Spring Recap

How about a little Spring Recap? Jake said not to apologize just to get to it so here we go :)!! It has been such a weird but wonderful Spring at the Smith house! The girls are growing faster and faster! Somedays I just wish they would pause and let me absorb them at this stage....but they keep growing and learning and changing! My friend says not to get sad at their milestones....she said, "Michelle, just have another one!" Well that is a thought....but not yet!!

This Spring....we have had 2 birthdays, Easter, fun cousin time.....and lots of things Mommy can no longer remember. Jacob has been on the road a bunch for work...so things are crazy. We are very thankful to have him home now....we are definitely not complete without him. He makes me a better wife, mommy, friend, and just better all the way around. So when he is gone....you can imagine!! :) I am thankful that we did pretty well and surprised ourselves this time....single moms....wow....you guys are amazing! I have no idea how you do it! And to be honest....I pray I never have to endure more than just some long business trips! I will, however, continue to be amazed at you guys!

Without going into details....Jake and I are excited about May! April was a tough month in more ways than I care to remember....but PTL.....He has brought us through and we can see the light! It is absolutely amazing how much you learn and grow when your back is up against a wall! We are thankful and excited to see God continue to work mightily in our lives in the months ahead! We have never been more excited....and we are headed forward...Yay!

For some strange reason I only got these shots of the girls in their Easter dresses. I think I am going to redo this and "pretend" to get some good shots of them in their coordinating dresses! Hannah wore her pink princess shoes to church....yep I am now one of those mothers :) Oh well...next year we may actually remember shoes with the outfit when we buy it?!!

Hannah and Sadie in their adorable coordinating outfits from the Bruner family. Sadie was not much into hunting eggs :) I think her total was 3! She did have 4 at one time....but she was playing with it. When she was finished playing with it, she sat it down beside her. And....it got rehunted....regifted....or re-egged.....whatever you want to say! Needless to say Sadie did not even notice :)! Here Hannah is being such a great big sister and helping Sadie....soooo cute!

Hannah is finding an egg full of money with the help of Ma'mere!

Bored with hunting eggs.....Sadie decides that this stick looks really fun to play with! And boy did this stick entertain :)!!!

When even the stick is not entertaining anymore....you can always try eating the Easter basket! That is always a fun thing to do. :)

After the hunt was over and everyone is counting, Sadie crawled right up to her cousin's pile and started shaking! She had a blast!! It was hilarious!

Notice that she found the money egg VERY quickly....watch out Daddy....I am going to be just like Mommy....at least where money is concerned :)

Hannah with her best friend.....and mine too!!!

After such a tough day of eating and hunting eggs....they had to relax on the playset :)! This is such a wonderful tradition that Jacob's family (Uncle Charles and Aunt RubyLee) put together each year! All the family comes....what a blessing to be in this family :)!!

Aunt Bekah is awesome....she even went down the slide with HJ....which of course she loves! And Yes, she was screaming her name when we had to leave....those are always fun times in the car! One child screaming so loudly that it wakes the other and then they are both going at it!!! Lovely!

Hannah preparing dinner....I think she is putting on the pepperoni here. I love the look of concentration on her face :) I think the pepperoni placing went something like....One for Hannah, one for the pizza, one for Hannah......etc. Eventually we had a wondeful dinner....eventually :)

This is a daily occurrence at the Smith house. Does anyone else have any chore helpers? Too cute and she is always so proud of herself! All is great until she puts the steak knife in her mouth !

The Sock Bandit.....I would take all the socks away and turn around and she would have gathered them all back up....and then she would bite them....all of them....?? Who knows why...but it is precious! Sadie can frequently be seen crawling with socks in her hand or hanging out of her mouth.....apparently it is her teething apparatus of choice! Too funny!

Hannah modeling her "Dancing dress" and her princess houseshoes! She likes to put this dress on to dance to the Wiggles...weird I know....but cute too!

I love this serious face.....this girl does not miss anything. She is so observant. I also love this homemade outfit....it has ruffles on the bottom! Love it!!

