making memories... and a mess

It's not often when all four of us Smith kids are able to coordinate our schedules to get together, but every now and then our worlds align and Jayme gets a mega-dose of aunties and uncle attention. Last weekend I had a long over-due lunch with my childhood girlfriend and only planned to be gone an hour, so Bebba or Taycie had planned to watch the Nugget for a bit. Lunch was a much needed and wonderful catchup session crammed into an hour. When we pulled back into the driveway, the clean pig-tailed, princess I left behind with both sisters greeted me with open arms, her uncle Alex (an unexpected surprise) and a full body of warpaint! Turns out that she wanted to help her Aunt Taycie paint her dresser, and rather than keep telling Nugget "No"... the aunties improvised with a box of paint and a canvas just for Jayme to experience painting "a la aunties free-spirit style"

(from top left) "well this is fun!"- "uh oh. Bebba..."- "hmmmmm what else should I paint???"- "I know! my nose!"- "May as well cover my belly while I'm at it..."- "annnnnnd Taycie needs a little warpaint"- "back to work before mommy gets back"- "Look Mommy!!! Hugggg????"

too much silliness in one hour (memories that will last a lifetime)

Annnnnd because I'm such an awesome mom... I left this sugared up mess with the aunties and uncle  (and grampa) on her first official Grampa's house overnight!

 Meanwhile... Ryan and I took care of business... it was a bittersweet afternoon as we unloaded the truck in lieu of becoming a single car family, but our hopes for a first house outweigh the need to have an expensive vehicle (that we no longer need thanks to prayers answered and a career with Edison- complete with work truck!) Doing the math in our heads we figure we will save roughly $700-$800/month for this sacrifice! To counterbalance the initial sadness of departing with the truck that in two short years contributed to many memories (road trips, camping, work, and more) we decided to take in some In n' Out (doesn't that make anyone feel better?!) and The Campaign before a late night of couch potato sitting and mind-numbing Olympic watching (side note- isn't it ironic that these hundreds of athletes spend their lives training to be the best in their sport and the most fit, only to create idle couch potatoes in the millions billions of TV viewers around the world for 2 solid weeks?!)

Back at Grampa's house, Nugget finally learned to let go and swim on her own (literally- she would cling for dear life to anyone in the pool)! Granted, we have a ways to go before she is an official mermaid, but apparently Bebba and Uncle Alex encourage the right bit of confidence she needs to become independent in the pool (so glad we have spent $$$ on swim lessons :-/ )

Two.

Dear Jayme,

Time has flown by in the blink of an eye… so much so that you have been officially two for almost two months! I can remember the day you were born and your 1^st birthday as if they were only a few weeks ago, and now our sweet baby girl is officially two going on sixteen! Your daddy has affectionately named you “booger” and I like to refer to you as “pistol”… while you have your absolute sweetheart moments that melt our hearts, you have officially entered “that stage” that is not for the faint of heart… meltdowns in the parking lot, Target aisles, Costco, and anywhere you can get the attention to get what you want. when you want it. and how you want it. have given me and your daddy a reality check of what it means to have a two year old. I now completely understand the phrase “this is going to hurt me more than it will hurt you” when it comes to disciplining (whether it’s a swat on the bootie, a time out, or taking away a privilege that we both looked forward to)… You have always had a little sass to your personality, but now that you are much more vocal, your strong will (which is a good thing- your Nana had the same nature and was an incredible woman for it!) is taking shape each day.

 However, for every difficult moment, we have experienced just as many if not more of your sweetheart moments… your daddy and I especially love when you ask for a hug out of nowhere, give affectionate kisses and encourage family hugs and kisses after bedtime prayer (this is becoming our nightly ritual and it is one of my favorite parts of our daily routine), when you say “amo” (your version of te amo) after we tell you “I love you”, when you give sweet hugs and acknowledge “gentle” to your baby doll and friends, when you want to hold hands or “nuggle” (snuggle), when you get so excited to go see a friend or family member and that becomes your only focus until we get there, when you insist on cleaning up your little spills and messes (I’m afraid you are going to be OCD in that department like your uncle Alex), when you try to help mommy by carrying my purse in the store (even though it weighs nearly as much as you), when you enjoy quiet reading time, when you insist on watching Calliou for the 100^th time and insist that mommy or daddy must sit with you, when you get excited about learning your signs or teaching mommy and daddy new signs you have learned from Alex and Leah (Signing Time- our lunch time show), when you don’t know what to say during prayer or grace so with your head bowed and hands folded you begin to sing “the a says ahhh…” and any other letter that comes to mind from the letter factory before you end with a solid “AMEN!”, when you help mommy or daddy water the grass and the garden each day (you actually do a good job and can do it unsupervised now!), when you count to 10 or sing your abc’s while mommy does pushups/Jayme lifts (at nearly 30lbs I think Jayme lifts may be coming to an end soon), when you are miss social butterfly and super well behaved on a shopping trip (you seem to do best at the grocery store and in the “big cart” at “Ostco”), when you act like a goofball because you know it will make someone laugh, and when you say/sign “potty!” when you get nervous, anxious, or are about to get into trouble (sometimes we believe you are a little too intelligent for your own good, but that potty act doesn’t work on mommy and daddy anymore ;-) 

