Evan's First Christmas!

Dylan and I both had off the week of Christmas and agreed it was really wonderful getting to spend the time with Evan. We had family in town and saw them as well of course, but we enjoyed having our own little Christmas morning with just us. Evan got more toys than any child could ever need, most of which he tried to put in his mouth. In the past week or two he has really started to grab at things and try to play with them. It is so interesting to see him develop into an inquisitive little boy.
Somehow we made it through the entire day without taking one picture. We did however, take video, here it is....

The Smith Family Christmas Card

Taking pictures for the family Christmas card was quite a task, but 4 hrs, two separate photo sessions, one nap, and a few tears later... I'm very pleased with how they turned out.



What a beautiful boy!





I thought it would be fun to have Dylan dress up as Santa for pictures with Evan. The look of curiosity on his face cracks me up.

Pretty Fall Day

The colors of the fall leaves on the trees in our backyard were so pretty we had to take pictures just for fun. My boys are so cute :)

Thanksgiving Week

Between Dylan's family and mine, we had alot of stops this Thanksgiving...

First stop: Dylan's Dad's house
Mike made us a nice breakfast of pancakes and sausage. It was quite yummy. Evan watched his first Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade from his house. I hope that can be a new tradition for him.

Second stop: My Cousin Renee's House
Every year on Turkey Day, my Dad's family has Thanksmas...its a Thanksgiving/Christmas combo. We do the traditional Thanksgiving meal, then follow it with a gift exchange. Evan enjoyed seeing all of his family for the day.

Third stop: Dylan's Mom's House
Dylan's Grandmother, Aunt Lorraine, cousins Austin and Sophie came into town for Thanksgiving. We really enjoyed seeing the family from California since we didn't make it to LA this year to visit because of our little Evan. Evan's middle name, Lawrence, is after Dylan's Uncle Larry...we were all glad that Lorraine and the kids could meet his namesake.

Forth stop: Dylan's Grandpa's House
Visiting Grandpa Don's house is always a relaxing experience. We always have great conversation and this visit did not disappoint.


Final stop: Back home...ahhh.

We have so much to be thankful for this year.
Here is a video of the week's events:

Rice-Bean Reunion

Every year my Grandad's side of the family gets together for lunch. His name was Rice and his sister married Ray Bean...thus, the Rice-Bean Reunion. This was the biggest turnout we have had, all of Granny's children, grandchildren, and great-grandchild were present. This is our first family picture together in probably ten years.



After lunch, we went on our traditional walk around the pasture. (Granny lives on about 30 acres) It was a cloudy, cold day, but I'm glad Evan got to make his first lap of many to come.

Thank heaven for the Jumperoo

I've officially decided that all babies must have a jumperoo. We got him this one with the Monkey Seat (we call him our little monkey) and he LOVES it. He just jumps, jumps, jumps, which is great because it lets me put him down for a while to get things done around the house.

Halloween

This is our first Halloween with a little one and it is definitely different. His bed time is around 7, so doing any kind of night activity was out of the question...Seeing that many of my friends are in the same boat, I decided to host a Halloween Brunch. Evan's friends came over dressed in their cute costumes and we took new family pictures. Evan was a giraffe and looked so precious.



Here's our group picture of the mommies and babies...It was a circus to try to get everyone to look at the camera or not cry :)



By the time the trick or treaters started to show up, Dylan was trying to get Evan to bed, so I sat on the driveway to meet them there. I didn't make it long before I gave up and dumped my candy in the neighbor's bowl. It was a long hard day, but very fun. Our first holiday with Evan was definitely one to remember.

Back to work

I started back to work this week. It was nice to catch up with co-workers and to have some time to myself during the day, but it was still hard to be apart from him. I'm so thankful we can leave him with his grandmothers. I think they enjoyed the one on one time with him...They both took some pictures during the week. Here is one of Evan after his third walk of the day with his Magi.It seemed to be the only way he would settle down to take his naps.



