Day at the park

Aiden was not impressed.

6 months

I know I am super late posting his 6 month picture, but with school starting up....I know excuses...excuses...
As you can see, Aiden is getting big... is super cute...getting into everything...and even more LOVED today than 6 months ago!!!!!

(He is still not sleeping through the night.)

5 months old

I know I have said it every month...but can you believe Aiden is 5 months old already?!!
He is so stinkin' cute.
He still does NOT sleep through the night (to all of you "helpful" people -including our friends, my o.b. and pediatrician- giving a baby cereal does not help them sleep through the night. LIARS)
He is somewhat mobile, he rolls all over the place. And can hold his head up when on his tummy.

He has discovered his hands and stares at them.

He has discovered that toes are delicious.
(and they do not help him sleep through the night anymore than solid foods)

4 months

How can 4 months have past so quickly?

Isn't he the sweetest thing?!

We are all so enamored with this little guy. He has recently discovered his voice and has been cooing, babbling, squealing and grunting up a storm. I love to listen to him.

He still isn't sleeping through the night.

He has discovered his hands and can reach and grasp things (much to Brinley's delight...she has been trying to give him his rattle for ...well for 4 months!)

His grasp is pretty good...especially when he has my hair!

He rolled over...both ways this month!

As for what else is going on:

Brin learned to ride a 2-wheeler!

Poor Emily had to miss her first year at girls camp because of a horrible sunburn. I do have a picture of the huge blisters...but won't post them. There were lots of tears about missing girls camp...hers and mine!

Our pool is up and the kids (including Brad) are having a ball

the pool is the reason for the horrible sunburn. Brinley also got burned and so I have been making her wear a shirt until it heals.

This caused a huge tantrum...because my 5 year old thought she would look ugly...in her own backyard...while no one else would see her...except her dad...

her solution to not covering up her suit is to wear the shirt UNDER the suit. No exactly ugly...but not very fashionable either

3 months

can you believe it has been 3 months?!

me either

He is such a good baby

this month:

he laughed

out loud

and i now spend the better part of my evenings trying to get him to do it again

his spitting up is out of control

Lisa said it peaks at 3 months and then should start to taper off

here's hoping

someday's he eats barely 4oz for the sitter

and then other days he drinks close to 10oz

my poor boobs are so confused!!!

I am really glad summer vacay starts TOMORROW!

then I won't have to worry about pumping.

well i need to go

it's "tummy time"

he still does not like "tummy time"

and is letting me know it!

Two Months

Can you believe it has been two months!!!!
Me either.

At Aiden's two month check up he weighed 10 lbs 15 oz....or
as Brad say's...
11 lbs.

He has started to smile
and we look like fools trying to get him to smile and coo
and we look like bigger fools trying to capture his gummy grin with a camera!

He adjusted to my going to work really well
(better than the rest of us)
He doesn't really like the bottle...but will take it

Pumping is easier
especially since Brinley isn't at the high school with me
I had hoped that since the novelty of milk machine had worn off
Brinley would forget about it...

and then yesterday she asked if she could help me by squeezing the trigger!

umm
no thank you

too cute for words

Funny Letters

My friend Natalie emailed this to me.
It made me laugh...but I do not forward emails!
i post them here...
Lil funny letters ....

Dear Noah,
We could have sworn you said the ark wasn't leaving till 5.
Sincerely,
Unicorns

Dear Twilight fans,
Please realize that because vampires are dead and have no blood pumping through them, they can never get an erection.
Enjoy fantasizing about that.
Sincerely,
Logic

Dear Icebergs,
Sorry to hear about the global warming. Karma's a bitch.
Sincerely,
The Titanic

Dear America,
You produced Miley Cyrus. Bieber is your punishment.
Sincerely,
Canada

Dear Yahoo,
I've never heard anyone say, "I don't know, let's Yahoo! it..." Just saying...
Sincerely,
Google

Dear 2010,
So I hear the best rapper is white and the president is black? WTF happened?!
Sincerely,
1985

