August Doings

I always like to post about the little things that bring me happiness and joy. We really have to find happiness in the mundane moments of life because our lives are pretty full of mundane, everyday moments where especially for me it can feel like you are just going through the motions and sometimes you feel like you do the same things every day, but if we look for the little moments that bring a smile to our faces it can make life that much sweeter. 

The beginning of the month, my cousin, Mandy, and her daughter, Cora, came to visit. I haven't seen them in years and I'm so glad that she reached out to me when she was coming this way so we could catch up. We had dinner together and we took them out on the lake so they could kayak. They ended up needed to spend the night so we got a little extra time with them. The girls especially Baylor warmed up to them pretty quick and they were both happy to play with my girls.

Throughout the summer we did Ready, Set, Play for the city of Covington. We have done this for many years and love it. We do little activities at home and then go to local businesses to collect badges. We finished up last week and got the final prize which included a free kids meal to Chick Fil A, swim passes, a free Crumbl Cookie, a water bottle, and some other fun things.

We went to Covington's Kid Fest one Saturday. Nate had to work and so we went and saw him and spent a lot of time there- more than I planned since there was so many people but the girls had fun and Baylor even talked to a little girl when standing in line which is so unlike her. Paige sat in the police car, the girls got to go through the petting zoo, Paige held a lizard and pet a huge tortoise, we went on a train ride, and went through the vendors and collected some prizes.

Both my girls loves to draw and spend quite a bit of time doing arts and crafts. I really love the way Baylor draws people. It is the cutest thing.

Baylor drew the unicorn at church on the left and a portrait of Paige on the right. 

For my scripture study for Come Follow Me, I watch Don't Miss This to and it has been the best thing for me to add to my studies. I highly recommend watching or listening to them. They add such great insight and have helped me see the scriptures in a totally different way than I ever have. This past summer they had a summer of heroes that we did together as a family. Each week they had about 5 heroes from that week's reading. We would watch small increments of the video each day and the girls took turns taping the heroes on the door. I don't know how much Baylor got out of it but I felt that Paige enjoyed them and we all learned a little more about the Old Testament heroes that we had before. 

Paige did Baylor's hair one day and it was so cute even with the weird smile.

Baylor loves McCall's hands. She is constantly kissing, grabbing, and holding her hand and it is pretty cute though sometimes she can be a little rough.

Nate and usually Paige go to the messy store (Goodwill Outlet) almost every Friday. They love to go thrifting together and each find their own treasures and then they come home and we all sit down together to look over the treasures that they found. Baylor is very impatient with the showing and just wants to see what treasures they found her. They found a cute shrinky dink fairy set and the girls had fun doing them one night.

Paige calls McCall squirt and we had a Squirt bottle of soda and so she took the wrapping off and made this cute little card for McCall. Look close at the nutrition facts. :)

McCall and I went to church for the first time in August and I had three matching girls and it was the sweetest thing. I am so grateful for these three and that I get to be their mom!

I just love my baby snuggles. I could just kiss her cute cheeks and stare at her sweet face all day.

How did I get so lucky? They truly make my life more sweet and complete. I cannot imagine life without them.

August Adventures

We have done lots of fun things this August and the month went by too fast. I love these little adventures that we go on as a family. They make my soul so happy. I love the time spent with family while enjoying this beautiful world we live on.

One evening we took some fried chicken to Dash Point State Park. We enjoyed dinner with a view from our picnic blanket. Then I stayed under the sunbrella with McCall while Paige, Baylor, and Nate went out to the water. It was so sweet watching them and of course Baylor came back with her shorts soaking wet. The girls had fun chasing the waves and jumping over them and then they played in the sand for a little bit. It was a gorgeous summer evening.

Then we went to Brown's Point Lighthouse. There was an event going on so there was a crazy amount of people but we got to check off one of Baylor's summer bucket list items, watch the sunset. It was truly a beautiful setting and fun to sit on the rocks by the water watching the sun dip down beyond the horizon.

