Smith Family Happenings

4 Months Later....

2012-02-16T17:12:00.000-08:00

Hey Everyone! Its been a long time and there's too much to catch up on. So, we'll just jump in with a random video.

How can one describe Oliver... let's just say that he is AMAZING at using his imagination! He can play with Superheroes forever, with Buzz and Woody in super creative worlds, and with the Power Rangers in all sorts of battles. He's going to be the class clown- even when he was learning to talk, his language development wasn't anything useful! One of his first words was "elephant"! Not "more" or "milk" or anything that would get him something... "elephant"- simply because it was fun to say (I think)!!

So we've pretty much relied on Oliver to just pick things up while playing or from Avery. Maybe we should force it more, but I've always thought his imagination is such a bonus! Avery, of course, is the exact opposite. She likes being drilled and rote learning- and has a smaller imagination.

Anyway, it feels like he's late on a lot of this academic stuff, but he'll pick it all up eventually! So this is Oliver learning to spell his name!! He is such a little cutie! This video also includes some footage of our new cat, Bandit! He's been with us for a month now and is pretty great to have around!

Randomness and Progress

2011-10-07T21:53:00.000-07:00

Well, not a lot going on here... Grandpa and Grandma Smith came for a visit (though we don't have any photographic proof of that!), Avery's on fall break for 2 weeks, and Oliver has made some massive soccer progress.

First of all, Oliver has basically stopped napping. He still does every once and a while... but when he doesn't, sometimes this happens....

Jeff and his parents went to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (I was working)... gotta love the giraffes!And finally- the soccer progress! Let's recap- 1st week- lots of crying, won't participate. 2nd week- more crying, more non-participating. 3rd week- skipped- too much going on. 4th week- no crying at all, did everything his coach asked, followed directions, participated in everything!!!! And tonite- the 5th week- same- he did awesome! I don't know what switch he flipped, but he's been doing great! So here are some pics and videos.

Standing in line... doing a good job following directions!This picture is super blurry, but I was so proud of how good he was participating!!In this video, Avery is helping him warm-up a little!!

Soccer!!!!!

2011-09-10T20:40:00.000-07:00

Well, Oliver is all big and 3 now, so it was time for him to get to do something fun!!! He's been dragged around to Avery's lessons and events forever, so its his turn!! Speaking of Avery- what a social butterfly she is! First she saw a friend from gymnastics camp at Oliver's game (gave her a big hug with a big "Hhhhiiiii!". Then she ran into our neighbor there, another hug. Then we went to Chik-Fil-A for dinner and two of her friends from school were there! So she giggled and played and giggled some more... "Lucas was being soooo funny!!!" She's killin' me!!!

Anyway, here's Oliver with his pee-wee sized, but soooo big for him shin guards! He got his uniform shirt- not sure what to make of it all!!

See the team over in the upper right corner? Oliver- not too willing to join!
He finally made his way over to the team, but would NOT sit down. He didn't know we were behind him- he kept looking for us on the other side.

He's now discovered that dad is going to help with the first drill.

And now he knows where mom is! (Oh- Avery was off in the field house somewhere playing with her friend- seriously is she 12???)
I believe this was after his giant crying spell during the game where his coach was supposed to tickle him (working on running fast?). Oliver is not down with semi-strangers tickling him! To his credit, I believe 1/2 of the team went down in a crying fit during that game. Did I mention its all 3-year-olds on his team?? He LOVED snack afterwards!!!

Oh and just for posterity's sake... the other crying fit? During pictures. He DID NOT want to hold the ball and smile. I was trying to get him to smile during the team picture and he just stone-face, tight-lip, gave me the no way shake off. We finally got him to at least stand on the stool and not put his hands in his mouth for his individual shot. Stinker. Immediately after pictures he was all smiles and in a silly, fun mood! Stinker.

Oliver's Number is 3!!!!!

2011-09-08T19:41:00.000-07:00

Can you believe Oliver is 3?? Amazing!!! When we were doing some scouting shopping trips (to see what sort of toys he wants to ask for) he kept asking for toys that were too old for him. So we talked about the age listed on the box... he then kept asking "what number do you have to be for that one???!!!" And when the answer was 3, he would shout "THAT'S GOING TO BE MY NUMBER!!!!". It was a pretty humorous process!

So Oliver was pretty excited about his new number! He was also REALLY excited about his party! He was watching our neighbor and me making the capes for about 3 weeks, so he couldn't wait to share them with his friends! So, on with the onslaught of pictures!

Up first- Party Day! Oliver and Daddy, all ready for the party in their superhero shirts!
The first event of the party was the treasure hunt. Captain Bad Guy (whom you'll meet later) stole all of my treasure and threw it all over the backyard! So the kids got their capes and their superman bags and went hunting!Then, Captain Bad Guy was spotted!!! He was wreaking havoc in the front yard- luckily, we were ready with our superman water balloons!

This picture captured a pretty funny moment. The little boy right at the bottom of the picture had just run and thrown a balloon at Captain Bad Guy. I'm not sure what happened but somehow Jeff (I mean Captain Bad Guy) used his name. He was running back to get another balloon, screeched in his tracks, whipped around and said, "Captain Bad Guy, DO YOU KNOW ME????" *giggle*Not a super picture, but didn't those capes turn out amazing??? And isn't O's hair getting sooooo curly???!!! OK, the capes. My neighbor is an excellent seamstress. So I found an online tutorial for making capes and I took a stroll over to the neighbor's house! I have ZERO sewing experience/skill. She taught me how to buy material, how to cut stuff out, how to sew a semi straight line, how to stick patterns on- and then she did all of the really hard stuff!!! But I LOVED watching all of the kids running around with their capes!!Ok, after the Captain Bad Guy take down, it was time to brave hot lava, cross the shark infested ocean, crawl through the tunnel of darkness, bounce through a mountain range, climb the snowy peak, rescue the stolen gem, and slide down the natural rockslide. (Fancy code for an obstacle course) Here's O braving the hot lava...Braving the shark infested waters...Then it was present time! I call this the montage of Steph's ridiculous faces.
An excellent time was had by all!!! On Tuesday, his actual birthday, we opened all of the presents from family members. Wow- this is one lucky kid! His pile was HUGE!!! You'll notice that Oliver is blurry in most of the present opening pictures- there was usually bouncing and yelling involved!! He apparently really likes getting new toys! First a Batcave from Grandpa and Grandma Smith.

Then, a Batmobile from mom and dad. He kept yelling MONSTER TRUCK!!!! It pops up and has big wheels, so I guess it looks like a monster truck.

Then a cool tool bench!!
Oh this face!! I was reading him a card and he had his arms crossed with this silly look on his face. I think he was enduring the card until he could go play with his new toys. He did say after I was done reading, "hmm, that's nice."

Oliver's Big Boy Bed!!

2011-08-12T20:21:00.001-07:00

The almost 3-year-old is moving on! There is no longer a crib in the Smith home. Oliver has graduated to his big boy bed!!! We got him a low loft bed- which does make us a little nervous. But it has a railing, and we put an extra one on (that only really gives us about an inch more height), we put couch cushions on the ground, so we're hoping he'll be ok. I wish I could explain how incredibly excited he is about his new bed! All day long, "I LOVE my new bed!!!" He and Avery played- peacefully- underneath it for a long time!!! He was very glad when he learned that kitty kat and all of his other stuffed animals could sleep in his big boy bed with him!

Avery wanted to read him his bedtime story!

You can sort of see how tall it us here. I think from the ground to the bottom rail is 28 inches. Sooooo much fun to be had under there! Neither of them knew that it was going to be this tall, so they were pumped! When Avery got home from school, she yelled, "It's like a fort all of the time!!!!!"

All ready for bed!!! He fell right to sleep. Here's hoping he stays in bed and stays asleep until the morning!

In other news, I have turned quite crafty in recent days!!! Oliver's birthday party will be Superman themed- so I had this brilliant idea to give out capes as the party favors. The problem is that I have zero sewing skills and no sewing machine!! BUT, my trusty neighbor has lots of both!!! (really- she has 6 machines!) So she's been teaching me to make these capes. Which is code for I do the things that need straight lines, some cutting, and some ironing. She does all of the hard stuff! But look how amazing they are!!!

Then, I was so inspired (and the machine already had red thread in it- I can't change the thread), I decided to try to make this valance that I've been wanting to do for about... 3 years! Yes, it was just straight lines, but still... I'm proud! This was a curtain- I had to make it wider, make the rod pocket on the top, and hem the bottom. No, its not straight, or even for that matter... but its better than the non-matching thing we had there before!!!!

First Day of 1st Grade!!!

2011-08-03T08:32:00.001-07:00

Well, the time has come! Our little baby girl is going to be gone alllllll day now! She will officially be with her friends and teacher more than with us! YIKES!! But, if this smile is any indication, I think she's ready!

For those of you that have been around the blog for a while, will notice Oliver's marked improvement in his smiling skills! Thank goodness!

By her new door!

With her new teacher, Mrs. Berry!

At her very own desk!

Seriously, where did this little girl go? Isn't she still 3 years old and going to her first day of preschool? I don't understand what's happening.

The Backyard Re-do

2011-07-11T09:00:00.000-07:00

The other thing the Smith fam has been spending time doing, is re-doing the backyard. Unfortunately, we are terrible at taking before and after pictures. So here's the best that I've got.

See, we have this rock all the way around our backyard. I guess its good so that you don't have to weed-eat right up against the fence or something... but we're not fans of all of this rock. It makes our already tiny backyard have even less useable space. And, the neverending battle of trying to keep grass and weeds out of the rock... argh! So, we decided to move it all. All of the parts that do have rock, were running low on rock. The plan is to move all of the rock from around the backyard to the side of the house- then grow grass where the rock used to be. We'll see. Here is all of the ugly rock and grass in the rocks. Here is our first new addition! This corner is right outside the kitchen sink window and was all jacked up from the roots of the trees from the house behind us. So we decided to just go with what was already happening, and turn it into a cute little flower bed. The dirt part on the right is totally done and ready for grass! The left, not so much.

