Sunday, November 3, 2013

Carving Pumpkins

As in years past, we decided to carve our pumpkins on the eve of Halloween.  The children were *very* excited to finally carve their pumpkins...but it was proven that this little tradition is a lot more work than fun.  Here we are at the start of the night...all happy and ready.
Then the fun really started!  It took a while for us to finally empty the pumpkins, which was accompanied by a lot of "ewws" and "this is so nasty".  I was able to snap some pics of the kids with smiles on their faces though ;).
Then things turned a little south.  Noah could not decide what he wanted to carve on his pumpkin, even after a lot of ideas given to him by both Doug and I.  He didn't seem happy with anything that we threw his way.  And Leah wanted me to do some elaborate *thing* on her pumpkin...first it was Cinderella, and then Tinker-bell.  She wasn't happy by my answer, which was "no".  I didn't have it in me to do something like that.  After much discussion, Doug and I finally convinced them of what they needed to do, and all was well in the Smith household once again.  Although, I don't think I'm going to be doing this tradition next year...too much work!!

And Isaac proved to be the star of the show...he didn't fuss once about anything and was happy as can be the entire time.  Thank goodness for him this night.
And Kate was a total champ and just sat and watched us the entire time.  Love this little gal of ours :).
And here are the finished products.  Here's Noahs...
Leah's....
We have a tradition of always carving a Utah pumpkin, and I had it in me, after all of the drama, to do it.  I'm glad that I did :).

Smith Halloween Party

We had our annual Smith Halloween Party the weekend before the big day.  Doug was out of town to the Utah vs. USC game, so it was just me and the kiddos.

The food was obviously one of the highlights of our party, so I had fun making the veggie tray very Halloween-y!

We also had some other fun food...mummy wrapped dogs, courtesy of Andrea :).  And the chili and other goodies were so yummy!
All of the little ones all dressed up :).
I, of course, had to get a picture of Elizabeth and Leah together.
I also made some sugar cookies for the kids to decorate, which was a hit...as all sweets are with little ones :).  Noah, Leah, and Isaac had a grand time decorating their cookies, and Kate had a grand time stealing any cookie left unattended :).
Doug's mom's birthday was the same day as our party, so, of course, we had to celebrate her special day.  These grandkids adore their grandma so much! 
It was definitely a great day to spend with family!

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Lately...

We had our cousins over one morning, and Leah had a fun time playing "teacher" and teaching Shea the letters :).  I just love the look on Leah's face...
I found this football helmet and Isaac LOVES it.  He wears it all of the time!  And it is heavy...I don't know how he handles wearing it.  Also...these two could paint all..day..long!!
Being the accident prone child that Isaac is, I wasn't too shocked when he got his fingers stuck in the car door.  Poor thing!!!  After crying for a LONG time, he was exhausted and fell asleep with me.  I know he got hurt, but I will admit that I do cherish these moments of cuddling.  
Leah will always be the first to volunteer to help me when I am baking...which is often ;).  We are obviously fans of treats around here.  
You can never have too many BUBBLES!  Or maybe you can ;).
Kate absolutely loves kitties and puppies.  She will always point them out when she sees one of them.  She especially loves going to my parent's house and holding Luna and Macey.  I think that Kate is enjoying this embrace a bit more than Luna.  
Isaac LOVES to dress up!!!  He ended up finding his Halloween costume from when he was four months old...and he wasn't afraid to squeeze in to it.  It's been pretty hilarious seeing him run around the house wearing this costume...love this boy and his awesome sense of humor!
I found this in Leah's kindergarten journal.  "My cousin went on a mission."  This refers to Elizabeth who is going on a mission to Chile in March!  Leah LOVES Elizabeth so much and is going to miss her like crazy when she leaves.  I am just so happy for her and for the great example that she is being to my sweet children :).  
I've always been a fan of playing with hair...when I was a little girl I would always play with my Barbie's hair.  It was definitely one of my most favorite things to do.  Now that I have girls of my own, it's not a secret that I love to put cute hairstyles in their hair.  So fun.
Leah had her last soccer game this past weekend and she did SO good!  I am so proud of her and how much she has learned this fall.  She's also such a good little cheerleader...he's probably a better cheerleader than soccer player, but who's judging ;).