Another weekend, Paige wanted a play date with Addison. It has been a crazy summer and she hasn't seen her in a long time and it is much harder to see them since they moved. We decided to drive down to Bonney Lake and see their new house. Then Paige stayed at their house and played while the rest of us went to do some exploring. We first went and saw this waterfall. It was really pretty but you couldn't get very close to it which was a little disappointing.

We then went on this walk that was behind a neighborhood. It was a little weird to find. The boardwalk was really pretty and then it had lots of lots of stairs. Baylor loved all the stairs, Nate not so much.

Exploring the stream under the boardwalk before heading back to get Paige.

This past Saturday I decided that I wanted to go hike Asahel Curtis trail- it is one of my favorite hikes and we do it every year. We got there and it was closed for construction so we decided to drive to the other side of the freeway and hiked to Franklin Falls. It is another one of our family's favorite hikes and Paige and Baylor did great and hiked the whole thing. McCall was happy and slept the entire way in the front pack. It was pretty busy and there was quite a few people by the falls but it is always worth the hike to see the falls. It is such a pretty hike and I'm glad we did it.

Then we went to the Snoqualmie Tunnel and walked through a little bit of it before heading home. It was a fun family outing.

Two Months

Happy two months little one! Time truly is a thief and I want to just soak in every moment with this little baby. She is the sweetest thing and I love having her snuggled up to me and I always say she is just the cutest thing ever.

Two month update:

• She is 9 lbs 13 oz (11th percentile) and 22.72" (55th percentile)- My tallest baby yet so maybe she got the Peterson gene for height instead of the Smith one
• She smiles more and more each day and we all live for her cute baby smiles. She gives you the biggest grins when you talk to her especially in the mornings. She gives the most smiles to her sisters and she even has started to give little laughs. 
• She has found her voice this past month and will "talk" to you when she is happy and it is the cutest little sound. I love everything about her little happy voice and her squeals of delight. She has also found her voice more when she is hungry or tired and lets you know. The funniest is when she is crying and I pick her up to go feed her and then I have to set her down for a second to grab something and she will give me such an angry cry like how dare you put me down when I thought you were going to feed me.
• She is great at breastfeeding. During the day it is about every 2-3 hours, though mostly 3 hours. At night I usually feed her between 8 and 9 and then she will sleep until 2 which is a great stretch of sleep for me. Then she wakes up to feed again around 5 or 6 and then will nap next to me until 8 or 9 and then we are up for the day. She usually naps in my arms or in her swing depending on the day. There is no schedule and I just listen to her cues.
• She loves the bath and to take showers with Dad. 
• She loves people and doesn't like to be left by herself when she is awake. 
• She has rolled over a few time from her belly to her back when we are doing tummy time. It isn't consistent but she has done it a handful of time. She is getting really good at holding her head up when she is on her tummy.
• She is great at traveling and is content when she is in the car and going from place to place in her car seat. She has to go with the flow being the third child and so far is great with it.
• She loves to be outside and if she is upset and we aren't sure what is wrong, taking her outside always calms her down.

Snuggles and Smiles all around

I love my morning snuggles with her. I love to stare at her sweet sleeping face and hold her little hand. I love once she wakes up and having our little conversations together with her happy morning smiles.

Picture on Left: Towel bundle after her bath; Picture on Right: Her binky is constantly popping out and the girls get tired of having to keep putting it in so Paige created a binky holder with pipe cleaners. She had one that wrapped around her head and then folded down and connected to a piece of dried up play dough and fits in the outside binky hole.

She has had a couple of doctor appointments this week. At her two week appointment, I was told to have an ultrasound of her hips since she was breech the majority of the pregnancy and had what I referred to froggy legs. I got the ultrasound done on Monday and she did really good at it. She slept the entire time so it went very quickly. I found out the results that evening and her left hip is good and her right hip is slightly immature. I then had her two month well child check up today and talked with her doctor a little more about the results. The top of her femur bone isn't quite aligned into the hip socket and I was told it most likely will heal on its own. I will have to make an appointment with a pediatric orthopedic who will monitor it more. I asked what the worse case scenario would be and she said if it doesn't heal on its own she will have to wear a brace around her hips for 12 weeks. Everything else looked good at her check up though she did not like her shots at all. She was quite happy and giving the nurse smiles and talking to her and then she got the shot and her face got all red and she was angry and sad crying. It was the saddest little cry and it almost made me cry. I just cuddled her close until she calmed down enough to get her back in her car seat to go home.

