Thanksgiving Week..time for slow food

I think I can consider it a fact that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. It can probably be considered my favorite DAY of the year as well.  I mean...cooking, eating, and family..I don't think it gets much better than that. It's a day devoted to slow food...as opposed to fast food which becomes a routine part of everyday.  I have done a lot of reflecting this week..thinking about this past year and how many things I am thankful for....my precious Henry, the health and happiness of my sweet family, the support and kindness of dear friends.

Lance and I spent Thanksgiving week cooking, doing business, checking off things from our chore list, and loving on Henry.  Sunday, we visited our dear friends Brooke and Aaron in Rome, GA.  The guys took care of Henry and Hudson while the gals gave into guilty pleasure..and saw the latest twilight movie.  The Sumner's spent the rest of the day showing us around they beautiful city and we ate a lot...if you are ever in Rome you must try Harvest Moon Cafe  .  It was fabulous and if I didn't love cooking so much I would hire them to cater every thanksgiving!

Henry got to play with the turkey leg...thanks Grammy!

Lance and I did a ton of cooking this week.  Our menu included a ham and a turkey (fried of course) along with eight casseroles.  Lance's mom ordered the gorgeous flowers from Benny (the florist who did our wedding flowers) and my mom brought the drinks.  My cousin, Derece, made a buffet of desserts that were AMAZING too!  We had a wonderful thanksgiving catching up with family and playing with Henry.  My favorite day of the year went by so fast...but it led to my next favorite day..the day AFTER thanksgiving..when we decorated for Christmas.

Even Henry got a turkey dinner:)



My cousin Jonathan gave us a break and bjorned Henry for a while!



Not too sure about thanksgiving dinner in a jar!

It is a Smith tradition (well Lance and Julie tradition) to go shopping on Friday and come back home to decorate for the holidays and sip on Lance's famous spiked hot chocolate.  This year was no different and it was so much fun decorating our new home.  Lance's mom is usually the only one to enjoy our tradition with us since all the thanksgiving crew have gone home, but since we are in Gadsden..my parents joined us for the evening as well!

Henry's Elf on a shelf..Skeebo..enjoying the holiday cheer;)

Henry loved seeing all the lights on the tree and had a blast with his new fire truck.  Thanks to my friend Amy, we were able to snatch up one of these gorgeous trucks and we already have it out near the tree.  Henry is a bit obsessed with the bell on it!

Our snow village in its new home in the greenhouse.

Henry also visited Santa at the mall which was something I've looked forward to doing for months! He did great and didn't cry..although he did try to pull poor Santa's not-so-fake beard off.  Sorry Santa!

Now its back to the real world...back to the hustle and bustle of everyday life.  I hope everyone took the time to enjoy some slow food this week.  Happy Holidays!

Settling in

Lance and I are finally feeling a little more settled in our new place in Gadsden.  It is starting to feel like home when we wake up in the morning and is starting to feel more like a reflex to turn into our driveway.  Yes, our list of to-dos grows each day but we are still loving it!
This past weekend, Grandma Darlene came for a visit.  We had been looking forward to spending a relaxing weekend with family and avoiding our to-do list.  We had a great time going around town and playing with Henry.  We enjoyed a delicious cup of coffee at The Coffee Mill downtown.  It is such a cute coffee shop and our drinks were delish!  We also visited the Cultural Arts Center to see the Gone With the Wind exhibit.  Henry was an angel...and Darlene and I loved seeing all the Scarlett memorabilia.  So much so that we made Lance get Gone with the Wind to watch that night..sorry Lance;) We also did a ton of shopping at the downtown boutiques. 

 Check out Henry's fabulous moose hat...thanks Grammy!

Look at these two grandmothers oohing and aahhing...are they in love or what?!?!

Savannah is still getting used to our new home.  I know she has been through so many changes in the last few months.  She is a trooper though and hasn't complained that much.  Henry is still so in love with her..and she is attempting to play with him more everyday!

Future best friends!

A little love....

Henry is getting used to the new house as well.

The weekend went by so fast! Darlene flew back Sunday and Lance and my dad headed to Birmingham for the carshow and lunch at FlipBurger...sad I missed it but enjoyed some quiet time at the house with my boy. 

Love that smile!

Still working on crawling forward...until then a backward scoot will have to do;)

Happy Fall!

