Smithler

Free Christmas cards!

2010-11-20T17:08:00.003-07:00

Shutterfly is running a great promotion right now! If you blog about this promotion, you get 50 free Holiday Cards! I'll be honest, I was considering not doing Christmas cards this year, money is just a little too tight. But, who can resist FREE!

And, I think Shutterfly is great. A few years ago we took a trip to Disneyland and since Adeline was not even 3 yet, I wanted to make sure she remembered the highlights of the trip. So, I made a photobook and just last night, Lylah went and got it and we all looked at it for at least 10 minutes. Lylah was only 6 months old at the time, but she loves seeing herself at Disney! I have also made photo calendars for the grandparents for gifts and just last week I printed a few pictures through the Shutterfly site, but then picked them up at my local Target. Seriously, Shutterfly is the best!

Go blog about them - 50 free cards is in it for you! And, if you would like a card from us, let me know!

So Very Thankful

2009-11-26T19:29:00.004-07:00

The girls at Halloween - pretty princesses.

It's been 6 months since I posted last!!! So, so sorry about that! I hope to get back into posting soon, but I've said that before, haven't I??

Well, I did want to post today, Thanksgiving, because we all need to remind ourselves of what we are and should be thankful for. A lot has happened in our lives since May, and the most important thing I am thankful for is God's provision in our lives. Even in really hard times, He is always right here with us promising to never leave or forsake us. Seriously, I can't imagine not being able to lean upon that!

So, since May we have celebrated birthdays, gone on vacation, survived a few illnesses (nothing serious), had family visit us in Arizona, changed churches, started a new school year (for Jeff), spent many days at the park and enjoyed some great family time. We also have learned a ton about ourselves and our Lord through the loss of two babies. I could go on and on about the things I have learned, and am still learning every day through these experiences. I know that people tend to hold onto their "We're Expecting!" announcements til after the first trimester, just to make sure everything is "okay". With Adeline and Lylah, we did just that. Only a small handful of people knew we were pregnant before 10 or 12 weeks. But, this fall I have completely changed my perspective. As conservative, followers of Christ, we say that we believe that a baby is a baby from the moment of conception. But, then we treat miscarriage as something that is so common, it isn't really a big deal. Well, I know that if one of my babies (Adeline or Lylah) were sick or in some sort of danger, I would want everyone I know (and don't know for that matter) praying for them. So, why wouldn't I ask the same for that sweet baby that may only be 4 or 5 or 6 weeks old in my belly? I should ask! And, I am...

We are expecting, again! It has been quite a rollercoaster and we know that it may not be over, but we would really appreciate your prayers for our precious little baby, that the Lord would see fit to allow him/her to make it to full-term. May He get all the glory for this baby's life, inside and outside of the womb. (By the way, I am due July 15th.)

And lastly, a list of a few other things I am thankful for today:

*My wonderful, patient, caring husband of almost 9 years!
*Our sweet girls.
*Our families who are very, very far away.
*Our church family.
*Pumpkin pie (it is my favorite food)!
*Morning/All day sickness (I will never complain again about it - Praise God that I am feeling bad)!
*The dishwasher.

There are so many more, but this is probably long enough. Thank you for reading and praying.

Easter

2009-05-30T22:08:00.002-07:00

Fun Easter egg hunt!

The girls and I were pretty sick the week before Easter, so we stayed at home and colored eggs in our pajamas.

The best part of Easter this year was seeing Adeline begin to really understand why we celebrate it. We read her little Bible every day (sometimes we read two or three stories each day) and she definitely retains every single thing we read. So, when Easter Sunday came around, Adeline seemed to really get why we go to church at all, and what Jesus did for us. Since then Adeline has asked on more than one Sunday if we are celebrating Easter again. She can't wait until Easter 2010!

Our ballerina?

2009-05-30T21:47:00.002-07:00

I mentioned Adeline's ballet class in an earlier post, but never put pix up. Her class is now over and I think she enjoyed it. It didn't seem to hold her attention like I thought it would though. We may try dance class again later, but she told me that this summer she would like to take an art class. So, beginning this week she will be taking two classes at the rec center, one where she gets to just run around and play with other kids and the other is called "Messy Art" - should be interesting.

Saturday night dinner

2009-05-30T21:31:00.003-07:00

9 months old

2009-04-04T20:27:00.011-07:00

Poor second child, Lylah. I haven't posted new pictures of her in months! She is already 9 months old which is so hard to believe. Time definitely goes by much faster with baby number 2. A few things she is up to these days:

She isn't crawling on all fours yet but definitely has the army crawl down and is amazingly fast at rolling across the room. I guess when you can roll, why crawl?
She is eating lots of different foods and gets so stinkin' excited when she sees me coming with her bowl and spoon. She loves eating finger foods like banana, cheese and Gerber puffs (those things are amazing)!
She got her 2 bottom front teeth about a month ago. She was really fussy for about a week before, and just not acting herself. As soon as those teeth broke through, she was back to being happy Lylah again.
Adeline hung the moon in Lylah's eyes. Seriously, Adeline can just look at her and smile and Lylah cracks up laughing. It's so sweet to watch (for now)!
We seem to get little colds every 6 weeks or so in our house and the girls pass it around (Jeff always seems to avoid getting it!). Back in January, Lylah was stuffy as usual, but she also had some drainage from her ear. I took her in to the doc and she had an ear infection. Well, it didn't go away with Amoxicillin and when I took her back, she had a double ear infection. So, the doc prescribed a stronger antibiotic and some drops and cultured her ear. Well, apparently, she had a VERY rare bacteria in both ears and the ENT we took her to wanted to put tubes in immediately. He told us that he had only seen a case like hers one other time and he even came in at 6am on his day off to do the surgery because he felt like it was pretty urgent. I didn't look up the bacteria online at the time because I tend to read too much and get freaked out about all of the crazy possibilities out there, but I decided to the other day because I heard them use the term on HOUSE, M.D. of all things! That freaked me out, for sure! Anyway, I wish I hadn't looked it up now, but I will just say that she seems fine and hopefully the tubes will prevent anything weird like that happening again. The ENT is following her pretty closely, so we are very thankful for great doctors that didn't pass it off as just another run of the mill ear infection.
I took her for her 9 month check up this week and she is now in the 30% percentile for weight and about the 50% for height and head circumference. The doctor didn't seem too concerned about her weight, but since she hasn't gained anything in a few months, I am trying to feed her more and we'll go back in a month to make sure she's put on a pound or two.
She is s-t-r-o-n-g! I'm sure that most moms say this, and maybe she isn't stronger than other babies, but man, sometimes I can't believe what a grip she has. If she gets a hold of the skin on your arm or your nose - watch out! It hurts!!! I'm pretty sure she could already take Adeline down if she wanted to :) I've already had to pry her little hands from Adeline's hair on more than a few occasions.
Lylah is a HAPPY BABY! She is just so sweet and will give [almost] anyone a great big smile with her little nose crinkled up. I really sometime cannot believe how the Lord has blessed us with 2 amazing little girls. Grace, grace, grace!

I love having pictures of the girls in the same situation (and, in this case, even the same sleeper). When I walked into Lylah's room this day, I could see so much of Adeline in her face and I immediately remembered taking a picture of Adeline getting busted playing with the crib bumper as well. Little did I know that both pictures were taken at exactly 7 1/2 months old. They have their differences, but Lylah is beginning to take after her big sister more and more every day.

Look at those baby blues.

Lylah isn't pulling up yet, but she loves it when we stand her up in her crib.

So, I know this video is a little revealing (and turned the wrong way), but I wanted to share Lylah cracking herself up. I get soaked almost every night at bath time, but I can't bring myself to make her stop splashing, she's having too much fun. Also, at the end of the video, you can see the lovely, huge, fluorescent orange ear plugs we have to put in her ears since getting the tubes in. It's a pain, but she is very patient with me putting them in, thank goodness.

Buy me some peanuts and cracker jacks...

2009-04-04T20:15:00.006-07:00

One thing that is so much fun about living in Phoenix, is MLB spring training season. We live within 30 minutes of quite a few fields and you can buy relatively cheap "lawn" tickets for games. Absolutely perfect for families with little ones who could care less about the game, but love picnics! So, we went to two games in March, both on beautiful, 75 degree and sunny days. I'm sure I won't appreciate that same sun in about a month, but for right now, it's lovely to live in Phoenix!

I love baby feet pictures, don't you?

Adeline is into making silly faces for the camera these days. We are sitting at about right-center field cheering on the Cubs!

I can't decide if this picture is cool or a little scary.

This picture cracks Jeff up. Adeline was trying so hard to get Baba to read the sign to her, and he just wanted to take a picture of her breaking the rules.

Again, silly face!

Swinging!

2009-03-21T23:11:00.003-07:00

Yes, I know I haven't posted pictures in a LONG time. For the three of you who check in periodically, so sorry about that. I will give you two of my main excuses - 1. Our computer broke. Well, it is still usable but I have to hold the screen upright with one hand and type with the other if I want to use it - not easy to do. 2. Our lovely 3 year old decided to "drop" our camera on the hard tile floor. We finally broke down and bought another one, but we were without a camera for a while.

Anyway, we had a little picnic at a local park tonight and I really wanted to share a picture of the girls! Hopefully, I'll start blogging again soon, but I've said that before... Maybe if I get a bunch of comments (and a new computer), it will motivate me to update more! (I know, shameless!)

Not Me! Monday

2009-02-23T15:27:00.003-07:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

Yes, I realize that I am months behind in pictures for the blog, but this is more fun for me... So, here it goes...

Jeff and I did not go to the dentist last week for the first time in... umm.... 5 years! And, we certainly have not been back multiple times over the past week because, well... we haven't been in 5 years!

On that note, I would never, ever put Adeline to bed without brushing her teeth because I knew if I took 2 more minutes to put her down, I would miss the first few minutes of Grey's Anatomy. (Don't worry, I really did brush them the next morning!)

And, because I am not addicted to any TV shows other than Grey's, I did not spend 28 minutes of precious nap time watching Reality Steve this week talk about what may or may not happen on the Bachelor. (I'm not even going to link him, I don't want to be a bad influence and encourage you in any way to waste your 28 minutes as well.)

As we were pulling out of our driveway yesterday to go to church, Jeff and I most certainly did not hear Adeline say "But you forgot to buckle me in!" We are such responsible parents, we would never, ever forget something like that. (And, no, I'm not going to tell you which parent forgot!)

I did not spend $6 at Costco this week buying the book Twilight just because I have heard so many people talk about the series. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to like it, but I was just too curious to put it back down.

I did not spend almost 3 hours talking to my great friend, Amie, this week and I absolutely do not miss her a whole bunch!!!

And, finally, I did not take my little girl to the dance shop this week and buy her her first ballet shoes and leotard for ballet class I enrolled her in. (First class this Wednesday - I promise to post pictures! It should be interesting.)

The dreaded doctor's office

2009-02-07T16:22:00.005-07:00

The day was upon me... Monday I had to take both girls to the doctor - Adeline for her 3 year well visit and Lylah for a follow-up visit for an ear infection and a flu shot. I knew that Adeline would probably have to get at least one shot as well, so I was not looking forward to this appointment in the least! Which takes me back to the last time this scenario occurred...

