M and Her Winky

Again, just another post of random pictures with M and her other favorite pet, Winky! Or, "Inky," as she calls him. It's so cute. 

Both Winky and Benny go with me in the mornings when she wakes up. If they aren't with me, she will call for them so she can say her 'good mornings' to them. She is such an animal-lover!

Winky is SO SO patient with her. He really is the perfect dog around her, and we love him even more because of it. Anyways, here are the pictures!

She actually likes it when he licks her feet! Ewww! They both love stealing Josh's comfy chair.

Getting 'stickered' by M.

Just checking out the scenery.

HUGS! 

At the veterinarian's office. This picture cracks me up.

HUGS! (I'm not sure if Winky is enjoying this.)

Watchin' the Puppy Bowl together.

At this point in her life, I really don't have too many pictures of her and Benny since he typically avoids her. Although, Benny loves when she chases him...I should try and get a picture/video of that sometime. I want to make sure I have as much as I can captured on the blog (not just FB) so I can maybe-someday turn this blog into a book, since I'm not sure if/when I'll ever get back to scrap booking. (Right now...I don't see that happening until M and any future Smyser children are in school, so that could be a while!!!)

M and Her Kitty

I wanted to post a few pictures of M with her favorite "kiiiittty" Jengo. (Our other cat ran away, but don't worry he was neutered so he's not contributing to the overpopulation of cats.)

Whenever we play outside she always wants to play with "Kitty." Jengo lives out in the shop and is an outdoor cat, but he LOVES M and kinda acts like a dog almost because he will come when you call him and follow her around and such. She loves when he chases her and she loves playing with him in general. She hugs him and laughes when his tail tickles her face.

Anyways, here's some pictures from the past month or so that I just wanted to be sure were documented on here.

Kitty loves chasing bubbles. 

Sometimes I think Kitty is laughing to himself when he ignores M's attempts to get him to chase her. She is dragging a string behind her.

But, eventually he gives in (I may or may not have nudged him a bit to get him moving).

Just chillin'.

Shakin' his string for him.

Running around the big tree together.

I really didn't want a cat out in the shop...but I have to admit watching M and Kitty together always makes me smile. :)

Foto Friday - Cuddles w/ Piggy

M cuddling and kissing her beloved Piggy.

Their First Daddy-Daughter Date Night

Chick-Fil-A hosted a Daddy-Daughter Date Night on Saturday. Josh was able to take M and it worked out that M's good friend SG and her Daddy were able to 'double-date' with them! :)

SG's mom and I dropped off the Daddys and the girls and we enjoyed our own little dinner together.

CFA had everything set up SO nice with tablecloths and carnation centerpieces. They waited on everyone and brought their food to them. Plus, they even had a professional photographer who took their picture (with a complimentary 8x10) before dinner, and complimentary limo rides around the parking lot, carnations for the girls, and little stuffed CFA cows as favors for the girls. I wish I took more pictures at the dinner table but we were running late, and I didn't want to embarrass Josh too much. :)

Here's a pic of Daddy and M on their way out the door.

We took Daddy's big red truck (M loves riding in it).

Here's a quick shot of M in her dress with her carnation!

And, here's the professional picture of the two of them. She's not smiling...but at least she's looking at the camera...and it's a decent shot of her outfit for the night!

It was so nice for Josh to be able to spend some time one-on-one with M, and it was equally nice for Ellie and I to enjoy a dinner together without the girls demanding most of our attention!

Grocery Shopper

Last night Josh convinced me Madison was old enough to try the tiny grocery carts at Jeff's Market. It was later on a Saturday evening, and the store wasn't too busy, so I agreed.

For me, it was one of the most adorable moments that we have ever shared as a family. She was just SO cute and SO proud of herself. She is growing up SO fast! I only had my cell, and she was on-the-go, so please excuse the blurry pictures, but I had to record them in the blog! Enjoy!

And, we're off. She was SO excited!

Josh got beer (which he hardly ever does)...that just wasn't right seeing my innocent baby girl with beer in her cart!

"Dad! Wait for me!"

"Dad...when do I get to have soda?"

She wouldn't stand for the picture because she was copying Josh's stance. So silly.

"Hmmm...what are we forgetting?!"

"Oh yeah...the milk!"

Josh is helping her get in up into the cart. But our little girl is strong and she lifted the whole gallon of milk by herself! We couldn't believe it!

Not sure why she was interested in the meat since she doesn't eat any! Haha!

I have a feeling we'll be using the mini-cart now whenever we go to Jeff's! Wish me luck since I'm usually on my own...haha!

Oh, and she's in her dress because this was after her Daddy-Daughter Date Night at CFA at the mall. I'll post on that soon!

Foto Friday - Shoes!

Josh caught me taking this picture for this post. His response: "Uhhh...I think she has enough shoes."

A girl can never have too many shoes (and don't tell him that I just bought her two pairs of flip flops, too)!

April Showers...

Bring lotsa puddles (in our driveway anyways)!

Just a few of my favorite pictures I captured of M as she played in her first puddles. These were from last weekend.

Her rain coat and boots (she loves saying 'boot' by the way) were a recent purchase from Target after Josh declared, "She MUST have something to play outside in the puddles!"

