A few Christmas pictures

Here are just a few pictures. I got a new camera for Christmas and I have some on that one too so when I get another minute, I'll get the ones off that one too. Now let me remind you, I didn't get alot of GOOD pictures because Isabella was sick and I was holding her alot. I picked these three because if you'll notice she's in three different outfits. These are only in the span of about an hour. She kept throwing up so I had to keep changing clothes. Poor thing! She did manage to play a little bit.

Just a quickie!

This is just a quick note to say that I went to Frankfort today and registered Isabella's birth and got her official Kentucky birth certificate. The workers loved her! They took her in the back and played with her while another worker finished the paperwork. The child knows how to work a room! Anyway, I dare say that I'm DONE with adoption paperwork! Now I can organize it and file it away. Yea! Pictures soon, I promise.

I need to vent about Christmas (kinda long)

First, let me say that I'm not angry, just very disappointed. I had all these expectations of what Isabella's first Christmas was going to be like. It was anything but that! It all started Christmas eve. We went to my Mom's house and Isabella was kinda fussy but I thought it was because there was SO much going on that it was overwhelming her. We wanted to be back in town to go to church at 7:30 because they were having a great show that we had really been looking forward to. Mom and Dad decided to go with us since they had never been to our church. We find a seat and Isabella is sitting on my Dad's lap very quietly. I just thought she was tired or else being very good. About 1/2 hour into the show she pukes! I don't mean a little, I mean PROJECTILE puke. Totally without warning. It was everywhere. I take her to the bathroom and change her clothes and take off my sweater. Dad goes and tries to get the puke off of him. We go back in and try to enjoy the show smelling like puke. A few minutes later, same thing. Luckily we were ready this time. We decided to leave if she puked again. We really wanted to see the show. She dry heaved some more so we had to go. It was so embarrassing to leave because we were sitting in the middle of the PACKED church. We packed up all the pucked stained stuff and went home. She pucked more when we got home and spent most of the night on my shoulder in the rocking chair. Hunter was a big help in setting everything up for "Santa". Christmas morning she woke up about 6:00. Still puking. I had imagined taking video and pictures of her opening up her first Christmas gifts and playing with toys from Santa. Instead I was constantly doing laundry because she kept puking on everything and she could care less about toys. By this time she had a pretty good fever and was attached to my shoulder. We decided to still try to go to Allen's parent's house. We did and she slept on my shoulder in the recliner. We came home and she still was puny but not throwing up. She wouldn't eat or drink anything. I gave her Tylenol and put drops in her ears since she kept digging at them. That seemed to help enough where I could sit her down for a little bit. She took a little bit of a bottle and slept until 6:00 this morning. She took another bottle and went back to sleep until 9:30. I decided to take her to the doctor because she still wasn't eating very much and she was still fussy. Well, she has an ear infection. Poor thing--stomach virus and ear infection. Could it get any worse?! The antibiotic they put her on is supposed to make her poop red! I'm glad they told me that or we'd be off to the ER. Shane called me this morning from his Dad's saying he had been puking. Hunter is puking his guts out as I type this. I don't do puke. For me it's contagious like yawning. Just seeing it or hearing someone do it makes me sick.

So that was my Christmas. Mostly spent in a rocking chair. But you know, I wouldn't trade it for anything! Because Isabella was with her family for Christmas even though she was sick. And it was her MOMMY that got to take care of her and hold her, and try to make her feel better. That's all that matters--she was with us, in HER home for Christmas.

P.S. Say a prayer that NO ONE else gets sick. I'm disinfecting everything tomorrow!
P.S.S Shane's birthday was the 22nd so I'll do a post about him next!

Happy Birthday Hunter!

