Our White Christmas

Opening presents at our house Christmas morning

She was pretty excited about her new hat, hair clips and Toms!

And after begging to see snow for the last two months so he could build a snowman, Grayson got his wish when we arrived in Dallas to have a white Christmas!

And a new pea coat for Camdyn just in time for the cold weather

Our first attempt at a snowman was a little sad :)

And the boys showed us up the next day! We were so proud!

Merry Christmas to all and to all a goodnight!

Family Funnies

(Camdyn pulls her lamp off her night stand)
Grayson: "Camdyn, why did you do that? We need to talk about this choice you just made!"

Brad: "Grayson, what do you want to be when you grow up?"
Grayson: "A referee!"
Brad: "You want to be a referee when you grow up?"
Grayson (with a super concerned, sad look on his face): "But, I can't, I don't have a whistle"

(I really wanted Grayson and Camdyn to wear coordinating Halloween costumes this year because I knew it would be my last year for Grayson to still think it was somewhat cool to dress up with his baby sister. But, it took some brainstorming to figure out an idea that suited him.)
Me: "You could be Pebbles and Bam-Bam from the Flintstones?"
Grayson: "No."
Me: "You could be a magician and Camdyn could be the rabbit you pull out of your hat?"
Grayson: "No."
Me: "You could be a banana and Camdyn could be a monkey?"
Grayson: "That'd be so funny!"
And it was! :)

(Brad was eating a piece of candy)
Grayson: "Daddy, did you go poo-poo?"
(Still haven't quite figured out how to phase out our potty training reward system. Frankly, if it keeps it in the potty, I'll give him candy till he's 18 :)

(After I did something kind of scatter brained, it's such a frequent occurrence that I can't even remember what it was)
Grayson: "Not again, wife!"
(I think he's been hanging out with his Daddy a little too much)

(I was trying to fasten his car seat with his bulky winter clothes on, which was making the belt too tight around his crotch area)
Grayson: "It's too tight! My tee-tee is just too big Mommy!"

Me: "Peace out homey G!"
Grayson: "Peace out homey H!"

Grayson: "I wish I was five already Mommy!"
Me: "Grayson, you just stop growing up on me so fast."
Grayson: "Mommy, that's life!"

Grayson: "Mommy, when is it going to snow so we can make a snowman?"
Me: "I don't know buddy, it doesn't really snow much in Texas."
Grayson: "Then, why do we choose to live here?"

Since everyone says "Hi, Baby" to Camdyn, she has assumed it is just the normal, accepted greeting for everyone, so she has started going around saying, "Hi, baby" to everyone (man, woman, child or dog).

Camdyn has also learned to say "Amen" at the end of prayers. She has even gotten to where she picks up on our cues of when we're finishing up and she likes to yell it out before anyone else has the chance to say it.

Brad: "I think we might get more calls from teachers about Camdyn than Grayson."
Me: "Really, why?"
Brad: "I don't know, she just kind of has that look, 'I don't care who you are or what you say, I'm going to do my own thing."
Me: "Are you sure it's not just the crazy baby hair that makes you think that?"
Brad: "That and how she screams at the top of her lungs if she doesn't get her way."

That's all for now folks!

Christmas Traditions

I don't spend a lot of time blogging about Advent because there are moms out there far more creative than me who can offer so many more resources for those searching for ideas. And maybe it's because I get slightly cynical about how much emphasis we put on Christmas, when Easter often gets swept under the rug. But, living in the culture we live in, Christmas is going to be a big deal to our kids whether it's because of Jesus or all the many other things the world says Christmas is about.

This is our first year to actually celebrate Christmas in our own home with only our immediate family, which means it was the first year we have actually really looked at what we wanted Christmas to look like for us. Thanks to those super crafty, creative moms out there who take the time to blog and share about what they do, this is what we've come up with....

