More Smith Celebrations: New Year's Day, Big Night Out with the Smiths

Starting off 2016 on the right foot ... with this handsome hottie by my side! We made it to midnight, people. We snapped this pic on New Year's Eve before calling it a night and heading to bed. This man is the absolute best and I love him so much. I'm forever on Team Jason Smith!!

On January 1, 2016 we had a nice big breakfast of pancakes and bacon to celebrate the new year. It was delicious and the best pancakes I've made in a while. Big Saturday morning breakfasts are a very fond memory from my childhood, so I like that I'm passing that along to my kids, as well (even though this was a Friday ... I'm counting it). 

After breakfast, we played with Hudson's new Duplos. My kids really love playing with all things Lego. This year Conner got a lot of the Lego Junior sets that he gets to play with while Hudson is napping. Hudson got several Duplo sets, and those are fun for them to play with together!

After we tried to lay Hudson down for a nap unsuccessfully, it was time to head out to the farm again for our New Year's Day lunch with the Smiths! The kids played outside quite a bit even though it was windy and cold. I tried to go out there some, too. I love watching them play together! Plus, someone has to keep a close eye on Hudson. That little booger will do anything the big boys are doing. He's my little dare devil for sure.

Josh and Ashley brought a couple of little toddler 4-wheelers for the kids to play with and one of them looked like Mater. I thought Hudson was going to die of happiness when he saw that! He love, love, loves him some Mater, so he pretty much took over the Mater rider the whole time.

We had another campfire in the fire pit and the sky was gorgeous! The pic doesn't do it justice. I really love the wide open spaces at the farm - so peaceful and quiet ... and free!

We loaded up the kids in the van at 6p to head home and BOTH of them fell asleep by 6:15p in the car! I was shocked! Thankfully they transferred to their beds perfectly and continued sleeping the rest of the night. While on vacation, our kids got super off their regular routine ... going to bed later and later, eating at weird times, napping more sporadically ... all in the name of spending time with family and I think by this point it had really caught up with them. Conner slept in until 8:20a on Saturday morning and wasn't sick - that's when I knew - early bedtimes from now on to get back into our routine! Kids thrive on routine and ours go to bed at 7p.

Saturday morning we hung out at home and relaxed and played. That night was our big night out with the Smiths. Any time we are all together we try to have one really nice dinner out without the kids. It's something I always look forward to, because while I love my kids and my nieces and nephews ... there's something nice about having adult only conversation and not having a jumbled mess of a brain while you're trying to watch the kids and talk to adults at the same time. So, I made an appointment at DryBar Plano to get my hair done for our big night out. I'd never been before but had heard of several friends going and loving it. My hair is getting pretty long, so the idea of someone else washing, drying, and styling my hair sounded divine! I can tell you that the experience was great and I will for sure be going back again in the future. It took double the time on my hair than they schedule for appointments, but at no point did I feel rushed or that my stylist was annoyed. They have a lot of different styles to choose from, and I went with a curls/beachy wave look. I'm going on Day 3 and it still looks great (not as curly, but still flowy and wavy). My SIL, Courtney, got her hair done, too, but we didn't end up sitting next to each other. Next time, I'll make appointments further in advance and request chairs next to each other!

I got home from my hair appointment with enough time to change clothes, finish my makeup, paint my fingernails, and play with the kids a little before my parents arrived to babysit. We headed over to Big B and SuSu's house to meet up before dinner. We were ready for our night out on the town!

Dinner was at Rick's Chophouse on the McKinney Square. Oh, how I love this restaurant! The food was delicious and the atmosphere is great. Big B had never been to the Square before, so I have a feeling he'll be back. It's just so cute and fun and definitely a very cool area of our little city.

We had calamari, crab cakes, steaks, potatoes, veggies and dessert (to-go!). We ate way too much, but had the best time. Big B sure knows how to treat us kids to dinner! I always leave feeling spoiled and loved by my in-laws.

Next up was our big surprise - a limo ride to Dallas to Midnight Rodeo (a country dancing club) and then on to SoHo Food & Jazz (a jazz club/restaurant). It was really fun to be out on the town all together and even though we were all not feeling the country dancing ... we really enjoyed the jazz club. The music was great and Jason and I ordered dessert ... fried cheesecake with strawberries, and the white chocolate mousse with bananas. So, so good.

