Update number three:


FAMILY REUNION FUN!


We spent several days in Utah visiting family and having the bi-annual Smith Family reunion at Bear Lake in the Utah mountains. Here are a bunch of pictures to show what a great time we had.


We started at Nannie Cowan's house and had a great time with the Cowan Cousins. Aunt Lindy brought a huge Bonzai Slide over one day and we had a huge water party in Nannie's back yard.
Here is the crew minus a few who could not make it that day. One thing my kids have with both David and I being from HUGE families is a ton of fun cousins to play with!

Here is Miss Maya with Taylor, Jake (in the back), Mazie, McKinnley, and Mollie. She was in heaven with all those girls to take care of her. Maizie and Mollie (crazy girl!) were great babysitters...thanks girls!

Here is Uncle Joey (tall one in back) with all the kids at the zoo. Again we are missing a few cousins-the Hoch crew and the Stewart crew. Uncle joey will be leaving soon to serve a two year mission for our church so it was fun to spend some time with him before he leaves.

Here are the three cutie pies at the zoo. Amity (Attie), Maya, and Kinners (McKinnley). Got to love Kinner's and her accessories! That girl needs to teach Maya how to wear those bows and headbands!

Here are the boys and Maya posing at the bird show

Brinnley and Maya took over Papa John's lazy boy for the week. They were so sweet to sit and watch shows together and share treats. CUTIE PIE COUSINS! It is always so much fun to go home and be with our family in Utah.

We then spent a few days at Bear Lake with the Smith Clan. Maya loved digging with her shovel in the clear water.

The boys (we missed Matthew who was at home playing baseball) loved the lake. Here they are helping Jake bury things.

I can't believe we got Grandma in a canoe! Brave woman to let cousin Robert take her out on the lake! Actually Robert is a great kid and has a cute girl friend named Jamie that we all think is great.

Here are Spencer, Bekka, Tanner and Jake posing one last time for the crazy woman with a camera who won't leave them be!

And Miss Maya all tuckered out from a day with family, water and plenty of sunshine.

We loved our time with the Smith clan at Bear Lake and can't wait until we see you all again!

Update Number Two:



Birthdays and Baseball






Eleven years ago today I gave birth to a big baby boy. Matthew entered this world weighing in at 9 lbs 15.5 0z! He looked like he was three months old at birth! I soon sound out that he was 9 lbs 15.5 0z of pure joy. He was the best of my newborns and seemed to know that mommy had her hands full with his two older brothers. He was always so patient and good natured and that holds true to this very day. He is what I call my "constant child" meaning I can always count on him to be happy no matter the situation, I can almost always count on his good behavior and respect, and I can always count on him to be at my side asking if there is anyway he can help me before he runs out to play.



He is a great student and takes his education very seriously. He is a great friend. He makes the most of any situation and helps others along the way. He is patient, kind and loving. He Loves his family and will do anything for them. He cherishes his little sister and tolerates his little brother. He never ever forgets to hug his mom goodnight- sometimes more than once. He is our peacemaker. He is loved.








He loves sports of any kind and was recently asked to be on the Whitney LL All Star team. This has been his goal from the day he started Minor A so we are really proud of his accomplishment. He missed our Smith Family reunion in Utah so that he could be on the team. He just had his first game and boy was it exciting...they were down10-2 at the bottom of the fifth inning and came back to to win it 11-10 in the sixth! We left Utah at 7 am on game day and drove straight to his game getting there 20 minutes before it started. What a thrill it was to watch as they announced his name and he came running onto the field...Maya went nuts because she loves her "Mat-tew" and it had been several days since she saw him. She waved wildly yelling "Hi Mat-tew" over and over and squirming to get to him. The look on his face at that instant was worth every minute of that 11 hour non stop drive!



Happy Birthday Mateo! We love you!

Update number one:



Miss Maya turns 18 month old

and celebrates being home for 10 months!



Wow, I can not believe she has been here with us for 10 months now. I remember last June and part of July I was so sad and anxious to get travel news that I was pretty darn grumpy to anyone who dared cross my path. Now this June and July I am chasing a whirlwind of PINK and loving every minute.


At 18 months

Weight- 22lbs 14.5 oz

height- 32 1/2 inches


Maya can say- Mommy, daddy, Spencer, Tanner, Matthew, and Jakey, Papa (grandpa), Mama (grandma), nannie (grandma C.), ball, spoon, Happy, Binky, hot, cookie, drink, please, thank you, bottle, baby, pretty, nose, eyes, belly, hi, bye-bye, love you, walk, swim, no!, MINE!, book and a few other words. She is in the "mocking bird" stage and will try to say what ever you ask her to.


She loves to sing the itsy bitsy spider song with actions, play patty cake, and dance whenever she hears music. Another favorite is leading the hymns at church with big swooping arms.






