Texas Our Texas

Popsicles in February - I love it! Wonder how long they've been in our freezer?

Neat Trick

Apparently there was more than giggling going on in the boys room last night. Stacey informed me that when you take the wipes out of the box in the morning they turn into paper towels. Yep, just like magic that box of gold becomes TRASH!! We had a nice little discussion about wastefulness, and then had to do another magic trick to change Wyatt's diaper without wipes.

Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner!!

For Valentine's Day Stacey made plans to go out on Friday night, hoping to avoid some of the holiday's chaos. He arranged for the boys to spend the night at his parents and made a reservation at a surprise location (I love surprises!). The day of the boys were at the Smith's, I brought home champagne, he brought home flowers, we were rockin' and rollin' and ready for a great date. We got in the car and drove to our destination which turned out to be Del Frisco's a highly praised steak house that neither of us had ever been to - Who Hoo, a fancy dinner with my main man, I couldn't be happier. Apparently he had received a gift card for his birthday which he had also kept a secret - nice job babe!!  The parking lot was packed, but we finally found a spot and after wrestling my way out from some bushes we were on our way. The place was already wall to wall waiting, so much for beating the crowd, but we had a reservation so after a few minutes of waiting we were seated. That is where things took a turn. 

To say we were in the kitchen would be a bit of an exaggeration, but not too far off from the truth - and not like the behind the scenes VIP table a PF Chang's - but more like me and the dish towels were getting to know each other. We were also intimately close to the couple sitting at the table next to ours. I caught Stacey's eye and could see by his clinched jaw that he was not a happy camper. Speaking of campers there was a special Valentine's menu and Stacey later remarked he felt like he was at Valentine's Camp, which if you know Stacey is not the kind of camp he enjoys attending (apparently we also attended Honeymoon camp, but I won't go into that). But the straw that really broke the camel's (or Stacey's in this senario) back was that every person that walked out of the kitchen, which is pretty much every server, had to walk behind Stacey's chair and because of the tight quarters banged his chair on their way. I could see the steam coming out of his ears and since this wasn't something we get to do just all the time I suggested we leave before the server came and try again another night when things weren't so crazy. I could tell he was relieved. I felt pretty proud of myself for being so chill about leaving the aroma of steak and wine and heading to Pei Wei. Not exactly the night we planned but still a night out with my man. I tried to have the server take a defeated picture of us at Pei Wei but the hubby wasn't feelin' a photo shoot, again not surprising if you know him. 

The silver lining, oh yes there is silver lining, is that last night (see self portrait above, baby steps) we had our do-over and a random Tuesday at Del Frisco's proved to be much more up our ally than, well, Valentine's camp. We were seated at a four top without even the possibility of bumping elbows with the folks next to us. Everything from the salad and bread to the crabcakes to the filet trio (which I also wanted to take a picture of, but didn't) and creamed corn all the way to the Del's Delight was wonderful!! We had a fantastic dinner and have no regrets about our vanishing act a few weeks ago. Next Valentine's Day I think we'll be ordering in. :)

The Falls or Bust

I got to have dinner with my favorite girls from my TTU days this week. It is always SO fun to have a girls night out and catch up with these friends. Lisa is leaving her beloved D-town for Wichita Falls in a few weeks so this was our last official meeting of this kind but road trips are already in the works. I love you girls!!

Friday's Family Flick

Nothing like a good movie night. Especially with these two VIPs.

Tonight's feature presentation....Veggie Tales.
Apparently it's a real thriller!!!!

Little Readers

Our boys LOVE to read and Wyatt, although a little slow to catch on to all the joys of a good book, has jumped in with both feet and can't get enough. More than once I have gone to check out what my dangerously quiet boy was up to only to find him "reading" to himself. He loves the classic Brown Bear, Brown Bear, a little book called My Daddy and I and Five Little Ladybugs in which he proudly identifies the Turtle, Fish, Duck, Frog and Flowers on the pages. 

Don't worry abut the Christmas/Nemo PJ combo and the fact that the book is upside down, they're reading and loving every minute of it.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

This is Stacey holding all his loot from his Valentine's Day party at school!! He took Ring Pop Valentines (we were going to get Cars but he needed 17 and the box only came with 16 so I decided to encourage a new direction). He "helped" me address them to everyone in his class by putting on the to/from sticker and was very proud. This week of LOVE has been quite the occasion for this three year old. Is it just me or is this holiday becoming a lot more festive?? Today he informed me that Valentine's Day is not a birthday but it is about love and he loves birthday parties. And I love him!!

And of course I love this little monkey too.
LOVE YOU!!

Wyatt's Weekend

Don't you worry, while III and I were in Waco hanging with the cousins Wyatt was getting some hang time with Daddy and good lovin' from another cousin, Miss Brylie, or Bye-lee as Wyatt calls her (Thanks for the pictures and all your help over the weekend Shelley!). They are so cute together and seem to really enjoy each others company.

