Painful Shopping

I needed to do some winter clothing shopping for Micah last week.  Since we got our first snow I knew I couldn’t put it off any longer. 

First up he needed a pair of shoes for winter.  So we picked up Calvin from preschool and headed to the closest store with a wide selection.  It’s a tiny little store with the walls are lined with shoes, floor to ceiling.  (Which was very appealing to our little destroyer who loves, loves, loves, taking everything and anything off of the shelf.)  Sigh. 

I kept him in the Ergo as long as possible, requested a few sizes in certain shoes I thought would surely be big enough and then unleashed the energy ball so we could try them on.  Let’s just say he wasn’t too happy when I didn’t let him explore the shoes, but rather made him try on shoes.  Oh the horror. 

He threw his biggest fit to date, on the floor screaming, to which I then was being reprimanded by the ladies who worked there because my child was on the dirty floor.  

He calmed down a bit, so it was at that point I tried to squeeze a few shoes on his feet, which initiated another fit.  All this time I have 4, FOUR ladies who work there staring me down with a nice critical glare.  Finally I said, “He hates getting dressed, it’s like this every single time, if you would help me it would be much easier.”  Then described the shoe I was wanting and Halleluiah they found a shoe with zippers on both sides of the foot and it fit his cubby little toes.   It fit and I knew I did not want to go through that again so decided it was worth the ridiculous price.

If that experience wasn’t bad enough I needed to buy him a snow suit.  Its required winter gear for children here, they must wear them when they go outside regardless if there is snow on the ground or not.  So we caught a bus and headed to a different store to buy a snow suit.   

Micah already has a snow suit and a coat but they are separates, which means putting two articles of clothing on him anytime we go outside.  Since none of you have ever dressed him, I’ll just sum it up with one word: Torturous.  He does not sit still.  Ever.  He fights getting dressed every single time.  So when I saw that snow suits weren’t too outrageously priced, we decided it was worth the money.  For our sanity this winter.

I always forget what is what in the European sizes, so I had to try them on him.  I rounded up several I liked in a few sizes and then the fun began.  I wanted to see how he walked in the snow suit and how  much growing room it had left, but he remembered where all the cool riding toys were so he bolted there every time his feet touched the ground.

 He wasn’t happy about having to return to the torture table.  (I was so thankful for the table they had near the changing room.  It saved the day.)  Finally we found the one after suit #4, so I redressed him in the winter wear we came in.  I had never been so excited to leave a store.  And yes mommy chocolate was required when we got home.

***On a more random note, if the poor little fella falls over he can’t quite figure out how to get back up in all that puffiness.  I’m sure he’ll learn soon, but I’m very thankful that it has slowed him down a bit.