Day 39 - February 8

(Fair warning... wordy story ahead. I think it's funny, but it might be funnier if you hear it instead of reading it. But I had to write it down because it was definitely a story I want to remember!)

In case you wondered, as early as 2.5 years of age, a child can be honing their negotiating skills. That's something I learned today.

After Michaela's nap today, I had to run out to a couple of stores. This is out of the ordinary for us since the afternoons are usually spent playing in the living room with a movie on, or outside in the yard. But I needed some things for dinner, so we had to run out for a bit.

I let her know in advance (this morning actually) that we would be going to Kohl's and Target. She wanted to go to Target first, but I explained that we had groceries to get there, so we had to go to Kohl's first. Thankfully, she was good with that.

So as we pulled into the Kohl's parking lot (which is right across the street from Target, btw), she told me that she needed to go to Starbucks for a cake pop. She then proceeded to tell me that her belly reeeeeally was hurting for a cake pop. I told her that we had to do our Kohl's shopping first, and we could revisit the cake pop discussion when we headed to Target.

Not missing a beat on the timing of things, as we walked back to the car after finishing at Kohl's, she started with the belly hurting for a cake pop thing again. "Mommy, my belly is really hurting. I need a cake pop for it. A cake pop will make my belly fell better." As I loaded her into the car, I offered up the option of popcorn instead (I wanted popcorn. Plus I could get her in the cart and keep her entertained with popcorn!). But she stuck to her guns. She "needed" a cake pop.

As I put her into her car seat, she continued to ask about the cake pop. My answer was continuously a very non-committal, "we'll see," with my fear being that Starbucks wouldn't actually HAVE any cake pops since it was late-ish in the day by now. Almost buckled, and still trying to get a "yes" out of me, my dear, sweet toddler looked me straight in the eyes and earnestly said, "Mommy! You could get a cake pop, too!" as if offering me my OWN cake pop would miraculously mean the answer to her request would be in her favor.

Negotiating. At 2.5. I am scared of her teen years. Petrified.

With only one cake pop left in the case when we got to Starbucks (which is inside Target for those trying to figure out the connection), she nearly danced out of her clothes in impatience and worry that the girl in front of us in line might ask for the cake pop. As she reached up in an effort to will the cake pop into her hands and made a big show of NEEDING it (we discussed need vs want at this point), I silently prayed that the girl in front of us would NOT want the cake pop, and scanned the case to see what a suitable substitute might be. Thankfully, the story ends well. No one else wanted the cake pop, so Michaela got her wish (And I didn't get one.... since there was just that one left. Negotiations didn't even go in my favor!!). And then my toddler... my baby!... took her bagged cake pop off the counter and set herself up at a table (and even started to eat) while I waited for my tea.