Russell turns 1!

The last year has gone by way too fast! I can't believe my little guy is already no longer a baby, but a toddler. Although he isn't walking yet, so I guess I don't have to call him a toddler just yet! 

Even though he isn't walking, he has reached many other milestones.  He has 5 teeth, can crawl just about where ever he pleases, can go up and down stairs and has even said his first word, DaDa! 

On the day of his birthday, we didn't do much to celebrate.  Matt and I reminisced, but besides that, we mostly celebrated with other people and their special occasions.  It is my Mom's birthday as well and one of Matt's cousins had a baby shower. 

But the next day, on Sunday, we had a fabulous party!  We started out with dinner, and Russell really enjoyed the soup and rolls.  I also enjoyed the salad that Grandma Smith brought, but Russell didn't like that so much.

 

After dinner, we opened presents! There were lots of willing hands looking to help Russell open his presents.

 

After presents was cake and ice cream! Russell also had lots of help blowing out his candle.

Russell had been trying all day to get at his cake and it was finally time to cut him a piece and let him go at it! 

First bite! 

The littlest party guests also loved the cake and ice cream. 

Keldrie with her only girl cousins (so far), Katelynn and Julia. 

Once the cake and ice cream had been consummed, the kids were all over the gifts.  The toys were a real hit with the older kids as well as the young ones. 

Matt dutifly serving up cake, along with Greg's help with the ice cream.  I really think it was just their way of hanging out in the kitchen. 

Some more of the guests.  I didn't manage a picture of everyone, but we are so glad you were all able to come visit and celebrate this major milestone with us! Russell (and Keldrie) have already played with the toys quite a lot and I know he appreciates them.

Besides the party, I thought I would take a minute to tell everyone about what our sweet boy is like. 

Russell Matthew Smith, you entered this world with much less drama then your big sister. You were also wore me out much less during the pregnancy.  You came into the world around 9 pm and we loved you instantly.  Because of the bad flu season, your big sister had to wait 3 days to meet you in person.  But once she did, she also loved you greatly very quickly.  

Within a few weeks, you were holding your head up and trying to control this blessing of a body.  We were so blessed that you were born of sound body and that you are growing up well.  

You are full of curiosity! Constantly trying to discover something new.  You love to get into  Keldrie's sock drawer and pull them all apart. You also have a fascination with the toilet and the water in it, which I really don't enjoy.  

You are adventurous in your food as well.  I have lots of fun giving you a new food.  Right now your favorite is probably apple sauce.  You also love M&M's.  

You are a snugly boy! You like me to hold you and even give me kisses, although they are quite wet.  You also have a special place in your heart for your daddy.  His name was your first word and I love to see you two play together.  

You love patty-cake and waved Good-bye to your Uncle Tyler for the first time.  You also love "I am a Child of God" and it's melody can usually soothe you.  Keldrie will sing it to you in the car when you cry. 

Russell, you are such a blessing to us! We are so glad that you came here to our small family and made it just a tiny bit bigger. We love you!

Snowy Saturday!

These last few days have been full of mixed emotions for me.  The snow is just beautiful.  And so scary. There were some moments the last three days when I had to just take a minute and appreciate the power and majesty of it all.  Especially Thursday night, as it all began to pile up but it was still coming down hard.  In the streetlamps it looked like a painting. And there were also a few moments when I was really nervous about who was out on the roads and if they were safe.  Luckily, all of us managed to get through this storm in safety.  (Although I did get stuck on a hill at one point, but just decided to slide down it and go another way!)

Today, we spent some time over at my mom's house and Keldrie got to do the one thing she had been asking to do since the snow first began to fall on Thursday, go out and play in it.  

My Mom had a good foot and a half out there in her yard.  I made Keldrie promise to stay on the deck because I didn't want to have to go fish her out if she got stuck out in the middle of the yard.  I had not brought snow boots for myself. 

This grin just says it all.  Pink cheeks and nose, but only smiles to be out there playing in all that white stuff.  

Well eventually, she did get cold.  And there is only one solution to that....

Hot Chocolate! Keldrie prefers it with a huge amount of whip cream on the top, and then when it is about half gone, she usually requests some more whip cream for the second half. And who can blame her?

After she got all warmed up, she ate the Chick-fil-a my mom had bought her earlier in the day.  Grandma knows the way to her heart.

Poor Russell did not get to go outside with his big sister. He had to be content with tearing apart Grandma"s kitchen. (Of course his favorite cupboard was the one with all the appliances and their cords in it. )

But he did get to share Keldrie's dinner!

Lucky boy!

The Annual Wrap-Up of 2012

2012 was an important year for our family.  We went from being a family of 3 to a family of 4.
We had a few struggles and a few triumphs.
We made some decisions, some for the better and some that we will just have to mark as "experience".
Most of all, we grew during this past year.  Life with me at home and Matt going to school full time has not been easy. Especially financially. However, we have been incredibly blessed!
Well, besides all that, let me show you some pictures of this past year!

Does anyone else's nose grow three inches during childbirth? Mine has both times.

Once we got him home, it was like he had always been there. Keldrie instantly loved him. I was worried about how she would adjust to the change of no longer being my only child.  She did great! She loves Russell and adjusted beautifully. 

That brought us to March. March was a very busy month for us.

Nicole came to visit, with Hudson! 
 

Matt got to bless our sweet baby, and afterwards we had so much family come over and celebrate with us!

Matthew and I celebrated our 4th anniversary! 

And Keldrie turned 3! She had such a great birthday, she is still telling people about it.  Although right now all she can talk about is how much longer until her next birthday. 

We continued to adjust to and enjoy our new boy!

That brought us to April and May, both of which went by very fast!

 

We got to introduce Russell to his first taste of food. And he never looked back. 

Keldrie's love for princesses and dress up hit an all time high. 

We saw Thomas the Tank Engine! 

And took a ride on him! 

The summer flew by, but the most exciting things we did was Lagoon and then a stay overnight at Park City! 

That took us to the Fall. This year we had tons of fun watching my brother play high school football. We also had a great Halloween and a fun Thanksgiving.  None of which I have an good pictures of because I was under the belief that my camera had broken.  But it hadn't.

That took us to the fabulous Christmas I just posted about, but here are a few of my favorite pictures!

What a fabulous year we had! We are so looking forward to the year to come! Most of all, Matt will be graduating with his Bachelor's of Accounting in just 4 and a half short months! Hooray!