The Smiths

A Post of firsts

2012-01-23T16:05:00.000-08:00

Jack made his first trip to the dentist last week. I was talking it up to him all morning trying to get him excited (or trying to get myself excited, since I had an exam too, for the first time in....a long time). And he LOVED it! They didn't do much - just got him used to sitting in the chair and showed him what the dental tools did. The dentist counted his teeth and he was so proud to tell everyone that day that he had "twenty teeth! Ten on top, ten on bottom!"

And in late December, Jack made his first visit to a different kind of doctor...in the ER. He swallowed a dime! He was sitting at the table drinking chocolate milk, and I was in the kitchen with my back to him, and I heard him kinda mumbling to himself, "money, money, money..." Then I heard a tiny gag - it sounded more like a little cough, and he starting whining a little bit and looked really nervous. I asked what was wrong and he said, "I ate money!" So using my mothering detective skills I grabbed a bunch of coins and asked him which kind he ate. He picked up the dime and said, "the little one." I was trying so hard not to laugh at this point (he was fine, people, I promise) and I asked him how he ate the money. He said, "It wanted to swim in his chocolate milk." Oh boy...

A quick trip to the ER to "take a picture of his tummy", make sure it would pass through him okay, and a few days later we found this little surprise in the toilet. Yes, we cleaned it, and yes...we're keeping it.

Mr. Jack turned three yesterday, and I have no idea where time has gone! He makes us laugh all the time as he comes up with new expressions, phrases, and dance moves constantly.

Happy birthday little man, we sure do love you, and we're so glad you've been sent to our family!

2011 Tribute

2012-01-04T12:10:00.000-08:00

If you didn't get our holiday card this year...

..It's because we didn't make any.

It didn't quite make it to the top of my priority list this year.

Having a newborn, I chose sleep instead, silly me.

Crossing my fingers for next year.

But I LOVED getting all of yours. They are all on my fridge, where they will remain for many weeks to come because I miss you all so much.

2011 was the craziest, most uncertain [at times], challenging, wonderful, most traveled year to date.

And I loved it.

Our moves across the country looked like this:

We have loved living by nearly every member of both the Smith and Poulson families at some point during this year.

We loved living in Las Vegas and celebrating Jack's second birthday there. He hit so many milestones this year: potty training, moving from his crib to a big boy bed, learning all his letters, shapes, colors, and numbers; and speaking in full sentences, constantly. He'll be three in just a few short weeks.

The Army then took our little family to Fort Benning, GA - my first experience of southern living. Once I accepted the humidity and ginormous cockroaches that could fly I absolutely loved it. We also traveled to Savannah, GA, Tybee Island, GA, Hilton Head, SC and Nashville, TN in the 6 months we lived there. I still miss the southern summer thunderstorms, the "yes, ma'ams" and the gorgeous greenery.

Harrison completed a lifelong goal of his - Ranger School.

Watch this video so you know how studly he really is. Ranger School is one of the hardest schools in the Army and he did so well, I am so proud of him.

While he was there, Jack and I spent a few months with my family as we welcomed the best part of our year, Fisher Vaun into the world. He is such a sweet, cheerful baby. Harrison missed the birth by 36 hours, but we have seen many blessings come from that experience for which we will always be thankful.

Now we have ended 2011 in our new home near Fort Lewis, WA. Unlike when we lived on-post in Georgia, we're about 10 miles south of the military base in Lacey. We are loving it here, and even more excited that all of 2012 will be spent under the same roof.

Fisher's 2 month stats

2011-12-30T19:01:00.000-08:00

Weighing in at 14.1 lbs
And measuring 24 inches long.

How do my babies get so big, so fast???

And he shared his cute little laugh with us for the first time tonight:

Side note: the doctor told me yesterday that the recommended age to keep your child in a rear-facing car seat has changed from one year to TWO YEARS OLD. Does this seem ridiculous to anyone else??

A Poulson Christmas

2011-12-27T14:53:00.000-08:00

What a blessing it is to live so close to family during the holidays!

We loved being with the Poulson clan this Christmas for the first time in 2 years.

(and our first Christmas J.W. and Fisher!)

We ate, played games, and watched Christmas movies for ten days straight.

We are sad to be home and back to reality.

Christmas shopping, done right.

2011-12-13T13:33:00.000-08:00

This year I did all of my Christmas shopping online. All of it. Easiest year ever. Thanks to Amazon, I got everything cheaper than I would have in the store anyway, and they offer free 2-day shipping. Can't beat that. Not to mention I get package after package delivered to my house. Who doesn't like getting mail? I have a feeling I will know the UPS delivery man very well by the end of this week.

Although, hopefully it won't be this slightly creepy UPS delivery man.

Thank you, modern technology. No crowds, no lines, no bored kiddos, and since Mr. Smith and I are still the owners of only one car, we can relax when he gets home from work instead of hurrying out to find more presents. Online shopping is the way to go.

Who's with me??

Real Parents Now

2011-12-07T17:32:00.000-08:00

Since Fisher joined our family, Harrison and I are always saying, "we're real parents now". When we only had Jack, we felt like this young couple just playing with this cool kid everyday.
But now we occasionally have early mornings like this:
1am: Me, feeding Fisher/changing diaper
3am: Harrison taking Jack potty
5am: Me feeding Fisher/changing diaper
6am: Harrison trying to convince Jack the sun is still sleeping, and he should be too.

But we love it.
I was a little nervous about becoming a mother of two.
Because honestly the transition from being a mom of 0 to 1 was a little tough for me.
I went from working full-time to being a stay at home mom 24 hours a day.
It took me ~~awhile~~ a long time to get a routine nailed down to help me feel like a productive member of society again. But this transition could not have gone smoother. Especially considering all the other craziness that was going on simultaneously.

Fisher is such a sweet baby. He is always so content to just hang out on the bed, the couch, or in his swing and let me accomplish things around the house. He is starting to smile all the time, and his nighttime sleep is coming in longer spurts all the time. He made it 6 hours the other night (woo hoo!) Just like his brother though, he won't be little for long. As of last week, he had already gained over 3 pounds since his birth weight 6 weeks ago!

Jack is loving having a baby in the house. He's always hugging and kissing him, and saying, "Good morning, Fisher!", "Can I hold Fisher for a second?", or my favorite, "Hi, Smiles!" haha. And he is a great help to me, getting me Fisher's pacifier, throwing away diapers, etc. I haven't noticed any sign of jealousy or resentment which I've heard horror stories about when a sibling enters the picture for some kids. But we do have to monitor how much he loves Fisher. Like when he threw a ball to him the other day wanting Fisher to catch it...I can't wait until these boys can really play together!

Harrison is loving his position here. His first official day on the job they made him a platoon leader over 40 men. Translation? He's kind of a big deal. He's staying busy learning his new responsibilities, but luckily is home every night by 5:30PM. Finally a little bit of normalcy.

My bed usual finds me in it by 10pm. With two active boys and still doing two middle of the night feedings, I am exhausted if I don't go to bed at a decent hour. This week I think we can say officially say we're completely unpacked and organized. There are still so many decorating ideas I have (thank you, Pinterest) but those will have to come with time.

I love my little family!

I have a good excuse...

2011-11-23T11:39:00.000-08:00

...or several excuses for being the worst blogger ever.

In the past month:

-Harrison graduated from Ranger School

-We welcomed sweet baby Fisher into our family

-Harrison flew across the country twice, and drove across once.

-We house hunted near Fort Lewis, WA

-We moved out of my parents house, and into our new place.

-And Harrison started his new job here with his new unit.

And now with the holidays coming, things are only going to get more crazy! But we're loving our new house and city! And after living in 4 states during the past 14 months, we're ready to not go anywhere for hopefully three years or so. Now if the boxes would just unpack themselves...

This is the view from our front porch! See Mt. Rainier in the back? Beautiful! Except it hasn't stopped raining since we moved in, so Jack hasn't gotten much use out of that park yet...I guess it rains a lot here?? :)

My Angry Birds

2011-11-04T15:17:00.000-07:00

Remember this post? I'm not the biggest Halloween fan. BUT apparently when you have two cute little boys that you can dress up to match, it makes it so much more fun. And this is the first year Jack has really gone trick or treating, and he loved it. At one house, the woman at the door let him pick out his own candy. He picked out a sucker, and from the front porch yelled to us on the sidewalk, "Sucker!" (in a "Oooo, lookie what I got" sort of tone...so funny!)

Labor Story

2011-11-02T23:15:00.000-07:00

I think this is the 4th time I've sat down to finish this post...apparently having a newborn and a toddler keeps you pretty busy, who knew??

My due date was October 10th. But since Harrison was going to be at Ranger School until about the 19th or so, I had no problem letting Fisher hang out inside me for as long as he wanted. I was induced a week late with Jack, so I figured this pregnancy would go past the 40 week mark as well.

