9 years ago today......

we were rushing around decorating, getting beautiful etc.  You know just the normal wedding story. 

Well, something that I will always remember is how calm I felt when it came right down to it. 

I mean things haven't necessarily been calm since then, but I can honestly say I've never been so sure about something in all my life. 

I'm even "surer" about it and about him today. 

This guy is a gem.  We couldn't make it without him. 

Miss Scout snapped this of us last spring.  It is one of my favorites.  I mean what is a more fitting shot of us than in the branding pen?

I honestly can't believe it has already been 9 years.  Truly time is flying!!

A few jobs, a few houses, more than a few horses, and most importantly 3 babies later we are going stronger than ever. 

🏠🐴👶👱👧😍❤️👍

#WIDN

The other day I was tagged #WIDN (what I'm doing now) on InstaGram by my friend Kristin.  This is what I was doing.

Sitting on the couch, 
in my jammies, 
with my three babies, 
doing school.

This year we have chosen to home school Scout.  When I say "we" I don't just mean her dad and I.  She is included in the "we".  Of course I'm not going to turn down the opportunity to spend precious time with my kiddo, but I'm also not going to keep her from public school if she wants to go.

It is going quite well.  She's a smart cookie if I might say so myself.  I do know that she is getting very spoiled this year. Of course it isn't always perfect.  We have a couple of trouble makers here but for the most part they behave and don't keep us from learning.

Reno has come along pretty well.  In the beginning he told me that "cowboys don't do school" and would get boots, hat, leggings on and wait for Riley to rescue him.  

Now he has been telling people that he's in 1st grade.  I have a few things specifically for him.  The other day he was participating in our Compare/Contrast discussion.

Ranger, well he's just a happy to be watching brother and sister. 

Freak Deal

So last Friday the big kids are having breakfast at the school desk and we are right on track for having a great Friday.  I am changing "Baby Love" as I chat with my SIL on the phone.  I pull his little foot out of his footed pajamas and this is what I see.......... a bright red, almost purple toe.

Talk about freak out.......I did!!  

My first thought was that he had been bitten.  I quickly discovered instead that hair was tightly wrapped around two of his toes.

I yanked most of the hair off in my initial panic.  I was able to find some to grab onto from the underside.  Next I had to hold him down screaming, pull the skin away from the line and slide my (not sharp) tweezers across to get whatever was left.  One hair broke when I did that.

Luckily Kaitlyn's mom is a nurse and my friend Jessica's mom is a NP.  After much conversation we decided that I didn't have to go in, but watch it super close.  Capillary refill seemed to be fine so as long as the hair was all gone there wasn't much to be done.

Needless to say we spent most of the day examining his toes and took lots of comparison pics.  I all but flagged people down on HWY 70 to make sure they couldn't see a hair still around his toe.  

It was bright red all day and some of the next.  Now pretty much all you can see is the line or cut.

Talk about mother of the year here.  I've earned that title so many times it's sad.

It's embarrassing, but it happened and luckily we still have all 10 toes.

 

Ranger Lee Smith

First of all.......Do you know how handy it is to have a photographer in the family?  Not just any ole photographer.  A really awesome one that I would choose even if she wasn't my SIL.  

Ranger was 6 weeks old in these shots.  Funny how kids are different.  He acted like he was brand new with the sleeping this.  Scout was 4 days old in her newborn session and there isn't one sleeping pic.  

Ranger was my name.  We said it early on, but at that time Riley was still hopeful that I would decide to like Ruger and Claude or who knows what.  We said we liked Ranger, but weren't sure it was "it".  When you have a little person inside you they just need a name.  The kids and I called him "Baby".  Baby's room, Baby this, Baby that....... Now I still catch myself calling him Baby.  Hopefully we don't still call him that when he's grown.  

Our biggest hold up on really deciding on Ranger was that we couldn't come up with a middle name.  I was time to use a Smith or Creamer name. Scout's is Preston after my step-dad and Reno's is Wade, same as Riley.  About a week before he was born I called Gigi and asked for all the names she could remember.  Riley's maternal grandmother was Francis Lee.  They called her Granny Franny and she was a dear!  I knew immediately that Lee went perfectly with Ranger.  Our other options as first names were Miles and Spur.

Boy do we love Baby!!  He is precious and the perfect completion of our family!!

Boo!!

Surprised ya, didn't I?  ha

I know this post comes as a surprise, but here we are......

the Smith family all new and improved!!

Ranger Lee is not only here, but also half grown. :)

Most of you know all about him and us too.  If you don't, maybe I'll go back and fill ya in.  Maybe I won't.  No promises from this new and still adjusting mother of three!!

Halloween costumes were a breeze this year.  Tradition since Scout's first Halloween has been for me to make the costume. Not just to make the costume, but to make the costume on Halloween Day!  

This year Reno wanted to be a Ninja Turtle, which was plenty easy to find and purchase.  We bought the costume first of the month and he played in it quite a lot.  He was obsessed with swords.  Luckily that only last for a few weeks.  By the time the actual day rolled around he was more into nunchucks.
  

Scout wanted to be a bride, but couldn't find a bridal costume that suited her.  We looked online, we looked in store........Lord help us when she really is a bride.  She finally settled for this queen outfit.  Of course she wanted me to cut the hoop out and a few other changes that I refused to do.  She was fed up with her costume and was going to just be an S-E cheerleader, but I persuaded her with the promise of fancy hair and make-up.

Ranger was the sheriff, same as Reno was four years ago.  It is the hokiest outfit, but precious on a baby boy.

Halloween Day was pretty busy.  Reno and Ranger had well-checks in Amarillo, both getting shots.  Funny story about Reno, he had been asking all summer long if he was 4?  At Scout's 6 year well-check it was mentioned that you get shots at 4 and then not again until age 11.  Right then he decided that he could hold up on being 4.  Day of he was pretty nervous about getting them.  He did great though.  He watched, like a weirdo, and said "ow, ow, ow" and then that's it.  Super proud of him for being tough!!

We met Bronc and Tucker at the Lazbuddie Football game for Trunk-or-Treat!  We were kind of late and didn't get much candy, but that was actually perfect.  We don't need all that junk anyways.  Little Woody won his division of the costume contest.  He was the cutest, funniest Woody I've ever seen.  It turned cold quickly, so we hurried to Pizza Hut in Muleshoe to finish out the night.

I thought it was a perfect time to take Ranger's belated two month picture.  I can't believe it's already time for me to take his three month pic too!!

He is such a happy 'lil fellar!  He sleeps and eats and that's about it.  He is too good to be true and I wish everyone could have a sweetie like him.