Here we go again!

I go through phases of blogging and not blogging. So here we go again. Just a heads up, I'm going to to do a little catching up since the last blogs

At the end of April Baby C and I went to California to visit family. I was a little nervous flying by myself and with a layover. Once again little man amazed me. He did great! We'll see if he continues to be a awesome airplane traveler when we fly again in October.

Flying to California

This is my Aunt Sandy. Sandy and her husband, Nan, took us to Newport beach for the weekend.

Baby C got to meet my dad's parents, Great Grandma and Great Grandpa Stout.

He also got to meet my cousin, Kristy, and her fiance', Phillip. (He was about to go to sleep, that's why he's swaddled. I don't usually keep him in a straight jacker.)

We got to see my cousin, Mandi, while we were out in California.

Thanks Sandy and Nan for a great trip to California.

We were both very excited to see Daddy when we got home.

We had kind of a traumatic evening one night in May. Poor baby knocked one of his teeth out in his crib some how. :( His gums are all healed up now, just minus a tooth.

We also got an unexpected visit from my brother, Trevor, and his wife, Wyntre, when they had to cut their backpacking trip on the Appalachian Trail short.

At the end of May we headed up to Tennessee for the Georgia Cumberland Conference campmeeting. The highlight of the trip was staying with Matt's sister, Mindy, and her family. 

Fun times with Cousin Brynlie!

First time in the swing

Aunt Mindy is such a good auntie and mommy juggling two babies during storytime. 

We also made it to Zoo Atlanta for the first time. Caffrey didn't really know what was going on, but it was good outing for me to do with another mommy friend.

So I've been trying to fit in my training in the midst of mommyhood. I mentioned in past posts that I wanted to do Ironman Augusta 70.3, but.... It is now filled up, and I can't do it. :( My plan now is to do Rev3 Anderson. It is also a 70.3. It's two weeks later and a smaller race. I'm also excited, because Matt and Caffrey can cross the finish line with me. 

Enjoying some swimming/ training at Collins Hill Aquatic Center

Picnic & playtime, post-ride on the Silver Comet

My mom, Caffrey, and I just got back from a vacation to Branson, MO. We had a lot of fun. This baby continues to amaze me. He did so well with the 13 hours on the road there and back. He did great, but I am really trying to limit his time in the carseat and enjoy as much time as we can at home for the next few days.

My mom, Mimi, & Caffrey looking out the observatory overlooking Branson

This little boy loves to swim 

Just outside one of the cafes about to head home

Overall the last three months have been a lot of fun. We have many more memories to make in the next couple of summer months. I'll try to be better about staying up to date, especially as Rev3 Anderson gets closer.

It Just Keeps Getting Better and Better!

  The Smith family has been enjoying some fun adventures recently. I have a lot to catch up on, seeing that it's been a month since I've written a blog. 

  Since we moved into our house last summer, we have been chugging away on some home projects. We knew when we bought the house that we wanted to put some work into it. Last year we did some projects like painting the whole inside of the house, new carpet everywhere, and concrete countertops in the kitchen. But in the last month and a half we have really been doing more. Matt fenced in our backyard, thanks to Tom and Colleen for the supplies. Maglee has really been enjoying the back yard. We also bought new blinds, put up a tile backsplash in the kitchen, new lighting in the kitchen, resealed our counter tops, and started improving the landscaping in the frontyard. Check out Matt's blog for more details and pictures. We still have long ways to go, but I am loving the improvements.

  We also had Baby C's 3 month pictures taken last month. He is getting so big and becoming so much more interactive. 

My sweet baby boy

  We are really enjoying living in Atlanta. One of the fun things we've been able to enjoy is Stone Mountain. So far we have only made it up the mountain one time, but we got a season pass. There are lots of other trails there too, besides the one to the top of the mountain, that allows dogs. This is also a potential place to bike and run.

Hangin' with my buddies in Stone Mountain State Park

 This past month we also joined the Collins Hill Aquatic Center. This is an awesome pool. We only got a two person family membership, since we'll mainly use it for swimming laps. But we can take Baby C too, we'll just have to pay $3 every time. There's an awesome indoor pool perfect for lap swimming and an fun outdoor pool with slides and fun stuff.

