Happy Halloween

Our little Pirate Garrett at the Mommy and Me Halloween Carnival

Pumpkin carving at home...he loves those froggie shoes

After the carnival my mom and I went to lunch at this cute historic house that was converted into a restaurant.

Penny's At The Manse

is one of those places that you search for when visiting a new area. It is a hidden treasure surrounded by trees in downtown Templeton. They have great gourmet sandwiches, salads and soups. Although, I would not suggest taking kids, since the mac and cheese (which was Kraft Mac & Cheese) was $7 off the children's menu.

It is pricey, but the food and ambiance is awesome. I had a BLT with avocado on a focaccia roll, with homemade minestrone soup. Mom had a tuna melt on toasted Parmesan bread with brie, and we shared a peach cobbler for dessert! Yummy! It was a fun girlie outing!

Garrett Quote of the Day

Garrett: I need a vacation

Me: (laughs) We can go to the park tomorrow

Garrett: Ok

One Week Old Today

Sweet Lily Jane

I had a little photo shoot for her birth announcements today. I'm enjoying every second with her sweet little face. She is such a happy and content baby, and Garrett is totally in love. He checks on her and if she is crying he runs to get her binky or blanket. He is really adapting well. Life is sweet!

A little more of our Little Lady

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Our Little Girl is Here!

Lily Jane was born after an hour of labor this morning at 11:02 am. She is 6 lbs. 3 oz and 18 1/4" long. She is a precious little thing and both mommy and baby are doing great. We plan on coming home tomorrow but I thought I would make a post before I head back to the hospital to stay the night with Sarah and Lily. All is well but we are no longer Smith Family of Three, and we are very excited about being Smith Family of Four! Enjoy

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False Alarm--Round 2

Ok, still no baby! I was admitted to the hospital last night, they check the babies heartbeat, my blood pressure, labs, etc. We were there for about four hours before they sent me home. Since I was fine, except the high blood pressure, I was SENT HOME! The hospital was full, so we will wait for the induction until Monday. Meanwhile, I'm on bed rest!

So much fun, I just can't stand it:)

Sincerely,

The Very Pregnant Momma

Baby Arrival Update

We had our 39 week check up today, and unfortunately my blood pressure was up and I was leaking protein, so the doctor send me to the hospital to do lab work and if the lab work came out ok then I could wait until Friday to get induced, otherwise I was going to have to check into the hospital and have the baby tonight!

Luckily, my labs were great, so we are scheduled for Friday for the big delivery. The doctor said it is too risky to wait for me to go into labor naturally. I'm totally disappointed that I will not be able to labor at home, since I was also induced with Garrett.

Positive things:

1. My doctor said Lily had a strong hearbeat, and is estimating to be about 7lbs. 8 oz., Garrett was 5 lbs. 15 oz.
2. My mom came into town today, so she will be here to watch Mr. Garrett
3. I gonna have me self a baby to hold and love in just a few days!

Wish me luck!

The Great Flood

It was 85 degrees today, and we still experienced the Great Flood in our backyard. Aaron turned on the sprinklers at noon and forgot about them...I didn't notice they were on until about 4:30 p.m. (was out at the park, etc.). There was about 3 inches of water in the backyard. We are thinking that even though the sprinklers were on a total of four and a half hours...we shouldn't have a flood in the backyard, right?

This is a blessing I suppose...build in some drainage in our back yard before the first big rain comes and washes the house away!

Fun project for Aaron:)

Garrett "van Gogh" Smith

Rule #563: Rockets Don't Go in the Toilet

Exhibit A

9 a.m., Wednesday

I was at my usual pregnant position, on the couch with feet propped-up, when I noticed the house was quite...not a good sign. I walked down the hall to the kids bath room to find 2 inches on water on the floor and a plunger in the toilet!

AHHHHH...

