Its a BOY!

On the night of May 7th, while at a family BBQ, my water broke! It was 7:12pm. I mention that only, because in less then two hours, I would be holding my new baby. Bryce and I arrived at the hospital at 8pm. ( Thank you to Aunt Dorie who took Parker and Brylee for us.) I was already contracting every 2-3 minutes, and they hurt! The smile in this picture is deceiving. At 8:15pm, we still had no nurse, and I was really hurting, so Bryce went and asked someone to come in and check me... I was a 7! I then had 3 nurses, and things got all crazy.

They paged my doctor, and the anesthesiologist. The anesthesiologist came right away. (Bless him) However, I was so close to delivery that he warned that my epidural would not be very effective... he was right... dang it! I was able to relax a little, but then the baby started having some problems. My contractions were so hard and fast, that he would drop his heart rate. Though our nurse was doing her best to keep a calm voice and act like nothing was wrong, I recognized her panic. Heck, I'm a nurse too, I do the same thing when my patient is acting naughty. Then, came the O2... it did not help the baby much, the heart rate continued to drop, and got as low as 30. ( Scary huh) It is now 8:45ish... still no doctor, and so they page for the resident, and the NICU staff... and now I am starting to panic.
I will spare you all the delivery pics... He made it safe and sound. My doctor walked in at about 8:50ish, and I was a 10. We started pushing. It was a little rough for me, because I could feel a lot of it. But, I was so worried about his heart rate, I refused anymore medication, and did my best to push him on out. And no, I will never be an advocate for natural child birth! :) Easton David Smith entered the world at 9:15pm. He was 7 pounds and 10 ounces, and 21 inches long. Unlike my other children, he came out screaming, letting us all know how upset he was about this whole thing.

He was perfect. It was a little surreal to hold him for the first time. I had been whining for weeks about wanting him here, and now I was holding him. The nurse let me know that I was on the TOCO monitor for a whole whopping 58 minutes. This delivery was a little fast...even for me.

Parker was thrilled to have a new little brother. It was what he wanted all along. Brylee heard him cry outside my door, and seemed to know from then that her baby was here now, and no longer in mom's tummy. She loves him, but to her his name is "Baby" Now the fun starts as I see how it goes balancing 3!

Guess Who is 18 Months...

It is hard to believe that Bry- Bry is already 18 months. It has gone by sooooo fast! She is such a happy kid, and we love her so much. Here she is, already thinking that she needs a cell phone.

Her favorite people to call, are grandma, Aubrey (her cousin) and Nenni, (her aunt).
She is still a blondy with her bright blue eyes. At her 18 month check -up she weighed 22 lbs and was 31 inches long. She is a little on the slender side, and so the Doctor asked if she was a picky eater... Bryce and I both had to laugh, because for those of you who know Bry, she will eat anything, and anytime of the day. She is just an active little thing.
So, at 18 months, are little princess has truly become one. She loves her"cute shoes" and when her hair is all curly. She loves playing with her kitchen, and is often found pushing her babies around in their strollers. She is a little on the independent side, ok thats a lie, she is alot on the independent side. She wants to do everything herself, especially if Parker gets to do it by himself. She is also quite the talker. I figure she is using 40-50 words regularly. ( Our pediatrician was hoping she said 15.... I think she used 15 in front of him. :) Of course her favorite is "NO." And a close second would be "Naack" Which of course is "snack" and is always said at a higher pitch and volume. She loves to sing, with her favorite songs being "Twinkle, twinkle, little star" and "Popcorn popping on the apricot tree." She is also showing some intrest in potty training... do we dare hope she will be that easy????? After our Parker expirence, we are in no hurry... She is a smart little thing, and we have our hands full. Yet, we can't imagine our lives without her... love you Bry!

