The phrase “like a kid in a candy store” finally has real meaning to me, although, in our case, it’s a candy AND toy store aptly named Giggles. After months of my eagerly anticipating the store’s opening, excited to take Olivia and let her explore all it had to offer, on opening day, my husband asks, “Olivia, do you want to go to a new toy store called Giggles?”

She answers exuberantly, “Yes, I want to do that!”

Never before has she visited a toy store, so she really has no reference point from which to derive her excitement, though I suppose it’s not hard to figure out that a toy store is just that – a store full of toys. I’m sure her imagination is able to fill in the blanks.

On the drive, she maintains her enthusiasm level, frequently exclaiming, “We’re going to Giggles! We’re almost there!”

For her first experience in a toy store, Giggles certainly does not disappoint.

“Here we are!” I announce, as we reach the storefront.

“Here we are!” Olivia repeats, mimicking my singsong tone.

I stand behind her as I pull open the door, allowing her to enter ahead of me. I expect her to dash inside, but, instead, she crosses the threshold very slowly, and I have to guide her first few steps. I can only assume that her eyes are busy darting around the store, taking in the sights, so she has to walk extra cautiously so as not to trip.

After a quick survey of her surroundings, she turns her gaze to a table of goodies just a few steps in front of us. She walks over to the table and picks up a foot-long alligator toy securely wrapped in plastic. Nearby, another alligator is submerged in a large tub of water, having expanded about triple the size of its packaged twin. Olivia gives me the plastic-wrapped reptile and says, “Want Mommy open this for me?”

Olivia is new to the shopping game (aside from the grocery store), so I have to explain the rules to her.

“Well, we can’t open it right now,” I say. “We have to buy it first and then take it home to open it.”

I think the notion of going home is enough to dissuade her from asking to open it again. Instead, she moves on to a bucket of colorful umbrellas. Soon she is holding five umbrellas at once. She offers one to me and asks, “Want Mommy to open it?”

“No, we can’t open it, but look up there. See the umbrella hanging from the ceiling? Is that the one you want?” I point to one that is decidedly girly, with pink flowers and a giant ladybug.

“Yes, I do!”

“Okay, let’s see.” I quickly study the colors and pattern of the canopy and note the color of the handle. I then retrieve the matching umbrella from the bucket and hand it to Olivia. “There you go. Now let’s go see what’s over here.”

I guide her along a walkway where she discovers baskets of assorted bouncy balls.

“Look at that smiley face, Mommy!” she says, holding up a bright yellow emoji-inspired ball. She examines a few of the different emoji expressions before moving on to an adjacent basket containing balls that make noise when they bounce. These are a big hit. (Until later, when I interfere with Olivia’s plan to disperse these balls all over the store. As I scramble to clean up her mess, she erupts into tears, crying, “I don’t want those balls back in the basket!” Luckily, this tantrum is short-lived. Phew!)

After meeting an adorable little pirate doll that holds “tooth treasure,” we round a corner to find a set of tools in the prettiest pastel shades of purple and green. Olivia takes to them right away. Having inherited her cousin’s workbench and tools, she is familiar with these items, but these are decidedly better – because they’re girly, of course!

“I need to hammer something,” she says purposefully, removing a hammer and bolt from the kit.

“Oh, okay,” I reply encouragingly, and I watch as she proceeds to hammer the floor.

Next, she spies a scooter parked teasingly nearby. This is not a sit-and-ride scooter; it’s the kind that you stand on – like a skateboard with handlebars.

“Oh, I want to ride the scooter,” she says.

“Honey, that’s a big kid scooter. You’re not quite ready to ride that yet.”

“I want to! I want to!” she begs excitedly.

I give in. Why not? “Okay, but Mommy has to help you.” I ready the scooter. “Hold on right here first and then step on.”

She follows my direction, and I guide her around a small area of the store for a quick ride. Surprisingly, she is not upset when the ride is over, but I quickly realize that this is only because another exciting toy has caught her eye: a doll stroller. She pushes the bright pink polka-dot doll stroller all around the store for a couple of minutes before returning to me and requesting my participation with the second stroller.

“I can push this one, and want Mommy push that one,” she directs me.

Of course, I obey. After a brief tandem stroll, we continue our Giggles exploration and find an iridescent, spiked ball that lights up when bounced. Olivia asks, “Want Mommy take off the tag?”

We then spend quite a bit of time playing with an indestructible tea set made of recycled plastic before discovering a round, multilevel display shelf featuring an assortment of soft, cuddly animals from which Olivia selects two deer.

“Look! A mama deer and a baby deer!” she says and then touches their noses together.

“Aww. Are they kissing?” I ask.

“Yes, they are,” she replies with a smile.

“That’s very sweet, Honey.”

Next we visit the craft room, with Olivia scribbling one of her Pollock-inspired pieces, and I suddenly realize that lunchtime is approaching and we have been in the store for nearly two hours. Time to make our final selections and head home.

I manage to wait in line and complete my purchase while Olivia plays within my view. I show her the bag and say, “Come on, Olivia. It’s time to go home and play with our new toys.”

The mystery toy bag piques her curiosity enough to enable me to get her out of the door calmly and willingly. I dangle the bag in front of her as though it is a carrot on a stick and she is my unwitting little mule. But as we approach the car, reality sets in and she woefully whines, “I want to go back to Giggles again.”

“We’ll go back another day,” I assure her. “But, right now, we have to go home and eat lunch and see Daddy.”

“No, I don’t want to eat lunch. I don’t want to get in my car seat.” She continues to whine as I adjust her straps and fasten her seat buckle.

“Do you want to see the new toy Mommy bought you?” I ask.

Instant silence. No more tears. She is grinning now. Never underestimate the power of distraction. 

Seated next to her, I reach into the Giggles bag and pull out a box of 3 wooden petit fours, each beautifully painted and adorned with a small, fruity embellishment. Her grin widens.

“I want those cupcakes!” Olivia shouts excitedly.

“Sure. You can hold one on the way home.” I open the box and take out a round “cupcake” with a tiny strawberry on top. I hand it to her and she pretends to take a bite.

“It’s very tasty,” she declares.

***

When we get home, after unboxing the other 2 petit fours, I unveil the day’s other purchase: a Jo Witek book titled In My Heart – A Book of Feelings. Olivia and I are both instant fans. Its clever explanations of the various emotions are an adorable and effective way to introduce these concepts to children. The book concludes with the narrator, a charming little girl, saying, “My heart can feel so many different feelings…How does your heart feel?”

As I read this aloud to Olivia, she answers, “Good.”

“Your heart feels good?” I ask.

“Yes,” she replies.

“I’m so glad your heart feels good.” I wrap my arms around her and give her a gentle squeeze.

***

Later, at bedtime, Olivia fondly recalls the events of the day.

“It was fun to go to Giggles,” she tells me.

“I know; it was,” I say. “We’ll go back another time.”

“Okay, we will do that,” she says.

***

As we greet each other the next morning, one of the first things Olivia says to me is, “It was fun to go to Giggles!”

“Yes, it was, wasn’t it?” I agree.

“We can go back to Giggles again.” She nods as she says this, seeking confirmation. She looks at me with an expectant grin, her eyes alit with excitement, like a kid in a candy store.

Well, how can I refuse?

“Okay,” I announce, “let’s go.”

“Okay! Let’s go to Giggles!”