Random Pictures

Carson Andrew Smith... name means "Mommy's Warrior"

Carson is growing so fast... he gained 3 lbs in one month! I'd be exhausted if I almost doubled my weight in a month :) No wonder babies sleep so much.

Natalie at The Little Gym... check out the cutie pie pig tails!

She is ADORABLE...

The Christmas picture... that lead to the Christmas coat... A lady in the mall made friends with us while we were in line for pictures with Santa... after pictures were done... she said, 'there is an adorable coat in Macy's that would be perfect for your little girl. I would like to buy it for you.' Can you believe it... who does that happen to? So, she did... and Natalie has a precious winter white dress coat that will always remind us of the lady God used to help us learn the lesson He is teaching us- which is to be gracious recipients.

The Little Gym

At the end of last semester, the class all got medals for their achievements at The Little Gym. J.D. wears his at least once every day!

Natalie on the balance beam.

Look at her go!

Bubbles at the end of class. What fun... bubbles indoors...

Parachute play....

Obstacles... balance... jumping... our kids have no fear.

swinging on the bars

more swinging on the bars...

We love the Little Gym. They are owned by a super sweet couple, who you can tell loves kids and love what they do. The classes help our kids learn gymnastics skills, gross and fine motor skills, we are making new friends... and it is just plain fun.

Pictures...

Natalie loves ELMO... she calls him "Melmo". She has an Elmo shirt, Elmo shoes, a Tickle Me Elmo (Extreme Edition)... how precious!

Carson... in daddy's lap... He is a happy kid... loves to smile and it starting to giggle.

Carson lives in the swing... thank you Nana! He loves it. It has a mobile, a mirror, it swings like a swing and/or a cradle. It is the cadillac of swings... Susan, you need to register for one of these!



J.D. is such a big boy. This is him at The Little Gym. He is getting really good at keeping his balance. This semester he is in a child-only class... no more parent-child classes with him- very SAD day... but, of course he loves it. He listens really well to his teachers, gets along with the other kids and is the star of the class. He is really good at gymnastics.

Jason

As many of you know... Jason went into the hospital 5 days after Carson was born. He had 10 inches of his intestines removed... and has been recovering well over the last couple of weeks. He has gained almost 20 pounds and we are hopeful for 20-30 more! For the first time in 20 years eating is not associated with pain! Praise the Lord. He is eating so much, enjoying foods he hasn't allowed himself to eat in a long time, and gaining energy and strength daily. The next surgery will be later this spring... we will keep all of you posted!

Kids say the darndest things...

1. 'Pickles and Tandy, Pickles and Tandy' ... said by Natalie... she must be exploring opposities in her world...
2. 'Pick a Nose?' Natalie is living with her finger up her nose... oh so lady like. Wants to pick her nose and anyone elses for that matter.
3. 'Licorise jumps' ... said by J.D. meaning he was jumping with his tongue hanging out of his mouth... yes- lick-ish jumps...???
4. "Ah- goo" ... said by both J.D. and Natalie to Carson, so precious.

Sleep Deprivation Will Lead To...

Sleep deprivation will lead to... (please keep in mind this all happened in less than 24 hours).
1. I lost my keys... so I took Jason's... and was off to do some errands. Found my keys (after I had been to a friend's house, church, Kohl's, home again, Target and home again) on top of my car.
2. On further inspection of the top of the car... I found a box of chicken nuggets... from the night before... that had also travelled all over town that very day.
3. Put Natalie's shoes on the wrong feet, noticed she was walking funny in the snow... thought she was being a bit princess like... didn't realize what I had done to her for over 20 minutes.
4. Burnt cookies... yes, really burnt them badly... when I had guests over... so burnt cookies with witnesses... AHHH!

The Birth Story

Okay... a lot of you have been asking for the 'birth story'. So, here goes!
Before Carson was born my mother said she was going to consult the Lord as to when she should arrive... didn't want to come to soon... didn't want to plan to come too far after the birth. So, I began to joke that my mother, American Airlines and The Lord (of course) were going to determine the date and time of baby #3's arrival. Little did I know just how accurate that combination was going to be... My mom's plane landed at the Colorado Springs airport at 2:35pm. I was reading a book while waiting in the van in the cell phone waiting lot. In the book, I jotted down 2:37pm as the first serious contraction that I thought I should be timing. And, they started to come every 3-4 minutes... so, I picked up my mom, told her I was having contractions (but thought it could be false labor AGAIN), brought her home- yes, I was driving, did a craft with the kids that she had brought for them, and then went upstairs at about 4:45 to see if the contractions would get any stronger, space out, etc. Well, I laid down and the contractions started one on top of the other. Jason started the car and we were off to the hospital. We checked into the hospital at 5:15pm (at 7cm!), the doctor broke my water at 7:08pm and Carson arrived after one MEGA push at 7:09pm! This is the way it should be! It was a delightful birth experience... Jason did all the right things... said all the right things... it was lovely (yes, a bit painful for the last 3 minutes...) but perfect all the same.