Spring might be here!

We've had a few days of nice weather here lately. The girls are enjoying playing in the backyard! I am really busy planning Genna's "Paper doll" themed birthday party that is this Sunday evening. I think we will have a lot of fun! I can't believe she's almost 2 years old!

Finally some pictures again!

Brian had the camera all last week when he was traveling so I haven't posted pictures in a while. Yesterday afternoon the kids played in a big mound of dirt at a Rugby game of a friend of ours, and then we went to dinner and they played on the play ground while we waited on our food. All this is to say we got home late, HAD to give them a bath, and then they were suddenly starving. So, daddy brought up a PB&J for them to split to fill their tummies before bed. So this explains the rather unsanitary conditions of this photo of Genna eating her sandwich on the lid of the toilet. (I did just clean the bathroom if that helps any of you germophobes out there sleep better tonight.)

Here is Hannah all dressed up being her usually boisterous self!

By the way, I am adding a new belly picture to my slide show at the bottom of this blog. I think I let quite a bit of time slip by between the last photo and this one. Better late than never! I feel very very very big to have so long to go!

The answer to the question we've all asked ourselves (at the Smith house, at least)!

While on a walk with her daddy, Hannah revealed the answer we've all been waiting for, randomly and without being asked. She said, "Daddy, do you know why Hannah talks so much? Because I LOVE talking AND Hannah has so many questions!" Well, that explains it! We often wonder how we ended up with such an outgoing talkative little girl, being a fairly quiet couple ourselves. Those recessive genes will get you every time!

Taking care of little sis!

One of my favorite qualities of Hannah's is how nurturing she is! Genna scratched her arm just a bit climbing into her car seat yesterday. Hannah jumped back down out of her car seat and came over to her sister, caressing her face and saying, "Are you OK, Genna? Do you need me to hold you?" They agreed that when we got home Hannah would hold Genna to make her feel better. So sure enough, that's what they did! How sweet to see my oldest daughter holding my youngest and being so loving!

Success! Success! Success!

The girls both had big successes today!

This morning Hannah did her new 63 piece puzzle with out any help! I just got it Saturday and had helped her through it once before. She's a quick study when she wants to be. On the other hand, reading lessons are going pretty slowly because she has lost interest a bit, but she can sound out/read words containing only the letters a, m, t, s, e, and r. That's not too shabby for a 3 year old. Plus, she has learned to make her own peanut butter and jelly sandwich with a little help with getting jelly out of the jar.

Genna put her tennis shoes on all by herself for the first time today! We've been practicing this for a week or less. I have a list of things I am trying to get her to learn to be more self-sufficient before Isaac arrives and requires my attention as well. So far she can take most clothes off by herself, including her shoes, she can drink from a cup without a lid, and she can almost climb into and can definitely climb out of her car seat (and the car) alone. What remains on the list? Washing hands alone, walking up steps holding onto the rail (with supervision, obviously, I just need my hands free,) and buckling the top buckle in her car seat. We are also working on her colors, and preparing to take away the pacifier completely (currently it doesn't leave the crib.) Another thing she learned to do today by watching her friend, Ethan, was slide down the slide on her belly. Although this was not on my list, I am very proud of her because I don't think Hannah could or would do that even now! Plus, at playgroup, she stood up for herself very nicely. A little boy was taking all her toys away while they were inside the tunnels. Another mother informed me of what was going on when I heard her getting upset and started to go intervene. When I got there, she was telling the boy (who steals everyones toys) "Noooooo!" in a very firm way. I was so proud of her for not hitting or just giving up and crying to mommy (like Hannah usually does) and standing up for herself!

I am so proud of my girls, but part of me doesn't want them to grow up quite so fast!

Genna's sweet little prayer

After copying everything Hannah said, she told me to wait a second because she wasn't done yet when I had started to go on with the Our Father. Then she folded her hands in prayer closed her eyes, and said, "I pray for Poppa Boat and Genevieve. Amen."

Hooded Towels

I just made two hooded towels today during nap time, one for Isaac and one for Genna's upcoming birthday. I guess I'll have to make Hannah one too at some point. They were super easy and took a total of only one and a half hours to make both. I looked at a couple different patterns online and ended up making them from a full sized towel and a hand towel. They are a little big for a newborn, but they will last longer this way. On Isaac's hooded towel, I sewed on an "I" that I took from Brian's old monogrammed towel that was falling apart. I love to use our old things from our childhood and incorporate them into our children's new things.

