Daddy's #1 Fan

This weekend, I had a taste of what it will be like to have the boys against the girls in this house in just a few short months. Tobin LOVES his daddy and thinks he hung the moon and the stars. I am used to coming in second place to this father/son relationship and, of course, think it's a gift to have a husband who sees the importance of developing this healthy bond. However, it stung a little to hear these words out of my son's mouth this weekend...

First, we were eating lunch yesterday when Tobin excused himself to use the restroom. He suddenly had a very serious face as he looked at me and said, "Mommy, don't eat my sandwich while I go potty." I assured him that his sandwich was safe, but this little guy didn't seem to trust me. He looked at Matt, held up his hand as if stopping traffic, and said "Daddy, protect my sandwich from Mommy. Don't let her eat it, please." It seems that he knows that at this stage in my pregnancy, I'm ravenous and want to eat anything within eyesight. Good thing his Daddy was there to "protect" his precious food. Geesh!

Then, this morning while Matt was getting ready for work, Tobin and I were talking to him about the week. Tobin suddenly says "Daddy, you smell good. Mommy, you smell like Cheerios."

Nothing like a toddler pointing out to a pregnant woman that she's eating too much and smells bad to make you feel a little more self-conscious about yourself!!

Happy Monday!

Tag...you're it

My good friend, Jana, tagged me this week. I always hope that I'll get tagged because I think it's so fun to learn more about your friends and come up with unique responses of your own. However, when I eventually get tagged, I tend to freeze up and put too much pressure on myself to fill out the survey! This time, it's an honesty tag where you list 10 honest things about yourself...here goes:

1. I have no gift in teaching and I have very little patience when it comes to teaching. For example, Tobin got the game of Chutes and Ladders for his birthday and since it was his first time to learn about rules in a board game, my patience did not outlast his desire to explore and play with the game. He wanted to play with the pieces, skip to the finish line, and ignore all of the rules. Me being a by-the-book kind of gal, found myself getting frustrated very quickly. I am not proud of this trait and it's something that I've only just discovered about myself since raising a toddler. I'm prayerful that I can overcome it though!

2. I am insecure without a good book to read. If I finish a book without having a backup to begin right away, I tend to throw myself into a panic until I have something that interests me again. Thank goodness the library is close by, well stocked, and has a drive through window!


3. Speaking of panic, I am an anxious person. However, I don't have anxiety over big things like death or illnesses in my family, it's over the little things. I work myself into a worry over things like how warmly I should dress Tobin for bed, which route will be most efficient when running errands, and writing creative blog entries!

4. I am a craft plagiariser. I don't have any creative ideas of my own. Anything I make, it's because I've seen it online, in a store, or in a book and think to myself "Hey...I can make that myself for half the cost."


5. I have a phone phobia. I don't like to call people or places to take care of business. I even get scared sometimes of making the initiative to call friends. It's silly, I know. My other biggest fears include thunderstorms and people touching my neck. I'm weird but being honest!

6. In college, I didn't know how to boil water. I had to ask my roommate how you know it's boiling as I was trying to make mac and cheese for the first time. I like to think I've come a very long way in the kitchen and I love that my sweet husband has been so patient with me as I continue to grow more adventurous with food.


7. I think I am either superstitious or OCD with certain things. A good example...in the shower, I have the same routine (wash hair, wash face, wash body). In my mind, I feel like if I were to mess this routine up, the rest of my day will be horrible!

8. I love tedious tasks such as paying bills, organizing files, writing resumes for friends, and cleaning house. Just don't ask me to take care of business over the phone (see #5).


9. When I get scared, I shiver. I shiver when I see creepy bugs, when there's loud thunder, or anything else that frightens me. I have noticed that Tobin does this, too.


10. I have an addiction to fabric. I have had to force myself to not buy fabric unless I have a specific project to use it on. Learning to sew has been tough on our budget but I'm managing this addiction well. Other things I'm addicted to: coffee, books, and storage totes.

I hope I haven't lost any friends over this list of ridiculously quirky things about myself! Now I'd LOVE to see a quirky and honest list from: Cheryl, Lesley, Jena, Jen Windle, Em Rozell, and Jenni Cribbs.

Introducing Heidi Marion

We found out right before Christmas that we will be having a little girl!!! The sonogram went beautifully and she is healthy and very active. The sonographer was having a hard time taking measurements and pictures because our little one kept twisting and turning in somersaults!

Her name will be Heidi Marion (Heidi being a name that we've both loved for a long time and Marion being my grandfathers name). Matt and I couldn't be more thrilled! This is a big deal in the Smith family because in six generations of Smiths, there has only been one other girl. To prove my point, when we told Matt's grandfather we were having a girl, he replied "Wow...that's hard to do!" Here's Heidi's first picture (sorry it's so blurry...our scanner isn't cooperating today):

And here I am with my 20 week belly:

The first thing I did after finding out we were having a girl was to hit the fabric shop for some fabrics to start her first little baby quilt. It was so strange for me to be looking at the pink and red fabrics. I kept drifting back to the blues since all of our friends have little boys as well. This was my first time to ever shop for a little girl!

