my baby is THREE!

Seriously, how is this possible? My baby is three!  (Sniff, sniff)

Lukiepie...

I'm going to miss these little years with you...your little leggies, kissing those baby cheeks, the way you hold your "bankie" and suck your finger (which used to be your thumb)--my little Linus!  I've heard you are just like your Daddy was when he was little!  You are too funny and you make me laugh every day!  I'm even going to miss the days you got into EVERYTHING, and I was so exhausted at the end of every day just from keeping you alive!  And I'm going to miss the funny things you say...

"I want a snawich!" (sandwich)
"I see a squoil!" (squirrel)
"Mommy, you're a goil"(girl) (no matter how much we practice!)
     Me: "Luke, can you say, "girl?"
     Luke: "No, I'm little!"
Later...
     Luke: "Can I have gum?"
     Me: "No, you're too little."
     Luke: "No, I'm big!"

And recently in the car:
L: "Mommy, did you hear me burp?"
M: "Yes, Luke, what do you say?"
L: "Fire in the hole!"
M: "No, you say, 'Excuse me.'"
L: "No; fire in the hole!" (I think Drew taught him that one!!!)

I loved your second year of life, and even though I'm reluctant to let you grow up...I am excited to see what kind of adventure this third year of life is going to bring!  May the Lord grow you "in wisdom, in stature, and in favor with God and man!" We love you, Luke, and can't imagine what our lives or family would be like without you in it!  We are so thankful to God for you!

Luke had a few friends come for a morning play date and birthday cupcakes!

(Luke, Evie, William, Sam, and Bristol)

Summer vacation

One of the highlights every summer since Ty was 6-months old is our trip to Gulf Shores.  It has kind of become a tradition for the Smith family!  This year was especially fun because the boys were like little fish in the water!  (Luke swam all over the pool with his life jacket on.  He did NOT want help and even thought he didn't need the life jacket!  But we convinced him to wear it, and everyone was happy!) Ty and Drew absolutely LOVED the pool--swimming underwater (not holding their noses), jumping, diving, and swimming under our legs.  It's sad that they'll have to wait again til next summer to practice swimming.  Perhaps it's like riding a bike?

 boogie boarding in the pool

"I'm floating!"

brown little biscuits

dinner with Mimi and Grandpa at Lulu's

Drewmiester

 Lukiepie playing put-put

 

a year in review

 Highlights from last year:

Our city hosted the Superbowl

 Ty and Drew are at the same school! (They finished Kindergarten and Pre-K, respectively)

 

My baby turned 2

the two BFFs became three amigos

 

 I started running mini-marathons again--I hadn't run since before having children!  I ran one in November with my old, St. Louis friend, Emily--so fun! We were freezing in this pic!

We celebrated Christmas with these three Santa cuties

I trained and ran the Indy mini in May 2012 and 2013--this one was from this year with some great friends!

Fresh Start

Well, hello there, blog!  I (almost) forgot about you!  You have crossed my mind many times in the past year and a half, but like most thoughts, it was fleeting!  How do I start again after taking such a long break from blogging?  My "SFJ" personality tells me to go back and fill in all of the highlights and favorite moments from the past year in chronological order, but the reality is that I'm a mom of three with great intentions but terrible at following-through.  So, while I may (someday) properly update my blog, I think I will just make a fresh start for now.  

So, here we are, in a good spot...with three boys (7, 5, and 2.5).  Life is good--it's full, it's hard, it's exhausting, it's wonderful, it's challenging, it's full (did I already say that?)  And that is the reason I haven't blogged in a year and a half! :)     

At this moment...the boys are into everything superhero, learning to swim, jumping on the trampoline, bedtime stories, armpit noises, making weapons (of all sorts--guns, daggers, spears, swords, etc.) out of Trio blocks, movies, and animals (especially pet dogs and cats).  Corey is busy pastoring our church, searching for a new church building to call home, and learning a lot about faith and work.  And I am enjoying this summer, listening to an amazing (for my heart) sermon series by Tim Keller called, "Practical Grace," decorating my home (at a slow pace and small budget), and trying to be a good mom to my boys but so often feeling like a complete failure!  There are layers and layers to all of that, but I'll leave it at that for now.  

family pics

We decided to get family pictures taken recently, which we used as Christmas presents for our moms. Since I couldn't post them back in September (I was trying to keep them under wraps), here they are now.

