Grandma and Grandpa are HERE! Yesterday we picked them up from the airport and made sure to take a Lai for them.




The kids are SO EXCITED. We brought Grandpa and Grandma home (but not before driving by and showing them Air Force 1, which is parked on Hickam Airforce base.... so cool to see!

Then we gave the visitors a grand tour of our house. Grandpa has been here before, but this was Grandma Kathy's first time here. The girls have been following her around NON stop! They have done tons of artwork together, played princess games and just had lots of fun.

Today we took them to the Pearl ridge Mall. The kids played in the "Bounce House" and Kathy and I did some shopping.

I have the itinerary  for their whole two week stay planned out- we are going to be doing a lot! Tomorrow the plan is to hike Diamond Head and go to the Honolulu Zoo. Lucy has a cold and has been cranky all day, I am hoping that she feels better tomorrow.

As I write this, Papa and Grandma Kathy are flying somewhere over the mainland of the United Stated on their way to the Island of Oahu! We are SO excited to be having visitors. Sometimes it can get a little lonely living so far away from everybody- so to have them come HERE is great. 

Yesterday I spent all day getting the house ready for our visitors. I prepared our "Guest room"- washing the sheets, cleaning out drawer space.  I organized the TOYS and  cleaned the Bathrooms.... a job I HATE, but has to be done. 

In-between getting the house ready and Gymnastics and Basketball practice which is every Monday (and Wednesday) I had to Take Vangie to the Dr. because I think she may have a Urinary Tract Infection. As I was walking all 4 kids into the Dr. Office ( a big No-No, they want you to get childcare for Children not being seen by the Dr, but unless they are going to pay for my babysitter I am hauling them all with me!!!)   Chris had JUST gotten on LEAVE and drove to the Dr. Office to take the OTHER kids home with Him..... It was such a LUXURY to just go to the Dr. Office with ONE child!!!

After the Dr. Apt and after Gymnastic and Basketball Practices we took all the kids to the NEX to eat dinner and do some last minute shopping for Papa and Grandma Kathy- we had to finish off furnishing the best guest room on Oahu!! The kids had had a LONG day (and a LOOONNNGGG week!!!) and were SO TIRED, but they were great at the store.
 
For the MOST PART.... Vangie had a melt down in the parking lot and started SCREAMING bloody murder because she did not want to hold Chris's hand.... She was yanking on her arm and screaming "your HURTING ME, YOUR HURTING MY ARM.......STOP IT!!!!!" I could feel everyone LOOKING at us (probably wondering what Chris was doing to hurt her, which was NOTHING!!!)  I finally had to get down at her level and explain that she needed to quit screaming because if she didn't the police were going to think we were hurting her and take her away from us and put her in a different home. This worked, she finally quit screaming.... after she sniffled and said "Daddy hurt my FEELINGS!!" Daddy apologized and all was well.

It is now 8:30am. Chris is still sleeping after a LONG duty day at work. I am taking all the kids to the commasery to get some last minute food items before it gets crowded and to let Chris sleep as long as he can. He is useless to me when he is so tired he is falling asleep standing up!!!

Last night as we were tucking our VERY excited children into bed I told them "Do NOT wake us up BEFORE 7am!!!" Joey was wearing his Spider-man watch and I knew he would be able to tell what time it was.

This morning... (after a long evening of putting things together and finishing up some wrapping...) I heard rustling and then Joey was waking us up. "What time is it, Joey??" I asked him.... "7:03!!!" He answered me. I had to laugh. He is very punctual!

He asked if he could go downstairs  and I said Sure! Then I heard the sound of his little feet running down the stairs. A few seconds pass. Then the sound of his tiny feet running back UP the stairs... and into his sisters room.... "Girls!!" He says with excitement. "You HAVE to see how many PRESENTS are around the tree!!!" And then they all run down the stairs... it sounded like a small herd of buffalo! And then back UP the stairs they came, to make sure Chris and I were getting out of bed. And we did! Down to make coffee.....and to take pictures!!























First I had to prop Lucy up against the Mountain of presents... she seemed to be very excited. I can tell she knew it was a special day. Then I made all four pf them pose....









