Happenings Lately

Well on Monday, Tripp will be 18 weeks (almost 5 months) old. I don't know where the time has gone. We have had our first Halloween, and Thanksgiving, and before we know it... Christmas will have passed and I'll be back at school. I try not to think about it much, so that I can enjoy my last month with him. I have anxiety about returning to school, but I am looking forward to getting back to my classroom. Believe it or not, I really am. Of course, the hardest part is going to be being away from my precious angel baby all day long. I get a knot in my stomach when I think about it. It helps that he's going to my friend Natalie's house, who I know will not mind me wanting pictures texted to me once an hour, HA! Everyone said he would grow up fast, and he truly has.

There are a few milestones that the little guy has been hitting lately. One, is that his hands are in his mouth constantly, and if not his hands, whatever he can get his hands on go directly to his mouth. He also likes to gnaw on mommy or daddy or anyone else's hand/fingers. He has started to reach and grab at things, and if he can get whatever it is....again, straight into his mouth. For example...

I have had to go and buy more bibs because he slobbers all the time and it's easier to change out the bib and not the soaking wet outfit. He laughs all the time and loves to hear himself make noise. By far, his favorite time of the day is bath time. And last, but definitely not least, he rolled over from his stomach to back today. I caught it on video! I'm thinking that he has probably been able to do it for a while, we just hadn't had any tummy time lately. We put him on a mat on the floor and he did it about 5 times! It seemed so easy for him, and he seemed to enjoy it. However, I'm thinking that going from his back to his tummy may be a bit more difficult.

We got him an exersaucer for Christmas and already let him have it. He loves it! So many things to look at, and it wears him out. All that bouncing around! He lasts a while in it, I was surprised by that. Such a big boy!

This is a picture of the exersaucer that he has at my parents house! Thanks Nana B and Grandaddy!

Happy Halloween "Trippy"

Tripp's first Halloween was spent at our dear friend's Jeff, Hillary and Greer Wilkerson's house. This past weekend we went to a birthday party and Tripp was a football, it was precious. But this time we bundled him up in the ole elephant outfit, yes, we are THOSE fans. HA! We spent our time riding through the neighborhood, taking pictures, eating delicious taco soup, and passing out candy. It was a great first Halloween. Look at how stinking cute Big Al and Snow White are: Greer and Tripp were buddies that night, she takes such good care of him. She decided his nickname should be "Trippy" and called him that most of the night. He did GREAT! He stayed awake the entire time and did not go to sleep until we got home.
And, of course, we could not leave Sabie out this Halloween. She was such a good sport, and made us laugh a lot. She hated that hat, but kept it on for pictures. My mom got her this jailbird outfit, it seemed so appropriate. Thanks Nana B!We went to Katie Meyer's dress up bday party on Saturday, and Tripp went as a football. I got creative with this one. The hat and leggings were a gift from the Wilkerson's and the Nike's are from Susannah and Mitch, so I just combined them all and he turned out to be a pretty cute little football.

Lastly, here is my little, although, bigger brother. He has been Spiderman for the past at least 5 years, maybe more. He came over so that I could do his makeup. He looked just like Spiderman and was so proud. He won first place at the party that he went to with his buddies. Sweet Uncle Allen!

Busy, Busy, Busy

We have had a busy past few weeks! We have had a wedding in Kentucky, new schedules, and an Alabama football game. I'll start with the wedding...