18 months-24 months

Things your love (in no particular order):

Gampa’s house

Daddy snuggles

Your bitty baby

Your purse (or mommy’s purse)

Shoes! Shoes! Shoes! (especially your hideous red patent leather strappy deals… I think they look like orthotics, you think they’re “prrrrreeeettty”)

Bebba, Taycie, Alex

Nanna phone chats

Sitting shot gun in daddy’s truck (when he pulls in the garage)

“Ostco” (just like your mommy when it comes to this store)

Doggies and kitties

Chocolate (bound to happen between your daddy and my love for it)

Calliou -I’m embarrassed to say how much you actually watch it :-/

Daddy snuggles before bedtime

“Au-rey” and “Ri-rey” play dates

“Nessa” “eff” “Connai” and “ky-ky” (your family away from home)

Smelling mommy’s hair, skin, and giving love pats and kisses

Coloring (especially with daddy)

Headbands (still!)

Dressing yourself (although sometimes you look like a neglected child in the wardrobe you insist on putting together… but I figure it’s a stage you will soon grow out of ;-)

The beach (you are your Bebba’s Nugget!)

Yogurt, popcorn, grampa’s ribs, and “coffee” (you have to mimic mommy with your water in a coffee mug nearly every morning)

“swings-slide-friends” (when you want to go to the park you repeatedly say/sign this with so much enthusiasm)

Dislikes:

The word “no”

Target (more like you want to have your way every time we attempt to shop there, so we both end up in a bad mood by the time we leave)

Strangers and grown men you don’t know (gives you a near anxiety attack every time)

Loud noises that are unfamiliar (you cover your ears and sometimes duck between mommy or daddy’s legs or arms)

Accomplishments/Firsts:

Swimming/wading in the ocean (this is a Bebba and Nugget “thing”)

Tent Camping (you love it, just not when we have noisy neighbors)

Potty trained by 2! You go most days without an accident (overnight is a different story, but that’s due to a water habit you have like your mommy and daddy)

Riding your tricycle (still need help steering a little)

Your vocabulary is growing by leaps and bounds every day, and we now have to be careful of things you might repeat … “etto abulous!” (ghetto fabulous)

Originally we were just going to do basic signs to help you communicate before you could speak, and now you are up to somewhere over 30 signs (while not perfect, we know what your are saying- colors, play signs, people, etc.)

one year / two years

almost always wearing a smile (13-18 months)

We are so excited to see what experiences this year brings you and us as you continue to blossom out of toddler-hood and into a beautiful little girl (tear). I am personally excited to see how your nurturing skills with your baby doll transfer over to your new baby brother or sister come January ;-)

Love, Mommy & Daddy

bye-bye baby...

Last week we converted Jayme's crib into a toddler bed (a- so she would stop getting hurt trying to climb out, and b- so she would be able to use the potty at night when we start potty training soon)... I think we mentally prepared as much as we physically prepared her room! Much to our surprise, she LOVES her big girl bed! We baby gated her doorway so she can't get herself into trouble at night, and I spent all of March baby-proofing her room completely (i.e. moved the office stuff out of her room and finding a home for everything that was piled up in her room). The first night we went to put her to bed she was so excited as she ran up to her bed and said, "beh?! beh?!"... she didn't even want to be cuddled by her daddy that first night, she was anxious to climb into her big girl bed all by herself and put herself to sleep- I thought this was just lucky night one, for sure she would cry or get up several times and play, etc... but much to our surprise she LOVES her bed and STAYS in it! There have been a handful of times she has gotten up at night, but I didn't notice until the morning when I noticed toys out, or her babies tucked in with pacifiers she had dug out of her drawer for them in the middle of the night. My favorite part about her big girl bed is that she will wake up and chat with her babies or read a book in bed before calling me in to get her (she doesn't get out of bed until I come get her! LOVE IT!)
So now that we have had 2 weeks of toddler bed success, we are on to potty training. I am anxious to get her trained because a- diapers are ridiculous expensive, and b- her diaper rashes will go away and STAY away (I assume)... however, as excited as we are to get her potty trained, I can't help but think this is just one more transition of our baby girl turning into a little girl. I am clinging to those last little baby phases as she is simultaneously pushing her limits and trying to be a big girl :she sits at the table without her high chair now, diapers and soothes her baby dolls, carries on full conversations with us- even though we understand about 1/4 of it- tries to dress and undress herself, hates having a diaper on if she can help it, says "noooo- good-byEEE!" when she is trying to focus on something and doesn't want help (coloring, when she goes number 2 and needs privacy, brushing her teeth, getting into mommy's makeup drawer...) she is getting so big so fast, it makes me sad and proud all at once. Its precious to watch her and her girlfriends develop actual playmate friendships and I love how she will rehash/gab about her playdates with her daddy after work and for the next day or two she begs to go play with "Au-rey" or "lie-ly"... I wish we didn't live so far away from her friends, but Lord willing we will find a house and a location that meets all of our needs soon enough.