This is where we are putting all of the rock. This area was sooooo overgrown with weeds, grass, and weird plants. We wanted to simplify this area and make it almost completely no maintenence. We took out all of the plants- moved some of them and just got rid of some of them. Took out planters, re-weed barriered it, and have been putting all of the rock there. Ahhh, much better. There may be a skinny little shed over here at some point- which would make winter garage parking soooo much easier! Only one more strip to go!!

And here's a video of Oliver... just because. He's got such a good giggle! Avery's at gymnastics camp this week- just for fun and to get her ready for all day school! Camp goes from 9-5! She's never done anything that long before! Wonder how grumpy she'll be tonight??!!

"HA, HA!!!" funny boy.

Little Oliver

2011-07-06T22:00:00.000-07:00

Oh Oliver. The other day I told Jeff that if we could just make a tv channel of Oliver playing, there would be a lot less depression in the world. He's just sooo stinkin' funny! This post is going to be overly gushing about the 2-year-old... I've given you fair warning.

So these pics are pretty terrible- they're all blurry and dark. But, again... the cuteness- it shines through the bluriness!!

So, Oliver really wanted to help make dinner. He was the best little asparagus cutter ever! He kept saying with every fiber of his little body, "I'm sooo good. I'm really good at cutting. Then they go in the line. I'm sooooooooo goood!!!" The passion with which he praises himself is impressive!Then, there's the game Memory. Soooooo joyful!!! He just loves it, never gets tired of it, and is sooo happy when he gets a match!!!!! These are just some bonus shots for those of you not on facebook. I had recently posted about hitting the 50 lb mark of weight loss!!! Everyone wanted to see pics, so here is Jeff (at 40 lbs lost) and I on our 10th anniversary!!!

Summer!!!

2011-06-26T15:15:00.000-07:00

Wow, April 24, huh?? That was the last time I blogged? Yikes. Well, I'm going to attempt to catch you all up on what's been happening in the last 2 months.

We potty-trained Oliver! Phew! What a relief! He still wears diapers for snoozin', but he is a total pro otherwise! He got lots of treats, toys, stickers, and tattoos during the whole process. I was trying to get a pic of him with his favorite Superman, but this is what I got instead. The kids trying to pretend to be mad.

Up next, the end of Avery's first year of elementary school! Yay! She graduated kindergarten with flying colors and is totally ready for first grade! We find out her teacher this week- I hope its a good one!

(oh yeah- and Jeff and I are kickin' some serious butt on our formerly chubby selves! Since the end of January he's lost about 40 lbs. and I'm only 2 lbs away from 50!!!! I think Jeff looks super skinny in this family shot!!)

After school ended- or really- the day school ended, Avery had her 1st baseball game of the summer. I'm the coach of the Black Bats and we are doing totally awesome! (sort of) Our defense has come really far and we're making some good progress in all areas!

Then the day after our 1st game, we took off on a road trip for Oklahoma to visit the Bouse House and meet our new nephew, Graham! Grandpa and Grandma Smith were there too, so it was fun to hang with the grandparents!

Our last two visits to the house of Bouse have involved Oliver playing with Jack's SuperWhy! toys! About 1.8 seconds after entering their house, he finds these and monopolizes them the entire visit! He really turns into quite the super hero- I think its the cape. Well, Grandpa and Grandma thought this was pretty great and got him his own set of the toys!

He then wore his mask and cape ev.er.y.where.!!! Even to Old Navy where he was endlessly mocked by a 3-year-old girl.

Ok, what else... Avery did a sports camp at a local church. She did the cheerleading track with her buddy. She is the one in pink shorts and a white hat. Sort of behind the coach. This is her final show at the end of camp.

So we're pretty current now. It is officially summer and we've hit the 90's here in Parker, so we broke out the sweet pool! The kids have been swimming like crazy!

And We're Back...

2011-04-24T20:25:00.000-07:00

So we've gone through a bit of a blogging lull lately... I don't know why, there just hasn't been a whole lot going on around here. We're just doing life, finishing up the school year... ya know. But, we're back and hopefully I'll be much more faithful about documenting life around here!

We celebrated Easter today! Went to church, Avery got to sing on stage with her class and the band- she was pretty excited! She practiced ALOT!!!!!! Then we went to our friend's house and had brunch and an egg hunt. So here are the smith kids enjoying the day.

Oliver doesn't remember holidays from year to year yet, so this was his "first" easter egg hunt (in his little mind!!). He talked about it for days and he was pretty excited! So the pics are a little Oliver-heavy! Plus, I don't like putting pics of other people's kids on the blog, so that severely limits pics at events like these!

Here's Avery singing... she's wearing purple!

Avery Riding

2011-03-12T16:16:00.000-08:00

About a month ago, Avery started horseback riding lessons! She has learned a ton through the Saddle Club she was attending, and the trainer thought she was ready for lessons. She's got a long way to go, but there is really something special about watching your kid do something that she loves!

The other day I was late to pick her up. The trainer let her watch the next lesson and had Avery "counting strides" between jumps, I think? And even that, Avery just loved it! She said she wanted to stay all day and help with lessons and around the barn!

So this is some video of Avery at her very first lesson!

My Little Readers

2011-03-09T20:09:00.000-08:00

Evidently I've become a once per month blogger. Hmmm...

Well, I'll be getting y'all caught up over the next few days- or week- hopefully. To get ya started, here are some videos of the kids reading!! Avery is doing so awesome with her reading!! Her homework words this week were: found, turn, answer, letter, and animal. What??? Those seem like such big words!!! Love it that she's doing so great! Avery had only read this book a couple of times... and listen to how great she does!!! Oliver was killing me with finishing her sentences! He was right most of the time too!

Then Oliver had to have his turn too!!!

Seriously.... 6???!!!!

2011-02-08T20:52:00.000-08:00

How on Earth is my daughter 6? Where did the time go?? Surely, the little girl sleeping upstairs is still this little 2 week old, right?? I was looking through some old pictures and thought it would be fun to post a pic from each of her birthdays....

1st Birthday

2nd Birthday 3rd Birthday4th Birthday 5th Birthday

6th Birthday

In so many ways she's still so little- she still wants me to pick out her clothes, she wants us to brush her teeth, she cries when she stubs her toe.... but in so many other ways she's soooo big- she's reading, writing her own birthday thank you cards, trotting on a horse by herself, cracking legitimately funny jokes, and mastering the art of the cartwheel!! Amazing. Amazing to be a part of it all and to watch her grow up!!!

And now, on to the party! This year, we had a Horse Party at a nearby stable. There were three horses- 2 saddled and 1 bareback. Everyone got a chance to ride a saddled horse and a bareback horse. All of the kids also had the chance to groom and brush the horses. Avery was very serious about sharing her horse knowledge with anyone that would listen! So here are lots and lots of pics of Avery with her favorite animals!!!

Grooming...

Getting ready to help tack up...And finally ready to ride!!!Getting comfortable on the bareback horse...Trotting bareback!!! Standing on the horse!!!Avery and her partner won the three-legged race! They were such good planners and communicators!There's Avery in the middle... she did not win the sack race!And finally, the cake!!!

A great time was had by all!!! Oh yeah, Oliver was there too!! He didn't do much of the horseback riding, but had a great time running around!

Christmas in Arizona

2011-01-10T08:48:00.000-08:00

We're having a snow day from school today, so I thought I'd reflect some on the sunshine and warmth we experienced on our trip to Arizona this Christmas!!! But first, I had some favorite pics from Christmas here that I never posted. The kids picking out our tree!! They're just so cute all bundled up!!!Then, while we were setting up the tree, I kept smelling and exclaiming how good it smelled... so Oliver followed suit!!!As the rest of the decorations were coming out of storage, Avery found our kid nativity set...and then modified it! Her depiction of the birth of Christ!After our family celebration in Colorado (see post below) we hit the road for another successful road trip! We visited lots of friends- at one friend's house, Oliver discovered his new love of Mr. Potato Head. The family had a TON of potatoe heads and just happened to have gotten him one for Christmas!!! We spent a TON of time with the cousins! It was always caos-filled with the energy of kids ages 5, 3, 2 and 2 exploding around the room! Here was an attempt to calm things down... Avery reading to the little ones! See how they're all sweaty and flushed??! Ha!!Then we went to Tucson and saw Great Aunt Nita! The kids always love eating at the Golden Corral and getting a ride on the golf cart! Though Aunt Nita's new puppy trumped everything else this year!!!We went to a few different parks!!! Railroad park with Grandpa!!!Typical.... Oliver jumping off something! Then came the big day!!! Christmas and all of its fun! We had mentioned to Santa when we saw him that we'd be in Arizona, so we made him some fudge and put out a treat for the reindeer!

Avery hung the stockings on the couch with care.And then all heck broke loose!!! Uncle Todd was super excited!Avery patiently waiting for her turn!And enjoying their haul!

Doesn't Avery look so old here??? Obviously the pillow pets were a big hit! We know own a pillow zoo, since both kids got two!!!

Now some of you may not think these are quite as cute as we do, but Oliver is killin' us with his cuteness lately! So here are some videos of him being cute!!!

Christmas Picture Overload!!!

2010-12-18T18:29:00.000-08:00

We celebrated our Smith Family Christmas today... or "Fake Christmas", as Avery calls it!! What an awesome day the Smith kids had! First off, we'll start by showing you our Santa pics from our visit on Thursday. Both kids did great! The sat on his lap (Avery's first year of doing that!!) and Oliver actually spoke to him!

*Note the crooked, very, very loose bottom tooth....

So while Avery had some razz-ma-tazz hands while waiting in line... this is how Oliver spent his time in line!
He eventually woke up and was in a decent mood! (Avery received some brown lip gloss that day and was liberally applying... so her mouth looks a little- big)
This is Avery explaining to Santa that we're going to be in Arizona.

