ChristSMITH Recap!

Happy New Year friends and family! You should know that as I'm typing this, I'm currently "working" on 2 of my New Year's Resolutions. 1- Blog more. (Check!) 2- Try a new recipe from one of our cookbooks each week... currently Chris and I (well mostly Chris) are whipping up a new pasta dish. I'm sitting on the counter drinking wine and typing while he cooks. It's a win-win...(Check!)

I just thought I'd do a quick post to recap our holiday season. It was SO much fun this year with both boys. Sure, holidays can be stressful, but it was so neat to see Christmas through Brady's little 2 1/2 year old eyes. He loved anything revolving around Santa, lights, presents, and "Jingle Bells." Nolan was mostly interested in anything that he could put in his mouth (the boy completely mastered the art of finger foods this past month and hasn't looked back since.)



Littlest man was quite fascinated with Christmas lights and SO wanted to eat them!

I made it my mission to fill my advent calendar with treats and activities for Brady and documented each day on Instagram. Some of the things we did were; pet a live reindeer, visit a Christmas tree farm, ride the Santa Express train, and had a Polar Express party with his friends. Here's some of our advent activities that I documented...



Riding the Santa Express! Brady wanted to hurry up and get this Santa picture over with so he could get back to looking out the window.



Polar Express Party with our playgroup pals. PJ's, cookie decorating, food, book exchange, and the Polar Express movie!



Brady picked out a present to put under the giving tree at school for one of our advent days.

  

 

Movie night! Popcorn and the Elf on the Shelf movie.

Speaking of Elf on the Shelf...this gal (Pixie) made an appearance every day during the month of December.



Our Christmas season was exceptionally special because we had visits from my mom (over Christmas week) and dad and step-mom (over New Year's week). The kids were completely spoiled and it was a blast to see them go from gift to gift and spend time with their grandparents. It's hard to believe that Nolan's 1st Christmas has already come and gone. Where has the time gone?!

This was Brady's face the exact moment he saw the train set that Santa brought him!

I think he could have just fallen asleep watching Thomas...

My mom with her grandbabies

I couldn't have gotten a more "Nolan" picture.

Now that January is here (usually my most detested month of the year) and the holidays are behind us, I'm actually looking forward to this new year. It feels like a fresh start and a good excuse to get organized, simplify some things in our life, and just make the most of our moments as a family. As I mentioned before, we have a few New Year's Resolutions we are working on. I'm going to attempt to blog more (per request of family members who want to keep up with our far too long distance boys), we are trying new recipes each week (we have tons of cookbooks, need to put them to good use!), we are de-cluttering (we WILL be ready for the neighborhood garage sale this Spring), and we're re-joining our rec center (those Zumba classes won't know what hit them!) We hope everyone had a great holiday season and that 2014 is full of amazing blessings for you and your family!

Thankful!...a New Perspective

This time of year my Facebook newsfeed is always flooded with people who are posting something they are thankful for each day. I think it's great! I love how everyone is taking the time to reflect on the wonderful things in their lives (especially because it's so easy to get hung up on the negatives.) I wish I was on top of it enough to remember to post something I'm thankful for each day, but chances are I'd forget, so I thought I'd do something similar on the ol' blog and just knock it out in one post.

Obviously, I can think of bunches of amazing things I'm thankful for pretty easily; my health, my kids, my hubby, my family, amazing friends...but I thought I'd challenge myself to look at the things I normally gripe about in my life and find the positives in them. So here goes a weeks worth of finding the good in not so good moments!

Monday- ENDLESS piles of Laundry
I always tell Chris how much I would love it if there were a day where every piece of clothing in our house was clean and put away. But alas, that day has never come. I'm quick to complain about the full hampers, sorting, pre-treating, folding, etc. But then I thought, wow, how lucky am I that we have plenty of warm footie pajamas for our kiddos, soft fluffy towels for after their baths, and clean bibs for every messy mealtime. That laundry means our boys are warm and protected every day!

Tuesday- A teething baby who is waking up at night.
No, I'm not thankful for the fact that my baby is in pain getting his first little tooth, but despite the fact that it's SO not fun to be woken up 3-4 times at night to tend to a crying baby, I can still see the blessing in that moment. I have a perfectly healthy baby boy who is growing and changing every day. I am lucky enough to be home each and every night to take care of that little baby and be the one to console him. Plenty of parents would love to have that opportunity.

