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Look what our little smartie has learned how to do!

One of These Days These Boots Are Gonna Walk All Over You

What does it take to make a 3-yr-old really happy on a day filled with falling snow? Apparently a new pair of snow boots.

"Hey, Mom! Look at my new boots!"

"Even the bottoms of them are awesome. See?"

"I'm hot stuff. I'm hot stuff. Look at me, I'm hot, hot stuff.." (Sung to "This Old Man")

And when you think maybe the boots are getting uninteresting, count all of the stitches on them. "Nope, they are still hot stuff! 1, 2, 3, 4..."

I Still Love Her

"I wish Molly (her baby doll) was a big kid, but I still love her even though she is just a baby."

Poor Molly. Guess Gabby isn't feeling the baby love this morning.

Playdate with the Kistners

I recently reconnected with one of my good friends from the Ball State Chamber Choir. Her daughter, Jilayne, is 4 and plays very well with Gabby. Her adorable son, Ben, is 2.5 and will be in the same grade as Gabby some day. They were too cute to not take photos of today when we went to their house for a playdate. Gabby was SO thrilled to be playing with anyone at all after being sick for so long, let alone the Kistners! She loves her new friends!

Our Little Picasso

A Gabby Smile for your Monday

A New Year's Gabbyism

Gabby's commentary when she found out that her daddy was in the bathroom upstairs this morning... (I better preface this story by saying that Kenton does not allow Gabby into the bathroom when he is going potty, but one time she walked in on him.)

"Daddy better not be standing up to go potty. I really don't like it when he stands up. It's just not good. Not good at all. He should be sitting down like I do. Standing up to go potty is just NOT safe, Mommy!"

Strike a Pose and Vogue

A few cute faces from the holiday break...

Our niece, Moira

Gabby and Moira being silly

Resident Little Cutie (or L.C. as I call her), Fiona

I Make You Wanna Jump, Jump!

Oh my. I have so many Christmas photos to post I don't know when I will find the time. Now that I have a fancy shmancy camera, my files are HUGE when I upload them and Kenton isn't too happy with me. So, as if I haven't been bad enough about blogging, now I have to compress all of my files before uploading as well. Just one more step to making blogging a chore. I love it and I know Gabby loves these memories, but it can be so time-consuming!

I'll start the Christmas extravaganza with a few photos of Gabby and Moira jumping around at my parents' house. I was trying to capture them both in the air at the same time, but this is what I got...

"Okay girls...1-2-3-JUMP! Wait, Moira you went too soon."

"Let's try it again. 1-2-3 JUMP! This time, Gabby you jumped too soon. Next time will be a charm for sure."

"Oops sorry. Mommy didn't take the picture soon enough to capture you both in the air. Again?"

"Sweet Jesus, how high is Moira jumping?! Nice 'do Gabby."

"And now, introducing the Amazing Levitating Moira." David Blaine has nothing on my 3-yr-old niece. Isn't this photo hilarious?

It's the holiday season, with the whoop-de-do...

A lot of my friends have been posting fun holiday photos on their blog detailing decorations in their homes. Although we are lacking in the decoration dept. at the Smith compound, we do have a few up. Here is what I shot today with my awesome new Nikon.

Gabby's new nutcracker princess her Papaw and Susu gave her. Behind it is her new gingerbread advent calendar. Too cute!

I think I need to get some battery operated white lights for the mini trees by the TV.

Gabby's artwork. Notice the angel? It was hanging at school for a few weeks and hers was the only one that kept falling off the wall. I joked with another mom that maybe it was a sign from God that hers kept falling off the wall. Her teachers overheard me and emphasized that it was DEFINITELY not symbolizing anything but the lack of sticky tack on the back of it.

Santa in his sleigh on top of our piano.

The snowman family. We have to move them when we put fires in the fireplace. Irony at its best that the snowmen could actually melt.

The first of many ornament photos...

Gabby made this at school this year.

New to our tree this year, Disney Princess ornaments also from Papaw and Susu.

One of my favorite ornaments that falls into the "too sweet" category.

This photo is fun blown up to see the detail. The piano was given to me by a former coworker during an ornament exchange. It plays Fur Elise.

