Our BIG outing!

Today, we went to the mall. We were dying to get out somewhere besides the grocery store. We thought that Rory would love the indoor playground- especially on a cold day like today. We thought the stores would interest him, too. Not surprisingly, we were dead wrong on both counts.

We went to the Disney store... we thought he would like seeing things he would recognize like the 'machine' from CARS or Quincy from 'Little Einsteins'. He did love it and would find something he liked... like the Wall-e robot.... and wrap his arms around it, but we were steadfast in not buying one thing from the store. We just put it back on the shelf. He really liked all the clothes there, too. He always shared clothes with all the kids at the Creche, but now he knows that his clothes are HIS clothes, and that is a whole new idea to him. He loves clothes. How much do you wanna bet that it won't be the same at Christmas when he opens up a 'present' of socks??? We tried to coax Rory onto the playground, but he wasn't too interested, he just turned and ran back out. What did he love?? The floor at the mall. He loves anywhere where the tiles consist of alternating colors. At the mall, he hit the jackpot. At the Disney store, he loved the big Mickey on the ground right as you walk in. Also, big hits at the mall included: the 'penny rides' (that actually cost 75 cents). He loved the 'hot dog truck' and the jet ski. We had to coax him to get on the horse, but he ate it up once he was on. Brandon made a good point- maybe he thought the horse was going to take off. Totally possible! I didn't even think of that.

HOWEVER, by far, the biggest hits were #1)the penny donation container that you drop the pennies in and it spins until it drops in. I think we must have dropped $4.00 worth of pennies just on that. And #2, the pay telephone. He eyeballed that and made a b-line for it. He kept picking it up and listening to the dial tone. They have a 'phone' at the library. When you pick up the receiver, it's an INDIANA PACER reading a popular children's book. I think he was expecting that but was just as happy with it anyway. He was amazing at the mall. At the penny rides, we said "2 more rides" then "one more ride" then "okay we are finished". He went back to honk the horn on something and then said "I am finished". As long as we give him a 'countdown', he does so well.

Oh, AND, first ice-cream was today!!!! Maggie Moo's vanilla with sprinkles -- he loved it, but didn't really have a reaction. I think the sprinkles, for him, were the best part. I mean, isn't that true for everyone?????