Christmas!

I really have been a slacker lately! Things are just crazy around here!

Christmas was fantastic with Autumn this year :) She wasnt that interested in opening presents BUT she was very interested in playing with them as soon as mommy and daddy opened them for her. She is quite a spoiled little girl! She loves and plays with all of her toys on a daily basis. She also loved Christmas dinner! Now that she's eating more 'big people food' she loves it when you give her some of whatever it is your eating.

She is still pulling up on everything she can get her hands on and is now walking assisted! She will pull up on one of her toys and walk with it! She is also standing alone, unassisted for short periods of time. She's just growing so fast!

Here are a few new pictures and a new video of her!! Enjoy!

Autumn walking with her new toy!

December 26, 2009

Autumn's first snow

December 26, 2009

December 26, 2009

December 26, 2009

Christmas dinner

December 25, 2009

Christmas morning 2009

Wordless Wednesday

Autumn and Santa

December 7, 2009

So its been a while since ive updated this thing. With the holidays, things have been pretty busy around here! Thanksgiving was great. We had some friends over for dinner. Autumn really enjoyed her first Thanksgiving. She LOVES sweet potatoes, ham and green beans.

This past Friday, December 4, was our battery Christmas party. It was a lot of fun and great seeing outside of the work environment. Autumn met Santa for the first time and seemed to really like him. She didnt cry, just sat on his lap and starred at him for the longest time. Tonight is the post tree lighting ceremony and she will get to meet Santa and Mrs. Claus!

Autumn is constantly on the move these days. She HATES sitting in her highchair, car seat, in someones lap, anything that keeps her from being able to move around. We're having a hard time keeping her away from all the Christmas decorations and she can now reach the top of the end table and entertainment center and loves feeling around to see what she can find. She still talks up a storm all the time. She's cruising on the furniture and tries to stand on her own from time to time. It wont be long :)

Wordless Wednesday

Veterans Day

As everyone knows, today is Veteran's Day. As a military wife, I feel the need to say THANK YOU to all of our service men and women, past and present. And a special thanks to my husband who is not only a wonderful husband but also a wonderful soldier and father! Your girls love you!!

Autumn's Veteran's Day outfit

"If you love your freedom, thank MY DAD"

Autumn, at 3 months old, Charles and I in front of a 105mm Howitzer

9 MONTHS!

Miss Autumn had her 9 month check-up last week. She now weighs 18lbs 3oz (55%) and is 27 3/4 (65%) inches long! As usual, the Dr said she looks perfect :) She received her first of two flu shots. She goes back in a month for her 'booster'.

Her two bottom teeth are a little more than halfway in. Luckily for us, there wasnt much fussing during the teething process and hopefully that's how they all are. She pulls up on the couch and entertainment center all the time. She is starting to chew on the side of her crib so I have to find some protectors so she doesnt completely destroy it! She's eating more finger foods these days. She usually gets something that we are having for dinner, green beans, sweet potatoes, a tator tot the other night:) She absolutely loves being independent and doing things for herself!

We are working on clapping and waving 'bye' right now. Its not working very well. She would much rather 'brush' her hands together, but we'll get there! :)

Autumn's first Halloween!

After a bidding war with another woman on ebay and winning at the last minute, I finally found Autumn a Halloween costume:) She didnt seem to really enjoy the whole process of trick-or-treating but she did love watching all the other people. She lasted about 3 hours in her costume before she was ready for bed!

In other Autumn news: She is constantly on the move! She loves crawling. She has learned how to sit up from crawling and is pulling up. We find her standing her crib often these days. Her two bottom teeth are also trying to make their grand appearance. Should be any day now!

On the move

Autumn is officially crawling!

She started off a little over a month ago getting up on her hands and knees and rocking back and forth. A little over a week ago, she started moving forward a little bit at a time then would fall back onto her belly. As of a few days ago, she is all over the place! The baby gates are in place, the floor is constantly clean and im not getting much done around the house! :) Its so awesome to watch her grow and learn all kinds of new things. I love every minute of it!