Here's Oliver explaining to Santa that he wants a Panda Bear Pillow Pet.And then came Fake Christmas Morning!!!! Oliver is completely, totally, and whole-heartedly in love with Woody and Buzz Lightyear (there is a picture montage of his new relationship with them below)!!! He also received this cool Toy Story 3 game from Grandma and Grandpa Smith. Avery has spent most of her day playing with her new Nintendo DS from Grandma and Grandpa!!! Literally... hours and hours spent playing her new games- silly me... I put this on her Christmas list with some hesitation because I wasn't completely convinced she'd like it... HA!! It is definitely her favorite present!!!Some play time- Avery and her Fire Breathing Night Fury (loves it!!! cool toy!) and Oliver and Woody!Avery also got the as-seen-on-tv Fuzzoodles. Another hit! If anyone needs a gift idea for a 5 or 6 year old girl... try some Fuzzoodles!! They're like super furry, monster sized pipe cleaners that come with a bunch of faces, shoes, and accessories. You can make a bunch of silly creatures. Or if you're Avery, you make a visor.... (girl after my own heart) (**AND note the missing tooth!!! Avery pulled it out herself!!!! Major bravery progress- but it was actually flapping around when she would talk, so it was QUITE loose!!)

And spell your name with them!!Then you wear your visor all day while playing your many hours of your DS!And finally, the Oliver, Woody and Buzz montage. These new additions to Oliver's heart have now watched him eat, watched him sleep, been hugged on, dropped, and flown around the room with sister!He has spent a nice chunk of time examining how I wrote his name on the bottom of their shoes (just like in the movie, ya know?).

Woody sits on Oliver's lap and he talks to him and falls down a lot. Woody knows when his hat is off or on his head, and Oliver thinks that is pretty fun!Ooohhh, the love!!!!

Some Oliver Cuteness!

2010-12-07T22:29:00.000-08:00

Oh Oliver. While he is still very much a two-year-old (read: tantrums, irrational emotions), he sure makes us laugh pretty regularly!! I'm working on our Thanksgiving in Indiana pictures, but in the mean time, here are some videos to tide you over!!

Oliver was pretty pumped about decorating the tree!!! He pretty much bounced the through the entire process.

Up next is something that stems from Dora singing a silly song. She takes well known songs and then throws something silly in. This one is "merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a.... bowl of spaghetti!!" Followed by lots of giggling!

Finally, this one was in Indiana. We were spending time at the lovely Dark home and Joanne was reading Oliver a story and cracking. him. up!!! It was something having to do with the word 'icabod'. It was a cute little moment for them... and now for all of you!!

Icabod from Stephanie Smith on Vimeo.

Avery's Missing Tooth!!!!

2010-11-12T08:30:00.000-08:00

Avery's loose tooth FINALLY fell out!!! It had been loose for soo long! We first noticed it was loose on October 12... and almost a month later- November 11, it finally came out!

For those of you who might not know, Avery has an extremely low pain tolerance... or an extremely high capacity for drama and emotions, depending on how you look at it. So I knew there was no way anyone would get near her mouth to pull it out or that she would pull it out.

She was just wiggling away. Yesterday, as she was talking to me, it was flapping back and forth!!! ridiculous! So she was munching away on a fruit leather, "heard a crunch", and it plopped out!!! It bled for a while (she had previously been afraid that the bleeding would hurt) and she wasn't scared at all!!! The one next to it is loose too, so we'll see if that one takes a month to fall out!!!Showing how she could stick her tongue through it!Showing Oliver her new skill!!Oliver trying on dad's childhood hat... too bad you can't see that it says Jeff on it! In other news, we got our first snow!! Its actually still on our grass 3 days later... unusual for here!! Usually it melts right away fast, but its been pretty chilly.

And Avery was sick. Missed 2 days of school this week (which I think she sort of liked!) with some sort of weird virus. She just had a fever and a headache. weird.

Leaf Time!!

2010-11-04T21:36:00.000-07:00

Finally, we've got the obligitory leaf pictures for the fall!!! This raking didn't really result in the actual picking up of any leaves, just jumping- and Avery has perfected "swimming" in the leaves! Hopefully we'll get them up before it snows! They were just so darn excited, I took a lot of pictures... so get ready!!

At this point, they were pretty much done jumping and had moved on to burying each other. Little cuties... but seriously, Oliver... what is with that smile??
The first jump!!!

Now Ollie's starting to get into it!!

I love Oliver's face in this one... having such fun! And yes, Avery IS, in fact, wearing pink cowboy boots!

Halloween... Part II

2010-11-04T20:52:00.000-07:00

Along the lines of thoroughly celebrating Halloween, we went to a friend's house to carve pumpkins!

Ooohhh, the concentration...So proud! He wanted to hold his pumpkin while we lit all of the other ones. And finally, the main event!!!! We went trick-or-treating in our friend's neighborhood. It was the type of neighborhood where they hand out the full-sized candy bars! It was jam-packed with kids and it was so fun to hang out with our friends! Here are the kiddos before we headed out...Avery's favorite development over the last month is that she is now a member of a saddle club!!! We heard about it at Halloween with the Horses and signed her right up! It last for 3 hours on Saturdays and they learn all about horses. How to take care of them, groom them, feed them... and some riding!!! She loves it! This was right when we got there and she got to walk through that barn- as she did, all of the horses poked their little heads out... again... she was in heaven!!!We were slightly early, so she got to meet Marshmallow before everyone else got there! They have high school and college kids that are the "trainers" and she LOVED her trainer!!!

This isn't the best picture, but it was taken with her trainer's phone... but here she is getting ready to ride Major!

Halloween... Part I

2010-11-04T19:44:00.000-07:00

We're baaaacckkk!!! We took an unplanned blogging break and now we've got a lot of catching up to do. First, we went to the Fall Festival at the Littleton Historical Museum with Jeff's co-workers. The kids had a great time!!!

Up next was Halloween with the Horses! As you can imagine, this is Avery's favorite event. She got to ride horses about 8 times, saw some cool horse shows, and got to go trick-or-treating through a barn!
So Avery started off on a pony (above) and then moved to a full sized horse still lead by a person on foot (below).
And then, she felt brave enough to be lead by another person on a horse!!! I couldn't believe it! She looked so small and was so far away... who was going to catch her if she slipped off??! :) But she was in heaven! Up next was Avery's Halloween parade at school. Here's Oliver and I waiting for the parade to go by.
In the parade!!
At the party, Oliver found some stuff to do. (urgh- what to do about that smile!!!)

OK, I'm off to work on Halloween Part II.

Burning Bear Creek

2010-09-21T12:35:00.000-07:00

We took on another Smith Family hike this weekend! We headed a bit further into the mountains than usual and were rewarded with an awesome day in the forest!! Ya know, I've often mocked the Coloradans' love for "aspen color". I've thought to myself, "surely, these must be people who have never seen fall in the midwest or east."

But Sunday's hike to Burning Bear Creek changed my mind!!! While it may not be quite as awe-inspiring as the peak of fall color in the midwest, the combo of the yellow aspens and evergreens is pretty amazing!It was a perfect day to get to the mountains! We had record breaking heat in Denver, so the mountains were in the 70's... aaahhhh... This trail was super shady, so I didn't get very many good pictures of the fam. I don't really understand how to get good pictures when the subject is shady, but the background is crazy bright. And then, of course, there is Oliver's smile to contend with.

But the scenery was pretty gorgeous! Avery brought her classroom stuffed animal, Lars, along for the hike. We had to document everything we did while he was with us, so this was for her project.This was such a skinny part of the trail- where we eventually ran into some cows blocking the path! We made that our turn around point!

The waterfall along the road to the hike.Exploring the rocks around the waterfall... our kids FAVORITE part of hiking. This actual hike was pretty unrocky and Avery was getting bored because she couldn't have 'adventures'!!Then we started letting her go off the trail and she had a much better time!!!!Yup, I was there too!Gorgeous!!!

The best way to wrap up a day in the mountains?? Relaxing by the waterfall with/on daddy!!

So Sleepy...

2010-09-12T20:32:00.000-07:00

Church in the morning + a Colts game at the neighbors + 2 previous days of little naps = one sleepy little two-year-old!!!!!

I was watching him eating with his head resting on his arm, but still looking around. Then his head started to tilt a little...And then I snuck around him and sure enough...Sound asleep!!!!
(by the way... stellar job on the comments on the last post!!! i think it is a smith family blog record!! thanks for the love!!!!)

Oliver's 2nd Birthday!!!!

2010-09-09T20:23:00.000-07:00

Oliver is 2!!! Can you believe it??!! We had a fun party with the grandparents, neighbors, and a few friends!

We started the day off with Oliver's present from us! I think he liked it!!!

Then the grandparents came over and we had a present opening session with them. He has been such a happy little clam playing with all of his new toys! Here is his new smile on his new scooter!! It's not great (the smile, not the scooter).

Grandpa and Grandma Davis brought his present from Uncle Todd and Aunt Kristen...

Then it was party time!!!! He had sooooo much fun!!!!

Getting used to the bounce house with daddy...It didn't take long before he was going crazy!!!!Present time!!!!
Cake time!! We had a fire engine theme. This cake had some issues not falling over- but some licorice reinforcements and Grandpa Davis' expertise helped make it through the party!

Ok, here are the jumping videos!!! Avery was sore for 2 days!!! Oliver keeps asking where the bounce house is!! He thinks we own it!

I love the "ok, watch guys!!" He loves those neighborhood boys!

Avery turned into a crazy flipper in this one!!! Hence, the soreness!

Zoo Time

2010-08-24T13:52:00.000-07:00

Our friend Kat was in the great state of Colorado last week, so we made a little trip to Co Springs to see her! What better way to visit than to go to the zoo together??!! We've now been to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo more than we've been to the Denver Zoo! The views are amazing, its on a moutain, and there's a ton to do there! So we packed up the kids and the neighbors and headed off!!

Avery was finally brave enough to feed the giraffes this year!!

Baby wallaby.
Oliver's crinkled up smile with the fish in the grizzly exhibit.Ollie and a moose.And Avery's faaaaavvvorrrite!!!!! All ready to ride a pony!!Oliver is following in sister's footsteps!! His first time on a pony!!

Posing at the end of a fun day!!

Happy Birthday, Grandma Davis!!!

2010-08-19T14:34:00.001-07:00

Remember when Oliver would do super cute songs like this one?? Well, he's about two now, and cute things like that just don't happen!!! Here's the two-year-old version of singing Happy Birthday to Grandma!!!!

