Milo Brant Smith

He's here!

  

This pregnancy was such a breeze compared to last time. Although I was nauseous for the first half and had heart burn for the last half, I hardly ever threw up. I didn't get pre-eclampsia and he didn't come early. In fact, I went two days over. I know that isn't that long but it felt like forever!

 I really wanted to have a v-bac instead of another c-section. My blood pressure did go up just a little at the end so I went on bed rest to try to give my body time to go into labor. Unfortunately, nothing was happening. I researched all the old wives tales about how to get things moving and all the nurses offered their suggestions. Nothing worked. No dilation, no softening, nothing. 

My water began slowly leaking when I woke up on the morning of April 1st but I really didn't want an April Fools baby. I tried to remember what I had heard about water breaking: It was supposed to be a big gush. I'd know it was my water. Besides, it was April Fool's day and I did not want my baby to have his birthday on April Fool's every year. If it was really my water, contractions would start soon. I probably just peed a little. I decided to just go on with my day. 

 I continued to have a slow leak all day. I was definitely not still peeing. I called Zane and then cleaned the house a little, took a shower, and did my hair and make-up. We had lunch together, dropped Hudson off at his babysitter's and drove slowly (much to Zane's dismay) to the hospital. They started running tests. Still no softening or dilation. My water hadn't broken but it did have a small tear meaning my 24 hours had started. The doctor explained that they wouldn't give pit unless I was dilated to at least a three. Since I hadn't started at all, this wasn't an option. 

I was disappointed. I had made it 40 weeks, the baby and I were both healthy, and I still had to have a c-section. 

This one went WAY better. The bed and blankets were heated, Zane asked me questions about the book I was reading, the doctor removed my old nasty scar (Yay!), and I got to hold my baby right away. He had to be on cpap for about an hour but his lungs dried out quickly and he has been healthy and happy ever since. 

Milo was born at 5:40 p.m. on April 1st. He weighed 6 lbs 9 oz and was 19 inches long.

 

Hudson came to see him that night and loved him right away. He has been the best big brother!  

Grandpa and Grandma Smith took Hudson back to Idaho for a couple of days and Zane and I had a chance to spend some one on one with the new babe.

 

Milo was the first baby name that Zane and I agreed on right after we were married. We almost used it for Hudson but he just didn't look like a Milo. We gave him the middle name Brant in memory of my Grandpa who passed away last June. As soon as I knew I was having a boy, I knew I wanted Brant to be the middle name. Ironically, I did the math and Milo would have been conceived the same week Grandpa passed away. I like to think that Grandpa gave him a hug and an 'atta boy' and sent him on his way down.

 

3 years with the man of my dreams

Zane and I sent two days and a night over in Midway at Johnson Mill. We first went tubing on fake snow (zane's favorite part-not really he wanted real snow) then checked in at our Bed and Breakfast and headed out for dinner. We first tried the snake creek grill since was had a $20 off coupon (and you all know my "frugle" husband. They had on couple in there and 6 tables open within view and the snobbie lady said they were booked and we would have to sit at the counter facing a wall. Well we left. We debated on where to go, finally to heber city to Don Pedros....NEVER EAT THERE....we thought we wouldn't survive the night it was so gross..did i mention my husband had a $10 off coupon here too. We went back to the B&B and i enjoyed the jetted tub.
We had a good time,Zane hates breakfast as he has to sit with strangers and talk knowing they all came here last night for the same purpose...so he thinks
It was my first time being away from my baby that i missed so much (thanks sara, jake and elaina for watching him).
It was a great time with my husband that takes such good care of me. Also did i mention he found a coupon for 10% of the B&B at B&B.com try it sometime soon.

The Nursery is Done!!!

Zane and I (does anybody else have a hard time getting the husband on board with honey do lists on Saturdays??!!) spent a Saturday afternoon painting Hudsons room getting it ready for our friend jacob to come do some detailing. Hear is the out come.....what do you think?? thanks jacob and elaina for the help!! It's just what I wanted!

Project: Real House

For the last two and a half years, my room has felt like a cabin. Zane made this awesome log bed before we got married and my mom made him that 'adorable' moose/bear/fish blanket. You may even notice the fish pillow case... cute right?

I've decorated around these items in the last three bedrooms that we've had, but I'm finally demanding a REAL master bedroom. I cannot sleep in the woods any longer. This sad picture is of the bed in the very plain room we now inhabit.



We've been in this house for 9 months and I've had trouble committing to anything. My first priority was that the log bed had to go. I wanted a sleigh bed, but Zane didn't think it was budget worthy- so I spent months watching on KSL for something I could make work. In the meantime, IKEA and I have been good buddies and I found this AMAZING duvet cover!!!! It followed my home and became my inspiration for the rest of the room.



