Abby and Anne at Six Months

Abby at almost six months.

Anne at six months.

Today I took Abby in for her six month check up. Anne came along with only under the condition that Dr. Hoover would not "check" her, too. She has been a little wherry of the doctor's office since her Three Year old check up.

Abby weighs 13lbs 1 oz and is 26.5" long. That puts her in the 25th percentile for weight and the 90th for height. I think she takes after her father.

Abby takes two to three naps a day. One in the morning at Papa's, one after lunch, and a sometimes a third in the late afternoon. There is only one way to describe her eating habits and that is veracious. She can easily down three tubs of baby food and then nurse right after. I don't know where she is hiding all that food. She will eat anything, fruit, vegetables, cereal. She opens her mouth just as wide for green beans (YUCK!) as she does for applesauce. This is not my child.

She is a lot of fun, but does earn the nickname of Crabby Abby occasionally. She is a more intense baby than Anne.

Everyday with Abby is better and she and Anne really make us laugh! Thank you Lord for two healthy and mostly happy girls!

Casa de Smith

We have officially been in Casa de Smith for one week. We are adjusting to the change and Mom has made this transition a smooth one.

Listen to this, we begin our week with Mom asking us what we would like for dinner each night. We all make suggestions and mom makes a list.

She heads out to the grocery store to pick up the ingredients and has dinner on the table by 5:30 everyday.

I know, it's wonderful!

If that wasn't enough our laundry has been showing up clean and folded and I can't even remember taking it down to the utility room.

Albeit, we do miss having our own home and look forward to the day when we can move into our brand spakin new house, but for now we are thankful for my parents gracious hospitality.

A day at the office!

Cousins

Check out Abby in this pic!

Papa, Gra'ma and the girls!

Driving the fire engine!

These are a few pics from Cousin Sofia's recent visit. Sofia is my brother's daughter.

Moving

MOVING, it should be a four letter word! I spent the past two weeks packing up everything we owned (we are truly blessed in the US) with the help of my mother. It is impossible to pack anything while caring for a three yr old and 5 month old, that is fact! Thankfully Mom and Great Grandma entertained the girls while I shoveled pile after pile into cardboard boxes. On Friday the 17th several of our friends came over and moved everything from our home to a storage facility. They did it all in two and a half hours! Ashley and Aubrey watched Abby and Gra'ma took Anne to Chicken Express. The rest of the gang stacked the storage room to the roof, literally with all our things. We finished it all off with a filling dinner at Bruno's.

Saturday we cleaned and packed all the little things that were left at the house. It was another day of hard work. Mom and I cleaned. Scott and Dad dismantled and packed. We called it quits at five o'clock, showered, and ate dinner at Mercados.

Sunday after church Scott and I cleaned and took care of the last few details. We said goodbye to our first home and had our neighbor take a picture of the four of us. I'll post pictures when I get a chance.

All in all it was a physically and emotionally exhausting event, but we are looking forward to our currently invisible new home!

Scott's Birthday

Scott celebrated his 29th birthday on Saturday!

What a wonderful husband and father. Scott works very hard and is always ready to play with the girls. He is patient and loving!

We all went out for Chinese food and then came back home for ice cream cake and presents.

This is a picture of Grandma's Kung Poa (s/p?) chicken! Yummy!

Dentist

Anne had her first visit to the dentist on Monday. The dentist told that her teeth looked great. I was thankful to hear that since she is a pacifier baby (only at night now)


There was a television screen on the ceiling for Anne to watch while they cleaned her teeth. She did a great job opening her mouth and being still!

Counterscapes, Inc.

Every week day Anne, Abby, and I go to work. It is a blessing to be able to bring the girls to work with me and it gives us a great reason to get out of our pajamas. Your probably wondering what kind of employer lets you bring your infant and toddler to work. Well, when you work for your dad there are great perks, for Anne this includes raiding Papa's lunch box!

Sweeping was my first official job at Counterscapes. I hated it! From the look on Anne's face I don't think she likes it very much either.

We have an area set up behind my desk where Anne can play and watch movies. I spend about three hours each morning paying bills, invoicing, answering the phone, and engraving.


Sometimes we are here a little longer and sometimes a little less. This is determined by Abby's mood and if there is a customer in the show room. Selling counter tops and screaming babies don't always mesh.

The bosses!

If you have any counter top questions I can answer them. After twenty years of the counter business I have a plethora of knowledge on the subject. Go ahead, ask me anything !

