Desserts with Dad

Last night, Hailey and Trey went to "Desserts with Dad" up at her preschool. They got to do a few activities and Hailey made some pretty cute stuff for Trey. Here's the form she filled out on her daddy with her teachers. He also came home with a handmade coaster and a picture puzzle of the two of them together. They got to make rootbeer floats for dessert. Tonight they're off to Sesame Street Live to see Elmo! Ahhh...the life of a four year old....

While Trey and Hailes were out, Landry, Reese and I held down the fort at home. We decided to get the camera out and take a few pictures. Reesie wanted to take one with her sister, who is now THREE weeks old and growing fast.

And then I took a few of Landry. I believe she is already practicing to defend herself against her sisters. She says, "don't even think about messing with me!"

And once Trey got home with Hailey, Reese started "dancing." She tends to get quite excited when her dad is home because she knows that running and roughhousing will be on the list of things to do. We caught her doing a little crazy Reese action here...

Crazy, crazy and crazy...

Yep, not much has changed since the last post. Life here is nutso, but wonderful. There's always some little girl needing something, normally while another girl is melting down, and while the third little girl has her own personal crisis at the same time too. Example, this morning, I was feeding Landry while Hailey and Reese were playing in their playroom. All of the sudden as I'm busy, Hailey started screaming....the crying scream that is "MOM, I NEED YOU NOWWWWW!!! OHHHH, I'M HURT, MOMMY!!!! HELP ME!!!" So, up I get to start running with the baby (not easy) up the stairs. I find Hailey with a minor cut on her toe that has started to bleed and Reese has a large pen mark across her head....where she got the pen, not sure, but is it sad that I'm glad she used it on her forehead over my walls? We get a bandaid...Barbie, of course, for Hailey's "major" wound, wipe Reese's forehead off and let Landry finish eating. Ahhh...the typical day.

However, I must say that compared to last week when it all seemed new and "not normal" on my own, it's all starting to feel like everyday life here now and managing it is getting better and better each day. Rather than feeling stressed, I'm just going with the flow, which is half the battle. Landry is now 2 1/2 weeks old and she is changing by the day. She's really filling out, the dark hair seems to be here to stay, and Trey and I think we're going to have three girls that don't look a thing like each other. We shall see!

As for a social life, well that's being reserved for Hailey and Trey this Friday. They're going on a date night to see....ELMO LIVE. I'm hoping he'll take a few good pics because I think Hailes is going to love it. Until then, the craziness continues!

Old School Hailey

Here's a few pics I came across today. I can't believe how big she's gotten in the last two years and how fast time flies!

Life with Three

Is CRAZY!! Actually, it's going quite well, just makes the days (and nights) more full! Hailey and Reese are doing really well with the new baby. My Aunt Rhonda left on Saturday after staying for a week and a half. I do not know what I would've done without her help, she was the best. Plus, I just enjoyed having her around to hang out. And, she is my witness to Trey lighting himself on fire. He's now trying to say that he doesn't think the fire was that bad....funny, since he never saw the flames going up his back. Rhonda backs me up on the fact that I SAVED HIS LIFE :). And Granny and Dan stopped in too for the weekend to get some grandgirl time in while Trey and I relaxed a bit.

As far as the girls go, Landry has proven thus far to be a great baby. She's pretty laid back and content just napping through all the noise of the house. She did let us know her opinion on her first sponge bath though. Pic below shows it all.

Trey and I think Reese has had a major growth spurt since Landry's birth. She just looks HUGE to us now...especially compared to an 8 lb baby. She loves the baby and talks about her in a very excited tone....now if I can find a way to redirect her when she's trying to poke her eyes and force a pacifier in her mouth when Landry's sleeping, we'll be doing even better. I also did catch Reese trying to "cover up" Landry today with her blankie. To any stranger though, it may have appeared as a suffocation attempt. Gentle is not in her vocabulary right now.

And Hailey really loves the new baby. She's a big help. Hailey also has a new nightly routine that she does once she's been put to bed that I've captured in a few pics. First, she gets out of bed and puts all of her stuffed animals to sleep right next to each other on the floor with her covers. Then, she goes and picks out her outfit for the next day and lays it out on the floor, so when she wakes up, she's ready to go. Of course, she tends to pick out basically the same outfit everyday, dirty or not...so we're working on that too. Rhonda gave her the idea and it has actually cut down on the morning "discussion" about what to wear. If nothing else, the child loves to plan things out!
Landry getting a sponge bath.
Hanging out with Daddy.
Reese reclaiming yet another baby item for herself. She pulled it around in front of the TV, climbed in, and then decided to eat some Corn Pops while viewing her favorite shows :).

Hailey's Valentine's Day party at school.

