Being 3...

This kind of captures Kai right now. Well, not really. He is an absolute joy, creative, full of life, loving and hilarious. He is also stubborn. He is pretty good at being 3 right now. Mealtimes are painful. Every. Single. Bite. Bedtime is WWIII. Naptime. Nighttime. Scoot over closer to us? No? Another struggle? Funny kid. But stubborn. And this captures that side of him:)

Bye Bye Boppa

We had to say goodbye to Boppa a couple days ago. Kai had such a great time with her and misses her a ton already. We all miss her and are so grateful for our time together. Here are a few pics of Boppa and the fam...

We love you Boppa!

Christmas!

Christmas was a wonderful, relaxing day. Kai experienced the joy of Christmas morning and was so excited to finally open presents.

He also experienced the joy of giving...here he is after giving Grady his gift.

We had a delicious traditional dinner with most all of the fixings us Americans love. Here is Georganne finding a little suprise that they throw in with the turkey's here in Peru:)

We had our friends Alison, Vince and Wellington over for dinner. After dinner the boys had fun with sparklers. Here in Peru fireworks are a huge part of Christmas...at midnight Christmas eve there are tons of them!

In all it was a wonderful Christmas. My favorite part is that this year Kai really understood that we were celebrating the birth of Christ. He helped us sing songs and listened to the Christmas story. I think it helped that I was just pregnant and Grady is an infant. He is better able to understand the coming of a baby. He has been acting out the Christmas story as well in the last few days. He likes being Mary and "has to get to Bethlehem". Very cute:)

I love this boy

Alpacas

Kai had fun feeding Alpacas with his friends Ella and Thomas (Puno cluster support family).

His face is telling me he is pretty excited...

And the fact that this alpaca is on his head tells me he has very little fear of them...

Christmas Cookies

Another great way to get in the Christmas spirit (and put on those Christmas pounds:)

Snuggle Time with my boys...

Love it!

Christmas Tree

We were very excited to have a Christmas tree this year...Kai especially! He loves Christmas trees and is at the age where it is very fun for him. Boppa brought a bunch of crafts to do so our whole tree was homemade. It was very special and was hours of entertainment for Kai:)

Here we are finishing up the last of the ornaments

Kai and Tyson putting lights on the tree

This pretty much sums up Kai's excitement the night we put it up...

Grady was excited too I think, he just shows it differently:)

It definately helped it feel a lot more like Christmas:)

Merman?

So I wanted to get a picture of Grady in a cute little stocking since he is sort of a Christmas baby and all. I gave it a shot but Kai pointed out that he looked like a fish. Yes, I agree...he looks way more like a merman than a baby in a stocking:)

Happy Birthday Boppa!

We celebrated Georganne's birthday on Thursday. This is the second birthday she has celebrated in Peru with us! We started the day at Starbucks...yes, they now have a Starbucks in Arequipa..very exciting.

Grady and I relaxing in Starbucks

In the afternoon we went and visited the Founder's Mansion outside of Arequipa. It was a really cool place with lots of history.

Kai and Boppa outside of the chapel of the mansion....yes, Kai is doing some Spiderman moves

For dinner we went out to a cool crepe place. We had yummy dinner crepes and then dessert. The place was perfect for us since there were board games and books for kids while we lounged on comfy couches...I highly recommend Crepisimo for any who visit Arequipa:) Happy Birthday Boppa!

Grady Zane Smith Smith

We didn't know for sure what we would name him when Grady was born. Grady was one of a few names we liked but we were not set on any and we really hadn't thought of a middle name for a boy. We wanted to wait and see what name we felt like fit him. So, we still had our book of baby names out late into the night of his birth. We wanted a name we liked, of course, but we wanted a name with meaning as well. We finally settled on Grady. It means noble. We chose his middle name for it's meaning. Zane means "God is gracious". We have felt the Lord's grace in the past 9 months. He protected Grady when we really weren't sure in those first few months if we would ever get to meet him. We also felt the Lord's grace over and over in difficult circumstances we faced in the months I was pregnant. From tons of travels to losing some of our team to the death of my brother, God has made is presence known and has walked with us through it all. We have felt his grace!

And as for the Smith Smith. Well, when we went in to get his birth certificate we were told we had to give him both mine and Tyson's last name because that is how they do it in Peru. Women don't take their husbands' name here and the children have the names of both their parents. So Grady Zane Smith Smith it is:) (We're hoping we can fix that when we go to the US Embassy in January)

Oh, funny story. When Kai first met Grady we told him Grady's name since we didn't know it ahead of time. We repeated Grady a few times and then Kai said "Gradiator Springs" (Like Radiator Springs from Cars). So, that is how he remembered Grady's name for the first few days of his life...we had to remind him it was like Cars:) He still gets called Gradiator once in a while...it might be a nickname that sticks:)

Grady is...