We kicked off Advent (Dec. 1) this year by putting a new Christmas DVD in the kids' stockings. We gave them "Why do we call it Christmas?" by Veggie Tales creator Phil Vischer. It is such a neat video! It explains so simply where so many of our Christmas traditions come from (Santa, trees, presents, stockings, ect)and how each one points back to Jesus. I, personally, learned so much! :)

http://truthinthetinsel.com
This is a link to 25 days of printable devotionals designed for toddlers through early elementary kids. It has scripture each day that takes you through a small part of the events leading up to Christ's birth. It also has an ornament to make each day to accompany the devotionals. You have the option to purchase printable ornaments if you don't think you're organized enough to keep up with all the supplies (which is what we did.) Grayson has LOVED this and it has been so perfect for him. He can't wait each morning to make that day's ornament to put on his little Christmas tree he has. It is well worth the few dollars it costs and can be used again year after year!

I also wrap 12 children's Christmas books about Jesus' birth or the Christian message about Christmas. Grayson and Camdyn open one each day during the 12 days leading up to Christmas. Many moms do 25 books, but instead of trying to keep up with library books and such, I've just slowly been adding to our permanent collection. This is a really fun tradition because Camdyn can also participate, and let's face it, kids LOVE to open presents!

Tonight, I wrapped the kids' Christmas presents. They will each have three presents to open Christmas morning, which we've explained to Grayson that they will receive only three because that is how many presents Jesus got (of course this does not count presents from grandparents and aunts and uncles who insist on spoiling them rotten :). When the materialism of Christmas creeps in (which of course it's bound to), we respond simply with, "It's not your birthday!" :)

http://bradandhaleysmith.blogspot.com/2011/12/is-santa-coming-to-town.html
This is a post from last year about how we've chosen to handle Santa in our family.

Our prayer is that the Christmas traditions that we are starting now with our children would be something that instills in them at a young age a lasting love for our Lord and Savior!

Merry Christmas to our amazing family and friends! Thank you for the way you bless our lives!

Family Funnies

Brad and I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Cabo this summer just the two of us. One thing we did there was go deep sea fishing. Before we got on the boat...

Brad: "Maybe we should stop to buy some Dramamine?"
Me: "Nah, I've never been motion sick in my life." (If our life was a movie, there would have been some dooms day music played here)

About an hour into our five hour fishing trip...
Me: "I don't feel good" :(

Lucky for me, I felt miserable until we had only 45 minutes left when I finally puked over the side of the boat five times. Ironically, Brad got mad at me for not getting our 130lbs catch fully in this photo, but I told him my primarily goal at that moment was just to not throw up on him or the fish :)

After seeing photos of our Marlin, Grayson had been begging us to take him fishing, so one Friday night we went to our friends' Matt and Rachel's neighborhood to fish. Grayson was so excited when he caught a fish, but was very disappointed when we made him release it.

Grayson: "But, I really wanted to take him home and cut him up and eat him."
Brad: "Buddy, that wouldn't even be enough meat for a chicken nugget."

At another point during our fishing excursion, Grayson threw his line backwards and it got stuck in a tree.

Grayson: "Look! I caught a tree!" (followed up by his cute little victory dance)

"Mr. Matt" also let Grayson fall into the pond three separate times that night (yep, we blame Matt) :) So, Grayson definitely had to ride home naked.

Oh the memories we're making!

Other Grayson Greatness

(I decided during one of our recent frequent trips to Chick-Fil-A to order Grayson grilled chicken nuggets instead of the normal fried ones.)
Grayson: "Mommy! There's something wrong with my chicken nuggets!"
(Lesson learned: if you want them to eat grilled, you have to start them off on grilled cause once they get a taste of the good stuff, there's no turning back.)

Grayson: "Mommy, you and Daddy have brown hair."
Me: "That's true. We are brunettes. Do you know what color your hair is?"
Grayson: "No."
Me: "You're blonde, well dirty blonde."
Grayson: "I'm not dirty, I'm clean!"

