New Years Eve Sledding

New Years Eve Sledding

Thrusday

December 31st, 2009

On New Years Eve Evan and some of his friends were sledding at the stadium hill. We were still at my parents waiting for Stuart to get home so we decided to take Brody over to have some fun. He absolutely loved it!! He had the biggest smile on his face and would just giggle the whole way down. He is such a stinkin cutie! I told my mom I couldn't believe that I ever wanted to do this and that it was fun. It was so COLD! I guess I'm just turning into a big wimp but I hate being cold and especially wet. So thank goodness uncle Evan is around to do fun stuff with Brody since Stuart is usually gone. Next year we will have to buy some actual snow clothes. I felt so bad for him in his little jeans, he didn't seem to mind too much though.

Evan is a great uncle to Brody, but by the end he was getting a little tired of it and just wanted to go with his friends. He couldn't do all the crazy things boys do with little Brody on the sled.
We couldn't quit laughing at the way Evan would carry Brody and the sled up the hill. I guess its good for Brody so he isn't so babied all the time but Evan acts like hes a football sometimes by the way he carries him around!

Hes Perfect!!

He's Perfect!!

Tuesday

November 17th, 2009

Well ok, Brody's not always perfect. But lately around here as far as sleeping goes, he is! He has made a total and complete change and I'm lovin every second of it. He has now sleep 3 full nights in his room. he sleeps from 8:30 or 9 until usualy 7:30 or 8! The first two he woke up but I just let him cry it out and it only lasted maybe 5 minutes if that. I read an article that changes my thinking on this subject, it said that if you get them out of bed or run to them every time you are just encouraging that act and they will keep doing it. I'm a softy though and I still believe that unless that circumstances are crazy (like twins for example) there is a point at when they are just way to young to do this. I think Brody is at the perfect age because he actually knows whats going on and understands it, I could never actually do it to him sooner then now..Id feel WAY to mean! He has also takin 4 very successful naps in his room, each of them lasting 2 or more hours, I am very excited about this one. But the strangest part to me is each time he has woken up he just chills in his bed for 30 minutes! He switches between laying down, sitting up, playing with his puppy. But he is very mellow, and so not like him! I think about going and getting him out but then I figure maybe he just wants some down time before he starts his day again. Anyways he's PERFECT!!

Finally!!

Finally!!

Saturday

November 14th, 2009

I have to do a little explaining, Brody does not sleep in a crib he sleeps in his pak n play. He also does not sleep in his room, he sleeps in ours and most of the time he doesn't make it the whole night in his bed. Somehow he wakes up in ours. Well Stuart and I were just a little bit sick of this happening so today I cleaned Brody's room and moved his pack n play into it. I loved the sight of our room being just ours!! Also Brody does not take naps in his bed, he takes them in our bed. I decided this was going to stop and it was going to stop today! Now today Brody was being extremely clingy and a little bit difficult so after 3 attempts at taking a nap I really just didn't care anymore and stuck him in his bed (he was beyond exausted). He cried for about 2 minutes and was silent, not asleep but silent. He ended up taking an almost 3 hour nap!! I had to wake him up because It was getting too late and he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight. I was soooo excited that he not only sleep for that long (the longest I can remember in a very very long time) but also in HIS OWN BED in HIS OWN ROOM!!!

Our lovely window

Our Lovely Window

Friday

November 13th, 2009

I keep trying to tell myself that this is one of those things that we will look back on years from now and laugh about. One of those things about the first house that you live in together, one of those things that EVERYONE goes through. I also try and keep in mind that this is only a rental and hopefully next year we wont be living in it and wont have to deal with its many problems anymore. Here is a picture of our oh so lovely window...(don't mind the ugly wallpaper)

So it looks pretty ghetto at first, but not too bad. Its just a ancient air conditioner complete with board and falling off tap that doesn't seem to be doing much. Oh and that tap had its fair share of dead bugs stuck on it, half of them I'm not even quiet sure what they are.

And here's our lovely cracks up close and personal.

And here's our board again. I'm not quiet sure what its purpose is. If it is meant to block the air out don't you think it would block all of the COLD air.

