All by Myself

Addison has really been into doing things for herself lately. {I constantly have to remind myself that she is only one}. The other day we changed out of her jammies and I said "go put these in your dirty clothes hamper" and she went and did just that! I {almost} couldn't believe it! Her latest "all by myself" need is feeding herself. This is just great when we're in a hurry, or if she's had a bath the night before. Why you ask? Well just see for yourself :)

Two spoons? Why not? I try to "sneak" in bites of food on "my" spoon so we can speed up the breakfast process just a tad. Some days it works and others.... well on other days she has to have BOTH spoons.
I think as the weather gets warmer I'm going to just start spraying her off outside :)

What a big girl I have!

Style

Yep! This girl definitely has it! She LOVES shoes and sunglasses. This is her third pair of sunglasses {which are already broken} {but hey- they were cheap}. Notice her jelly shoes {and jammies}. She was accessorizing before bedtime. She is pretty much AWESOME!

Uncle Jon graduates GHS!

Uncle Jon graduated from Gooding High School this spring {as Valedictorian even! -Yahoo!}! I can't believe how time flies around here! Seems like yesterday that I Was graduating and he was just a teeny little Freshman. We all love Uncle Jon, but Addison is like a little magnet to him when he's around. During basketball season we went to {almost} all of his games. To get Addison to sit on our laps we would tell her to find Uncle Jon on the floor, and it worked quite well! We are so proud of our little Jonny boy. I can't believe he'll be going on his mission this fall. I'm not sure what it'll be like without him, but I know that we will sure miss him! Me an him have been good buddies through it all. I can only hope that Addison and Brogan will have a similar sibling bond. Sure love you Jon!

I fixed Addison's hair while she was eating {so THAT's the secret ;) }
Proud of my little brother!
Addison was SO ready to get out of there! And I'm not sure why Brogan is scowling {oh ya- that's just his normal face ;) } Way to go Uncle Jon! On to bigger and better things!

Spencer's Birthday

Last month was Spencer's birthday, so to celebrate we all went bowling. It was a lot of fun {even though I had a tough time knocking down anything}. Addison even bowled a few times {she really just wanted to run down the lane and chase the ball}. First we went to the Shoshone Snack bar to grab a bite to eat, then off to the bowling alley! I know we had fun, and I think Uncle Spencer did too!

Addison enjoyed her {big} burger and fries!

I don't think Alli and Brogan were too pleased with the service at the Snack Bar. All they got was milk!

What a cute little Smith family!

Addison sure loves her Uncle Spencer! She wanted him to carry her around, so he did!

Daddy helping her bowl.

Spencer was funny to watch. He would lean and wave the ball to one side with his hands to try and make it go where he wanted. He's too cute!

To be Continued...

This is just a little note to remind me of the things that I need to post about but haven't found the time. Bear with me- I'll get around to it (one of these really late nights :)

• bowling for Spencer's Birthday
• Uncle Jon's graduation
• Addison and her boots {all sorts of boots}
• Uncle Jon's Shrine game
• Addison feeding herself these days
• Whipped Cream (Whip it good!) ;)
• "The Same" {glasses & hats} pictures of Brogan and Addison
• Brogan and Daddy's quality {video game} time
• My little "Milko"
• Addison and her Aves!!!
• Brogan's two month stats

So- for now you just have to sit back and wonder what stories are behind these wonderfully wondersome titles. {Honestly the reason why these things haven't been posted is probably because all the pictures are still on my camera.... and who knows where that cord is at the moment :) }

Riding the tractor

This is technically Stewart's tractor (I got it for him for Christmas). Lately however, it has been one of Addison's favorite toys. Usually she would just push it around, make tractor noises, and even use the steering wheel, but on this particular day I think she just wanted a ride :). I LOVE this little girl!

Cousins

This picture is from a few weeks back. Micah, Lindy and Alli came over one evening to help us set up our electric dog fence (which didn't work at first due to our very hairy doggie). Brogan and Alli were just chillin on the porch, enjoying the nice weather. I'm sure they will be the best of buddies growing up!

