A kid in a candy store

I was scared to back to "SOCO" as they call it, since the break in. But I couldn't let fear keep me from the cute avenue of photo backdrops forever, so I brazened up and went again.

Lil' J was dolled out in MudPie and I had everything packed in one bag I planned to keep on me the entire time. Luckily, I found  parking spot right in front of the store we'd be going in.--The world famous (or so they say) Big Top Candy Shop.

We perused the store for a bit, scoping out spots to take photographs. Lil' J of course eying the shiny candy as we walked though. To my knowledge she hasn't had much--If any candy. Oh wait, she has had a bit of a sucker before. But other than that, she doesn't eat the stuff yet. But I had a vision of photographing her with a big rainbow sucker, and a big stick of pink cotton candy. They had bags of cotton candy but no sticks! I didn't realize the no-stick part until after I bought the bag. Big BOOO!

Mudpie Dress from BNB Boutique; Matching Shoes by Robeez via Consignment

Sadly, they were out of root beer too, and it didn't feel right to let my one-year-old have a sip of my Dr. Pepper, so we got a vanilla ice cream float.

I plopped her on the stool next to me, and with my camera strapped around my neck, snapped away while we enjoyed our sweet snack.

She'd smile at me, and the people waiving at her through the window as they passed the store. I felt like I was just hanging out with one of my girlfriends. But with less verbal communication.

When we finished our ice cream I let her suck the lollipop from the outside of the wrapper, but she still managed to bite a little bit of the plastic off and get the sweet goodness out. She dropped it a few times and I thanked my lucky stars for not opening the thing. Not only would it probably had who knows what stuck to it (and she's already had her fair share of grossness in her mouth), but the wrapper was keeping all of the crumbled pieces together. So it still looked like a solid sucker.

We looked at the chocolates, and the candy dishes. The jelly beans and the taffy. She wanted to get down and scoot around herself, and she screamed and laughed in excitement.

Afterward we took a few photos outside a barber shop which looked like a step back in time. Even the people coming out had hair cuts from the 50s. I kid you not, one guy walked out looking like John Travolta in Greece with his black shirt, tight jeans and hair slicked back. He even had his little comb to tighten up his do! I should have taken a picture!

We went home and crashed on the couch for a nice long nap from our sugar high. I love this girl. Every day watching her learn and grow I feel like she felt as a kid in the candy store.

**I bought the dress Lil' J is wearing from one of my favorite Boutiques: BNB Boutique. They had a Facebook contest last week. I promised if we won, to split my winnings with a blog reader, but we came in 3rd, winning the $25 prize to BNB Boutique, so instead of splitting it I've decided I'll give the full prize to one of you sweet readers. 

Thanks so much for reading and commenting on my blog! Your words mean more than you know! Someone who comments on this post before next Monday the 14th will win the prize! If you're a subscriber of mine in some shape or form you can leave (one) extra comment for an extra entry. I'll announce the winner on my FB Page before emailing them. Good luck and thank you!**
PS: PLEASE make sure you have an email address I can find so I can contact you if you win! I have had to skip numerous winners in the past who had private profiles and left no email address.