Daddy teaching her how to roll down the hill (she couldn't get enough, and I couldn't get enough of watching his joy in being a hands on daddy)

lovin' on baby Jax with her mommy (she is such a mommy's girl- "my mommy!")

big girls eating lunch at their big girl table (seems like yesterday they had baby food and high chairs!)

loves her big girl swing at Grampa's house

"Au-rey" and "Mae-me" are independent little divas... we are gonna be in trouble with these two!

full on conversating in their own language

my favorite picture. (what you don't see is lil' miss independent wanting to hold Age's bag and walk- no being held by mommy in public!)

not quite 2... going on 16...

 
In just 2 months you will be 2 years new to the world, although your need-for-independence-attitude and lively personality will beg to differ... you are incredibly sassy, with the sweetest demeanor... we knew from the very moment we first felt you move (you liked to play hard to get with your feet) that you had a vivacious personality, and apparently our instincts were correct! You are extremely animated and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to laugh and be silly!
Other things you currently love:
*"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" with over 2 months of on and off being sick and discovering you have severe allergies you have become a major mommy cling-on (which I am not taking for granted because I know that all too soon I will be missing the days you were my lil' mommy's girl)
*Your daddy's "night night sleepy girl" snuggle time before bed every night (that is one time you DON'T want mommy, only daddy will do)
*Calliou and Happy Feet (you have figured out how to turn on the tv and computer in your room to get your morning or evening fix of your favorite cartoon, and when you can't figure it out you bring the remote to one of us and insist on "ky-ky" or "app fee! app fee!")
*Your girlfriend Audrey (you carry her valentine's picture around with you to the point we needed to tape her back together again)... whenever I say we are going to see your friend, your excited response is always "au-rey?! au-rey?!"
*Gam-pa (it's precious that you recognize when we are a few blocks away we are on our way to "gam-pa's!")

*"ahhhh-ahhhh-ah!" with Nana
*pretty sure you love them equally as much as you love getting a rise out of Bebba and Taycie by calling Bebba "Taycie" and ignoring Taycie all together when prompted to say her name
*Uncle "Alice"
*anything that resembles chocolate or something sweet (it's crazy how you just know a package you've never seen, smelled, or tasted contains something sweet that you MUST have!)
*kitties, puppies, and finding the moon
*headbands, "gasses" (sunglasses), and your shoes- crocs, sparkly TOMS, and your cowgirl boots especially
*going to the park ("side! side!" <slide> or "sing! sing!" <swings>)
*pretending to talk on the phone (even if its a remote control, a shoe, or mom's camera)
*reading, reading, and more reading (and I LOVE that you love to read!)

Other noteworthy milestones:
* the way you say "AAAA-MEN" after grace and bedtime prayers
* the way you say "aaa-mo" after we say "love you!" (Bebba taught you "te amo" and it's awesome that you know to respond in Spanish when we say it in English... but that's as far as we've come with learning Spanish so far)
* the way you say "I wuuuuv ou" when you want to be sweet (and when you don't say it in Spanish)
* you have figured out how to put your shoes on, take your clothes off (and your diaper- doh!) and climb out of your crib... you are also pretty good at putting on your hats, headbands (or insisting that daddy wear one with you) and sunglasses
* you won't eat kraft mac n' cheese (a childhood staple), but you will chug down a spinach and kale smoothie every morning (I love your quirks)
* you count by yourself (with your own numbers) when you go in a time out, up or down stairs, and when mommy is doing pull-ups/push-ups or Jayme lifts (I need to get this recorded because it melts my heart)
* you are learning to pedal your tricycle
* you are great at asking for "help please" (verbal and signing)
* you are pretty good at saying "bess you" after someone sneezes (but if its daddy, you like to copy his sneeze repetitively), and you are getting consistent with your please and "ank you" (verbal and signing)

Your daddy and I can't believe how fast you have grown right before our eyes (and literally overnight!)
Don't grow up too fast though... we are too busy enjoying these little moments while you are still our "baby doll"

18 months...

