Adventures in Smithtown: It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

A fun and fabulous December was had by everyone in the Smith household. Our little one-year-old is really cruising and growing up too fast, but it is pretty fun watching her figure things out. She is now crawling more "normally" ...with a Bailey twist. She is on her knees, but puts her hands down very assuredly and loudly - I find it pretty funny. I definitely need to get it on film before she graduates to walking. Speaking of which she is almost there. Bailey is walking all along the furniture and using her new stroller/walker and making excellent progress around the kitchen island and all around our downstairs. She also has become quite the dancer. She loves music whether from her toys, TV, or her crazy singing parents.

We had a fabulous time in sunny Arizona for Christmas. The weather was pretty amazing and was greatly enjoyed by everyone. Flip-flops and playing outside can hardly be beat in December. We arrived home to a freezing City of Salt where I don't think the temperature has risen above 30 degrees since we have been home. I think this week might warm up to 40 which will be great. While in Arizona, we took Bailey to the Mesa Temple to see the Christmas lights and she had fun even if the pictures do not showcase her excitement. Thank you Booth family for the fun. We had a fun Christmas morning with Trevor's parents, and Bailey was ridiculously spoiled by her grandparents and Santa. Grammy went a little crazy, but it was highly enjoyable and appreciated. Bailey now has some silver leggings for next fall - get excited. :-) One of my favorite gifts Bailey received is a Mr. Potato Head quiet book (I am sure both she and Trevor are really going to enjoy that). I am in love with her newest board book, "Pride and Prejudice: A Counting Primer". We got a seriously amazing Mr. Potato quilt from my Aunt Lynell - it is ridiculously awesome. It was great to be able to spend Christmas with Trevor's parents after 5 years. Bailey was also able to spend a lot of time time with her cousins and is definitely a very loved girl. (sometimes maybe a little too loved - ha) We did have an unexpected car repair while we were there - we needed a new gasket of some sort. Luckily it was only several hundred dollars and not more as Trevor is still on the hunt for a new job. Things on that front are progressing well and we will have some great news to share soon.

We also went on a beautiful drive to Tortilla Flats with Trevor's parents which is about an hour outside Mesa. It was perfect weather for a drive and was really beautiful. The scenery really made me want to watch a few westerns. We headed home the following day and had an uneventful trip home. We had a great time with family, but it was nice to get home. Miss Storm was very happy we had returned. I think she felt a little abandoned and has been sticking very close ever since. We did have to find a new babysitter for Bailey as our old (literally) sitter hurt her hip and isn't able to take care of her anymore. This has caused me a little stress, but after a lot of research we found a great new lady - Rachel. She watches a few other kids as well and I think Bailey will love it. This is her first week - I will let you know how she and I do. :-)

Happy New Year to everyone. I think 2013 is going to be an amazing year. I am sure there will be continued fun with our Miss Bailey and hopefully less medical drama for me. Until next time adventurers.