Julia meets her family

Here are a few family pics. I think that Dean enjoyed the idea better of a baby inside of his Momma's belly. He was not happy about meeting Julia. I am not sure if it was jealousy, or the fact that we turned off Barney in order for Dean to meet Julia, but he went after her. I am not sure if he was trying to push her or outright punch her in the face, but was quick to assert his dominance over Julia. Becky and I fear we may be in protection mode for a while. On the other hand, Noah did very well. He held her and kissed her head. He was very excited to be able to spend some time with his sister.

Rachael asked to have her own separate post, but this will have to due.

Proud Grandparents

Merry Christmas to us!

We are pleased to introduce to everyone Julia Rebecca Smith. She was born at 11:44pm on Dec. 20th. She was 6lbs. 9oz, and 19.5 inches long. Becky checked into Banner Desert around 7pm on Sunday to be induced. We did not have to wait very long as Becky began pushing at about 11:30pm. Becky would tell you that this was her easiest pregnancy. I am sure that 'easy' is a very relative term. I was there and I saw nothing that looked easy. Becky is amazing and everyone is healthy and happy. We came home today (Tuesday). Becky is fortunate to have her entire family here this Christmas to help us celebrate Julia's birthday. Here are a few pics.

Becky is already playing dress up with Julia.

Becky shortly after checking in.

Waiting for Julia.

Dr. Steven Lepitich has delivered all of our children. He is fantastic!

Julia at age 2 minutes.

Their first Mother/Daughter date.

Me and my girl!

Counting Down

In just a couple of hours I go to the hospital to have our baby so I thought I would get a last final picture of my belly before our baby girl comes. We will keep you updated!

Brothers

I thought it would be great to get one last picture of Noah and Dean together before their sister arrives. We took this picture before Noah went to school Thursday morning since we will not see him until the baby is born in a couple of days. I think they will both be wonderful older brothers to their sister!

Dean 19 months plus some

I feel so excited for Dean as he will soon be an older brother. It is a little sad to realize that he will not be my baby anymore and that a new baby will take that role. Dean has been such a joy in our home over the past 19 months and continues to show us more of his personality each day. He is talking so much more and his new favorite word this past week is "happy". I think it is cute that he loves to say it and repeat it when he hears it. He loves to jump, laugh, play, and run. Dean loves to dance with his Dad and it is funny to watch him bust a move whenever music comes on. He has decided this week that it is fun to scream which hopefully is a phase because he has a very high pitch scream. I am excited to see him with his new baby sister when she arrives and think he will adjust very well to her in our home. He enjoys it when I take his picture especially when I tell him to say "cheese".
I know this is a goofy pose but he was trying to pose for the camera.

Cousin Party

This year for Christmas my sisters and I decided to have all the nieces and nephews get together for a cousin party. The main activity was making gingerbread houses out of graham crackers, frosting, and loads of candy. It was fun for everyone. Dean was there but was too busy playing to attempt this project. I just watched and ate the candy, yum, yum! Kate and Becky
Peyton and Grandma Cardon

Emily and Hailey

Joshua and Noah

Summer, Taylor, and Jacob

We were glad Christin allowed us to use her home and for the pictures she took. Thanks!

Weaver's Needle

Brian and Noah had a fun time hiking Weaver's Needle. Hiking is an activity that they love doing together!

Family Pictures

We were lucky to have some family pictures taken about 2 months ago. We just got the disk and decided we should post them before our family changes in the next couple of weeks. We got them taken from our friend Dani at Stillife Studios. It was a last minute photo shoot so we quickly put together some outfits but I think it worked out okay. Dean didn't want to smile in any of them but I guess that is typical for a toddler.

Thanksgiving

We had a nice and relaxing Thanksgiving at Mom and Dad Cardon's home. All of Dean and Noah's Cardon cousins were there and they had fun playing and eating with them. It was a beautiful day to eat outside. Noah, Summer, Peyton, Kate, and Hailey. Dean is in the background of the picture.
We hadn't had a picture of just us two for a while so here we are.


A couple of days after Thanksgiving we went to the park by my parents home and some of the kids and adults played tennis. Brian was kind enough to play with some of the younger ones before he got to the tougher competition.

Dean was wanting to play but got stuck with shagging the balls. He didn't mind too much.

Run from the Sun

How many races does one have to run before you can officially become a runner? Apparently 1 is not the answer. I ran my first race ever (that is, at least since junior high p.e. class), which was a 1/2 marathon, and I am no runner. I did go through a 10 week training program that a buddy of mine found online. First of all, I want to point out that in the background of this first photo is the Mesa Cemetary. I am at the end of the race and my choice was to turn right, into the stadium, or left, and enter the cemetary. At that point in the race that this photo was taken, either choice would have been equally appropriate.

