Feeling Festive

It's that time of year!

Although you'd never know it around here with the 80* weather and the palm trees. But I'm doing all I can on a newlywed budget to make things feel Christmas-y around the Smith household. :)

This is our blessed little Christmas tree.

Can I say how, once again, I am so thankful for Wal-Mart?! This pre-lit 6.5' Christmas tree was only $40!! I can't tell you how much it lifts my Christmas spirit having a legit looking Christmas tree in our home... and know I didn't spend a million dollars on it. :)

Stockings & garland!

No fireplaces in Florida apartments... Must IMPROVISE! This is the counter between the kitchen & the living room. I really wanted to make a 'paper fireplace' on the wall behind the stockings, but I haven't had the time. We'll see...

Too cute to pass up!

By way of presents, we're all over the place. I bought Taylor's present last month and have been blissfully sitting back ever since. I'm pretty sure he still has no idea what to get me. But buying gifts for B is something we both do very well. :) After touring Winnie Palmer hospital last night (I'll get into that in a minute) we took a quick gander into the gift shop and found this adorable little set. I couldn't resist!

And speaking of the little stinker...

Here I am at 25 weeks.

Can you tell it was the end of the night and I was exhausted with a capital E? haha I'm now 26 weeks along and everyone's doing well. B's been pretty active lately. He does a grateful little backflip every time I eat something he likes (he was going nuts after the Frosty I ate last night  lol) and particularly right before I go to bed. I've been feeling more 'pregnant' lately (if that makes sense). My back gets pretty sore by the end of the night every night and the heartburn sets in pretty regularly not long before dinner. 

B's arrival is feeling more and more real as the time approaches. Taylor & I toured Winnie Palmer Hospital last night which is where I'll be bringing our little rockstar into the world. And in true rockstar style, I might add. The hospital is specifically for women & babies and they deliver more than 43 babies PER DAY! They're one of the top Labor & Delivery hospitals in the country. But, more than that, they built the hospital with the express desire of having it feel more like a hotel than a hospital and boy, did they succeed! The entire facility is very inviting to both patients & visitors and from labor/delivery to recovery--all the facilities are very homey & not at all sterile or hospital-like. Taylor even gets a real bed to sleep in that pops right out of the wall in our room! There's cable, a DVD player, and wi-fi access in our stay room; in addition to room service, in-room massage, and the most beautiful bathroom I've ever seen in a hospital OR a hotel! Needless to say, I am not complaining at all about having to spend 2 days here with my new little family. :) 

All in all, we're doing well and just getting excited for all the upcoming excitement! My grandparents were here this week for a Disney vacay and we got to spend a couple nights hanging out with them and my mom & dad will be here in 2 weeks for a visit. I can't wait! Also... I GET TO GO HOME IN JANUARY! I have the best mom ever and she is flying me out to NJ to throw me a baby shower!! I still get a little choked up when I think about it. I'm so excited to see my friends & family. That's definitely been one of the hardest parts of pregnancy--not being near my support system. But Taylor has been the most wonderful, kind, & doting husband. I can honestly count on one hand how many times I've done the dishes since I've been pregnant. I am so lucky.

I Always Keep My Promises

So, here it is. Finally. A new post.

I can't tell you how many times I've looked at this blessed thing and made up some lame excuse as to why I couldn't post yet. "The apartment isn't done enough." "I haven't uploaded the pictures off my camera yet." "My ankles are too swollen." Whatever. But here it is in all it's glory: the last 2 months in a nutshell.

Apartment

Our little apartment here in Orlando is finally starting to feel "homey" for Taylor and I. We've hung up pictures, put together furniture, and have spent a little bit of time each weekend making little improvements here and there. Let's take a look at what I'm currently most proud of:

Photo Collage in the Living Room/Entryway

Close-up of photos

Our cute little living room!

The bookshelves that took us FoReVeR to finally put up..

My favorite shelf. tee-hee

Family photo collage between bookshelves.

This is the cute shower curtain for the bathroom in the baby's room. :)

And the adorable painting hanging in the bathroom. 

This is baby's room all cleaned out & ready to be furnished! FINALLY!

