Ho Ho Ho...

Guess who's coming to town? More details coming soon.

Gobble Gobble

With Thanksgiving a couple of days away, we wanted to wish you a happy turkey day from the paw prints of our two favorite turkeys! (Ella's on the left, Henry's on the right.) Hope your day is bountiful and full of love as you give thanks for all of the blessings in your life.

Before the weather turns...

We got in some more play time!

Pretty as a Princess

Quick side story: This was Ella and Daddy the other day playing WEDDING! This was just after the ceremony!


Well, after the festivities of last weekend, between Halloween and my little man turning 2... my big girl precious princess turns 4 tomorrow! Talk about time flying by!?!? We celebrated today with a Princess party with the girls in her class at Pre-School. 2 couldn't make it, but the 7 girls (including Ella) had a ball. We strategically scheduled it during Henry's nap to allow the girls plenty of time without a little brother running around. He woke up in time for cake at the end!

We set up a Princess boutique for the girls to get decked out if they wanted, made beaded bracelets, played "Pin the Crown on the Princess" and of course cake and presents. None of the parents stayed around so it was a fun girls afternoon (and Phil and Henry!) Ella requested a Lemon Drop cake which is a lemon cake with sugar on top accompanied by lemon drop candies. Yummy! I used it as an opportunity to try working with sanding sugar and forming gum paste into spirals with although I couldn't get them to stay up on the cake, made for nice decorations around the cake. Ella had some issues sharing her things and was a little tired (missing her afternoon nap) but she really had the best birthday ever! So proud of my pretty little princess!








Tomorrow, on her actual birthday, Ella had dance class and then we're heading to SB Chocolate for ice cream and playing before more presents! What a blessed life we lead! Check back later in the week for more pictures from tomorrow!

What a Weekend!

Phew! We've had a jam packed few days that have been super fun. In fact, on numerous occasions, Ella has exclaimed: This is the BEST _____ (fill in the blank with the activity) EVER! I've included a few pictures below but if you want to see more, check out the slide show at the end of the post. Grandma D came in town for the weekend and really helped out a bunch.

THURSDAY: was Henry's official second birthday! My little boy is growing so fast and he's getting so big. I can't believe it. At preschool on Thursday, there is a fall festival where the kids could participate in games and activities. Both Ella and Henry had a great time. Ella even got her hair spray painted pink! Henry ran around like a crazy man b/c he was so excited, didn't know what to do next. Then we went to Shipshewana for dinner (Henry's favorite - Amish cooking, seriously!) with Grandpa & Grandma Smoker and Great Grandma Donnie. Back to G&G's house for gifts... it was a long day and a late evening, but very fun.





SATURDAY: morning we had a birthday party/kids costume party for Henry. He started off a little grouchy, but by the time we got to the craft of making stick puppets and cake/presents, he was in a good place (can't imagine why?!?!) He had SO much fun with his good friends and he had a really great birthday - thanks to everyone for making it so special! What a crew of kids! Then, of course, since it was Halloween, we took a nap (so we could stay up late hyped up on candy) and got ready to trick-or-treat with our old neighbors and friends (back in our old neighborhood.) Ella was insanely excited. I don't think we've ever seen her run full sprint like that before. Our friends Patrick (will be 5 in Feb) and Briana (will be 8 I think? in Feb) ran with her from house to house to house. Henry was a little bummed that he couldn't keep up, but he was the cutest big bad wolf that you've ever seen. And Ella went all out with glitter and make-up to be the prettiest fairy-princess-ballerina (her idea) ever! She was Sleeping Beauty for Henry's party in the morning (by the way - hence the 2 different costumes in the pictures.) It was pretty chilly and the combination of a few Skittles mixed with sticky, cold hands... after about 45 minutes, Henry was done. The moms trekked home with the little ones (they also have Ronan - 1 yr) and the crew stayed out. After a bit, they returned and Ella was also done. We had pizza and played and it was a really fun night. Henry and Ella crashed when we got home (so did Mom and Dad!)








I think we've recovered today (just in time for Ella's birthday party next weekend!) But it really was such an incredibly fun weekend. And now, for the extended version in photos...click here

Better late than never???

So it's not that I'm trying to not announce it, but it just hasn't seemed natural to do it on the blog, but anyway, Baby Smoker #3 is in the oven! We are super excited and I'm sorry if I haven't had the chance to tell you yet, but I figured that I should formally announce it at some point. I'm 16 weeks today (4 months) and feeling great. I seem to have regained a lot of the energy I lost in the first couple of months (between this pregnancy and the other 2 crazy kids we have) but it's back. Ella is super excited (Henry's a little oblivious still) and Phil and I are eager to meet the newest little Smoker. I'm feeling the baby move now a little each day and can't wait for the ultrasound in about a month... NO, we're not finding out the gender this time either! Anyway, that's the good news...

