Spring kiddie kandids 2011, by Charity Smith

Smith Boys Spring 2011 Photo Session - click here to check out the photos

Pictures and more videos

Today, I took the boys to Kiddie Kandids for a photo session.  They did great!  Not only did both boys smile, but they kept their shirts clean and their hair under control (well... mostly.  Grant's hair is a little wild by nature.).

The link to the photos is in the post above.


Also, I have a fun video to share.  Steven and Grant both love Sesame Street, and Cookie Monster is their favorite.

Recent videos of the boys...

Grant is starting to talk and interact with Steven.  It is fun to watch him play with toys.  Check out his Buzz Lightyear Impersonation:




Steven loves to sing, make up stories, and talk (all day long!).  Here he is singing the theme song to one of his favorite shows: Go, Digeo! Go!




Grant wants to grow up - too quickly for my liking!  If Steven does anything, Grant tries to do it too.  At 13-months, Grant is always on top of furniture and climbing stairs, ladders, couches... He is a busy boy!




Both of my boys love to dance and sing.  Here they are jamming to some hit tunes on a Saturday morning:

Daddy's boys

I am proud to be the mother of two boys.  They get dirty.  They make messes.  Serious messes.  They are loud, and wild, and they enjoy wrestling and playing ball.  Life is busy, but always fun.

I know that they are both Mommy's boys (even though Steven proclaims that he is Daddy's boy on a daily basis), but sometimes they are so much like their Daddy.  Like today...

Steven explains birth order

Today I was explaining to Steven that he is very special because he is the big brother. Steven asked why he is the big brother and Grant is the little brother, and I told him he is bigger because he was born first.


Steven's understanding of "being born first": "Oh, I see Mommy. When I was in your tummy and Grant was in your tummy, we were babies. But I said, 'There's no room!' and I kicked you and came out. But Grant didn't come out first. He waited. Just I came out."

My response to Steven: "Close enough!"

We'll just leave that one alone for now. :)

In the land of the dinosaurs...

Sometimes I forget we live in the year 2011 because my house is full of triceratops, apatosauruses, metriacanthosauruses (yes, I know what these are!), and of course T-rexes. Steven loves dinosaurs and we play, talk, and watch dinosaur shows, games, and stories all day long. To make this prehistoric adventure even more exciting, Steven uses his incredible imagination and quotes from his favorite movies. While I really love playing with my kids, occasionally I get tired of dinosaurs. Shocking, right?


Anyway, today I lucked out and was able to use the prehistoric twist to my advantage. Steven, Grant, and I were eating lunch and I really wanted to get Steven to try some broccoli. Suddenly, it dawned on me: broccoli looks like trees! Ah ha!

I looked at Steven and said, "Hi! I'm an apatosaurus. What are you?"

Steven's reply: "I'm a brachiosaurus."

      (I knew he'd pick that one - it is his favorite "long neck.")

Me: "Hi, brachiosaurs! It is nice to meet you. I am very strong and very tall. I love to eat trees!" With that, I took a big bite of my broccoli.

Steven: "Hey! I am a brachiosaurs and I'm bigger than you. I need some trees, too!"

      (Yes! He is taking the bait...)

Me: "Okay, I'll give you a few trees, but you have to make sure to eat them or I'll come over and steal them. I LOVE trees!"

Steven: "Okay, apatosaurus." He took a bite of the first piece of broccoli.

      (I waited for him to spit it out... he chewed... swallowed... and then...)

Steven: "I need more trees!"

Me: "Okay, brachiosaurs. I'll give you more because you need to get a LOOOOONG neck."

Steven ate two more pieces of broccoli. Then, he gave me a funny look, changed his facial expression and said, "Grrrrrrrrrrrrr!"

Me: "What? Why are you growling at me?"

Steven: "I'm not a brachiosaurs! I am a T-rex! I don't eat trees! No more trees! I am a meat eater, so I will only eat chicken!"

Me: "But you liked the broccoli. Do you want a few more bites?"

Steven: "I didn't like the broccoli! I won't eat it! I'm a T-rex and if you try to make me eat the trees, I'll eat you! ROAR!"

      Sigh.

I should have known it would end like this, but I'll take what I can get. Three bites is three bites and I did have him going for a while. Hopefully I can come up with a new dinosaur-driven method for squash or green beans later this week!

My favorite sound at the end of the day...

He's so brave!

I love listening to Steven jabber. He comes up with the funniest things and he definitely enjoys talking! We let him sleep with us last night, and just before bed he was explaining his level of bravery to me and Matt. The conversation went something like this:

Steven: “Your bed is comfy, Mommy! It is PERFECT for three people.”

Me: “Really? So you think we all fit?”

Steven: “Yeah. But four people is too much. If we had four people, I would fall out of the bed and hurt myself and get an owie. But if I got an owie, I would be too strong! Little owies don't hurt me!"

Me: "Oh yeah? What about big owies?"

Steven: "I am too strong for little owies, and for big owies, and for big, big, big owies. But HUGE, HUGE, HUGE, HUGE owies hurt a little. Just a little."

Me: “Well then you better not fall out of the bed. Just go to sleep.”

Steven: “I am, Mommy, but I can’t get owies. I am TOO STRONG! But I don’t like owies. Good night.”

I really wish I had a tape recorder on all the time so I could replay these special moments. It is great!

He just makes me smile!

After a long break from blogging (I've been busy!), I have to post a few videos of my sweet boy, Grant.  His smile, his laughter, and his attitude are awesome - the kid is so happy!  I love watching these videos at the end of a long day.  He is the best!

Three things...

Tonight while carving pumpkins with Steven (pictures coming soon!), I learned three things about him.  Well, actually I already knew these three things, but they were confirmed as we worked on our pumpkins together as a family.

1. Steven has an incredible memory.
   While carving the first pumpkin, he looked at me and said, "Remember that time we carved pumpkins with Shantelle?"
   Ummmmm... what?!?!  We carved pumpkins with the Mulliniks family last Halloween, and we haven't talked about it since then.  So my three-year-old boy remembered an evening from his two-year-old Halloween.  How cool is that!  I am always amazed by the abilities of the human brain at such a young age.  This kid remembers everything!
2. Steven is a major perfectionist.I thought I was bad, but he puts me to shame! 
   He would remove the pumpkin seeds slowly and carefully and he made sure to pick out the pattern for his pumpkin (it HAD to be a T-rex).  He likes to do everything by himself, and since he is such a perfectionist, it takes F-O-R-E-V-E-R to complete a task.  However, he does a great job and he doesn't get frustrated.  
3. Steven is a clean freak.
   I think he washed his hands at least four times during the pumpkin carving process.  If those icky strands of sticky pumpkin ended up on his hands and arms, he would race to the restroom to rid his body of the messy pumpkin goo.  I was squishing the pumpkin innards (ewww) in my hands and Steven said, "Don't do that.  You're getting it on me.  That's not nice."  Okay, kid, okay!  I won't get you messy.  Sheesh!  :)  At least I know he won't be the boy walking around school with boogers and germs on his hands.

It was a fun night and I loved watching my little boy's personality shine!