Team Smith

I broke my rule this year. Normally I don't allow one iota of Christmas to infiltrate our home until the day after Thanksgiving. It's important to our family to savor each holiday and enjoy each other without rushing to get ready for the next one.  The budding excitement is such a rush as we pace ourselves and look forward to all sorts of holiday fun. But this year I broke the rules. Why, you ask? Because Santa is in town! One of our family traditions is to see Santa when he visits the VSA Mansion, a beautiful and historic building in downtown Reno. They host incredible art projects throughout the year along with fundraisers to support services for people with disabilities. We've made it a part of our tradition because it's a great setting to meet Santa. Not too loud, not too crowded, not in a mall surrounded by shopping and junk food. Though there is a time and a place for that! With the kiddos it's nice to take them somewhere that feels homey. And there are

The Richmer family were kind enough to let us sweep up Kyra last weekend for a girl's night! I took Kyra and Cass to the GSR where they watched their first real ballet: The Dance Theatre of Harlem. It was epic. The girls played arcade games for bit before we picked up our tickets and each got one treat. Once inside the theatre we went to the bar where a bartender who either has kids or loves kids made fancy cocktails of orange juice and real cherries. The ballet began with opening strands of a piece by Balanchine and the girls were hooked from the first pas de deux to the last arabesque. It was long. After two intermissions, and a few sleepy eyes, we headed home.  Matt had stayed home with Savannah and the trundle bed was all made up. The next morning we played dress up for a bit and had a breakfast of pancakes! Kyra's daddy came to pick her up and after the last set of hugs had been exchanged, Cassidy turned to me and said, "Momma, that was the best weekend ever!"

For Halloween this year Cassidy was Doc McStuffins. For those of you who have not watched this disney show, it's about a little girl whose stuffed animals comes to life and she fixes their boo-boos. Cass loves it- the toys and animals are cute. We love it- the little girl is Black and both of her parents are professionals. It's a super positive show with good lessons and messages. So we're fans. And it was a super easy costume to make! She already had the dr's bag. We got her a cheap dr jacket and then the clothes were on clearance at Old Navy. And the hair bow was on sale at Target. Done! One of the characters is a dinosaur named Stuffy. Picked up a dino costume for Savvy from a resale shop. Probably my last year deciding what Cassidy wears! The other day we made oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Got some great tips for teaching her how to crack an egg! Savvy rather enjoyed them as well. 

Our youngest turned one year's old. Wow. How did that happen? is the question we keep going back to. A year has passed swifter than we thought it would. Countless changes moved us in different directions as a family, literally and figuratively! Thankfully we serve as each other's constants :-) Let's see...Savvy is incredible. Cassidy and Savannah together is magical. Watching them crack each other up and laugh and play is better than a hallmark movie with popcorn on a lazy Saturday afternoon!   Savvy started walking at 10 months. She babbles frequently. She is cranky and happy all in the same moment. I hear that is a second child thing. To celebrate we took a trip to Apple Hill. Over 50 orchards, vineyards, and farms in a tiny two lane community outside Placerville, CA. The two hour drive is beautiful. The traffic once there is not. It's a long way for some apples! But, we chose to stay overnight in South Lake Tahoe this time around instead of driving back to Reno i