Grayson: "Mommy, you're going to die." (Don't ask how this morbid conversation started cause I don't know.)
Me: "That's true Grayson. Someday we're all going to die."
Grayson: "Yeah, but you're going to die soon."
Me: "Well, I hope I get to live until I'm really old."
Grayson: "But, you ARE really old Mommy."

Grayson: "Daddy, where do boogers come from?"

(I walked out in a skirt and top to go to my 10-year high-school reunion -- I guess I am old)
Grayson: "Mommy, that's a little bit too short." (with a very concerned look on his face)
Keep in mind, it was all of an inch above my knee, but good to know he'll keep me modest :)

(We were driving home late one night.)
Grayson: "Can we stop to get a drink at Sonic?" (Can you tell whose child he is?)
Brad: "Buddy, it's so far past your bedtime, it's not even funny."
Grayson: "It's a little bit funny."

Camdyn Cuteness

While our "Little Miss Thing" doesn't have enough words to make too many funny stories yet, she is still showing us her personality in her own little one-year-old way.

She already gives meaner looks than what I've seen most adults make. Just ask the nurse who tried wave bye to her after giving her her vaccinations. I'd say the look was worth a thousand words. "Seriously lady, you think I'm gonna smile at you after that?"

When I took Grayson to pre-school story time at the library, Camdyn crawled right in the middle of the circle to listen and participate. During every song, she would find her way to the middle of the circle to dance for everyone. One-year-old and already a ham!

She did start walking at 12 1/2 months, but literally, every time I pull out the camera to capture it on film, she drops to crawl, which is why you won't see that milestone recorded here.....she likes to be difficult.

And all the things I've always chalked up to Grayson being "all boy," Camdyn is doing the same things. So, we've come to the conclusion that we must just make really crazy children. Although our house feels like controlled chaos most of the time, we love every minute of it! Our beautiful, crazy children are either keeping us young or giving us pre-mature gray hair (maybe both)!

Thanks to everyone to keeps up with my random, sporadic blog posts!

Uno!

Our baby girl celebrated her First Birthday last week! We didn't have a party for her (I know, we're bad parents!) We realized after Grayson's first birthday that having a party for a one year old is really more about the parents than the child. And as the parents, we just don't want to deal with the stress of a party until she is old enough to appreciate it (maybe age 3?) :) Luckily for Camdyn, various things brought several of our family members to our house in the days surrounding her birthday, so she was plenty spoiled with gifts from grandparents and aunts and uncles!

And of course we let her experience the wonderful rite of passage of shoving cake in her face! And because she is already pretty much obsessed with food and eating (although you would never know it by her little petite size), it didn't take her long to dive in! I think the best part was when she decided to poop while she was eating the cake, which made for pretty much a disastrous bathing experience because she was covered in nastiness from head to toe!

I'm not walking yet although I'm still fast enough to get into all kinds of trouble (like regularly trying to eat dog food and removing each tip from every door stop in the house.) I am little miss independent. I don't really love to cuddle or be held; I'm way too busy exploring the world for that kind of non-sense. I am expanding my vocabulary daily with my first official word at 11 months (uh-oh). I've since added "Da-Dee," "Ma-Ma" (although I think this one means "more" because I don't usually say it in correlation with mom, but usually with food),"Hi," "Bye," "Ta" (for our dog Tag), "Yay," "Yum," "Sop" (Stop - an important one to know when it comes to my big brother and Grandma's pesky dog), and "Tanks" (Thanks). My Daddy already has me trained at giving out high-fives. I adore my big brother; he is the only one who can always get me to grin even when I'm at my grumpiest. On the rare days when I wake up before him, I quickly find my way back to his room and bang on his door until he comes out. I'm growing by the day and my parents are soaking in every minute of it! I am one loved little girl!

Our sweet one year old! What a joy you are in our lives! What a testament of God's perfect plan and unending faithfulness! We love you Camdyn McLaine!

