Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving weekend was pretty relaxing and filled with lots of family time. We spent most of Thanksgiving at home while I prepared some food for dinner. We had dinner at Anna and Scott's house with their family along with Nona and Pops. I didn't get any pictures there but it was so nice to enjoy food and good company. We stayed there for quite a while and visited. Then we went home and I got Baylor and McCall to bed while Nate and Paige went to Nona and Pops for some pie and Aaron and his kids showed up too. Nate and I switched later in the evening so that I could visit with family too. Paige had lots of fun with Carly and Eliza making up a dance.

The only picture I took on Thanksgiving- I'm sure grateful for this family of mine. They are my world and my everything!

Friday we spent a couple hours at the church with all the family playing pickleball. 

The little girls had fun on the stage coloring and dancing and playing with each other.

There were three games going on the entire time we were there. It was very low key and no one really kept score and everyone had a good time.

Nate and Paige went to the Goodwill Outlet with Aaron and some of his boys. I had McCall, Baylor, Carly, and Eliza at my house for the afternoon while they were gone. The girls were really good for me and kept each other busy which was good since I was pretty tired with the late night and being up a few times with a baby in the night. They made some big messes but had fun and were great at helping pick up when it was time to go.

Then before dinner Aaron was kind enough to be in the hot tub with all the girls.

Then we had our traditional dinner the day after Thanksgiving- turkey bone soup.

It was two days filled with lots of cousin time and then Saturday was our family time. We spent the morning cleaning the house and then the Christmas decorations got brought out and I had the cutest tree decorating crew. They did such a good job with minimal fighting. I love it when the Christmas things get brought out! It is such a magical time of year and I love it so much.

The cutest little reindeer I ever did see who loves looking at the Christmas lights.

The finishing touches and finally the star being placed on top of the tree.

Such a fun weekend filled with good food and lots of fun family time.

5 Months

Five months with just the cutest little girl! It's crazy right now I have a 5 month old, 5 year old, and 10 year old. I'm so lucky to be their mama and I love my three girls to pieces. I am truly cherishing every moment I have with them especially McCall right now. She is growing so fast and I just want to soak in every moment of having this little baby in my life.

Here's what McCall is up to at 5 months:

• She is pretty smiley and loves people. My favorite smiles are after a nap or in the morning, those big bright smiles she gives me when she first sees me after sleeping. 
• She laughed for the first time this month! She has only laughed one other time than the first and it is very hard to get her to laugh but it truly is the best sound ever.
• She also rolled over this month for the first time from her back to her belly. She goes onto her side a lot and has rolled over a handful of times since then. She is a pro at rolling from her belly to her back and is very quick to do it since she doesn't like being on her stomach for very long.
• She moved from her bassinet in our room to her very own room in her crib. She looks so tiny in it compared to how big she looked in the bassinet. The first week was a transition and it gets cold in her room so we got a space heater and it has helped her sleep quite a bit better. Her usual is waking up twice at night but this past week she slept from 9 pm all the way to 5 am. 
• She still isn't on much of a nap schedule but usually takes about 3 or 4 naps a day depending on how long they are. I love having her in the crib for naps with our rocking recliner next to it. I get to hum to her to put her to sleep as I gently rub her head and face. A sleeping baby is just the sweetest thing and I love these cherished moments with her. 
• She is not an easy baby to carry around. She doesn't snuggle into you at all. She needs to be facing out and arches her back and get very stiff if you are not holding her just right or up and walking around. Nate and I get lots of steps in each day. She is most chill and relaxed for me which can be frustrating to Nate.
• She is best when she is laying on the ground and you are playing and interacting with her. She does have a play mat with toys hanging down and this past month has really enjoyed that and will be okay under it by herself for awhile which allows me to get some things done during the day.
• She gets so excited when you walk up to her when she is on the ground in hopes that you will pick her up. She loves people and doesn't like to be left alone.
• She loves mom the best right now mostly because I am the one that feeds her. Paige likes to carry her around and Baylor loves to kiss and hold her hands. She has Nate trained to walk around with her. If she is hungry she will longingly look at me and gets excited to see me until I pick her up to take her to eat.
• She is great at nursing but hates being burped. She still spits up quite often but not as much in amount. She does this funny thing went she is nursing where she bats at me with her free hand and grabs and scratches my shirt. It can be painful though if her nails are too long.
• She is getting really good at using her hands and loves to grab toys, fingers, her blanket, hair, my clothes.... really anything in reach. The cutest thing is when you put her binky in her hand and her attempt to get it into her mouth. She can get it into her mouth but has a hard time letting go of the binky.
• She is SO alert. This is the comment that I get from most people. How cute she is and how wide eyed she is. She loves to be looking around and seeing everything she can about her world.
• We are still not sure if her eyes will be blue or brown. I'm leaning towards brown but then there are days where they look blue so time will tell.
• She loves things that have movement or sound. She is very curious. She loves watching the ceiling fans turn. It is so cute when she gets excited. Her legs start kicking like crazy and she gets this super cute concentration look on her face along with some smiles.
• She has quite the voice and loves to talk and make noises. Baylor and I often play hide and seek and McCall always gives away our hiding places. :) She also makes quite a bit of noise when she is falling asleep- kind of a moaning, consistent hum until she falls asleep. 
• The past few weeks she is really good at having blow outs and so we are constantly doing laundry and cleaning her up.
• I could kiss her cheeks all day, every day. She is so kissable and so much fun and just the cutest little thing.

