SMITHOLOGY

What's in HER name...

2012-02-11T19:58:00.002-06:00

So now it's baby girl's turn. (Baby boy's entry is here just in case you missed it.)

Miss Xiomara Marian Smith....

Our little girl... Our whole world. She has orange red hair and is feisty as all tarnation! She is so bright-eyed and beautiful and such a little sprite. Little punkin'.... Just like Liam's post, these pictures are her 3 month milestone.

Her nicknames are as follows:

Xio ("See-oh")

Sia

Sweet Pea

Sia Maria

Miss Mara

Baby Bobblehead

Little Peanut

Pipsqueak

Pippa (short for Pipsqueak)
Cutie Tootie (self explanatory...)
Spitty Cent

Angel
The Princess

One of our favorites is "Cricket." This basically come from the fact that she's so petite but raises quite a ruckus. So Kev started calling her "noisy cricket" in reference to the gun in Men in Black which is small but packs a wallop. That eventually got shortened to "cricket" and it's now probably her most common nickname that is unrelated to her actual name.

Xiomara

Kevin here. Since this is "my" name, I'm the one in charge of explaining it ;) I served a mission for my church for two years in southeast Mexico. While I was living in the city of Coatzacoalcos, we taught a family that had a cute little 6 or 7-year old daughter named Xiomara. Ever since I've always wanted to use it; however, since it was so uncommon (even in Latin America), I didn't hold out a lot of hope. When we found out we were having a baby girl, Nicole started "trying out" several different names on the little girl in her belly. One day Nicole turned to me and said, "I think she's Xiomara - nothing else feels right." I probably had the biggest goofy grin on my face at that moment!

There doesn't seem to be a lot of consensus on the internet about the origin, meaning, or pronunciation of Xiomara. Most say that it probably has its origins in Spanish, generally via a Mexican dialect like Nahuatl (the language spoken by the Aztecs - and still used quite a bit in Mexico) or Mayan. Some websites say the name is Portuguese, French, or even German, Greek, or Aramaic. Etymology isn't always an exact science, but my opinion is that our Xiomara is definitely Latin American, but I'm not sure where. I like the idea that it's Nahuatl since I learned to speak it conversationally while in Mexico, but personally I don't think it really fits in very well with other Nahuatl words other than the fact that it starts with an "X" - but maybe that's enough. Some websites think that it is derived from the spanish/portuguese name Guiomar. Most sources conclude that Xiomara means "famous warrior" or "ready for battle." I didn't really care much about what it meant, I just liked the name. Then again, she definitely is a fighter!

Now for the part everybody's been waiting for! ;)

For pronunciation the "x" is essentially pronounced like an "s" and the "io" is a diphthong so it should be a single syllable (pronounced like "yo"). So it would be pronounced with three syllables: "syo-ma-ra" - but that specific diphthong doesn't really exist in English so most Americans have trouble with it. The usual pronunciation we expect will be more like "see'-oh-ma'-ra." Honestly, I'm probably the only person that will call her "syo-ma-ra" anyway.

Marian

Nicole here. From the moment I found out I was having a girl, I knew what her middle name would be. Marian is my grandmother's name, and she is one of the sweetest, strongest, and most amazing women that I've been privileged to know in my lifetime. Grandma was in her late 40's when I was born, and I remember her being a young, fun Gram. She was always on the floor with us cousins while we played our games. She always had waffles ready with homemade jam for breakfast, and jars of frozen cookies for dessert. Now that I'm grown, I truly appreciate just how strong and steadfast my grandmother is. She is a woman full of faith, hope, and joy. I love her so much. She raised 4 children, worked for the same company for over 40 years, and was still running/ walking 5 miles a day up until a few years ago. We almost lost her to a serious illness just about 2 years ago when she ended up in the ICU with sepsis and renal failure, complications from a bout with a kidney stone. After losing circulation to her hands for a period of time, her fingers had to be amputated. I remember being so worried about her and how she would adjust to her new situation. But Grandma is truly a warrior and she fought hard to learn to do the things that she loves with her new hands. An inspiration to all of us.

When my sweet Xiomara was born 9 nine weeks early, I knew she had some battles ahead of her in order to come home. I remember looking at her full name on her birth certificate when it came in the mail and thinking to myself how glad I was that she is named after Grandma Stephie, hoping that some of Grandma's fight would shine through in her and bring her home soon. Grandma and Xio haven't met yet, but we're hoping that will happen early this spring. I have a feeling that they will be very close to each other in this life and the next. :)

Reason #5723...

2012-02-05T11:52:00.004-06:00

... Why it's cool to wear this hat:

Because THEN you look so awesome while drinking a capri sun.

Right?

ALSO!!!!! Here's a little peak at what truly got me through my bed rest... AND helped my little babes be so big and strong when they were born:

(NOTE: These moments were captured this summer. I'm just NOW getting to those pictures. More coming soon!)

.... You're drooling, aren't you?

I promise...

2012-01-25T23:10:00.003-06:00

... Christmas pictures and stories coming very soon. I just need a quick nap first. :)

Man, we had fun.

@>->--

What's in HIS name...

2012-01-23T07:20:00.003-06:00

Wow! There goes January... The little ones are now 3 and a half months old. Unbelievable! Their gestational age is about 6 weeks old, but I think that they are developing just fine and aren't really too far behind as the doctors said they might be. They both just smiled for the FIRST time this last week! And I mean a REAL deal smile. Like when they recognized that it was me next to their little face and they grinned from ear to ear... Man, that felt really nice. I love being their world. :)

Kevin and I are writing this post together. It's been awhile since we've done that! We've had a lot of people ask us about the babies' names and how we chose them and what they mean. So we thought that we would post about each kiddo and do some explaining. (why do I feel like I ALWAYS have some explaining to do? he he)

We'll start with Mr. Liam Stanford Smith.

Our little boy and our little joy. He is the ultimate Smith guy! Very laid back, very easy going, and he loves football and basketball already. He was on Daddy's lap last night when the 49's lost, and they both cried. Ha!... yeah. Liam, like his sister, has many nicknames. And some of them sound very much like he's a viking...

Liam the LipSmacker

Liam the Laid Back

Liam the Bubble Blower (ALWAYS has a bubble or two on his little lips)

Liam the Love Cub

Li (like "Lee")

Li-ster (like "Lee-ster)

Meester Li-ster

SonShine

The Spare Heir

Fantastic Hair Man

Just to name a few... I'm sure that I've forgotten some! Anyway, I took these pictures for his 3 month milestone and wanted to share them as Kevin explains his name. Enjoy!

.... enter Kevin:

So we wanted to do a couple of entries regarding the meaning of the babies' names. The reason why it has taken so long is because Nicole asked me to do the blog entries ;) I decided to start with the older of the two babies (by one minute... but it still counts!). An entry for the girl will hopefully follow in a few days.

Liam

According to the very informative Wikipedia entry, "Liam is a short form of the Irish Gaelic name Uilliam" the Irish equivalent of William. I found it interesting that “[u]ntil the end of the 18th century, Liam was virtually unknown outside Ireland” until the mass exodus of Irish as a result of the potato famine in the 1850s.

It means "helmet of will" or "strong protector." I guess we just liked it. I've always liked the name Will, but given my last name, the combination probably wasn't going to happen. (NOTE from Nicole: We considered Liam for Noah... but we felt like he was supposed to be Noah. But we've loved the name Liam for a long time).

Stanford

Liam's middle name is from my great, great grandfather, Joseph Stanford Smith (though apparently he mainly went by Stanford). Stanford Smith and his family were living in Cedar City in southwest Utah when he accepted the assignment to settle "the San Juan country" in the Colorado River basin of the remote southeast corner of Utah as part of the San Juan Expedition. As the expedition moved east across southern Utah, they eventually found themselves surrounded by the 1200-foot cliffs of Glen Canyon. After some exploring, they settled on creating a road out of an existing narrow slit in the canyon that would become known as Hole in the Rock.

Of the many tellings of the events of Hole in the Rock, I think this one (adapted from David E. Miller, "Hole-in-the-Rock: An Epic in the Colonization of the Great American West," 1959) is pretty good:

With blasting powder and tools, working most of December and January of

1879-80, they (pioneers) cut a precipitous, primitive road into the face of

the canyon precipice.

With this roadbed ...the task was now to get the first 40 wagons down the

"Hole."

Twenty men and boys would hold long ropes at the back of each wagon. The

wheels were then brake-locked with chains, allowing them to slide (while)

avoiding the catastrophe of the wheels actually rolling.

In one of the great moments of pioneer history, one by one the company

took the wagons down the treacherous precipice. When, miracle of miracles,

they reached the canyon floor, they eagerly started to ferry across the river

with a flatbed boat they had fashioned for that purpose. As it turned out, the

Joseph Stanford Smith family was the last wagon to descend that day.

Stanford Smith had systematically helped the preceding wagons down, but

somehow in their one-by-one success and consequent disappearance, the

others apparently forgot that Brother Smith's family would still need help as

the tail enders. Deeply disturbed that he and his family seemed abandoned,

... (Stanford) stood for a moment and looked down the treacherous "Hole."

(He) turned to his wife and said, "Belle, I am afraid we can't make it."

"We must make it," she replied.

"If we only had a few men to hold the wagon back we might make it," he

said.

"I'll do the holding back. We will make it," she said.

Positioning herself behind the wagon, Belle Smith grasped the reins of the

horse hitched to the back of the rig.

Stanford started the team down the "Hole." The wagon lurched downward.

With the first jolt the rear horse and Sister Smith were literally catapulted

into the air. Recovering, she hung back, pulling on the lines with all her

strength and courage. A jagged rock cut a cruel gash in her leg from heel to

hip. The horse behind the wagon fell to his haunches. The half-dead animal

was literally dragged most of the way down the incline. That gallant woman,

clothes torn, with a grievous wound, hung on to those lines with all her

might and faith, and with her husband muscled that wagon the full length

of the incline all the way to the river's edge.

On reaching the bottom, and almost in disbelief at their accomplishment,

Stanford immediately raced (1,300) feet back up to the top of the cliff

fearful for the welfare of the children. When he climbed over the rim, he

saw his three children literally unmoved from the position their mother

had placed them in.

Carrying the baby, with the other two children clinging to him and to each

other, he led them down the rocky (path) to their anxious mother below. At

that point, in the distance they saw five men moving toward them carrying

chains and ropes.

The Smiths had been missed from the larger party. Realizing the plight they

were in, these men were coming to help.

Stanford called out, "Forget it fellows ... (Belle) here is all the help a (man)

needs (to make this journey)."

The baby in the story above is my great grandfather.

This account contains some pictures and maps if you're interested.

~Kevin

Peppermint Pipsqueak and Holly Jolly Liam

2011-12-24T00:00:00.011-06:00

Hello, Dear Ones! If I had a penny for every time that I'd hoped to sit down and blog in the last month, Christmas would have paid for itself this year. :) But alas, life happens... feedings happen... diaper changes happen... laundry happens... bathroom cleaning... well, not so much. But you get the idea. I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOO very tired. More than I can ever remember in my life. And yet I'm so content. Really. For the first time in the last 10 years, I truly feel content. My family is complete and I feel whole. It's a feeling that I never thought was possible. I have two babies!!!!! I freakin' have TWO BABIES!!!!!!!!!! And the most incredible 4 year old in the whole world. It's so amazing, exhausting, and uncontrollably fun. What joy this Christmas season. What joy from here on out. I'm so excited to share the journey with all of you. :)

So... if you haven't noticed, it's almost time for a 1 am feeding here in Nebraska. And....

Merry Christmas EVE, everyone!!!!!

I have SO much to tell you and so many pictures and videos to share. But for today and tomorrow I'm just going to take it all in with my children and husband (and puppy!). Don't worry. After that, I hope the blogging will be steady.

AND... Yes, I DO have Christmas cards. They ARE stuffed into envelopes. But they do NOT have return address labels, stamps, or recipient information on them yet. I promise they are coming soon! I'm sure I will work on them while waiting for the next several 1 am feedings. :)

In the meantime, here are a few pictures of my little elves.

We love you all so much. Have a beautiful and Merry Christmas!!!!!

And to all a good night.

Love,

Mrs. Claus and all her Little Elves
@>->--

4 and 3/4

2011-11-21T23:31:00.012-06:00

My first born is getting to be SUCH a big boy... He's just so smart and witty. I find myself laughing all day long. And he's growing so fast. I can't believe how short his pants are from last season!!! Best of all, Noah is LOVING being a big brother. Just this afternoon, he spontaneously brought me pacifiers for both babies when I was upstairs feeding them. He told me that Baby Sister's pacie had fallen on the floor so he rinsed it off for me..... That was all him. So loving and so dedicated. Such a sweet boy. My oldest child. My heart. My 4 and 3/4 year old. :)

Love,

Someone who can't believe that she will have a kindergartener next fall....

@>->--

Welcome Home...

2011-11-07T07:24:00.004-06:00

It's official! Our family is finally together under one roof. The way it should be. :)

I'm running on about 2 hours of sleep from last night... But isn't that glorious???? So I thought I would just post a few pictures that kind of speak for themselves. More on the way, I promise!

Oh, the cuteness abounds. First doctor's appointment today.

Love,

Yawwwwwwwwnnnnnnn.....
@>->--

Miracle on SW 34th Street...

2011-11-06T01:22:00.009-05:00

Yes... We now live on SW 34th Street. Hence, the title of this post. The miracle that I refer to is that, after just 4 weeks in the NICU, at 4 weeks old and at 35 weeks gestation...

My babies are finally coming home. TODAY.