  Another first this past month was leaving Baby C for a full day. Even though I am not working right now, I am keeping my dental hygiene license current. To keep it current, I have to do my continuing education. There is a great dental conference that comes to Atlanta every year, The Hinman Dental Conference. Fortunately Matt was able to stay home with Baby C. I'm nursing so this was a little bit to juggle. I have a new respect for nursing working moms that have to pump while at work. So I managed to pump while I was at the conference and kept my handy breast pump by my side. (By the way... May I recommend the Medela Pump in Style Advanced. It's great!!! It doesn't obviously look like a breast pump which was nice, since I had to carry it around the whole time. It also can plug in the wall or battery power, which was nice since most bathroom stalls don't have an power outlet.) While I was at the conference I got to see some friends from dental hygiene school.

  Last week Baby C got to meet two of his cousins and aunts for the first time. We took a trip up to Grandy and Mimi's house (my parents) and met up with Aunt Jenn, Aunt Juli, Cousin Raleigh, and Cousin Daisy. Baby C had so much fun watching his cousins. He's not used to being around so much action. While we were up there I got to clean some teeth too. That was fun!! 

Baby C & Cousin Raleigh

Baby C & Cousin Daisy

Aunt Jenn is holding Baby C while I clean her teeth

  Today was Baby C's first day out in the bike trailer. Matt pulled him, and I followed behind. We only did 13 miles, but it was so much fun! This was great practice for us before we try out the Silver Comet next week when the weather is supposed to be awesomely warm.

Just after our bike ride

My Biking Buddies

  One more thing... Today I met my Weight Watchers goal weight. I am super excited I am now a current Lifetime member. This means that I can continue using Weight Watchers online tracking system, if i weigh in every month and stay within two pounds of my goal weight. I also found out some other great news when I went to weigh in today. If you become a Lifetime member and then become pregnant, you get the first three months free after having a baby. So I got all my money back from doing Weight Watchers, since I did it in three months. I can't say enough good things about Weight Watchers. It is an awesome weight loss program and has now worked for me twice (before and after a baby).

  Sorry for the long post! Hope y'all get the beautiful spring weather that we are enjoying here in Georgia.

Home Again, Home Again...

  Well the Smith family has done some traveling in the month of February. In my last post I told you about our trip to Cohutta Springs Youth Camp for Matt to speak for a high school spiritual retreat. Since then we have been to Colorado and back, and then we went Cohutta Springs again.

  Baby C is now a veteran air traveller. I think every mom is a little anxious about getting on a plane with a young child, especially when you get glares from other travelers as you board the plane with a baby. But I have to say he did great! Our flight left on a Sunday afternoon from Atlanta. We arrived at the airport about an hour and a half before our plane was scheduled to leave. We checked one bag and a carseat (fyi for other moms: you can check a carseat and stroller without charge!). Then the attendent asked us if we had Baby C's birth certificate. Ooops... Fortunately, they still let him board the plane after they added him to my ticket as a lap child. Security wasn't too bad either. I carried Baby C in the Moby Wrap. (Also fyi for other moms: you don't have to take a baby out of the carrier if he is on you when going through security, they just do some wipe on your hands after you've gone through the metal detector.) We got to our gate and boarded the plane shortly after. I fed Baby C when taking off and when landing to equalize his ears. He slept and played quietly in between take off and landing. Probably the best thing that I brought was my nursing pillow. I took it on the plane with me. It made it so much easier!! Also another tip for travelling moms... We did not bring the carseat base this time, because we knew we weren't going to be in the car that much.

  We had an awesome week at Campion Academy with Nick and Taryn while Matt spoke for Week of Prayer. It was an awesome experience and lots of fun to hang out with our friends. But we were pretty tired and ready to be home (for one night).

Matt, Baby C, Me, Taryn (Baby Clark in the oven), & Nick

  The day after we got back we packed our bags again and headed for Cohutta Springs for Matt's ordination review. On our way up, we got to see some family. First we stopped at a Cracker Barrel for breakfast to meet Bear (my dad), then to Grammie and Grandpa's house (Matt's parents) to see them and Great Grandpa and Grandma Smith (Matt's grandparents), and then to Grandy and Mimi's house (my parents) to see Mimi and Nana (my grandma). Then we finally arrived at Cohutta! A big thanks to Grammie for driving up to Cohutta to take care of Baby C while we were in our interview.

