Botanical Garden Lights

We went to the botanical garden's 'd lights. It was so cute!!! So I am going to post a bunch of pictures I think are cool, you may think they are boring...

GrapesBunnyCornSlug (a true Washington Christmas!)Jellyfish, starfish, octopus, etc. This was Mesha's favorite part.Me and my kids.The GriffFrogAlligatorPalm treesMacawGarden complete with peacockSwan lake. This was my favorite part.Hanging flowers with two of my favorite people.

I enjoyed it so much I think we will go again before the season is over!

Sink Bath

The bathtub is being regrouted (is that a word?) so we gave the kids a sink bath. Pretty cute stuff.

A tight fit.A perfect fit! (Griff's face is red because he just woke up from a nap and was sleeping on it.)

Silly, Silly Mesha

Mesha is a very silly girl. Here are some of her latest silly moments.

We went to my BIL's parents house for Thanksgiving. They have a hot tub and keep it at a nice temperature for the kids to swim in. Mesha stayed in so long she turned red and looked like she was having an allergic reaction to something. Silly Mesha.
I was trying out some hot rollers and Mesha insisted she tried some too. It didn't work and Mesha's hair is curly already so it was not worth the time. But she is a silly girl.

Sterling found Mesha like this today. Just sittin' and wondering when Mom would come help her. Silly girl.

Griffin Videos

Griffin is a boy of many talents. He is getting bigger and bigger everyday. He has learned how to pull himself up onto things.

The first time he pulled himself up was on this toy box but it was empty and he fell in. I turned around when I heard his panicked little whimper and I seriously thought about grabbing the camera and taking a video of his little legs kicking like crazy but then I decided to be a good mom and pull him out right away. (This is one of many events in life that make me wish that if I could have a super power it would be the ability to take pictures with my eyes. Blink blink. I know, I'm weird.)

And this is Griff singing himself to sleep. Funny boy.

Crawling

Griffin has decided he wants to crawl on his hands and knees now. He has been scooting for a while now and it's time for some change. Besides, being on hands an knees sets you up better for trying to climb on top of everything. Look out, here comes trouble.

(PS: Please ignore the blaring TV and Mesha the Count in the background)

Cousins, Cousins, and More Cousins

Back up. I forgot to post these back in early October. My sister and her twins came to visit. Add my kids and my other local sister and you get a funny photo shoot.

The girls were playing doggies and wanted people to take them on walks. After that got old (real fast) we had them walk each other.


The crazy crew. Grandma, Lily, Cameron, Julia, Aunt Amy, Griffin, Mesha, Ellie, and Natalie. We are still missing a few friends however. :( We miss you Olanders!

Yee-Haw Daddy. These two crack me up.

This is funny because Griffin is 8 months old and the twins are 15 months old. The girls have an inch or two on him but he has them by a pound. Teeny girls, hefty Griff, all cute.

And then you throw Nat in who is tall for her age and only 8 months older than the girls.

Silly Nat.

Cameron LOVES Griff. And Griff LOVES Cam. It's a beautiful relationship.

Kitty Cat

I blame Sterling. He once showed Mesha how to draw whiskers on her face to be a kitty cat. Normally she uses pencil or pen. This was a sharpie. Meow.

Trick or Treat, Smell My Feet

We took the kids out trick-or-treating last night. It was Mesha's first time (trunk or treat has been sufficient till now) as well as Griff's. Mesha had so much fun. I thought she would go up and down the street and be done, but oh no. She kept saying "more house!" So more house we did. I didn't bother teaching her before hand to say 'trick or treat' but by the third house she figured it out.

Halloween Smith style: Daddy vampire, Griff the pug, Mesha the monkey (very appropriate) and a Mommy cat.

The boys. I really wish Griff could have been crawling on hands and knees by now so that he could be this freaking cute little doggy. But then again, I'm glad he's not crawling yet. He's still dang cute anyhow.

The girls.
The haul. Mesha loved gathering the suckers and Griffin loved being one with the candy.

Here are some better pictures of Mesha's costume just because it is so stinking cute.

H-A-double L-O-double U-double E-N Spells Halloween

Ah, the finer things of Halloween. Black frosting and pumpkin guts. Does anyone else ever feel like some holidays conspire against moms? But really I love giving my kids fun messy things they love and making traditions. Good times.

I Hope They Call Me On A Mission!

When I have grown a foot or two or three or four (it could happen).

And congratulations to my baby brother on his mission call. He is going to Joao Pessoa, Brazil! Amazing. We love you Dale, you are an example to this little guy and I am glad for it!

Fall

After a couple years in Autumless Southern California I am just blown away by fall this year. Yes it's cold but its so stinkin' pretty. Here are the trees directly across the street from my parents house that I get to look at every day.When the sun hits them it looks like they are on fire.

And here is a picture of my sister and me. She came to visit for a while and we already miss her and the twins.

Clap Your Hands!

I think this boy is cute.

Wearing his cousin's glasses.

Scooter

Griffin is mobile. This makes for a happier Griff and a busier mom. We think that his little scoot looks like he is swimming. He will rock on his knees and elbows. When I put him down on the floor he will be on his hands and knees and stay like that for a minute or so then flop to his belly so he can scoot off.

Griffin also has a tooth now! Yay for being big (boo for being bit when I feed him)!

What's Goin' On

I didn't think I had much to blog about but now that I am here looking through my pictures I've found I am behind. So here is a random photo presentation on what's been goin' on round here.

The annual park picnic complete with a visit from the local firemen. All the other kids thought this was cool.
Mesha freaked out.

Griffin is cute.

And getting very big. (He's 6 1/2 months old now!)

But not big enough to not get kissed all day long.

We went to the fish hatchery.

We tried on a Halloween costume to see if it fit.

We celebrated Grandpa Swany's birthday (that is a portrait of him by cousin Julia).

We rode the carousel at the mall. Over and over and over again.

Griffin got new jammies. He sure is cute. Do I say that a lot?

Here are some more cute people.

And last but not least Griffin was introduced to the Johnny Jump Up. He likes it so bad he yells for the first 5 minutes hes in it. Silly boy.