Gender

SO- Have ya read the articles about the Parents in Canada who are keeping their baby's gender a secret? I know this probably shouldn't bother me as much as it does, but it has REALLY been bothering me today! I can NOT shake these thoughts and concerns out of my head! {So I figure I'll vent about them here on my "blounal" :) -how do you like that word I made up?}

These parents in Canada are not sharing the gender of their child because they want the baby to be able to express himself freely. They also feel that parents these days do too much micromanaging and "hovering" over our children, and that children need to be able to make decisions for themselves. (Did I mention that this baby is only 4 months old?) In the article it also talks about the two older brothers. They are allowed to wear whatever they want, keep their hair however they like, and even have whichever earing in whichever ear they like. As a result the oldest boy likes to wear dresses, paint his toes pink, has 2 braids down his back, and wears one pink ear ring. Ok- I'm all for letting my kids wear whatever color of clothing they want, but when does this stop? Hello- if your little boy shows up to kindergarten wearing a dress, he's gonna get picked on. That's just the way the world works, and I believe it's called culture! Just because the rest of us are normal {and by normal I mean in tune with our culture} why are we expected to embrace this?

The only people who know the gender are the two older brothers, the parents, and two midwives. {What a secret for those 2 little boys to keep!!!} Even if they act like it's no big deal now, just wait a few years when people start asking and harassing them about it! {Have ya ever kept a secret for someone before, and at some point, you had to take a lot of crap to keep that secret, but you kept it anyways because you were expected to? Sure you can appear to shrug off almost anything, but what's really going on inside?} Some day these boys will need some serious therapy!

And the baby! {Did I mention he's only 4 months old?!?!} What the hell has the world come to?!? Now we're letting infants make decisions for themselves are we? This poor kid is going to have the time of his life "deciding" what gender he wants to be {I can't even decide what to make for dinner!!!! I can't even imagine making a choice THIS phenomenal!} Are we not supposed to first TEACH our kids, then let them make decisions based on what they've been taught? And what happens if this kid grows up and decides he hates being different. He just wanted to be "normal" all along. {Boy- that would be the biggest (undoable) mistake you could make as a parent!} I don't think this is fair to the child. I can't imagine putting such a huge responsibility in the hands of my 1 year old {let alone my 3 month old!} When Addison goes to kindergarten she will have her own set of battles to fight. Why would I ever throw her choice of gender on top of that? Can you imagine this kid's first day of school? The boys will beat him up, and the girls won't play with him. Can you imagine his first basketball game {or volleyball game if he chooses to be a girl}. Imagine the locker room scene that will be when he whips out a different set of parts than all the girls. {Gee- glad we let him choose that awkward situation}!

You know I probably wouldn't be so steamed about this whole thing if I wasn't scared to death of how it will affect the rest of the world, a world that my kids are just barely starting out in. A world that is destined to get MUCH worse before it gets better. I thought I had it rough in the dating scene. When Addison goes on her first date she won't have to ask questions like "where ya from, what do you like to do?" Her first question will be, "so you say you're a boy, I just want to be sure you genitalia match before this goes any further." It makes me worried sick to even think about the way MY kids will have to adapt to these "genderless" people. {And you'd better believe that my kids will be expected to accept and embrace it, the way I have been expected to openly accept gays}.

I just don't understand people. Life is fairly simple. You're born (either a boy or a girl {duh}), you grow up, get married, have children, live and die. Along the way life hands us a complete set of problems. Aren't these problems enough to be concerned about? Why do people have to complicate the simple things? And why do parents feel that kids need more responsiblity, more choices, more complicated problems? Let your kids be kids! I hope that the only worries my little kidos will have is how much longer they get to play outside, or when I'll make them take a nap. I would never wish for my kids' lives to be more complicated or difficult than they will already be.

SO-

Sorry about the little rant, but this is my "blournal", and these are my thoughts & opinions. I just hope I'm not the only one who feels this way!

ET?

The other day Addison and I were goofing around. I put my sweater on her and she seemed to enjoy herself in there. She reminded me of ET. She liked it for a little while, but then tried to find her way out. She's such a silly little girl!

Sleepy much?

What a bunch of sleepy heads!

{Very CUTE sleepy heads}

Bath Time!