Clothes laid out for the morning. Check out the options!

Animals tucked in for the night next to Hailey and her bed.

Landry Grace Smith

Words cannot describe how happy we are at the Smith house. Landry arrived on Thursday at 5:30pm, weighing 7 lbs 15 oz. and was 20 inches long. She's healthy, has a full head of dark hair and is doing just beautifully. Hailey was cautious to see her at the hospital and kept quiet, but since she's been home, Hailey has been very helpful with her new sister and is giving her lots of kisses. Reese...well, just as she's always been, Reese loves her, is very excited, and we're just trying to keep her from squishing her everytime she sees her and yells, "BABY!!!!!" We got to see Opa at the hospital and Granny came too to see her. Aunt Rhonda has been doing a fabulous job holding down the fort around here while we learn the new way of life with three. And PaPa made a trip to Texas too on Friday for the weekend to see all the Smith grandgirls. We feel blessed....very, very blessed. Here are some pics!

checking in to the hospital!

Daddy holding Landry for the 1st time.

Landry Grace Smith

Family of Five!

Getting ready to leave the hospital. Check out the dark hair!

Daddy and his girls....wait, where's Reesie?

Hanging out and reading in Landry's carseat of course!

Too cute.

Stop, Drop, and Roll are not the words....

that one should have to say the night before having a baby, but it was! In fact, the day was quite relaxing until dinner, but I'll get back to that in a moment. My Aunt Rhonda arrived yesterday from Kansas. She's here to help out with the girls and it has been so nice to have her around. We spent the day getting her aquainted with the area and Hailey's preschool, etc. We even made a trip to the grocery store to stock up on stuff and bought meat for Trey to grill for dinner.

This is where it gets interesting... So, Trey arrives home and starts to get the burgers ready for grilling. Now, Trey loves to grill and he's really great at it. I don't even know how to use a grill because there's no point, it isn't worth the effort when I have a husband who's a perfectly wonderful cook. When he does grill, he tends to put a paper towel in his back pocket to wipe his hands etc. So, he walked in the door, got his paper towel in his back pocket and walked over to the counter to start making burgers next to my aunt. I stood up to go into the kitchen when I looked over and Trey had stepped too close to the stovetop, which had a gas burner on, boiling water. Next thing I know, his paper towel has lit on fire in his back pocket and is FLAMING and he has no idea. So, I yell at him that he's ON FIRE! He looks confused, my aunt looks at him and sees a flame shooting up his back and SCREAMS and then he and Rhonda start jumping up and down. Reese gets knocked over in the chaos. Rhonda was attempting to push Trey over for the "stop, drop and roll" drill and I ran up to him, grabbed the paper towel and threw it into Jake's waterbowl. All ended well...it hadn't caught on to his shirt and pants so we were all able to stop and breathe, but I think we were all shaking from the adrenaline and screaming. And yes, I'm taking full credit for potentially SAVING HIS LIFE the night before our precious baby girl arrives tomorrow (HOPEFULLY).

I'm hoping this means that all the drama has taken place tonight and tomorrow will go smooth.... We can't wait to meet the new addition and feel oh, so blessed to have the family that we do. I will update the site as soon as we have some news and time!

Uhhhh.....

We leave for the hospital in a day and a half. This had better not be our new license plate when we come home.

Two Very Different Little Girls

I love how different Hailey and Reese are. They actually get along really well. Don't get me wrong, they have their moments together, but for the most part, they like being around each other. That being said, today gave way to two conversations that prove just how opposite they are by nature.

Conversation #1 with Hailey:
Scene: Hailey is going through a BIG phase where she likes to change clothes a billion times a day. I've cracked down on this because I don't have the energy or time to do all the laundry she produces with these changes.

Hailey: Mom, can I Paaa-LEASE change my outfit? I'm hot.
Me: No.
Hailey: Can I take my tights off?
Me: Sure, just put them at the bottom of the stairs so we don't lose them.
Hailey: Mom, can I take my shirt off with my tights and get a new shirt?
Me: No.
Hailey: MOM, I NEED A NEW SHIRT BECAUSE (dead serious)......IT DOESN'T MATCH MY HEADBAND AND IT NEEEEEEDS TO MATCH MY HEADBAND.
Me: Sorry love, but we aren't changing outfits. You can have some fruit chews though (her favorite snack of the moment).
Hailey: Ohhhh....ok, sounds good.

Conversation #2 with Reese:
Scene: She has just woken up from her afternoon nap and is in her crib. I enter the room.

Me: Hi Reesie!!! Are you ready to get up? Reese, what are you.... Reese, stop trying to spit all over your sheets.
Reese: laughter followed by looking down and continuing the behavior
Me: Reese, I mean it, we don't spit all over our beds in this family!!