I try not to complain about this, I really do but come on its the middle of November and its cold out! I really can laugh about it at times though, along with the constantly flooded and outrageously stinky laundry room, the very sensitive and leaky drain in the kitchen, the touch toilet that has already overflowed once turning our hall into a poopy wading pool, the stupid one eyes cat and neighbors dog that think they always need to come and poop in our yard, there's more but Ill try to think positively. Despite how it sounds I really am grateful for somewhere to live with the two people I love more then anything.

I wonder who he learned that from

Just Like Daddy

Thursday

November 12th, 2009

We all know that Stuart loves his 4runners, and he also loves working on them. While he must be rubbing off on Brody or something because this is what I found him doing to his lion walker...

First he tipped it back so he could see underneath it. If you look really closely in his right hand he has a leaf, or should I say a screwdriver/wrench. That's what he did all of his work with.

Mom, no pictures please..cant you see I'm trying to fix this tire!

Tightening that screw up

And the finishing touches. Daddy will be so proud!

Play Time

Wednesday

November 11th, 2009

My Mom Brody and I went to Sister To Sisters Christmas opening, there was lots of fun stuff there but Brody just was not cooperating. All he wanted was down, so as you can imagine we didn't stay too long. Stuart stayed late after work to work on his 4Runner so we went out to eat with Grandma at McDonald's. Brody had a great time playing there at Austins birthday party so we figured we'd reward him for just having 6 shots (ouch!).

He wasn't hesitant at all, he just jumped right on!

Makin the climb

He loved looking at us threw the net, he thought it was pretty funny.

I told Annie that we will have to take the boys to McDonald's a lot this winter to keep them entertained since its going to be too cold to play outside! I dought Austin and Brody will have any complaints about that.

One Year Check Up

One Year Check Up

Wednesday

November 11th, 2009

Yes, Brody is over 13 months old now and I am just getting him into the doctor for his one year shots, but hey at least I'm only a month late right? Well, this was not a fun visit for the little Bro. He had a great time exploring the room up until the nurse came in though. Brody now weighs 28.4 pounds which is 94.67% and is 32 inches long 89.40%. No wonder he always seems to heavy!! When we brought him to the hospital a while ago the nurse weighed him at 38 pounds, my Mom and I knew something was up with that. So either he lost a ton of weight while being sick with the swine flu or she just misweighed. I'm ganna go with misweighed. The Doctor said he is looking great and very healthy. He also said he is very calm, haha I really had to laugh at that one, obviously he is just shy around people he doesn't know. He got a total of 6 shots!! The nurse wanted to give him the H1N1 shot but I said no, I'm not too sure about that one. She had to have me help hold him down because in her words he is as strong as an ox. And boy he did not like those shots, he screamed and tryed to lift his body up and away from her with all his might! He was walking a little funny after for a while but in the end he seemed to forget about them pretty fast.

He had to explore everything, and I mean everything. He is my curious little boy!

Trying to entertain himself. He loves this book because it makes noise.

He soon found the Doctors chair, and soon after that he realized it rolled! lets just say he loudly bumped into quiet a few things before I could get it away from him.

I tried to get a picture of his 6 band aids but it didn't really work, all he wanted to do was get them off.

Stephenie Meyer on Oprah!

I know that it is on the Twilight blog for everyone to see but I just had to spread the news. Stephenie Meyer is going to be on Oprah this Friday! Shes only doing one interview so don't miss it!

Mom, The Best Job Anyone Could ask for!

Mom, The Best Job Anyone Could ask for!

Tuesday

November 10th, 2009

It finally happened, I'm a stay at home Mom!! My last day of work was October 27th. Ever since I went back to work when Brody was 4 months old I have hated it. I didn't really mind the whole working part itself, just the fact that I always had to leave my little angle behind. It did help a ton that my Mom was the one watching him, but I still wanted it to be me. I want to thank her for everything that shes done to help me with Brody, she has been truly amazing and loves Bro Bro sooo much. Yes, I admit that the little break was nice and sometimes very needed...but I don't really know if you can consider work a break. Stuart and I had been about it for a while and realized that we could make it fine without my income. I think that it is more important for me to be able to stay home with my son then have a little extra spending money. I absolutely love staying home. It is surprisingly a lot more work then I though it would be, but so worth it. I can already tell a difference in our relationship. I am a lot calmer with him since I don't always seem to be in a rush. When hes playing I find myself getting on the ground and playing with him, not something I did a huge amount of before. I can tell that he really likes me being around too. He isn't as clingy as he used to be and is able to entertain himself A LOT better! These last two I am soooo grateful for! I have also noticed that we have become increasingly close. He still loves his Daddy, don't get me wrong but he always wants me haha. Whenever he needs to be soothed or calmed down I can do it right away, I can put him to sleep when he wont go to bed for Stuart. Its nothing against Stuart its just that our Mother baby bond is finally complete. I am so glad that we have gotten to this point but sad that it has taken so long. I truly believe that in order to be all the Mom that you can be you have to stay at home. No offence at all to the working Mothers out there, I know sometimes you just have to. And Believe me, I know its hard. But Our relationship has grown so much into pure love for each other ever since I have stayed home. I am so grateful for Stuarts job that allows me to be able to stay home!