About 4 months ago, I took Lylah in for her 3 month well visit, which of course included a number of immunizations. Now, I hate to see my babies upset, but I don't freak out when they cry after getting a shot. I know it hurts them, but I know it is for their own good. So, I comfort them as best I can and before we can even get all their clothes back on, they are fine - like it didn't even happen. However, I should not have expected my 3 year old to react the same way.

To put it in perspective, Adeline HATES it when Lylah cries! Sometimes she yells at her to stop, sometimes she tries to cover her mouth, and then there are the sweet moments when she will sing a song for her or give her a toy to attempt to calm her down.

Back to the doctor... Adeline was sitting quietly in a chair, eating ~~an extremely healthy and nutritious snack~~ pretzels and being the sweet, obedient, little girl that she is! I thought to myself, "okay, Adeline is fine so I can comfort Lylah when this onslaught of shots begins." As the sweet, unsuspecting nurse gave Lylah her first of four shots, Lylah cried out in pain (who wouldn't?). I stroked her arm and kept telling her that it was okay and it would be over soon. BUT, before I knew it, I hear Adeline yelling "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" as she proceeds to jump down from her chair and head for the exam table. At that point I realize that Adeline needs to be soothed and calmed down much more than Lylah needs me stroking her arm. So, I walk around the nurse to get to Adeline and not a moment too soon because my lovely, obedient, patient and calm 3 year old is attempting to claw her way onto the table so she can swipe the remaining needles away from the nurse (who was a little surprised at the whole ordeal). The gesture was sweet, but it was a little crazy for a few moments as I tried to console Adeline and watched from across the room as Lylah screamed with each additional prick to her little, chubby legs. The entire episode only lasted a few moments, but I do not wish to relive those moments ever again.

Which brings me back to this week. Not only am I taking both girls back to the doctor, but this time, I'm pretty sure Adeline will have to get a shot as well. What a difference a year makes! 2 year olds may have an idea of what is coming, but you can kind of talk around the whole shot thing until that precise moment is upon you. And then, it's over before they know it and a sucker or a sticker makes it all better. A 3 year old, however, is not so easily distracted. As soon as we walk into the office, she knows what is about to happen and I notice her increased breathing and little hands shaking a little bit with nervousness. Poor girl! However, things went remarkably smooth! Adeline got her shot first, cried for less than a minute and was fine. Lylah got hers, cried for just a few minutes and was fine. The nurse came in with bracelets and suckers for Adeline and a little plastic octopus for Lylah and all was right with the world. Crisis averted! But, next year, I am scheduling the appointment so Jeff can at least come along. He shouldn't have to miss out on all of these wonderful memories!

On a different doctor's office note - what would you do in this situation?

For some reason, our doctor was extremely busy this week and so we had to wait an unusually long time in the waiting room. This waiting room is small, but it is still split in 2 different sections, one for healthy kids and one for the sick. We are sitting in the healthy section, enjoying a little Sleeping Beauty on the TV screens hung on the wall and 2 little boys come in with... well, I think she might have been the grandmother. They were about 4 and 6 years old and were instantly taken with Lylah. As the grandmother signed them in at the front desk, they immediately plopped down in front of Lylah's car seat and proceeded to touch her toys, pull her pacifier out of her mouth and hold her hands. I was so uncomfortable with this and was trying nicely to ask the boys not to touch her toys or her hands or her face. I'm thinking "does this lady not see what her boys are doing?" She finally turned around and told the boys to give the baby some space. What does that mean? In their little minds, it just meant to back up about 2 inches. Anyway, this continued even as the grandmother came and sat down (practically in my lap, I might add. Apparently, their definition of personal space is much different than our family's). The kicker was as soon as the grandmother sat down, she pulled out a tissue from her pocket, held it up to the older boy's nose and said "blow"! WHAT?!?!?!? Are you kidding me? I think I even laughed out loud a little bit because I could not believe what was happening. I just wanted to scream "get your sick kids away from my baby!!!!" But, I didn't. Should I have said more? What would you do?

By the way, I have never been so happy to see someone who came in after me get called back to see the doctor first.

Not Me! Monday

2009-02-01T22:43:00.006-07:00

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

I did not spend way too much time this week working on TAXES! And it's not even April yet. Ughhhh!

I absolutely love cutting my girls' fingernails, so I most certainly did not avoid cutting Lylah's nails, even though I knew they were getting long. And, I did not wake up the next morning to see a big scratch across her cheek due to the fingernails that I did not put off trimming. I would never do that, I'm super mom!

I did not absolutely freak out because Adeline accidentally let one of her birthday balloons loose in the backyard and I was not ultra-paranoid that some poor animal or child would find said balloon and choke itself. I am not a paranoid person at all and I never conjure up crazy, irrational scenarios in my head.

Even though I haven't bought diapers for Adeline for at least six months, I did not completely forget which child I was buying diapers for and buy size 4s for Lylah. This did not happen four days ago and Lylah is definitely not still wearing size 4 diapers even though they are way too big.

Speaking of Lylah, I did not bring out the high chair this week and she did not get to try lots of new solid foods. Not my baby, she cannot be 7 months old already!

I know that I am probably the only person who would ever do this, but I most certainly did not eat an entire bag of peanut butter m&ms this week! And, of course, I offered the m&ms to everyone in my family, I would never think about hoarding an entire bag! Not me!

On a fun note, I did not go shopping this weekend and would have never even considered buying a cute, new coat and boots for myself. And, it does not make me sad at all that we live in the stinkin' desert where I can't even enjoy my cute, new coat because it cannot already be in the 80's outside!

A friend of ours offered to take some family pictures for us this week! I was not excited at all about the potential of free pictures and I definitely did not go out and make sure we all had outfits that matched. Unfortunately, the photo shoot cannot be summarized perfectly by this...

And, finally... I did not celebrate my baby girl's 3rd birthday this week! There is no way she can be that old!!!!!

Adeline is 3 - Part 3

2009-01-31T23:26:00.008-07:00

Day one of Adeline's birthday weekend:

We went to the "bounce place"!! This is, by far, Adeline's favorite place to go so we invited her friends, Isaac and Dallas and spent Friday morning bouncing away. It was perfect, we were the only ones in the entire room so we had all the inflatables to ourselves! The kids loved it!

The first time we went to Bounce U, we had to help Adeline climb up everything and go with her down the big slides. This time - she was all on her own!

I shouldn't admit this, but I totally started crying watching Adeline climb up these stairs with her little mat in her hand. It was just hitting me hard that she is growing up so fast. I also cried singing happy birthday to her on the morning of her birthday. I'm such a girl!

They had a TV on in the snack room and the kids did not take their eyes off of it.

Lylah, as usual, just hanging out. You know we have babies that spit up A LOT, so where the baby is, there is always a cloth diaper in hand, or in the car as the case may be.

Cute kiddos!

I love sweet Isaac's face in this picture (on the left)!
"Can I cut in??"

Adeline is 3 - Part 2

2009-01-25T23:10:00.007-07:00

It's hard to believe that 3 years ago tonight was our last evening as a couple without kids. We were in Istanbul, in our apartment in Gayrettepe, celebrating our friend, Rebecca's birthday along with the Johnsons, Lindsey and Heather. We were cooking chinese food and the gas in our oven ran out and we weren't able to get more because it had been snowing for days and the neighborhood roads were not in the best condition. So, somehow, we finished cooking dinner and played games for the rest of the evening. I made plans to have lunch with Lindsey and Heather the next day and Billy helped Jeff move some of our furniture around in the bedrooms. The roads were horrible and I was so worried about everyone driving home down and up the huge hills in our neighborhood. I sent a happy birthday email to my dad (his birthday is on the 25th) and we finally got to bed about 2am.

The very last thing I said to Jeff before we went to sleep that night was "I don't see how this baby could get any lower!". Little did I know, she was about to make it known that she was ready to join us on the outside.

Three hours later, I woke up with contractions which I thought were Braxton Hicks, but when the third one came along and all 3 were in a 10 minute period, I knew this was the real thing. I woke Jeff and told him I thought it was time and we immediately went to the window to see if the snow had stopped. It was still coming down and the roads were covered. Thoughts of having the baby in our apartment flooded my mind and I was pretty much freaking out. I remember standing at the window, and praying with Jeff, asking the Lord to take care of us and somehow make it so that we would be able to get to the hospital to have this baby.

I waited until 7:30am to call my doctor hoping I would not wake her up. She answered the phone in a groggy voice (oops!) and asked me to meet her at her office. Well, our car was under about a foot of snow so we called our wonderful friends, the Byrds (who, remember, were at our house just 7 hours earlier) because they had snow chains for their car. Scott was so wonderful to pick us up and take us to the doctor's office and then again, he came and picked us up and drove us all the way to the hospital (which was about 30 minutes away).

If you have ever experienced a taxi ride in Istanbul, you will probably understand why we chose not to "taxi it" to the hospital. Contractions every 3 minutes, snow everywhere... not a time to hop in a taxi!

From then on out, everything that happened that day was smooth sailing. Arrived at the hospital, got checked in to a great room overlooking the Marmara Sea, endured contractions for a few more hours, received an epidural that worked wonders in about 5 minutes, was rolled into the delivery room at 5pm, and our beautiful daughter, Adeline Marie joined us at 5:25pm.

She was so tiny.

She was so beautiful.

I just wanted to hear her cry.

When I heard that sweet sound I was so relieved and happy and proud and in love!

Everything after that moment is a bit of a blur. Everything after that moment has changed my life in ways that I didn't even know were possible.

I was so terrified to have a child... to endure pregnancy, to go through childbirth, to change a newborn's diaper, to never sleep again! If only I knew then what I learned at 5:25pm that Thursday evening.

Adeline is 3 - Part 1

2009-01-23T21:41:00.005-07:00

In honor of Adeline's 3rd birthday on Monday, I thought I would devote a few posts to our sweet little girl (one of them). She says some funny and clever stuff, although, most of the time I completely forget to write it down and inevitably forget what was said. But, for your reading pleasure, here are two of her classics!

The other day I could hear Jeff and Adeline playing with Lylah in her room. Many of you already know this, but Jeff loves to speak Turkish! We've been in the states for over a year and a half, but he still speaks Turkish almost every day (even if no one knows what he is saying or we just respond in English). So, this morning, Jeff was on a Turkish kick and would not speak English to Adeline, only Turkish. Adeline knows a few Turkish words and phrases, but Jeff kept asking her question after question in Turkish. So, the conversation goes...

J: Ne haber, Adeline? Ne yapiyorsun? etc...
A: No, Baba.... No, Baba!
J: Adeline, I'm just speaking Turkish to you.
A: No, Baba. Don't speak Turkish, speak clearly!

Tonight, Jeff and Adeline read the story of Zachaeus in her Bible and he taught her a little song to go with the story. I was in the other room feeding Lylah and she came to tell me good night and sing the song to me. It went a little like this:

Zachaeus was a wee little man, a wee little man was he.
He climbed up in a sycamore tree, for the Lord he wanted to see.
And, when Jesus passed that way, he looked up in the tree.
And he said, "Ikea, come down!"

