cooking

This is the big Valentine's Day post. I'm sure you can't wait. So, my big plan for dinner was to make pizza. Yes, pizza for Valentine's day. A stuffed crust meat lovers pizza that I knew Scott would enjoy. Well, we have 1:00 church. It is terrible. I really don't like it. That is nap time for both of my kids. Stephen is usually too tired or actually asleep and doesn't make it to nursery or, at least, not on time. By the time we get home, Stephen is starving and Bennett is pretty cranky because he just doesn't go to sleep in our arms anymore... This Sunday, Scott ended up needing to stay a little late and our home teachers came over. I was trying to get dinner together, or at least started right when I got home, but my arms were literally shaking from carrying Bennett around (our little 20 pound chunk!) for 2 hours. Anyway - as I was making the pizza dough, Stephen moved the stool over to the counter to make his own dinner because I was obviously not moving fast enough...

He seemed to enjoy his 'cooked' crackers. I had to keep putting the pan in the microwave, then he would put the pan on the stove and move it around. I guess that made them better. He did end up eating a good amount of those crackers and emphatically said "mmm!" after every bite.

The pizza was yummy, but it wasn't ready until almost 7:00! looks like next week we need to go back to a good ole crock pot meal...

5 months

In honor of Little B being somewhere around 5 months, I thought I would post a few pictures. Here is my smiley little boy...

still working on sitting. Can't quite do it alone yet...

He will happily jump or bounce in just about anything that will let him

He is happy, but nap time still is a great time for me..

walk!

WE ACTUALLY LEFT THE HOUSE TODAY! ok - sorry for the screaming. We haven't been leaving much and Mom needed to get out today. The weather was nice (don't let all the snow in the picture fool you) so we packed up on our *brand new* (to us) double stroller and went to The Store and the post office. It was very sunny and oh so nice to be out and about. The boys enjoyed it - unless we weren't moving (Little B). The sidewalks along the way were mostly cleared, but we did hit a few icy/slushy spots that made the ride bumpy. Stephen let me know when that part was happening with a lot of bouncing in his seats accompanied by many "whoaaaa!"s Funny kid.

Counting to 10

I'm proud to announce that my almost 2 year old can count to 10! Let me tell you how it works:

Oooonnnee, twwwwooooo, (them mom or dad has to say three, four, five or he will say one or two for all the numbers), siiick, sey-ey, eighT, niiiine (think of it with a southern twang), tey!

Well, he is working on counting to 10 anyway... This morning I actually got an ey-ah (eleven) after 10! It is funny how excited I am.

Stephen got a Brainy Baby counting DVD from his grandpa for Christmas, he loves it and it is obviously doing a good job!

In other news, Bennett is working on rolling over and he is getting the hang of it. He is such a happy baby most of the time, it is wonderful!

Run away

Well, there really hasn't been that much to blog about. We had a great Christmas and Stephen and Bennett (being the only grandchildren on Scott's side) made out like bandits because of their generous Aunts, Uncles, and grandparents.

I had an exciting parenting moment yesterday... We went to the grocery store as our big morning out. It has been snowing here all week, so we have been inside. We are actually usually inside because of the cold and the baby, but this week there was a real reason. :)

Anyway - once we got to the carts inside the store, I was digging out a cart that will take more than one child - of course it was buried behind all the regular carts. While working on getting us a cart, Stephen went inside the store, y'know, those automatic doors are just too convenient. I saw where he was and knew that he was probably getting little chip bags at the deli (that is what he usually does if I'm not quick enough to get him strapped into the cart right off). I hurried and got Bennett into the cart, or semi since it is so big, and got it into the store. I caught up with Stephen only to see that he was no longer there. "He has to be close" I thought. So I looked up and down a few aisles. I did not see him.

Then I noticed something. All of a sudden, I had 'that look.' You know that look? I've seen it many times before as I have reconnected lost kids with their parents. It was always easy because the parents had 'that look.' I actually wasn't even all that worried. I knew he was in the store. I hadn't gone far enough away from the doors to the snowy parking lot for him to slip by me there. I heard, "Did you lose one? I can see it on your face" (yes, he actually said that, I told you that I had 'the look'). This nice man asked what we were looking for, boy, girl, description, etc. A lady walking by heard the conversation and said, "I'll look this way" and off she went. I thought for sure Stephen would have been in the produce section, he loves to find "appos" (apples) and pull them off the displays. (although potatoes, oranges and onions will do). He wasn't there. The nice lady came back and said she didn't see him. She offered to stay with Bennett while I looked around. The gentleman said he would look down the aisles from the back of the store to see from there. With Bennett being watched, I went outside just to make sure he didn't go that way since "noooooo!" (snow) is so exciting. I didn't see him. I walked in and looked left. There, all the way to the end of the store, in the Pharmacy, I saw him. Stephen was taking things off the shelf. I ran down to get him (mostly because I knew I was holding up some poor lady who was standing there with Bennett and if I didn't hurry, I would have to start the search all over again). I did find it funny that he was taking chap stick off the little pegs. (if you know me, you will find the humor in that).

