17 weeks: Pink or Blue Guess Whooooo

Tomorrow tomorrow I love ya tomorrow we're only a day away! Tomorrow morning at 11:00 we have our 3D ultrasound to see this little bundle of joy and for the gender determination! However, we will not actually be finding out the gender tomorrow. The plan {as long as we can maintain self control} is for the ultrasound tech to write boy or girl on a piece of paper and put it in an envelope. We will not find out until Saturday afternoon with some of our closest friends and family at our Gender Reveal party! I am super excited about waiting until Saturday to find out. Funny enough, that was actually my idea! It is Bennett that was a bit opposed to it at first {he said he just couldn't wait another day}, and to be quite honest I'm a little worried he is going to try to take a peek into the envelope when I am not looking... I better keep that thing under lock and key! I am taking the day off of work tomorrow {hallelujah} so I am super excited about a nice Friday getting ready for our guests! I can tell the baby is really growing lately. Not only do I have the hiccups every 5 minutes {not joking} but I feel like my bump is making significant strides toward actually looking pregnant. Actually, one of my retailers this week- an Indian gentleman- said to me as soon as I walked into his store "Congratulations". I just went about my business and laughed it off {if you had my job, you'd understand that you really just never know what is going to come out of people's mouth}. Also, I should mention that my "belly" was no where near showing. As a matter of fact, I had on a black pea coat and it was buttoned up... not a bit preggers looking! Anyway, he later went on to ask me if I heard him congratulate me. I responded that I did but was unsure what he was referring to. He then said "You are pregnant, are you not?". Shocked, I told him that I was {I say shocked because I have only told literally 4 friends from work that I am pregnant}. He laughed and said he just "has a gift" and could tell immediately. I like to think maybe it was the pregnant glow :) Oh and I cannot forget, he said he also has the gift of gender determination... So for what it's worth, Sam Patel votes boy.



 {The BUMP}

I'm not going to post too much more because I am definitely going to do a big post this weekend once we get the exciting news!! So I'll just end with some pics of us getting ready for our Gender Reveal.. We cannot WAIT to find out. And I'm curious to know.... what do all of you think Baby Smith is?!?!

{Bennett covering our big box for the balloons!}

{Pink or Blue Guess WHOOOO}



{SO love this precious invite that I ordered from a lady on Etsy!!}

16 Weeks: The He/She Countdown!!

Today I am a very happy 16 weeks pregnant! More than that though, I am absolutely ecstatic that we are just NINE DAYS away from finding out if Baby Smith is a he or she! It is going to be nice to finally be able to call the baby by name, rather than "it" {or jellybean, peanut, etc}.This past week was a big one... While I had been able to feel a slight "flutter" in my tummy right around the 15 week mark, I've been feeling more and more movement over recent days!! I've determined that little baby Smith loves pancakes because after I had those Sunday morning I felt so much movement in there! Felt like the little thing was tumbling all over the place.... I love it. I am absolutely counting down until Bennett can feel the movement too, I'm sure it is only a matter of time! We received some advice recently that before our 3D ultrasound {next Friday at 11:00am}, I should eat something that will make it move around alot so that we can really see the little guy/girl in action.... Pancakes it is!

While I am still wearing my "regular" clothes, I have started to slowly but surely alter my wardrobe. It is safe to say that over 1/2 of my tops currently do not fit due to the recent enlargement of "the ladies" {if ya catch my drift}.  I have definitely had to purchase some tops lately that allow for more room up there. I won't complain though, I'll take any excuse to go shopping. Thankfully, so will my husband. In addition to the tops, I've also put the "bella band" into almost daily play. All of my pants still zip, button, etc... but they are slightly uncomfortable when I am sitting down or after I eat too much {which is pretty much every meal lately!}. Another thing I have found that I love is the "rubberband trick"... loop a rubberband through and let that bad boy hold your jeans/pants together- magic!! Also, I am fortunate that one of my most favorite friends is now the manager of one of my most favorite boutiques {Fab'rik-Charlotte.. click here to check it out!}. Sara has been doing a great job informing me of any new arrivals that she thinks will be able to grow with me throughout the pregnancy. I am determined to have a trendy bump!!

{Sara and Me- wearing a Fab'rik top of course!}

Before I end this week, I just have to document this sweet thing that my husband said. As we were snuggling up on the couch the other night watching one of my fav movies that was on TV {Enchanted- how could you not love that movie?!}..

Bennett - "I wish the baby was here and was about 4 years old already"

Me- "What?! Don't say that!! It's going to grow up too fast!!"

Bennett- "Yeah, I know... but I'm just excited to be able to have family movie night!!"

{Sigh, I love that handsome man}

The Happiest Valentines Day

15 weeks today, a doctor appointment to see how this sweet little baby is doing, and first married Valentines day with the love of my life- What. A. GREAT. Day. Seriously though, I'm going to take some time to be sappy for a minute here because I absolutely cannot get over with how overwhelmingly full my heart is this Valentines Day. "My cup runneth over". Not only have I completely fallen in love with this precious miracle of life that is growing inside of my belly, but something about knowing that my husband and I are the reason this little baby is inside of me, makes me fall more {if possible} in love with him as well. It's a hard thing to explain but I feel like the last few weeks we have grown incredibly closer through this whole pregnancy process. My heart falls more and more in love with his every single day. I cannot even imagine what it will be like when little Baby Smith finally makes his/her grand debut! Aaaaaaaand now I am tearing up {Thank You, super sensitive emotional pregnancy hormones!!!}

