The Smith Family Adventures

We got to watch Baby James this morning so that Uncle Scott could go fishing and Auntie Kristy could go to work. Everyone who knew kept saying I was “brave” but pretty soon I’ll have three all the time so I was actually kind of looking forward to the preview. (Not to mention the time with my sweet nephew!)

I got to remember all the things I had forgotten about having a baby and a toddler (and a couple preschoolers) at the same time. Little tricks that had left my brain. What do I do with the baby while I wipe someone else’s bottom? How do I make lunch? I could wait for Auntie Erin to finish making lunch for her girls. Or….I could just put him in the exersaucer. It eventually came back to me.

This post is a little bit for Auntie Kristy. She was worried about him this morning because Arwen had scratched him up a bit below his eye just before she dropped him off. Nothing serious…but still nothing you want to happen to your baby! So now Auntie Kristy can see how much fun he had. But this is for us too. Remember the fun times with cousins!

When James arrived the boys immediately got down to entertaining him.

James went along with it.

The torture continued for awhile….I mean they let James try on a bunch of their hats.

Then Elias decided he wanted to take James on a tour of the house. He wanted to show all of the rooms and toys. We made a stop in Simon’s room for a quick story.

Audrey and Sonya got in on the fun. James had four kiddos fawning over him for awhile. My boys are lucky that have all three of their cousins in one house!

After a mid morning bottle and a quick 20 minute nap in the crib, James was bright eyed and ready for more fun. Elias played some tummy time with him and we got some cute pictures.

About this time, the big kids wanted to go out in the back and do some water play. We set it all up and James and I watched from the shade.

I had a lot of fun Auntie time this morning. James doesn’t seem too impressed with me, though. What’s his deal?

I’ll just say he was getting a bit hungry again by the time I took this picture. We went inside for lunch, and he fell asleep again just in time for his Mommy to pick him up. Eh….three wasn’t so hard.

We are supporting the Hops again this summer both in spirit and in attendance at games. We’ve attended four games so far this summer, and we’ve had a blast.

One of our games was last Saturday evening. The weather was a nice 75 degrees or so, and the boys were ready for some baseball!

We spent the first four innings or so watching the game, eating kettle corn, and trying not to disturb the people sitting around us.

Then look who found us!

They happened to be at the same game with Kristy, Scott, James, and Kristy’s parents. Their party was sitting waaaaaay across the field in the grass.

After a couple more innings (and a couple more snacks) we decided to go over a visit them so that we could say hi to Kristy and Scott and so that the boys could have a chance to run around.

And run around they did!

It was a fun night for all!

We are lucky enough to be able to celebrate cousin Audrey’s birthday with her almost every year since they come to visit us every August. This year, we had a gift for Sonya as well instead of mailing it to her back in July.

The boys really enjoyed Auntie Erin’s cupcakes. Simon even thought the cupcake was more interesting than watching Audrey open presents so you know it was tasty!:

For Sonya, I had made a cape just like the ones I’ve made for the boys. Back at the Ramlal spring break visit, I noticed Sonya was pretty interested in the capes and decided to make her one of her own. Luckily, it was a big hit! The boys and Sonya immediately donned their capes and went in the backyard to play. Nathan even overheard Elias say, “a superhero cape makes you run faster.” Here you can see his cape disappearing out of the frame of the picture while Sonya and Simon jump off the deck.

Shortly after they started playing, Audrey asked me, “Why am I the only one without a cape?” So…I made her one as well later that afternoon while Simon was napping. I realized as I was preparing for this post that I don’t have a picture of Audrey’s cape so I’ll have to get one before they return home!

A fun birthday party for all!

I’d guess that the number one response to people finding out I am pregnant this time around is, “So are you going to try again for a girl?” I know three boys will not be without its challenges. But hardly anyone recognizes how many fun and wonderful moments it will bring us. I’m thrilled to be having three boys. I do have to admit I pine after the dresses and flowery headbands and things. But I want this baby, and truthfully, this isn’t the easiest pregnancy and how can I say I will try for another before this baby even arrives? So if you see me…don’t ask me if I’m going to have a fourth! (End of rant).

The second thing people who really knew us said was….”You’re going to need a bigger car.” Now that was the truth if I’ve ever heard it. We had one car. A Toyota Corolla. We love that car, but let’s face it…it doesn’t fit three car seats. So we saved and saved.

A little over a week ago, we went to buy our mini van. Yes. We’ve joined the ranks of mini van owners. And we love it! The boys are thrilled with the space and the automatic sliding doors which they can operate with a button. I made Nathan test out the doors before we bought it to be sure little limbs would not get caught in the doors. The salesman made fun of us for this, but I felt it was important. The van has so much space! But best of all…it will fit our whole family!

It even (barely) fits in the garage!

Look at this cargo space!

When baby number 3 arrives we’ll have to have at least one seat in the back row up, but even then….this is pretty amazing!