The morning of the 17th came, and my doctor just wanted to make sure Fisher was doing well enough to let me go a couple more days late, so his heart rate was monitored at labor and delivery for about an hour, and they did an ultrasound as well. I got the okay to wait longer (little did I know I'd be back 8 hours later..)

It was 9:30 PM, and I was lying on the couch watching TV (I'll never forget you now, Sing-Off) and my water broke! This was the last way I had expected to go into labor, I'm not sure why I just assumed it wouldn't happen like that. I jumped up, and told my dad who was sitting in the room, "Uh...my water just broke." I felt so silly saying it haha, like I was making it up. So I ran into the bathroom, and he ran upstairs to get my mom.

My entire family was so great. My little sister helped me finish packing my hospital bag, my brother and Grandma stayed with Jack the whole time I was in labor, and my parents took me to the hospital. I surprisingly felt so calm and relaxed through everything. After making sure my water had actually broken (they kept asking me questions like, "So what time do you THINK your water broke?"...) I got settled into a hospital room. It was after midnight now, and I still hadn't felt any contractions. A couple here and there, but nothing stronger than the sporadic contractions I'd been having for weeks. I saw the doctor on call at 2AM, and she decided to start me on Pitocin to make the contractions stronger. By 4AM, I was dilated to 4cm, and the contractions had come, fast and strong, and I was ready for an epidural. I don't think there is any feeling in the world that is better than the realization that your epidural has kicked in. I was feeling wonderful from that point on. I was much more numb on my right side then my left, but I didn't let that go unnoticed, and they fixed that problem pretty quick for me. I'm not ashamed to say I was born during the right century to utilize modern day medicine.

Around 5:30 AM they checked to see how I was progressing and I was only at 5cm. I figured I had awhile to go still and I had not eaten or slept all night. But, just about 2 hours later I was already dilated to 9.5cm! And around 8:20 AM I was ready to start pushing. Unlike Jack's delivery of pushing for an hour and a half, I only pushed for about 20 minutes, and little Fisher was here! They put him right up on my chest as soon as he was born, and I loved it. Jack was cleaned and wrapped up before I even really saw him, but he had some breathing complications they were really watching. Fisher wasn't crying quite as loud as they had hoped, a little more grunting, so after awhile of being with me, they took him to the NICU to be watched just for about 3 hours or so. He never needed any breathing treatments like Jack, and he was completely fine and back with me again by noon.

My whole family was so supportive. My mom, dad, and little sister were all in the delivery room with me. Although my dad and Emma were careful to stay up near my head :) We gave Fisher my Dad's middle name, Vaun - I've always loved that name. My Grandma and brother, James were at home with Jack. I couldn't have done any of this without the help and support of my family.

I was in touch with Harrison several times throughout the labor. I called the emergency number I had for Ranger School as soon as my water broke, and he was able to call me back within twenty minutes or so. He called every couple of hours, but was on a bus driving from Florida, back to Ft. Benning, Georgia when Fisher was actually born. That night, he got permission to leave Ranger School 3 days early, to get home to me Wednesday night, so we bought a plane ticket for him for a flight that left in 24 hours. He was supposed to be done by 10 AM the next morning, but we've quickly learned that the Army works on it's own time schedule, and we wasn't actually free to go until after 4PM. He took a taxi 90 minutes to the Atlanta airport, and barely made it there 40 minutes before his flight left. His bag missed the flight, but thankfully he didn't.

Fisher held on as long as he could to wait for his dad, and although I would have loved for Harrison to have been there when he was born, we were blessed in so many ways. I was lucky enough to have my family there with me, my labor and delivery was so smooth (and dare I say, almost easy?), my recovery has been wonderful, Fisher was healthy, and only 3 hours after I was discharged from the hospital, Fisher and I were at the airport to meet Harrison. I think the thing I am most grateful for is the continuous peace and comfort I had despite the fact that my husband wasn't by my side. I felt so calm, and at ease the entire time, and was able to focus on the amazing miracle of having a sweet new baby.

Harrison was on paternal leave and we had planned on him being with us for 10 days before heading back to Georgia to out-process (since we're technically still stationed there, and there were some things he had to take care of before we could move up to Ft. Lewis, WA) and he had to pick up our car and drive it back across the country. But after being here only 12 hours or so, we found out his sweet Grandpa was passing away from a long time illness. So 10 days turned into 4 so that Harrison could go to St. George and be with his family for the funeral. I have always admired Harrison's grandparents so much, and I wish I could have been there, but we figured taking a 5 day old on an airplane wasn't the best idea. We love you so much, Grandma Smith. After the funeral we decided that instead of coming back up to Washington, Harrison should cut his paternal leave short and head back to Georgia sooner than we planned so he could get going on out-processing. He's almost done and should be on the road tomorrow then we move up to Fort Lewis next week to start the next chapter of our lives as a family of four!

Thank you to all those who supported us through everything! My family has been so amazing. I asked to come visit for 2 months while Harrison was gone, and instead it turned into 3 1/2 months and having a baby here, and they didn't even threaten to throw us out once! And my incredible friends who checked up on me and kept us in their prayers, it meant the world to me. I feel so overwhelming blessed and I know I have my Hevenly Father to thank for all the miracles that have happened over the last several months.

Fisher Vaun Smith

2011-10-23T22:29:00.000-07:00

We are now blessed to be the parents of two sweet little boys!!

Fisher Vaun

October 18, 2011

7 lbs. 15 oz. 20 inches

Life has been crazy lately, to say the least.

Many updates are on the way!

I stacked, I whacked.

2011-09-20T13:01:00.000-07:00

Here it is!

I love it!

And yes, there are a few flowers thrown in there.

No boy of mine is gonna be too macho for a little floral.

And apparently I was in the sewing mood, because the day after I finished the quilt, I took this tutorial from a little webiste called Pinterest, and whipped this baby out:

I have a feeling I'll be much more modest when nursing this guy than with Jack. The blanket over the shoulder technique just wasn't cuttin it.

Then & Now

2011-09-16T17:31:00.000-07:00

Look what I found:

36 weeks

Baby #1 Baby #2

My ankles are swelling.

My heart is burning.

My walk is waddling.

It must mean I'm getting close :)

Simple Pleasures of Motherhood

2011-08-31T20:34:00.000-07:00

I took the plunge into potty training Jack.

I am determined to only purchase one size of diapers at a time.

We tried this about 4 months ago for a few days without success.

This time I could tell he was much, much more ready.

Today was day 3, and I'm ~~happy~~ ecstatic to say it was accident free, and even ended with a number two making its appearance, allowing Jack to boast the rest of the night, "I poop!"

(and for that, he got an entire bag of Famous Amos cookies.)

Oh, happy day.

Now I get to enjoy a diaper-free life...for about 5 weeks.

Stack and Whack

2011-08-24T13:49:00.000-07:00

Ever heard of it?
It's a type of quilt.
And it's what I'm making for little man #2

Wish me luck.

Four Years Ago

2011-08-09T22:00:00.000-07:00

When I was attending BYU-Idaho, my roommates and I decided it would be fun to get some friends together to play a game of football. Even though it was November in Rexburg and freezing we had so much fun, and it sort became tradition to go play every Thursday night.

When I came home for the summer to Las Vegas, I thought it would be fun to continue the tradition. So my sister and I rounded up some people and headed to a nearby park. One of these friends was Kalee, who told me her brother "H" just got home from his LDS mission (2 days before, to be exact) and could she bring him..? Now Kalee had told me about this "H" before. She had mentioned that she thought he and I would make a good couple, and although I hadn't really dwelt on that conversation much, who was I to let her down by not at least meeting him, right? I said of course, we'd love to have him come. And because she always called him by the nickname she had given him, "H", I really had no idea what his real name was.

It turns out "H" stood for Harrison...who knew? And it turns out Harrison was a cute, blonde, 21 year old who I figured out pretty quickly that I wouldn't mind getting to know better. I asked him later (much, much later in our relationship) what his first impressions of me were. He said three things: He thought I was older than Lindsay (my sister), he thought I was athletic (and for those who know me best know that of course that is no surprise), and he also thought I must have been a little rebellious for a 19 year old Mormon girl since Linds and I kept the radio on the whole night, trying to win tickets to the Justin Timberlake concert. It turns out none of those things were true. So he may have asked me out under false pretenses, thinking I was this older, athletic, rebellious girl, but it didn't take him long to figure out the truth. And our first date was the best first date I've ever been on. Simple, honest, and fun. We had a pizza picnic and talked for hours. About everything.