We got home late - but the kids slept until about 7a, so we got decent sleep. Then we headed over to Justin and Courtney's for breakfast before church. The kids played and we stuffed our faces with kolaches, cinnamon rolls, and fruit. A little after 9a, we headed to church with Big B, SuSu, Courtney, Kylee, and Kinsley. The service was great and the music was awesome. It was so nice to get back to our life group after the holidays - a lot of our people were there and it was so good to catch up! After church we headed home for lunch because Josh and Ashley had already headed back to the farm. We ate leftovers and put Hudson down for a nap. We started getting back into normal life mode and tried to get the house ready for Jason's first week back at work. The kids were in bed by about 6:30p and asleep within 5 minutes. I know we are all craving our routine and it was nice to get back into the swing of things before Jason going back to work hit us like a ton of bricks.

Yesterday was actually a great day overall even though it was our first Monday with Jason gone. The kids and I made a Target run for milk and other essentials for the week and then spent the day playing. I sorted through their clothes in their dressers and pulled out all the things that didn't fit anymore to put away in our storage bins. Hudson is growing like a weed and getting to wear all sorts of things that Conner used to wear. Conner is feeling a little left out of the new clothes department, so I may try to swing by some consignment shops this week to find some fun t-shirts for him to wear for cheap. We ate leftovers for dinner last night and then put the kids to bed right at 7p. Jason and I have decided to start a bible study night for the two of us. Monday nights are our night and we chose a Francis Chan study called Crazy Love on Right Now Media. We don't have the book, yet, but the videos are short and they provided plenty to talk about last night. I'm excited to grow with Jason in the Lord and have that special time to commit to each week.

Today is our first day back at school, so getting the boys ready and in the car on time will probably be quite the challenge, but it's one more step closer to our normal routine, so I'm excited for the day to begin! Plus, a little extra "me time" can't hurt either. ;)

Happy Tuesday, friends!!

Smith Family Celebrations: Christmas, Conner's Birthday, New Year's Eve!

Happy New Year! I can't believe 2015 is over and we are already 4 days into 2016. It feels like the year just flew by - lots of highs, several lows, and a whole lot of regular every day life in between. I'm excited to see what 2016 will bring, but first, let's talk Christmas! It was a great week leading up to Christmas with lots of time spent with family.

 First up - on Tuesday I finally got to drive my new minivan! We got all the license stuff taken care of and got it detailed and fresh for our family. There are a few things I want to get looked over by Christian Brothers, but I'll probably make an appointment for next week when the boys are back to school. On the top of that list is the radio and AUX cable ... music is important, man!

Tuesday was also SuSu's birthday and I was in charge of making the cake. It's a Smith family tradition - yellow butter cake and a homemade fudge frosting. It is so, so good...especially with ice cream!

 Delicious!!

 We went over to Justin and Courtney's house to celebrate and these two lovebugs cuddled in the glider. These two love each other so much!

 SuSu with her Texas grandbabies!

Singing "Happy Birthday" to SuSu.

 We love SuSu so much - and loved celebrating with her!

 On Christmas Eve Courtney came over with Kylee and Kinsley and we had lots of fun playing together! The kids ate cake pops, made gingerbread houses, and did a little Christmas tree craft. We hung out together until it was time to go to the Christmas Eve service at our church.

 The trees...so beautiful! ;)
 
 The kids did pretty darn good at the Christmas Eve service at church considering there's a lot of talking and time they need to be quiet. They had fun and this was our best family pic from church that day...haha!

Then we headed home and ate a simple dinner and set out cookies and milk for Santa and the kids went to bed around 7pm. I hadn't wrapped any presents yet even though my goal this year was to have them all wrapped by December 1. FAIL. So we stayed up wrapping and getting things ready for Christmas morning.

 Santa brought Conner a TMNT van with all the turtles. He loved it!

Conner opening his stocking ... I really didn't take many pictures on Christmas morning ... I was too busy enjoying the moments. Although I saw an idea for next year to capture moments throughout the morning in the background that I'd love to try. Set your camera up on a tripod the night before with all the right settings and then set it up to take pictures on intervals. You can capture the scene of all the members of the family and not have to fuss too much over getting specific moments. That's something I'd love to practice this year to prepare for next year.

 Hudson got a blue truck he can drive from Santa and he loves it!