It's so unbelievable!!!!! The little ones have accomplished SO very much in the last week. It's all happened so fast and it seemed like every day that I came into the NICU the nurses had a new surprise for us. Sunday evening, as Mom and I were holding the babes, I asked their nurse when she thought they would move the twins into the same room and into the same crib for the rest of their stay at the hospital. She said she would find out. Within an hour the babes were resting peacefully in one massive crib and all of their things were consolidated into the same room. My heart felt so happy. Up until that moment, I've had to choose who to sit by and who's room to spend time in for that next little while. I could only really hold one of them and be with one of them at a time. I felt so torn and divided. But the moment my babies moved into one room and one crib, I felt so peaceful and could start to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Both of my darlings' heart rates and respiration rates on the same monitor. :)

THEN... Just a few days later, both Liam and Sia had started taking every feeding by bottle. It was like the little light bulb turned on in their heads and they realized that they could do it.

One afternoon, after I'd left the hospital to spend time with Noah, they took their sixth bottle in a row. The doctor said that they could have their gavage tubes removed. When I returned later that evening, the nurse had the biggest smile on her face. She said she had a surprise for me. Their beautiful little faces were tube-free and angelic when I greeted them. Amazing!!!!

Gram and the Little Ones:

Since then, they have been champions at feeding and have gained weight continually. Just on Thursday the doctor met me at their NICU room when I came in that morning and gave me the biggest shock of my life. I had still expected the babes to stay for at least another week or so. But the doctor looked at me and said that my darlings would be going home in a day or so. For real??????? THAT was a fun phone call to make to Kevin and my parents!

So here I am, at 2 in the morning (really 3 am, thanks to daylight savings time!), and I'm too excited to sleep because today is the day that I can bring my babies home. :) When I kissed them goodnight a few short hours ago, I promised them that Daddy and I would be back in the morning. And that this time we would not leave without them.

We will post pictures of their homecoming soon. But not until we get settled... And introduce them to their puppy. :)

Love,
One exhausted but VERY happy Mommy
@>->--

3 Weeks

2011-11-03T07:42:00.009-05:00

The Babes are over 3 weeks old now! They mature so much and so fast that when I look at pictures that I've taken a few days ago, I can see a difference. Liam has now officially reached the 5 pound club as of yesterday morning!!!! And Sia is just a few ounces behind her brother. Actually, she may be in the club already this morning, but I haven't called yet so I'm not sure. I would put money on it. :) They are still short little peanuts, but now that they've put on a over a full pound since their birth, they are starting to plump up and get little rolls around their thighs. Both have these amazing little double chins. I just can't stand the cuteness. When one of the NICU nurses has been off for a few days and then they come visit them, they walk over to them and say, "Holy Cheeks!!!!" So true....

The big accomplishment for week 3 was when they were both moved from their cozy isolettes to what the nurses called a "crib." It was essentially the little bed that they WOULD have been in had they been full term and stayed with me in my hospital room. Last Saturday, when they were exactly 3 weeks old, it had been a rough night of pumping milk every 2 hours or so and I wasn't getting any sleep in between. I pumped at midnight, then 2, then 4. Finally at 4:30am, I got up and showered and went to be with my babies at the hospital. I figured that if I wasn't sleeping anyway, I may as well go pump by their side. :) By the time I got there, Sia had already been moved to her crib and was ready for a bath. Yay!!!! Perfect timing for Mommy. I went to change Liam's diaper first before I helped with little girl, and wouldn't you know it? Liam peed and pooped all over himself, his blanket, and his bed. And just a little on his Mommy. SOOOOO... Little boy got a bath, too! And by the time I pulled him out of his nice warm bath water, the nurses had decided that he seemed to be doing okay temperature wise that they had a crib waiting for him as well. What an awesome morning. I got to bathe and hold both of my little ones and help them settle into their new beds. I feel like I can't be there for so much of what they accomplish (it's just impossible for me to stay there with them round the clock) so this meant so much to me to have been there for that moment. :)

Both babes are starting to take more and more feedings by bottle, and they have actually nursed from me a little bit, too. Awesome. The doctors and nurses are all amazed because the babies will be just 35 weeks gestation this Friday, and they have been nipple feeding for almost 2 weeks now. Technically they wouldn't have expected them to start doing that until sometime this week. It's like my little ones just want to come home. I'm so proud of them. I love them beyond anything I could have imagined. EVER. :)

We're still thinking good thoughts about them coming home for Thanksgiving. Basically, they have to be able to take every feeding by mouth and not have too many little breathing episodes while they feed. They also have to still consistently put on weight while they do this to prove that drinking their milk (instead of using the gavage tube) doesn't make them burn too many calories at this point. Once they can do that, they have to prove it for 48 hours straight. Then they can come home. I can't wait for that phone call....

Here are some updated pix of their 3rd week! Enjoy.

Sia - 3 Weeks Old!!!!

Sia's crib after moving from her isolette:

BIG smile...

Liam - 3 weeks Old!!!!

Liam's own crib after graduating from his isolette:

Family time...

Bathing Liam:

Bathing Sia:

This picture shows a LOT about Sia's personality. She is our little "talker," grunter, noise-maker, squeaker... however you want to call it! I've told Kevin over and over that once the babes come home, if he doesn't get ANY sleep while they are in our bedroom during the night that I am happy to sleep in the nursery with them. At least until we feel comfortable letting them be in another room. I'm not sure when that will be. We'll see! I just have to remind myself that the doctors will not send them home until they are ready. And while that IS comforting, I can't promise that I won't check to make sure they are breathing a million times throughout the night... Can't wait to have them home. :)

Along with her sweet little noises, Sia LOVES to stretch to the very ends of possibility. She always wants her hands by her face and tries to lengthen her legs to their limits. Liam, on the other hand, is so content to be swaddled and just settles in and chills out. We've started calling him "Laid Back Liam." We joke around by saying that we think that the morning they were born, Sia must have stretched long and hard and just kicked Liam out! I'm not sure that that isn't true...

Quiet time with Daddy....

The Smith Boys:

A big smile for Noah!

Have a fantastic week... We'll keep you posted. Also, stay warm! More pix and some videos coming very soon... Just as soon as I actually make it to the main computer in the basement where the magical software is. I don't think I've been down there in about 2 weeks. Hopefully today. :)

Love,

One Busy NICU Mommy
@>->--

Punkins

2011-11-02T07:13:00.009-05:00

The Little Punkins had a great Halloween! Big brother Noah came with us to take pictures that afternoon since the NICU hasn't locked down yet because of RSV. Phew! The babies were sleeping soundly during their first Halloween ever, but I have a feeling that next year they will keep me pretty busy during Trick or Treating! I'm already scheming about costumes. And speaking of costumes... Yes, Abbie Mae got a break this year. I let it go. If it weren't for my mom being here, we wouldn't even have pumpkins, let alone carved them. I'm soooooooo glad that Noah's holiday fun wasn't put on hold for the new little pumpkins in our life, although he would have understood. :)

He had a GREAT time getting his face painted as Darth Maul from Star Wars. And he loved it when people would Ooooh and Awwww over his whole get up as he went Trick or Treating. Then it was home to help Gram answer the door for fellow costumers! Good times....

Hope you all had a Happy Halloween!!!! Since I'm now nursing twins, I don't feel so bad about partaking of the candy for the next little while. :)

Love,
Nicole
@>->--

The Darlings

2011-10-23T00:06:00.026-05:00

I am now the mother of 3.

It's been a CRAZY 2 weeks.... I've gone from spending all day on the couch or my bed, trying to rest and not go insane, to going back and forth from home to the NICU... all while trying to still rest and not go insane. :) 2 weeks ago I got up in the middle of the night about 3 times to go the bathroom. And now I get up 2 or 3 times to pump milk for my little darlings. So many changes! So much exhaustion. And we're so amazed by our little babies.

I think my body knew that something was going to happen. All day on Friday, October 7th, I was so unsettled and emotional. K, through all of the complications and uncertainty of the last 3 months, I cried maybe 3 times total. That Friday before the twins were born I was a MESS! I couldn't seem to make Noah happy all day and it really upset me (granted he WAS being a 4 year old in a stressful situation and I think he'd had enough, too.) By dinner time, I had to excuse myself and went upstairs, laid in bed, and just cried. I think I scared Kevin because that really is not like me. Then we got Noah all settled and snug in bed and I felt a little better. I actually slept well and didn't wake up until 5:00am to do the usual bathroom trip. When I laid back down in bed, I felt a little "wet." Yeah. I just thought that maybe I needed to go back to the bathroom... I woke up Kevin and said something about how strange that was and maybe my water was rupturing... But then I just apologized for waking him and I ended up falling asleep for another hour or so. (Kevin got a good laugh out of the fact that I apologized for that) Then just before 7:00 I got up and tried again. This time there was no mistaking the unusual wetness after I laid down again. I woke Kevin up again and phoned the on-call doctor. She told me to go to labor and delivery. It was kind of surreal to have that moment there finally. I took a quick shower and we woke up Noah, grabbed our bags, and headed out the door. We dropped Noah off at a friend's house and headed for the hospital.

Can I just say that I had NO idea that the baby's bag of water could literally hold that MUCH???? I was sitting on towels the whole way there and when the nurses got me into the room to change, it just kept coming. Wow. The doctor did a quick ultrasound to confirm the babies' positions (little girl was still as breech as they come) and then she called my doctors in Omaha to consult with them. Finally, they decided that the best thing to do would be to deliver the babies and help them on the outside at that point rather than have me sit in a hospital bed for another week or so and risk developing an infection. I was not contracting at all. So we were prepped for the c-section and were taken in to the OR within about an hour. It all happened SOOOOO fast! I feel like we barely had time to call and let our families know before it was all underway. Poor Kevin... He had his phone and my phone and was sending out text messages like a champ to all our family and then our friends here in town. I was getting poked and prodded, needles placed and antibiotics started...

The sweetest moment for me was when I found myself completely alone all of a sudden. The nurses left the room and Kevin went to the bathroom. I just took that moment for myself and for my sweet babies who would soon be outside of me from then on. I just rubbed my tummy where I knew she was and told her I loved her. I rubbed his little foot as it pushed up against the very top of my stomach and told him I loved him. I prayed that they would be strong and come out fighting and breathing. I treasured those last little movements and the sound of their little heartbeats on the monitors next to me. I didn't want it to end, but I was so very excited to see them at last.

Waiting for the action:

Within minutes Kev and I found ourselves in the OR, waiting for that moment. There was no gush of water as they pulled Liam out. He'd taken care of that earlier. :) But his little strong cry was so beautiful. Very high pitched because he was 9 weeks early, but so full of fight. The NICU nurse stopped to let me see him and blow him a kiss before she whisked him out the door to the team waiting for him. Kevin says that Xiomara's bag of water came up like a fountain and her NICU nurse took a few steps back out of experience. Her little cry was just as strong as her brother's and after I blew her a kiss she was out the door to her team as well. I was taken to recovery and then to my room where I found myself fighting nausea until the next morning. While in recovery, I kept telling Kevin to go be with the babies, but he stayed by my side until I was comfortable and settled. Then he went to see the darlings and took a few pictures for me. I didn't see them until Sunday morning. Every time I would sit up I would throw up, and the NICU rooms are too small for the hospital beds. So I saw my babies at 5:00am Sunday morning when I finally could get into a wheel chair and the nurses took me down to them. They were so perfect. They seemed really fragile in their isolettes with the CPAP machines helping their little lungs inflate. But for being as early as they were, they were already doing fantastic. They needed the CPAP just for the pressure to help open their lungs completely, but they were not on any supplemental oxygen. Thank goodness for the steroid shots that they gave me at 24 weeks. Within 24 hours they were taken off of the CPAP machines and were breathing room air. Outstanding. And that was just the first of many miraculous milestones.

The NICU:

Just hours old and on CPAP:

Noah got to see his new baby brother and baby sister on Sunday night and I'm pretty sure that he fell instantly in LOVE... He and Daddy held Sia that night and then he got to hold Liam a few days later. So far he's been to see the babies 4 times, and we're trying to take him as often as we can without stressing them out too much by all the stimuli in the room. The NICU is on stand by from the County Health Department and they could go on lock down anytime because of RSV (meaning that visitors under 14 won't be allowed until Spring). So we're hoping that Noah stays healthy and can get a few more visits in before that happens.

Meeting Big Brother:

Noah and Sia:

Noah and Liam:

Holding Sia for first time:

2 days old - Liam:

2 days old - Sia:

I've heard that progress in the NICU tends to be like 2 steps forward and then 1 step back. There will be lots of victories and milestones, and some set backs too. But so far (fingers crossed, prayers said....) my little darlings have been such rock stars and they do better and better everyday. After just 1 week, they both had their IV's out and are off of antibiotics and any supplemental fluids and nutrients. They have very few apnea and irregular heartbeat moments now where they used to have several each day. In fact, I don't think that either of them had a single episode in the last two days. Each time I go, I hold them skin to skin and it helps me and them so very much. I LOOOOOVE those moments. So far I've been able to pump enough milk for both of them and I actually have quite a surplus going! I'm so excited that my babies are breastfed... I know that that's an experience that I've always wanted and that some don't ever have. I hope I can keep it up for a long time. They are still receiving over 70 percent of their feedings through the gavage tubes in their noses, but they just started to take milk from a bottle 2 days ago and are already champs. And really the feeding thing is the big hurdle to conquer. I guess it used to be that a baby had to reach a certain weight before they could go home. But now it's more what they can do and how they function. So if Liam and Sia can master the whole suck and swallow feeding skill thing in the next few weeks and they only weigh 4 1/2 pounds, they can still come home! :)

1 weeks old - Sia:

1 week old - Liam:

Holding Liam for first time:

Crazy hair after bath:

Skin to skin snuggle time with Liam:

Feeding time (they soak a big q-tip with my breast milk and let us clean their little mouths with it when they get ready to feed them through the tubes. Liam loves it!):

BIG smile for Gram:

Sia:

Liam:
Snuggle time with Sia:

First outfits:

The big moment for us was when I got to hold BOTH of my babies in my arms for the first time yesterday. The nurse brought Sia into Liam's room and laid them by each other. It was so indescribably beautiful... They sensed each other and immediately their breathing fell into synch with each other. Liam put his hand on her arm and it was as if they were saying "THERE you are.... Where have you been????" I know that they missed each other. They certainly know and love each other. I got emotional seeing them together once more. It was a moment I'll never forget. Kevin got HIS chance to hold them both today. Liam settled right in and fell asleep, but Sia just stared at her daddy and pulled faces. I think she adores him already. :) Oh, he's in big trouble....

