New Smith Family Update

WE MOVED!!! It's official. We are completely in the new place and completely done with the old place. It feels so good to be all moved in and it felt like home for me right away. The most asked question is "So, are you done unpacking yet?" the answer is no. But, we have unpacked and settled in all the essentials. With baby coming so soon, I am totally fine with leaving some things in boxes until I get around to it. There is no rush. Nick has taken ownership of the yard situation. It was in very bad shape before we got it and in the few weeks that Nick has been caring for it it has made a huge improvement. It looks a ton better. He spends every spare minute that he can out there working on it. Sasha even helped him mow once. She loves being outside as much as he does.
Now I would like to update everyone on baby MacKenzie. So far we are both extremely healthy and there are no signs of high blood pressure like last time. The only concern right now is that she is a bit on the big side. Because of that, my doc has decided that we can do an induction one week early. Much to my relief we are scheduled to check into the hospital on the 22nd of this month and will hopefully have her that same day. It has been a problem free pregnancy as far as medical things go, but I have definitely hit the point of total discomfort. Everything is harder right now because my belly is so big. So I am very glad that I will be done being pregnant in two short weeks. We are definitely looking forward to meeting this little girl that we have been waiting all year to meet.
That's it for us for now. I am sure that I will have a lot more to say at the end of this month. :)
Love to all my family. I wish that I could have all of you around right now. But Internet hugs and kisses will have to do for now.
Pookers

Acronym

Hello fam'! I had an idea of something fun for our little blog here. Since games are so much a part of our family culture I thought it might be fun to play a game here.

It is simply called (for now until a clever name is thunk up) 'Acronym'. Play starts with the final word of this post. The first person to comment makes up an acronym for the word and puts it in the comment. Then they leave a word for the next commenter to 'acronymize'. And play goes until I close the comments. No winners. No losers. Just plain fun. Oh, and the acronym doesn't have to have anything to do with the start word.

Example:

(start word)
FAMILY

(acronym)
For
A
Most
Intriguing
Laugh
Yodel

(new start word)
Whiplash

Any questions? Good. Then let's have some fun!

Start word:

BEACH

Motherhood Musings

This past week I've been thinking a lot about my role as a mother. Mostly because Allison started Kindergarten and lessly because of her doctor checkup. I didn't think much about the transition to kindergarten except that it was a big milestone and because she just keeps getting bigger/older on me, but that's nothing new. But mainly I didn't think much about it because she's been at the center on campus since I started college, she was 17 months old. This was old hat, right? Wrong. At the center I paid for a full day. I don't have to pay for kindergarten (unless you want to talk taxes). But even though I paid for a full day at the center I only had Allison there when I had classes or something else to do. The center was across town so unless I had a good reason for leaving her when I left school I didn't. Now even though I don't pay for a full day of kindergarten I get it like it or not. It is now a flipflop in that Ali has to be at school more than I do. Funny thing is though, I have to get up earlier to get her there and I haven't had a problem waking up with my alarm, waking her up, get us both ready and fed and out the door on time. Everyone knows I'm not a morning person, but motherhood changes the rules on things sometimes. Monday night was open house at her school. I was going to skip it but she was so excited to show us around that we had to go. This was my first open house as a parent! Different. And then there were the shots. I knew she'd need to be up to date on her shots before school and that appointment was yesterday. Thankfully she is in "excellent" health. Also thankfully she only needed one shot! Last year it was four. Terry said, yeah but they don't give them all in one day. YES! They do! I had to hold her still for four shots in a row in her legs! She was screaming so loud and I was crying too! I don't mind shots myself, but hearing her cries got me. I didn't tell her about the shots before yesterday's appointment, but half way there she asked straight up, "Do I have to get shots today?" It's hard to skirt around a blunt question like that. Compassionately I affirmed her fears. We talked about it a little with little help. So since I was driving I dialed Terry for help. He talked to her the rest of the way and whatever he said must've worked, she did cry until after the shot. She said she'd try to be brave and think about princesses like Dad said. It didn't help that waiting for the doc we could hear screams from the other rooms. I covered Ali's ears with my palms and waited until they stopped. All in all she handled it better than I thought. Some crying, but not extreme. I'm just glad it's over, I had been dreading it for sometime. I think we both felt the stress that night. I was grinding my teeth "like a shark" according to Terry. And Allison woke up in the night with a bloody nose. She hadn't had one of those in over a year! But after her bath tonight she gave herself a Barbie bandaid and all is well!

