Peek A Boo

Funny because peekaboo is not a game we play often and he started doing this all on his own with no prompting. I'm sure it's been weeks since we last played.

Christmas Card Book

It's no secret that I loathe putting away Christmas. It's not the actual act of tidying up and boxing it away (that's rather cathartic) but the absence of the lights, decorations and memories from years past that makes me a bit melancholy. We actually just boxed up the last of Christmas last week.

The last item to get put away every year are our cards. People spend time, money and energy to send these to us. I refuse to display them for a week and then be rid of them. (Plus cards trickle in until the second week in January and I don't want to put them away until they all arrive!)

This was definitely the year of the photo card. We got more photo cards this year than ever before, and you know what? I love them! Problem though. Flat photo cards do not stand up on your mantle or entry table very well... With incredibly fortuitous timing, I visited a friend in early December who was taping her collection to the front door. That made perfect sense! (We rarely use our front door but we see it all the time.) What a great way to display those wonderful cards my friends spent so much effort on. (Having made photo cards twice now, I tip my hat to those families that manage it every year. The coordination alone is an incredible feat! Match children, decorate pet, take photos, get decent photo, edit photos, find template, find coupons, address, remember to post! The list is endless. :D

No way am I throwing all that loveliness away. 

So what do I do with all those cards come mid-January? One year I put them in shoebox, the next year I cut them into pieces and decorated cardboard boxes with them, but the past few years I've made a kind of simple book out of them.

Get a couple of these things. Book rings. I picked mine up at Staples.
About $4 for a bag of 16.

It looks like you can get a bag of 50 for closer to $13 on amazonsupply.com I used a double hole punch for the cards. It worked really nicely with the smaller cards. Then just organize by size, pick a favourite for the cover and you're done! I suppose I could have made a cover that said Christmas 2013 on it... perhaps next year.

365:2014

Not since 2011 have we undertaken AND completed such an endeavor. As we look back over our photos, blog etc., both Mark and I agree that we've loved having the 365. Reminiscing yes, memory aid yes, incentive to leave the house and actually do things so we can get a non-lame photo.. double yes.

So we're doing it again! 365:2014 here we come. Wish us luck and be warned, if you hang out with us on any kind of regular basis you're liable to show up in here somewhere, and if seeing you is more of an 'occasion' for us then you're even more likely to grace the pages within. 

The only rule I set is that the pictures are taken on the day in question. Will I post 7 straight pictures of Jessica? Possibly. Can I borrow a photo from someone I hung out with on that day if I didn't get a good picture? Totally.You know what else?  If I get stressed, I'm not going to freak out about my one rule. Should I forget to take a picture and suddenly it's 12:02am so I take one at 12:03 and then go to bed?Yup, I'll probably allow that too.

With the point and shoot, DSLR and my camera phone there should be some distinctly varied offerings... Here goes nothing!

Gabriel - 6 Months

Our beautiful boy is 6 months old and his personality is really starting to shine. I have been asked multiple times (and once today by the doctor) if he's always this happy. The answer? Pretty much! Unless we're in the car and even then, now that we're diary free he's getting so much better.

I delayed this post for a couple days so I could add the stats from his checkup. His head is in the 90th percentile, height - 21st and at 17lbs 3.5oz his weight is in the 43rd. Pretty steady from his 4 month checkup. I keep saying how much bigger Gabriel is than Jessica was at this age, but I just looked back at her 6 month update and she weighed only a pound less than Gabriel does now! To borrow a phrase from Jessa, "I did not expect that!" Doc says he's got all the tricks of a 9 month old. No surprise there ;) We had the full slew of vaccines again this time including the rotavirus. He's currently sleeping it off on my lap whilst I attempt to type over him. 

New skills since we last checked in: He can sit unaided, he claps (video below), crazy silly head dancing and is very close to cruising!

Since typing is currently a bit awkward, to say the least, I'll leave you with a video of Gabriel clapping look for cameos from Jessica and Leeloo!

She Skates!

