Halloween 2010

We went to Temple's fall festival last night and FBC's fall festival tonight. We had a great time. Mallory was a bee, Alyssa was a ladybug, and Noah was a monkey. They were all precious! Unfortunately, Noah's was a little too hot so he only wore it for the first 30 minutes!!

I have to share this story! So a few weeks ago Jena(my babysitter) told me that Mallory had an imaginary friend named Jessibala. I thought that was interesting so I paid close attention to her playing over the last few weeks. Sure enough she was constantly talking about Jessibala. When I would ask her who Jessibala was she would get very frustrated and say NO JESSIBALA. She was trying to correct me because I wasn't saying it right. Last night at Temple's fall festival she started talking to and about Jessibala. I was getting a little worried because I didn't want everyone to think she was this weird kid who went around talking to herself all of the time! So, she is saying "come on Jessibala follow me" and I go around to see what she is doing and she is actually talking to someone! It is a little boy in her MDO class named Joshua Robbins!!!!!! I am SO glad "Jessibala" is an actual person! :)

Noah is 4 Months Old!

I can't believe you are 4 months old! I will probably start every post this way! Time is flying by!!! In fact, Marcie had Kendall 2 weeks ago and I can't remember you being that small...and you were smaller!!! Anyway, here are some updates for this month:

-You weigh 14 lbs 4 ozs and are 25.75 inches long...you are 50th percentile in weight and 80th percentile in height.
-You are very laid back.
-You sleep about 12 hours each night and take 3 naps a day.
-You can hold your head up.
-You can stand up when we hold you.
-You LOVE your sisters!!! You just watch them and coo and smile!!!
-You are now a thumb sucker!!!
-About a week ago you discovered you like sleeping on your stomach so there is no keeping you on your back!!!
-You love playing patty cake.
-You love your baby einstein video.
-You are taking 6ozs of formula every 3-4 hours.
-You are wearing size 6 month clothes.
-Daddy can get you to laugh by tickling you....I can only get you to laugh by singing Lady Gaga's Poker Face! :)

You are such a joy! It is hard to believe that at your next check up you will have had your first Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas!!!! You got to experience your first Tech game (actually tailgate) last weekend. I will post pictures of that soon! You will also be making your first trip to Daddy's hometown this weekend so everyone can meet you!

Noah is 3 Months Old!

I can't believe my little man is already 3 months old!! We are enjoying you so much! You are pretty easy going!! This is the best picture I could get of you because you never stop moving! Our lives have started to get in a routine over this last month. Both girls have started back to school/mother's day out, dance, gymnastics, and we have all gotten back into our various church activities. We seem to stay on the go during the week! Here are some of the things you are doing now:

- You are sleeping more during the night and less during the day. We are on a schedule during the night, mostly in the morning, and are still working on the afternoons!
- You stopped nursing about 2 weeks ago so you are strictly on formula now. You are a little piggy! Sometimes when you finish your 6 ounces you are still wanting more!!!
- You love to be talked to and to talk back. That is when we get your best smiles!!!
- You like sitting in your bumbo chair. You can sit in it for a good 10 minutes before your head starts to bobble.
- You are in 3-6 month size sleepers and clothes now.
- You prefer to sleep on your side.
- You are growing like a weed! We don't go back to the doctor until next month so I don't have any stats but you are longer and heavier!

I am sure there is much more but it is past my bedtime so my brain is shutting down and I started boot camp today so my arms are about to fall off!!! We are soaking up every moment with you and fall more in love with you every day!!!

Go Dawgs!!