Sweet Cousins

Kate and Sydney are three months apart.  They are so lucky to have one another.  How much fun to have a cousin that is so close in age!!  All of my kiddos are so lucky to have cousins so close.  But it is especially fun to watch these two together.  Sydney is seriously the sweetest little gal and watching her with Kate is the cutest thing in the world.  She will come up to Kate and put her arm around her...she will share with her...and she can say her name, so she will always come up to her and say "hi, Kate".  It is the most precious thing ever!  I SO look forward to watching these two together of the years!

Utah vs. Stanford...with Isaac

Isaac was so good at the first Utah game that we took him to, so we took him to another!  Little did we know that he would be a little grump!  Note the evidence...

After a little talk, he decided to chipper up and was happy the remainder of the game.  He was so good and sat on our lap the entire time.  Just like a good boy should ;).  
And the game was SO good!  Utah played Stanford, and they were expected to loose.  And they were loosing...but they came back and WON!!  It was such a good win for us!  GO UTES!!!

School Pictures ~ 2013

Here are the school pictures of Noah and Leah this year.  I am honestly not a huge fan of school pictures, and I think this will be the last year that I spend the money on them.  Part of me feels obligated to buy them because school pictures are something that I have always had...but they are just not my favorite.  I'm not a fan of the formal sitting, and the backgrounds drive me nutty.  I'll always continue to get the class pictures though.  And I'm going to make it a tradition to go and get their pictures taken somewhere nice each fall.  I think that I'll enjoy those pictures much more than these.  It will be nice to have pictures on my walls of the kids with true smiles on their faces...instead of fake ones ;).

We love to see the temple...

We had the opportunity to go to Payson to go to the baptism of the son of Doug's good friend.  After the baptism, we went to their house, which is right across the street from the new temple!  It was so amazing to see!  We all get so excited and happy when we are near the temple, and to see it in the process of being built was pretty amazing.  The Angel Moroni had just been put on the top of the temple days before.  What a sight to see :).  We definitely LOVE to see the temple!!!

Kate {at 18 months}

Sweet Baby Kate is 18 months old!  I think it's safe to say that this has been the fastest 18 months ever! It still feels like I just had Kate...wasn't she just a baby yesterday??  The baby of the family is definitely loved and adored by everyone in this family.  She is SO spoiled...but we don't care, and neither does she ;).

At 18 months, Kate...

...weighs 22 pounds and is 32 inches tall.  She's not below or off the charts...just normal.

...has the best sense of humor.  She is so easy to laugh...at everything.  We all love it when she starts laughing at us, and then we keep doing whatever is funny to her...all for her amusement.  It's always good fun :).

...is still the best little eater ever.  She had a period about a month ago when she would only drink and not chew anything, but that's because of those dang teeth.  She's now back to eating like a champ.

...loves to play!  I know that this is pretty typical of most kids, but watching her play is just the cutest thing ever.  She will go and grab a doll in the morning, and that will be her toy for the day...she will take it with her everywhere she goes that entire day.  The next day she will do the same with some other toy...it's very cute.  And she will not misplace her object or toy of the day.  And don't even think to touch her toy when she is playing with it...she is very protective and will not let anyone touch it.  The other children have learned this the hard way ;).

...loves to play with her siblings.  Especially Isaac!  She will follow him around like a little puppy on somedays and will do whatever he is doing.  Isaac loves playing with her too...so it's a great match for both.  They are also so happy whenever they play...no crying at all.  Just laughing and pure joy.

...is starting to talk more and more every day.  She still only says "Isaac"...she won't even attempt to say Noah and Leah.  But when you ask here "Where is Noah (or Leah)?", she will point right at them.  I personally think that she's just being a bit stubborn because she knows how badly we all want her to say their names!  Stinker.  She also says shoes, spoon, cow, cat, dog, cup, food, bowl, banana, book...just to name a few.  She is starting to mimic whatever we say, which is adorable.  She has the cutest little voice.

...absolutely loves playing with her little cousin, Sydney.  Watching these two little gals together is one of the cutest things ever!  I'm so happy that they have each other play with :).

...loves to dress up.  She and Leah have so much fun putting on skirts, and dresses, and crowns, and necklaces.  Oh the joys of having a bis sister that adores you :).