Which was a bummer, really. You see this new guy I was falling for, and I were both leaving for school in a matter of weeks, and we'd be living 4 hours apart. And this guy just got home from serving a mission, and was about to go to the land of LDS single girls in Provo, Utah. But someone was listening to my prayers, because somehow I tricked him into a long distance relationship. And soon I found myself counting down the days until Friday night rolled around when he came up to Rexburg, or I drove down to meet him in Provo. Life was so good. He took such good care of me. I remember one time grocery shopping together and he paid for my groceries. You may think thats silly, but to a poor college student girl, that was sweeter than getting flowers and chocolates.
We soon had a problem though. This long-distance stuff was hard. We were halfway through the semester and our emotions, grades, and cell phone bills were taking a hit. We found ourselves needing to make a decision: break-up, or get married. Luckily we chose the latter, and luckily it was much more romantic than that.

3 months later I was blessed to get married forever to my best friend. Everyone we loved was there including the matchmaker herself (love you, Kalee!). And if it's possible, after 3.5 years of marriage, 6 moves, 8+ months of being apart, and nearly 2 kids later I love him even more today than I did then.

And it all started with that awesome game of football August 9, 2007.

Oh yeah, i have a blog...

2011-07-14T17:39:00.000-07:00

Much has changed.

And due to a series of recent events, and after much prayer and deliberation we've decided to move out to Washington much sooner than anticipated.

So my lack of blogging can be explained by a huge of amount of planning, preparing, and packing for our 4th move in 10 months.

And let me tell you, packing up a house at six months pregnant is no fun and is partnered with little motivation and zero energy.

Luckily Harrison is a hard worker and I'm a good decision-maker, pointer, and box-taper.

"That goes there, honey. We can throw that away. Okay bring that box to me."

So we have a little over a week before Jack and I will be west-coasters again.

Harrison has more training here, and will be joining us soon. (hopefully before this baby comes!)

Speaking of baby...

Anyone who has ever been pregnant will tell you how fabulous it is to take pregnancy photos, and I think I may win the award for most awkward poser ever.

But here I am at 27ish weeks, and this baby is wearing me out!

I'm pretty sure I'm nearly twice the size I was with Jack at this point in my pregnancy, and I am feeling it.

But I am loving all the kicks he's giving me all day long, and we can't wait for him to come!!

And Jack will be 2 1/2 years old next week

(yes, I pay attention to half birthdays)

He makes us laugh all day, everyday.

He is learning new words all the time, and even if we have to translate most of what he says to other people we still think he is the smartest two year old. Ever.

He loves, loves, loves, sports. Basketball, baseball, golf, soccer, swimming, and anything involving a ball and a racket/paddle.

He is so active all day which is fine with me since it makes him sleep so well. He is still napping like a champ (2+ hours a day) and he spoils me by sleeping until 8:30 am or later.

He is starting to be "too cool" for kisses, but has really become quite the cuddler.

He does however often kiss my tummy and say, "baby!"

He's going to be the cutest big brother :)

"Golk"

2011-06-16T19:41:00.000-07:00

Last week when we were in Atlanta, we discovered Jack is a boy of many talents.

We went to the Children's Museum (lots of money for little parental entertainment...)

And Jack took his activities very seriously.

"Mom, I'm workin' the land, can't we do this later??"

His new favorite thing to do is golf...or, "golk" as he more affectionately calls it...

And he's not half bad either.

Although this picture doesn't show it...

I can't get enough of Mr. Jack - he cracks us up everyday.

And I'm so excited to have another one.

There's just something so sweet about little boys.

Belated Post

2011-06-10T10:04:00.000-07:00

Last week Harrison graduated from IBOLC

Infantry Basic Officer Leadership Course

(by the way, this picture counts as my 20ish week belly shot...I'm feeling very unmotivated to take progressive pictures of my baby bump this time around)

Harrison's branch in the Army is Infantry.

What the heck does 'Infantry' mean?

When you think of a typical US soldier, you're probably thinking of an infantry soldier, I bet.

They are the soldiers who fight in units on foot, and Harrison as an Officer, will most likely soon be a Platoon Leader over about 40 men. (when we get to Ft. Lewis, WA)

IBOLC consisted of 16 weeks of training on weapons, land navigation, emergency medical care, and other military operations. 10 of those weeks he was out in the field doing overnight training, ruck marches, and night missions.

Many of the 150+ men that went through this same training with Harrison are reporting to their units and are soon deploying overseas to defend our nation. We're not crossing that bridge yet, thankfully, but you do gain a stronger sense of appreciation for what these men are willing to sacrifice when you are surrounded by them and their families here.

So, he's kind of a big deal.

And we had lots of fun celebrating his graduation.

We had our friends, the Cornetts, over to help us eat this yummy treat:

And oh-so-yummy, it was...

Fruit Pizza

Cookie Crust:

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup shortening

2 eggs

1 1/2 cup sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. baking soda

2 3/4 cups flour

Mix together, then press into pizza pans (or cookie sheet)

Bake crust @ 400 degrees for 10 minutes or until slightly golden brown around edges

Icing:

12 oz. cream cheese

3/4 cup powdered sugar

3 Tbsp. lime or lemon juice

Mix together, then spread on cooled crust

Then slice desired fruit and arrange on icing.

I use strawberries, but you can use peaches, mandarin oranges, pineapple, kiwi, etc.

Or a mixture of anything you want!

I love to see the Temple

2011-06-08T17:05:00.000-07:00

I have always lived near a Temple. I grew up in Fresno, CA where a LDS Temple was dedicated less than 1 month after my 12th birthday. Then from Fresno, I moved to Rexburg, ID where we had a temple in Idaho Falls (about 20 minutes away) and even as I attended BYU-Idaho I got to watch the Rexburg temple being built from my apartment window and it was dedicated 2 months after I left. And since then I've lived in Las Vegas, Portland, and Provo, UT where there were temples easily within a 20 minute drive - and in the case of Utah, about 4 temples in that 20 minute drive.

But here, the Atlanta Temple is about 120 miles away. And I know compared to most members of the LDS church I am still blessed to be that close to a temple, but it definitely takes more effort and planning to attend. We finally made that happen yesterday for the first time since we moved here. Luckily we were able to go with some friends of ours to make the babysitting swap while each couple was inside. And I'm always so grateful I get to go after I do. It is such a great place to get away from the craziness of the world, feel peace, and worship. The temple is so sacred to me and my faith. I've had so many wonderful experiences there, including when I married Mr. Smith in the Las Vegas, NV Temple and because of that blessing I believe I will get to be with him forever, not just "until death do we part".

To find out more about LDS temples, click here.

I've never driven East to get to the ocean before...

2011-06-06T19:43:00.000-07:00

Until our trip to Savannah over Memorial Day weekend.

Harrison got to show me his old stompin' ground (he lived there for about 6 years growing up...)

This street is in his old neighborhood...have I mentioned how pretty Georgia is, yet?

Maybe one or twice.

And we spent the whole weekend in some type of water because it's really the only way you can stand to be outside right now in the south

We walked around downtown Savannah which was beautiful! Cobblestone streets, fun little shops, water fountains and statues on every corner, and Mr. Jack needed some coaxing to play in this fountain, and his dad may have gotten more wet than he did, but he ended up loving it!

Saturday we went to Tybee Island to the beach, which was fun for awhile...

but we soon discovered that 2 days of no napping and a night of not sleeping well equals one unhappy little boy. Then adding sand, sun and a huge body of water to the mix only made things worse. Poor Jack was exhausted, and we made sure he got plenty of sleep that night

And this picture proves I was actually on this trip. I was so worried about getting pictures of our vacation (because I'm usually terrible at this...) that I may have failed to actually get in front of the camera very often.

We also went to Hilton Head Island in South Carolina and spent some time in the pool at our hotel

Overall it was such a blast and a nice little getaway after 4 crazy months of Harrison's IBOLC training!

2011-05-26T20:53:00.000-07:00

We've been busy bees over here...

This week has been full of Harrison re-cooperating from being eaten alive by mosquitoes for ten days, getting poison ivy in several areas of his body, a serious sinus infection, and a pulled muscle in his back...Bear Grylls has got nothing on him. And now our grocery bill will most likely double because he is literally a bottomless pit, and eats constantly. It's funny how easily I forget that...

Jack was also sick this week with a little cold but nothing slows that kid down. We made it outside today for the first time this week only for him to play basketball in the rain and do some good puddle jumpin...probably wasn't the best thing for his runny nose, but he loved it.

How I've avoided all the sickness between my boys throughout the past several weeks, I'll never know, but I'm giving credit to my prenatal vitamins.

And I've had such a blast photographing some cute families lately. And Georgia is so green and gorgeous it makes it that much more fun to use it as a backdrop. If you can stand the humidity, that is.