Oh how I love this sweet little baby girl! She is such the perfect addition to our family and is SO loved!

Letter Y

Letter Y this week and next week will be our last week. We did it! Then Baylor will be off to a different preschool hopefully about once a week. She is excited about it and a little nervous. I have loved doing these preschool activities with her. She has learned so much over the year!

Monday we started with our usual letter tracing though this time around she raced to get through it as fast as she could...

Then she did a yo-yo craft. She first traced her hand and cut a little bit and then I helped out. She then glued on the hand and then the yo-yo is a cupcake liner.

Tuesday we did a yarn craft. She cut out little strips of yarn and then glued them on an uppercase and lowercase block letter Y.

Wednesday was a little too busy so we skipped that day and so on Thursday we did a yawn craft. Paige joined in with us in making her own person yawn. Baylor was supposed to be yawning in her picture though it looks more like a surprised face. :)

Then today her focus was YOU. She looked at herself in a mirror and did a self portrait. It turned out so cute!

Just one more letter....Z here we come!

"50th" Smith Family Reunion

 To celebrate Dale and Margaret's 50th wedding anniversary, we had a Smith family reunion in Lake Bay, Washington. The house was right on the Puget Sound and we loved every minute of it.

Day 1: Monday was my birthday and Nate and the girls spoiled me with some gifts that I opened before we left- some new cookie sheets and a gorgeous hummingbird feeder. Then Paige did the sweetest thing and during our car ride in short increments she gave me more gifts to open- a Milky Way, some more chocolate snacks, a very sweet keychain that she made, a bracelet that she braided, and a very pretty butterfly diamond dot that she made for me. I felt very loved and it sure was a special day. We arrived at the property in the evening and we first looked around. The original house was full of such character and had some really cool features. There were three houses on the property and we filled up all of it. We got everything unloaded and just enjoyed the evening with family.

The view of the house from the road. The second house is on the right and the little hideaway apartment was across the street (behind me in this picture). Dale and Margaret, Christy and Lylia, Mike and Myla, and all the older boys stayed in the big house; Aaron, Carly, Oneil, and Lily stayed in the house on the right; our family along with Anna and Scott and Brett and Eliza stayed in the apartment. It worked out really nice.

The view of the house from the opposite side. It had this gorgeous property that led right down to the water.

Our view of the water while cousins and people gathered. We spent most of our time down here searching for shells and just enjoying the incredible view.

Baylor taking in the view from the attic of the big house (where all the boys slept).

This porch swing was a very popular hangout and McCall was the star of the reunion and was passed around from one person to the next the entire time we were there. The view from this porch swing was stunning and it was a great place to sit and visit.

That evening we celebrated my birthday. I made two different kinds of sheet cake. It was fun to have everyone around for my birthday and to have this great reunion to enjoy to kick off my 33rd year of life.

I have been working on a gift for Dale and Margaret's 50th for the past couple of months. Earlier in the year when we were talking to Margaret about their anniversary, she mentioned that she didn't want a big party but that her parents had received cards and notes from family and friends and that was special and so that's just what I decided to do. Since about May I have been messaging family and friends and having them send me their favorite memories with Dale and Margaret and I put a scrapbook together for them. It took a lot of reminders and some people probably got sick of me constantly bugging them but it was worth it and so fun to read all of them. I put together a couple of scrapbook pages with pictures from their wedding and from their life and put them intermingled with the memories. I had a section of memories from family, then friends, and then I had "50 Memories for 50 Year" and had each of their kids write 10 memories down. Then last I had each of the grandkids' favorite memories.

We had it all wrapped and Nate gave it to me after we had cake and pretended that it was a present for me and then I gave it to them. It was so fun to watch from confusion of what it was all about to tears from Margaret about the gift. It was pretty sweet to watch and see all my hard work being worth it!