Below is a gift I wrapped for my boss. Gabby decorated the wrapping paper herself with paint and cookie cutters. I thought it turned out really cute! I took the following photo and used some various filters. Which do you like the best? You may have to blow the photos up in order to choose.

Original, Red Boost, or Soft Filter (a.k.a. "the glowing gift")?

Fifteen on Friday

I always miss out on doing "Ten on Tuesday" posts, so I thought I would overload you all and attempt a "Fifteen on Friday." I sometimes neglect putting funny antics on the blog and head right to Facebook instead. Some of these may be repeats for you, but I wanted to archive them here.

1. Gabby loves to laugh in general, but like both her mom and dad, she loves to crack herself up. Today in the car she was giggling at something and said, "Mom, I'm cracking up myself."

2. Gabby was more than happy to clean up her toys yesterday, which was very out of character for her. Normally it is a battle. After cleaning, she followed up by saying, "I just like it when you be proud of me!" Seeking approval at an early age I see!

3. Our daughter is officially "into" hair and clothes. She brushes her hair multiple times a day and gets very angry when any part of it is messy or sticking out. She doesn't understand static in hair yet either. She loves to wear dresses and asks for a dress almost every day.

4. Gabby likes to dress like her me. If I am wearing jeans, she will ask to wear jeans so we can be "jean twins." She even matches my hair often. If I have a ponytail, she requests one as well. The days of pigtails are over and it breaks my heart. She won't even allow loopy pigtails. Hmpf. I think maybe I'll have to start wearing pigtails in order to get her to do it again. :)

5. Two nights ago before bed, Gabby told us she wanted to "text" her cousin Emma (who is 6). We are in serious trouble when she hits...well...kindergarten apparently!

6. Something we discovered this year is that Gabby LOVES to sing Christmas carols. I'm amazed at how many lyrics she knows. I give all of the credit for that to The Wiggles, as she listens to their Christmas cds constantly in the car. If only she could learn that the lyrics to Silent Night are "round yon virgin" instead of "round your virgin." Sounds like a really bad square-dancing call - you know, "Swing your virgin round and round!"

7. We (and when I say "we," I mean Kenton...love how I always blame him for things) made the mistake of mentioning possibly going to Disneyland this spring on our way to my grandparents' house in Santa Barbara. Gabby was upset when Kenton was leaving for work the other day because she wanted him to stay home and couldn't understand why he couldn't just stay. He said, "Because honey, I have to go to work to make money." In response, she says, "OH! I get it! I know why you have to go to work - so we can go to Disneyland!" Yep, you guessed it Gabby. Oh, and to pay the mortgage, grocery bill, and for electricity, but NEXT on the list is definitely Disneyland.

8. Gabby is totally having a throwdown with me as we speak. She is just hanging out in the bathroom with the door shut (has been in there for over 5 minutes just standing there) because she doesn't want to wash her hands after going to the bathroom. Stubborn, stubborn, stubborn kid.

9. Gabrielle has still been asking a LOT of questions about Santa. Every time we talk about what presents he will be bringing to her, she comes up with something new. "I hope Santa brings an Ariel dress! I hope Santa brings new Barbies!" Hello, kid! Where were these requests when we originally asked you what you wanted for Christmas? I continue to tell her that no matter how many items she puts on her list, Santa will only pick a few to bring to the house. She will then remind me that he has a lot of other boys and girls to take toys to as well and that is why she doesn't get everything on her list. At least she understands that much!

10. If my daughter asks me one more time when she is going to see Gigi and Poppop next and/or when she is going to Grandma Wilson's house, I am going to scream. She sure does love all of her grandparents...even the "greats!"

11. This past Wednesday Gabby and I met up with a college friend of mine and her two kids at the Children's Museum. In the dinosphere area, the sky turns colors and the sounds/lights simulate a storm. We told Gabby we were waiting for the storm, but those who know Gabby know that she is NOT fond of storms (ever since that bad hail storm ruined her opinion of storms). She walked around with her hands over her ears for over 10 minutes, even when we promised her the storm was not happening yet.

