Happy Birthday Grady!

We had a wonderful time celebrating Grady's first birthday. I can't believe my baby is one! Here are some pictures of the day:)

Thanksgiving

We spent Thanksgiving down in Sequim at Tyson's uncle's. It was a great time as always. Tons of food, lots of movie watching, and the best...catching up with family.

The crowd gathering around the turkey to get a taste. I have found this is the Smith/McKellar way...always, always they are sneaking bites:) Love it!

Lots of chasing this little one up the stairs...

A lot of pirating (?) with Auntie T

Cousins!

Family visit

Vicky, Marc and Jaylee came to visit us for a few days before Thanksgiving. It was so wonderful to see them and we LOVED our time! Hung out, played games, showed them a bit of Bham...it was great! I was bad about taking pictures but here are a couple of Kai getting to do a project with Auntie Vicky. She's a teacher so of course she brought a craft to do...love it!

Let's face it....

I am not going to catch up on my blogging. I keep putting off adding new until I catch up on the old...because I am kind of like that. But, not going to happen. We have had so many changes in our family since September...so here is a quick overview:)

Labor Day weekend we had a visit from our Callie girl....so wonderful to see her and enjoy

Rodeo weekend in Ellensburg with her:)

Enjoyed some end

of the summer activities...like swimming and fishing with Boppa:)

WE MOVED! to Bellingham where we get to enjoy views like this

And my little super hero gets to play on a porch like this (more on our new home later).

Kai started preschool (below) and loves going to church to learn and play with his friends.

My baby boy turned 10 months, then 11 months and then ONE YEAR (and started waking and talking...more later).

Preschool

Kai started preschool after we moved to Bellingham. We feel blessed that we found one with an opening that we love! It is a Christian school that also has preschool so he gets the benefits of a school like a library and gym. He loves it...can you see the excitement on his face his first day?

It has been fun for me to go on field trips with his class too. Here is his class at the apple farm/pumpkin patch.

And here he is with some of his friends enjoying the Marine Life Center...touching sea creatures...so much fun for little boys! Did I mention his class has 10 boys and only 2 girls:)

His school had a Fun Run where they raised money for different activities. I thought it would be more of a fun walk...but no, Kai ran the whole time...8 laps. I was so proud of him!

We are happy with our decision to send him to preschool...he loves it!

Grady is 9 months

Grady, you are 9 months old and all over the place. Crawling so fast everywhere! You are starting to stand on your own but when you want to get somewhere you crawl...because that is how to get there fast:) You also started waving a couple days ago. You are such a joy buddy and we love you!

Kai's Lip

Kai's lip....long story, but not one I wanted to forget. It was kind of a big deal for this little 4-year-old. In February (while still living in Peru), Kai came home from school with a little bump on this lip. At first I just thought it was a bug bite (because those are common there), but it never went away. And, eventually it got bigger and vascular. After going to the doctor a couple times (in Peru and the States) and being told it was nothing to worry about and would go away on its own...it started bleeding.

We went to the doctor again and got a referral to a dermatologist but it started bleeding again and wasn't stopping very easy. At that point the doctor told us the best thing to do was to take him to the emergency room at Seattle Children's Hospital. We left right away and headed over to Seattle. Can I just say...best move ever. Seattle Children's was awesome. It was a long, long day. But they were awesome. Because we had been in Peru, they brought in an Infectious Disease Team. It was sort of freaky, but they thought it might be a parasite from a sand fly. If this was the case it was very serious and would involve a lengthy, in depth treatment. They wanted to do a biopsy and asked if we thought Kai would stay still for it. At this point he was basically flailing around in the hospital bed because he hadn't eaten or slept all day. Let's just say, I was skeptical. Tyson on the other hand didn't hesitate in his answ

er. Absolutely. He could do it. So, we came back the next day, preparing Kai the whole way...YOU HAVE TO STAY STILL! They put a little numbing medicine on before hand so he wouldn't feel the shots and then they needed to shave off the lesion. Here he is after the numbing medicine and before the procedure..all smiles.

Grady and I headed to the hall so that we wouldn't be a distraction for Kai or the doctors....we ate lots of Cherrios to stay quiet:)

The doctors came out a few minutes later and said "your son is a rockstar". We have adults that move more and make more of a fuss. I was so proud of him. Daddy was in there with him and was incredibly proud as well. He was numb but good and we left to wait for the results of the biopsy.

Less than a week later it began to grow back. Even bigger. We got the initial results back and the diagnosis was pyogenic granuloma...basically excessive healing tissue.

In the end we scheduled surgery with a plastic surgeon to remove the growth. This time he would have to be put under and they would have to go much deeper to get all of it. Here is Kai saying goodbye to his granuloma....he named it Joshua 1:9. Maybe because he knew he needed to be strong and courageous. I have no idea what made him come up with that name...but it was adorable.

And here he is after the surgery. He did great and was very brave. Love this kid. And love those doctors. It is no fun to have a kid in need of a hospital. And I can't even imagine being there for some of the serious things so many of those kiddos were there for. But we are thankful for Seattle Children's and the staff. We are especially thankful for the Lord and his timing and his hand on this whole situation. Kai's insurance began the day we had to take him to the emergency room. Don't know what we would have done had this happened a couple months earlier. Praise the Lord for his provision! And thank you Lord for our sweet boy Kai. He constantly amazes me and makes me such a proud mama.

Black Butte

We spent a few days in Black Butte with family and friends. Tyson's family vacationed when they were kids with three other families. The families are still close and have restarted the tradition with kids having their own kids now. We weren't able to be there the whole week but they days we were there were awesome. Kai loved playing with his friends Ava and Seth who are also 4 and Grady met a couple sweet baby girls his age. We spent time biking, golfing, bocce balling, swimming, eating together and hanging out. It was perfect:)

Grady is 8 months

You are eight months old buddy! You continue to grow and change. This month you are moving all over the place. I have stopped trying to keep you off the tile...you are just too quick and too curious. Your knees are getting tough and so it your head, but nothing can stop you. One of your favorite things is balls (especially the one in the pictures below). You love holding them, rolling them, and chasing them! You also love Cherrios. You are eating a few different finger foods now but Cherrios are the go to food. Food is only thing that keeps you still and quiet. Speaking of quiet...you are NOT that. This month you are really, really loud. You scream a lot. Sometimes you are just happy, sometimes (often) you want more food, all sorts of things...but all very loud and very similar screams. Happy or sad, you have no problem expressing yourself:) A couple weeks ago you got one top tooth...so far, no sign of the other. You also have a great tan happening. I promise, no baby spray tan here, and we aren't even in the sun that much, but you are a tan little baby. And getting taller all the time! Grady, I love your squeals, giggles and yes, even the screams. You have a smile that melts our hearts and your sweet little personality brings us so much joy! We love you sweet boy!