Next, I finally found a bed with potential and set out to fix it up.



There were like seven layers of yellowed-white paint that had to be removed and it was tricky to work on it with a needy toddler so, four months later...

I'm finished! Well, with the bed at least- and I LOVE IT!!



[Pictures of the rest of the room to come... hopefully soon]

Look at me!

As many of you know, I don't cook. My sister Lacie still makes fun of me for asking how high to turn the stove when boiling water. Although the sign in my kitchen still rings true: 'I kiss better than I cook', I'm actually becoming quick domesticated since being a part time stay at home mom.

In fact... (drum roll please)..... I made bread! And not in a bread maker. In fact, not even with a bosch or kitchenaid. I hand kneaded it. Twice. Its not all in the pic, but I ended up making three loaves, a dozen rolls, and a dozen bread sticks.



I know, I know.... you're impressed right? Me too! Usually I get bored if anything takes longer than 20 minutes. This took literally ALL day and I had a blast. Plus, it tastes divine. I am so stinkin proud of myself! *Thank you to whomever gave me those pastry towels that have sat in a box for 3 years. Sorry I laughed at the thought of using them*

Zane has always been better in the kitchen- thus the following canning projects that have taken every minute of the last month.



Okay, now to admit a not so shining moment. Hudson won't eat very many foods so the doctor suggested hiding things in pancakes. Haha, this was not very well hidden and Hudson would have nothing to do with it.

Happy Birthday Hudson!

One year ago, this cute little fighter joined our family. Look how much he's grown.

It has been so fun watching his personality emerge. He is stubborn, persistant, and has selective hearing- but he is also snuggly, smiley, giggly, and all boy.

He doesn't do things unless he wants to and he'll dig his heels in if you try to push him. He hasn't showed much interest yet in verbal communication since mom and dad respond exactly how he intended to his grunts and screams. However, he is constantly making sound effects while he plays.

He is a picky eater, hates to get dressed, insists on sleeping in our bed (with his hand over my face). He loves bath time and is obsessed with books.

We use a lot of reverse psychology already since he's only interested in doing things when I say 'no-no'. He is incredibly observant, studying everything without a sound. He's cautious and looks to us for approval before doing anything he's unsure of.

Hudson has made our lives so happy. Yes, being a parent is hard- but somehow even the hard is good and we are so glad he's in our family.

Happy Birthday buddy! We love you!!

Ode to Second Grade

I love my job! I love second grade. I love second graders. I love teaching children who want to learn. I love working half day. I love being home with Hudson more. I love leaving to work 5 minutes before I have to be there. I love it!

Seriously, I will NEVER go back to teaching 6th grade. Yes, I managed. Yes, I even did I stinkin good job of making those kids behave if I do say so myself. But now that I have experienced bliss, I realize that last year was *#@! and I am never going back.

I have traded in glares for smiles, gossip for giggles, 'you're ruining my life' for 'you're the best teacher ever'. Oh, I just love second graders and their thank you's and obedience, and hugs (every time we transition activities). I'll take thier runny noses and pooping thier pants (yes this has already happened) to thier back talk and passing notes.

Sigh.... I love you second grade.

CUTE

Is this not the cutest thing you've ever seen. I want one. Oh, wait that's how I got the dog. P.S. he's free to anyone who wants him.

Another Baby

Hudson gets a little excited around animals. On the fourth of July, there were some bassett hounds at the park in Rexburg. He didn't want to do anything but just sit there with those dogs and get licked. On Monday, we were at the park and Hudson took off crawling half way across the field trying to get to a dog that was on the other end. Since this was getting to be a regular occurance, I decided that he might need a dog.

Despite all of my former "No!"s to his father's requests for a dog. I gave in to this cute little guy



and bought him a puppy. A 7 week old black lab that we named Cole.

So, now I have two babies to train not to chew and whine. Two babies to potty train and teach to listen/obey. Two babies who make messes and drool on me. Two babies who love to be held and walked. Two babies to take for shots and well check-ups. Two babies.....

What was I thinking?!

But then again, he is making my boys so happy.

Mansfield Park

I first fell in love with Jane Austen's literary genious when I read Pride and Predjudice as a Sophmore (during restitution). I am amazed at the way she uses words in their purest form: making them divinely beautiful. She can convey stronger opinions and feelings in a single sentence, than any other author I've ever seen could do when allowed an essay.

