Am I Five Yet?

I can't believe it! Where does the time go? I know it's a good thing that they have birthdays and get older, but it's a little sad too. Especially this birthday because it means she will be leaving me in the fall and going off to kindergarten. I'm almost in tears just thinking about it. Anyway, I can't be sad for too long because she is absolutely thrilled to be 5. She has been counting down the days all week, and then last night she finally realized that John David will be here soon because I have been telling her that he would be here after her birthday because she used to ask me everyday. She woke up at 6:15 this morning to ask, "Am I five yet?" Although it is rare for her to get up that early, I am actually surprised that she wasn't up asking that question in the middle of the night as excited as she was. She also asked several times throughout the day, "Are you sure I am five?" or "Am I still five?"



Since she saw us wrapping Katie's present to her the night before, and was so excited to rip into it, we let her open it before Katie left for school. She loves these Barbie mermaids, and I think Katie gave her this one, so she could play with her other one. Pretty sneaky, but clever Katie. This morning we also took her to get her ears pierced because she had said that's what she wanted to do on her birthday. However, after we had picked out earrings, paid for them, and the lady had marked her ears and was about to do the deed, she changed her mind, and there was no changing it back. Oh well, plenty of time for that later. And one less thing for me to have to do too!



Tonight we had Maw Maw and Paw Paw and Maw Maw Mire over for cake and ice cream, and of course, some presents too. She is so excited...and cute!



Maw Maw Mire gave her this cute little doll that sings 'Mary Had a Little Lamb', which she loves.



And Maw Maw and Paw Paw gave her a cool checkers game, and a pack of the travel size Kleenex. Maw Maw had given her a pack of tissues at church on Sunday, and she was beside herself with excitement. She just kept thanking her over and over. So when Johnice asked what she wanted for her birthday, I told her to get her a box of Kleenex and she would be thrilled. And she was!



We gave her the bitty twins boy doll to match the girl doll she got for Christmas. She immediately named him Chad and was so cute all night playing with him. I told her now she has a little boy to take care of while mommy takes care of John David when he gets here in just a few days. He even slept with her in her bed tonight.



Some things about Sarah at age 5:

*She loves to take a bath and play with her mermaids. She usually takes one in the morning after she wakes up and one at night with Katie. When we try to get her to skip the morning bath, she will say, "But Jesus wants me to be clean."

*She loves babies, and is going to be a wonderful big sister. She already has a long list of things she is going to teach John David to do.

*She likes to make up stories and will talk your ear off when she gets going.

*She still likes to take naps (which has been very nice for me during this pregnancy) and will come to get me and tell me when she is ready.

*Her favorite color is blue because her eyes are blue, and whenever she is asked to choose a color of a sucker or hair bow or whatever, she will pick blue because it matches her eyes.

*She is very sweet and soft spoken, until she gets upset, at which point she suddenly becomes very loud.

*She loves her family very much, and is always saying, "I'm so glad I'm in this family!" We are too sweetie! Our family would be incomplete with you! We love you!

Little Charlie (aka Our MLK Baby)

Sunday, January 18th I called my little sister at about 6PM, who was only a matter of days from her due date with her first baby. When I asked if anything was happening, she told me, "No. Nothings broken and nothings hurting." I laughed and teased her saying that I was having more contractions than her and that I was going to have my baby before she did. She didn't appreciate that too much and started ranting about how I had better not have my baby before she did. It may have been just what she needed, because two hours later I got a call from my other sister, Melissa, informing me that Kristie was in labor and was on her way to the hospital. I didn't believe her at first, since I had talked to her earlier and she had told me that nothing was happening. So I called Kristie and sure enough, she was headed to the hospital, which was an hour drive from her house. She and her husband got to the hospital around 10PM that night, and had a handsome little baby boy the next morning at around 10AM. Katie and I teased Kristie that she should name him Martin or Luther, since he was born on MLK Day. She didn't like that idea very much. So, Charles Braxton Smith it is--Charles after my dad and Braxton after Luke's dad, but we'll be calling him Charlie. And what a handsome little guy! I can't wait to meet him and get some sugar from those cute, chubby cheeks!

We've Set A Date!

Okay, we didn't actually set it. They just told us when to show up. FEBRUARY 16th is the big day! We are pretty excited, to say the least. Just a few more last minute details and we'll be all set for John David's arrival!

