25 Weeks

I can't believe we are already at 25 weeks....it seems like the pregnancy is just flying by. I know this summer is going to go even faster since I will be busy with weddings all summer. Here is our latest belly picture at 25 weeks. I definitely have a "bump" and I must say that I really enjoy being pregnant. So far I have nothing to complain about....I feel great!!

This past weekend Courtney and I had our "first" garage sale....I can't believe how much stuff we had!!! Anyways, we thought it was perfect time to clean out the old stuff and make room for new baby stuff! We have been very blessed with so many gifts already from family and friends...."his" room is already starting to fill up! Of course uncle Curtis had to get him a Hawkeye outfit....we already know he will be a HUGE Hawk fan....is there any other option??? I think NOT!!! :)

As I was cleaning out drawers for the garage sale last week I did come across some pictures that I could not help but laugh at. I found some pictures of Courtney as a little one....he was so DARN CUTE!!! I hope our little man looks just like him....I thought it would be fun to share the pictures. Don't tell Courtney I put them on here!! SSSHHHHH ;)

I think that is about all for now....so until next time

23 Weeks.....IT'S A BOY

Wow.....Courtney and I could not be more excited!!! This past weekend was the big "Reveal Party" where Courtney and I found out we are having a little baby boy! The party was wonderful and we hope everyone enjoyed it! Ok, so to fill everyone else in....my mom hosted a gender revealing party for us and we had a cake made with the inside either pink or blue. So, no one knew what baby Smith was (not even Courtney or I) until the night of the party when we cut into the cake to reveal the sex. We decided to make everyone vote prior to cutting the cake to see what the majority of our family thought. We had 19 people that thought it was a boy and 12 people that thought it was a girl. It was such a great night and we enjoyed celebrating the news with our family. We are so grateful to have such wonderful parents and we know they are going to be wonderful grandparents. I just want to say THANK YOU so much to my mom for putting on the party....she did a wonderful job and we could not of asked for anything more. Here are some pictures from the party....I also included a video of Courtney and I cutting the cake to reveal the big news!

Courtney and I also were able to stop in Des Moines on the way back to Iowa to visit our friends Megan and Scott. They just had their first baby boy last November....so I could not wait to meet and hold Briggs for the first time! Megan he is such a cutie.....I think he is a keeper ;)

Everything else has been going great! I feel great and now I'm super excited to start decorating the nursery! I also have posted another belly pic....it is really starting to grow now. We have our 24 week doctors appointment on Thursday, so I'm anxious to see how much I have gained. I think that is it for now....until next time!

20 weeks...Halfway!!!

So, we are halfway already.....I must say each week I get more and more excited for this baby to get here! Last Thursday night I felt the baby kick for the first time!! It was so amazing....I have been feeling things in my stomach but have not been able to determine exactly what it is. However, once I felt this kick I knew right away it was the baby! I'm so looking forward to feeling the baby more often now! Also, this past week Courtney and I had our 20 week ultrasound, and we have a perfectly HEALTHY baby so far!! We got to see and hear the heartbeat again which was 140, so nice and strong! This was actually the first ultrasound Courtney has attended since our 6 week ultrasound, so it was great getting to experience it with him again. At the end they starting looking to determine the sex, so Courtney and I had to look away. It was extremely hard to not look by the way!!! So, I guess the baby's legs were wide open, so it was easy to tell! However, as you all know Courtney and I have to wait until April 7th for the results....this is TORTURE!!! :)

This past weekend Dixie and George along with Tom, Bernice, Russ, and Susan all came to visit! It is always great getting to spend time with family. We had wonderful weather this weekend, so we were able to enjoy sitting on the deck for dinner and for playing some cards! Courtney also took them to see Crystal Bridges American Art Museum, which is kind of big deal around here! ;) I think and hope they enjoyed it!

Courtney and I have also been working on a few things in the nursery....so here is what we have done so far. It is obviously not finished, but once we know if this little peanut is a girl or a boy we can start tackling the rest of the room! There also is a new belly pic from 20 weeks....until next time!

