On the move

 Our four years in the piney woods of east Texas have come to an end and this season of our life was memorable.  This is where our oldest kids started school, Emma accepted Christ and was baptized, Jarrod led the football team to great victories and historic success, we lost our 12 year old beloved family dog, we endured personal heartache, we made such true friendships, Jarrod was ordained as a deacon and sweet Hudson joined our family.  We are so thankful to have had such loving and supportive church and coaching families and will miss them very much.

 

 We packed up the Uhaul and headed for central Texas on Christmas week (yes, it was rather strange taking our tree down before Christmas day!)  Jarrod has accepted an administrative position with Midway ISD in the Waco area.  It is a fantastic opportunity for our family and we look forward to having daddy around a lot more :)

Precious contents in this box!

 

"You get a strange feeling when you leave a place, like you'll not only miss the people you love, but you miss the person you are at this time and place because you'll never be this way ever again."-Azar Nafasi

Christmas 2015



Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the Smiths! 

 

On Christmas morning the kiddos woke up crazy early to see what Santa brought!  :)  They were thrilled to see that he left Emma her own cell phone, Owen an Xbox One and Hudson a Learning Bear.  They were kind enough to allow me to snap a quick some pajama photos!

Hudson enjoyed his first Christmas festivities!

Our crew

 

Hudson at 9 months

Sweet Hudson is 9 months old!  He weighs 17 lbs 13.5 oz, measures 26 inches long and is the happiest baby we know!  He fits perfectly into size 9 month outfits and size 3 diapers. 

This next photo was taken just a matter of seconds after the one above.  His little hands have gotten very busy and he doesn't sit still for long!  He ripped the sticker off and put it straight to his mouth!

Bath time is still one of his favorite times of day.  It certainly has a calming effect on him.  He is mesmerized by the running water and loves to reach for water when it is poured on his tummy. 

 

He is a great eater!  He is still enjoying homemade baby food and we recently introduced green peas and carrots.  He was somewhat unsure about the green peas at first but quickly decided that he approved!  He doesn't seem picky at all and willingly eats any taste or texture!  His favorite snack is Gerber yogurt melts.  Dec 8th was the first time he reached for the spoon.  It made for a messy situation!

He is still such a catnapper!  He sleeps pretty well at night and doesn't snooze longer than fifteen minutes at a time during the day!  He loves to catch my hair in his hand and hold on to it while drifting to sleep.

Hudson was all smiles for his first Thanksgiving and enjoyed getting to visit with all of his grandparents and family members!  He even got to taste a tiny bit of turkey :)

 

Oh how sweet this bond is!  Hudson has really started belly laughing at her antics.  Whatever she does or says is hilarious to Hudson!  He has shown a lot more interest in reaching for toys!    Sometimes he even falls asleep while playing with the toy bar on his car seat :)

 

 

We love you sweet boy!  XOXO

 

Emma is NINE!

As wild as it sounds, our Emma is NINE!  She is technically half way to being an adult and heading off to college *tear*.  She currently weighs 90 lbs and stands 4 feet 5.5 inches tall.  She wears mostly size 10-12 clothes and women's size 4 shoe {we can share socks!}  She is beautiful, trustworthy, joyful, enthusiastic, clever, silly, smart, creative, strategic and caring.  She is the absolute perfect mix of child and young lady.  She is the best big sister and has lots of patience and love for her little brothers :)

 

 

She is flourishing in the 3rd grade and has been particularly busy at school this fall.  She represented her school and placed in all district UIL events she participated in including chess {4th}, ready writing {5th}, storytelling {4th} and spelling {1st!}.  She learned 600 new spelling words and devoted lots of time to it!  She made straight A's on her first two report cards and excels in the school reading program.  She has especially enjoyed science this fall and loves the experiments!

 

She enjoys riding her bike, playing Barbies, reading, writing, crafting and playing board/card games.  This fall she took piano lessons and participated in her first recital this month.  She performed four pieces and did a great job!  She also received awards for memorizing scales and chords.

To celebrate her last single digit birthday we hosted a slumber party with a dozen of her favorite friends!  The girls enjoyed pizza/cake, nail painting, a craft, freeze dance, games, a movie, ice cream at midnight and much more!  There was plenty of excitement and laughter!  The girls finally fell asleep around 1am! 

