Three!

The day after we left Las Vegas was Sammie's third birthday. We had stopped in Ely to spend the night at my brother's house. It's super convenient that they happen to live almost exactly halfway between Vegas and Jerome, I love being able to stop and see them on our way to and from Vegas. Plus, driving 4 hours at a time with my kids is totally doable! Any more than that in one day is almost too much!

Sammie had been excited about her birthday since her party in Vegas. She'd been waking up every day for about a week telling us it was her "birt-day" so she was especially excited to find out that we were all as excited as she was on her actual birthday!

She has perfected the art of raising three fingers (though which three she chooses are different day to day).

We didn't let the fact that we were nomads stop us from some of our traditions!

Birthday shirt!

A birthday muffin with a candle in it!

It was sort of an anticlimactic day because we had to finish our drive to Jerome to meet Justin so there wasn't a whole lot of time for hoopla and celebration but we tried to make it as special as we could for our sweet birthday girl.

We'll rewind a bit:
As a baby, Sammie was the best. I am not exaggerating either. She self soothed and slept through the night almost right away. She was content most of the time, easy going, and loved snuggling (but wasn't fussy if she had to kick it on the floor or in the bouncy chair). We all loved this little doll!

At a year old, Sammie was still the best! She was fat, happy, and mostly immobile. She needed some physical therapy to help her learn to move around, but she was such a good sport about it. She ate everything, rarely cried, and loved to sit and watch the action around her!

At two years old, Sammie was still the best (are you noticing a theme?). She was sweet to everyone and would get so sad if someone seemed to he hurt or sad. She was slowly catching up with her gross motor skills but never seemed angry or frustrated with the extra effort it took her to try. She was quick with a kiss or a hug and adored watching and playing with her brothers and sister.

Now here we are. Three. For a three year old, I still think she's the best. She's starting to develop some of the dramatic traits that I associate with being a three-nager, but even those seem to be pretty mild compared to other children we've had (cough, cough, Noah, cough, cough, Josie). She is all caught up developmentally and we love to watch her run and play.
A few facts about Sammie at age 3:
-favorite show: Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood
-favorite movie: Frozen
-favorite food: Mac 'n' Cheese, fruit snacks, and anything chocolate
-favorite animal: dog
-favorite activities: play with baby dolls (she loves to be the mama), sing, dance, ride her bike, play outside, go swimming, play hide and seek (our poor babysitters are forced to play this with her for hours), and listen to stories (Pigeon books by Mo Willems are her favorites)
-favorite things to wear: anything with sparkles or ruffles, dresses that twirl, and her dance outfits
-other interesting facts: she's shy. This is a new one for us because none of our other kids are shy at all. Sammie will warm up to new people pretty fast, but she's not one who will run up to new people and talk to them. She's a mama's girl. As my baby, I am 100% okay with this. I love how much she loves her mama (even when she's making me crazy with her physical closeness). She's endlessly sweet. She doesn't like it when other people are sad and she is quick to give a hug or say sorry when someone is upset (*usually, she's also starting to be more of a pesky 'little sister', but I think that's pretty normal). Everyone loves her. I have yet to talk to someone who doesn't tell me how sweet and wonderful this little girl is. She charms everyone and has since day one!

I love and hate how grown up this little girl is becoming. It's so fun to watch the girl she's becoming, so strong and sweet and kind, but it's also sad to be losing my baby. I'm still addicted to this little lady and I thank my Heavenly Father every day that she is in our lives. Happy (late) birthday Sammie! I love you so very much!

Rewind...Sammie's Birthday Party

Sammie had her third birthday right after we left Vegas. I knew that we probably wouldn't do anything big in Idaho for her birthday (mostly because we would be living in a hotel and partly because we didn't know anyone) so we decided to have a little family birthday party for her before we left Vegas.

Finding a theme for her party was super easy. At her request (or screaming demand), we'd been watching 'Frozen' at least once a day (sometimes three or four times in a row) so I knew a 'Frozen' party would be a winner.

I had looked on Pinterest for a few ideas (there were tons), but - to be quite honest - I think that really elaborately decorated and over the top parties for kids are a little ridiculous. I mean really, the kids don't care how "pretty" the party is (do they?). Anyway, if you are one of those moms, good for you - I just am not (maybe it's because I'm lazy). However, simple decorations and games aside, it was a good time and all the kids (and adults) loved it.