The nice man and I got to Stephen at about the the same time. I picked him up - listened to two stories from the man on when that happened to him - not even his own kids - and wrangled Stephen into the cart to him saying "walk! walk!" the whole time. It was reported to me that Bennett was happy as a clam and smiled at the lady the whole time I was gone. At least one was happy!

So there you have it - my parenthood initiation to a wanderer. yahoo!

torture

We went to a little Christmas party last night. The real reason we went, well, I brought the guest of honor, aka, Santa. Stephen was even more upset about him being there then he was in the last post. He could be found cowering in the corner as far away from Santa as he could be. It both broke my heart that it bothered him that much, and made me laugh. So, at the end of the evening, as is tradition, someone (this time, my mother-in-law) asked me to go sit in Santa's lap so she could get a picture. This is what we ended up with:

Poor poor thing. I wish we could have gotten it all in one picture, but I think this gets the point across. He did not want me to be near that scary, scary man in red. This is, by far, the closest that Stephen got to Santa on his own free will. And it was to save me. I'm proud of my little boy to overcome his fears to save his momma.

too soon

This is what we thought might happen. Maybe it will be better next year.

Better lights!

Last night we tried something better for lights. We went to Temple Square. It was very busy! And fun. And not fun... :) Taking an almost 2 year old into a large crowd is exhausting. Good thing my mother-in-law, brother-in-law and his wife were all there to watch Bennett so I didn't have to worry about that. Poor souls, I doubt it was any fun for them. My sister and her family also joined us. Add two more kids - an almost 3 year old and a 9 month old. I'm not sure I actually looked up at the lights much. Anyway - we have pictures from this evening, too.

Isn't that lovely?

Stephen was done, we just wanted to be sure to remember this moment...

Bennett was bundled in the stroller and fairly content. At least I think he was. I didn't actually see him all night!

My sister and her family.

We are building memories!

lights up!

Our little town had "A Small Town Christmas" celebration and part of that was "Midway Lights up!" It was the lighting ceremony of main street. I thought it might be fun, so we bundled up and walked to Main Street. It was going to happen at 6:30. I didn't realized that was when the program was going to start. I thought someone would say something like - "Let the Christmas season begin!" Then a switch would be flipped and all the lights would come on. Boy was I wrong. The program consisted of a few people saying a few words. I don't know what was said - I was either chasing Stephen or trying to keep Bennett from crying - Scott was doing the same. Then there were people dressed up like the carolers that Scrooge would have yelled at - they sang a few songs. Then we all sang songs... then we were informed that because of the electrical system - there is no big switch to flip. So, all the families and businesses that 'adopted' a tree were suppose to go to their tree and, on the count of 5, plug it in. So those that were a few trees away could no longer hear the countdown and not everyone who adopted a tree was there. So a few came on at random times and some not at all. Needless to say, I was pretty disappointed. I didn't expect much, but I did expect a little more than that. Anyway, by the time the lights came on, Stephen was no longer interested in what was going on. But we did get pictures!

This was the first annual, maybe next year will be better.

Off the charts!

Bennett had his 2 month appointment today. We have been joking about how much he has grown. He is such a chunk! Well - it is true. He was off the charts for weight. Above the 95th percentile. Wow. We are going to have to start doing exercises now, I guess, maybe all we need is more tummy time. Other facts: Height - 50th percentile, Head - 50-75th percentile. The head is to be expected - there are some large heads in this family, seriously. Everything else looks great. That is the update as of now. I just wanted everyone to know that if you see Bennett, he is huge, it is ok to notice...

Halloween

here are our pictures from Halloween:

Stephen and his cousin sitting by the pumpkins we all carved (they didn't help much - they just played and not even with the pumpkins!)

Stephen was Tigger. Someone at this party thought he was Tony the Tiger, though. This picture was only made possible because of the cookie, notice there is one in each hand...

I think he knows how cute he was, even though he slept through the majority of the trick or treaters that came by.

Here are my boys! They are ready to go out for trick or treating. Bennett stayed with me and handed out candy. Stephen came home tired, but satisfied with what he had accomplished. (Free candy!)

Blessing

Today was Bennett's blessing day. Scott did a beautiful job blessing Bennett. I was very humbled at the end of the meeting when a Sister that I don't know very well brought us her program with the blessing written on it. Isn't that wonderful? I was trying to remember what Scott said, but now we have it written down! After the meeting, we came to our house with our family and friends and had people stopping by through the afternoon. We just had sandwiches and snacks for all. It was a wonderful day.

Proud papa

Proud Mama

Here is my dad with his 4 grandchildren (all under 3) How fun!

Fall!

