Welcome to the family...

 

Avery Marie Smith

Born May 20, 2014

 

 

 

 

Memorial Day Memories

We started our Memorial Day weekend off with an Arkansas Naturals baseball game.  It was the first one we had been to this season.  Despite kind of a slow game, Addison was able to entertain herself and stayed in good spirits so we were able to stay for the post-game fireworks which didn't start until 10:15.  The highlight of the evening though was when Addison caught a t-shirt -- lucky little girl!

Saturday was supposed to be a rainy day so we didn't have much planned.  Addison and I went to the Farmer's Market and enjoyed some pool time...and guess what, no rain!  Might have been the best day of the entire weekend!

Sunday we had big plans for a family boat day!  And despite a few grey clouds and spotty sprinkles at the boat dock we found a beautiful cove and enjoyed some time on the water.  No pictures of our boating adventure as I am not allowed to pull my phone out on the water after last summer's unfortunate accident.  Addison did have a ball and decided she wanted to go tubing for the first time.  I think she would have done just about anything Landon did that afternoon.  So she went for a little tube ride with Landon and Uncle Chris.

We got off the water a little earlier than everyone else and headed home so Addison could nap and John could start smoking the chickens for dinner.  Nothing better than a yummy meal by the pool!  Oh and Addison got a poolside pedicure to round out the evening...

Monday we headed out early and enjoyed breakfast at War Eagle Mill.  Kinda a fun historic place to visit...we did a little exploring around and Addison enjoyed playing on the rocks down by the water.

  

 

Happy Memorial Day! 

Made By M.E. Update

Made By M.E. continues to keep me busy in the kitchen during naptime and after Addison goes to bed.  I have had to actually turn away potential customers...I know, saying NO...something that is hard for me.  I was booked up the first 3 weekends in May and am full the first 2 weekend in June!

 

 

 

Made By M.E. is now on Instagram...follow me and see real-time pics of my sweet creations as I make them.

 

@madebyme_maraelizabeth

 

 

When I Grow Up

Addison learned about community helpers (police officers, firefighters, nurses, teachers, etc) at MMO and then each child was asked what they wanted to be when they grow up.

Addison went off script and when asked she told the teachers she wanted to be....."a mommy"...melts my heart!!!!!

We then got a little book and each child had 'colored' a picture to go along with their response.   It's definitely something I'll keep to show Addison some day.

Mother's Day 2014

Giggles

Addison has been into knock knock jokes lately.  She doesn't really understand them, but that doesn't stop her from telling them...ha!

Addison: "Knock, knock."
Mom: "Who's there?"
Addison: "Pancake"
Mom: "Pancake who?"
Addison: "Pancake on a fork" (As she swings around her fork with a piece of pancake on it)
Addison: "Mom, you laugh now..."

My Little Apprentice

Addison spotted some Hello Kitty cupcake liners at Walmart this week and she just had to have them.  So we then wondered over to the box cake section (sidenote...OMG there is such a huge selection of different stuff these days) and she picked out a funfetti cake mix and hot pink frosting that came with sprinkles.  She was in heaven...grocery shopping has never been easier as she sat quietly in the cart admiring her selections while I shopped.  Our plan was to make daddy some special cupcakes to welcome him home from his business trip.  Although the pink frosting ended up being a bit messy both when frosting the cupcakes and while eating them...Addison had so much fun in the kitchen, it was all worth it.

Summer Preview

We got a glimpse into what the hot summer days are going to look like earlier this week.  Miss Addison had no problem testing out all the water toys to make sure they were working.  Thankfully the near 90 degree temperatures have started to warm up the pool water, but so far Addison is still the only one to brave the water.

Giggles

This morning while we were outside doing a few chores, Addison dropped the broom and looked at me as serious as could be and said...

"Mom, I forgot my cellphone...I gotta go get it."

Mom: "Oh really, are you expecting a call?"

Addison: "No just emails...texts and emails from Abbey's baby."

Mom: "Ha...ok...well lets go get it!"

And she proceeded to spend the rest of the morning outside with the cellphone in her pocket!

Maybe it was a little wishful thinking but Abbey's baby shouldn't be sending us texts or emails for at least another 11 days.  She needs to stay inside her momma and keep cooking for another week or so.  But we'll make sure Addison is one of the first to know when she makes her grand entrance :)

Babymoon #2

John and I got away for a long weekend, a Babymoon #2 if you will, this past weekend and enjoyed some time just the two of us in Las Vegas.  We left Addison in good hands in Arkansas with Papa Doc.  I had never been to Vegas and John had only been there once, like 10 years ago, so it was a great place to explore together. 