Then she started cracking up at herself...

Ikea??? Not Ikea! That's that place where we go and buy stuff and eat dinner.

And she continued...

And he said, "Zachaeus, come down! For I'm going to your house today"

What kind of elbow??

2009-01-20T14:32:00.006-07:00

So, as we are closing in on Adeline's 3rd birthday (I can't even believe I am typing that!), I realized that I haven't shared with you our Thanksgiving weekend experience. I learned a lot that weekend and you never know, those of you with little ones might be in my shoes sometime down the road as well. So, this is the story...

We spent Thanksgiving afternoon with some friends, and got home around 5pm that evening. Adeline hadn't had a nap all day and if you know her, you know she is a sleeper and NEEDS those naps! So, I was about to make us something light for dinner and I put in her Care Bears Excercise DVD. It's just a little 10 minute excercise routine that the Care Bears do, and she loves joining them in their workout. Jeff walks in the room and Adeline asks if he will dance with her (there is a little dance routine at the end). So, they are spinning around the room, dancing and I hear Adeline fall down. Now, again, if you know anything about Adeline, you know that she isn't the most coordinated little girl and she falls ALL THE TIME. She didn't fall particularly hard and Jeff was holding her arms as she landed, so we didn't think anything about it until she started crying... and didn't stop.

She cried and cried for almost an hour as we asked her where it hurt, put some ice on it, offered her anything she wanted to see if she would stop crying (***See the bottom of this post for a funny story***). Finally, she fell asleep in my lap (which she never, ever does) as she was so exhausted from the long day. Well, we put her to bed, but about 3 hours later, she woke up crying and holding her arm. We knew that something was really wrong and debated taking her to Urgent Care or the Emergency Room. I decided Urgent Care, a b-a-d decision. We took her (and sweet Lylah, she just hung out in her car seat all evening) to a nearby Pediatric Urgent Care and walked right in to see the doctor, there were no other patients. The nurse took Adeline's stats and when we explained to her what happened, the first thing she said was Nursemaid's Elbow. We had never heard this term before, but we just continued on, talking with the doctor (who barely spoke English), getting some excruciating x-rays taken and waiting... The doctor came in and told us that there was possibly a hairline fracture in her forearm so they were going to splint it and give us the x-rays to take to our pediatrician to look over. They splinted her arm twice (the doctor really couldn't decide what was wrong, it was very obvious) and we were finally on our way home...

Such a big, strong girl!

Adeline was such a trooper and the next day she was definitely in pain, but as long as her arm was in a sling she seemed okay. But, every time we moved her arm at all, she cringed and we could tell she was not faking it. We looked up Nursemaid's Elbow online (what in the world did we do before the internet?) and it seemed to us, this is exactly what had happened to Adeline. When she fell, Jeff held onto her arm to "cushion" her fall (wouldn't any parent do the same?) and it dislocated her elbow joint. We decided to take her to a pediatric emergency room (remember, it's Thanksgiving weekend, the pediatrician's office was closed until Monday). Lesson #1 - NEVER, EVER go to Urgent Care again, go straight to the Emergency Room!

We went right in, and the doctor agreed that it was probably Nursemaid's Elbow but needed to take x-rays just to double check that it wasn't, in fact, fractured. Poor Adeline had to endure more x-rays and when they came back the doctor took her arm and "popped" the elbow back in place. (It was never fractured!) It literally took one second and within one minute she was completely fine, like nothing had ever happened.

Oh, the guilt!!!

I couldn't believe that my little girl had endured this pain for more than 24 hours and that was all we needed to do - pop it back in place. I don't know how to fix it myself, but I plan on learning so we will be prepared (just in case). Lesson #2 - be very careful of the girls' arms, especially between the ages of 1 and 4.

I know we have all done it, walking along, dad holding one arm, mom holding the other and... "1...2...3...weeeeeee" swing our little one alongside of us. DON'T DO IT! I know it's fun, but apparently, this pretty commonly results in Nursemaid's Elbow. I have seen parents doing this since then, but I restrain myself from saying something. What a party pooper I would sound like to some stranger!

I joke that poor Adeline, the first child, has to endure all of our first-time parenting mistakes. Hopefully Lylah will have it a little easier!

We took Adeline out on Saturday morning for a special breakfast of Dunkin' Donuts! She definitely deserved a treat for a rough two days.

Orange frosting and sprinkles - yummy!

***This is the best part of the story... As we were trying to console Adeline we were offering her milk, crackers, even candy to see if it would make her feel better. At one point, Jeff said "Adeline, would you like some chocolate? That might make your arm feel better." Adeline stopped crying for a few seconds, looked at Jeff with a very confused expression and said "Baba, why would I want to put chocolate on my arm? That wouldn't make it feel better. That would be very, very, very messy!" You are right, sweet girl! What a silly thing to say!***

Two Freebies

2009-01-19T10:15:00.002-07:00

Two freebies that I am definitely taking part in this week, so I thought some of you might want to check them out as well...

Krispy Kreme is giving out one free doughnut tomorrow, Tuesday, January 20th in honor of Inauguration Day. Check with your local KK to make sure they are participating.

Two years of Parents magazine for free! It doesn't look like there is a catch, the website says "no strings attached". I have heard of many people who have vowed to "never pay for magazine subscriptions again" so I'm pretty sure this is legit.

Disneyland Day 1

2009-01-14T22:22:00.003-07:00

Finally, some pictures from our trip to Disneyland! We went the week before Christmas and stayed at a hotel about 4 minutes from the parks. The weather forecast was crazy for that week - rain and very cold temperatures (even some snow) in Anaheim, CA - definitely not the norm. I was pretty nervous about it raining all week, but it ended up working out and we really did get to see everything we wanted to in the 3 days we were at the park. We even got to go on some rides twice, I think the longest line we waited in was about 10 minutes. Of course, since it was just the four of us, we didn't go on every ride or see all the shows, but really had a great, great time! We joke that we can tell if Adeline really likes something if she reenacts it later. We hit the jackpot buying tickets to Disneyland, because we "go" there EVERY single day!

I decided to go ahead and post a slideshow of Day 1 pictures. One, because I am tired and I am going to go watch an hour of 24 with my hubby. Two, I'm the type of person that doesn't want to look at 100 pictures at one time on someone's blog, so I decided to break it up and at the same time make the grandparents happy! Enjoy!!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Not Me! Monday

2009-01-12T14:12:00.004-07:00

I'm sure some of you ladies will understand when I tell you that there are a few (just a few) blogs that I read daily, even though I have no clue who they really belong to. One of my absolute favorites is MckMama's blog about her "charming kids" (4 under the age of 4!!!) and her Prince Charming of a husband. I have prayed for her and her little baby, Stellan many nights and it is just a really fun read!

So, in honor of MckMama, here is my first attempt at Not Me! Monday. In her own words, "Not Me! Monday was born out of a desire to admit some of our imperfections and reveal a few moments we'd rather forget.   Why? Well, for one, because it's just plain fun to pretend that we really did not do the things that we actually so did do. And, two, because reading through great tales of other people's Not Me! Mondays each week is a great way to level the playing field. We're all human, we all take embarrassing shortcuts, and so we may as well show each other that we're all in good company!"

First and foremost, I do not have anything else to be doing right now as I spend the girls' naptime blogging!

I was not excited at all this week for The Bachelor and 24 to start back up and I definitely did not tape both of them to ensure I wouldn't miss a second. (I also did not just use the word "tape" as a verb because I am a child of the 80's and 90's and haven't adjusted to using the acronym DV-R as a verb!)

I did not cry my eyes out watching this video and proceed to pray hard for Angie and a few friends who have experienced this tremendous loss over the past few years.

I most certainly did not consider attending my first MOPS meeting last week, and then did not chicken out at the last minute because I wasn't too excited about walking into a building full of ladies I don't know and leaving my kids with people I've never met. Not me!

Does anyone else have this problem? I am not losing all of my hair due to crazy post-baby hormones! This did not happen after having A as well, but this time it seems much, much worse.

I did not let L experience the sippy cup for the first time this week, and did not get sad at all because she is growing up too fast!!!

Along those lines, I did not have my husband get up and give L her paci back at 7:30am one morning (okay... multiple mornings) because I wanted to sleep a little bit longer! And, I did not get just a little bit jealous that L is saying "Baba" all the time and "Mama" is nowhere in sight! (Yes, I realize she doesn't know what she is saying, but she will soon!)

And, finally, J and I did not watch The Net 2.0 this weekend and I did not miss Istanbul at all and even wonder, "why did we leave again??"!!! Nope, not me!!!

Christmas 2008

2008-12-26T21:53:00.004-07:00

Obviously, I am way behind in posting. I decided to work my way backwards with pictures, so here are some pix from Christmas Eve and Day. We have had a pretty low-key week with Jeff being sick and the girls starting to feel bad as well. So, hopefully I'll have some time to get up-to-date with the blog. Enjoy! (Click on the slide show if you want to read the captions in their entirety. Otherwise, just hit play.)

BubbleShare: Share photos - Play some Online Games.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-24T22:49:00.003-07:00

Go to THIS blog THIS weekend!

2008-12-12T23:00:00.004-07:00

One of the blogs I ~~stalk~~ read is the story of an amazing mom and her four beautiful kids. I won't tell you all about them because she is such a great writer, you should just check out her blog for yourselves. She is hosting an amazing giveaway that ends this weekend. I would love to win the grand prize, but ultimately, the giveaway is to raise awareness and money for three charities that are near and dear to her heart (for obvious reasons - check the blog out!). Click here (or on the Rebel ~~Without~~ For a Cause button on the right) THIS WEEKEND! I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I do.

Jeff's Story

2008-12-03T14:44:00.001-07:00

From the Arizona State University weekly publication... Check it out.

Family Night - USMC

2008-11-10T20:53:00.009-07:00

I really don't stalk too many blogs of people I don't know, but there is one that I read periodically b/c I enjoy reading about her family nights. Weekly, she comes up with an idea and the entire evening revolves around this theme - anything from Cowboy Night to Turtle Night. Another friend has started doing family nights as well - they are always so fun to read about. Anyway, I have thought about starting this tradition in our home for a while, but figured that Adeline was a little too young to appreciate it. Well, I decided that I would make an attempt and see how things would turn out. It definitely wasn't perfect, but we made memories :)

Today, November 10th, is the United States Marine Corps birthday. Most of you know that Jeff was in the Marine Reserves for 6 years and back in the day, before we were married, we went to the Marine Corps Ball (the celebration of the Corps Birthday). So, I thought that Jeff would appreciate a Marine Corps Ball themed evening. Adeline and I got up in the morning and went to the party store to get a few balloons and a blow up sword. I explained to her that it was a surprise for Baba, but as soon as we got home, Adeline said "Baba, we went to the party store and got balloons for tonight!" Anyway, the day went okay, except I completely ran out of time getting everything ready before Jeff got home from work (no excuses, but the yard man did come today and I spent a good part of the afternoon outside with him - didn't plan on that one). So, I didn't even have time to put make-up on or dry my hair (not very ball-like), but I don't think Jeff even noticed. He knew we were having some sort of party, but he was pretty surprised when Adeline went and knocked on our bedroom door and he opened to her saying "Baba, would you like to be my date to the Marine Corps Ball?" I tried to get her to call him Sergeant Smith, but she kept saying "Sergeant Jeff" instead - too cute. Overall, the evening was a semi-success, but I'm still debating on whether Family Nights will continue or if we should postpone a few months. We'll see how much Adeline talks about it tomorrow - that will tell me whether she really enjoyed it or not.

