Merry Christmas and yea for me!

Christmas was so different this year, since my dad has been at the care center we had our family party there at it was a blast. The grandkids put on a little program and the highlight of the night was when my brother's (aka seminary teacher) son told a dirty joke (obviously not aware it was dirty!) we were laughing hysterically. Curt and I were in charge of the Smith Family Christmas party this year and really glad we don't have to do that again for several years! The cousins had a great time going sledding and playing games. Since Cami is the daredevil of our family she was the one to fall off her sled and skid her face on the snow, no major injuries, just a red mark across her cheek. Our kids loved their presents this year. Of all the stuff they got I think their pj's were the favorite. I have such easy to please children, what a blessing! Kemp made an extra point to tell me how much he LOVES his BYU pj's because I made them for him! I heard him tell a friend that his mom ACTUALLY made his pajamas!

I have wanted to learn how to sew for about 10 years. My sister-in-law Sara is an amazing seamstress and she has sacrificed so much time to help me accomplish my dream, so huge thanks to her! She helped me sew Kemp and Cami's Harry Potter costumes for Halloween and I mentioned that it would be fun to sew my girls' Christmas dresses. Sara is a very ambitious person and has never ending energy, so she says to me- Let's do it! I spent like 3 separate days working on them with her. One night was spent till 4 in the morning, with oldies Christmas music on the satellite, and watching O, Brother Where Art Thou? (why in the world did George Clooney do that movie?) I had such a great time even though some moments in the learning process were hairy. Sara taught me a ton about sewing and I decided to sew some fleece BYU pj's all by myself for Kemp and he loved them. I even made the headbands to match Cami and Kerstyn's dresses. This has been such an achievement for me because I am usually scared to try new things if I think I might fail. So yea for me, I got over a fear of failure and succeeded pretty well! Curt reminded me that now I can sew all of Kemp's badges on his scout shirt, so not looking forward to that.

Kemp's 11th b-day!

K is for keen (very sharp, intelligent)
E is for eager
M is for magnanimous (generous, not selfish)
P is for protector

S is for smile
M is for mommy's pal
I is for immersed in books
T is for tender-hearted
H is for humble

Happy 11th birthday! Kemp had an indoor soccer game on his b-day and then we took him and some of his cousins to Toad's fun zone to play laser tag and arcades. They had a ton of fun! Kemp has been such a best friend to me. I can count on him to help me with anything (sometimes I ask 4 or 5 times) and he rarely complains. The last 2 years Curtis has traveled quite a bit for work and Kemp has had more responsibility placed on him to help around the home. He is such a wonderful young man, yep in one more year he will officially be a Young Man-aahh! Now I understand when my parents say that they wish they could raise their children all over again. Thru experience and trial and error we learn how to be the kind of parents we want to be and unfortunately for our first children they get all the luck of being guinea pigs! I hope Kemp knows how truly loved he is and (despite my weaknesses as a mom) can see what is in my heart. Kemp has a way of accepting everyone around him and having so much love for others. He cares so much about doing what's right. I think he is too hard on himself when he messes up, but I love him all the more for it. Kemp you are so very important to us, don't ever forget it!

Christian and Kertsyn's b-days. 1 is so much fun, 6 is such a kick!

Their personalized cakes


Bubby is really into cars

He dove right into his cake, and loved every bit of it!

Kerstyn was such a good sport about sharing her b-day!

Of course she asked for clothes, she wanted sparkly jeans!

Chrisitan got an interactive puppy and some books and cars

I am way behind in my posts, so I am doing a little catching up! We are absolutely overjoyed to have little Christian in our family. He makes things so complete and he is a total blast, just the most content and happy boy! The age of 1 is so fascinating to me because it is like a little curtain gets lifted from your baby's eyes and they have all these new discoveries to enjoy. We decided to throw a double party for Chris and Kerst since their b-days are 5 days apart. Kerstyn is growing up into such a little lady. She is so into anything that has to do with fashion, beauty, pampering, dress-up, barbies, etc. I am pretty sure she has asked about 500 times how old she has to be to get her ears pierced!!! At the same time she can be a rough, tough girl and has a very STRONG will. Sometimes we ask ourselves how we are going to survive teenage years with her, but at the same time I wouldn't miss it for the world! We love you sweetie-pie!

Here are some of Chris' new discoveries and loves:

• walking- he looks like E.T. when he walks
• airplanes- he hears them outside and has to look up and find them in the sky as soon as he can, he says "aahh" when he spots one.
• singing- no lie he sings, maybe I can get it on video sometime, really funny!
• bathtub- do I really need to elaborate?
• food- anything!
• hamster- the other day he pushed a little chair all the way across the kitchen to get up to the cage-oh great!
• tantrums- yes it may seem a little early for this, but remember he has the power of example in his favor! He gets mad and either sprawls out on his tummy or throws his head back which always results in more tears.
• Brother and sisters- he giggles whenever we pick them up from school, so precious!

