March 2010

Well, this month definitely flew by!!! Thanks to Summer for the reminder e-mail about blogging today!! haha!! The weather is FINALLY nice!! It was in the 70's today...so exciting!! We can actually get outside and play, although, here come the allergies!! At the beginning of March I officially turned the big 3-0!! I don't even feel old, so there! It was a fun day as Aaron had the day off and we took Aja to ballet and Maelee to her 15 month check-up. Later that night we went to a fish fry w/ my parents and bro & sis-in-law and back to our house for cake! Later in the weekend I got to enjoy a nice lunch/dinner at the Melting pot w/ 8 of my "girl" friends! It was sooo yummy!! A week later, Aaron and Aja went to the state bball games in Lincoln while I got to stay back in Omaha w/ a sick Maelee. We attended a little tea party hosted by little Addy & Ellie. Later, Aja then got the flu bug. Just as I thought I was getting better, I also got the flu and that brought back too many not so long ago yucky memories! What else kept us busy?? Aja started soccer practices and her first game was supposed to be the 27th of March, but wet field conditions delayed the start of the season til April 10th. Aaron bowled, we got to the zoo for the first time in forever on a most beautiful day, & we had friends over for dinner one saturday night. We, like always, visited the Y and the library and Aja continues to love school. At the end of the month, last friday actually, we found out that BABY #3 is going to be a BOY!!! We are very excited to say the least!! I have to go back for a follow-up ultrasound in a week, so we are still praying for our little man that everything is a-OK!!! Aja couldn't be more thrilled to be getting a little brother, and Maelee, well, she just doesn't have a clue!! Maelee's vocab has increased a bit with more mama, ba ba (ball), takes (thanks), yeah, and she even has her own little whistle to call sophie! she's just too cute! We are hoping that the nice weather is here to stay!!! more March pics to come...i really can't keep up with everything at the same time (uploading pics from camera to computer in time to blog...geez!...i blame our slow computer, not me!)

February 2010

Moving on to February...still cold outside, tons of snow, and yes, still felt icky from the first trimester! However, this month, i finally started to get some much needed energy back...still getting sick here and there at random times! Oh well, this too shall pass! It seemed like February was filled with a lot of little parties. On one day, Aja had a princess birthday party to attend, followed by a transformer party! The princess party was definitely a milestone for, well, not sure for me or for Aja. When i got to the party, i assumed i was staying, but none of the other moms stayed. They just dropped their child off...i was a little sad that my baby was growing up and going to parties that i wasn't at!! They were all to wear a princess dress...so of course Aja wore that cinderella costume for weeks after the party!! As for the transformer party, she couldn't figure out "why Will would send her a boy invitation when she was a girl?" it was pretty funny! That next day we went to a superbowl party at my brother and sister-in-law's house. And that following tuesday, Aja had a Valentine's party at school that was super cute (i got to help out with)! We had conferences at Aja's school and the teacher showed us a self-portait that aja had drawn...not leaving out...well, let's just say she definitely was aware of my nursing maelee for a year! too funny! Aaron and i got to get away for a bit while his parent's watched the girls one night. The olympics started mid-month and so we had fun watching a lot of that on T.V.!! This month we've had quite a few little playdates with friends and have been getting to our usual spots...library & the y! i feel like i am re-entering the world finally!! With all the snow, we made two big snowmen...correction, one snowman, one snow woman...Frosty and Crosty. Pics will come soon on those... and yes, it's march 2nd and they are still in our front yard...we all have a bet as to when they'll finally melt! I say April 3rd! We made it to the circus at the end of the month and had a blast...i'd never been to the circus before. Oh, and i am apparently a famous cannon lady....Jennifer "the cannon lady" Smith was her name and Aja won't forget that one! Ballet started up again for Aja on friday mornings, so she's been enjoying that too! Maelee has officially been walking since the end of November and really is in full RUN speed now! She's not saying a whole lot, but probably b/c she can't get a word in with Aja around...friends have suggested letting Aja go to grandma and grandpa's for a weekend and see if maelee will just start blabbing on and on! February flew by and i am glad of that one as i am finally starting to see the light of feeling better...yippee!!