The sunsets every night were also gorgeous and the view plus the sunsets were something I will always remember.

Goodnight to the big house and our little family walked over to our retreat for the first night.

Day 2: First full day and it was filled to the brim with really nothing planned but was a full day of exploring and doing things as a family.

We had pretty much all of our meals outside under the pergola that was covered with grape vines that was on the side of the big house. It really was the perfect place for meals and each of us took on 2 meals. Aaron made French toast and sausage for our first breakfast.

We walked down to the water and there were quite a few of these huge jellyfish that had washed up with the tide. We were poking them and we found out they really don't sting you especially since they were dead. It was pretty entertaining watching Lily and Lylia attempt to "rescue" one of them. 

There was a fig tree on the property and I tried one for the first time. I was a little hesitant since they look pretty odd. It actually tasted pretty good though the texture was a little weird. 

There was a court on the property and we set up pickleball. It was another first for me and I played pickleball for the first time and it was a lot of fun. 

The view of the house from the court.

After breakfast it was a pretty chill morning- the boys were often at the dining room table playing a game all together, Lily and Lylia went out on the kayaks, we went on a little walk down the road and saw this cool little train car that was converted into a house, and Corgan set up a pickleball tournament.

Then almost everyone went and walked along the beach since it was low tide. It was fun to see everyone's properties and everyone enjoyed looking for shells.

The people came in waves and I love this shot of the house with people walking the beach towards us.

Beach combing-Lily and Paige really bonded during this reunion with both of their love of shells and finding them together and getting quite the collection to bring home.

These small sand dollars were first spotted by Nona and the girls fell in the love and it became the hunt to find the smallest one.

Baylor and Eliza came up holding hands and it was the cutest thing. They both enjoyed taking their shoes off and getting their feet in the water. Of course Baylor started going out a little farther every time and was pulling her shorts up so she could get a little deeper.

Then the pickleball tournament began! It was double eliminate and Corgan had all the brackets set up. It lasted the entire day and we still hadn't quite finished. It was pretty fun to watch. There were some breaks for meals and if something else was going on and at times it was just a quiet game with not very many spectators and at times it felt like the whole family was out there watching and cheering each other on. The boys took turns being ball boys and sideline judges and Corgan was the ref and kept score. It was a lot of fun for everyone involved!

Nona and Pops even got to take each other on!

Some action shots

Nona pulled off the win! I love the left picture with the winning moment and Corgan holding up his notebook in celebration for her and then the right picture if you look closely I love Pops' face.

There was a break for lunch and Mike brought things for BBQ pulled pork sandwiches. We decided to have our lunch under the trees and it was a very fun picnic style lunch. Aaron had shirts made for everyone and handed them out during this.

McCall loved being passed around and was pretty content most of the time unless she was hungry. I loved watching everyone's reactions with her especially if she was talking and smiling to them. She is so lucky to have so much family that loves her. Of the cousins, Corgan and Lily probably held her the most and were always asking to have a turn. 

These two moments were some of my favorite memories from the reunion. I would go back to our apartment to feed McCall. It was quiet and I could close the door to our room so that I didn't have to have a cover and it was nice to be in the air condition and get a break from the heat. I had gone over to feed her and when I came out all the little girls were over and I put McCall in the middle of them and they were all talking with her and touching her hand and they thought it was so funny to have her kick them. She was so smiley and doing her baby talk to them and they all loved it. Then the other picture is McCall was laid down on the blanket and I look over and I see all these teenage boys doing the same thing with her. They were all enthralled with her and playing with her as she smiled and talked to them. 

These three giving us some laughs while they tried on their shirts.

The pickleball tournament continued and it got pretty hot in the afternoon and Anna brought their machine for shaved ice and we all enjoyed some snow cones. The little girls especially loved it and hung around trying lots of different flavors.

The afternoon was pretty relaxing- some of the kids went out on the kayaks, McCall took a little break from the heat and fell asleep on our bed after one of her feedings, I found the little girls watching TV in the air conditioned house, and conversations by the porch swing.

