Strange But True

Poor little Leyton...I finally weaned him from the Vodka bottle and now he's taken a liking to my underwear! Every time he finds a pair (or more) in the laundry basket, he can't resist putting them over his head. He laughs and thinks it's the funniest thing! (At least he picks the pretty ones!) I guess if he were carrying around the Vodka bottle AND had the underwear over his head, I might have to worry. :)

I would never normally show my unmentionables to the world, but these pictures are too cute!

Just Livin' in the Moment

Oh, I love my little cheezers! Especially when they are playing nicely together and smiling those big grins! Here they are just having fun on a regular day, with messy faces and bedhead, but just enjoying the moment.

They both never cease to amaze me with all the new things they learn and can do. Brody is super into dinosaurs right now and can rattle off the names of them and all sorts of interesting details. He loves playing dress-up but usually wants to put on pieces of different costumes to make some weird creature. He loves building zoos and jungles with his blocks and animals, and he is getting better and better at dressing himself, brushing his own teeth, and helping out with Leyton by holding his hand when we walk down the street. Brody has started pointing to words in books and wants to know what they say, and he easily recognizes the letter B.

Leyton is talking more and more every day. He can say pretty much any word that we ask him to, and he has really good enunciation. Some of the favorites we hear most often are:

• up
• hungee (hungry)
• 'Lijah
• cacker (cracker)
• Bro-deeee
• cold
• bath
• ball

He nods instead of saying yes, but he will shout "no" when we try to get him to do something he doesn't want to do. He pretty much wants to do whatever Brody is doing, and sometimes that's a good thing, but most of the time it's not. He's not quite ready to play the same way Brody does, so there is definitely some mediation that has to occur when Leyton tries to play with Brody's toys, which usually means knocking over a tower or moving something where Brody doesn't want it to be. :) I can definitely see it getting better, though, and I can't wait for the day when they can entertain each other a little bit more!

December and January were hard months for me, dealing with the usual morning sickness that lasts all day and extreme exhaustion, but things are starting to look up this month, and I am feeling so thankful that I am starting to get back to my busybody, energized self. So far, this pregnancy has been pretty uneventful, which is exactly what I'm hoping for. After dealing with the subchorionic hematoma and constant worrying during my pregnancy with Leyton and suffering a miscarriage before that, I would like nothing more than for this pregnancy to be drama free. So far so good.

...And Baby Makes Five!

Due Date: July 26th, 2010

We are thrilled, overwhelmed, and possibly in over our heads, but we are so thankful and can't wait to add another little one to our family!

And, if you don't believe the stick, here's further proof that I am indeed preggo:

This was the biggest jar I could find, and man, are they good!

Mia's 4th Birthday!

We were so excited to attend our good friend Mia's 4th birthday party at Simply Jane last weekend. (I can't believe our babies are already turning four!!) Simply Jane is an art studio, so each of the guests got to paint a canvas to take home as a keepsake of the occasion. Brody chose a fish, and he had a blast filling his canvas with color! After the kiddos completed their artwork, everyone went downstairs for cake and ice cream, and presents, of course! It was a very fun party, and we are so excited that Mia had such a wonderful celebration!

Miyako, Lily, and Brody showing off their artistic skills

Anything messy and he loves it!

The birthday girl with her Little Mermaid cake...when I asked Brody what he wanted to give Mia for her birthday, he said, "A transformer mermaid!" Alas, we couldn't find such a thing!

The kiddos painting Mia's birthday poster

Happy New Year!

Brad and I were thrilled to get to spend New Year's Eve with my sister Kelli and her new husband Jeff. They have such great friends, and they always have fantastic parties. Thankfully for us, Oma and Opa were more than willing to make the drive from Eagle Lake to Dallas so that they could watch the boys while we enjoyed our night of fun. I haven't spent a New Year's Eve with my sister since we were in high school, so this was a very fun treat!

Happy New Year Everyone!!

Christmas in Texas

The Smith family braved 18 hours in the car to complete our first ever road trip to Texas. I can't tell you how much I was dreading this little adventure as I had no idea what to expect with two small kids and a dog, not to mention the unpredictable weather! Our plans were to leave on Dec. 23rd, but when news of the impending midwestern snowstorm hit on Tuesday the 22nd, my family immediately started calling and begging us to reconsider our date of departure. It basically came down to my Dad, who phoned Brad at his office, and said that we either needed to leave that day or not come home. Brad knew there was no way I was staying here for Christmas, so we packed up and left that night. We drove seven hours to Kansas City, arriving there at around 2:15 in the morning. After stopping at a hotel for the night, we resumed our drive the next morning and made it to Taylor by 11 the next evening, managing to miss all inclement weather that apparently came just hours after we passed through each city.

Random shots at the hotel...

good oral hygiene...very important!

Yes, the dog came, too!