Then The kids opened up the presents sent to them from their Great Nana and Great Grandpa in Orlando. They loved the games and say Thank you very much!!











Then Chris helped Lucy to open up her first Christmas gift. She was so cute.





So we have spent the majority of the day ripping open presents and then cleaning up the huge mess left behind. Of course all the hard work is worth it to see the sparkle of wonder in the childrens eyes. I still remember how much fun Christmas was with MY siblings (I was also 1 of 4 children) I think the more siblings you have the more exciting it is.. more kids, more presents... more chaos and you always have someone to experience the excitement with and to re-hash all the great memories.

Yesterday we spent Christmas Eve Hawiian style and took the kids to the pool I had  to put Lucy in her Bikini.... isn't she cute?? (The water was WAY to cold for me to get in!!)


The kids loved playing with their Dad in the water:


SO, from our house to yours: Mele kalikimaka!!!

This week has flown by and we sure had a lot of fun here at the Schmitt House! The kids got a package from the Ross Family back in Michigan- Thank you Diane, Merle, Amanda and Emily!!

The girls received beautiful "Miche" purses- the outside is magnetic so you can change it out with another and create a whole new look. ( I think I may steal them!)   Joey received basketball shorts and a Detroit Lion Jersey. Joey asked where "Detroit" was and after I told him Detroit was in Michigan he was excited- because if you ask Joey where he is from, he says Michigan!!! 



Here are the girls and their purses- Joey ran off to put on his new clothes so he was unavailable to be photographed.  But he LOVED his new clothes and has been wearing them non stop.

This is a funny side story about Joey-

This year Joey is almost 8. I think that is the "critical" age when kids start to say there is NO Santa. He has mentioned to me that his "friends" at school don't believe in Santa!

I told Joey that if you don't BELIEVE then Santa will not come to your house- so for these so-called "friends" Santa is probably not coming to their house, so of course they don't believe in him.

Well, Sophia told me that Joey told HER that Santa wasn't real. This was upsetting to me because here at the Schmitt House we are BIG believers in Santa!!! Santa is Joy and fun and magical and everything that childhood should be. (If you didn't know, Chris and I are re-living our childhood through our children!)  

 After Sophia told me this - in front of Joey and Vangie- I told Joey that because he didn't really believe that he was too old for toys and will probably only get clothes this year. Now, just getting CLOTHES is a 2nd graders WORST FEAR!  Over the past 3 days I have let the kids open 1 present each night. And it just HAPPENS that each present Joey has opened has been CLOTHES!!! He is starting to panic.... I told him that unless he really BELIEVES in his heart that clothes is all he will be getting. Because if you are too "old" to believe in the magic of Santa, you are too "old" for toys!!! He has since recanted on his dis-belief. (and don't worry about Joey, he has nothing but toys for Christmas morning!!!)  

After the kids opened their gifts I thought it would be fun to take them to the movies- we went and saw the new Narnia Movie- it was awesome!! But first, before we left the kids had to fill their pockets (and purses) with candy to take into the theater... because if you think I am going to pay for over-priced theater candy, you are crazy!



We go to the Regal Cineamas at the Old Dole Cannery- this huge building really USED to be used by the Dole company to can their pineapples. Of course it isn't anymore- it is full of other businesses and a movie theater, but the history of the building is very interesting. We park in a huge parking garage and take the elevator down to the movie theater. 










Here are the kids once in the theater. They do so great at the movies and sit through the whole thing, no problem. Lucy was also excellent and slept through half of it and sat on my lap for the other half. I love going to the movies because it is like a 2 hour break from reality. I am hoping if I continue to take Lucy she will always be a good "movie-goer".




Another thing we did yesterday was make cookies for Santa! The girls helped me. We made "Chocolate No-bake" and used my Mom's recipe that she always made for us growing up. Mom mom either made chocolate chip or chocolate no-bakes. That was it. And when she made cookies, she really MADE COOKIES and would make like 5 doz at a time!!! Then she would stick some in the freezer to keep but we ate them all up within a week. My brothers and sister and I were pigs. In this picture the girls decided to taste the cocoa- BEFORE the sugar was added. Yuck!!



