Brady-boo is 14!

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How is this child growing up so fast? Our not so little Brady-boo will be in high school next year. While he is more than ready, we can’t help but want to make time slow down a little.

This year Brady grew so much socially. His friend group expanded as he began to get more involved in band, running track and cross country, and participating in Lego Robotics club. This was evident at his birthday party where 11 teen boys came to hang out, swim, and EAT SO MUCH FOOD. One thing I noticed was how each of them had such nice things to say to Brady in their birthday cards- they all seemed to know him so well and really care about him. It feels good to know that as he begins this new adventure of high school, he will be surrounded by some really good kids.

Brady at 14 is not that much different than Brady at 4 in most ways. Yes, at 5’8 he now towers over me, but he is still my dinosaur obsessed boy. He still studies things and quietly observes in new settings. He still loves museums, books, and building. In fact, this year he asked for money for his birthday so he could buy his own Lego Robotics kit. He loves learning behind the scenes information about his favorite movies (Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Jaws) by watching documentaries about Steven Spielberg and John Williams. He is a wiz at coding, Lego, and anything Paleontology, but he also loves being up to date on current events and government.

This kid is so unique and so kind. He is analytical, logical, and has such a good head on his shoulders. We are so proud of the young man he is becoming. Slow down, time! We love you so much, B-man!

Nolie is 12!

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Our sweet Bubba turned 12! He spent his special weekend rock climbing with friends, watching the Minecraft Movie (he LOVED it), eating his favorite foods, opening presents, and cheering on the Gators in the Final Four.

Nolan is our competitive, musical, feisty, and fun-loving kiddo. This year he has had a great start to middle school, is continuing to play baseball and trumpet, and has begun to hone his piano skills with lessons. He has branched out by making new friends, becoming a more adventurous eater, and practicing harder things like tricky Lego builds and complicated piano songs.

He is loving and funny and can always be seen playing with a ball or heard humming a song. He is so smart and loves to humble brag about his math skills.

We love this boy SO much!

Smiths’ European Vacation!

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For as long as I can remember, I have always dreamed of going to the U.K. I love British humor, accents, television shows, movies, and books. I love watching Instagram videos of quaint pubs, decor, and bookshops. In the summer of 2024 we finally made my dream of going across the pond come true.

We didn’t set out to book a trip to London initially, but when we sat down to do our annual summer vacation planning, we became frustrated with the high plane ticket costs to go to Florida and visit family. On a whim we decided to check to see how much it would cost to go to London. Surprisingly, it wasn’t much more than going to Florida. Could…we…actually…go?! With the help of our credit card points- we made it happen!

Once the initial shock of booking flights on British Airlines started to wear off, we realized we needed to start planning this big adventure! When we started looking at the time would have, we decided we would have enough days to pull off a quick trip to Paris as well. HOLY MOLY. This was beyond exciting.

We wanted to make sure that the boys were a big part of the planning as this trip was as much for them as it was for us. They both had must sees on their Euro lists. Brady wanted to see as many museums as possible (specifically for dinosaur fossils.) Nolan wanted to see Abbey Road and eat baguettes. I had dreams of having afternoon tea at Harrods, seeing Buckingham Palace, and taking a night time cruise down the Siene to see the Eiffel Tower lit up. Chris wanted to go to a Premier League match, and take in all the art, culture, architecture and food that we could. Happily, we did all that and more!

We ended up staying one night in London with a quick double decker bus trip for a little sightseeing. Then we hopped on the train to Paris where we stayed two nights in an amazing Airbnb that was right in the middle of everything! After that, we stayed 6 nights at the most beautiful flat in the Chelsea area of London. Everything about the trip was a dream come true. And I can’t wait to go back someday!

These are my favorite memories…

The train to Paris
Arch de Triumph- a quick walk from our apartment
At Carette
The Louvre
Nolan seeking out air conditioning
French Pokemon cards
At the Paleontology Museum in Paris
Taking the train back to London
Seeing the Crown Jewels
Tower Bridge
Eating all the yummy food at Borough Market
The viral chocolate covered strawberries
Mac and cheese he still dreams about
Westminster Abbey
Taking the tube to the West Ham match
Abbey Road
Banksy Art in front of London Zoo
London Zoo
Our Airbnb neighborhood
Afternoon tea at Harrods
At the British Museum of Natural History
Nolan finding the cool air again!
Pub life
Buckingham Palace

By far, our biggest, and most blessed adventure yet!

Brady-boo is a teenager!

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Our sweet Brady turned 13 this summer. This past year has been a tremendous time of growing and maturing for him. He is easily 2 inches taller than me and is eating us out of house and home. You can practically see him growing before your eyes. He is smart and kind. He is witty and analytical. He loves Minecraft and coding. He plays trumpet and runs track. He spends his time reading and hanging out with friends. He is easily the best teenager I know. We are so lucky he is ours!!!

Nolan is 11!

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Our youngest (not-so) little man is 11. He is in his final months of Elementary School and is dangerously close to being taller than me. While he is maturing and growing, he is thankfully still our sweet, playful, hilarious Bubba. He loves anything he can “win” at- video games (Minecraft and Mario), sports, board games, and math problems. His quick wit is either going to take him far in life or get him in trouble some day! He has become more confident and more sure of himself over the last year. He is more willing to try new things and has worked hard at being okay with making mistakes. Although, that may always be a work in progress…

He is always up for a round of basketball, golf, or football in the yard with his daddy. He knows how to butter up his mommy for extra desserts and snuggles. He plays baseball and the trumpet, and his ability to play a tune on the piano by ear is amazing. We are constantly in awe of this kid and his talents, memory, and humor. He is the absolute best 11 year old I know.