...an absolute sweetheart. We are all just in love. He has such a great temperment and is really easy going. He likes his pacifier but it is not a necessity...he has also found his fingers...

His favorite place to be is on our chest...he is content for hours in that position.

He is eating well and sleeping pretty well. He gained 4oz his first week and another 5oz his second week so that is wonderful. He does prefer to be held but then again, I prefer to hold him right now. I was much more about getting Kai on a schedule and making sure I didn't hold him so much he had to be held all the time. With Grady I am realizing how quickly he will grow so I am treasuring every minute and not worrying as much about that stuff. He is awake more and more lately and I love looking into his sweet little eyes. I can't wait to see more and more his little personality come out. Another side note about our little Grady. This kid has pooped on me more in the first two weeks of his life then I thought possible. He goes almost every time I take off his diaper....it's ridiculous!

Finger prick

So we had to get Grady's blood drawn the other day and instead of taking it from his heal they took it from his tiny, itsy bitsy finger. He was tough and didn't cry as much I would have thought...but seriously, the finger? We also had to get him two vaccinations last week and they gave one to him in the arm. That's right, his tiny little arm. AND, we got him circumsised yesterday and they gave him general anesthesia...that was really nerve racking. In the end he has been fine through all of it. Again, I haven't wanted to be the pain in the butt American mom, but in my head I'm thinking there is a reason they take blood from the heal/only give shots in the thighs/only use local anesthesia on infants in the states. So, we just praise the Lord for protecting Grady through everything...He is so faithful!

Grady showing off his bandage from the finger prick...

The day he was born...

We arrived in Arequipa on the night of Thanksgiving. I was so relieved just to be here and no longer have to think about the possiblilty of having the baby in Puerto...huge relief! The morning of his birth I went in for an appointment. I had been in twice already since I had arrived in Arequipa (a week earlier). My doctor felt I was going to have the baby early and "didn't want to be suprised". They monitored me and she checked me and said I was having contractions (but I didn't feel them) and that I was 1 cm. I walked back to meet up with Tyson and Kai (we were staying only about 6 blocks from the hospital). We went to lunch and while Kai was playing I began to feel what I thought were contractions. They were different from before because they hurt a little (but really only a little) and were somewhat consistent. After a while I got out my phone to time them and they seemed to be about 2 minutes apart. But, I couldn't possibly be in labor because they didn't really hurt (is what I was thinking). This was around 1pm. We went back to the apartment and ended up talking to both our parents, eating lunch and doing some cleaning. Around 3 I decided maybe I should time my contractions again...they seemed to be coming often but they weren't that intense. They were 1 1/2 apart so I tried calling my doctor. No answer. On any of the 3 numbers I had. So, I told Tyson I would just walk down to the clinic and see if she was in, and I'd call him if I was actually in labor. Right as I was about to leave I felt like my water was leaking. My contractions almost immediately felt more intense. I told Tyson we needed to go and we should just take Kai and have someone meet us at the hospital. I was suddenly feeling like we needed to get there fast. We grabbed our stuff and headed out. Tyson asked me if we should walk or catch a taxi...I quickly opted for taxi. The funny thing was that Tyson passed up the first taxi that stopped because they wouldn't give him the price he wanted. It drove away and he looked at me and said "maybe now's not the time to bargin for prices." Yeah, not the time. It was funny and just goes to show you how bargining is ingrained in us here:) We arrived at the hospital around 3:30pm and my doctor's office was closed. We headed down to the emergency room because that is what she had told me to do is she wasn't there. They informed me there that there were no rooms and I had to go talk to someone on the 2nd floor. At the 2nd floor I talked to someone else who just repeated that they didn't have any rooms. I was starting to feel a bit paniced at this point. "I think I'm in labor , what are my options?" I asked. By then Tys had gotten ahold of my doctor and she was on her way so we just waited for her. When she came she took me to her office and I was 4cm and yes, my water had broken. We went down to the emergency room...there was a bit of arguing about getting me a bed or something but at this point I was pretty much focused on the contractions. I was a little concerned I was going to have to give birth there but they assured me there was a delivery room. They got me changed and an IV in me and my doctor checked me again...6cm. They put me on a gourney to take me to the delivery room. The wheeled me up a ramp because the elevator was broken (at this point the contractions were EXTREMELY intense) and we arrived at the delivery room. They got me on the table...this is less then 10 minutes after she last checked me...and she checked me again and told me to push. I was shocked it was already time for that but at least pushing would help get the pain over with quickly. Tyson was in another room changing into scrubs and ran in with half of them on when he heard someone screaming (apparently that was me). I pushed for about 7 minutes and out he came at 4:25pm. It all went so fast...which is a good thing since I didn't have time for any help with pain:)
After all the months of wondering..."It's a boy" were wonderful words to hear. In the end it didn't matter either way and I really didn't have a strong feeling that he was a boy or girl...I was just open and ready to know. I had sort of thought he was a girl throughout my pregnancy but I only dreamed 4 times and every time he was a boy. So, apparently my instincts were wrong but my dreams were right:) I was just overjoyed when I finally got to hold him!

