Two Too Soon!

Well for all of you that have met my Katie you know that she is one of the sweetest little girls ever. Honestly she has been so amazingly well behaved from day one. She was always a happy go lucky kid and I was honestly amazed at how easy it was to be her mommy. But now...the times are changing! I thought that because she was such a good natured baby her whole life through that she would be a pretty easy two year old as well. I guess I was wrong! Katie is hitting the "terrible two's" fast and hard! Don't get me wrong she is still the apple of my eye but it is definitely more difficult to be her mommy at the moment. Yesterday at the grocery store Katie had her first real public tantrum complete with screaming at the top of her lungs and foot stomping! This was one of her firsts that I didn't want to take a picture of! It was such a bad tantrum that many people in the store stopped to ask if they could help! I was so embarrassed suddenly I became one of those mothers I have always pitied and thought about how lucky I myself was to have such an easy child! So needless to say I am reading up in my parenting books such as supper nanny and on the internet to find some help! Well if any of you moms out there can offer any words of wisdom I would greatly appreciate it. I have tried time outs but she thinks it is just a game and actually enjoys going to time out! Okay this is really long but I just needed a moment to vent! Honestly Katie is not that bad but I am afraid that it could get worse! She really is still my one and a half year old most of the time but occasionally a two year old pops out!

Confessions!

Okay so I have a confession to make.....I am a blog stalker. It is one of my most favorite things to do. So tonight my "early to bed" husband and I went to sleep at about 9:30 and of course I couldn't sleep so I got up and started blog stalking. Now that it is nearly midnight I still can not fall asleep! Well one good thing came out of my blog stalking I found a great quote and I thought I would post it and share it with you! This quote is going to go up in my house somewhere it is just that good!

"I don't want to drive up to the pearly gates in a shiny sports car, wearing beautifully, tailored clothes, my hair expertly coiffed, and with long, perfectly manicured fingernails.
I want to drive up in a station wagon that has mud on the wheels from taking kids to scout camp.
I want to be there with grass stains on my shoes from mowing Sister Schenck's lawn.
I want to be there with a smudge of peanut butter on my shirt from making sandwiches for a sick neighbor's children.
I want to be there with a little dirt under my fingernails from helping to weed some one's garden.
I want to be there with children's sticky kisses on my cheeks and tears of a friend on my shoulder.
I want the Lord to know I was really here and that I really lived."
Sister Hinckley

I don't even honestly remember whose blog I found this on but whoever it was thanks it really inspired me!

Pee Pee in the Potty!

Okay well I know that Katie is still pretty young but she really WANTED a potty! So far the potty has been used more as a chair or toy then for it's actual intended purpose but we have a had a few successes! So I need advice from all of you moms out there! How do you potty train?? I haven't really pushed the issue very much yet but the time is coming and your advice would be greatly appreciated!

Cousin Pictures take 2!

Here is Katie with the Pehrson Cousins! In the middle is Nylah to her left is Tyler across from Tyler is Ellie laying down is Miranda, Katie is on Miranda and little Jacob is next to Miranda! It was so fun to have cousin pictures with both sides of the family! I love it!

Cousin pictures!

Here is Katie with the Smith Cousins!
In the back is Tyler then from left to right is Reagan, Anna Belle, Emma, Katie, Jaxon and Kaden





They are all so cute! Katie is so lucky to have cousins so close in age I just wish we all lived closer!

Christmas with the Smiths

So sadly I didn't take many pictures while in Arizona I hope others did! But we had a great time in Arizona and Katie loved being with her cousins. She especially had fun with Jaxon I think it is because they are so close in age! We wish we could have been there longer! It was great to see all of you and we miss you already!

Christmas 2008

"Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house... everyone was awake!"

Katie literally running to her gifts! She was so darn cute when we woke her up on Christmas morning I said, "Merry Christmas Katie!" and she replied very excitedly "SANTA!" It was so much fun!



Here she is with her Santa gifts. Her absolute favorite gift was by far mickey mouse! I think we need to visit Disney Land soon!

Katie's Santa gifts after he visited!


Katie with her loot!

Katie's first official day of Nursery!

Well she may look cute now but let me tell you nursery is not going well! If anyone has any suggestions on how to make Katie stay in nursery and play I would love some new ideas! Please help!

Joy to Everyone

I love Christmas! I love the cool weather, the hot coco, the music, the smells, the gifts, the lights and basically everything about it! This year I am even more excited about it because of Katie. Katie is such a joy in my life and she has been such a cutie this Christmas season. She can say "Merry Christmas", "Santa", "baby Jesus" and "ohhh pretty" whenever she sees the lights at night. She is such a beautiful little girl and I love Christmas that much more because I get to see the joy of Christmas through her bright blue eyes! I get to see the excitement and joy that Christmas brings for someone who is experiencing it for the first time. (Even though she had Christmas last year. This year she is much more involved). This video is such a great video that helps remind me of the reason for the season. When you watch it make sure your sound is turned on because the music is beautiful. I wish to all a very happy holiday season and as the video exclaims," Joy to Everyone!"

Thanksgiving

Wow time flies! It has been a long time since I have updated the blog! Despite the amount of time that has passed since I last updated there is really nothing new to report from the Smith family. Katie is talking all of the time and is constantly amazing her daddy and I, in fact we still can't believe that she is ours! Thanksgiving was great! My sister hosted the family in her new beautiful home and we had a lot of fun. Sadly Stephen and I forgot the camera at home so we don't have any pictures to post of Thanksgiving. One quick thought on Thanksgiving I just wanted to thank the Smith family for introducing me to the pretzel jello salad (which I discovered from past Thanksgivings with the Smith family). The Pehrson family had never had this salad before and it was such a great hit that my brother Russell claims and I quote, "I will never eat Jello again without pretzels in it!" Stephen and I especially missed all of the Smiths this Thanksgiving and we can't wait to see you on Christmas Night! In the mean time here our some random and recent pictures so at least I can blog something.


Her first attempt at making a fort


A preschool lesson on Thanksgiving!



Katie when left alone to feed herself pudding!