Last Day of School 2011

I'm very sad to see the 2010-2011 school year come to a close because next year Lukas will be in Pre-K next year for his last year in preschool. He is growing up so fast!! This year he learned to write his letters. Most of them he still needs tracing guidance with, but the ones in his name he can write. That being said, he can write his name. It doesn't mean he will because he often gets bored or distracted after writing 'Lu' and sometimes the 'k' is legible, but he CAN do it and that's what matters. He got to go to Spanish specials this year, so he now uses some Spanish words interchangeably with English . If you ask him, he's an expert in Spanish. He has learned even more how to play with friends, even when he doesn't agree. The biggest change has been simply in his attitude. He's always been independent, but now he's independent, confident, and just generally grown up. He's smart, imaginative, sweet, and has a huge desire to learn everything. I'm excited about what he's going to learn next year, even though it will be his last year in preschool. I'm going to love every minute of it!

First Day of School - September 7, 2010



Last Day of School - May 19, 2011

Scarborough Faire 2011

We went to Scarborough Faire today (5-28-11). It was hot (high of 98 degrees), windy (wind advisory in place), and exhausting. BUT we all had a BLAST!! We shopped, ate, rode some rides, listened to good music, walked a ton, found shade and resting benches where we could, and talked about everything.

Here we go...



Lukas got a dragon hat and a dragon shield.



C and Papa



"It's windy, Mama!"



Hunting dragons.



Lunchtime...whew, and were we hungry.



L and Mimi waiting to get L's face painted.



He wanted a spider on a web.



Looks pretty cool!



While L got his face painted, C went and found someone to talk to.



L stealing Daddy's italian ice.



C stealing Papa's italian ice.



He found this really big tree chair that he thought was AMAZING!



EXHAUSTED after a day of FUN!

Endoscopy

Corina had her endoscopy last Wednesday (5-18-11). We had to arrive at Children's at Legacy (in Plano) at 6:00am. This meant waking up at 4:00am, so we could leave by 5:00am. A quick shout out to the Allens who were awesome to take Lukas in at 5:00am, so we could get to the hospital. Thanks guys!! It was brutal, and took the rest of the week for all of us to recover simply from the early morning. When we got there (at the same time most of the hospital staff was arriving) they checked us in and took us up to the OR where they do day procedures. Corina played for while, and then we went back. After talking to the check-in nurse, the anesthesiologist, the PA, another nurse to give Corina her 'giggle juice', and finally our GI, it was time to send her back. We waited probably about half an hour or so before talking to the doctor. He told us that everything looked normal (WHEW!!!), and would confirm with biopsies results in about a week. We even got a copy of the pictures to keep. After waiting another 15 or so minutes, we finally got to go back to see her. She was waking up, and it was kind of hard. She was arching around, and generally unhappy. Nothing terrible, but still hard to see her so upset. After she drank enough liquid, they removed the IV and we were able to go home. She stayed up the rest of the morning until she'd had lunch, and then crashed soon after. She slept for four hours, and woke up in a MUCH better mood. She was still unstable though, and proceeded to crash into everything (resulting in a couple of bruises and lots of crying). Needless to say she went to bed early, and we were glad for it.

Playing before:





Getting Ready:





Watching the Wiggles...



Unstable, but happy!



We got the biospy results on Friday, and they were normal. Yay!! GI is putting Corina on Periactin (no idea if I've spelled that right) to try to help relax her stomach muscles to help with the reflux. We'll see if this helps. So far it's made her kind of zombie-like. :( I'm hoping she'll get used to it after a few days.

Corina's First Haircut

Corina got her first haircut today (5-14-11) at Cool Cuts for Kids in Flower Mound. While she has a lot of hair, it's grown in a bit odd since it's mostly on top. So we took her in to get it out of her eyes and shape it up a bit.

All ready for a haircut!



Both kids getting haircuts at the same time. :)



Kailee, the stylist, did a great job.



The finished product. Isn't she cute?! She was talking about it, so that's why the odd expression.

Pledge of Allegiance

Lukas has been able to say the pledge for about a year now, but he finally let me video him. :)

Muffins and Walking

Last Thursday (5-5-11), Butterfly School held Muffins with Mom. Eric was able to stay home with Corina, so I Lukas and I could have this special time together.

Me and my sweet boy before we left. We had a lot of fun!




On Monday (5-9-11), Corina decided that she could walk more than 2 or 3 steps at a time. She spent a lot of the day practicing walking around, so I was able to catch her on video. :)

I LOVE My Kids!

A lot has been going on recently, so I wanted to write down some things I love about my amazing children.

I love:
- the way they absolutely adore each other.
- Lukas' jokes that make NO sense whatsoever.
- the conversations Lukas and I have. They range from simple questions about why things are the way they are to in depth spiritual conversations. Each and every one is precious because of his desire to learn and grow.
- the sweet hugs and cuddle times I get from both kids.
- how absolutely adorable they both are!
- the way Corina selects what she wants to do, and then selects who she wants to do it with.
- listening to the amazing (and usually extremely loud) music that my kids make both together and separately. The singing, musical instruments, dancing, etc that takes place when it's 'music time' (which is pretty much all the time) is great.
- watching them learn and grow. Watching 'the wheels turn' as they process information is always a unique experience.
- watching them play together. Watching Lukas teach Corina about how the world works is often hilarious because she usually is not doing exactly what he'd like her to, but they somehow work it out to play.

There's so much more in those tiny every day moments when they just make me smile. Thank you God for these two blessings!

13 Months

Corina at 13 months:
- weighs 19lbs 14 oz.
- is 29.8 inches tall....Thank you to the GI doctor for doing such accurate measurements for me.
- took her first official steps April 14th, her Aunt Ashley's birthday.
- is cruising everywhere, and gets brave enough to take a few steps not holding on to anything every now and then.
- is GIRLY! She loves shoes (and wants them on her feet if she finds them), clothes (she has a definite opinion about a lot of the things she wears), fixing her hair (I don't know why I bother some days because she's already trying to redo it), and jewelry (especially bracelets).
- new words: done (duh), brother (bruh), Lovey (uhvie...although, you have to listen really closely to hear that one)
- new signs: please
- is showing her persistence in new ways in learning to walk. She will practice the same movement over and over until she gets it right, and will sometimes do this for more than 5 min at a time.
- loves to sing. If you start singing, she will often join in.
- has a temper and is very strong-willed.
- is very social, but has a shy side especially when meeting new people.
- is a cuddlebug. She loves to sit and cuddle especially if you'll read her books while doing it.
- must have a continuous musical playlist in her head because she dances and grooves even when there is no music.
- loves her brother! If she could, she would do everything just like him.
- loves her Mommy and Daddy more and more every day!

Easter 2011

A little late, but I didn't want to forget about it.

This was BEFORE church. They were so worn out from celebrating Lukas' and Ashley's birthday's the day before.



About a minute after I took the previous picture, she fell asleep.



He sat up so he wouldn't fall asleep.



We are so blessed by family. When we can, we try to have a lunch all together. A big lunch will include the 'original' Smith family with all extended families from marriage. We've had more than 15 (avg about 13 or 14) people at the table before...it's fantastic!



The Swaynes



Are we still the Smiths? Or are we now the Smith/Swayne/Browns?



He was SO handsome in his tie, but he wouldn't stand still for a really good picture. Oh well, thus the life of a 4 year old boy.



So much easier to take a picture of a one year old girl!







The kids and all their Easter loot. They got baskets from Mommy and Daddy, baskets from Mema and Grandad, and bunnies from Mimi and Papa!