Enjoying some toys and accessories that our one gender home doesn't have. Brylie sucks her fingers so whenever Wyatt is around her he mimics her.

Snuggle bugs! 

Wyatt also got to do a lot of playing with his #1 fan, Daddy. Here is some footage of the budding soccer star making some "GOALS!!" as well as a few other discoveries.

A Little Bit of Everything

This weekend III and I went to Waco while Daddy and Wyatt stayed here in Dallas (more on their weekend to come). We decided to divide and concur and get a little one on one time with our guys. My sister Angie was in charge of the annual Taste of Honey, the school fundraiser for FBC Woodway Christian School, where my Mom is the director. The event was a huge success and Angie did a GREAT job on everything including the food, decorations and auction. 

Ally and Stacey enjoying some treats from the chocolate fountain - Yummy.

The Warren's were also going to be in town so we got the added bonus of seeing sweet Lila!!

Angie and I have birthday's coming up Feb 26th and March 1st, but since we were all together we celebrated a little early with presents and pedicures - Thanks Mom!!. Cookie cake is one of my FAVORITE things ever! Check out the Teenage Mutant Nija Turtle candle - HA!

We also got to visit with our friends the Svoboda's who I miss terribly!! This is Stacey and AnnMarie on Sunday morning, they weren't to up for posing at my impromptu photo shoot, but they are pretty cute regardless.

We love spending time with my family and these sweet cousins who both the boys absolutely adore. I think Ally may have wanted to sit in Stacey's lap too. :)

I loved having my little man all to myself, and it was nice to not have to referee all weekend. For the most part he was a delight but I just assume that when he has my undivided attention we won't have any issues so when he woke up from his nap in a foul mood on Sat. and threw a fit about getting dressed on Sunday morning I was reminded that sometimes my expectations are a little out of whack. He is a three year old little boy (even though his emotions are more like that of a 16 year old girl sometimes!) and discipline will always be  part of the equation. 
I know it is hard to imagine that sweet little face needing discipline. :)

Thanks for a GREAT weekend!

Miss Payton

Payton Chandler Brown was born on Friday and I had the privilege of being at the hospital and seeing her just a few minutes after she was born. There is really NOTHING sweeter than the day a new baby is born. Especially into a family as special as this one. What an undeniable miracle!!

I can't wait to see her again ASAP!

The Nest

Here is a little update on our roommates. We've recently switched from the trundle to "the nest". The trundle bed was great for a few nights but it required us to role up the rug, and then it is on wheels on the wood floor so it moves around, and you pretty much can't walk in the room when it is out. So after several nights of ups and downs we came to the conclusion that Wyatt needed some boundaries to make himself feel more secure in his new bed (he has also had the worst diaper rash we've ever seen at our house so that may have contributed to the sleepless nights as well - poor little guy walks around like a little penguin). Whatever the reason for the sleepless nights, a few of those combined with the aforementioned inconveniences of the trundle brought us to the creation of the nest.

Doesn't he look cozy? We took the crib mattress and put it between Stacey's bed and the wall then added my preggy pillow (way to multitask it pillow!) to give him a slightly more snugly bed. OK we know it is totally WT and basically he is sleeping on a glorified pallet, but for the last two nights he has slept great so we're sticking with it.
Stacey how do you feel about having Wyatt in your room?
Wyatt, when you look at this years from now and give us grief about being the second child and claim that we made you sleep on the floor while Stacey was up in his perfect bed, I want you to know that Stacey is really sad that he doesn't get to sleep in the nest and thinks you are really lucky!

Birthday Burgers

Love these two shaggy dogs sharing a lick of whipped cream while we were getting Daddy's b-day dessert ready.

We had dinner at Five Guys burgers (on the ice level at the Galleria) with Stacey's small group. The burgers were highly recommended and did not disappoint - they were delish!

Stacey has been co-leading these now 16 year old boys with Keith since they were 6th graders. It is crazy how much they have grown up in five years! He loves these guys and I am really proud of the way he leads and serves them. I know that it is preparing us for the future with our boys, not that they will ever be 16. :)

Happy Birthday!!!!

Today Stacey Reese Smith II is 33 years old!!!! Which is fun since III is 3 years old. I could easily list 33 things I love about this man of mine, but I'll spare you the extensive list and just say that Stacey is an incredible man, husband and father and their is no one else I'd rather celebrate!! I can not imagine what my life would be like today without the blessing of his arrival to this world 33 years ago!!

We celebrated with the Smith's on Sunday and plan to keep the good times going today. The slightly overstated expressions (we're not dramatic at all) are obviously for the boys who are not pictured, but watching with anticipation as Daddy blew out his candle, but we hope you enjoy them as well. :)

Happy Birthday Baby!!!!

Joseph and his coat of many colors

Holding cheese while saying cheese :)

And of course "Joseph's" little brother, who would never throw him in a well and sell him into slavery...at least not on my watch.