Genna's Hooded Towel
(I found towels with the princesses already on them.)

Isaac's Hooded Towel

I am certainly no expert seamstress, but it is fun learning!

Occupy or Occu Pie?

Hannah defined the word "occupy" for me today. In her words, it is like a pumpkin pie. Kid's say the darnedest things!

Run, run as fast as you can!

Daddy was tickling the girls and they were alternately running away and then going back for more. Genna runs to me, turns to him, and says, "You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerman Bread!"

Fun Family Recipe

I came across this in the Pillsbury Bake-Off Winners Cookbook that my mom got me for Christmas, and the whole family loved it which as any mom knows doesn't happen often. And I mean loved like it was gone before I could start on mine. It's a healthier version of a Monte Cristo.

bacon
butter (for the pan)
waffles, 2 per sandwich (I use whole wheat)
swiss cheese slices
deli meat sliced (turkey, ham, or combo)
powdered sugar (for dusting)
1/4 cup raspberry jam
6oz raspberry yogurt

Cook bacon.
Mix jam and yogurt and set aside for dipping the sandwiches.
Melt butter in skillet and cook waffles on one side for 4 minutes or so until the edges are brown and middle is soft.
Layer swiss cheese, bacon, and deli meat with another layer of swiss cheese on top on the toasted side of the waffle. Top with another waffle toasted side down.
Cook sandwiches like a grilled cheese at this point.
Sprinkle the sandwiches with powdered sugar and use the dip to enjoy them even more.

Little Charmer

Genna has taken to holding my arm and/or rubbing it while we eat dinner every night. It is so sweet! When she asks for more milk or more ketchup in her sweet little voice while rubbing my arm, I just say, "You can have whatever you want, Sweetheart" almost meaning it literally. :)

My little princesses

Here's Genna with a princess crown and a Cookie Monster tattoo.

Here are Hannah's painted nails. She couldn't wait to go somewhere and show someone her nails. She was so afraid it would rub off before anyone could see them. What a priss!

Genna got her nails painted too, but she was naked and practicing sitting on the potty so I won't post those pictures. :)

Imagination Blocks

Hannah has a hard time waking up from naps. I always have to wake her up at 4pm because I want her to be ready for bed by 8pm and she would sleep forever. She always tells me I should have let her sleep longer, but I really can't. Anyways, the other day she was all teary because I woke her up, and so I was suggesting she look at books since that helps her to wake up more slowly. She said she didn't want to read books, she wanted to play with her "Imagination blocks." I was not sure what she was talking about, but after some questioning I figured out she meant the big Legos that have been put away for a while. I thought that was a cute name she gave them, and it did cheer her right up!

A giant plum seed and some coffee, anyone?

After Mass, we walked from the church to the store across the street to grab a bite to eat and do a little bit of errands. It is the closest thing we have to a mall here with a handful of stores in the same building and a small food court. So we ate with some friends and entered a store while Genna was still working on her plum. Hannah is talking constantly as usual and I am trying to answer her questions and shop at the same time. Next thing I know, Genna coughs and kind of whines a bit. She said it hurt, so I walked around the cart to check on her. She had finished the plum including the big seed in the middle. Well, I guess that would hurt if you swallowed that big old seed! She seemed fine. I kept asking if her throat or neck hurt and she said it didn't. I wanted to be sure it wasn't stuck on the way down. I called Brian to make sure that was alright, and he seemed to think it was fine if she didn't choke. I can't believe what that child gets herself into!

As we are getting ready to leave, I buy a decaf coffee for myself. I set my coffee down and put coats on everyone. Then we walk all the way back to the car in the church parking lot, get into the car and buckled in car seats, and I take a deep breath and realize that my coffee is still way back at the store! :) I had to drive over to the store and get everyone back out of the car seats and run to grab my coffee before someone threw it away. I considered leaving it, but it was my special treat for getting so much done, I paid for it, and I hadn't even taken a sip yet! Naps were way late today, but they are sleeping now! Whew!

What's the opposite of "Cool?"

