Stuff, other stuff, and baby update!

I am now at 18 weeks now!! We find out the gender at 20 weeks and I am dying to know what we have!! Ah its killing me. But so far time has flown and I should be able to make it somehow. And now it has begun. Our first baby gear! Can't believe we are actually out buying this stuff, but honestly it makes every thing so much real and...its fun! So far we haven't felt like the realization has hit us hard yet. My tummy is just barley starting to poke out and I haven't felt any movement quite yet. Our doctor visits and listening to the baby's heartbeat are what have been reminding us of the reality so far.  But the fact that I walk past this pile of baby stuff sitting in our house is starting to get me really really excited! 

We got very lucky because there was a city wide garage sale in Snoqualmie and there were so many people selling baby stuff! The crazy thing is that everything we got is less than a year or two old and hardly used at all. Where we live, people stop having kids after they have one or two and then they just want to get rid of their baby things. So they put them out for what I think is ridiculously cheap, especially considering how much THEY actually paid for it (people don't go cheap in this city). And then cheap first time parents (like us) come literally running in to collect those pretty much brand-new treasures! Our grand total was $150 and we bought a crib, pack n' play, baby bjorn, boppy, bumbo, snuggle nest, a really nice pump, play mat, glider chair, excercise ball, and two pairs of maternity pants for me....(whew) I just can't believe how much we saved! I am on a thrifty kick right now let me tell you! But yeah, we really did get lucky and we are super grateful for that huge blessing! 

As for me? I've been experiencing a few changes. Heartburn, which I hate, and my growing tummy! I have been trying to exercise everyday and I'm starting to notice my center of gravity has changed.  My balance is starting to get all out of whack and I can't do certain exercises that I usually do. Like if I stand on one leg, and kick my other leg out sideways like a boxing kick, I start falling over! It's really funny haha! But that means I will have to start being more careful now about certain things I do. Also, skinny jeans...what are those?? Haven't worn them in weeks. I got the belly band thing, and it works okay but it's just uncomfortable to have to pull your pants up all the time. So now I'm full time in my maternity pants that I bought at the sale, or sweats (my personal favorite). Still hoping to find cute maternity skinny jeans for a decent price though. 

June is almost here! Our summer plans were finally finalized (try saying that five times fast) about a month ago and we've got our calendar set and were marking it off every day! Lately we have welcomed an additional member in the smith household................no not the baby. 

It's Brandon Wyatt! Steve heard about a summer internship position opening up in his office and it turns out Brandon is going into the Construction Management himself! So Steve told Brandon to apply and see what would happen, and he got it! It is a great opportunity for him, but he is dating Ashley right now and he wasn't thrilled about leaving her at all.  But they both thought it would be a great opportunity so he made the trip up here! We also just so happen to have a spare room and bathroom in our house, so we told Brandon he could just stay with us! Plus he would be able to carpool with Steve to work everyday and that is awesome. We were probably the ones rooting for him to most to come up here, just so we could drag him here to hangout with us! Call us selfish :) It's been really fun though! I know he misses Ash a lot and they Skype...like...all the time. Ugh, they are so lovey dovey, it's like what are we?! Chop liver!? Kidding guys. 

Just hanging out after Steve and Brandon got home from work. A good typical evening. 

Plans for this summer first and foremost though...Ash is coming to visit tomorrow!!!! Oh we are all so excited to spend time with her! She will be here for a week and then Ashley AND myself will be headed to South Carolina to have a sibling vacation! We are going on a cruise to the Bahamas! (happy dance) Our guys are staying home though :'( So bummed. It is actually the first trip I will be making without my lover man and I'm really sad about that. He deserves a fun vacation because he works so hard for us everyday. But he is saving up his vacation days for this first year of being on salary so we can actually have a Christmas break. He is bummed but he says that he will be just fine, especially since he will have a friend around (Brandon). He is really happy for me to go since it will be sort of my last hurrah before we have kiddos. That's really sweet of him.

Actually the fact that I'm going in the first is all thanks to Jonathan! Seriously though, he won a cruise at work. He was given a good amount of money to spend towards plane tickets, cruise tickets, and a lot of activities. But instead of taking one other person, and spending the money all on excursion activities and souvenirs, he decided spend it all on tickets and travel expenses for his sisters!

(I know right?! Being an emotional pregnant girl meant this is what I felt like when he invited me.)

