It's Official: I'm a Soccer Mom

This fall we signed-up Joseph for 3-year-old soccer. My sister talked me into signing him up, knowing it would be hilarious to watch. She was right. Joseph was the kid who stood on the field, watching the others pass him by. He also sat on the field, picked the grass, bit his shirt, hugged friends on his team and sometimes chased the kids who were kicking the ball. I have never laughed so hard. It was so funny to watch him. Believe it or not, he loved going to soccer and was pretty proud of himself following each game.

Visiting Amy in Minnesota

Lily and I got to take a plane ride to visit Amy and her new baby in Minnesota. Aside from losing one day in urgent care with Lily. . . we had a wonderful visit. Turns out Lily had strep throat and a bladder infection. :) Amy and Rudy were so nice to show me many of the sites and to take us out to eat etc. I also got to be there for little James' baby blessing which was very special. James is super handsome!! And Amy's girls were so sweet to be with. Aubrey even made my bed every morning. I wish we lived closer!!
Lily loves Micky and Minnie Mouse. So we borrowed Aubrey's Micky to keep her happy in the car as we drove around St. Paul.

New Beginnings

School is in session! I don't know if you have seen this commercial. It has always been a favorite.




I hate to admit it. . . but I felt like that guy when school was just about to start. So excited! I want to be that mom who hates to see their kids go off to school and misses them while they're gone etc. etc. The truth is, the summer was just a few too many parties for me. :) The kids were really getting on each others nerves, too. We all needed just a little bit of space. So far I have been loving the time with Jojo and Lily. I am also enjoying seeing the kids trying new things, learning and growing.

Here is Joseph on his first day of 3 yr old preschool (just two mornings a week).
He was so ready and is already loving it.

Eryn and Anna on their way to 1st and 3rd grade. Both are doing very well so far.

Lily is all fun these days and trying new words regularly.

Happy 10th Anniversary

Ten years and four kids later I am deeper in love now more than ever! Happy 10th Anniversary!

Trying out her first wheelchair!

We had Lily's wheelchair assessment at Shriner's a few weeks ago. It was so exciting to let her sit in the tiny trial chair and give it a try. Take a look!



On the subject of Lily's mobility. . .

As far as we can tell, Lily cannot feel or move her legs. She is 18 months old and doing so well. She is basically keeping up with her peers cognitively. But children her age are already running in circles around her. Joel and I want her to have more normal experiences, to be able to explore her world more freely and to be able to play outside. When she began pulling herself around on the floor we immediately saw an explosion in her language and development. We are convinced that mobility and independence is a huge key to her growth overall.

We have not given up on Lily's chances for walking with bracing. Although it may be slim chances, we will continue to work with her, preparing her for the opportunity. But, we refuse to let her development stall any longer. The bummer for us is that it will take until October 1st to get her chair. Who knew it took three months to get a wheelchair! Needless to say, we can not wait to get her in the little pink wheelchair we ordered. :)

Smith Family Reunion

Here are all of the Smith grandkids together at Bear Lake. We had a very relaxing time eating, playing games and visiting near the lake. Most activity happened outside in the sunshine, which was great! The water was cold, but the kids couldn't stay away from it. Lily even got to splash her hands in the water from a paddle boat.

Ammon, Mike's oldest and the oldest grandchild, just turned 18! I can't believe it. I remember holding him as a baby like it was yesterday. He's going to BYU Idaho in the Fall.

A Long Month of FUN!

After all of our medical drama, it was sure nice to take a long month break full of vacationing and fun. We started by pulling the girls out a little early from school and going to DISNEYLAND. This trip had been planned for a few months and over that time Anna and Eryn worked hard to earn their tickets by doing chores and practicing responsibility. Everyone had a really nice time. Joel's brother and sister and their families joined us for three of the four days which made everything more fun.
As soon as we got home we had a Family Reunion with all of Joel's immediate family.

The above pictures were taken in our backyard. It was great to capture Joel's entire family in one photo.

Following that reunion we went on to a very cold reunion with Joel's dad's family up in Heber. The weather was soooo cold and rainy that we could all see our breath when we talked. Everyone wore lots of extra layers and stayed indoors as much as possible.


We then went on to two more big family gatherings on my side. More pictures to come from my side of the family.

In the meantime everyone is pretty healthy and doing well. I am extremely happy to be back from one motel and four cabins and able to get a vacation from our vacation. :)

Good News

Anna is pictured here with her sweet cousin Ileina. Our bad luck rubbed off on Ileina last weekend when we were together and she fell and broke a bone in her shoulder. It just so happened that she was at Primary Children's Orthopedics the same day Anna and I were there. Anna got her cute pink cast on and Ileina got a sling. The good news is that we thought Anna's cast would be on for six weeks, but we were told she only needed one week in a cast!! I couldn't believe it. We are so happy that our summer fun won't be hampered by a cast. Ileina also got some good news. No casting or bracing necessary. Just a sling for two weeks. Yay. We like good news.

Eryn also had her follow up appointment with Urology and we learned to catheterize her through her belly button. I am happy to say that so far so good. Cathing has been pretty easy. We still have a lot of kinks to work out, but things are looking good. Eryn's foot is also on the mend. Her walking is great now and the affected muscles are finally starting to show some action and strength. The good news for Eryn is that she can now go swimming and take baths! Hooray. Thanks for all of your sympathy and concern. It's nice to be sharing some good news for once.

Two Words: Monkey Bars

Eryn's Doing Well

Sporting her purple cane.

Cousin Ileina bringing silliness and cheer.

Anna, Noah and Joseph visiting.

Two volunteer dogs came and visited her in her hospital room. She is obsessive about dogs and was thrilled to have them come.

Day by day Eryn's walking has shown improvement. She started walking with a cute purple cane that she got from physical therapy. Then after a few days she started walking without the cane. Now she is walking and running! We are very happy for her. My main concern is that the affected muscles in her foot still have not shown signs of improvement. In my opinion she is walking despite her disability in the foot. We'll see what happens. In the mean time. . . here are some cute pictures of Eryn from her hospital stay. Thanks for all of your sympathy and concern. Eryn went back to school today and when she walked into school all of the kids were so excited, saying, "Eryn's back" and "I'm sorry you had surgery Eryn." Too cute.