22 Week Update

Here I am on Halloween with the pooch showing a little.

We went to have our sonogram today. Everything is looking good. All of my tests have come back negative, so all I have left is the sugar drink test. We will have another sonogram the next visit because they didn't get a good look at the aortic arch, but the doctor wasn't worried. Baby was just in a weird position.

Here's feet:

Here's the hand up by the face. During the sonogram, he/she waved at us. "Hi Mom and Dad!"

Here's another foot shot. At least I know what's been beating me up.

Heart rate is 161 bpms...sounds like a girl to me.

Head shot number one. Theresa said it has a big head like daddy.

Head shot number 2-again, hands up by the face.

Baby Smith, to be named later, kept it's secret. We don't know what it is, AND it wasn't showing us either!

I was relieved that there weren't any horns-Dr. Meadows says those show up later. Usually around puberty...great, sigh.

I was extremely relieved that everything is doing looking good. I've been extremely paranoid, since I'm AMA (Advanced Maternal Age) and because I worry...as Jason says, it's what I do. So, I guess I'm free to tell the world. Actually, Jason is free to spread the word-he's been really wonderful to keep things to himself.

Now, need to finish cleaning out Laurie's room, paint, and all that stuff...luckily, I have a few more months.

Happy Halloween!

My beautiful, sweet soccer players turned into vampires when it was dark!

And I, apparently, have swallowed a watermelon.

Out of the mouths of babes...

So, I was getting dressed Saturday before the girls soccer games. Aubrey comes and tells me, "Mommy, you need to stop wearing tight pants because you might squish the baby." I told her the pants stretched, and the baby was fine. Hmmm, I just thought I didn't need maternity clothes yet.

Yeah...it's been awhile

Here's some new pictures to make up for it!









So, now I really have something to write about!

More Cruise Pictures

Who can resist this face?! She was so cute. This was from our first night on the cruise. We had pictures of the entire family dressed up, but this was the only one we liked. Laurie was in the smile with no teeth for her picture by herself.

These were casual night pictures on St. Patrick's Day. The girls liked the turtles. They were supposed to hide the green arm bands for the kids.

This was from the second formal night. The first formal night-noone wanted to wait in line to get their pictures done. This turned out pretty good though!

Spring Break Cruise!

Here's the feedback we sent to our travel agent once we came back on Tuesday, March 24th. I added some pictures from the cruise for those who like to read the blog:

We really enjoyed the cruise, and I was still rocking on Monday...and a little yesterday. I only gained one pound on the cruise-so it can be done without gaining 10 like everyone had told me! Taking the stairs and working out at their gym three days really helped! We only filled up two digital cameras and two disposable cameras, so I am sure there will be at least ONE good one.

So, here's some feedback:
Cons:
-When we got onto the ship, no one told us what to do. It was like they expected everyone to already know. I did ask, and they told us to go up to deck 9 and eat. But, if I hadn't asked, then we would have just been lost. I knew to go eat, but I didn't know where. Granted, I could have pulled out the ship stuff you sent me, but I didn't look right before we left. I had forgotten with all the excitement. It was just the only thing that really stuck out as a 'negative'.

-Having your two children in the same room...puts a damper on any "romantic" situations. =-) Jason wants to leave the kids at home the next time we go!

Pluses:
LOVED the pool, Camp Carnival, food, staff, EVERYTHING!!!!

-Camp Carnival was absolutely wonderful for my two girls. The 2-5 program lured my daughter, Aubrey, there MANY times. Aubrey didn't want to hang out with Mom and Dad after dinner-it was "Kid's Club! I wanna go to Kid's Club!". They had face painting-which washed off nicely, and she enjoyed that. She also enjoyed the games and making new friends.

The 6-8 program also was wonderful. Laurie had art projects-which she enjoyed, and made several friends. She liked the fact they had time to play on electronics-Wii, Playstation, etc. I was glad it was only for a set time everyday. The counselors were AWESOME, and on Saturday Laurie performed in the Talent Show. It was a great positive experience for them and us.