What a great brother, and not because he got us a cruise. He is just so thoughtful and knows that we all miss each other and love spending time together. And that's what this trip will be about, being together as a family! Thats so important to him and thats why he is amazing!  Love you Jonathan! And now mom and dad bought tickets to join us! More than anything we are just so excited to be together! Yay!

Steve got me a sun hat in preparation for the cruise :) because pregnant people burn much easier in the sun. So thoughtful. 

Then later in June Steve and I will head up to Canada to go to our Smith Family reunion! We are so looking forward to spend a week with his family in beautiful Canada! Steve made a Smith Reunion t-shirt and it's really cool looking too! His family is so awesome, I am really looking forward to spending time with them there. How did I get so lucky! 

Ohhhhh BABY!

Last post I did mention that we are "super duper happy and have a lot to look forward to"..... and that is  because...................

WE ARE PREGNANT!!!!

I don't know who's more excited, myself or Steve! We both are just so happy and totally freaked out, it is pretty much all we talk about! Well most of the time :)

When we found out, Ashley was here visiting us in February! Could not have been more perfect timing because, I mean, this is a big deal. A big life changer. For Ashley to be there was just the icing to the cake really. We were just hanging out downstairs one evening, it was really late maybe around 11:00 so. We were all getting pretty tired and I had been very suspicious all day long! But I held it in because I was very nervous! Finally I gave in and ran upstairs to find out for sure and......positive! Wow!! So many emotions were going though my head I felt so bewildered and not quite myself! It was so weird but I was so happy! I immediately wanted to tell Steve and Ashley, so I went down stairs acting kind of like everything was normal. Then I noticed that Ashley and Steve were in different rooms, so I walked back and forth between each room trying to figure out how I would break the news....and to whom first?! I then decided I should tell them both at the same time and I just pulled Steve into the room with Ashley and just said "Im pregnant". Haha! It was weird to say it, but I immediately started crying and Steve just hugged me and smiled! He was so happy! Ashley of course started freaking out too, maybe even crying herself I can't remember. But she started taking pictures with her iPhone! You genius you Ash!

So theses are the pictures she took.....don't mind our extremely tired and groggy looks!

From there it was.....what now? Seriously that's what everyone says but it's so true! There is so much about this subject that we don't know...and now it's time learn! The next day we planned on telling our families. Of course Steve made a baby name spreadsheet the next day during work too haha! But we spent the next couple days telling our families and it was pure happiness! 

This is my parents with Olivia and Haley when we told them over Skype! So much celebration the camera couldn't keep up! 

We guessed that we were maybe 6 weeks along and we made our first appointment for 8 weeks.  During that time we (me mostly) spent a lot of time learning stuff by way of babycenter.com. Its just so exciting to see what your life will be like in the near future with being pregnant and with a brand new baby! But beware the informational birthing videos...

At our checkup everything seemed to be in great shape! To our surprise you receive an ultrasound when you have your first checkup, just to make sure that there is there is someone growing in there. We couldn't hear the heart beat but we could see it pulsing and wow...that was amazing! It just looked like a little bean, but it was alive and it was ours. Our little baby. I just looked at Steve during the appointment and started tearing up! I couldn't believe we were starting our family! With our first little angel! I felt so blessed for Steve and myself, this huge life changing thing is happening and it's real! Heavenly Father is trusting us to take care of this innocent little spirit and to help it through this life.  As much as that is so daunting to think about, being a parent is what I want to do.  It's what I have always wanted to do.  I have other talents and things that I can pursue and want to accomplish in life, but nothing will make me feel more complete than being a mother.  It is my divine purpose and role and nothing can replace that.  

I am now at 17 weeks and now ABSOLUTELY loving trimester numero dos. After that 8 week mark my emotions went up and my appetite went down down dowwwwn. It. was. awful. But my doctor and  I consider myself one of the lucky ones. I only threw up twice and even when I was nauseous I wasn't bed-ridden.  I did get the bloating, loss of appetite, and fatigue and that isn't so fun. Not to mention I have been so indecisive about everything, especially food. During that first trimester NOTHING sounds yummy. Not even the good stuff. And that was so sad to me because I love food and it was depressing to when nothing sounds good for weeks. But we are into second trimester now and I feel so much more myself and I have lots of energy!  

We have been to several more appointments since our first and we have heard the heartbeat of our little growing baby a couple times now! I love it! Steve mentioned that it kind of sounds like the pac man game. We even looked it up on youtube and it totally does! Haha! We also came up with a fun way of announcing it to our friends and people online......