January 2010

I guess we should start the year off by announcing, in case you didn't already know, that we are expecting BABY #3 in August. As both Aja and Maelee came 9 days late, i am hesitant to say the due date is August 14th...as i am thinking it may just be Aug. 23...if my math is correct?! We are very excited and also a little nervous that we will soon be outnumbered! IF, and that's a big IF, we find out the gender, it will be March 26th...so we'll keep you posted! Now, that our news has been told, we can now get back to the original title of this entry...January 2010. As my other two "first trimesters" had been complete blurs with A LOT of "getting sick"...this one proved to be just the same...lucky me, I know?! I am now officially in week 16 (march 2) and I am getting better every single day!! Thank goodness for that! When I was pregnant w/ Aja, I was teaching and coaching, so it was very tiring to say the least. When I was pregnant w/ Maelee, I had Aja to keep up with and now...well let's just say Maelee has JUST AS MUCH energy as Aja...so you can imagine it's been just as tiring this time around! So...January, a blur...what did we do besides hang out around the house while i tried to "not" get sick...mind you January was absolutely FREEZING here! The very last day of December, my dear sweet Grandmother passed away. She was 90 years old. It was a long good-bye, but also a sweet one. She was very loved and I am glad to say that she was the very first person I told that we were pregnant! She definitely kept my secret and I know that she is watching out for me and our unborn little one! I love you Grambo! The funeral was at the beginning of January and I held it together pretty well to say the readings at the mass...part of me thinks I held it together because i was feeling so sick with "morning" sickness that I didn't have enough energy to fully cry like I would have...don't get me wrong, i did cry, just felt more numb than anything. I miss you still Grambo and will never forget you! What else in January? Basically, with the weather being sooo cold, we stayed inside most days that Aja didn't have school. We kept busy doing art projects, coloring, reading books and playing dress-up. Aja is now totally into all the princesses, which has been a nice little change from Dorothy Gale of Kansas! We celebrated Grammy's birthday at the end of the month and Aja even got to go to the dentist, which she LOVES! Oh...how could I forget? On Aaron's birthday, which is January 3rd (which everyone seems to forget b/c it comes so quick after all the holidays), baby Sam was born to my best friend Kim and her husband John. He is now 8 weeks old and oh so cute! Happy birthday to Sam AND Aaron!

Been a LONG time...yes, AGAIN!!

So, I am really NOT good about keeping up with our blog, obviously, huh?! Trying to figure out the easiest way to keep up with it? Any suggestions? I thought of just doing 12 entries or so per year....one at the end of each month to update on what we did that month...easy enough, right? well, it is already march and i haven't quite done january or february! already not off to a very good start. that's why i end up writing nothing! however, these are just excuses...i should just start a new entry today...for january...and then another for february...then i'd be all caught up b/c really, i am not due to write march's until the end of the month...(which is when we'll find out boy or girl...so that'll be exciting!) ok, enough of this entry...i better move on to JANUARY and get this blog rolling!! and...i DO appreciate all of my blogger friends that keep up to date entries...i truly am jealous!! i'll do better...i know i said it before, but you guys do motivate me!

daddy dollars!!

Just thought i'd share this image of our new "Daddy Dollars"!! We will be using these to hand out to Aja for being good and eventually, she'll be able to "buy" rewards! had to share! go to festisite.com/money

October of 2008- to July of '09, what did i miss?? Hmmm...the birth of Maelee Christine!! :)

Happy 30th Birthday to Aaron!! It was very low-key w/ a one month old...we were all still trying to get used to balancing 2 kiddos!! We love you Aaron/Daddy!



Feliz Navidad!! From our family to yours 2008!!! Wasn't that a fun picture to try to get for the christmas card?!! :) With a new baby, it sure was a crazy busy holiday season!



INSTANT Sisterly Love!!!