Smith Family Update

Since I have been slacking, and have not blogged in about 4 months, I will catch you up. First, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Our 2010 has been non-stop. In January, Landon turned 16. Yes, we have two teen drivers in the house... But, between you and me, he makes me way less nervous then Kaylie... even today. :) Also, in January Bryce and I were able to escape to Cancun for a week. It was a fun and very relaxing vacation. I really needed it. Thank you to the Harvey Family for making it possible, and being such fun travel companions. February flew by with sick kids... Bry having it the worst, getting, pneumonia, RSV, and two ear infections. And may I just mention that Augmentin, an antibiotic, should be removed from the market. Nasty stuff. Even my Bry, who eats anything, spit it out. ( Thank you to Mandy and Jami for the Hershey syrup idea... it got me through those last few days.) Thank heaven for the olympics... at least I had something to watch while we were home bound. And here is March... and its half over.... along with all this craziness, I am working full time, and Bryce is playing stay at home Dad, as well as building some houses. Kaylie is preparing for Graduation, and has been accepted to Dixie State College, in St. George. Landon, turned 16, has had his first date, and asked a girl to Prom. More on this to come. Parker attends Pre-school three days a week... and might I scream from the roof tops is finally potty trined! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! He has been doing the peeing thing for almost a year... but we just got him to poop on the potty. Its been two plus weeks and I have not had to change a poopy pull-up. Its been paradise. For those of you who know my family better, my little bro, Jeff is getting married in two weeks. So, things have been nuts in preparing for that. And to top it all off... I am 31 weeks pregnant. The baby will be here in May. ( I am sorry to those who are just finding this out... I have not said a lot about it.) The baby's gender is a surprise, so cast your vote... Boy or Girl. We are excited to find out. Despite our crazy life, we know we are blessed and feel support and love from all of you. We hope all is well with you and your families, and I am commiting to being better at updating my blog. Thanks for checking in on us. :)

Our Whirlwind October...

Wow! I can not believe that the holidays are here. Where did Fall go? Our lives have been pretty crazy since school started again. In September I began a new job. I moved out to the Same Day Surgery Department at the new IHC Riverton hospital. It is still Primary Children's... just a little closer to home. My commute is now only 20-25 minutes, verses the hour plus it took me to get to the SLC Primary's Hospital. There are no words to describe opening a new hospital. It was a lot of work and a lot of hours. I am so grateful to Bryce and the kids for being so patient with me during this transition. The new hospital opened on November 2nd, and everything has gone smoothly. It has been a nice change. So, with all this work, of course we took some time to play. So, for two weeks in October, we went on a cruise, and then played for a week in Disney World. I listed some highlights below. We had a wonderful time! You are all welcome to join us next time!

Our Cruising Party! Dinner the night before we got on the ship. There was 19 of us all together. My family of 6, both of my parents. ( yes, they are still divorced. weird I know.) My two sisters, and brother. My brother-in-law, and sweet niece. My bro-in-law's parents, my aunt and uncle, and my grandparents! We had a blast!

Setting Sail... my kiddos were hoping to see some dolphins. We were out of luck.

Our Ship. Royal Carribean's Freedom of the Seas. It was massive. It also had a little of everything. Ice skating, rock climbing, and even a wave rider.

Our first stop, Labadee, Haiti. It is Royal Carribean's "private" island. It is actually a compound, protected from main Haiti, but we loved it. There was so much to do, and the water was warm. The ship also brought lunch to the island, which was nice. I think this is the day that Parker fell in love with the beach. He asked to go to the beach everyday after his visit here.

One of the Formal Nights. Our family enjoys getting dressed up, well maybe with the exception of Landon. :) Our favorite memory of this night was the family dance in one of the clubs. The kids had a blast dancing and playing with balloons that they dropped.

Jamaica baby! The kids stopped to take a picture with one of the locals and his donkey, Dolly.

Climbing Dunn River Falls! What a once in a lifetime experience. I bet you are thinking you can't do it huh... well look close at the pic. My 3 year old, and my 78 year old grandma did it! Ok, they did half of it, but they were troopers. Way to go Grandma! You rock!

The Fam, posing in the Falls. It was such a fun day!

Grand Caymen. Part of the group posing in front of "Hell", Grand Caymen. The other half went swimming with the stingrays. Hell is an awful looking rock formation.

The turtle farm in Grand Caymen. Parker got a kick out of holding the turtles. Oh, and he did not want anyones help.

Bry- Bry petting a turtle that was bigger then her.

Cozumel, Mexico. Kaylie and Parker swimming with the Dolphins. Only bummer, this is as close as they would let me get. But, they had a wonderful time.

We spent the day at a national park. We had awesome snorkeling, the beach, swimming with the dolphins, and a pool. There was also gardens, and ruins to look at. We all found something to do, and had a wonderful time.

Our last night... it is always emotional for me. Here is our waiter staff. They were so good with Parker and Brylee, who did not enjoy 5 course meals.

