The Smiths come to Texas...

In May, Jason's whole family came to Texas and it was awesome. His parents drove in on a Wednesday, and Thursday, Justin, Courtney, Kylee, and Josh flew in to DFW and we were complete. For those of you who are thinking, "Holy Cow! Alina, your house is going to be crowded." Have no fear. Jason's parents bought a townhome back in October and so the rest of the Smiths stayed there. A great time was had by us all for the long weekend before the boys all headed to their man trip to Salt Lake City, Utah.

 Susan and I headed to Wal-Mart on Thursday to stock up on the essentials of having all the Smith boys under one roof: little smokies, 10 lbs. cheddar cheese, fixin's for quiche, beer ... you know the bare necessities.

We have a membership to LifeTime and so Jason and I brought Justin and Josh with us one morning so they could check it out. Here, Jason is showing them how to do the P90x ab routine. It's intense. I was told guys on yoga mats look funny ... those aren't yoga mats, they are green beds of nails. Just to clarify.

Here are the boys (Josh, Jason, Justin) playing on their phones laying on the pallet we made on the floor for Conner. For the whole weekend, there was no living room furniture - it came after the boys all left for their trip. So we made due with pallets on the floor and lawn chairs in the living room.

On Saturday, Susan, Courtney, Kylee, Conner, and I went to the The Village Fountain in Fairview. It was such a nice day and Conner loved people watching with me and checking out the kids playing in the water. 

Kylee came all decked out in her swim suit looking super cute! She was ready to play!

It was so cool to watch Kylee play in the water. She didn't know what to think at first and I think it kind of scared her a little. But slowly, she started getting more and more brave. A lady saw her playing and gave her a little bucket to play with and after that, she was golden. She would fill it up and pour it out over and over.

Grandma and Conner watching Kylee play.

Kylee playing with her bucket. You can see Courtney's shadow ... she was trying to keep Kylee in the shade most of the time so she didn't get sunburned. Good mama!

Get it, girl!

She is just too cute. I love her little pony on top of her head!

 

Conner and Grandma in matching hats!

The boys right before they left for their trip.

Our little family before Daddy left for Utah.

This was a "Good morning, Daddy!" picture we sent Jason one morning while he was gone. :)

This picture cracks me up. All this kid needs is a remote in his hand, and he's set!

Hanging out with Grandma ... so sweet! Notice the lawn chair. Haha!

 So once the boys had gone, Susan and I were doing laundry, and noticed it was getting HUMID and there was condensation forming around the door-frame in the laundry closet (it's not big enough to call a room). Susan squeezed back there and realized that the hose had disconnected from the dryer. Oops! So she got back there and I handed her duck tape over and over until it was sealed. It was a very random thing to have happened and we were super proud of ourselves for figuring it out ourselves.

Conner playing on the floor mat. Loving his tummy time!

My 5-month old baby, with 2 teeth, wearing 9 month footie pjs. This cute outfit was from Great-Grandma Grace. I love it because it has bears ... for Conner Bear. :)

We finally have furniture! It is super comfortable and looks great in the room.

Another "Good morning, Daddy!" picture. Somebody was in a great mood! I spent almost the whole week Jason was out of town with Susan and Conner and I slept in the same room. He did awesome! Slept 12 hours like a champ. Thank you, BabyWise!!

 He definitely started discovering his feet about this time. Lots of toe sandwiches from here on out. ;)

There are fun new things on the horizon for the Smith family. Can't give a full update quite yet, but know that change is coming and we are excited!

My 1st Mother's Day...

This year I celebrated my very first Mother's Day. It was a great day and I felt so loved by my sweet husband and family. We woke up and Jason got Conner ready for church while I got ready by myself in our bathroom (this happens every Sunday, but it's still nice!).

Daddy and Conner playing.

Me and my baby before church.

 Our family at church. :)

Daddy and Conner hanging out at lunch so I could eat by myself. I'm not really used to that - it was so nice, though! On the Border was super yummy. :)

Uncle Brady and Conner back at our house.

Playing all by himself in his Bumbo seat. He likes to turn around in it. Haha!

Mommy and Conner for my first Mother's Day!

Yummy sweet potatoes!

MiMi and Conner on Mother's Day. So sweet.

