Wednesday, January 30, 2008

I AM ONE!!



we had a wonderful birthday celebration in salem yesterday. our great friends, katy and david, and their two kids were able to join us to celebrate! i think lily had a lot of fun and you could say she has a sweet tooth... she pretty much devoured her birthday cake!




hmmm... will i like this??




watch me in action!


ainsley and lily in matching jammies!


so big now!!

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

happy birthday, sweet lily!!!

lily,
happy birthday!! we can hardly believe that you are one today! this year has absolutely flown by! we love you so much and adore everything about you. we feel so privileged to be your parents and it is such an honor for us. we hope that every single day we display to you how much the Lord loves you and how precious you are to us. we love you so very much!! HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY!
love,
your mom and dad



ps. happy anniversary to our dear friends adam and katie! we hope you guys have a wonderful day and know we are thinking of you!!

Friday, January 18, 2008

be it ever so humble...

this month, ryan and i have the joy of having not one, but two places of residence. he is doing a month long rotation in southwestern virginia at the veteran's hospital. so, they put him up in a lovely apartment and lily and i commute back and forth so we can all be together. don't worry, it is only natural to be a little bit jealous of this setup... just wait until you see the pictures!


our living room. the possibilities are endless!


this is lily's favorite part of the apartment. no matter how much i try to distract her, her sweet little hand finds it's way into this disgusting torn part of the couch. yuck!


this is lily's room and unfortunately, the photo doesn't do it justice. one of the beds is covered in lovely brown stains... your imagination can go wild...


sweet, right?


lily's throwback high chair! very fortunately for us, our wonderful friends katy and david are living the same life down here for FOUR months! (i am amazed by them as i think one month will do me in!) so we have been able to see them and they are letting us borrow this sweet high chair from their apartment!


and we had lily's first real snow storm while we were at the apartment. we got out to enjoy it but also got stuck down here for an extra day as they don't clear snow here as they do in the midwest! but it was beautiful!

...there's no place like home!

Monday, January 14, 2008

a weekend together...

we had the joy of spending this entire weekend together as a family. it was much needed and so nice just to catch up together. a few highlights...


oh how she loves her new doll! ok, yes, you are correct... this doll was forced in her face for the photo... but they are matching! the picture had to be captured!!



music to our ears!



she just figured out how to walk with this on her own and thinks she is SO big!


this was taken on a day where not one nap was had - so smiles were few and far between! but it was still nice to get out and hike!

sweet times together...

Thursday, January 3, 2008

happy new year!


it is hard to believe that another year has come and gone. what a year it has been at the smith household. we are so unbelievably blessed and it has been a year filled with so many fabulous changes and adventures. when i think back on the past year, i am overwhelmed with emotion and humbled by God's grace and sovereignty. He has watched over us, cared for us and made our lives more rich than i could ever dream possible with the addition of our amazing daughter. no words can capture what 2007 was to us, but i will attach a few pictures of the last month or so and lily's face expresses more than my words ever could! so, prepare to embark upon a photographic journey of our last few weeks!...


she just learned how to play hide n' go seek and she is feeling quite clever!


we had our own small christmas in c'ville before we headed home. look at her adorable hat that my friend kristi made for her!! (and of course she found this box of mentos more exciting than the gifts she received!)



the girl would wear hats all day long if i'd let her!


doing a new trick whit taught her... "stretchy-stretch!"

and feverishly signing "more" after every bite of food!

the biber clan


you could say lily was definitely the star at the smith and biber households this christmas... someone needs to have a baby quick so she doesn't think everything is all about her!!


getting ready for the christmas eve service.


some things never change!!


how is this photo not surprising!?


her first christmas morning!!

a sink bath at the bibers!

happy 2008 to everyone! we hope you were able to ring in the year with joy and peace!!
blessings,
the smiths