Male Bonding: Winter!

I hope there are many more days like this one. All 3 loving it. Ski on!

Santa 2009

For Family Night, we took the kids to their long awaited trip to have a talk with Santa. I was so impressed with Luke running up to him and eager to have a chat. Sophia and Wesley closely followed behind and this cute Santa gave them a window of time that was just their own with no respect to the line behind us. He was very endearing. Thanks Santa! See you in a few days....we hope! ;-)

Merry Christmas 2009!

Welcome to our virtual Christmas Card:

(This isn't our 2009 Christmas Card, it's the runner up but I love it the same!)

2009 is on its way out! It was an eventful year and here are some of the highlights:

Evan worked hard toward achieving a goal of competing in his first sprint triathlon:

Wesley lost his first tooth:

and started Kindergarten

(with his bffs Henry & Tyler)

Sophia traveled to Texas for the first time to visit her best friend Halle Kate



and got to do another solo trip to Utah and California to be with cousins

and then when she turned 8 she was baptized!

She continues to have supermodel aspirations and poses anytime there is a camera in her direction.

Luke has finally learned to say a few sentences, started school, taught himself how to somersault and knows how to work the microwave, car remote, camera and most iPhone apps with Jelly Car and Lightsaber being his favorites.

Oh and one more thing on Luke. He renamed everyone in our family:

Saw, Essie and Ook...priceless!

Liz travelled extensively through the espousal/goodness of her flight attendant cousin and enjoyed spending time with helping her mom a lot out in Utah, throwing her a 70th birthday party, and visiting other friends scattered across the US. We love JetBlue!

Liz also turned herself into a vintage lunch lady in September and taught herself the fine art of cafeteria food--gourmet style! (click on the link for some amazing recipes including homemade hostess cupcakes and smokey mac & cheese with bacon!)

(power to the lunch lady!)

Liz & Evan got to slip away a few times this year:

Once to the Dominican Republic

then Southern California

and Montreal, Quebec

by themselves. Lots of kissing.

What a treat!

Evan, Sophia & Wesley became frequent skiers in the Berkshires in Massachusetts.

(Liz even snuck in a run once when Wesley begged so Evan relinquished his skis, boots and coat and off we went!)

Evan continued with his aspirations to become a Rock Star and joined the basement band OnSeven and had their first gig and look forward to many more in the coming year!

The Smiths took a fun roadtrip to Niagara Falls and the Palmyra temple pageant in July

Pictured here with the Buckners who were lucky enough to be in the pageant!

and Who can resist a voyage on Maid of the Mist?!

and one of the most memorable events of 2009...

We managed to kill 21 flats of annuals with acidic mulch. Who knew?! Live and LEARN!

xxxx

2009 has been a year of many ups and downs! We're so grateful we have each other and this Christmas season to reflect on the meaningful things and people (YOU) in our lives!

xoxo

The Smiths

Our house is warmer when we have visitors so please come and play soon!

(The real card)

Sophia is 8 TODAY!

Eight is one of those milestones. I vividly remember this day, eight years ago today! It was a balmy NYC day. Fall hadn't yet touched the city and the night before, I went to bed not feeling any different than the previous 9 months, which is not encouraging being almost 2 weeks overdue. I woke up an hour after I had retired to bed to a warm puddle of water! Yay, that moment you dream about had arrived!!! The first sign of labor! Evan and I were so anxious for our long awaited bundle of joy to come after so many heartaches and emotional rollercoaster rides with trying to maintain a pregnancy. As you can imagine, we were delighted to receive a beautiful perfect baby girl just 12 hours later who immediately had it all together! She got with the program of our lifestyle and brought us so much joy and excitement to our days. She was a people person right off the bat and she ruined it for the next siblings with her impeccable sleeping habits.

We love you Sophia and the talent and love your bring into our family. Your are an amazing nurturer and have many promising skills with the Arts! Today marks the day that you start another journey of learning a new instrument--the violin! I love how you tackle new things with vigor and enthusiasm and maintain your other talents. May you always cultivate a love for learning new things, expanding your horizons and loving your family as much as you do-- although it is hard sometimes ;-)!!!

8 is GREAT!

Sophia--15 minutes old, September 30, 2001, NYC

The Sticker Car AGAIN...

Here is a little project I was asked to do this week and wanted to share on my blog. Literally, Drew, the owner of TrashTalkMedia, asked me if I wouldn't mind being interviewed for a story FOX5NY was doing on his company and I agreed thinking it would be a quick little blurb soundbite. When I saw the result today that was broadcasted, I was surprised that the story was focused mostly on me and my experience with a little bit of Drew and his company.

Click here to see the piece. (I can't embed it properly for now.)

If you're interested in doing this to your car, you can register here at FreeCarMedia.

This blog has flatlined.....

...is there any hope of breathing new life into it? There is so much great content, but the creator is spent. HELP!

Here's a preview...

...of our shoot with Blue Lily Photography last month.

More to follow...

Check out bluelily's website HERE.

Sophia's Piano Recital 2009

How lucky are we to have this little girl in our family?!

We were so thrilled to see the nagging, the endless hours of practicing and the hefty resources pay off as we watched Sophia's third piano recital.  She has been really committed to perfecting her talents lately and we're really so proud of her accomplishments!

Keep up the good work, Sophia!