So my babies are 2 weeks old today and I can't believe how they've grown. They are both now just at 4 pounds, but they look so filled out and healthy. They are wearing little preemie outfits while they are there, but the nurses say that they won't be in them for much longer. Yay! The miracles just keep coming with every hurdle passed and every milestone reached. I can't wait to see them again tomorrow. It kills me to have to leave them there each night, but I also know that I can call at any hour (and I DO... After pumping at 3 am, I call to get an update on them. The nurses are so kind.) and that they are safe and well cared for where they are until they are ready to come home to us. It's torture to have to choose between going to the hospital to see my babies and staying home to spend time with my sweet little boy who's so very patient. But it's not forever, I know.

2 weeks old - Sia:

2 weeks old - Liam:

More updates coming soon.... I promise. I will leave you with a funny story. Noah was with us in the NICU when he overheard the doctor tell us that the babies were being given doses of caffeine to help their hearts regulate. Well, little boy freaked out. He'd spent my whole pregnancy asking me about why I wasn't drinking my diet soda anymore. I'd explained to him that the caffeine wasn't good for the babies and that Mommy wasn't going to drink it while they were in my tummy growing. So when he heard that the babies were being GIVEN caffeine, he flipped.

"No, Mommy! The babies will die!!!!!"

Yeah, it took a little bit of explaining that it was good for their hearts for a little while to have it... he eventually calmed down. :) So protective already.

Have a beautiful week, K?

Love,

Nicole

@>->--

They're here!

2011-10-08T22:19:00.002-05:00

Just a quick update...

At about 7 am this morning Baby A's water broke so we went to the hospital where they decided to go ahead and do a c-section and deliver the babies. Baby A was born at 11:21 am and weighed in at 3 pounds 11 ounces. Baby B came a minute later at 11:22 am and weighed 3 pounds 13 ounces. Both babies were 16.75" long. The babies are now in the NICU but they seem to be doing really well considering that they were only 31 weeks and 1 day old. Baby A is now "officially" known as Liam and Baby B is Xiomara (the "x" is pronounced like an "s" if you're wondering).

We're so grateful we were able to get this far considering how close we were to losing them at 20 weeks. I know Nicole hasn't exactly enjoyed her nearly 3 months of bedrest, but I think she'd agree that the reward was worth the trouble :)

Thank you for all your prayers, well wishes, help, and support. What a wild and wonderful day!

~Kevin

So Thankful....

2011-09-19T10:11:00.027-05:00

NOTE: This is a VERY long post! And if phrases like ovarian follicles, frozen sperm, and intramuscular injections bother you, you may want to have someone else give you the summary. :)

Happy Monday, everyone! Last Friday was a big BIG day for me and for the babies. I'm officially 28 weeks now and still pregnant. And at the ultrasound last Wednesday in Omaha, we learned that the babies are over 2.5 pounds each and that they are still strong and healthy. In fact, they are both around 55th percentile in growth for a singleton pregnancy. Amazing!!!! Kevin and I held hands on the car ride home and just took in the sunshine and that glorious news. :) The doctor looked like he wanted to do a back flip when he entered the room. He said we are now reaching the point of "sunshine and roses," where if the babies were to come today they would not only have a fighting chance to live but also a chance to develop normally and with few complications. *DEEP exhalation* And my cervix, while still very VERY minimal, has not changed since they last checked it 4 weeks ago. Whoo-Hoo!!!! So each morning I'm now breathing a whole lot easier (but not literally) and continuing to truly enjoy each little kick coming from my tummy. I am overwhelmed. I'm so grateful. I feel so undeserving of such divine intervention for my little ones. I am thankful. I am THANKFUL......

So today I'm going to celebrate by finally writing about my little ones and how they came to us. I want to write their story before all the craziness begins in the next little while. My goal is still to make it to Halloween, which would put me at 34 weeks. For the first time ever, I think my doctors are starting to think that this is possible. So we're going to think positive and hope for another 5 or 6 weeks of baby-growing bliss.

Our sweet babies are here because of in vitro fertilization, and with the help of some truly amazing doctors and nurses at the Utah Center for Reproductive Medicine in Salt Lake City. If you happen to know our infertility history, you remember that Kevin and I have attempted IVF twice before in the summer of 2009 in Chicago. You can read about it HERE. IVF has been one of the craziest, most thrilling, most emotionally trying experiences of my life. Through the whole process, which can take about a month or so, and with every shot and every blood test and ultrasound, you still look in the mirror and wonder if there will even be a baby in the picture when it's all over. And for us, there never has been. Until this April. :)

Kevin and I weren't sure if we would be able to do IVF again or if it was the right thing to do. By last July we'd been approved for our next adoption and on the LDSFS website for 18 months. We'd done our best to spread the word that we were hoping to adopt again. We ordered pass along cards and sent them with Christmas cards and gave them to well-wishers. We felt good about the possibility of adopting again. But I just wasn't ready to let go of the possibility of becoming pregnant and adding to our family that way as well. My sister Jaime knew of an amazing doctor in Salt Lake City and once I heard about him and his clinic, I just couldn't get it out of my head (usually a sign). Then we planned a trip to Utah for a family reunion last August. Kevin and I decided to go meet with this doctor for an IVF consultation and just see how we felt about it. We made the appointment and set all the paperwork and medical records into motion months in advance.

Still, walking into the clinic I was unsure. I wanted it to be the right thing so badly. But it would mean so much sacrifice for us and for those who offered to help us try once again. The "what if's" stayed in my mind all that morning. What if it doesn't work again? What if it's just another waste of time and money? What if it's not meant to happen? What if my body doesn't respond the way we hope? Well, the "what if's" still lingered as we walked out of the clinic later that day. But I didn't care. I had just met the most AMAZING IVF doctor and his team and I felt so calm about it. I felt encouraged and knew that it was the right thing to do. We had to try just one last time. This doctor used completely different meds than I had been given before, and just looking at the records of our past cycles, he pointed out so many things that had bothered me about my previous meds or procedures before I even asked about them. If anyone was going to help us, it would be him. And there were so many changes that had taken place since our last heartbreaking attempts the summer before. Since then, I had had surgery to clean up my endometriosis and remove several painful cysts. My doctor made the right call to put me on six months of Depot Lupron injections immediately after the surgery so that my body could heal even further. When the awesome IVF doctor learned that I had just finished a regimen of Lupron, he did an ultrasound on me expecting to find shriveled little raisins for ovaries (a side effect of the drug). But he found that my ovaries were stellar, full-sized and ready to go with 5 follicles on my right side and 3 on my left. My body wanted to be pregnant. It was great to hear!

So Kevin and I set up our last IVF cycle for March 2011. Dr. Awesome didn't want me to attempt a cycle until at least early November because of the Lupron, and I didn't want to drive across Nebraska and Wyoming in the winter. So we decided to wait until spring. I gave myself plenty of flexibility for arriving in Utah just in case the weather didn't cooperate. And BOY did it NOT! You all probably remember the crazy snow storms and blizzards that hit the whole country this last January and February???? Yeah, I was trying to get to Utah to start this last adventure and I don't think that I've watched the weather so closely! I would set a date to leave and then another storm would blow through and dump over a foot of snow in Cheyenne and Evanston. Bah! Then it was like the skies cleared and the roads dried out for a 36 hour window and I took off. Noah, Abbie, and I sailed through Wyoming under clear blue skies and perfect roads and made it to our destination without a worry. And later that night, Evanston received another foot of snow. That was our very first miracle during this adventure.

My puppy, my little boy, and I literally moved in with my super awesome brother Sean and his sweet family for the month of March. I was SOOOOOO grateful for their hospitality and love. I had a comfortable place to stay and my son had his boy cousins to play with while I was distracted. My sister Jaime played an amazing role in this process too. She offered her home to us as well, and she gave me the emotional support and medical expertise that I needed to get through my meds. Kevin stayed in Nebraska and worked until the last part of the process when we hoped that we would have an embryo transfer. Since we were using his frozen sperm that we had transferred from Chicago to Salt Lake, he didn't really need to come any sooner and use all of his time off. Fortunately, my sweet mother flew out to be with us and to help take care of Noah and Abbie while I did the cycle.

Where all the magic happened:

Dr. Awesome did my baseline ultrasound on Monday, March 7th and found that my ovaries were at just the right point to begin. He had timed it perfectly so that my body was at the very beginning of a "normal" menstrual cycle, so it was the right time to start meds to stimulate as many ovarian follicles as possible in the next 2 weeks. I began my shots on March 9th.

The meds arrive in the mail:

My stimulation involved giving myself subcutaneous injections (in my belly) for 8 to 12 days. I was monitored very closely by ultrasound and blood work during that time and especially towards the end. They would count the number of follicles and how big they were each time. Once some of my ovarian follicles reached a certain size, it would be time to retrieve the eggs. It's amazing. It's all timed just right and then everyone hopes that each of those big follicles will contain a mature egg that may become a chance for a baby. I started out with 3 shots per day for 4 days. Then I had a total of 4 shots per day for the next 2 days. And then back to 3 shots per day for the last 4 days. It sounds a lot more complicated than it really was! Basically, I gave myself 3 meds that tried to stimulate as many ovarian follicles as possible. Then, on day 5, some of my follicles were big enough that I had to start giving myself an "antagonist." A med that would stop my body from ovulating any eggs that were forming at that point. In a nut shell, I had over 20+ follicles filling with fluid in my ovaries and the meds were making it so that they just kept getting bigger and bigger until Dr. Awesome could go in and collect the fluid and eggs. It got to the point where I felt like I had 2 sensitive water balloons inside me! I couldn't move very easily and within about 20 minutes of giving myself the shots I could feel them start to "zing" me, or send little sharp sparks while they grew. It's a crazy feeling that any woman who's gone through IVF could describe to you.

Days 1-4:

Days 5-10:

What my belly looked like on Day 3...

On day 10 of my stimulation, I was ready for my egg retrieval. It was time for my "trigger shot." This is an injection of pure HCG that needs to be given exactly 36 hours before they retrieve the eggs. So I stayed the night at my sister Jaime's home the night of March 18th and she gave me the intramuscular injection at just the right time (8:30pm). 36 hours later, on March 20th, I was at the clinic for my egg retrieval, praying that the results would be so much different than the last 2 times. From our previous 2 attempts, they had only been able to retrieve 6 and 5 eggs. So bitterly disappointing, considering that for us creating embryos is not enough. Our little ones have to be tested for cystic fibrosis before they will consider transferring them (just another hoop that Kevin and I had to jump through in order to make it work). The more eggs retrieved, the more embryos that may be created and tested. And the greater the chances that there will be 1 or 2 that will be healthy and will give us hope for a baby. My mother came with me to the clinic, and I was so glad to have her there with me. Everything went well, and as I was waking up from the AWESOME drugs that they give you for a procedure like that, I heard the doctor say the most beautiful number EVER. 16 eggs!!!!!! I couldn't believe it. 16 beautiful, perfect little chances.

I went back home to sleep off everything, and waited for the phone calls that would come over the next 5 days from the embryology lab. This is where numbers play such a big part of everything. The next day (Day 1 of life for our little embryos), we were told that out of our 16 eggs, 8 were mature and were fertilized using Kevin's "little soldiers" (that's how we referred to his frozen sperm... Remember that you have to keep a sense of humor when doing IVF or you'll go crazy!) I just couldn't believe that we had 8 little embryos! It was a dream come true. By Day 2, one of the embryos had "arrested" or stopped growing. So they began the genetic testing on the remaining 7. I kept my fingers crossed and prayed like crazy.

Meanwhile, on March 22nd, Kevin flew to Salt Lake City and joined us for the remainder of the time. It was so comforting to finally have him there as a part of everything. I'd missed him so much. The test results wouldn't be ready until the morning of March 25th, when the embryos were 5 days old. We were to receive a call letting us know how many of our embryos were healthy, if any, and if there would actually be an embryo transfer later that day. When the call came, we learned that 4 of our little ones had been affected by cystic fibrosis and weren't able to be transferred. It's so heartbreaking to lose more than half... Just like that. Just like last time. But we had 3 perfectly healthy little ones ready for us. We felt so very blessed. It was a chance. :) Kevin and I headed to the clinic right away.

2 of our little ones were so stellar, the doctors rated them as 11's out of 10's. They were "textbook perfect." Here's the picture that they took of them right before they did the transfer:

They were "hatching," where all the cells that had been forming up to that point were coming out of the egg and getting ready to attach to the uterine lining. The one on top they estimated to be around 100 cells, and the lower one to be about 60 cells. It was a beautiful sight! They were ready to go. In fact, they were so incredible that the doctors told us that if we transferred them both that our chances of having twins went from 25% to 50%. We know how THAT went! And our chances of triplets (should one of the embryos split) went from 3% to 10%. We were overwhelmed by that thought, but knew that it would be a blessing no matter what. It would be the way it was supposed to be. After all, through the whole process, we had to leave the science in the hands of capable doctors, and the outcome of every part of it in the hands of a loving Father in Heaven.

