I did the unthinkable!

Okay, so I don't remember when, but a very long time ago I know I made the comment out loud that I would never put my child on one of those leash/harness things! Problem is that I formulated this opinion before I had met my 2 year old son Greyson. This turning 2 thing has brought on a whole new demand for independence which also includes not wanting to ride in the shopping cart anymore, but walk "next" to mommy while we shop. Needless to say I spend more time worrying about where he is or running over him with the cart than what I went in the store for. While we were out one day I noticed a little boy with this cute puppy dog backpack on while he was running around one of those play areas at the mall. As they got ready to leave she pulled out this leash and hooked it to the backpack and off they went. At first I wanted to cringe, but then a small part of me thought that it wasn't such a bad idea. The child was happy because he was getting to walk by himself so to speak and the mom was worry free cause her child was attached to her. This sparked me to investigate further. I checked out the different styles that were out there and came across this adorable monkey version at Target. It looks just like a monkey is hanging on your child's back with 2 clips across the front and then there are two places where you can clip the leash (aka: tail) on. I was still reluctant to buy it as I wasn't convinced that this was the only answer to my problem. Weeks went by and I still found my mind wandering back to the monkey, so yesterday while we were grocery shopping I showed the monkey to Greyson. Immediately he tells me "mommy I like it." Which is always a good sign, but let's face it - all he sees is a stuffed monkey and he might change his mind once I put it on him. Well I broke down and bought the thing figuring I would take it home, try it on him around the house and decide if I thought it was a keeper. Greyson was more than thrilled with the purchase hugging the box all the way out of the store. When we got home I took it out and hooked it on him and we began parading around the house. Saying that Greyson was happy with his monkey backpack would be a huge understatement. He refused to take it off and when I stopped walking around with him he kept saying "mommy pull" and would hand me the leash! Haha! Anyways, we haven't gotten to take it on a shopping trip yet, but it seems like this might actually be a good purchase. And for those of you out there that are reading this who are still anti leash, I extend the invitation for you to take Greyson grocery shopping with you just once and see if you change your mind :-)