Smith Family Weblog

5 Oct

Olivia’s first haircut

When she was about four months old, Olivia lost most of the hair she had at birth. Three tufts remained–two over her ears, and one on top of head. Now that her “bangs” have been growing for more than 10 months, they’re starting to obstruct her vision.

I wasn’t crazy about cutting them across her forehead like I did for Ava, so I tried a trick Ava’s stylist recommended a couple of weeks ago. I just took all of her hair and twisted it on top of her head. Then, I took one little snip–and cut off more than an inch!

Bryan put the trimmings in an envelope with a quarter, despite the fact that we’ve since learned this was not a Smith family tradition, as he once thought.

The result is surprisingly wavy!

5 Oct

Fashionista in formation

Posted by Rebecca in Ava. 5 Comments

Saturday is dress yourself day.

At least she’s on trend with the socks and open-toed shoes.

3 Oct

Season’s end

Posted by Rebecca in Outdoor life. Leave a Comment

Bryan dismantled the garden last weekend, bringing in the few remaining tomatoes and peppers. You can see how the tomato plans spilled over the edges and covered the grass.

Temperatures are in the high 70s and low 80s by afternoon, but it’s brisk overnight. Perfect weather.

Maybe one more batch of salsa…

1 Oct

Making mountains out of molehills

Posted by Rebecca in Rebecca. 6 Comments

I finally pulled my bike out of storage. (Well, to be exact, I asked Bry to drag it up the basement steps, air up the tires and remind me how to work the gears.)

Still, though, my $89.99 Target special, which hasn’t seen daylight since about 2003, is completely accessible and ready to ride. I even took it for a quick spin Monday night.

I look forward to riding it again.

In 2013.

30 Sep

All about Olivia

Posted by Rebecca in Olivia. 2 Comments

At 10 months…

I usually find Olivia playing in her crib around 7 am most mornings, though sometimes she likes to wake up as early as 5:30 or 6 am (especially on the weekends). She’s happy from the start, and sits up on the counter by me as I get ready. I hand her all of my accoutrements, one by one, and she dutifully returns them covered with slobber.

The absolute hardest part of my day is dressing Olivia, which is saying a lot considering my workload lately. She puts up a huge fight and is darn near impossible to immobilize. If snaps are involved, you might as well call in sick.

Olivia squeals when she sees Diane’s door in the morning, and she practically leaps out of my arms to get down on the floor and play with the other babies. She waves goodbye, actually says, “Buh-bye,” and on occasion, she’s sad enough to see me go that she’ll shed a tear or two. Fortunately, this is pretty rare at this point. Still, I am regularly late to work in order to stay just a minute or two (or 20) to play.

I have finally cut out the noon visits, but when I arrive to pick her up at 5 pm, Olivia bounces up and down…and says, “Buh-bye.” We need to work on hello, I guess.

She eats more than Ava does at dinner, and is ready for bed by 7:30 or 7:45 pm. She snuggles up and lets me rock her for a bit. Nothing makes her happier than a song, and as such, I believe she may be a tad tone deaf. As long as she has her little blanket and pacifier, she’ll roll over and go to sleep without much of a fuss at all. Speaking of that pacifier, the doctor mentioned something about that at her nine month well-baby check, but I just can’t recall what it was…

All in all (night wakings and everything), Olivia is a very sweet baby, who really isn’t going to be a baby much longer. So, here’s Olivia now, in a nutshell:

Likes: Stair climbing, eating cat food, biting Ava and other innocent passersby, bath time, “The Wheels on the Bus,” midnight feedings, being outside, lunchtime, napping, grandparents, yogurt.

Dislikes: The cage (which is usually a result of stair climbing), face washing, cutting one-year molars, bibs, sleeping through the night.

I’m a pretty lucky mom.

30 Sep

Ten months!

Posted by Rebecca in Olivia. 6 Comments

I’m a few days late, so I’m celebrating Olivia’s 10-month mark with a huge fix. Enjoy!

29 Sep

Completely frivolous

Posted by Rebecca in Around the house, Rebecca. 5 Comments

Every now and then, I come across something that gives me more pleasure than any material object should.

My pink mittens, for instance, make me absolutely gleeful. Same goes for a glass jar of bubble bath or my pearl-topped ink pen. I can’t really put my finger on what exactly makes something go from functional to favored, but every so often, something just…fits.

This is my new object of desire–a cupcake-shaped trinket box I’ve had my eye on at our local florist for a number of months. When I returned some vases today, I saw that it was one of two left from the set of eight. A sign, right?

Now it’s perched on my windowsill. It’s pretty, but relatively pointless. And yet, I couldn’t be happier.

What’s the latest object of your affection?

29 Sep

Sunday surprise

Posted by Rebecca in Ava. 1 Comment

Bry spotted this hot air balloon outside yesterday afternoon. Ava was thrilled, and she watched it until we lost it behind the trees. As we were walking in, Olivia dropped a toy. In response to the noise, Ava exclaimed, “Oh, the balloon popped!”