dog and apple slices and rejoicing over her milk. "Bunny on it!" she pointed out happily. "Brown one." Since she's not always well behaved in public, I cannot be proud of my parenting skills on that front; I can just enjoy the moments as they come. :)

It was a little past her usual naptime as we were driving home, so I told her she would go take her nap when we arrived. "No go up da stairs. No nap!" she stated decidedly (she used to say "up downstairs" but has recently adapted it to something between that and "up the stairs"). Three minutes later at our front door, however, I snapped this picture. I'm not sure why it moves me so much that she fell asleep clutching her milk bottle, worn out from the sheer pleasure of a half of a tiny Target hot dog.