Umm..excuse me?

     A few days ago, Gracie and I were at the grocery store. Gracie loves shopping. She sits in the cart, holds on tight and flirts, coos and waves at everyone . She doesn't squirm or fuss. She doesn't attempt to fling herself out of the seat or wiggle everywhere. She sits still and happy, sometimes secured by the little strap, sometimes not. And I am always right in front of her, most often with my hand somewhere on her.
But, I digress.
            I was picking out bananas, trying to find the perfect bunch that would entice Grace to eat something more than popsicles. One hand on the cart, Grace in my peripheral vision as always. All of the sudden, I hear from behind me "Excuse me!" and feel a strangers hand on my shoulder. I turn around too see an elderly lady literally scowling at me. I must have looked extremely confused, because she launched into an immediate explanation of her sour expression. "I can not believe you would put a baby that young in the cart. She is far too little to sit up in there like that and you are risking a very serious injury. It is irresponsible  to put such a young and small baby in a grocery cart".
 Umm..what?
I gave the woman a sickly sweet smile and replied "She's actually 13 months old and I've got a pretty close eye on her, but thank you for your concern."
 The woman's face showed only a hint of embarrassment as she said "Oh..well...she is certainly going to be small, isn't she? I thought she was only about 6 months" Her tone was still disapproving, like perhaps I was starving my child, dwarfing her on purpose. Grace then threw her pacifier in her general direction and laughed, effectively ending our conversation.
          Now, I have heard a lot of ridiculous, completely unsolicited things as a young mother- particularly as a young mother who didn't run to the altar the second she discovered she was expecting. Things such as "well you sure did everything backwards, didn't you?" and "Well, at least you weren't 18 when you had her".  Seriously. But in what universe do you live in where how I chose to contain my child at the grocery store is ANY of your business? If she was putting herself in danger, if I wasn't paying attention...maybe you have a case for yourself. But when my happy girl is sitting contently, STRAPPED IN TO THE CART watching me pick out bananas- I think I've got things under control. Do you offer your opinion to people outside smoking cigarettes, about how unsafe that is? What about the people with carts full of junk food..do you warn about the dangers of obesity? Somehow, I don't think so.

On a happy note...

        Dear GBaby,
               Here are somethings you love doing at 13 months:

• Blowing kisses. You haven't quite figured out that your hand is supposed to leave your mouth, but the end result is pretty cute. 

• Showing us where your head and nose are. Sometimes this translates into a booger-seeking, nose-picking mission...which I don't particularly appreciate, but your Dad & Mimi think it's pretty funny.           

• "Tickling". It generally ends up more painful than tickle-y, but Daddy & I giggle appropriately all the same. 

• Saying "Shhhhh". Daddy enjoys invoking this skill when I am talking about something important or asking him to do something. 

• Signing "more" and "please". This is so gosh darn adorable that it normally gets you exactly what you want, even if you've already eaten your weight in cheerios. I think you've already figured this out. Shoot. 

• Cruising everywhere. You can now get from the kitchen into our bedroom. If Daddy pretends to chase you, you can move at warp speed to get away. Sometimes you get distracted checking out something cool and stand on your own...but once you realize this, you swan-dive for the nearest stationary object. Seeing as you recently opened a cabinet door and sat inside, I'm in no rush for you to be any more mobile...but it's coming.

• Showing off your two new bottom chompers. Finally, you have teeth! I can cancel that baby denture order that I was sure was going to be necessary. 

• Snuggling. In the morning, Daddy normally gets you from your crib and lays you in bed with me. You lay your head on my chest and say good morning, and in Gracie-speak you chronicle your dreams for me. This is by far the best part of my day & a memory I know I will find myself returning to when you are rolling your eyes at me at age 16.  

                                                    You are the sweetest baby girl.
You are learning new things every day  & you are expanding our world by association. We're bursting with love and laughter and wonder- all thanks to you.
                                          Love you to the moon & back,
                                                                     Mama.