Oh so funny. We got a lot of compliments on this announcement for the creativity.  Steve says it was all me, because I was thinking about doing a movie poster of some kind, but I blame it on him! He made the Mr. and Mrs. Smith connection!  Anyway it was perfect because Steve loves to do this sort of this with graphic design and he's really talented with it! It was also a fun activity for us to do as excited new parents! And we felt so much love after announcing it! 

Due date is October 25th! We can't wait to meet you!

Hello Seattle

Here we are almost June! Obviously slacking on my blogging lately, considering the last time I posted something was in November! I actually read my journal that I pulled out of a dusty drawer yesterday and I was amazed at how much my life has changed since then! I have done more blogging since my last journal entry and I can't decide which to focus on doing more. I love doing them both because it helps me see my life from different vantage points. So I want to start blogging weekly if I can and record what our life is like as time goes on. I also want to start journaling more of my personal and spiritual experiences for my own recollection in my cute dusty book. No better time to start then now!

Hello Seattle....

(A cool picture I took after finishing a run! Pretty! )

It's been months since our new life started in Snoqualmie Washington and it has been a great experience for us! At first when we decided to rent here, I wasn't too sure about living so far away from "city life".  It was weird to think we would be living in Snoqualmie?? But it is very different then what I remember. There basically is a whole new city called the "Snoqualmie Ridge".  It's all brand new and growing fast with a lot of young families moving here.  It's also is only 10 minutes from Issaquah which has all the big shopping places we go to, that works out great. There is no doubt that Washington is beautiful. Sometimes I can't imagine wanting to live anywhere else! The air is so clean and everywhere you go it's green and full of life. Ah it's just beautiful! BUT. Yes. I did not realize how the endless cloudy days of winter/spring would affect me.  Growing up in Seattle the rain was just part of my experience here and I did not really think much of it. But living in Utah for 4 years and coming back, I realized I'm not as immune to the rainy gloom as I thought I was. All I really think it is, is the fact it doesn't ease up.... for months! Ahhhh. I started to remember what winter/spring were like here, but transitioning from spring to summer is where all your hopes and dreams come true! Then BAM! You can't see yourself ever wanting to leave! Right now we are going through that process and we are so excited to get out and enjoy those sun rays! Well enough with the weather...

A big change this has been and it hasn't been easy. But the good news is I really feel like we have adjusted well to our new life!  It was really hard at first. We had such a fun time Provo with amazing friends that we truly love! Not to mention a lot of our siblings were there which was a blast! And leaving all that behind us and starting over was more of a real challenge for us than we expected. When we arrived it took a week or so to get all settled into our new house. And then our schedule set into motion, and I guess I was not too thrilled about it at first. We started going to bed at 9:30 (you wouldn't have believed we were the same people who spend every night watching "Chopped" till 11:00 in Utah)
and we got into what I thought was a "mundane"routine.

But I really kick myself for having a...well...we'll call it a less than appreciative attitude for the first couple of weeks. And I would be lying if I said I didn't have a couple of emotional breakdowns during those few weeks. At one point, I saw it as we had left behind our fun days with people who we can relate to very well. And that we had left the stage in our life where we could enjoy "being young". I'm embarrassed for thinking that because for one its not true (we can still be in this new stage of life and do fun things) and two, yes our lifestyle is different and won't be the same, but we are taking a step forward and I should be appreciative! It was a HUGE blessing for us to be here in the first place. For Steve to get this job right out of school and for it to support us like it has is a tremendous blessing that I just needed to be grateful for.  Sometimes, we surprise ourselves with how we see past our blessings and focus on our trials.  I had been so, so grateful before we left because I knew that Steve would be able to support our family with this job. And no matter where we went, we would have the Church and each other to rely on. But I just lost sight of that for a while. But I'm so happy that didn't last long, because I have so much that I owe to my Heavenly Father for! We have Abby and Joel here for crying out loud! Thank goodness!  We love them so much and love spending time with them! I also have such a stronger relationship with my amazing husband! We relied on each other so much and we have never experienced that kind (level) of dependance before! He is my everything and my best best friend :) And  I'm so happy he understands me so well. Almost as well as Ashley understands me....

Kidding love! ;)

To wrap it up we are super duper happy right now and have a lot to look forward to! Yay!