The next 2 weeks are going to be filled with birthdays and Halloween, so check back often for updates. I'll do my best.

Fall Fun

Carving Pumpkins - Ella's was stolen that night and after we finally convinced her that Grandpa didn't do it at 3 in the morning, she realized that it must have meant it was the BEST! Hers is in the first lit up picture, far right (silly eyes, big ears...)




We also played in the leaves this weekend... Henry wasn't too sure at first (maybe b/c we put him in the middle of the biggest pile to start!) But by the end, he has a look of determination on his face. Ella loved throwing leaves on Daddy! Then off for a snack on the front porch...








And finally, what's fall/Halloween without "It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown" and a fire in the fireplace? We love our home and can't believe we've been here over a year already!

Fun Play Date

We had so much fun when our friends Mia & Olivia Salerno came to visit (miss those Salernos!) Here's a shot of the crew eating lunch. So much fun!

Underneath it all... there's still love

So of course brothers and sisters play together, but yes, they disagree as well. Ella often thinks she's the mommy and decides what Henry can and can't do. Anyway, Henry has quite a personality of his own these days and knows what he does and doesn't want. So the playing, sometimes ends in tears... it's normal. :) Thus, bringing me to the story...

Ella's been having some sleep issues (won't stay in her bed and is constantly coming to wake us up in the night...) but last night, Henry cried out just because he wanted to be covered up (his newest obsession.) It's super cute! Anyway, Henry woke up Ella and after quieting him, I went to her room. She was sitting on the floor next to her bed completely confused. I picked her up, put her in bed and gave her a little pat. As I was leaving the room I heard her say: Henry... Henry... I love you.

Seriously, those moments are the BEST moments of life. Our kids make me so happy and while it's a lot of work, those little things are the ones that I cherish in my heart and make me smile all the time. So precious!

Slumber Party

So a few weeks ago we went to Toledo to visit Grandma D and Grandma Julie. When it was time for bed, Henry decided that instead of sleeping in the pack-n-play, that he wanted to sleep in the big bed with Ella (which is just a mattress on the floor.) We figured, what the heck?!?! We put another mattress down on the ground so that they each had their own beds. Since I didn't trust them at bedtime, I decided to lay down in between them until they were settled enough to sleep (b/c who isn't excited about a slumber party?)

The entire event of 'falling a sleep' took over an hour, and it may have been one of the funniest moments of my life. Seriously, where your kids are so funny, but you can't laugh in front of them b/c it's too silly plus it's bedtime! Here are a few snippets of stories from trying to fall asleep:
1 - Henry keeps moving and fidgeting...CONSTANTLY which of course Ella can't sleep with all the 'noise.' When she tells me, Henry sits up and yells "ELLA!"
2 - Henry covers and uncovers himself. Situates his 'monkey blankets' on each shoulder constantly, touching the wall, rolling around, pelvic thrusts (literally can't sit still.)
3 - Ella needs to go potty. Of course, her shadow (Henry) also needs to go pee-pee/to-to in the the potty. They walk off into the distance holding hands.
By now, my pointer finger is getting a work-out with the 'You-Quiet' and 'Shhhh!' gestures!
4 - After what I think is the last big movement out of Henry and all is quiet, he sits up like a rocket, puts his hands out to the side and yells: Soccer Monster! (which is a reference to a Backyardigans episode) Ella being the responsible big sister then points her finger and it's followed by: Now Henry, you don't want to talk about scary things before bed.....
So cute and so funny! Absolutely priceless. I took a couple of pictures in the dark to show the aftermath!




LOVE YOU GRANDMA JULIE! GET STRONGER AND FEEL BETTER SOON!

Some of our favorite things

ELLA: When Ella and I get the chance to go to the grocery store (for some mother-daughter time), we've started a new tradition... we both have a shopping cart. Of course many people have them at home, but we've started taking it to the store with us. It's pretty fun and Ella gets really upset if my cart gets full before hers. We gets lots of looks (good and bad) but we have a lot of fun in the process.


HENRY: Henry just loves to be goofy. He loves to run around, be chased, chase you, anything active. He's a typical 2 year old boy who also loves airplanes and the big bad wolf (more coming on that in future posts...) Also, he loves to wrestle and play rough with Ella. It starts off as lots of giggles and squeals (by both of them) and most of the time, it ends in tears somewhere, but the parts in between are the best sounds you'll hear in your life... your kids playing together and laughing so hard! You can see Henry trying to 'take down' Ella in the last picture.