 

It has been a whirlwind of life happenings since you have been in our lives these last 18 months… I can’t believe how you seem to grow right before our eyes in the course of a one hour nap or overnight! It’s as if we can see the learning and growing process in everything you do. You are constantly trying to mimic and learn new tasks… you love to try things yourself before asking for help (stubborn). You are one of the most social butterflies of a baby we know (even though you are technically a toddler, you’ll always be our baby girl)… You have such a sweet demeanor that quickly turns into a passionate sassy little girl when you don’t get your way (sometimes I think there is a 16 yr old inside you!), and back to sweet again when we’ve distracted you. I know I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again… your laugh and giggles are infectious and bring so much joy to your daddy and I. I hope that spark of pure joy and laughter never fades in you as you grow. I don’t even know where to begin with your milestones, so here we go:

~You have a beautiful set of teeth (lucky for us they all came in pretty quick- teething is no fun for anyone!)

~You are a monkey who likes to climb anything and everything, including the kitchen table!

~You make the cutest sounds for a monkey, puppy/dog, kitty, cow, duck (qua-qua), sheep, monster… and let’s not forget Ariel (ahhh-ahhh-AHHH)

~You FINALLY started saying momma!

~You are a total girly-girl who insists on wearing shoes (preferably your pink crocs) right when you get out of bed, until bath or bedtime… same goes for your headbands. However, you take falls, spills and slams into the furniture with such grace (you typically get up laughing or say “uh-oh” when most kids would be crying!)

~You prefer to be a vegetarian (unless its steak or fish – go figure)… Lima beans are your absolute favorite (we’ve used them to bribe you to finish the rest of your meal)

~You are learning to pronounce words (still complete baby babble, but we semi-understand your dialect), even though you depend on your sign language to communicate for the most part

~signs you use regularly- please, thank you, eat, more, all done, help,  book, yogurt, ball, baby, play, shoes, bink (one you created on your own), on/off, friend, home, and daddy

~your favorite words to say (with such emphasis it cracks us up): hi, bye, shoes, gampa, bebba, taycie, baby, bath (you LOVE bath time almost as much as you love your shoes)

~you’re an entertainer… the words “happy feet” tell you its time to dance wherever and whenever… you are a total ham when you see a camera (on your terms of course)

~you’re a fantastic hugger (your hugs and kisses brighten up any mood)… your daddy especially loves your hugs

I love that you love to read your books, you love to laugh, you love to dance and act silly with your mommy, you give great bear hugs and kisses, you love to be outside, you love Barney and The Wiggles (even though I can’t stand either)… I love every moment we have had you in our lives these past 18 months, and I can only imagine how much you will grow in the next several months to come… we are both so proud of the little girl you are blossoming into.

Love, Daddy and Momma

first steps...

for the past couple weeks i've had the camera ready, but of course jayme refuses to perform when the camera is out! today she walked (like a drunk person) from the couch to the tv stand (while my camera was charging-ugh!)... so after dinner and being over-served at the milk bar... this is what i was able to capture:

hopefully after a full night's rest and a fresh start tomorrow we will get better footage!

above all else....

my lil' girl knows how to make my birthday most memorable! 

after nearly 5 days of fever, flu, crying, painting herself and the carpet with poo, running out of diapers (using size one and two leftovers for a child that is about to be in a size four only makes the situation more comical), roseola rash combined with eczema and scratching herself till she bled, and overall misery... my little bug decided today was the day (after 2.5 months of going in reverse) to crawl forward! I really thought she was going to just skip over the whole crawling business as she has been pulling herself up on furniture, people, toys, her crib, etc... this milestone just made my day week month! i think she must be on the way to feeling better! 
 

who needs crawling anyway???

Its been a month... and Jayme is STILL crawling (not scooting anymore, but actual crawling) backwards! Everyone (family, friends, Ryan and I) has worked with her to try and get her going forward- she is either stubborn, likes her method, or really just doesn't get it.... funny part is that if there is something she wants to get to, she will roll, shimmy, scoot, then position herself backwards and crawl in reverse to get to it! This past week we noticed she is trying to pull herself up to standing (still a ways off), but I guess my child thinks she can do without that whole crawling business...

dragging her blanket with her to her toys...

"a little help mom" (she LOOOOVES water bottles)

making her plan of attack

just a little more....

