The Smith Family

It's not too late!!!

2009-10-21T00:23:00.001-07:00

Just a reminder...the Walk to Cure Juvenile Diabetes is this Saturday, October 24th! It is not too late to register to walk and join Team Hayden! The good news for all of you who haven't gotten a chance or won't get a chance to register online, you can still register at Trinity Park the morning of the walk! And it is 100% FREE to walk! Registration is at 9 am, and the 3 mile walk begins at 10! It is supposed to be a beautiful day!

Most importantly, it is not too late to donate! David and I desperately, DESPERATELY, wholeheartedly pray that a cure for Type 1 Diabetes is found in our baby's lifetime. Every penny that you donate is going to the research to help find that cure. Look at the Amazing things God and these scientists are doing!!! http://www.jdrf.org/. Please pray about this, and if you feel this is something you are being led to do, please give as graciously as you are able. For those of you who have donated, those of you that will donate, and those of you who are raising donations, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU. May God bless you, because you have blessed us!!!

To register or donate, go to www.jdrf.org. Under "Walk Central," click on "Register," or "Donate." The team name is Team Hayden, and the team captain is Blair Smith.

Please continue to keep our family in your thoughts and prayers. We love you!!!

David, Blair, and Hayden

Walk for a Cure Info.

2009-09-20T18:47:00.000-07:00

Click here for who, what, when, where, why, how, and 4 reasons to register for the 2009 Walk to Cure Diabetes!

Mom, Dad, and Hayden's Pancreas

2009-08-31T20:44:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't know, our sweet Hayden was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes on July 11, 2009. The past 2 months have been a learning process as well as a big adjustment for our family.

A simplified explanation of Type 1 Diabetes courtesy of http://www.jdrf.org/.
"A healthy pancreas produces insulin, a hormone that the body uses to change glucose in the blood into energy. Glucose in the blood comes from the food and drink a person consumes. A person with type 1 diabetes doesn't produce any insulin. Without insulin, the glucose builds up in the blood, causing high blood sugar, or hyperglycemia. Blood sugar levels that are too high and untreated for long periods of time can lead to ketoacidosis, a very serious condition. Very high blood sugars for an extended period of time can eventually lead to coma and death."

"Although the causes of type 1 diabetes are not entirely known, scientists believe the body's own immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. It is not caused by obesity or by eating excessive sugar, which are two common myths about type 1." jdrf.org

Hayden hadn't been feeling well all week leading up to that Saturday. He was lethargic, wanting to be held, not wanting to eat, and was breathing very hard on Friday and Saturday. Also, he had been wetting through diapers left and right and had been extremely thirsty for the past couple of weeks, but when it is over 100 degrees outside, you attribute thirst to the heat (this, obviously, ended up being one of his key symptoms along with the rapid breathing). David and I finally decided late that afternoon to take him to Cook Children's Emergency Room. We didn't even sit down in the waiting room - we got taken right back when we mentioned breathing issues. They did a finger prick almost right away, and his blood sugar was over 300. For a child his age, a normal range is 80-200. They started an IV and did a serum, and it was over 500. We had our answer. They immediately started him on an insulin drip and rushed us up to the pediatric intensive care unit. He was in DKA, diabetic ketoacidosis, which is an emergency.

While we were devastated to learn of his disease, we are thankful that it is a treatable one. The downside is that Hayden will be insulin-dependent for the rest of his life. He gets 4 insulin injections a day. One basal insulin to last throughout the day, and 3 insulin injections after each meal. He also gets his blood sugar tested at least 6 times a day: before each meal, and a couple of times in the night. Hayden spent 24 hours in the PICU, and then was moved to a regular room on Sunday afternoon. They exchanged the crib in his room for a regular bed so I could sleep with him. David slept on a couch for 3 nights. We finally got to go home the following Wednesday night.

Hayden is doing remarkably well, considering that this 16-month-old gets 4 injections a day. He doesn't fuss when we prick his fingers to check his blood sugar, but he is starting to fight the injections. He knows what's coming when we start rubbing him with alcohol. :( It was NOT easy giving him those first few injections. What parent wants to cause their child pain? It's not like you can tell him, "Baby, I have to give you this shot to make you feel better." But we are all doing a lot better, and we continue to get better everyday. Lucky for us, Hayden doesn't know any different- and is as normal as any child his age. He is part monkey. The major change is that David and I are now effectively Hayden's pancreas! As long as we do our job, Hayden will be just fine.

