Baby Cheese Makes His Debut

This last Thursday despite all the holiday rush, we got to take a few hours to slow down and focus on our family.  Nathan and Cooper came to the doctor's office with me for our baby's 18-week ultrasound.  It was a stressful morning with Cooper acting out and trying to get on Santa's naughty list, but with the afternoon full of baby video, the day was turned around for me.

Before starting the ultrasound, the tech asked whether we wanted to find out the gender.  Of course!  With this baby, all I really want is a healthy baby.  I really didn't care either way whether we are having a boy or girl.  Finding out the gender is more about being able to prepare, knowing what we need to buy, being able to figure out a name for the baby, and also be able to celebrate our little one in a more personal way.  Anyway, I had thought it may be a girl, mostly because of Cooper's comments about the baby and such.  So you can imagine my surprise when the tech put the wand on my lower belly, and I immediately saw feet legs, and what most certainly was not a middle finger sticking up.  She said, "Oh, the baby hasn't turned around yet.  It's still breech."  And then I said, "Yep, and I know exactly what that is there on the screen--it's a boy!"  Nate had also thought the baby may be a girl, but was ecstatic at the announcement of it being a boy.  Cooper was indifferent, or more accurately, just focused on the fact that we could see the baby on the tv.

Thankfully, the rest of the ultrasound went without incident, and the baby is healthy and perfect.  I recall that with Cooper, we couldn't see his left hand during the ultrasound because of the position it was in, and so for a week we worried that our baby had only one hand, until we went to a specialist for a second ultrasound.  No such need this time.  Our baby boy was very cooperative, except that he is breech, and was in a weird spot, so getting a picture of all the parts of his hear they wanted to see was challenging.  The tech pushed the wand harder into my belly, while moving it around.  It went over his face, and he grimaced.  Be still my heart--I wanted to be able to hold and comfort him right then and there!  Then as she backed off to try to get another angle, he reached up and started sucking his thumb, as if to comfort himself from all the prodding.  That is when the tech snapped this picture.  She said it's actually pretty rare to see a baby sucking its thumb during an ultrasound, and this is one of the best pictures she's ever taken of it.

I tell you, right at that moment, my love for this little boy became so full and so real.

I am amazed that at 18 weeks gestation, a baby has such strong emotions, and can self-soothe.  Our little guy has already captured my heart, just as Cooper did.  Suddenly my frame of mind shifted from thinking "I'm pregnant" to "We're having a baby boy!"

Another memorable moment from that doctor visit was when the doctor came in the room, and asked Cooper whether he was excited to have a baby brother.  He replied, "Yeah, but Santa is coming to my house soon, and it's Christmas time, and we get to open presents!!"  Sorry, baby brother, your news is trumped by presents in this child's mind.  At this point, Cooper is still calling the baby his baby sister, and when I tell him it's a brother, not a sister, he pauses and then says something like, "No, it's baby cheese!"  He does love the baby, and will hug my belly, or whisper, "I love you, Baby Cheese" at my belly.

Nate was so excited it was a boy, that late that night after driving our dog to the kennel to stay for a few days, he stopped at the store and purchased a baby gift for me, showing up at home at 11:30 pm with a blue gift bag.  He purchased a cute little summer t-shirt and shorts for the baby to celebrate the addition to our family.  It was so sweet, and a great ending to the day.

On another note:  I'm ready for this baby to turn.  With him being breech, when he has soccer practice like he does every night about 10 pm, he pummels my bladder with his little kicks.  We were driving in the car the other night, and it was like he was drumming on my bladder, NOT a great sensation, and it also made us have to stop almost immediately for me to have a potty break.  So this little guy likes to kick and punch just like his older brother.  I think they're going to get along, and can already imagine them wrestling with Daddy on the floor.  Yay for boys!