Dear Windshield Wipers,
Can't touch this.
Sincerely,
That Little Triangle

Dear girls who have been dumped,
There are plenty of fish in the sea. Just kidding! They're all dead.
Sincerely,
BP

Dear Michael Jackson,
You really should have became a Catholic Priest. The pay isn't
great, but the benefits....
Sincerely,
The Pope

Dear jf;ldsfa/kvsmmklnn,
Please lknvfdmv.xvn.
Sincerely,
Stevie Wonder

Dear Nickelback,
That's enough.
Sincerely,
The World

Dear Skin-Colored Band Aids,
Please make one for every skin color.
Sincerely,
Black people

Dear Scissors,
I feel your pain.....no one wants to run with me either.
Sincerely,
Sarah Palin

Dear Osama Bin Laden,
Marco....
Sincerely,
United States

Dear World of Warcraft,
Thank you for ensuring my son's virginity.
Sincerely,
Parents Everywhere

Dear Batman,
What was your power again?
Sincerely,
Superman

Dear Global Warming,
You're the best imaginary friend ever!
Sincerely,
Al Gore

Dear Ugly People,
You're welcome.
Sincerely,
Alcohol

Dear Forrest Gump
WTF are you talking about? There's a little diagram on the lid that
tells you EXACTLY what you're gonna get....
Sincerely,
Jenny

Dear Haiti,
Is it too early to ask what's shakin'?
Sincerely,
Seriously Going To Hell

Dear Martin Luther King Jr.
I have a dream within a dream within a dream within another
dream.... What now?
Sincerely,
Leonardo Di Caprio

Dear World,
Please stop freaking out about 2012. Our calendar ends there
because some Spanish d-bags invaded our country and we got a little busy ok?
Sincerely,
The Mayans

Dear Snooki,
GET BACK TO WORK!
Sincerely,
Willy Wonka

Dear White People,
Don't you just hate immigrants?
Sincerely,
Native Americans

Dear iPhone,
Please stop spellchecking all of my rude words into nice words. You
piece of shut.
Sincerely,
Every iPhone User

Dear Trash,
At least you get picked up...
Sincerely,
The Girls of Jersey Shore

Dear Dr. Phil,
Look man, there's only room for one fake doctor in this world and I
was here first.
Sincerely,
Dr. Pepper


Hope some made you laugh!

1 month

I can't believe it has been 1 month! it has gone by sooo fast and yet I can't remember what life was like before he came! My friend Lisa said it best when she saw him for the first time she said, "he fits in so perfectly, its like he has always been here" With Brinley I managed to take a month picture every month I am hoping to do this with Aiden as well. his will have the same backdrop (the quilt I made) so we can see how much he grows/changes

Here is his 1 month picture:

He was sort of fussy...but still REALLY cute! (Yes-I did get his name appliqued on the quilt, but decided to leave the poka-dots off)

I only have 2 more weeks of maternity leave left...sniff

so Brad gave Aiden his first bottle last night-so he will take it for the babysitter. He took it without any complaint. Now please don't get me wrong... I am grateful for his willingness and in 2 weeks it will be one less thing to worry about...but I was a little sad...he could have protested a little...if only for my benefit ;)

Now normally I can pump for bottles like no ones business! (sorry if this is tmi)

but I am having a bit of trouble

and that trouble is... Brinley

she is FACINATED by the breastpump

it is unnerving to have my five year old STARE at me while I am using it

I have tried to hide

I have tried to occupy her with something else

But I swear she hears that machine turn on and she hunts me down

to stare

with my boobs at her eye level

she even rested her head in her hand and just wanted to watch

until I kicked her out of the room

and so she cried

and that is almost as unnerving as the staring

almost

To Remind Me When You Are Grown

2 weeks
It has gone by so fast
you have already changed so much
(why do babies have to grow so fast is every mother's woe)
I never want to forget...


*how tightly you liked to be wrapped up. Gagam and I called you a baby buritto
(now you prefer to have your arms free)

*your chin quiver

*how you fold up your legs so tight, so they almost dissappear into your bottom half

* the peach fuzz on your perfect ears...and cheeks...and back...