While he was at his Nonny's house on Thursday, he rolled over from his tummy to his back! I happened to be there when it happened and was so excited! When he ended up on his back, he had this look of "how did I get here?" on his face. He hasn't done it again since, but I'm sure he will be rolling all over the place soon.

Grandmother's Birthday

Today is Dylan's Grandmother's 84th birthday and she drove down from Dallas to celebrate with us. It was nice to see her and I think she enjoyed the time with Evan.

I go back to work next week and Evan will be staying with his Magi on Fridays. They will go on lots of walks and swing outside in the hammock. Fun Fun.


Here is the newest Four Generations shot of Dylan's family.


By the end of the afternoon, he was pooped. Poor Baby

Pumpkin Patch

My mom and I took Evan to the pumpkin patch today...He didn't really like it, but we had a good time taking his pictures with all the pumpkins. Here are some of my favorites.

Intruder

We had a bit of an adventure tonight. I left the garage door open as I was unloading the car and chatting with the neighbor and apparently a little bird decided that was an open invitation for him to come in my house. I wish I had snapped a picture of it, but after a about an hour of chasing him around the house with a broom and my neighbor's fishing net...he hopped himself on out of the front door. Lesson learned...shut the door.

Evan with his Gal Pals

During my maternity leave, I've been enjoying some mommy playdate time with friends. It seems that Evan is the only guy in the group! Here he is with his friends Samantha and Cora just hanging out. (He looks like he knows he's the big man on campus) Notice he is the only one not doing tummy time...he hates it! We only do it when he is crying anyway, figure that's better than nothing.

Big Talker

Dylan made a new video of all the little sounds Evan makes. He has lots of important things to say :)

Head Turn

While we were pregnant with Evan, we saw a video of an infant trying to turn her head while her parents cheered her on. After Evan was born, we did the same. This is a short video about Evan's struggle to turn his head.

First Bath

Bathing a baby is much harder than it looks. They are very slippery and they have lots of little rolls and creases to clean. Evan did very well during his first bath...He just sat there wide eyed and took it all in.

Granny comes to visit

This weekend was my cousin Scott's wedding, but with Evan being so little still, we decided we just couldn't pack him up and go to San Antonio. It was nice though because Granny, Kendra and Grant came down on their way through so they got to spend time with Evan. Evan loves his Great-Granny.

Evan's First Month

Wow, a month is gone already...its been a bit of a whirl wind since Evan was born. Dylan got to stay home with me the first two weeks, which was great because Evan has colic every evening. Even with all the crying and lack of sleep, I wouldn't trade it.

Happy Birthday Evan!

Evan Lawrence Smith was born this morning, weighing in at 8lbs 14.5oz, 21.5in and is absolutely perfect.

Baby Shower

Crystal, Katy, and Kendra hosted a lovely shower for me this weekend. Evan got lots of beautiful things from our family and friends. Evan's getting lots bigger, look at that tummy!

Memorial Day Weekend

Since I'll be mega pregnant during our usual summer trip to West Texas, we decided to go over Memorial Day weekend. We got lots of work done around our Cabin and enjoyed some time away from work.

My Pregnancy Week 16

ITS A BOY!!! The sonogram was extremely conclusive, that we are having a boy. We didn't have a preference of boy or girl, but couldn't be happier to finally know. Its seems more and more real every time we see his sonograms. Now we can pick out a name and decorate the nursery...FUN!

My Pregnancy: Week 12

I had my 12 week check up today, and while this is usually just a quick check of the baby's heartbeat, they wanted to do a sonogram to see if the placenta had moved off of my cervix. (it had) Kendra was in town, so she and my mom came to my appointment today instead of Dylan. It was a little crowded in the examination room, but it was nice that they got to experience some of it with me. The baby has little fingers and ribs that can be seen already. All is well.

My Pregnancy Week 10

We had our second appointment today with Dr Seeker. He was just as kind as I had heard he was. The sonogram actually looks like a baby this time!It has little arms and legs that you can see moving around...such a difference from the last one. The Dr said everything looked great and healthy. My big cravings now are Oh's Cereal and Laffy Taffy...go figure?