Snippets

Basically each day of the past few weeks has been busy with the same things...Mon-Wed. Hannah has school, Bible Study (when the kids are healthy enough), play dates with friends, doctor's appointments (because we haven't been that healthy) and just lots of time hanging out at home. 

Unfortunately, poor Sam has had a rough winter with illness. He had a bronchial thing just before Christmas that included an ear infection and just this past Monday I brought him in and he has another one! He's had a cough for a few weeks and I guess the gunk decided to settle in his ears and a bit in his chest. The doctor listened to his chest Monday and said it wasn't too bad...a good thing. Unfortunately, this morning, after being on antibiotics for several days, he was a bit worse again...upset stomach, lethargic, etc He perked up a bit after his morning nap (and the blow-out of all blow-outs!), so that's a good sign. Currently, he's napping again and we'll definitely be keeping a close eye on him. 

Okay, here are the snippets of our days...there's quite a few, so sit back and enjoy! 

Making (and licking) brownies!

Snow time!

Our "Fancy Nancy" party - Brian was gone one evening, so the girls and I dressed up and got "dolled" up to be super fancy! :O)

Sammy Boy's 2nd Haircut - Brian was the barber! 

A rather difficult task with a super squirmy 8 month old! :O)

What's a day without playing "dress-up?!"

(Hannah dressed Ellie all by herself!)

What I see every day - Hannah actively playing, getting crazy; Ellie (usually) content to play on her own; Sam sweetly sitting watching his Mommy. :O)

It does appear that Ellie is helping Sam here, however, SHE IS NOT. She's pushing him over...another common sight in our household. 

This is what happened when I walked away from the table for a few minutes to answer the phone and left Sam's baby food sitting there. Ellie got a hold of it and decided to "feed" Sam herself. As you can see, she wasn't too successful this time. :O)

This is Sam doing his goofy giggle...I just think it's such a fun face!

And finally a shot of our beautiful 3 children who 

add so much joy, love and laughter to our home!

Dreaming

I'm dreaming of warm weather and sun...can you tell?

So BIG!

Check out Sam's new trick! He's such a big boy and we're so proud of him! (as you'll be able to tell from Hannah and I screaming with excitement!) Okay, and sometimes he only does it with one arm, but it's still adorable! 

*sorry about the quality of the video...I'm still trying to figure out how to load a video on here w/out having to condense it to such a small size (therefore, losing the quality). I'm just happy I got it on here...it's taken me a few tries! Ahhh, computers! ;O)

SMILE

I promise to write more soon, but until then, enjoy this new pic of the Giere 3. 

Oh wait, I have one more...

Sammy boy got another hair cut...aren't they cute?!

Oh, the looks...

How is it that children, even babies, have a way to perfect "the look?" Really, there are several "looks" that, at least our kids, have gotten really good at. REALLY good at.

For instance, Sam's "I'm on the move and I'm so proud" look. (Sammy has now perfected 'crawling' backwards and getting himself it to some interesting tight spots!) 

And then there's Sam's natural"I'm just a happy baby" look...well, let's just say, it melts my heart.

Okay, on to Ellie...right now, she is the QUEEN of looks! She's got her, "I'm so cute and I know it!" look, her "I didn't do it" look and our favorite and most effective, the "I don't care if you're angry with me b/c I'm just going to smirk and I know you won't be mad anymore," look. Yeah, that one is TROUBLE! Check it out below!

She's posing here w/ "the look," but it really is quite accurate. Tell me how anyone CAN NOT laugh or smile when you see that face?!?! Also notice Hannah trying to do "the look"...she's just not quite as good at that one! :O)

Proud pizza maker! Cheese anyone?!

And last, but certainly not least, our precious Hannah. In her short 5 years of life, Hannah has become quite the little actress. In fact, on several occasions, Brian and I have considered getting her an agent. Naturally, this dramatic side of her comes in handy when she's giving us the "showing off" look, the "please don't be mad at me, even though I'm SO guilty" look and the, "I'm funny and know it," look. What a character! 

Up close

Beautiful baby blues...

