Merry Christmas!

Christmas Morning we go to Aunt Francie's for some serious present madness. It was chaos, I have never seen so many presents in my life. Next year we are donating a bunch to a family in need.

She can open them herself! Uncle Jimmy & Papa are there to help just in case.
Jordan, Uncle Jim with his new harmonica & Fancy
Ho Ho Ho mama looks like a hoe!
Aunt Kari got boxing gloves and a punching bag
Uncle Jimmy was so tired he took a nap under the tree!


Christmas night we go to Grandma Loves for round 3 of presents! We are so spoiled, next year let's really do a Christmas for another family, K.

Drinking a baba in the craziness
Mama, Miss Lennon & Miss Chloe
This picture shows her favorite toy and the expression shows just how much she loves her balls!

Christmas Eve at Aunt Jeri's

The second time I met St. Nick
Here's everyone at the festivities
Merry Christmas everyone!

So tired

December 23rd we had the Hunters' & Fancy over for dinner. I looked over at Leni and she was fast asleep in her high chair.

She's ONE!

These pictures are all out of order. I'm taking care of a sick baby today. Lennon got her first ear infection in both ears. Her right side is very bad and her ear drum might rupture and drain. Poor baby! Last night she seriously screamed for 7 hours straight, I felt horrible because I could not do anything for her. We ended up driving all over town at 2 am trying to find an all night instacare. They don't exist. We couldn't afford to take her to the ER and pay 200 bucks. At least when we drove around she slept. I think it felt better than lying down, because of the pressure in her ears. She is the best baby, so last night was terrible for us. Note to self: we are only having one child.

Anyway, on with her birthday pictures. Thanks to everyone that came & we are sorry the snow storm made it so some of you could not come. That is another joy of having a December birthday!

She got her big girl car seat!


Here is most of the people at the party. (notice our new tv that we are hanging over our mantle)

She ate some cake and blew out her first candle!


She went on a ride in her new wagon the next morning.

yummy cupcakes

Here she is opening some of her presents with papa



Look how cute I am! I'm ONE!

additional proof that coldplay SUCKS!

This is hilarious. I hope coldplay has to pay up!

In honour of my baby girl turning 1 in three days!

Last year on this day, at this exact time, I was going to the ER because I was "in labor". I had drank castor oil (just thinking about that stuff makes me dry heave) and walked around my neighborhood as fast as I could to induce my labor! Two different people recommended it to me & it worked for both of them. It sort of worked for me, but then my contractions were to close enough together so they gave me a shot of morphine and sent me home. Not to worry because I made my Dr. induce me 2 days later. Lennon was born after midnight so it was technically 3 days later. She is lucky to share her birthday with my cute niece Chloe (not to be confused with my other cute niece Chloe!)

Here are a few ultra sound pictures. I can't believe she is turning one. I can't believe that she was inside me & developed into a baby/person! I have an ultra sound from 6 weeks where she was just a circle blob with a tiny heart flutter. Biology is insane!

666

I was tagged.

Go to the 6th folder on your computer then post the 6th picture from it. Then tag 6 friends (I changed it from 5 to 6). Here's what I came up with. It's a sad & happy picture. I was lucky enough to go to Hawaii with my Grandma, Mama & brother in 2002. Here we are eating dinner at the Luau. Look how cute my Grandma is. My mom looks great too. And my brother is the sibling I think I resemble most. I think I look like the female version of him.




I tag:
Stacey
Julie
Chelsea
Megan
Fancy
Emily
and everyone else too

Proposition 8: the Musical!

See more Jack Black videos at Funny or Die

Mullet baby

to pass the time

I am waiting for my pumpkin cheese cake to finish baking.

Lennon's favorite activity: playing with dog food, watching dogs eat, or feeding the dogs one piece at a time, or even trying to eat it herself. Her hands smell like dog food constantly. (yes I put it up, but sometimes I don't, ok)

To retaliate for the dog food being put up:

Why are mini adult clothes so damn cute on babies? This outfit kills me!

