Fun with the camera...

The first picture I was trying to get them to both look at me and smile at the same time. Collin got bored of grinning and saying "cheese!" and by the time the camera actually took the pic he was distracted by the tv. In the next picture he was trying to explain to Baby "A" how to say "cheese!" She wouldn't do it and he finally gave up and ran off to play. hehe


The third pic below was actually very difficult to get. I was trying to maneuver around two kids and still stretch my arm out far enough. haha! It was interesting. The last pic is of the kids posing with their "grandma blankets" as Collin calls them. Their great-great grandma made them and she just shipped Baby "A's" and it arrived in the mail yesterday. I wanted Collin to know that he had already gotten his so I had them lay on them together. Collin on his and Baby "A" on hers. =) Aren't they cute!

What does Dad do when Mom is gone?

I know that we've all asked that question, "What do our husbands do to entertain the kids while we're gone?" I believe I have found the answer to that question. I came home today and found this video on our camera. haha! When I asked Paul about he said that Collin asked him to take a picture of him so Paul did a video instead. I thought it was pretty funny. You can see Baby A in her walker laughing at her brother. Every now and then the camera shakes too -- I guess that's Paul laughing. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Collin's "Learning Poster"

This week's theme was cows and we also learned about squares so I cut out squares of different sizes and Collin made a cow. I thought he did a pretty good job. The ears make it look more like a cow but I still think he did well. =)

As most of you know I am always trying to come up with short little activities for Collin and me to work on during the week. You know, a little constructive play. =) Now that he has a baby sister we are able to have some one on one time during her first nap. Collin seems to like it and if I don't give him that one on one time then he acts out all day. Anyways... I found an awesome sight and wanted to share. http://www.letteroftheweek.com/ Above is a picture of Collin's "Learning Poster". That's his hand pointing to things. I didn't realize he was doing that until I looked at the picture but I thought it was pretty cute. hehe! The silly delays on the digital cameras! haha!

Day at the Pool

Collin was tired of waiting in line at the diving board and decided to push Jordyn in the water. *splash* When it was his turn he was too scared to do it. Poor kid. =)
He leaped in from the side of the pool though! =D Go Collin!

Pretty in Pink!!

Just some good ole' sibling poses. haha!
Mommy and "A" laughing in the water. She was starting to get sleepy. Poor thing.

Look at those cousins napping. They were so cute!

Sunday Fun!

This is one of Collin's favorite things to do -- built a tent in the living room. He thought "A" would enjoy it too so the two of them were sitting in there growling at Mom and Dad. "A" ended up just laughing at her goofy big brother. LOL!!

Both the kids thought they'd take a turn in the spot light and get in Daddy's face for a picture.

Pajama Party!

Aren't they cute? Collin refused to put his pajama pants on. He kept saying it was a hat so we put it on his head instead. hehe! A was so sleepy in this picture. She just looks so somber.

Today went so much better than yesterday with A. I think she's starting to feel comfortable in her new environment. She's been exploring everything, talking all the time, eating anything, and definitely laughing more. She still has to have Paul or me in her line of site at all times but she is still doing great. We still hear her starting to cry if she can't catch the cat but when she does catch him she pulls his whiskers so... it's probably a good thing she doesn't catch him. At least it's Baker though -- he just ignores her and walks away. haha! Hooray for nice cats! That's our update for today. I am really liking being a mother of two -- well, three but raising two ;). It keeps me busy but it's so much fun!

The newest Smith addition!!

Of course I had to get a pic of Collin hugging his new baby sister!

Here, she was playing with the soccer ball. She was determined to catch it but it kept rolling away so she'd chase after it. I think it wore her out b/c she was asleep a few minutes later. haha!

Because of some pending paperwork still going on we are not posting her name to the public. If you know us then you will know her name. On here we will refer to her as "A".

By the time we finally left from signing the papers we had already been there for two hours. When we made it home A was tired and hungry so she was cranky. She was also in a new house with strangers and didn't really know what was going on. She was too tired to eat and to hunry to sleep. After about 30 minutes of this Collin sat down next to her eating his mac and cheese and she decided that was what she wanted, too. I gave her a bottle, cereal, and peaches... she was definitely hungry! Since then she's been completely happy. The only time she gets upset is when Baker, the cat, walks away from her. She likes him. hehe! That's what's going on now. Both kids are asleep so I am able to update ppl on here. Isn't she adorable??

Do you hear that, Mom?

This was the question continuously asked to me during the passing of the sacrament on Sunday. I had explained to Collin that he needed to be quiet because the Holy Ghost needed to stay at church and when there is a lot of loud noise the Holy Ghost will go away. I told him people want the Holy Ghost around because he makes people happy.

Collin nodded as if he understood and then sat quietly looking at his book. About halfway through the passing of the "Jesus Bread" (as Collin calls it) he leaned over to me with his hand on his ear (as seen in photo) and asked, "Do you hear that, Mom? Do you hear that?"

I leaned down and reminded him to whisper then asked him what he heard. His response made me smile. "Collin hears the Holy Ghost, Mom!"

He repeated this several times. I thought it was awesome! =) I hope you enjoyed this story as much as me.

The date is set!

So, the date has been set for signing the adoption papers. Wednesday, July 9 at 11am... sigh! I am sooo nervous she might back out. I really don't think she will, my heart says she won't but my stomach is still just fluttering. I keep having to pray for comfort just so I can breath okay. We bought the gift for the birthmom and biological sister today. I just hope it works out. We feel like it will but now that the date is actually approaching I guess I'm just getting scared. Please keep us and the birth mom in your prayers!

Collin's Dream About Shoes

I know... I just posted a pic of a pair of Collin's play shoes but there is a reason for it. =) The other night Collin woke me with a scream. But it didn't stop, he kept screaming. I thought he had fallen off his bed or an arm was stuck or something. I ran in there ready to tackle whatever the problem might be but I was thrown slightly off my game when I discovered the problem. Through his sobbing gasps I was able to understand, "Mommy, Collin's shoes broke." He kept repeating it over and over. I tried to convince him that they weren't broken but nothing would soothe his cries. I finally had to go on a shoe hunt at 2 in the morning. Once the shoes were located and shown to Collin he had to take them from my hands and inspect them himself. I explained to Collin it was probably a dream and tried to explain what a dream was. He nodded, stifled a last cry, handed the shoes back to me, rolled over and fell back asleep. I had to wake Paul up just to tell him what happened. I thought it was so funny. Poor kid loves his red shoes! =)