...is still the best little sleeper.  There was a two week period a while back, where she would NOT go down to sleep, which was so weird because she has never had a problem before.  She was definitely throwing us a curve ball!  She didn't want to go in her crib, she didn't want us to hold her, she didn't want to be put on the ground...it was a mystery.  Well, after 2 weeks of doing this, she finally started to go down the way that she always has.  Again, we are blaming it on her teeth.

...absolutely LOVES to take a bath.  She freaks out every time I ask her if she wants to get in the tubby.  She runs right into the bathroom and tries her hardest to take her clothes off...it is so funny to watch.  On the downside, she hates to get out of the tubby.  You can't win them all.

...loves her blankets and loves to drag them around the house with her.  She has learned that we don't take blankets out of the house, so whenever we go out, she takes them all to her room and drops them on the floor.

...absolutely LOVES music!   Listening to music is definitely one of her favorite things to do.  Good thing I play music on a regular basis.  She also loves to dance, and can't help to bounce up and down whenever she hears a  good beat.  Watching her dance is always one of the highlights of my day.

...will shake and nod her head for "yes" and "no".  Sometimes she confuses the two...I'm hoping that she starts saying them soon.

...prefers to stay home...she definitely enjoys having a consistent schedule.  She's also so much happier when we are at home.  She will tolerate going here and there, but she will let us know when she is DONE!!

...is very obedient and will listen when I tell her not to do something.  And she listens so well...she usually doesn't do it again.  I'm thankful for her good listening skills...I hope they last!

...is definitely a mama's girl.  She prefers me and likes to be in my arms most of the time.  She especially loves to be held when the other kids are running wild.  Poor girl has learned the hard way.

...is totally and completely adored by everyone in our family.  She is the baby of our family and we all just love her so much.

Love you to the moon and back, baby girl :).

Thursday, October 17, 2013

Sister Garces

My niece, Elizabeth, has decided to go on a mission!!!  I am beyond excited for her and we have been looking forward to see where she was going to go. The day finally came, and we all gathered at her house last night to hear the news!  After much anticipation, she opened her call and she will be serving in the Concepcion Chile Mission!  We couldn't be more excited for her and are so happy for her and her willingness to serve!  Oh, what a wonderful missionary she will be!  Now we have 4 1/2 months before she goes...we'll definitely take in all the time we can with her. So exciting!!!


Tuesday, October 15, 2013

hot and cold...

Kate is so hot and cold...she can be really sad one minute, and really happy the next.  It just depends on what's going on, but I will say that it is pretty funny to watch!  Here she is pulling a grumpy face, and then being super happy moments later.  Love all of her faces :).  

games...

Leah LOVES to play games...loves it!!!  Her favorites are Memory, Spot-It, and UNO Attack!  And she's good...really good.  She usually wins everyone she plays, especially at Memory and Spot-It.  Doug and I are convinced that she has a photographic memory!  The one game that we can stump her on is UNO Attack, and we all are a little excited when we finally beat her ;).  But, the thing about Leah, is that she is NOT a poor sport, at all!  Whenever you win against her, she will tell you "good job" and give you a hug.  I'm thankful for her positive attitude :).  

Here's Leah playing with Noah...I think you could say that she a cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater since she's looking at his cards!  Oh well...no one's perfect ;).

technology and a one year old...

How is it that Kate already knows how phones work?  It's as if these little babes come programed knowing how to use all things technological!  Crazy!  

fall soccer is over...

Noah had his last soccer game of the season last week.  We have thoroughly enjoyed going to his games!  His team has done such a wonderful job working together and Noah has learned so much.  He is the youngest on his team, so most of the boys have a extra year on him, but that hasn't stopped him from pushing ahead.  Noah's favorite position to play is goalie, and he has done such a good job.  He's had a few balls pass him by, but that's understandable.  I'm already looking forward to watching him play in the spring :). 

{ bike rides... }

I think that the kiddos and I went on a bike ride every day this summer...for real.  All of the kids absolutely love riding their bikes around, and there's only so much you can do riding up and down our street.  Kate really enjoys riding in the Chariot, so these bike rides have been a good way to calm her down, as well as getting out and getting some exercise :).  Plus it's just so much fun!  Good times, for sure.