New Discovery: Dirt + Water = Mud

          Shane and Makenzie love playing in the dirt. A couple of weeks ago we had a friend over. He is a couple of years older than Shane and very knowledgeable in the art of making mud. While they were playing outside he asked me if I could fill up our watering can. It didn't even occur to me that he might pour the water in the digging hole (oh how naive I am). Of course he did. I wasn't upset about this; however, I was a little wary of the clean-up. 

          Shane and Makenzie LOVED it!! Almost every day now they ask if I'll fill up the watering can so they can make some mud. Well on this particular day they (really only Makenzie) were the muddiest I'd seen them yet. I'm pretty sure Makenzie bathed in the mud puddle (up to her waist anyway).

Eh, that is what bathtubs are for right? Besides it gave me a whole hour or two of quiet. Bliss, am I right mothers? Yeah.

Elephants on Parade

          When the circus comes to town the elephants and horses are brought in on a train. Then they are walked up the street from the train to the arena. The kids and I met up with some friends to watch.

          Makenzie wasn't as interested as I thought she'd be, but Shane really enjoyed it. I think he enjoyed having friends with us even more. Shane might not be a super outgoing kid, but he LOVES having friends around (a lot like his momma). 

          We played at the near by park before and after. Makenzie was just being a charmer for anyone who'd notice her (very hard to catch on camera). This is pretty strange behavior for Makenzie because she normally starts crying if a stranger even looks at her. When it comes down to it though, she is cute and she KNOWS it.

My House is a Zoo

No really...

Merry Maids

I was cleaning my bathroom during naptime. I didn't get finished before the kids woke up. Apparently, this was a very sought after job and the kids decided to take over.

I probably shouldn't hire them out, but they are very thorough, especially with window cleaner ;)

(Disclaimer: I would NEVER subject my children to unlawful or unsafe working practices.)

Family Night

This is what family night looks like at our house. 

Don't you wish you were here? ;) 

Buddies

This is our little friend O. He lives on our street. We love him (and his parents)! He is a bit younger then Shane and Makenzie, but they don't care one bit. Makenzie and Shane are always telling me they love him and miss him when he leaves. Fortunately, he comes over pretty often.

Spring Break

You know, something about studying for long hours in a dark basement and being trapped inside with whinny kids makes you want to get out of the house. So for Spring break we got out of the house!! Sometimes Adam and I can be a lot of talk and no action when it comes to family trips/outings, but Adam was totally gun-oh this time and really helped get us all out the door. Thank you Adam!! 

Our stops where the John Johnson Farm, Historic Kirtland, Ohio, Niagra Falls, Palmyra New York (Hill Cumorah, Smith Farm, BoM Publication Site), & Fayette NY. Kind of a whirlwind trip that wasn't exactly child friendly all the time, but it was so much fun! As awesome as all the places were that we went, the highlight was having Adam 24/7 for three days! It was so nice to have a husband again ;)

Did I mention the weather was amazing?!! It was March, but we had sunny skies and 70-75degree weather.  We were also the only ones there at every site (apparently it is normally cold and snowy in March), so when Makenzie would throw a fit or run around with her 'head cut off' we didn't have to worry about it too much.

The kids' favorite was Niagra falls - less restrictions :)
My favorite was probably the Hill Cumorah (Come on! I was standing in the same place as Joseph Smith AND Captain Moroni, that is pretty cool!)
Not sure if Adam had a favorite. He doesn't tend to have a favorite of anything. He just likes everything. 

Cheeseball

Don't ever ask this girl to "smile" or say "cheese" for the camera. The result is not pretty ;)

 This is kind of a typical afternoon at our house. Shane still in pajamas. (Mom still in pajamas, shhh!) Makenzie well... she wears (or doesn't wear) what she wants :)

An little update:
My ambitious attempt at potty training Makenzie was a big FAIL. However, switching her to a toddler bed seems to be permanent, not entirely to my liking though. The first few days she was an angel, never getting out of bed, falling asleep fast. She's not such an angel anymore. BOTH kids try every excuse in the book almost every night. I try so hard to be consistent, but it isn't sinking in yet. I might have to pull out some ropes and just tie them down ;) It's pretty funny though when she falls out of her bed at night and starts sleep walking, then mumbling to me as I put her back in bed.

Makenzie is becoming a little bit of a chatter box. Her language skills FAR exceed Shane's at this age, who didn't say one single word until after his 2nd birthday. It can be a bit annoying sometimes when she repeats "look at me" a billion times over, but when she sings songs with us at bedtime or breaks out a solo of twinkle twinkle little star it sorta, kinda makes me melt :) By far her favorite song right now is "the spider man song" known to the rest of the world as "The Itsy Bitsy Spider". That one will almost always calm her down.

