T'was the night before Christmas

The cookies and milk are set out along with some carrots for the reindeer.  The Night Before Christmas has been read and the kids are all sound asleep, excited about what tomorrow will hold.  I should say Hayden is excited and Emerson is a little unsure.  She is still afraid of Santa, so afraid that she said "I don't want Santa to come down my chimney, he can leave the presents on the roof".  She might be the only child in the world who does not want Santa to come down the roof.  I'm sure she will change her mind in the morning about Santa.  Merry Christmas 2013!!

All I want for Christmas

At Hayden's most recent dentist appointment the Dr. said Hayden will lose his front teeth in the next month And he was exactly right.  It wasn't long that his top teeth started shifting and you could see it was coming.  His hands were constantly in his mouth wiggling that tooth and he would only eat with the side of his mouth.  It was pretty great watching him chomp down on an apple with the side of his mouth, but he was adamant about not using his front teeth.  For a while, the only one he trusted to wiggle his tooth was Emerson and let me tell you she is the last one I would trust.  I just knew she would yank it out, but she never did.  Finally, one night he worked and worked on it and just couldn't quite get it, but he was determined for the tooth fairy to bring him some money so he finally let David yank it out.  I really dreaded the loosing the teeth stage, especially the front teeth, but he looks so stinking cute.  Now to see if he will be singing "all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth".

Griffin turns ONE

It is official, my baby boy is one.  You are no doubt a big boy, you walk, you talk, and are truly the sweetest little guy around.  You are the happiest, laid back, go with the flow kind a kid.  You wake up with a smile and go to bed with a smile.  You love to cuddle, they fight over who gets you in the nursery at church because they all want to cuddle with you.  You have more hair than your sister, you actually could use a haircut, but it just seems to early to cut your hair.  You have 7 teeth, four up top and three on the bottom and let me tell you, you can bite with the best of them.  I think Emerson has taken two or thee good chomps from you.  You have been nothing but a blessing to our family, we all absolutely adore you.  You light up our lives like you could never imagine.  So happy 1st birthday baby boy!!

Emerson's Christmas program and Santa Party

The fact that Emerson participated in the choir program to me is still a complete shock to me.  We attend choir every Wednesday night, she loves choir, she loves to sing and dance, but never did I think she would stand still during an hour long program.  A few nights that had rehearsal for the program in the "big kids" choir.  When I find out there was rehearsal, I was just going to pull Emerson out, but Mandi insisted she stay just to see how she does.  Well, they all raved at how awesome she did and mentioned how they planned for her to be in the program and she was front and center.  First, I cant imagine why they would put my wild girl front and center, I could only imagine the chaos she would create the night of the program.  Oh, the things I imagined in my head that could go wrong, very, very wrong the night of the program.  So, a week ago they had a rehearsal in the gym, on the risers, and this would be the true test.  I found a chair in the very back and braced myself.  That night, I have never, ever laughed so hard, I couldn't catch my breath and had tears streaming down my face.  She was an absolute angel, she smiled, she pretended to play the hand bells and sang her little heart out, all as she stood front and center.  Honestly, she was better behaved than the six year olds in the program.   This was it...there was no way I was not going to let her sing in this program.  No one should miss seeing her shine.  So that night at the program, she did absolutely amazing.  There was a little wardrobe malfunction with her halo, but nothing major.  I was so proud of her, I can't believe I ever doubted that she would stand and sing.  There is nothing this girl can't do.

This was rehearsal night

After the Chrismas program, we rushed to our neighborhood Santa party.  We get together for snacks, a kids gift exchange and best of all, Santa comes for a short visit for the kids.  

Griffin's Birthday Party

The 1st year of a child's life is truly amazing.  They go from a newborn, to an infant to a toddler all within a year.  They go from not sleeping to sleeping all night, from not even being able to hold their own head up to rolling, to crawling and eventually, to walking.  Then they call you "momma" for the first time and blow kisses and give you hugs.  That is something worth celebrating....my sweet Griffin's 1st birthday.  A birthday he will not remember, but one I will always remember as I do Hayden and Emerson's.  Griffin was more along the lines of Hayden, he wasn't so sure of his cake, he was very cautious and it took him a while to realize the goodness he had in front of him.  One he had a few bites,  he never looked back and dug in.  It was a great night celebrating Griffin with family and friends.  His first year has been nothing but an absolute joy.  Happy 1st Birthday Griffin Wells Smith!!

Look who is here

The elves, they have arrived.  They always bring a sense of magic and excitement to our house and sometimes they bring amazing surprises.  This year, not only did Sallie and Charlie arrive safetly, but they arrived with a new friend.  Thats right, Griffin was assigned his elf, Finnegan.  Our kids absolutely adore these elves.  They always arrive with a bang, and this year they arrived with a big one.  They brought the whole family a trip to the most magical place on earth....Disney World.  Hayden and Emerson were beyond excited.  The date is set for January 29 through February 1st.  What an amazing start to the holiday season.  I don't know how Santa can compete with a trip to Disney World, but I am sure he will come up with something.  

Fall and Thanksgiving

Fall has been fast and furious.  I just need to realize with all these fall birthdays it is just going to be our busiest time of the year.  Busy is good and fall is by far my favorite time of year, except that I really don't look forward to school starting.  I know the kids are ready, but it means the lazy morning turn into the crazy mornings.  Other than school starting, I love the cool weather and everything it brings.  It means Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner.  This year was our turn to head back to Memphis for Thanksgiving.  Everyone was still fighting of the stomach bug, in fact, Dad still had it and poor Courtney ended up with it while we were there.  This stomach bug was brutal this year.  Other than the sickness, the kids had a blast playing and visiting.

Emerson is three

My baby girl, today you are three.  Problem is, you want let me call you baby, you demand I call you just "Emerson" and demand that you are not a "baby".  I guess you are right, but I'm just not ready give up you being my "baby girl".  You are obsessed with all things princess, specifically Cinderella.  You love to sing, in fact, many times you will go up to your room and turn your CD player up as loud as possible and sing along to your choir CD.  You are stubborn and will fight the good fight to get what you want.  My goodness, you are persistent and know exactly what you want.  You refer to yourself as "Hayden's Girl" and without a doubt he is your best friend.  You do not like to be called "bad girl", it crushes you, though sometimes you might be a little bad.  But it's impossible to stay mad at you.  You make life so interesting, you make keep us on our toes, but most of all you make our life so full.  So happy birthday baby girl!!

We had two small parties for you.  After school, we walked to Sweet Cece's with your best buddies from school and had a special treat.  Since we just did a family birthday, I thought you would have liked to have done something small with your friends.  I have asked what you wanted to do for your birthday and all you asked for was a Cinderella cake for your birthday party.  You ask and you shall receive little girl, especially for such a simple request.  The whole family was here to celebrate you turning three.  You and Addie dressed up, we ate cake and ice cream, opened up presents and had a wonderful time just celebrating your special day.  It was almost the perfect weekend, until the stomach bug hit just about everyone who attended.  Not a great way to end the weekend, but it will absolutely be a birthday party no one will forget!