R.J., my mother, Tripp, and I all headed up to Lexington, KY (that would be about a 7 hour drive) for our dear friends, Matthew and Sarah's wedding. Tripp was a trooper, and so was my mom! The events started on a Thursday night and continued through the wedding on Saturday night. My mom came with us to act as our babysitter in the hotel room and stroll around the beautiful city of Lexington so that R.J. (who was a groomsman) and I could go to all the festivities-rehearsal dinner Thursday night, horse races at Keeneland all day Friday, cocktail party Friday night, wedding Saturday and reception Saturday night. We were able to do everything without worrying about Tripp AT ALL! He was in great hands....however, we were all in the same hotel room and Tripp grunted all through the night keeping us up all hours. He is used to sleeping in his crib in his own room at home, and was restless. And, since he is in his own room at home, we don't hear the grunts, only the cries. So, it was a LONG weekend but worth the trip to see Matty and Sarah, who looked absolutely gorgeous on her big day. I couldn't tell her enough! We actually made the decision to take Tripp to the reception Saturday night...it was a little too much for him. The lights, the noise, the people....he was way overwhelmed and cried crocodile tears with his little lip out, which was a new emotion for us since he is a normally happy baby, with hungry, and sleepy cries. These tears broke mommy's heart. Everyone was so glad to see him and get to meet him though, and we were happy to show him off! My mom and I headed out a little early and R.J. came back to the hotel a little later. What a FUN and exhausting weekend! Here is Tripp all dressed up for the wedding reception:

After the wedding weekend in Kentucky, I decided that Tripp needed to be on more of a schedule. So, we have tried it...AND IT WORKS FANTASTICALLY!! Especially for me since I'm kind of a planner :). It has turned into something like this: Starting at 7 am he eats every 2 and a half to 3 hours, takes a couple cat naps in the morning, and then a LONG 3 hour nap starting between 12 and 1. Then he goes to bed around 9 pm, gets up at 3 to eat and then sleeps until 6:30 or 7. I am loving it. I should have started it a long time ago.

A couple side notes about things that he has been doing lately:

He loves to hug something like a blanket as he drifts off to sleep, he has finally started accepting a new paci...he has only taken the ONE that the hospital gave us (I don't plan on getting rid of the paci any time soon, he LOVES it), he would much rather sit or stand than lay down, he must be swaddled in order to sleep for long periods of time, his hands are constantly in his mouth, he'd rather sleep on his tummy, he watches our dog and thinks she is funny, he has discovered he he has a high pitched squeal and loves to hear himself, he's most peaceful sitting with daddy watching football on tv, I'm sure there is more but those are a few things that I'm thinking of right now...

Lastly, R.J. and I went to the Alabama v Tennessee football game in Tuscaloosa and left Tripp and Sabie with my parents. I was so nervous about leaving him for so long because I miss him when I'm away from him for a couple of hours and this was going to be all day and night. Well, we left at 10 am and by 2:00 I was ready to have him back. We didn't get back to Birmingham until 1:30 am and Tripp and Sabie ended up spending the night with my parents, so I didn't get to see him until the next morning. That's enough for me for a while, and that is definitely the LAST night game for me for a while, SHEESH, the traffic is ridiculous and I was wiped out for the rest of the weekend....I'm getting old.

Here are a couple of recent pictures! Enjoy!

Time Flies

It is hard to believe that this little guy is already 10 weeks old. He is such a good baby! We have come a long way since the last post. Here are some things that have been happening since then:

He is interacting with us more and more every day. He is able to focus and make eye contact, and even watches when you walk away after playing with him. And oh the cooing and the smiling...is there a more precious sound than a baby talking to you? Especially your own baby! R.J. likes to have conversations where they both say "Uh-guh" over and over again. I love it.

We have been enjoying football season! I LOVE dressing Tripp up for each and every bama game. It's actually probably a bit of an overkill (see the following picture, HAHA).

For a while I dreaded night time and going to sleep. The worst night on record was about a month ago when R.J. was out of town and Tripp literally cried or fussed ALL NIGHT LONG. I had a doctor appointment the next morning and barely made it. Of course he was a precious angel at the doctor with me and everyone "oohed and aahd" over him, and I remember thinking how that precious angel was A)still awake, and B)if only they knew what he did to mommy the night before.