A Different Perspective

The other day I was telling Aaron how the baby is always pushing on the right side of my stomach and making it look lopsided. Not only is it strange looking, but it hurts too. His response was, "You should be happy. He's choosing the right already."

My New Do

My sweet husband treated me with my Valentine's Day gifts early. Last night I went to get a pedicure while he was at his 'man shower'. Then today I went to get highlights and a hair cut. So here is the before..................................



...........and after. Okay, so you can't tell much about it from this picture, except that it is much shorter. But I love my new do, and so does Aaron! Thanks honey!

Aaron's Man Shower

Tonight Aaron had a 'John Deere Party' out at the Zachary's camp. He said they had a great time. He told me that no one was supposed to bring gifts because it was really just a man's party to get together and eat and hang out, but he did come home with some fun little John Deere things. We've already got it all in the room, which is almost done. I just have to finish the bedding and curtains that I am making and it'll be all ready for little John David. I hope he likes tractors and yellow and green!

Mama's Little Helper

Katie cooked dinner the other night all by herself--well, almost. I cleaned the kitchen while she made tacos. I was there the whole time supervising, but she really did all of the work, except for chopping up the lettuce. When I thanked her for cooking and being such a help to me over the weekend with cleaning, she said, "Well, it was my goal to help you more around the house." Indeed, it was, and she is doing a magnificent job. She is such a sweetheart.

Lesson Learned

Even though you are very tired but can't sleep because you are great with child, it is NOT a good idea to cut fabric for your next sewing project in the wee hours of the morning.

Our Funny Girls

This afternoon we decided to go see "Bedtime Stories" with the gift cards that Ammon gave us for Christmas, since the girls have been wanting to see it since it came out. It was pretty cute. As we were walking out after the movie was over, I looked down at my belly and said, "It looks like my belly has dropped." Aaron said, "Yeah, it does." Katie takes a look and says, "Yeah, it's probably from all the popcorn you ate!" Aaron and I just died laughing.

Then we went to Outback for dinner, with another gift card. Sarah couldn't find anything she liked on the kids menu, so we ordered her the grilled shrimp appetizer since she loves shrimp. When it came it had lots of seasoning on it, which looked like 'Slap Your Mama' (a cajun seasoning). So Aaron told her that's what it was and it was good and she should try it. After tasting it, she looked at him and said, "I like slapping mama!" I started laughing and she looked at me and said, "I mean I like the 'Slapping Mama', not slapping you Mama." Thanks for clarifying sweetie. What ever would we do without these sweet, funny girls?!

Random Stuff

1. The end of deer season has finally arrived and we have no meat in the freezer to show for it. Sadly, Aaron didn't get anything this year, and I'm not sure who's more bummed about it, me or him. Actually, I guess that's not entirely true. He did shoot a hog back in November, but it just isn't the same. I love deer meat--especially deer sausage, because it makes the best gumbo. We only have one pack left from last year. How ever will we make it? Luckily, he took Marc Clifford with him the last weekend of hunting season, he shot a six point, and they agreed to split the cost (and meat) to have it processed. OH HAPPY DAY!



2. It is a relief--at least to me--that the season is over. Hopefully Aaron will be home more now and be able to get the baby's room done. I have been a little stressed about it, since time is getting short until John David arrives, and so much to do. We have started on it though.

3. My husband thinks I can really sew. After he picked the theme for the baby's room, he said, "And you can make the bedding!" HA! So I am giving it a try. Thank goodness for RaeAnn. I've already got two crib sheets done, which were pretty easy. Next on the list is a dust ruffle, a matching blanket, and curtains. We'll see how it turns out. I have looked at some on ebay, just in case.

4. I've started cleaning out the attic by going through all of the baby girl stuff I have in hopes of having a yard sale before the baby arrives. I took down three boxes of stuff the other day and went through it. (Only six more to go--UGG!) It made me pretty sad. How did my sweet little girls grow up so fast? I am saving some things because I want to make them each a quilt with their baby clothes and blankets.

5. I spent last weekend cleaning the entire house and steam cleaning the carpet in most of the house. I was more productive than I have been in a long time. It feels so good to be productive, but I was pretty exhausted afterwards. But my house looks so much better (minus the piles of stuff here and there that we are trying to sort through), and that makes me happy. I love a clean house.