Kevin and I signed the necessary forms and then they gave me some valium. The doctor joked and said that Kevin could have some valium when I delivered twins. Little did he know.... :) We watched on a TV screen while the embryologist in the lab next door collected our 2 stellar little embryos into a catheter, and then he walked into our room and handed everything to the doctor. The transfer took about 10 seconds, and then I stayed laying down for almost an hour with a pillow under my knees for comfort. Then Kevin and I were ready to go home, and I was put on bed rest for 4 days. They would call us the next day and tell us how our last little one was doing in the lab. At that point, it was doing just okay. They didn't really know what would happen, but we hoped for the best. If it started to do better and showed promise, then they would go ahead and freeze it for us for the future. We knew that if neither of the perfect little ones now inside me didn't stay, our last little embryo still safe in the lab would truly be our last chance.

On our way home after the transfer:

The lab called the next morning during breakfast and told us that our last little one had arrested during the night. I just broke down and cried for the first time in the whole process. I had stayed strong for all the shots and all the "what ifs" and all the tests and procedures. But that was my breaking point. I lost it, and grieved for my 6 little embryos that didn't make it through to the end. I let go of them as I wept on Kevin's shoulder. For better or for worse, our hopes had been transferred back inside me the day before, and I prayed that they were still there. They were all we had left.

Kevin, Noah, Abbie, and I packed up all of our stuff and headed back home to Nebraska 5 days later on March 30th. We stopped for the night in Logan to see my grandparents and it was so much fun! We ate some of Grandma Stephie's homemade turkey noodle soup and bread, and Noah donned his full Darth Vader and Spiderman outfits for them. It was the perfect relaxing end to one of the craziest months of my life.

The end of an IVF cycle is by far the most emotionally trying part. There's something called the "2 week wait," and anyone who's been through it can tell you it is absolutely excruciating. Everything is over and done. Now you just have to WAIT until the day when you go and get your blood drawn to find out if you are, in fact, pregnant. Every little twinge your body makes, every little change or lack of. Everything makes you wonder... Am I really? Is it possible? The doctors wanted me to start intramuscular progesterone in oil injections the night of my egg retrieval and continue until I had my pregnancy test on April 6th. THIS was really the emotional and physical mountain that I had to climb for this last IVF attempt. I had always done subcutaneous shots before, and I just didn't know if I could give myself these shots. In my own hip. Yikes. But I was really inspired by several women who posted about their experiences, and by one woman in particular that put a video of herself doing this on YouTube. I watched her do it and I said to myself, "I can do that... for the baby." I will put her video at the end of this post so you can see what I mean. And Jaime was with me when I did my first one, just in case I needed her and in case I FREAKED out (which I did NOT). I knew that she or Kevin would help give them to me if I needed them to. But I was determined to do it myself, as the last bit of control that I had over the outcome of everything. Anyway...back to the story. I had been giving myself progesterone shots for over 2 weeks when I took my blood test. I FELT very pregnant at that point. But I didn't know if it was because of the meds, or if I really was.... I couldn't say it out loud.

Progesterone in Oil:

I was at the hospital lab here in Lincoln by 7:00am on the morning of April 6th. I had my blood draw lab slip in my hand and I felt so overwhelmed. They took my blood and said they would fax the results to the doctor in Salt Lake City. That morning kind of seemed like a blur. I remember that Kevin stayed home from work so that we could receive the news together. Lunchtime came and I finally sat down to eat with my boys. I had just taken a bite of PB&J when my phone rang. Of course!!! I scrambled to drink some milk while Kevin answered my phone. It was Dr. Awesome from Salt Lake City. The minute I got on the phone, my heart was overjoyed. They had me on speaker phone with all the other doctors and nurses who had been part of the experience. And they all told me at the same time.... "Congratulations... You're pregnant!!!!!" I think I was in shock. I remember laughing and looking over at Kevin who was beaming. And on the other end of the phone they were clapping and telling me my due date. December 9th. " How wonderful! You'll have a baby by the end of the year."

How wonderful.... We were so THANKFUL.

I continued my progesterone shots until I was 13 weeks along, and then I was done. We had an ultrasound on April 26th to see HOW MANY babies were there. We knew there was at least one, and that was all that mattered. When we saw both babies on the monitor, we learned that BOTH of our special little ones had stayed this time. Our prayers answered... Our dreams reality. Our babies were there and they were real. Just a few months before that day, I had wondered if I would ever know that kind of joy on this earth. It is so much more beautiful than I imagined. And knowing that joy also makes me so much more grateful (if that's possible!) for my little Noah and how he came to us. We are THANKFUL. :)

I actually took some videos of me giving myself my progesterone shot, just so I could document it and so I could look back someday and remember that I actually did it! Here they are, if you want to see them. Don't worry, you don't see my back side. :)

The injection prep:

Injection time:

Here's the YouTube video that inspired me so much:

So that's the story of how our babies came to us... And soon, but hopefully not TOO soon, I will be writing the story of their birth and the day that our Noah officially became a big brother. :)

I'll leave you with a last little treasure of IVF humor. A few weeks ago I was on the phone with my brother Sean while Mom and Kevin were in the room. I just thanked Sean for everything that he and his beautiful wife Maren had done for us while we were there with them and for all their love and support. I was so glad that they could be a part of it with us. Then Sean said,

"Yeah, Maren and I are so glad that we were there when the babies were conceived..." TOTALLY joking....

I burst out laughing and told Mom and Kevin what Sean said. They laughed and then Kevin said,

" I wish I could have been there!"

Yeah, good times. Sorry if you find that offensive, but having been through everything, we thought it was pretty funny. :)

Love to you all and hope you are having an amazing September, full of little and BIG miracles.

Nicole
@>->--

Never Forget...

2011-09-11T16:34:00.005-05:00

Noah helped his daddy put out the flag this morning. When I asked him to help, he wanted to know why we were flying the flag. It occurred to me that I've never told him about September 11th.

It's amazing how children just understand good and bad, right and wrong. I told my son that ten years ago this morning some evil men got on airplanes, took control of them, and flew them into buildings. The buildings caught fire and collapsed and many, many people died. So we fly the flag today to remember those that died. And to honor our country. He just looked at me and then asked a few follow-up questions, like how did they get on the planes, where were these men from, and why did they do that. You know, I did my best to answer him honestly. I think he just took it all in, and then helped Daddy with the flag.

I only had the dream of my Noah and his baby brother and sister inside me that day ten years ago. And I was frightened by what the world would hold for them if something like that could actually happen. But I now know that hope is real. And faith is real. So when despair comes, let there be hope and faith also.

God bless America.

And let us never forget.

Chocolate truth....

2011-08-31T21:20:00.004-05:00

Out of the mouth of babes....

My Noah is a very intuitive eater. Even if he doesn't touch the salad or green beans that we lovingly put on his plate for him. :) I seriously never need to worry about him over-eating. He will stop when he's full and save the rest for later. Even with desserts!!!!

Our good friends Jeff and Patricia went to Costco the other day and brought me back the most decadent, rich, layered, fudge-filled cake EVER.... E-V-E-R. They know me so well. So when Noah finished his spaghetti tonight, he wanted a slice of that goodness for dessert. When Gram set that big slice of cake in front of him with a glass of cold milk, I said to him, "Remember, Stud. That's too much cake for a big boy. So you can stop when your tummy is full and save the rest for later." He agreed and went to town.

Then Gram put a nice, thick slice in front of me. Noah looked up from his cake and said, "Wow.... that's a LOT of cake for a big fat lady!"

Thanks, Kid. :)

Of course everyone burst into laughter. Noah told me later as I was reading to him in bed that he just said that to be funny. No problem, Baby. Then he said that he knows I'm not fat. I just have babies. And he kissed my tummy. Chocolate brings out great truth. :)

I want another piece of cake.

6 Months...

2011-08-12T19:40:00.008-05:00

I'm officially 23 weeks today. Only one more week until my next big milestone for the babies! Not that I feel like anything will happen, but I will definitely breathe a little bit easier once I'm past that mark. "Just in case..." That seems to be my specialist's favorite phrase these days. :)

One thing that I've learned about my Noah over the past year or so is that he is quite the photographer. He's pretty good! Even if he does walk around the house taking pictures of the toilets and garbage cans. His interpretation is still justified... ha. Anyway, I LOVE transferring the pictures from the camera to the computer and seeing what exactly intrigued him that day. So I thought I would put his talent to good use yesterday. I asked Noah to take some pictures of me with my pregnant belly now that I'm officially 6 months along. And we wanted to surprise Kevin. After breakfast, we went out to our new front porch and I planted myself down and little dude did his stuff with the camera. So cute!!!! And funny... he'd stop for a second and say, "K, I've got to get a different angle now...." And he'd drop to one knee to take the picture, all the while still looking through the little old school view finder even though I'd opened the awesome 2" LCD flip screen for him. What a guy. :)

So at long last, Poppets, here are some pictures of the belly. (Photos by Noah G. Smith)

Well, THEN Noah and Abbie Mae were in the moment and completely adorable. So we took some fun pictures of all of us. These are some of my favorites. If you can't tell, Abbie LOOOOOOOOOOVES Noah.... She sat right down next to him and he couldn't help but love on her.

Happy weekend to all!!!!

Keepin' Cool....

2011-08-09T13:35:00.004-05:00

We are LOVING having a backyard... at long last!!!!! Abbie Mae is in puppy heaven. She can finally go outside... by HERSELF... and just lay in the sunshine and feel the breeze. And I love that I can just open the door and let her out. Especially when there are no mosquitoes or lake flies here to torment everyone. Just fireflies that glitter at sundown for a little while. I love this home. I love our yard. :)

And Noah Gregory has found yet another reason why his new backyard is so absolutely awesome. He has his own personal little wading pool, complete with sandbox toys that we rescued from all the spiders at our old home near the lake. Yay!!!!!

Here's a glimpse of the fun:

'Course, Abbie doesn't care for the cool pool. See for yourself....

Hope you're having a great week wherever you may be!

Love,
Someone who's DYING to go wading for a few minutes :)
@>->--

Insufficient

2011-08-06T15:11:00.008-05:00

I'm BAAAAAAAAA-aaaaaaack.....

WARNING: This post might contain a little TMI for the average reader. It's about pregnancy, K?

It's amazing what can happen literally overnight. :) So.... I have an insufficient cervix. Now I know.

Today I am just overwhelmed that as I sit here I can still feel the babies moving quietly and that they are safe. Last week Kevin and I had quite the scare. I went in for my routine OB check and for my 20 week ultrasound appointment and they were shocked to discover that my cervix was thinning quickly and that my babies were in trouble. Not that THEY would have known it. They were just as feisty as ever on the ultrasound. :) But had we not been watched over (by Heavenly Father) and taken care of very quickly by my wonderful OB and some amazing Perinatology specialists in Omaha, my sweet babies would have certainly found themselves coming too soon (possibly over last weekend) and not because they were ready. We almost lost them. The thought still chills me and I know that I was guided to my appointment that day for a reason.

For some reason Noah spiked a fever of 104 degrees the night before. Kevin had taken the day off of work so that he could come with me to my appointment. He hadn't been able to "see" the little ones since our initial ultrasound at 6 weeks when they just looked like little kidney beans. So I talked about just rescheduling for another time so that he could still come with me, but he was very adamant about me going and he stayed home with our sick little boy. I still get chills when I think about if I'd rescheduled.... So I went to my appointment by myself, feeling pretty good. After the ultrasound, I waited in the exam room to see my doctor and when she walked in I knew how serious it was just by the look on her face. I ended up in Omaha pretty quickly and they admitted me to the hospital right away. Yeah... I was in preterm labor and I didn't even know it!!! I was very dehydrated (we'd just gone through that awful heat index warning for the last month here in Nebraska) and my uterus was very irritable. They put me on meds to calm everything down, tipped my hospital bed back so that my head was lower than my feet, and there I stayed for 2 days, all the while praying that the babies were okay.

On the second day the doctors did a cervical cerclage and we all crossed our fingers that Baby Boy's bag of waters didn't break over the next few days, which according to doctor would not have surprised him given the state of things. NOT what a 21 week pregnant lady wants to hear. They gently informed Kevin and me of the ramifications if that were to happen and if my body went into labor. Basically, the babies are too little and they would not be able to intervene to help them. But as I listened to them and took in everything they were saying, I just felt calm. Almost like I knew that wouldn't happen. It was surreal. Kevin had given me a priesthood blessing before we went to Omaha and it was AMAZING. I know that the babies are here for a reason. Two failed IVF attempts testify to me that these two little spirits are meant to be here at this time and for a purpose. They are strong and thriving, despite what my weak body tried to do. And I just have this feeling that they have a lot to accomplish in this life. I know that, for whatever reason, they are being watched over constantly. Needless to say, we were very shaken and very prayerful as we left the hospital the next day after my procedure. AND, my eyes were full of popped blood vessels because of the position of my hospital bed. Not fun, but very worth it. :)

So I'm officially on BED REST..... Whoo-Hoo!!!!!!! It's been quite an adjustment for me. I'm not one to sit and take everything in while others work around me. I've been yelled at by Kevin, my mother (who hopped on a plane and got in just before midnight after I was discharged from the hospital... LOVE you, Mom.), and by my Noah. "Mommy! Get on the couch! The babies need you to rest." The next 7 weeks are very critical and we're taking it "baby steps" at a time. My follow up appointment with my doctor in Omaha went well this week. He says that I'm "still a woman to be worried about..." but that he's encouraged by the way things look right now. I wish he would just tell me that everything will be okay and that I will carry the babies to 34 weeks, no problem. And I know that he wishes he could tell me that, too! But for now my next big milestone is 24 weeks. I'll get steroid shots "just in case..." But again, I'm feeling very calm and VERY watched over from above... as well as from all corners of this house. Depending on where everyone is at the moment. :)

I'll leave you with these little treasures. First, some pictures of my little pirate.