She can also follow simple directions such as bring me the book, show me what you want, etc.


Her favorite things are her blankie, swimming, going for walks, swinging, playing with her brothers, babies and her daddy.


Her favorite foods are fruits and vegetables of any kind...even Lima beans! She does not like raw broccoli however, she loves to share whatever daddy is eating, especially Popsicles. She is the best eater of all of our kids.


She is a bundle of energy and plays hard, she rarely sits still for longer than two -five minutes and loves to get into things she know are not for her. She is constant motion when awake but loves to snuggle with her brothers to watch a movie. She is also a great sleeper and when she is out she is out. She sleeps around 10 hours at night and has a good long nap in the afternoons.



She is a DRAMA queen for sure and will give you a really good fake cry if she thinks it will get her anywhere. She definitely thinks she is in charge around here for sure, and well... she is!

She is simply amazing and we love every little thing about her. We are still amazed at what a perfect match she is for our family and thank our Father in Heaven for her everyday.


We love you little miss!

Our Santa Cruz Tradition

Here are a few pictures from our Memorial Day weekend at New Brighton Beach. We had a great time as usual and Maya enjoyed a lot of firsts....her first camping trip, her first smore, and her first time playing on the beach. She loved it all, especially the smores!

We always enjoy our trip to Santa Cruz, we camp with our good friends, relax (although not as much relaxing was going on for me with Maya running around this year), eat way more than we should and play on the beach. It was funny though to see that the times are a changing as our campsite was usually filled with teenagers and my two oldest were always off hanging with friends, and going down to the beach after dark with a big group of kids, GIRLS included! Not sure I am ready for the whole boy/girl thing, but its here! Do you know how funny the conversation between teenage boys and girls can be?

We enjoyed a day at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and Jake was thrilled because he was finally tall enough to ride most of the big rides. He is a little thrill seeker, not like his mom AT ALL when it comes to riding rides at an amusement park. My stomach ends up in my throat just watching!! Here he is on the ride that shoots you up really high and drops you straight down over and over.

Jake, Tanner and Ben on the log ride

Jake, Maya and Blake--Don't you love how Jake is getting Maya to look at me?

Happy Re-Adoption Day Maya!

May 21st, 2007 will forever be known as Maya's Re-adoption day! She is officially Maya and we are recognized legally as her parents in the eyes of the USA. Now we just wait for that golden birth certificate and we are done! No more paper work!!!! YAHOOO!!!!

The whole re-adoption process was pretty easy, we sat in front of a judge for about seven minutes while he reviewed all of our post adoption paperwork and then he signed off. The judge seemed more interested in our digital camera than he was anything else, but I am so glad we are done and that the boys were with us so that they could be a part of it. My favorite part was when the judge (who was quite taken back by the number of children we have) asked the boys if they liked having her around and they all told him how much they love her and how fun she can be. I guess all in all it seemed a bit anti-climatic for me I think that with all adoptive families have been through to bring these special kids into their lives there should be banners and balloons and confetti and cake...instead it was kind of like "oh, that's it? We did all that paperwork and worried for this?" After it was over we rushed right back to our crazy lives getting the boys back to school, preparing for a family trip to the beach this weekend, and homework...it was not until much later that night when I saw Maya all snuggled up with her daddy and he said to me "Come give YOUR daughter a kiss goodnight" that I realized what had happened for what it was, she is ours legally in every way now and that is huge! We are done with every single piece of paper that has to do with adoption or re-adoption and that is huge! I guess I didn't need the balloons and banners after all, but hey... a cake would have been nice!!!

Mother's Day, Birthdays, and more!

Well, it is official--I am the mom of TWO TEENAGERS!! Boy I am getting old! Tanner celebrated his big 13th on Mother's Day. Just need to talk about this kid for a minute...first off, I am happy to say that we both survived thirteen years in the same house together! There were times when he was little that I really did not think we would. This young man has been a handful since the day he was born on Friday the 13th by C-section and ended up in the NICU for a few days, he had a really rough beginning but he sailed through that and has been running ever since. We never know what will come out of his mouth...like the time he was 3 and called a woman with a patch over her eye a "Huge Pirate" and I agreed with him several times as I was not really listening to him and writing my check just trying to get out of the store because it had been one of THOSE shopping trips..um how do you apologize for that? He is constant motion, he is tough, and he is one smart kid. He is headstrong and won't do anything he does not want to do no matter how hard you plead, beg, or bribe. He is our resident comedian and comes up with the most hysterical stories when he is trying desperately to get out of what ever trouble he has gotten himself into. He is simply Tanner. Lately, I look at him and can't see that mischievous little boy anymore, instead I see a boy who is not afraid to stand up for what he believes in, tries really hard in school and is trying even harder at home to get along with his pesky little brothers who idolize the kid. I also see a young man who really has not been gentle with anything since the day he was born being so sweet and gentle with his new little sister. He is growing up and somewhere along the way between all of the times he had me pulling my hair out he turned out to be quite a great young man. But, we are after all talking about my Tanner, so I am gearing up for what his teenage years may bring...Heaven help me, I just might not have any hair left to pull out if we both make it through! Love you Tanner Man!