Walking under the sword (usually crossed swords).

Lylah, completely content to hang out while we ate dinner.

Dancing at the Ball with Baba.

Mama and Lylah doin a little dancing, too.

The spread. I even busted out the wedding china (which had NEVER been opened). It was a simple meal, but one of Jeff's faves. Also, a VERY simple cake sporting the words Semper Fi. We made little "plaques" with the three Corps values: Honor, Commitment and Courage.

Sergeant Smith standing at attention during the playing of the Marine Corps Hymn. He cracks us up, but we love our Marine (once a Marine, always a Marine - don't you know?)!!

4 months old

2008-11-08T22:33:00.007-07:00

Our sweet baby Lylah is 4 months old! I remember time flying with Adeline, but it feels like we were just going to the hospital to have Lylah last week! The fact that she is so "healthy" and growing so fast makes it even harder for me - the girl goes through clothes in about 2 weeks! It always makes me a little sad when I have to put away the newborn, 3 month and even 6 month clothes b/c she has outgrown them. She is still 95% in weight (16 lbs) . She is the happiest baby and cracks up at us all the time. Did I mention how sweet she is?

Sweet girl, always smiling! I love going into her room after her naps or in the morning when she wakes up, she is always so happy to see me!

Aunt Jill came and visited from Michigan and got a little snuggle time.

Lylah is all of the sudden loving the paci! Maybe she is worried about someone coming in and swiping it from her while she's sleeping.

I love watching her using her hands more and more. She is always grabbing something or chewing on them!

Halloween Week

2008-11-01T22:43:00.016-07:00

We had a great week of fall activities. Lots of costumes, candy and fun! Unfortunately, the weather is still ridiculously hot (in the 90's during the day), so it doesn't feel like fall at all. So is life in Phoenix.

Boo at the Zoo! Adeline dressed up in her Minnie Mouse costume from last year.

It's hard to see in this picture, but they gave the animals pumpkins throughout the day as a treat. The tortoises enjoyed it, as well as the lettuce.

We thought it was funny that Adeline wanted to keep her gloves on the entire day. And, it was HOT outside - at least 95!

We went to a pumpkin patch and enjoyed a hay ride, picking out a pumpkin, a picnic and a bounce house.

We made pumpkin and cat shaped pancakes for breakfast a few times this week.

Adeline decorated her pumpkin (and Lylah) with foam stickers - it really turned out cute.

Didn't Jeff do a great job carving the pumpkin? He even won the pumpkin carving contest at the block party we went to on Halloween night. Adeline was a little bit scared of it, she stayed at least three feet away from it at all times.

Mama and her sweet "little pumpkin".

This is how we spent most of the evening. We went trick-or-treating with some friends and Adeline walked so slow that by the time she got to the door, the rest of the kids were about two houses away. I think we only went to about 10 houses and then she was done.

Nun giving out candy.

Here's a picture of the front of Adeline in her chicken costume.

Saturday, we went to a fall festival at a local church. Adeline is showing off her kitty cat. Isaac has one too!

We didn't leave Lylah out, she got a little "foot-painting". So cute!

Another blog??

2008-10-12T13:58:00.002-07:00

So, I have started my own "personal" blog here. Just wanted a place to write stuff down and I felt like this blog has kinda become the picture blog. We'll see how long it lasts! Maybe one day I'll think of something clever to write about. Enjoy!

September

2008-09-25T20:34:00.007-07:00

Grammy, Granddaddy and Grandmother came for a visit this month. We went to a really great Children's Museum in Phoenix.

We also walked around Old Town Scottsdale, despite the temperatures in the 100's.

What a treat to have two Turkish friends stay with us this month. One of the girls was an English student of Jeff's in Istanbul and they were traveling around the U.S. after a summer of working in Wisconsin. As you can see, Adeline loved having the girls here and she is speaking more Turkish than ever these days!

I just can't get enough of her grins and smiles! We are celebrating her 3 month birthday tomorrow! Time is going by too fast...

She's how old?

2008-08-29T23:36:00.003-07:00

We can hardly believe that little Lylah is two months old! However, most people don't believe us... I cannot tell you how many times I have had this conversation:

Random stranger/friend/acquaintance: "How old is she now?"

Me: "2 months"

Other person: "That's all? She is so big/huge!"

When people would make comments about Adeline's size I would get so offended. I would think to myself, "She's not fat and I really don't appreciate your comments." I never said that, but it really hurt my feelings. This time around, I love it. I love that Lylah is growing and eating well and is happy! I am so proud of our "little" girl. Her stats at two months:

12.1 pounds (95th percentile)
24 inches (95th percentile)

Her head circumference was only in the 75th percentile and the doctor actually said "We'll keep an eye on that." Yeah, because there is obviously something to be concerned about, the 75th percentile is so small (note the sarcasm here)!

California Trip

2008-08-22T23:38:00.006-07:00

On August 1, our friend Ally got married in Beaumont, CA. It's only about a 5 hour drive from Phoenix, so I decided to make the road trip with Lindsey and Elizabeth and her two kids. Bailey was the flower girl and absolutely adorable. Anyway, it was definitely an adventure and we aren't sure we would do it again without the husbands. Nothing too traumatic happened, there were a few minor injuries (mostly happening to Adeline), a flat tire, some pretty nasty dining experiences and 4 car seats in one vehicle! However, the wedding was absolutely beautiful and we had a mini-reunion of quite a few people from our time in Turkey. I don't need to say much more other than I think we were a little crazy for doing it, but we did have a good time and have many memories to take away. A BIG thanks to Lindsey and Callie for helping us out with the kids - we are very grateful!

Adeline sleeping in her own BIG bed at the hotel.

Elizabeth and sweet Jesse.

One of the few pictures I have with both of my girls!

The beautiful bride, Mrs. Allyson Wilhite.

Three sweet friends from Turkey!

Our big girl

2008-08-19T14:47:00.003-07:00

Adeline is now 2 1/2 and as always, keeps us laughing, learning and loving (that alliteration was for you, Baba). The pictures below are from kid's night at Chick-Fil-A. We stood in line for about 30 minutes to get her face painted and by the time we were #2 in line, she said she didn't want to get it done anymore. WHAT? I told her that we needed to at least try it to see if she would like it, and of course, she loved it. She sat so still the entire time, and while I thought the lady was going to put a little, simple, pink butterfly on Adeline's cheek, this is what we got! Adeline was so proud of it and couldn't wait to get home to show it to Baba. She is growing up so quickly... Here are a few things she is doing these days:

She has always been interested in reading and she still loves "reading" books with us. Her favorite right now is The Jesus Storybook Bible that she will bring to us and ask us to read the next chapter to "find out what happens next". Thanks, Lindsey, for the GREAT gift!
She knows all of her letters and will [usually] sing the ABC song for you. For most of the letters, she knows at least a word or two that begin with that letter. A funny thing about that, we tend to spell words when she is around if we don't want her to hear them (i.e., playground, ice cream, cookie). Well, she now knows how to spell zoo and pool, so I guess we will have to come up with code words!
She can count to 20, although lately she has been skipping 14-18 :)
She still likes things neat and clean - she takes pride in cleaning off the table if her food spills or cleaning up her toys in her room.
Potty training is getting better and better! We aren't 100% there yet, but it will happen.
She is quite the cautious one, and definitely takes her time walking. We are working on being "faster". I thought she would be scared of swimming, but she will jump right in a pool and "swim" around in her floaties.
She is a great eater and will try just about anything! (If you had told me that she would eat so well about a year ago I would have NEVER believed you!) Her favorite foods are rice, beans and graham crackers.
And, just like her little sister, she is such a great sister. HE has surely blessed us with two amazing little girls!

LP

2008-08-17T21:27:00.004-07:00

Our dear friend Lindsey came and hung out with us for a week in July. Her visit consisted of a lot of playing with the girls, some good conversations, a few trips to the store (I know, it was VERY exciting) and the highlight of the week was the discovery of a scorpion in Lylah's bedroom. Nice, huh? Fortunately, Lindsey killed it (before she realized what it was) and it didn't sting anyone. Unfortunately, they can be a little dangerous, so we have been very watchful and thankfully, haven't seen anymore. Thanks, LP, for spending time with us, we loved it and we love you!

Any resemblance?

Jeff made us some great homemade pizza and Adeline was quite the helper!

Are we sisters, or what?

2008-08-10T23:33:00.002-07:00

Most of the time, we can't really tell who Lylah resembles. When she was first born, we definitely didn't think she looked anything like Adeline except for maybe a few facial features. What do you think now? Both of these pictures were taken at 6 weeks old.

One month old

2008-08-10T23:13:00.002-07:00

We cannot believe how fast Lylah is growing up! She turned one month old on July 27th. A few things about Lylah's first month of life:

She is a great eater and sleeper! I feel spoiled by how much sleep I get :)
She has started smiling and cooing - so cute!
She loves to lay on her back after she eats - this is when she smiles the most!
She really doesn't fuss too much, unless she is hungry or needs a new diaper.
I'm not really sure of her stats as of one month (we don't go to the doctor again until she is 2 months old), but she is definitely gaining weight and is wearing 0-3 month clothes now.
She is a great little sister, and is pretty resilient considering how much her big sister enjoys "loving" on her.

The Sears

2008-08-10T22:57:00.003-07:00

Our dear friends, the Sears, took a road trip up the west coast and were so sweet to make a stop in Phoenix for a couple of days to hang out with us. They were like family to us in Turkey, so we really enjoyed just living life with them here on this side of the ocean. I could go on and on about how great this family is - the Lord has used them over and over to bless us beyond measure!

Grandma's visit

2008-08-10T22:37:00.006-07:00

I know I am so behind in posts - so much has happened over the past month. We have had a lot of visitors and a little bit of traveling, so I am trying to catch up this week with pictures of our adventures!

Grandma came for a visit in July to meet her new grandbaby and spends LOTS of time playing with Adeline. Adeline absolutely loved it, especially all of the "prizes" Grandma brought along. I'm pretty sure they averaged two tea parties every day while she was here.

We celebrated Jeff's birthday in July complete with CARS hats, balloons and cupcakes. Adeline insists that in order for it to be a party, balloons and cupcakes are a must!

Classic Adeline, she is tired of smiling for the camera!

Sweet, sweet sleeping baby.

For the grandparents (and maybe a few others)...

2008-08-06T22:15:00.003-07:00

Things have been so busy lately. We have had many visitors and even a trip to California! We will update the blog soon, promise! Until then, here's a picture of the girls for the grandparents!! (In this picture, Adeline is 2 1/2 and Lylah is 1 month.)

Happy 4th!

