High school 15 year reunion

What a fun night! It was great to reconnect with the ladies that showed up. I would say only about a 1/3 of our class showed up. Hopefully we will have a larger turn out at the 20 year. As you can see, I couldn't leave Jade behind. Her first late night party...I hope I didn't just start a trend. :) She is my daughter after all (haha). My old classmates were very pleased to meet her. She was a doll!! Looking forward to the 20 year...

Welcome to the world, Baby Jade

It has been 4 weeks since Baby Jade was born. Needless to say, the days have been flying by. I am feeling more and more like myself again. I finally felt somewhat normal today and had some time to do my 1st post since the big day...

Jade was born on August 4th at 9:42am weighing 5 pds 14 ounces. This was after 42 hours of being in the hospital. I was completely worn out by the time she came. The entire experience of her birth was the complete opposite of Marcus' birth. The hospital started Cytoattack (spelling??) induction on Monday, the 2nd (my birthday...not a very fun bday for me). After not progressing quickly enough, we decided to proceed with the Pitocin induction on Tuesday evening. By 11pm Tuesday, I didn't think I could withstand much more so I opted for the epidural. Good thing!!! After the epidural shakes and 2 panic attacks passed, it was smooth sailing. I got about 4 hours of sleep...yippee!! They broke my bag of waters around 8 am and within 40 minutes I went from 5 to 10 centimeters. I pushed about 6 times and delivered a very healthy (but tiny) little angel!! If you are curious why we decided to induce, please just ask...too much to explain in a blog.

We have been blessed with so many family and friends surrounding us during this transition period for our little family. At times it has been a little overwhelming for me since I was still recovering. We've had out of town visitors and many people bringing us meals. It has been awesome! All in all, I would not have exchanged it for ANYTHING.

The past few weeks, Marcus was busy playing with his cousins and aunts while I tried to stay focused on resting. For those of you that know me, allowing myself to relax (even after a surgery or birth) can be rather difficult. I was struggling with that normal guilt of not having enough energy or time for Marcus. He has been handling it just fine though. He loves his baby sister and is so tender and sweet with her. He calls her "cutie pie" and loves to look at her, give her kisses, and rub her head.

This is the first time Marcus saw Jade!

The first time he held her!

Jade is an amazing baby!!!! She is a GREAT sleeper and eater. I've had to give up quite a few foods and am eating a pretty bland diet to keep belly aches away. Other than that, she goes about 3 to 4 hour stretches between night feedings. That is something I didn't experience with Marcus until he was almost 2. They are quite different in that sense, but have quite similar features. I think she looks just like Marcus did as a newborn. I often catch myself calling her Markie. Be your own judge...enjoy the pics!!!

Fun facts about Marcus at 2 yrs 8 months

Marcus calls Geronimo "Selmo" and Smitty "Smi" as he cannot pronounce their names properly just yet. He says "Selmo is my doggie and Smi is mommy's doggie."

His top favorite things are still running and cooking as well as playing with his "Cars" cars, his Buzz Lightyears and Woody, and his dinosaurs.

He has become quite the great swimmer. He just jumps in and goes for it! He can basically do laps with some assistance.

He is an amazing talker. He is saying new phrases on a daily basis and is telling us he loves us unprompted. What a tear jerker? :) I definitely have to watch what I say in front of him because even when I think he is not listening, he is hearing me and repeating phrases I have said...what a little sponge. I cannot even begin to list all the things he says because the list would be too long. He has full on conversations with people (even though they may not understand every word he is saying) and tells us stories on a daily basis. Every time I talk on the phone, he wants to talk to that person too. It's pretty hilarious even though it can be frustrating to get through a phone call sometimes.

Our favorite nicknames for him are as follows:
Mommy calls him "Handsome pants", "Sugar plum", and "Markie"
Daddy calls him "Pumpkin Pie"
Nona calls him "Sasu"

He is almost completely potty trained. We are still working out some accidents but we are very pleased with his progress.

Stay tuned for more...

Thirty Seven Weeks

I have been all consumed with the news of hearing baby Jade is breached. At week 34 weeks, she was head down but decided to pop her head back up at 35 weeks. We have been trying to do everything suggested on how to get her back in the right position. I had accupunture done on Monday and have been using moxybustion (a Chinese herb you burn by your feet) to get her to turn. We had a doctors appt today but the dr could not confirm her exact position. We have another appt scheduled for Monday in which they will do an ultrasound to give us a clear idea on how we are going to proceed. For those of you that don't know, I want to deliver naturally with no drugs so the thought of a c-section is very overwhelmingly stressful. I will do whatever that is within my power to avoid it. Please keep us in your prayers and thoughts as we are praying Jade turns on her own accord if that is what God intends.

