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Thursday, January 24, 2013

Phases


 I pronounced Hayley's fish 'dead' at 10 am on Saturday.  
When I yelled up to Hayley, who was on the top floor, and informed her of her fish's passing, she hollered back, "Okay!"
Well, okay then.
I decided I would flush it a little later in the day, since I was in the middle of something else at the time....and it was a good thing I waited, because Jordan pronounced that tricky little thing 'alive' again at 10:15 am.
Miracles never cease to exist here in the Smith house.

I have been living life in the slow lane for the past little while here.  I used to make sure my days were loaded with activities, and that I had projects lined up to keep me busy.
Lately, it's just not happenin'.

Ty is going through some 'phases' which include, but are not limited to:
Yelling, ALL of the time.  Especially in public places
Hitting whoever sits next to him in the van and grabbing whatever is in their lap
Shouting "DOHHHHH!" (which means no)
Misbehaving in church
and continuously putting himself in dangerous situations.
Screaming is also his new form of communication for the 2-4am hours, for no reason other than he doesn't want to be in his bed.  

Sounds like the terrible two's, no?
I am struggling to keep my patience and am now realizing, that although I don't want to...it's finally time to play the "tough love" card.  

You think you got me wrapped around your little finger?  Think again buddy.
(But ohmygosh, how cute is he yelling NOOOO from the bathtub?)





Not wrapped around his little finger at ALL.


I let Hayley invite 3 of her school friends over for a birthday get together (as mentioned in a previous post).  It was a simple little party, but they had SUCH a great time.  


My little girl is 9.  


And what a beautiful little 9 year old she is.


 This party had it all:  Good food, lots of dancing...and reeeally cute boys.  ;)
He gives the best hugs these days.



More soon!





Friday, January 11, 2013

 Sometimes I stay on the computer late at night only because the laptop keeps my legs so warm.

So while I'm warming myself tonight, I figured I might as well do a little catching up.


Christmas morning was such a fun time.  I remember when we were growing up, Dad would make us wait ForEVER to go in and see the tree, because he had to shower, brush his teeth, set up the Christmas music, and get the camera ready. It was torture.  
Well, my husband does the exact- same- thing!  What about just waking up and walking down to the tree?  There really shouldn't be that much prep work involved. 

The kids were very good about acting excited about every silly thing they pulled out of those stockings.


 Ty is still trying to figure this whole Christmas thing out.

He was super excited about his new sippy cup....and the slippers you see on his feet.

He had no idea what to do with the presents.  
"Open it!"  we'd say.  So he'd sit there and look at it for a minute, and then start to bang it with his fist, expecting that to take care of his problem.
Even after we showed him how to rip the paper, he didn't quite catch on.



Eventually, I had to just open it for him.


Tia's box of cosmetics.


Hayley's stealth scope..





J suggested that halfway through our gift opening, we take an intermission and go eat breakfast.
 Who does that? 
Surprisingly the girls were on board with the idea.




I loved that my kids got so many books this year.  Ty would have his daddy read to him all day long if he could.

This was the most controversial gift of the day..  Tia's Fur Real Friend, walking, purring kitty.
The controversy was that Ty thought it should be his.  
Fights broke out between the two all morning over that thing.




A while ago, at Ty's doctor appt, the doc asked if Ty was starting to push other people's buttons to try to get a reaction out of them.  I said 'yes, it's pretty much his favorite thing to do.'
The doctor then gave me a little disciplining tip:  Pick him up and calmly say "Ty, No pulling hair," and then take him into a different room, place him on the floor and keep him behind your back for a certain amount of time, so he is not getting the reaction that he is after.  We have laughed at and exaggerated this form of discipline so many times (even though I do see the reasoning behind it) that it has become kind of a game to Ty.  Here he is trying to escape from behind J's back.   



Another of Ty's favorite things to do.  Whenever there is a blanket or sleeping bag on the floor, he wants you to drag him around on it.


This is one of a set of fabulous sharp knives we received from my parents.  They are so great to have.
Mom, I thought you should know also that this is the one I keep under my mattress in case someone  breaks into the house.



Hayley's birthday is coming up!
Just wanted to share a picture of her birthday invitations that we sent out in the mail this week.
(I'm having way too much fun with these bottles ;)
It will be a great time




Oh, this child.  

 His face is caked with refried beans in this picture.



Looking forward to a great year.  Maybe one day this month I'll get around to setting some resolutions.