Exploring Florida

Well Careful this is going to be a bit of a long post so buckle in for awhile. Stephen and I have tried to find fun (mostly free) things to do in Florida and near us.  So we have found this amazing  area where you can walk right next to the ocean along a paved path that has a park off from that with trees and grass and altogether it is beautiful!  It is one of the places on the earth that I consider to be perfect.  They even have twinkle lights in the trees to add to the magic of it all.  So on Sundays after church Stephen and I often will go and walk along the path with the girls and take in the ocean, boats and beautiful scenery.  I know it sounds a little strange but I really love it and the weeks we don't go I miss it.  I don't know if it is being near the ocean and watching the sun set or what but it makes me feel so lucky to live in such a beautiful world and to live only 30 minutes away from such awe inspiring sights.  So it may not sound like much and I am sure the pictures won't do it justice but it is my little piece of heaven!

Here is my Annie just being beautiful!

This is the awesome bridge that we drive over on our way to our spot.  I love the look of this bridge.  Katie was sleeping in the car and we woke her up to be in this picture which explains her lack of smile!

This is the beginning of our walk this tree is so neat.  I have never really seen a tree like this before.  It has many different roots and yet it is all  intertwined and grows together.

Katie is literally playing in between the different parts of the tree. It is neat but I don't think the pictures do it justice.  You should just come on down and visit us and see it in person!

Again My happy Annie in the stroller

One of the cheaper boats on the water! hehehe Stephen said, "Oh look our boat!" and Katie thought he was serious and wanted to immediately go check it out! Now every time we go we have to explain to her that she can not run on to the boat because daddy was joking we don't own any boat to which she then asks if we own even the little boat!

Katie taking time to smell the flowers.  I promise that I do my daughters hair but on this particular day it had already fallen out and I didn't take the time to fix it...go ahead and judge!

Watching the sunset

So beautiful!

Annie enjoying the sunset

Katie showing me something she found I just love this picture of her darling face

there is a pier that you can walk around and this is the view from the roof

The pier that I took the picture from such a neat looking building and the building changes colors!

An attempt of taking a picture at the twinkle lights but it is incredibly blurry...I need to figure out my camera more but it gives you an idea of some of the magic!

So this is my most favorite place we have found and I hope you enjoyed it too! Although I must say that to really enjoy it you have to come and see it yourself! Okay thanks for reading!

All Things Annie...6 months old

Well the end of November Annie turned 6 months old. When Katie bug turned 6 months old I had a half birthday celebration but poor Annie I think we didn't realize it was her half birthday until a couple days after the fact. I guess that is the difference between first kids and second kids. I am still trying to get the hang of having two kids. It was so much easier with just one child. I feel like I was a pretty good mom when I just had one but now that I have to split my time between two I don't think I am doing nearly as well with either child. I guess I just need to keep praying for more patience and more guidance. I just love my Annie so much and she is growing so fast! I posted a while ago back when I couldn't add pictures about my Annie as a 6 month old but here is another recap. She has two teeth, she can roll and kind of scoot to get what she wants, she can sit up alone pretty well, and she is saying "da-da" and "ahh-goo" and other little sounds. Annie has a sweet demeanor and personality although she can get very angry if things don't go her way. She still loves loves loves her big sister and watches Katie's every move. We started feeding her solids right around 6 months old too. She likes food and she was pretty excited about being able to eat! katie enjoyed helping us feed Annie too. So here are some pictures of my adorable 6 month old!

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas!

Well because we were all alone on Thanksgiving after dinner we thought we would set up the tree.  Katie enjoyed "helping" us put up the decorations and lights.  Stephen and I bought a 7.5 foot fake Christmas tree after Christmas the other year fully anticipating being a home so the tree took up quite a bit of our tiny living room.  We couldn't even put all of the branches in it in the back!  Oh well one day we will get to use the full thing! It was fun to set up for Christmas and it made the season really come alive I am officially playing Christmas music now and can't wait to see Katie and Annie on Christmas morning! Merry Christmas!