So we made all the cookies for SANTA so he will have some when he stops by later TONIGHT!!! We have been looking at the NORAD Santa tracker and it is obvious that the Day BEGINS in Guam and ENDS in Hawaii- we are some of the LAST people on Earth that Santa stops to deliver presents!!! It makes for a very exciting time tracking him!

Joey had a friend spend the night last night-  Chris had duty so it was just me and 5 kids. I was SUPER mom and got dinner from Pizza Hut!!! Stuffed Crust pizza that his friend Andy suggested.  In case you don't know- I NEVER let the kids order pizza, so this was a big deal for us. I guess I am in the Christmas "giving" mood. Ha ha ha. Joey and his friend had a good time and stayed awake until after 11pm! I am thinking Naps might be a good idea later today.

Chris got home from work this morning and we are ready to immerse ourselves in Christmasness!!! Tonight at 6pm we are going to our Churchs' Christmas Eve Service and then home to get ready for Santa's arrival. I am really excited about the kids opening presents this year. It is also baby Lucy's FIRST Christmas, so that is also fun and exciting.

My brother Greggie requested that I do another "JibJab" like I did at Halloween- so I will be adding another JibJab Christmas video to this page later today!!

Christmas is coming!!! The kids are now on Christmas Vacation.... and yes, it is sort of like a Chevy Chase Movie around here. With 4 children to entertain things can get a little hairy at times. And Very LOUD. We have a loud house-hold. Especially Vangie. She loves to yell and make lots of noise. I am working on her finding her "indoor voice", but  its been a challenge. 

I really only have to get through one more week with just ME and them (being outnumbered 1 to 4  is not good!) Because NEXT week Chris starts his Christmas LEAVE WHOO-HOOO! AND Papa and Grandma Kathy with will be flying in on the 28th!!! more adults for the kids to play with means less work for me.

We started off our Christmas Vacation by going to see the Nutcracker by the Hawaii Ballet- I got us free tickets through the Fleet and Family Support Center-  Sophia and Vangie LOVED the ballet dancers. Joey thought it was okay and Baby Lucy cried for the first 20 min forcing me to stand in the lobby with her attached to my chest and then she finally fell asleep so I could also enjoy the show.


Yes, Vangie is crying in this picture because lately she has been refusing to smile in any pictues. I just take the pictures anyway. With 4 children there will never be a time when EVERYONE is smiling. The odds are just to much against us.
 
Here is a good picture of Chris and Baby Lucy. I already know she will be a "Daddy's girl". He spoils her rotten already. I can't wait to tell her the story of her birth when she gets older. How I begged for pain medicine and he daddy wouldn't let me have any. How I birthed her all-natural after hours of painful labor and how she came out looking like a mini-football player wearing shoulder pads. But she was worth every second of pain. I am so glad we had our 4th child. She is such a blessing and ray of light in our family. She is so smiley and loving and sweet.

Now, with all that being said.... SOMETHING needs to be done about Lucy's sleeping schedule! She thinks night-time is an all-you-can-eat-booby-buffet!! 

I guess I need to get her out of MY bed and into her own room. It is getting hard for me to get any sleep with her in the same bed as me. Yes, she is super snuggly and cute- BUT!! every-time she wakes up (which is like 8 times a night!) She searches for the boobie and make little squeaks and squawks until she finds it.  Thank God that I am USED to having little-to-no sleep as a mother anyway... but this kid puts a new spin on the term "night-time binge eating".

  I guess I should refuse her, it's not like she is hungry... I think she just finds it soothing to nurse all night long. But how can I refuse that super cute face?? I think come January she will be sleeping in her OWN room. If I can't HEAR her squawking maybe she will fall back to sleep and I won't feel guilty for not picking her up.