On a positive note: my family and I are walking in the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation walk on Saturday, October 24th in Fort Worth. Anyone is welcome to join our team and come walk with us to raise money for this great foundation. We are asking for donations from anyone who wants to help us out. We appreciate any help! To find out more, you can go to http://www.jdrf.org/. Under the column that says "Get Involved," click on "Register" or "Donate." Both will take you to the same place. Where it says "Donate to a Walker," type in Blair Smith. The team name is "Team Hayden." Click on "Find Walker," then click on my name. Then you can click on either "Donate to this walker," or "Join this team." It is free to walk and you absolutely DO NOT have to donate or raise any money, not a dime. However, anybody who raises at least $100 will get a t-shirt from jdrf! :)

Here are a few pictures of our precious baby while in the hospital.

This picture has got to be the saddest picture I have ever taken. It makes me want to cry just looking at it. It was taken after Hayden and I had been up all night, and after a lot of crying (mommy and baby). I don't know if you can tell, but his eyes were so swollen and puffy. We were moving him up to the floor from PICU. He had just had is IV and central line in his jugular taken out. I kid you not, worst 24 hours of my life. And obviously Hayden's. I spent the whole night begging God to take Hayden's pain and put it in me.

Hayden and Harper looking out the 4th floor window of Hayden's new room with Papa.

Playing with GiGi.

Obviously, with it being a children's hospital, there was a play room! Hayden loved it. It was the coolest place! Games, toys, books, cars, video games, aquariums, computers, and fortunately for my baby, every kind of ball you could imagine!!!

Getting a ride with Poppa Smith around the unit.

Loved this closet.

We're going home! Praise the Lord!

July 4th

2009-08-19T09:36:00.000-07:00

For the 4th, Hayley, Justin, David, the babies, and I went to Abilene. That morning, the Highland neighborhood was having a parade. Mom decorated a wagon so the babies could be in the parade! It was hot, but they loved it! They would even wave to all the people from their "float."

The babies playin with Gigi's perfume bottles.

We had a cookout at Nana and Grandaddy's house.

Mom, Paul, and Hayden waiting for the "Fireworks." Apparently the show got cancelled because of wind, but nobody was notified! Fortunately, some people next to us were setting off their own fireworks and set the field on fire! Atleast we didn't go out there for nuthin!

Hayden loves playin in daddy's truck.

Smith Summer Staycation

2009-08-19T08:18:00.000-07:00

In June, Tom, Marilyn, and Paul came to Ft. Worth and the Smith family spent the weekend together. Friday morning we went to the Zoo. I took my camera but forgot I left the battery at home charging, so I don't have any pictures from the first part of the day. The zoo was hot, but we had fun. Micah was so good, he just snoozed and hung out in his stroller! Hayden got sick of being held, as always, and just wanted to walk around. After the zoo, we had a quick bite to eat at The Purple Cow before heading to the Omni. It felt so good to be in air-conditioning! Hayden slept on me the whole movie. We all took a break after the movie to let the babies nap, and then went to dinner at Joe T. Garcia's.

Neeny and her grandbabies.

The 4 Smith boys: Tom, David, Paul, and Mark.

The kiddos playin after dinner.

Sunday afternoon, Neeny took us all to my favorite place in the whole world, the Ballpark. We had great seats in the shade.

Hayden loves his Makenna. She is so sweet and good with him.

Harper and Hayden turn 1

2009-08-18T17:33:00.000-07:00

On May 8th and May 12th, Harper and Hayden turned 1! We had a joint birthday party for them on Saturday, May 16th.

This is Hayden Blair Smith on his first birthday. Isn't he handsome?

David and I took him to The Purple Cow for lunch. He got purple vanilla ice cream and loved it!

I got him a horse for Christmas, but since he was only 7 months old, I decided to save it for his birthday. He was a little unsure of riding it at first, but now he loves it! A baby cowboy in the making!

Hayley and Justin hosted the birthday party at their house. Our dear friend Lynn, who is obviously blessed with amazing cake-making abilities, made the birthday cakes. She also made mine and Hayley's wedding cakes. The pink and turquoise cupcake cakes on the sides are Hayden and Harper's cakes. The real cupcakes around the big cake were for all the kids at the party.

Uncle Mark pushin the kiddos.

Ryan, Hayden, and Gabe.

This picture is kinda blurry, but I love it. Those 2 are gonna be great friends!

This picture explains it all...Chaos!! Hayley and I were opening the presents because Hayden and Harper had no interest. They even wandered off to different rooms a couple of times! I think there was a total of 8 kids at the party, not including the birthday babies!