Dallas Trip

A couple of weekends ago we went to Dallas to visit Bryan & Christine and to take the kids to the Fort Worth Zoo. We had a great time! All of the kids traveled well! When we got there on Friday we met B & C at The Rainforest Cafe. The girls were pretty scared at first. They sat us right under this huge gorilla that totally freaked them out! They eventually warmed up to it. Christine & I did some power shopping then went to met the guys & kids for dinner. Saturday we got up and went to the zoo. It was HOT!!!! We got there at 11 and left around 2. Noah was a trooper! He slept for the first 2 hours then ate and either rode in the stroller or we passed him around. After we left the zoo we went to Christine's parents house to swim. When we got there I went to the back to nurse Noah and we fell asleep for 2 hours!!!! We were both hot & tired. When we woke up the girls were having a blast!! Mallory did not like the pool last year but loved it with them. Uncie even convinced her to jump off of the side of the pool to him! Alyssa LOVES the water...whether it is the bath, pool, or a puddle in the yard! When Noah & I woke up we put N in his swim trunks and put him in the pool. He seemed to enjoy it. He was constantly kicking his feet like he was trying to swim!! The next day we went to church which was interesting. We were running late so by the time we got there the child care was full so we had to take all of the kids to church. Uncie & Auntie ended up taking them all out in the foyer until we sang at the end of the service. they were sitting fine...they just weren't very quiet! We had a great trip! The next week Mal & Trey went to Indy for the birth of Tucker...I will post pics soon!!!

First Day of School

Alyssa started preschool today. They built a new school so everything will be new to her! The boys started yesterday and the girls started today. There are only 2 girls in her class and the other girl had a dr appt so Alyssa will be the only one there all day. Hopefully, that will help her get used to the new environment before the other kids get there! More posts to come!!!!

Noah is 2 Months Old!

Noah is 2 months old! My how time is flying by!!! We have had many firsts this past month and I have more pictures to post but those will come later. Here is what you are doing now:

-You are smiling more. When you are awake and not hungry or dirty you are smiling. I LOVE your sweet smile!!!
-You are cooing. Most of the time when we talk to you, you will talk back!
-You are eating ALOT more! So much more that you are taking a bottle every other feeding. In fact, sometimes I have to give you a bottle after you nurse because you are still hungry!
-You weigh 11 lbs 3 ozs and are 24 inches long. You are 50th percentile in weight and 90th in height.
-You went to the nursery for the first time this week during church. You were actually 9 weeks old.
-You had your first road trip last weekend. We went to Dallas to see Auntie & Uncie and also had your first trip to the zoo!!!
-You are sleeping through the night! You started sleeping from about 9-7 when you were 8 weeks old.
-You LOVE your bath. You take a bath every night right before bed and you absolutely love it!

That is all I can think of right now but I am sure there is so much more!!! We love you so much and are enjoying every moment with you!

Noah is 1 Month Old!

I can't believe Noah is 1 month old already! I have decided to document what he is doing every month because I didn't with Mallory and when it came time to do her scrapbook I couldn't remember when she did certain things! Oh, and I will be writing these posts to him because I will probably print these out to put in his scrapbook since I now have 3 kids and am not sure I will ever have time to scrapbook again! :) Anyway, here is what you are doing now:

-Sleeping good - usually at least a 5 hour stretch at night then 3-4 hours during the day. You sleep great during the day and night but are awake in the evenings.
-Eating VERY good! Your 1 month check up is next week but we are pretty sure you have gained at least 4 or 5 pounds since you were born!
-Love to be rocked or walked around.
-Sleep in your car seat (in your crib). You spit up a good bit when we first brought you home so we put you in it and now you will not sleep laying in your crib!
-Can roll over front to back and back to front.
-When you are awake you are constantly moving.
-You are starting to give us smiles! :)
-You outgrew newborn clothes & diapers at 2 weeks old. You are now in 0-3 month.

I am sure there is more but everyone (including you) are ready to eat lunch now! We love you very much and are enjoying every moment with you!!!!

Noah David Smith

Noah was born June 18, 2010 at 12:05pm. He weighed 7lb 8oz and was 21 1/2 inches long. He looks EXACTLY like Mallory! He is doing great! He was a bit Jaundice so we had to go back to the doctor just about every day last week to have blood work done but he is great now! He is eating, sleeping, and pooping. Mallory LOVES him and Alyssa doesn't really pay him much attention. It is very different having a boy! We have been tee teed on many times! The day we went in to be induced we decided to put an offer on a house and list ours to sell. I know - we have LOST OUR MINDS! In Ruston, if you find something you like you have to jump on it because it will be gone quick! So, when we came home from the hospital it was time to do some major cleaning & organizing so our house would be ready to show Tuesday. We got everything done and hoping that it sells quickly!!!