Happy Turkey Day 2010

Well Thanksgiving this year was simply the four of us.  It felt a little lonely to be just us on a big extended family holiday but it was still great.  We woke up in the morning and had a nice little breakfast and then we all watched the Thanksgiving Day Parade together.  Have you ever watched the entire Thanksgiving Day Parade before? Growing up I only ever saw bits and pieces of it while helping cooking or what not but this year we watched the whole thing from beginning to end and it was really fun.  Katie got super excited when Santa came on and I must say he was a very very good Santa he looked like the real thing!  We then put our Turkey breast in the oven and went on a walk.  We decided not to make an entire turkey for two adults and a kid who would eat three bites,  so we made a turkey breast.  Then Stephen and I made only our favorite Thanksgiving foods which were:  Jello pretzel salad, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, rolls (although those we bought), and of course the turkey.  We had a chocolate pie and sparkling cider (tickle juice according to Katie).  That was our small little Thanksgiving dinner.  It wasn't much but we had a great day.  After dinner we looked through the ads for black Friday deals and decided to set up our Christmas tree. We loved spending the day together but we did miss our families.  

Here is Annie eating her Thanksgiving dinner of sweet potatoes!

Katie helped me set the table and then she added the food.  She thought this looked like a good Thanksgiving meal to her! Notice how her plate has two grapes and Stephen and I only had one each! Plus I guess we were going to share a tangerine.  I am thankful that this was not our real meal!

Katie waiting for the real food to come

This is where I was planning on posting the pictures of our table set with all of our yummy food but I guess I didn't take any pictures of the actual food...ooops! We had a great day and we are so very blessed and very thankful for all that we have especially for our good health and our beautiful girls.  Happy Turkey Day!

Back in business

Okay so we are back with pictures. Yes I have quite a few to catch up on so below are pictures of my beautiful girls at random. Just a few of my favorites that I have taken since the last pictures posted. I should be updating the blog everyday (again) until we catch back up. We are all doing good just enjoying our little life here and actually enjoying the weather! Now is the time to come and visit!

I just love this sweet picture


"Look at those big blue eyes!" That is almost always the first thing people say when they see Annie!


Katie looking cute one day before pre-school


Annie simply precious


In the bumbo and lovin' it!


Happy Baby


Have I told you how much Annie LOVES Katie?


Goofy girl!

Prayers...

So miss Katie bug was saying her prayers last night and this is what she said, "Heavenly Father please bless my baby sister Annie she got shots today and I was lucky and I didn't so please bless her tonight." She went on to say other things but I thought I would share the sweetest words I have heard in awhile!

Happy Halloween...2010

Well I think I can finally post pictures again on the blog however I can't use the mac I have to use Stephen's lap top. So much for Macs being the superior computer! At any rate I am happy to be back. I have to start way back  in October and Halloween! It was a great Halloween Annie was a precious little duck and Katie was a beautiful princess. Stephen and I dressed up too as...doctors I know real creative! It was a last second decision to dress up so we just put on Stephens scrubs and walked out the door. My girls both had a great time at the ward party and then a little trick or treating. Katie also had a school Halloween party that was a lot of fun. I can't even tell you how much candy she collected between all of the celebrations! Thankfully she forgot about it and I was able to throw a ton of it away. So I will be updating lots and lots in the next few days until I can at the least catch up to 2011!

The girls matching in pretty pink dresses

                                               

Trying to stay active on one of our walks in the preserve near our house

                                                   

  My little duck she is so darn cute!

                                                  

Happy Halloween 2010

So precious!

I love my girls!

Life is good for us it was a great family holiday!

No Pictures....

I haven't been able to post anything in awhile because we have been experiencing some camera difficulties. Our old Camera that we bought before Katie was born has quit on us. So we have been shopping cameras. We finally have a new one but now we are having some weird issues with it too so no pictures on this post. I will just have to post a ton of pictures next time. I thought I needed to update the blog regardless. So The Smiths have been keeping busy with life.

Stephen is well into his program now and he is truly loving it. We both feel thankful that he has found a career that will (eventually) support us financially and that he also enjoys. He is doing really well in his class and is one of the best people at actually putting the dummy under! Starting in January he goes into the hospitals and starts working on real live people! So watch out Florida! Stephen is really excited about actually getting to work on real people soon. I am very proud and impressed with how much knowledge Stephen already has. He is doing a great job and learning so much.