This picture cracks me up. Papa and Gigi got Hayden a riding Firetruck, and all of the babies loved it! Even Harper's princess car was a hit!

Hayden had no problem digging right into his cake. After this picture was taken, he started to get upset. We took him straight to the bathtub and there was cake and icing in his nose, ears, eyelashes...!

Happy Birthday!

2009-05-04T14:19:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to my daddy, James Fred Creel, Jr., on April 28th!
Happy Birthday to my Banana, Melba Elizabeth Walters Nixon, on May 3rd!
Happy Birthday to my Mary Reagan Richardson Skates, also on May 3rd!

New mode of transportation = WALKING!!!

2009-04-21T14:58:00.000-07:00

Hayden took his first step, or atleast the first step I saw him take, on March 19th. He was exactly 10 months and 1 week old. He began taking little steps here and there when he wasn't paying attention. If we sat down on the floor we could get him to walk to us. As of this Tuesday, April 21st, at 11 months, 1 week, and 4 days old, Hayden has chosen walking as his new mode of transportation! He is still a little wobbly and kinda walks like Frankenbaby, but he is a walkin man, or baby! If he is in a hurry, he will revert back to speed crawling, and this is the reason I don't have a video of him walking! Everytime I try, he spots the camera, falls to his knees, and starts speed crawling towards his favorite toy only because he is not allowed to play with it! I will keep trying to get a video so I can put it on here.

Ok, I have some beef with Mr. Blog, or whoever started up this blogging thing. One would think that your pictures would be in the order that you downloaded them, now wouldn't one? Apparently Mr. Blog, or Miss Blog, decided to make it much more difficult, and after 7 blogs I still can't get it right! Of course, this could just be me! The pictures are kind of mixed up, but for the most part they are in order of most recent to oldest.

David, Hayden, and I went over to Mark and Michelle's house Sunday night for dinner. Michelle made Taco Salad for us. Hayden loves playing with his cousins, Makenna and Micah.

These 2 pictures of the babies passed out were taken after GiGi and Papa took us to the Botanic Gardens the Saturday before Easter. They played so hard that within minutes of getting them in the car they both fell asleep!

We found a shady spot underneath some trees and put down a blanket to sit on. We brought snacks for babies and snacks for grown-ups (notice the bag of Oreo's)! The babies loved just crawling around and playing in the grass. It was probably 73 degrees with a breeze, perfect.

This picture was taken mid-August, when the babies were 3 months old.

This picture was taken 8 months later in the same spot. It was taken before we went to the Botanic Gardens.

Hayley, mom, and I threw Brittny a baby shower the same weekend that she threw our baby shower a year ago! Baby Lilly is due May 17th.

Hiding behind The Belly.

During the baby shower, Papa took Hayden outside and walked around with him. He ended up falling asleep and taking a nap while Papa continued walking with him.

A couple of weeks ago Hayden and I went over to Mark and Michelle's house to see Neeny and Poppa for the afternoon. When they left, we took the kiddos to the park right across the street. There is only one bucket swing, so we put Micah and Hayden in it together! They both love swinging.

I still think they look so much alike!

Neeny, Poppa, and Haydey.

Aunt Michelle tickling Hayden.

Micah Brian Smith

The kiddos playing together. They were having so much fun!

Harpey's Anna Jean Wolfe Creel smile.

Swingin together at the park.

This is my favorite picture. Hayden gets so excited when I turn on the bath water. He starts dancing around and stands on his tippy toes to try and climb in the bathtub. It is the cutest thing.

This is a video of Makenna and Hayden playing. She was kicking a big blow-up dolphin around her room, and for some reason, Hayden thought it was hilarious! I love it when he laughs!

Happy Birthday to Us!!!

2009-03-13T15:32:00.000-07:00

All 3 of the Smiths have just celebrated Birthdays! Mine was March 2nd, David's was the 3rd, and yesterday, the 12th, was Hayden's 10 month Birthday!

For my Birthday, mom surprised me and came with Hayley to Ft. Worth to spend the day with me! We met David at the usual, The Purple Cow. Then GiGi, Hayley, the babies, and I went to the Hulen Mall. GiGi bought the babies' Easter outfits, we had adventures with strollers on the escalator, spilled a Strawberry Lemonade Smoothie in Macy's (Hayley), and for the most part had 2 happy babies all day. Thank you GiGi and Auntsistermom Hayley!

I found a new way to keep Hayden happy at Target! He loves to sit, crawl around, play, and stand up in the cart instead of sitting up front. So cute.