Our soon to be birthday girl. She's standing with Sven for our "feed Sven" beanbag toss game. I drew and colored Sven myself. Freehand. I am super proud of that.

What would a birthday party be without a piñata?

The party guests. Aside from our family, we had my sister's boys, the neighbor girls, and the kids of one of my mom's co-workers.

Ah, Sven.

We built snowmen out of marshmallows, pretzels, and candies. I think that more sugar was eaten than used to build with, but that's what happens at a party!

Feeding Sven.

Pizza!

Pinata time! All the kids got a couple of turns and, when it was still uncracked, we let the adults go at it. Pregnant Ashley punching it is one of my favorite shots of the day!

Presents! Sammie's cousins and friends were very generous.

The cake. I ordered it from a yummy local bakery called Freeds. To make a specialty 'Frozen' cake would have been really pricey, so I just had them do a basic cake, and then I bought little 'Frozen' figurines to stick on there. I thought it turned out perfectly (and, the cake was delish, seriously, I want another piece right now just looking at it).

Sammie takes candle blowing very seriously.

It was a fun party and a great way to celebrate our little girl (clearly we were all worn out afterward - notice that every single person in the background is on a device - including Max - ha!). She loved it and I loved seeing her love it. She is such a light and a blessing in our home. I love this baby (even if she's not really a baby anymore). Happy Birthday Sammie!

And I'm back!

You probably thought I fell off the face of the earth. Well, I didn't. I just moved and have been trying to get settled. But now that we're here in Idaho and relatively unpacked and settled, I'm back at it! So, let's rewind a little, shall we?

We'll start with Ten...the celebration!
We were in Utah for Clayton's birthday this year. They have a tiny little holiday on the 24th every year for the state of Utah. Not as cool or as important as Clayton's birthday, but an additional celebration nonetheless!

Good morning birthday boy!

Who's excited to be 10??

A little birthday breakfast (ah, tradition).

Then some birthday parade action.

Oh, yeah, I had to throw this in there. Sammie got hold of some black acrylic paint. She just wanted a bit of the spotlight on Clayton's big day.

My family waiting for the big town parade to start.

Me and my man at the parade.

After the parade there was a little fair with activities and games. Face painting was a big hit.

Josie got to realize her lifelong dream of becoming a cheetah.

Opening some birthday gifts (he doesn't look happy about it at all, does he)!

 

Birthday cake!

It was a big day to celebrate a big birthday. I wish I could remember the details a little better (that's what I get for waiting three months to blog about it) but this I do know, we really got to celebrate our favorite ten year old. He's such a good kid and such a light in my life and I don't know what I'd do without him and his optimistic, happy attitude. Love you Clayton, I'm so glad we got to take the time out of our big move/vacation to really celebrate you. You deserve it!

Double Digits!

Ten years ago, I was a brand new mom. Snuggling my perfect, cute, chubby 8lb baby boy. I had no idea what to expect from motherhood, but I knew that I loved this sweet new baby of mine. I knew that no matter what life threw at us, we'd tackle it as a family. I knew that, from that moment on, nothing was ever going to be more important to me than that kid (and his subsequent siblings).

I remember his birth. I remember being induced. It was a social induction because I was 40 weeks and sort of an annoying patient (ha!). I think my doc induced me just to be rid of me (not really, he was a great doctor). We got a call at 7a.m. asking if we could come in an hour to start the process. We went.

I was already dialated to a 3 and I got the mother of all epidurals shortly after being admitted. I never felt a single contraction! Since I didn't know what to expect, I thought this was awesome! (Hindsight has taught me that this was, in fact, NOT awesome - pain free is cool, but the recovery was horrible!) 

I labored comfortably for several hours. Chatting with Justin, my sisters, and my mom (all our family had come to wait for the birth of this first son/grandchild/nephew). At one point, a nurse came to me saying he was in distress and I needed to wear an oxygen mask. Again, I was naive and didn't see this as a potential problem. I was just too excited to finally meet my baby!

Progress was happening at a pretty good rate. When I was dialated to a 5, Justin went to the waiting room to update our families, leaving me alone with my mom. The nurse came in to check me again (about 5 minutes after I'd been declared a 5). And pronounced me complete (a 10 - ready to have this baby). What!?! A 5 to a 10 in 5 minutes. No one was expecting that! 

