Christmas 2008

Every Christmas with the boys just get better. This was the first year that Reid got excited about opening his own presents. The paper went a'fly'n! Great fun to watch him go:)

Christian's toys finally hit the "Big Boy" level. These are the toys that are little bitty with only a million pieces! What were we thinking by encouraging "Big Boy" lego's. I knew they would be small but not microscopic. Christian is our builder and these really are the perfect gift for him. Good Job Santy Claus!

Reid's special gift from Santa was an interactive Reid. He has become quite attached to the Wall-E character and he loves to see his toys interact. It's great! His toys will talk to each other and of course they talk to Mommy. They also call me Mommy....just in case you were wondering:)

I need help organizing my blog...so, just excuse the format. It is what it is & I don't know how to fix it. I have many pictures I want to post but that's for another day.

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

Reid showing me who's boss!

This is Reid as I'm kneeling in front of him trying to get a cute picture! These are hilarious! These are not "typical" faces he makes so they were really unexpected....yet fun!

Annual Crowell Carriage Ride

One of our Christmas traditions is a carriage ride through Highland Park to see the beautiful Christmas lights. Scott & I have been doing this since we started dating.....uhhhh, I believe it was actually started BEFORE me but we won't go there:) We had a great time. The picture isn't the best family shot but I can't complain since it was taken by the carriage ride guy.

Christian turns 5 years old!

Today Christian is officially 5 years old! Unbelievable!!! He is LOVING being 5. Should I go down memory lane and tell the story of Christian's birth? This day, 5 years ago.....No really, I won't do that.

Christian has had a fun filled few days of birthday. He had his PIRATE themed party this past Saturday. He had a wonderful time with his friends & family. He loved his everything pirate day...his shirt, cake, pinata, hats, tatoos, pencils....well, everything! Daddy even wore a pirate doo-rag. Where has Scott been hiding this? We are so fortunate to have such wonderful friends & family to celebrate these special occasions with. We all have so much fun and I just love that Christian had a very special birthday.

Today(Monday...well it would be if it weren't 3am the next day....can't sleep!) was a very busy "real" birthday. It's his "real" birthday because today he was able to say that he is 5 years old. The day started with school. I made pirate cupcakes for Christian & his class. He was so proud that everyone loved his cupcakes. Christian was especially excited that everyone even ate them. It's so cute that he takes these little things so personally.

After school we met up with Daddy to go see Santa Clause. We started at Northpark Mall where you get a number to visit Mr. Clause. At Noon, we were # 168. They were currently on # 38. As we didn't intend to spend 7 hours waiting for the old man, we headed downtown to Neiman's. I didn't put the truck in park at the valet and unfortunately the valet guy was in front of the truck when I took my foot off the brake. Valet guy is OK although not amused by it. Scott was VERY amused. Anyway, Santa. No line! Both boys told Santa what they wished for. Both boys sat on Santa's lap for a picture. Today was our lucky day! We also have a cute overpriced picture. I would include it here but we need to scan it first! After Santy Clause, we stayed & ate lunch. The plan was to head home to open CC's presents from us, Reid, & Grandma. On the way home, I realized I left the Santa picture on the table at the cafe. I was making sure it didn't get all bent in my bag. So, back downtown we go! This was way too much driving for Christian as he fell asleep. Reid couldn't even wake him up when we got home. After he FINALLY woke up, we opened presents. Scott went out in the freezing wet cold to grill hot dogs. Scott's a great daddy to grill in the wet 32 degree weather to fulfill his son's birthday dinner request. All the boy's played for a bit & then it was time to end the day of birthday. Bed.

Scott & I keep saying "I can't believe Christian is 5." We're not breaking down in tears or anything but this birthday seems a bit harder for us. He's getting so big. Everyday he just amazes us with how much he remembers & understands. We have to monitor what we say while he is in ear shot not for fear of him repeating a bad word but because he actually understands our conversation...even when you think he's not listening.

I need to at least comment a little bit on Reid. He's doing great! He just loves being around all the fun. He gets to play with all of Christian's great gifts and eat cake so he's not complaining. He also received a few presents himself during all the festivities. The little man is enjoying Christian's birthday too.