We also made some sugar cookies. Paige saw these pictures and said she would have helped but most likely her and Lily were down by the water finding shells. Christy got taught by the expert (Anna) how to make sugar cookies and Myla and Lylia were happy to help cut them out.

That evening we had tacos for dinner and the boys loved it since they were told to eat as many tacos as they could. :)

The girls and Nona looking for shells.

The little girls were going to go in the hot tub but it got turned up and so it was too hot but it turned into them playing in the cool shower in Nona and Pop's room and it was a fun moment for them.

Enjoying another night's sunset from the porch.

And another goodnight to the big house as we walked back to go to sleep. Our little family went to bed around 10 every night. I'm sure everyone else stayed up much later. I know that I missed out on some good night time conversations which is a little disappointing but with a baby that wakes up at night I knew that I needed my sleep.

Day 3: Nate and I had breakfast and I did Costco muffins and yogurt parfaits. It was a nice easy breakfast that didn't require a lot of prep and allowed people to eat whenever they got up. Afterwards, Nate and I went out on the two person kayak and the seals popping up was a little scary but the water was so still and it was gorgeous.

Mount Rainer in the distant- it was very faint but the view of the water with the mountain in the background was stunning!

Our view of the property as we made our way back.

We finally got to the last game of the pickleball tournament and it was Jake verse Aaron and Aaron pulled out the win.

Then a lot of the boys went and played disc golf at the nearby course. Anna and Margaret took some of the little girls and went to a playground. They were willing to take my girls but Paige said it was too hot and Baylor only wanted to go if I went so we just stuck around.

I was able to just sit and enjoy the water while the girls played. Baylor had fun in the water and Paige looked for more rocks and shells. Scott and Pops also joined me and we just visited until everyone got back. Anna provided pizza and salad for everyone for lunch. There was also leftover food from the day before for anyone that wanted something else.

Then Paige and Carly set up a nail salon. Paige brought a whole bunch of nail polish and the two of them made little tickets with all the color choices and on it for the price it said it was $10,000 but then crossed out and said for today it was FREE. :) They had fun painting all the little girl's nails and Lily and Anna even joined in and got their nails done.

More beach time 

I went to see what Baylor was doing and found these three sitting on the couch like this while watching a show. :)

Baylor went with me when I went to feed McCall. McCall fell asleep again on our bed and Baylor and I enjoyed some quiet time. I pulled out the camera and got these gems. This girl and her faces! We also started a 300 piece puzzle. Baylor didn't last long but I enjoyed doing little bits at a time whenever I was there.

Another hot afternoon meant another afternoon snack of shaved ice!

There seemed to always to a group of boys around the table playing a game. 

McCall truly got passed all around and had so many fun conversations and smiles for everyone.

Mike made lots of enchiladas for dinner and then it was picture time.

It is fun having all these cute girls around the same age.

Pictures you get when Baylor is holding the the camera. :)

We did have a quick award ceremony for the pickleball tournament. Nona did play a game or two and then Corgan took her place and they got third, Jake second, and Aaron first. This was another moment that will be a really fun memory. Anna had brought some medals and Mike was the announcer while the Olympic theme song was playing. Then we all turned and sang the national anthem. It was fun to see everyone laughing and smiling and involved in this moment.

Family Pictures- I sure married into a really fun and amazing family! Happy 50 years Dale and Margaret. The family you have built and created is pretty incredible!

The kids were all doing human pyramids and Nona and Pops wanted to do their own. :)

McCall looked SO cute in her little Smith onesie and her hair bow!

Bill and Dorie joined us today and it was a lot of fun to have them around and join in our reunion fun.

Corgan had to leave Wednesday night so that he could go to work the next day. He got the whole crew to chase after him as he headed back home. 

The girls finally got their hot tub fun in and loved it.

Another gorgeous sunset to end our day. We waited until it was pretty dark to head over to bed but before we did our little family laid on the grass and watched the stars for awhile. It was a very sweet, quiet moment and Paige and I even saw a shooting star.