It seemed awesome to be ready to go ( I was still as numb as can be) but suddenly nurses were descending from everywhere. Surrounding me and talking very fast to each other. I was scared and I could tell my mom was too. About this time, Justin showed back up. My doctor wasn't there yet. The nurses gave me a shot to stop my contractions (because every contraction was causing more and more distress). They were starting to prep me for an emergency c-section (scary) when my doctor walked into the room. Dr. Paul is a linebacker of a man. Tall and broad and nothing like you would picture an OB to look like. But when he walked in, I remember feeling instantly calmed. I knew it'd all be okay because he was there.

Dr. Paul had them stop prepping me for a section (bless him) and told me to try and push. Two problems: I wasn't having contractions anymore and I was COMPLETELY numb from the waist down. So, pushing was doing nothing. Dr. Paul grabbed the vacuum extractor, stuck it on the top of Clayton's head and gave one huge tug. Game over. Baby was out. I tore pretty bad from that, but I didn't even care because my baby was out and I was c-section free!

 

This all took place in the course of about 10-15 minutes (from the time Justin left to inform our families to the time Dr. Paul yanked Clayton out). Clayton was born at just after 2 in the afternoon. My boy was perfect. I was a mom, Justin was a dad, and our lives would never be the same again.

And now here we are, ten years later. The years seem to be speeding by. How is it possible that I have a tween on my hands! That this sweet baby boy:

And this chubby toddler:

And this adorable kindergartner:

Has become this good young man?:

Ten things I love about Clayton:

1. He's dependable and steady. I can always count on him. Always.

2. He wants to do what's right. If he gets in trouble, he asks what he did wrong so he can fix it. 

3. He's a fantastic big brother. He loves his siblings and looks out for them. He shares and helps and tries to make them happy - even if he has to give up something of his own to do it. 

4. He's a great singer. He sings all the time. I love to listen to him when he doesn't think anyone is listening.

5. He's likeable. He loves people and tries to make the people around him happy. Because of this, most people really like Clayton. He's easy and enjoyable to be around.

6. He's a rule follower. He loves to know the rules whenever we go somewhere and he likes to follow them. He's not a troublemaker. This gives me so much peace of mind - especially with middle school right around the corner. I'm a lot less worried about him than I might otherwise be.

7. He's honest. I trust him completely. He doesn't lie, and since he's a rule follower, he rarely has anything to lie about. Even when it gets him in trouble, he tells the truth. 

8. He loves everyone. No matter age, race, disability, gender, whatever. This is one of my very favorite traits of his. He has the unique ability to see a person for who they are on the inside and love them for that. In this, I try to be like him. He's taught me soooo much about love, empathy, compassion, kindness, and service. I love how Christlike he is.

9. He's sweet. He always has a kind word or deed for me when I need it most. 

10. He's smart. So very, very smart. He absorbs things quickly (especially when the subject interests him) and can recall random facts easily. It won't be too long before he outsmarts me (in some subjects he already does)!

So happy birthday Clayton. I miss your sweet baby smell, your chubby toddler hands, and your toothless little grin, but it's hard to mourn those losses when I see the young man you're becoming. A young man that I not only love, but genuinely like and enjoy spending time with. You taught me to be a mother and, even though we've had (and will continue to have) some rough times, I think this has created in us a bond that will never be broken. You are loved and treasured beyond words. I am thankful every day that I get to be your mother. No mother was ever more fortunate. Happy decade son. I love you!

5...the celebration!

She woke up to a modest stack of presents and was allowed to open one before breakfast.

Spoiler: it was a Lalaloopsy doll that Justin had gotten for her a couple months ago. He was working all day on her birthday and wanted to see her open it before he left. She loved it.

Then it was birthday breakfast on the special birthday plate (which she'd been talking about for weeks! Man, that birthday plate is genius. Whoever made that thing years and years ago is probably the smartest and best mom ever...).

Hands down, my favorite part of her birthday. Noah was so excited to help her celebrate her birthday. He stayed up the night before and wrote her a card. He then wanted to read it to her before he got ready for school. It was so very sweet. These two can fight like cats and dogs, but I'm starting to see more and more of these tender sibling moments between them. I hope it's a glimpse of the relationship to come between them.

Here's the note: Dear Josie, happy birthday TO YOU. This is a present for you. Then he drew her a picture of her celebrating with all the girly things she loves. THEN before he went to bed the night before her birthday, he found his old 5 year old birthday shirt and layed it out on her dresser for her. My heart burst wide open.