Lil' Squishy.

Wednesday- Lack of  a traditional "date nights."
Ok, it's hard to find the positive in not getting to go out to dinner and a movie with my hubby, but I think I've got one. Since we don't have grandparents nearby to watch our kids at the drop of a hat and we haven't found a consistent babysitter that we can use whenever we need a night out, we have been forced to be creative with our alone time. At least once a week we wait to cook our dinner after the kids have gone to bed. Even though we miss the fun of going to a restaurant sometimes, Chris and I genuinely enjoy trying new recipes, hanging out, listening to music, and cooking together. Some of our best conversations have been over a bottle of wine in the kitchen!

Thursday- Cold Pennsylvania weather.
It's very easy to complain about the weather as fall turns into winter up here. It's kind of a pain to put on jackets, hats and gloves on little ones just for a quick trip to the grocery store.  But, that cold weather means my kids get to have "White Christmases". They get to build snowmen and sled down the hill behind our house. They get to enjoy a warm fireplace on Christmas Eve. They get snow days off from school where they get to drink hot chocolate and watch Disney movies!

Even Florida boys can enjoy the snow.

Friday- My old jeans being a little snugger than I remember.
It's real easy to get down on yourself if you aren't 100% happy with the way you look or feel. It's easy to see other people's posts about amazing workouts they just completed and feel like a bum. But, I'm choosing to look at the fact that I am not rocking some super cute skinny jeans as a positive. I don't have a perfect body because I had 2 incredible little boys---in less than 2 years! I don't work out every day because I choose to use my time hanging out with my babies and hubby. Sure it's important to be make your health a priority, but if you ask me, I am actually pretty lucky to have a little post baby weight on me.

Thankful for little men who love me no matter what size I am!

Saturday- Being a Gator fan.
So, it's no secret that the Florida football team is abysmal this year. It's super easy to complain about our losing season and wish we were rooting for another team. However, the great thing about being a Florida alum is the fact that your love for UF does not begin and end with the football team. I will ALWAYS love being a Gator no matter what!! I spent the best 4 years of my life in Gainesville. I met my best friends in the world at UF. I met my awesome hubby because of being a Gator. And, I have a degree hanging on my wall from one of the best universities in the country because I'm a Gator. So, even though it's not been a fun football season this year, I always try to remember how awesome it is to be a part of the Gator Nation.

Thank God I married a Gator!

Sunday-Traveling with two young kids. Yikes.
It's really not fun taking babies on airplanes. Between all the junk you have to haul with you and praying that your child does not elicit eye rolls from people who have clearly never had to fly with a baby, it's stressful. And as much as I'm looking forward to our family's upcoming Thanksgiving trip to Savannah, I can only imagine what 12 hours in car with a 7 month old and 2 year old will be like. But here's the positive. We are making memories with our kiddos that will last a lifetime. We are braving the obstacles and are fortunate to be able to visit with family and take our kids places they've never been. We may feel the need to do some heavy drinking when we arrive at our destination, but I'm super thankful for the ability to continue to pursue our blessed adventures as a family.

Lollipops...my secret travel weapon.

I hope everyone has a blessed Thanksgiving this year. May your belly be full of delicious food, your favorite football team win, you score some great Black Friday deals, and you find the time to reflect on all the positive (and negative) blessings our God has provided for you!

My Guy!

I love my hubby. Yeah, he's not perfect. Yeah, he can be a little bit of a dramatic baby. Yeah, he has 0 tolerance for when our cat is annoying. But, when it comes down to it, he's the best husband and dad that I could have ever dreamed up for our family. Seeing as how so much of our lives revolve around babies, toddlers and animals, I thought he deserved a little attention on the ol' blog for a change.

For our first married Valentine's Day, Chris started a scrap book for us that each of us takes turns making a page for each year. Every Valentine's Day, one of us makes a "Top 10 Reasons I Love You" list for our page. (I know, extremely cheesy and something a girl would think of with the help of Pinterest, but I love it!) I thought I'd do something similar on here to give my guy a big internet shout out- which he will most likely be highly embarrassed of. Oh well, here goes...

Reasons I love Chris!

1- He takes care of all the icky jobs around the house. Diaper Genie, Litter Box, trashcans... Our house would be super smelly without you honey!

