Mallrats!

After having lived in Oxnard for a year now, I finally realized we live near an actual mall.  This whole time, I thought the only "mall-like" place around here were the Camarillo Outlets.  The hubby showed me where Pacific View Mall was located (it's in Ventura which is only a few exits away) and suggested that Zoe and I check it out one of these days.

So ... I figured today was a good day to go to the mall.  It always feels like such an adventure every time I try something new with Zoe.  Sure we've been to the Glendale Galleria or the Eagle Rock Plaza before, but this time was different since I was planning to just hang out there ... maybe grab a bite to eat ... and maybe find a place to play. Plus, we've gotten into such a routine lately of the "same 'ol stuff" that I really should be making more of an effort to try new things more often with her.  Besides, it's been getting easier taking her around to places now that I can put her in a shopping cart or have her walk around on her own.  I have to remind myself she's no longer a baby and that we can venture out into trying other things.

So today we walked around the mall and explored a lot of the shops. We even ate at the food court together =) .  I was actually craving Mediterranean food (and knew Zoe would also be a fan) but the food court at Pacific View was kind of on the sucky side.  We ended up just getting McDonald's (those darn commercials for Chicken McBites had finally gotten to me).  Zoe enjoyed the chicken pieces and of course the french fries =).  I have to admit it was kind of nice to be out of the house and eating out with her.  I've never done that before -- usually whenever we eat out, there's other people.  This was the first time it was just her and me.  She seemed to enjoy herself tremendously.  Not just because of the food, but she was having fun people watching and being in a new environment.

After lunch I took her to the small indoor playground at the mall.  It wasn't too crowded and Zoe had a lot of fun interacting (or trying to interact) with the kids.  She kept following them around and talking to them.   She would say stuff like "Dai dai jeh jeh jeh yeyeyeyeyeh!" and the kids would just look at her confused and run away.  She continued to do this to about 3-4 more kids and they all reacted to her in the same way.  She was persistent though and ended up turning this into a game of "chase".  She also started talking to all the parents and was smiling at everyone.  It was nice to see her being so friendly and outgoing (I hope these traits stay with her forever!).  I had the best time just watching her be her.

Hopefully we can have more of these mommy-and-me outings.  I really had a great time today knowing that she had a blast =) .

My adorable lunch date =)

Zoe enjoying herself at the playground