The morning after

Here is our little princess the morning after all the festivies. Being the girl she is, her favorite present was this baby carrier from Midge and Cory. She carries it all around the house and rocks the baby in it. It is the first thing she goes for when she wakes up in the morning! Thanks Cory and Midge (Cory actually picked it out -- way to go) for the great gift!

Three generations (Ryan, Aubrey, and Aubrey's baby who remains unnamed until she is old enough to pick one out herself)!

She had her cake and ate it too (well, picked at it)!

I must confess, I was hoping that Aubrey would make more of a mess with her cake, but I am realizing more and more what a girly girl she is. Not only does she love cell phones, jewelry, clothes (strange, but she really does have a fetish for clothes), and makeup (she loves to sit in front of the mirror with my makeup brushes and "put it on"), but she loves to take baths and apparantly hates getting her hands messy. The first video is Aubrey at her first attempt at her cake. Even with coaxing from mommy, she still refused to dig in...until we gave her a fork (video 2) and then she started to eat it. We have quite the little girl on our hands, but what a sweetheart!

Somebody turned 1, and we partied hard!!!

Ok...so I realize this is our first child, and it was her first birthday, but I couldn't help but go overboard with pictures of her big day. Ryan took control of the camera while I tried to make sure everything ran smoothly (which it did)! Aubrey takes after her dad when it comes to her sociality, because she is the queen of social butterflies! We invited just about every friend she had and everyone seemed to have a great time (we really missed all our family and friends who weren't with us, and hope Hannah's party was lots of fun too)! Here are some pictures from her big day! We actually had to wake her up from her nap a little early when her friends started coming (hence the bed head hair), but she fared well! Enjoy this way too long stream of pictures!

Aubrey is such a girl...she loves lip gloss and cell phones (among many others), as demonstrated in this picture.

Charlie and Ryan's dad just hanging out!

Aubrey with GG (Ryan's mom)!

Let me explain. I am a stay at home mom with no car. I have nothing but time on my hands while Aubrey is sleeping so I decided to have a little fun with her birthday cake. I am not the artist in my family so you will notice many imperfections with the cake (i.e. crooked door and flowers...etc.), but I had a lot of fun making it and it tasted yummy (what birthday cake doesn't?)! Then I realized we probably wouldn't have enough cake for all the guests so I made another cake (way too much free time), this one was a bathtub. Needless to say, the cakes took a back seat to the birthday girl, but that's the way it should be.

The Gabester pushing the baby in her stroller!

We had a slight princess theme at the party (I found this Cinderella Halloween costume for a great deal and just had to buy it), so Aubrey got to dress up in her pretty costume. I'm hopeless I know, but she was just so darn cute in it :)!

This was just the cutest picture I've ever seen, thanks to Ana Julia! What a sweetheart! Aubrey is blessed with so many wonderful friends!

Our little buddy Trae. He is so adorable and it was nice to have a little more testosterone to the party...thanks Trae!

This is the part of the pictures where we take a minute to thank so many wonderful friends for coming and supporting Aubrey! Thanks everyone...you really are the greatest!

Midge and Cory Sullivan

Paul, Nikki, and Alexys Tobias (foget the shirt...GO HEELS)!

The Grawrocks (minus Matt who was at practice).

The Eldredge Family

Good old Jordan (he's single ladies :)

The Jolley Family

Little Kira Jolley (not pictured with her family above) who impressed us all by sleeping through most of the noise!

The Mason family

Marian and Ben Griffin

Sara and Pete Hansen

Steve, Renee, and Moana

Charlie and Hang Tao

The Adams Family

Andrea Stuart (our #1 babysitter)

Last, but certainly not least, Nicki and Amber Hadfield with their beautiful girls Zara and Ana Julia (Marc and Matt couldn't make it)!

We have all been blessed with such wonderful friends here in Buena Vista!

A day at the soccer field

Saturday was such a nice day that Ryan went and played soccer with Charlie, Georgi, and some of their friends. Aubrey and I tagged along, but had our fun. Here are some of the classic Aubrey faces...she's such a riot!

Aubrey managed to sneak into Uncle Charlie's bag and took out his water bottle. She's such a determined little girl -- when she wants something, she just takes it (we're working on the sharing thing but she's taking her time grasping that concept).
Once she had enough water she kept digging through his bag to try and find somethig else worth while, but only managed to find some dirty shin guards. Better luck next time Aubrey!

Per Jamie and Maryn's request

I will preface this with the warning that it is not a pretty sight. It has proven all too true that you get bigger faster with baby #2, and so I have. We are 17 weeks today and I am already sporting a pretty descent sized belly bump (much bigger than the same time during my last pregnancy). With Aubrey I refused to take pregnant pictures, and now I regret it. One of my goals with this pregnancy is to put that stubborn "Smith pride" aside and succumb to the camera. Here is the result...thanks Jamie and Maryn for your request (it made me take the pictures)!