Chris is home today (Sunday!!) I think today will be a great day to wrap presents and listen to Christmas music.  Oh, and before I forget- Last night we went to Church (most of the time we go Saturday Night instead of Sunday Morning because it fits our schedule better,  and lets face it- getting 4 kids and a husband ready for church in the morning it NOT fun for any mom!!)   The kids got up in front and sang a Christmas song- here is a picture and there is also Video on the video page!! (Vangie is not in the pic or video because of her anti-picture policy she refused and had her Sunday school teacher hold onto her.)

Joey really Loves Lucy, Some people say that they look alike:


Vangie loves Lucy too! I think they ACT like (like babies!!) :



Yesterday I got Lucy a new Ornament for the tree. In case you can't see it, it says "Kitty's first Christmas". This is sort of an inside  family joke- we call Lucy "baby kitty" . I think this is because she has fuzzy hair like a kitty, smells good like a kitty and makes kitty noises. Anyway, I thought the ornament was fitting.





Right now I am helping Vangie with her school work. Kindergarten will be here before we know it! And I have to admit that I have been slacking off on doing school-work. Why? Because I HATE doing school work. I am the worst home-school mom EVERRR. It just seems to take so LONG, and most of the time Vangie is NOT a willing participant. She would rather watch a movie or play with her dolls than learn about the letters!.  I think we were stuck on the  letter  "W" for 3 weeks and got no-where. Today, however, she and I are chugging along on the letter "M"- only 20 some more letters to go..... 

Homeschooling Vangie in pre-school has made appreciate teachers SO MUCH MORE. What a gift they have to work with and teach small children!!! I would pull my hair out.  I ran out yesterday and got the kids' teachers a Target gift card for Christmas- I really appreciate GOOD teachers, they are a blessing to our children.

 Here is Lucy helping me teach Vangie- she is such a big helper.

Today I mailed a bunch of my Christmas Packages. Vangie, Lucy and I arrived at the Post office to see the line snaking out the door.

Instead of waiting in it we tried out the Little "Do-it-yourself" kiosk thing in the Post office Lobby area. The line was much shorter for that! Once I got up to the machine to buy my Flat Rate Stamps, Baby Lucy decided she had had ENOUGH of her car seat and started screaming. She never does that! It was REALLYgetting on my nerves (and I am sure it was getting on everyone else's nerves who were in line behind me!!! )Thankfully Vangie was there to help me try and distract Lucy- though it didn't help much.  It did not take me that long and soon we were Outta there!

After the Post Office I finally stopped to get Joey's football pictures... Football is long over,
he really enjoyed the season.

After I got Joey's Pictures I stopped and filled the Van up with Gas. Once home, I realized that I had a missed call from the Elementary School. They had called about 45 min prior (probably while I was at the post office with a screaming baby!!!)  I called back and then had to go pick up Joey because he had been bitten by a fire ant during recess and subsequently started getting HIVES all over his NECK.

I guess while they were waiting the super long 45 min for me to call back the nurse was asking Joey "What is taking your Mom so long??" Geeze, they COULD Have tried calling me AGIAN- I probably would have heard the phone!

Once home I gave Joey a does of Benadryl and he is upstairs in my room watching cartoons and relaxing.

The rest of the day (for me) will be spent folding copious amounts of Laundry and addressing Christmas Cards. 

Baby Lucy is very advanced for her age (which is 3 months....) She really reacts to people- smiles, laughs, talks to you- AND she LOVES to stand up and can support some of her weight on her little legs. She HATES sitting in her Bumbu seat and just wants to stand, so we went out and bought her her Christmas present a little early- a super, duper EXERSAUCER!!! Merry Christmas Lucy!!


Lucy can hit the buttons and twirl the little toys on her exersaucer. I also had to buy her some new clothes- size 6 months. She is busting out of her 3 month clothes.

Friday night Chris and I went to a "wetting down" for one of his fellow officers who has just been promoted. Our babysitter , Lindzi , came to watch the kids- the kids LOVE having a babysitter so they had fun too.  We had a fun time talking and laughing with our friends. I was Chris's "Designated Driver" so he could have some drinks. We were home and in Bed by 10:30. The sad part is that was a late night for us! 

I am working on my second cup of coffee this morning before I get the kids out of bed. I feel like I am moving in Slo-Motion!!! This week has been crazy.

