Christmas in January...

I recognize that these pictures are terribly late, but if the guy down the street can STILL proudly display Santa, his reindeer, Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus in his yard, then I can post some Christmas pictures and get away with it! I won't overwhelm you all with tons of pictures. These are just a few of my favorites from the holiday season with our joyful two-year-old.

Meeting Santa at the library -- Coop wouldn't let Grammy leave his side. The ironic thing was, Cooper adores all things Santa...except for the real thing! Check down below for Santa, round two, and you'll see what I mean.

Christmas Eve with Chad's grandparents -- We had such a special day in New Braunfels and Cooper got the chance to spend some quality playtime with his great-grandparents and his Nana.

Cookies for Santa -- "Our" Santa happens to REALLY love cookies, so we made sure to hook him up! And, Coop tested out the cookies, just to be sure they were good enough for his favorite chubby guy in a red suit.

A visit from Santa Claus on Christmas morning -- This is what I'm talking about! Beginning with Cooper's very first Christmas, my dad has been dressing up like Santa every year. Last year, Cooper panicked and didn't want anything to do with him. I was hoping this year would turn out better considering his love of Santa toys, pictures and vidoes, and of course, his cherished "little Santa" that he's been toting around in his left hand since late November. (BTW, it's Jan. 20 and little Santa is STILL in his hand!) Unfortunately, Santa's visit was met with trepidation and eventually tears. My dad sure does look jolly, though! Maybe next year?!

Opening presents and a day of play -- Once Cooper recovered from Santa's visit, he had so much fun opening presents with the family and playing with all of his new toys and games. We really had a blessed Christmas celebration even though we missed Matt and Jess terribly! I'm hoping that we can all spend next Christmas together.

Sara, this blog's for you!

Thanks to my wonderful college roommate, I am back in the blogging saddle. Her online threat to get my act together (quickly, I might add) or risk removal from her blog roll lit a small fire in me. So, here I am putting a little something new on this blog of mine. I am admittedly late in meeting her deadline (last Friday -- Christmas Day), but I did the best I could! Sara, I hope to keep my special place on the right side of your blog page. I happen to like it there. :)

Now, why has it taken me SOOO long to come back to blogging? Well, the date of my last post happens to coincide with the date Chad started his new job in Houston. With the acceptance of his new position came the decision to put our house on the market...and that, in and of itself, is a job all on its own. Needless to say, since early June I've only focused on raising my now two-year-old angel boy and keeping my house clean, tidy and ready for showings (which is virtually impossible, thanks to said two-year-old angel boy)! I must say I have missed this blog, though. I love the opportunity to upload pictures of Cooper and share bits and pieces of our little world with interested friends and family. I hope to get back into the swing of things very soon. I guess you could call it one of my New Year's resolutions.

Another resolution for 2010 -- move our family into ONE home again. Since Chad has been working in Houston every week and our house hasn't sold yet, I feel as if our family members are "scattered about." And those of you who know me well, know I don't tend to like things "scattered about!" We are handling this time apart fairly well and soak up our weekends with Chad as much as we can. But, we are all about done with this. I would venture to say that Cooper is the most ready to have daddy home every day again. Over the past 6 - 7 months, we've had our fair share of sleeping troubles, behavioral trials, clinginess and confusion with Coop. He's finally more used to the idea of Chad leaving for a few days to work, but it wasn't always so easy. Praise God for the family I have nearby and Cooper's fondness for some special people in his world -- they have really been a source of fun and comfort for him, while also serving as great supporters of me and Chad. I am confident that the Lord will see this change through in the coming months and we are all more than ready to be settled again as a family.

My little man is waking from his nap, so I'll leave you with a promise of pictures and maybe even a video or two if I can figure out my new pocket video camera (fingers crossed) soon. Here's to a happy and healthy New Year filled with many wonderful memories.

My heart...

This is the face of the little boy who holds my heart. I can't get enough of those gorgeous brown eyes, those kissable rosey cheeks, those sweet full lips, those wild-man waves and that skinny little neck! Thanks, mom, for capturing such a wonderful, truly "Cooper" expression at just the right moment. I will forever cherish this picture.

