Happy Early Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving week!  I love Thanksgiving so much and I look forward to this time of year every year.  We had a fun weekend and spent some much needed time with family.  

 

I’m super close to my mom, dad and sister.  We grew up just the four of us, and we did everything together.  My parents have one of the best marriages I have ever seen.  Dani and I were super lucky to grow up in that environment.  We always laugh, we make fun of each other and we love each other to the ends of the earth.  

 

My mom is going out of town this year for Thanksgiving with her sister, dad and cousins.  They are going to Vegas, so with her not being here, we decided we still wanted to have our family Thanksgiving.  So, Saturday night we all came together and ate, and ate and ate some more!  

 

My dad fried the turkey (OMG, I don’t think I can eat one not fried now!) and my mom made her dressing.  Bobby and I did the sides and Dani did the wine!  We all have our talents :)  

 

My boy and I waiting patiently for the turkey to be done

 

We all took turns playing and occupying my hungry 1 year old

 

It’s time to eat!

 

I filled my plate full.  You only get this meal one time a year; I say eat till you’re stuffed.  Hey, it’s only once right?

 

At the table it has always been Dani and I on one side and Bobby and Tim across from us.  This year, we added in Landry to the boy’s side and Hayden to the girl’s side.  They loved being at the adult table!  

 

After dinner we sat around and talked and Landry talked Ninny into drawing a picture for her to color.  A little known fact about my sister is that she can draw.  Really well.  So she drew a Peppa Pig picture for Landry to color.  I only hope I’m half as good an aunt to her kids as she is to mine.  Landry and Hayden are so lucky to have wonderful aunts on both sides!

 

Bobby’s a pretty good uncle too!

 

Sunday morning, my children were up with the sunrise.  So, we sat around and played before everyone got up.  At first, I wasn’t too crazy about getting up so early, but then I realized that my time with these kids is precious.  They are only little for a short period of time and I need to soak up all the time I can with them.  So, we colored and we played.  I love my babies to the moon and back and love the one on one time I get with them.

It was a great weekend.  Time spent with family, some down time and lots of yummy food was consumed.  Now, the fun really starts.  We have two Thanksgivings on Thursday, and then the hubby and I have something special planned for the weekend.  I cannot wait!  Plus, it’s a short work week!  

Making my list...

Happy Monday!  Oh who am I kidding?  Mondays are for the birds.  I feel like I’m always running around on Monday mornings like a mad woman trying to get everyone ready and out the door on time.  It’s like the weekend gives me amnesia and I forget how much time it takes to get all that’s needed to get done, done.  

 

But anywho, let’s recap the weekend…

 

On Friday night, Tim’s parents requested to have Landry spend the night.  My answer? Of course you can!  It was perfect timing on my part because we had a busy Saturday planned, so I played a bit with this boy (who I promise does wear clothes..sometimes).

 

I put him to bed and did a little of this.  

 

I put my comfiest sweats on, poured me a glass of wine and caught up on Nashville.  I told Tim it was so nice knowing that I had some time to myself.  

 

Saturday morning, we were up bright and early.  We dropped Hayden off at Tim’s parents and headed out for a full day of Christmas shopping.  Last year, my bff’s and I went to Canton and all bought these shirts.  We love them.  You will probably see me in it no less than 4 times in the next month, just sayin.  Anyways, I had my Starbucks, my list and I was ready to go.

 

We got so much done!  It’s amazing what you can accomplishwhen no one is bored, or having a fit because they can’t grab every little thing their chubby hands can grab.  I loved spending the day just Tim and I.  We might have even held hands :)

 

Saturday night, I got my baby fix and we took Michael and Kelli and their kiddo’s dinner.  We bought enough for everyone and welcomed ourselves into their home and ate too.  Oh I love baby snuggles.  She is so petite and tiny and I just wanted to take her home with me.  Then I remembered that I sleep and I value my sleep, so at the end of the night I didn’t slip her in my pocket and take her home like I wanted to.  

 

I caught this girl sitting like this in the back seat reading to Hayden on the way home.  If this isn’t the picture of her mama 27 years ago, I don’t know what is.  She is such a sweet sister and loves reading to him.  I think he was probably asleep at this point, but she didn’t care.  

 

Sunday we went to church and then did a whole lot of nothing.  My kind of Sunday.  

 

Another weekend on the books.  We have some fun stuff planned for next weekend, can’t it be Friday already?  

Friday Favorites

This week was a crazy one!  It’s Friday and that means another installment of my favorite happenings from the Smith household this week.  

I'm once again linking up with Erika, Andrea and Narci. 

 

All I want for Christmas…

Landry lost her 6th tooth and her 2nd top tooth!  She looks so cute right now.  I told her she needs to learn the song “All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth” because this will be the only year she can sing it!  

 

Same shirt, new day…

I wore my Manda shirt to Zumba Tuesday night!

 

Brother Bear…

Hayden is finally warming up to wearing his bear coat and I love it on him!  All you see are his puffy cheeks and I love it.

