16 Weeks and Feelin' Big ;)

This baby has officially made it's presence known to the world... Lol, definitely no hiding it now ;) Surprisingly, I'm still at my pre-pregnancy weight. I'm having a hard time gaining, though it certainly doesn't show, haha.

Also, while I'm here, I think I should mention a bit about cravings... This whole pregnancy I've only really wanted savory type things (well, during those brief periods when I've wanted anything at all), unlike Evie's pregnancy where what I wanted was all things SUGARY.

Right now what I'm going to call my cravings (but might be more like the only things I feel like eating), are J.J.B.L.T.s (from Jimmy John's) with cheese, onion, and oil & vinegar, and Starbursts (seriously, my favorite candy in the world right now).

Just thought I'd throw that out there, you know, in case anyone ever wants to make the the crazy pregnant lady happy... haha

Surreality, Pt. II

Getting close to 16 weeks and I'm still having a hard time really connecting with this pregnancy... I can't seem to keep myself excited about the whole thing, because most of the time I don't even feel pregnant. It's not that I am not intensely aware of my many pregnancy symptoms or that I don't look extremely pregnant (the belly has more than definitely "popped"!), but I just don't relate it all to the fact that I'm pregnant. 

I want this baby and I'm happy for this pregnancy, but for some reason it just hasn't clicked in my head. I've even seen baby moving around in there and I haven't gotten it yet. I have an ultrasound pic of our little-one in a frame in our living room, but when I look at it I seriously could be looking at someone else's ultrasound, I really don't have any feelings there yet. 

My brain also really can't grasp the idea that I'm going to be a mommy (again) in just a few months! This time next year I'm going to have a toddler AND a baby, and it just doesn't seem real! I think I may be in denial, haha.

I'm trying to remember how things went with Evie, but maybe I'm comparing a little too much. I know that by the time we had her ultrasound and found out she was a girl, I had a pretty good "bond" with her, but I forget that wasn't until 20 weeks and that was right around the time I finally started feeling her move. This time around I got to see baby so much earlier and haven't felt any movement so far. I'm thinking that's when it's really going to hit me. 

The other problem I think I'm having is that I just don't have the mental energy to spend on this pregnancy that I did with Evie's. I have to devote most of my brain power to the child who needs (sooooo much of) my active attention, plus there are so many "family issues" that are taking up my attention (well, stress), so I really don't have much to spare for daydreaming and bonding with the kid who doesn't remind me he/she is there every two seconds.

We've got two ultrasounds coming up in the next few weeks, so hopefully we'll get to know a little more about who this little person is, and I'm hoping to start feeling him/her soon!

I'm sure that in the next month or so reality will finally set in, to some extent, I just feel a little bit like a terrible mom in the mean time!

2nd Trimester

Today I celebrated finally reaching my second trimester by vomiting while Evie patted me on the back...

shouting: "Spank your bum!! Spank your bum!!"

*sigh*

Morning sickness is definitely a different experience with a toddler in tow ;)

Dancing in the Rain

We had a HUGE rainstorm today! Like, pouring rain, flood causing, non-stop thunder and lighting, micro-burst winds, and power-outages kind of a storm! 

Evie and I had been waiting for Karl to get home from work, when I thought I heard it raining outside. I thought it might be kind of fun to go play in the rain for a bit, so Evie and I went out to take a look at things. To my surprise, things were kind of crazy out there! I managed to get Evie to come in for a bit, but she kept insisting on going back to play outside. Luckily, things weren't too bad when we went out, and they didn't get quite as scary at our house as they did in other parts of the valley, but I was still super nervous even being on our sheltered little doorstep! 

We got drenched and I had to keep bringing Evie inside, but once things calmed down, we had a ton of fun dancing and playing in the rain!

 

I've decided that being a kid in a rainstorm is one of the best things to be ;)

Our Announcement

Our official Facebook announcement ;) Can't believe my little baby is going to be a big sister!!