{Can you see a little BUMP has arrived?!?}

Pickles, Munchkins, and Grapes OH MYI've always heard that pregnancy brings about very intense cravings. Um, can we say understatement? My cravings are more like, "if I do not get this in the next 5 minutes I am not going to be happy and neither is anyone else around me and furthermore if I eat anything but this I think I will be sick". Yeah, I'm serious. Examples: Bennett and I left the gym last Friday and immediately a craving for Dunkin Donuts Munchkins hit me. Those of you that know me know that I do not at all normally eat things like this on a daily basis- much less have an insatiable craving for them? Weird. Not as weird, however, as the fact that I've been eating an average of about 5 dill pickle spears daily this week. Each one only has about 5 calories {luckily} so I just chow down on those bad boys totally guilt free! Confession- I even have desires to DRINK THE PICKLE JUICE. Something is not right there. That's just strange. And finally, my last major craving these days is for grapes. Red, not green. And in large quantities. Again it is the same, "If I don't get grapes now it's gonna be bad" desire. I suppose I should be counting my blessings that I'm not craving like a Grape Stuffed Munchkin drenched in pickle juice, right?

{This jar has about 3 pickles left and I bought it 2 days before, eek}

How far along? 15 weeks today

Total weight gain? 4 pounds so far, but I have a doctor app this morning and the scale there is never afraid to go up...

Maternity Clothes? The main thing I have had to make some adjustments with lately are my tops. I am convinced that I am currently the proud home to the biggest set of TaTa's this side of the Mississippi.

Sleep? Me = still sleeping great. Husband = still annoyed by my new found weird sleeping habits.

Best moment this week? Today, Valentine's Day, because I really do feel like the luckiest lady in the world for so many reasons.

Miss anything? I {seriously} considered asking our server at dinner the other night if I could have a very dirty VIRGIN martini. Only because I so love the taste of dirty martinis!!!  

Food cravings? Pickles, Munchkins, and Grapes as you just read

Anything making you queasy or sick? Still fighting the chicken battle. Sigh.

Gender? Stay tuned! We find out on March 1 and have our Gender Reveal Party on March 2... yay!!!!

Hello, Second Trimester!

14 weeks today means we are in the second trimester, people! So I'm {already} 1/3 of the way through the pregnancy, how is that possible?! I feel like just yesterday we were at the doctor for our first appointment with my list of 50 questions. I asked everything you could possibly think of... Are you sure I'm really pregnant? Can I still have feta cheese? What about splenda? Do I really have to stop eating sushi? Is it okay to do squats? Can I color my hair? Whiten my teeth? Tan? And those were just the start of it. My only question these days though is why why WHY is the mere thought of chicken making me nauseous? I don't get it, and I don't like it. I'm hoping "this too shall pass". Oh and I'd like to add a couple of things about this week's chalkboard picture: #1- I could not help but notice that it looks as if I am attempting a pageant swimsuit pose- leaned back, leg out, etc. That is not the case. I was actually leaned against the wall because my heels {dang those heels} were already bothering me at 7:00 this morning. After the photo I immediately changed into flats. #2- I promise I'm going to start standing sideways so that we can get the "belly shot"... as soon as I have a noticeable belly, that is. Bennett and I can both already tell that a little baby bump has {maybe possibly} arrived. However, right now when I am clothed, it just looks like I ate a few too many Thanksgiving dinners {seriously}. I am SO READY to feel my little baby bump! I did try out the bella band once this week though, just to see how I liked it. I think that little thing is going to be my best friend! I'm actually going to go ahead and make the executive decision that the next time I wear these red pants, it will probably have to be with the band.... they were TIGHT today.

My Homemade {smelly} Belly Butter:

I have obviously already begun my quest to prevent the possibility of stretch marks arriving while my sweet little baby grows in my belly. As soon as we found out there was a bun in the oven, I started using the old faithful "Palmers Cocoa Butter" as well as some "Burt Bees Mommy Oil". Recently, a friend of mine who owns a baby boutique gave me some samples of a wonderful cream from Noodle & Boo. She swears that it was her saving grace during her pregnancy. I wanted to keep testing out new ideas, though so that's when I found this homemade belly butter recipe. Some celebs love it and with the ingredients that it called for, I figured there is no way it will not work. I've been using it now for all of two days so stay tuned for the final verdict of how great {or not great} it is. If you're interested, you can find the recipe here. Be warned: it does NOT smell pleasant. As a matter of fact, Bennett would tell you it smells quite disgusting. You gotta do what you gotta do, right?!

The "magic" ingredients

Mixing it all up!

How far along? 14 weeks today

Total weight gain? 4 pounds so far

Maternity Clothes? Not yet! But I did purchase some of the Gap Maternity Leggings that I have heard so many wonderful things about!

Sleep? I'm sleeping wonderful! {I do wake up around 4-5 every morning for a potty break} Bennett, however probably cannot say the same. Apparently I move around ALOT now. The other morning he told me I was moving my arms and legs all around in the air... But it made since because I had a dream that night that I was trying out to be a Falcons Cheerleader! {Totally serious}. If you're wondering, yes I did make the team.

Best moment this week? I'd say every morning when Bennett wakes up and talks to my tummy. It's the sweetest thing and I think I fall in love with him all over again each time he does it :)

Miss anything? Today I miss having {lots and lots} of coffee. It was just one of those days that a little caffeine boost would have done a gal some good.

Food cravings? FRUIT. I literally just ate about half of a cantaloupe while typing this.

Anything making you queasy or sick? An empty stomach has been a recipe for disaster from the beginning, and now you can definitely add any type of chicken to that list. Eat more chicken = NOT LAUREN.

Gender? Stay tuned! We find out on March 1 and have our Gender Reveal Party on March 2... yay!!!!