Oliver being 2 from Stephanie Smith on Vimeo.

First Day of Kindergarten!!!!

2010-08-09T20:21:00.000-07:00

Well, today was the day!!!! I can't believe our little girl is in elementary school!! She was pretty excited! I told her that I was probably going to cry and she got all mad, "mooooommmm, don't do that, I'll be embarrassed!!" So, I put on a brave face and held it together for our brave girl! This morning Oliver woke up sad. He said he was scared of a big truck in his window (he says this most days, and that he's scared of Uncle Adam... NO IDEA where that one came from!!!). But Avery was rubbing his back and said, "Oliver, its ok... when you get bigger, you'll start to understand life." Whaaa??? The life wisdom of a kindergartener!!

Ready for her big day!!

Heading up to the building with dad and Oliver.
Do a project with Daddy!!
Ta-da... I'm a kindergartener!!!!

Super Random Stuff

2010-08-05T21:18:00.001-07:00

Well, not much going on here lately. So I decided to post some really random stuff.

Here's our new car!!!! We love it! It's super fun to drive! We had it in our possession for about 36 hours before it went back into the shop and they had it for about 2 weeks! But all is well now and it was like we had another new car after such a long absence!

Look at the happy munchkins! Look at all of that extra space just waiting for visitors!! So, yeah... Oliver's been wearing these lately!!! The little Thomas bottom... it's just about too cute for words!! We're not doing anything super consistently and he's only successfully used the potty once... but he's just so cute!Playing with sister in the sandbox. Yes, she's wearing her pj's!Avery was all ready for kindergarden meet-n-greet!!! She got to go and meet her teacher and some classmates. She also got her picture taken today. Can't believe her first day is in 4 days!!! Amazing!Oliver wanted his picture taken, too!

And, here's some more of Oliver. He's quite the entertaining little fella!

Untitled from Stephanie Smith on Vimeo.

The boys in this neighborhood are always trying to do these jump tricks on their skateboards. Here's Oliver's rendition....

Skateboard from Stephanie Smith on Vimeo.

Another "Butte"

2010-07-25T15:59:00.000-07:00

Ha ha. Get it, it was another really pretty place, and there was a butte there. So, we hit the road again and less than an hour later, we ended up here at Eldorado Canyon.Here's the butte from far away...and here it is up close! (this picture is a little shout out for Mark Rohlfing. I thought he'd like it!)

Once again, the kids were amazing! Avery was so adventury and Oliver just followed her! She even slid- unexpectedly- for about 10 feet down a rock and just laughed it off! That's big! She kept talking about how tough she was!
Here they are jogging after some joggers went past. We talked with a guy that was free climbing and they they started climbing all over the rocks. Silly kids.In a cave. They were both pretty fond of this cave!Break time!On the way back to get our picnic together, Oliver started laying his head down. Then his eyes started getting droopier and droopier....Then, he was folded in half... completely asleep on Jeff's shoulders!!!!

After lunch we put our feet in the freezing cold creek!
Cute little family!

In the end, a great day was had by all! Oliver's grubby little backside is proof!

As It Turns Out...

2010-07-21T15:33:00.000-07:00

...this is about 20 minutes from our house!! Welcome to Castlewood Canyon State Park. Who knew??

So the kids and I went on a little adventure the other day. The Smith family doesn't have a great history with hiking. Avery likes to think she can be adventury, but ends up complaining the entire time. Nature is a lot less relaxing when your child is whining, crying, and complaining. But, she's older now... so we had to give it a go!

Turns out, she was awesome!! She loved it! Which was even more impressive because the mosquitos here was horrific! Both kids are covered in bites! Avery even told me to "just relax about the bugs!!" (I really hate mosquito bites) We have plans to bring daddy back- along with some bug spray!!!

I'm Just Sayin'...

2010-07-21T15:09:00.000-07:00

There's a bit of a resemblance here....Oliver's little ear is soooo swollen that its sagging down! Poor little fella. Took him to the dr and she said its probably an infected or allergic reaction to a bug bite.

Avery, the swimmer!!!

2010-07-15T21:51:00.000-07:00

This has been the summer of swimming for Avery! Waaaay back in May, Avery wouldn't jump in the water without holding onto our hands, would barely put her head in the water, and couldn't move in the water independently... at all!! Then one week we went to open swim at the place where she takes lessons. She just started swimming all over the place! Fast forward to this week... while at the local public pool, she perfected the somersault!! She's such a little fish now! It's pretty fun!

Avery Swimming from Stephanie Smith on Vimeo.

Avery Swimming 2 from Stephanie Smith on Vimeo.

Avery Swimming 3 from Stephanie Smith on Vimeo.

Sister and Brother

2010-07-15T21:08:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure what is happening in the Smith family home lately... but it's awesome. Avery and Oliver have been awesome together lately!! They've been playing together nicely, wrestling without getting injured, and.... sharing!!!! Whhhaaaa???? I think a lot of it has to do with Oliver giving up his obsession of taking whatever Avery has. So anyway, here are some pictures of sibling cuteness!!! Playing in the mud...Let it be noted that on this day, Avery put on Oliver's shoes (with his pj's) and took him outside and put him up on the swing... sooo cute!!Look how sweetly she's lookin' at her little brother...

A Fun Visit!!

2010-07-06T11:59:00.000-07:00

My wonderful friend Kenna, came for a visit! We've known each other since high school and now have five kids between us! She used to live up here (before we came to Colorado) and had lots of friends to visit. We had them for 2 days and the girls got along GREAT! Avery's playdates are often filled with conflict and a struggle for control... but these three had zero conflict for two whole days! It was glorious!!! They randomly all had the same dress in various colors... fun!!Gotta throw the little boys in every once in a while!! So cute!Avery was pooped!!! They were watching a Barbie movie and she just fizzled right out!Look at this little cutie! I put him under a tree and he crossed his little legs, folded those chubby little hands, and watched the leaves blow!

Good time was had by all! Can't wait until they come back!!

And in other news.... there may be a post involving the new Smith FAMILY car coming up! If all goes well, we'll be driving it tonight!!!! Stay tuned!

Avery's First Baseball Game

2010-07-04T15:32:00.000-07:00

The stellar career of Avery playing baseball has begun!!! Unfortunately, she's not been around for a much of the season, but the one game she did play in was really fun!!! She didn't get a chance to attend any of the practices either, so her first game was a bit of a surprise for her! Here she is at first base, before the first play of the game.

Of course, the first play was the only time a ball actually was thrown all the way to first base and Avery's strengths don't fall into the "catching" category! She got nailed in the chest and was super sad!
So this was Avery after she calmed down... happily far away from the action in centerfield!!!! Still ready though! And she did get a couple of balls out there!Running the bases!!! And, of course since I tried the blogger video again, I can't see which video is which... but I think this is Avery's first hit!!! And the next video is her 2nd hit! Enjoy!!!

Wedding Fun!!!!

2010-07-02T20:19:00.000-07:00

Last weekend the Smith fam was honored to be a part of the VanCrandall wedding!!! Erin was on my softball team at TU my very first year and then was my assistant coach for the next 4 years! So fun to see her take this amazing step with Tyler!!! Jeff got to play music, I did a reading, and Avery was the flower girl!!! She was pretty excited, but very nervous! Of course I didn't take any pictures of the family together, but I took plenty of Avery!

The day couldn't have been more perfect! It was plenty hot, but Avery was awesome! She barely complained all day! She didn't love the beginning of the reception, but once the dancing started.... oh my... she went crazy! She danced with the softball girls all.night.long!!!!!

Fancy Feet from Stephanie Smith on Vimeo.

Dancing Cuteness from Stephanie Smith on Vimeo.

Last one of dancing! from Stephanie Smith on Vimeo.

A Boy and "His" Cat

2010-06-18T14:05:00.001-07:00

This is my view almost every time we play outside. Oliver and Coco, Coco and Oliver. Two peas in a pod, two buddies. Coco (aka Toe-toe) lives across the street, but makes a beeline for our house almost any chance he gets. Coco makes Oliver squeal with laughter just by swooshing his tail on him. Oliver walks alongside Coco with a big smile on his face. Then sometimes they just sit together, talk, and have a little love-fest.

A New Camera... Again

2010-06-13T20:18:00.000-07:00

Well... the birthday camera wasn't working out too well. You may have noticed a relatively intense decline in my blogging. I really think it was because my new camera was bogging me down! It had too many megapixels for our computer so it would take for.ev.er.. to load pictures. Then, the video was HD, again... to intense for our little computer. So, luckily Costco has a 90-day return policy... I took it back and got a waaaay more scaled down version. I do feel like I may have gone a bit too far back the other direction- the new camera feels super cheap and like it may break at any moment. So, we'll see if I go back to the ole Costco camera department any time soon!

In the meantime, here is a picture of little Ollie from our recent trip to Arizona. And a video from the new camera! My favorite is when he says, "Talk to me, oh right, right, gotcha, talk to you soon!" He's a funny one!

So, while the video is loading, I suppose I'll update you on what we've been doing. Jeff finished his Master's degree (hooray!!), school ended (hooray for Jeff, Avery could use some outlets for energy!!), Avery learned how to swim (WOW!!! she's great!), we went to Arizona, Jeff and I went to California sans kids (AMAZING- thanks grandpa and grandma), we came back to Colorado, painted a whole lot (finishing up projects from a YEAR ago!!!), and now he starts his internship tomorrow! Phew!

Alright, the video's finally done! Here you go, and make sure to listen for his funny little phrases...

Randoms

2010-05-18T14:44:00.000-07:00

So we're running a bit behind at Smith Family Happening... here are some pics from Muffins for Mom at Avery's school.

And then some random videos! You may remember some of Oliver's basketball skills from this post. Well, he's getting better! He doesn't want the hoop down where he can touch it, only out of reach!!!

*Uuuhhh, nevermind! I've been trying to upload this video for a while and it keeps not working, so I'll just post and try the videos later!

Arizona Fun!!

2010-05-03T21:38:00.000-07:00

Aside from the stomach flu, we had a great trip to Arizona! We didn't get to do all that we had planned since grandpa and I were both sick, but the kids didn't seem to mind! Here are some pics of all of the fun!