2008-07-05T10:55:00.004-07:00

Does this picture even need a caption?

Just being cute and patriotic!

Addy and Baba enjoying popsicles in the backyard.

Adeline wanted to play in the sprinklers!

Lylah and the fam

2008-07-01T20:13:00.005-07:00

Adeline has been a wonderful big sister! She loves sharing her toys with "little baby lylah" and doesn't like it at all if she is crying.

To our surprise, our dog, Lexi, has been the most affected by Lylah coming home. She CONSTANTLY follows us around and wherever Lylah goes, so does she. She even growled at me today b/c Lylah was fussing a little when I changed her diaper. Quite the protective one!

Tea Party - complete with Mickey, Elmo, Adeline, Baba, baby Lylah and of course, Lexi watching Lylah like a hawk!

Adeline insisted that Lylah wanted to talk on the phone. I wonder who they were calling??

Welcome, Lylah

2008-06-29T10:12:00.002-07:00

Lylah Grace Smith
Born Friday, June 27, 2008 8:37am
7 lbs. 3 oz., 20 inches

More pictures to come. Until then, you can go here and sign the little baby book!

Look at me!

2008-05-27T13:55:00.003-07:00

My doctor ordered an ultrasound last week to measure the baby and make sure that she isn't breech anymore, so we were blessed to be able to get a peak at our little girl this morning (even in 3-D)! Everything measured perfectly and she is head down - yea!!! Her hand was covering her face almost the entire time, but you can see her cute little nose and lips pretty clearly in this picture - she looks a lot like Adeline! The tech even showed us a little bit of hair on her head! We are so excited to be able to meet this little one in about a month!

Baby Update

2008-05-22T20:05:00.006-07:00

Baby Smith seems to be doing well, moving around a lot, experiencing lots of hiccups and making sure mom doesn't forget that she is still in there! We are going to have an ultrasound next week, so we are looking forward to seeing new pictures and just making sure that she is measuring where she should be. Adeline is excited about her baby sister and will tell you that the baby is coming in "two months" (hopefully less than that!). That's about all for now! We'll keep you posted!

Mom and baby at 34 weeks.

Some sweet friends at church threw a baby shower for us (and two other couples) last weekend. Here is Jeff participating in fun shower games by drinking apple juice out of a baby bottle. Apparently, it's not very easy to do. Adeline was a little confused as to why Baba was drinking out of a bottle???

The best $8 we've ever spent!

2008-05-17T21:04:00.001-07:00

Krispy Kreme has come to Phoenix!

2008-05-17T21:00:00.001-07:00

Flashback to the 80's

2008-05-10T15:42:00.003-07:00

Come on, you know this is funny! I recently saw some pictures of myself at age 2, and my hair was exactly the same, mullet and all! And yes, I refuse to cut it.

April

2008-05-10T14:41:00.009-07:00

A LOT has happened since our last post. Easter, I turned 30, Jeff and I celebrated being married 7 years, potty training, we traveled within Arizona a little and also to Michigan, attended a few graduation parties and little baby Smith is now 32 weeks old and very active in my belly. Enjoy the pix!

Waiting for Baba to get home from work.

One of our favorite outdoor activities these days is playing in the water in the backyard. When it's already 95 degrees outside in April, you have to find fun ways to cool off!

While we were in Michigan, we visited a church where the kids were playing handbells during the service. My aunt insisted Adeline would do fine, so she went up to the front of the church and played with the other kids. It was hilarious and so sweet to watch!

Adeline and her sweet baby cousin, Olivia. It was such a blessing to see Adeline interact with Olivia, she loves her so much and it is definitely confirmation that she is going to be a wonderful big sister.

We drove up to Flagstaff for a night and on the way back took the scenic route through Sedona. I have to admit, that I don't really get it - it's just a bunch of big red rocks. But, I know that millions of people come here to see it, so I guess I'm the weird one.

Adeline and Isaac hanging out at the park.

Adeline loves our trips to the zoo and she was really excited about this snake! Yuck!

Easter 2008

About me

2008-03-27T14:48:00.003-07:00

I was tagged by 2 people - so Lindsey and Elizabeth, here you go...

4 Jobs I have had in my life:

1. Claire's Accessories Sales
2. Hickory Farms Sales
3. Actuarial Assistant
4. Mommy

4 Movies I've Watched More Than Once

1. Grease
2. Sweet Home Alabama
3. 13 Going on 30
4. The Little Mermaid

4 Places I've Lived:

1. Summerville, SC
2. Louisville, KY
3. Istanbul, Turkey
4. Phoenix, AZ

4 TV Show I Watch

1. Grey's Anatomy
2. A Baby Story
3. Biggest Loser
4. The Office

4 Places I have Been:

1. Michigan
2. Slovakia (all over)
3. Prague
4. Grand Canyon

4 People who email me regularly

1. Amie
2. Elizabeth
3. Lisa King
4. my mom

4 of my favorite foods

1. cereal (almost any kind)
2. chic-fil-a sandwich
3. baked potato
4. papa john's pizza

4 Places I Would Like to Visit

1. Thailand
2. NYC
3. California
4. Hawaii

Things I am Looking Forward to in the Coming Year

1. Baby girl #2 arriving
2. spending lots of time with Adeline
3. Ally's wedding (although I probably won't be able to make it - I'm hopeful!)
4. Phoenix becoming "home" (again, I'm hopeful!)

4 Friends I'm Tagging

1. Ally
2. Callie
3. Virginia
4. Tiffany

Passover

2008-03-21T23:24:00.004-07:00

In college, my Sunday School teacher (and professor at school) held a Passover meal at his house for our class. Jeff and I learned so much at this meal and still talk about it today. So, we invited students over to experience it as well. It was a great evening!

The table. On the Seder plate - lamb shankbone, charoset (a mixture of apple, raisins, cinammon, pecans and honey), maror (horseradish), karpas (celery), red horseradish and the betzah (roasted egg). Also on the table, bowl of salt water, bowl of water to wash hands and wine (grape juice).

The partakers.

Jeff made lamb guvec (a Turkish dish) for the Passover meal - it was yummy and exactly like what you would get at a Turkish restaurant!

Our March

2008-03-21T23:13:00.007-07:00

Things were a little busy during the week that we moved, so one afternoon I took Adeline to Chuck E. Cheese's for pizza and just some time to play outside of the house. She literally went down this slide at least 50 times!

Jeff was able to spend the day with us at the zoo last week during his spring break. In this picture, I think Adeline is cheering for the elephants to come out (we were waiting for their feeding).

Coloring Easter eggs with Isaac. Isn't his expression great?

I still don't have any pictures of the house, but since we have moved in, Jeff has started a mini-bucket-garden to grow tomatoes. Adeline loves helping Baba out in the yard!

25 weeks

2008-03-21T22:57:00.002-07:00

Yikes! Things definitely progress a little bit faster the second time around! Oh well, we are grateful no matter the largeness :) One fun thing about getting bigger is that Adeline recognizes that there is a baby in that belly (how could you miss it?). We went shopping the other day and bought a few things for the baby and on the way home Adeline said "Baby come see Adeline? Baby sleep in Addy's bed and Addy sleep in big, big, big girl's bed!" So cute, she is going to be a great big sister!

Adeline is going to have a little...

2008-03-06T21:58:00.002-07:00

Adeline is going to have a little sister! My doctor's office is amazing and they insisted on doing another ultrasound this month so we would know what we are having! We aren't sure how much Adeline really understands, but she knows that the baby is inside mama's belly, that's it's a girl and that the baby has a room in our new house. It will be interesting once the baby comes home and she realizes that this baby is coming to stay!

Our new home

2008-03-06T21:32:00.002-07:00

We moved into a new house last weekend and so far, it has been wonderful! Since baby #2 is on the way, we needed another bedroom and a friend's mom just happened to be trying to rent her house. I don't have any pictures yet (our camera is still in a box somewhere), but these are a few things I have noticed about living in a house:
1. I don't sleep well at all because I hear EVERY little noise! Jeff doesn't hear anything, so it makes for a long night of getting up and down to check and make sure no one is robbing us!
2. By far the best thing is having a little back yard (and it's grass - rare here in the desert). Adeline loves playing at her sand table out there and no more having to take the dog out on a leash. We are definitely taking advantage of the beautiful weather before it gets to be 100 outside.
3. On that same note, Jeff has really missed doing yard work so he has already been doing as much of that as he can. He wants to plant a garden, but since it isn't our house, I don't think that will happen.
4. We already have a plumbing problem and we can't just pick up the phone and call maintenance!
5. There is a lot more room to clean!

So, those are my thoughts. One final HUGE blessing - we have met 3 of our neighbors already! The people next store are from the middle east and today I ran into the lady outside and she gave me something that resembled a poaca (a pastry from Turkey) - it was like being back there! Other neighbors have a kennel business and love dogs, so we have a permanent dog-sitter (which has been the biggest hassle since we've lived here). And, finally, as we were unpacking this weekend a couple came over to welcome us to the neighborhood with yummy cookies and... we know them! We met the wife the first night we were in town - she came to the fall welcome party and even brought us a sweet gift card. She didn't know us then, she just wanted to welcome us to ASU! I can't believe that they live right across the street - what a tremendous gift from God. Nice to know that if someone is ever breaking into the house in the middle of the night, we have a place to run to :)

Girls' trip

2008-03-06T21:09:00.006-07:00

Adeline and I took a short trip to Florida/SC last month for my Grandmother's 81st birthday! Adeline absolutely loved the plane trip, seeing family, staying in the hotel and at the end, coming back home to Baba. It was a great trip!

Gigi with her 3 great-grandchildren. Adeline loved meeting her brand new neice, Olivia, but was much more interested in playing with Jason. She is still talking about him!

At the duck pond at "mama and baba's school" (where we went to college). I'm pretty sure this was Adeline's favorite part of the entire trip - feeding the ducks and "gooses" bread.

My dear friend, Kendra and her little girl Jayden.

Exercising with Grandma.

Update on Cyd

2008-02-28T22:21:00.002-07:00

Unfortunately, the news is not good. According to the ARLDF website, Cyd and her driver have apparently passed away. There aren't too many details, but check out the site to read some amazing things about Cyd's life and a message from her family. (Click on previous posts for more.) Please continue to pray for Cyd's family and her driver's family!

Words that bless my heart

2008-02-21T19:02:00.003-07:00

The new thing around our house is working on sentences! I know, Adeline is a little young to be getting grammar lessons, but she asks for them! She is really determined to make sentences, and not just a few words grouped together, but a correct sentence, like Mama and Baba "does". Needless to say, she is a talker. You probably wouldn't think so if you met her for the first time, or haven't been around her much at home, but she really is! So, tonight she was getting out of the bathtub and following the timeless quote "don't tee-tee on the floor" (we're in potty training mode) Adeline was wrapped up in her towel giving me a big hug (which is customary following the bath, she wants to stay warm) and she just comes right out and says "Addy loves mama." My heart is melting even as I type this. She's said "I love you" a thousand times before, but usually it's in response to us saying it or asking her to say it. This time was different, this time it was straight from her little heart. I'm often impressed with things she picks up on or new words she uses, but it really doesn't get any better than those three words... Addy loves mama.