Wednesday, March 4th, I took Hayden to a playground for the first time. It's in our neighborhood and it's really pretty. The weather was perfect and the sun was going down. I put him in his very first swing and he loved it! At first he was laughing hysterically, then he just smiled and looked around. He got very still and relaxed and after about 10 minutes of swinging, he fell asleep!

I just kept swinging him. He probably slept for 15 minutes! Daddy met us when he got off work. Hayden tried the slide and the jumpy horse, but his passion is for the swings!

We drove to Abilene Friday night and had dinner and birthday cake with my family on Saturday.

Sunday we had lunch and presents with Juney Babe, Paul, Grandmommy, Aunt Peggy, and Uncle Gary!

My baby brother, Michael Andrew.

Awkward prom picture.

GiGi giving the babies their first piano lesson.

Hayden now has 8 teeth and is so close to walking! I bought him a walking toy that he walks with and he will walk with us if we hold is hand. This is a video of him walking with his toy. It's short because like I said in a previous blog, the babies are always crawling towards the camera!

God is so Amazing!!!

2009-02-25T10:03:00.000-08:00

I found this blog today, and I truly feel like I was supposed to find it, called Bring the Rain, http://www.audreycaroline.blogspot.com/. Her name is Angie Smith and I could not quit reading her story. Her words, attitude, and relationship with God in the midst of a terrible loss made me realize that my relationship with Him is nowhere near where it should be. I desperately want that kind of a relationship with Him. Hayley and I just finished reading a book about relationships with God called "The Shack," and I highly recommend it. In the book they have such a close relationship with God that they call Him Papa. If you want to know more about the book, the website is http://www.theshackbook.com/.

Angie has 3 little girls and came up with these 7 prayers to pray over our babies throughout the day. That is what the 7x7 means: 7 prayers a day, 7 days a week. That is actually one of her little girls in the picture. I loved the prayers and want to do them for my babies, Hayden and Harper. I copied them from her website so you can do them to! Angie Smith gets all the credit.

1. When they wake up: "Let the morning bring (child's name) word of your unfailing love, for she has put her trust in You. Show (her/him) the way (she/he) should go, for to you (he/she) lifts up her soul." (Adapted from Psalm 143:8)

2. When they are getting dressed: "Therefore, as God's chosen child, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Lord, help (him/her) bear with others and forgive whatever grievances (he/she) has against others. Help (him/her) forgive as the Lord forgave (him/her). And over all these virtues, help (him/her) put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." (Adapted from Colossians 3:12-14)

3. While they are eating: "Teach (child's name) the secret of being content in any and every situation whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. Teach (him/her) that (he/she) can do everything through him who gives (him/her) strength." (Adapted from Philippians 4:12-13)

4. When they go out of the house: "(Name of child), do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-His good, pleasing and perfect will." (Adapted from Romans 12:2)

5. While they are taking a bath: Lord, give (name of child) clean hands and a pure heart, and let (him/her) not lift (his/her) soul to an idol or swear by what is false. Let (him/her) receive blessing from the Lord and vindication from God (his/her) Savior. Let (him/her) be part of the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob. (Adapted from Psalm 24:4-6)

6. When they are going to bed: "The Lord Your God is with you; he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, be will rejoice over you with singing." (Zephaniah 3:17)

7. While they are sleeping: "I pray that (name of child) will do everything without complaining or arguing, so that he/she may become blameless and pure, a child of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which he/she shines like a star in the universe as he/she holds out the word of life-in order that he/she may boast on the day of Christ that he/she did not run or labor for nothing." (Adapted from Philippians 2:14-16)

On another note, I was staring at Hayden as he slept in my arms the other day. I just kept thinking how beautiful and perfect he is. It is unimaginable how much his daddy and I love him. It is unending how much his daddy and I love him. Nothing that he can ever do will change how much we love him. And then it hit me, this is exactly how God feels about us! That kind of love is hard to grasp, until you have a baby. I believe that our babies, our angels, are given to us to help us understand just how much God loves us. Unconditional love. Hayden is not old enough to mess up yet, but when he does, we will still love him. We will be sad, but David and I will still love him just as much as we do today, if not more. We mess up, but thankfully God still loves us! Amazing! God is so Amazing!!!

A day in the life...

2009-02-23T21:00:00.000-08:00

My baby has an enormous, brilliant brain. With an enormous, brilliant brain comes a slightly bigger head that I love more than anything in this world. I have had a hard time finding hats to fit him and was ecstatic to finally find a really cute, larger hat. I took him on a walk tonight and it was cold outside, so I thought, "Yay! I can put his cute hat on him!"

