Thursday, December 27, 2012

Saturday, December 22nd, 2012


If you have read my blog over the years you know all about Signing Times.  Since moving to Utah a few years ago I have hoped to run into Rachel, Leah and Alex at some point but it just hadn't happened.  Then Mommy got an email that Rachel and Leah would be having an autograph signing event at a local eatery and Mommy couldn't wait to tell me!  All week it was all I could talk about and even with awful Christmas shopping traffic, nothing would deter Mommy from getting me there.  I was so lucky beacuse not only did I get to meet Rachel and Leah but Alex came later too!  In addition to Rachel signing one of my videos, all three of them signed a Hopkins stuffed frog.  I was so enthralled he went with me on several errands for the rest of the day - grocery shopping, seeing Christmas lights - and even slept with me as well.  Thank you Rachel for being so super sweet - it is the best Christmas present ever to get to meet you in person!

Peyton Nicole Smith

Saturday, December 22nd, 2012



Since last weekend I made Christmas cookies with Daddy's side of the family, this weekend I got to make cookies with Mommy's side of the family.  Actually, we made cookies, dipped pretzals and popcorn balls!  The best part was when Jackson, Traiton and I sang Christmas carols with the life-size animated Santa Claus that is in Grandma's front room!

Peyton Nicole Smith

Sunday, December 16th, 2012









I never get tired of decorating cookies and today I got to make cookies with my Aunt Ruschelle, Grandma Glenda and cousin Dylan.  As a bonus, we got to dress up Grandma's doggies in Christmas outfits!

Peyton Nicole Smith

Saturday, December 1st, 2012








With Aunt Kristin and Uncle Lonnie out of town again for the weekend, Mommy and I got to spend time with Jackson.  First on our list was going to the Festival of Trees.  Mommy went years and years ago and man has it grown since the last time she was there!  Since every dollar raised goes to Primary Children's Medical Center where I get my medical care, it is not only a fun event but a valuable for children in the community.  Jackson and I quickly got bored at looking at the decorated trees although we did enjoy the extraordinary gingerbread houses.  While Jackson enjoyed eating hunks of fudge, Grandma and I enjoyed watching all of the singing and dancing performances. I was so excited there was no way I could stay in my seat and instead danced in the aisles.  Mommy had a good time but next year she plans on going without children at least once so she can look at more than 10 trees!

Peyton Nicole Smith

Friday, November 23rd, 2012


Mommy waited out in the cold in front of Home Depot this morning at 5 am to get one of their door busters - an artificial tree.  She probably never would have done so for herself but Aunt Kristin asked her to pick up one for her so there she was in the bitter cold waiting in line to get her limit of 2 trees.  Luckily a nice man behind her helped her get them into a cart but in the meantime one of his 2 trees was stolen by another shopper.  It shouldn't be a suprise that once getting some sleep she quickly pulled that tree out of the box and got it decorated!

Peyton Nicole Smith

Sunday, November 18th, 2012



A few weeks ago, we went to see my ENT, Dr Muntz.  He and Mommy discussed what the future holds for me and my trach.  She let him know that months ago I accidentally fell asleep with my cap on overnight and there weren't any issue.  In the past he didn't recommend having a sleep study but with that new information he does now.  According to Dr Muntz, If I really do sleep with a cap without a problem, then the only other reason to leave the trach in would be for surgeries and if that is the only reason there are other options for intubating.  So today, I checked in at Primary Children's Medical Center at 8 pm for a sleep study.  Mommy had brought a few new toys which came in handy while the techs took over an hour to get a baby hooked up for his sleep study.  Then it was my turn and I was very good while everything was connected.  But when it came time to put the nasal cannula in my nose, all bets were off.  The tech let Mommy know that unless we got the nasal cannula in then there was no point to doing the sleep study so they made a plan to put it in my nose once I fell asleep.

It was almost 11 pm before I fell asleep and eventually Mommy was able to get the nasal cannula in but apparently it was not exactly where it needed to be and the tech came in to move it to the right spot.  That woke me up and man was I pissed!  It took almost 45 minutes for Mommy to get me back to sleep and get the nasal cannula back in.  But just a few minutes later, I pulled it out in my sleep.  And so we did this dance multiple times over the next few hours until around 2 am, Mommy and the tech called a halt to the sleep study.

Although I didn't have the cannula in for long periods, during the times I was capped everything looked great.  I just hated the nasal cannula and I didn't want it in my nose under any circumstances!  At this point we are just waiting to hear back from Dr Muntz on what would be the next steps.

Peyton Nicole Smith

Thursday, November 15th, 2012


A few weeks ago Mommy and Daddy went to Parent Teacher conferences.  This will be the first of many for them but they were curious to see what my teacher would say.  Miss Felsted said I am doing great from an educational perspective which didn't surprise my parents at all.  What Mommy has been most concerned about is how I am doing socially.  She had gone to school the first day to talk to my classmates about me but hasn't been back since.  Miss Felsted said that every year she has a child or two in her class that draw other kids to them.  Apparently I am one of them this year.  She said that everyone wants to be my partner or sit next to me.  In fact there is a set of triplets in the class (all girls) and at times they all want to be my buddy.  But the one person I talk about all the time is Ava.  You can see her above having our Thanksgiving meal.  We had a play date a few weeks ago at the local aquarium and if we weren't fast friends before that we certainly are now.  She is no longer sitting at the same table as me in the classroom but as far as I am concerned she is still my bestie!

Peyton Nicole Smith