Photo booth shenanigans!

   
Each girl put a sweet birthday message on this pillow case which I know she will cherish forever :)

CURRENT FAVORITES:

Color: aqua

Best friend: Marisol, Katelynn, the Savannahs, Ashanti, Reba & Rainy
TV show: Bunk'd

Day of the week: Saturday

Month:  December {because of my birthday!}

Holiday:  Christmas

Outfit:  Anything from Justice!

Restaurant: Yummy Yummy

Food: pineapples & pizza

Drink: Dr Pepper

Thing about school: friends

What are you good at?: Making Hudson laugh :)

Where do you plan to attend college?: Baylor

What do you want to be when you grow up?: Author and/or Teacher

What's the most important thing in life? God &  family

Bible verse: I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. ~Philippians 14:13

Hudson at 8 months

Hud man is eight months old - wow, 2/3 of a whole year!  He weighs 16 lbs 7.5 oz and measures 26 inches long.  Most size nine month outfits are still a bit too long.  As soon as he finishes this current box of size 2 diapers he will move on to size 3. 

 

 

 He is certainly everyone's favorite and never has a shortage of attention!  He adores Emma and smiles big as soon as we pick her up from school every day.   He loves every move she makes and thinks she hung the moon.  Our blue eyed boy still enjoys bath time, eating and catnapping.  He is usually very content and joyful.  In the rare instance that he is upset he is most always immediately calm when we walk outside.  Some fresh air and time on the swing makes everything better in Hudson's world :)

 

He is developing quite a playful personality, just like his big brother!   Owen likes to share boy toys with him {cars, balls, dinosaurs, etc}.  Of course they needed a photo in their matching pajamas :)

Hudson's new favorite toy is a green frog that has teethers and makes a crinkly sound.  He reaches for it and then puts it directly in his mouth.  Teeth must be on the way soon!  He can now hold his bottle {and willingly places his hands on it each time} and tolerates tummy time a little better.  He has started staring at us while we eat and seems interested in drinking straws.  This month he tried yogurt, Gerber puffs, yogurt melts and even a few tiny bites of soft serve ice cream for the first time.  He begged for more ice cream {oops!}

 

We love this sweet boy with all our hearts but can't believe how fast he is growing!

Halloween 2015

Happy Halloween from our hippie, dragon and Captain America!  :)

 

 

Please enjoy the overload of baby pumpkin patch photos!  Our carpool of dedicated coaches' wives took a slight game day detour in the rain to get pumpkin patch photos of our kiddos!  

 

The whole gang!  :)

On Halloween morning the kids enjoyed donuts for breakfast and then painting and mod podging pumpkins for fun.  That evening they dressed up for our annual church fall festival and then trick or treating.    

Our sweet hippie :)

Owen had planned to be Captain America for months!!  He looked great and played the part very well :) 

 

 

 

 

One of the kids' favorite festival activities {besides the cupcake walk, of course!} was the ice bucket challenge!  :)

 

We dressed up as {super!} coaches' wives - and didn't even plan it! :)

 

 

We had a wonderful night and the kids collected more candy than we know what to do with :)

Owen is SIX!

Ready or not, our Owen is suddenly SIX!!  He is handsome, strong willed, smart, unpredictable, playful, hilarious, rebellious and methodical.  He weighs 48 pounds and stands 3 feet and 11 inches tall {both around the 75th percentile}.  At his check up Dr Knight was impressed with how much height he has gained over the past year!  He wears size 5/6 clothes and size 13 shoes.

 

 

He is a loyal friend, a ball full of endless energy, has a great memory and is very competitive.  He enjoys making people laugh, dancing, singing in children's choir, playing football with his daddy and riding his bike.  He dislikes matching socks, not getting his way and trying new foods.

 

 

He is still a very particular eater.  However, he has expanded his horizons and now enjoys broccoli and cheese soup, chicken noodle soup, garlic bread, salad and string cheese.  His favorite meal consists of a peanut butter sandwich, Gogurt, fruit snacks and a juice box. 

