Happy new year!

Happy new year everyone! We had a great new years eve. We met Keith and Sarah for dinner at Pappasitos (YUM!!!!) and then had the Smith family over for cards, champagne and fireworks! Even Brinley rang in the new year staying up until 12:30am playing with her cousin (of some sorts) Hannah and Aunt Marian. We gave her a bath when we got home from dinner and got her in her pj's thinking we will just let her go until she passes out. Party animal that she is, we finally had to put her to bed. All in all, it was a great night and a great way to ring in the new years!

Christmas extravaganza!

Christmas was a success at the Smith's. We spent Christmas eve with my family and Christmas day with Jason's family. Brinley thoroughly enjoyed opening presents (sometimes not even her own). I am still exhausted from all the festivities, so I am just going to post some pictures!

Looking through the presents at Mamaw's house

Riding her powerwheel from Mamaw and Pops

Christmas morning

She loves the car Santa brought her!

Sitting at her table and chairs from grandma and grandpa

All those toys, she plays in the container!

A girl and her dog!

I was cooking dinner when I realized Brinley hadn't come to visit me in the kitchen for about 10 minutes. As I searched the house, this is what I found......

Rylee's kennel has been put away since I started staying at home and we only took it out because I was hosting a play date at my house and it was raining. So this was Brinley's first time to see this kennel. I don't know how she got the dog to get in there with her and managed to close the door, but they stayed like this for at least 20 minutes!

What are you two doing???

She loves her doggy!

Our little soccer player

Since Brinley could grasp objects, her daddy has had a soccer ball in her hands. He is determined to raise an all star soccer player who will have better scholarship opportunities that he had (apparently there are more soccer scholarships for girls since universities will have a girl team over a boy team). I think I have talked him out of enrolling her into a 18 month old soccer team, although it would be hilarious.....

She has become very skilled in running and kicking the ball. She can do it very well with just about any sized ball, including a tennis ball! She is even starting to dribble it in between her feet a little because she sees her daddy do it so much!

Tis the season

Besides the obvious fear of Santa (we tried a second time at our church's Santa breakfast....it didn't happen), Brinley is really loving the Christmas season. When we drive around at night she points to all the lights on the houses and says "ook" (aka- look). She also LOVES Christmas music. Anytime we are in a store and there is Christmas music on, she starts dancing. I have to keep my car radio on 99.1 (they play nothing but Christmas music from thanksgiving to new years) and her feet are just kicking away in her car seat! Brinley also showed us she likes presents by trying to open up presents at her mamaw's house last weekend! I have to keep her away from the presents under our tree constantly! Maybe next year she will realize that Santa brings those presents and will sit on his lap!

Christmas has always been my favorite time of year, but now that I can see it through Brinley's eyes, I love it even more!

Santa, we have a problem!

I had a feeling when Brinley started screaming and running away from her Daddy at Halloween in his gorilla costume, that Santa would be the same way. In order to prepare her we went a watched him for 10 minutes last week...yes our Santa arrived November 10! She had no problem watching him and waving to him as the other children sat on his lap. Maybe it won't be so bad, I thought. We went today with Reese to have our pictures taken with him. She watched Reese sit on his lap and tell him what she wanted just fine. She even sat on his lap while he showed her a book. The second I walked away so they could take the picture, she started screaming and reaching for me. After several attempts to calm her without any success (and I refused to be in the picture with her), I told the lady to take it.

This picture was too darn cute to pass up!

Doesn't every child have to have a crying santa photo? My mom didn't have a good picture of me with Santa till I was 5! Oh well, there is always next year......

Sick, Sicker, Sickest!

Not much has been going on with the Smith household the past 3 weeks other than being sick! Brinley has had a cough and runny nose for the past month. I think it may be allergies because everytime she is outside for a long period of time, it gets worse.

Jason came home 3 weeks ago sick as a dog and was down pretty much the entire week. I woke up on Halloween with pink eye, dizziness, congestion and a fever. I went to the dr after a week (I was hoping it would run its course) and found out I had a major sinus infection. I was given a shot, antibiotics, and clarinex to clear everything up. I am slowly but surely getting back to 100%.

Well, two days ago Brinley woke up running a fever. After I give her motrin she is still running a low grade fever but she is up and running like her normal self. This morning she woke up still with a fever, wouldn't eat and just wants to sleep.......so off to the dr we go this afternoon.

The doctors are making a lot of money off us this month!