Playing outside! We packed Avery's scooter for the trip, so she was entertained!!

Sprinkler time!Football jump shot!!Takin' a break on the skateboard that Oliver got to borrow from Uncle Todd!!Enjoying some time with the cousins!!Playing at the park...Snuggles with grandpa... Seriously, look at this little face!!I'm not sure what to say about this one... but it DOES sum up what its like when the cousins get together! A little crazy and chaotic!Then, the day before we left we went down to Tucson to visit with great-grandma and great-great Aunt Nita! Jeff's grandma hadn't ever met Oliver and hasn't seen Avery in a while. It was really fun to catch up with them and get everyone aquainted and re-aquainted! (this is Oliver's new smile... evidently if you squint your eyes, you're smiling)Golf cart rides with great grandma!!!Oliver was quite smitten with this bird statue. He kept having long conversations with it! Here's he's sharing his mini-skateboard with the bird...And now he's sharing his raisins...Avery and the squishy turtle. Weird picture, but I thought her eyes were a pretty color in it! :)And finally, lovin' on Uncle Todd!

Snugglebugs

2010-04-19T21:26:00.000-07:00

Haircuts and Make-overs

2010-04-16T13:22:00.000-07:00

Avery and I were feeling a little crazy the other day and she got her hair cut SHORT!! It's almost summertime, so why not, right?? Now that its done, I think I prefer it longer, but she looks cute no matter the length of her hair!

And then there's Oliver. Still doesn't love the haircutting process (unlike his sister!!).

But soooo handsome once he's all cleaned up!!And for my birthday, my friends took me to the make-up counter to get my make-up done. Then they bought me all new make-up! It was very nice of them! Since I'm on the slipperly slope to 40, I'd better wear make-up more often!!! Here's my before!!

During....
After!!!!

I had a great birthday week! Dinner with friends, another dinner with our family, presents and treats! I believe right now we have Ho-Ho's, Banana Bars, birthday cake, and cookie dough in our house! Yikes!

I'm not sold on the camera yet! The flash works weird and a lot of times the pictures turn out orangey. Luckily, Costco has a 90 day return policy... I'm going to go spend some time with the manual now!

Happy Birthday to Meeee!!!!!

2010-04-11T19:26:00.001-07:00

Hooray! I got my birthday present today!!! It's more that what we usually spend on gifts, but we needed a new camera! Lucky, lucky me! Thank you family (and tax return!!)! Here are some pictures I took while getting to know my new camera!

Where Did Our Baby Go??

2010-04-08T20:42:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness! It seems like Avery has grown up overnight! She used to be this shy, timid, super cautious little preschooler! Now, she's barely shy and timid... and a little less cautious! Today, she learned how to ride her bike without training wheels!! I couldn't believe how fast it all happened!

About a week and a half ago, she decided it was time to take her training wheels off. I have no idea where this idea came from, but she said she was ready! So off they came and she practiced every once in a while. In the meantime, she received a two-wheel scooter (which I think helped her sense of balance) and has gone crazy on that thing!

So today, she wanted to practice with me holding her and letting go when she was steady. We went around the cul-de-sac a few times and once we were crossing back over to our house and she just pushed off the ground and put her feet on the pedals!! Yay!! She started going farther and farther and then just took off!! This first video is the first one I took- when she was still getting her feet wet! (oh- I may have dropped my camera and it has stopped focusing- so these are all blurry... sorry!)

This one was after Avery had figured some stuff out and this was when she made her first turn!

In addition to all of the fun, outdoorsy stuff- she is learning so much academically! She learned our address after having a 10 minute conversation about it, she asked me to make her a math fact worksheet, she learned Mary Had a Little Lamb on the piano, and she made me a birthday card that says, "Deer Mom, Here (which I helped her spell) iz yor prezit"!! I tried to take a picture of it, but the previously mentioned broken camera is hampering my documentation!

We also had a conversation the other day about our friend Joanne's pregnancy. It went a little something like this...

Avery: When is Jo's baby gonna come?

Mom: Oh, about 5 more weeks- well I guess its really 3 weeks
now.

Avery: Oh, so its already been two weeks?

What??? How did her crazy little math brain just figure that out? There was no pause between those sentences either- she just knew that two weeks was left over. To my non-math brain, that's amazing! Here's Avery working on her math facts!

So anyway, she is just chaning and maturing so much! It is amazing to be a part of it all!!

Proof

2010-04-06T14:17:00.000-07:00

Sheesh! I've got so much to catch-up on! I haven't really been posting pics because I am a bit too far behind- with everything! There's Indiana visit pics, Easter, Avery taking her training wheels off, Avery riding her scooter, plus videos.... so, for now... we'll go with an easy post.

This post if for all of you who don't really believe that Oliver is as mischievious as I say (cough, cough... Leah!!) Here is Oliver thinking about stealing my phone... a ever-so-slight twinkle in his eye.... He dives in for the attack!!! Add your own caption to this one!!

"Ha, ha, ha... I'm the sneakiest!!!"

And here is why he gets away with it most of the time... the big, ole', cheesy grin!!

Oliver Singing!

2010-03-27T07:57:00.000-07:00

Our blog was first started as a way to keep family and friends updated with the goings-on of our kids. But there was the added benefit of having a little keepsake of their milestones. And often, it serves as pure entertainment for them! Usually about once a week we go through and watch old videos and laugh! We were doing this yesterday and we watched the video of the "kids" (really, just Avery) singing Happy Birthday to Grandma. Then later on that night, this was Oliver at the table!

The Adventures of Roller-Girl and Bat-Man

2010-03-07T12:51:00.000-08:00

Well, Avery found a new sport to love this weekend!!! A friend of ours was having her birthday at the roller rink!! I was working, so I didn't get to experience her new skills firsthand- but all she could talk about when she got home was how brave she was and how it was "so awesome!!!" Pretty cute! She still not the most adventurous girl around, but I did include a blurry picture to prove that she did actually leave the wall at some point!! The fact that she got out there at all- with the music and darkness is awesome for her!

See!!! No wall in sight!! Avery with her little death-grip on Amy and Alexis.Avery and the birthday girl!!Here is Oliver's new favorite game! He is so stinkin' cute! Someday he'll get his own toys so that not everything he uses is pink, but for now, he's pretty happy just hitting the ball!

Happy Birthday, Grandma Smith!!!!

2010-03-03T13:30:00.000-08:00

It's Grandma's birthday today!! Yay!!! Wish we could be there to celebrate with you! But we'll be there in a few short weeks!

It's also my niece, Kamy's birthday today! Happy birthday to Kamy too!!!

A Little Glimpse at Oliver

2010-02-25T08:02:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: So there really are videos there. I promise. I know it doesn't look like it and videos on blogger have been goofy lately. But really- they're there. Can you see them?

He is turning into such a silly, quirky little fella! Keep in mind, that the only way we are able to catch these on video is because he spends several minutes doing each move!! So the fact that he was doing this for 15 minutes, is just funny! He would put the cans down, squish his head between the two cans, lay still minute, then get up and say, "funny!!"

This is when we call him the Long Jumper. He'll run and do this over and over and over and over! Silly! He only said "dinosaur" like this for a day, so I'm glad we caught it!! (sorry about the whole sideways video thing again... don't know why I keep doing that)

Oliver's First Haircut!!!

2010-02-18T12:48:00.001-08:00

It was time. Oliver looked like he had a rat-tail! We were really hoping that his hair was going to curl, but I think we've begun to understand that it just wasn't meant to be! His wonderful little curls on the back were just baby hair curls, I think! So, it was time to unshaggify the little boy! We headed back to the place where Avery had her birthday party and hoped for the best. I will admit that I tried to cut off the rat-tail this morning, and knew that it wasn't going to go well! Certainly not as well as Avery's first haircut!!

So here's poor little Ollie, getting tortured!! Not even fruit snacks could make him feel better about the clippers!!Tears streaming down the face!!

Every so briefly entertained by Avery blowing bubbles for him!!

Phew!! All done!! Avery was feeling pretty triumphant, but Oliver wasn't quite over the trauma yet!

Just some shots of the new haircut!! He looks like such a big boy!!!

It's Party Time!

2010-02-01T21:33:00.000-08:00

Avery had her party at Snip-Its, which is a hair salon for kids. The girls got to have an up-do, their nails painted, put on makeup, and they did a fashion show. It was pretty fun!! Avery keeps saying that she wishes she could stay there forever!!! Here are some pics of the festivities!

Coloring her purse- all dressed up!She's up first to get her hair done! She chose the "diva" style!Finished product!Getting her nails painted! She chose pink with green sparkles on top??
Oh, the make-up application process. It continued throughout the day- you'll see that later!The fashion show! It was sort of busy in the store so I think some of the girls got a little shy!

Cupcakes and singing!Opening presents! Avery and mommy!!!

Yup, Oliver was there. Poor guy. Um, so this was her makeup application later! She was actually trying to be funny, but yikes!

Avery received this Barbie Jammin' Jeep as a gift from Jeff and I and my parents! She LOVES it! The best part of the gift- for us- was that our neighbor put it together! We didn't have to apply a single sticker!!!! Thanks, Doug!!!!This was part of her celebration today. She got to take in cookies for snack at school, play with her Jeep, open presents from family, go to Chik-fil-a for dinner (her request!!), and then to Erica's for cake and playing!! It may look like she's really excited about these pj's (which she was) but she is actually yawning!! We had to wake her up to get going with our plans, so she was excited... but sleepy!!!
Cake time at Erica's!!!!

So that's it! The celebrations are over! She's had a little something special going on for several days in a row- I'm not sure how she'll get through tomorrow!!

Avery is 5!!!!

2010-02-01T10:01:00.000-08:00

Well, my little girl is 5!! Seems crazy! This birthday seems like a big one for some reason. Maybe because kindergarten is around the corner and she is leaving her preschool years behind. Makes me feel a little nostalgic! So, I decided to post a bunch of little baby Avery pictures!!

Happy Birthday, big girl!!!