And second, my little boy LOVES Primary and he's been learning to sing the hymn "Praise to the Man." Enjoy!

Love,

Someone who is may actually catch up on her SCRAPBOOKING this year....
@>->--

BLUE and PINK!!!!

2011-07-13T11:02:00.003-05:00

We found out a little early!!!!! I went to my doctor's appointment last Tuesday, and since my Mom was in town she came with me. So fun to have her there! I wanted her to meet my super awesome amazing doctor before all the craziness happens in a few months. :) When my doctor looked for the heartbeats with the doppler, for some reason she couldn't find Baby B. K, I'm paranoid ANYWAY at this point because I'm not sure if I've felt them move or not and I wonder every second just how they are doing and if they are OK. But she wasn't concerned and sent us down to ultrasound just to check on the babies. SOOOOO..... I asked if, since they were taking a look ANYWAY.... could we find out the genders? Of course! The only problem was that I wanted Kevin to be there or to find out right when I did. So the ultrasound tech told me when to look away from the screen and she printed some pictures that told us the WHOLE story (if you know what I'm sayin'....) and sealed them in an envelope for us. My MOM, however, was grinning from ear to ear because she watched the whole thing and I'm so glad. :) She's never been to one of her grandbaby's ultrasounds before and it was really special. The whole ride home she held the envelope. And Kevin, Noes, and I opened it the second we got home.

Baby A is a BOY and Baby B is a GIRL!!!!!! So if you guessed one of each, you were absolutely right. Well done! The poll is closed... It was a lot of fun to see what you all thought. And I love that more than one of you (including Dad Smith) voted for the "puppies wagging their tails." Awesome.

Here's the proof!

Little Brother:

Little Sister:

I was so hoping that I would get to use Noah's baby things again since they are so special. And we get to buy a little pink, too. So happy. :)

Here's the crazy thing... Noah was absolutely right on! He always insisted that Baby A was a boy and Baby B he wasn't quite sure. He was right. Just knew somehow.

Sorry that we're sharing this news a week later. What I HAVEN'T told you is that we bought a house, have been moving in this last week, and just now got our computer up and running. That's why Kev wasn't with me at the doctor's appointment. He and my dad were supervising the movers at the same time that morning. It was crazy. But I promise that I will post some pictures of the house soon... AND my belly.... Stop yelling at me, Poppets! Just as soon as I can find my camera. :)

I'm 19 weeks on Friday... Half way there!

Love to all,
Someone who's finding it very difficult to paint her toenails these days
@>->--

Reason #568...

2011-06-27T08:47:00.002-05:00

....why Daddy is so super cool. He teaches Noah fun FUN games.

Like this:

I've been trying to upload this video for a few days now, but I kept encountering problems. So hope you enjoyed the noofy craziness going on daily here at our home. :) I know that I do!

Love,
Nicole

Happy Father's Day!

2011-06-19T19:05:00.004-05:00

".... A DADDY is someone who keeps pictures where his money used to be."

Noah celebrated Father's Day this year with his daddy by going on a super AWESOME "Daddy Date" on Friday.... Meaning that I got an afternoon to myself, too! Score.

Kevin took little dude to see Kung Fu Panda 2 in 3D and then to Red Robin for dinner. Talk about some quality father-son time! And some super cool 3D glasses that were JUST Noah's size. :)

So Happy Father's Day to all you special DADS out there... Including my own! The world would not be the same without you and your awesomeness.

Thanks for all you do for us, Kev. Little Boy is still your biggest fan. :)

What do YOU think?

2011-06-16T09:18:00.007-05:00

It's amazing. I blink and I find that I haven't blogged again in two or three weeks! BUT at least THIS time I left you all with Aerosmith, not Richard Simmons. :) Hope that was a good thing for most of you...

I'm 15 weeks tomorrow. Holy Cow! And I'm feeling much MUCH better. Still don't want anything to do with ground beef though. My poor boys want hamburgers and I'd rather NOT. :) I'm hoping to post the full story of how this amazingness came to be very soon! Thanks for your patience and for not sending threats until it gets done... 'Preciate ya.

But for now I've added a little survey to the right -------------------------------->

We find out in just about a month what we're having and I'm curious what you all are thinking! Noah swears that Baby A is a boy and he's "just not sure" about Baby B. We will see. I kind of feel like they're both boys, but like we care one way or the other!!!!! I would GLADLY buy some pink. :)

OH!!!!! And we are now officially off of the LDSFS adoption website. So if you were kind enough to help us spread the word by posting one of our little adoption buttons, feel free to take it down now. It looks like this:

And we thank you and LOVE you for doing that. :)

K, now I'm leaving you with a few pix of the babies at about 10 weeks. I think they have Kevin's eyes. Ha! .... No, really. I do. :)

Baby A:

Baby B:

(Happy Sigh).... I love them SO much. Just can't wait.

Now I'm off to play with my big boy while it rains outside. We were going to go to the pool, but maybe this weekend! Then Daddy can come too. That's even better. :)

Have a good one,

Nicole
@>->--

He's still got it!!!!

2011-05-26T09:37:00.003-05:00

Did you SEE this?????? Kevin and I will be the first ones to admit that we did not regularly watch American Idol this season... Meh. We caught a few shows. BUT, we did tune in for the last ten minutes of the finale last night... And we couldn't have turned on the TV at a better time. Holy Schnikeys!!!! Steven Tyler still has it, decades later. We had goosebumps and sat straight up on the couch. So amazing... After glancing at the disgusting and sexually explicit performance by Lady Gaga just minutes before, I still think that classic rock rules! After all his quirky comments and crazy humor (usually with -bleeped- moments!), last night he proved why he was there on the judges' panel.

What a payoff at the end... Kevin even said, "That's pretty impressive!" This is for all you Aerosmith fans out there:

Crazy Birds

2011-05-25T19:13:00.003-05:00

So... it's been a crazy CRAZY storm season thus far. We send our good thoughts and prayers to the people who have had everything taken from them by recent storms and tornadoes (Joplin, MO - Officially classified as an F5 tornado... Insane). And while we've had our fair share of scary moments, we are still blessed to be safe and sound here in Lincoln.

On a lighter note, one of the more interesting or quirky effects of these storms has been this montage of crazy BIRDS that dive and swerve and almost try to kill you while they seek flying insects after the rain. I'm not kidding. We take Abbie outside to go potty and we almost get taken OUT.... Abbie's fine. She's too close to the ground. :) But I still remember the look on Kev's face when he came in from his first encounter the other night. "Have you seen the birds???" he asked. Wow. How can you not go out and take a look-see? Yeah, crazy swallows.

So here's a little video that I took today after more rain. It really doesn't do the scene justice, but you get the idea.

Hitchcock dreamed of moments like this.... he he....

Little Sliders...

2011-05-23T14:30:00.003-05:00

Noah had a LOT of fun with all his cousins while we were in Utah in March. I was just cleaning up my phone when I found these little videos of Noah and Maeli at the park. Too cute to pass up.

Enjoy!

This one is sideways... Sorry. :)

Close Encounters of the Insensitive Kind....

2011-05-12T15:11:00.012-05:00

Well, I didn't expect it to happen so soon. But I can check my first encounter with insensitive comments off my list! I mean, really.

I'm ten weeks pregnant now, and since there are TWO little ones growing, my pants don't fit me anymore. :) So a few days ago I decided to go to the mall and look for a few solutions. I ended up at JC Penney, and I found some really cute things, too. I was feeling like it was a great morning out... Until I went to the check out and encountered a very pleasant woman... who opened her mouth.

She was obviously folding and scanning maternity clothes, so she smiled big and asked me if I was going to have a baby. I said yes. She asked if this was my first. I replied that it was my first pregnancy, but that I also have a little four year old boy. She gave me a puzzled look. I explained that we had adopted our son when he was a newborn. I said this with a familiar smile on my face because usually this revelation is followed by warm conversation about how wonderful that is and how lucky we were to be part of that experience.

This was not the case that day.

With a half-smile on her face, she proceeded to tell me just how happy she was for me that I can finally have a child of "my own" and how it's just not the same unless you've felt them grow inside of you and unless you've gone through labor and "sacrificed" for them to come. I was so SHOCKED by what I was hearing. I think I went numb.

Seeing that I was not nodding in agreement with her, she went on to further explain her point.

"I mean, you know, it's just different when they're not really yours. They don't look like you and it's just different...."

NOTE: This woman was very visibly pregnant herself, a fact that became very irritating to me as she went on....

I just stood there. I couldn't believe what I was hearing!!! So she added one last morsel to her mountain of @$%#@@%$#.... I mean, wisdom. :)

"You know, I have a step son. And it's just not the same. I mean, he's not my child."

I hadn't acknowledged what she was saying at all, and there was quite a line forming behind me. So at that point she finished the sale in silence. What could I say to that? How could I even respond? Where would I even begin????

WOW.

Thank you for congratulating me on the children growing inside me, all while insulting my precious little boy who came to me a different way. And THANK YOU for dissing my ability and conviction to love a child that did not come from my body. And you are SO AWESOME for loving your step son like he's not your child. I'm sure he feels every ounce of your sincerity.

I didn't want the debate, and I didn't want to hear another word. So I just smiled, took my bag from her and said, "Well, I know that MY SON is very VERY excited to be a big brother soon. Thank you."

I walked away shaking. What bothers me the most is whether or not she would have had the courage to speak her true feelings had my Noah been right by my side that day. I'm sure he would have been the one to tell her that this is the way Heavenly Father wanted our family to be and how lucky he is to have a birthmother who loves him so much.

I wonder if she would have been able to deny the living proof right in front of her that Adoption is about LOVE.

Guess What......

2011-05-03T20:09:00.004-05:00

We've been trying to come up with the right way to break this news to the world (through our humble little blog, of course!). And finally we just decided to let a few pictures speak for themselves....

..... Look very closely. We're having TWINS!!!!!

The FULL story is coming VERY soon... When I feel like I can pry myself from the couch. :) I'm just so thrilled about feeling this exhausted!

And believe me when I say that we try every day to be deserving of our little miracles.

Love,

Someone who is now eating for THREE.... When I can go near the kitchen.
@>->--

Easter

2011-05-03T12:34:00.006-05:00

We had a fun, relaxed time this Easter weekend. Noah did a great job supervising the coloring of the eggs... and I made deviled eggs for the first time! They turned out really well. I called my mom, though, because I wanted them to taste just like HERS. And they did, so I was happy. :)

The BASKET....

I swear that Noah is getting taller everyday! I've always known that he will be taller than his momma, but I'd like to think that I have a few years left to look DOWN into those beautiful green eyes and tell him how much I love him.

At least I know that Abbie will always be right by my ankles. :)

Hope you all had a HOPPIN' good time.... Oh the Easter candy!

Love,
Someone who has a problem with Cadbury Creme Eggs.... They don't last long in my house.

@>->--

Myths...

2011-04-28T18:18:00.007-05:00

Hay -ay!!!!!

It's me. I'm back from vacay and trying oh so hard to catch my breath, go through our mail, update our financial records, and avoid house work all together. :) Sorry that I've neglected the blog for a month. And even MORE sorry that the last thing I left you all with was Richard Simmons! Wow....

This week, April 24-30th is National Infertility Awareness Week. (For those of you who weren't in the know!) Obviously this is something that Kevin and I have spent the last decade trying to overcome and is something that is at the very heart of who we are as a married couple, as an eternal family, and as friends that are going through this trial together. We've had our fair share of dark, rainy moments full of tears and frustration. And we've basked in the sunlight of love from a merciful Father in Heaven when he blessed us with our son. We are who we are today because of our infertility. And for that, we are blessed.

We've also dealt with our fair share of myths and insensitive comments over the years! Some still make me shake my head at the very recollection... But instead of listing them off, I want to participate in what is the "Bust-a-Myth" for Infertility Awareness Week.

I found the following list of myths about infertility on one of my favorite blogs by a fellow adoptive couple named Que and Brittany. You can find their blog HERE. And I liked it so much that I thought I would post it. For those of you who have heard these, and more importantly LIVED through the pain of these, may the head shaking and teeth gnashing begin!

If you relax, you'll get pregnant. (I was actually told several times to get a puppy and that would relax me. NOT why we got Abbie, K.)

If you adopt, you'll get pregnant. (Ho ho.... LOVE this one. If I had a penny....)

Fertility issues only affect women.

Only good and righteous people are blessed with children. (....... No comment.....that I feel I can post.)

If you had more faith, you would get pregnant. (See above. Seriously????)

Infertility is a sign you were never meant to be a parent. (Words that every woman going through infertility hopes never come true.)

IVF is easy, it's covered by insurance, and it always works. (Blah, blah, blah,..... Infertile couples are completely IGNORED by insurance companies who should be ashamed of themselves. Having a baby and becoming a family isn't "elective procedure." Not in my book.)

If you and your spouse are infertile, you are obligated to adopt, because in the world there are lots of children who need homes.

Infertility is always a sign that the couple waited too long to try to conceive. (January, 2001: I threw away my birth control pills, hoping to have a baby that year. I was 23.)