A Dr. Pepper kind of day

2011-05-16T16:55:00.000-07:00

This single parenting/being pregnant stuff ain't for sissies.
Jack was a little ~~challenging~~ difficult today.
He wouldn't eat anything..that I wanted him to eat, anyway.
His nap time consisted of him throwing his pillow, blanket, sippy cup, and Buzz (his sleeping companion) out of his crib over and over until I knew there was no hope in getting him to nap.
And he seemed to be taking note of everything I put away and he would pull it back out again as soon as I left the room.
Sounds like fun, no?

But then about an hour before bedtime I sat in his room with a container of yogurt while he played. And it didn't take him long to see what I was eating, and he was sitting next to me waiting for a bite. After about a minute he obviously thought I wasn't feeding him fast enough so he took the spoon and yogurt away from me to feed himself.

How could I stay frustrated with him when he looks like this?

He was kind enough to leave me some...at least two whole bites.

Even on days like today, I love being a mom.
I highly recommend it.

I'm really going to be outnumbered now

2011-05-13T16:55:00.000-07:00

Because we're getting another boy!!

Yay! I was so excited to hear Jack's getting a little brother, i know they will be best buds :)

But we are finding names this time around is 10x harder than with Mr. Jack

(Insert name suggestions here__________)

Hurry up, October and come soon!!

Yays and Nays for a Monday

2011-05-09T16:58:00.000-07:00

...In May?? Oh boy, I could keep going with that one...

Yay: Harrison is out in the field for the LAST time for his IBOLC training
Nay: He'll be gone for ten days

Yay: Jack has learned most of the alphabet and a lot of his colors!
Nay: He is biting his nails, and I have no idea how I can get him to stop!

Yay: Mother's Day was wonderful yesterday thanks to a cute little boy, and a cute husband who served me all day long
Nay: It's all over :(

Yay: Another ultrasound on Friday, and we get to find out the gender!!
Nay: Mr. Smith will miss it, and he may be hard to reach on his his cell...

What are some yays and nays for you this week?

Yes, I'm one of THOSE people...

2011-04-29T18:11:00.000-07:00

I woke up at 6am to watch the Royal Wedding.
Well, okay not the whole thing, but enough to see the dress, the vows...the important stuff.
Then I went back to sleep and had a dream I was really there!
William and Kate are so nice, by the way, you would have just loved them.
And Prince Harry and I really hit it off...
Luckily it wasn't the real Prince Harry, it was my Harri(son) instead.
Much better.
Then Harrison came home today after another 5 days in the field.
Even better.

The wedding was so fun to watch! And there's something exciting to me about watching such a big part of history happen!

little babies are so much fun

2011-04-26T18:02:00.000-07:00

...guess who's having another one?

And guess who's excited about it?

Due October 10, 2011

16 weeks along

Boy or Girl?

No clue yet ;)

What do we want?

Honestly...Either one would be so fun!! (I thought I'd be dying for a girl)

Sickness?

Continual nausea through week 12 or so, but a breeze compared to all the throwing up I did with Jack!

However with this one, I have been exhausted! Maybe having a toddler to chase this time around has something to do with it...

We are so thrilled to welcome another sweet baby into our home!

i like being married

2011-04-21T08:28:00.000-07:00

With the exception of two weeks since we've moved here, Harrison has been out on the field training 2-4 nights every week. We're not exactly strangers to being separated at times, but it still doesn't make it any easier.

I feel I have no reason to complain at all, especially being surrounded by amazing women here who have been through several deployments away from their husbands.

But last night I did find myself whining about being alone again (and calling everyone I could think of because I was bored out of my mind!) and then I came across this talk that I originally missed during General Conference weekend. And it was exactly what I needed.

It's so fun being married to my best friend and knowing I get to spend forever with him. Even if that means an occasional night apart :)

Homework Week Four

2011-04-11T10:44:00.000-07:00

Where does my inspiration come from??

Location, location, LOCATION!!

It is very hard for me to imagine a shoot, or prepare for it until I know where we will be taking the pictures. From the location I get pose ideas, lighting ideas, it gives me a chance to get to know my clients better and what they would enjoy most. Moving to the south was hard for me in a photographic sense because I had to find a new kind of beauty in my surroundings. I was used to shooting in Utah with mountains or snow, neither of which is found in Columbus, GA.

But there are beautiful areas all around me within walking distance of my house (like where I took this shot) and it has been extremely inspirational for me to go seek those places out!

And this shot wasn't taken in Utah or Georgia, but I am loving the fact that I can find awesome locations for a shoot anywhere

And farewell to a fantastic month in another photography class!! Brooke Snow is amazing and I highly recommend her for a shoot or classes.

If you're happy and you know it...

2011-04-07T16:54:00.000-07:00

Please ignore my horrible singing voice and watch my little cutie instead.

A Twist on Tacos

2011-04-06T19:57:00.000-07:00

I always, always make tacos with ground beef. I don't know why (besides the fact that we had them probably weekly in my home growing up, and I loved them that way)

Ah...but tonight! I got creative! I had a rotisserie chicken from early this week I wanted to finish off so I thought I'd be so clever and make chicken tacos!! Not to mention, I was out of ground beef...

A little taco seasoning, lemon juice, and creole seasoning

We like flour tortillas for our tacos. We fry 'em up in oil and add a little salt

(so they're real nice and healthy)

Add a little cheese, lettuce, tomato, and olives..

Mr. Smith likes some salsa and sour cream too

And who doesn't like corn on the cob?

Seriously. Is there really someone?

So easy. So yummy.

Even the Jack man liked it.

Homework Week Three

2011-04-03T18:22:00.000-07:00

Breck and Sienna were so fun to shoot!!

I wanted to stay away from the typical posed images, and get some shots of a more realistic brother/sister relationship.

He eventually won her over :)

Homework Week Two

2011-03-28T16:42:00.000-07:00

Luke and Jessica were my awesome models this week. Don't they make the best couple?

You should see their cute kiddos.

Homework Week One

2011-03-20T18:51:00.000-07:00

To my current blog readers: I am taking an online photography class from the fabulous Brooke Snow and I am posting my assignments on my personal blog for submission. So for the next 4 weeks, you'll get to take a peak at my handy work :)

For this assignment, I took the models from my own home. They're are just too cute, I couldn't resist.

One challenge I had in this shoot (besides trying to keep my two year old happy and attentive during his normal nap time...) is discovering a location in a city I've only lived in for a few short weeks. But this one definitely paid off! And I was able to find many spots along our walk near the Chattahoochee River (yes, just like Alan Jackson sings about) to exhaust the location.

I made a long shot list, and had a plan going into the shoot, and it gave me great ideas throughout.

Although I discovered sometimes a pose just can't be planned, and those turned out to be some of my favorites. This is Jack's response when asked how old he is:

(we're still working on keepin' that thumb down...)

The sky looks bigger in the south

2011-02-11T10:09:00.000-08:00

After

2,003 miles

8 states

6 hotels

1 record-breaking snow storm

and way too much fast food...

We finally made it.

Hello, Ft. Benning, GA

We love our historic, southern charm-filled home.

Our boxes are almost all unpacked.

And real life is beginning to kick in.

And I think I'm gonna like it...

Quick glace at 2010

2011-01-10T13:49:00.000-08:00

Jack turned one

Harrison and I ran away to New York for a couple days for his Sandhurst competition

I tried to craft and quilt more

(tried, being the key word)

We hiked the "Y" (finally)

Harrison graduated from BYU

I took lots of pictures of some good lookin' people

Harrison commissioned as an Officer in the US Army

We went to lots and lots of weddings

Harrison ran his first half marathon

Jack and I followed in a car behind him as his cheerleaders

We hope you had an awesome 2010!!

We're excited to see what 2011 will bring!

You never know

2011-01-05T12:44:00.000-08:00

I loved this story of a humble, homeless man.
Watch it here.

Another post about Jack...surprised?

2010-12-13T13:55:00.000-08:00

In Provo we would feed the ducks at the duck pond.

Now we feed the bunnies.

At a park right by our house there are tons of wild bunnies

Jack loves to take carrots to them and chase them all over the place.

And because it's still 70 degrees outside in mid-December, we go all the time.

Meet Bruce

2010-12-11T17:19:00.000-08:00

We got a new car and named him Bruce (As in, Bruce Wayne)

Yes, we name our cars.

He's a 2008 Nissan Altima.
And we love him.

Thank you, "Gee" for lasting us throughout our BYU days.

Sorry you had to die on us.

We will miss you.

If you give a Jack a cookie

2010-11-30T16:54:00.000-08:00

I watched Mr. Jack eat a cookie today, and I about died from his cuteness.

I'm so grateful for this little guy.

I'm glad I get to hang out with him all day, everyday.

I can't think of any job on the planet that would be better than this.

I can't wait to have many more that look just like him.

(and no, that was not any sort of announcement despite what you may think)

My best friend's wedding

2010-11-23T12:32:00.000-08:00

My parents only lived in Las Vegas for about 2 1/2 years, but apparently that was enough time for my sister and I both to meet our future husbands. And last weekend we got to celebrate Lindsay and J.W.'s wedding

It was so wonderful!