Her stories are so perfectly crafted so that she can convince the reader and unconvince them again like it was our own opinion from the start. Her characters are so real, her scenes so true to life, that you can't help but feel like you have some sort of claim to them from the time you spent together. I know it sounds wierd, but if you've read her you know. She is truly gifted!

Alas, I find old english dialect sneaking into my vocabulary for weeks after I've finished a book. I drive Zane crazy talking about 'what happened to Fanny today' over dinner like it falls in with all the rest of the daily gossip.

To be honest, as much as I respect Jane's writing abilites, I had been slightly disappointed with her other works (Sense and Sensibility, Northanger Abbey, Lady Susan, Persuasion, and Emma). Aside from wishing Lady Susan would fall on her face and Emma's pride would be wounded, I didn't much care what happened to most of the characters and the plot lines just weren't as enthraling as Pride and Predjudice. I feared I had read the greatest of them all first, leaving myself open to a disappointment with the others that might have been avoided had I read it last.

But then.... this month I discovered Mansfield Park and my love affair is renewed.


Here I must refrain from expounding for fear of exposing any of the juicy goodness you will find within. So, I make an end by stating that you simply must, must, must read this book. You're life will be forever the better; or at least you're month.

Like This

School's been out for three weeks and it didn't take long for my little guy to turn "Mama's Boy". I've attributed his being so social to the fact that he has regularly spent time with lots of children and adults. He's never made a fuss about being held by anyone else. After just one week of being home full time with him, he wouldn't let anyone else touch him. Even Zane.

We're pretty tight these days. About a week ago, it was Zane's turn to put Hudson to bed (Yes, he takes 'turns'. Such an awesome husband!) but he was having a hard time. Hudson whimpered and whined for almost 45 min. Finally, frustrated, Zane asked me to give it a try. I walked over, picked him up, and he immediately let out a little sigh, gave me a hug, and then snuggled in and went right to sleep. I melted.

Zane however, took it pretty hard. I tried not to gloat but honestly, I'm loving having a Mama's boy.

He's been making huge improvements too. We have been working with Hudson to roll over for almost four months. I could tell he knew how but he just wouldn't. It's like he was just waiting for me: the first week I was home he starting rolling. I've been home 3.5 weeks now and he is sitting up, pivoting, crawling, pulling himself up to things, and standing with support. He loves to eat, yet he's so active that he's having trouble gaining any weight. He's still only 14.5 lbs but soooo cute!

Celine: My Love

Best Concert Ever!! My sister Sara and I are slighltly obsessed with Celine Dion, its true. We have been talking about seeing her in concert for many moons now, but with the whole year and a half off to have twins: I was starting to think she was going to have so much fun being a mom that she'd just drop off the radar and it would never happen.

But Celine's back!!!

Zane bought me tickets to her new Show in Vegas for mother's day.

I didn't think it was possible but I love her more now than I did pre-show. It is unreal what she can do with her voice. There were several times where Sara and I would just look at eachother in awe (mouths open and everything). I kept getting goose bumps during the show and I even cried a little when she sang about the power of a mother's love.

I really wanted to buy a Celine t-shirt, but they were all ugly and definately not worth $95 (even if they did say Celine). So we each bought an over priced CD from the 'Celine store' and I bought her signature scent lotion.


I love it.

The CD Sara got is called 'My Love' but I didn't realize that until it showed up on my computer while I was listening. When Sara was talking about it, I thought she was saying "Celine, my love" rather than Celine: My Love. Bha ha! It didn't even phase me cause that's kind of how we refer to her anyway.

She is truly the most talented person ever!

Oh and she's cute! I mean personality. She kept getting embarrased when people would clap too long or loudly and she has amazing stage presence.They did some awesome stuff during the show:

They made a hologram of her and she sang a duet with herself.

The stage moved; the singers would just start floating to other parts of the stage. Cool!

During the last song, she was lifted in the air on a pedestal and water danced around her.

She sang other songs, not just hers. My favs were a jazz/blues song and Michael Jackson's Man in the Mirror. It sounded better when she sang it then when he did! They didn't allow cameras so these google pics will have to do.


Okay, I'll stop. I warned you I was obsessed.

Tales of Teaching

I really hope Hudson just skips right over being 11. Don't get me wrong, I love those kids... most of the time. However, I find myself wanting to scream on a daily basis. Of course that's when I'm not laughing, crying, or staring in disbelief.

I wish I had thought to keep track of what they say earlier, but here's the latest:


- Did you know fish can drown? Its true! I read it on the internet.

- If I work really hard today, can I have my peice of cardboard back?

- Student: I testified against my little sisters dad yesterday and he broke into our house. My mom doesn't feel safe here so we're moving to Compton to be close to her boyfriend while he's in jail.
Me: I thought he was in jail in Georgia.
Student: No that's my dad

- There's a sock on my floor; who's is it? No really guys, who's missing a sock? (No one claimed it!)