Photo Update

Autumn with the beautiful bride, Betsy!

September 26, 2009

First time in the Gulf of Mexico

Destin, FL

September 30, 2009

On the drive to Dallas, TX

October 9, 2009

Autumn's first ECU football game!

ECU v SMU

Dallas, TX

October 10, 2009

Hanging out in front of the house, eating a leaf!

October 16, 2009

Im a Slacker!

So, I have been such a slacker with this lately! We have just been so busy with all of our travels, I havnt had much down time to update! We are finally home, with NOTHING to do for quite a while and I am very excited! I think Autumn is really enjoying being back in her bed, with her toys and out of her carseat!!

Here's a quick run down of the last month in the Smith home...

September 24-28 we were in NC to visit family and attend a wedding.

September 28 we flew to Birmingham, AL then the 29th we headed down to Destin, FL.

October 4 we flew back to Oklahoma.

October 8th my mother and sister-in-law flew in to town.

October 9th we drove down to Dallas, TX and on the 10th we went to the ECU vs SMU football game.

October 11th my mother and sister-in-law flew out of Dallas and we made our way back to Oklahoma.

This last week has been filled with laundry and getting the house back in order!

So, needless to say, I have a lot of updating to do so stick around and ill get some pictures up! :)

Many Firsts!!

I know ive been slacking at this lately but Ive been very busy visiting family all over! Autumn and I are finally back at home before we head out again in about 3 weeks! Over the last 2 weeks or so, Autumn has had some firsts....

First Highchair: About 2 weeks ago, I decided to see if Autumn could sit in a restaurant highchair. A dear friend of mine gave me her old highchair/grocery cart cover. Autumn did fairly well. This particular highchair seemed to be a tad wider than most so she would slide down some but she did great and loved being able to play with the table and the things on it! We're still working on sitting in the grocery cart! She's not quite big enough for that yet!

First Flight: On Thurday, September 27, Autumn and I flew from Lawton to Knoxville to visit my parents and attend a friends wedding. Autumn did really well flying for the first time! She fussed for about the last 5 minutes of our first flight until she fell asleep and did the same at the beginning of our second flight.

Waiting in the Dallas airport for our connecting flight

First Wedding: On Saturday, September 29, my mom, Autumn and I drove down to Cartersville, GA to attend a friends wedding. We were seated in the sanctuary about 20 minutes before the ceremony and Autumn was doing great. About 5 minutes before the bride walked down the aisle, she started to fuss. She fussed while the bridesmaids walked down the aisle so because I was sitting on the aisle, I was easily able to jump up real quick and move to the back. But of course, as soon as the bride started walking down the aisle, she started fussing even more. So, I quickly moved out into the foyer of the church and watched the ceremony through the glass doors. She did behave very well during the reception though!

With Mary Beth at the reception!

First Runny Nose: The morning we flew to Knoxville, Autumn woke up with her first runny nose. It wasnt anything real bad, just really runny when she sneezed or after she woke up. She still has her cold or allergies now but it seems to almost be gone.

First College Football Game: On September 5, my parents, Charles, his friend, Autumn and I went to the OSU v UGA football game in Stillwater, OK. Once again, Autumn did great! It was very hot out yet she somehow managed to sleep, twice, during the game. We had to take her under the bleachers for a while to keep her cool and I also gave her a cool, wet washcloth to put on her head and to play with. I cant wait to take her to an ECU game this season! :)

Asleep at the game!

Her very first UGA outfit!

First "words": About a week ago, Autumn started saying "mamamamama" all the time. As of yesterday and today, "babababa" and what sounds like "dadadada" have been added to her vocabulary. I love hearing all the new sounds and words shes coming up with and cant wait to hear more!!!

6 month check-up!

