I can't decide whether he's crazy or retarded...

Ethan was given the opportunity to run the 'Skeleton' at the Utah Olympic Park. Let me help break it down for those of you who are unaware of this sport...

Overview:

The skeleton features athletes lying on their stomachs, sliding head first down the track. Yes, I said head first. Skeleton sleds, which can reach speeds of 80 mph on particularly fast tracks, lack devices to assist with steering and braking. Basically, you must commit. It's kind of like doing hallucinogenic drugs... there's no turning back!

Sliders must deal with G-force to keep their line. G-force is a unit of inertial force, equal to the force of gravity (32 feet per second at sea level), that holds the sled to the wall on banked turns.

So now you can help me decide whether or not he's just crazy or retarded.

Jonah, Naomi and I decided to tag along to witness this crazy notion of fun. If you've never been to Utah's Olympic Park, I highly recommend it. It is an amazing sight to realize what these athletes endure... blistering cold, unforgiving ice and hardly, if any, spectators to help cheer you on. We walked the track to see where the 'sliders' go down. During the course of this, we happened upon some moose tracks. This place is great if you're looking for some scary fun. Whether it be with the skeleton track or thinking about the fact that at any minute a moose could come trampling across your track!

In the end, it was definitely worth watching. As much as I was nervous for Ethan, Jonah helped calm my fears. His excitement was enough to get me through it. Although, he did ask... "When will I get to do it, Mommy???"

Christmas 2006

Hard to believe Christmas has already came and went!

The Smith's were once again spoiled...

Jonah was definitely on Santa's 'Nice' list. He received plenty of toys, clothes and books. He also received a Fisher Price digital camera... which is perfect since he's left Mom & Dad's camera alone! I'll have to start downloading and posting the pictures he takes. Some are quite hilarious... like the poopy diapers or the candid shots of Papa. Others are quite amazing... I can see he already has the 'Smith' talent for taking photos! Another fun present has been his Leap Frog Leapster L-Max handheld learning game system. It's funny to see him use it with great intensity and focus. I'm afraid most of the cartridges we bought (Pre-K... ages 4-7) are still too elementary for him. He's past those silly alphabet and math games! It looks as if I'll have to start looking for something more challenging for him!

Naomi had an uneventful Christmas. She spent most of the day asleep! I'll have to say that for a 4 month old baby, she was still quite spoiled. Her gifts ranged from a walker, to clothes, to developmental toys. One exciting gift was her 258 Huggies diapers... at least that was exciting for me since that is 258 less diapers I have to buy!

Ethan managed to get on Santa's 'Nice' list as well... although I think that was probably due to his ability to bullshit and his sales background. The kid could sell brass knuckles to Ghandi, I swear! His big ticket items were a new Ping G5 driver to hone in his golf skills... and a brand new Weber barbecue grill to hone in his cooking skills. He also managed to talk me into replacing his iPod Nano that he lost earlier in the year.

I managed to get on Santa's 'Nice' list, too... but I think that's already a given, being a Mom of two kids! I did get my 'Totally 80's Trivial Pursuit' that I'd been eyeing. And plenty of gift cards to shop with. The one thing I did want that I received was a 2nd wedding band to match my bridal set... I'd figured I'd earned it after 5 years of marriage to Ethan!

But the best gift of all is knowing that I have a healthy family... a family that is well-loved and undeniably supported. Lolo & Lola and the rest of the Figuracion crew were unable to make it to Utah this year... they were deeply missed.

Nana has given a wonderful gift to Grandpa-Great & Nana-Great... she's sending all the grandkids & great-grandkids to Arizona in February to see them, so that will be nice for everyone.

2007 is just around the corner... I pray that it treats us as well as 2006 has!

Naomi's 4 Month Checkup

It's hard to believe, but it was time for Naomi's 4 month checkup...

Along with the rest of the household, she was having a hard time breathing the past few days due to a cold. I didn't know such a little nose could retain so much snot! It's funny how different she is from her brother. Jonah thought it was the end of his world whenever we used the bulb syringe for his nose... but not her, she thinks it's a game and tries to play with it!

She is a thriving little girl. Her weight and height are in the high 60th percentiles (she's weighing nearly 14 pounds these days!) and her head circumference is in the 50th percentile.

I asked the pediatrician to check her cold symptoms since we were already there. She'd had this cold for a couple of days prior to her appointment and I just wanted to make sure that was all it was. She had a little bit of earwax blocking her tubes, so the doctor had to scrape her ears a bit... something Naomi was not liking one bit from the sounds of her cry. And this was a cry I had never heard before. I forgot how heartbreaking doctors' appointments can be for parents. I was asked to hold her down so she didn't move and get accidentally poked in the eardrum. And it reminded me of Jonah's circumcision (especially since we happened to be in the same room he had that procedure done). There's nothing like having to hold down your child and having them look at you as if you're the one causing their discomfort. Once the doctor was able to get the ear wax out, she confirmed that Naomi did indeed have an ear infection. And regardless of her sickness, she was still going to have her get her immunizations. Ouch. Poor little baby... after being held down and poked in the ears, she was going to get 3 shots in her legs... shots which make her legs sore and can cause fever. She was not a happy camper. I told her after her shots, we were outta here!

We started the antibiotics right away. And from what I can tell, she's feeling much better. She's now sleeping from 10:00 at night to about 8 or 9:00 in the morning. Woo-hoo!

Update on Naomi

Naomi is such a beautiful girl. And she gets prettier and prettier every day. She's starting to grab at objects and tries to put them into her mouth. She has a little toy elephant that we hang on her carseat... that poor thing has no chance once she gets a hold of it! I almost feel sorry for it. Her grip is like her Mom's... a kung fu grip! Let's just hope she has those same fighting skills for the boys! Her legs are getting stronger and stronger. Just like her brother, she prefers to be in a constant state of motion. Her vocal abilities are pretty hilarious these days. She's figured out there is a 'volume' to her voice and insists on finding every different pitch of it... sometimes at 5:30 in the morning, when it's not as cute. I forgot how amazing an infant's laugh is. If I were told I was to become deaf and I had to choose just one last sound to hear, it would definitely be my children laughing...

Update on Jonah

Jonah has made us proud yet again. We just received an invitation from his preschool to enroll him in their reading program. All of the preschoolers were tested back in November to determine whether or not they were ready to start reading. And, of course, he is ready!
It will be alot of fun to see how he progresses. He's already trying to read to us. At bedtime, our ritual is to read a book before bed. But usually he's the one reading to us! It isn't word for word, but it is so amazing to me that he can follow the story by the pictures and by his memory. So I think being able to read will be alot of fun for him. Although that may not be a good thing at bedtime since WE may be the ones falling asleep!