The drive was truly uneventful. Brody kept himself occupied by watching movies, reading books, and coloring. Leyton was his usual mellow self and was happy to just look out the window or nap. We stopped every few hours to rest, walk, and get something to eat, but really, it could not have been an easier drive in the car. I honestly couldn't believe it!

Christmas in Texas was great fun, and we are so happy that it all worked out. We enjoyed our time in both Taylor (where my Dad and his family live) and Eagle Lake (where my Mom and stepfather live,) and even headed up to Dallas for a quick New Year's Eve celebration with Auntie Kelli and Uncle Jeff. After sorting through 573 pictures of our time in Texas, I narrowed it down to a few of the highlights. (SO many pictures of opening presents, and really no good ones with the grandparents! We'll have to work on that next time!) Let's just say there was a LOT of opening of presents, playtime indoors and out, and sharing many yummy family meals together. The kids had a fantastic time visiting some family members they dearly love and don't get to see nearly often enough, and although that is definitely true for me, too, I enjoyed having HELP!! That in itself is priceless!

Christmas in Taylor

I didn't do it! You can't prove anything!

Christmas Eve pic before Church

Brody with a plate of cookies for Santa

Christmas morning...what did Santa bring ya, Leyton?

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Santa

Lovin' from Uncle Jeff

Family game of badminton

Brody listens avidly as Granddaddy reads Cajun Night Before Christmas

Christmas in Eagle Lake

Full-on Pirate Mode!

Leyton loves his new shopping cart!

Christmas Round Two!

Later that same Sunday evening, we decided to have our own family Christmas since we were leaving for Texas in a couple days and didn't want to haul everything down there. We went out to dinner at D'Amico (kids eat free on Sundays!) and on the way home, Brad told Brody that he wanted to drive them around to look at Christmas lights while I went home to do some work (the work he was referring to was, of course, to "help" Santa stuff the stockings and put out all the presents!) The only problem--he dropped me off in front of our house, sped away, and forgot to give me the house key! There I was stuck on the front steps in very cold weather, wondering how long they would be gone. I sat on the steps for a few minutes before finally remembering our neighbor's lockbox code so that I could get in her house and get her set of keys to our house. By the time I did all this, Brad was already pulling up to the front of our house. I made it quick, and the celebration was a success. Phew!

More presents! Bring 'em on!

Super excited about the new pirate set

Leyton can't wait to open his slice and bake cookie set. Thanks Ansel and Isabel!

Sledding!

After our fun morning with the GrandSmiths, the boys wanted to get out in the snow and burn off some energy. We miss seeing our neighbors during the long winter months, so it was nice to see Gabriel, Everett, Katherine, and Louden all outside that Sunday afternoon. Leyton tried out sledding for the first time and seemed to enjoy it. Brad brought him back inside after a little while to thaw out, but he just wanted to get back out there with the big kids! What a fun afternoon it was, particularly for me--I watched it all from the warmth and comfort of the indoors!

Brody actually went outside in this get up before we reminded him that he forgot something!

Katherine and Brody give Leyton his first taste of sledding

Cute little snow baby...

Christmas Round One

Brad's parents came to town the weekend before Christmas, so we invited them over for an early celebration that Sunday. We shared a yummy meal, and the boys got plenty of practice opening up the many presents yet to come. It was a lovely morning, and we were happy to get a chance to share Christmas with the grandparents before heading off to Texas!

Leyton loves his new ride...a BMW convertible just like Grandma's!

Brody loved playing Santa, except that he also wanted to help open all the gifts, too!

Christmas Concert

One of the highlights of the Christmas season at Berry Patch is the Christmas Concert performed by all the preschool kiddos. Brody really looked forward to singing all the songs he'd been practicing, and we couldn't wait to see how he would do up there onstage in front of all the people. From the videos below, you can see how it went!

This was the first song. He seems so in to it--just makes my heart melt.

The beginning of the third song...you can start to see him looking around and saying that he wants his mom. Pretty much all over from there! But it was fun while it lasted!

Christmas Has Come and Gone...

and I didn't do a bit of blogging all month! I didn't mean to get so behind, but once it happened, trying to get caught up was a little overwhelming. But I will do it...just give me a few days!

So, going back in time a little bit, here are some pictures from the Junior League's Annual Breakfast with Santa. Such a fun event--we look forward to it every year. The kids always look so cute in their festive Christmas outfits, and it's fun to get together with JL friends and their families to celebrate the holidays.

Brody and his good friend, Eloise...don't they look like trouble together? :)

Crazy Kids

Our two little guys can be so silly sometimes...

Leyton currently has an attraction to this tiny Grey Goose Vodka bottle. He likes to carry it around the house and pretend to pour it in his cup. Despite the fact that he's carrying around a glass bottle full of alcohol, I find it to be quite hysterical. I just have to keep a crazy eye on him, and sneak it back into the cabinet when he's not looking!

The bigger man loves to dress up, and when I say dress up, I mean put on every item in his dress up tub that he can fit on his little body. This is Prince Batman the Handy-Man Pirate, or something like that!