First Vangie had an ear infection which kept me up most of the night on Tuesday and Last night Baby Lucy was coughing all night-  she has a running nose and mucous and sometimes she will get coughing on the mucous and I am terrified she won't be able to breath so I JUMP out of bed and pick her up and rub her back.... I took her to the Dr. Yesterday to make sure what she had wasn't serious and it's not- she is just recovering from a virus.

Oh, I'm sorry Lucy--- did I wake you up taking this picture??

Chris has been on duty so he has been working the last 24 hours. But tonight I am super duper excited because he are getting a BABYSITTER!!!! One of the officers on Chris's boat is making rank and having a "wetting-down" to celebrate.

And in case you are wondering what exactly a "wetting-down" is, this is from Wikipedia:

The wetting-down celebration is always paid for and hosted by the newly promoted officer, who invites his or her friends, which usually includes several officers of the same rank at which he or she has most recently served.

Normally the party occurs at a bar or pub frequented by officers. The location of the party is a big clue as to the form of the ceremony: when the party occurs in a dockside bar, the officer's friends are expected to (carefully) throw him or her into the sea. If the location is a park many miles inland from an otherwise available ocean, then the officer has very likely elected to dispense with the "wet" part of the party.

The "wet" part of the wetting-down is at the new officer's option, and must always be directly confirmed with the new officer before the party. His or her jocular friends should under no circumstances be relied on for this important point of protocol. Although permission is always required, the new officer is expected to react more or less as if it were a surprise.

Being located in a bar, there is typically a great deal of drinking of alcohol. There must always be at least one ceremonial toast. Friends present several rowdy speeches expressing their appreciation of the new officer's good comradeship and copious faults. Often one of the speeches describes an embarrassing event in the new officer's career which occurred under the old rank, although this latter variety of speech is sometimes discouraged in order to avoid providing evidence pertinent to a disciplinary hearing.

The final speech must always be entirely complimentary. Ideally, there should be no dry eyes after the final speech, particularly if the speaker is the new officer's father. During the final speech it is considered honourable and complimentary to discreetly wipe one's eyes, if needed.

In its most exuberant (and most traditional) form, the wetting-down ceremony ends with the former peers of the new officer as a group carrying him or her out to the ocean, and tossing him or her in. Having previously approved, the new officer is expected to cheerfully submit.

Good friends have plenty of dry towels available. Wise officers change into old clothes before going to their wetting-down celebration, although in its highest form, the new officer wears a dress uniform into the sea.

It is neveracceptable to use any beverage containing alcohol for dousing the newly promoted officer. This follows from seamen's traditional reverence for alcohol, which is a carefully used commodity when at sea, if it is available at all. Hence, at a wetting down, unlike some modern victory celebrations, neither beer nor champagne are ever poured on anyone's head.

Now, I can't imagine that this guys friends are actually going to throw him into the Ocean... I think they are just going to drink a lot of Alcohol. regardless, It should be fun.  Chris and I will not be getting too crazy- we will have baby Lucy with us, we are just going to stop and have a bite to eat at the restaurant/bar where this thing is starting.   Our "party" days are long over. I have hope that they will return once the kids are all moved out....

Okay, its 6:20am.... time to get the kids up, make them breakfast, pack their lunch and otherwise start another busy day. I love it my busy "mom' life and wouldn't trade it for the world!

This is our elf.


 He comes from the North Pole
every year sometime after Thanksgiving. He just shows up one day and "watches" the children for Santa. Every night he flies back to the North Pole to tell Santa if the kids were Naughty or Nice. He is our OWN special elf. The kids named him "Candy" This is the second year he has come to visit us.  Every morning he flies BACK to our house. The one rule is that you CANNOT touch Candy. If you do he will lose his magic.  He sits in a different Spot every day. The kids have fun trying to find him.
Some days he hangs out in the plant:


Some days he hangs in the chicken collage:



Yesterday he hung around in the Fan;and the kids had a hard time finding him.  

Tomorrow when the kids wake up Candy will be waiting for them on the microwave. He is a silly little elf!