Painted Nails

About a week ago I went and got a pedicure. I always get a french manicure but decided this time to get them painted pink because I knew it would be a while before I would be able to get another one. Well, when I got home Mallory was SO excited that I had paint on my toes! She has pointed them out to EVERYONE we see!!! At church, school, the store, anybody she could tell! She had to call Mimi and tell her all about it so Mimi told her she was going to paint her nails next time she saw her. Last night Trey & I decided to go ahead and celebrate our anniversary (that is on the 30th) since we will be pretty busy on our anniversary! :) Mimi & Popi came over to watch the girls so Mimi painted her nails. She was so excited she had to stay awake to show me she looked just like Mommy! They really do look so cute on her! This morning she had to show everyone at church her painted "nigers and toes"!!!

We took these pictures today. I am 38 weeks. I am scheduled to be induced this Friday but my doctor doesn't think I will make it until then. So, by the end of the week we will be meeting Mr. Noah!!! We are SO excited and can't wait! I will post pictures after he arrives!

Shower

I had my shower yesterday and got lots of great stuff!!! There was LOTS of blue!!! We are so blessed to have such a wonderful church family and group of friends in Ruston! Noah will be a well dressed little boy!!!!!

We are set to close on our house in Shreveport tomorrow so PLEASE PRAY that everything goes as planned!!!! We are SO ready to only own ONE house!!!!!

Jumping, Planting, & Fishing

We had a pretty busy weekend. Trey finally got the trampoline set up Easter weekend so the girls have been spending their days jumping away! Friday we pulled out the girls pool that Uncie bought them 2 years ago! Alyssa LOVES it! She loves it so much that the minute she walks outside she runs for it - even with her clothes on! The picture of her jumping on the trampoline was after she ran & jumped in the pool fully clothed & with a diaper on! The diaper weighed about 45 pounds!!!!! Saturday Trey decided to plant some flowers in our flower beds. While we were at Lowe's I decided it would be fun to get a few vegetables to plant so the girls could watch them grow. He planted squash, zucchini, cucumbers, & tomatoes. This is our first garden so we will see how it goes. I also had him plant me a few herbs that I constantly pay way too much for at the grocery store!!! He decided to be clever with the flower bed and make an "S". Mallory LOVED helping him plant. She got SO dirty....in fact I am still trying to get the dirt from under her toe nails! Sunday Trey & Jenna took the girls fishing at Lincoln Parish park. Jenna is our sitter that comes every day of the week for a couple of hours to help me with the girls. Since the surgery I haven't been able to lift more than 30 pounds and A weighs 50! She is still pretty much completely dependant on me so I needed some help. We love Jenna & she loves the girls. Trey asked Jenna to help in because of how my Alyssa loves the water. He knew it would take a person just to keep her from jumping in! Anyway, the girls caught 3 fish each & Jenna caught her first fish ever. I have the cutest video of the girls both reeling in a fish but it takes up too much memory so I can't upload them. That is why I always use slide shows to show my pictures. I can never upload more than 2 pictures. So that has been our life lately. I am almost 31 weeks and counting down the days! I am so ready to meet this little man! He is SO active in my belly I can't imagine what he will be like in person!!! My sweet Sunday School class is throwing me a shower this Sunday and I am SO excited to get some blue stuff!!! I guess that is all for now.

Easter 2010

We had a fun Easter. We went to 3 Easter Egg hunts. We had one at each of the girls schools. We were able to take some pictures at Alyssa's hunt but Mallory's started early so we got there right when they finished! We did get pictures of her after the hunt. We have some friend's parents who put on a big egg hunt every year. They had a cupcake decorating station and a jumpy thing. The girls had fun hunting eggs there too. We didn't get many pictures because we were both busy helping the girls find eggs. We decided to stay in Ruston for Easter so my Dad & EC came over and had lunch with us. Trey put the girls trampoline together that weekend so the girls have had a blast jumping and playing outside every afternoon!

I am 29 weeks now so not much longer! Hopefully only 9 or 10 weeks to go!!! Noah is VERY active! I have started getting pretty bad heartburn but other than that I am feeling good.