Photo Card

Candy Cane Stripes Christmas

Find unique and Personalized Christmas cards at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

Christmas Week Celebrations Begin with Aunt Denise and Uncle Jim

This last Sunday Nate's Aunt Denise and Uncle Jim came for a visit.  This started our real countdown to Christmas, since this was the first of our family holiday celebrations.

Cooper LOVES it when Aunt Denise comes to visit because she plays with him.  During this visit Cooper and Denise played outside and explored our woods, played and giggled on the swings, went for a walk/bike ride down the street (despite the drizzling rain and cold) to see the tractors, played cars, played trains, built things with duplos, and giggled and giggled, and I bet I don't even know the half of it!  They have the best time together, and Cooper always looks forward to her visits.

Nathan and Uncle Jim watched some football on tv.  Then we had a Christmas-y dinner of ham, cheesy potatoes, green bean casserole, and rolls.  I joked that like a true Southern dinner, there was nothing fresh on my table for that meal.  It was a CRAZY busy day for me, and getting anything on the table was a feat.  We all enjoyed dinner and a scrumptious dessert of decadent chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream.

During their visit, we also exchanged Christmas presents.  These were the first Christmas presents Cooper has been allowed to open, and he was all over it.  Denise and Jim gave him this Patriot's hoodie (and sweatpants not pictured, which he looks adorable in!), and awesome Hess helicopter, complete with battery-operated lights and rotors, and an SUV that fits inside the helicopter that also has lights.  He's hardly put it down since, and it's even gone with us in the car a time or two since then.

Thank you, Jim and Denise, for helping us kick off our Christmas celebrations--Merry Christmas!!

Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

A few weeks ago on a Saturday morning, I heard police sirens outside our house. A few minutes later I heard a fire truck outside. So naturally I went to the window to see what was going on. Not a minute later, another fire truck came down the street, but this time with Christmas music blaring, and a Santa Claus sitting on top waving to all the kids. We ran outside, and some people dressed as elves ran up and handed Cooper and the neighbor kids some candycanes. They went all around the neighborhood, and we sat on the porch and waved again as they went by our house again on the way out of our neighborhood. Coop was excited as ever: Santa and real firetrucks! Doesn't get much better than that. But as we were going inside he asked worriedly why Santa hadn't brought any toys to him, just a candycane. I told him Santa will come again on Christmas Eve, and now he thinks Santa is coming back on a fire truck because we don't have any snow for his sleigh. :)
I thought that was a neat surprise, and heard Santa's fire truck visiting all the neighborhoods near us throughout the rest of that day.

Last Saturday Nathan and I took Cooper to the mall to see Santa. We went earlyin the morning, and there was no line. Coop walked right up and got to visit with Santa for a good amount of time. I'm kinda cheap and refused to pay the $18 for a picture of Coop with Santa, so I took a few of my own from the sidelines. This Santa had a real beard! Pretty convincing that he could be the real Santa instead of one of Santa's helpers, minus the thick Southern accent. ;-)

Cooper gave Santa his letter, a picture of it is below. He dictated to me what to write.
"Dear Santa,
I have been a good boy. Can you please bring me some toys? The reindeer can go up and move their legs and fly and bring them to my house. I would like:
- A big truck as high as the ceiling
- A bubble gun
- A car to go in the bath
Thank You.
I love Santa. Merry Christmas!
Love,
Cooper James Smith
(3 years old)"

After his visit with Santa, we rode the electric train through the mall, and Coop was in heaven--Santa AND a train ride!! Afterward we went out for donuts and hot chocolate (orange juice for Coop), and then went to play at the park. It was a really fun morning.

Boys, Girls, and Play Time

Cooper and his best friend, Ethan were playing together on this toy the other day. It was cute the way they were playing.

That same day It was my turn to teach our co-op preschool. When having outside play time, I thought it was funny how the boys (Cooper and Ethan) were wrestling each other on the grass, literally rolling down the hill, practically strangling each other, all in good play. Meanwhile, the girls were across he yard playing princess. Couldn't be more opposite! :)

I also recently finished some fun folder games I've been trying to do for months. Cooper was excited to try them, and has enjoyed them immensely for the last few days. Feels good to have made something myself that my son enjoys, and that he can learn from.