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

This past weekend was just gorgeous! We spent some family time at the local park where Cooper fed ducks for the first time, watched "buurds" in the sky and ran around like a wild man. Here are a few cute shots from our trip to the park.

Daddy and Coop watching the ducks swim by. (Note the paper in Cooper's left hand. That's a photograph of his cousin Michael in his hockey uniform. Coop is notorious for picking an "item of the day" and carrying it wherever he goes all day long...including his crib at naptime and the bathtub at night! Case in point - an Elmo DVD case came with us to the neighborhood jungle gym today.)

Doesn't that face scream mischief?!

A little game of tickling always gets a smile for the camera!

Where, oh where, has my little blog gone?

Apparently nowhere for the past month! Though this page has been sitting idle for a little more than 30 days, I can assure you that the Smith Family has not. Between a trip to Oklahoma for Matt's graduate recital, Cooper's newfound freedom with walking, several visits with the pediatrician and another trip to Dell Children's Medical Center, we've been in constant motion.

Shortly after returning from Oklahoma (which was a wonderful trip, by the way!), Coop started coughing. That cough lingered, and continued to get more intense, for the next 4 weeks. He has since been diagnosed with and treated for whooping cough, sinusitis and bronchiolitis. Bless his little heart...he was really miserable. But, praise God, he is doing remarkably better and is in full-blown toddler mode!

Instead of filling this post with words, I'll choose to share pictures from the past month instead. Hope you enjoy! Oh, and I want to apologize in advance for all the nudity. It seems that Cooper has spent the last month partially clothed...

Matt on stage for his recital. We are all so proud of him!

Giving Uncle Diddy a little pat on the back after the show.

The Masters graduates - Matty and his buddy Tyrone.

Back at home enjoying a little "naked horsebacking riding"!

Some fun in the sun with Dad.

Telling Mammy all about the airplane in the sky.

A bedtime story with Peeps.

Some naked deck-mowing...

My kid is the poster-child for Teddy Grahams. Guess how many are actually in his mouth?!

Hamming it up on Mother's Day.

Celebrating my second Mother's Day...what a blessed day!

Watching the rain fall on the sidewalk, saying "wane, wane..."

And last, but not least, getting a little technology tutorial from Pop.

Orange Alert!

Just a quick note to ask you to PLEASE wear orange tomorrow (Tuesday) in honor and support of baby Stellan. He goes into open-heart surgery early tomorrow morning. See the button to the right of this page for details. And, please keep him and his family in your prayers as they face the road ahead. Thank you!

Better Late Than Never...

I know I'm more than a week behind on posting Easter pictures, but last week filled up fast with a dear family friend's passing and memorial service, plus our trip to Oklahoma over the weekend. Our precious friend Pam died Monday after a long and gruesome battle with pancreatic cancer. She was an amazing soul with such a heart for the Lord. We will truly miss her. And as for our trip to Oklahoma, we went to attend Matt's graduate recital at OU. Boy are we proud of him! He's accomplished so much and has a bright career ahead of himself. I'll post more on that later with pictures. For now, allow me to share our fun-filled Easter with you!


In typical Chad and Ashley fashion, we had 21 people at our house this year on Easter Sunday (we tend to like big crowds!) and it couldn't have been more wonderful. Chad's dad and stepmom came in from New Mexico for the holiday weekend, and Carole's daughters and their families also joined us so they could be with their mom, too. Plus, we had my family over. It was a large group, but we'd much rather have everyone all together in one place. And it's really special for Cooper to be around so many people who love and adore him! We started the day with church, then had a nice pasta lunch followed by an Easter egg hunt for the kiddos (Coop and his cousin Caroline).

Cooper starting the day with his Easter basket.

Looking spiffy at church with Grammy and Pop,

And with Poppi.




Opening his Easter basket on steroids from Grammy and Pop!

Coop with Cousin "Manda" getting ready for the hunt.


Let the hunting begin...



Checking out his loot.



Me and my favorite boys!




Looks like a successful hunt for Caroline...

Mmmm, candy!

And just before this precious shot of Coop and Caroline, they were giving eachother hugs and kisses goodbye...

Hope everyone had a blessed Easter Sunday. Thank you, Lord, for your indescribable gift of sacrifice and love!