It has taken a lot of time & energy on mine & Taylor's part just to get the baby's room cleaned out finally and it is seriously our greatest accomplishment since moving in here. Our bedroom walls are still bare, but who cares. As long as that room is ready for my little man, I'll be one happy momma. :)

Baby

Speaking of our little man, he's not so little anymore... and neither am I!

Halloween-20 weeks along.

I'm even bigger now at 23 weeks, if you can believe it. But this is the best picture I have of 'the bump'. My nausea has finally decided to let up and I'm starting to put back on some of the 20ish pounds that I lost in the 1st Trimester. I only have a handful of clothes that still fit me, so hopefully Santa shops at the maternity store. :) But, overall things are going well. Little man has become more and more active as the weeks progress and I can feel him kicking around pretty regularly. He finally gave a good swift kick strong enough that Taylor could feel it from the outside and I have never seen his face light up so much! It was fantastic. :)

Does is get much better than baby Nike high-tops?!

I'm getting more and more excited about having a little boy. A girl at work brought me a huge bag of hand-me-downs from her son (including the absolute treasures shown above) and I have to say that I am loving the idea of having the little guy running around. I'm stoked to be the crazy mom yelling at the refs... helping him paint his Pinewood Derby car... and sending him on a mission to who-knows-where.  It still doesn't seem real, but I'm definitely getting more excited as the time gets closer. And, in case you're wondering... and I know that you are... We have chosen a name for our little guy but will not be sharing until he's born. But, for now, we'll call him B. ;)

And speaking of babies, MY NIECE ARRIVED!! Madison Marie Pizza was born on 11/10/11, 5 lb. 12 oz, 18". She is such a doll! I hate that I can't afford to go meet her in person, but my mom and sister-in-law keep the photos coming regularly, so that'll hold me over for now. 

I still can't believe my big brother's a Daddy! So cute!

Well, I think that pretty much colors me caught up. Taylor & I are just working hard, saving up as much as we can. I'm excited for the upcoming holidays, even though I won't be able to be with my family. But, my in-laws and my FL family are just wonderful and I'm sure will make the season just as bright. :)

Until next time... ciao!

Promises, Promises

I'm gonna kinda give you an 'Obama' post here and promise you all the stuff that I'm going to be updating in the near future. (But, there's also a promise for actual delivery on those promises... unlike some people I know *cough cough*)

1. I promise to upload pictures of the new apartment as soon as it reaches a standard of presentable-ness that I find satisfactory. You know very well that that could mean months, but I'm trying to push it along, I promise.
2. I promise to upload at least one photo of my baby bump as soon as I remember to do it when I'm not lounging around in my scrubby clothes and I actually look cute. This occurs almost more rarely than a unicorn sighting, so I'll do my best, but that's as good as it gets. 
3. I promise to be a better blogger once I actually feel settled here. And by "here" I mean the apartment, Florida, marriage... etc... I am still really struggling with this incredible up-rooted feeling. So, as soon as I can manage to feel like my feet are somewhat planted on the ground, I will be far more regular in my updates.

So... with all that said, I know you'll all be waiting by your personal computing devices, just drooling for my next post... which will come as soon as I can manage. As promised. :)

Bambino!

OK, I can FINALLY update this blog without getting yelled at!

Since I've known for the last 3 weeks that I was pregnant, it has been so hard to talk to people! Taylor and I decided to keep the news to ourselves and our close family until we had our first doctor's appointment and things were further along. Wise? Yes. Responsible? Yes. Easy? HECK NO! We have both been dying to tell the world that there's a little Smithlet growing in my belly, but kept mum as best we could.

Hence the lack of updates on the blog. I thought about posting 100 times, but the only thing that felt newsworthy was the one thing I wasn't allowed to tell. But now I can. So tell I will.