Three Years Old Already?

Tobin turned three last weekend and I feel a little overwhelmed. I can't believe he's three! Where did my two year old go? It seems like this last year flew by faster than ever. Some days I wish I could just stop him from growing up because I enjoy the stage he's in SO much. Other days, I can't wait to see what's around the corner for his precious mind, personality, sense of humor, etc. Here's a little bit about my little guy at his three year mark:

• His imagination is incredible. On most of our errand outings, we have an imaginary friend join us. It's either someone he's made up or a character from a book he's enjoying at the time. He makes sure his friend is buckled safely in the car, that they keep up with us in the stores, and that they share his snacks. It makes things a little slower than I like at times but most of the time, I just smile and enjoy seeing his creativity bloom.
  
• His brain is a sponge...just like his daddy. He'll read a book, play a game, watch a show, or learn something new and remember it forever. He's often reminding me that we've already borrowed a certain book from the library, he'll sing a song from a Sesame Street episode he saw weeks ago, or say a ridiculously long four-syllable word he hasn't heard but a few times! It's amazing what he remembers.
  
• His favorite things to do are read books, sing, play with cars, jump on the bed, copy anything that Matt does, eat, help me with chores, take care of his imaginary friends, act out Veggie Tales movies, and get dragons and dinosaurs out of the backyard (there is a pretend cage that he puts them into).
  
• He is a performer. He loves to sing songs...either making up his own or singing the ones he knows by heart...it doesn't matter as long as he can belt it out. He also loves to tell jokes. If I don't laugh at a joke right away, I am quickly reminded to do so with a firm "Laugh, mommy."
  
• His very favorite foods right now are peanut butter and honey sandwiches, grapes, pomegranates, fish, and M&M ice cream from Beth Marie's.
  
• Most importantly, he has a very tender heart. If I sneeze or cough or need to rest for a moment, he'll come up to me and ask "are you feeling okay today, mommy?" If one of his friends falls down, he'll go to them, ask if they're alright, and help them back up. He's already taking care of his little brother or little sister. He understands that the baby will come when it gets big enough and strong enough. He is constantly reminding me that the baby needs more food and that my belly needs to get bigger so that the baby will come!

Here are some pictures of his third birthday party. It was a fishing party and I think he and his friends had a blast...despite the cold and windy November weather.

First lesson in dying

We have lost one of our beloved hermit crabs...Frog Crab. He was a good pet and loved by all who knew him. He will be missed. When Tobin and I found him, we had our first lesson about death. Then he went to his Daddy for confirmation. This is the conversation that happened between Tobin and Matt about Frog Crab:

Tobin: Daddy, Frog Crab died. Can you fix him?

Matt: No, Tobin, I can't fix him. When something is dead, it's gone. It can't be fixed. The only thing that has died and come back to life again was Jesus. That's why He's so special and important.

Tobin: Yeah...Frog Crab died on the cross for us.

Matt: No. Frog Crab just died.

In Memory of Frog Crab
July 2008 - November 2008

The perfect day

Monday was my birthday and I have to say...it was THE perfect day. First, Matt, Tobin and I went out for very chocolaty chocolate donuts complete with chocolate milk.Then Tobin and I spent a very special day at the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science. I haven't been there since I was a kid so hardly remembered all the fun stuff to do. Matt and I finished off the day with dinner and a movie which is something we haven't done in who knows how long. It was a fantastic day! Here's some pictures of Tobin enjoying the museum:
Tobin's favorite part was digging up dinosaur bones. He spent about an hour in this sand pit!
Last weekend we spent some time at our favorite little creek finding cool rocks and fossils for Matt's classroom and learning to skip rocks. It was the perfect time to try out the new camera I got for my birthday and here's the pictures to prove it:I'm feeling pretty rotten today with a sinus infection so I don't feel like writing much else about the week. I asked Matt if I could call in a substitute this morning then remembered that you don't get substitutes or fill-in's as a stay-at-home mom. Tough break.

Week in Pictures

Last weekend we went to College Station to celebrate Logan's 22nd birthday. It was such a great trip, after we got home Tobin kept saying things like "are we going back to Logan's today?" or "are we going to carve our pumpkins at Logan's house?" We all had a fantastic time. Here's some pictures of our trip:This was after some delicious blue cotton candy Maggie Moo's ice cream. If you haven't had it before...you're seriously missing out.

When we got back, we started our Halloween fun. First we did our Mr. Potato head Pumpkin:Then we went to Boo at the Zoo in Fort Worth. This was such a fun night! There was trick or treating all around the zoo, we had a picnic dinner with the giraffe's (which was perfect since Tobin was a giraffe this year), and played all kinds of carnival games. They had special animals out of their cages and impressive pumpkin patches. It was a great way to enjoy Halloween: And finally, we went trick or treating on Friday around our neighborhood then had dinner with my parents: