December 28th - Get Together at Home

After spending the rest of Christmas week working on getting Tyler ’s closet, toys, and the baby’s room organized, we hosted a get-together for the Harness’ clan at our house. We all had leftovers we needed to eat and since there is hardly any of the Christmas Eve chocolate cake left we believe that we did make a big dent in them. There is one slice of cheesecake left but Jen will take care of that tonight. Tyler got a few additional Christmas presents too. (What a lucky little guy!) He loved the wooden Thomas the Train set and is sure to expand upon that in the years to come, and he also enjoys pushing around the fire truck. We’re not sure where he gets so much energy but even after hamming it up for the crowd and playing with the new toys, Tyler and Spencer managed to entertain us even more with their antics. (See the attached video.) Uncle Jeff never did get that cookie out of Tyler ’s hand – Jen is still finding crumbs all over the house!

Well this may be the last of the postings on Smitty3.blogspot.com. We’re anxiously awaiting the arrival of our little girl in February and since we’ve done little to prepare for her thus far we’ll be getting the house ready in the coming weeks. Somehow we’ll figure out how to transfer this site name to something like Smitty4.blogspot.com, or just start a whole new blog once she arrives. We’ll keep you all posted on how it goes. Thanks for reading our stories!

Christmas Day 2008

We spent Christmas day at the Harness’ house. It was a whirlwind event! The food was bountiful and delicious, the company was aplenty – everyone was there – and there were tons and tons of presents. Jen’s were even skillfully (and artfully) constructed with duct tape. Santa must have heard through the grapevine that he lacks some wrapping skills so he tried pretty hard to make up for it this year! Courtney, Spencer and Morgan are excellent babysitters. Tyler always has fun playing with his cousins. He also has fun playing with Grandma’s toys, but he got many new toys to play with too. The cars, see’n say, discovery cups, and of course Thomas the Train set were big hits. Thank you all for the presents!

After spending the day at the Harness' we decided to swing by the Schroeder house for their Christmas before it was time for Tyler to go to bed. He only lasted about an hour but at least we got to say hi to alot of family that we haven't seen in awhile.

What a Christmas!

Christmas Morning

We spent Christmas morning at our house. Tyler must have been very good because Santa brought him way too many presents. The big items are a shiny red tricycle and an Elmo Live. He was a little scared of both, but has already warmed up to them. He knew right away what Elmo was when he starting saying “Elmo, Elmo” but it really sounds like “elbow, elbow”. (We’ll have to work on the “m’s”.) Obviously he is watching a little Sesame Street at school. When we put him on the tricycle he couldn’t get enough of it. He also got some new books and is starting to like his airplanes book as much as his trains book. Anytime we say “sky” or “airplane” he looks upward. Jen and Jeff got some nice gifts from Santa too. Thank you Santa!

Christmas Eve

We thought we’d try something new and host Christmas Eve for Jeff’s family this year and spend Christmas Day with Jen’s family. It was really nice because we got to spend a lot of time with both families instead of rushing around between houses. We’re not sure when we’ll get to do it again, but it was a wonderful holiday. We were really nervous about Christmas Eve dinner though. Aside from committing to prime rib, which we’ve never prepared before, we had an eventful few days leading up to Christmas Eve that led to being real short of time on preparations.

(Pretend there is a picture of a prime rib here.)

To begin with, on December 21st we spent the afternoon in the ER after discovering that Tyler has taken a liking to glass Christmas ornaments. Lucky for him (and us) he chewed up the little he did swallow into tiny pieces because it didn’t show up on the xray. He was looking very guilty after he did it and did not enjoy the ER at all. In fact, it took two grown men to hold him steady on the xray table. He hasn’t gotten too close to the tree since then, but we did take all the glass ornaments down. We thought we had them up high enough but apparently his reach is longer than what we thought…

(Pretend there is a picture of Tyler in his little hospital gown.)

Shortly after returning from the ER, Jen became very ill. It got bad enough that we were preparing to go to Labor and Delivery but luckily the worst symptoms started to ease up shortly after that decision was made. She ended up taking off work Monday and Tuesday. Jeff stayed home to take care of her Monday, but by Tuesday afternoon he was sick too. We both felt better by Christmas Eve, but not 100% until the weekend. Thankfully, Tyler never got it.