Mother's Day found me in Utah with Maya. We flew out to help my dad celebrate his 65th birthday and had a great time playing with the cousins and catching up with old friends. We are now again in full fledged "Grandma Detox" as Maya loves all of the attention she gets when we go to Grandma's house. I got this picture in an email from my boys at home.

And I of course had to share some of Maya's recent dress up photos...her cousin Bekka gave her the grass skirt and it has quickly become a Maya favorite. I am loving all this girly stuff!

The baseball hat makes the outfit don't ya think?

Maya's multi colored dreadlocks mon!

Cute smile

Pretty in Pink...

Not that she really has any other choice, I think atleast 90% of her wardobe is PINK of one shade or another or has PINK in it! Oh well, after 14 years of buying only boy clothes it just might take me a couple years to get the PINK out of my system!

Happy news: May 21st is our Family Court Date to wrap up all of the loose ends and complete Maya's re-adoption! Stay tuned for pictures.

Happy Spring!

We have been really busy (in a good way) the past couple weeks. It was Spring Break for the boys so we spent a lot of time playing.

Here are Matthew, Jake and Maya at the Sacramento Zoo. I love the picture of the boys walking Miss Maya up the hill. It was the only calm momet of that day...most of the time Matt and Jake were running from animal to animal as fast as they could to beat the other one to it and Maya just plain proved to be the wildest animal of all that day!

We took a family day trip into SF- above: a very windy stop at the Golden Gate

Below: Pix from the SF Zoo which is just amazing!

Above: Maya's first Carousel ride at the SF Zoo

Below: Maya's first Easter--she was not impressed by much except the jelly beans of course! MMMM, SUGAR! She tried to eat the only egg she dyed and was not very interested in any eggs during the hunt, but once she figured out that there was candy inside them she was a very serious little egg opener.

The things mom makes me do for pictures!

It has been one of those weeks around here, and I find myself posting these pictures to remind myself how cute she really is, because to tell you the truth, she has not been acting very cute the past couple of days! Part of the reason is that we traveled to Utah to see Nannie and now Maya is in a full fledged 12 step "grandma detox" program...HA! Nannie spoiled her rotten (which all good nannies should do!) but coming home to a busy house with four big brothers who get in the way has sent miss Maya spinning! Or could it be that I just plain forgot how rotten the terrible twos are and that they really start at age one? GEEZ I hope it is not the terrible twos!!! At any rate, we are just a bit unsettled right now and I don't like it.

So here are the cute pictures that not only remind me just how cute she is but just how blessed I am to be able to call her my own...even if she is a little stinker some days!

Look I actually have a bow in my hair! (It lasted all of 10 minutes)

What you don't see in the 30 foot drop into the ocean...Dad got in trouble for taking this shot, but it is cute!

SNOW in TAHOE!!

I am behind on my blogging, but hey, I am behind on just about everything right now, so at least I am being consistent! Some really good friends of ours invited us to spend the weekend in Tahoe this past February and we took them up on it. We had a great time but we were a tad disappointed that it was raining when we got there Friday afternoon but by late Sat. night and early Sunday morning, mother nature delivered and the kids made the most of it! We had a great time sledding, throwing snowballs, making snowmen, and watching Maya experience snow for the second time in her life. She did not know what to think about that white stuff falling from the sky, but she quickly caught on that it was a good thing. Eating the snow (I know, I know, snow is dirty!) was her favorite and there was a nice loud "Maya pitched" scream if you dared to even try to take it away from her!


Here are some favorites of a few of the FAB FIVE... I was on Maya duty so I need to get the rest of the pics from our friends!

Below: Our bundle of PINK!





Matthew nails the landing and flies down the rest of the hill....without the snow disc!



The Jakester catching some air!

Jake and his "Sad" friend--and just in case you are wondering if this is really how this little guy of ours feels? Yes it is sometimes, not being the baby anymore after seven years has been tough on him, but he is doing better everyday and the "happy" far more out weighs the "sad" these days.

In other news, we took the kids to Fort Bragg (beautiful, but SO SO SO COLD!) this past weekend so stay tuned for pictures and we just celebrated our six month gotcha day anniversary! I would have loved to say it was a huge event in our house and that I took tons of pictures, but it came and went and got a little lost with the all the school projects and activities that come with a house full of kids. I did however have it on my mind most of the day and still marvel at how far we have come. Maya is pretty much settled into her new little life and she is taking her roll as ruler of this house very seriously! We can't imagine life without her.