Ali Starts Kindergarten

Allison Meets Her Teacher

Allison starts Kindergarten tomorrow. It will be all day. Her teacher sent her a nice postcard to welcome her to the class, but there was no formal orientation set up for the school I called her teacher and asked if we could drop by and meet her and see the classroom. That's what we did yesterday. Her teacher's name is Mrs. Ducommun. She was very nice. As we entered the classroom Allison surprised me by walking ahead of me (instead of clinging to my leg) and introduced herself as "my name is Allison." and hugged her new teacher. Allison asked the question that had been burning in her mind since she got the postcard, "How did you know how to spell my name?" Mrs. Ducommun said the office gave her a list. Then she asked Ali if she could write her name on the chalkboard which Ali did nicely. Before the visit was over I asked Ali if she had any questions for her teacher. She thought for a while before asking, "Are aliens real or not?" to which her teacher replied, "No, they are just pretend." Relieved Ali said, "That's good." I did all I could not to laugh out loud, but every time I tell someone we share a big laugh. Watch for pictures of her first day. We are excited for this big landmark. It is interesting too, since I had a different experience.

Happy Birthday Gabrielle!

We had a fun time celebrating Gabrielle's birthday at lunch time. Enjoy the pics!

Ali's Cake

Terry loves white cake so I make it for him without a special occasion. Allison got part of it to decorate for herself. Here's the result>

Also notice the beautiful buttery sweater Oma made for Ali's first time in school.

Thanks Oma!

Smith Family Update

Our family has gone through some big changes recently and we continue to trudge through the changes eager for the day that we settle into our new routines.
For starters, I lost my job as a nanny (due to the pregnancy and timing etc.) It was a bit of a shock but I think it was a good thing in the end.
I have recently started a new job at Profesional Research Consultants Inc. I will be conducting healthcare surveys over the phone. But I am still in training. This job allows me to set my own hours and I can work it around Nicks schedule so that Sasha wont need to go to daycare. I will only be working part time. Perfect, because I need the time to get the house packed up. Which brings us to the next big change. We are moving. We will be renting a house. I am very excited about it because we will have three bedrooms and a fenced in back yard. (hopefully we will get a dog down the road. But first things first.)
We move in three weeks. August 23rd. I am really feeling the crunch. Once the move is complete the race will begin to get unpacked and settled in before our next big change happens. The arrival of MacKenzie Jo Smith. Due September 29th. (I love the little ticker countdown, by the way.) Once she is here I will be able to breath a sigh of releaf and we can all begin to settle into the new house and get use to being a family of four.
Sasha is deffinetly feeling unsettled through this prosses, but we just have to get her through the next couple of months. Nick and I are feeling stretched to the max as well, but thats ok we dont mind a little hard work. The only ones that dont seem to be upset by anything right now are the cats, Wicket and Cirrus. They are handling it great and have done well in the past everytime we have moved.
The picture is of Sasha playing at the park. Next to swimming, the park is her favorite thing to do. She loves being outside. And she loves anything active and physical. Deffinetly got those characteristics from her Daddy.
She knows that MacKenzie is coming and likes to kiss the belly and talk about her baby sister. But right now its all very abstract. It will be interesting to see what happens when she finds out that MacKenzie is a real person.
The pregnancy is going great. I have been very healthy and things have gone much easier for me this time then they did last time. Nick and I cant wait to see what this baby looks like. We are excited to meet her.
I think that brings everyone up to speed about our life right now. We miss you all.
Love Shawn

Happy Birthday Buddy!

Today Kent turned 23! He has blessed our lives for 23 years and counting. Hope you have a wonderful day and eat lots of cake! I love you Buddy!

beautiful day for biking

Yesterday was 79 degrees, 79% relative humidity, calm..... ideal conditions. Emily (the talented photographer) took this shot of me just before I started my ride. I needed a photo to put in the updated bio for the Burke Alumni website.

Next week is the 40th reunion of the first graduating class from Harry S. Burke HS. Still trying to decide if I should travel up to Omaha for any of the events.

Animated Baby Countdown

Check regularly as cartoon baby will grow too

Full Weekend

Well you saw Emily's blog about the drag races. Oh and did we mention it was loud. We may not be gearheads but we did have fun. The day started with pugging. A group from the studio work mixing and bagging to reclaim over 500 pounds of clay. As soon as we finished, we loaded up to take art over to a yarn shop in Delano called the Twist. Jill is the featured artist this month so we had to set up samples of heer work for display. Eric and Gene, studio members, helped hang the art including framed drawings and pottery.