*all your grunts, snorts, squeaks, and snuffling. And how you work up to a full cry, with a bunch of squawks.

*the hiccups you get 4 or 5 times a day

*how cute you looked in your froggie outfit.

(funny thing is, we almost exchanged this for a bigger size. We thought there was no way our baby would fit in anything so small. Luckily, we never got around to it...you only fit in 5 or 6 things those first two weeks. Your homecoming outfit was so big, that when I got you dressed and picked you up to put in the carseat that your pants slipped right off and fell on the floor! it was a 0-3 month size)

*how the first or second night home, you went through ALL 5 or 6 of those outfits...darn blowouts!

*how your sisters love to hold you...fight over who gets to hold you..and stare at you like you are the most amazing thing EVER!


*how you had a MASSIVE spit-up...on emily...on her 12th birthday


*how you get really fussy SECONDS before you fall asleep


*how much you dislike being on your tummy

*how you cry during sponge baths and whenever we put lotion on you

*how aunt stephanie is a baby hog and won't let any one else hold you

*that new baby smell...
even when I smell like spit up and dried breastmilk...you somehow manage to smell wonderfully delicious.


*how your hair gets messy and sticks up


*your squishy cheeks-that I can't stop kissing and nibbling


*how you go cross-eyed when I or emily take one too many pictures



*how you gag when ever I try to give you a binky
(you will take it from anyone else)


*worrying that you will never learn take a nap, unless someone is holding you. But not having the desire to actually put you down.


*how deep you sleep in your bassinett. I check to make sure you are breathing at least twice every night... since you wake up about every 2 hours to nurse...I am not sleeping much...


*how much we will all miss gagam. she stayed for 2 weeks and took care of everything else...so you and I could exist in our own little world...she made us take naps...fed us all...cleaned up after us...EVERYTHING...what will we do without her

*how your favorite position to be held is your head under my chin


*by two weeks you could focus on faces for a few seconds


*on Sunday, you smiled at me...it was a perfect moment...full of contentment...no one will ever convince me it was just gas.


I believe there is a moment when a mother and her babys spirit recognize each other from a previous existence. Sometimes it happens when they first meet in this world, other times a bit later. It happens for just a moment, as if it say, I knew you and loved you before the world was...and I will love you forever.

Birth Announcement

Hello Boy Baby Announcements

Turn your favorite photo into a birth announcement.

View the entire collection of cards.

Welcome...

a few minutes old... a big sister...completely smitten another big sister...utterly devoted

mom and dad...forever in love

with you

introducing....

Aiden Richard Smith

Born February 26, 2010

7 lbs 8 oz

20 inches long

super cute stuff

since I am awake during the wee hours of the morning
I have LOTS of time to look at my favorite crafty blogs
which then means I see TONS of ideas I want to copy
TONS of recipes I want to make

Unfortunately I am the type of person that has to print
EVERY SINGLE IDEA
I come across

It has lead to REAMS of crafty papers, ideas, and recipes

over the long weekend,
I actually put the REAMS of ideas into the appropriate binder
(yes, I have more than one binder...seperated by theme or holiday or technique...I am a tad OCD about stuff like this)

and then early this morning I found the CUTEST quiet book link on-line
I couldn't help myself and printed out EVERY SINGLE ONE!

I chose to print them at home...4x6 inches and will put them in a small photo album
the website said you could print them like a photo (at walmart or costco) and then bind them in some way

The themes are: Articles of Faith, Prophets and Apostles, We Believe and Book of Mormon stories. And best of all...you can download them for FREE.

Here is the link: http://www.simplyfreshdesigns.com
Just search quiet books or the theme once there. She has other free printables too.

Now if I could get my kids healthy enough to actually go to church...I may just be able to use it!

Ready...Set...Wait

So it is Sunday Morning...4am
(shouldn't I be asleep)
oh-that's right I am awake at this time EVERY morning!