There are many reasons I love this photo. 1. The hair- this is how Sadie's hair looks every morning....some sticking straight up and some laying super straight!! Wild thing!!! 2. The one tooth!! Yes, she is turning one with one tooth!! This does not deter her from eating big girl food! She just gums it and sucks on it till it dissolves. Gross I know...and messy too! 3. The teething smile- I call it the teething smile cause she is always moving her gums around on each other and her teeth and then doing a funky but precious smile!!

Mommy....please keep the floors cleaner....don't you know that I pick up EVERYTHING!! Like you said....nothing gets by me.

Clapping to the song...."If you Love Jesus" Love it!!!

I love this dress!! Beautiful! But my favorite part of this picture is Hannah. Don't you love it when they get tickled and you can see sheer joy on their faces!!! Such a blessing!!

Sadie going with the serious pose! She did not want to smile and look at the camera! Too much to ask that particular day!!



Yes....my princess is gnawing on a chicken bone!! Yuck!! My mom gave it to her....she ate or sucked on it for 15 minutes! Hopefully she will not develop Papa's chicken eating habits. It is just not lady like :)



Sadie's 1 yr cake! Nope this is not at all what I was envisioning with I said pink and brown plaid...oh well ...it tasted marvelous. It was imported from Sno-white bakery in Abilene! Thanks , Sugar and Papa



Sadie snacking on a pretzel stick :) Maybe it reminded her of the chicken bone from the night before!

Birthday Girl!

Hannah blew out the candle for Sadie....not sure what is going on with my face though :)

Yummy....cake....and pink icing.

I love this picture! Doesn't everyone want a knife wielding lady at their daughter's 1st birthday??? I know Karen was just helping or something....but I laugh out loud every time I see this picture :)

Notice that they are eating outside....yes that was on purpose :)

Trying out some ice cream....thank you Tara! It makes me pucker up!!

The gifts were wonderful....you know how it is with a 1 yr old! Everyone else is more interested in the gifts than her! Well thank you Aunt Bekah....this one definitely got her attention! Freaked her out....poor girl...she was wailing!

This is called the "distract and calm" technique :) Everyone is working on it!

Okay Bekah...this one is about my size!! And it is good to eat too!! Don't worry, Daddy made her play with the big cat later....we will not be scared at the Smith house!

Hannah was pumped about this gift....some bowls full of cooking supplies.....always fun!!

Thank you Sugar and Papa for all your help!! We couldn't have done it without you!

I love to be upside down.....hold on....cause I will thrust myself backwards at anytime!

Sadie with Ms. Tara showing her how to use her new toy!! Ms. Tara is our wonderful, reliable, sweet babysitter who is such a blessing to our family!! She also loves our girls alot....I mean...who wouldn't?? :)

Thanks for helping me Tara!! I got it and love it!!

Happy Birthday sweet girl!!! You are such a blessing to our family!! We are so excited to see the wonderful things God has for your future.....and the unique ways that you will bring Him glory! We love you!


AAh....is the favorite and frequent word used by Ms. Sadie Grace! This is also the face you get when you ask for a kiss! It is a full mouth open assault!! So fun...and wet! :)

So at what age do they learn feet first over the edge??? Apparently....she is not ready for that....she likes to linger at the edge!!

Thanks for reading all of this....it occured to me while posting Sadie's birthday pics that I haven't done Hannah's which was in March. So maybe that will be next.....but I also have been tagged to do 7 random things....no Laura I have not forgotten....so I will be back soon!!

Sadie Grace Stands

Ladies and gentlemen. Boys and girls. Children of all ages. Come one, come all. See the sights that amaze and amuze even vetern parents like us! Our 'baby' is not so baby anymore! :( She can crawl. Yet that is not here only talent, check out what else she has learned to do!




What speed. What elegance. What Grace. Walking is just around the corner!

Hannah vs Monsters

Ok, so I am back. Hannah has had a birthday party (yes, pictures and stories to come), but since that fateful March 9th day, she has had an explosion of personality. Before her nap on Monday, Hannah proceeded to tell the most amazing story about her and monsters. (Hannah says she learned about 'monsters' from her Aunt Liz.) I will just let HJ tell you what happened in her own words, as she guides you to where the monsters were.

More Milestones

We're Back!

