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Cousins

"Cousins are friends who will love you forever."  ~Constance Richards

One of my most precious Christmas memories is getting together with my cousins every year.  On the Parmer side there are thirteen of us (10 girls and 3 boys).  We are spread out around the lone star state (with one studying in England) so we don't see one another often enough!  Amanda is getting married in early August so we look forward to celebrating with her.  Here are some priceless photos of us at Christmas in past years.

Somewhere around 1986:

1990-ish:



Last night we got together and here is Memaw with all grandchildren (& spouses) in attendance and great grandchildren.  What a fun bunch :)

Here is Memaw with her three great grandchildren (Owen 14 mos, Anaiah 5 mos & Emma 4 yrs).  What a handful :)

We also got a few cute photos of Emma & Anaiah with their new matching Aggie overalls. 

"A cousin is a little bit of childhood that can never be lost." ~ Marion C. Garretty

Merry CHRISTmas!

We had a very blessed Christmas surrounded by great food, good fun and best of all, lots of family!! 

The kids were so excited when Grandpa Ed & Grandma came over on Christmas eve and let them each open one gift. Emma got a pair of walkie talkies and Owen got a fun new bike.

We also spent Christmas eve decorating a gingerbread house and making cookies for Santa!

On Christmas morning the kids were thrilled to discover what Santa had left them!! 

Roxie had been a good girl this year so she even got a little treat :)  Every Christmas morning she likes to plop down right in the middle of the fun!

Santa even brought Emma a new power wheels John Deere gator!!  I'm not sure who was more excited about it.....Emma or Owen :)  Good thing there are two seats.

We went to Big Daddy & Lita's house for lunch.  Lita shares a birthday with Jesus so we took cupcakes to celebrate! 

Uncle Joseph got a new guitar and Owen was very interested!

 

We enjoyed the visit and exchanged fun new things!  I even received my first sewing machine (including lessons), a new crock pot, comfy pajamas, lots of fun gift cards and much  more!

The kids had a busy weekend and were ready for some rest:

On Sunday afternoon we enjoyed a Christmas gathering at Grandpa James and Dorothy's house.  We look forward to two more family gatherings this week.........

Silly goose

I tried to get some cute holiday photos of Emma.

Suddenly she got silly....

Sometimes all you can do is giggle :)

14 months old!

Owen is 14 months old today!  We are finally seeing a lot more of his cute personality.  He is very cuddly, spunky, loving and playful.  He loves to climb on chairs, couches, people, the bath tub, slides, etc.  He is wearing size 4 diapers and still fits perfectly in size 12 month outfits.  He is still facing backwards in his car seat and will stay that way for at least another few months.  He still wakes up a few times during the night and briefly naps twice a day.  His bedtime has moved back a little and he wants to be up by 6:30 each morning.  Jarrod jokes that he is trying to make me a morning person (but I assure you it won't happen)!  He has recently become especially fond of his daddy and I have a feeling will become extremely attached over the next couple of weeks while he is home!  Owen loves giving and receiving high fives and waves all day long like he is in a parade.  We make lots of new friends everywhere we go.

On occasion he can be found doing this fun party trick....maybe one day he will even do a summersault! 

Pneumonia put a brief halt on his walking and talking.  However, over the past couple of weeks he has really taken off!  He grunts and points if he wants something but his vocabulary is pretty limited at this point (I suppose a talkative older sister has something to do with that)!  He says 'Mama', 'Dada', 'light', 'dog' and 'duck'.  He rarely crawls anymore and is a walking machine!!  I'm sure he will be running and chasing Roxie very soon :) 

Lasagna is still one of his favorite foods (as you can see in this photo)!  Bath time is always immediately necessary after we have it for dinner.  He also especially loves pancakes, poptarts, cupcakes, animal crackers, Gerber fruit snacks and goldfish. 

 Owen enjoys eating breakfast and watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with his sister almost every morning!

My weekly Babycenter update read "If your toddler indulges in fits of screaming....you can take some solace in knowing that his development is right on track."  Owen can throw quite impressive temper tantrums:

Owen loves playing during baths but doesn't so much care to get clean!

He doesn't sit still....even for photos!  He wants to be up and away!

Owen prefers to ignore the word NO.  He is fascinated by the Christmas tree and has left me no option but to relocate all ornaments to the top half of the tree.  His sister even taught him how to plug the lights in. 



Thank goodness for little boys :)

Heartbreaker in Mansfield

"Winning isn't everything.  Wanting to is." ~ Vince Lombardi

The quote above hangs on the wall in Owen's room.  The mighty Yoemen played their hearts out until the very last minute.  Unfortunately they came up short of winning the state title, but I am so very PROUD of them.  This year's coaching staff was top notch and the team was such an amazing group of young men.  It was so uplifting to be a part of such a supportive community, especially over the past several months.  Nothing brings a small Texas town together like football playoffs :)

It was awesome to play football into mid December.  What a memorable journey! 

Thanks for following the Yoemen through my blog over the past fifteen weeks.  The "seasons" are about to chage in the Smith household.  Stay tuned for TRACK!!

Game Day Eve.....

Emma made some special treats for some of her favorite players (and her daddy!) 

After five months of pep rallies, we attended the last one of the season this morning. 

Emma distributed the goods:

Coach Toby York was the guest speaker.  He led the Yoemen to their first state championship title in 1981!  There were four team mates in attendance today.

The elementary school is so supportive and made these fantastic spirit signs!  One class even performed a skit called "Goin' on a tiger hunt....."

Here are the Westbrook brothers (#17 & #20) with my kiddos!  They were a couple of the treat recipients :)

The cheerleaders painted my car yesterday so we are ready to GO!!  Here is my favorite window :) 

Tomorrow is the BIG DAY!  There is truly a magical atmostphere here in Yoe nation!!  Let's show the Tigers what we are made of and bring home the title :)

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth......

Owen is finally getting his two front teeth....just in time for Christmas!  You can barely see them here but they are much more visible now.  I will try to get a better photo for his 14 month post :)

Christmas program

Emma did so well at her first preschool Christmas program this morning!

Each class performed three songs.  Her class sang Jingle Bells, Twinkle Twinkle Christmas Star and I know Jesus Loves Me. 

We were so proud!!

It is becoming quite a challenge to photograph these two together!  Owen wanted to be on the GO!!

Mrs. Susan has been such a blessing!  She has made Emma's transition from staying home to "school" wonderful.  Emma looks forward to going each day and has learned a ton. 



Emma has a 2.5 week break from preschool.  Hopefully we can find lots of ways to keep busy!

STATE BOUND....

On Satrday we ventured to UT stadium to watch our Yoemen stomp Lago Vista.  It was so encouraging to see the spirit signs on the highway!  The final score was 42-17 and we couldn't be more proud of the team!

The kids did so well this week!  It wasn't near as cold and that may have had something to do with it :)

After the game Emma & I were allowed down on the field with some of the other coaching families.  Emma knows every word of the school song and loves to sing it with the team.



So proud of Coach Smith!  Here he is with Emma and Thomas Rinn (#4). 

We are so blessed with supportive friends and family!  Here are just a few members of our traveling fan club:

At lunch today Jarrod said "It's the week of the state championship.....and WE ARE STILL IN IT!!"  I am thankful he is able to do something he loves for a living and he is having the time of his life this season!

We are officially STATE BOUND!!!  On Saturday evening the Yoemen will take on the Daingerfield Tigers in Mansfield. We would love to see you there!