A Typical SAHM's morning!

Curtis' traveling starts to kick up this time of year and he is gone almost every week, Mon-Fri. Sometimes I want to pull my hair out w/out Curt home and other times I like having my own time, I get to stay up and watch WHATEVER I WANT on T.V. My mornings have been crazy lately and the other day my kids were moving at turtle speed even though I am telling them every 5 seconds we need to hurry because I had a Dr. appt. to go to right after they go to school, so Cami walks into the kitchen with an unsure smile on her face and says that Christian is in the bathtub. I thought for a split second that maybe he was hurt if he tried to climb in, AND THEN it dawned on me that I did not drain the water, so this is what I found-

Curt is such a spoiler!

My husband is famous for spoiling our children. I am always saying no, no, no when they ask for anything and everything. Then daddy comes home and you can bet he has something in his arms for the kids. Sometimes it is for all of them and other times it is just for one (which causes tantrums). Kemp got a new set of golf clubs and Curtis and him took them out a few times. Curtis took the girls with them once, but never again, because Kerstyn fell out of the golf cart. Kind of hard to drive a cart and make sure a wild 5 year old is staying seated! I think I might want to try golfing someday, but when I went with my family to hit a bucket of balls I was basically the entertainment. Maybe lessons would help?

Kemp's school picture

Kemp's school picture makes me smile. Is that one happy kid or what? I just had to put it on my header!

Kemp-The Scout Guru

I know nothing about scouting, so I am very grateful that my hubby absolutely loves scouting and the great outdoors! Kemp has been just spitting out the requirements for his badges. He recently earned his Arrow of Light from cub scouts, the scout leader mentioned that Kemp earned every award possible. That happens when your dad is an over-achiever. I feel somedays like 10 years has been rolled up into 10 days. He will be an aaronic priesthood holder next year and that doesn't even seem real. Kemp said, "Mom, guess what? when Chris is doing this stuff I will be on a mission!" Don't even go there son! I love when he talks about his mission in the future, it is always as if there is no doubt whether or not he is going. Here is a recent conversation we had:

Mom: Kemp, I think it would be smart to start learning how to cook some easy meals that you could fix on your own-like when you go on your mission.

Kemp: Why? Missionaries go to people's houses to eat.

Mom: Not for every meal.

Kemp: It's fine mom, I know how to make Top Ramen, cold cereal and pb&j sandwiches.

Mom: After 2 years you might get sick of the same thing.

Kemp: I highly doubt that mom!

Mom: Yeah, you are right!

A whole lotta fun at Bear Lake

We can't remember a time where we spent so many summer days at Bear Lake, probably since before we had children! It was so much fun this year. The Smith reunion was great for our children because they had so many cousins to hang out with that they don't ever see. Good times!

First days of school

Kerstyn's classroom
Putting her backpack away

My little tweens!

Kemp's in 5th grade this year, Cami's in 4th and Kerstyn is my newest kindergartener. It was a lot of fun going school shopping this year. Kerstyn is our little fashionista. She notices everything that is cute and in fashion. She was putting together outfits and having fashion shows with Cami for a whole week before school started, so fun. Kemp basically lets me do his shopping. As long as what I get him is comfortable and cool. They have been walking back and forth to school almost every day, and I have been meeting them with Christian in the stroller. Kemp and Cami picked Kerstyn up from her classroom yesterday and they all walked together by themselves, it is hard to let your babies grow up isn't it?

Christian-10 months

Aren't babies so angelic when they are sleeping?

Here is our little cave dweller!

Oh yea, he knows what he's doing!

I have to clean that up every night!

Uncle Scott got ankle surgery and bubby got to go for rides on the walker

He thought it was way cool

With his partner-in-crime, cousin Will

Wow, I just got back from spending 5 days with my sister Caroline in San Diego (pictures coming) and Christian was so cute when he saw me through the window at the airport. I missed my family so much, BUT definately a wonderful getaway! He is so big I can't get over it. He is 10 1/2 months and here are some cute things I have noticed about him lately:

1. He makes lots of interesting sounds with his mouth- clicks his tongue, drums his lip with his finger, and raspberries.
2. He pats my chest and says "Mama".
3. He points at everything and says, "dis".
4. Loves to open up cupboards, he is finding all my tupperware.
5. He has very ticklish feet, to which his sisters love to tickle torture him.
6. He has 8 teeth- more than our other 3 at his age, so he tries to eat everything and is always choking. Kerstyn leaves food out where he can reach it and someone is always hollering- "Mom, hurry- Christian is choking!"(AAHH-very frustrating).
7. He LOVES real mac' n' cheese and spaghetti, he goes to town stuffing his face with it.
8. He loves to tease my parents dog, Mayzee. He gets this devilish look on his face and chases her to pull her tail or ears, and then when Mayzee growls, he cracks up. Very funny!
9. At his last Dr.'s visit he was 19 lbs.15 oz, and 29 1/2 in. long.
10. I have stopped nursing and now he sleeps thru the night, yea!

