Smith Smack

Christmas in January...

2010-01-19T15:43:00.016-06:00

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!

2009-12-29T14:59:00.002-06:00

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...

2009-06-14T22:45:00.002-05:00

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

2009-06-01T15:20:00.006-05:00

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?

2009-05-25T11:02:00.015-05:00

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!

2009-04-20T23:30:00.002-05:00

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...

2009-04-20T22:31:00.016-05:00

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!

Videos I promised

2009-04-05T22:59:00.005-05:00

Ok, I'm giving this video-uploading thing a shot. Hopefully I can make it work and you can get a little snapshot of Cooper's daily askings for his beloved grandparents. Hope you enjoy! Sorry for the poor quality...they were shot with my cell phone. Oh, and if this works, I'll start capturing more videos and sharing on the blog...

Having a GRAND 'ole time

2009-03-31T21:41:00.017-05:00

Coop has been so blessed to spend some great quality time with ALL of his grandparents lately. He adores them so much -- so VERY much that he now says ALL of their names ALL day long! When I ask him who he wants to go see or who he wants to say hi to, you can guarantee it will be one of the following names: Peepaw (number one name spoken in our house!), Pop, Mammy, Nana, Poppi, Honey and even Meemaw (which is what he calls my Grandma Mirabella who is now in heaven AND who I believe kissed Cooper on his cheek and gave him that adorable dimple in heaven before he came to us). I have a few cute, short video clips to prove Coop's love for his grandparents, but I need to work on getting those uploaded in the next few days so you can hear and see for yourself!

But for now, here are some pictures of the big fun he had with Nana at the Natural Bridge Cavern Wildlife Park/Tour several weeks ago...

Watching all the animals from Nana's lap in the backseat

Then he took the wheel for a bit!

Until these creatures started sticking their heads in the window...

That trip ended with a little goat feeding fun! (sorry for the direction of this photo...not sure what happened in the uploading process.)

Next, Coop did a little dancing with his Peepaw and Mammy (two people who really LOVE to dance) at Jamie's reception...

By the end of the night (and all the dancing), he was completely worn out!

Next, we were off to Dallas to spend some time with Poppi and Honey at the Dallas Blooms Festival.

Here is Coop with them and his two cousins, Jordan and Caroline.

Coop loved meeting his cousin Caroline for the first time and hanging out with Jordan again! Aren't all of their expressions priceless?

A little boy time in the lawn with Poppi....

And there's nothing like a nap outside to finish off a beautiful day in the park!

Lastly, this past week Pop came over for a playdate with Coop. And he got to see first hand Coop's love for Mr. Noodle!

They have the EXACT SAME look on their faces! I'm not kidding when I say they sat like this for about 20 minutes straight!! Very enthralling, that Mr. Noodle.

And then they switched to this position. What a cute cuddling shot!

Coop's grandparents are really his FAVORITE people in the whole world! He's so comfortable with all of them. Thank you Peepaw, Mammy, Pop, Nana, Poppi and Honey for showing Cooper so much love and fun. He truly adores the time he spends with you and looks forward to the next visit!

It's Party Time!

2009-03-23T17:28:00.012-05:00

We pulled our dancing shoes out Saturday night! My cousin Jamie and her husband Charles eloped on Valentine's Day and then threw a wonderful wedding reception this past Saturday for friends and family. Yes, it was really special and Jamie looked GORGEOUS, but it was that much more special because the party also served as a going-away celebration for Charles. He left for Navy boot camp today...just one short month after they got married and two really short days after they celebrated their marriage with all of us. He'll be at boot camp for 8 weeks with minimal contact with anyone, then he's off to training school for about 30 more weeks. We're all really proud of him and can't wait to see where this adventure takes both of them. Please keep them in your prayers as they have a difficult few months apart ahead of them.

Here are Mr. and Mrs. Charles Heeneman looking so lovely!

And one very "sharp dressed man" making his grand entrance. Too cute for words...

Our little family before the party started.

Jamie and Charles had their first dance while Matty and Jess sang "The Prayer." It was nothing short of AMAZING! There wasn't a dry eye in the house.

Two handsome men...Coop and his Pop!

Coop enjoying the party with his beloved Mammy. Doesn't mom look so pretty?

I love this picture of me and mom so I had to sneak it in.

And a little close-up of me and Coop just to say goodbye!

