21 weeks!

Baby Smith is growing! I am now 21 weeks. We had our 20 week ultrasound on Friday and got some new pics of the little one. The ultrasound tech did a good job of only showing us the head and stomach since we don't want to find out the sex of the baby. Here are a few pics of my growing belly:)

Christmas

Christmas is here!!! Jeff and I both love the holiday season. We got our things out early this year, we just couldn't wait. I love decorating the tree and putting on each ornament. This year I was super excited to get and early gift from my mother-in-law. I asked for some Christmas dishes and she decided to bring them to me this week so I could use them during the season. We are having a small dinner party with friends this year and it will be fun to use my new dishes!

Fun Times with Friends

Yesterday, I spent the evening at Monika's baby shower. Monika's husband Ryan is one of Jeff's best friends and we are so excited that they will have a little one in February:)




Over Thanksgiving Break Jeff and I spent the weekend in San Diego to celebrate our 4 year anniversary. We were lucky enough to be able to go to our first Charger game with our friends Lindsey and Nate. We had great seats and had a great time!!

Forks and Eggs

My neighbor bought me this wonderful little day by day calendar that gives you one little fact each day about your baby. It is from the baby's point of view and it is really fun to turn the page each day to find out what new fact the baby will tell us about himself/herself. Yesterday, Jeff and I learned that our little one is the size of a dinner fork and weighs about as much as 3 large eggs. I love the facts that give us something tangible to compare the baby to. This week when I use a fork or make an egg for Jeff (eggs are about the only thing I can't stand to eat during this pregnancy) I will be reminded of Baby Smith!!

17 weeks

Tomorrow will be 17 weeks!! I am starting to show a little bit so I thought I would post a picture of my little belly. Everything is going great. We have another ultrasound on Nov. 23rd. We aren't finding out the gender of the baby but we are still excited to get some more pictures of the little one:)

Joy!!

Well, after a long and difficult year, we have finally been blessed by God with a little soon-to-be Baby Smith. We struggled to get here and as much as I knew God had a plan for us, it was hard to wait for his plan. Now that I can see everything clearly, I see how God has really planned everything out perfectly. Baby S is due in April, which means I can take off April, May, and June as well as the summer months. Another part of His perfect plan, is that after a year leave of absence to have her own baby, a teacher friend of mine is ready to come back to work. We are going to try to job share, which means I will only have to work 2 days one week and 3 days another week. If everything works out it means that I will get to spend more time with my little one and watch him/her grow, which I am sure will go by way too quickly. Jeff is also excited that our little baby will only be 2 months younger than his good friend Ryan's baby. He is hoping they are the same gender so they will grow up to be good friends. I am hoping that my baby becomes good friends with Julie's little girl, Summer.
This is such an awesome and amazing experience to be going through. I am still very cautious about things because of the past struggles with miscarriages I have had, but we have now seen the heartbeat and heard it, so I am feeling very confident about things. I am learning to embrace being pregnant and starting to realize that I will be a mom soon. It seems crazy!! I will try to post pictures and things as I start to grow. I am 15 weeks along and so far, not much to show for it, but everyone says soon enough you will definately be able to tell I am pregnant. I continue to pray for a healthy baby and continue to thank God for all he has done for me and Jeff. I can't wait!!

Camping with Lincoln

Last week we went camping in Barton Flats, just about 40 minutes from our house. We just went for one night on a whim and decided to take Lincoln with us. Here are a couple cute pictures of Lincoln at the campsite. I was so nervous about taking him, but he did so well! He didn't sleep well, but besides that I was pleasantly surprised. We just may take him again.

Can you spot a weiner in the tent??

Loving the campfire

Family Portrait

At first, he was a little scared, can you tell:)

Lincoln was exhausted when we left. (And super dirty- it was straight to the bathtub for him!!)

Kitchen Remodel

My favorite part of this summer was that we got the kitchen remodeled!! I have been wanting to do it for years now and I finally convinced Jeff that it would be awesome. Our house feels so much bigger:) I love cooking in the new kitchen and being able to watch TV and talk to Jeff as I am cooking.

Before view from the back door

This is where I used to do the laundry in this tiny space. It also collected tons of junk!

Before view from the front doorAfter view from the front door:)

After view from the back door

I love it!!!!

Summer Adventures

This summer Jeff and I took a few trips that were lots of fun!! We both feel so lucky that we are both teachers and are able to enjoy the summers together.

Our first trip took us to San Francisco. It was my first time there and there was just so much to see!!

Alcatraz
(The tours to the island were sold out all week so we are going to have to make another trip back)

The Golden Gate Bridge
We rented bikes and rode across the bridge. It was super fun but very windy. As you can see, it was also very foggy:)

Lombard Street
We walked up the street but didn't drive our car on it

On our way back from San Francisco, we met our friends R and M in Morro Bay. They were camping there. We brought our stuff to camp and had a very fun few days with them. We spent one day wine tasting in Paso. They sure new the right wineries to visit!

I thought these two were just the cutest little things. This dog was only 6 months old. I can only imagine how much bigger he will be when he is full grown!

Morro Rock at sunset

After our trip to San Francisco, I was able to spend the day with one of my best friends, J and her little baby. I took a few pictures of her. She is already 7 weeks and I can't believe how fast she is growing.

We were lucky enough to spend 5 days in Texas with Jeff's sister and her family. Our little 3 year old nephew sure knew how to drive his big car an his little brother loved being the passenger.

Mom, Son, Daughter
The Zelkowskis (minus 1) and the Smiths
J and his Cars bed.

C loved being in the bath. He was like a little swimmer:)

Hockey game

We went with Jeff's parents to the local minor league hockey game. We had some great seats and tried to get some pictures of the players slamming each other against the glass.