The Birth of Maelee Christime Smith to our family on December 6, 2008 at 11:04 in the morning! 7lbs 1oz/ 20 inches long! She is now 9 months old today and that day seems like yesterday!! Although I can't really imagine how life was without her!! Big Sister Aja is very excited!! Maelee arrived 9 days after her "due date"...same as Aja!!




This was our 3rd annual Halloween Party!! It's becoming quite the event...i LOVE it though!! Aja was an infamous bunny rabbit...from "the christmas story". Her friends showed up as Mario, a ladybug, candy vending machine (which i made and let her borrow), an angel, buzz lightyear, a little penguin and a rockstar! It's always a lot of fun!!



Well, i feel terrible that i missed so much blogging. It was a lifetime ago that Aja had a binky and that was the last entry had posted until july 17th of '09!!! Here were a few highlights....ONE HUGE ONE being the birth of our second daughter...so bare with me as I try to go back and catch up to the present!! So, so, so, so sorry!! This may seem silly to do, but it'll make me feel better about filling that missing gap so that i can move forward!! :)

Oops...August came and went...and i forgot to blog! Here are some August happenings!

Aja's VERY first soccer game!!


Thanks to all the family & friends who made it out to Aja's first game!! So, i actually caught myself saying out loud, "well, she definitely won't be playing defense"...whoops, hope noone heard me! She had FUN and that's the most important part!! I told her all week to LISTEN to her coach and OH, SHE DID!! He told her to go stand over there and well, that's JUST what she did!! her second game she did MUCH better!! it's so fun to just watch and i am so happy that she enjoys it!!


Tiny Town Village with friends!!


Tiny town in a GREAT place for the kiddos to have their own pretend, well, town! Doesn't Maelee look thrilled to be there??!! Ha! They have little houses, fire truck, school bus, choo choo train, dance barn, mazes, splashground, sand boxes and so much more!! Aja loves it and it's not too far away! We went w/ the Reisbig clan and The Giles kids!!





Fun at PE 101 (or 011 as Aja says!)


This is a place that Aja LOVES!! We hadn't been there all summer b/c we just never found an open playtime that fit into our schedule! It's a great place, especially in the wintertime, to run around, lift some weights, bounce on the trampoline, fly down a zipcord, wave a parachute, ride a scooter and just have a blast! Maelee is learning quick the fun places we take "big sister" to are also a lot of fun for her too!!


Aaron is building our family a fence!!


It's the 6th of Sept...and aaron is putting the finishing touches on the fence!! It is sooooo wonderful to be able to let sophie out and not have to worry!! Aja can now run around without trying to explain to her where the "invisible line" is to keep her in!! Maelee will love it too when she starts to walk...which, i believe is right around the corner! Aja walked by 13 months and today maelee is 9 months, but on friday she balanced for 30 whole seconds w/o holding onto anything!! My guess is that she'll be walking by 10 1/2 months! I'll let ya know! we have a bet...aaron says before 10 months! he gets a tv if he wins, i get to paint the living room (although aaron felt the need to buy a tv on friday and came home w/ another one!) oooooh football season! oh, and also, the first couple days of the new fence, sophie LOVED it, but we think the neighbor cat got her one night and now she's afraid to be out there by herself!! boo!


Outdoor fun- made our own FOAM-er-ators!!!


if you ever need a special outdoor project for your kiddos, i got this one from familyfun magazine, but it's so simple! cut the bottom of a water bottle, put a small towel around the bottom w/ a rubberband, get it wet, then dip it into a small container of dishsoap/water and blow the bottle and out comes a giant bubble snake thingy!! super fun!

Aja playing Dorothy ALL MONTH LONG!


uh, we can't get this costume away from her! unless we are GOING somewhere, she pretty much has it on!! sometimes i have to wash it, so we get a break from it then!! oh, and it's become quite the allie for us if we want to make sure aja listens!! the mention of the dorothy costume being put up works wonders!!