(Be glad there isn't a picture of anything here)

Christmas Eve dinner turned out wonderful (except for the biscuits which Jen swears were marked as “dinner rolls” on package – that was a little weird to serve with prime rib). Plus the company was great. Grandma and Grandpa Schroeder, the Carrolls, and Murphy and Jessi were all there. We got to see Ethan’s response to opening Christmas presents (we think he likes wrapping paper) and Tyler ’s response (we know he likes blocks and trucks). Thank you all for the wonderful presents and for sharing Christmas Eve with us!

December 13th - Landis Holiday Party

We joined Grandma and Grandpa Schroeder and the Carrolls at the Landis’ Holiday Party. Aside from Aunt Kathy, Uncle Jeff and June Bartley, we visited with Michelle, Zach and Nick Ziegenfuss and Tony, Jen and Aiden Manker. It was neat to see how Tyler, Ethan and Aiden are all growing. They’re all about 6-8 months apart, so you can just take a look at what the others are doing to get an idea of what is next, or in Tyler’s case what we miss about having a baby. The food was delicious, as usual. Aunt Kathy made some Manker family treats for everyone to reminisce. (The coffee cake was a favorite for us Smith’s – even Tyler enjoyed it.) Zach and Nick are great playmates for Tyler . They shared their castle toy set and even played catch with him. We wish they didn’t live so far away!

December 6th - St. Nick's Day and Breakfast with Santa

In the morning, St. Nick visited the Smith household. We set out our stockings the night before and put Tyler ’s Christmas list in his. St. Nick left us all some goodies. Tyler was pretty happy to get a candy cane and some Matchbox cars. Mommy and Daddy are always excited to get chocolates!

Later in the morning after gym class, we were joined by Grandma and Grandpa Schroeder, Aunt Jen, Uncle Ron and Ethan at Jeff's MSD Breakfast with Santa. After waiting so long for pancakes (only one griddle making pancakes for a lot of people), Tyler was in no mood for Santa pictures. Ethan had some cute pictures though, but we think this one is the best!

(Ethan was excited that pancakes were FINALLY ready!)


(Ethan very upset that the pancakes are not ready.)

November 30th - Santa House

We took Tyler to the Santa House in Affton for pictures, a puppet show, and cookies with Mrs. Claus. Grandma and Grandpa Harness joined us and we all had lunch at Sybergs afterward. Tyler enjoyed the puppet show and of course the cookies. Mommy wasn’t as thrilled about the cookies though, since they were messy chocolate chip. Good thing he had already seen Santa at that point. He did pretty well with Santa. He didn’t cry so we think that’s a success. Maybe next year he’ll realize that Santa’s the man to make friends with this time of year!

Thanksgiving Weekend

There has been alot of activity at the Smith House this weekend. Tyler helped (well sort of...when he wasn't launching his Hot Wheels through the gate and down the staircase) Jen put up the tree and inside decorations while Jeff put up the lights outside. We're ready for the holidays now!

On Saturday we went to Gym class, did a little shopping to make a holiday care package for a friend of Jen's who's stationed in Afghanistan, and then spent the afternoon making Christmas cookies. Tyler tried to help, but since he likes to eat the dough he settled for rolling Play Doh while we rolled out the cookies. Even though cookie dough tastes much better he still tried to eat the Play Doh. Here's a great picture of Tyler enjoying his first candy cane cookie. He liked them so much that he had two!

We also watched alot of Christmas movies and Tyler entertained us with his dancing to Christmas music. He really loves to play with Jen's Hallmark Singing Snowmen and the infamous Rockin' Santa. We're going to need to buy alot of batteries for Christmas this year!

To top off the weekend we were awakened to a winter wonderland in High Ridge this morning. Here are some pictures from the view outside of our back windows from the deck.

Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving was a busy day. We started at Grandma and Grandpa John's house. Tyler got to spend some time with them. Aunt Jen, Uncle Ron and Ethan were able to make it too. Tyler and Ethan are shown here playing and rolling around on the floor. There was turkey and plenty of good eats.

From there, we went to Aunt Cindy's and Uncle Gerry's house. Tyler got to see Grandma and Grandpa Harness. Morgan and Spencer kept Tyler entertained. Again, there was plenty of food including turducken, which is a duck inside of a chicken which is inside of a turkey with stuffing in between everything. The turducken was very tender. As was Gerry's fried turkey. Always a hit.