2- He's got no shame when it comes to karaoke or dancing. I love that I have never had to coax him into getting on the dance floor with me at a wedding. I love that if there is a karaoke machine in sight, he HAS to request Journey's "Don't Stop Believing."

3-He's a foodie like me! Our favorite show to watch is "Top Chef." If there's nothing else on, we always turn on Food Network. He has a secret man crush on Bobby Flay. We extensively plan out what restaurants we want to go to before going on vacations. And, best of all, he asks to cook dinner every once and a while! We are sure to grow old and happy and fat together...

4- He slow dances with me in the kitchen. I know, again, corny...but aren't we all looking for corny in our life? (Thank you "The Holiday" for that quote that never gets old.) Refer to item #2 on this list- the boy loves to dance and I love that he loves to dance with me! However, funny story; the other day Chris started dancing with me in the kitchen and he spun me around. I thought he was going to dip me- nope. I started falling back while Brady simultaneously rode into the kitchen on his tractor and crashed into both of us. All three of us came crashing down. Brady was fine (although, slightly annoyed that his tractor fell over) but Chris was clutching his knee writhing in pain (remember how I said he was a dramatic baby at times) and...all I could do was laugh.

5- He misses our kids SO much whenever he's out of town. He dreads traveling for work and wants to Skype at any chance he gets. He rushes home so he can read bedtime books to Brady and asks to be the one to put Nolan to bed. He knows that his job is what provides for our family and gives me the chance to be at home with our kids- his travel and weird schedule is the ultimate sacrifice for our kids!

I could go on and on... His passion for sports of any kind, his patience for me constantly rearranging things around our house, the way he tears up during those super sad Sports Center stories about athletes visiting sick kids, him knowing the words to most of the songs in "The Little Mermaid" and "Enchanted" (due to me having the same taste in movies as a 7 year old girl), his love for the GATORS, and the way he insists that we pray before every meal. This post was not meant to be a brag (I am in NO way claiming that Chris is a perfect man) just trying to give credit where credit is due. In a world full of insensitive, distracted, and not-so-great guys, I just wanted Chris to know that he is a rare, awesome, perfectly imperfect person and I'm so glad God gave him to us! Love you, honey!!!

Things I've Learned as a "Boy Mom"

1. Anything with an engine- train, plane, motorcycle, lawn mower- is FASCINATING.
There's a reason that Disney made 2 Cars movies and then followed it up with Planes. Brady simply CANNOT be outside without pointing out each passing airplane. He obsessively watches neighbors as they mow their yards. He is convinced that every time Chris leaves the house he will be taking his motorcycle and runs to the window to watch him leave, just in the off chance he'll get to see "Daddy ride mo!" We have had to hound the poor librarians at our library to track down all the train books at the neighboring libraries. We even had a meltdown when returning our books. Screaming, through tears, "Bye bye choo-choo books...see ya..."

Riding tractors...serious business.

2. I don't need to color sort my laundry.
Girl clothes are so adorable. They are one of the few things that make me wish I had a girl. But, the great thing about all those not as adorable boy plaid shorts, baseball onesies, and Mickey t-shirts is the simplicity of my laundry. Yes, boys seem to make big messes which results in copious amounts of laundry but, I've never had to read a label on the back of a shirt, lay something flat to dry, iron, or even sort by color. It's all blue, gray, green, and brown. No fuss needed.

Also, boys like being naked.

3. Expect that all photos will be blurry.
My boys are never still. Seriously, every time Nolan smiles his feet kick, arms are flailing, and drool flies out. Brady is usually climbing, running, or kicking something whenever a camera comes out. So, despite my efforts to improve my photography skills, my moving targets will always be a blur.

Nolan, ferociously grabbing my face and attacking me with kisses!

4. Boys can eat A LOT.
You would never believe by the size of Brady just how much food he can pack away. Seriously, there are times when kids meals are such a joke. He can easily put down his own 8 pack of nuggets at Chick-fil-a. One time when we were out to breakfast I made the mistake of just sharing my meal with him. He ate 2 pancakes, 2 pieces of bacon, scrambled eggs and a biscuit. I pretty much got nothing to eat! And Nolan, well let's just say, he aint even close to giving up his nighttime feedings. Needless to say, I'm a little worried for my grocery bills in the teen years.