Lucy finds this whole "Christmas" thing very interesting!

Go to the VIDEOS page to check out a house in our neighborhood- their Christmas lights are amazing!!

The other night was one that no mother likes to endure...

I put the kids to bed at their regular time of 8pm. At around 11pm I walked upstairs find Vangie in bed with Joey tossing and turning. I thought that because it was  Twin bed she just couldn't get comfortable so I put her in bed with Sophia- who has a Full size bed. She started crying and saying she was "scared". I tried talking with her but she kept crying and crying.... this really annoyed Sophia who was just trying to get some sleep already!!

I picked Vangie up and deposited her in MY bed... all the while thinking it was going to be a crowded night with Lucy AND Vangie vying for spots in my bed... Usually once in my bed Vangie will go right to sleep. But she kept tossing and turning. I tried cuddling with her, itching her back... nothing seemed to help. Finally she told me her ear hurt!  Vangie had been fighting off a cold and cough for a week or so... I knew she probably had an ear infection. I got her up and gave her some cough and cold medicine. Back in bed she went....  more tossing and turning. - Or really, more like"thrashing" around! By now it was around midnight and Chris was in bed trying to get some sleep.... impossible with Vangie moaning and thrashing around.

I went downstairs to "Google" what to do about Vangie's ear infection... I know they can be painful but have never one be "painful" with any of the kids... usually they just get a high fever. As I was coming back upstairs Chris had Vangie out of bed and was very upset with her... Telling her to "Quit moving around and go to Sleep!" It's a good thing I was there because Vangie probably would have ended up sleeping in the garage otherwise.... Isn't that why God created Mothers? We are a bit more compassionate! I told Chris how Vangie probably had a VERY, VERY painful ear infection. He immediately felt bad for yelling at her. I brought her downstairs, and gave her Motrin. Then I let her pick out a movie to watch and had her lay down with her hurting ear on a bag of frozen peas. Then we watched Mulan until 2am. (well, I fell asleep). By then the Motrin had kicked in and Vangie was fine. Back up to my bed we went.

Yesterday I took Vangie to the Dr. And got medicine to treat her ears. SHe also ended up having some mucous in her lungs and an inhaler to use... It looked like I robbed the pharmacy when I left with all the drugs they gave me between the antibiotic, sudafed, motrin and inhaler! 

 Now Baby Lucy has the cold... coughing and a runny nose... She also acts more cranky so I have been giving her tylonal.  I Hate it when my Babies don't feel well!!! I am not complaining though becasue this is the FIRST time since moving here that anyone has been sick. And thank God it is not the "throwing up" kind of sickness.

Sophia had been asking me to do a Beauty Pageant for a long time- she loves watching them on TV. She loves everything about them... the make up, the dresses, the big hair and beautiful people. She is just drawn to things like that.  Since I am NOT a "pageant mom" by any means I didn't think that I would ever actually PUT her into one! 

I couple months ago I read about the Pretty little Princess Pageant- No make up allowed, very relaxed atmosphere... I thought PERFECT! So I entered her and she was SO EXCITED! She made her very own "Countdown Calendar"  and has been dutifully crossing out days. In the days preceding the pageant we bought her a "casual outfit" and her "formal attire". She LOVED picking out the clothes and the new shoes and a new necklace and earrings. It was fun for me to go shopping with Just HER.  A couple days before the pageant we did a "run through" of doing her hair. I washed it, blew it out and set it hot rollers and it looked so pretty!

The day of the pageant finally arrived! I think that I was more nervous than Sophia! A lot of my nerves was making sure that everything got done and that we got there on time. Thankfully Chris did not have to work (well, he was scheduled to work, but he switched his Saturday duty for Sunday... no way would he miss Sophia's Pageant!)  Check in was at 12:30- so before we left I had to pack up all our "pageant gear", dress all the kids, feed them all lunch- and make sure they didn't get any food spilled on them! Feed and dress the baby, Dress MYSELF to look descent because I was to walk Sophia across the stage both times... Thankfully with the help of Chris everything fell into place and we pulled into the Hawaii Convention Center at 12:30. I checked Sophia into her group and Chris bought tickets for himself and the kids.



