So many cute faces!!!

Had to show a picture of her on her side since she kept doing it during our photo shoot.

Oh how I love this sweet girl!

Her play mat

Her first night in her crib- She is growing so fast!

I saw this on Facebook and it really stuck with me and shows a little glimpse into McCall and I's relationship right now. I am tired in the night feedings, but they are sacred to me. It is this peaceful time where the house is dark and quiet and it is cherished time with my little baby. I get to nurse her and rock her and she relies on me for that. I love that when I pick her up I give her instant comfort and love and I'm just what she needs. I feel such love for her in these moments and it fills me with such gratitude of God's love and that I was able to have another baby.

"Do you know that feeling when you wake up in the middle of the night and it’s cold and your diaper feels heavy. And there are so many strange sounds all around you, and it’s dark and scary. And you get a hit in your head and it’s your hand that’s on its own adventure. And you can’t control it at all and it flings itself around and scratches your face and pulls at your hair. And your legs start kicking off the duvet, even though you’re cold as it is and you try to make it stop but they have their own will. And so you’re lying there completely helpless with flailing limbs that want to do everything, but none of the things you want.

And you can’t find mom. And you call for her and you find yourself feeling really scared. What if your beloved mom doesn’t come for you. You can’t imagine anything worse and you start to cry because you miss her so terribly. You have never felt as alone as this very moment.

And then she is suddenly there. Standing right by your bed and looking at you with worry and love. And she is the most beautiful thing you’ve ever seen. And you grin up at her with happiness and relief. You don’t think you’ve ever felt as happy as this very moment.

And she picks you up and holds you close. And she smells like herself, and also a bit like you. Like milk and safety and love. And it’s the best smell in the whole entire world.

And she is warm and safe and soft and her hands caress you and she feeds you and hums your favorite tune. And you love her voice. You’ve known it far longer than you’ve really known her. It has lulled you to sleep and made you laugh and calmed you when you were distressed. It is the most beautiful voice in the whole entire world.

And you get to lie right up against her and you feel your entire body start to warm up again. And your still cold hand starts stroking her and moves up towards her neck and accidentally scratches her. Stupid uncontrollable hand. But mom doesn’t get angry. She takes your stupid hand in hers and it turns all warm again. And this is the best feeling in the world. Right here in mommy’s arms, with your hand in hers. Even the diaper doesn’t feel as horrible anymore.

And you feel your eyes getting heavy and you know that everything is okay now cause mommy is here. Your mom. Your wonderful, incredible mom who always looks after you. Night and day.

You look up at her one last time before you fall asleep. She looks tired and her eyes are closed, and yet she is still the most magnificent thing you know. How amazing that she wants to sit here with you in this moment. How amazing that she will always sit with you for a bit when you need her to.

You smile to yourself. How lucky you were that she became your mom. The most perfect mom anyone could have asked for.

You knew, even before you saw her, that she would be the best thing in the world.

Oh how you love her. Your mom"

I love being this little girl's mom! Happy 5 months!

Issaquah Fish Hatchery

Last Friday was a day off for Nate and Paige and I have been wanting to go see the salmon at Issaquah Fish Hatchery for awhile. It was finally the perfect day to go where we didn't have anything going on and there was no rain. It was still cold and we had to bundle up but it was really a nice family outing.

