This is such a sweet time of life. So many things are happening that won't happen for long and I love every second!

Brooks is belly-crawling and rolling around. He has 1 1/2 teeth. He squints up his face sometimes when he smiles. He laughs a lot, especially at dogs and Brother. When he is tired he buries his face in my shoulder. He clicks his tongue and says "dadada". He loves to be outside. He takes 2 good naps a day. He rolls his tongue to the right. He likes to play with big boy toys. He protests when I walk past him and don't pick him up to go with me. He laughs at Baby Einstein. He loves fans, lights and running water. He pumps his fists when he gets excited. He shakes his head side to side and laughs. He is so happy when Gus comes through the door. He is ticklish almost everywhere.

Thomson went from saying a few words to saying paragraphs in a few short months. He now likes to talk about concepts like "da water go down da drain" and "da wecycle go in da green trash can. da trash go in da blue trash can". Georgia is his favorite friend in his class. He loves school, runs in screaming in every day. He can go "pee pee da potty" but is not ready to potty train quite yet, and we are not in a hurry. He plays with my hair. He snuggles me on the sofa to watch a movie when he is tired. He loves to read books before bed. Did I say he loves the trash? His new thing is to point to things that are not toys and say in a very loud voice "THIS IS NOT A TOY!" He loves kitty cats, puppies and dogs. He likes to help water my plants. He loves to sing songs. He runs in circles to get dizzy and laughs. He will focus on one task and complete it (who could he get that from?). He is obedient. He is sweet and caring yet wild and fun. He is cautious. He likes things a particular way. He piles like-objects together. He "wuves" his brother.

Brooks grew his first tooth! For about 2 weeks Brooks sported one precious tooth. The second one came in a few days ago. Here are some pictures of my favorite one-toothed man:

Picture Post

Busy busy over here. 7 months: Brooks is rolling all over the place, looking for small objects (or dirty boots) to put in his mouth. He always wants to be in the mix, watching his brother or his dog. He is close to crawling, loves to do planks and pushups. His dark hair and dark skin highlight his beautiful blue eyes, he is georgous. Brooks only sits up at a 45 degree angle, and then he quickly rolls back down to a crawl position. Dr. G said this is typical for babies who are "very eager to crawl", uh-oh

Yes he is wearing tights! Uncle Whit-Whit might get upset but Brooks doesn't care, he wants to set trends not follow them!

Brooks likes to eat but mostly loves to grip tightly on the spoon and gnaw it on his gums. It is quite messy

We nipped this one right in the bud. Thomson learned to climb out of bed when he was visiting DeeDee's house . . .

Triple Paste stains, people! I was able to get it off of my grandmothers' antique bed. After his spanking, Thomson is no longer climbing out of bed at night or during his naps, whew!

my Keri . . .

These past days we have been on the receiving-end of lots of love and lots of southern hospitality. There are so many ways to minister to a grieving family - we have food for weeks over here and have been able to feed all of our family for days on end. The flowers were beautiful. There have been cards, emails, texts, messages, prayers and lots and lots of love. My grandmother was that kind of person and so it has been reciprocated to all of us. We feel loved.

So many of my friends have called, texted, emailed - just a short something but it all meant a lot.

And then there was Keri.

Those of you with young children know the stress of keeping these babies on schedule - or at least you know that they can stay on your mind when they are not with you. I worried about my boys because yesterday was a LONG day with a graveside service, a family lunch, a funeral followed by a visitation. That translates to a hard day for a baby. And I really wanted to find a way for me to be able to keep them off of my mind and for me to be able to focus on my grandmother.

Keri offered to take Thomson and I reluctantly took her up on it. She picked him up at 11 and kept him all day until 8 at night. That is 9 hours! Before the funeral I had a break and I sat in a quiet room at the church and read a text from Keri - that Thomson was sound asleep and that she was praying for me. (I was nervous to give the benediction at the service) And relief flooded over me and I cried a little. What a beautiful friend.

I love you Keri - what a sweet gesture of friendship and what a sweet way to minister to me during a time of loss.

And Thomson misses "Mary Cake"!!!

a special lady

My grandmother passed away Saturday after a long life and a long battle with Alzheimer's for the last bit. What a special lady and so many life lessons we all learned and continue to learn from her. 4 children, 13 grandchildren, 26 great-grandchildren and counting. I am still processing all of this and have more to write about her, but for now, here is the benediction I gave at her beautiful funeral yesterday:

On special occasions the Smith family gathers. We are a large crowd for my grandmothers house. On these nights, Mimi would always take time to appreciate her role as matriarch. She would squeeze one of our hands and exclaim "Can you believe that all of this is because of me?!?" It humbled her - for truly in her mind she was just a farm girl from Oregon.

And today we gather - family, friends, loved ones. We come because we know that she was, in fact, much more than just a farm girl from Oregon.

She set her foundation as a strong faith in Christ. She added a loving marriage to Papa Brooks who adored her. And this faith and marriage set the stage for her life. Her works and her words overflowed from this wellspring.

I wish she were here today. Surely she would stand in the corner and, once again, admire the beautiful family she created. She would be humbled by all of these lives she touched. Truly she left a legacy.

Saturday morning when she met Jesus, I know she heard these sweet words, "Well done, good and faithful servant". Let us pray . . .

School Pictures

Cute or tacky?

December happenings

I am going to have to work my way up to a Christmas post - Christmas was sweet and fun! For now - here are some December pictures.