After we enjoyed some good family time in the morning we headed over to Justin and Courtney's house for our Smith family Christmas brunch. The kids played outside on their new swingset Santa brought and we ate quiche, french toast casserole, sausages and cheese. It was delicious and we ate too much (as usual) and headed home for naps and an afternoon and evening at home.

 The next morning we headed out to MiMi and PawPaw's for our Wright family Christmas! Conner was excited to bring his TMNT along. He couldn't wait to show them to MiMi, PawPaw, and Uncle Brady!

We fed the kids breakfast and then opened presents together as a family. Then we ate a late breakfast of french toast casserole and lil smokies. Yum, yum.

Then after breakfast Jason and I ran a quick errand to Toys R Us while the boys played with MiMi and PawPaw. We lived and learned from Santa that it's best not to wait until Christmas Eve to get everything ready for Christmas morning. He's just such a wise fellow. ;) Anyway, never have I been more thankful that Conner's birthday is a few days after Christmas so we had an extra stash of toys to choose from, as well as time to replenish for his birthday celebration. We took it all in stride and vow to do things differently in 2016. Wrap those presents at the beginning of December!

 While we were out shopping I found myself perusing the baby girl clothes (I mean, who wouldn't?) and these rose pj's were just too cute to pass up! My first real baby girl purchase for my sweet little Lorelai Rose. I'm pretty positive there's going to be an underlying "rose" theme in the baby girl things I buy.

We came back to my parents house and cooked traditional Thanksgiving food for our afternoon meal and hung out for the rest of the afternoon. It was a great day with my family!

On Sunday we ended up skipping church because of the bad weather, but watched online. Then Jason headed out to the farm with his brother and dad to unlock the gate for his brother and family arriving from Florida that evening. So, the boys and I hung out at home and played with their new play-doh stuff from Christmas. Hudson played with one of the play-doh trucks we already had and kept saying it had a tail. "Look Mommy! A tail!!"

 Then I made some homemade rolls to go along with all our Christmas leftovers ... and they were SO GOOD. We always save these rolls for special occasions, but they were so easy to throw together that I might be making them more often. They are also way less expensive than store-bought.

 Monday was Conner's 4th birthday and we celebrated all day long!

 It started out with breakfast at Chick-fil-A. Yum, yum, yum.

 Then we headed to the mall for a special surprise gift for Conner. I'd been wanting to get him a Toothless stuffed animal for a while, and since his birthday party theme was How to Train Your Dragon, I thought this was the perfect time. The Build-A-Bear Toothless was really sturdy and also a special experience so that's what we did. I was nervous that he'd end up picking a different stuffed animal and it not be as special ... but I should have known better. As soon as we rounded the corner to the entrance of the store, we saw the 30-40 different animals all lined up on the wall and Conner instantly yelled, "Mommy, it's TOOTHLESS!!" How he picked out Toothless from all those other animals is amazing to me and made me feel really good about our special surprise.

 Here he is getting Toothless "stuffed" and talking to the lady about his birthday.

 So, right after this, she asked him to pick out a heart, so he did. This is him holding his heart. Then she told him to rub the heart, blow on the heart, close his eyes and make a wish on his heart, jump up and down 4 times for his heart to start beating, etc., etc., etc. I wish I had gotten a picture of his face in response to that. It was hysterical. He frowned and said, "I do not want to do that." And if you know Conner at all ... you know this is typical Conner. We are working on his response to things like this (to be more kind...to just participate if his teacher or someone trustworthy asks, etc.), but every time it happens I have to stifle a laugh because it cracks me up. This phase is HARD ... but so, SO FUN!!

 Putting his red heart inside Toothless.

 Conner with his very own Toothless!! Happy, happy birthday, sweet boy!

 Then we decided both boys needed a haircut. And actually, you know that frown I was just talking about? Well, here it is in all it's glory... He wasn't a fan of his hair sticking up. ::Sigh::

 And then, there's Hudson...I think this lady thought he was older because she was really kind of harsh with his "behavior" while in the chair. He was just being a typical 2 year old. Whatever.

 Then we headed home and Hudson took a nap while Jason and I decorated for Conner's birthday party at our house later that evening and Conner played with new Christmas toys. At 3pm we headed to Jump Street to play with his cousins. He had the best time and all the kids played really, really well together! I took zero pictures because I was too busy having fun watching them play and talking with the adults. My parents and Chris and Kylee came to Jump Street, too, along with Jason's brothers and wives, so it was fun to talk to everyone.

