Natalie is 3! Happy PINK Birthday!

My girl is 3! I can't believe it. It happend some time before today that she became 3... wasn't dependent upon the date... it just happened. How did I know? What were the signs?

She talks more clearly, she is taller, she likes girl stuff- no longer content to play whatever J.D. wants- she has her own ideas. She reads books to herself in her bed for 30 minutes before she goes to sleep, she plays dolls, sleeps with over 20 animals, dolls, bears, dogs, stuffed things (like a green rabbit... a pink horse... etc). She can chew gum and not swallow it (you have to be 3 in our house to be eligible to have gum- unless you are on an airplane and you are screaming b/c your ears hurt and the mommy is out of lolli's (a.k.a. lolly-pops). She notices the color pink everywhere. She sings and dances- the girl loves her music. She has an opinion on clothes, shoes and hair accessories. She is starting to have more confidence on her bike. She has friends. She tells J.D. she isn't done talking and to hush so she can finish talking- hmm! She likes flowers and butterflies. She likes make-up (grandpa John gave her the first set at Christmas- we gave her more today. She sits at her vanity and does her make-up- I used to sit at the same vanity with my cousin Nikki and do make-up, too. ) She loves LIPS as we call them- lip gloss, lip stick, chapstick, whatever. She loves lotion (which she calls soap). Lightening McQueen and Cinderella hold top spots for her animation preferences. She wants a puppy (BADLY). She no longer wears pull-ups (day or night). (We have recently purchase a waterproof mattress pad... but that is another story.) She loves babies. She washes her hands constantly- the girl can get dirty with the best of the them... but loves a little foaming soap to get clean! She pretends a lot. She throws temper tantrums. Her scream is piercing! The giggles and laughs... She enjoys jewelry. She reads her Bible (pictures) and loves Jesus! She is a delight- my joy (okay... one of the 3 joys).

Today is Natalie's 3rd Birthday. She wanted a PINK party. It was great. Here was the day...
As typically Smith fashion- the day started like Christmas morning (she awoke to decorations, presents and fun breakfast). Donuts with pink sprinkes, eggs and juice; followed by presents and presents and more presents. Then, a PINK outfit and a PINK party with friends. We had 5 friends over (Garrison, Daniel & Caroline; Avary and Evelyn). It was FUN, FUN, FUN! We made our own party hats (which would have been better with the right elastic- but oh well, the colored and stickered while lunch was getting ready- it served the purpose); we had PB&J (strawberry jelly of course), fruit with pink fruit dip and red peppers. Then, off for a pink scavenger hunt (I collected ALL of Natalie's pink toys to use either as decorations or for the hunt). The hunt was a huge success (and each kid found 7 things... everybody won- thank you, Lord!). We had white cake with pink icing and hot pink sprinkles and pink ice cream. Then, we opened presents... gave our friends their pink candy and called it a day! Whew...
This year, Natalie loved getting the following presents:
outfits (pink and green, perfect!), hair stuff- we LOVE hair stuff!, seeds for a butterfly garden, a princess lamp for her bedroom!, a plant for her bedroom, Fancy Nancy- dressups and book- (if you have a girl and don't know Fancy Nancy - like I didn't until today- you've got to check her out- she is wonderful- I'm a total fan in one day!), cake party set (Grandpa John- she has 'blown out that candle' a thousand times today!), kitchen items (Nana's were the best), make-up, gum, princess wand (obnoxious- may the batteries last till Nana gets here!), magnetic dress up dolls (Oma- they are awesome!), clothes for doll babies, more snap on pieces for her Fisher Price snap on dolls, a movie and more clothes! I think that is it... I'm not sure... the list is long- the presents pilled up... the fun of paper shredding and bow ripping was monumental in this house today!

Here are some fun pictures of our birthday gal today!

Watching Curious George awaiting the time to open her presents- look at them- so many!

Friends making party hats!

My girl has a face made for hats! So, far, we have never seen a hat that doesn't look good on our cutie pie!

December Pictures

Precious Natalie under the tree!

J.D. and his guitar on Christmas morning.


Natalie with Carson's drum, Christmas morning

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve.

Mommy's Birthday

Mommy's Birthday

Carson, Christmas morning.

Flew to the East Coast... To Fly home to the West... seriously!

