Brie our Ballerina.

For Brie's main birthday and Christmas present, Bompa and Mémé paid for dance lessons... and got her outfitted, a pink tutu and all :0) We finally found some affordable ones at a local community center and signed her up. She has been excitedly anticipating her classes. Tonight was the first one.

I love how she was shyly peering into the room. I was honestly surprised by how reserved she was. I've always thought of Brie as being super outgoing and friendly, but recently as I've seen her in larger group settings a shy side has definitely come out.

One of these things is not like the others ;0)...

I love that everyone is sitting facing the teacher, except for Brie ;0)

I could tell it was her first time doing anything like this. It took most of the class for her to warm up and catch on to what was going on. I went over a few times to quietly clue her in a bit and talk her through what the teacher was having the class do. I have to admit that the class was more advanced than I was anticipating. I was thinking of moving around the room to music...they were doing stretches, pliés, arabesques, first position, second position, etc. I would have been lost too. Maybe she takes after her mother ;0)

So cute to see her trying!

Don't remember what they were doing here,
but love her cute little formation :0)

Oh our little Brie is getting to be so grown up.

By the end she seemed to be enjoying herself and I was glad!

I went up to talk to her teacher after to get advice because, maybe it was just because I was her mother, but it seemed like she struggled the most with following directions, doing what she was told, etc. But, her teacher Miss Jenny reassured me that she had done a great job and to just give her a few weeks. Good to hear. Oh me and my silly insecurities...not wanting to be the mother of the child who doesn't fall in sync with everyone else. Maybe it's me that has some learning to do with these lessons ;0)

Twin Ground Hog Surprise.

(A CUTE birthday cake that Azhar & Martha brought by)

1- 6 February 2012.

Rach strategically got time off of work, my Parents bought her a plane ticket, Bry arranged things on this end...to surprise me for our 29th birthday! She TOTALLY caught me off guard which added even more to the fun of it all. Some of the highlights from her visit include:

a beautiful bouquet of flowers (that lasted for several weeks) * 2 delicious gooey butter cakes (regular and turtle) from Gooey Louie * doing a special Italian dinner the night she came in * going to Rue Lafayette Café for our birthday breakfast * Rach helping to set up for New Beginnings * a picnic lunch on the patio * Bry sending us on a scavenger hunt to find my birthday trifle dish! * Rach and I going shopping---her so thoughtfully and generously outfitting me with cute new work out clothes AND shoes * Azhar and Martha bringing over a birthday cake, balloon and singing us Happy Birthday * Alaa bringing over delicious ice cream cake cups * Skyping with family * Getting the Ground Hog book from Julie * Bry making us a delicious birthday dinner * Kate sending me home early from New Beginning with LOTS of yummy cake for our birthday * Rach and I laying on the couch and rubbing each other's feet like we always did growing up * Martha bringing by hot banana nut muffins to extend the bday celebrations * working on fabric flowers and wreaths * watching Rach (my handy sister) make letters out of copper pipe) * Rach getting us lunch from Panera * making burrowing ground hog Peanutbutterfinger trifle :0) * having friends over for a belated bday/ground hog day celebration * watching "Ground Hog Day" * Rach making german pancakes (taking some to the neighbors) * more errands and shopping together * Rach and I buying jewelry from Ruth Anne * Rach taking us out to eat at Pappy's Smokehouse---YUM and so fun! * ice cream and "Price is Right" 70's shows * having Rach at church with us * Raching making us delicious fiesta chicken * making a candybar cookie graham cracker crust for a superbowl ice cream pie ;0) * chatting and catching up * running errands and pizza from Papa John's * Rach and I coming up with the "Magic Missionary Ties" for Tim's bday * being with my Pookookuchoo! *

Rach, it was SO fun having you in town!!
Thanks for the best birthday surprise ever!

Our little man.

"Just love you SOOOOO much."

It's been too long since I posted about Alex. So much happens in the first year of life and I want to take a moment to record a little bit about our little man and the last few months.

The first thing that has to be mentioned is Alex's smile. He squints his eyes, wrinkles his nose and has the toothiest little grin. It is heart-warming. Many a time have I looked down at him, found him smiling, and turned around to see someone smiling back. He is such a social little guy and wins people over easily :0)

He has gotten to be SO mobile. He army crawled for awhile, but finally started crawling (at full speed) last month. It's so cute to watch his agile little self go from laying down, to sitting to kneeling or crawling or standing. He has figured out the stairs so from time to time me, Brie or Bry will huddle behind him as he crawls up each step. We clap and cheer when he makes it to the top. (Now for learning how to get back down ;0)) He is gaining confidence with his standing and frequently free stands. He also gets around by holding onto furniture and taking steps. Before we know it he's going to be walking....and running!




