Meet Baby Samantha

Samantha Marie Ponder

Congrats Uncle Josh and Aunt Elaine!

We already love our little niece! And the kids love their new cousin!

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

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!

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)

Family, Friends & Grayson Greatness

Amy -- how did we not take any pictures while you were here? :(

Our out of town friends...The Hargroves & as Brad likes to call her "Les is More"




Nana, Pops & Uncle Blake (and our trip to Galveston)








Miranda & Pete...Love you girls!



Memorial Day with our friends the Shearers

Thank You God For...

I know we should take time year round to list everything we're thankful for and remember all God has done and is doing for us, but Thanksgiving is a good reminder to take time to do that. When Brad and I look back on the last year, these are the things that stand out to us. (And Smith Fam...please keep this post in mind on Thursday when we go around the table to say what we're thankful for...I already did mine, and it's even in writing :)

Brad's new job, one that allows a more flexible schedule and more time for us as a family

Our new home (and the fact that our old one sold so quickly)

Our new church (one that challenges and stretches us and has given us ample opportunities to serve)

New Friends

Living close to our friends the Williams and Shearers again

The Aggies winning some football games (that one was from Brad specifically) :)


Our little chef helped bake Thanksgiving pies tonight and came up with his own list of things to be thankful for. His list included...

His Mommy and Daddy (Good Boy!)

His Backyard (He's all boy)

"The Boys" (Jon Michael and Jalyn Williams)

Zeke (Jon Michael and Jalyn's cousin who he met on Sunday and hit it off with...really his only criteria for a best friend is that they be his age and male)

Food (Good call! He loves his snacks)

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! We are so thankful for our friends and family, especially the ones who care about us enough to read our blog! :)

Our Little Gorilla

One neighbor passed out juice boxes, and Grayson had to drink his then and there

When your bedtime is 8:00, you better get started before it gets dark


This was when Grayson sternly held up his finger and said "No More" (pics Mom)

What a difference a year makes! Last year, we couldn't get him in his costume and this year, we couldn't get him out. At the risk of sounding totally sac-religious, I have a growing love of Halloween since becoming a Mom (obviously not for it's meaning). There is just nothing cuter than seeing kiddos (and no I don't mean high schoolers who need to put on a little more clothes) all dressed up and so excited about going to knock on doors to get "CANDY!" So excited in fact that after saying "Tricky, Tricky" (we couldn't get trick or treat out of him) and taking a piece of candy, our little gorilla barely makes it off the porch before he tries to sit down in each of our neighbor's yards to eat his candy before going to the next house :)

Our Trip to Aggieland

Brad had a recuiting trip at A&M last week, so my friend Lauren and I decided to make a day of it with the kiddos. I asked Grayson that morning if he wanted to go to "Aggieland," and his face just lit up. I of course realized then that it kind of sounded like a theme park and that in his head he was probably imagining something a little bit more fun than College Station. After eating lunch at one of our favorite pizza places right off campus, Grayson asked me, "Go see Aggies?" I said "Yes, baby, these are the Aggies. Look everyone with a maroon shirt and this ring (pointing to my A&M ring) is an Aggie." He laughed and said, "No, Mommy." It made me wonder what in his mind an Aggie really was (since nobody really knows anyway :) Then, after I convinced him, he insisted on wearing my ring, which I was not willing to lose as we treked across campus, so I "made" him an Aggie "ring" out of a ponytail holder, which he wore proudly! Here are some photos from our day in Aggieland!

The kids were trying to steal the "good luck" pennies off the Sul Ross statue



Doesn't this one look like a "senior" portrait?

That's a "Gig Em" Aggies if you didn't catch the thumbs up

Yes, that's the Century Tree our kids are climbing on

I guess that means by "tradition" that Grayson is destined to marry either Hayley or Katelyn


We ended the trip with a stroll down memory lane. This is the "ghetto" duplex Brad and i lived in our first 6 months of marriage. If you're thinking the outside isn't that bad, I promise the inside was and our crazy (literally) neighbor made the experience unforgettable