Two down, two to go!

James, Christine, Lindsay, and Emma

Pizza, anyone?

2010-11-09T15:58:00.000-08:00

I heard someone describe themselves as a "Halloween Scrooge" and I've decided to adopt that title as my own.
I don't really like Halloween.
I hardly ever, ever dress up. It's too much pressure for me. I have always felt that costumes are intended for the extremely creative, or those who don't mind showing ~~some~~ a lot of skin. I am neither.
Maybe when Jack is older and appreciates the holiday (if you can call it that) I'll enjoy it more.
But, who doesn't love the excuse to dress their kids up in adorable, ridiculous outfits?

A Day in the Park

2010-11-03T21:06:00.000-07:00

Jack loves going to parks.
We went at least once a day in the summer, and thanks to awesome Vegas weather we still get to go all the time.

He's very serious about his climbing...

Just thought I'd share.

Dear Provo

2010-10-27T11:04:00.000-07:00

I miss you already.

I miss this view outside my front door.

I miss the BYU 51st ward (and the fact that every ward has "BYU" in the name)

I miss the amazing friends we have there. You know who you are :)

I miss having 4 different BYU channels on basic cable.

But...I do love

Being near these people

Having beautiful warm weather.

Having yummy places to go eat.

Having a real, non-student income.

And Harrison loves working here.

Things happen fast

2010-10-14T19:09:00.000-07:00

...really, really fast.

A couple of weeks ago, Harrison applied to work with UNLV's ROTC program in Las Vegas. He was eligible to work with any ROTC after he received his military orders (which we did the end of September). So he can work as a Gold Bar recruiter for a university for four months before we leave for Georgia, which is now through February. BYU's ROTC wasn't accepting any more Gold Bar recruiting positions, so we checked with UNLV since we have family there. The request officially went to the Army on Monday, and Wednesday morning we found out he got the position, and we are to report to Las Vegas on October 18th. That's MONDAY. THIS MONDAY. So we are packing up our apartment. Our beautiful new apartment that we only enjoyed for about 6 weeks, and moving down to Vegas Sunday after church.

See? So pretty :)

This is very bittersweet for us. This new job is a wonderful blessing, and one we have been praying for. It will give us all the benefits of being in the army; good salary, health insurance, and it will start Harrison's "clock" in the military as well. We are so excited to be close to family before we move to the other side of the country, but of course so heartbroken to leave our friends and life here. We will live with Harrison's parents for about 3 months before we pack up again (this time on the Army's dime :) ) and head to Columbus, GA.

Life is never dull around here.

Mr. & Mrs. Chadwick

2010-10-12T12:31:00.000-07:00

If you haven't noticed, I've been to a lot of weddings the past few months. Three old roommates and close friends, and I have one more next month - my sister's!!

Last weekend we celebrated with Lindsey and Dan

They are such a beautiful couple!!

Congratulations to the new

Mr. & Mrs. Chadwick!!

Grateful

2010-10-07T16:33:00.000-07:00

I'm grateful for the Church.

I'm grateful I have a testimony of what I know is true.

I'm grateful that even though others discriminate against, protest against, and argue with the Church that it will never, ever change its standards, teachings and principles. Even if that means going against what society may say is "right".

I'm grateful I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

And I love President Boyd K. Packer and believe his words are truly inspired by our Heavenly Father.

No matter what anyone else may say.

Army News (part 2)

2010-10-02T20:38:00.000-07:00

Did I say we were leaving Provo in April?...I meant February.

There was a mistake in the information we first received so
we report to

Ft. Benning, GA February 13th.

And...Want to know where our first duty station is after that?

Ft. Campbell, Kentucky!

Home of the 101st Airborne Division

This was the fourth choice on our list, but besides Washington (our first choice) we didn't have any huge connections anywhere else so we're thrilled with the duty station we've been assigned to! Harrison has lived at Ft. Campbell twice already and he and his family loved it, and we have heard terrific things about this base. We're so excited for our adventures to come!

I'm glad I married Mr. Smith

2010-09-23T13:38:00.000-07:00

-He is so good lookin

-He opens all the sticky jars

-He motivates me to be better
-He lets me sleep in and gets up with Jack in the mornings
-He watches Gilmore Girls with me

-He can do more push-ups than I can count (true story.)

-He loves and wants to serve our country

-He is hard-working

-He loves his family and my family

-He says really ridiculous things when he's sleepy

-He is the best father and husband a girl could ask for

-He eats whatever I cook without complaint

-I really, really like him

The fall season was when Harrison and I met/fell in love/got engaged (yes, it was that quick) 3 years ago so I always feel very sentimental this time of year. And I'm not going to apologize for the mushy post, because this is my blog and I can say whatever I want :)

Mr. & Mrs. Redfearn

2010-09-19T14:44:00.001-07:00

I've known Alyssa for ten years and this weekend she tied the knot with Kyle - so perfect for each other! The wedding was so fun with lots of colors, yummy food, and good friends!

And this little stud was so good during the festivities

Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Redfearn!!

Army News (part 1)

2010-09-14T14:59:00.000-07:00

We just found out when our life in Provo ends.

April 17th.
We're reporting to Ft. Benning, Georgia for Harrison's Army Infantry Training.
Then August 21-October 21 he will go to Ranger School.
We're still waiting to hear where we'll be going after our 7 months of living in Georgia.
Here are our top three choices for our first duty station:
1. Ft. Lewis, Washington (close to my parents and Harrison's brother and sister-in-law)
2. Hawaii (who wouldn't want to live in Hawaii??)
3. Ft. Stewart, Georgia (Harrison went to high school there)

We're crossing our fingers for one of these three, but the Army will send us where the Army needs us.

It's good to at least know something about our soon-to-be life in the military :)
Stay tuned for part two of our Army News.

Another Video

2010-09-07T15:54:00.000-07:00

Because he is just so stinking cute.

Dancing with Alvin & the Chipmunks:

Where A Kid Can Be A Kid

2010-09-02T19:16:00.000-07:00

Harrison and I took Jack to Chuck E Cheese last week on H's day off. Jack definitely had mixed emotions about it...

Here he is playing Skee Ball (and cheating a little bit)

And here he is on a little ride @ CEC...doesn't he look like he's having so much fun?

(and that voice you hear when the ride stops is telling him to buckle his seat belt that he just unbuckled haha)

18 Month Stats

2010-08-30T16:52:00.000-07:00

For the people that read this blog (the 3 of you out there..) I'm SO SORRY I've been slacking in keeping it updated lately. I feel like we have been busy busy, but not with super interesting post-worthy things. But Jack had his 18 month check-up appointment today (yes, he's actually 19 months now...obviously I have been slacking in other things besides blogging...)

Weight: 25.13 lbs - 30th percentile -I guess all that running around he does is burning off a few pounds...
Height: 33.5 in. - 75th percentile
Head circumference: 19.75 in - 95th percentile. As always, his head is growing faster than the rest of him :)Jack loves:

-Music and dancing. Especially anything with a hip hop beat haha but he's been known to break out his dance moves during the hymns at church too. He loves swinging those hips around.
-Hercules (we're on a 3 a day average of watching the first 30 mins of this one), Sid the Science Kid, and Alvin & the Chipmunks - notice a pattern in these? ALL have lots of music, and lots of dancing.
-Playing in the bathtub. Even when it's empty. He would play in there with his bath toys all day if I let him.
-Books, books, books.
-Playing at the park.

Jack can say:
(in sign language:)
-All done
-Milk
-Please
-More
-Eat
-Thank You

(Verbally - mostly understandable:)
-Dad
-Dog
-Airplane ("Air!")
-Duck
-Bath
-Mom (if bribed...)
-Church
-Dance
-Zeus (okay, Harrison doesn't believe me on this one, but I SWEAR he said it after watching all of this Hercules lately)
-Jesus ("e-sus")
-Hi
-Outside/Slide ("side")
-Juice

He is such a cheerful bab--toddler! He is growing up so fast! We love him so much!

Things I've learned this summer

2010-08-11T19:22:00.000-07:00

1. Jack is a water baby. He has loved playing in the pool, the beach, and even the "pool" we made for him by filling up the ice chest with water for him to splash around in.

2. I like to hike. Who knew? We hiked the "Y" this summer, and it was so fun. I'm glad we got to do it before we leave Provo (whenever that is...)

3. A little (very little) about what it's like to be a military wife. My cute husband was commissioned as an officer in the US Army. He did so well at LDAC and I'm so proud of him!!

4. I love hanging out with my family. (ok I've always known this, but I got to do a lot of it this summer.)

Hope your summer has been as fantastic as ours!!