Drew 3 1/2, Ty 5, Luke 1

Drew turned four!

Drew: lovable...squeezable...kissable...huggable...so, very silly...ticklish...you absolutely love your back rubbed, snuggling, and chocolate...you have the best laugh...you are a little brother AND a big brother...you gave Luke his first nickname ("Lukiepie")...you are funny, sweet, cuddly, quiet, and tough (you're a fighter...when you need to be)...you love Raffie...you are becoming more and more athletic...you're cute as pie...you refuse to "poop on the pot"!...you still take naps when you're really tired...you can whisper...you think "bathroom talk" is hilarious...your best friend is Calvin...you love to run...and you are FOUR!!! We love you, Andrew Hudson Smith!!!

Christmas 2011 in a few pictures

For some reason, I didn't take many pictures this year. Kinda sad about that, but kinda glad I I got to just enjoy it. Loved having Christmas in our home with family (all the grandparents and Dylan). One quick highlight was our virtual darts game on the Kinect...everyone played...so fun.

O Christmas Tree

love these three

handsome guys

Got my first toothbrush just like my bubbies! Who needs toys?

little getting big

my birthday-part 2

Okay, this is a terrible picture (from my phone) but a fun memory. At our house, we like to celebrate birthdays for several days. Sometimes even for a week or a whole month. So, the second half of my birthday week involved a date with my husband to Mama Carollas, a charming Italian restaurant in Broad Ripple, and Christmas shopping. It was perfect. The food was delish, the date was fun, and we got White Chocolate Mochas to sip while shopping. I loved every minute!

my birthday-part 1

We celebrated my birthday yesterday with lots of "presents" from my boys and flowers from my thoughtful hubs! Ty and Drew couldn't fathom a birthday without a cake so we included that as well. What they were most excited about was blowing out the candles so we dug out every candle we could find and put them on the cake. We ended up with 27 candles, which is ironic because that is the age I like to think I am. In fact, when I opened a card that said, "Happy 35th," I was thinking, "Who is this for?" Sad, I know...I'm in denial about getting older! Why does aging seem like an out-of-body experience? :/ Anyway...I'm so thankful for my precious boys who colored lots of pictures for me, wrapped them up like presents, and put huge Christmas bows on them! They are THE BEST! Love these little ones...

look at all that smoke!

climbing

This little one is quite a climber...following in big brother's footsteps (Ty climbed out of his crib when he was 18 months old). He climbs into everything he can...the dishwasher, suitcases, the laundry basket, and his latest...drawers. He makes me laugh...

going for it...

caught in the act

bound and determined...

don't forget to pack me...

just lounging...

decking the halls

We got the tree and Christmas decorations up on Sunday. The boys had a fun time hanging ornaments on the tree. It's always fun to reminisce with each of the special ornaments. The boys love seeing pictures of themselves on their first Christmas. Ty said, "Drew looks just like his picture. Mine looks like Luke." They definitely have lots of similarities. Here is that little pumpkin tackling his oldest brother (not an uncommon thing)...

Halloween 2011

This year, we had Batman, Bumlebee (the Transformer), and a lion :)

SOCCER

Ty played soccer this fall, and we all loved it. It's a fun sport for little kids because they keep moving (unlike T-ball in which they got sooooooooooo bored waiting in the field). And it was a fun game for us parents too! We really got into it--cheering and coaching (even though Corey told me not to) on the sidelines! Coach Andrea was pretty amazing too. Here are a few pics from the season...

(Ty and Ian)

(action shot)

team pic

There were four in the bed...

and the little one said, "Roll over." So they all rolled over and one fell out. And that "one" was mommy. :) Corey and I love when the boys come to snuggle with us in the morning. In fact, it's one of our favorite things. I couldn't resist getting this shot of the three of them...

faux hawk

Yes, my five-year-old has one, and he does it himself. I love it. #isn'theastudmuffin?;)

he's a character

messy and lovin' it

I love a man with his hat on backwards ;)

profile shot

classic Luke

tough guy (crawling around with Ty and Drew's plastic snake in his mouth)