Scarlett is FOUR!

How is she not this small anymore?!

 Katie Scarlett turned FOUR-years-old last Sunday.  I'm not sure how so many years flew by already, but I do know that I'm excited for a million and four more!  Scarjo is me and I love it!  She calls me her bestie.  She is left-handed.  And grumpy!  When she's angry or frustrated she cannot control her body as she freaks out.  Me to a T.  I've learned self-control as I've aged and I'm sure she'll get there...  She cannot tell a lie and even if I'm in the other room when she does something that I've asked her not to do, she'll come find me, tell me what it is she did, and say, "Mummy, I'm so sorry I picked up Winnie!"  How can I get angry at that?!

Scarlett is sleeping in her own room always and wakes us up every once in a while if her blankets get un-tucked.  She sleeps with no less than 5 stuffed animals, no matter how many times I sneak some out.  Of course, Brandy, her monkey, is closest.  When she's hurt or in trouble, it's a toss-up between who she'll cry for; me or Brandy.  I have no idea where she came up with the name Brandy.  I'm guessing she stole it from the local flower store owner's dog's name???

Her favorite color is purple, animals are cats, favorite princess is Belle...or Repunzel, or Sofia the first, or Tiana...depending on the day/hour/mood she is in!  She can play with babies all day, but she really loves to watch Thomas.  She is SMART.  I know I have to say that because she is mine, but even her teacher agrees!  :-)  I hope that she continues to love reading and is nice to her sister more often than not!

She weighs 32ish lbs. and I have no idea how tall she is...we'll find out specifics in February when we go for her four year wellness visit.  Her teeth are still wonky, but less noticeable.  Thank goodness!  Scarlie Jojo goes to nursery school, and while I hate to let her go, I love the new routine and hearing her stories.

Scarlett is getting older and even funnier!  After a discussion about babies being born (I liiiieeeee!), she asked how they come out of the belly button and don't leave a hole.  When "magic" didn't stop the questions, I said they use needles that don't hurt.  She made a concerned face and said, "I don't want to be a mummy, I'll just be a ballerina!"  Ha!  Stuff like that, all the time.

And she sings songs.  Always.  To everything.  Her latest to Winston, "I don't love your kisses, but I do love your love!"  Yesss!  Maybe the next Beyonce?!  Maybe!

I wish I could remember more of the funny things she says.  She makes me belly laugh all the time!

I get so sad when I think about Scarlett getting older and leaving me, so I tell her, "COLBY!"  Then I feel guilty because I'm already laying the guilt for that conversation in the future.  But then I think about her leaving and it reinforces my wanting to make her stay.  Bad, bad, bad!  Or genius?!

For her 4th birthday celebration, I wanted to have lots of friends come to the playground and have a free-for-all with running around fun, pizza, cake, and presents...but then I remembered that it's January in cold, iced-over Maine.  Indoor gymnastics party was almost the same!

Awesome educational game:

From the Clunies with a personalized necklace, "hanitizer," and a Sofia the First poster!  

After a morning filled with yummy doughnut breakfast (tradition!) and opening Auntie Mimi and Lulu's gift early, we were off to Decal Gymnastic for some birthday fun!

The kids all played and did gymnastics for the first hour, then it was time for pizza!  After lunch, more playing, cupcakes & gifts, a few more minutes of gymnastics, then everyone headed home!  Easy for me and fuuunnnn for Scarlett!  Even Poppy got to do some gymnastics...

Love her little strut!

Lulu on the trampoline always makes me smile!  Scarlett was on that trampoline LOTS!  Perks of being the birthday girl!  And Poppy on the bars...you go, girlfriend!

Group shots: without Poppy and with her!

After the party, we were all exhausted, but we rallied and had more festive fun.  Now it was time for the birthday girl to open her gifts from Tyler and me (ME!).  All last week, I thought about and put back and bought and didn't buy a last gift for Scarlett.  It was almost going to be a Water Baby, then it was almost Baby Alive Real Surprises doll.  In the end, I thought the BA doll would take away from her imaginative play (And $55 for a doll that was not an American Girl seemed crazy after she just got Saige!) and the Water Baby was missing her bottle.  Womp, womp.  So when I spotted this $19 real life generic brand baby, I knew she had to have it.  It was a baby who cried and sounded just like a real newborn baby!  Once the decision was made, the hardest part was hiding it from Poppy and her sticky fingers!  I'd say it was a hit:

She named her Poppy Ballerina.  Shocking, I know.

 Here she is tackling the rest of her gifts!  A purple stuffed horse purse, a matching outfit with Saige, a wheelchair kit for Saige, playdoh, a mini barbie, and a birthday barbie; not too much and she was ecstatic!  Mission accomplished.  We spent the next day opening up and playing with her new things, so that she would use and appreciate everything!  Next up...thank you notes!  

Oooor another party!  Two days after the 19th, Scarlett was still celebrating!  Her teacher celebrates her student's birthdays by inviting the family in to bring a special snack and sing "happy birthday!"  That was this morning; we brought mini muffins and fruit and we got to see Scarlett playing with her classmates!  