First Annual Smith Christmas Party

Since our NC friends who had hosted such fun Christmas parties the last two years moved out of state, this year I decided to be the hostess, and plan a party with some of our friends.  I'm sure glad we did, because we had a fun night full of laughs and friendship, and good holiday eats.

Those attending were invited to wear an ugly Christmas sweater for the ugly sweater contest, winner determined by votes cast by those at the party.  Natalie Gleaves won first prize (a movie theater gift certificate) with her Santa hat-wearing cats sweatshirt.  Natalie is pictured below with her husband.  How did I not take a good photo of the winning sweater?!

We also enjoyed a good white elephant/ Yankee gift swap.  The cost limit was $5 per gift, and of course, the  sillier the gift, the better.  Here are the results of all the picking and swapping:

For a guy who is usually quite reserved, Andrew Gleaves about died when he opened a gift containing this leopard bra made for the well-endowed.

He was so happy to pose for another photo with is wife, Natalie, who swiped this firefly cage (empty mason jar with holes punched in the lid) and fleece blanket.

  Chelsee and baby Scout Snider ended up with a cute little box of decorative hearts, to which Chelsee said, "Oh my stars, I just LOVE hearts!" Matt Snider CHOSE to swap with someone else to take possession of this highly fashionable poncho.

 Adam and Kokena Donnelly received a movie theater gift card, and a "Merry Chuckmas" list of Chuck Norris trivia (i.e. Chuch Norris' tears cure cancer; too bad he's never cried.), along with a DVD with three Chuck Norris movies that, according to Nathan, are all "life changing." I hear say that Andrew Gleaves took the Merry Chuckmas gift off Kokena's hands later that night, and his life is indeed changed forever.

 Lauren and Joey looked like little elves in their Christmas get-ups. They scored some good stocking stuffers for the kiddos with a set of juggling balls and a paratrooper. Joey was runner-up for the ugly sweater contest in his full-body red pajamas, complete with trap door in the back. 

 Stephanie Davis scored a book written and published by Adam Donnelly himself--a first edition, signed by the author. Nate Davis swapped for a customizable drinking straw kit.

 Candace and Brad Staples walked away with some pretty useful items, a potato peeler with a handle shaped like potatoes, and some peppermint-scented candles.

A box of sardines, buck urine spray, and a sign that says "And baby makes 3" ... As Nate said (in true Nate sarcasm), "We HOSTED the party, and we got the WORST gifts!" Haha, suchh goes the Yankee swap.  And for those who were wondering, my granny outfit (velvet jogging suit with flower applique) was part of the ugly sweater contest, not a real Christmas party outfit, although it was super comfy. Apparently there were some questions. :P

We had such a fun evening with our friends, and plan to make this an annual event.

Our Big Announcement - Baby #2!

After 18 months of trying to have another child, I'm finally pregnant with baby #2.  It was a long, winding, emotional road, but one that has ended in such joy.  We didn't make a public announcement until after Thanksgiving, because we thought it would be fun to surprise Nathan's grandparents, Aunt, Uncle and cousins with the big news live and in person during our Thanksgiving visit.  I was 14 weeks by then, and having started needing maternity clothes at 7 weeks, you can imagine how obvious our little surprise was by then.  I chose a maternity shirt that was sure to give it away, and we announced to Nate's family just after arriving at the house for Thanksgiving.  Once we told them, we were able to announce it openly to our friends and extended family.