Autumn had her 6 month check-up yesterday. And as usual, the Dr said she looks fantastic! :) She is now 26 inches (65th percentile) and 14 lbs 10oz (20th percentile). She gained over a pound in 2 weeks! I guess thats what fruits and veggies will do to you! So far we've learned that she LOVES sweet potatoes, applesauce and bananas. She is NOT a fan of peaches! She's starting to sit alone but when she reaches forward for something, she falls over. But we're getting there! She's getting so big! She's talking up a storm and every tells me she's going to be an early talker. I guess we'll see!

Eating Peaches for the first time!

Our little talker!

Apple Juice AND a Sippy Cup!

Autumn tried both last night and it went great! We've been giving her a "training" sippy cup where the spout is the shape of a nipple, not the typical sippy cup spout, and we would give her some water. She was doing well with that. We decided to try her out with a real sippy cup and put some apple juice in there. She LOVED the juice and took the cup without hesitation!

She's growing up WAY to fast!

6 MONTHS!

My baby girl is 6 months old today! Hard to believe! She doesnt have her check up for another few weeks but she's as happy and healthy as she can be! She's eating vegetables now and we'll start fruits in the next week! She talks to stuffed animals, her rubber ducks, Major and just about anything else all the time. She's rolling over all the time now and we almost always find her rolled over after her naps We're working on sitting alone but still have a little ways to go!

HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY Baby Girl!!

The POOL!

We took Autumn to the pool for the first time on Saturday. She did FANTASTIC!! We had a blow up turtle for her to sit in. She stayed in there for almost an hour without a single sound! She didnt fuss until Charles took her out of the turtle to get out of the pool! 

Autumn and Ethan in their floaties!

Major the guard dog??

This picture is funny to me. If you notice, Major has his paws over his "slinky dog" (as we call it). While Autumn was playing on the floor he didnt pay any attention to her. As soon as he heard her playing with HIS toy, he came running. A few minutes later I noticed that he was "guarding" his toy! Silly dog!

Happy Birthday Charles!

Not a whole lot has been going on around our house.  The most exciting thing to happen recently was Charles' birthday on July 17. He's the big 24!! I baked him a cake, made his favorite dinner, deviled eggs and bran muffins. I was in the kitchen almost all day (but he's worth it!). When he came home from work he had his cake and candles waiting for him then opened his presents. He got ALL tools. That's all he's been asking for since Christmas!

Here are some pictures of his day! :)

With his "Super Dad" sticker from Autumn

Helping Daddy open his presents

She was mad at me because I moved the presents away from her and she couldn't play with them anymore!

5 Months Old!

Autumn turned 5 months old a few days ago! I still cant believe its been that long since she was born! She changes and does something new everyday and I love it! She's not rolling over a whole lot yet or sitting up alone yet but we're getting there. She has however, learned to spit and does it when she's mad. Hopefully we can nip that in the butt! She's sleeping 10-12 hours a night and is taking 3-4 naps a day. She is still only eating rice cereal but will probably start on vegetables in a few weeks. She hasn't quite figured out how to move the rice cereal from the front of her tongue to the back but she's getting better at it! She has also recently found her feet. She doesn't play with them all the time but when she finds them, she sure does love them!

On July 4th, a good friend of mine came and took pictures of Autumn. They turned out great! Here are a few of my favorites! :)

New Pool and New Bathing Suit

After searching the internet and every store in this town, I finally found Autumn a bathing suit at the PX. The smallest size they had was 12 months and after holding them up to 0-3 month and 3-6 month outfits I realized that childrens bathing suits run small. I ended up getting her an 18 month one. Its a tad big but it'll definitely last her all summer! While out shopping for a bathing suit, I also bought her a little blow up pool. We put her in it last night while Charles grilled out. She really seemed to like it, even though the water was a little cold.

Videos!

I finally figured out how to get movies off my camera and onto my computer and then post them online. So here's a few of Miss Autumn! :)

Eating Rice Cereal for the first time

June 17, 2009

Playing in her new toy

June 21, 2009

We did it!