Here a picture of me and Sophia before the pageant.
















Here is Chris and our small army of minions buying tickets for the big event! Joey complained only a little bit of having to sit there all day and we reminded him of how many BASKETBALL and FOOTBALL practices and games his sisters sit through all the time and that made him quiet.

After checking in the pageant coordinator took all the girls into the ball room and did a "dress rehearsal" she showed them how they were going to walk across the stage with their moms. At the middle of the stage they were to walk out on a little runway and smile to the audience. At this point they could do whatever- smile, wave, twirl... it was up to them. The judges were sitting at a long table to the right and the audience was out front. There was an emcee who would read about the girls when they went on stage. For Sophia it went something like this..." Next up is Sophia Schmitt. Sophia is in the 1st grade. She loves Pistachios and when she grows up she wants to be a Doctor!" 

After the rehearsal Sophia and I waited in the dressing room with all the other girls and moms while the audience was seated. She kept asking HOW much longer. I could tell she was kind of nervous. I kept trying to get her to practice smiling and twirling and she kept saying "No way, everyone will look at me!" And I reminded her that everyone would be looking at her on stage too!

Finally it was time for our class to go! First time across the stage was in "Casual- Fun wear". Sophia and I picked out this cute pink skirt, pink shirt, bedazzeled shoes with a little heel and dangly pink earing's and a cute silver necklace that had an "S" on it. This is SO SOPHIA! She LOVES anything pink and girlie! (but she also has a flip side and loves jeans too!)



















She was number "3" in her group, so we were one of the first on stage! I walked with her to the stage and she did NOT want to hang onto m hand- she was so confident as she walked right onto the stage! She walked ahead of me out onto the runway and immediately stuck a pose with her hand on her hip! Then she did a twirl and a little wave and smiled the whole time. Then the audience clapped for her and we walked off and back to the dressing room. She was SO excited when she got off the stage. I could tell that she had a burst of adrenaline! She was smiling and I was so proud of her for going out there and doing it!

In case you didn't know, Sophia can be VERY, VERY shy. She has really come out of her shell and before this pageant I have never seen her so confident. She was still a bit nervous and her time on stage was quick-... but she did so much more that I ever thought she would a few months ago!

After we got back to the room we had to change into our Formal Wear! This was a long red dress. I also pulled her hair back into a sleek pony tail!



































Soon it was time for our second trip across the stage in our formal wear. She did better this time- walked a bit slower and stayed out on the runway a bit longer.

After the pageant was over the girls all got a trophy and a rose. Sophia was so PROUD of her trophy and her rose. She was radiating happiness and joy.
One of the reasons I choose this pageant is because EVERY girl got a trophy and flower for their accomplishment.

































After the pageant was over we went to OutBack Steakhouse to celebrate! (Plus Mommy needed a drink after all of that excitement, whew!) I told the waitress about Sophia's Pageant and she brought out a special dessert for her! It was a fun time.


All in all it was a very good experience and I know it was a day that Sophia and the rest of us will remember forever. It was fun for me to do something with Just Her! I think being a middle child she ofter just gets swept along with everyone else and it was a special time for her to have her very OWN experience. Would I do it again? Not anytime soon! Maybe we will come back and do this same pageant again NEXT year, if she asks me too.

Yesterday was our annual trip to see Santa! We spend way too much on an overpriced picture but it is worth it to see the joy and excitement in my children's eyes... except Evangeline who is screaming like she is terrified of the huge man with the white beard. BUT, it just wouldn't be a Schmitt Santa picture if she wasn't crying. I told the "elf" taking the picture... "See that one with the blanket? She is going to scream and cry and that's okay.... just get the picture!" And I think it turned out great!
































This was Lucy's first time to meet Santa and she did really well. In fact, I think she somehow KNEW that this was a very important tradition. In fact, she was upset when I picked her up off his lap! Good baby!

Tomorrow is a BIG DAY here for Sophia- it is her BEAUTY pageant! I will update with pictures afterwards.