October-November

Seems like bi-monthly updates are how it's gonna be so I'm not gonna bore you with too many words. Just fun pictures! Fall in our house revolves around football. We haven't done to much traveling over the last couple months - saving it for the holidays - so our weekends consist of doing things around the house until the OSU football game comes on. We went to Jason's parents this past weekend but for the most part, have stayed home. Here's some pictures from the last couple of months.


Callie helping Dad while he grills outside



Enjoying a visit from Callie's Aunt, Uncle and cousins. Callie loves to give kisses to Leah and just hangs out with Connor!


Enjoying Jacob's first birthday party with our friends Amber and Paisley



Playing with the latest in toy innovations - a shoe box. Then, taking it to the next level and accessorizing with a shoe, and awesome blue plastic leg ring! Only the most up to date fashions here.



Helping mom carve the pumpkin. She sorta got into the goopy pumpkin guts but was much more facinated with the bar code sticker on the pumpkin.




Callie likes to help in the kitchen as well. She deals with traffic contol by running patrol with her walker. Then, it's an organizing mission for the pantry followed by a drawer search for the perfect lid.





Finally, we get to this past weekend's visit to Nonie and Papaw's. Callie had fun seeing the "ducks" and "puppies" cause she sure wouldn't say Cow for anybody. Then it's helping Papaw mow followed by whipping up something in the kitchen. Last but not least, food tester for our dessert!

Birthday Bash!

Callie had an awesome 1st birthday celebration with lots of family and friends, presents, and fun! We did a tailgate party since we love college football so we decorated in orange and black (for our alma mater OSU) and had people wear their favorite team colors to the party! We had a great time, Callie hammed it up as usual and it seemed our party goers enjoyed themselves too. So, here's some shots from that day. I really don't have many pics because I was busy with everything but here's a few of the highlights.

Some of the spread - we grilled hamburgers, hotdogs and jalapeno poppers and had a snack stadium with salsa, guacamole (as the field) and fiesta dip.


Closer look at Callie's birthday banner


Digging into her orange and black cake. She was quite dainty as she ate so didn't really get it all over her.


The party goers watching Callie eat her cake. OSU and OU were well represented at this party but also had UT and Eastern NM University




We had fun and look forward to all the things Callie will learn as she ventures toward her 2nd birthday!

3 months and counting....

Well the counting stops now. I'm updating this thing FINALLY!!! I hope to keep up better but I said that last time and you see where that got me. Here's hoping again.
So, quick recap over the last few months:

May 2011 - Callie turned 8 months old and is still as cute as ever. She got her bottom teeth in and figured out the whole crawling business. It's amazing how fast she can be crawling! We met up with my parents in Amarillo for Memorial day weekend. There, we visited the zoo and tried to swim in the pool. I say try because it was freezing and Callie didn't want anything to do with that and I really didn't either.





June 2011 - We didn't have too much going in June. We went to Stillwater to see family and also had Nonie, Papaw, Uncle Jeremy, Aunt Andrea, and Connor visit at some point. Callie continues to crawl and pulls up on everything!



July 2011 - Callie celebrated her first 4th of July. She didn't mind the fireworks but wasn't all that impressed either. We went to Nonie and Papaws for that weekend too. Then, we went to see Pops and Nana and spent a week with them in the middle of July. While visiting, we went jeeping in Colorado, visited friends, and went to the Bar D Chuckwagon. Callie liked being in the mountains and enjoyed the music of the Bar D. Then, at the end of the month, we welcome our Niece/Cousin Leah!




August 2011 - Callie attended her first Smith Family Reunion the first weekend of August. Then, we took our 1st family vacation to Chicago. I had a conference to go to but we made it into a vacation while there. We visited the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower), Shedd Aquarium, Navy Pier, Museum of Science and Industry, Art Institute, and took a tour of Wrigly Field. We had a lot of fun and Callie is an awesome traveler.




And that brings us to September. We went to Oklahoma State's home football opener this past weekend and enjoyed the game. Then, we had a good Labor Day at Jason's parents where we celebrated our nephew's 4th birthday. Still no walking yet but I'm sure that'll come sooner than I want...could be any day now the way she's going. We're looking forward to celebrating Callie's 1st birthday in 2 weekends! Can't believe it's been a year. I'll be sure to report on all of those festivities! And I'm sure we'll have some time at the State Fair coming up too! Can't wait!

