Just a quick note...

Really it is more of a pity party for me! I would never have believed that this pregnancy would be kicking my butt like it is right now. I think the first trimester is like childbirth...you block the memory or else everyone would be an only child! Symptoms...well let's see...there is the morning sickness that seems to last ALL DAY. I was able for a couple of weeks to at least count a few hours in the morning as "good", but now not even that is sacred. I have officially lost weight instead of gaining (not something I would ever have imagined to be a "bad" thing...except in pregnancy).

There is also this weird thing that no one really talks about, but it actually has a name- Dysgeusia. It is the odd and very gross metallic taste that most women experience in the first trimester. I feel like I have been walking around sucking on pennies. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck.

The exhaustion is still pretty bad. I remember being pregnant with Anderson and teaching until 3:00 only to come home and completely crash. Somehow, Anderson never leaves at 3:00! HA!! ..and I thought 12th graders wore me out. On most nights I could go to bed at 7:30, but the few times I have actually done that have sort of backfired. I then wake up at around 3:00 and feel like it's time to start my day...so I try to stick it out until at least 8:30 or 9:00.

The food thing is completely strange to me. With Anderson all I craved was red sauce, pastas, tomatoes, and starches. This baby has its own little preferences... SWEETS! I have never been a sweet eater. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-sweets. However, I have always chosen to spend my extra calorie splurges on things involving bread and cheese. I dare say...gulp...I don't even like chocolate. That's right, I said it...I don't. My husband thinks this qualifies me as unamerican and certainly un-girl! All I want lately is sweets and chocolate. I rarely keep sweets in the house, so Jeff laughed uncontrollably when I made a Britney-esque pit stop at a gas station yesterday during an errand and came back with rice krispie treats and strawberry iced pop-tarts. He thought I was kidding when I told him that was what I was going in for! It is so bizarre for my body to crave something so desperately that wasn't all that appealing just a couple of months ago. And yes...I have been told that this means we are having a girl. I'll believe it when I see it!

I am so ready to rejoin the land of the living. Hopefully in 2 more weeks with the end of my first trimester some of these nasty side effects will begin to subside! I do have to give a little shout out to my hubby. He has been such a help these last few weeks with dishes, dinner, laundry, Anderson, etc... and as always he does it with a cheerful heart. I am lucky to have him!

Yummy!

Anderson is really starting to master eating with utensils. He still makes a little bit of a mess, but does manage to get most food securely in his mouth! He LOVES the act of "stabbing" things with his fork. It can sometimes make mealtime a little on the long side, but he's got to learn somehow, right??

The following pictures are a lovely little series...Anderson now thinks that ANYTHING light in color and round is a cookie...why? I haven't a clue. Anyway, one morning he made his way into the pantry with no one looking and grabbed a bag of tortillas and gleefully announced "cooookeeee". Before I could grab him he had taken a bite out of the tortilla. The look on his face as he realized it didn't taste quite as good as a cookie was priceless and kept us laughing for the rest of the day. The last picture is my favorite. He kept looking at it with this confused little stare as if he could "will" it into a sugar cookie!

We also gave Anderson his very first frozen treat. Yes, I know he is almost 19 months and has never had ice cream. I just wanted to develop some healthy eating habits before introducing him to sweets. I still flaked out on the ice cream and gave him yogurt instead...I know... I am THAT mom. :-) He loved it though as seen in these pics! Of course, he also had to have a taste of mommy's too!

And lastly, a completely off topic picture...This was from a couple of Saturdays ago when my morning (all day) sickness was really at its worse. Jeff was having to be Mr. Mom because I could barley lift my head without getting sick. I am sort of feeling better, but am far from my normal self. I did manage to get the Christmas decorations down...finally, but our house is a wreck. Ms. Karen the housekeeper comes tomorrow and let's just say I hope she doesn't quit! Anyway check out Anderson as dressed by daddy...

The Day Mommy's Heart Nearly Stopped...

Yesterday was one of those days that I know (no matter how hard I try) I will not be able to get out of my head. My precious angel fell almost 5 feet off of our deck and into our backyard. Before I go on I will gladly let you know that he is fine. In fact, I think he is doing better than his mommy!


Yesterday morning was a relatively warm one here in Tuscaloosa, and Anderson has been stir crazy being stuck inside with the freakishly cold temperatures the two weeks before...so I knew we would be spending most of our day outside. For those of you that haven't ever been on our home, let me set the scene for you. Our kitchen and living room sort of open up to our deck. There is a door in the living room leading to the deck and a big bay window in the kitchen that basically views the deck and backyard. Last summer as Anderson became more mobile, Jeff and I wanted to make sure the deck was safe for him. We made sure there wasn't any splinters and Jeff re-nailed every single spindle railing to make sure they were all good and sturdy. We got a baby gate for the top of the deck stairs and pulled any and all furniture away from the edges so that he couldn't climb on something and fall over the side. After all of this we finally considered it a safe space for Anderson to play. We set up a sandbox and some trucks and balls and let him rip. We never left him unattended, but would occasionally run into the kitchen to answer the phone, but even then we would be watching him through the bay window. In 9 months there has never been a problem...until yesterday.