5. Something will always be sticky, dirty, slimy, or in some cases, blue.
Just the other day I had to quickly get off the phone with my mom because in the one minute from when I got him out of the car to when he ran into the front yard, Brady's face was covered in some brown mystery substance. Still not sure what that was...perhaps a mixture of leftover fruit snacks and dirt?

Sticky, blue lollipops...blend in just fine with the "boy" uniform.

6. Being "gentle" is next to impossible.
I don't understand how little, 4 month old, Nolan has the ability to pull out so much of my hair with his tiny little fists. He's such a brute. And Brady... our poor animals don't stand a chance around him- So many "hugs" for poor Gato and Albert. So, the two boys together, I can only imagine what our future holds!

7. The only accessories we really have to worry about are matching socks and the occasional baseball hat.
As much as I love those hand made rosette head bands (that's a real thing, right?) there's something to be said about the ease of throwing on a pair of shorts, a shirt, and a hat and heading out the door. Nothing really has to match and everyone looks cute in a baseball hat!

Monkey hat and bib- this is as fancy as we get.

So cool.

8.  The term "throw pillows" is taken very literally.
I can't tell you how many times I've picked up my throw pillows off the floor. Apparently in a boys' world, they are just fluffy obstacles taking up room on the couch. Also, they fly pretty well and make a nice landing spot for when you're jumping off the couch. I don't anticipate this changing in my life, as Chris is just as guilty of tossing the pillows off the couch.

9. You have to run everywhere.
*Mommy just got me out of the car, time to run like a maniac into the yard.
*I have flip flops on that always make me trip, time to run like crazy up and down the sidewalk.
*Mommy is getting the baby out of the car, time to make a run for it in the parking lot.
*Daddy's mowing the lawn, I must run to find my bubble mower.
So. Much. Running.

Screaming, "GO GO GO!"

10. The term "momma's boy" is just so true.
Even though boys have endless energy, a love of sports and other "guy stuff," and live for rough housing with daddy, there is just something so cool about a mommy/son bond. I'm the one they want when they're tired or fussy or just need a little extra loving. I get endless snuggles and (sometimes slobbery) kisses. If there's a boo boo that needs kissing, I like to think I do it best. I love my little guys and value my role in raising little men so much, but my hope is that even as grown men, they will always need their momma.

Extreme Makeover: Living Room Edition

It's time that I come clean about a sickness that I've dealt with for a long time now. I like to refer to it as, "Decorating A.D.D." I don't know what's wrong with me, but I'm constantly wanting to update, rearrange, paint, or completely change rooms in my house. I know you have to take ownership of your own problems, but I have to partially blame my mother. She would change our comforter sets in our bedrooms at least once a year. We always had new bath towels. She loves to change the "style" of her living room furniture often. And, given that she was a seamstress, it was nothing to whip up some new curtains or pillow covers when we were sick of the old ones. I'm assuming that's part of the reason why I don't usually stick with my current decorations for too long- also a pretty good reason to not buy things that are too expensive!

With that being said, we decided to give our living room an update. You may remember that this living room was just painted a pretty aqua color on the night we found out we were pregnant with Nolan. Buuuuut, new living room furniture prompted a big change. For about 7 years we had a light tan microfiber sectional couch. The light, somewhat safe couch color demanded a bold, bright wall color in my opinion. Here's what we were working with...

But alas, the microfiber couch had taken a beating. Our cat, sensitive stomach dog, and two kids had put their mark on these couches- not to mention the many parties we've hosted and years of eating dinner on them (pre-kids.) After referring to this blog that I found on Pinterest (http://chrisandrobinsnest.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-clean-microfiber-furniture.html) about cleaning microfiber one too many times, I finally caved into the never ending "spill proof" sippy cups and decided we needed to buy leather couches. We sold the old sectional on Craigslist (someone actually paid money for it and picked it up from our house!!!) Here's what we're working with now...


A brown leather couch and love seat. Notice the sippy cup on the new fabulously wipe-able couches! Also, Brady is, um, yea...

The couches are awesome, but very big and dark. This of course prompted me to get the itch to re-paint the living room a brighter, lighter color. We were off to Home Depot and Chris was back on his ladder re-doing the paint job that he had finished less than a year ago. Here's the paint we chose...