20 weeks

2008-02-14T19:27:00.003-07:00

So, this is mom and baby at the halfway point! Things are going well and we can't wait to meet our little one in just over 4 months! We have had 3 ultrasounds in the past month (I have connections at the hospital!) and we STILL don't know if it is a boy or girl - looks like we may not know until he/she arrives!

What is up with this weather? I thought this was the desert!

2008-02-04T16:55:00.000-07:00

Light Rain

45°F
Feels Like
37°F

Please Pray for Cyd

2008-01-27T17:05:00.000-07:00

Please pray for Cyd, her driver and their kidnappers! May the Lord soften their hearts and allow Cyd and Muhammad to return to their families. We met Cyd almost four years ago when she was preparing to go to Afghanistan, she has such a heart for the people, especially the women. You can read this article and for further updates, check out the ARDLF website. PRAY!

Adeline's 2nd Birthday

2008-01-26T19:47:00.000-07:00

"I'm two!"

Adeline and Aunt Ange on the Alligator.

My sweet little girl and I on the train.

Cute Grace - eating that cupcake up!

Adeline's buddy from church, Isaac.

Sweet boys!

My favorite picture from the day!

Feeding the ducks (and unfortunately, the pigeons as well).

Ready for a nap!

Random thoughts

2008-01-21T22:06:00.000-07:00

So, my usual post consists primarily of pictures of Adeline, but lately I keep thinking of random things that aren't really that interesting, but perhaps blogworthy. I have many friends that do it, so I thought I would give it a try.

1. Since we have lived in our apartment we have had 3 different evenings of being kept awake by a helicopter that is circling our building for a LONG time! The last time this happened, it was because there was a crazy man on someone's roof throwing tiles at the people below. He ended up jumping off the 2-story roof and getting attacked by a police dog. Really, did they need a helicopter for that? Anyway, the third time sounds like it might be tonight. It keeps flying overhead, hopefully the drama will be over before we go to bed.

2. The number one battle in our household is trying to get Adeline to eat new foods. She used to eat anything, but since we have lived here she just wants to stick to her fruit and chicken nuggets! We try the "just try it one time" angle, but that doesn't work. We have even bribed her with fruit, but to no avail. Well, four different times this week Adeline has tried new foods - even vegetables! We were at the grocery store today and I was asking her if she would eat any of the canned vegetables. Of course she said "no" UNTIL we saw it... Elmo Green Beans! Del Monte is genius and has put Sesame Street characters on their canned vegetables (and then charges twice the price). But, at this point, I am willing to try anything! So I sucked it up, spent the $1/can and we came home, made the beans (and even sang the "la la la la, la la la la, Elmo Beans" song!) and she ate them! Praise the Lord - whatever works!!!

3. Jeff and I are watching the last season of 24 right now - it's really good! I hope the strike doesn't last much longer because we are really looking forward to Season 7.

4. Adeline's 2nd birthday is this Saturday. We decided to have a little party for her at a local park that has a huge duck pond, playground, train and carousel. I'm pretty sure I'm more excited about it than she is, but every day she does say "birthday party...ducks...slide". She knows what's coming!

5. The pregnancy is going well. I have felt wonderful for a few weeks now - it's like a different world compared to the first trimester. We will hopefully find out next week what we are having and absolutely can't wait!

6. I mentioned in an earlier post that we are now making weekly trips to the public library. Anyone have any suggestions for good reading, for myself or Adeline?

I guess that's all for now. I hope it wasn't too boring for all of you!

Fun Videos

2008-01-21T21:54:00.000-07:00

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Adeline has been working on her ABC's. She's just being silly here, but is definitely making progress!

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This one is a little long, but enjoy the nursery rhymes!

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"Ready, Set, Go!!!!!!"

2008 so far

2008-01-15T13:59:00.000-07:00

We took a trip to west Texas to visit our friends Chris and Jonya after New Years. Adeline loved seeing her aunt and uncle and we loved spending time with them in their new home. As you can see, the guys didn't waste any time busting out the XBox.

Billy and Elizabeth, this picture is for you! Can you believe we got Jonya to play a game (and I think she even enjoyed it)??

You don't see this very often, but Adeline doesn't mind getting messy when pudding is involved!

Cok, cok tatli!

With a little motivation from my friends Melissa and Katie, Adeline and I checked out our local library today for story time. It was so much fun for both of us. I don't read very much, but I think I may start! What a wonderful place! You can check out books for an entire month (or longer) and even kids movies. Yeah for library cards!!!

Baby Smith

2007-12-26T22:55:00.001-07:00

We were able to have an ultrasound done last week when Baby Smith was 12 weeks old. Here you can see a pretty nice profile, with his/her hand up by her head and feet stretched out upward - just chillin' out. We will hopefully find out the gender at the end of January, but regardless we are so grateful that the Lord has blessed us with another! HE is good.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-26T22:13:00.000-07:00

Merry Christmas from the Smith family! We hope you all had a blessed holiday - we are having a wonderful time hanging out together. Here are a few pictures from the past few days!

Adeline got a tent for her room, she immediately put all of her animals and babies inside. She often wants Baba and Mama to get in with her.

We painted a table for Adeline and she really likes it. Here she is sitting in her new chair emptying her stocking.

Christmas Eve - we opened a few presents and Adeline loved all of her new books!

We made some Christmas cookies and decorated them. Adeline ate most of her dinner, so she got a star cookie as a treat!

Adeline's first hair cut. She didn't need it in the front, but it was quite long and shaggy in the back. (Mommy got her hair cut off as well - it's short!)

Has it been 2 months?

2007-12-18T21:35:00.000-07:00

So sorry that we haven't updated in a while. No good excuses, but I will fill you in on what has been going on. Since October we have experienced Adeline's first "sickness" (which turned out to be something called Roseola - every day I learn so much!), Reformation Day (or Halloween), Thanksgiving Day with Andrea's Grandmother who lives about an hour away from us, a visit from Jeff's parents and Grandmother (which included a trip to the snowy Grand Canyon) and a lot in between. It's been a great few months! We have spent time with students who are now at home for Christmas break, the weather has FINALLY cooled off some - we even need jackets every once and a while, and our biggest praise - we are having another BABY! Andrea is due July 4th and everything is going well (now that we have made it through the first trimester)! We are so grateful for how HE continues to bless us! Here are a few pictures (scroll over the picture to see the caption).

Pumpkin Patch

2007-10-27T21:49:00.000-07:00

We took Adeline to a pumpkin patch last week. She loved it, even though she was burning up (it was about 90 degrees outside)! Her least favorite part were the pumpkins that had been smashed on the ground, she kept saying how messy it was. Her favorite part was the bouncy castle that I had to get in with her. She couldn't stand up too well, but she was not happy when we had to get out.

Videos

2007-10-18T23:49:00.000-07:00

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We all know Adeline loves Elmo, and even though she doesn't have the moves that Ms. Bailey has, she gets down in her own way to his song! This video cracks me up as well because Jeff is taking it and obviously dancing with Adeline (although he says he wasn't).

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I hope to one day be able to get Adeline counting on video, but as you can see, right now she says "no!".

Fun stuff

2007-10-18T22:59:00.001-07:00

We have been staying busy over the past few weeks - going to the zoo (a few times), watching Baba play softball, hanging out with students, learning new things and just being silly! I have 2 videos that I have been trying to download (although unsuccessfully), so these pictures will do for now! Enjoy!

Adeline can now put on every pair of shoes she has, and also every pair of ours! I think she is trying to make a fashion statement, don't you? (Especially since it doesn't rain here!)

Hangin' out at the ball field.

Adeline's love language is definitely physical touch (at least one of them is). She LOVES having her arm rubbed, if you start doing it and then stop she will grab your hand (or both of them) and put it back to her arm.

Not afraid at all of this goat! Walked right up to it and started petting it!

Adeline and her friend, Grace, one of her zoo partners!

There is a little water play area at the zoo (this zoo is huge! i haven't even seen all of it yet). Adeline got right in there with the big kids and got wet. She got scared when the water started shooting up in her face (she froze and didn't know how to get out of it!), but besides that she loved it! Here, you can see her and her friend, Dallas waiting for the water to come out.

Check out my new do!

We have started our own version of "family dinner" here in our home with some students. Well, we've only had it one Friday night but we had a great time and are looking forward to many more.

Xander

2007-09-29T22:57:00.000-07:00

This is our friend Callie with 2 of her nephews, Carter (L) and Xander (R). Xander has been fighting (and winning, by the way) cancer for over 3 years now and is still battling away. Please pray for Xander right now and then go to his website and continue to pray for him as he is going through chemo. His family is amazing, you will be encouraged and strengthened by their FAITH as you read their journal entries. Thank you!

Fall Conference

2007-09-29T21:58:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we went to Fall Conference with a bunch of students from ASU and about 5 other Phoenix schools. It was at a campground about 3 hours away. Everyone had a great time!

Our sleeping quarters - a little tight, but we all managed to sleep well!

The weather in the mountains was about 30 degrees cooler and it rained the entire weekend! Adeline loved wearing her raincoat (thanks, Aunt Jill and Uncle Joe), and we even pulled out the overalls and winter boots. In this picture, Adeline is standing at the front door of the cabin (yes, EVERYONE stayed in the same cabin) just waiting to go outside.

Adeline and her friend, Dallas, enjoying the band.

Jeff and his ASU crew.

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Adeline being really silly!

Grand Canyon

2007-09-29T21:35:00.000-07:00

Adeline and I didn't make the trip to the Canyon, so Jeff was sweet and took a family portrait with his arm around me and holding Adeline. How thoughtful!

A really cool picture!

Jeff and two of his students - such great girls! Apparently, they are trying to make it look like they are falling off one of the cliffs. Good try, guys!

Some of the International students on the trip.

Jeff said the pictures really don't do the Canyon justice. If any of you want to visit in person, let us know, we would love to see you!

A day in the life...

2007-09-29T20:49:00.000-07:00

This is just a shot of our new dining table and hutch. Our dear friends who live here in Phoenix were going to get rid of them so they offered to pass them on to us! One man's junk is another man's treasure for sure! Also I wanted to show you how our wonderful dog sits at Adeline's feet just waiting for her to drop food. Adeline knows not to give her food, but I have to keep a close eye just in case :)

Adeline loves her new baby doll and stroller, BUT not as much as she loves her shoes!!! She knows how to put them on and take them off all by herself, but sometimes they don't end up on the right feet (see picture above!). She wears them all day long, inside and out (I know those of you living overseas are cringing at the thought of wearing shoes inside, but we pick our battles)!

Even though she totally looks like one in this picture, Adeline really isn't a couch potato. However, she does enjoy snack time - especially when it involves raisins and Elmo! She even loves going to the grocery store with me because I usually end up giving her raisins while she is hanging out in the "buggy" as she calls it.

