I love a sweet photo of a newborn baby, especially when it’s my newborn baby! Oh, they are just precious!
Family Pics…
Our photographer had to come back a second time because Finley wasn’t super cooperative the first time for sibling photos. Luckily, my mom was in town during her visit and got some sweet pictures of my mom and the kids!
A few days after we brought Tucker home from the hospital we had a seriously cold, cold front come through Birmingham. It was so cold that is SNOWED!!! We had about three inches of snow in our front yard and were snowed in!! Of course we weren’t snowed in because of the 3 inches. We were snowed in because it had rained the night before it snowed, which iced over the road we live on. Since we live on an incredibly steep hill, no one could drive up or down it with the frozen over ice! Dave even tried to go to Crossfit the following morning but couldn’t because of the ice on the road. Oh, the joys of living where it gets cold! I miss Florida so much on those cold days!
Tucker and I stayed in the warm house, but Dave and the girls ventured out to make snowmen and play in the snow! They had a BALL!!!!
before the snowman…
after the snowman! They looked a little worn out and COLD, don’t ya think?!
Mr. Snowman was still standing two days later, even after all the snow had melted. Cori decided that he needed some hair! HA!
This was the view of our backyard while it was snowing out. Check out that awesome swing set my handy husband made! Looks pretty good with snow on it!
The Alabama winter wasn’t too bad, but I am REALLY (and I mean REALLY) looking forward to warmer weather! These last few days have been frigidly cold and I am longing for the sunshine and warmer temperatures!!!!!!! I mean it’s almost April for crying out loud!!
Our first few days at home as a family of 5 were so sweet. The girls simply could not get enough of their brother!! They wanted to just sit and hold him ALL THE TIME!! That has worn off over the last few weeks, but I love seeing them so in love with one another!
As we pulled into the parking deck at 5:00pm at the Women and Infants Hospital I had many different emotions rushing through me. Feelings of excitement, nervousness, anxiousness and joy all at the same time. All my pregnancies and deliveries have been very easy, but each time, I am always a little nervous, especially when I’m scheduled to come in. With Cori I was 5 days late and just tired of waiting so I went in and they kept me at 4cm. But, with both Finley and Tucker, we scheduled an induction since I had been hanging out at 4 cm for a week or two. It’s just a different feeling walking in with no pain deciding that today is the day we will have a baby. And, walking into the hospital with Tucker, I was extremely tired!!! I had tried to squeeze in every last little thing I could before having him and was up late every night getting things done and ready. But as we got settled into triage so they could check me and see where I was at, I felt extremely at peace, ready to have baby #3.
In triage I was still 4cm dilated and having contractions infrequently. It would be 9 minutes, then 15, then 9, then 20, then 8. Finally they checked me into a room and started Pitocin. About 30 minutes later I got my epidural and everything was going smoothly until I started feeling a bit faint. The anesthesiologist was still standing behind me finishing up the epidural when all the sudden I said, “I think I’m going to pass out.” Dave said I was looking extremely pale and they had me lay down on my side and put me on oxygen. My heart rate had dropped a little and so did Tuckers. The anesthesiologist finished up the epidural with me laying down and the nurse then decided to monitor me for another hour, while on oxygen, to make sure everything was okay with baby. They also stopped the pit drip so labor would slow down a bit. Each time I had a contraction Tuckers heart rate would drop a little and they wanted to make sure he wasn’t in a whole lot of stress before delivery. It was a quiet hour of watching the monitor. Even Dave was watching it a little more intently than normal, which made me slightly uneasy, but I figured if it was really serious they would be doing more than just watching. Finally, our heart rates evened out, we started the pit drip again and the doctor broke my water around 8:30pm. Whew!
After they broke my water, the nurse, Dave, and I all made some bets on when Tucker would arrive. I was 6cm at that point. I normally dilate from 7-10 rather quickly so Dave said he thought Tucker would arrive at 9:05, I said 9:45, and our nurse said 10:30. We waited and waited. I talked to a few dear friends of mine on the phone and eventually the 9:45 marker past. I was actually disappointed. I asked her to check me again and when she said only 7cm I was shocked and a little mad. I know that sounds so lame, but I just expected it to go faster than that! Wow, am I impatient! Around 10:15 I was talking on the phone to my sweet friend Lacy. We were talking about Rally that day and how labor was going, etc. I was in no pain at all. Granted I had an epidural, but still! At 10:30 the doctor came in and I told Lacy I’d call her back. We made small talk with our doctor as she sat at the foot of my bed. I was telling her that I didn’t expect it to take this long, etc. Then all of the sudden I started getting VERY uncomfortable. I upped my epidural and told my doctor that I thought she should check me. She checked and sure enough I was 10cm and the baby was on his way!! She very quickly got herself ready and got my body in position. The contraction came, I pushed 3 times and out popped sweet Tucker. It was very different than it was with the girls. I very distinctly remember the “crown of fire” as they like to call it with Cori and Finley when their heads were crowning. When Tucker came out it was so smooth and easy. There was no crown of fire! He was a few ounces smaller than the girls, but it really felt so much better!! As soon as he was born the doctor gave him to me to hold. My heart literally melted. He was just the sweetest thing in the world. It’s amazing how with each baby born, I love them more than life itself. Child birth is just incredible like that!
Tucker David Smith ~ born at 10:42pm on January 12, 2013. 7 lbs 2 ounces. 19 1/4 in.
