my handsome hat boys

a funny story about charlie and hats.....

so at baylor, one might say i was a bit boy crazy :)  not that i went on dates with many boys, but that i had many 'crushes' that constantly changed.  so, freshman year, i had a couple of guys on my radar that i knew nothing about except that i would see them on campus often and they would each wear the same hat everyday, respectively.  i had a 'maroon hat boy' and a 'yellow hat boy'....each of whom i thought was a looker.  nothing ever came to fruition with either of them.....so i thought.  but, then once charlie and i started dating end of sophmore year....i saw the yellow hat....which he no longer wore everyday...thank goodness because he had amazing long hair (he will hate that i said that).  and come to find out, he was my 'yellow hat boy' and now, i love him and am married to him.  so, the moral of the story is.....be a little boy crazy, have crushes and you never know who one of those may turn in to :)

oh what a weekend.....

so we have had this weekend scheduled for some time now.  we scheduled reinforcements to come visit (my mom, dad and charlie's dad and s-mom) and assist!  the floors had been ordered, you tube DIY videos had been watched, and many instructions had been read.  it was time to attack the floors and change them out for wood floors.  this would be the first time for every one of us to attempt this task.   it really went so very well, thanks to our parents being there to do anything and everything we asked.  we worked their tails off and probably made them too sore.....we have no way to thank them enough.  the floors look beautiful!  it all started on friday as my dad, mom, and i discussed the many ways to make sure we were getting a 'straight' floor.  we spent about 3 hours deciding on a good reference point, but soon enough we were in a rhythm and things actually got accomplished.  here are some pictures from the weekend that has me limping around today:

ripping up the old floors...with smith's help!




dad and i laying the 'first few rows"...the most important foundation for your floors :)  (many hours of you tube told me this)




making progress friday night...



 early saturday morning for all




smith's premonition of pulling his hair out before it even began...and wearing knee pads like the rest of us!




into the den we go....glue, hammer, saw, glue, hammer, saw.....etc.....etc....




the man of the saw...he worked it many, many times!







by saturday night, we were all loopy, but still having fun.

i didn't get a good picture of gigi,  but she was jack of many trades!  she was gofer, babysitter, and overall support.

we love you mom, dad, bill, and susie....thank you so, so, so much---we would have never finished this without you!

time out for yo gabbers

what a random picture you say.....   well, smith has been very busy during playtime this past week or so with disciplining his toys.  this picture shows brobee and muno from 'yo gabba gabba' taking their turn on smith's 'time out' stool.  what did they do, you ask?  well, they screamed.  you see, that is the main thing smith has been getting time outs for as of late.  smith is a boisterous child, which i like...to a point.  we are really trying to work on his screaming/yelling when he is indoors.  needless to say, we have lots of time outs to think about it.  so, smith has been coming up to me during playtime and pointing to his 'time out' stool and speaking his language (a bit of real talk, a bit of jabber) to tell me who (a toy---any toy..one that is animate OR inanimate) is in time out.  when i ask what they did...he screams :)  it is truly so very cute....love him so.

ode to axel

meet axel....smith's BFF.  my mom bought this stuffed dog for smith in the 2 weeks before his birth (she was in TN with me for a month: 2 weeks before his birth and 2 weeks after--fabulous!).  at the time, we did not have any expectations of the little yellow dog.  but, now....oh goodness, he plays an important role.  this would be smith's lovie/comfort, etc.  that he needs for naps and bedtime.  i do restrict axel to only sleepy times or special, "keep quiet in the airplane" times.  at first, i was fearful of giving him a 'bath' in the washing machine because the tag, or course, tells you not to.  but after many busy nights comforting smith and visits to daycare...he had a special odor that only smith could love :).  after 1 successful bath, it is now a regular occurrence.  i hope we never lose this little fella, he is basically part of the family.

oh yes.....smith did not name him axel..although he calls him that now.  charlie has loved this name forever.  there is a professional cyclist named axel merckx.  and well, we have a dog named 'merckx' and i would not allow a son named 'axel'.  hence, the name axel found its way to smith's puppy.

bode @ 5 months

my baby boy is 5 months old today, and oh how sweet this angel is!  

bode has his first tooth that literally broke through the skin TODAY..... so funny on his 5 month day.  i don't have smith's first tooth recorded, but i want to say it was end of his 4th month..so very close to bode.  bode has a dr. visit next week, so i do not have his most recent percentiles, but we will suffice it to say that he is a pretty big boy (on par with my other).  he is not rolling yet (just like smith who was a late roller), but he is getting pretty darn close to sitting up on his own.  we practice sitting a lot in between my legs while playing with big brother.  he has found his hands and LOVES them, but not so interested in his feet yet.  bode is eating rice cereal like a champ and still nursing at this point.  i have not decided whether to nurse him past 6 months yet.  smith lost interest around that time and was too busy looking around to latch on!  so, smith started on bottles at 6 months....we will see with bode.  he is cooing a lot and screaming occasionally...mainly at smith, it is hilarious.  bode likes to sleep on his belly and i am getting up several times a night to switch him back to belly or vice versa OR to give him the pacifier.  this has been so different than smith because NOW i need to keep bode quiet for smith....so, i feel like i am getting up more with bode than i ever did with smith.  however, they are in the same room and doing quite well...sleeping from around 8-7.  bode continues to smile at all times and has been so precious from the very beginning...i am thrilled to watch him and smith interact more!

  

weekend visit from friends and baylor WIN

this last weekend we got together with some of our closest college friends to root baylor to victory!  let us be honest, we had no thought toward winning as we were going into the game, but oh my gosh it was so exciting and we beat TCU.  after the game on friday night, isaac, tara, riese, shelby, beth, and ellery came back to our house and stayed the weekend.  we had a great time, as we always do with these 2 couples.  unfortunately we only got the camera out as we were being lazy on saturday morning.  needless to say, we are not at our best...but enjoying the conversation and banana pancakes (thanks to charlie) i'm sure.  smith took a liking to tara and was often seen sitting in her lap...i agree with him, she is wonderful!  we look forward to our next visit and are so happy to be closer to our good friends!

sitti, doc, and COUSINS!

we had a recent visit up to b-town to see my parents.  this was smith's first time going back to the house after living there for the past year.  i was so excited to see how he would react to not only the house but also his cousins, grace and george.  he had such a great time...he is in major adoration of his older cousins and they kept him very busy.  they are so sweet to him and really facilitate good playtime for smithy.

my parents have been complaining of the heat all summer (like most of us texans), but i have to say...the dry heat was such a relief for us and neither smith or i broke a sweat all weekend...even when playing outside in the daytime.  this humidity down here is rough!