Just a little tid bit from our sweet life

We spend alot of our time making sure our son doesn't kill our daughter :)

A sweeter one

Fun in the tub

Happy 4th!

A little comedy from our boy who always keeps us laughing...

Brad: "Grayson, did you know that God made you special? He put you together in Mommy's tummy!"
Grayson: "But, how did God get in Mommy's tummy? And did he have tools? Did he use a hammer and nails to build me?"

Brad came through the living room and lovingly slapped me on the butt.
Grayson: "Mommy, Daddy just spanked you and grown-ups don't get spankings."

Brad: "Where do you want to eat?"
Haley: "I was thinking about C-H-I-C-K-F-I-L-A."
Grayson: "I was thinking about O-R-G-J-T."

Grayson: "Mommy, my monkey is going to get 55 spankings for not listening, for messing up my room, for not sharing, for not being kind.... Mommy, is it okay if I give my monkey 55 spankings?"
Me: "Sure, buddy!"
(For the record, we've never given him 55 spankings :) but I guess he feels the need to exert his authority over somebody)

Look Whose Crawling Now

8 months

I'm 8 months now. I'm up on my hands and knees rocking away and will begin crawling any day now. But, even without crawling, I get where I want to go, even if it meets dragging myself across the room or rolling repeatedly until I reach my desired destination. I am already stealing my big brother's toys, and call me a tom boy, but I love playing with cars. I adore my big brother, and my face lights up every time my daddy walks in the room. I've just started a little bit of solid food in the last couple of weeks, and I'm determined to feed myself, which makes the whole feeding process fun for mom and dad. But, that's okay because I have plenty of extra meat on me just from mommy's milk. I'm quite the little chunky monkey, especially in the thighs. I am a really easy baby and bring so much joy to my family and everyone around me. Even when I'm fussing, I will still look up at whoever is holding me and grin. So far, I am a determined, strong willed little thing just like my big brother. I guess I have to be that way if I'm going to survive in this family!

Four!

As is becoming the norm these days, here is another post that is well over a month old.

Our baby turned FOUR back in March. I think this birthday hit me harder than any of the ones before. In fact, I felt like I was going to burst into tears the whole week of his birthday. I just didn't know how it was possible that we could have a four year old. He just transformed from a little toddler to a big kid right before our eyes.

He was very specific about what he wanted for his party this year. I guess the days of us having ideas for his parties are over :) About six weeks earlier, he had gone to a birthday for one of his friends at church and from them on, he was very clear that he pretty much wanted the exact same party his buddy, Canaan, had. So, at his request we had a Cars themed birthday party at a park near us. It could not have been a more gorgeous day (Pics Below).

I think the most important thing about Grayson turning four is that it means that we survived three! :) Although there were many moments during his "terrible threes" that I wondered if we both needed counseling, his little season of rebellion and defiance went away just as quickly as it began. Of course, we have now entered an arguing phase, but that is nothing in comparison. I will take arguing any day over the daily outbursts of anger and wondering fearfully every time we went out in public if I was going to have to pick him up over my shoulder kicking and screaming and carry him out of whatever restaurant or store where the meltdown happened to occur.

Now, I find myself looking at him daily and just thinking what a beautiful, good big kid he is. We did resurrection eggs with him this Easter, which was so neat. It was so special to see him understand for the first time the very thing on which our faith is founded. About a week after Easter, he even told me, "Mommy, that toy is red, just like the blood on Jesus' head from the crown of thorns."

He is also in a phase right now that he loves to use big words even if he doesn't know what they mean. Recently, he'll just go around yelling: "Japanese" or "Guacamole." He also started really emphasizing his vowels in certain words that comes out as a twang, making it really clear which state we live in, although, with the accent you would think he's from Podunk, TX instead of Houston :) It's incredibly sweet to watch him with his little sister too as I frequently hear him say, "It's okay, honey" or "Camdyn, you are so precious!" OR "Stop all that fussing, I can't concentrate." :)

While we hate that he is getting big so fast, we are so proud of our big four year old and it is such a gift to watch him grow up!