After spending most of the day on cleaning up the mess, washing 10,000 towels, going to the hardware store to buy a snake, Aaron taking the entire toilet out of the floor we finally figured out the problem...a toy rocket had been flushed down the toilet (picture shown in exhibit A)

Two things I learned from this experience:

1. Garrett is pretty cleaver to figure out if something is stuck in the toilet, you get a plunger.
2. If you have a 3-year old, there is no such thing as putting your feet up and relaxing.
3. Buy more door locks!

Nappin' With my Papa

Baby Update

OH BABY!...

I had my Ob appointment yesterday and I'm already 4cm and 80 percent effaced! No contractions so far, so if I don't have the baby this week, I will be induced next Friday....oh my!

So excited for her to come, so not excited for the pains of labor!

Lily's Shower

Thank you mom for the darling pics of Miss Lily's shower. I know can share what a wonderful, and beautiful shower my family and friends put on. It was a so much fun having my first big event at the new house too! We were able to get the living room painted just in time.

The menu consisted of homemade lasagnas, garlic bread, Caesar salad and cheesecake (homemade by Alissa). It was such a blast. Thank you Mandi, Shelli, Jenn, Alissa and Ashleigh for all your sweet and thoughtful hearts for hosting the shower!

Lily is all geared up with cute outfits and ready to enter into this world!

Lemons are Sour...

Fall at the Avila Valley Barn

Beautiful friends

Cool tractor hayride

Garrett in ahhh

The Bob

As many of you may know, we are expecting a little girl very soon, so I had one last chance to sneak away and do some hunting before my season comes to an end. So why not make it an adventure. 25 miles into the Bob Marshall wilderness in MT would do it. We left a week ago last Wednesday for the Danaher camp of WTR Outfitters in the Bob Marshall wilderness complex. We rode 25 miles on horseback and enjoyed a primitive but comfortable camp for a whole week. The hunting was tough, it was really hot for this time of year and the elk weren't practicing their normal yearly ritual of rutting.



All and all it was a tough week but I did manage to take a pretty nice bull on the third day. One of five guys that was there and the only one who was successful in taking an elk. I love the chase for elk, they are such a majestic and challenging animal. Oh failed to mention that I had to rebuild the hitching post after my guide's colt spooked while tied to it and torn the thing out of the ground. I guess I earned my wages while I was there. Hope all is well with everyone. Talk to you soon.

Catching Up

So much has been going on lately, and I'm way overdue for an update.

1. Had my baby shower, which was awesome and I had a wonderful time celebrating with family and friends. Thank you everyone for the adorable little outfits, blankets, bows, and other cute girlish must haves!--I have no pictures of this event, I'm waiting for my mom to mail them to me...hint, hint mom! Also, I had a shower that my darling friends at work through me, I really hate this picture, I look like a fruit bat. Seems like every prego pic of me includes the dreatful double chin...ahhhh!

2. Celebrated Garrett's 3rd birthday party at Avila Beach, it was a relaxing day. Good food, great weather and wonderful company!
3. Belly continues to grow and I'm getting closer to d-day (4 weeks left)! So far the pregnancy has been going great, no complications! I was so nervous that I was going to get that toxemia like with Garrett, but so far so great! My only complaints include: soar feet, fat hands, and indigestion...yuck! Oh and one more...NONE, and I mean NONE of my pregnancy clothes fit anymore, the belly is just too huge.

4. Nesting--The whole nesting thing has been getting a little out of hand. Got both of the kids rooms painted and decorated, including their bathroom! Made the kids curtains, love how they turned out! Actually hired someone to paint the living room, hall way and entry way. Painted a little table and chairs for Garrett, installed carpet in the master bedroom closet, and learning how to manage cleaning this house...never ending! Back story on master closet is that when we moved in there was no flooring, just concrete and a tack strip...needless to say it was not very safe or comfortable on the feet.

5. Decorating for Fall! I love this time of year. Crisp weather, cool nights, a slight stillness in the air, oranges, yellows and reds grace the landscape. I jumping ahead and have already decorated the house for fall. I can't wait to wear pants and sweaters again!