I think everything is READY.
Carseat....check
Swing...check
Bouncy seat...check
Crib...check
Bassinet...check
Hospital Bag packed...check
Newborn sized clothes washed in Dreft...check
A stockpile of diapers and wipes...check
Breast pump...check
Lesson plans....check!

and now we wait...

but that is ok
because both girls have these nasty colds
with gross hacking coughs
and intermitten fevers

What the heck kids...
you couldn't get these colds over Christmas Break?!
nope-had to happen the WEEK before we bring a new baby home...

Just praying Brad and I don't catch it in the next
FIVE DAYS!

Weekend Happenings

Can you believe it?!
13 days left...
i am so excited
and nervous
and giddy with anticipation
and nervous
and ready
but nervous
all at the same time.

We FINALLY got a carseat
so the hospital
will let us bring him home
We got a killer deal
(I ended up canceling the one I ordered online; it was backordered)

Last week my friends Erin and Melissa hosted a baby shower.
I got so many cute things for the little guy.
It was great fun and I felt so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends.
It was hard to go to work on Friday...
I just wanted to stay and play with all the new baby stuff I got!
(i will post pictures later...but my camera is ALL THE WAY upstairs)

I helped the Sophomores set up for the dance on Saturday morning.
It didn't go quite as fast as they led me to believe.
and they were all 30 minutes late getting to the school.

at one point I was sitting on the gym floor untangling lights or something
and had to stand up
only to realize there was nothing around
for me to lean on to help my preggo body off the ground
Let me just say it was NOT a graceful act on my part!
I was glad the teens weren't paying attention to me...

Later that night, I did have a chat with the DJ
and told him to NOT invite me to donkey dance...or any kind of dancing...
he was kind enough not to.

Brad came with me to the dance.
We love playing fashion police
and commenting on how some girls come so beautiful
and covered up
and others look like they shop at Fredricks of Hollywood
and are so NOT covered up
and others look like they thought it was a Halloween dance
and are not covered up and look ri-donk-ulous!

This year (for the first time) we were able to judge the boys
and discuss how our son will look, act and treat his date.
It was new perspective for us and lots of fun to speculate!

Brad also gets a kick out of watching the social dymanics and is pretty good at picking out the popular kids, the emos, the loners....and the lesbian couple that came to the dance. I educated him on how to tell if a couple is...um...experienced.

My favorite is the kids who come to the dance and spend the entire time texting and on their i-pod. Seriously...why bring an i-pod to the dance...weirdos

At one point a girl came up and said her friend was having trouble with a broken zipper
and could I PLEASE come help
so there are three girls in the handicapped bathroom stall and this poor girl's zipper
is STUCK. Her entire side is bare. I tried, but the zipper would only move about 2 inches up...leaving the entire side open to drafts and leering teenage boys.
The stuck zipper was right above her hip and their was NO WAY she could shimmy out of it.
The only thing I could do was sew the zipper closed...while she was wearing it!
SO I spent about 20 minutes, sewing a zipper closed ON this poor girl...
(I should mention, it was her 18th birthday.)
I was so worried about stabbing her with the needle that I stabbed myself...
and BLED on the dress.

My only consulation is that her mom probably had to cut the darn dress off of her anyways
so it was already ruined...
I saw her later that night...and she seemed to be having a good time
so my shodding sewing job at least stayed put!

Brad laughed that at least her parents would know the dress stayed on all night!
(not that they should would worry...she is a great kid)
I said like bunneling bags in colonial times.

which leads me to my next career move...
I will be designing a line of modest dance wear
both semi-formal and formal
that parents can sew their daughters into.
it will give father's across the nation
peace of mind
it will give mother's peace of mind
it will give all ecclesiastical leaders peace of mind.

Teenage boys will loathe and despise me>
(insert evil laugh)

Oh The Questions I Get...