Adoption permanently cures all of the heartache caused by infertility. (The adoption process sometimes makes the hopeful couple feel more powerless than ever before. And while adoption is so beautiful and makes it possible for so many to become parents, it doesn't always help to make you feel less "broken." But it does build priceless relationships with amazing birth parents and their families. :) )

Infertility is a blessing because compared to being pregnant and giving birth, adoption is the easy way to get a baby. (......again, it's easy to think that when you've been pregnant and given birth. But to be on the outside looking in, pretty empty feeling.)

People suffering from infertility will always want to discuss the medical details about their condition with anyone who asks. (Yeah, please don't assume this! I've always been rather forthcoming, but not everyone is. Plus, it's just painful to acknowledge let alone discuss sometimes.)

IVF and surrogacy should always be considered as options by infertile couples before they consider adoption. (Why??? Children come into our lives right when they are supposed to, and through divine intervention. I say don't ever limit your options, because you may be the answer to someone else's prayers as well. :) )

If an infertile couple chooses to adopt, it means they "gave up" on having a biological child. (Noah is my flesh and blood, as if from my own body. But I just don't think that I would ever be able to "give up." Moving on is not the same as giving up. Letting go is NOT the same as giving up.)

I'm sure that several of you could add to this list! And maybe you will on your own blogs. Feel free.... In the meantime, thanks for spreading awareness about such a sensitive and important issue that affects all of us in some way.

AND.... Mother's Day is coming up. So I encourage you to look around at the back of the chapel that Sunday and notice who can't help but cry openly on her husband's shoulder, or see if they both are trying to hide their tears. If you do hug her later, don't feel like you need to say anything. Just let her know that you know by your warm embrace. And leave it at that, unless she wants to vent! Been there.... :)

Love much,

Someone who is no longer broken. :)

WARNING: The following is VERY disturbing...

2011-03-28T12:37:00.002-05:00

It's just horrible... My eyes.... I CAN'T... STOP.... WATCHING!!!!!!

.... Enjoy.

BTW - I found this from a friend of a friend's blog. I'm not personally seeking out Richard Simmons. :)

Famous last words

2011-03-27T12:38:00.002-05:00

Noah has REALLY enjoyed being here in Utah with *almost* all of his cousins. Because of his interactions with his boy cousins in particular, he has absolutely fallen in LOVE with superheroes like Superman, Batman, and of course your friendly neighborhood Spiderman! Coincidentally, I had secretly purchased a Spiderman costume on clearance right after Halloween last Fall. I planned on giving it to Noah when the time was right. So when Kevin flew out here to join us last week, I asked if he could bring the costume with him. That would make three total Spiderman costumes in this house and it has made for some great times. :)

Yesterday Noah's little cousin Ben was having a hard day as far as "making it to the potty in time" goes... Consequently, Ben's morning jammies AND his Spiderman get-up ended up in the washing machine. He was a little down. Noah jumped in and offered to share his costume. So sweet. But of course, it came with a caveat....

Noah: "Hey Ben! It's oh-tay. You can wear MY Spiderman costume if you want."

Ben: "K! Tanks, No-ah...."

Noah: "You're welcome...... (helping Ben put it on)... Just don't go pee in it."

Ben: "K."

I'd like to say that this ended well. But three hours later, Noah's ended up in the washing machine with the others. It's "o-tay." It happens!

Good times!

@>->--

Angry Birds...

2011-03-13T22:29:00.003-05:00

Okay... All you ANGRY BIRDS fans out there. A friend told me about this little treasure. Don't know if you caught it on Conan.

But enjoy... truly!

Love,
Someone who has NEVER actually PLAYED Angry Birds... I'm afraid of being sucked in. Someday. :)

@>->--

Moooooooo

2011-03-09T21:45:00.002-06:00

So sorry for the lack of blogging of late. Noah, Abbie, and I are vacaying in Utah for the next few weeks!!! Yes, Kevin is home by himself... With a fridge full of food, a pantry full of junk food, a bin full of baking potatoes, and a 55" LCD sah-WEET television all to himself during March Madness..... Right? We miss each other, but we will be back together again soon. :)

Anywhoo! Noah and I are enjoying the wonderful hospitality of my brother and his beautiful family here in Springville. And as we take the scenic little drive up to the freeway to run errands, we say hello to all the sheep, horses, and cows along the way. Today, I started singing the barnyard song that Phoebe sings to a group of little children on friends. Not sure what I'm talking about? Well, let me help you:

Makes me smile every time. So we're driving by the cows today and I just sing "the cow in the meadow goes MOO" a few times and stop. My little boy in the back seat asks me how the rest of the song goes. I guess I've never sung it to him. Ah... all the firsts.... I decided to preface the song with a little explanation. It turned into quite a hilarious "Ah-ha!" moment.

Noah: "Hey Mommy, how does that song end?"

Me: "Well, you know how all meat and hamburger that we eat comes from cows, right?"

Long pause.... I look at him in the rear view mirror.

Noah (very wide-eyed): "..... WHAT??????!!!!!????"

Yeah, guess I dropped the ball on that one. Should have told him sooner. Ah, the firsts.... Don't worry. I finished the song for him and he got a good laugh out of it. AND he still ate most of his burger at lunchtime.

Moo,

Nicole
@>->--

A "Forceful" Moment...

2011-02-25T11:48:00.004-06:00

Well, he's at it again.

My little Darth Vader has had a few new adventures lately. I wish to report on one in particular.

Ever since that awesome Volkswagen Superbowl commercial came out, Noah has been marching around the house trying to "force" everything. Well, Wednesday evenings are very busy for us. I usually have a meeting at the church and Kevin has Young Men's or Scouts activities. So we make a family trek down to the church building and Noes will hang out with one of us until the other is finished. He's a real trooper (so to speak!). This past Wednesday, I finished my meeting and Kevin was still playing basketball, so I decided to take dude to Kohl's for some light shopping. Please keep in mind that Noah is COMPLETELY garbed from head to toe as Darth Vader. Mask and all.

So we approach the automatic doors at Kohl's, and Noah stops just outside, takes his best Vader stance, and uses "the force" to open the doors. He does it again to open the second set of doors just inside. I thought it was pretty cute. What I didn't realize was that there were a number of people inside waiting to check out and they saw the whole thing! We entered the store to some applauding for my little Darth Vader, and everyone smiling. One guy even said to Noah as we walked by, "Dude, that was awesome...."

I'm not SURE because he had his mask on still... but I think Noah was beaming. :)

Here's a continuation of the first Volkswagen commercial if you haven't found it yet. REALLY funny. It's the "making of" version. Noah's favorite part is at the very end with the doll. I personally like when his Dad and Mom bowed down to him. I do that daily it seems.

Enjoy!

I'm off to fix Darth his lunch... May the force be with you all today!

Love,
Nicole
@>->--

Toyota Talk...

2011-02-17T16:10:00.004-06:00

Jillian and her awesome cousin, Laura, came to see us last weekend and to celebrate Noah's birthday. I LOVE that I have pictures of Jillian and Noah around his birthday for every year he's celebrated so far. I hope that tradition will continue. :)

While we were out and about on Saturday, Noah picked out a new Star Wars toy with some birthday money: Master Jedi YODA!!!! Super awesome...

On the car ride home, we were all conversing about how Jillian and her husband drive a Toyota just like us. And we were talking about how much we love our Toyotas. Little boy chimed in with his two cents.

Me: "Do you like your Toyota?"

Jillian: "Yeah, we do...."

Noah: "Well, I LOVE my toy Yoda! Because he can do Jedi jumps and he uses the force and he's so COOL!!!"

We all just cracked up. What a great listener! And I have no argument against Yoda's coolness.

Let's just talk aboud Da Cake, O-kah?

2011-02-12T09:03:00.007-06:00

It works best if you pronounce the title of this post like Franck Eggelhoffer in Father of the Bride. You know what I'm sayin' is TRUE....

Anywhoo! Noah decided that this year he wanted to have a "How To Train Your Dragon" birthday, complete with lavishly decorated cake. I looked around at different bakeries and their options. But no one seemed to offer THAT. And also, I like to make as much of Noah's birthday cakes as possible. There will come a day when, for convenience sake, I'm sure I will just order a half sheet for his party. For now, I want to give it my best!

This is my little birthday boy's face when he first saw the finished cake:

More pictures of the birthday boy coming soon, I PROMISE!!! We've had another bout of the 24 hour throw-upers... If that's not a real word, I'm declaring it as such after the night we had again last night. :) But here's a sneak peak!

F-O-U-R

2011-02-08T12:58:00.004-06:00

My little boy is 4 today!!!!

I'm a little in denial... but mostly just overjoyed. More pictures coming soon. :)

Happy Birthday, Baby!

@>->--

Hot Birthday Man....

2011-02-06T16:42:00.005-06:00

My HOT husband had a birthday on Monday, and has once again caught up in age with his old lady. :)

What can I say? I'm in love with a younger man! .... By about 50 days or so. Ha ha ha

Happiest Birthday, Kev. Love you MTA.

Coley
@>->--

The Force

2011-02-04T19:39:00.002-06:00

For some reason this 2011 Super Bowl commercial seems to remind people of Noah!

And yes, Noah has been known to attempt to use the Force ;)

~Kevin

Snow days...

2011-02-03T15:37:00.006-06:00

So... What did YOU all do this week in your own splendid corners of this country?

We were snowed in and then ICED in with wind chills around -35 below. I've heard similar stories from some of you many miles away. Kevin showed me the satellite view of the storm and I couldn't believe it. So crazy.

Needless to say, by Monday afternoon everyone in the city had been to the store for milk, water, and firewood. Then the city quieted down and waited. I slid all over the roads on my way home from such errands around 2:00pm Monday afternoon. I didn't get in the car again until this morning when Noah went back to school. Schools were cancelled for Tuesday and Wednesday, and so was Kevin's work! Very unheard of.... So we all stayed in our jammies for three days and tried to entertain ourselves. We did alright. :) We ate Kevin's award-winning homemade chili and homemade bread, and lots of birthday cake (NEXT POST, I PROMISE!!!).

So, WHAT do you DO when there's a snow drift outside your front door and your eyeballs freeze when you let the dog outside? You build a fort, of course!!!! Kev and Noes had a great time with this one. Eventually it turned into a pirate ship. But that's another story.

Eventually we pushed open the front door and opened the garage so that Kevin could shovel away the drift just in case we needed to get out. We didn't want it to turn to ice like the rest of the city! Good times....

When the city opened back up this morning, the roads were all ice, but then the sun came back out and we have the promise of 30 degree weather for the next few days. Happy Thawing!!! This is the scene around town this morning.

At least we can still see the street signs! Well, most of them.

Love,

Someone who's wearing 3 pairs of socks AND my slippers right now.... Yeah.
@>->--

Sicko

2011-01-29T07:49:00.004-06:00

My little boy has been under the weather. Last night was one of the those nights that you hope only comes in a blue moon. Man... I can't even put two thoughts together right now! Crazy. Here's the riveting story in a nutshell.

Kevin finished work at noon yesterday and we had plans to go see a much anticipated movie and grab a bite to eat. Our first date in a LONG time. Meanwhile, at home, I got out of the shower to find Noah sound asleep on the couch while watching Phineas and Ferb..... at NOON. Not a good sign. My little boy hasn't taken a regular nap since 2008. But I thought I would let him rest until I was ready and then he had a scheduled play date at a friend's house so we could have some time together. Kev came home and couldn't believe that Noah was asleep! Then we woke him to find that he was burning a fever of almost 104.

Play date cancelled. Date postponed. We had a little boy to hold. :)

The funny thing was that he had been acting perfectly "normal" up until that moment. He ate a great breakfast, chased Abbie for awhile, changed attire at least three times, and watched a few of his favorite shows. But right at noon... crazy fever. It happens. :)

My Noah isn't really a complainer. I mean, he'll tell you he's not feeling well, but he rarely gives specifics. But he started to tell me that his hips and neck hurt and he had stomach pain. The last piece of the puzzle is that Noah saw his doctor last week for a sinus infection and cough after 2 weeks of runny nose ickyness. And he hasn't finished that round of antibiotics. So I was concerned because he was on medicine and was suddenly spiking a high fever.

Urgent care... here we come!

Of course, the tylenol REALLY kicked in right after we got there. So he was all smiles, jokes, dances, and he had the doctor and assistants laughing pretty hard. He was wearing his Buzz jams, so that was the main topic of conversation. When the nurse came to the waiting room and called "Noah," my little boy just looked at her and said, "My name is Buzz Lightyear."

It continued. She was laughing pretty hard when she went to listen to his heart and he said "Don't push this red button!!! My wings will pop out and knock you across the room!" She promised she'd be careful. And when the good doctor examined him, he had Noah lie back to check his tummy. But "Buzz" told him that he had to put his helmet down first or it would break.

THEN... As the doctor was leaving the room, Noah (up on the exam table) put his hands on his knees and said, "Mom, he is just SUCH a nice doctor!" I saw the doctor laugh and shut the door behind him.

The diagnosis was that Noah has caught an additional virus while trying to get better from the first sickness. But no cause for alarm. The doctor said his fever would jump up and down over the next 24 hours, but he should be feeling better soon. When we got home, Noah fell asleep on the couch after more Tylenol. Then we figured that he should be in bed. Just as Kev and I had settled him into his favorite sheets and read him a story....

Vomit. Up came breakfast, lunch, and his most recent dose of medicine. Yikes.