Oh, and we are SO excited to finally have a contract on our house in Shreveport!!! Please PRAY that everything works out and we close at the end of the month as scheduled!!!!! That will be such a huge burden to get rid of!!!!!!

P-A-R-T-Y

We had a joint party for the girls last weekend. I decided that since their birthday's were so close it would just be easier! We had it at a new place in Ruston called Party Galaxy. They have one HUGE jumper that has about 5 different activities in it and then one smaller one for smaller kids. The kids had a blast! We played music and they jumped. Mallory was totally cutting a rug at one point (I think she learned her moves from Sid the Science Kid)!!!

The girls had their well visits this week and both are growing like weeds! Alyssa is still in the 98th percentile and is off the charts in height. Mallory is in the 50th percentile now....big improvement from the 10th she has always been!!! Noah is growing just as fast. He moves ALL of the time! I can't believe I will be in my 3rd trimeter at my next doctor's appointment! Time is FLYING by!!!

Last weekend was also Kool Kids. Kool Kids is a children's consignment sale we have twice a year here in Ruston. I totally racked up! I was able to find bedding for Noah and a TON of outfits! We found a twin bed for Alyssa (since we moved her to the playroom) and matresses. That was the only thing I found for the girls. They really didn't need much. I also made some money!!! I sold all of the girls summer 0-24month clothes, Mal's bedding, and the stroller & carseat we bought when we first got Alyssa. I really did well!!! We changed the girls rooms all around while we had Bryan here to help too! Mallory now has a big girl bed & Alyssa's old dresser and we moved all of her furniture into Alyssa's room for Noah. Alyssa is now in the playroom. We decided to do that since she spends most of her time in there anyway! I will have to post pics when we get everything finished. I really like the bedding I found for Noah. It has airplanes on it. Trey has always been fascinated with airplanes so I thought it would be perfect. We tried to find golf bedding but just couldn't! That was the only sports theme I would agree to! I mean, I know he is a boy but he is also a baby! Hopefully my LAST baby so I still want it to look like a nursery. He can have sports theme when he gets older!!! Anyway, I will post pics when we have everything put together.

Baby Noah

Mallory pointing to the screen that had Noah on it.

Sweet baby Noah

Not so sweet baby Noah!!!

We had our big ultrasound a couple of weeks ago and took the girls with us so they could see Noah! Mallory LOVED it! I thought I would share a few pics from that day.

SNOW

We woke up this morning to white everywhere! I promised Mallory last night when she went to bed that if there was enough snow we would build a snowman. Even though we all have runny noses I decided that since it NEVER snows like this we had to play in it for just a little while. We had fun. We ran in it and Alyssa ate it and we built a snowman. It was fun while it lasted.

Lady Techsters Game

We took the girls to a Lady Techsters game Saturday night and they had a blast! I thought I would share a few pictures. Mallory is obsessed with "the dog" AKA Champ. Alyssa just loved the band and watching the ball get thrown all around the court. Tomorrow is Mallory's 3rd birthday! I can't believe my baby is 3!!!!! We are having a small family party for her tomorrow but are doing a combined party for both girls at the end of the month. I am sure I will have some birthday pictures to share later in the week!!

OUCH PART 2

So, I went home from having my appendectomy Sunday evening still in a lot of pain. I have never had surgery or a urinary tract infection before so I just assumed the pain was normal. Well, I had no appetite and what I did eat came right back up. I had to go to the bathroom every 15 minutes and could hardly go. By Tuesday I was running a fever and in SEVERE pain! Trey called the surgeon and she had me come back to the hospital to have blood work done. Well, my white blood count had gone from 13 when I left the hospital to 19. Then I went to the OB to get examined because I hadn't felt the baby move. Let me just say I was so bloated that I had to wear a maternity shirt I was wearing at 9 months with Mallory!!! The surgeon came down to examine me in the OB office. She felt around and said something was definitely wrong. The OB tried to listen to the heartbeat with the doppler but couldn't find it. He then pulled out the portable ultrasound machine to try to see the baby but couldn't find it! Talk about FREAKING OUT! He then tried to check my cervix but couldn't get to it because my bladder was so enlarged. He had to drain my bladder and got 2300 ml of fluid. That is equivalent to 2.5 liters of coke!!! That is about 800ml more than he has ever seen in anyone! Let me tell you - I felt SO MUCH better after he drained my bladder. I could actually walk by myself again! We then went to have a regular ultrasound and he found the baby and everything was great! My bladder was so distended that they think the baby had moved behind my bladder! We actually found out we are having a BOY!!!!! We are SO excited! The bad news was I had to go in the hospital to get a catheter. I also needed some antibiotics. Well, my white blood count went down but I am still having some bladder issues. I was released from the hospital today with the catheter and will go back Saturday to have it removed. PLEASE PRAY that I can go to the bathroom on my own!!!!! The urologist came to see me and said that because my bladder was so distended that it stretched it and will take several days to get back down to the normal size. We are just praying that everything will heal and work properly soon!