6. Planning for baby. I'm trying to still figure out how we will coordinate sleeping times, feeding time, attention time for both kids...I really hoping for peace in the house and no toddler breakdowns!

7. Garrett just had his 3 year check up and here are the stats:
28 pounds=13 percentile
3 feet tall=14 percentile
Healthy and growing strong!Here is a picture of Garrett today, he picked out his shirt and said "this is my golf shirt mommy"


8. Here is a pic of Aaron coming home from work, on the bike! Go Aaron!

We are very happy in your new home, love the new ward and are getting so excited to welcome a new addition into our family. Things couldn't be better!

M&M's

Ah ha! Gotcha, I bet you thought this was going to be another funny story of Garrett and his pranks. Well, I am sitting here after just coming home from a week long trip in UT on a moose and muley hunt. (FYI- Sarah just said that no one would know what a muley is so here's the definition, mule deer, aka muley for us country boys) Anyway, it was a great trip, we had snow and rain and even some good weather at times. The writer that I took shot a shiras moose which is the smallest subspecies of moose in North America.

The next 5 days were spent trying to find a trophy mule deer which was not an easy task. We walked about 10 miles a day in all the different weather conditions but to no avail until the last night. We spotted this buck coming out of a canyon to feed and after a couple of minutes its was decided that he would be a good buck to take. He is an old deer that probably wouldn't have made it through the upcoming winter.

This was a dream hunt for me as growing up I loved to look at old photo's of Papa and Great Papa who hunted in what was considered to be the the mule deer mecca time period. The 1960's, I used to watch slides of their hunts and the trophies they shot over and over again. Then we would go out to Papa's garage and look at all the horns of these trophies. This hunt in UT was a reflection of those times that Papa shared with me when I was a kid.

It was a great trip, but it feels so good to be back home and in the arms of the two and 3/4 people that mean the world to me!

Hope everyone is doing well!

Wild Thing

I have a copy of WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE from my childhood. Recently, I shared this book to Garrett and now he is hooked. I think today alone we have read "the monster book" six times. I love that Garrett is getting so into books, he asks questions like "Mommy is Max naughty?"

Garrett is my little wild thing, which is why he probably loves this story so much...autobiography:)
On a side note, my goal is to keep a better record of funny things Garrett says, so here is the latest:

1. I'm telling a joke to my family, some political joke I heard the other day, right after the punch line Garrett turns to me and says "Mommy, that's not funny". I said (while holding uncontrollable laughter)Garrett that isn't very nice to say , he replied "It's just not funny for kids!"

2. Just today he came into the playroom, where I was checking my email and says nonchalantly:

"MMM, mommy"

Yes, Garrett

I made a mess

Where, in the backyard?

No in the house, sorry

Love the honesty! Turns out he dumped a container of bubbles on the table...thank goodness it wasn't peanut butter.

3. When Garrett passes gas, he says immediately afterward "excuse you Mr. Whale"

4. He calls Lemonade, "Yummy-ade"

5. Elevators are called "the up and down"

Happy Birthday Little Man

Garrett,

Today is your 3rd birthday! I woke up this morning remembering the day I gave birth to my sweet little boy. You were 5 pounds, 15 oz., but despite how small you were, you were healthy and strong. The minute I laid my eyes on you I was immediately in love, I never wanted to let you out of my arms. Now that you are three, I still never want to let you out of my arms, if you would let me I would cuddle with you all day long. My favorite time is spending the morning with you watching cartoons, sharing a blanket and a bowl of cereal. Your favorite is the "bee cereal" (Honey Nut Cheerios).

You love your life. Your best friend is Koda, favorite food is mac and cheese, you smile all the time, you love TRUCKS, are scared of monsters, love to sneak into mommy's make-up drawer and paint the bathroom, and you are so excited to become a big brother.

You are so full of life and love for the world around you. You wake up every morning in the sunshine and say "Mommy, wake up, it's a sunny day!". You brighten my life, and your daddy's life too. I love every piece of you and promise to always be the best mommy for you. Happy birthday my Weezer.

Love,

Mommy