Apparently over the winter the wood on our deck settled, expanded, etc.. and there was one spindle that was loose on the bottom (which of course we had no clue about). My child yesterday managed to lean on that one particular spindle while I was in the doorway talking to Jeff on the phone. One second he was there and then I looked up and he was gone. In the split second before he cried out I glanced the deck over realizing he wasn't on the deck. Then I heard him scream...it was the worst moment of my life! I tore through the babygate screaming hysterically and flew down the steps to the yard completely scared of what I was about to see. I just knew he would have a broken bone or worse...I scooped him up immediately and didn't see any blood. I grabbed him and took him back inside and stripped his clothes off while singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, as not to scare him further and as an effort to force us both to calm down. I scrutinized his naked little body looking for blood, scratches or bruises. The child had not a single scratch on him except a small goose egg on his noggin. I gave him some juice and a banana to help calm him down and he wolfed it down, wrapped his arm around my neck and began singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Five minutes later he was begging to go outside again...ummm...yeah he may not leave the house again until he's 50!


The drop was huge and led directly into a flower bed with a wooden border...he could have hit that or the spindle could have fallen with him...there was a nail in it...and the torturing thoughts of what could have happened go on and on and on. All I know is that there was an angel watching over Anderson yesterday, and I am so thankful. I know boys are rough and tumble. Jeff even pointed out that one day I will hear that scream and run out and there will be a broken leg or arm...and for those reasons I hope beyond reason that this baby growing in my tummy is a girl! I don't think I can handle two boys after yesterday!!

I hesitated about putting this story on here because I was afraid someone in cyber space would consider me a bad mommy, but after thinking it over for a while I decided to put it on here anyway. After talking to two friends with older children they had stories very similar to our situation yesterday and it made me feel better...like it happens to lots of people. They just don't say much about it because they don't want anyone thinking they are being a bad mommy. So, for anyone reading this in cyberspace, when your child does have one of these weird accidents, take heart. It isn't just you! Try as we may, we can't protect our children from everything...which for me is a little hard to swallow!

What a Miracle

I was always in awe of the human body during my pregnancy with Anderson, but that feeling seems to be even more heightened this time around. Anyone who experiences or even researches the development of a baby must know there is a God. Otherwise, how in the world could you explain all of the millions of miraculous changes that the body experiences that must be perfectly timed in order to sustain and grow a little person!

I love reading developmental websites to see what is going on with our little one. This website is one of my favorites http://www.ehd.org/dev_article_unit10.php It has little movie clips that inform you about different stages of the babies development.

Another website I love is http://www.i-am-pregnant.com/pregnancy/calendar/week/9 This week's page had an amazing picture of an actual baby at 9 weeks in utero.

Many of you have been asking how I am feeling and unfortunately I can't say anything poitive! I have been much more sick than I was with Anderson. The morning sickness is more like "All-day" sickness and is especially bad in the afternoon and at night. With Anderson I had rough afternoons for about 2 weeks or so, but then it was gone and I felt great. The exhaustion is also a factor that is making me pretty miserable. Anderson starts back to Mom's Morning Out again on Wednesday, so hopefully I can get some rest. Pregnancy doesn't lend itself to chasing after an 18 month, and I am praying that these nasty symptoms only last for a couple of more weeks...maybe by then I can muster up the energy to take down my Christmas decorations...and no, sadly, I am not kidding!

Happy New Year...with a new Baby!!!!!

We got quite the surprise the first weekend in December...Check it out!

Baby Smith #2 is due August 13, but due to a repeat C-section they want to take this baby one week early, so we are asking for a scheduled section on August 8th. If I make it that long, which is a BIG if, then the baby's bday would be 8-8-08!

We were going to start trying in Feb/ March, but looks like God had other plans for us! We were so shocked that all in all we took 10 pregnancy tests before we really believed it! ha!! Since the little bambino was such a surprise we have decided to stick with that theme and keep the sex a surprise until the birth.

I am starting my ninth week and even though it was earlier than we planned we are excited to share our "little" secret!!

Here is baby's first picture!

More Christmas Pics...

Christmas day after getting our visit from Santa we headed up to Birmingham to have dinner with GiGi and Pop (my mom and step-dad). It was a ton of fun as it usually is, with a completely packed house! My step-brother Todd and his wife Susan were there. Both of my sisters made it home from Nashville and Tampa. Jennifer celebrated her first "married" Christmas this year with hubby Jeff...and yes it is very confusing to have to sisters married to Jeff's that both happen to be lawyers! We had a great time opening gifts and eating a yummy dinner! Mom and Mike

Auntie M and Aunt Jenn with wee man!

Christmas Maddness...

The Newlyweds...

Mommy and Anderson

Mom's present from Anderson



Tiffany's.... :-)


Mom getting her yearly calendar of pics from the three of us.

Daddy and Anderson

Last, but certainly not least!! Todd and Susan gave Anderson this PUMA tracksuit as a joke...Mom gave him a gold chain and he was big pimpin' the rest of the night. We laughed until we cried. Priceless!!

Finally some Christmas pictures...sorry they are late!

Jeff has FINALLY returned home from his 5 day trip to duck hunt in Arkansas with his friend Greg. Anderson and I really missed him, but knew he was having a blast! He really helps out so much around here that I encourage him to go do something like that for fun any chance he gets, which with his long hours at work isn't often! He left bright and early the morning after Christmas and returned home late Sunday night. Since then we have been sleeping a lot! Waking up at three every morning for several days can make you a little on the tired side, as can chasing after an 18 month old by yourself!!

The weekend before Christmas we traveled to Tennessee to visit with Jeff's parents and his brother and his family.