- I don't feel good, can I have another cookie?

- Wanna hear my favorite guitar set? Neener NEEner, Neener NEEner, Neener NEEner....(3 min later).... Neener NEEner.....

- I like pizza. (Every day for the past four months)

- I'm just not good at thinking.

- I can do nothing for a really long time.

- Coloring is hard; I'll just take a zero.

- If there weren't cops, I'd do whatever I wanted all the time.

- Hey, this is just like DT! (I was taking role)

- I can't do my homework. You forgot to tell me what I learned!

We Bought A House!

Feb. 1st we'll be moving into our very own home in Eagle Mountain. I guess this means we're staying in Utah for awhile!!!

Zane has been wanting to be in 'his own house' for quite a while. I've been a little bit hesitant and have occasionally been touring homes to humor him. I honestly didn't plan on looking seriously until I was at least finished with this school year. However, in the midst of my humoring him, we came across a deal we just couldn't turn down. I agreed to place an offer and didn't think anymore about it.

Monday morning we received a call from our realitor letting us know that our offer was accepted. It was the weirdest feeling I've ever had. We started laughing, hugged eachother, and danced around. Then... I started dry heaving.

Its going to mean a lot of big changes over the next six months till I'm out of school but it will be so nice to be home owners. The house is perfect.

Its a wonderful neighborhood, almost new (4 yrs), and there's tons of room to grow. As you can tell from the picture the yard needs a ton of work (which zane is thrilled about- hopefully we don't end up with a pond). We are thrilled to be home owners. Hope to see you all staying over soon!

Thanks Jentry and Drue!

My cousin Jentry has been watching Hudson for me and it has been such a blessing. Leaving my baby to someone else all day is challenging; but knowing he is being taken care of and loved is so comforting.

Jentry has a little girl named Drue who is almost two. She absolutely adores Hudson and it is so much fun to watch them. He definately recognizes her and she is so protective of him.

(Dure sharing her goldfish)

A week ago, Zane picked Hudson up and when he was gone Drue started looking around confused. She asked where her baby was. Jentry told her that he went home with his dad and she got angry. "No! My baby," she said.

I think it has been so good for both of them to be around another child. Thank you Jentry and Drue for taking such good care of my little boy!

P.S. She also takes amazing pictures. Here's one she took of Hudson

Best Two Years

Zane and I have been married for two years today. While he and my cute baby snooze, I can't help but think how lucky I am to have them both. The last two years have taken us so many places. . .

We started out in St. George/Hurricane, moved to Rexburg, finished school, swore off Walmart, moved to Salt Lake, I did my student teaching, we waited for real jobs while I did hair and he sold cars, got real jobs (in our fields!), we had a baby, and had a million laughs along the way.

Growing together has been one of the sweetest experiences I've ever had. I am so lucky to have someone who loves me so much. The longer we are together the more I am convinced that there could be absolutly no one more perfectly matched for me. Two years ago I made the best decision of my life and each day is better than the last because of it. I'm so glad the many ahead will find us facing life together!

It's beginning to smell a lot like Christmas

We put up our Christmas tree yesterday and now it officially feels like Christmas. Zane and I talked a lot about investing in a fake tree but I just can't bring myself to do it. I LOVE the way the real ones smell. As soon as we had it in the house I was glad we decided to go real. Like magic, just having the smell of pine in the house makes it feel like Christmas is really here.

Our first year I suggested that, since our anniversary is so close to Christmas, we make a point to go somewhere and bring back an ornament from that place so that it was actually special rather than annoying. Zane decided that it was such a good idea, he wanted one for everyplace we went that year- so we've collected ornaments from every major trip we've taken since we've been married. Then last year, we decided to turn a peice of the trunk of each years tree into an ornament with the year on it. So between anniversary, vacation, tree trunks, and a few ornaments I found 60% off at Shopko... I think our tree looks pretty darn cute!

I love being a mom

Hudson just keeps getting funner! He is becoming super social and will stare at me for hours at a time while i sing or talk to him. He thinks everything I do is funny, and he's always smiling. He's starting to produce tears and pout when he cries. So cute! I laugh every time.



He loves bath time.


My favorite part of the day is nap. I've always been a snuggler and although I know we're not supposed to co-sleep, I can't help it- I love how cuddly he is!



My sister Lacie gave him this little suit (Pretend you can't see me messy house int he background). I'm really hoping we can still squeeze him into it when we finally bless him in February.



I am so lucky to be this cute little guys mom!