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.

Carson Andrew Smith

Carson Andrew Smith
November 17, 2007
7:09pm
6lbs 15 oz
19.5 inches

Halloween

Natalie was Nala! She loved to roar. I wish you could have seen her get down on all fours and scrunch up her face and ROAR! And, now 2 weeks later- she is still roaring... she is precious!

J.D. wanted to be a dinosaur, bear, alligator (all the things that show up in his nightmares... hmmm?). Anyway, we found a dinosaur costume and he loved it... wants to wear it all the time still!

Here are the kids in our driveway helping Jason get the fire pit set up for the night. We don't get many trick or treaters... I think because we are at the top of the hill and there aren't a lot of kids in our neighborhood... but, we like to invite our neighbors over for smores and cider anyway. The kids went to about 5 houses with Jason- got a bunch of candy--- they loved it...

In other news... yes, baby # 3 is taking his/her own sweet time in arriving. This is the longest I have ever been pregnant... considering J.D. was 17 days early and Natalie was 12 days early. I am hoping that this one arrives by Wed or Thursday... but- I think s/he is very content where s/he is at the moment... please pray this child comes out soon!

funny things and updated pictures

Natalie loving the snow!

Natalie mad about having to stop playing in the snow to come inside to take a nap...

Aren't they precious! (Natalie wearing mommy's heals)

This is our backyard on 10/21/07... our first snow fall of the year.

Kids playing in the first snow fall...

J.D. and Mommy dancing at the Oktoberfest in a nearby town. The kids danced and danced and danced- all the old people in the audience loved watching them. (And, yes, tha tis me about 7 month prego...)

The whole fam at Aunt Susan's wedding! This is a better belly shot!

Natalie and Daddy. Don't they look great together!

Natalie and J.D. looking at the Ohio River... wondering... what is all that wet stuff and where are my mountains???

I have told a bunch of you these funny stories... but here they go again...

And, here are the three precious things that have come out of J.D.'s mouth recently:
We were driving in the car... I handed him a bottle of water... b/c no one goes anywhere in CO without a bottle of water... upon handing it back to him... he said... "Mommy, sing me a drinking song!" (thank goodness I knew he meant the hit tune by the Wiggles 'gulp, gulp, drink some water' :)

And,
We are working very hard on taking simple concepts and expanding our knowledge around that subject... so Natalie learns the basic and J.D. is challenged at the next level...like.. What do cows say... MOO... What do cows give us... Milk Where is your mouth.. there it is... what does our mouth help us do... eat, drink, talk So, I said... "Where are your ears? What do our ears do...??" J.D. jumped up on his feet... threw his arms in the air and proclaimed with a smile on his face "MAKE EARWAX"

And, today,

One of my friends here in Colorado Springs took the kids ALL day so that I could get the nursery ready for baby #3... when I went to pick up the kids I had another friend's baby with me (she needed a last minute sitter..) anyway, the van door opened and J.D. saw the baby in the car seat and he said "Is that the baby from your belly?" He was so excited that it could possibly be... and so disappointed that it wasn't. If only it were that easy... drop kids off at 10am... pick them up with new baby by 3:30pm... oh well.


Natalie is singing the following songs these days:
Row, Row, Row Your Boat (she particulary likes the word merrily) Jesus Loves Me ABCs (which sounds like A E C E E E E) And, in response to every question you ask her she responds with "YAAAA!" She is so enthusiastic!

We have already had snow here in Colo Spgs! Yes, 10/21/07 was the date of our first snow fall this year. The kids were so excited- they wanted to play in it right away... but they were good and waited until after church. Natalie loved it so much she reallly threw a fit when she had to come inside for a nap. (see pictures).

Also, Natalie is very into babies. She loves her baby doll- named, Baby. She really loves my friends little one's. On Sunday night, we were at a friend's home who has a 5 month old. Natalie was 'instructing' us where to put her... then would get the baby settled in the bouncy seat... bring her a blanket and then bounce her lightly. This is a good sign! She LOVES babies. Hopefully the jealousy factor will not be too bad when baby #3 arrives around here in a couple of weeks.