2011 Family Photo Album

Click here to view this photo book larger

Start your own Shutterfly Photo Book today.

Every year I put together a digital photo album of our family photos. I love doing it because I love telling the story of our year with pictures and seeing how our kids have grown in just a few short months. I usually give myself a self-imposed deadline of the end of January to have it completed. Needless to say, I didn't quite make that deadline this year, so yay for it being completed before the end of April :) Anyway, if you spent enough time with us in 2011, you're probably in it. Also, even on full screen, some of the photos and captions look really small, because the actual photo book is bigger than a computer screen....so sorry about that. Enjoy Family & Friends!!!

Good-bye my Faithful Friend

I remember the day I got my Xterra. It was one day in May 2002 shortly before graduation. After putting in my request for an Xterra (because my Dad did not want me driving to college in my 10-year old Toyota Celica), and after my Dad had done some research for the best deal, I was driving it home from the dealership and it was pouring rain outside. I remember feeling so thankful and beyond blessed to be driving it. I remember thanking God for this beautiful vehicle (that was a lot prettier ten years ago) and for my parents working so hard to give it to me. I prayed then that he would help me drive it safely and I would take care of what he had entrusted me with. Even more, I was thankful that my parents (with a little help from me) had it paid off before I finished college so Brad and I didn't start our marriage with that debt. I vowed I would drive it until we either had too many people in our family to fit in it (add one more and we wouldn't) or until it would drive no more. And after today, it will drive no more...

We all have those moments when we get to a destination and think, "Oh my Gosh, I have no idea how I even got here," because our minds are just somewhere else and we go through the motions without mentally focusing on what we're doing. And that was me today! I was taking Grayson to pre-school and we were talking (no, I was not on a cell phone, Grandpa!). Even as I was going into the intersection, saw I was about to hit this guy, and slamming on my breaks, I was wondering if he was turning left and supposed to be yielding to me. I even had a split second to realize that I was the idiot going through the red light before I slammed into him.

My air bags deployed and my car quickly started filling up with smoke/power from the air bags. I guess I've watched too many fast and furious movies because I was having visions of my car about to blow up. So, I quickly started grabbing my kids out of the car who were surprisingly calm except for a complaint from Gray about the powder being in his eyes. I relocated them both to a median on the side street where the nice college kid who I hit watched them (yep, I let a stranger watch my kids while I dug for my cell phone which went flying when we hit -- he didn't have one).

Thankfully the cop was nice, the guy I hit was nice, the EMTs were nice, the tow-truck guy was nice. Of course, no one had a reason to be mad when I immediately admitted that I was an idiot and it was completely my fault! A random lady who saw it happen and obviously felt sorry for me even went and got donuts and brought them back to us, which was an amazing blessing and wonderful thing to keep my 3 year old still and occupied as he sat on the median. I just kept saying over and over again, "Thank you God for air bags, and car seats, and car insurance, and that my vehicle was 10 years old, and that no one was in the guy's passenger seat (because God forbid, that person would not be in good shape), and that Carrie was late getting to the gym and could come get us, that we had already been saving for a new vehicle, ect, ect, ect.

Thank you Jesus for watching out for us today! And for watching out for us every day when we don't even realize all the ways you protect us!

After we left the accident, we got in Carrie's car and Grayson said,
"Mommy, that was SO bad!"
"You broke your carhicle!" (yup, that is a combination of car and vehicle if you didn't catch that -- he doesn't know the term SUV yet)
"Don't worry Mommy, we'll get you another carhicle just like that one."

So today, I say good-bye to my Xterra which transported me out of high school, through college, into marriage and into parenthood, in the four different cities in which we've lived. And I thank God for keeping me safe in it for the last 10 years. And especially today for watching over my precious angels in the back seat, that I love and cherish and will try my hardest to never take for granted. Because they are precious cargo!