My dad is in town and yesterday we all went up (minus my brother-in-law - he was working) to see my grandmother in Idaho. We rented a 15 passenger van and had 5 adults, and 4 kids in car seats (all under 3). It was good times! The DVD player helped a lot. While we were there, we decided to pick apples from the only tree that hadn't been picked clean yet. The best method was to shake the limbs and let the apples fall. My dad was tired of us trying to reach the limbs to shake them, so he climbed up the tree. That was much more effective! I also took the opportunity to get a fun apple picture since that is Stephen's favorite fruit, or at least the word he says all the time. "Appo" I love the appo picture!

My dad in a tree

Stephen and the apples!

hanging out

Last night was such a fun evening for me (I hope it was fun for everyone, but I'm just putting in my opinion right now). After our early dinner, we all went to the park to enjoy the last bit of sunlight for the evening and the warm weather that we think will be ending for good here soon. Then we came home and just hung out together all on the floor. Bennett was in a good mood and Stephen was being silly and playing around. We were having a great time. so I got out the camera.

Stephen doesn't know it yet, but he is about to get attacked by tickles from his dad. They both love it.

Stephen laid down on the floor next to his brother. I feel like this looks like Bennet is on his head, but he really isn't, they are both laying down.

Having fun - playing with toys and giggling.

just a couple pictures

I just wanted to post a few pictures, so here ya go...

a proud big brother

We are trying to please the car gods in this picture

Bennett at one month. This was probably the longest he had been contentedly awake so we got a few pictures.

last yard update for the year

We did get grass seed in the yard before it started to get really cold. This is what it looked like when the grass started to come up - it is a lot greener now. Yea! We had our sprinklers blown out yesterday so now it is time to let the grass winterize and hopefully we'll see it get nice and strong in the spring!

Somewhat here

We are around and getting through each day, but we really aren't up to much. Just getting use to having little Bennett around and getting to know him. Here are a few pictures:

Sorry this is sideways. He was 'grinning' so I was trying to get that in the picture. This is the best I could do. I feel like he looks like an old man here. He is about a week old in this one.

We have learned that he does best when not laying flat. Here he is propped up almost standing on the couch.

Stephen loves his little brother. He is fascinated by his toes, belly button and eyes. This was very cute, actually. Stephen just walked up and said hi to Bennet then began playing with is feet.

We can't forget Stephen all together. Monday night was, we think, our last really warm evening. We were at the Gateway for a wedding reception and decided to let Stephen play in the shooting water fountain. He was more interested in watching it and was shocked when he got wet. He did have a good time - and thanks to Scott for going in with him!

This is about all I have time for now. Until next time....

Well, it is official. We are now a family of 4.

Bennett Edison Smith joined us at about 6:23 PM on Wednesday night. Yes, he is an 09/09/09 baby. We were hoping for a 9:09 birth and a 9 lb, 9oz baby, then we would have been on the Today Show or something... Ha

Anyway... Bennett is getting used to life. Mostly Eat, Sleep, Poop, Cry, repeat. Jamie is doing great.

His official stats were:
9 lbs, 1 oz, 20 inches, at 6:23 PM. He did get 9's on his Apgar (sp) tests too.

Not yet

So, yesterday I swore that I was going to have this baby. I just felt like it could happen at any moment. But that passed and there is no new Smith child yet. Today, I am feeling better, not nearly as uncomfortable, but still wishing that this baby would come - and I'm not even overdue or anything! Just ready. I feel like there is only so much preparation that I can do! We are still looking forward to next Wednesday as our day, will I make it that long? What do you think?

slackers

So, I know we have been slackers as far as the blog is concerned. I have been taking a lot of naps so blogging hasn't been on the top of my to do list, also I haven't felt like we have been up to all that much to really shout about. This isn't all that much either, I just wanted everyone to know that we are still alive and we are back working on the yard. Here are a few pictures.

Stephen climbed in here on his own and grabbed the controls. He knows what's up.

This is our first load of gravel, we got two total. This filled in our parking area next to the garage and the area under the future deck.

Here are 6 of our first 10 (yes, FIRST 10 loads of dirt). The other 4 were in the front and the next 4 will be here on Monday. The future deck site is on the right.

Here is what the front of the house looks like with dirt spread out all nice and smooth. I love it! You can also see that we have a few plants in our bed in the front (some are actually blooming).

That is what we are up to. I sit and watch and let Stephen get dirty while Scott and his parents work like dogs. I have fed them, I guess that is my current role. We should get the rest of our dirt on Monday and then on to grass seed once the dirt is ready. We are so excited to have an end in sight! Grass that we should be able to see in about a month... yea!

In other news, I am scheduled to be induced on 9/9/09. I didn't even pick that day, it just fell into place. I would love to go into labor before that, but that would be a pretty cool birthday to have so we are excited.

There you have it, we are counting the days to baby and grass...wow are we ever exciting.