Martha Stewart- Nimbus Cloud

Seeing as how there was nothing wrong with our previous color, and I actually really liked it, I questioned our decision to re-paint several times throughout the process. Thank you, Chris, for being so patient with my Decorating A.D.D. (in sickness and in health, and all that fun stuff.) But, in the end, I really, reeeeally like how it turned out. It feels airy and bright and I think it compliments the brown couches much better than the aqua would have. Here's some before and after pics. (Turns out the only "before" pictures I could find were from Christmas.)





Before



After



After



After

Dining Room Before

Dining Room After

In addition to paint color and furniture, I was on the lookout for new throw pillows. Throw pillows are my weakness. My mom had recently made us some fun pastel pillow slipcovers to brighten up the microfiber sectional, but I didn't think they would look right on the leather couches, so they have found a new home on the boys' playroom couch.



The playroom- A perfect new home for my fun pastel pillows!

I had my eye on some awesome Pottery Barn pillows for the new couches, but I didn't have a Pottery Barn budget (Remember my Decorating A.D.D.- I can't afford to spend too much on something that may or may not stay for a long time.) So, I went to Homegoods and found some almost identical pillows, but at a much cheaper price!

Pottery Barn Pillows



 

Pottery Barn Pillows



Homegoods pillow!

My Homegoods pillows- so similar!


 





I'm sure I'll keep tweaking the living room here and there, but for now, I'm loving the new look. The couches are comfy (Chris can't wait to recline them for football games!) and the walls feel fresh and clean. I love the change and hopefully it will satisfy my Decorating A.D.D.... for now!

 

Ready for college football, and pony rides, apparently.

 



A year of PA!

It just occurred to me that it's been a WHOLE year since we moved to Pennsylvania. Before we moved up north, Chris and I made a list of things that we wanted to see and do during our time in the northeast, so I started reflecting on what we've accomplished thus far. I will say that many of the things on the list got put on a "will have to do later list" due to a very big surprise we got 2 weeks after we moved here...ahem, Nolan.

Here's some pictures taken in front of our house- a year ago and now. I'm going to blame the fact that 3 month old Nolan looks as big as 13 month Brady on an unflattering camera angle. :)



July 2012

July 2013

I've said it before, but Lititz, Pennsylvania really is a different world from Clearwater, Florida. Both are great, but SO different! Our little town is a stereotypical "Main Street U.S.A." kind of place right in the middle of Amish farmland. (Side note; Lititz was voted as "The Coolest Small Town in America".) It's so unique and Chris and I are constantly remarking on how we really hit the jackpot when we randomly chose where to live in Pennsylvania. We wanted to try new things and experience a different kind of lifestyle when we decided to move and that's definitely happened. I can't say I don't miss my friends, family, old job, and proximity to the beach, but what a great opportunity we have had getting to live a new life up north. Here's a little recap in pictures of some of the things we have gotten to experience since our move...


Moving day...Brady crawling around his new house.

Sesame Place! B-man got to meet the real life Elmo and Dorothy!!



Playing in the snow! Definitely wouldn't have happened in Florida!

The Baltimore Aquarium. B shares my love of dolphins!

Countless petting zoo trips. There's a whole lot of farm animals in our neck of the woods!

Lancaster airport- big boy LOOOOVES airplanes!

Playing in the Fall leaves.

Pregnancy #2!

First trip to NYC.

Night time corn maze.

Change of seasons...pumpkins, leaves, cooler weather.

Rockefeller Center at Christmas time.

Cut down our own Christmas tree.

Nolan's birth!!

Became a family of 4...

Went to the U.S. Open in Philadelphia.

Strasburg railroad- choo choo!!

Celebrated Brady's 2nd birthday with new friends!

Lititz 4th of July parade- a really BIG deal in this small town.

So many trips to Lititz Springs Park to feed the ducks!

Enjoyed views like this every day!
 

We still have so much more we want to explore and we are going to try our best (with a baby and a 2 year old) to make it happen. Hopefully we will get a chance to visit Washington D.C., go to Mt. Gretna, see the Jersey Shore, go to a Penn State game, see Niagara Falls, go to Hershey Park, the Philadelphia Zoo, and Dutch Wonderland. Chris and I are also determined to do a (grown-up) road trip to New England...hopefully next summer!!!

We're so thankful for our friends and family who have been so supportive of all the changes and transitions our little family has gone through. We've been so blessed to have so many visitors and hope that more of our loved ones can come visit in the future!