New Pics of Lexa

Both of the girls...eating or kissing each other I'm not sure which

New Pics of Geneva

Merry Christmas from the Smith's

We hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

The Big 3-0...Not Me (Yet)

Happy 30th Birthday to Patrick. He had a great birthday. We were able to sneak away for a dinner out!!! thanks to our babysitter on Sunday night. We enjoyed crab legs & scallops. Good. And so nice not having to rotate or eat cold food because of you know whos. Monday, his actual birthday, I happened to be off work & cooked a yummy dinner concoction I made up (pesto sauce, ziti pasta, parmesan cheese, mushrooms, & chicken) with fresh bread, spinach salad, & of course a chocolate cake (which I bought). As you can see Lexa & Corkie made it to the party but Geneva & Whiskey slept through it. Patrick's long-awaited "real" camera was his gift from me, so hopefully you'll be seeing some better quality pics of the girls soon. Happy 30th, old man!

Giggle Box

Lexa has discovered her laugh this past week. This video gives you some idea, although it doesn't give it justice. [Notice the carrots on her shirt!] It is such a deep laugh, don't know where it comes from. We discovered it the night before this was filmed. I was holding her and Patrick was sitting across from us in a chair-he stood up and I guess the movement and surprise cracked her up!! She laughed for 2 minutes solid. Patrick & I were both in tears we were laughing so hard. We've had a good week including their 6 month shots & trip to the doctor. Geneva weighs 15-4 and is in the 25th percentile, Lexa 18-13 in the 90th percentile! The doctor is pleased & thinks they are developing right on track. We had their pics made with Santa yesterday. Can't share yet--you have to wait until you get your Christmas card! Let's just say they were both awake, smiling, & did very well!!

Eating Like Big Girls

As you can see Geneva & Lexa have started eating baby food!! And they are officially off their preemie formula and on to regular formula. Here are pics of their first adventure with rice cereal and then tonight's dinner with carrots. Surprisingly, Geneva actually does better than Lexa. Geneva has the pattern down--open mouth, chew, and swallow. Lexa still thrusts her tongue and lets most of it spill out. But we are still learning and considering they are preemies, they are right on track. Lexa prefers the squash, and Geneva the carrots. It is so much fun watching them learn and take everything in. Patrick & I have never laughed more this past week! These girls are a mess (literally)!

First Thanksgiving

We celebrated the girls' first Thanksgiving. It was a little crazy but all and all great. They traveled to Granny & Granddad's all 3 hours in the car without crying! They LOVE their carseats & just babble back & forth to each other. They got to meet Uncle Corey, Aunt Anna, and cousins Ethan & Madeline for the first time (Patrick's brother & family). Other visits included time with Uncle Eric, Aunt Amy, and cousin Luke Wednesday night. On Thursday, we made it to the Lancaster gathering & saw dozens of cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. & enjoyed all the Thanksgiving favorites. The girls were well behaved & enjoyed being passed around. Friday was Thanksgiving with my mom's side of the family at Mi-Mi's house with 17 of us. Again the girls loved riding in the car & were the center of attention. We came home Saturday so we could get everything unpacked, the laundry done, & get ready for work Monday. We spent most of the day today putting up the Christmas tree. The girls are doing great--6 months old last week! They are rolling over constantly, standing up with a little help, sitting up with very little help, laughing, smiling constantly, playing with toys, sleeping 8 hours at night, responding to their name, scooting across the room in seconds on their backs, and really engaged with their environment. They have changed so much just in the past week or two. We are starting solid foods this week. Wish us luck! Thanks to all of our families for making this a great holiday.I know I'm biased, but look at those beautiful eyes and rosy cheeks
Look at that big girl rolling over
Lexa finally shut her eyes in cousin, Andrea's, arms
High school friend, Susan, holding G for the first time
MiMi with Geneva who quickly fell asleep in great-grandmother's arms
Geneva doing her favorite thing, standing up
Cousin, Megan, with Lexa. I was at the hospital when Megan was born June 29, 1999. It was an incredible moment. Now she finally gets to meet my children. Crazy how fast things change.