1st annual SmithDAY- August 2nd!


so, we decided to create our own annual family holiday and when i say "we", i mean "me"...what a wonderful husband to play along w/ all my "fun" ideas!! :) anyways, for this day, we started by going to brunch at Le Peep, then we headed to the Air & Space Museum to see all the planes!! We took a picnic to a nearby Gretna park later that afternoon and then headed home. The girls were exhausted! Aaron and i grilled steaks later that evening! each year, once the kids are older, they will all take turns planning smithday for that year!! so, august 2nd, we'll be busy from now on! sorry jon and jami that it landed on your anniversary!!


Oklahoma cousins come to visit!


we had so much fun getting to hang out w/ the johnson fam from OK!! too bad we moved away one month before you guys moved there!! what fun w/ all had a Great-Gram's!! hope to see you all soon!

Mother may I re-enter the blog scene???

Ok...it's been a looooooong time since I last posted a blog entry! I mean, a really long time. Have I been away too long to start up again??? I am having my doubts even as I am typing now. I mean, heck, it's 12:15A.M. I probably should be sleeping...no, not probably, I SHOULD be sleeping. Why do I get these ideas so late at night?? Well, i guess my abandoned blog came to my mind once again as I was reading a few blogs that my friends have kept up with and have put me to shame! That's you Summer, Sarah, JoDee & Robyn!!! You guys have done such an amazing job keeping with your blog, that I feel a little intimidated, I have to say! I guess I just have to suck it up and realize that if I really care about keeping a family adventure/story log, i just have to do it and forget about the embarrassment of having an entry so long ago that our first daughter was giving up her binky (which i can't even imagine her using one anymore...that's how long it's been!) Oh...and not to mention that we have another little girl...Maelee, now almost 7 1/2 months!! Yes, Jenni, just suck it up and write! Start fresh!!! Do i dare go back and try to catch up or do i pick up from now, the present time??? Any advice blogger friends?? We'll see what really comes from this first "re-entry" blog entry!! :)

Bye Bye Binky!!!

This is just a little clip of the farewell to the binky. The binky fairy will catch the binky and fix and clean it up and give it to the new baby that will need it very soon! Thanks for sharing your binky Aja! What a big girl you now are!! (JUST KIDDING....I GUESS THE CLIP IS TOO MANY MB)...sorry :( it was really cute though...here's a picture instead!

Happy 1st Birthday Charlotte!! (from Aja)

We wish you a very happy first birthday charlotte!!! hope you have a fun day!

Funny things that Aja has said...

*When asked if she can say I love you: "Yes I can"
*"Mommy do that...all time"
*"Sophie, you driving me crazy"
*"I tooted"
*"My tummy hurts..i have baby in tummy"
*"I'm going to get a big sister soon" (instead of i'm going to BE a big sister)
*"Tag team, back again"
*"I not a little kid, i a big girl"
*"I change my baby, she poopie"
*"No, don't do that honey bunny"
*"Hook 'em horns"
*"Mommy, you go to your dr. pointment now"
*"I need dr. pointment"
*"Mommy, garbage man in my room"
*"Grammy give me candy...all time"
*"Here you go baby sophers"
*"Yessss"
*"Pinch a baby cow"
*"Pinch a lawnmower"
*"Dis my wheelchair"
*"Yippy Skippy"
*"I love baby"
*"Go Huskers"
*"Boomer Sooner"
*"Daddy's a man"
*"I'm married"
*Who's your husband? "Aunt Jami"
*Who's your favorite uncle? "Aunt Jami"

Writer's block or laziness??

Well, every once in a while I check back on our family blog and realize that I haven't written anything in quite sometime. I read the previous post and then I exit out. Is it laziness? Do I really not have anything to say? Are we that boring that I can't think of any adventures we've had that are worth sharing?? Am i too tired b/c I am now 31 weeks pregnant?? I can't figure it out...but today is the day that i start to catch up. I just have to tell myself that it'll be fun to look back at this blog one day to see the funny things that have occurred in our lives since Aja joined us 27 months ago! So...now the hard part...trying to go back a little and remember something that is worth blogging about! Wish me luck!