(My work gave me flowers and my good friend Amanda the balloons and candy)

the little things in life

The Little Things In Life

Monday

November 9th, 2009

Is there anything sweeter and more peaceful then a sleeping baby.

Mommy's Little Pumpkin

Mommy's Little Pumpkin

Saturday

Halloween 2009

This year for Halloween my parents and Evan decided to go to Camas and spend the weekend with the Burnett's. We all love visiting them so I took my new little family up there too! Brody always loves getting away especially to go see a few cute girls who love him and give him tons of attention. He had so much fun! This year I just could not make up my mind on what Brody should be. I keep going back and forth, I thought it would be really cute to have him be a monkey since I always call him Monk (short for monkey) or my little monkey. My Mom thought I should have him wear the same pumpkin costume I wore when I was little. In the end we just went with the pumpkin mostly out of shortage of time and cheapest...but I'm so glad I did! The funny part is I found a picture of me in it and on the back it said I was 3 1/2 years old, well Brody fits in it perfectly and is only 1!

Helping pass out candy before we went out

He HATED it at first, but eventually warmed up to the idea. I think the biggest thing for him to get over was the hat, he hates hats with a passion!

The crew-Erika as a fairy, Emma as a witch, Evan as a nerd, and Brody as a pumpkin. Brody wouldn't stop stairing at Evan, I don't think he quiet knew what to make of him.

We all had to take turns holding Brody..he is sooo heavy. He is walking now and we let him a little bit but he's still pretty slow.

It wasn't very long before our little guy started dosing off. He would literally fall asleep in our arms on the way to a door haha, crazy guy! And there's Dad already mooching off Brody's candy!

We thought it was cute how his pumpkin was like a pillow for him.

We we're sad that Anya couldn't be with us this year, we went to Utah to see her last year for Halloween when Brody was only one month. We miss and love you Anya and hope you enjoy the pictures!

Can That Be Comortable?!?

Can That Be Comfortable?!?

Friday

August 28th, 2009

I hardly ever put Brody in his crib without him being asleep, I would like to plenty of times but I just don't do it. I hate to hear his cry and I know that most likely he wont end up falling asleep anyways and then he will be even more ticked off and cling then he was before. Today was an exception. I was trying to get ready for work, already running behind like usual and he just was not working with me at all. I tried several times to give him a bottle and get him to sleep but he just wouldn't give in even though I knew he was tired. He tends to fight his sleep a lot. He was being extremely clingy and I just couldn't possible get ready for work on time while holding a screaming baby. So I did it, I put him in his crib. I did feel bad, but not quiet as bad because I knew he was super tired. This was the first time he actually fell asleep on his own in his crib and in the most uncomfortable position ever! He must have been sitting up crying and just wore himself out so much that he leaned forward and fell asleep. Babies can sleep in the weirdest positions sometimes!

More Teeth!!

More Teeth!!

Sunday

October 25th, 2009

I dont know why I havnt thought to check or even look at Brodys teeth lately, I guess I just wasnt too worried about it. Today we were playing around and he was acting like he would bit my finger which made him laugh everytime. For some reason I checked his back gums and I felt TEETH! He wouldnt let me get a good feel but he definatly has at least 4 new teeth, one on each side on top and bottom. It felt like his right one on top wasnt all the way out yet though. I called my mom and asked if she had notices, she said she didnt but that explains why he can chew a lot better lately. She also said that he wasnt cranky for her ever. He was cranky for me, but nothing more then his usual. We were thinking about it though and a week or so ago he had a runny noise so thats probiboly when it started. Last time he got teeth in his two on the top came first then the other 6 came all around the same time. Maybe its better just to get it all out of the way at once!

