so much to say ........ all of the time

If only we knew what all of this meant, he sure does. We are probably promising to buy him a Porsche Boxster when he turns sixteen every time we say yes during one of these long talking sprees!

our little artist

More sidewalk chalk please! This little guy may just be the next Picasso for all we know. He sure does love coloring with crayons, but by far his favorite is sidewalk chalk. It is so much fun to watch him pick our different colors and scribble all over the place. I often wonder what is going through his mind. Sometimes he seems so serious when he is drawing his lines and scribbling and others he looks care free and like a complete natural when it comes to his creations. He is also discovered how much fun it is to color his skin and his mommy's skin with the chalk. Most of the time there is more chalk on Brady and his clothes than the sidewalk by the time we are done, but we sure do have fun! One last little note, if you don't want to do sidewalk chalk, then remember to not walk him over yesterday's creation, because if we don't stop and get out the chalk again then we throw a temper tantrum right there! We could color all day everyday!

Go Rams!!!!!

Brady loves to go to the football games, but daddy does have some work to do.... because Brady loves to sleep at them. The last two have been during nap time, who am I kidding Brady does not really have a nap time!!! He always manages to fall asleep here though.... funny the kid can sleep through loud cheering, cannons booming, carters new found whistle (thanks Teri Castledine!), but he can't sleep in the peaceful quiet of his crib at home! Go Rams!

oh where, oh where has my little angel gone?

well today was a trying day for me, that might even be an understatement. my little angel has gone somewhere and i can't seem to find him! brady and i have had our fair share of trying days but today was the topper. i can't seem to do anything to keep him happy, aside from holding him or giving him 100% of my attention. i can't even look out our back window at the birdies at the restaurant without him freaking out. what's that i can't color while i eat my breakfast? well then i think i will just throw a tantrum right here in my high chair. mommy if you think you are going to talk to the insurance company right now while i am eating my lunch or check your emails well, you are mistaken, you need to sit right there and watch me put every last piece of grahm cracker in my mouth and if you even blink, well i might freak out. tonight we went outside to do sidewalk chalk, it was time to come in and we just threw a temper tantrum right on the front porch. if you live within three miles you may have heard this episode. i couldn't help but cry tonight when brian got home. i feel like i am doing something wrong as a parent. i can't stand to hear my child cry or worry about him bothering others so i always try to be attentive to his every need no matter how silly it may be. some would say that is my down fall and now his. i am sure this is just the start of what will continue through the toddler years, i just hope that i learn how to handle it better than today. maybe some tougher skin or ear plugs are in order?

uh oh

Well I must say I knew this day would come. Since we use "uh oh" in our house more than no, Brady has now adopted the phrase and made it a part of his vocabulary. Yes it is cute to hear him say it maybe one or twice, but 50 times in a day gets a little old, but I guess one could say that is probably close to as many times as he hears me say it. Turn about is fairplay I guess............ uh oh!

Why kids turn out the way they do

I was given an interesting article by a family member the other day. Lord knows I am one of those parents that is always searching for the best answer or best advice to raise our son into the best he can be. The headline for the article was "DNA discoveries reveal why even the best parenting doesn't always have the results experts promise." That immediately caught my attention. The article stated in about thirty percent of children their DNA coils carry a glitch. This specific glitch is on that leaves their brains with a few dopamine receptors, molecules that act as docking ports for one of the neurochemicals that carry our thoughts and emotions. The article states that lack of these causes an inability to avoid self-destructive behavior, and children that are lacking these are unable to learn from their mistakes. It also stated in their findings that children with a sweet temperament are the least likely to emulate their parents and the lessons they teach, while fussy kids are the most likely to do so. I have a really hard time believing all of this, although some may be true, I still think that you as a parent play a crucial role in the development of your child. I can see how genetics may factor in, but I also think that you are a role model for your child. They watch everything you do and listen to everything you say. Some kids may react differently to parenting style than others, that is called personality. All us parents (especially first time ones), are looking for the perfect parenting answer and the truth is, there isn't one. A dear friend of mine who I call for advice often always has said to me "there is no right way, you just have to do what works for you." For that quote and you know who you are thank you, I remind myself of that everyday when I think I am doing something the wrong way. Here is my advice for the world..... Get up every morning and start your day fresh with your child. Do they best that you know you can everyday and remember along the way that you are human and you are going to make mistakes..... The good news is we are the only parents our children have and they don't know if what we are doing is right or wrong, and realize that you are going to learn how to be a parent along the way through trials and tribulations. Our children need love, attention, patience and understanding. If you give them this everyday the world will be a better place.