18 Weeks!

I know it's been awhile since our last post, so I thought it was definetly time for an update:) I'm going to try my best to recap the past few weeks. First off we went to our 16 week doctors appointment two weeks ago and got to hear the heartbeat again! It was 144 and the doctor told us it sounded great!!! It is so amazing hearing the heartbeat every time!!! Sometimes I just can't believe I am making a baby! As for momma I have been feeling great, but have been getting a few headaches the past week. I don't normally get headaches, so I have been taking an afternoon nap to cope! :) Courtney and I are extremely excited to find out whether we are having a little boy or girl....I don't know how I ever thought I could wait the full 40 weeks! We actually go in next week for our 20 week ultrasound and they will be able to determine if it is a boy or girl, but we have to wait to see the results until April 7th. I guess 4 weeks really is not that long to wait, but it just feels like forever! Either way it will be very exciting finding out the BIG news with our family! Also, a couple of weeks ago we ordered our crib and it came in last week, so we are excited to get it set-up. Once we find out whether we are having a boy or girl, we can start putting the nursery together. Now, here is our latest belly pic....16 weeks. 

This past weekend Courtney and I made a quick trip back to Iowa and got to spend some time with my mom and Steve along with both sets of my grandparents. Unfortunately, the reason for the trip back was not so good. Steve's brother Ron suffered from a massive heart attack and passed away last Monday. It was an emotional weekend and Ron will be greatly missed. However, we all take comfort knowing he is in a wonderful place now!!! 

On a lighter note, Courtney and I were greeted with a room full of baby stuff when we arrived Thursday night at my mom's. I think my mom is a LITTLE excited!!! She had the room full of blue and pink stuff....LOL....I don't think she would have been able to wait the full 40 weeks either!!! Another positive aspect to the weekend was Courtney and I got to drive home our new Toyota Highlander!!!! My grandparents were in the market for a new vehicle and wanted to get rid of their Highlander....so it was perfect timing for Courtney and I, as we were wanting another vehicle before the baby arrived! We think the car will be just perfect for when we welcome home our little one. Here is another picture from the weekend....doesn't Courtney look great all dressed up! Well I think that about sums up the past couple of weeks....until next time!

15 Weeks Pregnant!

Ok, so time has been flying by...we are already at 15 weeks. Everything has been going great so far. I'm still feeling really well! I guess I have been very lucky, I have not had any of the "bad" pregnancy symptoms. I have officially moved into maternity pants....I must say though I can still fit in my regular pants, however it is HIGHLY uncomfortable and does not look the best! LOL


The past few weeks Courtney and I have been pretty busy. My work is really starting to pick up with appointments with all of my summer brides!  A couple weeks ago Courtney's parents Pat and Rose came to visit. It was great seeing them and getting to spend some time together playing cards. Last weekend we went to a super bowl party. As much as I like football, I was much more focused on the FOOD this year! The super bowl is always a great time for good food with friends! Also, over the past few weeks Courtney and I have decided that we would like to find out the sex of the baby. We will go in for an ultrasound at 20 weeks, which is around March 17th, and the doctor will be able to determine the sex at that point. My mom has decided she would like to throw us a "gender revealing party", so we are going to wait to see the results until the night of our party April 7th. This way we will get to share in the excitement with our parents. I think it will be great since we live so far away and we will not get to share this "9 month" experience much with our parents.  


Ok, last thing...last week my friend Nicole invited me over to see her new house and to have another "FUN" ultrasound. Nicole's mother works at a pregnancy clinic, so I got to see our little peanut moving around again! "She/He" is getting a lot bigger. I could really see the difference from this ultrasound compared to the one at 11 weeks. It is so much fun watching your baby move inside you....it truly is a miracle! Some days I just can't believe there is a little baby growing inside me! We can't wait to meet this little peanut! Until next time....

