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

Wednesday, November 14th, 2012






Aunt Kristin wasn't feeling so well, so Jackson, Uncle Lonnie, Mommy and I went without her to Disney on Ice and met Shannon and Colin there.  We saw all of our old favorites, but the best part for Mommy at least was when they did an It's The Small World section.  Since that is the only memory Mommy has of Disneyland when she was two she thought that was pretty cool!

Peyton Nicole Smith

Sunday, November 11th, 2012





Now that Scheel's has been open for a few weeks, Mommy, Daddy and I finally got a chance to check it out.  I insisted that I wanted to ride the indoor ferris wheel but once we actually got there and I saw how big it was I decided maybe another time.  Instead I had lots of fun posing with all the dead animals.

Peyton Nicole Smith

Saturday, November 10th, 2012


In an effort to get me to sleep in my room, Mommy did an Extreme Room Makeover.  Mommy replaced all the furniture, the fan, curtains, painted the walls and hung decals.  Despite the changes I am not quite in my room yet but I promised her by Christmas!

Peyton Nicole Smith

Monday, November 5th, 2012




For my birthday, Mommy and Daddy got me tickets to see the Fresh Beat Band.  They have a show on TV I love to watch because it is all about singing and dancing.  We ended up right near the front and there was a large section in front of us that didn't have any seats so I had plenty of room to dance and apparently I was pretty noticeable because Shout (in blue above) came down and danced with me!  During the intermission, one of the back up dancers named Frances came up to say hi.  She asked if I wanted to be the Rock Star for the night.  During the Rock Star song they bring up a child from the audience, put a Rock Star jacket on them and then dance with them on stage.  Even though I love the Fresh Beats I said not this year - maybe when I am six - so they picked another girl.  On the very last song Twist (in orange) came down into the audience and gave me a great big hug!  It was such a great night - thanks Fresh Beat Band!

Peyton Nicole Smith

Wedesday, October 31st, 2012


Happy Halloween!  As part of the Olympic coverage this summer, Nick Jr had a special Dora the Explorer episode called Fantastic Gymnastics in which Dora is a rythmic gymnast.  Ever since then I have wanted to be a rhythmic gymnast for Halloween.  Mommy went on to Ebay and ordered a ribbon from Australia (apparently rhythmic gymnastics is big there?) and found someone on Etsy who would make me a leotard.  She also ordered some gold medals from Oriental Trading Company.  I was over the moon and a pretty great costume if I do say so myself!

Peyton Nicole Smith

Sunday, October 14th, 2012






With Aunt Kristin and Uncle Lonnie out of town for a wedding, Mommy and I spent the weekend with Jackson.  It gave us an opportunity to go to Wheeler Farm to pick out some pumpkins and get them carved with Halloween just a few weeks away.

Peyton Nicole Smith

Saturday, October 6th, 2012



Cornbelly's here we come!  It was such a nice day to spend at Cornbelly's - the weather was perfect.  I think Daddy and Uncle Jeff enjoyed it as much as Jackson and I did!

Peyton Nicole Smith

Saturday, September 22nd, 2012




When Hope Kids alerted Mommy to a night out at the pool, she thought it was one of the best times to try to see how I did in the pool.  The Lehi pool was going to open after hours for Hope Kids so there would be a limited number of people in the pool and since all have medical issues as well, they would be careful around the other children.

When we arrived, there were several people there to greet us including a man with a trach - how's that for coincidence?
Daddy decided to stay on the sidelines in case he needed to jump in and also to record the moment.  Mommy and I hopped in the water and I quickly learned that keeping my mouth closed was a requirement!  We spent time going down the kiddie slide and Mommy put me in a life jacket as we went out into the larger pool.  Since Mommy can't actually swim she never went much more than waist high in the water.

Although my parents were very nervous they were happy I finally had a chance to get in a real pool but there were lots of serious discussions about how important it is that Mommy or Daddy is with me before I ever get in another pool in the future.

Thanks to Hope Kids for giving us another opportunity to be a regular kid!

Peyton Nicole Smith

Saturday, September 8th, 2012





It was my very first soccer game and what could be better than being the pink team - my favorite color!  I may not be a soccer star but I give it my all and had so much fun running around with the other girls.  And for once there is actually someone smaller than me on the team! 

Peyton Nicole Smith

Tuesday, September 4th, 2012




First day of school!  I was so excited and couldn't wait to hop on the bus with my nurse for the 3 block ride to school (yes, you read that correctly 3 blocks).  It seems like a lot of build up for a few short hours but I had a lot of fun.  Mommy came in just a little while after school started to talk to my class about the things about me that are different.  I got to sit at the front of the class with her as she did a show and tell with my bear so kids could see my g-tube, my trach and even try out my hearing aids!  But Mommy made sure to point out that although there are some things about me that are different that there are lots of things I have in common with them - like soccer and t ball.  Before I even had time to get comfortable it was time to go.  But Mommy let me know this is day 1 of 13 years of going to school so there will be lots more school days in my future!

Peyton Nicole Smith