The pictures included are in a crazy order. Instead of staying up trying to figure out how to fix it, I'll just say the pic of the cupcakes & Scott/Christian on floor are from today 12/15 and the rest are from his party 12/13.

love, Amy

Halloween: Better Late than Never

Halloween was a Blast! I love anything relating to holiday decorating, including decorating my kids:) Christian was a One-Man-Band & Reid was a Mighty Knight (an episode from the Backyardigans).

Christian's costume included a drum, cymbal's, maraca's, harmonica, and an accordion. I feel like I'm leaving out an instrument. He wore it for 2 neighborhood parties, a Boo at the Zoo (basically a trick or treat at the zoo), a school party & then had the nerve to refuse to wear it for Halloween! What the! He wouldn't even wear it just for a picture. So, we (meaning Scott) carried his instruments until we "trick or treated" by our house. We (again, meaning he) dropped off his surplus of instruments. I had planned to focus his Halloween picture on the actual Halloween. So, no go.

Reid: Ahhhh........Reid also refused to wear his costume. He carried his Thomas the Train candy bucket. He was a "Mighty Knight" so I dressed him in black UNDER his knight outfit. Since I don't have any black child shirts, he wore his skeleton shirt. Since he wouldn't wear his knight pieces (shield, sword, breast plate, head thingy), he at least look like he was supposed to be a skeleton. Of course when asked if was a "skeleton", he adamantly protested.

We ALL had a great time wandering our neighborhood with our children knocking on doors. No complaints! Children will always surprise you so we went with the flow and had a wonderful evening.
Included are some pics & videos. Again, I don't have anything great of either of the boys' costumes so this is the best I could come up with.

This Video of Reid is the best shot I have of him in his costume.....he's still missing his helmet, sheild & sword. his armor is supposed to be fitted on his front. Too funny that he wants to wear it on his back. He is VERY headstrong about what he wants....so he wears it on his back!

Pumpkin Patch

We had a playdate with the Fischer's & went to Owen's Pumpkin Patch. The kids were able to pick out a pumpkin, feed animals, go on a tractor hay ride, and the most fun of all was THROWING hay. Yes, throwing hay! Throwing hay isn't a listed activity of Owen's Farm but they may want to add it to entice little boys. We also went here last year and the best part for the boys was also THROWING hay.

Boo at the Zoo...Halloween is coming!

We have begun our Halloween festivities! Seems like as a child, I participated in Halloween only once a year. My boys will dress up in their costumes 4 times! I love any holiday that allows awesome decorations, including putting them on the boys...a.k.a.costumes!
Back to the blog. We went to Zoo at the Zoo in The Fort with Nanny & Grandpa Ray. This has becomes an annual festivity for us. We arrive early, pop open Nanny's car (food & chairs magically come out) and go "Trick or Treating" at the zoo. We all have so much

State Fair of Texas. YeeeHaww!

We made it to the Texas State Fair! We have made this an annual event for us. We always have soooo much fun....as long as we get discounted/free admission tickets:) Thank you Uncle Stefan for the tickets! This was a big year for us. Christian rode the BIG ferris wheel! This ride always looks big but it is especially HUGE when you're standing in line! Both boys had a wonderful time and we look forward to next year.

Reid gets Itty Bitty Glasses!

We are on day 5 of Reid wearing glasses. He is wearing them more & more each day. We are so impressed with how little he actually resists wearing them! I think our baby boy has been struggling to see & we never knew it. It's unbelievable that he has even passed all of the vision screenings at his pediatrician.

6 months of life with pictures!

Where does the time go! I haven't updated my blog since last April....that's 6 months! Wow! So, it's hard to give 6 months of life into a single blog. Here are some highlights:

May 2008: We made a road trip to Houston to see Grand Buddy & Nana then drove to Lometa to see Papa & NeeNee. The boys visited NASA & then Christian caught his first fish with Daddy (Scott) & Papa. Reid had his first visit to the ER...he slipped (while standing...?) and cut his head on an old metal wagon wheel. RC's hospital tags are now in the baby book!

