#the52project Week25

post by casey.



jacob: "I just gotta say, you've been a different kinda mom lately...better!!!!"
me: quizzical/questioning/should I be offended face?!!??!?

i can't say I don't agree with him! This summer has been jam packed and I'm already 30WKS along, with baby number4 and it seems I've found a patience that didn't exist in those early weeks. Not to mention those early years of motherhood. 

Full Disclosure: I hit a wall of exhaustion this weekend and may have told Jacob that if I had had a newborn at that point (and the other 2 littles, who were fighting nap time that day, as well - not to mention, Jacob was working)...I would have curled up and died...DIEDDDDDDD. I may have cried at the thought!
BUT I'm coming out of it and feeling much more alive today!

besides that...my mind has been going a million miles per hour! The next few weeks of August are full and will go so quickly. 

i'm currently stressed over the idea of getting healthier and cutting processed foods out of our lives and the possible effects that is having/has had on us...and yet I don't have a ton of energy/motivation to doooooo anything about that...I'm overwhelmed by this topic...I'll stop there;(

homer starts school in a few short weeks and I've been able to put that to the back of my mind but I'm gonna be a mess over that change in our days:'( I'm excited for him and sad for me and so proud of him and anxious about the big guy he's gonna become and a lot concerned about what friends he'll make, that will inevitably chose the 'moms' I'll be surrounded by the rest of these 15ISH years;)
OH, and we want to enroll him in Karate! I'll keep you posted on that! Kinda depends on cost and timing and such.

and Rocky is like...OLD. Tall and less and less like a baby everyday. I'm soaking up his cuddles and just trying to be present and really LOOK at him and hold him and be aware of those moments when they're happening. He's never stopped being the.best:')

theo is just...*hmmmm...?!*...she is a character! So cute! So much my baby girl yet:) She brings the entertainment, that's for sure!

as you can tell, I haven't spent endless nights quietly sobbing myself to sleep...hardly any...a few, at most...5 of 7...weekly;).

here's to enjoying every last bit of this summer and new beginnings and births and being better - mom's, wives, selves:):).


my good stuff: an uninterrupted  2hr nap:). 1-1/2YR olds dancing (and 3 and 5YR olds...and husbands;). a pre-arranged babysitter for a ME day.

a portrait of my children, once a week(ish), every week(ish), in 2017

homer - no cooler (or sassier;) dude!

theo daisy - the cutest freaking shopping buddy! 

"mom!!! Take my picture!"

rockyp - got his first buzz, a few weeks back!:)

#the52project Week24

post by casey.



we've been SO busy but if you asked me what we've been up to - please don't - I probably wouldn't be able to name even a few things that we've been doing?! Besides breaking up fights between the elder 2 from the minute they wake uppppppp...or selling crap on Facebook - what a nightmare - and pool days and lake days and local carnival weekends and chocolate shake consumption to the point of illness;) and coffee mornings and early morning and late night solo walks...Our days have been full and exhausting and good:)


my good stuff: coffee outside on a new-to-us picnic table! sister's who drop off creamer when you're running low:) being pregnant:):)

a portrait of my children, once a week(ish), every week(ish), in 2017

homer - being a big helper:)

theo daisy - always a lady;)

rockyp - my workout buddy (this also may have been the only workout I've done during this pregnancy;)

52?

post by Courtney

officially the.worst.blogger.ever.

the end.

but for real, where is our summer going? it should be easier to take photos of each of the kids all summer long. we're outside all the time. it's mostly nice out. but they're not often all at the same place at the same time. 

rewind...where is our summer going? feeling the need to slowwww down. might need to cancel some 'plans' and decide what is actually important to our family. maybe all these 'plans' really aren't necessary... rambling... buttt food for thought ;) 

on to our week 25, 26, 27... or maybe it's week 28 already. 

no one even kkkknnnnnows (or cares really) ;)

a portrait of my children, once a week(ish), every week(ish), in 2017

stopping looking old, son.

he still comes home and plays with the kids, and it might be my most favorite thing.

hates having her photo taken, just like her mother.

baby blues. or maybe more green. depends on her mood. and the moon ;)

just finished cleaning the garage. again. resting.

pure joy.

losing those baby teeth like a pro.

wind blown.

intense concentration here.

dude has been looking rough. had/has some sort of upper respiratory crap. 

happy as a clam through it all though. classic Smith baby.