It is a snowy-Sunday morning as I am writing this. The kids are parked in front of the Disney Channel... and I am hoping to get some pictures posted of December happenings. But, this story about our holiday travels is a good one!

Right before Christmas, Jason's grandfather passed away. He was in his mid-90's. Lived a long, good life. And, he will be missed.

At first, just Jason and Carson were going to attend the funeral. With it being just days before J.D.'s birthday and Christmas (and the price of airfare), we decided only Jason could/should go. Then, plans changed and I was hunting for more airline tickets at the last minute. So, here are the details...

Jason- flew ouf of the Springs, the last ticket out... with Carson as a lap child. His connection was cancelled in Chicago. They booked him on the next flight out in First Class.

The next day, Carrie/J.D./ Natalie flew out of Denver. (we left the house at 3am!) We arrived in Salt Lake City for our connection... a 45 minute layover turned into a 5.5 hour layover due to mechanical problems. The whole airport had travelers in it that were stranded. And, yet, I will never cease to be amazed at how God provides... I literally ran into a member of our old youth group (Annapolis) in the airport. She was scheduled to fly on the same flight to Baltimore- as she was headed home for Christmas. So, I had HELP for those 5.5 hours! Thank you, Lord. When we got on the plane, we weren't all seated together (due to the last minute booking). So, I needed to ask the man in the row with the Children to switch with me. He said NO. Then, Natalie bit, kicked and hit J.D. The man switched places! And, if you believe in God having a sense of humor... the man in the row with the man that said NO... well, he was Morman and proceeded to take the whole flight to try to convert the man that said NO to me. HA!

We arrived in Baltimore at 11:30pm... thankful for The Millers helping me navigate the 2 baggage claims that the bags came in on... they hubbed the kids while I navigated between the 2 carousels where the luggage was coming out of, don't know what I would have done without the help... got the rental car... drove to Drew's... Jessi had a botttle of wine open and ready... she really is a wonderful sister in law! The kids were overjoyed to see Kayla. We played, chatted and then slept! Drew made a wonderful breakfast, Kayla painted Natalie's nails, the kids loved being together and I needed a dose of Drew and Jessi! Again, thank you Lord for this quick visit with them.

We piled in the car at 10am... drove to Carlisle... visited with John and Jill for about an hour... then went to the church for the funeral. My kids wouldn't sit still... so we went to the nursery. I missed the funeral! At the reception, J.D. got his finger slammed in a very large, heavy, wooden church door. He was inconsolable. So, I think both Jason and I missed the reception for the most part. Then, it was time for kids to go to sleep- we went to the hotel... and that was that.

The next morning... dropped Jason and Carson at the Harrisburg airport. Drove the rest of us to Annapolis for another quick visit with Kayla and Drew and Jessi. Went to airport, dropped off car, schleped all our stuff from rental car to baggage/check-in; got to the gate- DELAYED! Sat on the plane for 1.5 hours... because they didn't have enough ground crew to load our bags on the plane. Landed in Atlanta at the exact same time our connecting flight was taking off. Missed it. Got in line at customer service (more than 100 in front of us) leading to one agent. I called the Delta Hotline... they said go to front of airport, find an agent, get hotel voucher, we are booked in First Class on the first flight out in the morning. (Nothing like flying First Class in yesterdays clothes, with no make-up or hair stuff... hmmm).

Got to front of airport... another 100+ people in line. Kids LOSING it... Natalie scratched J.D. Some grandpa saw us... grabbed us... took us to the front of the line... told the people behind us to 'deal with it, she's got kids'. Thank you , Lord for that angel! Got our hotel voucher, had to go find the shuttle to the hotel... with about 300+ people waiting, yikes! Got to the hotel, slept for 5 hours, back to the airport... flew first class on J.D.'s birthday- he loved it! Got home, got pizza for J.D.'s birthay, and got busy getting ready for Christmas.

It was crazy. Essentially, I feel like we flew to the East Coast just to fly back! And, yet, it was good to see family even just briefly.

Funnies...

Within the past week...