Mr. and Mrs. Clark

2010-07-11T23:49:00.000-07:00

One of my closest friends and former roommates, Jan got married on June 26th in the Draper temple. Which is SO beautiful, by the way - and so was the couple! They are perfect for each other! I couldn't be happier for them! Thanks for letting me share this day with you, Jan and Jason!

And thank you Christa for the awesome pictures, and for watching Mr. Jack (my date for the wedding) during the sealing!

2010-07-05T11:08:00.000-07:00

Apparently Jack only hates fake horses like this.

Because once we put him on a real one at the rodeo last week, he loved it. He smiled and waved to everyone the whole time!

P.S. I've talked to Harrison once in 2 weeks, and have received 1 letter (and I am told there are more coming...) He is doing so well, and showing up all the other Cadets, I'm sure of it. 10 more days until we get to see him again.

i love the army

2010-06-20T13:09:00.001-07:00

Well, the Army has taken Mr. Smith (or should I say Cadet Smith) away from me again. He is at Ft. Lewis, Washington at Leadership Development Advanced Camp until July 16th. I'm trying to stay positive. I just have to say over and over again:

I love the Army...I love the Army...I love the Army...

Did I mention they've taken away their cell phones? There are pay phones available, so for the few minutes of free time they do have, he can wait in line to call me with a maximum talk time of ten minutes. I'm hoping to hear from him at least once a week.

I love the Army...I love the Army...I love the Army...

And it will be back to snail mail for the next month. No email for the Cadets so I have a feeling I will become very good friends with the mailman very quickly.

I love the Army...I love the Army...I love the Army...

Joking/Complaining aside now - I am so grateful for a husband who is so passionate about fighting for our country. He is so patriotic. We live in an incredible nation and it is because of the men and women in uniform that we are so blessed with safety and freedom. I look forward to our life in the Army. It will be difficult, yes. Harrison and I will spend time apart, yes. But will it be worth it? Yes. We have the opportunity to be involved in such a great cause. Of course I miss my husband. But I am so proud of him. I know he will do amazing things. And I am honored to be apart of a future in the military.

I love the Army.

Utah Valley 5k

2010-06-13T13:06:00.000-07:00

Harrison ran in the Utah Valley 5k yesterday and got first place overall with a time of 18 minutes, 18 seconds. What a stud, I married. It was a huge race too, at least 300 people or more...Unfortunately I spent too much time taking pictures of Jack while we were waiting and cheering him on, because my camera battery died before I got to take pictures of the runner...Sorry, Mr. Smith. But, Jack did have fun riding this:

"Jack, where's your belly??"

2010-05-30T19:14:00.001-07:00

Oh, there it is.

Funny kid.

Swagger Wagon

2010-05-24T18:53:00.000-07:00

We might actually buy a minivan if Harrison and I were guaranteed to look this good.

Have you seen these little guys yet?

2010-05-12T23:10:00.001-07:00

We love to walk down to the pond and feed them...

and Jack...

Jack loves being outside and it's so fun
that he is old enough to react to things now

He really is a happy kid, I promise.

2010-05-09T06:50:00.000-07:00

Except, apparently not on Carousel rides.
Or when he's with Santa Claus.

It was a very, very long Carousel ride.

Provo 1/2 Marathon

2010-05-03T15:00:00.001-07:00

My stud-of-a-husband ran the Provo 1/2 marathon on Saturday. He got 3rd place in his age group and 10th place overall!! See? Stud. Jack and I had fun driving to different points in the race to cheer him on. We only wish the weather were better - rain, hail, and snow?? Isn't it supposed to be May??

I love the determination on his face...
this was right before the finish

Harrison's cheerleaders:

Way to go, Mr. Smith, we're so proud of you!!

Graduation

2010-04-29T18:47:00.001-07:00

Last week Harrison graduated from BYU with a BA in Middle Eastern Studies/Arabic. Many people told me "...Husbands can't graduate without he helps of their wives...this is your graduation too..." So I found many opportunities to remind Harrison of that fact. However, he said if that was true, then he also delivered Jack when he was born. Sooo...

Last week Harrison graduated from BYU with a BA in Middle Eastern Studies/Arabic. I'm so proud of him!! He has worked so hard.

What is our plan now, you ask? Harrison will commission as an Officer in the United States Army and will become active duty this fall. Until then, he will be working in Provo for the Census Bureau and he has LDAC - Leadership Development Advanced Camp (I think...I'm slowly learning the Army has its own language) this summer at Ft. Lewis in Washington. LDAC is a fancy army acronym, that means he will be tested on his knowledge and skills he learned during ROTC. So from mid June-mid July Jack and I will be hanging out with the Poulson clan in Oregon.

Sandhurst 2010

2010-04-27T09:51:00.000-07:00

Harrison was on a special team through ROTC that participated in a competition called Sandhurst that was held at West Point Military Academy in New York. Mom and Dad and Liz Smith were so nice to watch Jack for us so that I could go and watch Harrison compete! (my first time away from Mr. Jack overnight...am I a bad mom if I didn't suffer from baby separation anxiety??) It was such a fun time and BYU did so well! They didn't place as high as they hoped to (they got 4th place last year) but they worked so hard. The course took about 5 hours to complete. This means 5 hours of running, climbing, crawling, and lifting - all with their gear on. It was a 15 mile timed course through forests, water, and mountains. Needless to say, everyone on their team had to be in really good shape. BYU placed first in land navigation - the biggest part of the competition!!

Here is a video of some of their events:

There were 49 teams competing from West Point, other ROTC teams throughout the country and several international teams from Chile, Great Britain, Canada, and Afghanistan. BYU has really made a name for themselves at this competition throughout the years. And this year a British General spoke at the award ceremony and singled out BYU during his speech. He read the 13th Article of Faith and having never even heard of BYU before this competition, he complimented "Brigham Young University for striving to live their life that way..."

The West Point campus was beautiful!!

We took a train into the city the last night in New York and stayed right in Times Square.
So fun!!

Thank you Smiths for watching Jack, and thanks to John and Emily for letting me stay with you at West Point!!

Easter in Vegas

2010-04-20T19:59:00.001-07:00

I've avoided any updates because it is so annoying to type anything without the use of my enter key (and my arrow keys are broken too...did i mention that??) so this won't be a cutesie post. Jack and I spent Easter in Las Vegas with Harrison's family before I left Jack with M&D Smith to meet Harrison in New York. We had an Easter egg hunt, then spent the next couple days having fun shopping, saw a show on the strip, and watching movies together. It was so much fun!!

Extra! Extra!

2010-03-29T17:18:00.001-07:00

Did you see this??

Harrison was in the Deseret News last week. He met General Petraeus when he spoke at BYU on Thursday. Pretty cool, eh?

Leavin on a Jet Plane

2010-03-19T21:16:00.001-07:00

Oregon here we come!! And when I come back: I will be one year older. I will have been able to see my sister go through the temple. I will have seen my family. I will own New Moon. And Provo, please take care of my husband in my absence. See you in a week!! FYI: This is one continuous sentence because our enter button has decided to stop working...

One Year Pictures

2010-03-12T13:17:00.001-08:00

Dear Jack, Please stop growing up...

Just call me Martha

2010-03-08T08:19:00.000-08:00

The home improvements I make are very few and far between, but here is what I have been working on lately to spruce up the place:

#1: Kitchen Table Chairs: We had exhausted these chairs until the fabric on them was not-so-pretty, and unlike a normal person who would just buy some oxy-clean and go to town on them, I decided to just get new fabric and re-cover them. BEFORE: (I'm a little embarrassed to show you how gross they were)

AFTER:

(and yes, i realize the fabrics are almost identical, but they look waaaaay better now)

#2: Help from the Cricut: Harrison's mom made the cutest part of this, the "love" sign (which i LOVE...haha i think i'm funny...) and with the help of my Cricut I did the vinyl lettering underneath it. It has been a nice addition to our bedroom.

#3: Thank you HGTV for this one: Again, i did not do the cutest part of this project, my little sister did for Jack for Christmas. But i had left over fabric from Jack's bedding I made before he was born...

So I made this to put in his room...

Beat It

2010-03-06T17:45:00.000-08:00

Vote for Me!!

2010-02-23T07:43:00.000-08:00

Last year I took a few weekly classes from a local photographer, Brooke Snow and she was so so so awesome. I learned so much, and it really fueled my love for photography. Shortly after that, she moved to Logan, UT and that made it impossible for me to take her weekly advanced classes. But she's now offering a free 2 day private session to one lucky person, and guess who that one lucky person wants to be?? ME!! Unfortunately, I'm one of 100 people who want this as well...so that's where you come in!! She has listed those people on her blog, and has left it up to our friends (that's you!) to vote for us!!