June 2008: We got Reid a potty, which he was excited about. Unfortunately he wasn't excited to use it. Christian realized that Reid doesn't always listen when he speaks.....it's very interesting to watch your child come to the realization that not everyone listens when you speak!

July 2008: Boys saw their first Fireworks! We went to the rooftop of Scott's office with our buddies, The Wegener's. It was so much fun to see all of our boys' in awe of the bright lights in the night sky.

August 2008: We took a Road Trip to Missouri to visit Grandma. This was Reid's first BIG, LONG drive in a car. The boys had a great time. Reid accidentally locked himself in his room! He was soooo very calm & cool about it. Scott & I were frantric to get the door open. Preparing for Halloween: CC has decided to be a "one man band" & RC can't decide between Thomas the Train, Mary Poppins, Pongo (101 Dalmations), a bat, Mystery Machine (yes, the van from Scooby Doo) & Spiderman. Christian had his first visit to the ER. He had a straw in his mouth....and slipped. Punctured the interior of his cheek. Ouch!

September 2008: The boys went ice skating for the first time! Christian began PreK. He loves school! We also had our first family vacation with another family. We went to Glen Rose with our good friends, The Fischer's. We had such a wonderful time. Our boy's are still talking about The Fischer's & Glen Rose.

October 2008: Reid has decided what he wants to be for Halloween! A Mighty Knight! He loves watching The Backyardigans. There is an episode where they pretend to be Knights. Reid had his first opthamologist appt. We have begun the weaning into wearing his new glasses.

This is the past 6 months in a quick glance. I don't know how to add a slide show. I hope to figure this out within the next day or 2. I'll ask Fiona! She always knows this stuff!

April 6; Thomas the Tank Engine

Reid LOVES Thomas the Tank Engine. I do not understand the infatuation with this grumpy train series but Reid lives & breathes Thomas. Thomas came to Grapevine (a city near Dallas) so Reid was to hitch a ride on the "very useful engine." We all had an especially great time since the Wegener's also joined us in the Thomas Adventure. The boys' also enjoyed a stop at the lake.

Prayers for Gavin

I wanted to reach out to everyone that reads this to please pray for Gavin. Gavin is a dear friend's precious little boy who was diagnosed with a brain tumor on Good Friday. He has already had surgery to remove the tumor but he still has a long road ahead of him. He & his family needs all our prayers. Stacie has been great at keeping us all up to date on Gavin & her family and even includes helpful specific prayer requests for Gavin's most immediate needs.

http://www.smithscooptexas.blogspot.com/

The picture is Gavin & Reid....at Gavin's 3rd birthday party.

Johnny Cash has an influence on Christian

Christian has found a new favorite song. Just watch the video....:)

March 19,2008....Guess where we went!

Shocking.....The Zoo! Yes, we do visit the zoo a lot. We haven't been very much since it's been the middle of winter but since it's started warming up a little bit, we have been making up for lost time. On this particular day, we joined up with the Fischer's for our zoo adventure. Christian really was happy this day. He just want thrilled to be in a posed picture.

March 13, 2008 The Zoo....

The Zoo....Granny went with us and managed to make a new friend.

March 12, 2008 Butterflies with Nanny

We spent the afternoon looking at Butterflies with Naanny. There were beautiful butterflies everywhere. The Boys were able to get quite close. Reid was most fascinated with the waterfalls. Christian had to bring one of favorite "pets" called Spotty. Spotty seemed appropriate for the environment.

Please excuse the format of this post....I don't know what the problem is. I give!

March 8, 2008

This is NOT an ad for Pump It UP. It was just a great photo of Reid having a great time!

March 7, 2008 First Snow!

The Boys' were able to experience SNOW! Christian has stated many times that he wants to play in snow....and it's taken only until his 4th year to have it. Reid initially refused the gloves. He picked up the snow. As you can see he's wearing gloves!

Then the snow melted and Papa & NeeNee came over to visit The Boys'. A few bedtimes stories are being shared.

March 1, 2008

Christian's soccer game: He is enjoying playing sports. The next season is HOCKEY:)