It's funny, because nearly the same thing happened with this baby as did Cooper: we found out we were pregnant just after visiting a fertility specialist.  With Cooper we found out we were pregnant after a year of trying, and after I'd made our first fertility appointment, which we happily never made it to.  With this baby, after trying to conceive unsuccessfully for so long, we finally made an appointment with a fertility clinic, and had our first consultation in late August.  During the consultation, the doctor noticed some signs that could have meant other complications, or that I was pregnant.  He looked at my chart and told me this, and said if I was pregnant it was too early even for them to tell because I would be only about 7-10 days pregnant.  I chalked it up to other complications, not wanting to get my hopes up, and we went on our vacations to the Outer Banks, and to Folly Beach.  During our vacation at Folly Beach, I was such a bear--I mean, just AWFUL.  I knew I was being awful and irrational and emotional about things, but I chalked it up to PMS, and apologized to my husband, sister, and brother-in-law for being so ridiculous and out of control of myself that week.

By the time we got home from our vacation, I was about 4 days late.  After months of tracking, I knew this was uncharacteristic for me.  So on a whim, that Sunday morning I decided to take a pregnancy test, since I had like a billion of them from those that came for free with the ovulation tests we'd been buying for months and months.  I fully expected the test to be negative, so as the 3 minutes passed, and I glanced at the results before getting ready to toss the test in the trash, I nearly fainted at the word "PREGNANT."  From experience I know there is no getting a false positive pregnancy test, and there was no need to take another. The signs were all there, and there was that beautiful little word--PREGNANT.

I grabbed the stick, ran to the bedroom, and jumped on the bed to wake Nathan, waving the stick frantically in front of his face, and shouting, "Babe, wake up!!."  His first reaction was, "Is that what I think it is?  First of all, eeeew.  Second...really?!"  We both shed some tears of joy, and then got ready for church in utter disbelief that it was finally happening.

The very next day Nathan was scheduled to start his fertility tests, and I was never happier to cancel a doctor's appointment as I was when I called them, and said, "Cancel all tests and future appointments, we're pregnant!"  Such a relief and blessing that we didn't have to go through all that rigmarole and costly procedures.

Cooper had been talking about his "angel sister" for about a month, mentioning her in off-handed comments.  Nate wanted to tell Cooper about the baby right away.  I was reluctant because of the risk of miscarriage, but relented.  When we told Cooper, he said very matter-of-factly, "Yep, I know, it's my angel sister."  So now the question is whether it will turn out to be a boy or a girl, and whether he has that clairvoyance that some say small children have. :)

We already have a name for this baby--"Baby Cheese."  This name came about one night as we were giving Cooper a hug, with him between Nathan and I, or what we call a "Cooper sandwich."  Nate said, "Pretty soon we'll have another child to add to our family sandwich.  Since Cooper is the ham, the baby must be the cheese, because no sandwich is complete without cheese."  And that was it, from then on the baby has been called "Baby Cheese."

I have some other experiences about this pregnancy that I'd like to record, but this post is getting long, it's getting late, and Cooper needs dinner, so I'll save those things for another time, along with the first belly picture.  All in all, we couldn't be happier!

Bring on Christmas!

The day after Thanksgiving we pulled out the Christmas decorations and purchased a Christmas tree.  It was a very warm day, and even towards evening, we were just wearing light jackets and long-sleeved shirts.  It felt a little strange buying a Christmas tree on such a warm day.

 It took us a few days, but we finally got the tree decorated.  As is our family tradition, Cooper received a new ornament to put on the tree, and what would be more fitting for this boy than a tractor?  He was disappointed it wasn't for playing, but only for hanging on the tree.  Our family ornament was a little beach house from our trip to Folly Beach, SC in September.

The Christmas decorations have been up, and I still haven't taken pictures of them all, but our house is fully ready to celebrate the Christmas season.  I'm most thankful this year to have a place to safely display my nativity set, the top of my newly-acquired piano!  I've been telling Cooper the story of the first Christmas, the birth of our Savior Jesus Christ.  I was pleased one night as we were playing Christmas songs on the piano, and he stopped and pointed to the nativity, and said, "Mom, that's Mary and baby Jesus.  She wrapped him in swaddling clothes."  To explain, my nativity has the baby Jesus in Mary's arms, instead of in the manger.  Then he said, "And that's the manger with hay because there was no room in the hotel."  My heart was beaming that he'd learned this enough to tell me himself.  I asked who the other figurines were, and he said, "The three wise kings who brought the baby Jesus presents, and the guys who take care of the sheep."  I am so happy that our son is learning the true reason we celebrate Christmas--the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ--because without Him, death would have been the end for us all.  I love this time of year, and being able to celebrate for an entire month!

