I haven't done one of these in a while!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas, we did! Hayden is now officially 4! He is making sure we all know how to act and talk like a 4 year old. (You Don't talk to a kid like that, I'm only 4!, When you were 4 you were naughty too!) Christmas a very long few days. Hayden got so much stuff. We have been building, coloring, putting in batteries etc.
He also had his 4 year well child appointment. Doctor Maria loves Hayden! She was there the night he was born and always remembers he is a Christmas Baby. She was impressed by him(aren't we all!!!) and said she thought Preschool wouldn't really be necessary except the social aspect so only 1 or 2 days a week, part time. I agree with her! He is the perfect size of your average 5 year old. Last year he was the perfect size of your average 4 year old, so i guess he is staying on track. She said not to worry about his size because his BMI was fine. Hayden and Dr. Maria carried on a nice conversation about him, his daily activities and so on. It was really cute to listen to him talk to another adult.
This week Hayden got his first pair of Ice Skates, he unfortunately haven't been able to take him yet, its cold! He is very excited and just wants to go. My friend Sarah is up from Arizona so we have been spending time with her and Breckin, so much fun! I bought out Old Navy's Maternity clearance at .97 a piece. Jason has been working a lot lately but has the next couple days off. We are going Ice Fishing on Thursday(I've never been!) and doing something else on Friday as a family.
In Baby news this little guy has been a mover and shaker. I am excited to see him again on Tuesday. Jason and I have some names narrowed down that we both like! Emery is one of them but we think we have one that might stick and not sharing yet! But middle name suggestions are welcomed!
Have a Happy New Year! Our plans are pretty nonexistent! Oh well we don't care! =)

Merry Christmas!

We are a very excited household as Christmas is a very big time of the year. Hayden wakes up daily and asks if today is the day Santa is coming. I can finally tell him yes its today! We've already celebrated 2 of our 5 christmas get together. Both we very fun with yummy food and seeing family we've haven't seen in a while. Jason and I got a new Wii game that is silly and fun and has induced a lot of laughs lately. Hayden was a wiseman in our Nativity play and did a very good job, and took it seriously.

Hayden is thinking he has already turned 4. We had a small party for him and since then, he is 4! I celebrated my birthday on Sunday. We have a cake ready to bring to the Christmas parties. Its all so exciting. I finally finished wrapping presents last night, as thats something I hate to do and usually Jason does it but he had some work to do.

We want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

Here is our son! He is very stubborn and as you can see had arm in front of his face the whole time. So we are going back for another ultrasound in January for scans of his face and head.

Anybody want to take a guess on what we are having? We hopefully find out Friday, if baby isn't too stubborn, but hey its a Smith so who knows!

I really have no idea what it is! I was 100% with Hayden it was going to be a boy, and well obviously i was right. The baby's heart rate has been in the 140's(which according to some website still is high). So guess away!

We'll probably share with everyone at Christmas what it is and I am sure I'll post pictures. I am going to try and get a cd or dvd, I am not sure how to do it but i know they do! It sounds like they will do a 3d/4d scan too.

All of sudden Christmas is here.

We got our tree last week. Hayden loves turning off all the lights and just sitting and watching it in the dark. I use to do this at my mom and dad's house growing up. I'd wake up in the middle of the night and just look at the tree. Ours could be like 2 feet higher since we have 10 or 12 foot ceilings in the house. But I will not complain!

We haven't had to much excitement around here yet. Just getting ready for the "Most Wonderful Time of the Year". Hayden does has a big of an obsession with Rudolph the red nosed reindeer. Good thing Santa knows, I have a feeling Hayden will be getting a singing, one for Christmas. Hayden sings the Rudolph song and I need to get it on tape, its really to cute.

Jason's store is getting the new McCafe in the coming days. The store has gone a huge remodel to accommodate the equipment and is looking rough at the moment, but just wait cheap lattes are worth it!