Love to you all! Enjoy the pictures.

Cutest sayings and new pictures

Hi everyone! Life continues to speed ahead of us... can't believe this next baby will be here before Thanksgiving!
Natalie is very into playing peek-a-boo. She says... "Where are you..." about everything... "Daddy, where are you...", "J.D., where are you..." So, precious!
Okay... so I thought I would post some pictures... but kids are up early from their naps... gotta run! Hope to have pictures up soon!

This summer we...

This summer we have...
1. Really enjoyed the Colorado summer weather... no humidity... Natalie has a great tan. Plus, my blond haired, blue eyed children get that really white blond- it is so cute!
2. Had the comprehensive sonogram for baby #3. No, we didn't find out if the baby is a boy or girl... you just have to wait, too.
3. Excitedly are welcoming a new pastor and family to our church. Jason will have a 'big boss' for the first time in three years.
4. Celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary (and Jason's 33rd birthday)
5. Carrie went on a last minute day trip to Vegas to help Destination Paradise coordinate the on-site needs for a client that was having a private concert at the Hard Rock Hotel. It was great fun!
6. Went to camp... Horn Creek in the mountains of Colorado. Jason was the retreat speaker for the week for a youth camp. This was his first experience at this... he is pleased with how it went and hopes to do it again. The kids loved camp because we could play outside all day long... we rode the pony, J.D. learned how to throw a frisbee, climbed an indoor rock wall, played basketball and bowling in the gym, did crafts where the kids painted rocks- they loved this!, watched kids do a ropes course, played with the campers and counselors, danced at the square dance, swam in the pool, went down the water slides, and played tennis! It was a big week.
7. Went camping as a family for the first time. Again, the kids loved it. We went with the youth group here... I survived enough to say that I can see myself doing it again... although the midnight trips to the bathroom in bear country was a bit frightening... so I made Jason go with me (ha, ha, hee, hee).
8. Had Tom and Sue visit in the first week of August. Toured and got projects done... a great visit with them. We took the kids to the local amusement park... rode all the kiddie rides... J.D. loved the boat ride (picture below)- he rode it 5 times in a row!
9. Natalie is really starting to say real words! Tonight she helped sing "row, row, row your boat" by saying "ROOWW, ROOWW, ROOWW..." you get the picture.
10. J.D. is really a positive child. He is two years old and he gives great encouragement to me and Jason... "that was a good dinner Mommy"... "daddy, you hit ball good". It is so fun!
All in all, I'd say we have been very busy! We are very much looking forward to our vacation that is coming up in a couple of weeks. We are traveling to Ohio to go to my cousin Molly's wedding- then, Nana and Pap are watching the kiddos while Jason and I go away for a week together! Woo-hoo!
Here are some recent pictures... enjoy!

This is at the camp ground where we had our first family camping experience... yes, in a tent. There was a nature trail for children and at this stop along the trail kids can see how far they can jump... as far as a cricket or rabbit or deer.

Natalie, 17 months, on the playground at the campground!

J.D. helping with dinner preparations by washing potatoes at the camp site.

Natalie and Natalie... they are great buddies. Big Natalie is one of the members of the youth group... and our little Natalie adores her.

J.D. riding the boat at Elitch Gardens. He rode it about 5 times.

At Horn Creek Camp... J.D. got to climb the rock wall. One time they even harnessed him up and he got about 6 feet off the ground.

Natalie dressed for the square dance! Cutie pie!

We took at day and went to the Royal Gorge... and Jason did the drop zone swing out over the gorge.

J.D. on a log on the nature trail at the campground... inside it showed what might live in there...

Natalie learned how to say 'cheese' for the camera this summer!

6 month prego mommy and 2 1/2 year old J.D. playing frisbee at camp.

J.D. playing frisbee, again! Watch out Natalie!

Natalie bowling with Daddy at camp.

J.D. at camp. 2 1/2 years old.

J.D. and Daddy petting the horse at camp. J.D. got the ride the pony... named Glory.