Then at 4:30pm we headed back to our house for Conner's party. I made a delectable meal of hot dogs, mac 'n' cheese, salad, fruit and chips and salsa. Conner loved it so that's all that mattered to me. He was my special boy for an entire day and I loved every second of it!

Then we had cake - Target cupcake cakes have never steered me wrong and this was no exception! I had gone to Target a couple weeks ago and asked if they had any How to Train Your Dragon cake toppers and the lady said no, but she'd check the catalog. She ended up ordering the toppers especially for me and told me in the future if there's a topper I wanted that wasn't in the look book to just ask and they can order them. The cupcakes taste delicious and are very reasonably priced! Conner was super excited to have a Toothless toy to play with after the party on the top of his cake!

 His sweet face as we sang "Happy Birthday" to him.

  Blowing out his candle...

 Then it was time for presents and things got a little crazy. It was me and all 6 kids swarming the presents. The fire was on ... so I was burning up! But it was fun to see Conner get excited about all his gifts and play with his cousins.

 Our family photo from the party - I told Jason this is the one thing I want for every birthday in our family ... a family picture.

 Then on Tuesday we headed over to SuSu and Big B's house for our Smith family Christmas! This was Christmas #3 for us and it did not disappoint! We had some delicious food ... opened presents ... and had a lot of fun together as a family.

Then we headed home for naps and then Conner had his 4-year well check appointment at 4pm. While we waited for the doctor to come in, he passed the time like this...He is getting to be such a BIG BOY!!

 Here are his stats: he weighs 40 pounds (85%), is 44.25" (99%) tall, and he rocked the shots like a champ!

 After the doctor appointment we headed out to the farm for a big Smith family dinner. Jason and his dad and brothers spent pretty much the whole time outside by the fire while all of us ladies and kids stayed warm inside. The kids played, we talked and then we all ate a delicious dinner! The guys went back outside for round 2 and it was a late night for the kids, but worth it. We aren't all together but once a year ... we gotta make the most of it!

Justin, Barry (Big B), Jason, and Josh
 - the Smith men!

We got a picture of all the cousins/grandbabies! It's tough to get 6 kids (4 and under) to smile and look at the camera all at the same time. I think this picture is a really great one, considering... ;)

 Then on Wednesday we finally had a day with absolutely no plans, we didn't go anywhere or do hardly anything except hang out together at home and take down the majority of our Christmas decorations and pick up/put away our some of our Christmas loot. I snagged this shot of Hudson during the tear down and I just love it.

 I don't know what our Christmas will look like next year with a 4 (almost 5 year old), a 3 year old, and a 9 month old, but I do know that I am very much looking forward to it. Every year since Conner was born I feel like we figure out how we want our holidays to go a little more each year. Some things I learned this year that I plan to consider next year are this:

(1) wrap all of the Christmas presents by December 1 - that was my goal this year that I failed hardcore on ... I wrapped every single present on Christmas Eve after the kids went to bed. FAIL.

(2) plan a time to go see the Trains at Northpark and Vitruvian Park - we didn't do either of these this year and I really wish we had.

(3) schedule at least one (if not two) days where we do nothing

On Thursday, New Year's Eve, we headed outside to try out Conner's bike he got for his birthday and he did GREAT! It's amazing to me how many steps there are to show a kid how to ride a bike ... pedaling, steering, braking, going downhill, going uphill, balancing, etc. Once you know how it's so easy, but explaining each step is a little overwhelming. We just focused on pedaling and steering and are saving the rest for another day. One step at a time, man.

Then just after lunch my parents came over to hang out for New Year's Eve. We made typical New Year's Day food ... so ham, black-eyed peas, cheesy potatoes, fruit salad, and rolls. It was absolutely delicious! We put the kids to bed at 7pm and then started playing games. We played Phase 10 for a while then decided to take a break from the games and play a guessing game with 12 assorted chocolates from Trader Joe's. We did the same thing last year and none of us got any better! It's a lot harder than it looks. But they were delicious, which is all that really matters. ;) After that we decided to try out a new game of ours, Ticket to Ride. It was so fun and took us right up to 11:50pm. We wished each other a "Happy New Year" and called it a night.

We had a great 2015 and look forward to what 2016 has in store!

 

Happy New Year, friends!!