... or maybe it should be titled, "She lays around on the ice and almost skates." Either way it can definitely be considered a successful first attempt. Her feet were sore afterwards (did not have the right size skates) and she was exhausted but she was still happy and is keen to go back and try again! Which is fortuitous because we've already paid for 8 more lessons!

J's preschool decided it would be fun to arrange a skating class for the kids from school - they'd all know each other, which is always a bonus in these situations.

Jessa with boys from school!

Learning to fall and how to get back up!

She arrived 30 minutes before class: Mommy, Daddy, a baby brother and two grandparents in tow. I'm so glad I didn't opt for a weekday class where I would have had to finagle a 3 year old into skates, deal with coats and gloves all whilst maintaining baby control. Not a pleasant idea. Thankfully class is on a Saturday and even without grandparents helping I'll have Mark with me. (This is a plus for you considering that while I do take photos, he's the videographer in house. It's a good thing Santa brought him extra memory for his phone this Christmas!)

She, me, her, us... we've all been talking about ice skating for so long that it was great to finally get out there and do it! We're planning on going back once a week or so for a free skate so she can get some time on the ice with just mommy or daddy. Unexpected bonus? I get to get out on the ice too! I'm sure she'll find it hilarious when she watches me take the obligatory tumble, or two, or three. The last time I went ice skating was probably circa 2007!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from The Smiths!

So far today has been fabulous. I love Christmas, I love my family and I love my friends. 

Gabriel - 5 months

Perhaps I should rename the blog "The Gabriel Update Page" considering it's the only time I seem to manage to get on here and write something! I haven't really had the time to update recently but I know there's a lot of family out there patiently waiting to hear more about the most recent adorable Smith offspring.

So without further ado, Gabriel 5 months!

some positively adorable outtakes with a bow for that Christmas flair ;)

He's a bouncing, jumping fiend and nothing makes him happy faster than letting him use those legs! He's always been strong. The single most common adjective everyone who meets him uses is "strong." This past month he's really started channeling that strength.

He has learned how to roll from back to belly (which means he's a fully mobile baby machine now), sit assisted (he supports himself with his arms) AND can stand for a few seconds while holding onto something. I honestly already miss the non-rolling days when I could run to the other room for something without fear of him rolling off the bed, the trampoline, an other elevated surfaces that babies should never be left unsupervised on.

He's almost 18lbs and growing out of his clothes faster than I can get through them. I'll pick something up, think "Naw that's far too big. Well.. maybe I'll try it." Then I struggle to squeeze him into it!! 

He's so interested in everything we put in our mouths. He practically attacks the cup if I'm holding him and dare to drink something. He can even drink out of a sippy cup. It's incredibly hard holding off on real food, he's so keen. With his digestive issues though, it's even more important that we wait till 6 months. On that note, I think he's getting a bit better with diary in general!! The puking is WAY down even if I have some cheese! I think we might chance it and order a pizza next week and see how he gets on. Darn it.. why'd I have to go and talk about pizza? Now I'm hungry. Eat something then you say? It's 1am. Yeah. No eating for me. 

He loves to laugh almost as much as we love to hear him laugh. Every morning he gives me one of those puppy smiles. You know the one. The "Oh My GOSH!! It's YOU! Where have you been? I LOVE YOU! I'm so excited!!!" smile. Wow kiddo. You slept about 2 feet from me all night... but yes I'm glad you're still excited to see me and I love you too! He smiles so much it's amazing. He gives wet, slobbery, giant, open-mouthed baby kisses. I won't lie. They're kind of awesome. 

You want to see something earth shatteringly heartwarming? Watch Jessica and Gabriel play. (Sorry I just went back and read that. It totally sounds like a teaser for a video. No video. But now that I've mentioned it and gotten your hopes up I'll see what I can catch in the next few days.) His eyes light up when he sees her and for a three year old, she had an incredible amount of patience with him. She takes her big sister duties very seriously. She has her own puppy version for him. The first time she sees him awake in the morning she'll run in, "Baby Gabriel is awake!! Good morning baby Gabriel!! ::kiss kiss::" I hope they're always such great friends.