Those dang pinchers

See this baby?

She's pretty darn cute, right?

So this cute baby and I did the unthinkable today. Well, 'unthinkable' may be a strong word....let's instead say we did something today that I've been dreading: we went to the store. (Do you hear the creepy music playing in your head yet? Well, you should. This is pretty creepy stuff.)

Yes, she's been to the store before now.

However, she has NOT been to the store and sat in the buggy, carrier free, before today.

To those of you non-mommies out there, you may be wondering what the big deal is.

What's wrong with taking the baby to the store?

I'll tell you what's wrong: it seems that the minute the little is out of the carrier, people feel as though she's suddenly fair game for cheek pinching and chin tickling.

 Today THREE complete strangers proceeded to pinch, touch, pat, and rub on my Holly Belle.

I swear one lady was two heartbeats away from kissing her had I not resorted to my infamous 'don't even think about it' look- you know, the one that came in so very handy during my days as a high school teacher. 

Don't get me wrong,  I'm all for people admiring my little one....from a far. Admire her, wave at her, and please feel free to tell me how cute you think she is.

However, I draw the line at touching.

What makes random people think it's ok to get in my baby's face and touch her at will?

THIS IS NOT OK, PEOPLE!

Would you walk up to an adult and touch as you please?

I certainly hope not.

(Not that any of you reading would ever do this-- I know you're all way too cool for acts such as this. :) )

We all have our pet peeves, and this is one of mine. There are germs out there, people! And while I'm not anywhere near what I consider germ-aphobic, I'm also not ignorant to the fact that strangers carry more germs than the people I know. I mean, that is proven, right? Ok, maybe not-- but it certainly seems that way. There's all kind of scary stuff out there, and I'd really prefer to keep it all as far away as possible from Hollyn's cheeks.

I know they're squishy and appealing.

 I'll even go as far as to say they're begging to be pinched.....by me....at home.

Not by strangers at the store.

I love new people.

I love my baby.

I just don't love new people touching my baby.

Don't worry folks (here's where you can push 'pause' on the creepy music player)- next time we head to the store, I think I'll make Hollyn a sign to wear...it'll look something like this:

Hopefully, this will do the trick and help the strangers keep their pinchers to themselves.