Ainsley's first puppy

Yesterday was a big day in the Smith household. Not only was a trip to Ikea involved, but we added another "member" to our family- a MASSIVE stuffed puppy. To say that Ainsley has an affinity for puppies would be a bit of an understatement. This little lady lights up when she sees anything resembling a puppy (she still has yet to figure out that bears, horses, and the big buffalo at our local park are not puppies). She squeals "puppy, puppy, puppy-dog, puppy!" at the top of her little lungs and then begins barking.
All this to say, when the three Smiths were at Ikea yesterday and the littlest one saw the stuffed animal display, all hope of walking out empty handed was lost. Not only was there a puppy stuffed animal but there were MANY huge puppy dogs for our baby girl. She went to another place for a while there. Her eyes glassed over and the shouts of elation could be heard on all three levels of Ikea. Mercy.

My husband grabbed one of the puppies and gave it Ainsley who proceeded to carry it on her lap for the rest of the trip, quietly whispering "puppy" under her breath. She has dragged that dog all around our apartment, stopping only to cuddle up next to it on the floor.