If you have a dramatic child, difficult and temperamental - I am sorry but I can't relate to you. Thomson and Brooks are both so happy, all smiles and giggles. Is this normal? Things are so fun around here and we are soaking up this precious time. Brooks wants to compete for a Gerber Baby ad. And we all know I am a perfect stage mom, right?

Brooks is 5 months old, he is almost sitting up on his own, rolling over both ways, sleeps like a champ, and not to sound like a broken record - he smiles and giggles all the time. He is so ticklish and he loves peek-a-boo. I thought Thomson was the smiliest baby ever but Brooks easily matches him. I started solids after New Years and he loves the new spooned adventure.This picture is my new favorite: Thomson helping Dad get the Christmas tree out the truck. Something was SO funny!

How adorable is my nephew Parker? He loved hunting with Uncle Gus this year and he saw lots of bucks too!!!Thomson LOVES Parker!I love this Picture of Thomson and Lee for so many reasons. To say Thomson loves Lee is a major understatement. Thomson WORSHIPS Lee - everything is Lee Lee Lee all day long. I can just point to a picture of "Bee" and he starts belly laughing. It makes me so happy...And don't underestimate the up-and-comings: Brooks and Brant, they will surely not disappoint!

Back soon with Christmas pics and post.

Quiet mommy, Santa pics

I have lost my voice again - this is the 3rd time in 4 months. Crazy thoughts are going through my head about why this keeps happening. I have come to really appreciate my voice through all of the ways I have had to adjust during these quiet days. I respond to voicemails with text. When I need Bates to come inside, I stand on the back stoop and clap my hands until he comes running. Thomson especially likes the game of quiet mommy. I whisper his books and his bedtime songs, and he whispers with me.

Here are finally some more pictures, seeing santa:

Brooks was baptised on Sunday. Thomson wiggled to get out of Gus' arms and talked the whole time. But Brooks did great and it was a special day. I have so many hopes and dreams for these boys. Chuck preached on 2 Samuel 24:18-25 - King David, Araunah and the threshing floor. "I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing"(v 24). A relationship with God requires sacrifice, sacrifice should cost us something. Any success in life should come with some sacrifice. Monday is Halloween and Thomson wants to be a trash man. I made some calls and tried to create a costume, but in the end I decided that this is not the year for homemade costumes. So he will be a cowboy instead! He has a horse and everything!

Tomorrow I am planning a photo shoot for some much-needed pictures of Brooks. Will post them soon and some pictures of Thomson's birthday this week.

Well Fancy That!!!

Thomson is so hard to photograph these days!! Last weekend we took a photography class with our friend, Carrie Tabb. She taught us how to use our cameras on Manual Mode. Today was my first day of practice. Well Fancy That!!!

A sick day

"Bebe Books" has his first cold today. We are hunkering down in the house and working to get him feeling better. Nurse Thomson is in full force - bringing the Boogie Wipes, testing the Baby's medicine (Tylenol for Brooks, Gatorade for Thomson), pushing him in the swing. Thomson has started getting in Brooks' face and talking in a high-pitched tone, mimicking my baby talk. This morning he brought over a burp cloth and covered Brooks' face when he was lying on his back. Luckily I was sitting right there. (He was trying to wipe his mouth). When Brooks' nose or eye starts running, Thomson lets me know that the baby has "trash". So sad to see a little one sick!!!

treading water

I feel like I have been treading water for 10 weeks. Some moments I am under the water, trying to get back up to the surface. Other moments I am on top of the water and I can see the edge of the pool but I am not quite there yet. Most nights, dinnertime is the worst for me - two tired and fussy babies + hungry husband and dog + hungry yet picky toddler = several hours where I literally feel like I can't breathe. I try to take deep breaths but I often tell Gus that I can't breathe.

I know it will all pass and we won't remember it but when you are in the middle of it, it is hard to see it that way. I try to get supper fixed earler and we take long familiy walks in the evenings to relax everyone, but still it can be suffocating.

Just keeping it real.

For those of you curious about Gus' dad, he is doing great, home from the hospital and is recovering well at home. He will have another surgery and another (shorter) recovery but he is in such great shape and has done so well considering all that he has been through. A reminder to all of us the importance of staying in shape! Thank you all for your prayers and support.

Number One

Look mama, Baby has a little foot!

Gentle, Thomson, gentle!!
When Brooks started smiling, he only used one side of his face. I thought it was so funny and cute (but you know I asked Dr. G about it when we visited at 6 weeks, just to be sure . . . If you read the Athens Banner Herald, Gus was officially voted the #1 DOCTOR IN ATHENS! We are very proud of him! Patients have noticed how he really cares for them and wants them to have the best outcome possible. He takes his time and he listens.

And if you turn the page he was also voted #1 Husband of the Year, #1 Dada of the year, and #1 Son of the year for 2011. We have been through a lot the last few weeks but we are starting to see daylight ahead. Brooks is sleeping better at night and is very happy all day between his long naps. If you could hear him beside me right now - I just got his play mat out of the closet and there are all sorts of cute critters dangling over his head. He coos every time I bump it and they all start to move!

Thomson is so sweet to Brooks, he attacks him with kisses and hugs every time he gets a clear shot. We are lucky that Thomson loves him and has not tried to hit him (like lots of my friends' toddlers). I think Thomson thinks he is a small puppy because he makes this really funny noise when he leans down to "hug" or kiss his baby, he sounds like a purring cat. (See picture #5 above). But when Thomson is tired and fussy, he always wants me to hold him and if I am holding Brooks, he wraps his arms around my legs and cries "no baby, no baby".

That's all for now. Just trying to be superwoman over here!