Christmas: Part 2!

Well, here is the second half of our Christmas celebrations!

One the 23rd, Sunday, we went to my Aunt Cheryl's House.  Cheryl is my dad's older sister.  We don't get together very often, but it is always nice to see family.

Russell was pretty jealous that the bigger kids got to go outside and play after lunch. 

Opening presents! 

Russell really enjoyed his new camera! 

 

Keldrie got some princess books! 

Hudson and Nicole

Okay, this isn't really a good picture, but it is the best one I got of the fireplace.  My Uncle David, Cheryl's husband, carved the mantle piece! Isn't it beautiful? He also carved most of the furniture in the room, but I didn't manage any good shots of that either. 

The next day was Christmas Eve! We began at the mall, helping my Dad finish his last minute stuff.  Then we headed home and put the kids down to nap.  That night was my Grandma's party.  It was delicious, fun, and Matt played his guitar, since my Grandma requested.  But since every time I get my camera out over there, everyone squawks, there are no pictures.

Afterwards, we came home and Keldrie and Russell got to open one special present. 

Russell was excited that the gate blocking him from the tree was gone. 

The Princess PJ's were a big hit, as were Russell"s football ones. 

All ready for bed! Santa was on his way! 

Running down the stairs, first thing in the morning! 

Looks like Keldrie was a good girl! Santa came through. 

What is in this stocking? 

 

We had lots of fun with the kids, especially Keldrie.  This was the first year she really understood the concept of Santa and could look forward to the day.  

After we got cleaned up for the day, we headed to Elaine's for brunch!  It was fabulous!

Not only was the food great, but there were cousins too! Elaine and Steve also gave us some great things to help the kids be quiet in church and help them learn the gospel.

After Grandma and Grandpa Smith, we visited Grandma and Grandpa Keller! There were even more presents there! I don't think Keldrie ever thought it would stop!

What an amazing Christmas it was this year! Hope everyone had a great one!

Smith Christmas of 2012: Part One!

Well, it has come and gone already. Christmas was fabulous this year and it is about time I wrote a serious post!

The Christmas season began with our traditional 12 days of Christmas.  Matt's family always did it growing up and it was fun to do with Keldrie.  I surprised Matt and did it for him too!

One of Kel's presents was some new crayons and she could hardly wait to try them out.  Most of the gifts were just small things, but Keldrie always asked in the morning if she was going to be getting a present today.

One thing that made this Christmas extra special was that Nicole and her family were able to visit! Hudson was lots of fun and Keldrie thinks that Uncle Cameron is the coolest! He was always willing to play with her.

And we also found out this trip that Hudson is going to be a big brother in July! Hooray for more cousins!

Next up was Gaby's Annual Party! We had a great time, as always! The food was fantastic.  Gaby makes the most wonderful stuffing.  I look forward to it all season long.  The only disappointment was that poor Amanda was so sick and couldn't come.

Another favorite thing there is the sparkling cider! Always makes something seem more special. 

We drew Eric, Jenny and their three kids for our gift this year.  I picked up Battleship and Operation.  I thought the two older boys would really like it. 

Well, Luke, who was a week away from his 6th birthday,  didn't understand that Operation was just pretend and that no one got hurt. So out it came so that the boys could examine it and the next day, Jenny let me know that the boys had gotten over it and were enjoying their game. 

Jenny and Eric drew our name for Christmas too and they gave us movie money and we gladly used them to go see The Hobbit on Christmas Evening.  Awesome!  

The highlight of the evening was when the boys gave Elaine her birthday gift, which was season tickets to the theater. 

Right after that, we gave Steve and Elaine their Christmas gift, which was a Samsung Galaxy Tablet.  Eric told them they would have to practice their sharing. They had a hard enough time taking turns looking at it there at the party.  Steve had a disadvantage because his arm is in the sling. 

Well that is Part One of Christmas this year!

It's Ridiculous!

I haven't  updated since September. And now it is only 6 days until Christmas! What have I been doing? Not much really. My camera broke, so I haven't been uploading pictures to my computer. Luckily, we have the I Pad which makes taking pictures easy.  However, Google and Apple don't get along that well so I'm not sure I can even get my pictures on here. I am going to try though!

