deal or no deal?

Finally Kevin and I have equipped ourselves with boots. He has a pair of old snowmobile boots that are falling apart, and I only have a pair of low-topped sh*% kickers. Since we've had a little bit of snow and will hopefully get more before the winter is over, we ventured out to track down a couple of pairs. We hit the jackpot at Target, finding boots for $12 (for him) and $10 (for me). They were marked down from $60 and $50 respectively. Score!


Since it's warming up a little and we're supposed to get rain tomorrow, plus our restless toddler was tired of being cooped up all morning, we hit the backyard to make use of the little snow that's out there. Here are some pictures of our morning fun:

I've had a few ideas running through my head for posts on this blog, but of course when I actually have time to sit down to write I can't remember any of them. And this from the queen of list-making. Guess I forgot to make a list specifically for blog topics.



Ah well.

I am finally getting my behind in gear to put together a scrapbook of Madison's first year. I selected 9 months of pictures about 6 months ago but never got around to printing them. So I just spent the last hour uploading photos to Shutterfly so I can send them to Target and pick them up tomorrow. Usually I just take a flash drive or CD and upload them at the store, but the last several times I've made a trip there the equipment has been broken. This online process took forever, but at least I didn't have to stand in line with an antsy toddler only to discover the trip was futile. We'll see how long it takes me to actually get these photos into the album once I have them in hand!

I was reading, today, on a website that talked about development and babies/toddlers, that a 22 month old should have about 50 words in her vocabulary. I think Miss M is doing pretty darn well...I have no idea exactly how many words she's capable of saying, but she's been speaking in simple sentences for about a month now so I'd say she's doing ok. It's amazing how quickly language develoment works its magic! And it really makes you think about what you say before you say it...just because the kid doesn't repeat what she hears right away doesn't mean it won't eek out of her mouth a few days or even a week later!

My realm of child-laden friends is growing! Our good friends Erin and Andy welcomed their son Noah into the world at the tail end of January. They were happy for the timing as it means they get their tax write-off for 2007. I went to visit last Tuesday and Madison did pretty good around the baby...mostly because she didn't want to go near him. She calls him Baby No-No. :-)

I also want to give a happy birthday shout out to my friend Kim's boy, Sean, on his FIRST birthday!

And there are other b days approaching...Miss M will be 2 in March...unbelieveable. And her twice-yearly playdate buddy, Logan, has his 2nd approaching in Feburary. Where oh where has the time gone?



The feature picture in this post showcases my Play-Doh talents. Madison is always requesting that I craft dogs, cats, bunnies, teacups, snakes, and other miscellaneous items out of this malleable substance and so of course I oblige. My latest creation features a few characters from Thomas and Friends. Can you name these trains?

back to our regularly scheduled program...

Well the holiday is now officially over. Kevin goes back to all his schools this week, and Miss M and I go back to our weekly routine as a duo. So here I am, making a list of possible things to do. The weather's not so nice now, so I'm searching for indoor activities.

I think we'll be checking out the reading program for toddlers at one of the libraries as it's every Thursday and you don't need to register to take part. Libraries for kids today are so different from what I remember. We didn't have play areas...both libraries here each have two different sections for kids to read, play, and socialize. We didn't have reading programs for babies and toddlers...both libraries here have ongoing activities year-round for kids. It's really nice to see the children's departments really making an effort to reach out to children...tearing them away from the computer and video games. There's nothing like a good book, and I hope Miss M realizes that for a long, long time.

With Kevin going back to work, that also means my own working hours will shift once again to naptimes and after bed. Unless I decide to hire someone to come over for a few hours during the week to play with Madison, which isn't really practical since my workload is unpredictable. One week there's a lot to do, the next there's practically nothing. I haven't bothered to drum up clients for quite some time as I can't balance more than 2 or 3 projects at once while caring for a toddler all day. Fortunately, I've made some very good contacts who still send work my way without me having to solicit at all. Nice, and I appreciate that greatly!

2008, ain't it great?

Happy New Year everyone! Hope your holidays were wonderful. We enjoyed all of it and spent much of the time with our families. Here are a few pics of Madison with some of her Christmas gifts...she loved everything, especially the magna-doodle thingie that I had to take back as the handle was broken. Of course I can't exchange it because the store hasn't gotten any new ones in. Grrr....

New chalkboard/easel:




Santa brought a sled! Now if it would just warm up enough so we don't have to worry about frostbite.


Grandma Smith made this neat apron for my chef-in-training:




These blocks are also a favorite of Daddy's:



Oh, and I should mention that I got to go out on a DATE! For my birthday Kevin arranged a night out, sitter included. We had dinner, saw Enchanted, and enjoyed coffee and some leisure reading at Border's.