When You're Smiling

When the happiness of a child is one of a parent's main concerns/wishes/hopes in life, a sweet smile goes a long way. A smile lets me know that behind those eyes is a happy girl who sees the good in life....who appreciates the humor that her mom and dad try to provide....a girl who sparkles like a billion suns.....a little lady who finds a way to tug at our heart strings a little more everyday. 

"A happier child you'll never see.....and to think she's smiling up at me"

New Year, Less Junk

I'm waaaaaaaaaaay behind. So be patient with me. Kapish?! ;)

The Fannings rang in the new year in true old married couple fashion. On the couch and ready to fall asleep but determined to keep our eyes open for one midnight kiss. Well let me back up a bit....we didn't start out the evening on the couch. We accepted an invite down the street to spend the evening with our favorite neighbors. Jai and Ryan had plenty of good food and dangerously yummy drinks (wowza, I was quickly reminded that I had forgotten to eat all day while I was painting away in Hal's room after I downed just one glass of champagne punch that night!) Hallie joined us for the evening but she seemed tired from the get go when we got there around 8:00. I spread her blanket out on their bedroom floor and put a plate of snack options in front of her with Disney on tv. The four adults settled in and just chatted the night away.....until......Lil Red creepily made her way down the hallway dragging her fingernails along the wall until she finally poked her head around the corner.....it was clear that she wasn't exactly herself. I joked that she was being far too creepy and might just kill us in our sleep like some horror movie with a possessed child. Well she wasn't possessed. But she was running a fever. Jai was my hero and had a forehead scanner which I used to check her temp. 101. We reluctantly headed home in the chilling cold weather and put her to bed in her big girl room for the first time. She perked up a big right before she fell asleep to take some pictures with me......

And then she was OUT......

She passed out holding my hand which was a perfect reminder that this sweet girl is always going to need me even if she is big enough to have her own big girl bed......

The fever remained throughout the night and the only reason I know this is because I was a paranoid freak who woke up three times to check on her, give her medicine and make sure she hadn't rolled out of her bed. She woke up fever free and thrilled to be free to roam around in her bed. No slats, no walls of the crib to restrict her freedom! Just a two foot drop that she was unwilling to jump down from. ;)

I spent Tuesday and Wednesday of the new year de-Christmafying our house. It was sad. Well mostly it was frustrating because I repeatedly asked myself "Ashley, why on God's green earth did you decide to put up this many decorations!?!?!?!" No really, I still can't figure out why I did it. But I did. And so I had to find a place to put it all. I wasn't the only one with a sad face about the departure of lights and glitter. Hallie was pouty-faced about the whole scene as well. The sweetie grabbed a strand of lights that I was packing away and dragged it across the room to plug into the outlet. Must've been her official "goodbye".....

After all of the boxes were stashed away I wasted no time putting my Christmas dough to good use by stopping at the furniture store to make some purchases for our den. Well, at the moment it's referred to as "Hallie's room" or the "playroom"....but at some point it will be known as the den. Just don't tell Hallie quite yet. I picked out a tv credenza and ordered a couch to match the reclined that is already in there. I spent quite a bit of time organizing the room and making sure we had room for everything. Too many toys!!!!!!!!!! But it was looking cleaner than it ever has once we removed the huge floor puzzle and the big oversized chair that I sold to a friend. I just couldn't resist taking a panoramic pic of the room while it was in tip-top shape......

Not only did we give the playroon a makeover, but as I mentioned above I transformed Hallie's baby room into a big girl room. It took about seven short hours of painting, glazing, moving furniture and organizing her room. From the playroom to the big girl room to our bedroom......this was the real challenge. Ya see, we had this slight problem with junk accumulation in the corner of our room. In fact, it was a pile of junk that has been moved from place to place during our transitions and finally ended up on our floor where it sat for a year. My excuse was that we didn't have a desk yet. Did you know that it will take me approximately ten years to save for the Pottery Barn wall unit that I really, really want??? So like I said, my excuse was that we didn't have a desk. Well, I couldn't really use this anymore once we moved the red desk out of the playroom that we replaced with the new credenza. Ya following? So the red desk served as a great temporary desk which meant that I had no choice but to sort through "the pile." Four hours later I was done and wishing I would've done it a year ago. A huge burden was lifted. Our important documents were organized and filed with labels, our keepsakes were placed in labeled boxes and the corner of crap had vanished! I have no picture because it was scary. And I'm embarrassed. While I was busy getting the guts of our home organized and put together, Riley was outside getting his man zone in tip top shape. He never ceases to amaze me. He has finished his shed that he built himself....every step of the way....every board....every nail....everything....without one bit of help. In awe I stand. He was so happy to be able to empty the garage which was piled with junk, boxes and lawn equipment since our move last December. Our garage is now barren which is a small miracle! He shined up the floor and is preparing to pain the walls. Four rooms attacked. Wait, FIVE rooms!!!! I forgot to mention that the "junk room" received some attention as well. I swore when we moved here that I wouldn't create a junk room. I'm now convinced that it is inevitable. Our junk room needed some TLC. So despite my extreme lack of concern for the aesthetics of this room I tackled it and made the junk more presentable. Mission accomplished.