OUCH!

So Friday afternoon my right side, back, and front of leg started hurting. I called Trey and he said to just monitor it. Well, it got ALOT worse. We called my OB and he said it was probably round ligament pain but if it got worse to go to the ER. Which at that time it did seem like it. It wasn't unbearable pain until about and hour later. It was EXCRUCIATING!!! We went to the ER and they ran some blood work, tested my urine, and gave me some pain meds. After 2 doses of pain meds I was still in severe pain. They said it was round ligament pain and sent me home with some meds. Well, I was miserable the entire night. I was vomiting and the pain meds were not working at all! The next day we called my OB again and he met us at his office to examine me. BTW - I have an awesome OB!!!! Anyway, he examined me and said there was no way it was round ligament pain that it had to be either my appendix or kidney stones. So he made sure I wasn't dilated and checked the baby and sent me to the ER. He called them and told them exactly what tests he wanted ran. After being there for 5 hours they told us I was going to have and emergency appendectomy. So, the surgeon came in to tell us what she was going to do and I went into surgery about 10:30pm. The surgery went good. She said my appendix hadn't ruptured but was inflamed. She had to do an incision instead of laproscopically because I am 17 weeks pregnant. They also decided to do an epidural instead of general anesthesia because of the baby. So I spent the night in the hospital and woke up the next morning with a urinary tract infection!!!! UGH!!!! I have never had one before so this is new to me! I didn't know what was going on. In fact, I have never had surgery (except for a DNC) or even been to the ER before this!!! My OB came by to see me at the hospital yesterday and treated me for the UTI. Right now that is what is hurting me most. I am sore from the surgery but the pain from the UTI is worse! I went home from the hospital yesterday afternoon. I can't drive for 2 weeks and can't hold the girls for at least 1 month! That is going to be HORRIBLE! I will have to have someone here with me when they are here because they don't understand that Mommy can't hold them. Trey is bringing a doppler home from work so we can check the heartbeat everyday until I am completely healed. Anyway, if you think about it please say a prayer for quick healing!!!

Christmas 2009

We had a wonderful Christmas! The girls were much more into it this year. We really emphasized this year that Christmas is Jesus' birthday and that was the reason for the season! Mallory would run around the house singing happy birthday to baby Jesus! It was really sweet!!! We drove around and looked at Christmas lights and she kept asking to see baby Jesus. She LOVED looking at the lights! Anytime we would come to a house with lights she would yell "STOP"! She LOVED opening presents (a little too much)!!! Alyssa enjoyed the presents too! We had Christmas 4 times this year so they were overwhelmed with gifts! We all loved spending time with all of our family!

Next year at Christmas we will have a 6 month old to add to the mix!!!!! We are really excited and are hoping to find out what we are having in a few weeks when we go to visit Dylan & Mary in Hot Springs. My doctor will not do the ultrasound until I am at least 21 weeks (and I can't wait that long)!!!!!! So far everything is going well. This pregnancy is very different than the first. I am growing MUCH faster this time than I did with Mallory! I was VERY sick during the first trimester so I lived on Zofran. All I can say is MIRACLE DRUG!!!!!!

Anyway, we are back into the swing of things. Everybody is back at school and doing great! Next up will be the girls birthdays! We decided to do a joint birthday party this year since their birthday's are so close and we invite pretty much the same people! Well, I think you are pretty much up to date for now.