Ok...you don't have to tell me twice to shop for M!!! :) Enjoy the photos!

I'm obsessed with her hair for some reason....

My bribe to get her to look at the camera.

Gettin' dirty...that's about as dirty as she'd let her hands get!

She loved marching in the puddles.

I think she's in shock I'm letting her play in the puddles.

Ok...now we're ready for the next rain! :)

Working Mom v. SAHM v. WFHM

(That last one is Work-From-Home-Mom by the way.)

Yes, this post was inspired by the recent comment from Hilary Rosen and the public coverage/outrage/discussions that have since followed.

Anyways, here's my two cents. What's the most important word that they all share? MOM! No matter what, we are all Moms. We all want what's best for our children. We make choices in our lives that benefit us as Moms and as women.

To me, a Working Mom saying a SAHM doesn't "really work," is like a SAHM saying a Working Mom doesn't love her children as much as a SAHM. Both statements are generalizations and unfair.

And what about me...I don't consider myself a SAHM or a Working Mom since I am a WFHM. Where does that leave me? Oh yeah...WHO CARES?! I am a Mom. :) I'm just doing what's best for my family and for me.

And also, I wish I hadn't even titled this post with the 'versus' symbol. As women, we should not be against each other and judging other Moms and their decisions...we should just support each other. Every woman/mom/parent for that matter, just needs to do what's right for them, for their families, for their lives.

Anyways, just because I can't have a post without a picture. Here's my most recent favorite photo of M and me. (I think she's officially lost all the 'baby' in her face!)

20 Months

Last Friday was Friday the 13th! Ahhh!!! Just kidding. I kinda hafta be ok with Friday the 13ths since M was born on that day back in August of 2010. Anyways, last Friday M turned 20 months. TWENTY! Two-zero. Ay!

This past month of her life has flown (as they all have)...but really...she's growing and learning so much it is just amazing!

We are still busy, busy, busy...but I am LOVING being able to work from home and have a flexible schedule in order to spend so much time with my little girl. We are still in music class on Mondays, and (we) I work out with Stroller Strides on Wednesdays, Fridays, and some Saturdays. Music is over after May, so we'll replace music with another session of Stroller Strides ('cause I need to get serious since I still want to lose like 5-8 lbs.).

(Once of these days I'll have to take my good camera to music and SS so I can do a full post on these aspects of our life.)

We are also having more play dates and spending as much time as we can outside and at parks. She absolutely loves being outside.

I am really enjoying getting out with M, spending time with other Moms, and allowing M opportunities to socialize with other kids. We've made so many new friends these past couple months! :)

So enough chit-chat about me (oops)...onto the pics and random updates...get your popcorn, this is kind of a looooooong one.

Balloons - She loves 'em! Points them out at stores. And calls them "ooooons."

Bubbles - She says "buh-boo." It's adorable. But, it's like a 4-letter word at our house...I never say it unless I'm ready to give in and show her the bubbles...and I have to be ready for the tantrum when we're done with the "buh-boos."

She's working on her independence and is always wanting to do things all by herself.

She is the sweetest little girl, and will randomly give me hugs through out our days together. There's nothing better then her running to me and hugging my legs.

She's still a great sleeper at night and naps once a day...usually around 1pm for a couple hours.

Still a picky-picky eater...I guess she's kinda still a vegetarian for now. Her favorite foods are probably french fries and fruit.

She loves music, dancing, and playing the ocean drum I just got her.

Her favorite songs are:

Old MacDonald

5 Little Ducks

Itsy Bitsy

ABC's

Little Turtle

Hickory Dickory Dock

I am still trying to monitor her TV time...but she loves watching:

Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

Caillou

Barney and Friends

She shows us when she get's excited by balling her hands into fists and shaking...also does this same motion if we ask her if she is strong and can show us her muscles. It is the most adorable thing ever...but I can't for the life of me get her to do it while I video tape her. I will keep trying though!!!

Tantrums - Oh yes. They're so fun. NOT. But they are part of being a toddler so we'll get through it. It's hard to balance my sanity with also wanting to teach her she can't always get what she wants.

No new teeth...still waiting on 8 more. :(

MINE - She says this all.the.time. Mostly when she wants something, or when she doesn't want anyone (or any dog) using, playing with, eating, or looking at whatever it is that she has claimed. I hear it a lot. All day. Everyday. And I spend a lot of my day explaining what is actually hers and what is actually Mommy's, or Daddy's, or Everyone's, or whatever....basically, that it's not hers. *sigh*

"Dat?" She is also pointing at anything and everything saying, "Mom. Dat?" (for 'what's that?'). So if I'm not explaining what is and isn't hers, I'm spending the rest of our day naming everything she has an interest in. This one's not so bad...except for when we're in public...like at Target and she points to tampons. *sigh*

Another new word for her is, "Apple." But she also says "Apple," for 'Help, please." So...yeah. Oh, and she can now say, "Uncle."

M also knows the words "up" and "down" and uses them correctly. She's still pretty good with saying please and thank you, although it sounds like 'Cheese,' and 'Tanks.'

Her rain coat and boots are from Target. And believe it or not...I even let her play in the puddles in our big driveway...a post on that with some more pics will be up sometime tomorrow!

We love our lil' M more than anything, and can't wait to see where this next month takes us!