Thirty Six Weeks

This entire pregnancy has been quite different than my previous one. I remember getting to savor it more the first time. Time is just flying by...between keeping my beautiful two year old busy and the daily grind of life, I barely have enough time to focus on this amazing experience. I find I am often just frustrated with how exhausted and LARGE I've become...which is just part of the course. Sad at times to feel that way because I know I will look back at this time with such fond memories. I mean I am pregnant with my baby girl and we have ever intention for this to be my last pregnancy. That being said, I wish I could slow the clock just a little to relish in these last few days/weeks even though I am sooo uncomfortable and anxious to hold our little Jade. I remember at this point of my pregnancy with Marcus, I was just relaxing and watching movies and plain veggin out. I cannot exactly do that now. I am very fortunate to have soooo much help with all our family members and friends but I am contstantly torn with knowing I need to rest but also needing/wanting to play with my boy. :) I know there are many moms with multiple children who can completely understand. I suppose feeling torn and emotional about it all is part of the journey, one that I am blessed to be experiencing.

Train and Tractor Show in Santa Margarita

Hanging with with one of his best buddies, Nolan!

Enjoying the train ride together! Of course, Marcus was holding on to his ticket! He LOVES those train tickets.

Here are the boys with some lanters...so strong!! :)

Thirty Two Weeks

One more belly shot! Nothing has really changed. Having tons of heartburn not matter what I eat. Craving nothing but sweets!! Feeling really tired and finding it harder and harder to keep up with my little man, Marcus. I am eager for the days to pass so I can have my body and energy back and to see our little girl. I am soaking up my alone time with Marcus to the fullest because in a few short weeks our time will definitely be different. :)

Train and Mom's Smith Birthday

I love this picture of Marcus and my dad at Griffith Park train station! He loves to ride the little train there and the ponies!

Here are some pics of my mom's bday blast. We were supposed to head down south to a restaurant in Costa Mesa but we had some problems with them. So instead, we took a limo ride to a restaurant in Pasadena (about 5 miles from her house). Hilarious!!

The cute cousins!!

Sesame Street Show 1-2-3

Ethan, Beckham and Marcus waiting to get into the Sesame Street Show...they are so excited!My boy checking everything out...

Marcus and mommy...

The moms...(from left, Kimmy, Ana and me) :)

Marcus totally enthralled with the show...

Here is the Sesame Street gang...Marcus wanted to get on stage with them. He was a little upset and could not understand why he couldn't go up and give Elmo a hug.

Still sitting...pretty impressive for my active boy...he is thoroughly entertained.

The boys running around after the show...finally getting to be loud and exert some energy.

Yelling for Elmo here...

Marcus' solo "ELMO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Thirty Weeks

Here I am at thirty weeks...time is flying by!! Still feeling great. Getting anxious to see the little one.

Marcus' first train ride

Curtis and I decided to take him on his first train ride. Marcus absolutely loves the fairly new PBS show "Dinosaur Train." There is a short train ride from Grover Beach to SLO so we hopped on that one to see what he would think of a real train experience. Needless to say, he had a blast and wanted to run through each train compartment. We got him to stay close to the seats long enough to take these pictures...

Here he is waiting for the "conductor." He kept on saying, "where's the conductor." For those of you not familiar with the "Dinosaur Train" show, there is a conductor which is a dinosaur that comes around to punch your ticket...he says "tickets please." That is one of Marcus' favorite parts of the show....


He has just spotted the "conductor" in this shot below...

Here he is below, so excited to have his ticket!!!! He held on to that ticket right up until nap time. He, of course, recovered it once he woke up...

28 weeks pregnant

28 weeks and starting to feel that 3rd trimester exhaustion. My belly is getting bigger and bigger each day. I starting to have a hard time with moving around and continuing to do the things I have been doing. I finally said goodbye to running. I was trying to jog and was wearing a pregnancy belly band but it is just too awkward. I forgot about how uncomfortable you get in the last trimester. I have to say all of that is forgotten when I start to feel Jade move around. She is definitely working on building those muscles. Curtis is really getting to feel her better each day. She loves to wake up at 9:30pm...of course that is the time I am starting to feel really sleepy. I am loving each day and just taking it in stride as Marcus is a VERY busy 2 year old. He is super excited too!! He is kissing my belly and hugs it too. If you ask him about is baby sister, he always says "Baby Jade's birthday party is coming right up!" He wants to get her a birthday cake with candles when we bring her home from the hospital. Already showing how he is going to be a great big brother! One of his favorite books right now is "Froggy's baby sister." We read it everyday before nap and before bedtime. What can I say other than it brings me such joy to see him excited for the next chapter of our lives together.

Baby Jade's room in progress...

It's dress up time

Here is Marcus covered in all my costume jewelry...

He looks like a drunkin pirate here...I told him to lay off the Ovaltine
Having a blast...and I'm loving each minute...I don't think Daddy felt the same way though ;)