Life with our dog has been interesting. She is a great dog, and usually just wants to hang out and sleep, but Adeline wants to play, play, play! So, I have to keep a close eye on them and say "gentle" about 50 times a day! Adeline thinks that laying on top of Lexi to give her a hug is "gentle". Lexi doesn't agree :)

Girls' weekend

2007-09-07T14:40:00.000-07:00

Jeff is off to the Grand Canyon this weekend with some students, so Adeline and I are having a girls' weekend at home. Our big plans include working on some craft projects for her room, watching Elmo, playing on the playground and visiting some friends. We won't be taking any pictures, but hopefully Jeff will have some cool pictures to share from his weekend!

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Just a cute video of Adeline eating like a big girl!

This is my dear, dear friend, Angela. We went to college together, she was in my wedding and the Lord is good to have us in the same city once again! It has been a sweet reunion and I am so thankful for her and her wonderful family!

Angela is in hair cutting school (I don't know what the technical term is, sorry Angela) and so I volunteered to be her guinea pig. Here is the first cut - layers! I look horrible, but I love the hair. Stay tuned for more styles!

Hot, hot, hot!

2007-08-29T20:21:00.001-07:00

We are finally in our home in Phoenix, "enjoying" the heat, learning our way around the city, unpacking tons of boxes that we didn't even know we had, getting to know some great people we will be working with and of course, enjoying time on campus (Arizona State University) meeting students. We'll try to take some more pictures of the desert and the campus in the next few days.

Adeline loves rocks - it's a good thing here in the desert!

This is BY FAR Adeline's favorite thing in the states now. She has been getting used to the church nursery, and as long as they have a boat - she loves it! I have to force her to leave, there are so many cool toys!

We are working hard on teaching Adeline to hold our hand in the parking lot. This is our friend, Slade, who wasn't even a year old when we went overseas!

Adeline and Karis Langdon - she's a little Brennan!

Our dear friend, John, came to Jeff's ordination service in Louisville. It was a sweet service, we are so grateful for our family there.

It is such a small world! Pictured above (taken at Jeff's ordination service) is my friend Laura Beth who I met in Turkey and my friend April who I know from our church in Louisville. Laura Beth and April are going to the same graduate school and they met eachother there. They started talking and figured out that they both know us! Crazy!

The temperature here has been over 110 every day since we moved about 12 days ago. Apparently we broke the all time record for the most days above 110 in a year today! Nice, huh? It hasn't been too bad, we are just so thankful for air conditioning.

I'm one and a half!

2007-07-26T13:43:00.001-07:00

3 weeks in America

2007-07-24T18:07:00.001-07:00

So, I am too lazy to try to post a bunch of different pictures separately :) Here is a collage of some of the things Adeline has been up to since we have been back in the states! (Top left to bottom right.) You can enlarge the pictures by clicking on the box.

1. Adeline loves sniffing flowers! As we are driving around SC, we constantly hear her sitting in the back seat of the car, pointing out the window, saying "flowers" and sniffing! It's so funny!
2. We went to the beach in Charleston and she had a great time playing in the sand and water.
3. Beach.
4. She loves vegetables! Look at that smirk!
5. Adeline and her cousin, Jason playing some tunes!
6. Elizabeth - this picture is for you. Someone pulled out the Barney while I wasn't around!
7. Adeline and her 2 sweet friends - they all have such shiny hair. Speaking of hair - everyone (and I mean, everyone!) makes comments about how long Adeline's hair is, I think they expected her to be bald like she was 9 months ago when we were here. Also, you know you're in SC when a lady says to us "Her hair is so pretty. She's got a little mullet - did you cut it that way?" Yeah, lady - we WANT her to have a mullet!
8. The girls playing the piano (apparently, we need to invest in one!).
9. Adeline saying "Land, ho!" Just kidding, but it does look like it! This was taken at the Charleston Aquarium.
10. Adeline's first ice cream cone. She didn't really know what to think and our friends gave us a hard time when we told them that she hadn't had ice cream before! They couldn't believe it!
11. On the carousel at the Columbia, SC zoo. Adeline had a lot of fun - especially the petting zoo part. See video below.
12. So, Adeline is afraid of a lot of things, but definitely not dogs and cats. She has been around quite a few and she loves chasing them around and giving them kisses!
13-16. For some reason, these pictures are repeats, sorry!

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For those of you who know Adeline, you know that she likes to be clean (especially her hands) and she is scared of just about anything. For some reason though, she is not scared of big animals, especially those eating out of her hand. We have taken her to two different petting zoos, and she absolutely loves feeding the goats, monkeys and whatever this animal is in the video. What is even funnier is that she isn't very expressive, she just takes the food from my hand and gives it to the animal, no big deal. Also, if you look closely, you will see that at times, her entire hand is in his mouth - it was so gross, but she didn't mind one bit! Enjoy!

Packin' Up

2007-07-03T13:29:00.000-07:00

So, we leave for America tomorrow! It's hard to believe. We just wanted to share a picture of Little A on the scale. She definitely knows someone is leaving and no matter how many times we tell her, I think she's worried she isn't coming along! We have been weighing our luggage for the past few days, and she loves getting on the scale and seeing how "big" she is.

If you're checking this on July 4th, please pray for us as we travel (specifically that Adeline would do well on the LONG plane ride to Chicago). We will be arriving in Greenville, SC at about 6:30pm. Thanks!

A few good-byes

2007-06-27T12:14:00.000-07:00

We have been spending a lot of this week meeting with friends, neighbors and co-workers saying good-bye. Adeline has been a trooper and has put up with a lot of photo opps. More to come...

Our busy weekend

2007-06-17T13:03:00.000-07:00

Friday night we went to a going away party (for us, as well as a few others who are leaving the city soon). It was a great evening, although sad! Adeline's friend Ashley told her mom that she wanted to give Adeline a going away present, so she picked one of her own little baby books and wrapped it up for Little A. It was so sweet, and Adeline carried it (and the wrapping paper) around all night.

We went to a park near the water on Saturday with a bunch of students. I was worried about Adeline since I knew she wouldn't get a nap (she's a sleeper!), but she did great and loved, loved, loved being outside, playing in the grass and "climbing" the trees. Her favorite parts of the park were the swing, seeing dogs and birds everywhere and watching people play ball. I don't think she stopped talking the entire day!

And, of course, today we celebrated Father's Day! Adeline loves her baba, as you can see!

Turkish Breakfast

2007-06-15T05:20:00.001-07:00

Last week we took the girls and visited my friend Elif and her mother. She makes an amazing Turkish breakfast and she even taught us how to make a cheese pastry - it was so easy and delicious!

Elif and her mom are singing a Turkish kids song with the girls. As you can tell, Adeline missed her morning nap and it was starting to show. But, Bailey loved clapping along!

I was motivated to make the cheese pastry at home, so Adeline joined me in the kitchen for a lesson. If you want to see more Turkish recipes and even try some out yourself, check out this website.

The finished product - a thin pastry (called yufka) with 2 cheeses (one that is similar to feta) and parsley rolled up inside. Fry it up in a little olive oil - and it's finished! It's called sigara borek in Turkish, which translates cigarette pastry. Obviously it is only called this because they are rolled up and resemble cigarettes.

Adeline loved it!

I'm my mother's daughter

2007-06-15T05:11:00.000-07:00

My mom sent me a picture of me at about Adeline's age. I can really see the resemblance, but it may be hard to tell from these pictures. My eyes were a lot darker (she gets her baby blues from her Baba), but I think there are quite a few similarities. It is comforting when I see that I didn't have much hair either - it will come one day!

What little A has been up to

2007-06-05T11:39:00.000-07:00

Adeline doesn't mind having a messy face, or even having banana in her hair. But, she can't stand for her hands or tray to be messy, or "bessy" as she says. Eating sometimes takes a while because she has to stop every few minutes, ask me for the washcloth so she can clean up the "bess". On that same note, she can't stand it when she finds anything on the floor. She is always finding something that she can put in the trash, or "dash". She is going to be quite the helper with chores, we just have to get her past her fear of vacuum cleaners!

A few weeks ago we went to Sports Fest at a local University. Adeline loved jumping on pillows, walking up to students and asking for their water guns and dancing to the music. It was fun to watch her be quite the extrovert.

Adeline loves to point out eyes, ears, nose, mouth, hair and cheeks. Here she is "honking" her nose for Baba.

The kids had one last play date together last week. This was as close as we could get to getting them all to look at the camera. They had a good time. Adeline loves saying "Baaaaaaaaaaaailey" and "Nandon".

Classic!

2007-05-13T10:34:00.000-07:00

I love this picture! We were at a park one day and it was packed full of people (and cars). People will park anywhere, whether there is a spot or not. This car parked right in the middle of the road to exit one of the lots. As you can see, the gentleman in the picture is not very happy - he can't get out. Also, notice that the car's windshield wipers are pulled up. This is very common in Istanbul. If you find your car like this, you know that you parked in a bad place! We have had this happen to us before, although we were in a spot right in front of our apartment. Not sure what we did wrong, maybe someone was just having a bad day!

Happy Mother's Day

2007-05-13T10:27:00.000-07:00

We hope you had a wonderful Mother's Day! Adeline spent the day going to church, eating pizza (twice!), coloring some cards for her grandmothers and playing with Miss Bailey. It was a nice day!

Look at me!

2007-05-09T13:26:00.000-07:00

"Ahhhhhhh!"

"What? I'm not doing anything wrong!"

"Neigh!"

Look at that smirk!

We're okay!

2007-04-26T12:39:00.000-07:00

Just in case you have been watching CNN, an apartment building collapsed earlier this evening in Istanbul. Obviously, we are okay. The building is about 30 minutes from us. Rescue workers are still digging through the rubble making sure there is no one trapped. Please pray for them and for the families who lived in this building - they probably didn't have much, and they lost it all!

Day at the Park

2007-04-15T12:29:00.000-07:00

We had our house church at the park today. Unfortunately it felt like winter outside (especially in the shade) but we still enjoyed the grass and trees and all of the amazing tulips! It was a great day and you know how much Adeline loves flowers, she was so excited!

I took Adeline to this same park about a year ago, what a difference a year makes. Check out the pictures from that visit - Adeline was so tiny and definitely didn't enjoy the flowers like she did today.

As we were trying to take a few pictures of Adeline, a crowd gathered around taking pictures of her as well. I'm always amazed at how much people here love babies! On Friday, we went out to eat for lunch and the waiter took Adeline around the restaurant showing her off to the other customers (don't worry, we could see her the entire time). At one table, two ladies were smoking cigarettes and Adeline kept pointing to the ashtray saying "hot, hot". They didn't know what she was saying, maybe I should teach her to say "yucky" when she sees them, that's what we are usually thinking, but she wouldn't be afraid to say it. Anyway, they proceeded to take numerous pictures of Adeline with their camera phones. I wonder how many people have Adeline as their cell phone screen savers in this city??

There was even a large display of tulip "stuff" in one part of the city. We thought this would be a fun picture to take of Adeline, she wasn't too impressed.

Easter

2007-04-10T10:30:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, Bailey and Adeline colored eggs! Well, Elizabeth and I really colored them but they sat still for a few minutes and watched. It was fun, just like being a kid again.

Easter morning daddy read the resurrection story to Adeline from her little Bible and then we gave her an Easter basket complete with a few little surprises. If you look closely in this picture you can see Adeline's top teeth.