January 21, 2014

The Polar Express

I love that I am just now getting all caught up with our holiday fun on my blog.  Blogger fail.  But it must be documented...I have too much fun looking back!

So on December 1, on the tenth anniversary of Frank's passing, my mom brought all of her kids and all of her grandchildren to go on The Polar Express!!!  It seemed appropriate for us all to be together and talking about what Frank would be saying/thinking about all these ladies!

Before the big event, I let Scarlett watch the movie a few times because she wasn't familiar with the story and the book is just a bit too long.  By the time it was time to go, she was all pumped up to go to the North Pole!
Mission accomplished!

It was a really great experience for all the little ones, but I think Camdyn, 9, was a little too old.  They literally drove the train down the railway, stopped and said, "There's the North Pole," then drove back.  It was a total of one hour and pretty torturous for the adults, but the excitement on the kids' faces made it all worth it, cheesy as it sounds!

There was Christmas music playing after they finished reading The Polar Express and they served hot cocoa!  Santa even came along for a ride on the way back!  Perfect!

Of course, I have millions of pictures!

The granddaughters!

All of us!

Blurry, but all of us!

SANTA! ('s biscuits!)

Love their faces!

One side of the train: Scarlett, me, Max, Poppy!  (Sorry Clunies!)

The other side: Molly, Alyssa, Mum, Camdyn

An outside view of the train!

After this, we went to Whole Foods, so definitely worth the trip!

BEST. CHRISTMAS. EVER.

We had a fantastic Christmas!!!  The gifts were toned down from past years and that just made it more fun!  Less stress, but more thoughtfulness!  Yes, please!

This was the first year that Scarlett got it.  It was magical for her and that added so much fun for me!  We made reindeer food, drove around looking at lights, talked about how Santa goes into the houses through the chimneys, left out the cookies and milk for Santa, and all that good stuff!

Here is our Christmas Day 2013 in pictures...

Happy birthday, Jesus CAKE!

Tracking Santa with Lulu...

Wrapping gifts:

Santa came!!!

And he brought "Staige" with him!  Scarlett was psyched!

Then we headed to GRAMMUM'S!

Christmas in school!

I cried ugly tears when I saw this story on the news. So sad, but still so sweet. Ali found out she had a rare form of lung cancer when Olivia was just one; that hits so close to home. I cannot imagine leaving my little ones behind...

On a happier note, Scarlett had lots of firsts at her school this week!

First Christmas Program:

First Classroom Christmas Party:

And Poppy had her first Christmas party, too!

First Christmas ornament made by Scarlett!

Christmas cards are ordered. . . FINALLY!

Ordered 5 minutes ago from Shutterfly! (Um, they have crazy amazing deals!!!) Rocks my world!

And we have Winston's cute face on the back!  It'll be the first time that anyone has really learned of his addition to our family, so that will be interesting!

I'm later than usual ordering these...not sure how Christmas is almost here already!

These pictures were my three favorites from the 41 acceptable pictures taken on my iphone!  All together, I took over 200, so yeah . . . that should tell you how successful I was.  Thank goodness for pop bribes!!!  They worked!  (Although they were in half the photos rendering them useless!  Shoot.)

Next year, it might be time to consider using a professional photographer!

Purple Potatoes!

Thank you, Mary, for the idea!

Scarlett's FAVORITE color is purple, so when she spotted Lulu cleaning purple potatoes, she was insistent on also having some for herself!

They are actually delicious!  And not too crazy to eat...

We cleaned, boiled, sprinkled garlic, basil, and olive oil on them, then baked them for 20 minutes at 350 degrees and then finally, they were ready!

We each had a small taste, but are saving the rest for dinner with the other Smiths!

PS--Already rocking the Christmas jammies?!  Of course!  Especially now that Halloween is over, everything Christmas is fair game!!  ;-)

Happy Halloween!!!

This is the first year that I have TWO little ladies to dress up and I really love the idea of doing costumes that go together, but are still different, so when Scarlett became obsessed with Madeline, I started talking about Halloween and hinting about what she'd like to be.  Then, Madeline rescued a dog and the discussion for costumes was closed.  Hello, puppy dog, Poppy!  Good thing Scarlett was still really excited about the Madeline idea because it has been a few months since this whole fascination began...she's still trying to get me to be Miss Clavel.  "Mummy, when is your costume coming?!" was how she broached the subject this morning...smart lady, but it's not gonna happen!  (I have too much birthday planning to do [still] to worry about dressing up!  Maybe next year!)

So there we were, Madeline with her rescued pup, Genevieve!  Too bad Poppy was less than thrilled with the idea of wearing a costume.

SO crossing my fingers that trick-or-treating goes a little more smoothly!!!  Luckily, Scarlett was the perfect Madeline and even tried to make Poppy less of a grumpster!

We tried to include Poppy in our photo shoot, but Scarlett totally stole the show!  What a fantastic Madeline!!!

And just because I want to see, here is Scarlett in each of her past costumes:

CUTE!  I wish I had been smart and picked a costume for Poppy without something on her head!  Scarlett last 3 minutes with that cupcake hat...next year!!!