Hunter is 14 years old today. I have no idea where those years went. I was hugging him today and realized that he is taller than me. Not by a little bit but a few inches. Why have I not noticed that!? Hunter is in the 8th grade and is doing good in school. He's in the Beta Club this year. He's a good kid and you can tell he's a "Smith". Which means he likes to talk-loudly and to anyone who will listen, has a big heart, loves farm life--even though we have no livestock, and loves his family. He genuinly cares about others and has taken an active role in taking care of Isabella. He likes to cook and is pretty darned good at it. He's been self-sufficent in that aspect since he was about 8 years old. Even though he's a boy, he likes to sew. He's gonna kill me when he reads this. He had sewn a project for school here at home and the teacher made me write a note saying he did all the work. Please! When do I have time to sew?! He also has a good head on his shoulders with a good imagination too. He got asked to have a poem published in a book called "Anthology of Poetry by Young Americans". He was part of a handful of kids from all over the US. Here is his poem

I'm from open rolling farmland, 4x4 trucks in the mud,
Grandma's cherry pie and chocolate cake
with homemade carmel icing.
I'm from bacon and tomato sandwiches
on a hot summer day,
vegetable soup in the winter.

I'm from the smell of pink diesel fuel
going into a Case 1210 in the winter,
Little Farmall 100 plowing our garden,
Chevrolet trucks loaded wiith wood.
I'm from 12-guage shotguns booming in the distance,
.45 pistol shooting at an old deer sign.
I'm from gravel driveways and wood stoves and barns.
My name is Hunter Smith and this is where I'm from.

Pretty good I think. I just wanted to share why we think Hunter is such a wonderful young man and a joy to have in this family. We Love You Hunter!!

P.S. The blog wouldn't let me upload a pic of Hunter. Stupid blog!

I Hopped on the Bandwagon

I enjoyed seeing everyone's jazzed up blogs so I had to get Nikki to do mine too! I'm happy with it. I got her to put the family portrait pics on there that I couldn't get to load. I don't know how she did it but now the kids look like themselves. Yeah!

Isabella is still teething I guess even though it looks like her upper teeth are in half way. She's chewing on everything and still waking up once during the night. This is killing me. I feel like a zombie. This is not the child I brought home that slept 12 hours a night and took 2 long naps. Let me clarify that she's really NOT fussy any moment of the day. She smiles ALL the time. Seriously! It's just that darn waking up in the night. I've tried letting her cry--doesn't work. That's the only time she cries--honestly. She's such an angel and if that's the only thing I have to complain about, I'll take it.

She knows who we are even if she can't say the kids names. I think she says Mamma and Dadda. Also Hi and Bye. I wish you could see how excited she gets when I walk into the babysitter's house to get her. Nothing else matters but that moment. I'll try to post more pictures soon.

nothing new

I've deleted all the pictures on the side because I've decided my kids don't look like that anymore. Shane's hair is MUCH longer and curlier. Hunter got his braces off. Alex looks much better with DRY hair. And Isabella has changed so much since that picture was taken after we brought her home. I really wanted to put our family portrait pictures on the side but I still can't get them to load for some reason. I'm not very technical so I've tried everything I know to try. I don't know how that 1 picture loaded of Isabella. I'm gonna try to take everyones picture by the Christmas tree and put those on the side to update what everyone looks like. So check back for new pictures.

A Little Christmas Cheer!!

It's a Santa hat on her head in case you couldn't tell.

I put this one on the blog even though her nose is running and she's rubbed snot all over her face. You can see her dimples and top teeth.

Isabella loves to put things on her head. Right before this she had Shane's baseball hat on. It all started with a game where me or Allen would put something over our face and say "Where's Mommy/Daddy?". She'd pull it off our face and laugh. Then she'd put it over HER face and we'd say "Where's Isabella?" and she'd pull it off and laugh. This is never ending and she does it with everything--blankets, diapers, clothes, etc. It keeps her happy so in turn it keeps us happy even though we do it a hundred times a day. We went to Hunter's basketball game today and she totally worked the gym. Three people asked to hold her and she was fine with it. She has ZERO stranger anxiety. She was a perfect little angel even though she had not had a nap and it was 3:00. We then went out to eat and try to do a little Christmas shopping. Again, with only a nap on the way to Lexington she was perfect. She's no problem to take anywhere. She just takes it all in and smiles at everyone. She is such a joy! I'm sorry it's been so long between posts but I'm trying to spend all my extra time shopping. Not only do I have Christmas but Shane's b-day is on the 22nd and Hunter's is on the 20th. Then Isabella's is on Jan 11th. Thank God Alex's is in July!