Avery Cleaning

2010-01-27T12:44:00.000-08:00

Oh my. Our daughter is funny sometimes. She really likes to help clean the toilets. Great, right? Usually, it is! Although this particular day there's a chance I had to stick my hand in some questionable water to retrieve a cleaning device. Yuck. I sent her downstairs to work on the downstairs bathroom, and this is what was happening. If you don't normally enjoy videos, this one really might be worth your time!!

Oh, Oliver. He just loves his sister!!! Does whatever she's doing!!!! Yes, they are grooming My Little Ponies!!

New 'Do

2010-01-25T09:15:00.000-08:00

Avery wanted me to straighten her hair the other day as I was doing mine! I was amazed at how fast just a little section went. So, the next day we did her whole head! It was fun to see her with such a different look! Hard to imagine she'll be 5 in one week!!! I can't believe I signed her up for kindergarten. I can't believe she's starting to read and write sentences! It really is amazing! Here is my straight-haired big girl!!!

Oliver's basketball skills have now progressed to some dribbling! I laugh just a little bit too hard in this video at his funny look- but I couldn't help it! What was that look for???

Here is the previously mentioned "chicken wing" caught on tape!!

Around the House Silliness

2010-01-22T15:21:00.000-08:00

Oliver got a new hat. He apparently feels really cool in it.Everyone... and I do mean everyone was grumpy the other day. So, we all put in side ponytails and the day just turned around!Oliver knows how to get on the couch now. All he does is tackle Avery and come close to falling off. trouble.

He painted himself with yogurt. He was quite proud. We used it to give him a mohawk!

Yay!! Christmas!!

2010-01-14T22:44:00.000-08:00

We finally made it to Christmas!!! We had a family celebration here before our trip to Arizona. Avery really was so excited this year! She couldn't wait!

Avery and her lip gloss. Oh my. She actually received this from Erica, but wow. I thought she'd use it up in one day with all of her re-applications. All morning with the lip gloss!Helping daddy assemble the Barbie townhouse! I didn't include many pictures of Avery from Christmas morning because all of her pictures came out with closed eyes. She must have been so excited she couldn't keep her eyes open! So enjoy this one!

Oliver with one of the many balls he received!

I'd like to introduce you to what we call The Chicken Wing. When Oliver gets excited, he flaps one arm. So we named it the chicken wing and now he does it on command! Here it is in full effect!

Some serious fun was had that morning! They really had a wonderful Christmas! Shortly thereafter, we hopped in the car- a day early- and headed out for our 15 hour drive! Many of you know, Avery got the stomach flu during hour 13 of our drive. Horrible. Avery's not really a "trooper" when it comes to being sick. So the fact that it was happening after a really long day, was quite terrible!!

But once we got to AZ, there was lots of fun to be had! It took her almost a week before she was feeling better. But the excitement of Christmas pulled her through!!

Oliver enjoying his stocking stuffers!He loved this rocking chair that his cousins received!Speaking of cousins... talk about fun! There four of them- ages 4, 2, 1, and 1. Yikes! It was loud, crazy, full of chase, and wild!!! Actually, we didn't attempt to get a picture of them together. But here are the ones we could catch! Avery and Karsen... they wore each other out!! Ooohhh, mischief!!!

Kamy and Oliver really just looked at each other. Not a whole lot of playing together going on there!

Ok, I think we're caught up now!! Phew!

Nutcracker Dance Recital

2010-01-14T22:00:00.000-08:00

So moving on through December, Avery had her dance recital right before we left for Arizona. It was pretty great! Her little studio did The Nutcracker. She got all dolled up, put on her ill fitting, too expensive costume (oops, was I not supposed to say that?), and danced her little heart out!
Practicing her moves backsage!

Really, Really Random

2010-01-14T20:54:00.000-08:00

So Erin and Tyler came to visit! Unfortunately we had to shoo them off early because we decided to get out of town early to beat a big snow storm! But here is Erin coloring with Oliver. She doesn't look super enthused, but its so cute that Oliver was coloring! Oliver snoozing with his favorite babysitter (and monkey and kitty cat!)

Avery at her preschool Christmas party.

Oliver has learned the art of hiding! All we have to say is "where's Oliver?" and he'll run to this little nook and hide. He's very tricky!

Awwww.... Oliver lovin' on his sister!

Then the mischievious twinkle in his eye comes...

Starting to get a little crazy...

Bouncing on sister....

Wa hoo... the big finish!!!! This was merely one capture of an event that took place over and over!

Then on some other separate, random occasion we were running errands. Oliver fell asleep. He is famous for talk, talk, talkin' one second and then two seconds later, he looks like this. Now kids fall asleep in the car all of the time. But his little death grip on his water bottle... so cute.

Rewind

2010-01-14T20:40:00.000-08:00

Ok. It's time for the big catch-up. Christmas happened. Since our Christmas letter got sent out after the new year, I suppose its only fitting that I'd be posting Christmas pictures on January 14th. Let's begin with the world's worst tree. It was terrible. It never really took much water, it wilted really fast, and locked in all of the internal ornaments with it's extrodinarily dry branches!! And, we kept trying to straighten it, then we figured that the whole triangle shape was just off kilter from the main trunk... terrible.
Here, you'll see that we were so set on not dealing with a 15-month-old messing with presents, we put the tree in a corner on a table, blocked it off with furniture, and put the presents in the tv nook!! Ridiculous. Oliver definitley doesn't have that "smile for the camera" thing down. at all.Oliver isn't convinced this is a good idea. Avery has really warmed to Santa! She told him she wanted a Three Muskateers Barbie and that Oliver wanted a ball (which he did!!).Doesn't it look like the reindeer's hoof is holding Oliver in place?Ok, see ya next post!

Ba-di-baw

2010-01-05T13:31:00.000-08:00

There is some catching up to do. Until then, here is a little somethin' to keep you satisfied for a while. Without question, Oliver's favorite Christmas present was his basketball hoop. He pretty much talks about basketball all day. He's got some skills. Here they are.

Fa-vah

2009-12-11T08:59:00.000-08:00

Oliver is starting to talk so much! He isn't quite as easy to understand as Avery was, but we know what he's saying. "Ball" was his first word- and he says it all of the time! But, he learned "football" the other day. A lot of balls became footballs. It really sounds more like fa-vah. Then he learned basketball today! It's pretty cute how much he emphasizes the three syllables of basketball- even though they don't really sound that much like the word! Fun, fun!

Lucky, Lucky Me!!!

2009-12-09T09:12:00.001-08:00

I am the luckiest gal around! Last weekend I got to go to Indiana and surprise a whole heap of friends! The main reason for the surprise trip was to celebrate Erin and Tyler's engagement!!! More about that later- let's go through the trip chronologically!

So first, I headed from the airport to Dave and Jo's house! I've never been to their new home... but I snuck in at about 1 am (Dave knew I was coming)! Found the guest room and went to sleep! Then in the morning, Dave woke me up and had me go under the tree. Jo walked out and found me there! Sooo fun! I got to enjoy them for a few hours! And now on to the happy couple!!! Erin and I have known each other for about 7 years! She was a senior on the team when I started coaching at Taylor. Then she was my assistant coach for the next 4 years! She and Tyler started dating a while ago and are now on their way to spending the rest of their lives together!!

Erin didn't know I was coming to celebrate with her! After they got engaged, I showed up at her apartment and we got to have coffee! Shortly thereafter, a bunch more people showed up and they have a Tree Decorating/Engagement Party!! Here they are telling the story to the crowd!The happy bride, showing off her rock! I got to see a few former players at the party! So fun to catch up with these girls and hear about their post college lives!

The fun continued when I got to surprise some more people at church the next day! I also got to hang with my cool nephew... but oddly, I didn't take any pictures there!

Christmas Program...Already!

2009-12-04T12:19:00.000-08:00

Avery had her Christmas Program today! I have no idea why they did it so early- we just did the Thanksgiving one! So, here's some Christmas previews... Oliver waiting for the program to start- lookin' like a handsome fella.
Afterwards, I told Oliver to go stand with Avery. He scooched right on over and laid his head on her shoulder.He just needed some sister-lovin'!!
Oliver was missing a nap to be there and there were lots of trees and toys around- so no smiling for him... but these are cute anyway!

While I'm at it, I may as well post these videos from the Thanksgiving program. It was much smaller and just in their classroom, but still super cute!

Oh yeah- Oliver has spent some time in some boxes recently. It's his new thing!

And with hats...

2009-12-03T08:08:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Stinker

2009-11-05T09:20:00.000-08:00

Well friends, its official. The sweet, laid-back little baby that we all once loved... has morphed. He is now an ornery, tantrum-throwing toddler. Of course, that just means there are more aspects of his personality to love, but phew... he's going to be a challenge.

It has really made me realize some things about Avery. She is still high-maintenence, stubborn and sassy. BUT, I now see how compliant she is! I wouldn't have thought of her as a compliant baby- there's a little too much 'will'there- but now that Oliver is here, I know that she was a compliant baby!

Does Oliver know what 'no' means? Yup, he does... and he rarely listens to it. He throws massive screaming fits when he doesn't get his way. He is drawn to activities he knows he not supposed to do... often walking over to it saying 'no' the whole time. All the while with a little, tiny smirk on his face! I know he is only 14 months old... but he's such a stinker!!

So this is our latest "game" when it is time for a diaper change! Oh boy... parenting Oliver is going to be very different that Avery!!!

More Snow!!

2009-10-30T19:46:00.001-07:00

This has been a very snowy October! We just had another huge storm- I'm not sure how much snow we actually got- I've heard some say 23 inches, some say 19 inches, and some say 14. So, I think it was between 16 and 18 inches at our house. Here is our grill in the back! The snow on the railing that is starting to bend over...

Avery ready for some fun!

Heading off to sled with her buddy!

Avery had two days off school. Jeff had a day and a half and the elementary schools around here at 3 days off! So on the first day we had a little impromptu Snow Day Celebration! A lot of our neighbors work in the school system, so they all came over for coffee, cocoa, and cookies! Video games were played by the older boys, the little kids ran around like crazy people, and the adults enjoyed some snacks! It was really fun! Here are the neighbors enjoying each other's company!!