Have a Happy Halloween :-)

Sticker Chart

Oh yes, we're there.  I always thought charts were kind of silly.  With potty training, we just bribed Scarlett with gumballs and she was potty trained 2 days later.  To wean her from nursing, we promised a puppy stuffed animal.  Boom, done.  But then when came to sleep training, we were stuck.  She was sleeping in her bed.  That was right next to our's.  Most of the time.

After Poppy was born and co-sleeping/nursing, things got even more "interesting."  I almost felt like I had to over-compensate for rocking the world as she knew it by introducing a new baby into the mix, so I let her sleep in "our" bed.  It turned it "our" meaning Scarlett, Poppy, and me,  Sees ya' Tyler!

I drew the line when she AND Poppy began waking each other up multiple times a night and brought in a toddler bed.  Scarlett slept in it next to my bed for a few months.  Then it got real.

Scarlett was going to sleep in her own bed.  In her own PRINCESS bedroom.  It was happening.

We made this chart and talked all about being a big girl and sleepovers and telling her cousins :

It was working well, but then after over a week went by and no American Girl doll was earned, Scarjo started getting confused, followed by disinterested, SO I added mini prizes and gumballs.  Every yellow box that earns a stickers also comes with a treat (lippy, pez, etc.) and the red box is the real deal: Saige!!!

Easy peasy, right?!  Except that yesterday, after I scolded, "No sticker!  No gumball!  You woke up 2x last night!" Scarlett replied casually, "That's okay!  Tomorrow I will, right?" and continued off to play in her toy room.  Yeah, she'll be 15 by the time she reaches the red box.

Ehhh...wish me luck!

Nursery School Pictures

(after Instagram)

I stressed out over making sure that Scarlett had the perfect outfit for her first ever school pictures; probably a little too much, but I think it worked out!  She looks sweet and innocent, while also put together and preppy.

Good thing I listened to everyone and decided not to go with the purple background/white shirt route!

Sisters.

Here in the first picture, Poppy is posing so proudly with her babies in the stroller.  Happy, happy!  Then rotten Big Sister realizes what is going on, swoops in, steals baby Tiana, and leaves Poppy with that face!

Poor Popsters -- this is what life is like 50% of the time.  The other 50% is spent being man-handled walked around the house by Scarlie Jojo!  Obviously being baby 2 is hard! 

Don't worry, though, I took control of the situation...until Big Sister strikes again!

An entire month of blogging in one post.

Well, September has been an eventful and fun-filled month, so far!  First of all, Louisa Violet Francis turned THREE on the 10th!!!  (Ahhmmm...since her mother hasn't blogged about it yet, I feel like I'm safe...!)  Here is Lulu's special day in pictures:

Laughing??  And no fights?!  Scarjo must know it's her birthday!!!

Lulu S-L-O-W-L-Y dragged that kitty away...she is a smooth one!

Poppy loving the birthday shopping!

Captive audience...just waiting to get their hands on her goods!

Lulu loves her some chocolate!!!

Oh, Alyssa!

Lulu, the Ladybug Girl!

And then, the 13th marked ONE YEAR since Scarlett stopped nursing.  Just one.  How crazy is that?!  At the time, it wasn't a bizarre thing for me to nurse her to sleep, but now she's such a big girl, that I can't believe how much she has changed in such a short amount of time!

Poppy had her first visit to the Apple Farm!!!  Parties!  It was a quick visit and perfect because it was a Wednesday at noon -- no one was there!  Tyler, Mary, Brian, and Lulu met Scarjo, Poppy, and me there after our MOPS play date...very spur-of-the-moment!

Another eventful change that's going on in our family...we're following my crazy mother's lead and going vegan.  She watched Forks Over Knives and that was it for her!  Then she read Skinny Bitch and that was the end for the rest of us; she converted us all to at least vegetarianism.  One by one.  Molly was the first to convert and the easiest because Mum buys all her groceries and makes most meals.  Mary and I have been open to the idea, but harder to turn because we (okay, mostly me!) just struggle at cooking in general.  Now we have to find substitutes??  Too much.  But it's happening and I'm excited to make my babies into healthy eaters!  Goodbye, Splenda (no, thank you, luekemia!), half & half (sads forever.), and buffalo chicken (hardest. thing. ever.) and hello, tofu, "princess" (forbidden black) rice, and soy milk in my coffee!  So far, so good!

Also, I went to the Ulta Benefit Brow Bar and had my eyebrows done!!!  After Poppy was born, my eyebrows fell out.  For reals.  Sooo, off to Ulta I went, after very badly trying to fill them in myself for the last 11 months.  The wax girl there was a miracle worker!!!  Totally worth the $12/per eyebrow (what!!!) wax job.  Totally.  Here is the evidence:

Clearly, I'm psyched!  

And now that September is quickly coming to a close...I need to order Scarlett's Halloween costume SOON!!!  I have had it planned for a few months, but keep forgetting to actually buy the costume.  Struggle.  Here she is last year...two days before Poppy was born!  I am not sure if I can come close to this cuteness, but I'm certainly going to try!