I really have no news about myself to share. I am really starting to miss Fresno and my family. I have decided that everything is more fun with cousins! I was comparing this Halloween with Last years and it makes me a little sad because we are just SO alone. But we are still doing our best! We bought a great jogging stroller and found this perfect jogging area right across the street from our house! It is a paved walkway that winds through this beautiful wooded area. We have seen deer walk right in front of us! The whole loop is 11 miles and my goal is to one day jog the entire thing. On top of the paved route it also has dirt paths that lead into the woods so there is a lot you can explore and do. It has been a lot of fun to take the girls out and get some fresh air. So Anyway I hope this can help me to reach my jogging and weight loss goals.

Katie is my ever intelligent, talking, demanding three year old! She sure keeps me on my toes. I love her to pieces but she definitely knows how to push mommy's buttons! She has won over her preschool and every day her teacher or some other staff member has a new story to tell me about my Katie. She is certainly full of life. In preschool they handed out progress reports (I know it seems silly for a three year old) but I am proud to say that Katie has exceeded all of their expectations and goals set for her preschool career. Her teacher said this about Katie on the back of the report, "Katie is having a great year! She knows her colors, shapes and numbers well. She is awesome with her letter recognition and has a good pencil grip. Katie is kind and sweet. She follows our directions and participates in all our activities. katie has many many friends!" I have to say that I was shocked to hear that she followed directions because here at home...not so much! (Sigh) Oh well at least she is being good at school! As a parent I don't think I could expect more or be more proud of my Katie bug!

Last but most definitely not least is my sweet sweet Annie. Annie is officially 5 months old and I simply can not believe it! She is hitting all of her developmental milestones and is melting my heart each and every day. She smiles and laughs and goos and rolls and creeps. Nothing is truly safe anymore if she really wants something out of reach she can get to it! Annie is such a good baby she just puts up with whatever we throw at her. She lights up when you simply smile at her and she loves to be sung to. She shows her happiness with every single body part flailing her arms and legs with excitement. While I like to think she loves me the most I know the truth is that she ADORES her big sister. All Katie has to do is walk into the same room and Annie is super excited! In the car Annie spends her time ignoring the mirror we bought for her and toys we give her to stare at her big sister. Katie just has to look at Annie and say just about anything and Annie will burst into laughter. I hope that her good feelings towards her big sister stick around forever. Annie is just so beautiful and so pleasant she makes being her mommy so easy. Annie still loves being held and snuggled most of the night and during naps which has made keeping up with laundry and other such things a little bit harder but who can complain about a baby that wants to snuggle? I do worry that Annie doesn't quite get her fair share of attention since her sister is an attention seeking machine but I try and try to sing and play with Annie every chance I get. Dividing my time between both girls and housework and trying to exercise is not easy but I guess that is life!

Hair, Alligators and Bugs!

We bought a season pass to the zoo and have enjoyed using it!

Katie loved the camel she was a little bit afraid at first but she warmed up to him quickly and then she didn't want to get off.  Typical kid!

Riding the carousel

Still riding while I was taking the picture and had a strange tingling on my head....

Right after I took the above picture a kind woman at the zoo said, "Please don't panic but you have a large insect on your head!"  Of course I started panicking! Not that I like to think of myself as one of those whimpy girls but I really don't do well with bugs, especially when an unknown one is on top of my head!  I was too afraid to reach up and touch it and thankfully Stephen had come off from the carousel and he hit it off of my head.... after many attempts!  So here it is a HUGE cricket, I think that is what it is.  Needless to say I was very happy that it was off from my head and back on the ground.  Geez these bugs here in Florida are getting the best of me!

compared to Stephen's hand

Here is a picture of something we don't have to go to the zoo to see!

I just really liked this picture of our nations symbol.  At the zoo they have rescued eagles that have been harmed in the wild.  It was neat to be so close to one and get such a close up shot. 

Here are some shots of my Annie jumping away in her bouncer.  She does not love her bouncer like Katie did rather I think she just tolerates it!

Disney on Ice!

Make your own scrapbook design

I am still playing catch up but we are only about a month behind now! last month we took the girls to see Disney on ice here in Tampa! it was a blast! We bought the cheapest tickets possible and we still had good seats! Katie simply loved watching all of the characters come to life! It was a spur of the moment event and I am very glad we decided to go. Katie still asks me when we can go again.