• Natalie has dipped Sour Cream and Onion Potato Chips into Brownie Batter... eaten it... said 'yummm' and went back for more! (she chased it with a little Diet Coke.)
• When asked what she wanted to eat for dinner the other night... she said 'ladybugs'. I asked her what she thought they would taste like... she said 'hamburgers'.
• Last night, J.D. was dancing in the dining room. He stopped - looked up at Jason and said, "I was jammin." (where did he learn 'jammin?'- I think at the Divines... they are fun enough to use words like that...)

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving started early this year... about 2:30am to be exact. You see, I bought a 22lb turkey that needed to be ready by noon! Oh my!

But, let me tell you this is the BEST way to do Thanksgiving! I got up at 2:30am, stuffed the bird, put it in the oven (having left myself a note to make sure the oven was on)... crawled back in bed by 3am... and woke up at about 7:30am to the smell of turkey cooking. What a lovely greeting on an Thanksgiving morning!

We had coffee cake and cheese sticks for breakfast (so as not to ruin our appetites), then made Thanksgiving Turkey Hands (see below), watched the parade, put the finishing touches on Thanksgiving dinner and had our wonderful friends Matt and Charity over for a noon meal.

We had a great time together. God has certainly blessed us with great friends. What a blessing to be able to share a delicious meal together and praise the Lord for He is good, no matter our circumstances.

We were finished with dinner by 2pm... put away the food... and took good 'turkey induced' naps. Got up, watched some football, re-loaded the dishwasher, watched more football, thought about hand washing some dished- put that off for a bit longer, fed kids left-overs, played with kids, packed for our trip, then handwashed the dishes from the morning. What a RELAXING day. I think we found a new tradition of Thanksgiving at NOON! What a great day.

The Adult Table. (We sat Carson at the end... out of reach of the table cloth... but still close enough in throwing distance of Charity... oops...)

The turkey is under all those towels... came out perfect at 10:30am

All the food was prep-ed on Tuesday or Wednesday... so Thursday was super easy! I am very thankful for all I learned while working at Making Memories Catering in Newnan, GA.


Thanksgiving Turkey Hands. We asked the kids what they were thankful for and wrote it on their hands. This is Mommy and Natalie. Natalie is thankful for broccoli and hairbands. Carson (the little red one) is thankful for 'dah-dy'

Daddy and J.D. hands. J.D. is thankful for God making us and for coloring.

Now onto the Thanksgiving Day Adventure. We decided to go to Estes Park for the Catch the Glow Celebration. Little did we know that 1/2 the state was also headed there! But, it was fun. We left Colorado Springs around 11am... got to Estes Park by 2:30pm...

By 2:30pm, people had begun claiming their place along the road for the Light Parade at 5:30pm. Hmm... we forgot chairs.... Hmm... we are not going to worry about this... let's go to Rocky Mountain National Park....

So, we did. And, we are so GLAD. It was beautiful. When we first drove in there were cars parked by the side of the road... b/c there was a herd of Elk in the field (pictures yet to be downloaded from the other camera- check back next month, hee, hee).

We parked, got the kids out of the car, put on jackets, hats, gloves, boots (for the umpteenth time that day)... and let the kids watch the elk. We heard them call to each other. We watched one nurse. We watched the 'king' of them bully around some lesser males. It was fascinating.

Then, we were off to drive up to Bear Lake. I was envisioning seeing the lake at the mountain top. Oops. It is November in Colorado. What was I thinking. The lake was buried under snow and ice. But, the kids did get out (again, the coat, mitten, hat, boot routine) and we walked up to the lake and they went out on the ice with Daddy. Of course I stayed on solid ground (someone has to be able to call for help in case the ice cracks...).

We made it back into town in time to get into all our snow gear again... and find a spot for the parade. All the town's emergency vehicles were decked out, then followed by different businesses, etc that had made floats, some horses, and such. It was grand. The kids loved it.

Then, we got back to the car, out of all the winter gear, and started the 40 minute drive to Boulder (that is if there is no snow and the road are clear...). So, 1.5 hours later, we arrived at our hotel, tired, cold and grumpy. We tucked kiddos in bed and went to sleep!

The next day (Saturday), we explored Pearl Street in Boulder. How fun! Great shops, great walking mall area for the kids to run. And, Santa was there!. Natalie saw him and rushed and gave him the biggest and longest hug! She is the perfect age for Santa! What innocence on display.