The Buffet is Closed

Well, Callie and I have come to the end of the booby buffet chapter of our lives. This morning was her last nursing session and although I will miss nursing, I think it'll be nice not having to worry about it anymore too. I've had a measly supply the last few weeks which made me question if I should keep going and this past week pretty much gave me a stamp of approval when I was lucky to get 2 oz in the mornings. I have a bit of freezer stock left that I'll use up and then do formula until she's 9 months before switching to whole milk. I honestly don't think Callie will care much. Her interest in nursing took a free fall once she started solids which probably contributed to my body closing up shop. So today, I happily started back on my old birth control and packed up all my pumping supplies to store. I'm so happy I was able to nurse as long as I did - especially with going back to work when she was 3 months. I know there are some that are unable keep going once they start working again so for lasting an additional 4 1/2 months is pretty darn good to me. Although this small chapter is coming to a close and I'll miss it, I look forward to the adventures ahead as she grows. It's looking like our next stop is figuring out that complicated sippy cup. First, we have to establish Callie's interest in even trying it (cause she could care less right now) before we can even venture in to actually making it work. We'll keep you posted! :)

Yes, we're still alive and kickin'

Worst.Blogger.Ever.
I had to steal that from a friend (sorry Erica) because it rings true for me more so than it does for her...and I don't have a good excuse either!
So, an update on things here in Jarrell-land...
Let's see, we left off last time after spring break and the visit from my parents.
After their visit, we've spent our weekends at home doing things around the house. Jason has been working on his shed and I've been doing chores in the house and running errands around town. So, obviously we lead such a glamourous life that I don't have time to blog. ;)


Callie has been as loveable and cute as ever! She is such a joy for us and is so happy all the time. She likes to jabber while she's playing and does well keeping herself entertained while we cook/clean/etc but also loves to play with us, giggle, and waller all over us in the evenings. She loves her bath and will splash around, chew on her wash rag, and chew on her bath toys and letters. She isn't crawling yet but is oh so close! She get's up on all 4's and she'll rock back and forth and even scoot backwards but still hasn't put it all together to move forward. Also, she still is toothless but that's ok - I love her gummy smile and will miss it when those toophers do come in. (Sorry, Blogger rotated the pic)


My wonderful doctor gave us his Thunder tickets when he couldn't go to the game and Jason and I made a date of it. Our cousins kept Callie for us and we went and enjoyed the game. We had great seats and had a wonderful time watching the Thunder win! I was really proud of catching the Russell Westbrook dunk on camera so I had to share!



This is Jason's attempt to make Callie crawl...it didn't work, just so ya know. :)


This is Callie on her 7 month birthday. We didn't get the "official" monthly pictures until the end of the week so I had to get one on the 14th.


Callie enjoyes helping me cook. She'll sit and watch but then will grab any and everything that is within her reach so she can chew on it.


Now we've arrived at Easter weekend. This year with all the family concerned with staying within their budget and gas prices not helping, everyone stayed home and we celebrated with just our little family. Callie received her easter gift from Pops and Nana and enjoyed playing with the toys she got and also received a cute outfit!

Then, the Easter Bunny brought her a fun toy, some candy (which mom and dad enjoyed), and some practical socks. I know, I know, sorta lame but like I said, very practical. :)

Every year, after church, we have an easter egg hunt on the lawn there for the kids but since we were receiving some much needed rain, we had it in our fellowship hall. Callie liked getting the eggs, and then chewing on them!

And finally, we ate lunch with our cousins and aunt and uncle so we got a picture with the kids together...this was the best we could get of a 5 year old, 1 1/2 year old, and 7 month old together.


I hope to keep up better with blogging. I need to do an update post on what Callie's up to (even though you have a preview here) and I'm crossing the bridge of not being able to nurse Callie anymore and was going to discuss my options to switch to once I use up my freezer stock. Have a great week!

Catching up

We've had a busy couple of weeks! Two weeks ago, we met up with some good friends and Papaw, Nonie, and Connor to go to the zoo. It was Callie's first trip and she seemed to enjoy the animals and being outside. Connor also had a blast but his favorite part was the train ride hands down!




Then, my parents came to visit for my mom's spring break. They arrived in OKC on my dad's 60th birthday so I had arranged a surprise party for him and had people from all around come to celebrate and if they couldn't come, send a card for him. We had a good turn out and dad was surprised by the guests but was also surprised at the cards and gifts that were sent. I think we ended up with around 25 cards and 3-4 gifts from family and friends.


We also got go experience our first Thunder game! Callie seemed to enjoy the lights and sounds and we had fun too! Unfortunately, the Thunder lost by 2 at the end. :(




Callie spent the week being babysat by Nana and they had a lot of fun together. They would play a lot during the day and go on walks. I'm not sure who had more fun...Callie or Nana!



We also had a storm shelter installed in our garage while they were here. We didn't have a good place to go in our house so this gives us more peace of mind with the storms Oklahoma is capable of having!





That's most of the fun we've had. We got back to normal last week with all of our guests gone and just work to do. Hopefully the next few weekends we can work outside some, finishing Jason's shed and working in the yard. Have a good week everyone!