We love you, we love you, we loooooove you, Nolie. *extra hug!*

2023 Recap

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As I sit here on a cold January day looking out onto a grey sky, I find my mind wandering to warm memories. I’m reflecting on all of the adventures we had last year and getting excited for new ones to come.

We started 2023 with lots of cozy days at home, working on our house (this was definitely a year of house projects!) The boys enjoyed snow tubing in the yard, building forts and snowmen, and getting outside as much as possible through the winter.

For February break we did a family get away to New York City. I loved seeing the city through the boys eyes and it was great to enjoy winter in New York without the crazy Christmas crowds.

For April break we had an amazing trip to Montreal and Quebec City. We loved the architecture, food, and museums.

Spring brought flowers, sunshine and lots of Little League Baseball.

Summer brough strawberry and blueberry picking, an Ed Sheeran concert, visit with family, a trip to Florida/Georgia and more baseball. The boys tried sailing camp for the first time and Brady went to his first overnight summer camp for STEM.

As the weather began to cool again we took advantage of less crowds and the beach and spent many evenings relaxing with Sailor. In October Chris and I had a quick getaway to Camden Maine. We spent a long weekend with the boys in New Brunswick Canada and loved the gorgeous scenery.

We ended the year with more visits from family and time enjoying our beautiful area.

I can’t wait to plan some new adventures for 2024!

Brady is 12!

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It’s hard to believe our quiet little blue eyed boy is on the verge of teen years. It seems like just yesterday he was flying his toy planes around and eating his cheddar bunnies while watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. And now, as I type this, I’m currently washing up a week’s worth of his smelly laundry from his first sleepaway camp that he just returned from where he learned to design flying gliders and all about Lego robotics. Our sweet Brady-boo still has his big kind heart from his toddler years- but he’s got a little older kid independence mixed in there now. He is still fascinated by building and understanding the way things work. He still has a HUGE appetite (and God only knows where he puts it all!) He still loves movies and music. And, he’s still a quirky daydreamer with plans to discover a dinosaur fossil when he grows up. It’s bittersweet to see our little guy grow up into this pre-teen kiddo, but he makes us proud every day. He boldly tries new things and doesn’t let a challenge deter him. He is fiercely himself in a crowd of middle schoolers all trying to out “TikTok” each other in an effort to fit in. He could spend hours with his books and playing video games with his brother. He is curious about the world and makes it better just by being in it. We love you lots, B-man!

Nolan is 10!

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Sweet Bubba hit double digits. It seems like he was just a wittle toddler screaming at us for more “foffles” and spending endless hours playing with his train tracks. Our baby boy declared this birthday his best ever. He had a surprise visit from Grandma who showed up at his favorite restaurant for dinner on his birthday, opened loads of Pokemon cards, and ate strawberry cake of course. We gave him new (big kid!) golf clubs and he celebrated over the weekend with his two closest friends at a Sea Dogs baseball game.

Nolan’s enthusiasm for life is contagious. He gets so much enjoyment from playing games, “dominating” in sports, and bragging about his math skills. He is always moving and can be heard stampeding down our stairs from a mile away. There is not a quiet bone in this rambunctious boy’s body. He is a lover of the Beatles, Mario Kart, sprinkles, stuffies, and Taco Bell. He is a feeler of all the feels and wears his big heart on his sleeve at all times.

We are so grateful for ten years of trying to keep up with our little man (although, he is consistently not so little, the tallest in his class in fact- as he repeatedly reminds us.) Happy birthday, Nolie! You are so loved.

Nolan’s Turning Ten Interview!

Smiths in the City!

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For our February break this year (because Mainer’s need a break mid winter!) we decided to do a family trip to New York City. We had taken trips to the city when Brady was a toddler, but Nolan had never been. Turns out February is actually a great time to go- the Christmas crowds have died down, and let’s face it, not many people think to go to cold New York at the height of winter. We got very lucky though as the temperatures were quite mild (compared to the Maine winter we had been experiencing.)

We let the kids have a lot of say in the planning of this trip and made sure to include all of their interests. The American Museum of Natural History was a must see as it fulfilled Brady’s dream of seeing a T-Rex skeleton (along with many other species of dinosaurs.) We also made sure to head to the Harry Potter store where Brady was able to pick out his own wand.

Nolan was focused on visiting the Nintendo store and multiple toy stores, including two Lego stores. He was also in it for the food. Bagels, pizza, Serendipity and Little Italy were priorities.

It was so fun to see the sights of Times Square through the boys’ eyes. They loved all the hustle and bustle and especially the glamorous subway. They couldn’t get enough of riding it!

This was a trip to remember and we can’t wait to go back. There is still so much to see!

Holidays 2022

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Another holiday season has come and gone. This year we had visits from family, ate lots of yummy food, and enjoyed activities close to home. We kicked off the holidays with a visit from Grandpa and Nana. I was so happy to be on both my feet this year (boo to last year in a cast!) We cooked a huge meal, went to a Maine Mariners hockey game and checked out the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens lights. It was a fast but fun visit!

Throughout December we did lots of festive activities. We bought our biggest Christmas tree ever at Highlands nursery by our house. We had to buy more lights!! We decorated cookies, did advent activities, played in the snow, and hosted a neighborhood Christmas party. And, school went right up to Christmas weekend. It…was brutal! But, we made it.

Over Christmas break Grandma came to visit with her puppy, Ollie. We didn’t get to do as much as we had planned because she got sick while she was here (boo!) but we did fit in some fun. Lots of eating and relaxing! And of course, Santa was very good to Brady and Nolan. They even got to skate on our next door neighbor’s rink they built in their yard. Chris and squeezed in a fabulous date night and even a beach sunrise one day.

Here’s hoping 2023 blesses us with good health and continued happiness!