Jason was so sweet to give me money to go get a massage (which I still haven't gotten yet ... I keep saying I will soon!) while he watches Conner, and a movie gift card so I can go see a movie with whoever I want while he hangs with Conner, too. It was so nice for him to acknowledge all that I do and that I may want a break and some time to myself. It was great to spend time with my family, too. They are awesome and I love spending time with them. They love Conner so much and it's so fun to watch them all interact.

Conner - I love you more and more every day and am SO thankful for you, sweet boy! God is so good. I can't believe He let me be your mom. You bring me so many smiles all day long and I love watching you grow and learn new things. You are such a happy boy, and I love watching your personality unfold. You look more and more like your daddy every day and I could kiss your little cheeks all day! I look forward to seeing you grow up, but I'm so glad that you are still so little and I am enjoying every single phase you go through. I love you, Conner-Bear!

April Shenanigans

Wow - so I just visited my blog to catch up on the blogs I stalk read, and I realized it's been over three MONTHS since I last updated! That's just ridiculous. I'm sorry blogosphere. No excuses.

So the only way I know how to catch up is to have a post for each month I'm behind. So, April was filled with all sorts of fun and exciting things. My friend from high school came to visit, and we took our first plane ride with Conner to Florida to spend some time with Jason's family. We also took a trip to Texarkana to help our friend Chris do some work at his mom's house and at the end of the month, Conner turned 4 months, old! There are a lot of details in there that I'm skipping over, but I'll include some of those with the pictures, because no post would be complete without pictures of the munchkin!

Big boy is getting good at tummy time!

My, what strong neck muscles you have!

I frequently will reach back when I'm at a stop light and snap a pic of Conner so I can see if he's asleep or not. I have dozens of pictures like this on my phone. He's just such a cutie!

You lookin' at me?!

One of my favorite pics of the Bear.

Me and Conner talking. He's a great conversationalist. ;)

My handsome boy.

This is a rare occurance these days ... soaking it up!

Tayler came to visit! It was so awesome to have my oldest friend fly here from CA to meet my sweet baby. We took her out to eat some Texas BBQ, and really just chilled out. We had a great time and I can't believe how fast it flew by!

Conner's first Easter! MiMi got Conner an Easter basket with toys, a cute outfit, and a book. She definitely did so good. Mommy, however, didn't do anything for Easter...

Sweet moment with Conner and MiMi.

Mommy didn't even get a picture of her sweet family looking halfway decent on EASTER SUNDAY! Jason and I had changed clothes and put on our glasses by the time we thought about taking a pic. Talk about EPIC PARENTING FAIL.

What up, Home Slice?

Uncle Justin and Aunt Courtney playing with Conner one morning on our trip.

 

Courtney played Pat-a-Cake and tickled Conner's belly. He had a good time with her, for sure!

 

Are you my daddy? You sure do look like my daddy ... Conner hopefully some day you'll get the Smith nose, too.

Justin and my niece, Kylee. She was ADORABLE!! I had fun playing and spending time with her!

How cute is this?!

At the condo we stayed at in St. Augustine. Yo dawg, I heard you like TVs.

And lighthouses...........

Christmas card 2012?

 Thanks, Kylee, for letting me borrow your towel! :)

Mommy ... I have to burp!

Getting so big!

Sweet smiles from my baby!

Sunshine at lunch with Kylee!

Playing with his toys :)

FEET!!

Cuddle time with Mommy!

Bath time with MiMi!

Jason and Chris working in the yard in Texarkana. Hard working boys!

Kylee cuddles with Conner~bear!

Conner was a little fussy and clingy in Texarkana, and I guessed he was teething. About a week and a half later (at 4.5 months old) he got his bottom 2 teeth!

Conner's first state line!

Jason is SUCH an amazing dad to Conner. He loves playing with him. They have such fun together. :)

The day Conner got his 4-month shots, I forgot to give him Tylenol before his appointment. That is the first and last time I make that mistake. He was so upset. I called my mom for backup because I was about to lose it. She came right over and helped me try to calm him down. We called the on-call nurse at my pediatrician's office and she recommended a warm bath. It. Worked. WONDERS. That has become my go-to when he inconsolable. Poor, poor baby.