A little snippet of Alex on the go.

He loves to stand next to the piano and pluck whichever keys he can. Sometimes he plays along with Bry...it's one of my favorite sights.



Alex's babbling is starting to take comprehensible shape. He distinctively calls Bry "Da" or "Dada" and me "Mama". Last week he started waving and saying "hi" and particularly greets his Dad with "hi" and a smile :0) Within the last few days he has started clapping. Oh, it's too cute. Simple joys!

He drinks from his double-handled sippy cup like such a big boy (he never really took a bottle). He is eating more and more table foods and makes a royal mess when we plop food on his tray and he feeds himself. Often after such a feeding he runs his goopy fingers through his hair and gives himself mohawks ;0) He is still nursing and when I ask him, "would you like some milk?" he gets a giddy little laugh...just like Brie used to get. I just have to watch out for his 7 chompers!



He puts EVERYTHING in his mouth. The things we've pulled out motivate us to be even more on our toes (AND to have our house picked up ;0)): dirt, a dime, a magnet, paper (frequent occurrence) and even a push pin. A few times I've found him chewing on an Ensign magazine or the scriptures. I quickly pull them away, but can't chuckle thinking about how we're supposed to "feast on the word of God."

I can't forget to mention what a thumb-sucker he is. Even more so than Brie, if that's possible ;0) He loves to be carried around and contently sucks on his thumb. When he's tired he grabs whatever fabric (because it's like a blanket) is in sight, puts his little fist around it and sticks his thumb in.


He now shares a room with Brie and has been sleeping through the night! YAY! He usually greets us in the morning (or after a nap) with a big smile...AND a poopy diaper. We often and affectionately refer to him as "our poopy little man" :0)

We love our little man SO SO much! Just like with Brie, I can't imagine our family without Alex. He is such a light in our home. We love you {as Brie would say} Alexander Frederick!

Studying hard.

(Grinning at the oh-so-familiar click of the shutter ;0))

I rarely get a chance to post about what Bry's up to since he usually on campus, hard at work. SO the other day when he was studying from home (which he'll occasionally do) I grabbed the camera.

Bry's almost got 2 years of the PhD program behind him. He's currently studying for a very important comprehensive exam in June. Definitely not a shortage of things to do.

How grateful I am for such a hard-working, diligence, ever-improving, optimistic husband. THANK YOU FOR ALL THAT YOU DO FOR US!!

Finally did it.

Awhile back, after talking to my Sister Emily, I finally joined Pinterest. It definitely can be addicting and a time vacuum, BUT I have really enjoyed it. I feel like it has helped me to be more creative and to take homemaking to another level. It's been fun :0) For one of our recent date nights Bry and I searched on there for a good cookie bar to make and came across with this one. It was a total winner. Yum.

Click here for the recipe.

Uncle Bob.

While in Utah over Christmas break my Dad received a phone call from my Aunt Elaine to let us know that Uncle Bob had suffered a heart attack and was in the ICU. It came as a TOTAL shock! The Sunday before we had planned on leaving I really felt strongly about going to see him in the hospital. My family watched the kids and Bry and I slipped over to the hospital. Bob was on some pretty heavy medications that made it hard for him to stay awake, but it seemed to free him from a lot of the anxiety and depression that he had struggled with over the years. As we visited with him the light and jovial side of Bob surfaced...witty as ever :0) It was sweet to see him like that. I asked him what some of his favorite hymns were. Bry sang him "I'm a Child of God" (in German) and I sang "Souviens-toi". I gave him a hug, then squeezed his hand and told him that I loved him. I felt like it would be the last time that I would probably see him. Bry also had a chance to connect with him and then we left to get back to the kids. A few hours later he passed away. What a heart-wrenching news to get. (Especially thinking of my sweet Aunt Elaine who would have to deal with the loss of her best friend and husband.) I was so grateful to have been at home, surrounded by Em, Matt, Tim and Bry. We all huddled, cried and embraced. Bry, Tim and I headed to the hospital an hour later to join Elaine, my Mom and Dad, a good friend of Elaine's. How grateful we were to be in town at that challenging yet tender time.

