the dean boys brawl.

As one of five brothers, I'm a guy who knows the joys and sometimes pain that comes with a good ole brotherly brawl. When our friends, the Dean's, came by to meet Miss Aubrey Adair Smith, their boys wanted to put on a show. So, with the help of Daddy Matt, Baby Luke showed his older brothers Josh and Caleb that he ain't scared! This is how little boys are suppose to do it. Brotherly love at its best.

video inserted.

Can't you just picture me and all my brothers
getting into things like this!!

We had the Ladies enjoying the show.

We were so glad they got to come visit.

Sad to see them leaving, but excited to know where they are going.

entire Smith crew.

This weekend we had a great time with the whole Smith crew. All of my brothers and their wives came into town to hang out with Aubrey.. and celebrate Father's Day together. Here are a few shots of the entire Smith crew.

All the Smith men... my Dad's 6 boys.

Those sharp Smith Ladies.

Then Luke started something fun.

If you can't tell.. when we all get together.. we like to have a good time.

My First Father's Day.

Today was an absolutely fabulous day! Today was my very first Father's Day. I woke up with a pride in my heart that I really can't explain. As Meredith and I took Aubrey to our church, our friends greeted us with the warmest of smiles.. and me with the perfect amount of joy and sincerity to say "Happy Father's Day."

At first it was something completely surreal... just really not feeling real at all. But as the day went on, the phone calls came, the family visits happened, the conversations continued, the text messages received, things began to settle in. I am a Father, this is my day. Then the presents were presented.







Little Miss Aubrey -- with the help of her beautiful Mother -- picked up a few books for her Daddy to read to her. One called "Dance Me, Daddy," which tells the story of a father and daughter's relationship through the seasons of life -- always to the steps of dancing. In the 13 days that she has been alive, I've already found such joy in swaying with her in my arms. I look forward to the many, many dances to come... even those 3:30 am sleepless dances probably coming tomorrow night.



The next book was a classic. It is a classic. Where the Wild Things Are is a book all about adventure and dreams. These are two of the things that I hope to teach my daughter a lot about. We fail in life when we do not pursue our biggest dreams, because we cease to live out life as our greatest adventure. I cannot wait to turn the pages of this book with our Aubrey for the many, many story-book reading nights to come.

Unwrapping these simple, yet perfect presents.. along with reading the cards that accompanied them.. made this Father's Day something very special. It really set in for me as I sat and held my Little Lady, I am a father. I am a father who loves his child so much, I cannot explain it. She has not done a single thing for me -- she can't right now -- but my love for her is so great that I would do absolutely anything and everything that I could for her. It makes me so thankful for a perfect love that is even more great.. so much greater.

Today was an absolutely fabulous day!

** I even got an idea of a part to a date to take Aubrey's Mom on for her birthday in October... check it out.



The Movie Trailer >> Where the Wild Things Are. Get excited.

So, What did you give or get for Father's Day??

friend's photo.

We had a good friend Kelly Cavin come over to the house to take a few photos of Aubrey as a gift to us. She and her mom, Sharon, have a great eye and impressive ability to get the personality of a child. You can check out more information on them at KalosPhoto.com; as well as their other creative expressions at TheStampedEnvelope.com.

Here are a few of the shots they got...

You can see a few more of the photos at www.KalosPhoto.wordpress.com. Thanks Kel and Sharon!

smile.

This is a smile worth seeing... worth a triple look!!! Enjoy.

introducing the new grandparents.

With all the excitement going on in our lives, we wanted to take a moment to introduce you to the ones who are sharing the excitement with us.. the ones who many years ago had this same excitement when we came into the world. Our parents.. the new grandparents.

Again, we will start with the last name connection and move forward.

This is "Pop". The world knows him as Ted Smith, Jared's father. He really thought there were not enough Smith's in the world, so he has had 6 Smith boys. It was a true joy to see his eyes light up when he first held our Little Lady - a little Smith lady. It was something really special.

This is "Ebba". The world knows her as Evelyn Smith, Jared's step-mother. She has two little guys of her own, who just became some of the world's youngest uncles. You'll meet them later probably. She had to be out of town with business when the Little Lady arrived, but she is planning on making sure she makes up for every bit of the lost time with her.

This is "Honey". The world knows her as Kris Moore, Jared's mother. Aubrey gets her middle name, Adair, from Honey's maiden name. She raised four incredible boys -- if I do say so myself -- and never got to shop for pink or girlie baby things.. she gets to all she wants now!!

This is "Bear-Bear". The world knows him as Barry Moore, Jared's step-father. Bear-Bear goes with Honey. He says that Aubrey captured his heart as soon as he laid eyes on her -- if you look at all the photos, he really cannot stop looking at her. We never got to experience Barry with his two little ones, so it is a blessing to see that pure delight in his eyes with our little one in his arms.

This is "Daddy-O", or "Diddy-O" as a florist recently put it. The world knows him as Wallace Justice, Meredith's father. He was the first of his family to bring the next generation onto the family tree, and is now the first grandparent of all those on his generation. He was so ready for our Little Lady to get here, he would send us text messages days before we induced that just said, "Well???," as if we wouldn't tell him if something were happening. Well, now she is here and I don't think his smile could get any bigger. He is a proud grandfather, and should be.

This is "________________". The world knows her as Sandi Justice, Meredith's mother. Aubrey is named after her father. She is holding out to let Aubrey decide what she wants to call her. In a family with amazing "Nana's" and "Mimi's," she is wanting to find that name which is just right for her granddaughter to call her. When I see Meredith interacting and loving on Aubrey, I know exactly where she got it from; because I imagine it being just the way Sandi was with her. I can't wait to hear the name that Aubrey chooses for her. I am certain it will be something special.

So there they are. Each of the new grandparents. I'm glad you have gotten to meet them, because I'm pretty sure you will be hearing a lot about each of them. Meredith and I are truly blessed to have each of them in our lives.. and each of them as a loving grandparent to our Little Lady. We are thankful for their love.

** So you have meet them, how about you? What do you want your "Grandparent" name to be??

Aubrey's First Press Coverage.

It might take a while for some to get mentioned in newspaper articles, but for Aubrey it only took 5 days!! Of course, it does not hurt to have an uncle heading to pitch for Auburn next season.

Uncle Slade has been covered in many articles as the MLB draft has been approaching. Slade made the decision to pass by the draft and head to he Plains of Auburn. He made his feelings known to all the scouts that called. We are all thrilled to see him fulfill his dreams of wearing that AU uniform.

Slade made sure that everyone knew his plans for the summer, as the fall is approaching. J.D. Davidson writes, "For starters, the recent Fort Payne High School graduate has just a few weeks of free time before he begins his baseball career at Auburn. He wants that time to himself. Well, himself, and his new niece.

“I’m going to try to spend as much time as I can with my new niece,” Smith said. “I’m just going to work out and get my arm back in shape, so when I get to Auburn I can compete for a starting job or a weekend SEC job.”

You can check out the full article from the Times Journal.

Aubrey's Photos.

We wanted to share a few of the shots that we've loved so far. We hope you enjoy them too.