Monk Email

So we all have gotten the famous monk email from a co-worker or friend. Brian thought it would be funny to expose Brady to it the other morning. Brady mostly just stared at the screen utterly confused as to how this monkey, like the ones we see at the zoo, were talking to him. At one point he looked a little scared. If you have never experienced the monk email, click the link below.



http://www.careerbuilder.com/monk-e-mail/Default.aspx?cbRecursionCnt=1&cbsid=7c1a7d1117ed4a8fa9f201bacbee8aec-274222759-KC-5&ns_siteid=ns_us_y_monk_email_careerbuil_

are those pancakes?

Looking at these chocolate chip cookies one would think it was another Mikelle substituted or did not follow the recipe cooking disaster........... but if you think that this time you are wrong!! Many might not believe the story that I am about to tell, but I finally have the chance to gloat so I am going to take it. Brian was so sweet the other night, I wanted cookies and don't let him fool you he wanted them too, so he agreed to bake cookies for me. I was resting on the couch when I heard a chuckle from the kitchen. I went into to check it out and yes, this is what I found. He apparently miss measured the flour, using the wrong size measuring cup. Those of you who know Brian well I think this may be his first cooking mistake ever. Those who know him even better know that he likes to tell stories of my cooking disaster's which are usually a good laugh even for me. He added some more flour to the dough and the second batch turned out perfect. I had to take this moment to mark this in the history books, it may be my only chance. Nice pancakes honey!

Brady is walking!

With the security blanket removed (pooh bus), Brady Smith is walking! I am going to have a long day tomorrow!

the sand box story

side view of our expedition


side rear view of our expedition


picture of side airbags that deployed



picture of the car seat that kept our little brady safe


Let me start my story by saying that we are all okay, not a cut, scratch or bruise. Now, I am sure you are wondering what this has to do with a sand box, let me tell you. Labor Day started out like any other day in the Smith house. Mommy had a bright idea to go get some supplies to make brady a little sand box like she had read about in parent's magazine the night before. We all had breakfast and then headed out to our favorite store Home Depot. As we were driving down Grant Ranch Boulevard we noticed a minivan slowly starting to veer into our lane. It was coming at us head on. Brian and I both kept thinking that the driver would eventually swerve back to their side of the road, but it quickly became evident that it was not going to happen so Brian started to veer the car as far over on our side of the road as possible, but there was not a lot of room given that we would soon hit the curb. Before any of that could happen the minivan slammed into the driver rear door of our expedition and spun us around 180 degrees. I don't remember much about the crash, except for getting hit in the side of my face with the air bag and then turning around to see how Brady was doing. He was crying and I could not get out of the car fast enough to get to the back seat. Needless to say that the Britax side impact rated car seat did it's job and Brady escaped with absolutely nothing wrong with him but a little bruise on the bottom of his chin, he stopped crying as soon as mommy did. We were lucky enough to have a neighbor behind us, who just happens to be a police officer. He witnessed the whole accident and was kind enough to stop and try to calm me down. Just so you other parents know when you get in an accident, do not remove your child from the car seat until the EMT's arrive. I would have taken Brady out, but our neighbor (the off duty police man) instructed me not too. We are so lucky he was there. Brian and I were both taken to the hospital. Brian for his back and neck pain and myself for the little man in my belly to make sure he was doing okay, after having a seat belt tighten across my tummy. We were all discharged and all okay. Thank you Brad St. Clair for running down kids and all to try to help us with Brady. Thank you to my Aunt Ree for coming to the hospital only to have me send her away immediately to go purchase another car seat. Thank you to Grammy Sherri for coming down to hang with little man while mommy and daddy got checked out. Thank you to all the West Metro Fire Department EMT's who took such good care of my family, thank you to the Lakewood police officer's that took care of all the little details.) The biggest thank you I saved for last............................. Thank you GOD for watching over my family yesterday. I guess it wasn't our time to go and we have more to do on this earth.

A little side note to the story, daddy made sure Brady got his sand box yesterday, he went and got the stuff later in the afternoon and put it together. He wanted to make sure all of this didn't ruin our day. Brady is so lucky to have a daddy like him.