A great day was had by all and Tyler slept well that night. As did Jeff and I. We were stuffed. We are looking forward to the Christmas holidays.

November 16, 2008 - Fast Asleep

Tyler has taken to sleeping in the corner of his crib. We put him down in his crib right in the middle but he always seems to find the corner. And he uses his teddy bear for a pillow. We are kind of glad that he sleeps in the corner because we are getting ready to change him over to a toddler bed and we are nervous about the opening that the one side is going to have. Our baby is growing up!

November 9, 2008 - So Handsome

This was too cute that I just had to take a picture.

November 8, 2008 - Tyler gets a job!

With the sluggish economy, Tyler must pull his own weight around here. So, he has started babysitting. His first customer, his cousin Ethan. We watched Ethan while Aunt Jen and Uncle Ron celebrated their anniversary with dinner reservations.

Tyler was a big help. He was trying to show Ethan how to role over but Ethan can already do that. But that was funny watching them both role around on the floor. Tyler didn't like the idea of me holding Ethan on my lap. In fact, at one point while holding Ethan, Tyler had to be right in my lap too.

November 2008 - 16 Months and Walking Well

Here is a video clip of Tyler walking well. He's mastered walking and now is running and getting into even more trouble! TV. No touch! No touch!

October 31, 2008 - Halloween at Home

Grandma and Grandpa John came over for Halloween. So did Aunt Jen, Uncle Ron and Ethan. We had chili and more candy than we knew what to do with.

There were considerably more houses in the neighborhood this year. So, Ethan and Tyler got lots of candy. We even had more visitors to our house this year, as compared to last year with only one kid.

The Lion King getting restless, he is ready to go in his wagon. In fact, he kept climbing out of the wagon and running all over the yard.

October 25, 2008 - Boo at the Zoo

We took Tyler to the Boo at the Zoo where we met Aunt Jen and Uncle Ron and Ethan. You get to walk around the zoo and as volunteers hand out candy. Here is a picture of the Karate Kid and the Lion King.

Jeff and I really like this picture.


The Lion King in his chariot (red wagon).

October 19, 2008 - Trunk or Treat

Tyler and Mommy went to a Trunk or Treat at St. Joe's-Cottleville with Grandma and Grandpa Harness, Courtney, Spencer and Morgan. We all had a great time. It was Tyler's first time to really Trick or Treat, but he actually had more fun handing out candy to the Trick or Treater's. I'm sure they appreciated it because he was VERY generous.

And a big thanks to everyone that voted for Tyler in The BULL'S Cutest baby contest. While he did not win, he did recieve quite a few votes which means what we already knew - he is the cutest baby.

Baby Idol

We have entered Tyler into "The Cutest Baby Contest" for the Country Radio Station 93.7 The Bull. AND WE NEED YOUR HELP.

Please go to the website and vote for Tyler! Here is the link.

www.thebullrocks.com/pages/babyidol.html

October 5th - First Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

We took Tyler to Aholt Farms near Augusta, MO to experience their Halloween pumpkin extravaganza! They have everything a 1 year old could want to do...

There were wide-open spaces for a little guy to run and play.


They had hay bales, pumpkins, a haunted house and spooky Halloween characters...it was the perfect spot to take a few Halloween pictures.



Here he is with Grandma Dee, Mommy, Daddy and Grandma Harness.

Not to be outdone, Grandpa Harness got the biggest reaction of the day! (He must have been slipping him whipped cream again...)

They also had a hay ride with more hay bales and lots of farm scenery to look at.

Grandpa Harness was up to his usual tricks.

They had lots of chickens, cows, pigs, and goats to gawk at and pet. Tyler was especially excited about the chickens.

There was even a miniature car lot! He was so excited, he took off running into the car lot.

Tyler had his pick but which one to choose?

First he tried the Flintstones car like he has at home but his car at home has all the hubcaps.

Then Grandpa Harness took him for a ride.

After that he tried out the fire truck,

then the tractor,

then the antique car,

and finally the police car. (Where do they hide the donuts Uncle Murph?)



He wrapped up the afternoon with a ride on the barrell train with Daddy. Jeff said he now knows what a can of sardines feels like!