Grammie (Matt's mom)

Great Grandma (Matt's mom's mom)

4 Generations: Matt, Grandpa (Matt's dad), Great Grandpa (Matt's dad's dad), and Baby C

Nana (My mom's mom)

  On Thursday Mimi came to visit. We spent the whole day at the mall. That was a long day and the longest Baby C has been out and about. Then on Friday morning Mimi took care of Baby C while Matt and I got to go swim at the community pool. I will admit, it was a short swim, but at least we made it to the pool. Grandy did some biking and camping on Thursday night and Friday in preparation for a big ride him and Mimi have planned at the end of March. On Friday night Grandy and Mimi read Baby C his bedtime stories. On Saturday Mimi and Grandy came to church with us, and then we had a fun family lunch with Mimi, Grandy, Uncle Johnny, Aunt Ammie, and Cousin Rosie. We were sad to see them leave yesterday afternoon, but we enjoyed our low key Saturday night and Sunday!

Baby C, Big John (my step-dad), Cousin Rosie, & Uncle Johnny

  This week we are home, with some fun outings planned!! I'll let you know all about our adventures soon.

  "How's the training going?", you say. Well, I didn't exercise much while we were in Colorado or last week. But I have managed to hop on the trainer now and again, and I have high hopes of swimming now that we have a pool membership. Hopefully the sun will come out and warm everything up, and I'll venture out for a run or two this week. Even though, I didn't exercise much, I am getting closer to my pre-pregnancy weight, only 10 lbs to go (as of last Monday).

 Thanks for reading!

Out and About

  Recently I've been trying to venture out with Baby C more often. When Baby C was 4 weeks old we went to Daytona Beach, but I felt like I was just trapped in the hotel room the whole time. When we got back I attempted to go to church, but I got there late and left early. Since then I have been much more successful. Two weeks ago my brother, Trevor, and his wife, Wyntre came to visit for the weekend. I decided that I was going to attempt to go to church again. I woke up on Saturday morning and made it to church (only a few minutes late).  We even stayed for lunch following the service.

Hangin' with Uncle Trevor after church

Baby C loves being with his Aunt Wyntre.

  A week ago Matt had the opportunity to speak for a high school spiritual retreat at Cohutta Springs Youth Camp. I was really looking forward to it, because I love Cohutta Springs, and it's great to see Matt to connect with youth. The whole weekend went so well. Matt spoke on Friday night, Saturday morning, and Saturday afternoon. I was so excited that Baby C and I were able to make it to all three of the meetings. It was also pretty exciting, because Baby C got to see his first snow.

  Things are continuing to get easier and easier as far as getting out of the house. This past Saturday we made it to Sabbath School (the equivalent to Sunday school) and church. After church we stayed for lunch again and a meeting afterwards. At lunch one of the little boys was making funny faces at Baby C. Then he said, "His eyes look like blueberries." I thought that was too cute. Then I thought they really do look like blueberries. 

  Even though we love to get out of the house, we love visitors too. Matt's parents, Grandpa and Grammie, dropped in for a visit on Thursday. Our good friends Josh and Brittany were visiting Thursday and Friday. (I unfortunately didn't get any pictures with them this time.)Then yesterday we got a visit from Grandy, my step-dad.

Baby C fell asleep while Grandpa and Grammie were here

Baby C and Grandy 

 Tomorrow we are planning to meet Mimi, my mom, in Marietta for lunch. We'll see how that goes that will be the longest drive with Baby C without Matt. 

  Next Sunday we are head out to Colorado for a week. Matt gets to speak for Campian Academy's week of prayer. The highlight of this trip for me will be, seeing our good friends Nick and Taryn. We don't get to see them often enough. So we'll see how Baby C does in the airport and airplane. It should be exciting.

 Last Thursday was another first for Baby C. He got his first shots. I was so anxious about it before. Because I hate to see my baby hurting. He did great! His check up was great. He is 11 lb 15 oz and 24 inches long. He's growing like a weed. 

He had no idea what was about to happen.

  As far as fitness/training goes... I'm still trying to get out there. I ran twice last week. It's been kinda fun, because I've been able to run with my sweet dog, Maglee. Hopefully this week, I'll get on the trainer. It's been awhile since I was on my road bike. 

Thanks for reading!