 

We stayed at the Palazzo, but didn't get there until super late Friday night...11:30 Vegas time / 1:30am Arkansas time...which was probably ideal for most Vegas-goers but we were tired!  So after a small snack we were ready for bed and ready to start fresh in the morning.

 

John was up early Saturday morning and went jogging with all the people doing the walk of shame from the previous night -- you know shoes in hand, little black dress still on, stumbling back to their hotel rooms :)  We were up and out of our hotel room before 9am and found a little café to eat breakfast at.  We walked around the shops at the Palazzo and Venetian but since we were early-birds not much was open yet.  That's OK because most of the stores we couldn't afford to buy anything at anyways, so window shopping was perfect.  The weather was unseasonable cool, like it was warmer in Arkansas every day we were there...so our first purchase was actually a sweatshirt for John.  We wondered around most of the morning, walked thru the Wynn Hotel, Fashion Mall, Forum Shops at Caesars before ultimately deciding we wanted to hit-up the Las Vegas Foodie Fest (basically a big food tuck rally.)  We ended up walking basically the entire length of the strip to get to the Food Fest but when we got there I knew it was all worth it because I saw a Elephant Ear stand.  Elephants Ears are a common fair food in the north or mid-west but virtually unheard of in the south!  I think the last one I had was when I was pregnant with Addison and spent 2 weeks in Michigan...so it was very fitting that I had one now.  Oh, and I did share a little with John.

 

Elephant Ear!
I was a happy girl...

We opted for a bus ride back to our hotel, which was a wonderful decision, and relaxed a bit before our night out.  We attempted to FaceTime with Addison but didn't have luck connecting so we just talked to her on the phone.  She just kept saying "that my mommy" and "that my daddy" when we would ask her questions.  We had gotten pictures throughout the day and it looked and sounded like she was having a lot of fun without us.

 

Saturday night we had tickets to see The Beatle's LOVE By Cirque du Soleil...it was an AWESOME show.  John said he would have seen the same show the next night he liked it so much.  It was the 3rd Cirque du Soleil show we had seen and they never disappoint.  Post show I had made reservations at MESA Grill which is one of Bobby Flay's restaurants...very yummy, even if we were eating at close to 10 o'clock.

 

 

 

Sunday morning we slept in a bit...like til 8:30 :)  and then decided to head out to the outlet mall for a little more shopping.  I love shopping...I love outlet shopping even more!  But being pregnant does put a damper on what I can buy for myself, so I got some shoes, John got a shirt and Addison of course was the winner with several things.  After the outlet mall we decided to head over to Downtown Vegas / Freemont street to see where it all started.  Interesting place...interesting people watching...I can only imagine what its like there at night :)

 



 

 

 

We had earlier dinner reservations on Sunday night so we took a quick break after Freemont Street and called Addison again.  She was busy playing with Landon and said "I talked to them last week" when Papa told her we were on the phone...ha!  I guess she was doing fine without us. 

 

Our plan was to eat at Olives in the Bellagio.  I really wanted to eat on the patio so we could watch the fountains but they don't guarantee patio seating.  So everything I read said make an early reservation and they will tell you what time to come back for a patio seat.  We had 6:30 reservations and they said to come back at 8 or 8:15 to sit on the patio.  We walked around the Bellagio while we waited.  We hadn't been through yet to see the lobby or the flowers or the shops so we had plenty of things to keep us busy while we waited.  We happened to have made a big circle and were right in front of the restaurant at about 7:30 so John asked if they might have a table on the patio and they did!  So we had a wonderful dinner outside on the patio and watched 5 fountain shows...it was beautiful.

 

Beautiful live flower display at the Bellagio...
It smells so wonderful!

 



View from our table at Olives

 

Bellagio Fountains from our table at Olives

 

We gambled and lost some money after dinner on Sunday and then called it a night.  Monday was like a bonus day...we had nothing planned and didn't have to leave for the airport until the afternoon.  We enjoyed a buffet breakfast at the Bellagio and then just walked around the strip.  We went into some of the casinos we hadn't been into, lost a little more money and hit up a few more stores.  It was a beautiful morning...

 

23 Weeks Pregnant



This picture was for Addison...our flamingo crazed daughter...ha!
She would have loved it!



It was a great trip, but I was happy to get home and get a hug and a kiss from my munchkin...who happened to still be awake at ten minutes to ten on Monday night!  She was happy to see us too...at dinner on Tuesday she looked at John and said "when I finish my dinner, can I give you a hug"  melts my heart!