Thankfully, today was sunny, so most of the sidewalks and driveways are melted already!!! Should make for an interesting Halloween tomorrow!

Ready, Set, Gooooo!!!

2009-10-22T06:19:00.000-07:00

Last night while Oliver was eating dinner, Avery was running back and forth yelling, "ready, set, gooooo!!!" She would stand on the little circle yell her saying and then run and throw herself on the couch. When Oliver was done eating, this video is what he started doing! "ooohh, ooohhh, doooo!!!" He did this for the next 30 minutes or so... so cute! (oh and yeah, this is a good video to see how messy our house is!)

In other news, we had a pretty decent snow yesterday! Seems like there is always a good snow in October, but we'll be back to sunny skies and warm temps in a few days!

This is actually from the night before the snow, but isn't he cute in his hat??Pretty Plum tree with snow!

Now for a random story. This is Oliver and Bear. Oliver loves Bear. He carries it everywhere. Bear makes Oliver very happy. Bear has some issues. Oliver eats Bear. Here he is taking a bite.Chewing some fur...Uh, yeah. This is what Bear looks like now. That's a bald spot. And bald ears. Has anyone else's kids ever done this? Maybe this is too much info, but yes, there has been fur in Oliver's diaper before. Poor Bear.

Pumpkin Patch '09

2009-10-17T08:46:00.000-07:00

Apparently I'm feeling picture happy this morning. This post if choc-ful-o-pics!! We went to the pumpkin patch yesterday on Jeff's Fall Break (his one day of fall break- everyone else around here gets at least a week!). Good time was had by all!

Oliver got to play with rocks... so he was pretty happy!
That, and barking at ALL animals and playing pumpkin drums was just about all Oliver needed to have a good day! He also spent a lot of time shouting "ball" at the acres and acres of pumpkins. Here Oliver is barking at a cow.Pumpkin drums...Enjoying the wagon ride with the fam...Finding our perfect pumpkin!Avery lovin' the barrel train. She rode it twice!The highlight of the day for Avery was when we were nearby when the ponies arrived to begin pony rides. She got to watch them unload and then the sweetest little kids let her help get one of the ponies ready!!! She got to brush it and help put the blanket on! She was so excited! I think she won them over with her little stable shirt that has a flap on it- when you open it, there is a horse inside! It's her favorite shirt!!

Petting and brushing her new buddy...
Helping put on the blanket. Seriously, these kids could not have been nicer to her! They kept telling her what a good helper she was and asking her all sorts of questions about her love for horses!Avery with her favorite horse in the background. Looks like Trigger liked Avery too!Avery and Trigger!Wooooaaaa!!!

We headed home... a good day was had by all!!!!

All Better!!!

2009-10-16T08:19:00.001-07:00

Oliver got his stitches removed on Wednesday and his lip is looking so good! He didn't love the removal process, but who would?He has been smiling a little bit crooked!! Or maybe it just looks crooked.

We've been suspecting for some time that Oliver's head was leaning toward producing curly hair. We didn't know Avery's was curly until about 15 months, so we've been patiently waiting. Then, after his bath last night- it looked REALLY curly! I couldn't be more pleased! Avery and Oliver aren't proving to look too much alike... but at least they'll have the hair!

Poor Oliver's Busted Lip!!!

2009-10-09T11:25:00.001-07:00

Poor little Oliver fell and split his lip!!! It was quite traumatic for the Smith fam! We were visiting the neighbors and he tripped or something and hit their coffee table! So sad! We took him to the er (our first visit with one of our kids) and 6 hours later, he was stitched up with 6 stitches! They had to sedate him to do the procedure and he was loopy!! Hopefully none of us will get the swine flu after spending so much time in the er!!

So here is our happy little guy with his big lip! Some of these pictures are kind of gross, but it had to be preserved for posterity's sake! I think they get progressively grosser, so stop reading if you're not interested!

I Couldn't Resist

2009-10-07T22:34:00.000-07:00

This is Oliver's latest "trick" and I couldn't resist sharing it. He really, really likes animals and tends to bark at most things that look like a mammal- excitedly!!! 101 Dalmations was on tv the other day and Oliver was freaking out! But thanks to one of Avery's stuffed animals that purrs and meows, he has learned a super realistic meow. I think its the cutest thing, so here it is.

It should be noted that our neighbor graciously offered Avery her choice of some stuffed animals (which does creep me out a bit- not because of the neighbor, but the germs- but she was excited... so whateryagonnado). I came home from work the other night and our living room is full of these freakishly realistic stuffed animals- a huge doberman pincher, a scary cat, a creepy squirrel, a bunny, and this weird ocelot thingy that Oliver is loving on.

Please Let Me Play!!!

2009-09-29T14:10:00.000-07:00

Oh little Ollie! He just wants to play soccer and be wherever Avery is! I do believe he is actually on the playing field here! I had to keep herding him back off of the field- but he didn't really disturb anyone! He is getting really good at kicking! Just a few more years, buddy!!

Avery Goes To Tea

2009-09-28T08:48:00.001-07:00

Avery's little friend had her birthday party at a tea parlor this weekend. Avery got to get all dressed up and she had a really good time! I told her she looked like Alice In Wonderland and I think this is from that!The patented Avery side head cock!!And what is dressing up in a fancy dress without being able to spin??

The real Avery comes out!!

A Post For Jayne

2009-09-27T14:23:00.001-07:00

Our friend Jayne is coming to visit!!!! (by the way, if you need a good laugh, go to her blog and check our this post- so funny!!!)

Oliver found this can of Dr. Pepper in the garage the other day and carried it around forever! It eventually popped and the fun was over, but we got some good photos before that happened!

So this is in honor of Jayne because she LOVES Dr. Pepper. It is, without question, where my love of Dr. P developed!

Oliver's First Birthday!

2009-09-07T21:16:00.000-07:00

Yay! Our baby boy is one! Hard to believe how fast this year has gone! He is such a fun little guy! Here are some of our favorite things about Oliver as he turns one....

-He loves his big sister! When she wakes up in the morning, he walks over to the bottom of the stairs and gets a huge smile on his face! If she lays on the floor, he will tackle her immediately! He "steam rolls" her with a big grin on his face the entire time!

-He is such a little troublemaker!!! He'll put something in his mouth and take off really fast trying to get away before we can get it out! He thinks he's sooo funny when he hands us something and fakes us out. He'll climb up to the 2nd stair and then turn around with a little smirk on his face wondering how far we're going to let him go!

-When he really likes something or wants something he says, "oooohhhoooo" It's so cute, he's got the neighbors saying it too!

-He loves balls and stuffed animals! "Ball" is one of the only things he says and he will spend 15-20 minutes just chasing a ball around by himself! He loves hugging stuffed animals! He really loves tackling big stuffed animals!

Ok... enough talking- on the the pictures!! Apparently, Jeff did most of the picture taking, so you'll be seeing a lot of me!

The festivities began the night before when the assembly of the toys began! We wanted to do it ahead of time so the kids could play with toys at the party... doesn't this look fun??

And so, the morning of his birthday, we couldn't make him wait to play with his present from mom and dad... I think he likes it!!!Avery spent some time walking the neighbors dog/horse!!! She got a new crown because she was having a hard time with the "presents are for Oliver" concept.Now its party time! Here he is enjoying his first chips with our friend Jen.Making him wear the dreaded hat.... we had this exact one for Avery when she was one and she hated it too!Having some fun in his swing... he really liked it that the balloon bonked him in the head every time he would swing. Aaaaahhhh, boys!Then we got to open some amazing presents! So fun to get so many new toys!!!Trying out the new Kawasaki!!!!On to the cake!!! Since Oliver loves balls so much, we decided to do a ball theme for his party! So we made some ball cakes and the kids got playground balls as their party favor. There were playground balls flying all around our cul-de-sac!!! Anyway, here's the cake. He was hesitant at first, then liked it for a bit, then got really mad that he was still in his highchair!So a fun day was had by all! Cornhole was played, bikes were riden, yummy food was consumed... good times! We love you big-boy Oliver!!!!!

First Day of School, First Day of School!!!!

2009-08-31T12:16:00.000-07:00

These are the lines Avery quoted from Nemo this morning!!! She was so excited for school! It was just yesterday that she learned she was going in the morning instead of the afternoon. So the fact that we got out the door on time- and took pictures- is pretty impressive! We're not a morning kind of family, so it was new for us to be somewhere by 8:30. Well, here are the pics of Avery all ready to go!
I made her uncock her head. And she said, "ok, but in the next one, can I do my head sideways because its cuter." Turns out I do like this one better!

This was her "first day of school" leap...

With her teacher, Miss Heather.

And with her other teacher, Miss Dierdre.

All ready for some learnin'!

Well, she loved it. She said her favorite part was walking around the whole school and taking a tour. She asked if I was going to get her a surprise for after school. Huh. Do you think I've conditioned her for some high expectations? Well, I couldn't disappoint... and since its Oliver's birthday this week he's going to be getting lots of presents and attention... I figured I'd spoil her a bit. And really, let's be honest... I've been waiting for the excuse to indulge for a while now.... so here's the deal... I'm a sucker for my daughter and I'm a sucker for some serious movie cheeziness.... so she may have received the High School Musical series!!!

I'll wrap things up with some Oliver silliness...

All Things Avery

2009-08-24T20:11:00.000-07:00

Avery's had some good stuff going on lately, so I thought I'd update y'all! The pictures are all sort of random, so I'll just write out some stuff...

She finally passed a level in swim lessons! This is the first time she's actually advanced a level. She took a few rounds of swim lessons last year but we stopped due to lack of progress/a certain someone's extreme stubborn-ness. So, we started this summer and again, she just won't do something unless she knows all of the possible outcomes. It's quite impressive really- her resolve to stay safe. Anyway, after we got back from Arizona (where we swam every day) something clicked and she was a swimming all-star! So she actually got to move up a level!

She had her first sleepover! Her little buddy came over last weekend and they had so much fun giggling until the wee hours! They were up until 11:45!! I can't imagine how late she'll stay up when she's a teenager!