How old is she again? Besides the redness around her mouth (she was eating apple slices), Ellie looks like she's such a little lady in this picture!

Poor Hannah...what happens when you make your little sister mad? She scratches you! (Yeah, it was not a pretty sight. I have to watch that little lady Ellie!!!)

8 Months Old!

I can't believe Sammy boy is 8 months old already! It has been so much fun watching him learn and grow each day! He is certainly an active boy (we think he's going to be a lot like his sister Hannah) and he's full of smiles! 

Handsome little man! (in need of another hair cut!!)

Peek-a-boo!

Smiley!

About the one and only time I've seen a paci in his mouth! He's one of those babies (who I didn't think existed) that will not use a paci!! I continue to leave them in his crib for him to play with/chew on and possibly suck and I found him like this the other day! :O)

He hasn't started crawling yet, but I think it's going to be very soon. And, to be honest, I'm nervous! I look around, especially in the toy room and realize how many small toys we have (mainly Hannah's princesses and accessories). So, I've already been telling the girls that we have to keep ALL small things away from Sam. Hopefully they get the idea! He's getting up on his hands and knees (sort of) all the time now and scoots himself backwards like a champ. Once he figures out how to go forward, there's no going back! :O)

Sam is really learning to enjoy food lately too. Unfortunately for him, he's not ready for Daddy's chip! 

Daddy, you're such a tease!!!

Just today, Sam did "so big" for the girls and I and I think our reaction scared him a bit. I was so excited! When you talk to a baby, it's hard to know if they're "getting" what you're saying and it is soooooo fun to finally see that he is! 

SO BIG!!!!

The girls have been so great with Sam lately. Hannah loves to carry him (don't worry, I'm always nearby), make him laugh (today she was waving her umbrella in front of him and he squealed with delight) and just plain love him. Ellie loves to bring him toys and every once in a while, try to feed him his baby food if I'm not looking. I so look forward to watching the three of them grow together and hopefully develop lasting, loving friendships and relationships.

Little Dude...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

All you need is love...

Occasionally we'll turn on our TV to the music channels that we get and have a dance party. Tonight, was one such party! After the girls danced to the "beautiful music" (classical), we turned on the "Golden Oldies" channel to liven things up a bit. The Beatles song, "All you need is Love" came on. Hannah was just sitting down for a snack, so I didn't really think much about her listening to the song (since she wasn't dancing to it). Little did I know...

As she sat waiting for her snack, she suddenly said, quietly and with certainty, "They're right." 

I didn't quite get what she was saying, so I asked, "What?"

She said again with all sincerity, "They're right...All you need is love." 

I turned around so that she couldn't see me nearly burst out laughing. Then, Brian and I just stared at each other and shook out heads...what will this girl come up with next?!?!

 (click here to go to a YouTube video of The Beatles playing this classic song)

Ellie-Ballerina

Who says popsicles are only for summer? :O)

You're right Hannah, "All you need is love" and we love you!

Two little ballerinas watching Discovery Channel's Planet Earth (amazing show...watch it if you can! We recorded it from last night...I think it's going to be on again next Sunday night.) 

Merry Christmas!

Once again, it's hard to believe that Christmas has come and gone already. The weeks and days leading up to it are filled with so much activity, planning and traveling, that it's hard to sometimes remember what the true meaning is all about anyway. This year, with Hannah being older and more influenced by the advertising and other children she sees/talks to, we tried all the more to remind her (and Ellie & Sam) what Christmas is really about. She would be begging for toy after toy and I would say, "Now Hannah, you know Christmas is not about getting presents..." and as quickly as it would come out of my mouth, she would reply in her 16-year old sounding voice, "I KNOW Mom." I think she really does understand, but I also know it's hard for a 5 year old to contain the thrill of knowing what lies ahead on the big day! She's such a sweetheart! We thank God for His precious gift of Jesus...the best gift any 5 year old, 33 year old, 95 year old (and everything in between) can receive!