In other totally cute news: Evie loves to look at pictures of herself from the hospital the day she was born--with the doctors and all the different people holding newborn Evie. We talk about how she got bigger and bigger in my tummy and then we went to the hospital and the doctor helped us get her out. It's so cute... She brings it up all the time and loves to talk about how our baby is growing bigger and bigger. She likes to say to my tummy: "Hi baby! I-uh pay wi you!" or in other words, "hi baby! I want to play with you!"

She loves this kid already and is so excited... I really wish she didn't have so long to wait to meet her baby, lol!

7 years! And other official business...

 

So, I don't know if anyone noticed, but I didn't do a wedding anniversary post this year. I usually do something cutesy, but our five year anniversary was about a month ago and I didn't get a post up.

I am ashamed.

In my defense, the Smith household has been a tad chaotic lately. Luckily, we have ANOTHER anniversary coming up this month, so I feel as if I have a second chance  ;)

SEVEN (yikes!!) years ago, at the end of September, Karl and I became an official couple. That number freaks me out just a tad; seven years seems like a VERY long time!!

For anyone who might not know, we met just before freshman orientation at BYU in 2006, and we started dating (after a lot of complications) about a month after. I fell in love with him pretty quickly, I must say. On September 23rd, we had our very first kiss, in the Morris center, while watching Reign of Fire, and we considered it officially official ;) It was about 3 months after we became a couple that I knew for a fact that he was the guy I was going to marry.

So, in honor of this anniversary, and as an apology to the wedding anniversary I missed, I thought I would share all the things that made me fall head over heels for Karl Smith. If you don't like sappy, you may want to pass on this, however, there is a surprise towards the end, so maybe just skip ahead ;)

All right, the reasons I fell in love with my dearest hubby (in no particular order):

• I'll admit it, he was just a cute kid! I really loved his eyes, they have definitely always been my favorite physical feature of his. His eyes are really just the perfect shade of blue; not too light, not too dark, just perfectly bright. And they have an all around a nice shape, in my humble opinion. Also, I have always loved his smile. I fell in love with that smile back when he still had braces even! He has such a happy smile, it just made me so happy every time I saw it, and it still does!!
• He is very witty, charming, and funny. One of the first reasons I liked him and considered dating him was that he was just so funny; he always made me laugh. He always has something witty to say in conversations, and it's always organic and perfectly timed... I'm actually superly jealous of his ability to be so conversationally relevant and entertaining. I am a complete disaster when it comes to making small talk. I'm pretty sure this is why he had so many girl friends back in the day, he's just so dang charming and funny!

• He is smart and kind of a nerd. One of his wooing tactics in the beginning of our relationship was to use physics pick-up lines, and he once even attempted to win me over by telling me he could calculate how fast my string-cheese (a staple of my freshman diet) fell from its shelf in the vending machine. And I've got to say, it worked ;) He also liked Star Wars (more than Star Trek, which was a plus in my book) and knew who I was talking about when I mentioned Henry David Thoreau. I've always had a special place in my heart for nerds, and a nerd who is smart and somehow still socially at ease is like a major catch, haha!

• He cares a lot about the people around him and is very sensitive to others' feelings and needs. This is something that is MAJORLY important to me. I'm also a pretty sensitive person, so I don't think I could stand to be with someone who didn't care about other people.

•  He's and introvert and he's quiet. I like that he doesn't like large crowds, or going places to hang out with a million friends all the time... because I don't like those things either! I don't think it would have worked so well if he were one of those people who loves to be around people all the time. Also, he doesn't yell, ever. I should actually say, he physically can't yell, but either way, he is a very mild person who doesn't lose his temper easily. I like that because I am an emotional hurricane... and sometimes one of us needs to be calm and quiet, haha.

• From pretty early on in our relationship I knew, by the way he acted, talked about his little sister, and his reaction to other kids we met, that he was going to be a terrific dad. Honestly, what I needed from the father of my children, was a man who could be fun, playful, and energetic, (and yet still responsible) because I am lacking in those areas. Karl has definitely lived up to my early visions of him as a father. He is honestly just a great daddy! Sometimes I wish I could be as cool a parent as he is, but I am really just thankful I have him to balance and complete our parenting partnership.

