I love . . .

I absolutely love the smell of my little new born after I bathe him! I could just sit and smell him for hours.

I love watching his little expressions while he sleeps.

I love watching him smile.

I love watching my other children ooh and aahh over him. They are such great BIG brothers and sisters!





I love waking up and realizing he has let me sleep for 5 hours at a time - he's such a good little man!

I love that someday Talie will be a mother and will understand why naked baby pictures are so adorable.

I love the phrase the "Lord's Tender Mercies", and I am thankful for having 7 of them with me each day.

Peyton has been waiting to turn 5 for forever! I know that it's always 365 days, but somehow he has been wanting to turn 5 for a long time! And now that he has turned 5, he tells everybody everyday that he is five now. Peyton, aka, Benson's mini me, is my little sweetheart. He is very affectionate and a great kisser. Whenever he is going to give a kiss, he puckers his lips real big (sometimes he even uses his fingers to make the pucker even bigger.) All of a sudden, he quit kissing Benson on the lips. When Benson tries to get a kiss, Peyton does all he can to dodge the lips -oh, but the best part is, he still kisses mama on the lips =).
Peyton's most recent recipient to all of his juicy kisses is Tanner. Peyton holds Tanner more than anyone else (Well, Talie gives him a run for his money), and he always says, "Everybody loves Tanner." and somehow, no matter how many times we ask him to kiss Tanner on the top of the head, he never fails to plant a big juicy kiss on Tanner's cheek, always leaving a little wet spot behind.
Speaking of juicy, yesterday, Peyton asked to change Tanner's diaper and as we opened it up, he said, "Ooh, that's juicy."

Although Peyton is very sweet, and has a definite soft side, he is all boy! He loves balls. Peyton also has broken everything that we own at least twice. One of his favorite games is the "shoe game". Perhaps you haven't heard of it, that's probably because it's a Smith family original. Peyton gives Dad the shoes and takes off running as Benson throws shoes at him. Ok., I don't get it, but they love it and play for like 15-20 minutes.
Peyton has become the family photographer. Every time he sees the camera or gets his hands on my phone, he is taking pictures - usually of Tanner.

(notice Kennedi's outfit - that is very normal for her.)

Peyton also has become quite attached to the Wii - especially to the game, Super Smash Brothers, so I have started putting the case that holds all the Wii games in a hiding place. So lately, when I tell Peyton it's time to turn the Wii off, he turns it off, puts Super Smash Brothers in the case, and runs off. When I ask him where he is going, he says, "I'm hiding the game case." He's smarter than he looks sometimes.
I can't believe my little man is going to start Kindergarten this year! I am glad it is 1/2 day Kindergarten, because I would miss him too much if he was gone all day! Thanks for keeping us smiling Peyton!

Peyton just graduated from Miss Rhonda's pre school. It was a small pre school, with only six kids in it. Five boys and one girl - poor girl=). Peyton learned a lot and has gone from absolutely no interest in letters to being able to sound out most three and four letter words you give him. The other night, he was upstairs writing letters on a paper, and told me that he had written Dallin's name. I had thought that Dallin had helped him, but when I went over to look at his writing, he had spelled Dallin's name "D A L E N" and told me that he wrote it all by himself. I was surprised at how well he sounded out Dallin's name.
The graduation was cute with songs, reciting of poems, and the pledge of allegiance. I was surprised how emotional I felt that my little man is finished with pre school and ready to move on to Kindergarten!

One of Peyton's favorite parts of pre school was learning the Pledge of Allegiance. When he could recite it, he earned a small medal, and he proudly wore that medal every where he went for weeks (he still has it in his treasure box), and loved it whenever people asked him how he earned it. I love what little things make kids happy.

Peyton, receiving his diploma from Miss Rhonda.

a Quick Trip!

This Weekend, we realized that we didn't have a soccer, softball, or baseball game! We felt a great freedom and desire to get out of Highlands Ranch, so we decided to visit Nat & Ben (Ben's sister and brother-in-law), who just moved to Riverton, UT after living in Arizona for 10years. We had a lot of fun visiting, Watching Thor, getting tours of their new hometown, eating lots, playing Just Dance, and getting hair cuts/pedicures. We also got to see Bart & Holly, and Grandma Smith. She called to see if she could come visit, and showed up about 15 minutes later, it was a fun surprise! Thanks Nat & Ben for showing us such a fun weekend!

Ashlynn has wanted an A-line haircut for years, but this is the first time that it turned out just right. She was so cute, she just sat there with that HUGE grin on her face the entire time she was getting the hair cut.

Talie also got a haircut.

Nat, Maggie & I decided to go for pedicures instead of haircuts.

As I said, we ate lots! Here is Peyton, enjoying a bag of powder donuts on the drive.

Dear Tooth Fairy,

Ashy lost another tooth, It's not her first of course, but it was so cute, she left a note for the tooth fairy. I'm sure the tooth fairy loved receiving a note - it was a first for our tooth fairy, maybe yours is more lucky.

Dear Tooth fairy,
I lost my 9th tooth. I lost in like a week a go. I just keep forgiting to put it under my pillow. By the way my Mom is pregnet. What name do you like better? Tanner or Tate? I like Tanner. I wrote this note at 10:15, at night. How many teeth do you collect a night? I pulled my tooth out by my self. Come back tomarrow to get another note.

love Ashlynn.

P.S. Go to back of note.
How many more teeth do I lose? Come back please for an other note!
Wright back please.
love Ashlynn

5 lbs of CHOCOLATE!!!

At Saddle Ranch Elementary, 6th graders get to go to Outdoor Ed. which is kind of like a field trip/camp that lasts for four days and three nights, and it costs $240.00per kid. At the end of the 5th grade school year, the kids have a chance to fund raise to earn money towards the field trip, and whoever sells the most earns a 5 lb chocolate bar. So Dallin set out to sell, and as the sales racked up, it motivated him to sell more. He spent hours after school, knocking doors (sounds like his Dad=), sometimes succeeding in convincing his sisters to go on the doors with him, and even one of Talie's friends went on the doors with him. On the last day, he turned in his sales and his money. He had sold enough cookie dough to pay for Outdoor Ed., and he found that he was only a couple behind the kid in first place. The school gave the kids one more night to sale, and so Dallin went out to sale the most in the fifth grade! After several more hours, he ended up with 57 sales, and with his fingers crossed, he set out for school the next morning to find out if that was enough to put him in first place . . . and it was! He won by two sales, and brought home a HUGE 5 lb. candy bar! We were proud of how hard he worked and that he set a goal, and worked at it until he accomplished it. Now the fun part, delivering and eating the goodies! Thanks for everyone's support!