First Halloween

Henry's first Halloween started with a few 'tricks' and ended with lots of 'treats'! In the morning, Henry had his first visit with Dr. Skelton, his new pediatrician.  That also meant..his six months shots..not so fun!  Henry cried a bit but was a trooper and stopped as soon as I picked him up.  He also got weighed...19 lbs 2 oz! Big boy!!

For his 'treat', Henry attended his first Halloween party and first social event in Gadsden! Our friends Amy and Jared hosted a fabulous get together for all the Gadsden kiddos at their beautiful home.  It was so much fun to catch up with old friends and meet some new families too! The kids all looked adorable and the Gladden home was decorated beautifully for halloween! Amy is such a fabulous hostess and thought of everything...including a bounce house for the older kids. 

How cute are these kiddos!!! 

We left a little early because Henry was exhausted from the day.  It was so fun to see all the trick-or-treaters in Gadsden.  Many families take their kids around in golf carts from door to door.  Lance and I joke that if you move to Gadsden...you must buy a golf cart and a tuxedo.  When in Rome...right?!?!?! We stopped by Grandma's house for a couple of pics..but most were of sleepy pooh!

Happy Halloween!

Happy fall from our little pumpkin

Lance and I took a much needed break from unpacking and headed to Norris Farms outside of Gadsden to pick some pumpkins.  I know its a little late but we've been a bit preoccupied. It was a lot of fun although the patch had been picked through already.  We did manage to find a couple of fun pumpkins and took some cute pics of Henry.  He would barely look up at the camera because of all the new textures he was playing with.

Lance picked the perfect little pumpkin;)

Having fun playing in the straw!

Loving to get his hands dirty in the pumkin patch.

Happy Fall!

Six months old

I can't believe Henry is already six months old!  I mean..that's half a YEAR old.  I can't imagine life flying by any faster.  He is such a sweet baby and Lance and I are having so much fun with him.  He now weighs 18 pounds and is wearing 9 months clothing. 

The last few days have been interesting because Henry is getting used to his new surroundings in the new home and teething.  Poor little guy is not feeling that awesome and that little tooth is definitely making its way in. On his six month birthday, Grandma Ghafary brought over a cake to celebrate.  Henry of course didn't get to taste it but he definitely loved playing in the icing and looking at his first candle.  Don't you just love Grandmas!

Henry is still scooting backwards and we he has held his own bottle a couple of times.  He is still enjoying his veggies and we have not introduced fruits yet.  He still loves Savannah and he babbles the most when she is around. Overall he is a pretty laid back dude and aside from the current teething issues...he is a great baby!

 On Monday, we will take Henry to meet his new pediatrician Dr. Skelton.  Dr. Skelton was my doc when I was growing up and his family has remained dear friends.  It will be so special to have Henry grow up in the same pedo practice.  We will also celebrate Henry's first Halloween...fun times ahead!

Moving day

I think it's an understatement when I say we have been busy.  I consider myself a pretty organized person but the last 4 weeks have been the most unorganized, crazy times of my life.  In the last month we have decided to move to Gadsden, found a house, closed on a house, moved to Gadsden, put our Birmingham home up for sale, and had Henry's baptism, all while trying to maintain some sort of stability for little Henry. I am happy to say that our crazy lives are slowing down a tiny bit now that we have moved into our new home.

Baby Henry helping us pack!

Moving day was very hectic! We hired New Latitude moving company and they were fabulous.  We closed on the house last monday and moved in Friday.  In between, we took six car loads of "breakables" to Gadsden.  On moving day two 24 foot trucks moved us to Gadsden and we still have lamps and paintings in Birmingham!! I have no idea how we have collected that much stuff in six years but it is what it is.

Unpacking all his toys in his new room.

Exploring his new home...if only he would crawl forwards;)

I am happy to say that nothing precious was damaged or broken during our move.  Lance's mom stayed with us for the weekend to help us and take care of Henry while we tried to get stuff done.  And my parents brought us dinner every night since we were basically living out of boxes.  When the movers were finished we started unpacking right away and are 75% settled.  There are still boxes scattered about the house but they are all in the right rooms and the important stuff is accessible.

Does this need a caption?

On Sunday, I helped host a baby shower for my dear friend Kate.  Baby Xavier is due in a month and we are so excited to meet the newest baby boy in Gadsden! And BOY are there are a lot of baby boys here. It was so much fun to catch up with friends at the shower and take a break from all the unpacking! Everyone in Gadsden has been so welcoming and supportive during our move, making us even more sure of our decision to live here.  And Baby Henry is settling in his new room wonderfully!