We had brought some marshmallows to roast on a fire by the water but since there was a burn ban we couldn't do that which was a little disappointing so before we went to bed we enjoyed a little night time snack of oven roasted smores.

Day 4: I went on a morning walk with Baylor. We found so many jellyfish washed up and Baylor wanted to find each one and make a shoe print in each one. I loved every time that I was down by the water. I could totally have a house on the beach one day that we could go to whenever we want. We then went up to the house for breakfast and Scott made some delicious biscuits and gravy.

We had a pretty quiet morning. Nate went again with some of the boys to play disc golf. Aaron had lots of eggs leftover from his breakfast and cooked them up and I got some help from some cute girls with peeling them and then I made some deviled eggs to go along with our lunch.

Nate and I did a hot dog bar for our lunch and McCall just snoozed on Dorie the entire time and I love her cute little arm resting next to Dorie's.

After lunch almost everyone went to Bay Lake which was a small fishing lake that was about 5 minutes away. There was a small area that was technically the boat launch and we set up some chairs and towels and everyone had fun swimming. 

Eliza and Myla didn't come so Baylor played by herself for a little bit but most of the time she was splashing and playing with the big boys and it was fun to watch them interact. Her and Cade really have a fun relationship and they are both very teasing to each other. She took it when they would splash her even if it was in her face and was laughing and having so much fun splashing them back. She had this big mischievous grin on her face the entire time she was with them.

Then in the early evening, Nate and I went back out on the kayak. Anna and Margaret were out floating so we got a few pictures of them before heading out. We spotted a few more seals and it was cool to see the sun start setting while we were out.

Then Paige finally got brave enough and went out with Nate on the kayak. She loved it especially seeing the seals.

Nate got some fun shots of everyone enjoying the beach from his view in the kayak.

And of course the gorgeous view of the house.

Dale and Margaret were gifted for their anniversary these glass bottles and put their favorite memory from the past and something they are looking forward to in the future. Then they rowed out and threw them into the water. It was sweet to watch and very entertaining watching them try to get out of the boat. Margaret was inches from falling into the water.

Then Christy was in charge of dinner and we had hamburgers. I really enjoyed meal time especially under the grape vines. It was relaxing and nice to have everyone gathered around to visit while we ate.

Our last sunset at the house. We loved watching the sun set every night and they were gorgeous every time.

We enjoyed blackberry pie and homemade ice cream for dessert.

The girls enjoyed one last evening of shell searching and took it to the next level by searching by flashlight after it got dark.

Baylor was pretty tired by this time so we took her to bed and I fed McCall and got her to sleep and Nate stayed back with them and Paige and I had a fun late night for our last night there. The kids played laser tag out in the yard.

I came into the house later after checking on the girls to see all the cousins gathered around watching fail videos on YouTube. It was fun to watch all their reactions.

Then the girls had lots of fun (along with Aaron, Pops, and Bill) and we all did facial masks. Nona brought a whole bunch of different kinds and it was such a fun way to end the night. 

It was fun when Pops and Bill got involved and the girls all loved it that they wanted to take part in our fun.

Paige and I finally went to bed around midnight. It was a fun-filled day!

Day 5: Our last day! :( Baylor usually came into our room every morning but the last morning they were both snoozing away. It was fun to see how they slept each day with sharing a bed. They did have a rolled up blanket between them to prevent them from kicking and rolling on top of each other.

One last beach walk- Baylor finally got brave enough to hold the little crabs and after that was searching for as many little crabs as she could find and loved it and was so excited for every rock that she turned over.

We had a family prayer down by the beach before each of us taking off. It was such a good reunion and so many fun memories were made. It went by way too fast like it always does but we sure enjoyed every minute of it. Since we were only 7 minutes away, after we left we made a quick stop at Penrose State Park to explore there and get a little bit more beach combing in before heading home. I'm so glad that we did. One of us happened to find a small unicorn shell and we were excited because those are usually hard to find but then as we looked closer, the beach was covered in them. Paige was so excited and started the gather and she came home with quite the shell collection. 

We had a very quiet back seat on the way home.

What an amazing reunion and we already can't wait until the next one!