Thanksgiving 2012

Leading up to Thanksgiving I'd been teaching Cooper about the first Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims and Indians.  I taught him a little song I learned as a child about Thanksgiving, and he would sing it, but only to me, which was a shame.  I was hoping he'd sing it for everyone on Thanksgiving, but alas, I couldn't even get him to do it on video.  The song is a Janeen Brady song that goes:
    The Pilgrims and the Indians had a pow-wow a long time ago.
    The Pilgrims and the Indians felt like having a party and so,
    The Pilgrims and the Indians cooked a turkey and Indian corn,
    Sat down and ate together, and that is how Thanksgiving was born!
It was so cute when he'd sing it.  He liked the line about having a party.

They day before Thanksgiving, I Reminded Coop that the next day would be Thanksgiving, and asked, "What's something we might have for our Thanksgiving dinner that the Pilgrims and Indians probably had?" [I was thinking along the lines of turkey or corn, from the song.] He thought for a sec and shouted, "Cool whip!"  We later came to find out that Cooper likes pumpkin pie, but really only because it's a cool whip delivery device.

This Thanksgiving we spent in Columbia, SC at the house of Nate's Aunt Denise and Uncle Jim.  Not only did we get to enjoy the company of Denise, Jim and their girls Lindsay and Allison, but also some of Nate's family from Boston!  Uncle David, Nana and Grandpa Gunning came down for a few days.  We were so happy to get to visit and spend the holiday with them.

For some reason, I didn't take ANY pictures of our beautiful Thanksgiving dinner or the beautifully decorated table.  What a shame--sorry, Denise!  Guess I was so busy helping make some of the food, enjoying eating the food, and visiting with relatives we don't often get to see, that I forgot to take photos for awhile.

However, Thanksgiving Day also happened to be Uncle David's birthday, and the pictures taken reflect the priorities of the day as stated by David:  birthday, Thanksgiving, Patriot's game.

Denise honored David with an Avenger's-themed birthday party, so along with the traditional Thanksgiving desserts, we also had cake and ice cream.  Cooper donned his Superman shirt and "Super Cooper" cape to celebrate the occasion.  Cooper was excited about something in this picture.  Not sure if it was blowing out the candles, or the fact that he's about to get some cool whip,or what.

 Aunt Denise had this HUGE stuffed bear that Cooper loved to wrestle with.

 Coopsta, David, and Nana Gunning

 Allison gave David some lottery scratch tickets for his birthday, and Coop got straight to work on scratching to win.  The winnings amounted to a whopping $2, I think.

It wasn't long before we were playing games, and Cooper got ahold of the camera.  His pictures weren't half -bad, and I decided to post a few of them since he nearly took more than I did that day.

Denise was apparently a little frazzled after hosting a huge Thanksgiving dinner, and playing games with us crazies. 

 I enjoyed playing games too.

 Jim Ed, and Grandpa were watching football all afternoon, and we all watched the Patriots' game that night.

 Nate was enthusiastic about Cooper taking his picture.

 Super Cooper!!

 The Saturday following Thanksgiving, we made our way back to Columbia, SC to spend more time with the family.  We took advantage of the hotel pool where Nana, Grandpa, and David were staying.  Denise and Nana sat on the sidelines to watch, while Nate, Coop and I enjoyed the water for a bit.

This kid LOVES to swim!

 Catch me, Dad! 

 This is my favorite picture of the day.  Thank you, Denise, for capturing some great pics while we had fun swimming.