Our little Flower Girl...SUCCESS!!

So, months before my brother's wedding, Aaron and I started practicing with Aja exactly what she was to do on August 2nd...walk down the aisle of Jon and Jami's wedding! At first we'd say "Ready, set, Walk" and Aja would take off running down the hallway, completely forgetting to toss any flowers onto the ground. After more practice, and putting tape on the ground for a straight line to follow, we'd say "ready, set, march"(march seemed to work better than walk). She was getting it a little better. Days before, still practicing, we thought she finally mastered what she was supposed to do! Friday evening, at the rehearsal, she wanted her "mama" to be at the back of the church with her, but I really thought it'd be best for me to be at the front so that she could see me to walk towards. So, i quickly ran to my spot so she'd focus on me and she did an excellent job! The priest continued with what was to go on during the ceremony and realized at that point that i'd also be reading the scriptures. "Oh, you have two BIG roles, mother of the flower girl AND reader," he exclaimed. Whoah, did that make me feel the pressure of Aja's role!! My only hope and prayer was that she'd make it down the aisle without screaming or crying or running! Saturday, the morning of the wedding, i fixed her hair up and we got her to the church! It was only 11 and the wedding wasn't until 2 (how was my little 2 yr. old going to handle this day??). The best thing was that she had time to run around and wear herself out a bit...she has SOOO much energy! Her dress was absolutely amazing on her and her little personality shined through! I am super excited for the pictures to be developed b/c she did such a great job with the photographer! Moments before the actual walk down the aisle, she was calm and collective for a 2 yr old and stayed at the back with her daddy. I ran up front to get into my position. My heart was pounding...how oh how will she do?? This could be wonderful or it could be a complete disaster! There she was, my little girl, starting her walk. Her eyes found me and she walked slowly and stopped to throw some flowers, walked a few steps more, threw more flowers, and continued right up to where i was sitting!!! SUCCESS!!! She DID it!! I was so proud!! I was amazed, i was shocked, i was happy and i was so thankful!! Now, during the ceremony, she only talked a little bit during the service, with random words such as: "bubbles", "Lord", "Amen", "Gummiworms", "Mommy up there talking" (during my readings), and "tag team back again" (which thankfully I think only Aaron and I could understand!). So, as the bride and groom made their walk back up the aisle as a married couple, Aja hopped out of the aisle to join behind them!! It went so much better than I could have ever imagined! Our little flower girl finally conked out in the car on the way to our house before the reception. It was a much needed nap that was well deserved! Soon enough, we headed out to the reception and she literally danced the night away!! We are so proud of you Aja!! :)
Love, Mommy & Daddy! :) Thanks for making Jon and Jami's day special!
(the above picture was taken weeks before the wedding as a practice...actual wedding day photos to follow soon!)

M.I.A.

those of you wondering why i haven't posted in FOREVER...well, morning-day-night sickness takes a whole lot of energy from a person...plus, chasing after an almost 2 year old, takes whatever ounce of energy i might have and then there isn't any left to write! so, now that i am starting to feel lots better, maybe i'll start blogging again! stay tuned...

Our almost 21 month old!!

Hi there! I have realized that it's been quite awhile since I last blogged. February flew by and it seems as though March is almost over as well! Spring...please get here already! Aja and i are ready to be outside! So, what's new with our little Punky Pie? She is definitely a go, go, go type of kid that crashes only for her nap and bedtime, other than that, she's on the move! Swim lessons at the Y have been something that she loves! She's talking soooo much more these days! Here are just some of her recent words in the past two months: Mimi (barney), Aja, dip, boat, chip, mamal (marshmallow), soc (soccer), fart, back, juice, raisies (raisins), mess, meds, ta-to, mac, don't, go-go-go, sauce, chick, george, bit, book, OD, Addy, Li, owl, Unc, zoo, hoot, sick, sneeze, tummy, sissy, grandma, papa, grammy, scuse me, 1-10 (she skips 7, 8), finishes most common nursery rhymes, purse, robe, daddy, sophie, op (open). She'll be 21 months on the 27th! She still loves Barney, playing outside, reading books, eating candy, riding bikes and going to the zoo and library! Her hair is getting longer and she is getting a lot taller! She makes us laugh with all the new words she is putting together. We definitely need to watch what we say around her now!! :)

Slideshow of Random Pics

21 minutes faster...a P.R.!!!!