Always crawling towards the camera.

I love his profile.

Hayden giving Daphne a rubdown.

Harpey dramatically crawling towards Hayden. And yes, Hayden is in Halloween jammies. After their bath (pictures below) he had to borrow some of Harper's jammies, and the Halloween jammies were the only non-pink ones.

Ok, let me explain. This is Hayley and Blair being typical Hayley and Blair.

They were talking to eachother, it was the cutest thing.

I put Hayden in his crib the other night after I bathed him. He started playing, but never took off his shark towel! So ofcourse I had to take some pictures.

Does anyone else think he looks exactly like a certain someone in this picture??? I'll give you a hint...his name starts with a D, and ends with an avid.

Makenna Jr.

Playin doctor before Grandaddy's surgery. Remember that enormous, brilliant brain I told you about??? He's gonna be a Neurosurgeon!! And a baseball player. And he's gonna love his mother.

Busy babies. They love the dishwasher.

Eatin breakfast in their new twin highchairs at GiGi and Papa's!

I love it when he sits like this.

Hayden loves to play in the backyard with the puppies. I usually remember to pick up the water bowl, but he beat me to it today!

Pictures!

2009-02-04T11:04:00.000-08:00

I finally figured out how to get my pictures from the camera to the computer. I wanted to catch you up on what the Smiths have been up to, so there are pictures going all the way back to Halloween. I promise to keep you updated from now on!

David took Hayden and the doggies walking last Saturday while mommy slept after working Friday night.

Hayden playin in the bathtub. He LOVES bathtime.

This is what happens when you leave him alone for 2 seconds. Those are straws all over the floor. He would throw them up in the air and then crawl really fast through them, it was so funny! So I gave up trying to pick them up and just let him play.

My girl!

Eatin at the Purple Cow after church with GiGi and Papa!

This is how Hayden sits in his highchair and I love it!

The Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida! David, Jason, and I got to go and it was so much fun!

Hayden eating (a.k.a. loving) his cousin-sister.

Hayley and I got the babies matching onesies that said "My First Christmas" and attempted to take pictures of them sitting in front of the Christmas tree. Imagine the chaos of trying to get two 7 month old babies to sit still, at the same time. It was pretty funny!

My little elf in his Christmas jammies from GiGi! His bottom says "Ho Ho Ho!"

Unwrapping daddy's Christmas present. Not on Christmas.

Playing with his new toy from his Great-grandparents! It is 2 dogs sitting on a pillow and they sing and dance to "I got you babe," by Sunny and Cher! He loves it!

GiGi and Hayden outside in December. It was freezing!

My baby.

Hayden LOVES to pull hair!

Playin at our house after their Baptism.

During the Baptism, Dr. Bruster took both babies to show the congregation. Hayden looked up at the ceiling and just kept going! He leaned all the way back until he was upside down and stayed that way! Everyone was laughing and Dr. Bruster forgot what he was saying! It was so funny!

Look at those dark brown eyes.

GiGi bought the babies Exersaucers for early Christmas presents. This was Hayden's first time in it and he was so excited!

My husband, K-Fed, on Halloween.

Our baby dinosaur at his first Halloween party!

I love his fat little baby feet!

Hayley and I took the babies to Boo at the Zoo. We realized after we had walked 18 miles that we should have brought our strollers! It was fun though, mainly for Hayley and I. The babies really didn't care! Harper was a Butterfly!

Hayley and Harpey Bug.

This is a video of Hayden flirting with a woman at the Purple Cow. Yes, a woman, not a baby, a grown Woman! It was so funny!

It's about time!

2009-01-17T10:46:00.000-08:00

Well, Hayley made me a blog, and Kelly at FabulousK Creative Custom Blog Designs made it pretty, so now I really have no more excuses! Except for the fact that I am computer illiterate and have no idea what I'm doing... But I'll try to keep you updated and involved in the life of the Smiths from now on! My sweet husband bought me a new digital camera and since my computer is 9 years old, in computer years that's like 100, we are going to put all the 400-something pictures on his newer, faster computer. Until then, I put some old pictures on here for you to see!

Brand new week-old babies.

I love my boys.

Don't judge, I had (have) an addiction to Oreo's.

That's hot.

So sweet.

2008-12-24T12:45:00.000-08:00

Hayden trying puffs at Aunt Hayley's for the first time. Not a fan.

2008-12-24T12:41:00.000-08:00

This is Blair's blog started by her wonderful sister Hayley. Now she has no excuse!