The nights have gotten better. He is waking up twice. I am ready for him to go all the way through the night, and trying everything possible to get us to that point. He takes about 2, 2 hour naps during the day with little catnaps in between. Thinking about it now, maybe I should keep him up longer during the day. It's just so nice to be able to get stuff done while he is out. More to come on the sleep situation. Maybe by my next post I'll be able to say that he sleeps 10 hours straight. Wishful thinking!

He had his 2 month check up last Wednesday. He weighs 12 pounds 1 ounce, and he is 24 inches long. Everything checks out great! He got the 4 shots! That was no fun at all. He was in such a good mood and just smiling and talking to the nurse, and ....the crying began. Thoroughly broke my heart. I did not cry (thought I would), I was more focused on getting him calmed down to worry about my emotions. When it was over he buried his little head in my neck and calmed down a few minutes later. Precious!

Please enjoy the video, I realize my part in the cilp is a bit over the top. Ignore me and listen to sweet baby Tripp. It's about 46 seconds of him in a great mood. It was taken a couple weeks ago, and he is even more interactive these days. We love him so much!

5 Weeks Old

I am finally getting a chance to sit down and type on my blog. Who would have ever thought my days would simply fly by? How people have more than one child AND work is beyond me. I have a new respect for those who have multiples. When RJ gets home in the afternoon and asks me what I have done all day, I tell him that my day flew by. It's hard to believe that laundry, diaper changes, baths, feedings, cleaning house, plus giving our sweet puppy attention, etc. can literally EXHAUST me. I mean, I thought I was pretty energetic going into this. However, we are getting up multiple times a night and not as rested as we were "prebaby", so I know that has a lot to do with it. BUT, all that said, it is TOTALLY worth it. He is the most precious angel baby and I wouldn't trade a minute of it. We are all doing well, and things are going really smoothly at our house. I love being at home with Tripp and I am so thankful that I am going to be able to stay home with him until January. We are learning all about his quirks and facial expressions. I know all of his cries, and what he needs. I am ready to be on a schedule, so we are working on that. I absolutely love being a mommy! And R.J. is a natural daddy. We are both smitten! Here are some pics of little Tripp.

They are already best friends!

This is right after a bath, which was caused by the "treat" that he left us in his diaper...WOW what a mess.

Welcome Home Smith Family!

One of our favorite pictures, he is such a thinker.
This is a picture of him on our way home from the hospital...nice and cozy in his carseat.
His first nap in his crib! Usually he naps in his "nap nanny" with us in the living room or bedroom (he LOVES that thing). I highly recommend one to all moms! This day I just decided to try him out in the crib for a bit. It lasted an hour, not bad!

Finally, we are home with little Tripp. The staff at St. Vincent's is second to none and we had a fantastic experience there. However, being home has been so nice. It has been much easier than I thought it was going to be. He sleeps like a champ and is not much of a crier. He is, however, a little piglet when it comes to eating...he wants to eat ALL the time. He wears me out when it comes to the feeding department. I am so glad that he likes to eat a lot though, we need him to pack on the p0unds. He had a doctor appointment a couple days ago and the doc says that he looks great! We are so thankful and blessed to have such a happy and healthy baby boy. AND, our dog Saban has done a fabulous job of adjusting and they are just like peas in a pod. She gave him a couple of curious sniffs when we brought him home and that was the end of it. She just keeps to herself and walks over and sniffs him to check on him every now and then. Being home has been wonderful...I love my little family. Hope you enjoy the pics of Tripp in his new home. Welcome home Smith family, welcome home!

Tripp Smith's Birthday Bash!