Not only is our home getting a makeover but our bodies will hopefully be following suit. New gym, new year, new motivation. Yes, I have made a very cliche new year's resolution. Salads, chicken, water and sweat. Well, I guess there is a lot more involved but that's the summarized version. Did I mention that the new gym is fun? Yes, I just used the words gym and fun in the same sentence. I suppose our focus for the new year is "CLEAN." Clean house, clean bodies, clean minds.

2013 has treated us very, very well so far. It has exceeded my expectations thus far and we are only in the third week! Come on 2013, keep up the good work!!!

Aunt B's Birthday & Hal's First Manicure

The dance party Hal and I had in the car on the way to Enid was enough partying for this girl......

But it's a good thing she got some zzzzz's in her carseat because we had some celebrating to do once we arrived. My baby sis turned 22 on the 30th of December and I couldn't resist spending the day with her. Hal greeted Gman with a hug and promptly asked where her toys were. Ha! Her memory amazes me. She grabbed my hand and pulled me back to the closet where I'd put her box of toys last time we were in Enid. 

Reading some Berenstain Bears

Dara met us at G's house and the four of us girls went to spoil Aunt B for her special day. I realized it was a big risk to take Hal with us to the nail salon but G had fallen asleep on the couch so my options were sort of limited. I had high hopes. But I also had a backup plan. She stayed calm and enjoyed searching for her favorite color as we waited.....

Dara decided that she would rather hold off on pampering and instead took Hal across the parking lot to the dollar store. Junk toy heaven! They returned fifteen minutes later with a bag of suckers and toys. These things kept Hallie quiet and happy for quite awhile. Thanks be to Dara for keeping an eye on Hal and keeping her corralled while my hands were tied up. Chaos and all, I was just content to be spending the day with these ladies....

This lady was looking awfully pretty.....

And this lady was trying to juggle her nose-picking, sucker-licking and polish-selecting.....

It was difficult to wrap my mind around the idea that my baby girl was big enough to sit in the chair and have her tiny little fingernails painted. So small and sweet.....and very, very sticky!

Not letting go of the sucker at this point....

Her willingness to wash her hands and get in place was just too much for my heart to handle. What a big girl!

"Give me what you've got!"

I barely recognize this grown up girl

She picked purple and pink and had a tough time choosing between the two.....

"I just can't choose....."

"What do you mean it's not that hard of a decision?"

"I suppose I'm okay with pink"

I was astounded by her stillness and the wonder in her eyes as she watched intently while the lady painted quickly. They looked like this for about one minute.....

But she began to get antsy and forgot about keeping her hand flat. Oops!!!

Look at that sweet chubby hand!

We left with ten smeared pink nails and a free manicure for Hal. Onto the bakery we went in search of the perfect birthday cake for after dinner that night. Hallie had her hand in the cake selection as she likes to consider herself an expert in this department.....

That night we had dinner at Rib Crib with G, Lisa, Garrett, Dara, Spencer and the birthday girl. Lil Red was all smiles at the beginning of dinner.....

"I swear mom, I will behave."

But that lasted a good two minutes....

We ate cake and were merry......

Well, maybe one of us was a little less merry and a lot more grumpy.....

Probably trying to talk her into staying inside or talking her out of a fifth bathroom trip ;)

Once she was able to run free back at David and Lisa's house things were all good. The professor had a hard time winding down. It must've been the cake or these silly glasses that made her giggle.....

Garrett and Hal spent some quality time together as it would be the last time we would see him for quite some time. He did some fake sleeping while she tried to solve the rubic's cube....