I was afraid to give him anything else for a little while, so his fever spiked to 104 again and he was miserable. I was SO nervous to leave him, close the door, and go to my own bed. So I tried to sleep by him for a few hours. Then I tried more Tylenol and he settled down, but still burned hot. I don't think his fever came down below 101 all night. Yuck. Then I went to bed just after 12:30, setting my alarm for 2 so that I could stay on top of his meds. I THINK, but I'm not sure this morning because it's all blending together, that Noah pretty much called for me about every 45 minutes. By 3:30, I finally gave in and woke Kevin up and asked him to lay by Noes for a little while. I REALLY didn't want to do that. Kevin goes to work by 6 every morning and he's been fighting an oncoming cold as well. He needed his sleep. But I just needed one uninterrupted hour. My second alarm went off at 6 for another dose of meds. I found Kevin still sleeping next to our feverish little boy. So cute. We got him settled again and we both went to bed this time. 45 minutes later... "Mommy... Daddy... Mommy?"

So sweet. I laid by him for another while, and then he said he wanted to try to eat something. Awesome!

So here we are downstairs. It's just after 8:30 this morning. Noah's been on the couch for about an hour, munching dry Crispix and watching CARS. Still burning a fever... Kevin's asleep upstairs with Abbie, and I'm trying to remember what year it is.

Good times! I'm hoping that today will go better.

I need to go pull someone's favorite sheets out of the dryer....

Mister Awesome Nice Guy Dentist Man....

2011-01-24T15:16:00.006-06:00

Noah went to the dentist for the first time in October! Well, actually he went to a different dentist for his very first time before that, but it was not a very pleasant experience. Let's just say that some people have no right to treat children and just because they have a game box in their waiting room does not mean that they are child-friendly. We left that office shaking, angry, and Noah was bleeding from the mouth after a very harsh cleaning. I was NOT happy and refused to bring him back there. At no point during that visit did the dentist or any of the assistants talk to Noah and teach him about his teeth, how to brush, and why he should care. I actually sat him down after we got home and told him that they did not treat him right there and I was sorry. If I had known, I would never have taken him to that place. I promised that I would find him a nice dentist next time.

And I did just that! Thanks to the recommendation from our friends Mike and Brenda (see their awesome blog HERE!), Noah now sees...

Dr. Johnson... The most AWESOME dentist ever to walk this earth.

Of course Noah had to don his PIRATE attire for this special occasion, and the office staff and Dr. Johnson played it up so well. The assistant, Jessica, was outstanding! She said, "I've never cleaned a pirate's teeth before..." And she explained everything to Noah before he even came near the chair. She said that the light above the chair was their "sunshine," the rinser was their "water hose," the aspirator was their "vacuum cleaner," and she let little boy play with everything. He shot water straight across the room and onto the far wall, and Jessica laughed right along with him. What a difference...

Then Dr. Johnson came in and counted Noah's teeth and gave him a glowing report on his brilliant teeth. Of course, the good doctor used phrases like "Shiver me timbers" and "Aaaargh" and "hoist the sails, matey!" Noah ate up every minute of it. For his last act of kindness, Dr. Johnson put "frosting" on Noah's teeth (fluoride, actually) and told little dude that he had his permission NOT to brush his teeth again until the next day. Awesome.

Thanks, Doctor. You're the best. My little boy is already looking forward to April when he will see you again. Yes, he's been flossing like a mad man.

And I can't wait to see what he'll wear to his next visit....

Love,
A Grateful Mommy
@>->--

The tradition continues...

2011-01-18T10:34:00.004-06:00

Yes... it's true. The Luminaria has now come to Nebraska officially as of this Christmas Eve!!! We've wanted to do it so badly for many years now, but we always found ourselves home in Oregon or unable to make it happen for one reason or another. But this year we did it and I'm SOOOO thrilled to carry on this tradition. If you're not sure what the dilly I'm talking about, please see last year's Luminaria HERE.

Noah already knew what to do with the sand, the bags, and the candles. And when it was time to light them just before dark, he helped me like a pro! I hope he looks back and remembers this tradition with fondness, and maybe will carry it forward wherever life may take him! That's an exciting thought. I wonder if MY parents ever thought that there would be Luminaria around the country someday because of their efforts. Unfortunately, the Luminaria in Oregon was a no-go this year. They were under high wind warning and it would have been a frustrating fire hazard. How sad! Next year...

I was a little wary that our neighbors wouldn't want us to light up some candles in the Nebraska wind either. But as I began to place the bags and candles in the early afternoon, our neighbor came out and was so thrilled! He was actually leaving for Christmas Eve and wouldn't be back for a few days, but he wondered if we had enough to do his side of the driveway as well. Awesome. And of course we made enough to place on our other neighbor's driveway. Mr. Bud passed away in November. He was a dear friend, a one of a kind artist, and we wanted to remember him this Christmas.

Can't WAIT for next year!!!

Christmas Magic

2011-01-16T19:37:00.014-06:00

Okay... So it's mid January and I'm now just posting about Christmas morning. But it's been an amazing first 15 days of 2011! This year is full of promise, possibilities, and hope. :)

We didn't travel for this holiday season and it made for a very relaxing (church callings aside!) Christmas for the Smith family. Although we missed being with our loved ones, it was so great to have our own family Christmas. Kevin and I reminisced about our very first Christmas together after we were married. We both worked for BYU/ the MTC doing early morning custodial. So we got up at 4am on Christmas morning, went to work together for 4 hours cleaning carpets and vacuuming miles of hallways and classrooms, polishing glass doors, and cleansing drinking fountains with Foamy Q&A. Good times... Then we came home, had breakfast and opened our gifts. We spent the rest of Christmas day putting together a new entertainment center and talking to our families. It was great. And we loved every minute of this Christmas with our little boy and his pretty little pup. :)

On Christmas Eve we decorated sugar cookies for Santa's plate.

Kevin added to the holiday spirit by creating a sugar cookie Homer Simpson! Of course Noah picked this cookie for Santa's choice few!

Leaving carrots and peanut butter for the reindeer... This was one of my favorite traditions when I was a little girl.

Christmas touches around the house:

Lighting the carousel on Christmas Eve... We actually cheated and burned the candles a few times before Christmas, just because Noah loved it.

Christmas morning!!!! We wondering just how late Noah would let us sleep, and around 7:45am he wanders into our room, saying he was ready for breakfast! I think he just forgot. :)

Proof that "the Big Guy" actually came! Oh yes, Noah checked.

Merry Christmas!

Don't forget about breakfast...

Kev knows me SO well...

Kevin tackling the Christmas morning puzzle/ game that my parents always give... This year was a miniature pinball game and he enjoyed every minute!!!

But the BIG deal this Christmas was setting up another entertainment center 11 years after our first Christmas day set-up. Only this one is exponentially SWEETER... Here's a peak:

And here's the big picture... So to speak!

Here's the grand entrance on Christmas morning and discovering all the magic downstairs!

Santa brought Daddy and Noah some really cool remote cars called cyclones. Noah's favorite color is red and Daddy's is blue. So the cars just happened to match!

Of course, Abbie likes the cars too. But she just wants to show them who's boss. She gets so worked up after a play session that she usually has to take a quick trip outside! Yeah...

Alas, the Christmas tree came down before New Year's Eve this year. We had to make room for the new set-up. But TRUST ME. It was SO worth it to watch Inception on such an amazing TV. We decided that was the first movie we would watch. Noah had to wait until the next morning to watch what he wanted. I think it was How to Train Your Dragon... Outstanding. :)

K, until next year!!! Be good.

Love,

Someone who now enjoys the BLISS of the Food Network in HD. You heard me...

@>->--

Son-Beam

2011-01-12T21:19:00.003-06:00

It's official... Noah is a SunBeam now!!! And of course on his first Sunday in Primary we got a little report from his teacher.

Noah sat down in a SunBeam sized chair and said:

"Look... My feet are touching the ground. I'm sitting like a MAN."

So true.

So true....

Love,

Someone who cried a teeny bit while spying on him from the back of the Primary room. Hey, I'm allowed.

@>->--

10...9....8....7....6....5....4....3....2...1....

2011-01-02T19:11:00.007-06:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

We are LOVING 2011 so far. How about you?

For New Year's Eve, we went to Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Oh yes.... That's right.

Then we went to an all out bash at the Lincoln Children's Museum called "Make Believe Midnight!" There was a kickin' dance floor and they gave everyone glow necklaces, noise makers, hats, and all the craziness a little kid could handle. :) Noah ran from fun exhibit to exhibit. We've been to the museum many times, but we've never ventured up to the third floor. He just easily spent all his time on the first two floors and then it would be time to go. But the THIRD floor has an astronaut station with a space shuttle that simulates launch, a lunar rover, a full airport replica complete with ticket check-in, metal detector and TSA station (sorry, no pat downs! I would have had to hurt someone for touching my kid....) There was a real airplane that the kids could climb into and pilot. Noah was in HEAVEN!!! He also discovered that he could "scan" the luggage, plop it onto the luggage car and "drive" it to the airplane. We probably spent 20 minutes at that station pretending to be in Toy Story 2 when they ride in the suitcase and Woody has to rescue poor Jessie! What an imagination...

So... We played and played and PLAYED. Then at 8:00 everyone counted down to "midnight" and 1,200 balloon dropped three stories to celebrate! Pretty cool. Noah caught himself a big blue balloon and was content. We saw some poor parents with two or three kids trying to hold onto 4 balloons each. Yeah. I love that my little boy is happy with just enough.

Noah rockin' the dance floor!

The luggage car adventure:

Balloon countdown and craziness!

After that, we headed home and put him to bed where he crashed until after 8am. Kevin and I watched our own movie and rang in the real new year at midnight with a sparkling berry juice toast. It's been a year of ups and downs, but a good one.

Here's to 2011!

Love,
Nicole
@>->--

For the love of Anke

2010-12-31T09:21:00.004-06:00

Yesterday our little Anke went to sleep. She was surrounded by those that love her more than anything... Some there to hold her and others (including myself) in spirit. She was almost 14, and the last 14 years have been so amazing because of her. She became "The Baby" of the family the summer after my freshman year of college. We'd asked for a dog so many times and never dreamed that she would actually come home to us and be ours. But Dad and Mom surprised us all! We even bought her a squeaky pacifier. And her favorite place to sleep? Mom's slipper. The perfect spot for a little 4 pound bundle of love to curl up and rest.

I NEVER.... NEVER cried when I left for college or had to go back after a holiday. But after spending that first summer with Baby Girl, I bawled like a baby when it was time to go. I remember holding her close and she licked the hot tears off my cheeks as they came down. I kept saying, "This isn't fair! I waited my whole life for a dog, and now I have to leave her!" She forgave me since I kept coming back for more each summer and Christmas. :)

Anke was the best snuggler EVER. If we settled down for just a moment on the floor or couch, there she was curled up and ready for love. My mother was her everything. I mean, she adored my daddy, was very submissive to him and her morning routine always included plopping herself down across his stomach for a good tummy rub. But if she couldn't be by my mother, the world was just not right. Sometimes Mom would be so busy around the house that Anke would bark and scold her until Mom would settle on the couch for just a few minutes so that little girl could just snuggle for awhile. :)

My Abbie LOVED Miss Anke. Anke at first tolerated my little whippersnapper, but soon they looked for each other to snuggle and play. We always joked that Abbie learned manners from Anke, and Abbie was Anke's personal trainer! I really believe that the reason I have Abbie today is because I had Anke in my life first.

First day home... She squeaked like tennis shoes when we left her alone!

Trapping flies on the window sill and watching the golfers

Her "room with the curtains" under the bed...

I wish that I could have been there with her yesterday, and with my family because I know that this is the hardest thing that anyone could go through. To make a choice and to decide that it's time. Especially when your little love seems to have had a few good days. But I know that Little Girl is happy and pain-free and loved where she is... Until we can be with her again. Thank you for all your love, Anke. You will always be our Puppers.

These are my mother's words. I hope she will forgive me for posting this, but it's a glimpse right into her heart and no one could say it better. She sent us this email yesterday:

Goodbye Dear Friend

Dear Family,

Today I said goodbye to one of my dearest friends. It's hard to explain why it is so hard because this friend never spoke to me in words. She has been my one constant through the past 13 years. The one friend that was always there for me when my kids grew up and left the house and then got married, never to return home for good again. But Anke was always there to give me a reason to get up in the morning, to snuggle with me when the house seemed too empty and I was having a tough day.

She would follow me around the house wherever I went and curl up close by. She waited up for me when I came home late and she came to find me if it was late and I wasn't in bed yet. She made me feel special, because she loved me unconditionally and truly missed me whenever I was gone. And now I will truly miss her.

This morning we made our farewell walk around the neighborhood. Anke's mind still wants to do all the things she used to do, even though her body doesn't let her anymore. I watched her as she hobbled along (her gait is very unsteady these days) and when her legs would give out on her, I picked her up and carried her for awhile. I talked to her about all the things we've done together. We listened to the birds and stopped at her favorite bushes for one last smell.

I reminded her about the time that she would run with reckless abandon on the golf course behind our house, chasing birds... her legs bounded out just like a deer and her hair would flutter in the wind that she created as she ran. She was so free then. I told her that we would be setting her free again. That she could run to her hearts delight... forever.

I hope she had a nice journey home and that she will be there to greet me when I get my chance to go. I know for sure that I will be looking for her.

So goodbye dear friend. Happy running!

For the love of Anke,

MOM

Sneek Peek...

2010-12-26T20:29:00.004-06:00

Ho Ho Ho!

Here's a little glimpse of how yesterday morning came and went... There were glittery ribbons, paper and bows, web-camming, breakfast casserole, AND...

... a santa hat. Hope you didn't shout or pout!

More coming soon.

Love,

Mrs. Claus
@>->--

Merry, Merry, Merry....

2010-12-25T11:41:00.004-06:00

CHRISTMAS!!!!!