I got to hold him for such a long time before they took him to weigh him, measure him, and give him a bath. They were such sweet moments. There is something so incredible about having a son and the strong connection/bond I felt with him right away. I definitely feel connected to my girls too, but it’s a little different with a boy. I had heard people say that before, but never really understood until I felt it too.
The next day, Dave went home to pick up the girls so they could come meet their brother. They were SO excited about Tucker’s arrival, especially Cori. She was the proudest big sister when she came into the room to meet him and all she wanted to do was hold him! Finley brought her own little baby to hold too. They were just the sweetest!!
The whole experience of having a third baby was wonderful! I honestly LOVE having three kiddos and feel so incredibly blessed. God has given us more than we could ever ask or imagine!!!
January started out with me being extremely pregnant to say the least! I started out the month with two jewelry shows and people at my shows thought I was nuts to be out doing jewelry parties when I was due so soon. Tucker was due on the 15th and I was pretty positive he would make it until then. So positive that I decided to head up being Rally Registration Coordinator for our Regional Premier Rally here in Birmingham on January 12th!! At our doctors appointment, the Tuesday before Rally, I was 4cm dilated. That’s pretty normal for me considering I hung out at 4cm for a while with both girls before going into labor. At that Tuesday appointment my doctor said that she would be on call the Saturday of Rally should I get done with the day and feel like I’m in “labor”, I could just come in. Without hesitation I said, “Let’s just plan on it! See you Saturday around 5pm!”
Saturday, January 12th, started early with Dave and I heading downtown for Regional Rally around 6am. I really enjoyed getting to be a part of the “behind the scenes” action at Rally this year. I also left our house that morning feeling excited about meeting our son that evening after Rally was over. I knew it would be a long day, but also an amazing day at that! It would be my last day of being pregnant with Tucker.
It was bittersweet attending Rally in a new state this year without all my amazing Premier friends from Gainesville. However, God has given me an absolutely wonderful group of girls here in Birmingham to live life with. I am beyond grateful for them!! I love thinking about how Dave and I moved to Birmingham not knowing anyone and now have all these sweet families in our life because of Premier! I don’t just have a job in Premier. I have a ministry and I love it!!
Dave and I were recognized for being one of the top sponsors in the region in these last 6 months. I was definitely a great honor!!
Rally ended at 4:00 and we helped clean up a little, said goodbye to everyone, and headed off to the hospital to have our little boy.
Hey there! Yes, it is March 23rd and I’m JUST now starting out my blogging for 2013. We just keep adding kids to our household and things seem to pick up pace rather than ever slow down. I think that’s normal at this point in life. :) Young families are constantly on the move I think! I am so in love with my growing family though! I sometimes just sit on my couch and look around at my 3 sweet children and wonderful husband and just smile. My heart is filled with such warmth at the thought of how IN LOVE I am with my family. Wow! I can only imagine how God must feel when he looks down on all his children. He loves us even more than that!
I started out this year thinking of resolutions for myself as most of us do, until the first Sunday in January rolled around and our pastor did a Sermon series on Revelations verses Resolutions. Our resolutions are to eat right, exercise more, get our finances on track, blog more (yes, that last one was a resolution of mine – HA!). We quickly realize that we have fallen short of those resolutions about two weeks into January and then completely give up on them, saying we will try again next year. Can I get an amen?! That’s about right where I was sitting that first Sunday in church. That’s because resolutions are things we want to change about ourselves, and it’s more of an outside thing than an inner thing. A revelation is a change from the inside out, and it’s a change only God can make. It was a great reminder that we are spiritual beings who need the help of our maker to change us/mold us into the person he truly created us to be. I am trusting God for many revelations this year and I am intently trying to turn my gaze on Him each morning.
Dave and I were recently having a conversation about the big things in life verses the little things. We compared them to big marbles vs. little marbles. I really tend to focus on the little marbles – like cleaning the baseboards when there is a pile of laundry sitting on our bed to be folded. Praying that God will give me great revelation this year to change me from the inside out so I can focus on the BIG things – like time with Him and my family most importantly. The baseboards and the dog hair will have to wait, but only with the power of Christ living in me!
May 2013 really be a year all about growing in the Lord and doing things for His Kingdom and His glory!
Blogging has totally taken a back seat at my house these past few months. Pretty much since we moved. But I know 20 years from now, I will be so glad I wrote down what was going on in our life, even if it didn’t get written down right away.
2012 was a great year. God has just blessed our family abundantly and I am continually thankful to Him. We spent half the year finishing out our 11 year stay in Gainesville and the other half of the year starting a new life in Birmingham. I can hardly believe that we don’t live in Florida anymore, but we are enjoying Birmingham!
These are my two precious girls exactly one year ago. My how they have changed!!
It’s funny how much David and I complained about living in the Links Condos where we spent the first 6 years of our married life. We (let me rephrase … I) was so excited when we bought our little 2 bedroom condo. It was our first real home together. We soon out grew it and became not so fond of it, but always joked how one day we would look back on life in the Links and remember it as the best time of our life. Now, looking back, there were so many great memories there – beginnings of a great marriage, working life without kids, two sweet girls being born, transitioning to becoming a stay at home mom, friendships formed, etc! Cori and I spent quite a bit of time playing on the field behind our house as well. What fun we had!
In 2012 we,
Here is a picture of our family back in July. This was our first family photo taken in Birmingham! Wow! We sure did change a lot in 6 months!
I’m sure there was a lot more that I’m missing from 2012, but just wanted to wrap it up before moving on. 2013 here we come!!
