This past Saturday, we got Emma a big girl car seat. Yes you
heard me, A. BIG. GIRL. CAR. SEAT. Wow! On the way to the store my husband and
I commented that the last time we went to pick out a car seat was when Emma
wasn’t even born and here we were, going to pick out a car seat with our 8
month old daughter! Crazy I know!
When we had made the big car seat decision in the beginning,
we opted for an infant car seat so we could carry her without having to take
her in and out of the seat. It was also part of a larger travel system so all
you had to do was snap the car seat in the stroller and go. I cannot tell you
how many times this arrangement was awesomely awesome. Any time she fell asleep
in the car I could take her inside without disturbing her. Any time I needed to
run to the store quickly, just click, click and we were off. I hadn’t given
much thought to the down side of this arrangement, being that we would need to
shell out cash for a car seat down the road. (The first one was an amazing baby
shower present from Nana so this was technically our first car seat purchase.)
At this point I am going to pretty much say we found a great
convertible car seat that goes up to 70lbs forward facing and we are very
pleased with it. The real reason for this post is that going on this trip
together as a family to get this car seat was the most fun I have had on a
family outing in a long time.
We ended up going to a big Babies R Us in our area. Emma
loves to people watch and pretty much visually take in anything she can so she
was over the moon to be out shopping with mommy and daddy. That was my excitement,
being out on a Saturday with my husband. My husband usually gets one Saturday
off work a month and I look forward to that time we get together as a family.
It’s tough running errands by myself every Saturday after a full week of work,
cooking, cleaning etc.
Just a simple
trip to get a car seat, to have my husband’s opinion, to walk down the aisles
together, it was a magical moment. I know it sounds corny but we both LOVE
shopping for baby stuff. We are like little kids in a candy store running from
item to item marveling at the somewhat useful functionality of each
“masterfully crafted” object. We started out looking at
car seats but that did not stop us from making a complete 360 lap around the
store. We went through the bibs, sippy cups, baby food, baby shoe section, and
finally the clothing. We spent almost two hours in the store! (a good part of
which was taking our time to carefully inspect each car seat option.) We
raced down isles with Emma until she squealed with glee. We stopped and waved
at the other families. I was surprised to see probably 10 or so other families
there enjoying their Saturday together. It was almost like time stood still for
us.
It was love. It was the love of a family sharing time
together. Not being rushed by work obligations or exhaustion, not worrying
about naps or deadlines. It was just us. And I loved it.
Tell me about your fun and crazy family outings!
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