She has been so good at playing independently lately! It's so fun to listen to the worlds she creates! She has not historically been good- AT ALL- at playing by herself. But I think the addition of some hand-me-down Barbies has changed her world! I love it! It's hard to catch her in these worlds because she always wants to ham it up for the camera. But the video below is one where she didn't know I was taping her! I think she's acting out the audition scene from High School Musical with her own, original, "princessy", musical number!

Finally, she started soccer again! This time its outdoor- which means she gets to wear cleats!!! They've got a pink swoosh! Here are some pictures! I love this first one! I think she looks like a total bad a--!!! The only explanation I can offer for this one is that the first time she put on her soccer stuff she said, "I feel like a cool girl!!" and then struck this pose! This is the second week and she's still feelin' like a cool girl, apparently!!!Ok, here are some pictures of Avery being...Avery!!! So she said she was going to look for something in the garage. I heard this banging around and she was gone for a while. I peeked in and this is what she was doing. I think we had been watching softball on tv recently... so she said she was doing her hitting (in her pj's and flip-flops). Note the batting helmet she put on..."because that's what the softball girls do"!Around the same time (of softball watching) she found this visor from when she was a baby. I think its a 12 month size! But she really wanted to wear it to be like the softball girls- and since my heart was doing leaps and twirls on the inside- I couldn't deny her a visor!!!Yeah- so here she is washing her playhouse dishes, in the baby pool, while wearing her helmet, a sparkly dress-up top, and a tutu. Enough said.Making a silly face at dinner...And still lovin' on her baby brother!!!

More Walking

2009-08-19T09:09:00.000-07:00

Oliver is really walking far now! He's truckin' all around the cul-de-sac with his walking toy and crossing large rooms while walking! Here's a little sample!

Such A Big Man!!!

2009-08-08T22:24:00.000-07:00

Well, there are a few things to get you all caught up on!! Adam and Stacey were here for a visit... that blog is coming soon... the kids and I went to Arizona... that blog is coming soon... but- the big news is that our little guy has been taking steps!!! Here's a video of some of his very first ones!

During Adam and Stacey's visit, Jack started taking steps (click on the links in this sentence for better pictures of their visit and for Jack's walking! Except watch Jack's video on mute, because I'm ANNOYING on his video). Apparently Oliver learns by example and the day after they left- July 27, for posterity's sake- he started walking! He's still crawling for his main mode of locomotion, but he's getting braver and braver every day! By the way... check out the new Smith family carpet in the video... it's Heavenly!!!!

All Caught Up!

2009-07-13T20:26:00.000-07:00

This post is going to be quite random and filled with pictures I may not normally consider blog-worthy. But, I can't really be bothered right now to figure out which pictures I like ('cause they're really small in picasa, which makes it hard to tell which one is which- then you have to flip back and forth from the library to editing... too hard for me tonight). So, you get to see a lot of random scenery/cloud pictures with some people thrown in. Whatev... you can handle it (I'm apparently feeling a little sassy tonight.).

So. Jeff and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary in Beaver Creek! My parents graciously watched the munchkins and we got to sleep in and enjoy actual conversations! It was so fun!!! Our hotel was awesome! The creek was right behind us and was really high! We went rafting (my first time) and had a great time!

Then my parents, the kids and I went up Pikes Peak on the Cog Railway. In this first one, you can see the train in the distance.
These are pics of Colorado Springs and ummm... Kansas.Ya know, the woman who wrote "America the Beautiful" wrote it after being inspired by her trip to the summit of Pikes Peak. I think she was in a covered wagon. Here's Avery with the plaquard.And since no post is complete without some cuteness from Oliver... he's been playing peek-a-boo like crazy. It's quite cute. Curtains, clothes, his hands- he'll hide at the drop of a hat!

Dave and Jo

2009-07-09T14:55:00.001-07:00

In the catching up process, we have now made it to mid-June... when these glorious folks arrived! Dave and Jo are beloved in the eyes of the Smith children, so it was a really fun weekend!First on the agenda was a trip to Tiny Town. Phew... good times here! Mini buildings filled with McDonald's-like toys depicting various "historical" scenes and a train. Despite the hint of sarcasm, Avery really did have an awesome time! She loved the tiny-ness! She especially enjoyed the houses you could go inside of. We also went to Mt. Evans where it was ridiculously cold and snow-covered. We began the walk up with Oliver, but quickly turned around. It was waaaay too slippery. So, he and Jeff stayed back and apparently Oliver entertained the masses of tourists by licking the inside of the car window for about a half-hour! Here's Avery with the geological marker for the elevation-14,240.
On the way back down the "highest paved road in North America", we stopped at a little lake to hike. The clouds looked a little stormy so again, Oliver stayed back. While Avery was off having adventures....Oliver got to play in the trunk...Apparently, the only adventure Oliver needs is a tire gauge and a trunk and he's ridiculously happy! I got to see some cool lookin' clouds...Oliver was happy to see the crew upon their return!!! Avery and some more cool clouds. I heard later that the tundra only grows one inch per year because of the harsh conditions. Had I known that, she wouldn't have been trampling the tundra here. Oops.

Then, just to wrap things up. There was some kitchen counter air guitar!!! Like I said, beloved.

Girls Weekend!!!

2009-06-21T22:01:00.000-07:00

Before I get to the a report on the most amazing weekend ever, here's a super cute picture of Oliver!

Ok... now to the Girls Weekend!! Oh my goodness. It was amazing. I really can't put into words how fun and relaxing it was... but I'll try! First of all, we stayed here.
It was heavenly. Simply heavenly. Close to everything, super comfy, and most importantly- filled with some amazing friends! So Erica, Jen, Liz and I all headed to Coronado Island for some serious girl time! We talked and talked, encouraged one another, challenged one another, made fun of each other, and laughed harder than most people on the island! It was so fun! These women are such a blessing to me! Their kids are a bit older so they are filled with perspective and wisdom- with a little bit of sympathy thrown it!

We participated in several of the most relaxing activities you can imagine...sleeping in, naps on the beach, pedicures, jacuzzi time, more laughter, amazing restaurants, and a chick-flick! Phew! I relax a little just thinking about it!

We started off the weekend with a healthy dose of mexican food! Ya know how little jokes don't really translate on "paper"? Well, this is a picture of one of those jokes. We'll just say straws and sipping in a silly fashion can simultaneously mock your friends and get you out of a sticky conversation. We'll just leave it at that.

The girls in front of the Hotel del Coronado. We ate here a couple of times. Um... yum.
The whole clan getting ready to depart.

Oh, woe is us. Our flight was delayed and we had to stay in San Diego for a few more hours. Better head to happy hour at this place on the water, overlooking the San Diego skyline. Boohoo. Such gorgeous girls!!!

Indiana Visit

2009-06-20T11:41:00.000-07:00

Well... first of all, let me eat some humble pie... I told y'all to comment more and maybe I'd blog more, but that hasn't been the case at all! You guys did such a great job commenting and I was so excited every time I went back to check and would see more comments! But then, we traveled, painted a living room (still in process), traveled some more, and now have visitors = no blogging. Sorry!

So, my plan is this: I'm going to do one post per day (hopefully) until I get caught up with all of the events that have been happening lately!

Here are the pics from our trip to Indiana! It was so fun for me to be back so soon after my last trip! We had a great time visiting everyone and playing with cousin Jack!

The first event of the week was a surprise party for our friend Dave's birthday! While we were waiting to surprise him, Avery pushed Oliver on the swing... After some basketball (a must while visiting the Hoosier state!) we went to a BBQ and Dave and Jo's friends. While there, Avery got to play until she could barely stand anymore! Here's us on a little adventure!

We also went to the zoo where Oliver decided to take over the big stroller!

Avery rode a horse... we're pretty sure this zoo pony ride place is where her extreme love of horses began.

Friends Dave and Jo at the zoo with us!

A rare family shot...

Avery just a little, teensy, bit frightened to pet the sharks (which she did a few short minutes later!).

The Oliver and Jack montage... oh my, did they enjoy baths together! It was so hard to keep them above water and off of each other! But they were a big splashy ball of cuteness!

At the park...

Awww, covered in kids!

Grandma hooked the boys up with some matching outfits! We tried our best to get some good pics, but this was about the best we could do! This is Oliver about to give Jack a snuggle!

Playing, playing, playing!

And "chase" begins!!!

Mega Post

2009-05-29T21:27:00.000-07:00

This is going to be a long one, folks! We've got several topics to cover, lots of videos, so grab a cold one and buckle up!

First of all, I'd like to address a little issue we've been having here lately at Smith Family Happenings. I've made no bones about the fact that I love comments on the blog! It makes me happy to know that people are enjoying my family! And it seems that we're in a bit of a rut with the comments. You'll notice that generally, Jayne and Stacey are the only ones that comment anymore. Everytime I check my blog, there are two comments and I can bet that they're from Jayne and Stacey. And don't get me wrong... I love it that they comment!!! Its the rest of you we need to discuss!

I hear from several of you... things like... "haven't seen any new pictures lately" or "when are you going to post again?" or "it's been a while since the last update". Remember positive reinforcement? Reinforce the behavior you want to increase? Comments are reinforcement to me! Leave me comments and I'll bet that you'll see my posting increase!! Just a thought. Grandparents? AHS friends? Indiana friends? I know you're all out there... let's hear from ya!

Ok, moving on...

Avery's done with her first year of preschool! Hard to believe that this was a whole school year ago! She's been looking so much older to me lately! It's amazing! Here are some pics of her receiving her certificate Avery and her best buddy. They play together constantly at school. They look alike too! Their teachers still were mixing them up at the end of the year!Next, we have some fun sibling time in our tiny blow-up pool! This was Oliver's first time in it and he wasn't too sure at first. But, as you'll see, he soon loved it!
Not too sure...
Warming up to the idea of swimmin' with sista!Lovin' it!!!!Avery's face in this picture makes me laugh out loud... so it had to be included!

And then finally, tonight was Avery's first dance recital! Oh my word it was so cute! They did Alice in Wonderland and her class played the roles of the teapots! Cute, cute, cute! We took a lot of video, so here ya go! Avery is usually in the back row, 3rd or 4th from the right. First, some pictures...

Look at that make-up!!!
3rd girl from the right...