11 Weeks Pregnant

Wow....I can't believe we are already at 11 weeks and almost 3 months pregnant. This week was pretty exciting because Courtney and I had our first doctors appointment with Dr. Hinton. We got to talk to Dr. Hinton about any questions we have had plus we got to hear the heartbeat!!! Dr. Hinton said that it may take a second to find the heartbeat, but not to worry that is normal for only being 11 weeks pregnant. However, the minute she put the heartbeat monitor to my belly....we heard it RIGHT AWAY!! So, we have a little peanut with a VERY STRONG heartbeat! Then on Thursday I went in for a "fun" ultrasound at Loving Choices. Loving Choices is a pregnancy clinic in NWA. Each month they take what is called "model scans" which just means that they need to conduct a certain amount of ultrasounds each month. I had heard about the place through a friend, who's mom works at a similar clinic. My friend Nicole said that she had an ultrasound done around 11 weeks and it was a fun stage to watch the baby move. So, I called Loving Choices and said I was interested in being a "model" and would like to have an ultrasound done. IT WAS AMAZING!!! He or she was like a jumping jelly bean...the baby was doing flips and turns all over the place. He or she was also waving their hands and kicking their feet....it was so cool to watch! Unfortunately, Courtney could not get away from work to come on Thursday...he was so bummed! However, we both are enjoying looking at the pictures....we are trying to guess if it is a boy or girl!! Either way the baby looks SUPER CUTE already! Agree!!!

If you look at the second picture, it appears to be that our little jumping jelly bean has a VERY large ear! Lord help this child if it inherited its mothers ears!!! Not to worry, they told me it was much to large to be an ear and was actually the hand. So, I guess "she" is waving at us... ;)


Well, I still feel great! No sickness of any form! I'm still fitting in my clothes, however they are starting to get tight. I have ordered some maternity jeans online from Gap, so I'm excited to start wearing some "comfortable" pants. Which, I'm going to need since all I really want to do is eat!!! Courtney says he is starting to see a small bump....LOL. I think he is just being nice! Lets see....anything else new? Oh, yeah last week there was a HUGE sale on baby stuff at a small store in Rogers. So, I made our first baby purchases and got our stroller, car seat, and swing. The cats are already starting to wonder what all this stuff is....they are going to have a rude awakening when this baby comes! Well, I think that is it for this week....until next time!

9 Weeks Pregnant....Yay!

Happy New Year everyone!!! Wow....Courtney and I can't wait to tackle 2012. Well, I must say that 2011 finished with a bang! Our parents found out that we are pregnant over Christmas and EVERYONE is super excited! Lets see Dixie and my mom were both screaming on the phone because they were so excited and my dad about fell over in his chair when he finally figured it out! I have to tell the story real quick....so we arrive in Nebraska Friday night the 23rd and one of the first things my dad asks is "what do you want to drink". I told him I had brought my own stuff to drink sparklingly cider, so when I go to pour myself a drink Kim asks what I'm planning to mix with my cider. I told them it was a "mocktail" and you don't add alcohol because mocktails are cocktails for moms. At this point my dad whips his head around and says "mocktails....well Ash that is what pregnant people drink" so I replied with "yep" and now he is just starring at me. He is still not getting it! The look on his face when he finally figured it out was priceless!! His eyes got really big and then it hit him I was one of those pregnant people! Anyways...it was fun telling them and they are really excited too! 

Courtney and I finished the year up with some friends last night by playing some games and eating: taco dip, cheese dip, pigs in a blanket, jalapeno poppers, chips, cupcakes, chocolate covered oreos, cake, and beer (water for me). So, I guess you could say we really finished the year up with heartburn and a stomach ache! LOL...no really we had a blast playing games with our friends last night and we actually stayed up until 1:30 (I figured I would have faded a lot FASTER).

As for me this week, I have been feeling really well! I have not been sick at all!! So, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Now, my stomach has felt a little upset here and there, but I'm pretty sure it is due to all the crazy food I have been eating over the holidays! I'm looking forward to focusing back on my fruits and veggies! I must say Courtney has been so cute lately...his daddy instincts are already kicking in. He is making sure I eat something every few hours. The nurse told us that it is best to eat often so you don't get nauseous, and he is taking that advice seriously! LOL....I love him!!! Ok, besides Courtney monitoring my eating.....I would say that I'm still feeling bloated, but not really showing yet. I have noticed my jeans are feeling a little tighter...so I will probably start doing some clothes shopping here in the next few weeks. Well, I think that is it....until next time!