March 13 at 10:30 am

Wow it's been a long time since I posted! Sorry about that! Well, an update on the family.....
The boys are growing like crazy! I can't believe Ayden starts school this fall. Ayden and Hudson get along so well.....for the most part! They have become best friends and Ayden takes such good care of Hudson. He is always getting him glasses of water, sneaking him snacks, he even puts him down for naps for me sometimes. It's hilarious! I could not have been blessed with better kids!
Spence is doing really well in his residency. He has been working like crazy, but still is enjoying what he does. Thank goodness! He is doing his OB rotation right now. I feel bad that he has to spend all say with crazy pregnant women and then come home to one! He's a trooper!
The pregnancy is going well. I have placenta previa so I will be having a c-section. The date will be March 13 at 10:30 am. It seems weird to know the exact date and time she will come, but it's nice that family can schedule easier to come. Lets hope she holds out until then.
Ayden is getting so excited to have a little sister. Every morning he comes into my bedroom and sings 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' to my tummy. Hudson gives my tummy raspberries all the time. It's silly. Ayden loves to look at all the baby clothes with me and has been helping getting things ready. The other day he walked past the nursery and saw all the pink. He then came up to me and said "Oh, that room is just so cute! The baby is going to love it!"
We finally chose a name for our new arrival. Her name will be Aleena Carlene Smith. At first Ayden was really mad and would argue with us non-stop. He wanted to name her Kailyn. He would yell and cry saying her name was Kailyn and that he refused to call her Aleena. Finally after about 2 months of telling him we were going to name her Aleena whether he wanted us to or not, he gave in. He came up to me with a big sigh and said "I guess you can call her Aleena" He looked so defeated! But since then we have had to more complaints.
We are still loving living in North Carolina. I love my house and love having a car. I am still excited to go to the grocery store sometimes knowing I can buy a bunch of stuff, put it in the trunk and drive home. It's a nice feeling. Ayden and Hudson LOVE going to Costco. It's one of their favorite past time activities.
Sorry nothing too exciting has happened! We are really happy, but still miss our family and friends. We love you all! I will try to be better at posting more frequently!

The great name debate

We had our ultrasound yesterday and it's a girl! We are so excited! I will finally have some pink in my house. So we need your help. We are debating over 2 names and can't come to a conclusion. We each of our own opinion and can't agree. The 2 names we are thinking are Kailyn and Aleena (call her Ali). I will not tell you which name we each prefer to keep the game fair.

We have had a fun couple of weeks. First my parents came to visit and we were able to do a bunch of things. We went to a pumpkin patch and the kids were in heaven. It was a huge farm that had hayrides, trainrides, a bunch of games, goats to feed, on 80 foot slide, yummy funnel cakes and fried oreos! We had the best time. I was really sad to see them leave. The only thing that made it okay was the fact that we were going to a beach house the same day they left. A bunch of friends from the ward got together and rented a beach house in Emerald Isle. It was the perfect weather! It was in the low 80's the entire time we were there. We were able to play in the ocean and go swimming. We had so much fun with our friends and had no desire to come home and back to reality! If you ever get a chance to go to a beach house DO NOT PASS IT UP!!!! It was the best vacation ever!

Spence started his ER service again. Back to reality and long shifts. He is doing really well. We are so proud of him and all the hard work he does. We are going to Utah in 2 weeks. We are so exited to see our family again. It has been 11 months since we have seen most of you! We miss you all are are so anxious to be back!

Little bit of this, little bit of that

Sorry it's been awhile since the last post. Things have been good. Very uneventfull actually! Just a quick update on Hudsons forehead. After he got the stitches removed, he wouldn't stop picking at the cut. I went into his room one morning and the gash was torn back open. We went back to the ER and they glued it shut. That night before Spence and I went to bed, we went into Hudsons room to check on him. He had picked all the glue off and it was opened again. Spence brought some glue home from work and glued it again. The next afternoon Hudson had opened it.........again! At that point there was nothing we could do but keep it clean and covered. It is all healed now, but he has a pretty good scar.

The kids are getting very excited for Halloween. We have decorated the house and have spider webs hanging everywhere and orange lights in several places. Ayden can't contain the excitement! Ayden is starting to figure out that Halloween is a spooky/scary holiday. When we were asking him what he wanted to be he said he wanted to be something scary. We started giving him ideas, but he rejected everything. He thought about it on his own for awhile then came and told us he wanted to be Diesel 10, the bully train from the Thomas the Train series. In his innocent little mind, the scariest thing he could come up with was Diesel 10. Whenever Ayden has a nightmare it has something to do with Diesel 10. It is a real fear for him. But despite the fear, he is determined to be Deisel 10.


Well, I guess I will make the announcement official. Although many of you already know, I am pregnant again. Wahoo! I am almost 17 weeks. Luckily the morning sickness phase has passed and we are all doing well. This Thursday Spence has to give a lecture to some medical student on fetal heart tones. Being pregnant, he asked if I would be the volunteer. Taking any chance I can to see the baby, I said yes. There is also a good chance we will be able to see if it's a boy or girl. If it doesn't cooperate, my official ultrasound is on the 23. Wish us luck!

