One Week Pics, One Week Late

My little Luke is two weeks old today, but theses pics were taken a week ago. It is amazing how much joy this little guy has brought into our home in just 14 days. He is very much a part of the Smiley family and I couldn't imagine life without him in it. A mother's love knows no bounds and with each new addition to our family my heart has grown beyond what I thought possible. I feel truly blessed to have three adorable and healthy little ones to call my own.

Luke has proved to be a very good baby so far and has only made me wake up twice one night - all the other nights I have only had to get up for one feeding! How awesome is that?! He usually sleeps for a 5 hour stretch and then a 3-4 hour stretch. What a good little boy.

If he looks a little yellow in the pictures, it's because he is. He is my "yellow fellow" - he has breast-milk jaundice, which the pediatrician said should wear off by 4 weeks. I still think he is beautiful even with a yellow hue, but I still can't decide who he looks like. My mom claims that he looks like me as a baby. All I know is that I love this little guy so very, very much.

Family of Five

Newest addition: Luke Brian Smiley
Date: June 15, 2010
Time: 3:50 pm
Weight: 8 lbs. 5 oz.
Length: 19 1/2 inches

He is a miracle and I am in love. He is the sweetest little thing and has hardly made a peep in his 27 hours of life. The labor and delivery went remarkably well. We arrived at the hospital just before noon, my water broke at 1:30, I got an epidural at 2:45, I was dilated to a 10 by 3:15, the doctor arrived in the room at 3:40, I started pushing at 3:45, and Luke entered the world at 3:50 - it was a whirlwind! It is truly amazing how many emotions a mother can feel in such a short period of time. From extreme pain, anger, and frustration to sheer joy and love. I laughed, I cried, I swore a few times, I tried to rip off Brian's thumb nails, and I witnessed a miracle. It was amazing. He is amazing. And yes, it was all worth it.

No Birthday Baby

Today is my official due date, but no baby. I am just happy I didn't have the baby yesterday, my birthday. I had numerous people tell me, "Maybe you'll have the baby on your birthday!" - as if that would have been a good thing. No thank you! Besides the fact that I already share my birthday with my adorable niece Madison, who would really want to be in extreme pain and in the hospital on their birthday? Not me. So, we made it through the 12th of June without adding another birthday to the family and now I am welcoming any sign of full, active labor. But knowing my history, I am not expecting anything today, or even tomorrow. Trent was a week late and so I fully expect to go past my due date. But, hopefully I have this kid before the 23rd, since that is my adorable nephew Payson's birthday. June is a busy month!

Unfair Fight

Tonight I heard Ashlyn say to Trent, "Let's fight!" I looked up to see Ashlyn armed with a wooden stick...Trent had a dryer sheet.

A couple weeks ago after we had gotten home from church I asked Ashlyn what she had learned in primary. Her response was, "Someone threw rocks and made a boy fall down." "Oh. That was not a very nice thing to do. We don't throw rocks at people, do we?" Ashlyn gave me a peculiar look, but didn't say anything. "Nope," I said, "We don't throw rocks at people. That was not a good choice." Again, Ashlyn didn't say anything, she just looked perplexed. The very next day I was preparing our FHE lesson and had randomly chosen to talk about David and Goliath. As I was cutting out a picture of Goliath, Ashlyn came up to me and asked, "Who is that?" I told her that his name was Goliath. "Oh yeah, he fell over when the boy threw rocks at him." Ohhhhhhhh, okay. That makes sense. "You are right! And that was a good choice."

BBQ Season

Don't you just love Utah springs? One week you are watching a blizzard out your kitchen window and the next week you are BBQing up some delicious shishkabobs for an outdoor family dinner!

We had a great Memorial weekend complete with not one, but two BBQs and a family gathering in the mountains. We had the Hills over for a BBQ on Saturday. Spending time with the Hills guarantees a good time with lots of laughs. On Sunday we celebrated my Dad's 60th birthday with another BBQ. The food was amazing and a good time was had by all. So good in fact, that we sat around the fire pit and talked until midnight!

Yesterday we began our summer Lifferth FHEs at my aunt and uncles cabin by Sundance. It is such a peaceful setting and a great way for our large family to all be together. This tradition began years ago (maybe 10?) and generally runs from June to September on the first Monday of the month. I feel truly blessed to be apart of such a close and loving family and I love these gatherings.

We ended our weekend last night by cuddling up together on the couch with a big bowl of popcorn and a movie. Remember when I longed for that day? Pure bliss.

Hopefully we won't experience any more blizzards this year, at least until November! Let's keep the BBQs going!

Countdown!

I am officially just two weeks away from my due date! It is hard to believe that we are so close to becoming a family of five. Life has been so hectic lately, that time really has flown by and all of a sudden I am 38 weeks along! And I feel it. I feel old.

People say to get as much sleep in as possible before the baby comes - I wish! For some strange/cruel reason, the majority of my braxton hicks happen at night. Compound that with the fact that I have had a cold for the past couple weeks, and sleep is just not happening. I can't wait for the day when I will be able to sleep comfortably, even if it is in three hour intervals. Every morning I wake up and my back and hips just ache. I have to hobble out of bed to the bathroom (first things first) and then hobble around for about five minutes until my body adjusts back to normal - what is normal when you are 8 1/2 months pregnant?

Okay, enough complaining. I really am so excited to meet this little one. Is it a boy or a girl? I still have no idea, even though everyone else around me seems to have an opinion. Even strangers that I talk to seem to know it's a boy or a girl. But, I can't wait to find out! There is absolutely nothing that can compare to giving birth and to holding a new born baby. What a joy!

Ashlyn and Trent are getting more excited as the days go by as well. Trent asks me several times a day (as he is pulling my shirt up) if he can "pet the baby" and Ashlyn is constantly hugging my belly. These two are going to be the best big sister and brother a newborn could ask for!

We have finally gotten out some needed and essential baby items. The car seat is out and ready, the bassinet is set up, and all the gender-neutral baby clothes, blankets, and burp cloths are out of their boxes and are currently being washed. I still need to buy a few things and pack our bags, but progress has been made. And in just two short weeks (hopefully not more!) I will be posting pics of our addition!

How'd She Know?

Last night before putting the kids to bed, I told them that if it was warm and sunny tomorrow we would go to the park for a picnic. Ashlyn got a big smile on her face and said, "I want to play in the snow!" Snow?! Is she crazy? "No honey, it's not going to snow, but if it is warm enough we will go to the park for a picnic." She told me how much she loved the snow and again said that she wanted to play in it. Okay, I thought, whatever.

Fast forward to this morning and Ashlyn comes bounding into our room, all smiles, exclaiming that, "It's snowing, it's snowing!" Okay, okay, stop with the snow business already. But, Brian peaked out through our blinds and with shock in his voice said, "Holy cow, it's coming down like it's December!"

Seriously?! Enough already.