2012 Catch Up

I think my blogging is getting farther and farther apart, but I try and keep track of our funny moments in my head until I finally get around to recording them.

So, here is what I can remember...

GRAYSON (PJ Day at Pre-School)

G: "Mommy, I have two Bibles, a red one and a green one."
Me: "Yes, baby, you have your toddler Bible and now you have a big kid Bible."
G: "But, which one is the Holy Bible?" :)

(As we are driving down the road)
G: "Look Mommy, it's the United Texas Flag!"

(One day he was building with leggos and turns to me to say)
G: "Mommy, look at my tall tower. I am one smart little boy!"
Me: "Yes, you are!" (No self confidence issues there)

(The same day he is sitting on the potty and I'm reading him a book when he says)
G: "Mommy, look at my tee-tee. It is SOOOOO BIG!" (What do you even say to that?)
(I told Brad that night, "What is it about men that they are born and from day one they just think, 'Man, I'm the greatest thing since sliced bread.")

(Brad is saying prayers with him one night before bed, and Brad is rubbing his back when Gray says)
G: "We do NOT touch our neighbors during prayer time!" (Something he undoubtedly has been told at church many times)

G: "Mommy, how come you have two rings?"
Me: "Well, this one is my Aggie ring and this one is my wedding ring. This one means I'm married to your Daddy."
G: "How do I get me one of those?"
Me: "Well, to get this one, you have to graduate from Texas A&M and be an Aggie. And to get this one, you have to get married someday."

Later he was talking to Brad and said:
G: "You and Mommy both have two rings, and I'm going to get those someday."
B: "To get a wedding ring, you have to someday have a wife. How about we say a prayer for your wife?" (What a sweet father/son moment!)
After they finished praying Grayson said:
G: "Daddy, I want Mommy to be my wife!" (Melt my heart!)
B: "No buddy, Mommy is my wife, so you'll have to pick a different one!"
G: "No, I want Mommy to be my wife. We can share."

(Okay, even as I'm about to write this last one, I can't even believe I'm going to share it because I'm going to completely humiliate myself in the process, but it's just too funny not to share.)
I was cleaning Grayson's room one day when he walks in and says:
G: "Mommy, what's that smell?"
Me: "I don't know buddy."
G: "Mommy, I think it's a skunk."
Me: "No, buddy, it's not a skunk. Mommy just tooted."
G: "Mommy, that really stinky."
Me: "I know buddy, I'm sorry."
G: "Mommy, I think you have a skunk in your tummy!"

CAMDYN - 5 1/2 months

And for my sweet little girl...

I just don't know how I got so lucky to have two really good babies, but I did. I have no illusions that she won't make up for her present sweetness once she hits toddler hood (like her brother did), but for now, she is about as easy as they come. Despite dealing with some pretty severe acid reflux issues which make for some pretty fussy days sometimes as the poor thing screams in pain and projectile spits up all over us (clothes don't stay clean in this house for very long), she is such a happy baby! Even when I wake her from a nap because we have to go somewhere, she just looks up at me and grins.

She rolled over (back to tummy) for the first time on Christmas Day (right at 4 months) which was a sweet little Christmas gift for us.

She adores her big brother and just wakes up grinning at him even when he pokes all over her little chubby cheeks. And we have been pleasantly surprised that he adores her as well. A few weeks after she was born, he even asked us when he was going to have "another little sister." I'm sure we'll have issues once she's old enough to take his toys, but for now we treasure the sweet harmony between them.

The poor little darling is losing all her hair, just like Grayson did about this time. So, I guess we can anticipate her being bald for about a year :( before she gets in some thick, blonde hair! So then even more people can stare at us and wonder if they really are our biological children :) Luckily, she is finally getting big enough to pull off some giant head bands and enormous flowers! And she's hanging onto those beautiful blue eyes so far!