October

October was a great month. Football season was looking up. We were starting to win more games and the team was looking much better. Max was really enjoying the season, especially compared to season's past. He works with a great bunch of coaches and they all seem to get along well and work well together. My best friend, Mandy, and her family (Matt, Parker, and London) all came down for a visit. This was their first visit to our home. We were so excited to have them. Not to mention, it was our first time to meet Ms. Lo! While Mandy and her family were here we went to Six Flags and had a great time together. Bre and Parker had a lot of fun, but Bre had to get used to sharing her toys at first! In the end, they were great friends!

The Daddies with Parker and Bre waiting on the Hot Air Balloon Ride.

Me, Mandy, Bre, Parker, and London.






Breanna in her princess Halloween costume.

Bre painting a pumpkin at the Journey for Jesus Family Night.

Selah (ladybug) and Bre (princess) trick-or-treating on Halloween night.

Beginning of Fall...and Football!

September bring the new school year for Max and football season is OFFICALLY underway! Even though they had already been preparing and practicing for some time, the games were in full swing by this point! Life in September was crazy!!!! A lot happened this month! We decided to transfer Bre to a new daycare provider for several reasons that I won't get into here. It was a difficult decision, but one that we had to make. In September she transitioned to an in-home provider by the name of "Ms. T" and we "LOVE, LOVE, LOVE" her!! She is wonderful! We couldn't ask for a better person to trust our child with (except of course one of her beautiful grandmothers)! Work for me in September became crazy, but by the grace of God I made it through! Here are a few pics from September.

Summer Fun.....

Here are some pictures from August. We had some much fun this summer as a family. Bre loves the water and loves to be outside, so we spent a lot of time in the sprinklers and in the "pool" in the back yard. At the end of the summer, we took Bre to her first water park, Hawaiian Falls. She LOVED it. I think the wave pool was her favorite. She kept wanting Mommy and Daddy to take her deeper in the pool, but we weren't too sure we were ready for that. It was definitely a summer full of discoveries for Bre!

Absence....

Okay, so I know I have disappeared for quite some time! Things in the Smith household have been quite busy! I know that is NO excuse for not keep everyone up=to-date on everything that is going on in our lives, but well, that's all I've got! Lot's of things have happened since July so prepare yourselves for quite a few blogs (and pics) to catch you up!!! Breanna has changed tremendously! She is becoming quite a little girl, not such a baby anymore! I look at her sometimes and wonder where my baby has gone. She is approaching 23 months (on December 18th) and 2-years-old is just around the corner. I can hardly believe it. How did we get here so fast?? Didn't we bring her home from the hospital just a few months ago? When did she learn to walk and run and do some much all on her own? The time flies by so fast. Each moment is such a precious memory. I wish I could capture them all in a box and remember them forever.

Okay, enough with the sentimental stuff! I will get on with catching up with some of the stuff we have been up to over the last several months! I hope you enjoy!

What a Wildcat looks like after a night of hard partying....

Vacation photos

First Family Vacation

The Smith's went on their first family vacation over 4th of July weekend. We left on Friday, July 4th and headed to San Antonio. We stopped in Austin to see some friends of ours from college that we had not seen since our wedding (Will and T). Will was one of Max's groomsmen and is one of his closest friends. Even though they haven't seen each other in 5 years, they talk often. It was great catching up with Will and T! After spending some time with some old friends, we got back on the road and took the short drive to San Antonio. We had a lot planned and only a few days to accomplish everything we wanted to do! Once we got to San Antonio we checked into our hotel (The Crockett Inn) and let Bre explore the room. She was fascinated by the new digs! After a little down time in the room we headed off to the Riverwalk to get some dinner. Since it was July 4th and a Friday night, it was just a little packed! Let me just say, the Riverwalk is not a place for strollers!!! We soon discovered that we had a tired and hungry toddler on our hands and there would not be much exploring tonight. So we set off to find a place that served Mexican and could get us in the quickest. We ended up eating at "The Original Mexican Restaurant." I would have to say it was not too bad (a little pricey, but we were on the Riverwalk, so it was to be expected). After dinner we headed back up to the main streets and walked a little and went to see the Alamo at night. Then we headed back to our hotel to get some sleep so we would be rested for Sea World the next day!

Day Two:
After getting up and get breakfast, we headed off to get our tickets for Sea World. Then off we went to see Shamu!!! We had been talking to Bre for weeks about Shamu. Now, she had no clue who Shamu was, but she had an idea that she was going to be exciting because she was starting to get excited every time we talked about Shamu. The first thing we did when we got to Sea World was go to the Believe show (the Shamu show). Max and I were so excited so we got seat up close (5th row)! Bre was excited at first seeing the whales swimming in the water and trying to figure out what they were, but then the show started. The music was a little scary and then the whales jumped out of the water and they were HUGE! Bre was terrified. She started shaking and crying. Max had to take her to the top because she was so scared. Once she was at the top, she was fine. The 5th row was just too close! I stayed we were to begin with to see the rest of the show and I got soaked! We had so much fun at Sea World. Bre loved the dolphins and the seals. The seal show was her favorite show. My favorite was the dolphins. I got to touch them and feed them!!! I was in heaven!!! Bre's all time favorite activities of the day were the splash park and the aquariums. She is a fish herself and anything that has to do with water is an enjoyable activity for her. She hears the word "swim," "bath," or "water" and she is ready to go! She was such a trooper that day. She only had a brief nap on the way to Sea World and did great the whole time we were there! Sea World was a HUGE hit!!!

Day Three:
We slept in a little today to recover from Sea World, because we were exhausted afterwards. After waking up and getting some breakfast we decided to go swimming at the hotel pool. It was a little chilly in the pool for mommy and daddy's taste, but Bre was LOVING it! After swimming we had to get in a little nap, because Bre was still a little tired from the day before. In the early afternoon we walked a few blocks from our hotel to the Children's Museum. This was great place for kids. They have so many things for kids to explore and play with. Its all hands on. Bre loved it. She could touch everything and everything was her size. There was all kinds of neat stuff to do and see at the museum. After the museum we went to the Rivercenter (the mall in Downtown San Antonio) to look around. Later that evening we had to go to a presentation for a vacation package (we got our vacation at a discount, but had to listen to an hour presentation). Then we got some dinner and crashed in the hotel. Bre had had 3 very long days by this point (any parent with a toddler should know what I mean by that!).

Day Four (last day):
This was our final day in San Antonio. Max and Bre went down to get breakfast while I tried to begin getting all of our stuff together and pack up for our trip home. Once we checked out of our hotel, we decided to go check out the Alamo. Max has never been to the Alamo so I thought he need to see a part of his TX history. After the Alamo we began our trip home. We decided to stop in San Marcos to check out the famous outlets and do a little shopping on our way home!

For our first vacation with Breanna, this was great!!! We had a wonderful trip! We can't wait to make many more memories on our vacations to come!!!