I actually realized that I was 'late' because of work. The three girls I work with, and myself, had all synched our cycles pretty fast and when I realized that I had missed my turn on the P-train, I got a little nervous. (Let me preface this with the fact that Taylor and I want nothing more in this world than to be parents, but we are also aware of the fact that our life situation right now is not the best to bring a baby into; but we'll discuss that more later). So I stopped at Publix on the way home from work and bought a pregnancy test (First Response, to be exact, because they claim to detect the slightest amount of pregnancy hormone). I had even debated not telling Taylor that I was going to take the test until I knew the results, but he knew something was up as soon as I got home. It was pretty late by the time I arrived and I had to get up early the next morning, so I decided that no matter how anxious I was, I was going to wait until tomorrow to take the test so I could get a good night's rest. Yeah... that didn't happen. At about 3:45am I had to pee and what better time to take a pregnancy test than when you already have to pee, right? So, me and that funny little stick took a trip to the bathroom and to my absolute shock there were not one, but TWO pink lines! I very calmly (and in a bit of a daze) walked back into our bedroom and turned on the light. Taylor shot up out of bed trying to decide if he had to shoot someone or run from a fire, when I showed him the funny little stick with the TWO pink lines on it. He replies "Sooo.. what does that mean?" After we both realized what was happening I finally said, "Ya know, that second line is pretty faint. I bet it's a fluke. I'll take another test in the morning to be sure." And, sure enough, the rest is history...

I can't tell you how excited I am to be preparing to be a mother. If you know me AT ALL, you know that this is what I have spent my whole life preparing for. Some people are called to this earth to be musicians... or businessmen... or world leaders... I can honestly tell you that I have been called to this earth to raise up a generation of gods and goddesses to serve my Lord in these perilous latter days. I have done everything I can to do that up to this point: being active with the youth in the church, doing my best to be a good example, and being the best darn EFY counselor I knew how to be. But I have been limited, up to this point, in my ability to truly shape and uplift this next generation. Here is where my real task begins. Building a home conducive to raising up a family of righteous, loving, selfless disciples who will be eager and prepared to do the Lord's work.

How blessed I am to be joining the ranks of the most amazing women across the world who are responsible for the raising of the gods. I am honored, nervous, excited, and scared. But, in all things, knowing that my Father in Heaven is mindful of me, of my family, and of this little angel rapidly developing in my body.

On a less "preachy" note, I go to the doctor tomorrow to go over the results of my ultrasound. Little peanut is about 1/2 inch long with a heart rate of 161.. and literally looks like a peanut. Mama has been feeling super gross so far, but some of the nausea is subsiding (at least, for now). We will definitely keep you all updated as things develop and we are so grateful for all the outpouring of well wishes from our family and friends. You are all amazing!

Update? Sure, why not!

So... to answer your question: Yes, we're still alive.

It's been ages since I've blogged. (mostly because of how busy we've been... and a little bit because I'm just that lazy) But allow me to catch you up to speed.

I am currently the Assistant Manager at the Amazing Pictures location in Disney's Hollywood Studios' AFI. I was promoted after only two weeks of working there, with zero experience in their line of business. *Yes, this would be me patting myself on the back.* I LOVE my job. The people I work with are amazing and, short of being the Mouse himself, I'm pretty sure I have the funnest job at Disney. What do I do, you ask? Allow me to show you:

This is me as Moe, Curly, & Larry's "dummies"  (one of my all time fave pics b/c I didn't even know which picture I was being put in and made those faces randomly. awesome, right?)

This is me as (from L to R) Anakin, Padme, Luke, and Leia

This is me and Annette as Jack Sparrow... excuse me, CAPTAIN Jack Sparrow (thank you, Taylor)... and his .. uh... wench. ;)

So, yeah. Needless to say, my job is awesome. Taylor does quite the opposite. He has been doing demo on houses and tearing apart sheet rock with his dad's restoration company. He's pretty much like a kid in a candy store... with a sledge hammer. You're jealous, I know. 

Other than work, we have just been living a normal life. We're still residing with Mama and Papa Smith here in Windermere as we save up for our own place. They are awesome to let us mooch off of them while we get on our feet and I could not be more grateful for such amazing in-laws. In recent news, we had some Fourth of July festivities with a family in our ward. The boys shot off a pretty impressive fireworks display while we all watched. Except I got a little more than I bargained for when one of the "shrapnel" from a roman candle landed on the back of neck. (see exhibit A below) It is now beautifully peeling and scabbing and getting in the way of pretty much every daily task from washing my hair to dressing myself. I guess I need to learn to be more patriotic or something... Whatever.

All in all, life is grande in it's own complicated, trial-filled, sorta way. But we are very blessed to have each other, a roof over our heads, and the gospel in our lives. Can't really ask for more. All our love to our family & friends out in cyber space!        

- The Smiths