Today July 25, 2011 at approximately 1:20 pm CST, we welcomed our precious baby boy, Randy Joe Smith III (Tripp) into the world. We were scheduled to begin the induction process and arrived at St. Vincents Sunday night at 8pm. Ferris began IV treatment and throughout the night continued with medication to enhance the labor process. This morning she received her doses of meds that initiated the dilation process. This process went extremely smooth and even surprised our physician. Around 12:15 we were given the go ahead to begin pushing. After almost less than an hours time the doc was called in to complete the delivery. Ferris did so well I think she surprised herself. It is now 9 o clock and I apologize for just now getting around to posting, but as you can imagine its been quite a hectic, but gratifying day. I am attaching a few pics of Tripp that I hope you will enjoy. For those of you whom we have not seen or had the chance to talk to, thank you for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers. We cant wait for Tripp to meet all of our friends and family.

Love,

RJ and Fer

Last Night

Well, here we go! It's our last night as just "R.J. and Ferris". We just went out to a nice dinner, just the two of us, to celebrate our anniversary and Tripp's arrival. How blessed we are to have each other and the precious baby that we will meet Monday. We are both incredibly excited, however, I am nervous as well. I know that everything is going to go smoothly and the doctors and nurses have done this hundreds of times, but not knowing exactly what will happen gives me anxiety. I know that doesn't surprise anyone who knows me. HA! I know I have not posted any pictures of my pregnant self on the blog like I promised, so I had R.J. take a final night picture of me to put on the blog.

Tomorrow night we are headed to St. Vincent's to check in, and they will begin the induction process. So, by Monday afternoon, one way or another we are going to have our baby boy. We will post details and pics of little Tripp on the blog as soon as we can, so check every now and then. Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers through Monday. AND, the next time you here from us we'll be a mom and dad!! YAY, finally!

Baby Update

So...I went to the doctor this morning for my weekly checkup and received great news. I am going to be induced Monday, July 25th. My original due date is the 30th, but having a scheduled delivery is right up my alley. Being the the obsessive planner that I am, R.J. and I will be able to get our affairs in order and let family and friends know, and everyone can make plans way ahead of time. YAY! There is always the possibility of me going into labor before then, but we are keeping our fingers crossed that we can make it until the 25th.

She told us this morning that I am not dilated or effaced or anything, but he is head down and VERY low, in the perfect position to come on out. So, basically he is ready, but my body is not. We are going to get an ultrasound next Thursday and check on his growth and make sure we are ready to go, but the official date will probably be the 25th. This is also our wedding anniversary. What a wonderful anniversary gift!!! We are so excited, however, anxious at the same time. Knowing the date makes it really REAL, we are going to meet our precious baby so soon! I can't wait!

Here are some pictures of the nursery. R.J. worked so hard to get it finished last week. We are officially ready. Everything has been organized, washed, and put away. I am so happy with how it looks. Thank you R.J.!

We are still waiting on the letters "T-R-I-P-P" that we are going to hang above the crib, but they should be ready soon! We are having them painted. After that, I cant think of anything else that we will need. Mom, insists that I am going to need a chair in there, and I know she is right. But, I think that we will wait on that until he is here or right before he comes. The good news is we DO have room for one if needed. I have to say that my absolute favorite part of the room is the chandelier. I love it, and I tied the little blue ribbons to them. It turned out great.

I promise I am going to post a belly picture soon. I just need to get a good one first! In the meantime, here are some updates:

I had my big baby shower! It was beautiful! Thank you to all who hosted and all who came. It was perfect! I got so many things that I needed and also many extras that I wanted. We were able to stock the nursery with all sorts of baby stuff. We got our carseat as well! Once we get that installed in the car, I'm sure reality will set in and I'll understand how soon he'll be here. I only have a month left. YAY!

I have also started my "once a week" appointments at the doctor. I went last week and she said I look great and Tripp is measuring right on track. This Friday she, my doctor, is going to let us do an ultrasound to check him out and see his exact measurements! I cant wait to see him! I have told her repeatedly that if this baby boy wants to come out a little early, I am all about it. It is just so hot outside, and I get uncomfortable too easily. The good news is, is that she said ok to this and as long as she sees that there is a good window for him to come on, then she is happy to let him come a little early. I'll probably end up being that girl that is 2 weeks OVER the due date. HAHA! Let's just hope not! Lastly, he is rolling around like crazy and I'm able to tell how much he is growing and how strong he is getting. Only 5 more weeks until he is actually here. I cant believe it. Time has flown by.