6. I went to the dentist this week for the first time in.....uh......way to embarrassingly long to mention......and was reminded why I hate to go to the dentist. Yuck.

7. I also went for a baby check up this past week. I have been having some mild blood pressure issues, although my blood pressure that day was great. She told me to continue to take it easy or she will put me on bedrest. She said no long shopping trips, or anything that requires me to be on my feet for a long time. The best part was that she said by noon I need to be resting with my feet up. Oh darn. The doctor says I have to take a nap everyday. Oh well, the doctors orders must be followed. =) She also said she would take me a little earlier, like around 37 1/2 or 38 weeks, instead of at 39 like last time and that we would schedule a date at my next visit. I'm not glad about the blood pressure, but hey, earlier sounds good to me. This means that I have about 4 weeks left, which is exciting, but man, I've got to get busy with the sewing!

The Girl's Room

I mentioned a while back that we were working on putting the two girls into one room in order to make room for our little bundle arriving in February. It has been a process trying to combine all of their stuff into one room--especially when I try to go through stuff with them here, because everything is their favorite thing that they can't possibly live without! Anyway, it was a lot of work, and thanks to my wonderful mother-in-law, it was completed a lot quicker than it would have taken if it were just us working on the project. We actually finished getting everything in the room back in October, but it took us until December to finally get another mattress for the top bunk, and even longer for me to remember to take a picture when the room was actually clean. =) I wish I had taken a 'before' picture, but like always, I only think about 'before' pictures after the fact. Oh well.



Kent and Johnice gave us all of the "new" furniture in the girls room. The bunk beds were actually ones that Aaron and his brothers used. Surprisingly, they are still in great condition, minus the guard rail and ladder. They also gave us the first dresser and nightstand that they purchased when they were first married and even said we could paint everything if we wanted to. So first we--I mean Mother-in-Law of the Year--sanded everything. Then we put two coats of primer and two coats of paint on everything.



Aaron actually started the project, but only had two coats of primer and one coat of paint on the bunk beds after two weeks, and then Johnice volunteered to help out. He tried, bless his heart. He just stays busy these days.



Katie was so excited to help. She loves to paint.



And here it is. Up until we got a mattress for the top bunk, the girls slept together. And now that we have two mattresses, they still sleep together--on the top bunk! It must be lots of fun up there. But really it works great for them since they both like to cuddle up when they go to sleep. We do have a guard rail, thanks to my friend Lisa. I just took it off for the picture. As for the ladder, Aaron made one, but it was so heavy that we were concerned that it might really hurt someone if it fell on them, and they seemed to be doing just fine without it, so it is still out in the garage.



We also got the bookshelf from Kent and Johnice and painted it as well. The white paint really gave the dresser and nightstand a new life. It looks like new, especially since we replaced the hardware, which was the most money we spent on this project.......well, except for the mattress.



I had no idea that hardware was so expensive. But we figured it was worth it because it made such a huge difference and we figure this will last them a while. Aaron picked it out. I think he did a great job. He is so good at picking out stuff like that. We all love how it turned out. A huge thanks to Maw Maw and Paw Paw for giving us the furniture, and to Maw Maw for all of her hard work!

New Year's FHE

The first Monday of each new year our family sits down for FHE and sets goals. We each pick one personal goal and one family goal that we think our family needs to work on together. First we review the goals we made for the last year to see how we did on those, which were as follows:

Personal Goals 2008

*Sarah--Sleep in her own bed, which she did! Hooray for Sarah! This was a huge accomplishment for her (and us)!

*Katie--Listen better and make bed everyday. Katie decided that she thought she could still use some improvement in these areas.

*Mommy--Learn to sew, which I did! Hooray for me! Of course, it took me until October to start to learn my new skill, and I am certainly just beginning, but better late than never. I really regret that it took me so long to get up the nerve to try because I really do enjoy my newest hobby.

*Daddy--Start to workout. Dad also decided that he still needed to work on this goal.

Family Goals 2008

*Sarah--she didn't make one

*Katie--Do better at family prayer and scripture study. She came up with this goal by herself, and boy was she inspired because we really did need to do better. Both of the girls amaze me by how important spiritual things are to them at such a young age. We all agreed that our family has improved so much in this area, but still have room for improvement.