Visit Counterscapes new and improved website

Pump it Up

We went to a birthday part on Tuesday and Anne had lots of fun. She was willing to go into all the inflatables and went down the slide with me a few times. Abby spent most of the time in our neighbors arms. Thanks for inviting us Hadley!

"She's a maniac, maniac . . . . ."

Jello

Anne introduce Sofia to Jello during her visit. Here are a few pics of the event.

Sofia abandoned the spoon in favor of her hands, more efficient.

Abby stuck to applesauce or should I say applesauce stuck to Abby.

That's Dad and I. In case you were wondering, I'm holding my neck so my face looks skinnier. I think it worked. I'll have to do that for all my pics.

Independence Day 2009

For the 4th we traveled down to Conroe. It was a great visit with Gran, Grandpa, Uncle John and Nancy, and Great Grandma Regan.

Anne enjoyed her time immensely. Gran and Grandpa make her feel extra special and Gran always has great surprises.


Anne's favorite was a Mickey Mouse fan and spray bottle. She was able to keep herself and many others nice and cool.

We arrived Friday evening and spent a little time talking and playing before we called it a night. It was up bright and fairly early for Scott. He, Gary, and Uncle John had a tee time at 9:00am.

Scott played a great game of golf.

While the boys were playing golf Gran watched the girls while I went to The Woodlands Mall ALL BY MYSELF!

It felt funny going somewhere by myself. All I carried with me was my wallet and car key. I kept having this feeling that I had forgot something or someone. It was a relaxing time for mom!

When I came back the boys had returned from golf and Anne, Abby, and I took a little nap. I couldn't sleep to long because it was off to the spa.

Gran and Grandpa live in Del Lago and they (not Gran and Grandpa) have just opened a beautiful high end resort with every amenity imaginable. We took advantage of the Spa. Uncle John treated Gran, Aunt Nancy, Grandma Regan and I to pedicures and manicures. It was wonderful. We came back looking shiny and new.

It was off to dinner on Lake Conroe. We went to a place called Jakes. When we arrived we were greeted by a breathless patron that informed us Roger Clements was inside and please don't stare. I told him that wouldn't be a problem for me. Roger Clemments is a t-sip.

There was a live band and a few fireworks. It was a nice balmy evening.

Sunday morning we ate a delicious brunch at the Yacht Club in Walden. I love brunch!

This is a pic of the two Annes or if you prefer Anne squared.

We we were all finished we headed back to pack up and go home. It was a great weekend! Thank you Gran and Grandpa for having us down!

The Zoo with Sofia

Aunt Katie and Sofia came down for the week and Anne has been having a blast playing with her cousin. Anne skipped school yesterday and we all went to the zoo, Abby included of course!

Aunt Katie helped to keep Abby company.

The girls were a great team both travel at Anne's favorite speed, maximum velocity!

Anne spent a lot of time looking and talking to the flamingos.

Happy 3rd Birthday Anne!

Anne had a wonderful birthday! The fun began at 10:30 Saturday. We had her school friends and church friends over for her kid party. I loved hearing all the little voices in the house. We set a treasure hunt up for them in the backyard.


It consisted of a little seven dollar blow up pool filled with playground sand and prizes. The kids each got their own bucket and shovel to dig for "treasure." They played in the backyard and made foam visors in the house.


Anne's birthday theme was Disney princesses. There were some last minute suggestions by Anne to change the theme to Mickey Mouse, but I told her she would have to wait until next year for Mickey Mouse. Her birthday cake consisted of several cupcakes formed int o the shape of a crown with light up princesses on top, thank you Wally World.

I did a little taste testing and it was pretty yummy. After cake Anne opened her presents with a little help. Thank you everyone for the thoughtful gifts.


After the kid party we went to lunch with Uncle Mark, Aunt Ashley, and Kylie (Ashley's little sister) at McAllisters then came home for a nap.

At 5:00pm we got ready to party again. We had Anne's family party with Papa, Gra'ma, Great Granny and Grandma, Uncle Chuck, Aunt Sandie, Uncle Mark, Aunt Ashley, and Kylie.

This time we had pizza and cupcakes. Anne had no problem blowing out her candle again and was a real expert at opening gifts this second time around.


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Thankfully Abby slept though the kid party and was very content to play with the table cloth for the family party.
Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

All in all it was a great day.

Thank you God for giving us three years with Anne. You have truly entrusted us with a treasure and we ask for continued wisdom as we raise her in the love and admonition of the Lord.