Meet Randy Joe Smith III! We will call him Tripp! Is he not the most beautiful thing ever!? We love him so much, we just ooh and ahh over these 4D pictures all the time. The ultrasound lady said that he was very photogenic (not sure on that spelling). We got so many great pictures. This one was one of my favorites because he is smiling. At the same appointment as my 4D, I had my gestational diabetes test and passed that! Thank goodness! The doctor says that everything is looking good and Tripp and I are measuring right on track. Things are just moving right along. Sweet R.J. has already painted the nursery, and it looks so good. We have all the furniture...everything from dresser and crib to the chandelier and rug. Soon we will be moving it all up to the room. I can't wait to see how it looks all put together.

I have gotten a lot of "how are you feeling?" lately, so here is the answer:
Between my maternity leave at school and getting ready for baby, my anxiety level rises everyday. If you know me at all, I'm sure you are not surprised about that. I have really been praying about it though because I know its not good for me OR TRIPP! I am trying to aviod being stressed out or worrisome at all. I know everything will fall into place....just trying to relax and breathe. I have had such an easy pregnancy its hard for me to complain about anything. However, if I could pick something...here in the last week or so, I have started to get VERY uncomfortable. Mostly in the afternoons and nights. My stomach muscles are just stretched to the max at the end of the day. R.J. asked what it felt like and I told him, you know when someone is stretching you and you reach the point where whatever you are stretching cant go any farther...well, its like that, but the stretch feeling doesnt stop. That may not make much sense, but that is how it feels. It just means that he is growing and growing which makes me so thankful, however, uncomfortable. Other than those things and being tired ALL THE TIME, I am doing GREAT! I can't wait until school is out so that I can just hang out and rest until Tripp gets here.

Well, I really am trying to keep up with this blog! So here's whats been going on lately. I have had 2 baby showers since my last post. One was thrown by the second grade teachers that I work with and the other was thrown by my sweet class! There were both wonderful and I got so many precious baby things. Tripp is already getting spoiled and he's not even here yet!


I can tell that he is getting big because the little taps that I was feeling have turned into punches and actual rolling motions. He is running out of room in there! I am 28 weeks tomorrow and can't believe its getting so close to the big day. I am starting to have anxiety about the process that is going to unfold at the hospital. Having been through absolutely no surgeries in my life and no overnight stays in a hospital, it makes me nervous...plus the fact that my pain tolerance is pretty LOW! Anyway, once I get to the point where it is time for Tripp to be here, Im sure it will only be excitement that I am feeling. I love him so much already!!! I go to the doctor this coming Wednesday for my gestational diabetes test and we'll get his 4D picture from the ultrasound, that I am dying to see!

Finally!

Well, after a long time of reading other people's blogs I have decided to start my own! YAY! Now, I just have to make sure that I keep up with it. I am mainly doing this so that I can have saved memories of this special time in our family's life. If you have not already heard, we are expecting a precious baby boy on July 30th. His name will be Tripp, he is going to be the third in the line of R.J.'s. We are beside ourselves we are so happy. I have had so many people asking me how I feel and how big my tummy is getting, so I am hoping that keeping the blog updated with pics and news will do the trick! Not that I don't love talking about it, I do!! This blog will just help spread the news. So, in answer to the question...I feel GREAT! Aside from being really tired most of the time, I am great! I am 26 weeks right now, and Tripp is kicking and moving like crazy. I'm not surprised though considering my personality...I'm not known to sit still for long periods of time! HA! It is such a sweet feeling when I know he's in there moving around. I am so ready to meet him and love on him. More to come, but for now, here is a picture of our dog, Saban! I know I need to put baby stuff on here and I will, but I have no idea how to do this and I need to practice.