And.................VOILA! can't wait for tomorrow to eat this & mashed potatoes mixed with peas.
I am impressed I made this! Seriously, I don't bake and look at this beauty!
Happy Thanksgiving! Think of the innocent turkey that lost it's life so you can enjoy this lame holiday!

Fairy Godmother??

Whomever raked our leaves.... you are awesome! I wish we knew who you were so we could give you some cookies or something. So thank you very much!

Hi Grama & Grampa Luv

I have been using my rocking chair and it's the perfect size for me. I feel like a big girl having my very own chair!


(mama says please don't look at my stained rug)

Cabin Fever

We went to our cabindo this weekend with some friends & had a blast. We hung out, went 4 wheeling a little & watched our kiddies play. At night Chelsea & Cory taught us a fun dice game called "farkle". I think my favorite thing about the game is that you get to keep saying farkle, and who would not like saying farkle.

One of their favorite things was standing by the coffee table. It makes them feel like they are big kids and can really stand and walk by themselves. They are 6 days apart!

The family 4 wheeler shot

Look how cute they are in the tub. Lennon is a little fatty next to him!
Lennon is advanced & already driving the quad herself
Here is the whole group of us:
Stella, Cory, Chelsea, Weston, me, Lennon, Mike & Isis. Maddie missed the photo :(

She's getting her teeth

Hi Auntie Kari!!

Lock Up Raw

While I was watching a TV show last night about prison inmates I learned that murdering 4 people and stealing a cracker are the same thing!

The prisoner was dead (nice pun) serious that when he meets God he will be forgiven & God will treat him the same as someone that has stolen a cracker.

this.fucking.election

Check this out. It's cool, and it doesn't swear, OK! The website name is the only thing that swears. Calm down!

http://thisfuckingelection.com/

(sorry for the swear word, but it's good for some of you)

mud mask

Thank God we didn't move to Eagle Mountain

Here is our house we were building in Eagle Mountain. We backed out at the last minute, and we could not be happier. While it is a cute house, it's too cookie cutter for us. Plus, notice that big house next to it? Well that is what the entire street was. Ours was one of two ramblers. When I was driving to see it I kept thinking is this the right street?


Here's our home sweet home. We love living in the city, even if it's a small city.

Lennon Rae

Look what Lennon can do:
10 months, my baby is 10 months!
Say "ball, mama, spider (sort of) & papa a few times".
Crawl any where she wants to go.
Walk, she takes huge steps while you hold her hands. She looks like a drunk baby.
Wave bye bye.
Eat big people food. She loves Nutrigrain bars, green beans, strawberries, stars, banana bread, Amish bread, any bread. She wants nothing to do with baby food now.
Drinks with a big girl cup all by herself.
Balls continue to be her favorite toy.

Her two bottom teeth have cut through, but they are still coming up. They are so cute!

said ball & papa 10/12
crawled forward 10/12
teeth cut through 10/7
waved 10/23

Smith Princesses

Halloween preview

Here are some pictures from Grama Luv & Jeri's Annual Halloween Party

Check out the detail on this cute Frankenstein Cupcake

Seriously, my babe is sooo cute.

Everyone in costume

The family pic. Mike didn't have his mask on, and apparently I had my costume on backwards all night. Woops

Love makeup?

then you will love Chelsea's new blog:

www.suburbanheresy.blogspot.com

Check it out, it rocks! Especially if you are clueless like me. It has some great pointers & product information (mostly MAC).

PS I have the link on the side of my blog for easy access.

the touch ups that never were

Once upon a time we purchased our house. It was exactly a year ago. We had the best of intentions on remodeling it and moving in quickly. I was seven months pregnant. Long story short, I didn't feel like painting. Mike and my sis, and a few other volunteers here and there, ended up painting a 2300 sq. foot home.
Needless to say after 12 months of living here, the touch ups are not complete! I want to do them, I just never get around to it. There is a baby to play with and laundry to do and a bathroom to clean and dishes to wash and bottles to make.
My goal is to complete the touch ups before Lennon turns one! I hope this is a goal I can reach.... I will keep you posted on the progress.

she has studied the issues and made her decision

Indoctrination is an unspoken joy of parenthood

happy thoughts

1. My Grandma's driving gloves still smell like her
2. Pumpkin cream cheese from Einstein's Bagels is delicious
3. The leaves are changing
4. Lennon's laugh is amazing

worst week ever

Wow! Where can I begin?