So I am sure I got lots of questions from people with my other pregnancies,
but I don't remember it being quite this bad.
or maybe I wasn't as sensitive to them
or maybe I didn't wake up every frickin' night at 1am
and so I got some sleep
but I am getting irritated with some of the questions/comments.
For example and in no particular order:

*Last week I had to do a presentation at the Jr. High about classes they could take as Freshman.
Oh Vey!
Jr. High is such a horrible place...filled with horrible little teens...
I had to give my presentation SIXTEEN times.
By about the 12th presentation I was getting pretty grouchy....and tired...and thankful I do not have to deal with those horrible little teens everyday.
anyway, in that presentation, I asked if there were any questions
(there hadn't been one all day)
and some horrible little teen raised his hand and asked,
"are you pregnant or fat?"
nice
I told you there was a reason I don't teach Jr. High

* on Monday, Emily was sick
so that meant that I had to pick up Brinley from school
I had just hurried from work
and must have been waddling pretty bad
because the crossing guard
asked, "WHEN are you due?"
I tried to laugh it off
but her tone made me try and waddle a bit less.

*I was grocery shopping for school Tuesday night
and had A LOT of stuff.
Like 30 boxes of margarine, 8 bricks of cheese, flour...
LOTS of groceries.
as I was checking out
2 ladies kept commenting on the amount of food,
particularly the amount of margarine.
then they had the nerve to look me up and down
and said, "maybe that's why her baby is so big"
I HAD IT!
I said in a LOUD voice, from the next aisle
"I teach foods, this is for class."
they had the decency to look a bit embarassed
but just muttered, "Oh I thought there was a sale on margarine."
Brad was with me and a tad alarmed at my reaction...
I am pretty sure he blamed it on the hormones.
The butt heads, I probably have their terrible kids in class.
DO NOT judge what a 9month pregnant woman puts in her cart...
whether its for class or not
and for hells sake don't give her the up-down!

*yesterday, I had to borrow the vaccumn from baby buffs
(baby buffs is the daycare/preschool at THS)
as I walked in, a little 4year old girl came up to me
and said, "do you have a baby in your tummy?"
she was cute
so I just laughed and said
"I do"
"oh, is it coming out soon?"
not so cute

*Yesterday, a freshman boy in my 2nd period
became rather alarmed when he thought I could go into labor at some point
during his class
apparently he thinks that labor is really quick and if I happen to go into labor
during 2nd period he told me he would just leave...
I told him I would leave first...
he thought for a second
and asked, "How will you leave if the baby is coming out"
Everyone started giggling
I said, "it takes a while, you need to stop watching so many movies"
He said, "well I don't know about this sh**, it kind of freaks me out just looking at you"
the butt-head, He is not going to get a good grade at mid-term.

*my nesting stage has gotten so bad I am nesting at work
I am cleaning and having the custodians fix things...
on Tuesday I decided to clean the ovens
I have 7 ovens in my room and did 3 of them.
I checked on them about an hour into the self-clean mode
only to discover that the room was FULL of smoke
I am not kidding when I say that the entire hall smelled like a campfire
So I had to have a custodian paged
which meant the entire office; administration and secretarial pool
heard about my plight...and laughed.
and the custodian said I have been causing him such a headache in the last few days
I had to name this baby after him!
his name is Ed, as in Edwin....
So today, my childs namesake came in to see how the ovens did
and I said "fine, I vaccumned out the dust that was left over"
and he said, "how did you manage that?" while staring at my belly.
Butthead...he just lost his chance of having a child named after him


*Saturday is the Sophomore dance
did I mention I am a sophomore advisor?
did I mention I have to help them set up?
did I mention I have to chaperone the dance?
did I mention that I am 9months pregnant?
My co-advisor told me yesterday
I may "pop" before saturday
the butthead gets to stay after the dance and clean up.

at last years sophomore dance the DJ made me
get on the dance floor and do the donkey dance...
it is one of the most embarassing experiences of my career.
We have hired the same DJ
when he starts setting up
I shall have a talk with him
cuz
I am NOT doing the donkey dance this year!

nesting

It's Saturday.
You would think that I could have slept peacefully last night.
not true
I was awake from 1 to 4
I watched the Sing-a-long version of Grease.
then I was wide awake at 7
so I watched a Food Network special about chocolate
which was a bad idea
'cuz now I want some