12. Gabrielle LOVES pajamas. I swear she would live in pj's and dresses if we allowed her to. She wants to wear her pajamas every time she goes to sleep (including naps). It is very annoying for her to change clothes so frequently, but I am trying to get over it. The only redeeming quality associated with pajamas is the fact that she calls them "pajammy-jammers." I love it when she calls them that!

13. Gabrielle is a huge fan of pizza. It has by far surpassed her love of spaghetti. Put a pizza in front of the kid and she will easily eat two slices, if not three. She's a pizza pig for sure.

14. Gabby loves to play pretend. She loves to pretend we are being chased by a bad witch, tiptoes through the house, and does away with the bad witch by waving her magical wand. She loves to make her dolls and princesses talk. She enjoys her dollhouse and moving the furniture around. The kid just likes dolls. There's not much more to it.

15. Gabby has had a renewed interest in her babydolls lately. She has always been fond of her favorite doll, Molly, but she is now playing with all of them on a daily basis. At any given moment she is changing their clothes, breastfeeding them (which she says, "I'm feeding her out of my belly"), or just holding them. What's even funnier is that sometimes she'll randomly stop what she is doing downstairs and go, "Uhh! Molly is crying AGAIN!" and then race upstairs to get Molly from her bedroom. It must be rough having to take care of a fake baby whose behavior is determined in your own mind.

Holiday Pictionary

Can you guess what these are drawings of? 1000 points that don't count to the winner.

Dear Santa...

...thanks for not scaring me this year. Tonight I asked my Mommy lots of questions about you, like how you got to Susu's office tonight (apparently by a magic sleigh), where your sleigh goes once you get to the office (I guess it disappears), and how you see where you are going in the dark (Rudolph's nose leads the way). Mommy asked me tonight what I would tell you if you asked me if I had been a good girl this year. I told her I would say, "A little bit." Hey, I'm an honest gal! I was really worried on the way home that the elves weren't working on making the Ariel dress I asked Santa for (I may have forgotten to tell Mommy and Daddy that I wanted this dress until today). Mommy told me that they were working on whatever toys Santa told them to make. He only picks a few off of my list, so it will be a surprise to see what is under the tree on Christmas morning! I'm trying to be a really good girl between now and Christmas. C'mon, I don't want a lump of coal in my stocking! But really, how could he resist this face?

Photo Phriday...err...Friday

Sometimes black and white is just fun. "Cause you got to have frieeeends..."

She has green eyes like her Mama now...

More eyes...very watchful

Jack doing his impression of Taylor Swift and Rene Zellweger combined.

You need to blow this one up and check out Beckett's gorgeous blue eyes (my friend Jessica's son).

And here's Jessica with her other gorgeous blue-eyed kid, Marielle.

*These are all still SOOTC shots. I could have beefed up the lighting in the last one, but I do not have Photoshop on this computer right now, so you get to see it in the raw. Keeps me honest that way. Ha!

More Photos from Brooke's Camera

And here are some more photos that I had taken when I borrowed Brooke's camera. For some reason, hers seemed to take better shots more easily. I know, I know! I WILL read the directions on my new one. Someday. By the way, these are all SOOTC shots. No editing. Some could be better with a little enhancement for sure, but who has time for that right now? :) The random people you see in these photos are all family members including Gabby's cousins Emma, Cooper, and Brianna, my in-laws Deb and Roger (and their two cute dogs), my sister-in-law Jennifer, and Kenton's grandmother.

Santa Came Early

...and delivered a new Nikon D3000 DSLR camera under my tree yesterday along with an awesome lens. Thank goodness for the lens because without it, this non-direction-reading lady would never have been able to get a start on her photography today. I know, I know. I should read how to actually use the camera...and I will! Just not right at this very moment. I decided it was more fun to mess around with the settings and see what happened. I got lots of different photos with different feels to them because I was messing around with so much. So here is my "study" for this afternoon - no instructions, no knowledge. Just a complete idiot taking photographs with a camera that is much smarter than she is. Oh, and a dog who loved his dolls.

My little cutie has no idea how many photos she will have taken of her from now on.

Jack doing what he does best.

Jack, Barbie. Barbie, Jack. A little soft, but still cute.