In the delivery room with our doctor...

Tyson sporting scrubs and looking good doing it...

There were no rooms in the maternity ward so we stayed the night in the emergency observation area. It was a tiny little room with the bathroom out around the corner but it was quiet and the nurse was sweet. Here is a little look at it...

Once we were down there Tyson asked he he could hold Grady since he hadn't held him yet. I was shocked they hadn't offered him to his Daddy earlier...a major difference from the States. He did get to cut the cord though.
We did have to convince them to let him stay in our room .Usually they take the babies to the nursery for the first 4-6 hours to observe them but they let us keep him with us. A nurse did come down late in the evening and tell me she was taking him for the night. I politely but firmly insisted he stay with me...she wanted to give him a bottle because "he would scream from hunger" but I convinced her he would be fine with me. She also thought he would be too cold in our room...he looks pretty cold doesn't he:) In the end he stayed with me all night and did not scream or freeze:)

The next day we were back at the house by noon. It was a crazy fast delivery and time at the hospital. I'm sure it was different from the States in many ways but it all went so quickly I really didn't have time to think about it. I felt like they were flexible with me and I tried my best to not be the pain in the butt American:) In the end I am just so thankful for a healthy baby boy. The Lord has been so faithful throughout this pregnancy and we praise him for the life of our new son! Thank you to all of you who prayed for us...we felt His hand on us every step of the way!

Brothers

Kai is just in love with Grady. He talked so much about the baby when I was pregnant and was so excited but I wasn't sure how he would actually adjust when the time came. He adores Grady and the biggest issue is that he wants to smother him with kisses all the time. He is really gentle, wants to hold him all the time and is always saying "he's so cute". Having Boppa here has helped with the transistion, I am sure...he doesn't really notice my attention being elsewhere as he would rather play with Boppa anyway. A huge blessing:)

Boppa and the boys...

Tyson's mom arrived last week and it has been such a blessing. Kai is in heaven having his Boppa to play with and I am in heaven having her help with cooking, cleaning, entertaining a 3 year old, soothing an infant and just hanging out. Seriously wonderful to have her here and we are excited we get to celebrate Christmas together! Yay for Boppa!

4 days...

It's a BOY!

Introducing...
Grady Zane Smith
December 3, 2010 4:25pm
7lbs, 19 1/2 inches

Kai's first school play

Kai was in his first school play the night before we left for Arequipa. I was a bit stressed that week as we were preparing to leave for 5 weeks which meant get our house ready to leave, pack everything we would need, prepare everything the 40/40s would need while we were gone on top of all our normal stuff. Then, Kai has a play in which he needs a costume. In my head I thought I should make the costume...so I was trying to think of how to make a pajarito (little bird) but kept putting it off. Finally I decided I would just rent a costume...even if it was expensive...it was worth being done with one more thing on the list. I went and checked it out and it ended up being about $4 to rent it...way less than I could of made one for. And, on the night of the play I saw that everyone else had rented theirs too...I was pretty happy I wasn't the gringa mom that had glued some feathers to a baseball cap:)

My second area of concern was Kai actually doing it. This kid is an entertainer and loves to make us laugh, etc, however, he is not always prone to do it on cue. We let him wear his costume around the house the night before and he practiced being a little bird. The night of the play he did awesome and we were so proud of him! The play was about the 3 little birds that couldn't fly. Kai was one of the 3 little birds and there were also lions and butterflies. This was also his last day of school so he said good bye to his teacher. We have been super happy with the school and have watched Kai learn a lot in the past months. Below are some pics of the big night!

Kai picked out flowers to give his teacher...

Kai as a pajarito

He class on stage...

This was my favorite. The teacher was narrating the story and she said "there were 3 little birds who couldn't fly..." Kai raised his hand and said "Yo puedo volar!" (I can fly)..

Then he proceeded to show everyone:)

We are proud of you buddy...he makes a cute little bird:)