Adeline hunted for eggs - they even had little treats inside of them.

Found one!

Happy Easter!

This week

2007-04-10T10:08:00.000-07:00

Adeline is wanting to feed herself now. I have to admit, it's much easier to feed her myself (and cleaner) but it's fun to let her try. Practice, practice, practice.

It's been a traumatic week - for Adeline, but for me as well. Let's just say that marble floors (pictured above) are just about the last thing that a little girl who tends to fall a lot needs. Unfortunately, twice in the past week Adeline has fallen in this exact spot, face first! She is fine, only a busted lip and a "pump knot" (as Jeff calls it) on her forehead, but it has been rough on me! I know there is much more to come, but for now, we are trying to avoid the marble floors for a few days.

Jeff got me some flowers for our anniversary (6 years!!!) and while I love them (my favorites, tulips and daisies) Adeline thinks they are the greatest thing ever! Every time she walks in the room, she starts "smelling" them frantically (in the picture you can see her little nose scrunched up). It's the cutest thing ever.

Their BIG Day

2007-03-31T05:03:00.000-07:00

Istanbul is such a western city, we have so many "American" things to enjoy. We can order from McDonalds, Quiznos, Pizza Hut and hundreds of other fast food restaurants any time of the day right from our computer. The malls here are huge, much bigger than any mall we ever went to in America. We are even able to watch some of the same shows that are on in America, just a few months later. We have many of the comforts of home. However, there are some things that we do miss out on by living here. We knew about these things when we decided to move here, but sometimes it is still hard to be thousands of miles away...

Today, my (Andrea) brother, Scott is getting married! Of course, we would LOVE to be there to celebrate with them, and the rest of our family, but unfortunately, we aren't able to just hop in a car and drive a few hours to be in SC. We are sure that it will be a wonderful day and a beautiful wedding and we are so thankful for digital cameras - can't wait to see pictures! Scott and Lindi, have an incredible wedding, we love you guys!

Three sweet girls

2007-03-26T05:44:00.000-07:00

Our dear friends, Callie (r) and Lindsey (l), came to visit last week. I just wanted to share a little about these amazing girls. We are so blessed to have them in our lives, even if we now live in different countries.

Lindsey came to Turkey in the fall of 2005 and was immediately part of our family. Even though we had only known her for a few months at the time, I remember thinking while we were in the hospital having Adeline that I couldn't wait for Lindsey to come see our new baby girl. She was family and I wanted her to be there and celebrate with us. Of course, she came - and even brought banana bread - which she knew was the exact thing that I needed! She is so loyal and loving - to her friends, to her family and most importantly, to the Lord. She is compassionate, wise beyond her years and knows and loves the Word tremendously! The Lord has blessed us beyond measure by allowing Lindsey to be part of our lives. Thank you, LP!

We have known Callie for almost three years now! Wow, time has flown by. One of our first conversations was about softball (she played in college) and how we would love it if we had the opportunity to play it in Turkey. Little did we know that just a few short weeks later, we would be meeting some amazing girls and guys who really wanted to learn softball - in Turkey of all places!!! The most important thing in Callie's life is her relationship with the Lord, and telling others about Him. The second is her family, especially her nieces and nephews. Her nephew Xander got cancer at the age of 2 1/2, just a few months before she left the states for Turkey. It was hard, but Callie was so faithful to ask people to pray for Xander - and they did! He is doing well, and although there are struggles, he is a fighter, and Callie is now able to love on him, and her entire family, in person. We are so thankful for her faithfulness and friendship!

14 months old

2007-03-26T05:04:00.000-07:00

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Adeline is officially walking everywhere. She has gained so much confidence over the past few weeks, we are so proud. The key is that she has figured out how to "fall" and not hurt herself, praise the Lord! In this video, Adeline walks to the table and then looks at me and signs "please" because she wants the balloon. So cute!

Just a cute picture out on the Johnson's balcony. If you look hard, you can see one of her two top teeth which finally came in this month.

She's probably trying to say something in this picture. The list of words she says is growing by the day, there are too many to recall. She definitely enjoys "copying" so watch what you say around her! One of the things she has been saying a lot of recently (and even at the appropriate times) is "help" as she is signing "please". She's such a polite little girl.

A few weeks ago I took Adeline to softball practice up at the University. She loved seeing the students and cheering for her baba as he coached.

In training already!

Only in Turkey

2007-03-02T05:43:00.000-07:00

You know you have lived in Turkey a long time when you have tomatoes, beyaz peynir (white cheese) and Nescafe for breakfast in your own home.

We thought this No Smoking sign was amusing for two reasons. 1. Even if an area is non-smoking, it really isn't! 2. The fine is 594.20 YTL - that is like having a fine of $424.03 in America. Who comes up with that number?

***I fixed the posts below, sorry the pictures weren't loading***

Ski Trip

2007-02-27T12:04:00.000-07:00

We took a few days last week and got out of the city. We even got two days of skiing in at a mountain about five hours from us. We stayed at an amazing hotel for one night and I watched the babies so everyone else could ski (my last experience skiing in Turkey wasn't too much fun for me, so I really enjoyed hanging out with the kids in the hotel)! We had a great time!

We took a 2-hour ferry to a nearby city where our friends the Byrds live. Adeline kept her self busy listening to some headphones.

We only stayed at the hotel one night, but we got there early enough for breakfast for the first day! The kids were still in their pajamas and ready to eat!

Adeline's first look at snow. She liked it as long as someone was holding her, as soon as we let her stand on her own, she was not happy!

Landon and Adeline played so well together! They both love books, as you can tell.

Adeline got in the swimming pool for the first time at the hotel. She was pretty upset when we first got in, but once she remembered how much she loved splashing, she didn't want to get out

Cool Jeff on the snowboard.

A view of our hotel (the red one) from the mountain.

Some February Pix

2007-02-27T00:59:00.000-07:00

"Let us out!"

Our little couch potato.

Here we are walking to the park and our kapici (doorman) stops to say hello to Adeline.

The weather has been so great - no snow at all and really warm - this winter. So, we have been trying to take advantage and get outside as much as we can. Adeline loves swinging!

Big girl in the big bath!

Vroom! Vroom!

2007-02-04T14:24:00.001-07:00

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Adeline loves playing with Bailey's toys. Here she is walking with Bailey's new toy. Adeline knows that cars make the sound "vroom, vroom" and apparently, as soon as she started walking, she felt like she should make the same sound. She's pretty clever!

I'm One!

2007-02-01T15:47:00.000-07:00

Just hangin' out.

Grandma couldn't miss Adeline's first birthday, so she came for a visit last week. Adeline loved spending time with her and it didn't take long for her to know exactly who she should go to if she wanted something!

My favorite thing to do - walk!

Adeline is learning a few words in sign language. Here she is playing on the slide saying "more". She also knows please, eat, sleepy (she made up her own variation of this one) and is working on siren and book.

A few days before her birthday, I started trying to get Adeline to hold up one finger to tell us how old she was. I should have started just a few days earlier, because here she is finally doing it!

Go Gamecocks!

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Adeline being silly at dinner!

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So we all know how much Adeline loves dogs. We go to the window at least three times a day to see the dog downstairs in the parking lot. As soon as Adeline hears him barking she starts looking at the window and saying dog (well her version of "dog"). She is really starting to mimic quite a few words, it's so fun to have "conversations" with her.

Happy First Birthday!

2007-01-29T11:50:00.000-07:00

Adeline had a great first birthday! I will post more soon, but I wanted to share a few pictures from her big day. From top left: Adeline on her birthday morning opening some gifts from family; Adeline and her little cake - she does NOT like to get messy at all, so she wouldn't even put her hands in it. She loved eating it, but only if mom or dad were feeding it to her; our family at the BIG party; some of the girls who came to celebrate with us. I love this picture because I know that they were all paying attention to Adeline, but it looks like they were each having their own conversations and Adeline is just standing up in the middle of them, by herself! Thank you to those of you who sent Adeline birthday wishes - she loves you and so do we! More to come...

TV in Turkey

2007-01-01T11:46:00.000-07:00

We really do get a few good TV shows here in Turkey. Some popular shows in America right now (24, Grey's Anatomy, House, Desperate Housewives) are broadcast here, but usually we are one or two seasons behind. We also get quite a few British shows which we would never watch if we were in America, but we have grown to like a few of them after two years. One of them, Strictly Come Dancing, is almost identical to the American show Dancing with the Stars - but, it came first. Even some of the judges are the same (I watched about 10 minutes of Dancing with the Stars while we were in the states in October). We don't know any of the celebrities, but I still enjoy watching it. Jeff usually doesn't pay much attention to it, but he'll sit through it just for me!

We're sure that most of you in America watched at least part of a football game today, and more likely than that, you watched football all day! Well, unfortunately we don't get too much football over here, but we keep checking the sports stations just in case! Today, we came across The Viking Obstacle. It is a Korean obstacle course competition and is really funny to watch. Apparently, no one has ever won the entire competition (there are four stages), so it must be pretty hard. One funny thing about it is right in the middle of many grueling physical challenges, there is a fourth grade math problem that the competitors must solve (i.e., 74+23=?) in order to proceed. If they answer the question wrong (which we actually saw men do!) they are dropped into a pool of water through a trap door in the floor. Quite amusing!

Our New Year's

2007-01-01T11:25:00.000-07:00

We had a great New Year's Eve! We had church in the morning and then we all took a nap in the afternoon, storing up for the late night. Then, we went to a friend's house for a party. Adeline did not want to go to sleep, there was just too much going on and too many people to hang out with. So, she stayed up til midnight with the rest of us. As you can see below, it was a big day for her!

New Year's Eve morning with friends.

Baba and me playing in the hallway - that's just where we ended up.

Getting ready to go out!

My first steps, caught on camera! I have been holding my balance standing up for a couple of days now, and last night, in front of everyone at the New Year's Party, I decided to take a few steps! It was exciting and today I am up to five steps all by myself (well, after mom and dad stand me up), so it may not be long now...

Miss Leesa reading to me!

All bundled up at 12:10am - still wide awake!

12:12am - knocked out! It was a long, great day!

11 months

2006-12-27T13:47:00.000-07:00

This week was a week of celebrations! Adeline turned 11 months old on the 26th! Only one more month 'til the big day. It's hard to believe that one year ago we were preparing Adeline's nursery, purchasing clothes and diapers and for some of us, hoping that we would be able to fit in our maternity clothes for one more month :) Adeline is becoming more and more "talkative" and really trying to mimic things we say. She is cruising around on the furniture and is pretty cautious when she does (she definitely gets that from her mommy!). She isn't walking on her own yet, but loves holding our hands and walking all around the house. We have started walking with her holding only one hand. She tries hard to grab our other hand, but when she realizes that we won't give it to her, she really gets tickled when she can tell that she is walking almost by herself. She still loves books and is eating more and more table food. Her naps aren't as long during the day, but she is still sleeping 13 or 14 hours every night (straight) so that is a huge blessing. She is a little girl who needs her sleep!

Such a big girl!

She will try to stand up on anything and cracks herself up when she realizes that she's "stuck".