Well, maybe a shot of the bride and groom leaving would be a little more appropriate. Best wishes, Jamie and Charles! We love you and are so proud of you both. xoxo

What is it about Elmo?!

2009-03-19T23:15:00.005-05:00

So what is it about Elmo that makes kiddos fall in love? I have to preface this post by saying that we really don't watch THAT much television in our house during the day. But, Elmo and his friends usually make AT LEAST one appearance (by popular 15-month-old demand) each day.

Cooper has pretty much ALWAYS loved Elmo, but it's the furry monster's goofy pal Mr. Noodle that Coop truly adores! In all honesty, Cooper no longer asks for Elmo, he enthusiastically says "Neewda" while grasping for the DVD player on our entertainment center. He's really started to figure out how things work around the house...he even knows how to get the Wii Fit board on and ready to go for mommy's workout!

Anyway, several months ago, when Coop first started to notice Mr. Noodle, he called him "Diddy." Guess he saw some resemblance between Elmo's buddy and his uncle (maybe the reddish hair or scruffy face?).

That always made me giggle. But now, he's very certain that his name is, in fact, Mr. Noodle, because he shouts it out everytime he appears on screen and whimpers it each time he's been off screen for a bit. That whimper is the cue for mommy or daddy to rewind or fast-forward to Mr. Noodle's cameo again and again...

Man I wish Mr. Noodle had his own feature films. That would make it a tad bit easier to prepare dinner some nights. Until then, I guess I'll keep the remote close at hand, even if that means getting it sticky or salty just to keep Coop entertained for 3 more minutes!

Grateful Heart

2009-03-11T21:09:00.004-05:00

Hard to believe it's been 10 days since my last post, but boy have we had a whirlwind of a time around here! Most of you know that we spent one night in the ER and 2.5 days at Dell Children's Medical Center this past week because Cooper had croup and RSV. It was the most awful thing I've ever experienced.

It all started with a runny nose and slight cough on Tuesday evening, and by Wednesday morning at 3 a.m. he was having real difficulty breathing and we were frantically (ok, maybe I was frantic) headed to the ER. Initially the diagnosis was croup and he was treated accordingly. However, after 4 hours of observation and a chest x-ray, his oxygen levels weren't improving and his breathing continued to be compromised -- even after two intense breathing treatments, a steroid shot, and a couple of hours on oxygen. So, our pediatrician admitted him to Dell Children's (DCMC) for observation and to keep him on oxygen until his levels improved. Now, this is where the real scary part happened.

So, DCMC sent their own transport team to pick us up and move us from RR Hospital to DCMC. Initially, I thought this would be no big deal...just a fairly simple ride in an ambulance so Coop could remain on oxygen while in route to the hospital. Well, when the EMS crew showed up and they analyzed Cooper and his situation, they kicked it into REALLY high gear. They began questioning us about Cooper's respiratory history, hooking him up to monitors, taking his vitals and strapping him in -- all without explaining a thing to me and Chad. Turns out his retractions were quite severe and there just wasn't time for explanations at that point -- they had to act fast. As I'm sure you can imagine, I slightly panicked as I watched this team of professionals take our son's case VERY seriously. Imagine this...I'm hurling over a trash can out of shear fear and anxiety while they're asking me who is riding with Cooper because "we have to get moving." Chad and I both couldn't go and I REALLY wanted to be with him, so I grabbed a few of those blue barf bags they have on the walls in hospitals and off we went. Nothing like a little drama, right?! Praise God, my stomach calmed down the second we got on the ambulance and I saw that I had to be strong for my frightened little guy. Didn't need the blue bags after all!

The ride to DCMC went very well...Cooper eventually calmed down and said "WEEE" each time the ambulance sped up to move a little faster through traffic. He did remarkably well with the breathing treatment they gave him on the way AND when the paramedic put the oxygen tubes in his nose. He didn't even put up a fight! His chest was still retracting quite a bit when we arrived, but he seemed to be stable and I was encouraged by the AMAZING way that EMS team worked with the Cooper. They were wonderful. And I can say the same for just about everyone who treated/saw/worked with Cooper the entire time we were there.