 Cooper with his great-grandparents 

 Nana Gunning, Nathan, Chrystal, Cooper, Grandpa Gunning

 Thank you, family, for a wonderful and enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday!!  Couldn't have had a better time.

November Happenings

One day in November (14th) I was putting in a load of laundry downstairs, and came up to my room to find Cooper and his home-made "indoor slide," as he called it, consisting of my clothes hamper, pillows, blankets, and his crawl tunnel.  Before I took the picture, he had also emptied all of Nathan's drawers and had clothes stuffed in every nook and cranny.  Since Nate probably wouldn't appreciate having his skivvies posted on the blog, I removed said clothes before taking a picture.  He had also had the package of toilet paper seen in the background at the far right, inserted in the tunnel as padding.  Had to remove that so we wouldn't be using squished toilet paper rolls for months.  Then, as every good mom should do, I helped Coop reinforce the tunnel, added some more padding, and he happily crawled/slid through the tunnel, and exclaimed, "It works!!!"  Insert beaming smile from mother and son.

Later that same night, I was coaxing Cooper to eat his vegetables at dinner.  I posted on Facebook:  Most creative reason for not eating vegetables at dinner goes to Coop: "I can't, Mom (as he dramatically falls off his chair to the floor). I'm stuck in this mud and can't get up. ("Tries" to get up, and lays back down on belly.) See? I'm just too stuck!" How can I not laugh at that?

November 18th:  For lack of time today, I braided my hair. Having watched "Tangled" (the Disney movie based on the story of Rapunzel) for the first time this week, Coop says, "Mom you have your hair in a pretty line down your back like that girl. But you don't have any flowers." I said I didn't have any flowers, and he was about ready to go out front and pick a bunch of marigolds, until I stopped him. :)

Happy Halloween!

Our last night in Utah was Halloween.  This was totally planned, as I wanted Cooper to have a chance to go trick-or-treating with his cousins, and be able to trick-or-treat door-to-door, something we don't feel comfortable doing in NC, where we don't know enough of our neighbors well enough.  So this was a very special Halloween.

All my family was there except for Nathan and my brother, Bryt, who both had to go home right after the wedding due to work responsibilities.  Grammie stayed home to answer the door for trick-or-treaters, and Papa came with us. The kids were dressed and eager to go trick-or-treating by 6 pm.  It was an uncharacteristically warm/mild Halloween night for Utah.  In fact, I don't remember it every being so warm/mild on Halloween in my entire life.  It was a perfect night.

Calvin was Iron Man.  Ellie was Bat Girl.  Kate was Elmo.  Cooper was a fireman, and Kate was Dorothy.

Jaisie was so cute while we were trick-or-treating.  She caught on real quick that if she went to the door, said her baby version of trick-or-treat, which was something like "da-da-da!", she'd get a treat.  Out of all the kids, she was the one who didn't want to go home.

Our little firefighter.

The adults joined in.  Stettsen was The Flash; Chelsey was a pirate; Liz was dressed in a cute red hat, boa and skirt; I was a witch, and Camyll was a gypsy.

The newlyweds, George and Cassady, joined us a bit later as a vampire and Cat Woman.

The kids piled on the wagon, and Uncle Stettsen and Jason took turns pulling.

We went to just about every house in the neighborhood that had the same neighbors as were there when we were kids.  It was a lot of fun to see some old friends, and they were equally delighted to see all of us together, and all our kids.

Jayson, Anna, and Tyler joined us a little while later, and Tyler made an adorable Captain America.  Here is the hero with Bat Girl.

I had one of the most fun Halloween nights I've had since I was a kid, being with my family and our children. Cooper and I stopped at the end of the night for a picture on Grammie's front porch with is jack-o-lantern.

Cooper got lots of candy.

It was such a fun, memorable night for our last night of our October trip to Utah.  Cooper and I with Grammie and Papa.

Thank you, family, for a fun, memorable, and wonderful couple of weeks!!  We sure had a great time, and look forward to seeing you all again.