My First Mother's Day

Since the day Kate was born, I have felt like a different person.  Things that used to get so much of my time seem less important, I cherish every second that I get to spend with that little girl.  I view the world differently, incorporating her in every thought and action I take.  It isn't just about me anymore, it's all about her.  All of this made Mother's Day seem so much more real for me this year.  It's hard to explain, but it's like I really got it. I understood what Mother's Day was all about for the first time in my entire life.  Sure, I had purchased countless gifts and cards for my own mother and grandmothers over the years, gone to family lunches, helped to plant plenty of flowers, but over all that time it just seemed like another day.  This year was different.  Seeing that big smile on Sunday morning when she was waiting in her crib for us to come get her just melted my heart.  Holding her felt different.  Feeding her felt different. 

That morning, Hunter assembled a breakfast just for me...all of my favorite things in one meal.  He had our favorite songs playing in the living room and the Sunday paper ready with all my favorite sections and advertisements pulled out for me to read.  Kate participated by playing in her exersaucer while he and I enjoyed our Sunday morning like we had started doing years ago.  When we first started dating, we began doing something we called "Sunday mornings".  Each week we would either make breakfast, run to get donuts or even McDonald's breakfast and then enjoy our morning reading the newspaper and listening to our favorite songs in the background.  Sometimes "Sunday morning" would last 30 minutes, sometimes 3 hours.  It just depended on our day but it was something we always made time for.  Since Kate has come, we have only done it a time or two and so it was the perfect way to start Mother's Day.  He couldn't have thought of a better idea.  I also got to enjoy my beautiful flowers that Kate sent to my work on Friday.  They are gorgeous!

We all got ready after not enough time relaxing at home and loaded up in the car to make our way to Carrollton to see my mom's side of the family and some of my dad's side.  After a day of family time we were back home in time for her last bottle and a little play time. 

Then, before I knew it, the day was over.  It was time to put Kate to bed and I was suddenly sad.  It had been such a great day, had so much meaning behind it, and it was all over.  Before putting Kate down for the night, I had Hunter take a picture of the two of us since we had forgotten to do that all day. 

One of my favorites.  I am so blessed to be able to call myself her mommy.

Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there. 

Well, well

Hello there!  Fancy seeing you here.  I am officially back to work (have been for almost two weeks) after the best 13 1/2 weeks in my life.  Our sweet baby girl made her entrance a little early and I left work before Christmas and didn't come back until March 28th (the day after my 30th birthday...yes the big 3-0). 

Kate is the happiest baby I think I have ever been around.  She really only cries or gets fussy when she is hungry or tired.  And who can blame her??  I do that now! 

Kate on her first St. Patrick's Day
(almost 3 months old in this photo)

I plan on doing a post about her birth story soon.  I jotted down some notes forever ago so I wouldn't forget any of the details.  I really enjoy reading other posts about people's own experiences so I hope you all do too!

This has been one wild ride and I can't wait to see what else is in store for our little family. 

Honeydew

This is a honeydew...

I have an app on my handy, dandy iPhone that updates me weekly on the progress of the baby...you know, things like what is developing that week, what she can do (hiccup, sucking thumb, yawning, etc.), what my body is doing and how it is changing, stuff like that.  It also shows how far along I am and does a little countdown to my due date.  Then there is my favorite part....the fruit/vegetable comparison.  Every week it changes to a different sized fruit or veggie to compare to show the baby's size for the week and shows approximate height and weight.  Well this week, Kate is the size of a honeydew.  Approximately 17-19 inches in length, 4 1/2 pounds.  Do you know how big that is?? 

I am starting to feel more and more pregnant each day.  I know you are probably thinking, "um...you are 8 months along, you SHOULD feel pregnant!".  It's just that I have had SUCH an easy pregnancy and now I am starting to have trouble standing up from the couch, getting out of bed, even shaving my legs!  I didn't show for what seems like forever and then WHAM!  There she was.  I definitely have a baby bump these days. 

At the Breeder's Cup this past Saturday...
almost 32 weeks in this picture!

Tonight my best friend Sara and I are going to get pedicures and have dinner...a much needed night of best friend time and some pampering will hopefully make me feel less like the ever expanding woman and more like myself. 

So for the next week, myself and the honeydew will be busy getting things ready for her arrival.  I swear, if that app ever tells me she is the size of a watermelon, I am breaking my phone into a hundred pieces and cursing it's existence!

Family

I love my family.  I am one of those people that could spend every day with my family and be perfectly content.  But I must say that I am extremely blessed.  I have the BEST relatives anyone could ever ask for (and no, that isn't just because I may be a teeny bit biased).  Being around my family just makes me feel good, like all the problems in the world disappear and everything is going to be just fine because they are there...they love you, and that is all that matters.  I have a large extended family with grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, step-aunt uncles and cousins, in-laws, etc.  and they are all wonderful.  Our times together always include lots of story telling, lots of laughs, and new stories are always developing!

