Congratulations Woody and Jessie!We are so excited that Reed's brother Woody and his girlfriend Jessie got engaged over the holidays! We love them both and are so happy for them!

this is how WE do it

Reed and I had great intentions of a late night, childless NEW YEAR'S celebration...but THIS is how it turned out.

Smith started feeling bad and running a fever on Monday and Wednesday the doctor gave us some antibiotics to treat bronchitis! He has just been so pitiful and it is so heartbreaking to see his sickness in his eyes.

We had several friends over earlier for dinner and to watch the Chick-fil-a Bowl and had a great time.
Reed started feeling bad, too and by the time all of the company was gone, we was groggy and ready for bed! By midnight Smith was in bed and we were, too! Reed and I just talked about all the wonderful (and not so wonderful) things that can happen in a year. Our family has been very blessed in 2008. I know we weren't in Time Square or at a bar or even at a party with friends, but I ended the year in the perfect way and in the perfect place...doing the one thing I love more than anything...
at home with my family...taking care of my two sweet boys!

Happy New Year!

5 months

Smith is FIVE MONTHS old... At 5 months he is:
eating solid foods.
laughing so hard he gets the hick-ups EVERY time.
very ticklish like his momma.
rolling over (sorta).
loving JUMPING in the rain forest jumper he got for Christmas.
drooling. alot.
a momma's boy. big time!

Smith's First Christmas!

Our sweet boy had a wonderful Christmas. What a blessing it was to experience our first Christmas as parents...Although next year I think we will need to rent a Uhaul to pack all our goodies for a week away from home! We took LOTS of pictures so I will try to be selective and just post some of my favorites.

We spent the first part of the week at Gannie's house with Woody and Jessie. We went to church, had Christmas with DeDe and and the Earle family, and were happy that Santa found us in Canton!

We went to Carthage for Christmas with CC and Pop on Tuesday and were showered by
"beach themed" gifts! Reed loves the beach and we take at least two long beach trips each summer...and since Smith will take his first beach trip this summer, the beach gifts were practical and PERFECT!
Santa brought Smith a basketball goal. He is already taking after Uncle Drew and LOVES playing with his goal!

On Christmas Day we headed to Renfroe to my family's cabin. My parents, Andrew, Laura, Jason and AP all came, too! We played Mexican Train Dominoes with Ganne, a hysterical game of CATCH PHRASE with Uncle Dan and family, ate LOTS of food, rested, hunted, ate some more, exchanged gifts, and watched Smith and AP (and Rambo Reed) enjoy all their toys! My creative and very talented sister made almost all of her Christmas gifts this year. And they weren't cheesey homemade gifts! They were awesome! Baby dolls, diapers for baby dolls, t-shirt quilts, onesies, pillows, height charts, and EVEN tackling dummies??? Is this not the greatest thing you have ever seen? Laura made Smith a tackling dummy out of a photo of Reed from his Senior year at Delta State! It's awesome!

We hope your Christmas was as MERRY as ours!

happy yesterday

I never realized that giving someone a "happy" was a southern thing until a few years ago. I have a dear friend who is a Texan and was living in California at the time. I called her up and excitedly declared, "I bought you a happy yesterday!" I was shocked at her casual response, "What's a happy yesterday?"

Bless her.

Since then, I often find myself referring to a small token or treat as not just a happy, but a "happy yesterday."

So...this week, Smith and I delivered happy yesterdays...Smith's pediatrician, his physical therapist, our maids and my hair dresser, just to name a few.

So what do you give that LONG list of people you need to thank during the holidays?
Something cheap.
Something fun.
Something edible.
Something personal.

My OH-so-TALENTED friend Krystal designed this darling Christmas card for me and I decided that they also made great gift tags!

So there you have it. Chocolate treats with a sweet smile!

Now that's what I call a HAPPY YESTERDAY!

like father, like son...

If you know us well, then it is no surprise to you that MY HUSBAND LOVES CHRISTMAS! And as you can see below, he always has! Reed joyfully (and in his big red santa hat) puts out all the Christmas decorations as soon as I will let him. He loves ALL THINGS Christmas and it looks like his sweet son is following in his footsteps.We took Smith to meet Santa Claus last Saturday and he LOVED him! He just talked to him and laughed...He liked pulling his beard just like he pulls mama's hair!

We think we might leave the tree up all year - (I don't think Reed would disapprove) because whenever Smith is fussy all we have to do is go look at the tree!

Merry Christmas, friends!

keeping busy....

I guess "crazy" is the best way to describe things at our house the past few days. The past week has felt like months and my husband has come to realize that he is married to the most impatient woman in the world. (Like he didn't know that already...)

The advice I continue to hear from "the more experienced wives" is... "just keep yourself busy." So busy we have been.
CEREAL
Smith had cereal for the first time on Thursday night. I am still nursing him but over the past few weeks he has really shown interest in the food we are eating...and as much as he nurses, I think he would rather be at the Barnhill's buffet! Our first cereal experience was fun! AND messy! He wasn't sure he liked it at first, but after a little while he was smacking it down!

SHOPPING
We were in Madison most of the week and I got a lot of my Christmas shopping done. I have a really terrible problem. I LOVE shopping for others and I LOVE giving! Okay, so this is not such a terrible problem if your name happens to be on my gift list. I just have such a hard time limiting myself and not buying TOO much for each person!
While we were out, Tizzie and I picked up Smith a new hat to keep his cute little crooked ears warm! I also bought him a stocking!

NEWKS
While we are on the subject of my lack of self control....I was in Madison for FOUR days and ate at NEWKS THREE times! I know this is disturbing. There are plenty of great places to eat in the Jackson area, right? Yeah, but who else has a whole table of fun free stuff!?!? Want extra cheese? Croutons? Those great skinny breadsticks? Just head on up there and getchu some. Another reason Newks ranks so high on my list is that my sister and I could never turn down a big ole plastic cup of Sweet Tea!!! Its awesome! And the food ain't bad either!
Smith, Reed and I met Pop there on Friday for lunch!

GREAT-GRANDS are GREAT
Reed's grandparents are both in nursing homes and since Smith was born right as the season started, this was our first chance to "make the rounds" to meet his great-grands. We stopped by to see MeMe Stringer in Jackson on Friday. She was so happy to meet Smith.

DeDe Earle was so excited to see Smith that he jumped out of his bed! Seriously...he really did! He wanted to hold him as soon as we walked in the door!

Smith with Aunt Minta!

CHAMPIONS
We had a long, busy week and then spent the weekend enjoying all the championship games. Meridian High School made history Friday night by ending South Panola's 89 game winning streak! It was a great game!
Today, we watched the SEC Championship game with some friends. Smith and Porter kept Uncle Jody busy!

Interesting fact: Last year on the day of the SEC championship game Reed and I found out that I was pregnant with Smith!