The Beginnings of Motherhood

  Lots of things have happened since I posted last. My last post was one week before my sweet little boy was born. He came nine long days past his due date. Fortunately I went into natural labor and didn't have to be induced. I went into labor early in the morning on December 8. I had mild contractions throughout the day. I was admitted to the hospital late that night. After many uncomfortable contractions, I decided to get an epidural. That was a great decision. Matt and I got to sleep for about 2 1/2 hours. When we woke up I was fully dilated, then pushed for about 3 hours. Then at 11:02 am on December 9, 2012 my life changed. I became a mom!!! Baby C weighed 8 lbs 5 oz and was 20.5 inches long. If you want to read about it from a daddy's perspective, check out Matt's blog post. 

My two favorite people!!!

  So now that Baby C is 6 1/2 weeks old, I'm starting to get the hang of it. With long sleepless nights to nursing every other hour, it has all been worth it. (I can say this now, because he slept two 5 hour segments last night.) Motherhood, so far, has been unbelievable, yet unpredictable. I'm so excited about what is to come. He is starting to become so much more fun. He is much more alert (for the few hours of the day that he is not sleeping). I know he is only going to become more fun. He is also growing like crazy. He is wearing 3 month old cloths and weighs over 11 lbs. 

Happy boy!

  It's also amazing how a woman's body recovers after nine months of pregnancy. The year before I got pregnant I lost a significant amount of weight, about 20 lbs. As my pregnancy progressed, I became slightly discouraged as I saw the scale go up and up at my Doctor's appointments and my fitness level go down, even though I knew it was for a good reason. I am excited to say that I have lost almost 25 lbs (since the week before he was born) and can fit into my non-maternity clothes. About two weeks ago I joined Weight Watchers. This is an amazing program. This is the program I used in 2011 when I lost weight before. I love it because I can eat what I want, when I want. It is just promoting a healthier lifestyle and encouraging better portion control. So I am losing weight again!! And I am also starting to get my fitness back too. Yesterday was my first run since last spring. It wasn't far or fast, but I got out there and did it. I ran, with Matt and Baby C in tow in the jogging stroller, at our favorite park near our house, Little Mulberry Park. 

  I am excited about 2013 and all the new things that are in store for me. My big goal this year is to do a Half Ironman. I've picked out Ironman Augusta 70.3 on September 29. My training for Augusta doesn't officially start until mid May. But until then I'm going to try to build up a nice base. I also would like to do some other races between now and Augusta, probably a sprint & olympic triathlon, and possibly a half marathon (don't hold your breath, running is not my favorite of the three sports). I'm a goal oriented person so I need something to work towards, otherwise I'll just sit on the couch.

  I'll keep you posted about all the adventures 2013 has for me, whether it be motherhood or triathlon training.

I'm back!!!

So I haven't written in quite awhile. A lot of things have happened since April 2011! Not to go into too much detail, I'll just give the details from 2012!

First things first, in March we found out that we were pregnant!!! So exciting! We are having a little boy, due on November 30 (Yes, I know that has already pasted. More on that later)

This is around eleven weeks.

In May we moved from bitter cold Michigan to my home state of Georgia. Matt became the pastor of the Buford Family Seventh Day Adventist Church. 

At the end of June we closed on our first house! Now we're really grown ups, right? 

Since buying the house, every wall has been painted, new carpet throughout the house, made our own concrete kitchen counter tops, new recessed lighting in the kitchen, and many other smaller projects. But unfortunately there is still so much to do. There will be many more renovations to come in 2013. 

When we moved from Michigan and found out that we were pregnant, Matt and I decided that we wanted me to stay home full-time when the baby got here. But since Georgia has made it anything but easy to get my license as a hygienist in this state, and who wants to hire a pregnant lady that will only be there for a couple of months, I've been home since the move. You may ask, what have I been doing? Well, sometimes I wonder that too. But I'm so much less stressed, the house definitely feels much more livable, and Matt and I have had a lot of fun just hanging out the two of us.

So, our baby boy was due on November 30; it's December 2. Unfortunately, he has not arrived yet. We're growing very impatient. Since I have no pictures to show you of my precious little boy, here are the major changes that have happened in the last couple of months.

May 30, 2012 (14 weeks)

December 2, 2012 ("40 weeks")

                                         

With all the exciting things that are happening in my life currently, I really wanted to get back to blogging. (Matt is very excited!!)

Some exciting things that we have planned for 2013 are: learning what in the world it is like to have an additional person to be responsible for (I know my life is about to change), Matt is going to do his first Ironman, and I'm going to attempt to get back into triathlons soon (not sure what it will be like mixing training with motherhood).

So stay tuned.... Hopefully a little boy with arrive soon!