wildlife in the smith backyard

some would say that i am becoming my grandmother. we have a squirrel who frequents our bird feeders who we have named scout. every morning brady looks out the back window and informs me when scout has arrived. we have all kinds of birds as well. they must like our digs because one bird laid a nest in the arm of our satellite dish and started a little family. this weekend this little guy fell out. brian and i did not know what to do so we turned to the internet and found that eventually the birds out grow their nest and even though the cannot fly if left alone their mama will return and feed them even if they are no longer in the nest. after a few pics, because he was so darn cute, we left him alone. i have not seen or heard of him since.

tale of despereaux

we started reading brady a chapter book before bed every night around easter. just one little chapter a night, so it took some time to get through it. the book was the tale of despereaux. it was definitely more dark than i thought it was going to be, lucky for us he only picked up a few things from it and does not remember the bad things like the queen dying, and roscuro getting his revenge...... i must say what an experience it has been for us. our little guy understands and picks up on far more than i have given him credit for, he is one brilliant little guy. some may say we started chapter books before his time but i disagree, i am so proud of him and all that he is listening for and imagining in his mind. i told him when we finished we would watch the movie.....

silly mommy thought that he would sit down and watch the entire movie because he was so excited about the book.... he started out doing really well and watching very intently in daddy's lap laughing every time he saw roscuro on the screen. after the popcorn ran out and twenty minutes had lapsed he was off into his cars again..... so we will watch it in twenty minute spans every day until we finish..... someday we may be able to watch a movie from the beginning to the end as a family...... until then we will wear out the pause button on the remote.

tonight we start a new book.... stuart little..... sticking with the mouse theme for now he seems to like them..... definitely nothing like his mommy in that department.....

pure

everything for toddlers is so pure. it is so much fun watching brady grow. he and his best friend little dobs (the other brady), get along so well. little dobs is the first thing we talk about in the morning and often the last thing we talk about at night. he has so much fun around him, he truly is his best friend. i find so much joy in watching brady's emotions. they truly are pure. as adults we have learned to be fake and sometimes caddy. brady does not know how to do any of that so the feelings that he lets us see are truly pure. he and little dobs had so much fun picking and throwing grass the other day at the park. a truly simple thing to do. if wish i could go back to those years and re learn how to find so much joy in such a simple thing.

don juan you make daddy proud

i have no picture that is how spur of the moment, completely out of character and suprising this was. we were at the park the other day with little dobs (the other brady). my brady (smith) was hanging out by the playhouse. he was keeping an eye on a little girl who was hanging out at the house too. she was probably his age maybe a little older. out of the blue he walked up placed his hands on both of her cheeks and just planted a huge big french kiss! her mother was horrified... thank god i have never seen her there before and hopefully never will again. after the little girl and her mother walked away christy and i could not stop laughing. a sign of days to come. brady smith better known as don juan. when i told daddy the story he high fived brady and taught him to say "you got some." oh boy!

before i was a mom

Mothers day this year created much sadness in my heart along with pure joy. We went to visit grandma's grave on Saturday to take her some flowers. All morning I told Brady that we were going to take Gee Gee flowers. As we were driving out of the cemetary he said "Bye Bye Gee Gee, flowers." I started to cry. She would have given anything to hear him say her name. So Gee Gee I hope you were listening that morning. I miss you so much I hope you had a wonderful mothers day in heaven watching all of us.

On a happier note.......... carleen forwarded this great poem to me I absolutely love it because it truly expresses how I feel as a mother. The author is not listed on what I got or I would post that as well, whoever it is they must be a mother!

Before I was a Mom

Before I was a Mom
I made and ate hot meals.
I had unstained clothing.
I had quiet conversations on the phone.


Before I was a Mom,
I slept as late as I wanted
And never worried about how late I got into bed.
I brushed my hair and my teeth everyday.

Before I was a Mom
I cleaned my house each day.
I never tripped over toys or forgot words of lullabies.

Before I was a Mom
I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations

Before I was a Mom
I had never been puked on
Pooped on
Spit on
Chewed on
Peed on
Or pinched by tiny fingers

Before I was a Mom I had complete control of:
My thoughts
My body
And my mind.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom
I never held down a screaming child so that doctors could do tests
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom
I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put it down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
when I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom
I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond between a Mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
Could make me feel so important.

Before I was a Mom
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
Every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay
I had never known the warmth
The joy
The love
The heartache
The wonder
Or the satisfaction of being a Mom.
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much before I was a Mom.

Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers out there. How truly blessed we are to have the most important job in the world!

rolly poly

they grow so fast....... what a great milestone! Go Logey Roo!

logan and the shrinking monkey - 4 months

chubby chubby towering over your monkey. who is that adorable baby with the big smile. it can't possibly be my logan roo you are growing too quickly! you still smile smile and just got with the flow. you are laid back and ready to grow up big like your brother. you love to watch him play and run someday too you will be doing the same things. you are trying so hard to roll over this month. you have begun to kick that leg over but just don't quite have the strength to make it all the way. you refused to take a bottle this month you just cry and cry until i get back, so much for stopping breast feeding!. you are one determined baby! i think you are getting ready to cut some teeth you love to chew on anything you can get up to your mouth. you got your first ear infection and took it like a man. i didn't even know you had one, you did not show any of the signs. a little medicine and you appear to be better. your 4 month appointment is soon and i am sure you will be put on solids you are going to love them chunky monkey! we love you logan keep eatin, smilin and going with the flow you are a great addition to our ever crazy life. love you logey roo!

if you would have asked me yesterday

if you would have asked me yesterday i would have told you that my kids never go to bed when they are supposed to. today i would tell you that it is 8 pm and i am sitting here blogging and watching two and half men. yes kid less. both little guys are in bed sleeping peacefully at least for the next hour :) if you would have asked me yesterday if i ever thought brady would be watering our back garden or reading the sunday ads with daddy naming everything in sight and going crazy over the tractors in the sears ad. Or how everyday he goes to bed telling a different story of cars or vacuums or about play dates with friends. i wouldn't have believed that i would be so blessed to have such a bright young aspiring toddler in my life. if you would have asked me yesterday how logan was doing i wouldn't have been able to tell you that today he revealed his 15th different smile. all have a little different curve or quiver in the lip that only his mommy would know. if you would have asked my yesterday the pure joy i would feel in my heart as i snapped a picture of my boys all together, well i wouldn't have been able to share that with you either because i just did it tonight.