What an amazing run I had on Sunday. By amazing I mean: fun, great weather, felt great....just a nice "go out and have a fun run" kind of morning!! So, I've officially competed in two 1/2 marathons (OKC and PHX)...does that equal a full marathon??? My first 1/2 marathon was about 2 1/2 years ago...pre-Aja...I really thought I was in better shape then, but my recent 1/2 proved that I may have trained a little better this time around! That makes all of the runs I had to get done either early in the morning, late at night or during the middle of the day (mostly when Aja was sleepling!) all worth it!! My OKC time was 2 hrs 35 minutes, but Sunday in Phoenix, I ran across the finish at 2 hrs 14 minutes...knocking off 21 minutes!!! Maybe I am not getting as old as I thought! Am I sore today? What do you think? YES!!!! My quads, knees, hamstrings, calves, back...all that fun stuff that follows running 13.1 miles! You have a lot of time to think while running, so here are some things that kept me motivated along the way: seeing a little boy hold a sign that said: "my daddy's my superhero"...I pretended it was Aja holding that sign for me, but with the word mommy, obviously, instead; the spectacular view of mts. and palm trees that i never get to normally see when i go for a run; a billboard that showed Curious George and him saying read to your child 15 minutes a day (this made me feel good that i was also accomplishing that with Aja); planes arriving and departing in the air made me run harder knowing that I would be on a plane the very next morning on my way back to my family!; after tearing off my gloves, an occasional touch to my wedding ring reminded me of Aaron and how i wished he was there to see me; a little dog that looked just like Sophie made me run a little faster as well; another runner who was also wearing pig tails (i tried so hard to stay with her...but i think she eventually got ahead); the 3 small hills that this course offered...i was passing guys my age and that made me very pumped!; also, regarding the hills....(going up) that was a strong point i had in hs cc...so i kept telling myself to pass people on your way up...as many as possible!; a girl w/ a bearcat shirt on and a girl with OMAHA on the back of her shirt (both motivated me!); a necklace that i had forgotten to take off before the race (one from my best friend), made me run faster b/c she's a runner herself; and last, but not least, my little bag of gummy bears came in handy on mile 10!!! I finished, felt incredible and was ready to eat lots and lots of food!!! To finish off a great trip, Aja met me at the airport by running down the airport ramp with her arms stretched out before her!!! It was the longest time I'd ever been away from her...but I think it was good for both of us!

Sledding Video

I promised a sledding video!! We have a little daredevil on our hands!! She loves sledding and even goes all by herself!! Check out this video from yesterday!

Wrapping up the Holiday Season!

What a month December is! From decorating the house in Christmas cheer, to Christmas parties, to gingerbread houses, to cookies, to shopping for and then wrapping the gifts, to eating way too much food, to the magic of Santa Claus, to snow and making snow angels, to wine and cheese, to shouting happy new year....it's been quite a month!! How fun it has been to share so much time with family and friends! Here are a few pics from the crazy, yet wonderful month of December! It's been so crazy, i've yet to make my new year's resolutions! Have a wonderful 2008!

Unfortunately, it can happen ANYWHERE

I don't have too many words to say about the Westroads mall tragedy. My parents live about 4 blocks from there, I grew up right in that neighborhood, the church Aaron and I got married in is also about 4 blocks away, I worked at the JCPenney store in the same mall, my best friend in 5th grade, Jackie, and I would walk to the mall every Wednesday after school, and I had regular running routes around that area. It is a terrible tragedy. I am shocked. I am saddened. I feel for all of the families and friends of the victims. Why did it have to end that way for those people? God Bless them and their families in this difficult time. It really can happen anywhere!