Boulder was great. And, we will look forward to going back and seeing more of it. There are some fun tours in the town that we will be able to do when kids are older (like the Celestial Seasonings...tea... tour... yes, Mom, we can go!) We will go back and hike and climb. And, to shop! It looks like a fun place to do more exploring.

Mom and kiddos at Bear Lake.

Carson is actually in the backpack all snuggled up like a papoose.

Big kids with Santa in Boulder.

"Please put candy in my bag."

"Please put candy in my bag," Natalie said when our dear friend Charity opened her door on Halloween... no 'trick or treat'... just straight to the point... why bother with tradition or pleasantries... get right to the point... she is my daughter after all!

Halloween was dear. J.D. was superman (pjs that Uncle Drew gave us last Christmas...) Natalie was a dinosaur (not a princess... a fairy... or something sweet) she was a 'mean dinosaur' according to her. Carson was the pumpkin. Now everyone has been this pumpkin. Guess it is time to retire the costume. Hard to think of getting rid of it... they have all been it... it is like getting rid of a piece of my heart... and yet, keep it... for how long... till when... to do what with... oh, the delimnas of motherhood.

"Carson-ni-ni " as his siblings have nicknamed him.

Pumpkins carved at the Senior High Pumpkin Carving Night! We put candles in them- turned them around to face our front door and lit them each night for a week before Halloween. The kids would rush to the door to make sure the candles were still glowing each night.


Look at all that candy... that is only 20 minutes of trick or treating!

My precious dinosaur! A boy can she growl!

The trio!

Carson's First Birthday

One year ago... 7:09pm... Carson Andrew Smith was born!

What a difference a year makes!

On the eve of a birthday in the Smith household, after the kiddos have fallen asleep.. the birthday fairies (aka Mom and Dad)... transform the dining room into a Birthday Party! This year, J.D. picked a SpiderMan theme for Carson's party! (When Natalie came upstairs this morning... her first words were "Let's get the party out!".... for she had passed by the presents and balloons on her way to wake us up!)

The presents are laid out on the train table... it is like Christmas morning!

The table is set with SpiderMan plates, napkins and cups! (And my attempt at a cupcake cake!)

Doesn't it look like the box... ha, ha, hee, hee... maybe something out of Dr. Seuss! (Can't you just picture me making colorful icing at 7:00am... at least it was cream cheese icing!)

And, Carson loved it! Yummed it right up!

Mommy and Carson on his First Birthday (he is in outfit number 2... if you hadn't noticed... this outfit below is what J.D. wore on his first birthday)

Daddy and Carson sharing a Happy Birthday moment...

Spaghetti for dinner, yum-oh! And more cake for dessert!

Doesn't he have the best smile!

Here are our kiddos... Ages 1, 2 and 3!

Again, 1, 2, 3!

We talked in our house tonight about all the things that Carson has learned in the last year...

crawling, walking (some), eating, waving, kissing, rolling over, sitting up, babbling, holding a bottle... it really is amazing how fast they grow!

My darling baby has the nicest temperment. He is our little blessing. I am so thankful for our little surprise... what a dear. Thank you Lord for Carson and all that he adds to our family!

(P.S. This is the first, first birthday that Mommy is NOT pregnant... crazy thought... )

Shop at www.heirloomstobe.com for Christmas!

Christmas is coming...
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She has the cutest little boys outfit for Christmas Eve or Day... it is a blue jumper with the nativity scene on it! Adorable!
There is a music box with a ballerina that twirlls...
Apron set for the chef in your house.
Christmas Party dresses for your little princess and tons more!

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Here is how we are talking about life...

I think it would be easier to have triplets! At least they would all be at the same developmental stage...

Here is how we can describe the stages each child is in:

J.D.= Markers
Natalie= Crayons
Carson= Eats Them!

J.D.= running, hopping, skipping, jumping (even jumping jacks!)
Natalie= I can do anything J.D. can do!
Carson= please don't run over me, jump on me, skip on me, fall on me!

J.D.= likes to play with toys with small pieces
Natalie= likes to throw small pieces, hide small pieces of toys
Carson= likes to eat small pieces of toys

J.D.= likes music on at bed time; no covers
Natalie= likes the Rain button on the sound machine and 2 books and 10 animals doll babies in her bed; lots of blankets
Carson= paci and blanket, dark, quiet room

J.D.= loves his books and to have stories read to him; sits still for the whole story
Natalie= likes to talk to her books; likes to have her own book when we are reading aloud to J.D.
Carson= likes to eat the books

Thought of another one
J.D.- big boy underwear
Natalie- pull-ups
Carson- diapers


will post pictures soon!