*Mommy--Watch less TV. We all agreed that we still need to work on this goal.

*Dad--More outdoor family activities. We did to do more stuff together, but it wasn't necessarily outdoors. We would have liked to have done more camping and fishing, but those are things I wasn't interested in doing in the last few months, considering my current state. We're going to try to do better on this one this year too, after John is born of course, and gets a few months on him.

We then set new goals for this year, which were as follows:

Personal Goals 2009

*Sarah--Listen to and obey parents and the Holy Ghost. She came up with this all on her own. As soon as she said it, I immediately had ideas running through my head of different topics for FHE to help her with her goal. She also set another goal of helping me get ready for the baby, which she has already started on. She helped me go through some baby clothes last night that Jenny gave us, and she was so cute. She would pick up something and say, "OH, how cute! Look how cute Mama!" She is so excited. Such a little sweetie.

*Katie--Help mom more around the house. Wahoo! I am so lovin' this goal! What a great idea Katie!

*Mommy--Lose weight and get healthier. Katie immediately said, "What?! You can't lose weight now! You'll have to wait until after the baby is born!" So funny! Great idea sweetie! After the baby is born, I'll get right on it.

*Daddy--Lose weight. I'm so glad this is his goal too. I can use it when I cook lighter and healthier meals. =)

Family Goals 2009

*Sarah--Be peacemakers. She actually couldn't think of one, so we suggested this one for her because she is always trying to be a peacemaker when Aaron and I are discussing something that we disagree on. We never have been ones to fight and yell at each other, but even though we don't raise our voices, she is very sensitive when we disagree with each other, even if we are laughing while we are disagreeing. She will always say, "Alright, that's enough. Break it up guys." And she doesn't stop saying it until we stop. She's very persistent. So we talked briefly about what a peacemaker is and how she can be a peacemaker in different situations. Another good idea for a FHE lesson.

*Katie--Everyone help clean the house. I am so lovin' Katie's goals for this year! What an inspired little girl! I guess she's noticed I've been slipping in the cleaning lately.

*Mommy--Finish our year supply. I got really motivated last year after our first enrichment of the year when our Stake Food Storage specialist came and gave a great presentation. I got a lot accomplished last year, but I really hope to get it all done this year and start to use and rotate our year supply more.

*Daddy--Watch less TV. This was my family goal for last year, which we didn't really do. So I'm glad it is going to be one that we continue to work on this year. He mentioned canceling our cable, which we only have basic now which is just a few channels. But I don't think we could (or should) live without the news--especially during hurricane season. So we talked about just setting limits, like no TV during the week. We'll have to set more specific goals later.

We decided that to be better at reaching our goals this year, we need to review them more often. So I am going to post them on the refrigerator (which I was supposed to do last year and never did! Opps!) and we will review them at FHE once a month. We are looking forward to our new goals for 2009!

You Know You Are Great With Child When......

*............you wonder where your feet are when you are standing because you can't see them for your protruding belly.

*...........you finally do see what you thought was once your feet, except they look like they belong to the elephants you saw at the zoo a few months ago.

*...........you bend over or squat down to pick something up and you remind yourself of a 90 year old with all of the moaning and grunting and start to wonder if you're going to make it back up, and why you thought it was a good idea to bend over or squat down in the first place.

*..........your heartburn is raging more ferociously morning, noon, and night than your hormones.

*.........your workout for the day is putting on your socks and shoes. I know--I'm pathetic!

*.........you try to roll over from one side to the other during the night and you have to stop half way to rest and catch your breath! SERIOUSLY!

Lucky for me, I only have seven weeks (or less--dare I even think it!) before my sweet little boy arrives, and lots to do to keep me busy until then!

Ringing In The New Year

Last year we let the girls invite some friends over for a New Year's Party/Sleepover and had so much fun that we decided to do it again this year. We started the night out with a Pizza Party. And let me tell you these nine little girls put away some pizza. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought we were feeding a bunch of boys.



After dinner, we played some games....................



............had a Dance Dance Revolution Dance Off................



.............had a treasure hunt (since Katie thoroughly enjoyed the one we had at the Mire Reunion)................



...............did some fireworks...........................



