our daddy

this year i asked the kiddos to tell me a few things they thought daddy would like for father's day. bauer said, "a shooter (one of those water gun things)". "why would daddy like that, b?" i asked. "cause he loves to play with me at the pool." :)

when i asked vivian she said, "a monster mask." ok. "because mom, he always wants to chase us and be the monster!!" what a great testimony as to what an amazing daddy we have!! thank you cliffy for all that you do for our entire family...we love you SO much!!!

supercalafragalisticexpialidocious

saturday was vivian's first dance recital. they danced to supercala....and i was a stage mom. (which is why i only managed to get these few shots.)

the girls (all ten of them) were SO well behaved!! here mackenzie, allison, vivian, and meredith pose for the camera (the costumes were "super itchy" so i promised vivian she wouldn't have to wear hers until necessary.)

afterwards, we met up with gege, bauer, frances and daddy outside. brother brought sister a surprise...a bouquet of pretty flowers!!

i was VERY proud of my sweet tapping girl.

the crew...and where was frances during all the excitement you ask?!

doing what she does best, of course!! how blessed are we?!?

fab frances frenzy

i cannot help myself.

this is my last baby....

and i NEED to capture every SINGLE moment.

she doesn't mind.

she will even hold her head up,

over....

and over...

and over again just so i can get the pics. ok, so maybe this one is saying "enough already, mother." ;)

water baby

little miss frances usually gets a bath in the big bathtub...and LOVES it. but when i was cleaning out the garage the other day i found the baby bathtub, and decided to give it a try.

i think she likes it...

"what mom, bathtime is over already?!" ;)

today's story...

a small foreword....it is a family joke that no day man can pay attention when the television is on. a plague that knows no limits, every generation is rendered completely deaf within ten feet of a tv, and has a complete inability to "concentrate".
and now...the story:
me: vivian please go clean up your room.
v: i can't mom.
me: why?
v: i want to see the end of this show, pleeeeeeeeease.
me: ok, i'll clean up your room, and then you can clean up mine (where she was watching the show).
v: ok.
after picking up her room and realizing she was NOT picking up mine...
me: vivian, i told you to pick up.
v: but i CAAAAAN't mom. i'm just like my daddy!!
me: what? your daddy is a big helper. he picks up ALL the time. what do you mean?
v: i cannot consummate when the tv is on.

ahem....concentrate. yeah.

little natalie

today we took a "home" day, and i decided to do a little cleaning. somehow a little turned into a lot, and i have now purged v's closet and drawers. upon doing so i realized i had a few things put back in the too big pile. they were size six so i thought maybe next year. but guess what?!*

they fit! even the little sailor dress with the matching doll outfit. wooohooo.

thanks cousin natalie!!! we are so excited for you to come and visit and see vivian wear all the cool outfits you have been sending our way!! :)
*and NO, vivian is NOT wearing pantyhose in that first picture...that is just how tan all of us are already. and YES, we wear 30 and 50 sunscreen. see why we needed a day at home?

lil baby wall hanging

i'm not the least bit sorry..THIS baby is beautiful. i don't care if she is mine. and while i was trying to capture her still very blue eyes, her daddy was busy inducting her into the "club".

please don't ask me how or why, but with each child clif has done this "tradition"? he takes them under the arms and raises them high in the air, and then pretends to hang them on the wall like a picture. then he announces with glee, "look!! it's a lil baby wall hanging!!" the baby then squirms and laughs and he stares them down...and they squirm and laugh more. it is weird, so don't ask me...but they all love it!

i couldn't capture her laugh, but i DID capture the "your so crazy" daddy look. teehee, maybe this one is MINE after all!!! ;)

dance rehearsal

someone has their first dance recital this weekend...

and they are pretty excited.

SOOO excited in fact they have been practicing their smile for their performance all on their own, and today THIS is what was revealed. ummm ok....really?! ;)

meet the mulhearns [twins]

today vivian and bauer went to meet their newest cousins, daylee and hayes. even though frances was the first cousin to see these cuties (just mere minutes after they were born) it wasn't until today that we were able to take a class picture. here they are...the graduating class of 2028! :)

bauer took some inital interest in the babies, but was MUCH more interested in his cool cousin setler, and quickly set off for the backyard playground. vivian on the other hand, was beaming holding both of the babies.

i must admit, i would have been a bit proud, too...look at how BEA-utiful they are!!!

my thoughts exactly miss v!!!

two months?

seriously?! my little bit is already two months? i can hardly believe it.

she is finally turning into a little person with her own personality.

she loves to goo gooo gooooo, and geeg geeeg geeeeee! and she almost always smiles at her mommy!! she weighed 8lb 9 oz at her check up (which was a 1.5lb weigh gain in three weeks...YOWZA!)

and she LOVES to stand up....well, as long as her big ol' noggin will let her! ;)

what did we do before we had you miss f? i can't recall...but who would want to!!!!

just in case...

you don't live here? today was H.O.T!!! just ask these two sweaty little children. have mercy, how WILL we survive august?!

a family discovery

since gege and pawpaw are here for the twins birth...we were able to spend a little time with them yesterday afternoon, and they even brought setler along!!

i even managed to pose the stair stepped cousins. (caprisun bribery works EVERY time!)

and got the sweetest picture of pawpaw and his girl, frances.

and speaking of visitors, aunt shannon was in town this week and got to hold her newest niece for the first time.

jackson and vivian had fun sliding down the stairs (bauer was napping).

AND possibly most importantly, i made a very important discovery. frances (from birth) has had the most amazing LOOONG fingers and toes. this is so very fascinating to me because i very clearly remember my mother (even when i was an adult) holding my hand and saying how "stubby" my fingers were (she was VERY accurate, btw). so imagine my surprise today, as i was taking pictures of my sister, to discover that her fingers are LOOONG, just like our mother's and frances'. i guess those smith genes really ARE hanging on, eh cathy?! ;)

bauer, the comedian

i am convinced, that without a doubt, this kid LIVES to make me laugh. his latest trick is to feign emotions\actions. like the above stated, "i happy, mommy!"

"i mad, mommy"

"that stinky, mommy!!"

"ohhhh, you are soooo funny, mommy!" so imagine my surprise when he took this new "acting" gig to the next level...

"look mommy, i vivian. i soo pretty!" :) seriously, i nearly peed my pants!!

ummmm yeah...

so bauer has a bit of a southern accent. that, coupled with his two year old "special" pronunciation of simple words begot the following:
v: mommy, bauer is saying naughty words.
me: what? he is downstairs playing in his kitchen.
v: he is saying a dirty word, mommy.
me: ok, i'll go check it out...
filling the downstairs in a sweet sing song voice:
b: ass cream, asssss cream....whoooo wants assss cream?
:)
IIIIce people, ice. yeah.

and then there were SIX!!!

last night at dinner both clif and i's phones went off at the same time. we KNEW immediately it was time. at 10:18 and 10:20 respectively daylee joan and smith hayes mulhearn made their debut!

each weighed 6 lbs. 6 oz. and measured 19 inches. that is a whole lotta baby!!!

daylee is already a bit curious about her uncle cliffy...

and frances is pumped to have someone finally make HER look like the big kid!! congrats seth, su and setler...we love you, and are so happy for you all!!!