We were once again blessed with safe travels this holiday and wonderful days spent with both of our families. Our days in MI were filled with snow, snow and more snow, but that's okay. We stayed inside (except for one fabulous day...see pics) and baked, decorated a gingerbread house and played, played, played. Thankfully, Matt, Stacey and the kids were able to make it out Tues. for our Christmas celebration together. Thank you mom and dad for once again being great hosts! 

After waiting out yet another MI storm, we headed home Christmas Eve after the Smith Christmas party in Holland. It happened to be the best decision ever. The roads were clear and traffic was light. We got home a little late, but that's okay...we weren't stuck in the snow, driving on ice or sitting in hours of traffic. Thank you Lord for that bit of mercy! 

Christmas morning was perfect...relaxing, peaceful and a wonderful time with our family. The girls enjoyed opening their gifts and Sam watched on with just as much excitement. I'm sure next year will be a whole different story! We headed to Chicago, to Brian's parents around noon and spent the rest of the day with them and the Johaniks. The Smiths joined us in the evening for a wonderful meal. Thank you mom and dad for another fabulous day in the city...great company, yummy food and a relaxing day with family!

Enjoy the pics below...just a reminder that you can click on individual pictures on the page to enlarge them. :O) 

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

Oh, a quick follow-up story to my last post about Santa...we were at the mall a few days after seeing Santa at Brian's office. Of course, Hannah saw the Santa at the mall and wanted to say Hello. Since there wasn't a line, I agreed. We walked up and she said right on his lap (as Ellie clung to the stroller seat. :O) After Santa asked, "What would you like for Christmas?" Hannah sat for a few seconds and said, "I'll have to think about it." Oh, too funny! What kid walks up to Santa without knowing what she wants?!?! :O) After thinking of a couple of things, she hopped off and then stood looking at him. Then, true to form, she asked him, "Is there only one Santa?" He, rather quickly, replied, "Yes, there is." To which she then asked, "Were you at my Daddy's work?" Again, Mall Santa, not skipping a beat, said, "Yes, I was." I looked at him and then looked at her hoping she wouldn't come up with anything else and I guess she was satisfied with his answer, because she seemed done and we walked away. I was waiting for her to continue the conversation with me, but she didn't do that either. Whew! :O) 

Santa

We had the pleasure of visiting with Santa at Brian's office Friday afternoon and I'll just say, he was met with certain mixed emotions from our children. As suspected, Hannah loved the guy! She was a bit disappointed, however, because he didn't ask her what she wanted for Christmas...he just smiled, gave her a candy cane and took a picture (it was a co-worker of Brian dressed up...). Ellie, on the other hand, was not impressed with his white beard and jolly laugh. She clung to Brian as we waited for our turn to pose with the man in the red suit and would have absolutely nothing to do with sitting on his lap. No way...not in a million years! Sam just seemed curious and he really liked his beard. It fit perfectly in his little hand...easy to tug!

Daddy, do NOT get any closer to that guy!!!

Sam is thinking, "What is all this white stuff?!" Hannah is just looking her lovely self. Ellie...still in Daddy's arms. ;O)

The picture below was taken with a Polaroid camera and then given to us, so I scanned it in...I just love how Ellie is checking out Santa! :O)

Happy Birthday Hannah!

On Tuesday we celebrated Hannah's "real" birthday.  After all of her other parties, it was getting hard to remember when the actual day really was

Her day started out with going to preschool, where she got to pass out her little birthday treat. Let me tell you, that alone is enough to make a girl feel loved and special! The kids loved her! ;O) After school, I told her she could choose a restaurant of her choice and we would meet Brian there...naturally, she chose, "Old McDonalds." Yes, that's right...she still calls it "Old McDonalds" after all these years! We enjoyed a nice lunch as a family and even cashed in some free ice cream cone coupons for an extra treat! As you can see, all 3 kids enjoyed the cold delight! (Sam's first taste of ice cream!)

That night, we had a nice, quiet dinner at home and instead of another cake, we made brownies and gave the birthday girl a star shaped birthday desert! It was a great day and a great celebration of our big girl...she is such a treasure and constant source of joy, laughter and love! We thank God for her!