So please, please, PLEASE Vote for Christine Smith here It takes 2 seconds!! And we're allowed one vote per computer, so maximize those laptops, PCs, and (any random computer to happen to walk by! haha...but seriously) Voting ends Sunday night Feb 28th!

If I won it would provide an amazing opportunity with a photography mentor I already know and love!!

Thank youuuu :)

The Cat in the Hat

2010-02-10T20:00:00.000-08:00

Warning: this is a long video, but it's just so dang cute. Jack loves when his dad reads to him.
(Make sure you also check out how jack crosses his ankles so properly.)

Life is so good.

My Apologies to Mickey D's

2010-02-03T20:43:00.000-08:00

After taking Jack to the doctor this week, and explaining how Harrison and I were sick last week from food poisoning, she suggested that it probably wasn't food poisoning after all. But that there is a virus going around and it effects people differently. She said Harrison and I probably got the sickness that Jack had, except way worse, and we got over it faster than he did. But all is well again in the Smith home - everyone is healthy. and I'm sorry, McDonald's for blaming you for our sickness. I will continue to eat your chicken nuggets - although it may not be for awhile...

TGIM - Thank Goodness It's Monday!!

2010-02-01T08:40:00.000-08:00

Last week was not one I'd like to repeat any time soon!!

Jack has been sick in ways that I won't describe in detail, but lets just say I've had to do a TON of extra laundry lately, change a TON of messy diapers, and he had to go without dairy for a few days. We're still working on this one, and hopefully the doctor will be able to help the little guy today.

Wednesday afternoon both Harrison and I were feeling really sick, and within an hour of each other we were both throwing up!! It didn't take very long to realize that the McDonald's we had the night before was a bad idea. We spent the next 36+ hours getting it our of systems and it was AWFUL!! I have never been that sick. Ever. Dare I even say that I was in more pain the day after eating McDonald's than I was the day after I had Jack?? At least when Jack was born I had a brand new baby to play and cuddle with!! But Jack was so good to play by himself on the floor in the family room while his pathetic parents couldn't even get off the couch for two days.

And to top it all off, Thursday night, Jack hit his mouth on his crib railing which gave him a bloody lip and upper gum! Then, 20 minutes later he was crawling around and hit his mouth on something again in the exact same spot - which resulted in even more blood! Poor little guy.
So we spent the weekend recovering from our illnesses and now it's my task today to find our house again underneath all the dishes, dirty laundry, and mess.
Wish me luck.

We did have one good thing happen last week before all the madness. Mr. Smith and I celebrated our 2nd anniversary! We went to a play in Salt Lake, and grabbed some quick dinner on the way up there at, you guessed it...McDonald's.

Guess Who's ONE??

2010-01-24T13:26:00.000-08:00

Friday was Jack's birthday and it was so fun :)
Harrison's parents were in town and we had a little party. We decorated with streamers and balloons, had cake (thank you, Hannah!) and opened presents! I decided birthdays are way more exciting when you're a kid - for everyone involved.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JACK!!

One Year Old Stats:
Weight: 23 lbs. - 50th percentile
Height: 30 in. - 60th percentile
Head circumference: Don't remember, but let's just say, the Doc measured it twice because she didn't believe it could actually be that big...

Tricks:
Claps
Waves
Crawls faster than we can catch him
Took a few steps on his birthday - so close to walking!

Loves to:
"Read" books or have them read to him.
Listen to music
Eat
Cuddle
Yell
Go on walks
Bite (we're working on this one...)
Laugh
Takes baths
Give kisses

2010-01-13T14:48:00.000-08:00

Here are some recent videos of little Jack.
The first one is him laughing at me "karate kicking" Harrison haha.
And the second one is my first kiss from Jack, and now he loves to
give kisses all the time.

A Day to Remember

2010-01-06T18:39:00.000-08:00

As of this week, I am 100% done nursing. DONE. It couldn't have come any sooner either. I keep waiting for this feeling everyone talks about of sadness and separation from Jack, but it hasn't come yet. Instead I feel relief and freedom! Don't get me wrong, I love Mr. Jack and he is the sweetest little boy ever, but I haven't been away from the little guy for more than 4 hours or so at a time since he was born. So needless to say, it will be nice to have a break. Harrison and I need a night away.
Any takers?? :)

Family Pictures 2009

2010-01-03T21:27:00.000-08:00

Smith Family

Ira, Liz, Jacob (4), Patrick, Mom Smith, Kalee, Dad Smith, McKay,
Harrison, Jack (11 Months), Christine

Poulson Family

Emma (12), Dad Poulson, James (11) Mom Poulson, Grandma Welton,
Jack, Lindsay, Christine, and Harrison

Wishing you all a Happy New Year from our family to yours!!

A much needed break

2009-12-28T08:26:00.000-08:00

We've been in Oregon with my family for over a week now and it has been wonderful. Between Harrison's classes, ROTC and church responsibilities I feel like I didn't see my husband at all last semester. He's worked so hard, and I'm so proud of him for making it through such a tough couple of months. We have both welcomed this break from reality (and the snow!).

Christmas was so much fun with little Jack this year. His first Christmas!!

Playing with his new toy from Great Grandma Welton!!

We've played games, watched movies, gone ice skating, and the girls have enjoyed a little pampering and shopping :)

We'll see you on Thursday, Utah!!

This almost makes me want to work out

2009-12-10T12:58:00.000-08:00

Biggest Loser

LOVE this show. Danny lost 239 pounds in 9 months!! Crazy.

I paid $16.95 for this

2009-12-05T20:18:00.000-08:00

and it was worth every penny.
Poor Jack :(

Single Again

2009-11-29T12:04:00.000-08:00

...except that we're married...and have a baby. But we're back in the Singles Ward!! Harrison has been called to serve in the Bishopric of a BYU Singles Ward. We're so excited for this new challenge!! Jack, of course, is the only baby and everyone already loves him. He is flirtin it up with every girl he sees with his new "wave" to say hello. {Video soon to come, I'm sure...}. And I also received a calling in the ward to teach the Temple Prep/Marriage & Courtship Class. Everyone has been so welcoming and friendly. We're thrilled to spend our time in the BYU 51st ward for the next year.

Playing Catch Up

2009-11-21T11:01:00.000-08:00

Here's an update of the happenings with the Smith family:

Halloween:

While Harrison was at a ROTC camp for 3 days Jack and I went up to Oregon (Gma & Gpa P. were missin their grandson) where he brushed up on his piano skills...I just got a new toy called the Cricut Expression. And if you are a scrapbooker, card maker, or if you're like me - a wanna be craft-creater, you'd love it!! It is so addicting!! It has inspired me to make a scrapbook of Jack's first year :)Tomorrow we are off to St. George, and then Vegas to be with the Smiths for Thanksgiving!! And who isn't excited to see this cute little face??

9 Months

2009-10-28T10:43:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my little Jack has been out of my tummy as long as he was in it!!
Why does pregnancy go by soooo sloooowly and then when they're here time goes by so quick?!

9 Month Stats:
Weight - 20.5 lbs.
Height - 29 inches

Latest Trick

2009-10-23T16:39:00.000-07:00

Wow I have been such a blog-slacker lately. And to my 2 readers, I apologize.

But Jack has discovered something new he can do with his little body, and he is so proud of himself!!

PS - Does anyone else hate hearing their voice on recordings?? And hope they really don't sound like that? No? Just me? Darn.

Boy Bands

2009-10-09T20:41:00.000-07:00

I was rummaging through some old stuff of mine that has been stashed away at my parents' house for several years, and I came across an old magazine:

LOVE. IT.

And I also came across this huge poster: And who could forget these guys??

and
Who was (and maybe still is) your favorite??

Before and After

2009-10-02T09:32:00.000-07:00

HGTV has gotten the better of me, and I decided to take our entertainment center and do a little home improvement...

Some paint...

New glass in the door...

And new hardware...

Goes a looooong way. I'm just glad it's finally done!!

Roommate Reunion!!

2009-09-21T11:32:00.000-07:00

My freshman year at BYU-Idaho I lived with 5 other girls. We were all pretty different, but we got along SO WELL. How many times do you hear about 5 girls living together for four months without one problem?? That was us. It has been three years since that Fall semester, but we all keep in touch and we met this past weekend for lunch. It was so fun to see each other and to catch up on our lives. We've all been busy from school, work, missions, marriages, and babies that is was great to find time together!! All but one of us was able to come, and it was a blast. We missed you, Jan!!

Then...

Jan, Lindsey, Jane, Mary Beth, Me, and Alyssa
Now...

After having lunch in Pocatello, we headed up to Rexburg to see more friends, and I couldn't help but take some pictures of the beautiful Rexburg temple.

A Post to Brag About my Husband

2009-09-18T09:41:00.000-07:00

I married a stud.