The black mass in the water is a huge group of fish. It is so fun to see these huge salmon swimming up river.

Then our favorite part is the fish ladder where you get to see the fish up close. They are HUGE! Most of them are longer than McCall and they are all grouped together and it is so cool to see.

It was hard to get a good picture of them with the glare and our reflections but if you look close you can see how big they are.

We sure love our girls and our family outings!

They have all sort of educational information about the life cycle of a salmon and truly how hard it is for a salmon to survive the entire life cycle. There was one wheel where you spin it and see if you as a salmon would have survived and the odds are definitely not in your favor. The bottom right picture was after we told Baylor that she wouldn't have made it if she were a salmon.

More fish watching as they would swim up river. Why are fish so fascinating to watch!?!

Then since we were in Issaquah we made a quick stop at Krispy Kreme for some delicious doughnuts.

She was the cutest little customer!

What a fun family outing!

Road Show, Fall, and a Visitor

Paige and I had the opportunity to be a part of our stake's roadshow. Each ward had to put on on a roadshow that was 12-15 minutes long by finishing the phrase "On the way to.". Other wards did on the way to Grandma's house, church, school, etc. and we did on the way to Mother's Goose Land. It turned out so cute and Anna was asked to me in charge and her idea for the script turned out so amazing. The lines were in rhyme and it played off Mother Goose nursery rhymes. The idea was the Mother Goose lost her golden egg and our main character found the egg and it is her journey getting it back to her. First she encounters Little Miss Muffet which gets scared by the spider who runs into Humpty Dumpty which knocks him off his wall. The main character has interactions with each and then is directed to go to the Old Woman with the Shoe (I was the old woman and Paige was one of my naughty children). Then the main character encounters Jack and Jill and then finds Mother Goose at the end. We had to have music and a song so we did this at the end. I really enjoyed the whole process. There were weeks where I felt I had everything each evening with the roadshow and my calling in young women's but it was only short term and the best thing of it all was watching Paige enjoy being on stage. I wasn't sure if she would want a line or be a part of it but she had her line and she loved being on stage and really enjoyed the whole experience.

My mom was able to get a plane ticket to be part of Baylor's birthday party and then stayed for the weekend to watch our two performances. It was fun to have her here and it allowed Nate to get some video and these great pictures of our show.

The Old Women and all her children- it was fun being on stage since I haven't done anything like this since high school. I loved using the cane and getting into character and it was fun to work with the kids even though it could get chaotic at times. I loved doing this with Paige and seeing her shine and enjoy the process!

The whole cast

There was a lot of down time and Baylor got lots of extra time with Grandma to herself since Paige had school. The first day everyone was tired and Grandma, Baylor, and McCall all happened to take a nap at the same time. Grandma stayed with the two girls when I would go get Paige. There was lots of games and playing with Baylor and lots of cuddles for McCall from my mom. We were busy each evening with the party and roadshow. We didn't do much since it was cold outside but it was nice to visit and just have her around.

Saturday we didn't have anything going on in the day so in the morning we all painted some Fall/Thanksgiving rocks.

Our finished masterpieces

Then we went to Covington Community Park and went on a quick walk through the trails to hide the rocks.

We then stopped at Crumbl Cookie since Paige and Baylor had a free coupon from the summer city program.

Then some leaf jumping in the pile of leaves Nate made before going to the roadshow.

Sunday we had church in the morning and then in the afternoon we were at Dale and Margaret's house watching the Seahawks game. Monday while Paige was at school we went grocery shopping and Mom bought our groceries for the week (Thanks Mom!) and then we picked up Paige from school a little early so that we could all go to the airport together. It was a quick trip for her but it was so nice to have her here in person to be a part of some of these fun events in our life and we always love to have her here.

FIVE- A Princess Birthday

Happy Birthday to my favorite 5 year old! I really can't believe that Baylor is already 5. Why does time seem to fly when you have kids?!? It seems like yesterday when we had our little miracle baby after years of trying. She truly has brought such joy and laughter into our family and is the perfect middle child. I love you so much Baylor Morgan Smith!!!

She has grown so much in the last year! I love having a front row seat in watching her learn and grow and become this amazing little girl.