 

Thank you Pandora…

I got this reminder on my phone yesterday and just smiled.  Listening to Christmas music always puts a smile on my face.  Thank you Pandora for reminding me that, Tis the season for Mariah Carey and Andy Williams!

 

Casual Friday…

Fridays are casual around these parts and today that means tennis shoes, my favorite hoodie shirt and jeans.  

 

Crazy hat day…

Today at Landry’s school the kids could pay $1.00 and wear a fun hat.  They had a teacher pass away this year and are fundraising for a tree to plant for her.  Landry wanted to pay her own money, so she got into her piggy bank and was so excited to take her dollar and hat to school!  I love her sweet, giving heart.  

 

 

We have some fun stuff planned for this weekend.  Let’s do this!

 

13 months of Hayden

13 things you may not know about Hayden:

1. He loves to help me with the dishwasher.  I can call his name 5 times and he acts like he doesn’t hear me, but the second the dishwasher gets opened, he comes running (or crawling fast in his case).

2. He still looks almost identical to Tim.  When he was born, he favored Tim now, but as he’s gotten older he looks like Tim as a little boy. 

3. He won’t give up the bottle.  We have completely taken him off of formula, but he hates a sippy cup.  So, he gets milk in the bottle still.

4. He wakes up smiling.  I’m serious.  Every morning when Landry and I turn on his light and get him up, he pops up with a smile on his face.

5. He won’t wear anything on his head.  He hates hats.  The only way I got his picture with his Olaf hat, was to double tie it and take it fast.  He has a cute bear coat he got for his birthday, and it has a hoodie, but he refuses to wear it.  

6. He has 2 best friends, Corby and Jake.  He’s bigger than both of them, and already tries to tackle them.  I have a feeling he’s going to be a tough little man.  

7. He loves his mama.  Right now, I’m the center of his world, and I’m not going to lie, I love it!  

8. He hates the grocery cart.  When Landry goes, we get the car buggy and he loves that.  But if he’s by himself and in the front, he can handle it for a good 20 minutes, and then he’s done.  

9. He loves bath time.  He and Landry still take a bath together occasionally, and he loves splashing her.  He thinks it’s the funniest thing.

10. He knows how to take a good selfie.  The minute the camera is in his face, he smiles.  

11. He has to sleep holding something in his hand.  He has this little blanket that he sleeps with every night, and he knows its bed time because I hand him the blanket, thumb goes in the mouth and he’s out like a light.  

12. He’s saying words now.  He says mama, dada, baba (bottle), and a-de (Landry).  I think he might of said car this morning, because we pulled up to the light and he pointed and said what sounded like car, but who knows.  

13. He’s been in our lives 13 whole months now and we love him!

Weekend Happenings

This weekend was so much fun!  We jam packed everything we could into 3 days.  So, here are the things that filled our weekend.

On Friday night, we laid low and ordered pizza in and played on the floor with the kids.  Hayden has found a new hiding spot.  He pulls the baskets out of the table and climbs in there and then thinks it’s so funny when I pretend I can’t find him.  I love that he is developing a personality, but I have a feeling he might be a little jokester like his daddy.  

Love spending time with these kids

After dinner we put our pj’s on and headed to Dani’s house.  Landry and I spent the night so that we could get up bright and early to do this:

We had a garage sale!  We’ve been planning one for a long time, and Saturday turned out to be the perfect day to do one.  It was chilly in the morning, but turned beautiful around lunch time.  I love spending time with these two women.  The men in our family always say to watch out when the three Clemens girls get together.  We are always in for a good time.  Plus, it always helps to make some extra cash this time of year.  

Around the time we were closing up, we heard the ice cream man.  Landry has only seen one a few times, so she got super excited and waved him down.  She was so cute trying to pick out which ice cream she wanted.  

My kids and dogs.  I don’t know what it is.  Landry loves animals too, and Hayden has started to show his love as well.  If you know anything about my sister, she is obsessed with her pups.  And they in turn are obsessed with her.  So when her cutie patooty nephew tries to sit in her lap, this is what happens!  

Saturday afternoon, my parents asked if Landry could come home and spend the night with them.  Who am I to deny them their grandchild ;)  So, we got Hayden all to ourselves that night.  We took him to dinner and the grocery store and Tim and I kept saying how nice it was to get him alone.  Poor guy never gets a minute with us to himself, and so he ate up all the attention he was getting.  

Sunday morning, I got to wear my Manda shirt I bought.  One of my best friends, Shay and her friends put this fundraiser together to help their friend going thru cancer for the third time.  This really touched my heart and I was just glad I was allowed to help in some way.  

After church we went to lunch with my parents and my dad bought Landry ice cream after.  I told her she will not be able to get away with eating ice cream by herself anymore.  Hayden loved it!  

Another weekend down!  Another weekend spent with the people who mean the most to me.  