Well, life has gone on, with out any huge news to share.  Keldrie has been getting bigger and so has Russell. Russell is getting close to standing and walking, but so far he just walks around the furniture and will gladly go anywhere with you if you will hold his hands and let him walk in front of you.

We are all ready for Christmas.  Well, all but one gift that I haven't picked up yet.  I'll be getting it real soon though.  Almost all the neighbor gifts have been delivered and we are much looking forward to the next few days!

Matt is enjoying his first week of Christmas break off.  We are enjoying having him around.  Today, he took Keldrie shopping with him while Russell took his nap.  So I got to shower and get ready all by myself and with out any intereptions.

I'm sure I will think of a million things to add once I finish this post, but I feel like I am so behind, I just need to get started or else I will never get back to updating on a regular basis.

Well, once I get my pictures uploaded, I'll be back to tell you more of what we have been up to since September.

A Great FHE followed by a Terrible Night

Because Matt doesn't get home from work until around 8:30 most nights, we often move Family Home Evening to his day off. This week, that was Wednesday. I decided that for FHE this week, we should go to our favorite local Pizza Place, Tony's Pizza. I think I have written about Tony's before, but as a refresher, it is a real hole-in-the-wall, local people only type place. 

We had a great time, and everyone behaved and the pizza was delicious, as always!  

The real trouble started later in the evening. Keldrie was very nice when it was time to go to bed. She was her usual sweet self, read a story with Matt and then said goodnight.  Russell was a little harder to get to sleep, but he still was asleep by 10:00 or so.  So Matt and I wandered up to bed, and turned out the lights around 11. By this time, Keldrie was tossing and turning in her room, but I figured that she would just go back to sleep soon.  

How wrong I was.

 At midnight, I wake up to her moaning/crying like only a toddler can, in her room. I can't understand what she wants, but I go into her room and she tells me that she wants some water. I get her some and she says she will go back to sleep.  That is until 1 am, when the whole process repeats itself. And again at 2. Finally, after that third time, she really did go to sleep.

 All was well. 

Until 3:30 that is, when Russell woke up crying. Took Matt and I about an hour to get him back to sleep. After all that, Keldrie still woke up at 7:15 that morning. 

It's nights like this that I am so glad to have a husband and co-parent like Matt around to help me. We tag-teamed it all night and gave each other lots of hugs the next morning as we pushed through the haze to go about our usual day. 

Luckily, last night was much better. Russell was the only one to wake up, and he went back to sleep pretty easy. I love being a parent, but on nights like Wednesday night/Thursday morning, I am reminded that it is the hardest job in the whole wide world. It is incredibly rewarding though, so I don't think I will throw the towel in!

Hudson and Nicole Visit!

Nicole and Hudson were able to come visit us again. The occasion was my cousin's wedding, which I forgot my camera, so there are no pictures, but we had lots of time to play besides that!

We went to both the J.V. and Varsity Football games.  Tyler gets a lot more playing time in the J.V. games since they don't want to risk injuring or tiring the first string of his position. In this picture, he is actually out on the field somewhere. 

Hudson was less interested in the game and more interested in the people behind us yelling. It was pretty much parents and siblings only, and they sure were loud.  Keldrie got in on the yelling, although I'm pretty sure Tyler couldn't hear her "Go Tyler!"

Oh, and Hudson was very interested in the snacks that we had brought. Those were a good distraction too. 

 Russell was a good boy too! He did not appreciate the yelling parents, especially his mom. He jumped in my arms every time I cheered.

The next day, we went to the park together!

At first, Hudson really didn't like me, but he warmed up after a few days. I think that I freak him out because I look a lot like his mom. 

"There you are,  mom!"

Little Man loved getting to crawl around on the grass, but did not like the concrete much. He just wouldn't stay on the safe and soft blanket I brought. 

Keldrie trying to get Russell to pose for the picture. She loves to hold his hand, he doesn't feel the same. 

Aunt Chelsea came to join us after she was done at college for the day. Keldrie was thrilled! 

We only got 4 short days with Nicole and Hudson, but we are sure happy we got them! Love you guys!