Coffee, Concerts, and Consignment Shops

Thesha's maternity leave is coming to an end next week, so we made a special effort yesterday to go to our favorite little town for a girl's afternoon out. We did major window shopping and then stopped for a yummy treat at the coffee/art shop.

At the coffee shop we all started off in our own chairs, but instead of sitting, The Smudge was more comfy standing in hers! Sheesh. That kept mommy and I on our toes watching that she didn't take a nose dive over the back. It wasn't the most relaxing cup of coffee I ever had I must say.

The stained glass panels that you see behind The Smudge were priced at $240 each, and wouldn't you know that they interested The Smudge greatly. She kept reaching for them, and giving mommy and I fits. We really didn't want to buy a broken piece of stained glass that day. So we moved chairs and tables around to give us a safe distance between little fingers and pricey art pieces.

Now that the stained glass was out of reach, The Smudge set her her mind to considering her next move. She discovered that there was a nice echo in the place, so she started to test her vocal range and our ear drums. What a hoot. Thank goodness the place was almost empty, and the staff were very nice and understanding about the concert Smudge was giving us all.
Thesha and I thought we had better try to quiet her down a bit though, so Smudge and I played a few games of Pat-a-cake. But the novelty of that soon wore off.
Then is was Mommy's turn to hem the wee one in and try to quiet her down with some juice and lemon loaf. That didn't amuse her for long either.

So we set off for a spot where The Smudge could wiggle, stretch and "sing" as loud as she wanted to, and not bother a soul - the local children's consignment shop owned by Thesha's friend. Smudge played some games, read some books, pulled every toy out of the toy box and then made friends with the cute little girl in the mirror.
Soon it was time to head home, so Smudge decided to give her little friend a kiss goodbye.

Of course Grandma had to buy Smudgy a new outfit at the consignment store, and we had a fashion show for Grandpa when we got home. The Smudge was way past her nap-time in this picture though and wasn't into the fashion show thing at all.

I think I need a nap Grandma. Coffee with the girls is fine, but a baby can't go without her nap.
I know what you mean Smudge. Grandma needs a nap too. Let's go have one together.