Funeral service for our dwarf hamster named Elizabeth (or Lizzie)

Doesn't this look like a fun cage?

Our dwarf hamster just died this weekend, and we feel totally clueless as to why? It just must have been her time to go. She had plenty of love, food, and water. The kids wanted to bury her outside next to the garden. When we buried her they put this little stick in the ground and then marked it with a bigger stake. They are thinking about making a sign for a real grave, so cute. Kemp kind of ruined the mourning for our pet by saying, "maybe if Naomi (our other hamster) also dies then we can finally get a dog". Hopefully he isn't outgrowing his sensitive side!

Bubby-boy 9 months

We call Christian bubby-boy and it actually started with us saying chubby-bubby, but I don't think he would appreciate chubby for a nickname. He has changed so much this past month it's insane!!

• The weekend of the 4th he started crawling and 2 weeks later he was already pulling up and standing by the furniture, he also crawls up the stairs-AH!
• Christian has SEVEN teeth, no lie. Four on top and three on the bottom. With his teething comes runny noses, fevers, and no sleep. Yes, most of July I have not slept.
• He likes to rock out to music. Beyonce's Single Ladies is one of his favs, he bobs back and forth.
• He LOVES boat rides on Bear Lake.
• He is obsessed with the hamsters now. He always tries to pull down their cages. In fact the Elders were over for dinner and he pulled off the wheel and luckily one of the elders grabbed it in time or we would have had yet another hamster escape, geez-louise!
• He loves pat-a-cake and peek-a-boo. He pulls the blanket off so fast we can barely say peek-a-boo, he thinks it is pretty funny.
• His favorite sounds are "dis", ba, da, ma, ya, ah, na, and la.
• He is loving snack foods now, some favs are cheese, pretzels, little puffs, bananas, graham crackers, and grapes. Grandma peels a whole plum and gives it to him and he goes to town on it.
• He loves nursing- he still gets up to nurse in the middle of the night, but hey whatever works so I can get some sleep!
• He likes to play Daddy's guitar!

Kerstyn's Future Plans

A couple of days ago Kerstyn and I were running errands and I asked her if she wanted to be a singer when she grew up, because she was belting out a Taylor Swift song from the radio. She began to unfold her life plans. Here they are:
1. She is going to be a rock star.
2. Her "honey" (aka husband) will be a policeman.
3. They will have 2 dogs- a Chihuahua and a police dog (she thought maybe I didn't know what that is and told me it is a German Shepard).
4. She is going to have a black van and her husband will have a white one.
5. They will have a 2-year old girl named Rose.

Now for a 5-year old who rarely answers me when I ask her a question-she does the huh? thing all the time-it's like trying to talk to your hubby when he is watching t.v.; she sure shocked me with this one!

Tri-City Champs! 13-0, Go Mets!

Kemp's baseball team did so awesome this season. They were undefeated and beat the West Haven Rockies in the tri-city tournament (Roy, Clinton, and West Haven). The score was 3-2, and the game was a real nail-bitter. My niece Brittany came with us and is probably too embarassed to ever go to another sports game with me again. Yes, I am a psycho mom. When the pitcher struck out the last player, and the game was over all the boys ran and piled on the pitcher. Kemp was beaming after the game, his smile was from ear to ear.

He isn't very happy to be #1, is he?
The team

Receiving the championship ball

This was the first of the tournament games. Kemp got walked to first and then made it around to home.

Up to bat-Kemp is always nervous when he steps up to the plate because in the first game of the season he got hit right in the mouth by the ball. He was tough about it and excited that he got to go straight to first. He had a really fat upper lip for a couple days.

We have a baby, where?

Here are some pictures of Christian from 7-8 months old. Life must be rolling along at a much faster pace, because this baby boy of ours is growing up over night! I wanted so much to record his growth every month but the summer is getting away from me. Here are some cute new things about our bubby-boy:

1. He has learned how to do some yoga moves-he can do "plank", and "downward dog".
2. He has an impressive vocabulary- ba,da,ma,ya,na.
3. He has cut another tooth on the bottom and almost has his upper right front tooth.
4. He would eat oatmeal with bananas and strawberry yogurt every day for every meal if he could.
5. He loves to be outside on the grass watching the kids play.
6. He is not afraid of splashing and getting all wet at the swimming pool, he put his face under the water and it hardly phased him (his mom freaked out a bit).
7. This past Sunday at church he officially moved two crawling steps across the floor-Yea!