About a week ago I said something about looking to buy a new car. Well, we looked at a Honda Pilot last weekend and had been talking to the guy for this entire week. We kept throwing around numbers, trying to figure out if we should sell my car privately or trade it in, etc. We went into the dealership yesterday to see how much they would give us for my car. We talked more numbers and they came back with a pretty good deal. So, we took it! We are now the proud owners of an '09 Honda Pilot! Im pretty excited, since ill be the one who gets to drive it all the time! But let me tell you, making a purchase that large it rather nerve racking! Other than our furniture (that we ended up getting for free), this is the largest purchase Charles and I have ever made. I kept wondering if we were making a mistake, if we were being taken advantage of, etc. Everyone I talk to says Honda's are great cars and that we made a great choice. I guess only time will tell! Charles drove it home from the dealership yesterday and then again when he went to get his hair but, so other than test driving it, I have yet to drive it, but I take it back in tomorrow for them to clean it.

So, here she is. I think im going to name her Rhonda. Rhonda the Honda!

The poop problem!

On Tuesday (the 16th), I called Autumn's Dr about the fact that she had not pooped in 10 days. The nurse told me that we needed to take her to the ER for x-rays to make sure there was no sort of block. We got to the ER around 5:45 that night. They felt around on her belly, did some x-rays, never took blood, and finally came back with "She's fine. There is no block". We were out of there by 7! I made a follow up appointment the following day to see her Dr. He felt around, etc, and said she felt fine. He did tell me to give her Karo syrup to help her go. He also noticed that she had only gained 1.5oz in 15 days where as a baby her age should have gained around 3.5oz. So he told me that we could start feeding her rice cereal. So after her appointment, I went to wal-mart and shopped for Karo syrup and rice cereal for the first time. (PS Mom, Karo syrup isnt with the cooking/baking supplies. Its with the syrup!) Later that night we gave her some syrup and her first feeding of rice cereal! If you have never fed a baby food for the first time, let me tell you, its a pretty hilarious scene. She had it all over her face and bib and couldnt (and still hasnt) quite figured out how to get it off the spoon. She's learning. A few more days went by and still no poop. We continued to give her the syrup until yesterday morning! Charles changed her diaper and somehow it all managed to stay in the diaper but she finally went! And ended up going 4 more times that day! So by the end of it all, she finally pooped on day 14! That has to be some kind of record or something!

To buy or not to buy?!?

Yesterday Charles made an appointment for me at a spa in Wichita Falls, TX for my birthday. I spent 4 hours being pampered while him and Autumn drove around and looked at cars. With the problems my car has been having lately, we're trying to decide if we should keep paying, sometimes large chunks of money, to replace things on my car or if we should just suck it up and buy a new car all together. We've been looking at "crossovers" and trying to decide what exactly we can afford and will be the best choice for us. We feel like we should have a third row to fit carseats, extra people, a dog and all the things a baby/child needs when you travel. But at the same time, the cars with a third row are more expensive. We looked at a GMC Acadia yesterday and the salesman tried everything he possibly could to sell us that car. I know its his job but why push so hard when we tell you what we're willing to spend yet your trying to sell it to us for is a good bit more than what we can afford? He tried everything from getting his boss to lower the price, trying to get us to take it home with us for the night, etc. We of course walked away. We're starting to think that we can't afford what we want. At least not right now. Fingers crossed my car makes it another year when we can afford what we want!

In Autumn news, she's rolling over more and more these days. On the 9th she rolled over twice and did it again this morning. When she does roll over she just looks around like "im not sure I was supposed to do that". Its really funny. Im starting to think it wont be to much longer before she's sitting on her own either. She loves it when we pull her from laying to the sitting position and when you let her sit in her bumbo seat. We'll have to wait and see...

Here are a few new pictures

She sleeps like this

These are from the night of my birthday