We began our stay on the Intermediate Care floor, but we moved up to a room by the end of our first night. And that's where we stayed for two more days. Cooper remained on oxygen until 6 p.m. Thursday night and didn't require any additional breathing treatments. He seemed to be improving, but the doctors wanted to watch his levels OFF of oxygen for at least 6 hours before we could go home. That's why we stayed overnight again. He did amazingly well without the oxygen all throughout the night. He didn't sleep much, but who can sleep in a hospital anyway?! And praise God, he got a good report from the docs Friday morning and we were cleared to head home! I don't know who was happier about that -- me, Chad or Cooper! We were all a little giddy in the car. :)

So, thank you to everyone for your prayers, encouragement, love and sweet visits. We are so grateful for Cooper's health and wonderful care while in the hospital. I pray he continues to heal and we stay far, far away from hospitals for a good while.

Before I go, here are a few pics of Coop in his hospital gown. Notice all the wires coming out from under his gown. Pathetic, I know.

And everyone loves a bootie shot in a hospital gown, right?

Sleepless in Norman

2009-03-01T15:55:00.009-06:00

Chad had a business trip planned to Oklahoma City this past week, so Coop and I joined him for a fun road trip to see Matty and Jess! Since they live in Norman, which is right outside of OKC, we stayed with them for two nights and Coop had some big fun hanging out with his Uncle Diddy and Aunt Jess. The drive there went great (all 6 hours of it!) -- the truck was loaded up with lots of snacks, a couple of Elmo movies and one very chatty toddler!

We had a really great time visiting with Matt and Jess, but I will say that we didn't get much sleep! Those of you who know Cooper, understand that he's not exactly a super sleeper...especially in unfamilar places. So, let's just say that this pack-n-play...

Got more "play" time...

than it did "sleep" time! Some portion of both nights Coop was in bed with me while Chad slept on the couch so he could get some decent sleep before having to work the next day. And nap times were questionable...sometimes he would fall asleep without a peep, and others he would protest for over an hour! I guess that's part of traveling with a little guy who'd rather socialize than sleep.

And speaking of socializing, here's Coop with his Uncle Diddy and Aunt Jess before heading out to eat one night.

And Matt's good friend Tyrone paid us a visit, as well. Coop has been around him SEVERAL times, but for some reason, he was a bit nervous this time. The proof is in this picture. Despite the look on his face, Coop really does love his Uncle Ty Ty!

The silliest part of the whole trip was Coop's obsession with Matt and Jess' dogs. Somehow I managed NOT to get any pictures of them while we were there, but I'll do my best to explain. Cooper loves animals. He pretty much calls all animals Emmitt (our Boston Terrier's name) or says that they "MOO" like a cow (thanks to the herd of black cows living behind our house that he's grown so fond of). One of their dogs is a dark brindle Bull Mastiff named Nico. She's a very big girl, so I can see how it was easy for Cooper to mistake her for one of his favorite cows! He would stand at the bottom of the gated steps looking up at the dogs and say "MOO" while pointing at Nico, then get a big grin on his face when she would return the attention with a little whine that sounded a bit like an actual moo!

Thanks for allowing us to interrupt your busy week, Matt and Jess. We were thrilled to spend some time with you. Coop adores his Uncle Diddy and Aunt Jess...oh, and Nico, too!

Officially a little boy!

2009-02-20T15:47:00.007-06:00

Cooper is currently learning to walk -- taking a few wobbly steps between Chad and I before lunging toward one of us or tumbling to the ground -- all while giggling and squealing with excitement! Just yesterday I witnessed him acting a bit more independent by cruising the furniture as usual, but letting go and attempting to take a few unprompted steps toward me on his own. Well, at one point he got a little over-excited about things and let go too quickly, completely lost his balance and crashed face-first into the TV cabinet. Let's just say that the impact was met with brutal screams and LOTS and LOTS of tears. And yes, he has a battle scar to prove it...a lovely shiner on the outside of his left eye! Praise God, he's perfectly fine now, but this right here signifies that my baby boy is officially growing into a little boy. This is the first of MANY bumps and bruises on that precious face, I'm sure.

Let's talk some Smith Smack!

2009-02-17T21:53:00.000-06:00

Boy am I excited to be joining the wonderful world of blogging! I must say that I've always wanted to start my own blog, but was hesitant to for various reasons. I guess it just took enough pressure from my blogging friends and a desire to share some silly stories about raising Cooper to get me to take the plunge. So, here I am! Now, let's talk some Smith Smack...