My goal was simply to finish without stopping or having any significant injury. I did have some major pain in my hips, but I never stopped. Here is my gripe about the 1/2 marathon. I think that this race should be renamed. The 5k, the 10k, and the marathon all have their own unique name, but not the 1/2 marathon. I think that my accomplishment is somewhat diminished with the '1/2' label. I did an ENTIRE race, yet I have to preface my accomplishment by stating that it is only half of something instead of a whole something. I am looking for an appropriate name for this race. Any suggestions?

Do you see who is the first to greet me? Yup! that is Dean, running to hug his Daddy. Totally worth it!

Dean's 18 month STATs

Weight: 27lbs 10oz 75th percentile
Height: 34 1/2 inches 95th percentile

Dean is not enjoying the doctor as much as he used to. He cries when the nurses walk into the room, when they touch him, when they try to weigh and measure him, when the doctor comes in, and epspecially when he gets his shots. Luckily he does stop immediatly after they are finished with him. When he was getting his 3 shots I was holding him. The nurse did 2 in one arm and quickly put on the bandaid and then the last one in the other arm. He quickly ripped the bandaids off. Then as I was holding him and calming him down she gave me a flu shot as well and put my bandaid on. Well Dean didn't want mommy to have a bandaid either so he started taking it off but I didn't let him because it was a cute bandaid. Anyways I thought it was funny!

While I am thinking about doctor appts.-Brian and Dean went to my OB appt. a month ago. The nurse took us back and then proceeded to take my blood pressure. When she started putting the cuff on my arm and then pumping it Dean started to cry because I think he thought the nurse was hurting me. When he saw I was reacting normal he stopped. I thought it was cute how concerned he was for me.

Dean is 18 months

Our little boy is 18 months today. He is growing up so fast and is such a good boy! He had his first day in nursery and they said he did great. Brian dropped him off and he went right to the toys and started playing. I peaked in on him during snack time and he was eating and observing other kids trying to figure out what nursery is all about. He was completely exhausted by the time church got out especially since he only had a 15 minute nap before church. Hopefully next week will be just as good. Dean is talking a lot and likes to repeat words when we say them. He likes to say thank you and please and just learned how to say I love you. He also added slide, park, blanket, shoes, socks, and hello to his vocabulary. He is still very easy going but does have a stubborn side at times. We can still get him to take 2 naps as long as the morning one is about an hour. He likes to give people 5 and knock fists (Brian taught him that). He continues to be a joy in our home! Getting ready for his first day of nursery. What a cutie!

Halloween Night

We went to the Maxfield's for dinner before the kids went out to trick or treat. It was fun seeing all the Cardon cousins together for the first time on Halloween. We only had Noah until 6:30 so we did not end up doing any trick or treating. We spent the rest of the night with a bunch of neighbors and had a nacho bar. We all brought over our candy to one persons home and sat in the driveway and passed it out to those who came. I suppose next year Dean might be more interested in the candy and want to go door to door. It was a beautiful night outside and it was fun being with family and friends. It was hard to get all the kids to stand still especially Dean.
Dean wore the hat for a few moments so we got two quick photos in his costume.

Grandma and Grandpa Cardon with some of the grandkids.

Our 4 Year Anniversary

It is amazing how time goes so fast! I can't believe we have been sealed for 4 years and that our family is getting bigger each year. I am so grateful for Brian and for the years we have had together. It seems so short but I feel that we have accomplished a lot and have had so many life changing experiences in such a short time. It is fun to look back on how we met (at the water cooler) and the dating and courtship times. We have been so blessed to have each other and our beautiful children! I look forward to the coming year together and for the changes our family will experience - baby, graduation, job search, and for all the other changes life will bring! I love you Brian!

Ward Halloween Party

This past Saturday was our ward Halloween party and this is the variety our family came up with to share in the festivities. Noah was a China boy, Brian was from the 70's, Becky a little Hawaiian, and Dean was Barney minus the hat-he liked his normal hat better but he was still cute. Brian still had to participate in the haunted house for the 3rd year now but he chose not to be as scary as last year. He just had a mask he put on when he was in the haunted house. It was a fun time with great food, friends, and activities!

Random Pictures

Dean loves to play the piano and can now climb up on the bench to play like his brother Noah. Here he is with his friend Logan playing a duet. I was in the kitchen and started hearing beautiful music (for toddlers) and this is what I found. They look so happy!
Dean decided while he was watching his favorite show Barney that he would like to sit in his wagon. He easily got into it but was stuck when he wanted to get out.