Happy Valentines Day Daddy!

Happy Valentine's Day Daddy! We just wanted to let you know we were thinking of you and can't wait until you get home from work! Hugs and kisses from your two favorite girls!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AUNT KIKI!!!

Today is a special day because it is Christina's (Ryan's sister) birthday! Aubrey was so excited she wanted to do something special for the birthday girl. Since we couldn't fly up to NYC and visit, Aubrey thought this was the next best idea. We miss and love you Chrisina, and hope you have a WONDERFL birthday! We will be thinking of you!

She's actually waving in this picture but I managed to cut off the top of her hand on accident (another reason I will never make it as a professional photographer)!

This is the onsie that Christina designed/made for Aubrey for Christmas. It says Little Lenahan and is so stinking cute! Thanks again Aunt Kiki!

Those are Aubrey's handprints that we traced and cut out to put on the sign! She is growing so much, and so quickly!

We love you Aunt Kiki!

She's walking!

Ok, so she's only starting to walk, but she's picked it up fast! She will take up to 10+ steps at at time (when she's not tired), and is growing so fast! She is so much fun and I just love getting to be at home with her all day and just watching her as she learns new things. I can't believe that she is going to be 1 year old in less than two weeks! Where does the time go?! It's hard to think that I can love another baby as much as I do her, but I know that when this little one comes it will just happen (or so I hear)! We find out the sex of baby #2 on March 4 and will keep everyone updated. Here is a video of her walking the other day...she's such a riot!

"One word says it all...'beautiful'"

This is how I will always remember President Hinckley -- laughing and enjoying life with his dear companion Marjorie Pay Hinckley. What a beautiful couple, and inspiration to us all...and yes, beautiful!

We had the wonderful opportunity this afternoon to watch the funeral services for our dear Prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley. He left a legacy that will not, and could not, be forgotten. I marveled as I watched the service at how much good one person can have on the entire world. The truly amazing part is that, despite the millions of lives he touched, each person felt it personally (at least I did). I was moved at the memories and stories shared about him and his goodness during his life of church service and dedication to his family, and began to reflect on the impact he has had on my life personally. Feel free to read on or skip right over, but I felt such gratitude that I wanted to share these precious memories (with a disclaimer that some of these experiences show my definite imperfections and knowing that I have since repented).

1. As a freshman at BYU I remember attending a fireside at the Marriott Center where President Hinckley spoke. Everyone remembers, I'm sure that talk on piercings, tatoos, and raves. I had at the time multiple piercings and admit that my initial reaction was that President Hinckley was an old fashioned man. I was keeping the standards of the church and saw no need to remove my extra earrings -- so I didn't. I remember reading my scriptures one evening and came across the verse in 1 Nephi 3:6 that talks about how Nephi didn't murmur against his father. The foot note for not murmuring says "Sustaining Church Leaders". I was overcome with emotion as I realized my error. I loved President Hinckley and had a testimony of his divine call. However, I realized that I had raised my hand to sustain him, and yet my actions were contrary to that. Amid tears, I remember taking earrings out and finally realizing what it meant to sustain a prophet. My testimony of President Hinckley as the Prophet called of God for that time was strengthened and I will forever be grateful for the chastising hand of a loving Father in Heaven.

2. This next experience took place on my mission. I asked to meet with my mission president with the hopes of being able to extend my missionary service an extra transfer. President Crouch, a wonderful and inspired man, sat me down and I asked for an extension. I distinctly remember our conversation, which went something like this:

"Sister Smith, who signed your mission call?"

"President Hickley did."

"Who called President Hinckley as the Prophet?"

"The Lord did."

"So in essence, who is it that really called you?"

"The Lord."

"Do you really want to second guess the timing of the Lord Sister Smith?"

Needless to say, I returned home on my original scheduled date, but my testimony of prophets, and President Hinckley, was taken to a new level that day. I realized more fully that the prophet truly is called to speak on behalf of the Lord, literally. What a blessing to have a living mouthpiece for the Lord on the earth, and what a tragedy that more people don't have that knowledge. I guess the pressure is on us more than ever now to share it with the world.

3. This was a story about President Hinckley I learned while serving my mission on Temple Square. I was serving in the Beehive house and in Brigham Young's bedroom is a can and hat. I think there were actually multiple canes but I can't remember for sure. Anyway, when it came time for President Hinckley to start using a cane, he had one specially made. During the time it was being crafted, he asked to use Brigham Young's cane, saying that "if it was good enough for him it will be good enough for me." What a sweet and humble man who never put himself above others and always treated everyone with equal love and respect!

The list could go on and on, but I fear I have lost all readers by now so I will wrap up my thoughts with this line from one of the songs sung at his funeral (written by President Hinckley). It says, "Let hope and faith transcendent bloom". That was President Hinckley's wish for each one of us and I will do my best to follow his counsel, and the counsel of all the worthy men God calls to lead us in these last days.