We are having a small birthday party with Grandparents and Great Grandparents this week. We are planning on having a BIG party in Jan. or Feb.. We are going to have a sledding/skating party, since we live just across the street from the park and warming shack. It should be fun. We are just trying to decide if it will be to cold in Jan. But since its been so cold this month maybe it will be a little warmer next.

I haven't been able to take many pictures lately. I am so sad. But hopefully today we can get outside to do that. I miss it!!!

What are you doing this Christmas to save money? Or are you not? I guess now is the time to eliminate any debt you may have or accrue. Jason and I are not using any credit cards for this year and we have saved what we think is a reasonable amount of money for Christmas. With a good chunk of shopping done we still have over $500 saved, so we are happy with that. We only have 6 people left. Hayden is completely done, whew. He obviously is our biggest expense. What tips or suggestions do you have?

Our baby ticker took a big jump today! My due date is officially changed to May 5th or 6th. I really don't mind either. We find out on Dec. 19th if its a Jackson James or a Maggie Mae. Everything looks good too. The heart rate was in the 140's which to me indicates boy, but we'll see. I had a good appointment this time with my Doctor who i wasn't very happy with, the last time i saw her, so that's a good thing!

Whew. Thats just thinking about this whirlwind weekend. We had a blast down in the Cities doing so many new and fun things!
Friday:
-Aitkin: Fishhouse Parade. Very redneck and a blast.
-Blaine: Adventure Park. A indoor playground that is big enough for Moms and dads to play in with the kids. Or Nanas or Emilys or Brandons. We will definitely be going back.
-Night Trains in Minneapolis. Hayden loved these model trains and went around and around the track. Even though he couldn't touch he loved this. He just watched and moved on to the next step and watched again.
-Dinner at Porky's and Holy Land in Minneapolis.
-Swimming at the Hotel.
Saturday:
-Denny's Bakery stop!
-Science Museum. Hayden saw the Dinosaurs, as he is fascinated by them lately.
-Lunch at Mike's Butcher shop. Super yummy beef sandwiches. No sauce needed.
-Elves and the Shoemaker at Old Log Theater. Hayden seemed kind of restless but he is still talking about those "silly, sneaky elves". I guess he did like it!
-Christmas Festival in downtown Excelsior. We rode on the trolley, saw Santa, Reindeer and walked around the little festival. Reindeer I don't think are the friendliest animals. Hayden was excited to see Santa.
-Minnatonka General Store stop! Didn't buy much but got Hayden cool chopsticks made for kids.
-Macy's 8th floor display. More Elves! And trees with faces. Also another Santa sighting. Hayden even gave Santa a hug.(After screaming, flinging himself back into the stroller, Santa giving him a button, Santa pulling him on to his lap and then it was all good after that!) Ohh, a little shopping after in Macys.
-Driving through Phalen Park seeing a Christmas light display. The lights jump and act out little scenes and actions, very cute!
-Dinner at a yummy pizza place. It tasted like Iron River's. yum.
Sunday:
-Swimming at the hotel.
-Mass at the Basilica.
-Tour of the Basilica.
-Scandia Bake Shop stop!
-Minneahaha Falls for some pictures.
-Dropped Brandon and Nana off at the Science Museum.
-Papa, Emily, Hayden and I driving to Menomonie to drop Emily off.
-Driving back! =)
-Pick up Nana and Brandon.
-Had dinner at the Weinery.
-Dropped Brandon and Papa off at the Vikings/Bears game.
-Nana, Hayden and I went shopping at Macy's in Rosedale, World Market, and Kohls.
-Picked up the boys.
-Got gas. 3 gas stations later, due to the fact the first 2 were out of gas?!?!?!
-Home at 12:30 am.

It was a long fun weekend. I have a ton of pictures. I'll post the rough copies of them all and the edited ones will show up later! I hope everyone had good thanksgivings and safe travels!
Michael and Laura come home a week from Saturday! Hayden is pretty excited.