Makenzie is the biggest copycat in the world. Everything Shane does, says, eats or wears Makenzie wants to try too. Which also leads to her wanting to do just about everything on her own. It's awesome when it comes to brushing teeth and getting dressed, but not so awesome when you're running late and she demands to buckle herself, which she's not physically capable of yet.

Her favorite activities are washing hands, washing dishes, "cleaning" with a wash cloth and playing outside. I imagine washing something while outside would be a little bit of heaven for her.

Makenzie is a tough kid sometimes compared to Shane. Shane whines and complains like nothing else when he is cold, or dirty in anyway. He doesn't like eating certain types of cookies simply because they get his hands dirty. Don't you dare suggest he lick food off his fingers, oh no. Makenzie couldn't care less. She'll lick her fingers, the table, her bib; a little food, dirt, whatever never hurt her. Also she'll go outside on a rather chilly day with no shoes or socks and short sleeves and be perfectly content while Shane is sporting snow boots, a winter coat, a hat and mittens. He'll still come in after awhile saying he's all done because it is too cold. Makenzie will come in later with absolutely frozen toes and fingers and get upset because I won't let her go back out.

Makenize is tiny. Below 25% for both height and weight. I get a kick out of her every time she sticks out her tummy and says in her best deep man voice, "look mom, big tummy!"

This girl is one of a kind. 

P.S. I'll be accepting applications for her arranged marriage next month ;)

Girls: The Picture!

Remember this post? Here is the picture Shane found in the National Geographic Magazine:

"I found girls mom." - Shane

Wedding Bells

           The youngest member of the Smith family is finally married! Adam's little sister got hitched in February and we packed up and headed to Utah to be part of the fun. And it was TONS of fun! (Minus the whole Makenzie throwing a royal tantrum bit :) We stayed with Adam's sister for a day and it was so good to see her and her kids again. Shane warmed up to everyone pretty quickly compared to in the past, but Makenzie wanted nothing to do with anyone or anything. If anyone even looked at her for too long, she erupted into tears. I promise this is not how she is at home! 

            We picked up Adam from the airport a day later and headed to temple square as a family. It was so nice going to temple square just the four of us. We focused on just being together and had no where to be. It was perfect! Shane was beside himself with excitement. "I Love to See the Temple" has been one of his favorite and most requested songs for a LONG time. We had even been talking to him for weeks about how Garnet was getting married in the temple and he just thought it was the coolest thing in the world. 

           Garnet was such a beautiful bride! Even though we are family and stuff, I felt really privileged to be at the ceremony in the temple. It was a very special experience. For the first time ever, Adam's parents had ALL of their children in the temple together. I am not normally much of a crier. Happiness is not something I cry about, but I definitely got a little choked up. (No I wasn't sobbing into a tissue or anything, good thing though because Adam's family wiped out the WHOLE tissue box ;) It was an experience I won't soon forget. President Uchtdorf was the sealer. He has become good friends with Adam's parents over the last several years through a mutual friend. This was only the second time I had seen President Uchtdorf in person, but it is quite the experience to see your family clasp hands and give hugs to an apostle of the Lord, not just in brotherhood, but in true friendship. It makes the men who lead the church much more real and not just pictures you see on the TV screen during General Conference.

            The reception started out rough for our little family. Not only did we get there an hour late due to the worst traffic I've ever seen, but Makenzie was beside herself with fury over EVERYTHING. I hope I didn't spoil the moods of anyone else there because Makenzie was ripping my sanity apart! Thank goodness for Uncle Robert and some seriously fabulous desserts that saved me!! Eventually Makenzie got so hyped up on sugar that she just took off wandering around the reception completely oblivious, and I was able to regain at some of my composure. Shane was in heaven following Faith around. Faith is by far his favorite cousin! Half the time I didn't know where he was, but he was ALWAYS with Faith. I decided not to worry about where he was, eh. He was having the time of his life. (After pulling myself together) the reception was so lovely!

              After all the wedding festivities we got to spend a day with some of Adam's family that we had yet to spend much time with. The kids got proper naps and since everything was low key, Makenzie FINALLY started showing people how sweet and lovable she can be (have mercy). After the kids went to bed we played games all night. I can't remember the name of the game, but I remember having to do a lot of dancing, charades and holding cold, sweaty hands ;) It was a super fun night! Adam told me we would leave no later than 9pm to go to my sister's house, but we were having so much fun, neither of us could stand up and say it was time to go. 

              We did eventually make it to my sister's house. My parents drove in from Oregon to see us. Thanks mom and dad! Adam headed back for school a day later, but the kids and I got to hang out with my family for a few days. It was so much fun! 

