Why Does Everything With a Toddler Take Soooo Long?!

What used to take 10 minutes now takes 20 and what use to take a half hour takes an hour. I've learned to allot for at least double the amount of time for any one activity when traveling with a toddler. Especially one that wants to walk everywhere!

Yesterday morning we went on a family outing (me, hubby and baby) - a walk to Starbucks, which is less than two short blocks away. Josh and I used to grab coffee in 10 min max, including the walk there and back. But yesterday it was a full-on morning activity. Reese walked and had to wave to everyone, needed to pet every dog that would let her and then needed to sit on every stair step she saw. I had to constantly remind myself that everything is still all so new to her. All I wanted was my coffee.  

Same with grocery shopping. It takes me double the time is used to. We shop at Trader Joe's and they have these toddler-sized shopping carts for "customers in training." Super cute! A couple of weeks ago I finally let her drive her own cart and she loved it. The second time we went there was no way she'd let me put her in my cart, she wanted to push her own, which of course meant a really long grocery trip sprinkled with taking some of the items she put in her cart. Oye vay.

But look at how much fun she has: 

I used to try to rush through my errands working very hard to convince Reese that we need to hurry but I've discovered if I let her be involved in what ever I'm doing and just let her explore, the overall experience is much more pleasant for both of us. 

Instead of being overly frustrated I allow myself extra time (when possible) to do things. But come on, I don't always have extra time and it's tough. I want to say things like, "Keep up," "Just walk a little faster," or "Do you really need to sit down now?!" Of course I don't. I wish I had a fast forward button to help her along sometimes. That would be cool!