Spence is doing really well at work. His program director has given him nothing but compliments. No one has died on him yet or anything! Although he did break someones tooth! ( In Spences defence, the guys teeth were really rotten, all Spence did was open his mouth and the tooth shattered! ) We are so proud of him! It's weird when he gets a page and he calls them back and says in his doctor voice "This is Dr. Smith, did someone page?" Then talkes a serious about doctor stuff. He will always be silly Spence to me! We love you Spence!

No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed!

It has finally happened. We have been intiated into the "my kid needs stitches" club. At around 9:50 Sunday morning as my kids enjoyed there favorite past time activity.... jumping off Aydens bookshelf headboard and onto the bed..... Hudson fell and hit his forehead on the headboard. Instantly we knew it was bad, seeing as I could see his skull. We jumped up and grabbed Hudson. Preparing ourselves for the worst, Hudson stopped crying and wanted to do it again. What? You want to do it again? Are you crazy? Are you aware that your skull is showing? Apparently he had no clue. Surprisingly the gash wasn't bleeding. How does that happen? We grabbed the kids, took Ayden to a friends house, and rushed to the ER. Spence had to sit in the backseat with marshmallows to keep Hudson from sticking his finger inside his head. When we got to the ER, I prepared myself for the 3 hour wait forgetting that my husband is an ER doctor! Finally all those years of medical school have paid off! They didn't even let us wait in the waiting room, nope not us! We got VIP treatment. They took us right back to our own private room, all the nurses fell in love with Hudson and gave him anything he wanted. It was great. As far as ER trips go, this had to have been the best. Hudson left with 8 stitches, 2 popsicles and a dragon tattoo. Here are some pictures of the damage. Sorry I have no before pictures, I was a little overwhelmed seeing his skull.

Crickets, Crickets, Crickets!

So, it is 4:12 am and I am not asleep. I have talked to people about how much I love living near the forest and how great everything was. Well, that was all before the crickets. They are everywhere! They are constantly getting in my house...back to why I am awake at 4:12 am. I have been laying in bed for hours just listening to them go, hundreds of them outside. Then, I thought " That seems too loud to all be from outside " so I started to investigate. The sound gets louder and louder until I trace the sound to my bathroom behind the toilet. I can't see the cricket, but I know he is there somewhere. I close the bathroom door and go back to bed. But still I just lay there...listening. I start to go crazy! If Spence wasn't working the graveyard shift I would send him in there to find it. So I find myself in a pickle. I decide I need my sleep, so I take a pillow and blanket downstairs and settle in on the couch. Ahhhh, peace! No wait! What is that? Another cricket in my house! No freaking way! I am so mad! I can hear another cricket somewhere in the living room. I follow the noise to the fireplace. Again, I can't see the stupid thing, but I know he is there! I would turn the fireplace on, but we don't have the gas hooked up to it right now. Blast! So, I go back to the couch and turn the tv on thinking that would help drown out the noise. It helps, but then I can't sleep because the tv is on. So here I am. It is now 4:23 am. The cricket is still chirping away.

The house

I finally had time to take pictures of our new house, so here you go! I also included some pictures of the kids doing some of the fun activities we have been doing the past couple weeks.

The kids are having such a good time living here. They are really enjoying the backyard and the freedom. Ayden has become good friends with some of the kids that live on our street. There is a little boy named Ivan who lives acroos the street. Ayden and Ivan get along so well. They both get so excited to play with eachother and are very upset when it is time to go inside.

Spence starts his internship on Tuesday. Keep him in your prayers that all may go well.....nobody dies! Just kidding! His first month is pretty calm. He only has 12 shifts and they are only 8 hours. So they are easing him into things slowly. He is really excited about getting back into the hospital and seeing patients again. It has been about 3 months since he has really seen patients so he is a little nervous also.

I am going to get cheesy for a moment. Our friend Ellen from New York wrote in her blog about missing everyone, and while she is really excited about where they are, they are missing good friends to share their joy with. Spence and I feel the exact same way. We made such good friends in New York. Nobody understands what we went through the past 4 years better then them. I feel like a big piece of myself is missing. I just wanted to once again tell all the new yorkers how much you meant to us. You all played a huge part in our lives. We love you!

Park Place

Today we ventured around our town a little bit. We discovered a nice state park a little over a mile away. I can't believe we have a forest only miles away. It made for a beautiful picnic. There is a nature trail, just the right length, a swimming hole, an old historical sawmill with museum and all, and plenty of space for the kids to get dirty. Coming from NY we are still in awe from the outdoors that we have missed for four years. There is still so much to explore.

In trying to do so, I found my first geocache today. It was a lot of fun learning to use my GPS on a little treasure hunt. There are several caches around my house so that will keep me busy and keep me exploring. I think the boys are going to like the treasure hunting as well.

Monday, my orientation starts and by the end of next week, I should have a shift in the ED. I am getting really nervous, but at the same time very excited. I only wish I remembered more. It has been a while since I have seen a patient and it is amazing how much I seem to have forgotten. But this week, I had my BLS, ACLS, and PALS training--lifesaving classes where I learn to use the defibrillator paddles and administer drugs to bring people back from the dead. I hate to say this but I am looking forward to doing so. Its the revelation of the sick doctor mind in me. It is an odd bunch that gets excited about other people's diseases, ailments, and tradgedy. I guess that is where we can help out the most and aren't we all glad that someone likes that kind of stuff?