We've got some interesting years ahead of us in this family...

25 Random Things...

I admit, I am a person who is on Facebook. I was tagged to write 25 random things about myself on the site and I thought I'd copy it as my blog entry for the day too....since I'm sure you're all sooooooo interested :). In all honesty, I really like reading these. I may just have the hubby do it too if I can convince him, or maybe I'll fill one out for him because he's got some very interesting stuff to share.

25 Random Things About Me

1. My first car was a 1976 Datsun B-210 called the Honeybee. I didn't nickname it the Honeybee. It actually had a banner on the car that said "The Honeybee" and little honeybee stickers. It started with a screwdriver, not a key. My uncle rigged it that way after the key broke off in the ignition. I finally got rid of it when flames started shooting out the hood of the car when I was driving one day. It was a good day. My next two cars were called the Rustmobile and Deena the Dynasty. My kids will never drive brand new cars at 16, no matter what the circumstance.
2. I hate pickles and iced tea. I love sandwiches, ice cream and queso.
3. I like to bake, don't mind cooking, but have no clue how to work an outside grill. It scares me.
4. I would love to live on some farm type land someday and rescue dogs and horses. I've never owned a horse, but I think I'd love rescuing them. My husband finds this to be insane.
5. I love to play tennis and have done so since I was seven. I'm very competitive by nature. I try to tell myself that I'm not going to be competitive and that I won't care if I lose....never works.
6. I have two older brothers and I wouldn't change that for anything. They made me tough. I also think having brothers contributed to my hatred and lack of understanding of how females fight and argue....ugly and mean. However, my sister-in-law is one of my most fave people. I would never go back to a time when she wasn't in the family.
7. I have a 6 year old golden retriever, Jake, and I absolutely love the dog. He makes me happy even when I've had a really hard day.
8. I never knew how much I would love having girls. I feel so incredibly blessed to have them and I feel a huge responsibility to raise them to feel confident, to know how loving God is, and to realize that they can do anything if they put their minds to it. They have shown me one of my purpose's in life.
9. If I could, I'd be a professional college student. I was that person who enjoyed going to class and learning. Doesn't matter if it's math, science, English, Spanish... Wait, just not art or drawing. I'm awful at that. I think my brain is dysfunctional when it comes to creating art. In fact, my four year old is better at drawing pictures than I am.
10. I taught 8th grade U.S. history for three years and did NOT like that job though. I had to coach cheerleading for one year and if you know anything about me...you know that Katie and cheerleading (and cheerleading parents) do not mix.
11. I am not a risk taker. My husband is. Taking risks in life initially make me want to vomit. I have to warm up to the idea for a while.
12. I loved growing up in a small town. I wish my kids could have that experience, but I really love living where I do right now.
13. I got married at 23 and it was the best decision I've ever made. My husband is my favorite person and best friend and I never tire of him. I absolutely feel like God intended for us to be together.
14. I can't wait until our kids are a little older and we can start traveling with them. I want to take them all over the world if possible.
15. If given the option, I will go to a waterpark over an amusement park anyday.
16. I have a blog about our fam and I very much enjoy updating it and writing. I do not like scrapbooking.
17. I loved cafeteria food at school growing up. I never took my lunch. My fave days were crispito/taco day and chicken nugget/mashed potato with a roll day. There was one day I didn't like....salsbury steak day.
18. I enjoy working out. I also like to try new classes...except spinning. I am not built to be on one of those bikes for an hour.
19. My husband and I always talk about retiring to North Carolina someday. Besides the golf factor, I'm not exactly sure why. We talk about it like we've been there a million times, and we haven't.
20. Two places that I despise going....car dealerships and cell phone stores. Two places me love....spas and home decorating stores.
21. I'm a total chick when it comes to movies, TV shows and books....sappy, sappy.
22. I stopped biting my nails a month ago. I have serious doubts this will last. I admit, as gross as it is, I'm an addict. I'm really glad I don't like alcohol and drugs because I can't imagine trying to break a habit that actually sends people to rehab.
23. I lived for tetherball at recess in elementary school.
24. 2008 was the worst year of my life. It seemed like anything that could go wrong, did. The greatest tragedy was that I lost my mom to cancer. I miss her everyday. It is devastating to me that she isn't here to be with my kids as they grow up. She absolutely adored them.
25. I've had three concussions before. The first occurred at four when I was riding my bike where I wasn't supposed to be and I fell over and hit my head on a curb. The second happened when I was in the first grade and was sledding down a hill and went head first into a four-wheeler. Needless to say, my brother took me out for lessons on how to roll-off of a sled after that. Number three happened in the fifth grade...someone threw a baseball bat and my temple took the main whack of it.