This year he received not one, not two, but three scholarships! He also received a special grant from the government because of his major. He is working so hard taking 18 credit hours this semester, and participating so much in ROTC this year as he prepares for Advanced Camp at Ft. Lewis next summer.

And if all that wasn't enough, because of his grades and outstanding performance in ROTC, he was just selected to represent BYU at an Ethics Conference at West Point in New York in October. See? I told you. Stud.

CONGRATS, Mr. Smith!! We're so proud of you!!

Soakin up Summer

2009-09-15T16:10:00.000-07:00

Summer is over and Fall is coming!! Harrison's family, and my sister came to celebrate Labor Day with us by watching movies, playing games, and having a picnic up in Provo Canyon. It was so fun to have them here!!

We also had a visit from my good friend Nicole and her cute little family. Her son, Wesley is only 4 months younger than Jack and it'll be fun to watch them grow up so close in age!! Although, there may be a few differences in size... Nicole and I have been best friends since we were 12.

We got married a month apart, and now we have baby boys at the same time!

When did we grow up?!

(And NO, we did not plan to match ourselves or the boys..ha!)

Apparently Jack needs to work on his manners...

Harrison has started a very busy semester of 18 credits, but he is so good to find time to play with us We love walking to a pond @BYU down the street from our house to feed these guys:

11.20.09

2009-09-13T21:06:00.001-07:00

Judge me if you must, but I am so excited for this.

Cracker Jack

2009-09-07T15:11:00.000-07:00

Some material may be inappropriate for children.

Who knew I could miss Provo so much??

2009-09-02T13:02:00.000-07:00

Busy, busy, busy!

We're all together again - yay!! Jack acts like Harrison never left - he loves his daddy. Yesterday when Harrison left for school, Jack even started to cry.

We've moved into our new fabulous (fabulous to us, anyways) apartment! this is why it is better than our old apartment:
-It's above ground
-It's a block away from BYU so Harrison walks to school
-It has two bedrooms
-It has air conditioning
-It has counter space, cupboard space, a dishwasher, and a disposal
-Underground parking
-It has windows that can open AND close (we've really learned to appreciate the simple things in life)
We've also just bought a couch!! Our first major purchase...unless you include paying for Jack's baby bills, then it's our 2nd major purchase :) We love it!

More pictures to come soon, but here's little Jack on his first swing when we took him to the park the other day:

A Blessing in Disguise

2009-08-22T23:50:00.000-07:00

August 23!!! The day I have been thinking about, and hoping for ever since I discovered Harrison and I would be apart this summer. 4 months is a long, long time in our marriage's young life of only a year and a half. I was really dreading this summer.

Spending 4 months away from Harrison, really made me appreciate how wonderful he is. There were so many little things that I always took for granted, and it only took a couple of days apart from him for me to realize how much I missed those things. He always rubs my feet, makes me breakfast on the weekends, takes the morning shifts with Jack to let me sleep in, and plays "Monopoly" with me for hours without complaining. I think a huge blessing of this summer was me realizing how lucky I am to have him. I don't know what I did to deserve Harrison, but it's too late for him now - he's stuck with me forever.

I have felt so much support this summer from all my loved ones. My family first of all, for putting up with me! Jack, I'm sure they loved having around, but they thought they got rid of me when I got married! Wrong! I have loved our time in Oregon, and I will miss the Poulson clan so much when we leave. We also had a chance to spend time with the Smiths, and I loved every minute of it. They are no longer my in-laws, but truly just family. And I have always considered myself so lucky to have the friends that I do, and I am continually impressed by them. They always show so much love and support for me! So thank you for all of your phone calls, emails, and visits! You know who you are :) And I love you!

I often found myself relying on the comfort that I found when I was on my knees this summer. I would often pray for help to stay positive, to keep Harrison safe, and allowing the Atonement to work in my life. My prayers were always answered. Once I realized that my Savior had felt everything I was feeling, I felt a huge burden lifted from me. I was able to focus on being happy and making the most out of this summer, despite some hardships that came with it. It was an experience I hope to never forget.

I realize this post is a little more personal that what I usually share, but unfortunately my journal writing skills need improvement, and I would feel ungrateful if I didn't write down the unexpected blessings this summer has brought. But tomorrow is the day! Harrison and I will be back together in Utah, and excited to start our last year there! We have so much to look forward to: his senior year at BYU, a new apartment, new friends (and the old ones too!), and within the next year, discovering the beginnings of our military career.

We're excited and extremely grateful to have our little family of 3 back together again soon.

Hiccups and Cough Medicine =

2009-08-19T22:44:00.000-07:00

I can't get enough of his little laugh, and because I know you can't either, I decided to post this for you:

Mr. Jack

2009-08-17T23:03:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd give an update on this little guy who

will be 7 months old on Saturday!

Lately, we've seen a lot of this:

I've been trying for weeks to get a shot of his newest additions.

Two teeth on the bottom, and the one on top has just started peeking through.

He loves his solids! Especially sweet potatoes, squash, bananas, and applesauce.

August 9, 2007

2009-08-09T15:23:00.000-07:00

Harrison and I met 2 years ago, today. With our 18 months of marriage and a 6 month old baby - I'd say we've been very productive in that 2 years. I Love you, Mr. Smith. We can't wait to see you in 14 days.

A taste of Jordan

2009-08-01T20:21:00.001-07:00

Harrison is down to one week of classes left, then he's off to Israel then home to Utah!! Finally! He has really enjoyed his time in Amman, Jordan, although he's anxious to get back to the U.S. I have really loved hearing his stories and the neat experiences he's had this summer. Some of the people he has met there have really impressed me, and have opened my eyes to what the Middle East can really be like, despite the negative reputation. Here are some stories Harrison was kind enough to type up for us:

I am surrounded everyday by Arabs, and most the time Arab Muslims. I think many times in America, Arabs and Muslims are a people misunderstood because of the media, silly stereotypes, and sometimes just from people who are hateful. Despite all these things, I have had just some wonderful experiences this summer. One of the first things that has impressed me is how open this society is. Everyday I have an assignment to go speak Arabic for 2 hours. Essentially if I wanted to I could sit down with a stranger everyday, and just chat about anything for a few hours, and by the end of the conversation we would be friends. I would be intimidated to sit down next to really any stranger in Provo with the intentions of just wanting to chat. It really is wonderful how open everyone is here.

An example of this is about 3 weeks ago I was on a bus and I sat in the back of the bus, and before I knew it I was jammed between two Arab men. As I was squished between these 2 guys we had a very pleasant conversation as we took our 45 min bus ride. I have come to realize people are so interesting and it really is fun to get to know people, try to understand them, and see where they are coming from. Well soon it was my turn to get off the bus, and we said our goodbyes, and a little after I got off the bus I realized I left my cell phone on the bus. I figured, Oh Well, I am leaving in a about a month and a half, no worries. Well about 2 weeks after this, people who were listed in my phone started to receive calls, and I ended up talking with a man from a city about 30 mins outside of Amman who found my phone. He called about everyone of my friends until he finally got a hold of me. He really went through a lot of trouble to find me, and he was so nice, but I figured I wouldn't be able to meet up with this guy since he was so far away. Then about a week after this I got a call from one of my Arab friends who said I am going to get your phone, and that he would meet me in a few days to give it to me. My friends name is Nasser. What a good man. I honestly have only had maybe 3 or 4 conversations with Nasser, but we have became good friends in this time. Well when he couldn't get a hold of me, because my phone was lost, he kept calling and calling. Eventually he talked with this man who had my phone. So he went all the way out there to this mans house, I'm sure, and he got my cheap little cell phone, but not only did he do that, he gave this man a gift for being so kind. Then when I met up with him, and he gave me my phone, he also gave me a gift. Let me say Nasser is not a rich man, but a poor man, who just lost his mediocre job. He is so good, and I am still impressed about all he did to just get my phone for me. It really wasn't a big deal, but he did it anyway. Me and Nasser do not see eye to eye on every issue, but he is a good man and he has love and kindness within him.

Well one last experience about my Muslim friends. Today I was chatting a little about Islam with another one of my good friends, named Osama. I asked him a simple question: How do you feel when you read the Quran? He told me of the feelings of peace, calmness, and how sometimes he wants to cry when he reads it. I believe that Christians or Mormons do not have a monopoly on receiving light from God. It is just a wonderful experience to be able to relate with people on the fact that we have both experienced receiving light from God. I know that those Muslims who live with goodness and live by the light they have received, receive blessings and peace in their life. There are so many good people in the world. I look forward to meeting more.

Half Birthday

2009-07-22T12:26:00.000-07:00

That's right, little Jack is 6 months old!! I can't believe it!
19 lbs. 9 oz.
26 in.

New Tricks:
Sits up by himself
Reaches for everything

Rolls over

Responds to his name
Smiles constantly
Laughs all the time
Eats cereal
No longer takes a pacifier
Can eat his own feet