So sorry to the 2 people who actually read this blog for being away so long! No excuses. All is well in the Smith family! Sadie is growing so fast! She is now waving, pushing herself up to a sitting position, clapping and army crawling! I can not believe how fast she can get around. No more having 1 stationary and 1 moving child! Both moving......so is Mommy!

Hannah is doing fantastic! She is only one month away from turning 3...I can not believe this. Things she loves to do right now include....putting on lipstick(chapstick), paint, SWING, go to pre-school, try all of Sadie's baby food, read, change her baby's diaper, drink chocolate milk, and be a "Mommy" to Sadie :)!

Here are some recent pictures....I will have to get to Christmas later...one Blog step at a time!

Here is Hannah showing off her make-over done by her cousin....nice work Kiley! This picture does not do it justice. There was a ton of glitter!!

Hannah is not excited about sharing a picture Bailey (the other lucky recipient of the famous Kiley makeovers!)

Sadie loves saltene crackers. It takes her like 10-15 minutes to completely eat one, but she is persistent. She will gum it till the end! (she does not yet have any teeth but that does not stop her!!)

Hannah is playing us some blues on the harmonica. Actually this girl is way better than Jacob and I. The sounds that she has come out are actually pleasing to the ear. She just might be a natural! :)

Showing her domestic side! Hannah and Daddy made cookies for the cousins. She is trying out the icing right here! Too cute.

Sadie being a big girl and holding her own sippy cup. As you can see...sippy cups are a little messy!

All dressed up in purple! Hannah really likes when the girls match right now. They do not have any matching clothes (yet), but they do have matching colors! She likes to say, "Mommy! Sadie and I are both wearing green! We match!" It is cute to watch them think and learn new things everyday! I am so blessed.

Our beautiful girl unwrapping a set of 8 pairs of dress up shoes! So fun!

Every little girl needs a good set of overalls :) Daddy picked these out and did an excellent job!

I know this is not the best picture but it was so cute. Hannah picked up a book off the bookshelf and went to her pink chair to read. She then went into a 15-minute monolog about Jesus. Not sure exactly what she was saying but I know at one point she said all the words to the Zacchaeus song. When she got to her favorite part she shouted "Zacchaeus, you come down for I'm going to your house today!"
Then she continued to talk and say Jesus at least 2 times per minute! Too precious!

Some stories from the last few weeks:

Hannah has now started calling us Mom and Dad sometimes. It is hilarious and sad at the same time. We have no idea where she picked that up from and it is just funny to hear such a little person call you Mom and Dad instead of Mommy and Daddy!

One of my favorite sounds in the world is the sound of the girls laughing. It often happens in the car. It seems that the mere sight of Hannah is funny to Sadie! Hannah prides herself on making Sadie giggle and then she can't help but join in! I want to remember these moments forever!

Hannah is really into healing right now. Anytime, anything remotely hurts her she tells me that she wants Jesus to heal her. Jesus has been busy healing HJ lately...he has healed her lip, toe, leg, head, foot etc. How beautiful is the faith of a child that Jesus will heal her...and he does. I learn to believe Him at his word from my 2 year old!

One last story about HJ. She loves to swing. So we went to the park and she was swinging. She loves to go "Super high" and I am talking about as high as the "big kids". Anytime you let her go and she thinks it is too low she will tell you again that she wants to go "super high"! So as she is swinging she is telling me she wants to go super high again. I guess she did not think I could hear her, so she turns around and tells me. Then she turns around again and tells me "super high", but this time she puts her arms out to show me how high she wants to go. WELL, letting go is not recommended when swinging! As soon as she let go, I was in the process of pushing her super high! So she does a back layout (flip) off the swing and lands face down in the mulch! Mulch was everywhere! It was crazy! I walked her over to dust her off and she was mad at me that I would not let her SWING! So, as soon as I de mulched her....back on the swings she went. One lady said, "You know there are baby swings on the other side of the playground" I know that! Hannah is not a baby! It is easier to stay on the swings when you are holding on!! Oh well, I am sure she meant to help....but it made me feel like she thought I was a bad Mom! Hannah sure liked it and did not have any boo-boos from her time in the mulch :)! PTL!

Have a terrific weekend!