This weekend is the fourth annual Smith Family Summit.  What is this you might ask?  Well, it is basically an excuse for my entire mom's side of the family (all 40 of us) to get together for no real reason at all except to just hang out.  All day and all night.  Everyone is getting to mom and Doug's house a little after lunchtime and many will stay until 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning, some will even spend the night.  Usually I am one of the last to leave but I don't know if Baby Kate and I will make it that long this year...I am guessing no.  Not only are they throwing me my first baby shower during the day (I told you they were the best) but I also will get to see some cousins that I only see on Christmas which is always fun.

Growing up an only child, I really enjoyed the time I spent with my cousins and we are all super close, I am lucky to call them some of my closest friends!  I saw this today on pinterest and thought it summed up my feelings perfectly.

So here's to a great weekend...whatever you are doing, I hope you are surrounded by people that make you happy!

What I learned this past weekend

1. It really is sales season...Hunter worked most of the weekend which meant I was left to do many things alone.  He looks awfully cute in his light blue shirt and Taylor Made tie but I would prefer him in a t-shirt and jeans on the couch with me!
2. When the recipe you are using for chocolate chip pecan cookies says it makes 5 dozen cookies, it isn't lying.
3. Bags of flour explode upon hitting the floor, especially if your 90 pound chocolate labrador decides to try and get it off the counter while you are not at home.  This is obvious by the large amounts of flour all over your kitchen....and by the fact that your dog has flour all over her nose, ears, and side.  The fact that she then decided to drag said busted bag of flour into the living room is a whole different story.

Note:  This photo does not begin to show the actual
flour disaster or how covered our dog actually was.

4. When deciding on paint colors for the nursery, samples blocks painted on the walls look different in all shades of light.  I think Hunter and I both were up looking at the same patch of wall at least 20 times over the period of a day.
5. When you are pregnant and are trying to find a proper bra to wear during your pregnancy AND you are already blessed by God in that area...good luck.  It is darn near impossible to find exactly what you need.  I have purchased three bras from three different stores, all have failed. 
6. Nothing makes your husband smile more after a SUPER long day of selling horses than homemade cookies (he better like them since we have dozens) and ice cold milk.  Well...let's be honest, I am sure there are plenty of other things that would make him happier but at 11:00 last night it sure seemed to do the trick.
7. It is a strange feeling running errands on a Saturday in September....which coincidentally is also the first home football game of the season.  And you have hardly missed a game in as long as you can remember.  Stupid responsibilities.

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend!

Oooooooooooooh....

Although the outside temperatures would tell you differently, it is the first day of September.  Soon will be the days of sweatshirts, fall leaves crunching under foot, chili, and of course football.  But wait....Christmas has come early this year because our first UK football game is TONIGHT!  It kind of makes me want to make a big pot of chili and cuddle up on the couch with the husband to watch it this evening. But let's be honest, 90 degrees isn't exactly chili weather and with a 9:15 kickoff there is no way I'll make it to the end of the game. 

In other news, Hunter was a victim of Hurricane Irene.  Yeah, that was fun.  He went up to Saratoga, New York last Thursday night to spend the weekend at the races with two trainers he has been working with closely.  All was great until air travel was cancelled for all Sunday flights into and out of New York.  Please keep in mind that I expressed this concern before he even left, he however did not see this as an issue until a day or two before he realized it was a real threat.  So he spent an extra night up in New York.  His hotel lost power but only for a few hours and they sold wine by the bottle...needless to say he was just fine!  :)

The baby bedding I ordered finally came in last Friday and I LOVE it.  It is just perfect.  I had originally thought I would paint her room in a light yellow or green color but since the bedding I chose is mainly light green and white with a few pink accents I feel that pink is the only way to go!  This is the bedding we picked out:

I think pink walls and a white monogram above her bed will be just perfect!  We also have ordered the furniture for the nursery so it should be in by late September...hope Hunter has his cordless drill ready!

A while back I told you all about the amazingness of the Erin Condren planner and mine finally arrived on Monday!  They have so many fun cover designs to choose from and I REALLY wanted one with a photo but since our family will be growing by one I thought something a little more plain was the way to go.  Next year I will do a picture for sure! 
First off, how cute is this box that it came in???

Sara told me the box was cute, she wasn't lying!

And here she is, the most amazing planner of all time...

I am in love.

So that is what is going on in our lives right now.  Hope you all are doing great and are getting geared up for college football...I know I am!

Oooooooooooh.....C-A-T-S, CATS, CATS, CATS!

The verdict is in!

It's official. Kathryn (or Katherine...we are still debating on spelling) Taylor Houlihan will be arriving in January!  Yep, that's right...it's a girl!!!

Hi everyone, my name is Kate!

The ultrasound tech said everything looked perfect.  She looks to have a perfect spine, brain, heart, kidneys, the works!  Thank you to everyone for all of your thoughts and prayers, our little girl is happy and healthy. 

If you need me this afternoon I will be shopping for lots of little pink things!!