I may have given her a slight boost ;-)

5 seconds later...

looks like a crazy yoga pose as she tries to pull up and out of my idea of a playpen

third times a charm....

Up until she started REALLY moving around in her crib (about 5 months), we didn't put a bumper on Jayme's crib (that whole first-time parent fear of our precious child suffocating herself, or an extra measure to prevent SIDS)... Then she started scooting, which led to her bumping her head (and crying), getting arms/legs stuck (and crying out of frustration), and dropping her pacifier (and crying for someone to be her personal golden retriever)... I decided it was time to bust out the super cute bumper that came with the bedding my girlfriend got us. One problem... as cute as it was (and cushy), it didn't quite fit our convertible crib, which our Houdini child figured out right away... she always seemed to find the exact spot where she could wedge her feet and legs out of the crib and get herself stuck- We thought this was hilarious at first because she would do this fighting sleep, and when i moved her back to the center, we would find her in the same position (but in her sleep)... a few weeks went by and this was getting old. Ryan's solution- Moby wrap! That was genius, and we probably would have left his idea of Moby wrapping the crib if it weren't for two things- it is a pain to remove and redo EVERY TIME I go to change the sheets, and secondly,  its just not pretty. So after much debate about more options, I went to my trusted source (the internet) and researched various bumpers for larger cribs (for whatever reason convertible cribs are bulkier)... we ended up with the Carter's super soft bumper. (of course if I was changing out the bumper, I had to change out the skirt too for aesthetic reasons- Ryan didn't even notice ;-) So far (2 naps and an overnight later) I think we found a match for our lil' Houdini!

The Original (cute one, bummed it didn't fit right- if only I knew how to sew)

Why we had to do away with the original...

I would find her like this in the morning or after nap time (too often)

Ryan's Moby Solution

Did the job, but not up to my "cute" standards...

New bedding (bumper and crib skirt)

Fits PERFECTLY, and the best part is no more Houdini (for now)!

scooting in rewind...

after an informal lesson in crawling from her friend Jeremy, my lil' bug decided she was determined to move like him... one minor difference in her method- she is scooting backwards... the cutest part is that she can't figure out why she is going the opposite direction from her reach.

"ummm mom... a little help here please"

First Santa Visit...

yay for no tears meeting santa for the first time! here are some pictures that highlight the day...

first time audrey and jayme met (people thought they were twins- even though they are 6 weeks apart)

waiting in a 20 minute line-even though there were only 3 people in front of us... at this point i am praying she is still all smiles by the time we get to santa

all smiles... wish we got the one of her playing with his beard curiously

30 minutes later and leaving santa... still smiles

annnnnnd pooped out after her exciting day of meeting audrey and santa for the first time

half a year later...

time has flown by way too fast... as cliche as it sounds, its so true that it feels like time passes in the blink of an eye! i try to remind myself every moment i can to cherish everything from the silly laughs, to the spit up in my hair, to the middle of the night crying, to the poopy diapers making us late (regularly), to the minutes where time seems to stand still as i do nothing but sit and stare at my beautiful little girl sleeping (it melts my heart when she chuckles and smiles in her sleep)... when the inevitable hurdles pop up in everyday life, i remind myself (ryan and i talk about this almost every night) how blessed we are to have this precious child in our lives... i can't wait to see her blossom into a little girl (actually i CAN wait, but you know what i mean :-)

Full day of new things...

meeting her American Girl Bitty baby (from Uncle Buck) for the first time

Uncle Buck introducing Jayme to one of her favorite places...

mmmm sand and Uncle Buck's fingers.... tasty

First footprints in the sand...

5 months...

I can't believe how 5 months has flown by! Actually I can... as I sit here procrastinating on folding my umpteenth load of laundry, I feel as though my days all blur together. I'm still not sure where the 18 hours just went since I dropped Ben (Stacey's BF) off at the airport this morning... Somehow I ran out of time and have yet to take that nap I've been craving ALLLLLL day! Enough about my pity party of "where'd the me time go?!" ... My little Jayme bug is officially 5 months new to the world! I hope and pray everyday that I am a decent parent who will provide the right substance and nurturing for her to absorb like a sponge. It is truly amazing to watch her grow (sometimes I swear right before my eyes!) and learn every moment of every day. I know I sound like a cliche sap of a proud mom, but until you experience parenthood for yourself, you can't imagine how proud my little girl makes me! She has such a sassy personality, and I swear she has learned how to work the baby blues God blessed her with... especially with her daddy... she has him wrapped around her finger (as I knew she would, even though Ryan swore he wouldn't be "that bad"). I feel so blessed and can't imagine a day without her in my life!