Grandparenting 101 - Shopping, the Preliminary Expedition

It was too cold to do much besides go from one warm space to another, so the kids and I went pre-shopping for the baby while TBG snuggled with Thomas-the-Wonder-Dog on Cozy Rosie, in front of the game.  What game?  Who knows.  He was happy and so were we. 

We started at the No Returns All Sales Final Open the Package and BE SURE IT'S RIGHT outlet for Land of Nod, and moved on to Buy Buy Baby, which turns out to be Bed Bath and Beyond for kids.

There were some pretty cool ideas

and some fairly awful ones.

As you can tell from Little Cuter's grimace,

we agreed that this would put you off Thanksgiving forever.

 

Someone in marketing had serious attitude issues,

as evidenced by  

and this 

Demand all you want, kiddo.

Cry to your heart's content.

As I told your mother, long long ago,

I'm not the one embarrassed by your antics;

I'm not the one wailing at the top of my lungs.

 

Someone with an ironic sense of humor works there, too.

and, I suspect the same person as having a love of the pun. 

There were absurdities, 

like this faux facial hair, 

designed to attach to a pacifier, 

despite the WARNING: Choking Hazard label right there on the front.

 

Imagine having to explain the reasoning behind this as a baby gift.

Perhaps it was just the punster at work?

 

We have this photo with our own little man reading his own big book on his own big boy seat.

It was a trip down memory lane...

right up to and including the moment at the very end when we came upon this

with its computer and front headlights and side lights and a price tag that brought Daddooooo right there into the store with me. 

As he said to me, thirty-one years ago,

I said to my daughter last weekend:

This damn thing costs more than my first car.

 

As the other grandparental units within hearing distance smiled and nodded,

I wiped a tear or two. 

Daddooooo loved his Jenny and she loved him right back.

It was unequivocal, non-judgmental, genuine joy.

For that moment, I was feeling it again.

 

This baby stuff is really quite wonderful.