After breakfast she got to open her birthday shirt (which wasn't my favorite this year - by a long shot, but that's what I get for waiting until the very last minute to make it) and posed in front of the birthday sign - with her new Lalaloopsy.

She loves to pose!

Showing off the 5 on her shirt (which she loves, so I suppose it's a win).

Then she asked if she could open another present. I relented and she opened this snazzy pair of high heels from her Grammy and Grandpa.

A hit for sure! She wears them constantly and points out to everyone that she is wearing high heels (they're only about an inch high, but she walks in them remarkably well - certainly better than I walk in heels).

Then she convinced me to let her open one more gift before we left to run our morning errands.

I have a friend from HS who makes these amazing princess dresses. Seriously, amazing. They're every day wearable - not just dress up dresses (because, let's face it, sometimes girls will wear these dress up dresses as every day wear anyway). They're modest and machine washable and awesome. I ordered her two - Rapunzel and Cinderella. I'm so glad I did. She loves them.

Here she is, trying to figure out which one to wear first.

And modeling her new shoes.

After our errands we went out to lunch - birthday girl's choice. Since McDonald's is currently carrying My Little Pony toys in their happy meals, this was a no brainer for Jo.

We let this deliciously dimpled minion tag along (elbow dimples anyone!?!)

She's looking so grown up!

After lunch we came home and found several packages on our doorstep. She was allowed to open the one from Aunt Missy and Uncle Jared and her cousins first. It was projects!! A make your own headband kit and a make your own pillow kit. This is a girl who LOVES a project so these were absolutely perfect!

Then she opened the one from Grandma and Grandpa Lee. It was a cute shirt/skirt outfit and some new Minnie Mouse pajamas. She loves the outfit and pajamas. (My boys are very bored when they get clothes as gifts, but not Josie - she get so excited and wants to try everything on and model it - so funny).

This is out of order, but here she is modeling her princess dresses. I love them almost as much as she does.

Me and the birthday girl.

After presents it was on to the big birthday activity. We dropped Sammie off with a friend and I took Josie and her friend, Eavan, to this place called Club Tabby. Club Tabby is this adorable little girl's only salon where they do makeovers. The girls get a makeover and then they have a stage/runway where the girls can strut and dance and look at themselves in the mirror. They also have a lot of dress up clothes/hats/shoes the girls can try on as well as microphones the girls can use to sing along to the endless loop of Disney songs that are playing. Basically, it was Josie's dream come true.

Getting a little pre-makeover runway action.

I die.

Watch out Bob Fosse! Josie Smith is heading for Broadway!

Here she is waiting for her makeover at the pedicure station (she didn't actually get a pedicure, but she loved sitting in the big, sparkly, pink butterfly chair).

Her friend, Eavan, after her makeover. These two are two peas in a pod. Eavan told her stylist, "I think I would like green in my hair. I think that would look fabulous." Ha!

Josie getting her nails done (she wanted red and pink alternated with glitter on top).

And getting her beautiful princess hairdo (at first I was very nervous about the hair color, but it washed right out - no problem!).

Love this picture.

Getting her makeup done.

Each girl got to take home a little goody bag with their make up in it (it was just eye shadow and lip gloss, but still - exciting). Josie has been liberally applying lip gloss ever since.

These two. Beautiful! I had a great time taking them to do this. Just watching them get so excited was so fun for me.

Eavan working her runway magic.

After makeovers, we headed to a local cupcake place. As our luck would have it, they were serving a pink cupcake with a candy princess crown and pink sparkles that day. Score! Also lucky was that there happened to be tons of older women in the shop at that time and they all fawned all over these two girls.

Here's a good shot of the finished product of her makeover.

After cupcakes, Eavan came and played at our house for a while. After she went home, we (the boys were with us by then) picked up Sammie and went to eat dinner at the hospital with Justin where Josie got to choose whatever she wanted for dinner! (Which is funny because whenever we eat at the hospital she can eat whatever she wants, but somehow it seemed like a bigger deal on her birthday.)

The birthday girl with her daddy.

Then we came home and cleaned up a bit and waited for Justin to finish his shift so he could join us for cake and ice cream!

At the birthday girl's request we had chocolate cake with cherry frosting.

Yum!

After that it was time for a shower and bed. She was so happy. She had a great birthday. I'm so glad. I love that she had a great day and felt so celebrated and special (she's already planning her 6th birthday). She's one in a million and we're so glad she's ours.

Happy birthday Josie. You are going to rock 5 years old. I just know it. I love you!