Mommy and I are shopping buddies. We have been going on shopping trips together for as long as I can remember. Most of these trips lead us to the grocery store, but occasionally we’ll end up somewhere else buying things other than food.

Sometimes daddy comes too but his time with us is limited. Daddy is much more likely to join us on shopping trips to places that are not the grocery store. Sometimes when daddy is around we go to places I’ve never been before. Shopping trips with daddy are generally more exciting but also long and exhausting.

There have been times when daddy comes grocery shopping with us. This is usually the case when we need to buy a substantial amount of groceries. That happens because we ran out of a lot of stuff all at once, mommy and I missed a shopping trip for some reason, or because we have a dinner party coming up.

We need daddy for these trips because mommy and I can only buy as much as will fit in the basked underneath my stroller. Daddy comes when we need someone to push the shopping cart so that we can load it up with groceries. At least, that was the case until today.

Last week mommy wasn’t feeling well and we didn’t go out to the grocery store. I was expecting a daddy shopping trip this week so imagine my surprise when mommy began strapping me into my car seat after breakfast this morning. I couldn’t help but wonder where we were going.

I was even more surprised when we arrived at our usual grocery store and the surprises didn’t end there. Instead of getting my stroller out of the trunk, mommy simply picked me up and began to carry me inside. At first I thought that mommy simply forgot and I figured she would remember soon when she realized her hands were full of me.

The surprises kept coming. We went through the first set of doors as expected, but instead of going on into the store we stopped by the shopping carts. Mommy tossed my diaper bag into the first shopping cart and began digging around in the bag. I wondered what mommy was up to.

Suddenly mommy pulled out a large piece of padded cloth which I recognized as one of my play mats. With a flick of the wrist mommy lifted a flap which revealed two holes right in the middle of the circular play mat. Were those always there? I had never noticed.

Next mommy flipped open the basket part of the shopping cart and placed the play mat right in there. I wanted to remind mommy that’s where the bread and eggs always go but I couldn’t remember the words. It wouldn’t have mattered anyway because the next step involved putting my feet through the holes of the mat and sitting me down in the shopping cart basket! Can you imagine such a thing?

So there I was, sitting in the shopping cart with my feet dangling free, wondering what in the world mommy was up to. I didn’t have much time to ponder this as mommy quickly threaded the shopping cart’s safety harness though the play mat and around my waist. As I began to realize that I was now strapped in, mommy started pushing the cart and away we went.

It was exciting to be in motion while seeing the world from this higher vantage point. I couldn’t help but giggle. It was nothing like being in my stroller. I could see better and I could look all around me. The grocery store seemed so much bigger from this angle.

First we headed for the produce section. We went around and mommy pointed out different fruits and vegetables for me. Some I am very familiar with but some I’ve never seen or heard of before. I helped mommy pick out pears as I am a bit of a pear expert.

Next we headed for the dairy sections which is full of large refrigerators with glass doors. We bought milk, yogurt, and cheese. I helped pick the cheese. I decided on mozzarella. Before leaving this section of the store, we picked up some eggs in the last refrigerator.

Our next stop was in the meat section where we bought chicken breast and pork chops. Mommy claims I’ve had both of these things before but I don’t remember ever seeing anything like that on my plate. I tried to give the pork chops a poke but mommy wouldn’t let me touch them.

A little further on is the deli counter where we made our next stop. The ladies there were very friendly. I chatted with them for a bit while mommy got my snack out of the diaper bag. I had my favourite fruit snack that I can squeeze out of the pouch all by myself. I ate most of it while we waited for our deli meats to get sliced.

Our grocery store bakes fresh bread on site and that’s the section we headed for next. There was a man behind this counter and he talked to me while mommy picked which bread to buy. I gave him a big smile as I finished my snack. While we waited for our bread to be sliced, mommy picked up a piece of bread from the sample basket. Mommy offered me a small chunk which I took willingly but I quickly discovered that I didn’t like it.

Next we took a quick stroll through the baked goods and picked up a box of cookies. This is when I realized that I was still hungry. Mommy pulled out the emergency reserves of baby food that we keep in my diaper bag. It was a fruit and vegetable puree in another squeeze pouch. I happily fed myself as mommy wheeled us towards the freezer section.

Mommy said there was a good sale on frozen organic vegetables and that it was a great time to stock up. While mommy was busy searching for peas in the freezer, I decided to do a little experiment with my squeeze pouch. I flipped it upside down and squeezed. Mommy turned back just in time to watch the goo trickle down the front of the play mat. Fun!

Mommy grabbed the squeeze pouch and turned it right side up again. There was still plenty left inside so I ate the rest while mommy attempted to wipe the play mat. It ended up looking clean but feeling rather sticky. It wasn’t a big deal as we were almost done. We picked up a box of cereal and a package of basil and we found ourselves at the checkout counter.

The good thing about shopping during the day is that you don’t have to wait in line. As soon as we go there mommy started piling our groceries on the counter while I played with the package of basil we had picked up. The groceries were bagged, mommy paid the bill, and we left.

I rode in the shopping cart like a big girl all the way to the car. I got a really good look at the parking lot and all the cars there. By the time I was back in my car seat, I was starting to feel rather tired. Once we got home I was ready for a nice nap. Being a big girl is exhausting.