Then on Sunday morning I road 60 miles on my bicycle in the Mowbray Metric. This is an annual event that since 1983 takes place each July in McPherson, KS. Along with 97 others, we started in McPherson a town about an hour north of Wichita, then road through Hesston and Moundridge then back to McPherson for lunch. Good thing we finished before the sun blazed up over 100 degrees in the afternoon. Since it was so hot, we needed to be inside where it was air conditioned. So Oma, Opa and Sheila took Allison and Kent to see Kung Fu Panda (Wall-E was sold out).

Bowling in Wichita

Here are some photos from Shawn and Sasha's visit to Wichita. We were lucky enough to have them for a week and Opa took us bowling. The girls got pooped out and laid down right on the alley. DaRonn, I got the high score of the day at 128, Ali bowled a 76 by herself (with bumpers).

Drag Races Saturday Night!

Dad, Kent, Allison and I (Emily) enjoyed some great racing on Saturday night! Terry introduced us to the races but because of his knee could not join us :( Saturday was the Summer Nationals - the biggest event of the year! We saw Pro Mods, Top Fuels, and Jet Cars. If you don't know what they are, don't worry, I didn't either until I met Terry but now I'm in love (with Terry and the races). Here are some photos from the fun, fast, fueled night.

Terry's Surgery

Hey Fam! I just wanted to fill you in about Terry. To catch you up if you don't know (in a nut shell): he paints cars, he was standing on a stand painting the roof of a suburban when the stand collapsed, he fell to the concrete floor and hurt his knee, elbow and back. This happened May 22nd and it has been a tedious process working with workman's comp and getting to all the right doctors. Today he had surgery on his knee. They went in with a scope and scraped down the torn meniscus and some damage on his knee cap. We arrived at the surgery center at 7:00 am and were home by 12:30 pm. He was knocked out for it and is now in bed doped up on meds. Wednesday he goes to physical therapy and should be weight bearing then. Please keep him in your prayers as his knee mends and during the procedures to look at his back and elbow. He has hired a lawyer to help him handle the workman's comp people, they were a pain to deal with. He has been off work since the accident two months ago. Workman's comp is paying while he's out but he is still stressed about his workplace and the feelings toward him and about money. We are happy this important step is done (surgery) and pray for a smooth recovery. Thank you. I love you all!

fireworks in Omaha

While we were in Omaha, Oma, Opa and Kent watched fireworks with Shawn, Nick and Sasha.

Olympic Swim Trials

On the 4th of July Jill and I watched some of the swimming at the Quest Center in Omaha.

Happy Birthday Sasha!

Happy Birthday Sweet Sasha! I pray that you are blessed on this day that you are two.

Much Love,
Tia Angie

Happy Birthday Dad!

Dad, I am so glad that God gave me to you. You are a great dad.

You are also a fun loving kind of guy. So I thought I might suggest a party game: a variation of 20 questions. Simply put, I ask you 20 questions and you answer them (smile).

You can answer them here in the comments, or make a whole new post with them or send them by email, or whatever. I just had some things I was curious about to get to know you better.

I love you!!!

1. What is your favorite birthday memory?
2. If you could relive one year of your life with the knowledge and experience of 'now', yet the body and opportunities of 'then', which would it be?
3. How old were you when you learned to ride a bike?
4. Who was your childhood hero or idol?
5. Do you have any heroes in your life now? If so who?
6. What is your dream vacation?
7. What is your dream vehicle to drive?
8. How old were you when you met mom?
9. What was your first impression of mom?
10. What was mom's first impression of you?
11. What is your favorite time of the year and why?
12. What is your favorite holiday and why?
13. If you had to choose between a career as a cyclist or a photographer and you were guaranteed success and a huge salary which would you choose?
14. What do you think people will remember you for?
15. What is your greatest vacation memory?
16. What is your greatest 'date with mom' (even if it was before she was a mom) memory?
17. Who was your first friend that you can remember?
18. If you could cure any disease which would it be?
20. What are you most proud about?

Photo Request

Hello Family!

We are now in the birthday rush of our family. Most of the birthdays are stacked one after the other from May to December. The only months we skip are January and April. We have been blogging as a family now for a year and a half. I thought it would be fun to do a different sort of photo collection on our side bar. Let me know what you think, please.

Here is my idea. I thought it would be fun to put up baby pictures. I know that this will require some digging for some of us. But even if it is a snap shot of a snap shot I think it would be fun to see as we are flipping through the birthdays.

Also - I think that it would be fun to have wedding pictures posted by our anniversaries. Scanned or whatever.

Let me know what you are thinking and if you are all for it. You can even start emailing me the pictures so I can post them to: angielwashington @ gmail. com

Oh - and before I sign off I had one more request. Please don't forget to post about your Fourth of July and birthday festivities. Thanks, it means alot to me!