Thursday, December 29, 2011

Twas the Night Before Christmas...

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas (otherwise known as Nick Saban) soon would be there.

Harrison and I were nestled all snug in our bed,
While the family had left for church service, to hear the Scripture read.
And mamma in her plaid PJs, and H in his cap,
Had just settled and fallen asleep for an abbreviated night's nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
for I had walked into the hallway to empty my bladder.
The home security system was ON and GOING like a flash
,
And I broke out in a cold sweat and ran to key in the code with a dash.

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a police car, with full lights on, drawing near.

With a knock at the front door, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it was NOT St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and wondered just what was my name!

The security system did not have you on their approved list, you Vixen!
So off I came quick and with a Blitzen!
But with plaid pajamas and an awakened baby on the hip,
He believed my shock of being caught on a nightly bathroom trip.

So off in his police car the kind officer flew,
With my relief I wasn't in his backseat, with Harrison too.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

True Story.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Harrison's First Christmas

Me and my main squeeze had a blast celebrating his very first Christmas!


H met Auntie Roz for the first time... she flies in every Christmas from Chicago...


....where we help her celebrate Hanukkah by lighting the Menorah and reading the Hanukkah story.


Four generations of good-lookin' Smith men...


H received many gifts.
This was a fluke - he was obviously a little over-stimulated by this point in the night.


But by Christmas morning, he was ready to go again.
With his baseball cap on backwards, just like Daddy.


Sister and I also wore our traditional Santa hats, as we "elves" helped sort out the gifts.


Someone learned that sticking their tongue out was the cool thing to do on Christmas morning...


Buy a child presents.... but the shiny bows will be their favorite things!


Later that day...
DeeDee and PawPaw had fun helping H with even more presents.


He showed quite the affection for his new Laugh and Learn Puppy.


And got some snuggle time with Aunt Melanie.


We did it! 
H's first Christmas... a success!

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Eight Months

Dear Harrison,

You are 8 months old! 

You weigh 17 pounds and are 27 1/4 inches in length.  Tall and skinny, just like Daddy. 

You are officially in Size 9 month and some 6-9 month clothing.  And, just recently, some 6-12 month clothing.  Sob.  You are still in Size 3 diapers.

We've upped your eatings to 3 times per day - you love oatmeal in the mornings, yogurt as an afternoon snack, and a fruit or veggie for dinner.  Usually banana, because that is your absolute favorite, and you slurp it down.  You're also still on Mommy Milk. 

 
We have officially entered the "wiggle worm" stage.  You cannot be still for anything!  Changing your diaper is like watching a wrestling match sometimes between me and you.  I'm on your side buddy!  Let me put clean britches on you! And good gracious, you're strong!

You can sit up very nicely and independently now, and can slither down from sitting up to your belly, where you are doing the most hiliarious "crawl" I've ever seen.  Booty up, head down slither, is more like it.  But you get from Point A to Point B, and that's all the matters. 

You are still obsessed with Mickey Mouse and his Clubhouse, and the Little Einsteins.  You love your Ella Elephant lovie the most, and you are fascinated by the tags on your toys.  You like to meticulously find the tags, examine them, and then suck on them.  To each their own. 

Someone has also developed a wee bit of a temper with a strong stubborn streak.  This is ALL from your father's side, of course.  All of it.  You are learning to throw a temper tantrum when we say "No" and take something away.  You've got a great set of lungs, my child. 

Sometimes when you get so distraught, we go to your happy place...the bath tub.  And we sit in there and play, play, play.  And I get soaked from head to toe. 

WIGGLE WORM!!!


Mischevious!


You love to "blow raspberries."  All day long. 


You're also loving finding and playing with your feet.


And you dissolve into sweet baby giggles when we fly you around the room. 

You've also developed some ticklish spots, and giggly hysterically when we count your ribs and squeeze your chunky thighs.

Quite honestly, it's the best sound I've ever heard. 


We love you H-Man!

Monday, December 19, 2011

Holiday Hoopla... Continuation.

The Pork Chop added another tradition to his holiday hoopla - the Annual "Families" Christmas Party in T-Town.  "Families" meaning Smith's, Belk's, Kizzire's, Tinsley's, and Ellis family. 

Something the first generations started many moons ago.

And now they've added a third generation...  but don't you dare mention they're getting old!



Pork Chop was, for lack of a better term, "over it" with all the picture taking. 


Look at my Little Reindeer today! 

Isn't he squishable?


One of my Top Five favorite holiday traditions... Christmas cards! 
I love seeing our fridge fill up and being greeted by family and friends every time I do another favorite of mine ... eating.  :) 

See anyone you know?


Sunday, December 18, 2011

Campbell's Challenge: I Accept.

I'm sure many of you have seen Campbell's Soups latest 30 seconds of teasing:
A delicious meal,
under 4 minutes,
under 4 dollars.

I laughed at their taunts, until I could accept their challenge myself. 

Which came in handy, with all the Christmas spending we've been doing around here and empty cabinets with all the running around we've had. 

Behold:


Campbell's Chunky Beer Sirloin Soup over Instant Mashed Potatoes.
Needed a healthy dose of salt, and I'm aware it does not look like the commercial (ahem, Mr. Smith), but it tasted great!

Campbell's Challenge:  Victorious. 

You can believe those commercials now.

Someone was a bit upset he could not partake in the challenge...


Don't let those crocodile tears fool you, readers. 

As soon as I turned Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on, it was all fun and games. 

Monday, December 12, 2011

Holiday Hoopla

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

we've been in full Holiday Hoopla Swing around here!

We recently celebrated the 3rd Annual Falcon Baseball Boys Christmas Party at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Burns.

We say this every year, but I have no idea why we all only get together once a year.

Ridiculous.

Here are the wives...

And the husbands... 

This past weekend, we took H to visit Santa and his elves at Courtyard Cafe. 

It sure beat the lines at the Mall any day!

And H was such a champ - no crying at Santa at all! 


Somebody made quite the impression on Shelly the Elf...
I think he was whispering sweet "I've been really good this year" nothings in her ear.