............jumped on the trampoline..........................



..............did some more fireworks and played more games...............



...........and then moved the clocks up 2 hours and celebrated the New Year at 10PM.



We got them all settled down in their sleeping bags and watched 'Kung Fu Panda'. Most of them were asleep by 11PM........................



..............but then we had these two little stinkers that were trying to stay up all night. They finally went to sleep around 1AM...................



..........and were back up at 7AM ready for some more fun. I woke up and made pancakes and hot chocolate for everybody. It was a fun night for us all, but Aaron and I were both ready for naps by the time all of their parents had picked them up. I made Cabbage Casserole and Kent and Johnice came over with some black-eyed peas and cornbread for our traditional New Year's lunch. It was so delicious. It was a great start to this exciting new year that we have ahead of us. Hope you all had a fabulous New Year too!

Mire Family Reunion

This past weekend we spent with the entire Mire family. The festivities began on Friday evening when everyone arrived at Sam Houston State Park and checked into their cabins. Aaron and I went up and visited for a while, then left the girls with Maw Maw and Paw Paw to spend the night in their cabin. They were so excited to go 'camping.' Aaron and I opted to stay at home where I could rest better, and everyone else too really. After all, how much sleep would the other seven people in our cabin get with me up every hour or so for water and potty breaks?



Katie and Jaimee enjoying some tunes on Jaimee's new MP3 player.



Sarah enjoying a 'shoulder ride' from Uncle Ammon.

Saturday morning we headed back up to the park for a day of fun activities, such as.................




..........a treasure hunt, which was quite the challenge. I actually sat out, since it involved walking Sam Houston Park over several times, and my ankles were already starting to swell. But everyone seemed to enjoy it. Here is the green team finding one of their clues. Katie thought the treasure hunt was the coolest thing....................



................but the pink team were actually the winners.



There was also an egg toss, which was quite entertaining to watch.



Katie really enjoyed this event too.....................



................especially the fact that Stacy got egged instead of her.



Sarah really enjoyed feeding the ducks. She fed them so much that they finally left, but she kept on throwing bread out for them. She said they had to go home and take a nap, but they were coming back later to eat the rest.



Katie had a whole loaf of bread, but she wasn't feeding the ducks.



"Katie, are you feeding the ducks or yourself?" I guess she figured Sarah had the ducks covered.



While we were feeding the ducks, Shane told Jarrett that he would give him $20 if he would swim across the river and back. And like any crazy teenage boy would, he took the dare for just
20 bucks. It was a little chilly outside, so I'm sure the water was really chilly, but it didn't seem to phase him.



And here he is...............victorious and $20 richer.



The challenge was also given to Jacob, who was not as convinced as Jarrett that it was a good idea. So his Uncles, Ammon and Adam, and cousins, Forrest and Dallas, tried to 'persuade' him to give it a try. But, lucky for him (because they surely could have thrown him in), they had mercy on him.



We saw lots of deer at the park. Too bad for Aaron that hunting isn't allowed at Sam Houston.



And no, this has nothing to do with the reunion, but Aaron was so proud that he and his brothers were there representing what he called 'Team Toyota', since Ammon converted too and bought his white Toyota Tacoma while he was here over Christmas. Boys and their toys.

The fun was stifled a bit when it started pouring just after dinner, but only long enough for us all to gather in Aunt Renee and Uncle Dave's cabin for more fun and games. It was such a fun day, and the girls are already planning a trip back for our family and some friends to hang out and enjoy the park.

Sunday after Sacrament Meeting we all gathered at Kent and Johnice's for some more visiting, some of Johnice's delicious gumbo, and goodbyes. Thanks to Aunt Renee and Uncle Dave for planning such an awesome reunion!

Christmas with the Cliffords

On Christmas Day the Cliffords invited us over for lunch. Letty made tamales and some other yummy Mexican food, which was all delicious. She also made these awesome pinatas, which the kids and adults had a blast with.



This is not your Walmart pinata. This is the real deal, and it takes some beating to break into.



Luckily, the kids were up for the challenge.........



......and the candy too, of course!



This one was for the adults and I think the adults enjoyed theirs even more than the kids.



Poor Santa. This must be what he feels like every Christmas morning after a long night of delivering toys. Thanks Marc and Letty for a fun Christmas Day!