Addison Jane

Our baby girl, Addison Jane Smith, was born on Wednesday (October 28, 2009) at 2:25pm. She weighed 8lbs 5oz and was 20 inches long.

Addison had a rough entry into this world. During delivery her unbilical cord prolasped (the cord came before the baby). At this point the baby was shoved back up inside and an emergency c-section was performed. I am grateful for the quick thinking of the doctor and nursing staff, they saved the life of our baby.

With the prolasped cord, Addison was without oxygen for a while. She needed help right away. Craig got to see her. Then after I woke up some, we both went into to see her. I was able to touch Addison's head and her foot, she was crying. She is a beautiful baby. Then I was wheeled to my room. Latter they brought Addison in, she was in an icolet ready to fly to the children's hospital. It was hard to just lay in bed and look at her. Craig and Grandma S took some pictures of her. Addison was sedated at this point, that was difficult to see.

Craig and Patrick drove to the children's hospital to be with Addison. Grandma S stayed with me. It was a long night. Addison was hooked up to several IV's, a respirator, etc. Her PH needed to be balanced, blood pressure was low and she needed to have and EEG. Craig and Patrick spent a couple of hours with Addison and then went to a hotel for the rest of the night.

(In the picture you can see that Addison has an oxygen tube, feeding tube and leads for her heart rate, respirations, & temperature. She also has a blood pressure cuff on her leg. If you look closely at her umbilical cord you can see that there is an IV line sewen into it. This line can be used for about a week and several meds - if they can be mixed- can go in this one IV.)

First Pay Check!

Morgan is happy to be earning her own money!! Her first two paychecks.

Raeleigh's Observant

At Stuart and Raeleigh's school they study character words. There is a different word for each week. At the end of the quarter an award is given to the student in the class that exemplifies the different character words best. This time Raeleigh received the award for being Observant. Raeleigh also is on the Principal's honor roll for earning straight "A's" on her report card. Way to go Raeleigh!!!

Raeleigh sewing on a button

Sister Crone is an awesome activity day leader for Raeleigh and her friends. Sister Crone has the girls come up with great ideas for activities, like: cleaning up a park on a daddy daughter date, picnic with moms (we brought food that started with our initials). The pictures below are from learning to sew on a button. Raeleigh was so pleased with herself and the super job she did!

3D Ultrasound

October 8, 2009 I went in for a 36 week ultrasound. The tech took the measurements and listening to the heart beat. Our baby girls weighed in at 6 lbs and 13 oz and 18 1/2 inches long. This is the size Samantha was when she was born.
After all the technical stuff, the tech said she would try to do a 3D picture. It was amazing to watch the baby move around. She frowned most of the time and kept moving out of the "scan box". At one point she sucked on her two fingers, just like Raeleigh used to! In the first picture you can see the scan box, the portion that the 3D picture is looking at. In this picture our baby girl has her hand up by her face with her pinkie finger extended. I left the office feeling amazed at how much detail you can see in the 3D ultrasound. I am so excited to really look at and hold our baby!

First Aid

Our ward Young Men have the coolest president. Brother Lamb is a big kid who loves the gospel. I appreciate that he regularly shares his testimony (in word and example) while having a great time with the boys. Brother Lamb you amaze me!!

Brother Lamb is an eagle scout and gentle pushing the boys towards their eagles as well. Here Bro. Lamb is teaching the boys first aid. This took two weeks, but now most of the boys, including Jordan are certified. Jordan is the boy in the olive green shirt with his back turned to the camera.

Young Women in Excellence

Look at this beautiful cake. Sister Lamb made it for the young women. The theme for Young Women in Excellence this year was to "Remember". Remember the Values and what they stand for. The leaders had planned a beautiful evening for the girls and their families.

Each girl brought in a "value box" to share. The put things in the boxes that help them remember the YW value. Morgan did basket (rather than a box) on Faith.

Samantha did a box on Faith as well. She divided her box in half.

We have awesome YW leaders in our ward and stake. I am so blessed to have my girls led by wonderful women. I am grateful for each of their love, kindness and testimonies of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Megan Lamb (secretary), Samantha, Kelley Kirkland (president) and Shalee Morrill (Stake YW president)

The Lamb Girls

Playing with the Lamb girls. Our friend Ryan Lamb came over to help fix the tile in our bathroom. He brought his two cuties with him. Cassidy helped Samantha wash the dishes. Melanie was thrilled to have Morgan toss her around. We love the Lamb family!

Playing with the Camera

Raeleigh loves to play with the camera. And once in a while she like to have her picture taken. She took three of these pictures herself. Morgan took the picture of Raeleigh standing on her head on the sofa.

I think the second picture is so funny. I reminds me when Searls would make faces at the kids. He would say "Make you face as big as you can!" When he did this, his eyes looked just like Raeleigh's in this picture.

Pottery

Morgan is in her second year of pottery at school. She loves is and spends a lot of time with clay. Here she is making a fountain.

Jordan started the pottery merit badge at scout camp this summer. The requirement he had left was to fire a kiln. The art teacher at his school agreed to let him fire their kiln, but Jordan needed a project to put in the kiln!

Morgan gave him some of her clay and showed him how to make a pinch pot.

Jordan's pinch pot is of a dragon coming out of an egg (not batman!)

With the extra clay Jordan made a music note paperweight. Good job Jordan. (These pictures were taken before the clay was fired in the kiln. Hopefully more pictures to come.)

Pictures of the sky

After all the rain storms, Morgan and I took some pictures of the sky. The first picture was taken in the backyard, looking towards the vacant lot that is next to us. The last two pictures were taken from the street, both on the same day, just opposite directions. We were glad to see sunshine!

We've had plenty of Rain!

In Sept. the kids were so excited about all the rain we were having. Our end of the street flooded! So they went out to play. Even the bridge that we use to cross over the normal "mote" that we get from a rain storm was floating on the water. The picture where the kids are standing in a line, they are standing at the lowest point of the driveway; Jordan, Samantha, Raeleigh and Stuart. The last picture was taken about 30 hours after the first, notice how much water there still is! (I took these pictures from my second story bedroom window.)

Donating Blood

One of the young men in our ward did a clothing and blood drive for his eagle scout project. Most of the kids went through their clothes and found something to donate. Morgan and Patrick also donated blood. It was Morgan's first experience and she was pleased with herself!

Stuart's Stool

We have some really great Cub Scout leaders in our ward. Bro. Durgin who was recently released helped the boys make these stools. Bro. Durgin cut out all the pieces and then helped the boys put them together. Stuart was so excited when he came home this evening. Pleased with what he had made! Good job Stuart.

Labor Day

I am becoming more like my Mom the older I get. She always made us work on Labor Day. Well this year I did the same. Housework and Yardwork. When we finally finished we went to a park for dinner. Morgan sat at the picnic table the whole time, because she was so tired. The other kids played on the play ground. Samantha also brought her rip-stick that Jordan is riding in one of the pictures. Patrick spent the day mowing and G&G Smith's, so he missed out on our picnic. Of course Craig was at the grill cooking dinner. He was really worn out after doing yardwork all day and then cooking over a hot grill.

1st time mowing the lawn!

Stuart is always (okay, almost always) willing to help. He has wanted to mow the lawn for a long time, but his parents were nervous about it. But last month we decided to let him try it.




Of course Stuart wanted to do the hard part around the trailer, where there are a lot of turns!







He did a great job. Craig was close by (weed wacking) watching to be sure that Stuart was safe.