About a month ago....

Well, I keep hoping that Karrie will get around to posting about our backyard/front yard overhaul that her family helped us undertake over a month ago, but like everything we do... we get around to it eventually. Anyways, about a month ago Karrie's mom, dad, and little sister came down for a few days during spring break and helped us tear up what was left of our front and backyard. Ike really did a number on our landscaping. Trees, grass, just about everything living was killed, which left us with a salted eyesore. What began as a simple clean-up became an entire overhaul. We completely scraped out and tilled the entire backyard, which included ripping up all of the dead ginger roots that use to be our privacy wall. The entire front yard was tilled and excavated as well. Flower beds were constructed (no they have not been planted yet!), a walkway was made, grounds were leveled and filled, and sod was lain. The end result is something Karrie and I rather love, a clean (well getting there) yard. We couldn't have done it without help from Bruce and Maryann and the supreme Milo sitting skills of Mckenzie.

Chubby Jedi eat your heart out

The rise of youtube has carried many a dork into the spotlight of stardom. While for many their 15 minutes of fame is but a brief blip in our collective conscience, for some they become immortalized to become answers in pop culture trivial pursuit. I fear milo may fall short of the latter, and just be a big dork. But let's be sure of one thing, he goes all out!

Hail to the Ch(i)ef

Well, it's Mardi Gras yet again on the island, which means an annual invitation to Mona's (a coworker of mine) Mardi Gras celebration.  Every year the island has three parades on Saturday and we take Milo to our friends house right on the Seawall.  Milo has a blast watching the floats and gathering beads (no flashing, just good clean fun in the parades, get informed!) while we partake in good company and food.  This year a coworker of mine had stumbled across the much famed Bacon Explosion and suggested we contribute to the pot luck.  Well, I thought to myself how could we celebrate both mardi gras and the recent bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth?

With Bacon-ham Lincoln of course!

Be warned The Emancipation Porklamation* is both patriotic and delicious.  Democracy never tasted soooo good!  Check out the pictures of both our creation and the festivities!

*deliciousness may cause heart attack and/or stroke!

Before the man went into the smoker

Carving the 16th President

Milo's bead haul

Mardi Gras Galveston

Milo Hamming it up - no pun intended

It's Raining Men

Well Karrie, Milo, and I went to the hospital yesterday for the BIG ultrasound and the preliminary consensus is that we are expected yet another boy. Which is good news for the pocketbook since we don't have to worry about clothes/toys. It was also good for Milo since the kid wouldn't even entertain the idea that a little sister was a possibility. I'm sure my parents could name a few, but I have never met a boy more stubborn. The mere mention that the baby could be a she would send him into tirades of NO's. So it was with some sadness that we let Milo know that he would indeed have a little brother to play with, knowing that the news would only embolden.

To those that may question what our desires on the matter may have been, I can only speak for myself when I say, no expectations were set. A boy brings the benefit of a playmate for Milo, and the ease of second hand materials. A girl would have completed the set and lowered any future stress of expecting a girl. So either way it was going to be great. Maybe expectations the second time around are always lower, but for us it seemed to be the case.

The baby is due the beginning of July and no, we haven't begun the task of picking a name. As with Milo, all suggestions are welcomed, but I expect we'll just goof around until a week or two before the birth before we give it any serious thought.

We'll try and post a picture of the ultrasound when we access a scanner.

Christmas was like last week right?

So we are officially bad bloggers since all of our friends had their Christmas posts up like weeks ago and we are just getting around to it.  Posting pictures of Christmas three days after the event is so 2008!

We spent Christmas in Dallas with the Families yet again (is there any other way?).  We helped move my parents into their new Royce City home the day before Christmas Eve... so you can imagine it was a little hectic.

The usual Smith tradition of looking at Christmas lights Christmas eve and then returning to open Santa's bounty was continued.  Milo got to put out his reindeer feed to intice the little creatures nearer to our home.

In all Milo made out like a bandit.  Santa brought the lightsaber, the transformers, the guns that he had emailed the big guy (yeah, Santa takes emails now, so what!).  Christmas day was spent at the White Family home where more gifts were exchanged.

So with out further ado, roll the pics.

Another Ike Contribution

Brad and I were all set and trying for this baby thing to happen before Ike hit. Then comes the flood and washes away all of our baby stuff save a few clothes that were able to float inside the bins. (I could not put the crib out until this week, sniff) So, of course Brad and I thought now might not be the best time to make another Smith and put the whole thing on hold. Then low and behold a month later a giant pregnant sign on the test stick. Ironic.

I just hit three months and am due at the beginning of July. Things are going well, if I feel sick I just eat and that seems more like a bonus than a sickness. We do not know what it is, but we all know Milo's vote. He wants somebody he can Kung Fu with, play transformers, and all other types of shenanigans.

Milo's announcement

Milo has an announcement he would like to share with you.