Well, apparently Genna knows! After cleaning most of the day, I wasn't feeling well and so I crashed on the couch. Hannah comes up to me and says, "Hey, Mom, look at me I'm going to do something cool!" She proceeds to do some kind of balancing spinning thing. Then Genna runs up and says, "Hey, Mom, yook at me I'm gonna do something...(pauses to think)...hot!" I cracked up which, of course, led to a long series of "Cool," "Hot," and even "Cold" things that they had to show me. They were twisting, falling, jumping, and everything in between. What silly gooses I have!

Too many babies in the house!

Usually the girls pretend to be mommies and take care of their dolls, but lately Hannah's been pretending to be a baby. And, of course, Genna does whatever Hannah does. So here are my babies. Hannah would periodically "cry" like a baby and get her sister to get her something to make her happy again.


Here I am promoting the big girl thing, trying to get Genna to get ready to give up her pacifier at night, and try out the potty more often, and Hannah is foiling my plans! We have 16 weeks, give or take, to get ready for the real baby!

Catching up

Sorry, I am playing catch up today. These pictures are from Monday. Thanks to the "crazy weather" I spoke of earlier, Brian got to play with the girls in the snow after all! I sat this one out for the sake of our laundry, but I did take a quick picture of them as they headed out in the snow.

Typical Hannah, her personality just bursts through photos!

Here is Genna with their "Wee" little snowman. Hannah told me it didn't have eyes and a nose like our big one did. Well, now that I see it, I can see why!

Cruising in the new minivan

I am loving all the space in this van! I think I may have finally convinced Hannah that this is our van now too! The first day we got it, we gave some friends a ride. After that she kept telling me that it was their van and not ours. What a silly girl! Speaking of, here are both of my silly girls in their cool shades that Nanna got them while we were in the states. Of course, they are in our new minivan too.

Pictures of one of God's beautiful masterpieces in the making!

Here are Isaac's sweet "praying" hands! He has been very camera shy and was hiding his face almost the whole time. He was a moving a lot, but no prodding could get those hands away from his face when the time came to take the 3D pictures. I love seeing their individual personalities even in the womb!

Here is a black and white version of the same picture. Look at those hands!

Isaac did reveal his face once early on in the ultrasound, but never again! Here's his profile!

Thank God for a healthy, growing baby!

Crazy Weather

After I put the girls down for a nap, it started hailing and it was just buckets of hail, bigger than peas. This picture was taken right after it started. I should have taken another picture when it finished ten minutes later and our entire porch and patio furniture was covered in these little balls of ice. This morning it is snowing again. So much for spring, I guess!

This is just a random picture of Genna eating a bagel with cream cheese. I need to get some pictures of Hannah. I just realized how many I've been taking of Genna lately.

"Reading" the Bible

This video was taken in a covert operation with a pregnant woman on the floor hiding behind a couch with only the camera sticking out to catch Genevieve "reading" a Bible without her noticing. So forgive me for forgetting that I can't tilt the camera when taking a video because it won't rotate when I put it on the computer.



She is saying, "I love you, Jesus. I love you, Mary." at every turn of the page in case you can't hear or understand it.

African gifts

Brian brought us back some gifts from Africa. Here is one of them! It doesn't feel very secure to me, but maybe I am not good at it yet. Genna sure felt the need to hold on, but she didn't want to get out either. It must be comfy!


This is just a random picture that I love of Genna sleeping in on Daylight Savings morning after a late night of babysitters not being able to get them to sleep on time. She has her "Baby and Nani" next to her as always. She was hard to wake up that morning!

Minivan Mom

I am now officially the driver of a minivan, a green 2000 Honda Odyssey to be more specific. We bought it today, and it is going to allow for our growing family to fit all 3 car seats once Isaac is born. We only need it to last us the next 2 years since we'll be moving back to the states then so that's one reason we opted for a used van. I will post some pictures once I get the car seats installed of the girls in their captain seats.

"Actually"

Yesterday when Genna woke up from her nap, I was changing her diaper when the following conversation occurred.

Genna: I want to read books on the couch. (Yes, she used all the pronouns and everything!)

Me: OK, that sounds like a great idea, honey.

Genna: Actually, I don't want to read on the couch, Mommy. (My almost 2 year old actually said "Actually," and used it correctly!)

She talks like Hannah does, uses the same phrases and everything! It cracks me up coming from a toddler! They grow up too fast! Several people have asked me if this is my last pregnancy since I am having a boy now, and I can absolutely not imagine that being the case. That would mean in a little over two years I would be done with all the baby years. That time goes too fast. That would be so sad! I enjoy this job too much to retire early!