I'm always up for a night with the fam and this night left me wanting more time with them. Hal and I spent the night at G's house but we were all alone come morning time because he had to work on New Year's Eve. We loaded up our stuff and headed home early that morning. She gave one last wave of her princess wand and bid farewell to Enid once more. Until we return for some more good laughs......

Thanks for having a birthday again this year Aunt B! Keep em coming so we have a good reason to come visit!!!! :)

Spaeth Family Christmas

Call me crazy but I decided to host one last holiday shindig this year at our home. No wait, don't call me crazy....just call me festive! This particular gathering was the Spaeth Family Christmas. It was a low key, pot luck, Dirty Santa kinda day. I'd already taken down all of the Christmas hoopla that was beginning to swallow us whole. I hated to take it down prior to the gathering but figured I ought to while I was on my cleaning kick (more about that in my next post!) Saturday morning I started the day out by doing something totally out of character....I rolled out of bed to my alarm and went for a run with some friends in the 20 some degree weather. Burrrrr. Burrrrr. Burrrr. Savannah, Kate and Christina's company made the run bearable but my joints were frozen solid when we finished. I was eventually glad that I'd kicked off the day in a healthy way and I rode the wave of endorphins on through the rest of the day. It turned out I needed it because I was lying in a heap on the playroom floor by 8:00 that night whining to my sister about body aches and a sore throat. But let's focus on the happy part of the day, shall we? ;)

On Saturday Hal and I took a mid-morning last minute shopping trip prior to my family's arrival. My partner was looking ever so stylish in this get up.....

By the time we got home I had less time than I realized to get everything ready. Hallie was not one bit of help as she had been the night before but was a bit preoccupied by all of the containers of peaches she insisted on eating while I swirled around in the kitchen. Riley set up tables and drinks while I finished with some food prep. Bailey, Spencer and Gman arrived with their yummy contributions around 11:30 and helped me corral Lil Red. G pushed her in her car on the back porch for a good thirty minutes. Apparently they were on their way to find a good fishin' hole because she wouldn't let go of her fishing pole.....

Sis showed up just in time and was my handy dandy assistant in the kitchen....

We had a crowd of twenty and a spread of tasty finger foods. Fried macaroni and cheese rolls, sausage balls, veggie pizza, queso, meatballs, black bean dip, brisket sliders and a table of desserts.....

I'd have to say that this little dude was the cutest guy around that afternoon.....

It was great to catch up with everyone that we don't see near often enough. Hal and Alta sat at the little kid table together and caught up on life. It wasn't long before Hal's sassy mood faded and she was happy to be alive!  A good chunk of playtime with Uncle Spencer really did the trick.....

"Cool dude!"

BFFs

She also spent some quality time with Aunt Alta in the playroom. They walked off hand in hand toward her oasis of fun and I couldn't have timed the slamming of the door any better. Alta was trapped and Hal had a playmate to boss around. Alta didn't mind one bit!

Hal walked up to Peyton while she was finishing her lunch and asked her to "come to my room and play." Peyton was a bit shy at first but soon the two girls were walking hand in hand to her room to play. They had plenty of tea and even had a piano recital.....

Baby Jasper crawled around the corner to see what was going on where the girls were. Hal showed him some of her new gifts and talked in her sweetest baby voice to him. Just precious....

Just look at that face!

Hal was surprised by a few final Christmas gifts that day. She opened up her first full-sized Cabbage Patch doll and a Dora the Explorer place setting. Alta hit the nail on the head with those two gifts!

Our Dirty Santa game didn't get too dirty. But there was plenty of stealing and a few hilarious gift selections. Take Jon's pink scarf and gloves for example.....

Or how bout Bailey and Spencer's giant pair of underwear.....

Around 2:30 it was clear that the lil ones were getting sleepy.....

Catching some zzzzz's on Aunt B's shoulder

"Just kidding!!!!"

Jasper passed out on his sissy's shoulder for a nice snooze....

And Dad was acting so goofy that we thought he might just need a short nap....

This was just after his rendition of "Thank God I'm a Country Boy"

Alta took the two boys to GameStop to pick out a gift and the rest of us hung around and joked around. Everyone headed home around 3:30 or 4:00 but dad and I didn't let anyone out the door before smiling for a family picture.......

All Christmas celebrations have been had. All remnants of decorations have been stored away in the attic. All of my energy is gone. But one thing still remains.....the love of family. I'm so thankful for mine.


We miss you Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Leo, Mom and Eden. <3