I could definitely go on and on about why I love him, but I don't want to bore you, and my brain isn't helping me out so much tonight, but I think you get the picture ;) I love my Karl so very much! Somehow I love him even more than when I first fell for him, and it's just getting better as we go along. I am so glad that he's stuck by me through my craziness and all the tough times we've run into. I feel as if we can do anything as long as we are together!

Happy Anniversary, Karl Andy Smithers!

And now, to get to the business part of this post...

Okay, so I know I said those were in no particular order, but I lied. That very last one I put there to be kind of a transition into my next topic... Is it working??




Fine, well, I guess I will just come out and say it:

After 7 years together and 5 years of marriage, I cannot think of a better announcement to make than that we will be welcoming our second child in March!

We found out on the 4th of July that our little family will be getting a bit bigger (happy Independence Day to us!). Our little clover is due to join us on St. Patrick's Day (3/17/14) and we are both overjoyed about it! Seriously, I've always prided myself on being a festive person, but do we know how to celebrate holidays at our house, or what??

Karl has actually been crazy excited about this from the very beginning (maybe even more than me), which I think is pretty dang cute. Although, after going through weeks of a teething, sick toddler AND an exhausted, morning sick wife, I think the initial excitement has waned just a smidge, haha.

I love how much he loves being a daddy and how much he loves silly toddler games and baby giggles. I'm so lucky to have such a great man in my life!

Our Clover Baby

(PS, if you want to know more about how the whole pregnancy thing has been going so far, please check out my other blog, HERE)

12 Weeks!

We've made it to 12 weeks! There is honestly something magical about this week in my pregnancies (the theory seems to be holding up so far any way), in the last few days I've been so much happier, had a bit more energy, and have been able to eat more. I feel like my attitude has done a complete 180! I will admit that in the last couple weeks I've had more than a few "I am the worst mother/wife in the world" and "How am I ever going to do two when I am failing miserably at handling my toddler??" meltdowns...

It's amazing what a little energy and a semi regular blood sugar level can do for a person!

Today I got an extra mood booster, I got to get a good look at baby for the first time! Didn't get super great pictures, but I love them anyway ;)

Hello!

I went in for my integrated screening to check for genetic problems this morning, which was scheduled for 8:45 am, and they didn't call me back until after 9:15! I was starting to go a little crazy just waiting and waiting in the hospital lobby listening to people talking about all the horrible health problems they had (maternal fetal medicine shares an office/waiting room with oncology!), but they did come get me eventually. I had to talk to a genetic counselor, and then I got to see baby!

They needed to get some very specific measurements, and baby wasn't being cooperative AT ALL. Always facing the wrong way and kept rolling in the wrong direction... Definitely my child ;) Seems to be a lot calmer than Evie was, but maybe it was just nap time, haha. Anyway, we finally got the measurements we needed (after the tech bounced the baby, made me roll back and forth, go to the bathroom, and walk around for 5 minutes), and the doctor came in to talk to me about them.

Apparently everything so far looks fine and dandy, but there is a chance that I may be a carrier for a genetic translocation (which would mean a high chance of trisomies and miscarriage... normally more of a random fluke, but not with a translocation :/ ), and since I can't afford $2000 to get a karyotype done, they want to check on baby again in about a month, and then again at the regular 20 week ultrasound. So we may be able to find out if we're having a boy or a girl on October 2nd, 4 weeks earlier than I thought! Doctor said I shouldn't be worried, since things looked good so far, so I'm pretty excited just to be able to see bebe again!

That whole adventure ended up taking me over two hours (with Evie and Karl going crazy at home, gah!), and I still had my regular 12 week appointment to go to! I ended up taking Evie with me to my appointment by myself, which was a little crazy, but she was also very cute. She sat next to me on the little table while the midwife listened for baby's heartbeat, and she was totally transfixed by the sound. She kept talking about hearing the baby the whole car ride home, and couldn't wait to tell daddy all about it! She also loved the toys in the office and the "alligator" (aka, the elevator, haha).

It's been a hectic day (and I actually still need to get bloodwork done once Karl gets back with the car), but I'm pretty satisfied with the results. Also, I'm finally ready to officially announce that I'm having a baby! I'm just waiting on a picture so we can do it in a cute manner ;)