 

 

He is a terrific big brother!  He {usually!} loves to help but still must be watched closely and can't be left alone with Hudson. 

 

 

He is thriving in the land of Kindergarten but dearly misses the more intimate setting and special friends at Pre K.  I am incredibly thankful for his teacher and that he is learning so much.  He has only had to move his behavior color down a few times: for chasing girls and trying to kiss them, purposefully unplugging friends' headphones during a lesson and for turning book pages with his mouth {did I mention he likes attention?!}  Ms T says that he is a leader and that his fellow students often follow him.

 

 

Owen is extremely determined and adventurous.  He is a rock climbing machine!  He zips up quickly and doesn't stop until he reaches the top to ring the bell.  He frequents the one at the Baylor exercise facility and this one was at our local Independence day celebration.  

 

In lieu of a big party this year we  let Owen choose a few friends to take out for a day.  He chose three Pre K besties and celebrated with a trip to 7 Acre Wood and Double Dave's for dinner.  The kiddos enjoyed a hay ride, train ride, pony ride, petting zoo, playground, mini golf, zip line and more.  {L to R Willa, Emma, Keaton, JK & Owen} What a fun bunch :)

 

Owen chose this Lego design for his cupcakes!  Shoa at our local Red Barn Bakery always does a great job :) 

 

Hopefully the next six years won't fly by as quickly as the first six did.  We love our middle little with ALL our hearts and count it a blessing that the Lord chose us to be his parents.  There is never ever a dull day with this fellow and we love it!  :)

 

 

Current favorites:

 

TV show: Paw Patrol

Movie: The Incredibles

Sonic drink: Dr Pepper

Color: orange

Hobby: playing outside

Food: rice

Friend: Keaton

Day: Friday {because it's the weekend!}

Book: Pete the Cat series



Hudson at 7 months

Hudson is now seven months old!  Our little pumpkin weighs 15 lbs 6 oz and measures 24.5 inches long.  He still wears mostly size 6 month clothing and size 2 diapers.  His hair is getting longer on top and has some curl to it.  Some days it goes wild and is as cute as can be!  He is such an easy going child and is as smiley as can be :)

 

 

Overall he is still a great sleeper but has regressed a bit lately.  He awakens periodically some nights and nurses back to sleep each time.  Daddy can swaddle him crazy tight but he always manages to wiggle his arms free.  He still cat naps a few times per day for about half an hour each time.  Snoozing in noise doesn't bother him at all {of course he has no choice with big siblings!}  Daddy's football games kickoff at bedtime which has been an adjustment!  He goes with the flow and snoozes well in the Ergo carrier.  Typical coach's kid :)

 

This month he endured his first cold and also enjoyed his first shopping trip in the big boy stroller as well as his first time swinging at the park.  He could have stayed there all day!  Once Fall-like temps arrive we will be spending lots of time outdoors :) 

He is our social butterfly and people often stop to soak in his sweet personality.  Unless he is very hungry or sleepy he is usually happy and content!  He especially loves to bathe, swing outside and spend time with his favorite big sister :)   He doesn't reach for toys yet but often gets a strong grasp of hair or earring and doesn't want to let go!  He has become VERY talkative this month and loves to share his opinion {whatever that might be!}  He even says "Mamama" :)

He still enjoys eating!  He eats 5.5 ounces every three hours like clockwork and eats baby food twice a day.  We added avacados and bananas this month and we also started mixing foods together.  He seems to like both fruits and veggies and opens wide for the spoon :)

 

He had his quarterly clinic day at TCH this week and everything looked great.  He only had to endure one quick test.  He had blood work done on his arm for the first time (opposed to his heel like before) and was NOT a fan.  He impressed everyone with his smiles and chatter.  As long as everything stays stable we won't have to go back until mid February (yay!)

 

He now recognizes his bottle, the sound of the bath water running and his nap time hymns.  He does PT once a month and is getting stronger.  He can sit independently for a few seconds and is learning how to hold his own bottle.  He can turn from side to back when enticed by the TV ;)

This month he attended Bunco with me so I included him in my costume!  I may be biased but he was the cutest little pigskin I've ever seen.