LOVE,

Kevin, Nicole, Noah, and Abbie Mae
@>->--

NEWSFLASH: Cute little ELF meets Santa... Tells him he's been good.

2010-12-24T20:17:00.006-06:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE!!!!

Back to our story... Noah finally got to sit on Santa's lap and tell him that he's been a good boy this year at our ward Christmas party last Friday. 'Course, in true Noah fashion, he couldn't go plain-clothed. He donned his ELF apparel! And he was absolutely adorable. But maybe I'm just a biased mommy. :) No, he was really that cute. But by the end of the evening, he'd kicked the jingle bells right off his pointed toes. The party was that great!

Then he told his daddy all about it!

Goooooooood Party... Now it's time for bed.

We love you all! All is calm and all is bright here in 'Braska. Have a wonderful Christmas tomorrow... and to all a GOOD NIGHT!!!!!

Believe

2010-12-23T20:30:00.004-06:00

After 11.5 months of anticipation, Noah could barely contain his excitement as we went to the Santa Celebration a few weeks ago. Last year's experience was super awesome as well... but we were without Daddy. This meant that:

A) I had to try to put little dude up on MY shoulders.
B) I couldn't take a single picture of the awesome event.

And...

C) Well, Daddy wasn't there to meet Santa, his elves, Rudolph, Frosty, the Grinch, and much more. Poor Daddy!!!

So Noah was quite excited that his daddy was going to join us this year. And since he was a little afraid of Rudolph and Frosty last time, he was anxious to greet them this time around.

UNFORTUNATELY.... Frosty the Awesome Snowman wasn't there. We told Noah that maybe he had a cold... Ha! Ha!... Ha!... Heh.... yeah.

But everyone else showed, including some REAL LIVE REINDEER! After Santa flipped the big switch and turned on the lights on the massive Christmas tree, we made our way around the outdoor mall watching jugglers, elves making balloon animals and candy canes, saying HELLO to all Noah's favorite Christmas characters, enjoying free hot chocolate and pastries from Panera, and we even went to the book store to hear Mrs. Claus read a few stories. Noah mailed off his awesome letter to Santa, asking for Buzz Lightyear for the second year in a row (Don't worry... He's been a good boy!). Then we called it a great night and headed home.

Here's the awesome moment when Santa turned on the lights!

We LOVE the Santa Celebration here in Lincoln. It is definitely on the events list for next year!

Why?

Because my little boy believes.... And so do I.

Merry Christmas Eve EVE!!!!

Mmmmm... Pomanders.....

2010-12-21T09:37:00.005-06:00

A Smith family Christmas tradition... In its finest form! Sorry, Mom. I still don't add nuts. :) Kevin starts drooling when he sees me washing our Christmas tins to get them ready.

I call this "quality control."

Only 3 more days 'till Christmas!!!

The Force is Strong in This One

2010-12-19T15:40:00.007-06:00

So Noah has been getting into Star Wars lately. From our post last month May The Force be with you you're probably already aware of Noah's Obi-Wan phase. Now he's been experimenting with the Dark Side ;) Note his awesome lightsaber skills!

Behold his ability to sing The Imperial March!

Now I don't want anybody getting too worried about our son's dabbling with the Dark Side, so be advised that we watched the following public service announcement before letting him go too far.

But it's still out little boy in there. I wonder if that's how his mom felt about Anakin/Darth Vader. (Or would have felt had she not... y'know... died.)

~Kevin

I got you something...

2010-12-10T13:24:00.001-06:00

This made Noah and I cry we were laughing so hard today. Good times! Enjoy...

Then How the Reindeer Loved Him!!!

2010-12-07T16:08:00.005-06:00

The very SECOND that I saw these cute little reindeer cupcakes on the cover of a magazine, I knew we were going to make them... It was so much fun! And they are super darling. We almost felt terrible eating them. NOT.

Noah's cute friend Derek joined us and they were super awesome Santa's little helpers.

Noah doing his funny face:

Daddy doing Noah's funny face: (Like the Oregon shirt? Go DUCKS!!!!!)

The ingredients...

It's go time.... Noah really needed very little help. I walked him through the first assembly and he had it after that. 'Course, he was ready to EAT them after two or three!

This is my FAVORITE picture of the day.... Little elf. ;)

Finished product:

Sweet rewards!

These were really fun to give away, and I actually put a candle on one for my birthday on Sunday! My favorite - chocolate on chocolate. It was exactly what I wanted.

Enjoy your day!

Nicole
@>->--

How Noah Eats a Donut

2010-11-29T12:58:00.002-06:00

Before:

After:

~Kevin

Thankful

2010-11-26T13:01:00.006-06:00

Yesterday was filled with good times, good food, good memories, good friends... And my favorite things in the whole world. Here's a sneak peak:

We invited some friends over to celebrate Thanksgiving with us and we had a nice, relaxing dinner around 2:30. We ate pie a few hours later and played games until 10:00. It was just the kind of Thanksgiving that I needed this year! This year was the first year that I felt like I could trust Noah to use my wedding china, and he did great! He helped me set the table and was such a good boy all day. He made it a beautiful day for Mommy while I hung out in the kitchen, ironed table clothes and napkins, and listened to Christmas music on Pandora. Ahhhhhhhh.....

When Noah was helping me shop for a new table cloth, he picked out a little votive candle and wanted to use it on the table. How could I resist???

Hope you all had a wonderful day and are enjoying each others' company... and the left overs today!

Love,
Someone who JUST finished washing the china....
@>->--

Down On The Farm

2010-11-22T21:01:00.005-06:00

While my mom and dad were here in October, we made our annual visit to Roca Berry Farm. It was a WARM and WINDY day. Dust kicked up over the pumpkin patch, sent grit into our eyes, and we were covered with a general layer by the time we returned to the car. But we still had a GREAT time. Noah, of course, picked out the perfect pumpkins (with Gram and Grandpa's help!).

Behold.... The highlights!!!!!

Silly boy during family picture moment:

Grandpa and Gram

Two words... Bouncy Houses! Be sure to check out the video below.

Noah looked forward to the pony rides this year. And this time his pony's name was Stinky Pete!!! Course, Pete lived up to his name when right in the middle of Noah's beloved ride he completely emptied himself and the other ponies had to watch themselves! Noah thought it was quite hilarious.

Grandpa and his Noah on the wagon ride to the pumpkin patch. I LOVE this picture.

Picking pumpkins...
The whole gang!

Cute little boy.

There was this great system of ramps set up where all the little (and BIG) goats could make their way to the top and wait for kids to send them food using a pulley system and a tin can. It was really fun! Noah sure figured it out quickly. Check him out in this video:

The Big Jump on the Bouncy House... Enjoy!

Happy Turkey Week!

Love,
Nicole
@>->--

Buckets

2010-11-18T11:05:00.003-06:00

This is for all you Medfordites out there! Kyle Singler, All-American basketball star playing for Duke, is one of Medford's own sons. Kevin and I had just moved back home after finishing graduate school and we LOVED going with my dad to watch Kyle play at our old high school, South Medford (Go Panthers!!!). I remember the press conference when he announced he was going to Duke and South went on to take the State Championship that year. Good times, good times... It's kind of funny, but I also associate Kyle Singler with our Noah because it was during that basketball season that we were emailing back and forth with Jillian and hoping that we might adopt VERY soon! In fact, I remember sitting and watching the basketball game at South and keeping my cell phone in my hand the whole time the night before Noah was born. If it was going to ring, I didn't want to miss it. My phone was my lifeline to Jillian and to Noah. I could barely breath during those few days and watching Kyle Singler and the panthers play was a very welcome distraction. :)

Plus, he's just super AWESOME... Enjoy! Dad, this is for you if you haven't seen it yet. Thanks for all the basketball tickets and for making memories with us. :)

Celebrate and Share

2010-11-12T08:55:00.004-06:00

So it's already November 12th today and I haven't yet blogged about this.... BUT.....

Happy National Adoption Month!

I wasn't brave enough to take the challenge that you see on so many other blogs by other adoptive families and birthparents to blog something everyday this month. But no matter how frustrated and exhausted I am, this month always warms my heart and gives me what I need to keep going. A beautiful birthmother named Stefanie spotlighted our family on her blog as part of this month and we are so grateful! You can find it HERE. Thanks for your help, Stefanie. Every little bit could make a difference. :)

If you feel like your own blog isn't quite cluttered enough yet... and you'd like to help us find our next little one... Please feel free to grab our button:

You can find the code to the right ------------------>

I read a post by an amazing birthmother yesterday. It was one of those that just makes you shake your head... and then smile the whole day long. Tamra's blog is HERE, but I'm just going to post it below and save you the effort of one mouse click! It's that good...

So a birthmom, an adoptive mom, an adoptee, and an unbelievably insensitive woman are tyin' a quilt...

By Tamra Hyde

So I'm at church tyin' a quilt to donate, and I meet an adoptive mom. We're gabbin' about how blessed we are to have adoption be part of our lives, goin' on and on as B-Moms and A-Moms do when we happen to meet.

Enter insensitive lady - "Well, it's best to have 'your own,' that way they have your genes and adopted kids usually don't turn out well." (all of this said in front of my new friend's listening daughter, by the way) She then goes on to give the evidence of a couple of adopted children who have grown up to have problems that are exclusive to those who have been adopted, y'know, like divorce and quitting church.

Another woman at our quilt enters the conversation. "I'm adopted and none of that is true of me, though my siblings who are not adopted HAVE had those struggles."

I say, "See, what YOU fail to understand is that this IS her own child! Eternally! Meaning - always was, always will be. They found each other by inspiration and miraculous divine intervention! We are ALL brothers and sisters! So tell me, what do GENES matter?!"

Sike... That's only a wish I woulda said, but I did say, "These babies go where they're meant to be."

Adopted mom responds to the height of rudeness with grace and charity.

Rude lady feels dumb.

We get up and move to a kinder quilt and carry on our rejoicing. Adoptive mom, Birthmom, and adoptee! GO TEAM!

My heart is happy today. I'm the mother of a beautiful, amazing little boy who has been in my arms since the day he was born. He doesn't have my genes or Kevin's, but he is our son just the same. He even has my dimple! Today we celebrate him. :)

Letting Go...

2010-11-10T09:50:00.003-06:00

Is it wrong that I don't want Noah to grow up? Is it wrong that I just want him reject the world and wish to stay at home in my lap? I'm not ready to let him go. I'm just not. My little boy cried and cried and had to be pried from my arms for the first two weeks of preschool. Now I have to grab HIM for a kiss as he struts into his classroom to conquer the world. Sometimes I'm not quite fast enough. :) But I know that he will always let me hold him when he comes back home and he'll tell me about his day and all the new things he discovered.

He's just so tall now. He's so articulate. He's just so smart and witty. He's growing up. Too fast...

I knew he was ready for a big boy bed. I cried as I put away his crib. I knew he was ready to sit at the table with us. I sniffled as I packed away the booster chair. He's ready to ride in a big boy car seat. Okay, I was alright storing away the big clunky toddler seat in the attic! But then pride and sadness crept back in as he learned to buckle his own seat belt. So independent. I guess I'm just the driver now. :)

I know that my little boy needs me for so many things still. I know that I'm irreplaceable to him. I confided in a friend yesterday that I think I would be more okay with letting my little one grow up and fly away if I knew that the next one was coming and soon. The boxes of baby clothes and those soft soft little blue blankets make my heart ache every time I go up to the attic to put something else away. I'm grateful for all the hours of swaddling in the middle of the night that they brought to Kev and me. I reach out to touch them every time and then climb back down the ladder to reality. My smiley little boy greets me at the bottom and wants to help me with my task. :)

Noah will have the rest of his life to be gone from me everyday for school and work and whatever else life brings his way (I'm hoping for piano lessons!). So I hope he will forgive me for keeping him home today and reading just a few more stories before bed time. I hope he knows... really KNOWS... that he is my world and my everything.

Love,
Noah's Mommy
@>->--

Learning from the Master

2010-11-07T18:11:00.010-06:00

Reason #8, 467 why it's AWESOME when Gram and Grandpa come to visit Nebraska....

Noah carved his first pumpkin!!!!!

His first two Halloweens he was just too little, too disinterested, or I was by myself with a 20 month-old and a puppy and we had just moved to Nebraska (Kevin was in Dallas for 8 weeks of training... Fun.). Needless to say, I didn't exactly feel like tackling pumpkins. But last year Noah picked out his very own pumpkin from the farm and he painted it. Still no carving experience.... Until last week! We all went to Roca Berry Farm and Gram and Grandpa helped Noah pick out a beauty. More to come on the pumpkin farm soon...

I just want to put it out there that my mom is a MASTER pumpkin-carving FIEND... For those of you who have seen her work, you know what I say is true. :) So I guess you could say that Noah has now learned from the best. I'll just have to put forth a good effort next year. The big pumpkin that we picked out had a large rotten area inside and toward the back. So we did our best with it. Still we had fun and you know, it's just not Halloween without a Jack-O-Lantern.

'Course now he's in love with the sharp little carving knives!

One happy carver. :)

MooooooaHaHaHaHaHa!!!!

Nicole
@>->--

May The Force be with you...

2010-11-05T22:28:00.003-05:00

OK.... I've hinted that Noah just MAY be a Jedi under all that preciousness. Check out my hypothesis HERE.

Well, the jig is up. There's no hiding now. This is how he's been spending his days since we hit the Halloween clearance sales at our favorite stores...

It's true. I admit I was a little shocked when, after suiting up as Obi-Wan Kenobi, he pulled out a real light saber and went all Yoda on an imaginary Darth Vader! I knew it. :)

And YES. He is a little short for a storm trooper.