I managed to stay pretty busy
I did the grocery shopping at Wal-Mart

we moved the bookcase out of Brin's room
to make room for the crib

we moved the nightstand out of the way
to make room for the bassinet

took Emily to the insta-care
she has been running a 103 fever for two and half days
strep test came back negative
which is ok, since the stubborn fart won't take ANY sort of medicine

I cleaned both bathrooms
and SCRUBBED the heck out of the tub

realized Brin has a fever now
(seriously, you couldn't let me know BEFORE I went to insta-care)

made dinner
did the dishes
and am making chocolate chip cookies for Brad...
I am crossing my fingers my sugar is low enough to eat one...maybe two...

while I was scrubbing the grout above the tub
I realized I was into some serious nesting...

I really hope it isn't a sign I am going into labor
my lesson plans still aren't done

Seriously

happy 4am you guys!
Seriously
Maybe my little guy will wake up everyday at 4am everyday
and so he is preparing me now, to be awake at this time...

We had our last ultra sound at IMC yesterday.
Everything looks good
He is breech, but so was Brin

they are guessing he is ALMOST 7 POUNDS!!!
what the heck!
I still have 3 weeks to go
He may not even fit in Newborn size diapers

Don't get me wrong...
I love the chubby babies
(doesn't everyone)
and I am not complaining...
I am just worried he will look like a sumo-wrestler in a newborn size diaper
ya know
bum cheeks hangin' out of this little strip of pampers

(that was sort of a funny image)

So the radiologist kept pointing out his features
like here is a foot
(i got a picture)
and here is his little face
(i got a picture)
and his arm is over his face
(i got a picture)

You get the idea...
but for the life of me
I could NOT identify anything she was taking pictures of!
If I stare at the face one long enough
I MAY be able to make out a nose
Seriously
How can ANYONE tell what they are looking at

So at the end I ask her to take ONE MORE LOOK
at HIS...umm...boy parts
She tracks down there
and is like
"OH WOW, he is definatley a boy!"
and wouldn't you know it...

THAT IS THE ONLY THING I COULD IDENTIFY ON SCREEN AND ON THE PICTURE!

Brad was so proud!
He said something inappropriate
(something about family traits)
and then strutted around like a vain peacock for the rest of the night
Seriously.

Since we were in Salt Lake
we drove to Target to get the carseat
and just my luck
they had the pink version...no blue...
so I called Babies-R-Us
they didn't have it either

So I came home and ordered it on-line
at check out it sayed
shipping 3 to 5 days
So I thought, "cool, it will be here sometime next week."

Then I read my confirmation E-mail
and the estimated shipping date
is AFTER February 23

ummm.
I may need it sooner than that
Seriously.

Now I realize that Heavenly Father has lots of prayers coming at him right now...
Blizzards, Freezing temps, unrest in Egypt, floods in Australia, famine, disease, etc....
and my carseat woes seem trite
but PLEASE let the 23rd be a generous delivery date
Seriously.

Good Morning

Good Morning!
Is anyone else WIDE AWAKE at 4am?
Probably not.

I thought I was in labor all Monday.
at 3am I even requested a sub
and then I fell asleep
woke up at 6
and realized I was NOT in labor
and then had to go to work
it was a bit of a bummer

I guess in the end it turned out ok
my lesson plans for the sub are not quite ready
my goal is by the end of the week

this weekend I made the carseat canopy (or carseat tent-whatever your call it)
which totally made Brad realize
we should probably go and buy the actual carseat!!!

Brad said yesterday, that we needed to go and get one soon
because he does not want to have to make that decision by himself...
apparently he had the thought that the baby and I would be waiting at the hospital
waiting for him to come and pick us up
and he is stuck at Target
trying to remember which design/color/brand I wanted!
I told him not to worry...
I would send my mom with him to pick one out!

I have had the design/color/brand picked out for over 2 months
and have discussed it with him a few times
but,
I bet $100
he can't remember ANY of it

and they say pregnancy brain only strikes us women!