Our last night. I will not miss the cramped space. I am standing at the door. What you see, is what you get. :)

Disney World! Kaylie and Landon flew home to return to school, so it was just Bryce, I and the two little ones. Some of my family stayed too. And my brother's fiance flew out to join us. We started at Epcot. Needless to say, it was the kiddos least favorite. But, they have some awesome character signing opportunities.

We attended the "Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party." It was well worth it. Brylee and Parker got a ton of candy, plus they have characters out that you never see. For example, we saw the characters from Tarzan. The kids are encouraged to dress up. This year Parker was buzz lightyear. Could not resist this photo op.

Sea World. Bryce and Parker riding the whales.

She is so my daughter... sharing a Carmel apple.

Our classic Mickey Mouse picture. Would it be a trip to Disney World without it?

This is one of my favorites... and trust me, there are a lot. We saw any character we could. Parker got more joy form seeing the characters then doing anything else. I bet 4-5 hours out of our days were spent in character lines. No kidding! Parker flexing his muscles with the Incredibles.

Another favorite... the Cars! After this picture was taken, Parker stood alone for one. Just then, Lightning McQueen reved his engine. It was loud. Parker must have jumped a foot, and immediately burst into tears. It was so sad, and funny at the same time. I think the 40 or so people in line got a kick out of it too.

One of our favorite rides of the week. The toy story ride. Parker is cruising around with Grandma.

I think this was the kids favorite park. Disney's Animal Kingdom. Posing with Minnie.

Our last day, last night, we closed the trip with the classic, Disney Electrical Parade.

We got home just in time for Halloween. This year, Brylee was a ladybug. Parker was Buzz Lightyear. And not pictured is Landon. He went as a "Real man" He wore a mustache, and chest hair. :)

This is the first year Parker and Brylee went real trick or treating. The past two years we have been spoiled my neighborhood trunk or treats. It did not take them long to figure it out though. However, being 1 and 3, I think we made it two blocks and they were done.

My two little skeletons! I will not be able to match them for long... so I am taking advantage now.

Kaylie's September

Kaylie is having a ball this fall.... ( ha ha) She has been to two Homecoming dances. One to Lone Peak and the other to Pleasant Grove. Her date for PG's Homecoming, Nick, is pictured with her below. ( sorry I could not get the underline to go away. )

Bryce, Parker, and Brylee, watching Kaylie's Powder Puff game.

Powder Puff... for those who do not know, its when girls play football. It is meant to be flag football, but these girls did not get the memo. If you think football without pads would be fun to watch... you should check this out. :) Bloody.

Smiling...despite being ripped off by the refs... go Lone Peak!

Brylee's 1st Birthday Party!

Bryce and I wanted to make a tradition of having a big 1st Birthday party. For Brylee, we did the same as Parker, and rented a swimming facility. She had a big Luau Party. It was so much fun. Thank you to all of you who came to support and give her love on this day. We are so blessed to ahve family and friends who love us so much.

Brylee all decked out for her Luau!
Soaking in the pool with Dad.

Back when Brylee was born, I had 3 friends who also had babies within about two weeks. Here are those crazy 4, all at about age 1!

Brylee, taking her first bite of birthday cake...

Brylee, 5 minutes after taking first bite of birthday cake. She was not shy.

Our Sweet Princess Turns 1!

Can you believe it???? I can't. Seems just like yesterday that I brought her home, and wondered how in the heck, am I going to do this two kid thing???? And now one very short year later, she is my walking, talking, big girl. It almost is unfair how quick it goes. We love you so much Brylee, and are so happy to be parents to you! You are our Princess!
Enjoying her new playhouse. She is thinking that birthdays are the greatest!

So, she loves, I mean loves, to talk on the phone. Here she is getting one more birthday wish. I think that "hi" was one of her first words.

So, after much thought on what she might enjoy for her 1st Birthday, we decided on the State Fair. It was a good choice. She has a blast. Here she is riding the ponies. We had people stopping to watch her because she was having such a great time.

She was not sure if she liked the big slide or not. However, being the torturous parents we are, we had her ride it 3 more times.

Bre and Tom's Wedding

So, back in August, my cute niece married her sweetheart, Tom. I know its really weird... I have a niece who is just a few years younger then me. However, they are adorable, and we loved spending the day with them. Congrats you guys! We love you!

Our family... I did my best to color coordinate for the Wedding pictures. Bryce and I were in green, Kaylie and Landon in yellow, and the babes in red. I thought it looked great. Parker thought he was hot stuff in his new suit. :)