Michael's Grandma passed away last Thursday. Her viewing & funeral were both so beautiful. She looked so beautiful, and she did not suffer while she went. She waited for her two sons to arrive by her side and then slowly let go after a few minutes.

She was an amazing woman. She had so many difficult challenges in her lifetime that she overcame. Her youngest child, Larry, was hit by a car and killed, later in her life her husband, Ray, (we gave that for Lennon's middle name: Rae) died from heart failure from Rheumatic Fever as a child. Then she lost another son, Kent, in the Vietnam war. She was left with two boys, David & Harold to care for. She busted her butt and worked so hard for all of them to have anything, including food. She never complained either. That is a trait I need to work on. I complain about the most meaningless things.

She later was remarried and lived a great life with her husband Mac. She loved to go camping & she especially loved to bowl. Her highest game was a 288!!





One of our visits to Grandma Mac with Lennon.



Her Obituary Photo

Michael describes her as "old school"! It really is a great description if you knew her. All of her things were old and she never wanted to buy something new because she saw no reason when her's were perfectly fine! We have a lot of neat things all over our house that were her's and we cherish them. I hung up a cute ceramic with an angel painted on it on Lennon's wall that says "always tell the truth." I think it's from 1950.

We both loved her very much and it was very hard to let her go, even though it was definitely for the best.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


All of us visiting Grandpa's grave on Memorial day 2008

This morning I received a call that my grandmother's lungs were full of fluid and she would not have much longer to live. I went over there just after Lennon woke up. Her breathing sounded horrible, and honestly it was very hard to watch because we did not want her to suffer like this. We were giving her morphine to try and ease her pain, but there was nothing we could do for her breathing.


Grandma with 1 week old Lennon on Christmas 2007

I stayed over there all day and into the night. Her breathing suddenly changed and we could not hear the fluid. This only meant her breaths were getting shallower. My Mom, Aunt Patsy, Uncle Bill, Kari and Bev (obviously me too) were all there surrounding her. It was a surreal experience. I have never watched anyone die. Slowly her breath got even more shallow. She finally took her last breath and then we waited for her heart to stop. This is the most intense thing I have ever experienced. You may not want to hear about it either, I apologize. I wanted to write it down so I would not forget. She finally looked peaceful after her few hard days of fighting. My Grandma was a fighter, we call her a RALLY GIRL! I think she was holding on in the end to wait for all of her children to arrive, but even after they came she pulled her usual rally.



Grandma with all of her Utah great grand kids!

My Grandma was so special & she was amazing. She taught me how to iron, set the perfect table, how to throw the perfect party, a "party with pizazz", always to have your eyebrows done (she was jealous my eyebrows were naturally dark) & how to wrap the most beautiful packages. They were so pretty I hardly wanted to wrip them apart to find out what was inside. She thought all women should wear lipstick. She called mascara Maybelline and light bulbs - light GLOBES. She was such a wonderful role model and a hard worker. She was always willing to help ANYONE in need. I hope I can make her proud. She accomplished so many great things in her lifetime. I love her so much and I hope she knows how special she was to me.

We are thankful that both of our grandmas were able to see Lennon & hold her, and that we got some pictures of it.


This is Grandma holding her 2 youngest grandchildren, Avery & Lennon, on August 26, 2008. Her 88th birthday!



The Nodilo's Four Generation Pictures


Honestly if I can be even half of the women these ladies were I think I might have succeeded at life!

They were from the "greatest generation". Our generation will never be like theirs.

RIP Grandmas WE LOVE YOU.