Here is what Baylor is up to and like at 5 years old:

•  She just had a check up and is 3 feet 5 1/2 inches, 34 pounds which is the 15 percentile for her BMI. She is small but is taller than Paige at this age.
• She is BUSY and doesn't stick with one thing for very long unless it is watching a show on TV. It is a constant battle with her wanting to watch shows but she does good at playing other things if I am in the same room as her.
• She is always singing or dancing.
• She is loud and talks all the time at home and then in social settings such as at church or at preschool, she is super quiet. I hope that one day she will get more brave in social settings so that people can see and get to know the real Baylor.
• She loves the outdoors. She loves to help when we do things outside whether it is in the garden, digging in the dirt, or raking leaves. She loves to find bugs outside and wants to keep them all.
• She loves water- baths, swimming at the lake, playing in the sprinklers, or playing in the water along one of our many hikes. She is always the first one to get soaked or have her shoes off to put her feet in the water. 
• She loves to draw and color and create, but doesn't necessarily likes to follow the rules that her older sister has when they are doing crafts together.
• She loves Paige but at times has a hard time doing what she says. They are both good at pushing each other's buttons. Baylor looks up to Paige and always wants to do what she is doing but they do fight quite often but also have so much fun together at other times. Baylor absolutely loves McCall and is so sweet to her. I wish she was that kind to Paige but we will see once McCall starts getting into her things how that relationship will change. 
• She loves girly things and anything sparkly. The more sparkle and shine the better.
• She only wears shorts and t-shirts and now that we have colder weather it is a daily battle to get her to wear pants and a jacket.
• She recognizes all the uppercase letters and most of the lowercase. She is starting to see a word and say the sound of the first letter so I know we are getting to the beginning of word recognition and reading which is exciting.
• She LOVES Disney music!
• She is the biggest tease and has the cutest smile that lights up her whole face. She makes the silliest faces.
• She loves to play games, play hide and seek, and do puzzles but doesn't last very long doing any of them.
• She is a great sleeper and falls asleep so fast (within about 5 minutes and I am so jealous of it) and is always the first one up though it's not too early. I love the short cuddles that I get with her in the mornings.
• She likes preschool but is pretty shy with it. I'm a little worried about kindergarten but hopefully by then she will be a little more used to the school idea though I know it will be a big transition with it being all day.
• She says some of the funniest thing- one recently that I want to remember is we were talking about who love McCall the most. It went back and forth with our arms and then she said, "I love her to the ceiling" so I said, "I love her to the moon." And then she said the best thing, "I love her to Jesus!" How do you top that?!?
• She really is your typical middle child and fits the middle child mold. At times I wonder where she came from since she is so different than the rest of us. She can be very stubborn and sassy and then so happy and cute and silly. 
• She is such a fun little girl and we love her SO much!

This year on her birthday, we had other things going on in the evening so we had a small, low-key party on her birthday and saved the big celebration for a couple days later.

Paige has been planning her birthday party for awhile now and Baylor wanted a Princess Birthday. Baylor and I went shopping for a few decorations at the dollar store and Paige looked on Pinterest for some fun ideas.

Our fun princess dinner: Dinglehoppers (Ariel-Forks), We Finish Each Other's Sandwiches (Frozen- Chicken Salad and Egg Salad Sandwiches, Not So Poisoned Apples (Snow White-Apple Slices), Come Taste the Sun Sweet Berries of the Earth (Pocahontas- Raspberries & Blueberries), Chips' Chips (Beauty & the Beast-Two Bags of Chips), Moana's Water (Moana- Ice Water), Frog Drink (Princess & the Frog- Sprite), A True Love's Kiss (Enchanted- Chocolate Kisses), and Pixie Dust (Tinkerbell-Pixie Sticks)

Paige decorated the castle cake and Baylor helped put the princesses on it.

Paige did such a great job! It turned out so cute!

For the party, we had Grandma come visit us all the way from Idaho, Nona and Pops, and Eliza and Brett were all there. We first had dinner and then Baylor was super excited to open up presents so she did that next.

Then we played two princess games that Paige and I came up with. First we had a large marble that represented the pea and then a whole bunch of pillows and you had to see if you could see the pea under the bed (Princess and the Pea). Then we have some princess shoes and I hid them around the house with some candy in them for the kids.

Then it was cake and ice cream time! 

It was fun evening of celebrating our cute 5 year old!