              There's a little drainage ditch near my sister's back yard that the kids went sledding on one day when it snowed. They loved it! And that is probably an understatement. It was Makenzie's first time sledding and Shane's second, but he doesn't remember the last time. I didn't have to do anything either. They hiked their sleds up and slid down and I got to watch and just glory in the pure joy my kids were experiencing. Best part of my day!! It made me bummed that our winter was so warm, and we never got a chance to break out our own sleds at home. 

            Although I was very worried about it, I did actually survive the flight home with the kids. It was definitely a close call though after our flight was delayed for almost 2 hours and then we sat for almost another 2hours on the plane waiting to take off, getting home MUCH LATER than I had planned. All of our recuperating we'd done at my sister's house flew out the window. Thank you for a sweet husband and warm beds waiting for us at home!

Girls

I'll start by giving a little background. Shane likes milk. Shane drinks LOTS of milk. Shane gets constipated from milk. Shane sits on toilet for 30min "trying" to relieve his constipation. Shane likes to read magazines on the toilet just like Dad :)

Today Shane was sitting on the toilet. He wanted me to stay with him, so I grab my National Geographic magazine and try to get comfy (ha!) on the bathroom floor. Shane asks me to read it to him. After awhile of no "action" on Shane's part I hand over the magazine and tell him I'm going to go help Makenzie.

I clean Makenzie up from lunch, read her some stories, sing some songs and put her to bed all while Shane is reading National Geographic on the toilet. When I come back I suggest he tries again later; he agrees. I agree to let him take the Makenzie to bed with him for quiet time. I even offered to let him pick out a different one (the issue he was holding was about blood diamonds). This was his response to my offer, "No, I found girls." 

What?! I was so confused. First, by what on earth that meant he saw in National Geographic. Second, by his interest in a picture of girls. (I could've sworn interest in girls wasn't supposed to hit till puberty.) Shane tells me he'll show me a picture. So we skim the pages for these girls he found. Near the end of the magazine I find a picture of three girls about the age of 5-6, dressed as if they belong on the show "Toddlers and Tiaras" with up-dos, heavy make-up and sparkly dresses. Shane confirms to me that those are the girls he found. Then he asks me what their names are. He seems to be quite captivated and curious about these girls. Maybe because they are his age, maybe because they are dressed funny compared to most girls he sees, who knows. I told him i didn't know their names. Then he started making suggestions using names from girls at church. I left him in his bed staring at the girls he found. :) Silly kid.

Update: This is the picture:

As I was loading this picture Shane tells me "They look silly." 

Interesting, that is not what he told me last time  ;)

4 Months of Pictures & a Resolution

Where have the last 4 months gone?! I really have no idea, because when I look back we didn't do that much :) Somehow we got caught up in the day to day. Well, here are some pictures of the last 4 months to say good-bye to 2011. 

The blog posts have been sparse this last year (it's been a tough year), but it's a new year right? I'm geared up for a bright, new year! This year I'm committing to living more in the moment, to make each moment beautiful. I know not many people read this blog, but those who do can look forward to a lot more posts this year! (You can support me by leaving a comment ;) ) 

Happy 2012!

September:

Adam started business school (He's doing an MD/MBA)

October:

Makenzie's first real Halloween! - She had a blast at the trunk or treat! Totally picked up what was happening and loved it! She couldn't say trick or treat, but she did say please, thank you and more :)

-Remember last Halloween? Well Shane wasn't crying this time.  He graciously escorted Makenzie around the parking lot for the trunk or treat and was so excited to go trick or treating with dad a few days later. He was talking about Halloween for weeks after.  He was technically a dragon, but everyone thought he was the cutest dinosaur around ;)

Pictures: Our pumpkins (Shane and I did the Jack Skellington one); Makenzie's cheese for the camera and showing off her pretzel eating skills; Shane freaking out about getting his hands messy; Shane the dragon and Makenzie the princess (Shane wanted Makenzie to be a princess so he could capture her.)

November:

Shane started a 1x/week preschool class and LOVED it. 

Mom loved it too because it helped him decide he could go potty all by himself :) He can't wait to go back

Thanksgiving on our own - 

Adam smoked us a yummy Turkey!

Pictures: Kids with a smoothie mustache (the kids love mustaches from any liquid); Shane pretending to be Walle the Robot; the kids love wearing their swim goggles.

December:

Makenzie started Nursery at Church!

 Adam had almost a whole month off from School! 

-He worked A LOT, but played with us too.

Christmas Here in Ohio:

It was a pretty low key holiday, but fun. Shane loved the lights on all the houses. Shane and Makenzie both loved the Christmas tree and were sad when it was taken down. I made my very first pumpkin pie.