Gap Casting Call!!

Gap Casting Call!!

Okay, so I know the odds aren't great but I still think Brody is pretty stinkin cute. I entered Brody in the 2009 Gap Casting Call. We would love your help voting for him!

To vote go to gapcastingcall.com, you have to register first. Once your registered and get to the galleries of all the pictures there's a place at the top right hand corner that says type in a member name or contestant ID number. Brody's ID number is 508032252, or just go to the link below.Your allowed one vote per day. I know, its kind of a pain to vote, sorry!

Brody S. submitted by brodysmithsmom for the Gap Casting Call
Source: family.go.com
Brody S. Entry submitted by brodysmithsmom for the Gap Casting Call. See if Brody S. has what it takes to be the next Gap Model.

Walking!!

Walking!!
Tuesday
October 20th, 2009

Brodys been walking for almost a month now and I know that all you Prosser people have already seen him do it a ton of times but Aunt Anya has been dieing to see Brody! She's always asking questions about him, I can tell she misses him tons. So heres your video youv been asking for Anya, hope you enjoy!!

Shopping With The Boys

Shopping With The Boys

Friday

October 16th, 2009

Annie Austin Brody and I made a trip to Tricities today. There is this new store that sells used baby clothes in it that we wanted to check out (we love the children's Attic!) Well the store ended up being kind of a disappointment but the trip was still fun. We went to Target, I swear I cant hardly ever go to Tricities without stopping at Target. I was expecting them to have those fun carts that have the steering wheels in them or something but instead we found these....interesting was my first thought. The boys seemed to like them alright but personally I think Target needs to get with it and get some funny baby carts, I mean really!

Camping/Four Wheeling Trip

Camping/Four Wheeling Trip

Saturday

September 26th, 2009

A while ago our good friends the Dawsey's invited us to go on they're yearly camping trip with them. I don't really do a whole lot of camping, I like it though as long as there is either a shower nearby or we are only going overnight. Stuart on the other hand loves camping. I am not even kidding you he was obsessive about this trip, talking about it all the time. Stuart has two Toyota Four Runners and lets just say they were his first love. I joke around that if he ever was to have an affair it would be with his white four runner. He always wanted a friend that had one too to go on trails with so he was very excited when Devin bought his. Saturday we all headed up to the mountains, we ended up somewhere past Naches. I'm not sure exactly where, and to tell you the truth I don't know if anyone else knows exactly where either. It was a beautiful day out, a little chilly but still really nice.

The Men setting up Devin and Annie's tent. As you can see theirs was very large!

Austin and Brody in Devin's Four Runner. The boys loved playing in these, especially in the drivers seat with the steering wheel. They also got into trouble digging through all the change in the middle. These two boys are pretty funny to watch when they get going.

Our tent on the other hand wasn't so big. As you can see there wasn't a huge amount of room left once the air mattress was blown up (something I demanded we took with us). We used my Dad's tent. He had two to pick from, this one and a bigger one. Well this one was easier to set up so we just went with the smaller one.

Annie and I in front of Devin's. I'm so glad that we are becoming better friends. It is nice to have a friend who's husband is best friends with Stuart and little boy is only 10 months older then Brody. We all love hanging out together!

It was getting pretty late by the time we got camp all set up so we just went on a short trail that was right next to where we stayed. This is how Stuart drives most of the time only his head is usually sticking out the window more. Apparently your supposed to watch the tires flex or something. I saw it a few times, or at least I think I did.

Once the sun went down it got really cold! Or at least Annie and I thought it did. I made sure to get Brody all nice and bundled up. He even keep his hat on which usually doesn't happen. It usually only lasts for about 10 seconds if that.

Camping/Four Wheeling Trip

Camping/Four Wheeling Trip

Sunday

September 27th, 2009

Saturday night was FREEZING. Seriously though, it was bad. Luckily Brody sleep in between us so he stayed pretty warm. His poor little face and hands were pretty cold though. Sunday morning was very cold too. Somehow Stuart didn't think It was bad though, I'm always cold though. Both Brody and Austin were being pills during Breakfast. Devin made us pancakes and eggs and neither of them wanted much of anything to do with it. So we pretty much went driving around and found a trail first thing in the morning.

