Future reader

I've been meaning to publish this post for a while now but just getting to it. When Ani was a month old, Suzy on her own climbed up on the couch with her so that she could "read her a story." She proceeded to show Ani the pictures in a baby book and say the names of the objects as she pointed to them. She really loves her little sister.



Then she planted one on her poor unsuspecting sister who can't yet defend herself.

Bathtime - revisited

If you thought it was unreal before...check out this updated picture I took of Anika in the same bathtub that Suzy had as an infant. Ani is in the top photo and Suzy is in the bottom picture. Both are around 7 weeks old. Can you say deja vu?

And here's a cute picture I took of both girls in the bath at the same time.

JCPenney Portraits

Last week I took the kids in to JCPenney to get their pictures taken in the matching sailor outfits from Grandma Val. Here they are:

First Day of School (Sniff Sniff)

Today was Suzy's first day of Preschool. She's going to Challenger School and it's unbelievably close to our house (about half mile away). It was so strange to have some structure to our day after two months of being off work. We got ready and I held her little hand as we walked to school. Luckily, she gets to attend school with her cousin Brandon (Kim's son) and they are even in the same class. Ah, what can I say about the thoughts that were going through my head? I'm sure millions of parents have experienced the same feelings as they left their child off for their first day of school. It was bittersweet - on the one hand I'll be glad for the break and I know she is going to eat up the learning, the music and the social environment. On the other hand I have to figure out how my baby girl is growing up so fast. After the parent orientation, Kim and I looked in on their class room and tears filled my eyes (I got a little verklempt). Mostly because I was so PROUD of my daughter. She is such a good, sweet kid - so smart and pretty and I felt for a moment why parenting is so worth all the hard work. How did YOU feel when your son/daughter started school for the first time?

Suzy before leaving for School



With Brandon in front of the Challenger sign



In their classroom in front of their cubbies wearing nametags

Suzy's Gymnastics

I put Suzy back in her gymnastics class this month. She had the month of May off and she used the time to practice her skills. Her teacher was impressed by how strong her neck is when she does headstands and also by how well she can now do "arch-ups".


Here she is doing an arch up on her own. She's able to get her head off the ground which she couldn't do the last time we went.

Here is a video of her doing a headstand.

Bathtime

Here are pictures of Suzy and Anika in the same little blue bathtub. Can you tell which is which?






Suzy's red birthmark on the left side of her forehead gives her away - she is the bottom picture.

A Cry for Attention?

I'm dedicating this post to Suzy who apparently has reached her "terrible threes".

For over three years Suzy was the center of our universe.....then in one fell swoop her world as she knew it was shattered by the entrance of her little sister. We knew she wasn't getting as much attention as she was used to, but didn't quite realize the full extend until Jeremy found Suzy in the bathroom with an empty container of lotion. Watch video below:

She had emptied the previously full lotion jar by wiping it on everything - the counters, the toilet, the bathtub, the walls and herself. Let's just say it was probably a good thing that her much more patient and gentle dad found her instead of me.

We're all adjusting as well as possible and we continue to cherish Suzy's sweet disposition and hilarity. Here are a couple of things she has said in the past few days:

1. I want some more "jelly" beans on my salad (should be "chili" beans)

2. Cinderella and her "Very" godmother (instead of "fairy" godmother)

3. We were eating dinner one night and out of the blue Suzy says to us, "Sometimes elephants are girls." Jeremy was completely caught off guard and busted out laughing. He hadn't had the conversation earlier with her that I did about how some elephants are girls and some are boys.

She graduated from a toddler bed to a twin bed this weekend. Thanks Sherrie and Bill for the bedroom set that used to be Carlie's. She's also reverted to wetting the bed again after being dry for months. Good thing we left the plastic on the mattress! I'm crossing my fingers that it's 'just a phase' and will stop once our lives get a little more back to normal. Here she is in her bed trying to fit her sister's entire head into her mouth (actually just kissing her).

Jeremy and I joked that the phrase "terrible two's" is actually referring to the number of kids you have and not the age of the child. But needless to say we love them both and wouldn't know what to do without either of them.

Warm Weather is here!!

It's hard to believe it, but our baby is already three weeks old. She is still doing great and her cheeks just keep getting bigger and bigger.

The warm weather seems to have finally arrived. We took advantage of it by going to some parks and BBQ's over the weekend. If you'd like to see the whole array of pics from the past week, go to:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lisasmithslc/SpringPics?authkey=WhoMWAfuWws

And my niece Carlie's Communion Picnic pictures here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lisasmithslc/CarlieSCommunionPicnic?authkey=nqU51g9Qlfw
Otherwise, here's a couple of the good ones.