-Room: Was great-loved having a balcony for early morning for me to watch the sunrise without having to leave the room and worry the girls would get up. The girls (and Jason) liked being able to hang on the balcony when they wanted to get away from each everyone or to see what was going on outside. Throughly enjoyed the cleanliness of the room-having my bed made every morning and it turned down with mints and a towel animal at night. Paliksen was an awesome room taker-carer (can't remember the actual term).

-Fine Dining: That was an awesome experience! We had arranged ahead of time for the girls only to order off of the adult menu. We told them that if they didn't like dinner, that we would go to the buffet or order room service after dinner. They had to try new things. Made and Yasa were awesome servers-they had it down that my husband wanted a coke by the third night with dinner and I wanted a coffee with dessert by the second night. You just don't get that kind of service at home, and they made the kids feel welcome. I didn't feel uncomfortable taking my children to the 'fine' dining-which I would definitely feel here at home. It was great to try new things, and my youngest found out that she LOVES caesar salad. We really enjoyed the people we sat with. One family had kids around the same age as ours, and they other was a mother and daughter duo. Everyone was really nice, and it was extremely nice to talk with other families as we cruised about what was going on and what they/we were going to do the next day or did that day.

-Pool: They kids really enjoyed being at the pool. They LOVED the slide. Monday, I got dizzy watching Aubrey getting off the slide and running back up to do it again. It was so easy for both of them to make friends and play, while I sat by the pool reading a book. That was wonderful!

-Buffet/Optional Food Choice: We LOVED being able to have room service in the mornings. My family is slow risers, and I'm an early bird. Therefore, we ordered breakfast and I got to eat while they got ready. It made life easier to not have to argue with them to hurry up and get ready so I could have my breakfast. The children throughly enjoyed being able to have ice cream with EVERY meal plus snacks-it was vacation, so we let them. The buffet area was great-everyone could find something to eat, and there was no arguing about where we ate. We just ate all the time! Jason LOVED the 24 hour pizza place-the calezone was just up his alley. The girls got hamburgers and fries for almost every lunch, and I got to pick and choose-sometimes I had Asian, with a little seafood, and a sandwich.

-Pictures: It was fun to be able to have pictures taken all the time of the family without a sitting fee and no obligation to buy. The family enjoyed the dress up one. The only downside was they are expensive to purchase, but we got a good one. That doesn't always happen when you go to the photographer at home. I guess if you take enough of them, then you get a good one.

-Entertainment: The kids LOVED the arcade-OK, so really, the entire family loved it. Who doesn't love Air Hockey! That was a nice distraction, and it was something everyone could agree on. We played one round of miniature golf-and it was fun. We went to a couple of the shows. That was so nice-and FREE! Jason and I didn't do the casino, but we did enjoy the movies by the pool at night several times. It was so nice to be out in the open with the sea air watching a movie.
-One of my REALLY good friends sent me drink tickets-I never knew that could happen. She sent me four drinks, and I got them on Friday. That was a great perk! Next time one of my dear friends takes a cruise, I think I will do the same thing for them.

-LOVED the TWO dress up nights. We never get to do that here, and it was nice to 'have' to dress up and go to dinner.

Things I love about my girls!

-Laurie and Aubrey will tackle you if you are sitting on the edge of the bed. They tell you that they love you after you are down.
-Aubrey will argue with me on who loves whom the most.
-Laurie loves to read, and tells me about the stories with great enthusiasm. She told me today that she disappears into a 'bubble' where she pictures the stories in her head.
-Both girls love to sing and dance, and it makes me laugh to hear the songs that come out of their mouths. I can tell what their dad has been playing on his iPod in the car!
-Aubrey hugs with 'authority'.
-Laurie tries to comfort anyone who is sad. She has started giving back rubs to help people feel better.
-Both girls love to cuddle. If there is a lap, one of them will find it.
-They question everything, and sometimes...when I don't know the answer and ask their opinion-I am surprised by the thoughtfulness of their answers.

I am amazed often by them, and truly grateful for such loving, sweet, and bright girls. I am blessed to have them, and I hope they will always know how much their mommy loves them.