Hayden's One Year Check-up

Yesterday, I took Hayden to the doctor for his one year check-up.  I rarely ever get him alone these days.  It’s so nice sometimes to just have one with you.  You forget what life was like when you only had one kiddo!  We sat in the waiting room for a good 30 minutes before they called us back, but he was so good!  They have lots to play with and look at in the room, so that made it super easy.  I took advantage of him walking around and playing to capture some pictures.  

 

His check-up went pretty well.  He weighs 27 pounds (92ndpercentile) and is 31 inches tall (90th percentile).  

Love my big boy!

What's on... Your bucket list

I thought it would be fun to link up with Andrea for What’s On… my bucket list.  I made a similar one to this in the summer, and we were able to cross most of that off.  I know this time of year is even busier, so I kept it pretty simple.  So, here is What’s On… My Fall Bucket List.

 

 

Picnic in the park- I had this on my summer list, but we never got around to it.  We have a great park nearby with picnic tables, so when it’s not too chilly out, I want to take food and go feed the ducks and have a picnic! 

 

Make S’mores- S’mores are one of my favorite snacks.  Landry has never had one, and I need to resolve that ASAP!  

 

Learn to ride a bike with no training wheels- Landry has been coming home riding her bike after school and told me Sunday that the training wheels were for babies and she is not a baby, so she wants them off.  So, we will see how this one goes.  I’m nervous for her, but she is one determined little girl, and when she puts her mind to something, she usually accomplishes it.  

 

Make chili- Chili is my favorite dish that my mother in law makes.  One of the first meals I can remember eating at their house when Tim and I first started dating was chili.  She usually waits until it is cold outside to make it, and that time is upon us!  

 

Create a paper plate turkey- I’ve seen these floating around Pinterest and thought this would be fun for Landry to make.  I also want her to write things she is thankful for.  

 

Family movie night- We have these all the time, but Tim nor Landry have seen Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving movie, so I thought that one would be good.

 

Make caramel apples- I love these!  I’ve actually never made them homemade before, so this one will be good for all of us to try!

 

Go to a high school football game- I went to Friday night football games for 4 years, every game.  I was on the drill team so we were there every week.  I have only been to a handful of high school games since I’ve graduated so I thought this one would be fun for the whole family.  Landry’s school is right behind our cities stadium so every morning she sees the flag girls practicing and has been begging to go see them perform.  

 

Make taco soup- Do you notice a trend in this bucket list?  There is a lot of food being made!  I love fall food and this soup is one of my favorites to make.  I always make it in the crock pot with a pan of cornbread.  Mmm, I’m hungry just thinking about it.  

 

Drink hot apple cider- I found a really easy recipe for this that you make in the crock pot and add red hots to.  I thought that would be fairly simple and fun for Landry to help with.  

 

It’s Fall!  I absolutely love this time of year!  I cannot wait to get started on our Bucket list.  

Halloween 2014

I think I’m suffering from A Halloween Hangover!

 

This Halloween was such a good one!  Last Halloween was Hayden’s official first one, but he was only 3 weeks old, so this year I dressed him up and he was so cute!  I love Halloween!  To me, it’s the official start of the Holiday season and my favorite time of year.  

 

I’ve worked at Southwest Airlines for almost 10 years, and one of my favorite things this company does is go all out for Halloween.  They let you dress up and bring your kids and there are skits, carnival type booths and lots of candy!  I’ve brought Landry a few times, but now that she’s in school, it’s Hayden’s turn!  I didn’t want to put his costume on him for fear that he would get it dirty, so he wore his skeleton sweatshirt.  I’m so glad I put him in this, because it was super chilly.  I’m so glad I brought him.  A lot of my friends that I work with got to see/meet him and we had a great time.  

 

One of my traditions is taking the kids by Debbie’s school and letting her see them and show them off to her co-workers.  

 

Then, we went home and Hayden crashed!  It was good though because he needed a good nap before the night’s festivities.  My mom and dad came over too and helped me get them ready and see them in their costumes.  I did not get one single picture with them though!  

 

Since Halloween was on a Friday night, I thought it would be fun to go trick or treating with our friends.  The kids are old enough to enjoy it and they can stay out later since there was no school the next day.  We went over to the Boozers house and the Borgman's came too!  We had such a good time.  The kids ran from house to house while I pulled that wagon with Corby and Hayden.  

 

Landry and Ally both dressed up as Elsa and we bumped into two more Elsa’s along the way!

 

My little Olaf!

 

The girls

 

About 10 minutes in, Hayden had thrown his hat off and Charley was done with her wig, so Hil and I decided to wear them.  I love this girl!  She knows how to be silly and goofy with me!

 

How did this girl go from this (her first Halloween)

 

To  this?  

 

She’s growing up way too fast on me!

 

Landry loved trick or treating with the big kids this year.  She ran from house to house and was exhausted by the end of the night.  

 

When we got back to the Boozers house we ordered pizza and pretty much just crashed!  

 

We had such a blast with our friends and I realized how truly lucky I am to be their mama!

 

Now, I’ve got a super-size bag of Landry’s candy to dive into.  Happy Monday!