My kids LOVE bath time, and ya know what? I think it's a pretty great time too. I love to see my kids enjoying the water. All my life I've said "I'm going to raise my kids by the pool- they're going to love the water". So far so good! {fingers crossed}. The other night I pulled a first and bathed both kids at the same time. It was fun, but I'll never do it when Stew isn't around to help me {see first picture below} :)

Ya- Addison is definitely a "helper". I think she was trying to help him plug his nose :)

Addison likes to pretend she's drinking the water then dump it down the front of her. She giggles and giggles when she does it. Such a cutie!

Addison wanted to help hold Brogan in the water.

The only way Stew could get her to look at the camera...-We love that Sad Face!

{And may I just say look at how tan that arm is!}

{there's that first sunburn that turned "base tan" -what'd I tell ya?!}

"Weight Loss Journey"

So to update you on my "weight loss journey".... ya- I suck at it. I haven't made a chart, and I haven't lost any weight. I have jazzercised 3 times this week {I was planning on going this morning, but Stew wanted to go try to win a house}, and I haven't had pop since Monday. {Until tonight that is}. Ya see- pop is sorta my drug of choice. In the past two days I've polished off a pack of cookies, and I think it's because I'm "in need" of something to get me through. So I've decided that until I don't "require" pop I'll allow myself to have a free night. Either Friday OR Saturday night I will be allowed a pop. {It's like having my wild night of the week -and also something I can "look forward to"} ;) So that's pretty much how crappily I'm doing.

Stuck

I love to find a crying child stuck somewhere. Really, I do love it. It usually makes me laugh :)

Extreme Home Givaway!!!

Today we spent the day attempting to win a house, or a car, or a jet ski, {or a t-shirt -that was my goal}. Needless to say we didn't win any spectacular prizes, but we did win a free t-shirt :). Stewart spent a ton of time trying to get qualified to win the house. He got entered just two weeks ago (one of the last to get entered!) We were at the house by 10:20, and stood around and waited for what seemed like forever. Finally they had every one form a line to draw a number. Then they had everyone come in the order of the number they drew. Stewart drew number 136, so he was the 136th person to draw a code. Everyone drew a code out of the box and ten people's code opened the garage. Each of those ten people picked a prize packet. There were probably 100 different prizes (including the house, some cars, a jetski, a hot tub...) However, only the first 3 of 10 could win the house (if they were lucky enough to choose it out of the slew of prizes). {Are ya confused yet?} We checked on the Buzz's facebook page tonight and nobody won the house, or even any other cool BIG prize. There was a Roaring Springs weekend getaway, some recliners, and a $500 gift card that were won, but nothing like a house or car! {I think that made Stewart feel better about not winning}.

If you look really close you can see a part of Addison's head {like at the bottom of the left square on the garage door}. Obviously the door didn't open for Stewart :(

Stewart tried to open the door at noon, and it was a HOT two hours! {of course I forgot the sunscreen!} Luckily one of the neighbors was watering their lawn, which provided some much needed entertainment {and cooling down} for me and Addison.
Brogan was a good boy the whole day {of course!} He is such a happy little guy and I just love him SO much! Isn't he just too cute?
And isn't this guy just too cute?!?! He was a little embarrassed that I made him take this picture, but I just couldn't pass it up {AND I couldn't believe he didn't draw a lower number so we wouldn't have to wait around ALL day :) }

After the giveaway we went to McDonalds. Addison loves hamburgers and fries, but what she loves even more is ketchup! Since neither Stewart or I had opened our ketchup yet, Addison decided to dip her fries in her free sample smoothie. {Isn't she so smart?} Eh- some people like to dip their fries in their milk-shakes, and other like to dip them in their smoothies :)

I gave Addison a cookie when we were in the car. Have I mentioned lately how messy of an eater this little girl can manage to be? I just love her!

The Crop-Duster

This morning there was a crop-duster going over the field behind our house. {On any regular Saturday morning I'd be pissed that he started at 7:30} but we had to be up and going by 8 anyway, so we decided to enjoy it. I have to say it was pretty neat. I am always amazed to see airplanes flying so low to the ground, and it was even cooler that he flew right over our house. {I was almost worried that he was going to take out our internet antana (and it took so long for our internet guy to get out here last time, that would be no bueno.)

Flying right over our house!

Addison watching in her pajammies.

"WHOA -did you see that Mom?"

It was a fun morning watching the crop-duster in our jammies.