Mr & Mrs Smith

Dearest Lexi, I think I'm overdue for another letter to you. Your 5th birthday was full of a new baby sister! As well as Gammi spoils (your first Chuck E Cheese experience; Uncle Troy drove up too!), strawberry icecream & cake, water balloon fight at the park with friends & a surprise visit from Maren! Thanks to Aunt Lisa. You are very loved. Nothing beats becoming a mother for the first time. All the high & lows of caring for tiny humans that grow up so fast you find yourself just staring at them wondering where time went & what their future still holds. I find myself staring at you constantly and you'll just give me a quick smile.  You've grown into a little girl, not my chunky toddler. Every day counts when it comes to teaching and loving you; and I'm grateful for second chances because I'm definitely less than perfect. I find so much joy in letting all my children enjoy new things, but you're right at that age of asking qu...

39 WEEKS PREGGO We have been distracted, but not by a baby yet! I feel the most calm and not as anxious this time around as far as waiting on baby, but sure, I'd LOVE the happy surprise of her coming early this week. I've been having more contractions than I feel like I ever did with the others, but after last Friday with them being 10 min apart for an hour, nothing consistent has happened again, at least not where I've clocked it.  But at least the contractions have kept her moving more.  I am finding myself exhausted by early evening, yet it's only the start of dinner & everything else. It's hard to keep up with the chores wanting everything in its place before she arrives. Including that dumb van, which apparently won't be repaired by then, but I'm counting on Mr Smith to take care of it during paternity leave. We are down to the last week though! It's very exciting. I set the induction date for Friday, April 20th assuming I'll fee...

I wanted to write a little bit about us wrapping up year 4 with Lexi in case it takes me a little bit longer to catch up once the baby comes... Lexi had her 5 year doc apt already so that she could finalize her shots for school. We submitted the registration paperwork and now just wait for orientation mid-April. She will do great; I know she'll thrive and it's really only 3 hours so I think it'll be perfect. She is doing great with sight words and trying to sound things out to read. There are still some struggle sounds like "r" that she says the "w" sound for, but I know she'll get there quick enough. The rules of English are horrible but she is great with repetition. Although when it comes to her online pre-k program, she really just gets through the reading & math so that she can play the games. Learning through play is a good thing.  I'm excited to see her learn & grow even more. I'm mostly excited for her to be around mor...

I guess it's still fall, but it feels like the freakin winter. The one where your bones freeze. And it hasn't even snowed yet. But I love Idaho! Everyone says this, so I even accepted it and made the sign that says Idaho is home. It's "resting" in my home in Idaho (because we haven't hung a single thing on the walls). I've accepted this. I'm embracing it. Because Mr Smith tells me NOW that he got a very clear answer that "this is home". I guess I just need to work on being inspired in the same way. Or maybe it'll come to me differently. We are different people after all. But I'm also still the biggest skeptic in life sometimes. I just feel like I can't be immune from anything. Maybe that's humility, I'm not sure. But it would be nice to find a place that feels like home #lifegoals I haven't had much photo inspiration as of late. There was a beautiful three week period of orange and yellow leaves that I complet...

My Dearest Alexis,  You are the light of our lives. Your world of yellow lights up the room. You seriously have the sweetest "motherly" touch with those younger than you, which has evolved over the years. You make other kids feel so loved; I can't tell you how many other mothers tell me how special you made them feel by loving their child even if in a passing moment. I love that you want everyone to be your friend.  Your current preference is everything art! You love making notes & "projects" and stuffing them in envelopes and watching us open them with such excitement. Your thoughts run deep. Thanks for caring. Thanks for making room for so many in that heart of yours even if we live our days cleaning up scraps of paper off the floor. We are grateful for your logical mind. Even though you run on emotions, we can always talk you through any situation. Fear is the only thing that holds you back. But you're always willing ...

Alexis has started a new phase of "I have a good idea" and "who is on my team?" She is about doing and creating whether it's throwing a party & baking a cake to a lot of story lines I don't follow. Not too long ago we were having arguments of "you need to listen to me and I listen to you" which involved me explaining that listening does not equal doing and well, if I don't do everything she says then why does it need to work the other way around? Any way, we're getting better with our emotions and trusting that parents are here to help teach us. And I'm really trying to be better at teaching the most important concepts and not getting too caught up on too high expectations for a 3-year-old. She recently started saying "But you still love me, right mom?" and I have no idea where that little gem of a phrase developed, but yes my love, I'll always love you no matter how many messes you make. That phrase came soon after a...

Answered by Alexis Jane 2/19/17 (about Mom & Dad) *What is something I say a lot? M: Like say "get up get up get up" D: Get away cause I'm working" *What makes me happy?  M: When I play with my brother D: like scratching your back   *What makes me sad?  M: Bad choices D: like getting your bum out *How tall am I?  M: Because you're big. When you eat lots of food you will grow really big. D: super tall *What's my favorite thing to do?  M: Listen D: Play hide & seek or go to bed *What is my favorite food?  M: Dinner D: Treats *What is my favorite drink?  M: Like water D: root beered *If I could go anywhere, where would it be?  M: With me & Dallin & daddy and watch a movie together like Trolls D: work *Do you think you could live without me? No *How do I annoy you?  M: When you get mad D: Like getting mad & puts you in shower *What is my favorite ...

FINALLY I can give you an update. It seems our guy is slowing down a bit:  Weight 23lb 91% Height 28.5 in 60% Head 18 in 87% He is on the go this month! He started crawling faster on his knees // he is all about trying to stand up but can't sit back down; definitely a cautious boy // he chews anything like a champ // FOUR top teeth all popped in during his Croup week so that was fun, 6 in total now // he has reverted back to bad sleep habits after my mastitis bout and has a difficult time going back to sleep on his own whenever he deems it necessary to wake up in the middle of the night // he started babbling "da da, bah bah, ma ma" sounds // he LOVES being held still but is all about grabbing everything so that can be challenging // he loves musical instruments, blocks & putting play food in his mouth // so VERY ticklish still // 12-18 month size // still has bouts of cough attacks especially at night (part of the night problem I assume) // has...

She adds an s at the end of a lot of her words like "potties"  She still likes to tell us when she goes potties and also " I went poo, come wipe my bum!" She likes to remember random things about her friends or her time with them Same thing with who got her something "Grandma got me this. That's so nice of her." She started saying things like "we saw them on Saturday" when it was months ago. She started asking "what time it is" throughout the day and just going "oh. okay" She will stop a tantrum for a treat. Like complete 180. She can be demanding. She'll tell me she doesn't want to be patient. She always uses "he" when it should be "him" referring to Dallin All her Ls sounds like Ys because she doesn't stick her tongue out past her teeth when talking She opens the front door herself and invites anyone including our 60 year old male landlord to play wi...

I really don't think I can refer to my children as minions until I have like 3-4, but alas, I'm rolling with the idea.  August FLEW. Just like every other month before, haha, but I still don't feel like my kids are growing up that fast. Everyone says "I don't know where the time has gone" which is completely true, but it's not because my kids grew overnight, no. I feel every day of their growth, haha. But for real, Lexi is a joy who can actually make me laugh out loud these days. And of course we all just eat Dallin up. Lexi took a tumbling class with her cousin Maren twice a week in August, which limited our schedule. I joke because it's only 2 hours a week, but HAVING to do stuff in the mornings, when my afternoons are already taken by work, just means what I can accomplish is limited., especially with naps, etc... I enjoy flexibility so I know I'm going to struggle once she starts school and wants to do more paid stuff. We've also been doin...