#the52project Week23

post by casey.

so the new 1 of 52 plan, for me, is to just keep posting when I find the time to post and we'll just see where things shake out at the end of the year;). 

i sent Jacob off this morning for his 6 day road-trip/camping trip! He left at 530AM and should be in Breckinridge, CO by midnight and then he'll be home sometime mid-morning on Saturday. I miss him already and the days, frankly, suck without being able to look forward to ending it with him:( Gosh, we're lucky that our lifestyle/careers don't involve being apart for any significant amount of time because I'm about as needy as they come;).

my good stuff: sleeping-in...till 915AM:) sending your excited husband off on a week-long vacation! a potty-trained 3YR old!!!

a portrait of my children, once a week(ish), every week(ish), in 2017

homer - sharing my watermelon addiction:)

theo daisy - can you imagine EVER wanting to spank her ass?!?!! She's so, deceivingly, cute;)

*I keep scrolling back to this photo because I can't help but smile and tear-up when I look at my freaking precious girl:):')

rockyp - the only one that doesn't complain about the 'heat'...mostly, because he can't speak words;)

lost count of 52

post by Courtney

lots of life happening around here since school let out. this summer we're trying to get a better routine down. so far, not too bad. we're working on it. but my camera use has been slacking. jumping back on the train. so here's weeks 22 through 24... I think ;)

a portrait of my children, once a week(ish), every week(ish), in 2017

their help is the only way I get a shower some days 

(every third or fourth day if you talk to my bestie...you know who you are) ;)

come fall, we'll have two in high school. not processing that until I neeeeeed to :(

she's been helping out a lot more with the littles. and I'm not complaining.

excited. gassy. nervous. really, all the same face with this child.

pure joy on that face. gosh, I love that smile.

those chiclet teeth (see:Dennis the Menace) just make that excited smile all kinds of wonderful.

photo speaks for itself

exploring

all of my babies have crawled before they sat. 

this dude is following right along like the rest of his siblings. 

(started sitting over 3wks ago at about 7-1/2 months) 

he's still the happiest little dude. he has been messing with our nap time lately :( 

I think he's cutting three teeth at once. poor dude. but he's handling it like a champ!

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#the52project Week22

post by casey.

doing my best to type up this blog post while Theo asks if she can "take my eye balls out". Alrighty, then;).

it's only Saturday but it feels like we've lived a lifetime since 6PM on Friday night! It's been go-go-go. Not a bad thing but the homemade cards - the only thing we had loosely planned for Jacob - did not get accomplished today. Shittttttt. With that being said, tomorrow may be pretty uneventful because Jacob has to work AND he doesn't have any cards to open;). Happppyyyyyy Father's Dayyyyyyy!!!;)

wrapping this up because crying kids, combined with the word "noooooo" can only signify one awful/cruel/painful thing: BEDTIME;)

my good stuff: adding France to the Travel List - specifically, L 'Escale du Ciel:). talking baby names with Jacob. quiet/nonshared dinners after the kids are in bed:)

a portrait of my children, once a week(ish), every week(ish), in 2017

homer - I still don't know how to turn a grill on and then there's this kid who is damn near ready for his own business card!!!;)

theo daisy - a, sometimes, sweet mess:)

rockyp - no one can spot a bird like RockyP;):)

#the52project Week21

post by casey.



anyone happen to know what week we're on!? Anyone out there???? Yeahhhhhh...I think we're all in Summer Vacation mode and the inevitable is happening: blog neglect. But don't worry...the blog isn't the only thing that we neglect during Summer Vacation;) There's days that I don't think we actually eat a real meal cause we're constantly outside and snacking and on the go and fending for our own damn selves;). And the kids should for sure be getting baths every night and they're for sureeeee not getting baths every night and so then their sheets should be getting changed and that ain't happening either! And since we're outside 24/7...the inside looks like we hustled to get outside and so yeah...EVERYTHING IS DIRTY!!!

and that's just not at all a complaint:) We're loving our days together and we're so lucky that we get these days together and there are still time-outs and fits over not being able to play on electronics and sassy mouths and me yelling and themmm yelling;)...but we're doing okay...better than okay:)


my good stuff: good friends getting engaged!!:) Wednesday Beach Day! winning an Instagram give-away:)

a portrait of my children, once a week(ish), every week(ish), in 2017

homer - passing on my watermelon obsession to my boy:)

theo daisy - will she forever be my only girl?! Gosh, I love her spunk:)

rockyp - refusing to stay my baby:)

*he can't sit there by himself but insisted and I allowed it long enough for this photo:)

20/21 of 52

post by Courtney

playing catch up. once again. Casey is wayyy more interesting, but maybe one of these days I'll post something worth reading.

20 of 52

a portrait of my children, once a week(ish), every week(ish), in 2017

the three oldest helped at Smith Bros (our family owned business) customer appreciation

pizzas on the grill. yum!

avoiding candid photos is her job

pretty preteen

that one on the left is a lover

when they sit in the pretty light to play

another artist

chicken face. literally sucked the chicken wing bones clean.

he woke up that way

still smiling

anddd 21 of 52!

looking less and less like a boy and more and more like a handsome young man

participate or else

over dramatic about something life altering. 

like not getting up by 6 am. or having to clean the entryway before the bus.

eating like a man.

when your baby looks huge!

she came home "sick" twice last week. I think she just needed a nap ;)

contemplating life. looking at a spider. who knows.

always with the tongue

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