Brody did so great the whole trip (other then breakfast). I was pretty worried that he wouldn't like it because we would be bumping around a lot and get sick of being in the car. He really liked it though and he did a lot of sleeping. It seemed like ever time we went he took at least two naps. When he was awake he loved just looking out the window.

The views were beautiful!
Devin and Stuart climbing a hill...show offs.
The beginning of trail 684 or Naches Trail. It was very crowded with trees, there were a few times where I swore we were going to make it through. But we always fit through, even if it was just barley. This trail was also a very popular one with the dirt bikes. There was tons of them. It was kind of a pain because we would have to stop and move over so that they could get through. Their faces told us a few times that they thought we were a pain too, but for the most part everyone was nice about it.
This was the first crazy thing we came to on this trail. It was a crazy but really fun one to go on. It was marked under easy, and if this is really an easy on then I don't even want to know what a hard one is like! It doesn't show it that great in this picture but this is a pretty steep hill. Stuart and Devin ran up to the top to see what it was like before we went for it.
Stuart making the climb. If you look in the top right hand corner you can see Devin's Four Runner at the bottom of the hill, it kind of shows how steep it was.
I guess I didn't realize that once we went up we would also have to go down. You know when your on a roller coaster and you get butterfly's, well I had butterfly's! I was seriously scared for all of our lives at this point! (ok I'm probably over reacting, but hey it was scary). This is the best picture I got of the way down. It wasn't only the downhill that scared me but also the steep drop that was right next to us on Stuarts side. There was nothing stopping us from going over, ya pretty scary. Even Stuart got a little nervous at one point.
Once we got past the craziness it was a lot of bumpy trail and tree roots. I was pretty surprised at how much fun I had, It seemed like Annie was enjoying it too.
Devin coming up over a hill.
There were a lot of these bridges of this specific trail. They were fun to go over. Stuart wanted a picture of it because he said it is in all of his Four Wheeling magazines.
We stopped and got out for a little bit to let everyone have a break, especially the little boys who had been in they're car seats all morning and afternoon.
Austin loved throwing bark over the ledge!
Brody just liked playing with it.
Brody loves it when Daddy gets down and plays with him in the dirt. Stuart was trying to sneak up on Brody in this pictures, I'm not sure how good it worked though.
The Dawsey's, what a cute little family.
Back on the trail

We went back to camp for some lunch and went on the trail by our camp again. Devin really liked going through the mud so the boys went through it again and again and again.
There was a bane on campfires so we just improvised. We made smores on the stove. Not quiet the same, but still tasty! Austin's lovin his marshmallow.
Our little reader. Brody loves to read, this is how he keep himself entertained for part of the ride. It was funny because once in a while it would end up upside down. I told you he sleep a lot! I don't know how anyone could sleep through all that bumping and throwing around.

Stuart wanted to go on this trail because it was a historical trail. I guess it used to be a wagon trail. It is a very popular one.
The scenery was breathtaking! Reminds me of Twilight!!
Okay, so we might have gotten a little bit lost. Haha who am I kidding, we were lost. by the end of the trail, or at least were we stopped I was not feeling good at all. I think a whole days worth or bumps and my body being thrown around caught up to me and made me sick to my stomach. I had to keep my window rolled down because I thought I was going to loose it with every bump we took. We weren't sure If the trail was done or not but I couldn't take it any longer so we took a dirt road to what we thought would be out of there. Well little did we know it wasn't. We drove around for a couples hours before we finally found our way off that stupid mountain.
It was pitch dark by the time we got back to clean up camp. we got everything cleaned up pretty fast and left. We stopped at the gas station and I got some motion sickness pills (they didn't have a lot to pick from). I swear it must have worked miracles or something because I was completely out. It felt like we were only in the car for 5 minutes before Stuart woke me up and we were home. Over all We all had a great little trip. It was so much fun to be able to go somewhere with friends. We would love to go back next year. Maybe a little earlier in the year though so its warmer. Stuart is already trying to talk Devin into going back for a day trip he misses it so much, and to tell you the truth I wouldn't mind going back either.