Matt, Tim, Bry and I sang "Our Savior's Love" and then "I am a Child of God" (in German, French, Spanish, Russian and English). Several of us got up to share a few thoughts about Bob. I mentioned his great gift and love for languages and culture. The French evening the 4 of us had enjoyed together. The book (All Things Bright and Beautiful) he and Elaine had recorded for Brie, her FAVORITE book. What a big and kind heart he had. His love for animals. The way that he took care of Aunt Elaine. It was sweet to hear the other comments and accounts given by friends and family. We are so privileged to have rubbed shoulders with Bob! We will miss him, but just as he did monumental amounts of family history and geneology, we are certain that he is still busily involved in the Lord's work. How sweet and reassuring it is to know that we will see him again.

Frank Robert (Bob) Smythe III

1946 ~ 2012

Frank Robert (Bob) Smythe III of Orem, Utah, died suddenly at age 65 on Jan. 8, 2012, at the Timpanogos Regional Hospital. He was born to Frank Robert Jr. and Esther Vivian McRae Smythe Feb. 7, 1946, in Del Norte, CO. He graduated first in his class form Sargent High School in Monte Vista, CO. Following service in the Swiss-Italian Mission, he was drafted and worked in Army Security in West Berlin for 3 1/2 years. At BYU he earned a BA degree in Russian and linguistics. Fluent in several languages, he used this aptitude working for the LDS Church, WordPerfect, and Novell and pursuing his passion for genealogy.Bob married Elaine Marie Zakrajsek of Cleveland, OH, in the Salt Lake Temple March 27, 1976. He is survived by Elaine and was preceded in death by his parents and parents-in-law. Funeral services, arranged by Walker Sanderson of Orem, will be held at the Cascade 1st Ward, 481 E. Center, Orem, on Fri., Jan. 13, at 11 a.m. Friends may call prior to services from 9 to 10:45 a.m.

Oh man.

Generally things have been going so much better with Brie, especially thanks to my friend & neighbor (Martha) lending me a "Love and Logic" book. We've had so many more positive interactions, less tantrums (by Brie AND me ;0)) and I've felt really blessed. Because things have been so good, it's hard when I give into my pride and frustration and handle things poorly. Sometimes I still feel like Jekyll and Hyde. One minute I feel like a really happy, fun, loving mom and the next minute I feel like a monster. Today was a challenging one. I wasn't feeling good (please don't tell me I'm getting sick AGAIN. Would that make 4 times this season?!) and was running short on energy and patience. I had a few little run ins with Brie, but nothing too big. Tonight I got the kids down for bed and was ready to do some cleaning, laundry and preparations for an upcoming trip. Before I knew it Brie was out of her bed to go to the bathroom, then to get socks because her feet were cold....because her bracelet broke, so that she could give her Daddy a snuggle, etc. I kept warning her that if she'd come out again I'd take away her blankie, she wouldn't get to watch the promised show in the morning or get to rid a book, I'd take away her lamb pillow and Miss Bunny. It was getting ridiculous. At one point I put up the gate at her door so that she COULDN'T leave her room. That just made her scream in protest. Great. I wasn't interested in having both kids awake so I put her in the pack 'n play in our room and told her to sit there. I was so upset. I wanted to stand my ground so that she'd go to bed, but I was just adding to the ridiculousness of the situation. Finally I told her that I was going to put her back in her bed and if she got out again she would sleep in the pack 'n play without a blanket or any of her "friends" (stuffed animals). She replied that she didn't want to sleep on her bed with all the little pieces of her bracelet and asked if I could sweep them up. For whatever reason that melted me instantly. Why hadn't I just listened to her in the first place? Here she was just sad and worried about her bracelet and I had been so stubborn, upset and unbending that I had missed that. I pulled her out of the pack 'n play, held her in my lap and apologized. We both cried. I explained that I need to learn to not be so mean and to be more loving and that I was sorry for how I acted. I said that Heavenly Father would want us to love each other and take good care of each other. She responded with tear filled eyes, "can Jesus take care of us?" That sweet girl. We each said a prayer...hers was so sweet...asking that Heavenly Father could help us to be happy, for Mom to be happy since "I [Brie] kept getting out of bed." I walked her back to her bed, collected all of the pieces of her bracelet (with a mini flashlight in hand) tucked her in, gave her a long hug and told her that I loved her. And I haven't heard a peep from her since. I'm so grateful for how well it ended, just wish that I hadn't been such a jerk. It sure humbles me and helps me realize how much learning and growing I have to do. And that we really would be lost without a Savior who pays the price for our poor choices, our weaknesses and sins. I don't understand how it all works, but I'm grateful that it does. I'm so grateful for my sweet kiddos and pray that I can learn to be more patient, level-headed, forgiving and temperate SOONER than later.