Smith Family Olympics

We have gotten really into the Olympics around here. On the day of opening ceremonies... I decorated the dining room with red, white and blue streamers, a red table cloth, red/white/blue plates napkins and cups. (The kids wanted to know what kind of cake we were having since they associate streamers and cake with one another... oops no cake... didn't know this association... will know next time). Anyway... I printed off some pictures of Olympics type things... The Olympic Rings, The Olympic Torch, The American Flag, The 2008 Olympics Logo, and The Olympic Medals and I set each picture at a place setting. Then, we headed outdoors for some family olympics... we ran relay races in the drive-way (which sent our neighbors streaming out of their houses to see what in the world we were doing... racing up and down the driveway... handing off wooden spoons to one another...), we kicked soccer goals, we ran sprints (and broke the tape at the end of the driveway that was tied between the fence post and the mailbox...) this was a hit! We rode bikes in circles (like the bike racers), we did some gymnastics (which they call 'nastics'). Anyway... lots and lots of fun games. Then we ordered Chinese Food (yes, of course we did!). We ate chinese food and talked about the pictures. So, now when they see the rings on t.v.- they say- "The rings... The rings..." And, they say the same thing about the medals, the torch, the little red logo/sport people drawings, etc. We really learned a lot! We have watched the Olympics everyday... they know who Michael Phelps is. I decided not to show them discus throwing- thought that might not work out well in our living room.... We do a lot of 'nastics' and have loved every minute of the olympics. When they see volleyball- they ask for Kelsey. We wear our medals from The Little Gym- which are brilliantly red/white/blue this semester with a gold medallion. They want to go there... meaning Beijing. Ha! Who knows maybe one day one of them will work at the Olympics like their dad did in Atlanta. Needless to say it has been very fun cheering for Team USA.
Then, today, I read the Sunday comics (yes, it is Tuesday... but we get to things when we can around here...). Thought this was particulary funny! Seems to sum up our house!

Anyway... go Team USA! and Team Smith!

Hilton Head

In July, my whole family gathered in Hilton Head Island to celebrate by grandmother's 80th birthday. It was so much fun! Our family has celebrated many special occasions in Hilton Head (25th and 55th Wedding Anniversaries for Mamaw and Papaw; not to mention summer vacations for my High School and College Years).

This week had so much fun packed into it... I think we all need a vacation from vacation...

1. Saturday night- arrived- dinner in Mamaw's condo- Uncle Steve/Aunt Barbie/ Kyle and Kelsey arrive with T-Shirts for everyone. Yes, we are officially one of those families. It was awesome! "One family... One beach... ENDLESS Drama" Oh so true!

2. Sunday- family photo on the beach. Khaki and White. Everyone together- beautiful pictures! Plus, we baptized Carson on the beach (video to come soon).

3. Monday- went to see pictures- took forever- just too many cute ones to pick from!

4. Tuesday- grandchild night out with Mamaw. At a lovely restaurant- gave her a photo book with lovely letters in it to her for her birthday. (left all the 'great grandkids- with grandparents- oh chaos...)

5. Wednesday
Guys golfed.

6. Thursday
Waverunners. Lori and I got the fastest one... all the guys were jealous. I got off the thing and felt like I had ridden a horse and then it had kicked me. :)
Pontoon Boat- kids went with grandparents- saw dolphins- almost rammed a very large, beautiful yacht in Harbor Town... oops.

7. Friday
last day on beach... beautiful

Everyday, we hit the beach for a couple of hours in the morning... followed by cooling off in the pool- where J.D. and Natalie used their swimmies to swim in the pool. J.D. was jumping off the side/ going under/ putting his face in the water/ etc. His swim teach from swim ministry would have fallen over in disbelief! Natalie eventually jumped off the side and got her face wet. She really loved the swimmies- they kept her afloat- and she could just drift from one person to the next. They were amazing! At the beach- they loved the wide open spaces- playing with their cousins- riding in the boat- it was a great time! Carson mostly ate sand!

It was a GREAT week.

Hilton Head