James Hudson Smith

We are ecstatic to announce the birth of our son, James Hudson Smith!  He was born November 13th, at 2:12 pm weighing 9 lbs, 1/2 oz, and measuring 21 in long.  And we are so in love with him!

Hudson's birth was so much easier than Maryn's.  Only 14 hours of labor and I was able to have a water birth, which I was really happy about.  If you're interested in natural birth or water birth, I highly recommend it, and would love to answer any questions you may have!

Hudson is doing really well.  He's a big boy and loves to eat! In typical newborn fashion, he eats, sleeps, poops, pees and spits up - sometimes all at the same time.  ;) And no, we aren't sleeping much at night.  But that's ok.  Now that we've been through this before, we realize how short the newborn stage is in the larger scheme of things.  And his super sweet temperament makes up for it all. We are just enjoying getting to know this boy!

His sister is enamored with him.  When she came to the hospital to see him for the first time, she exclaimed, "Baby Hudson! That's my baby brother! HE CAME OUT!!!"  I have a video of her holding him at the hospital that I'll post soon.  It's adorable.  She loves helping us take care of him and is always saying sweet things like, "It's ok, baby Hudson, don't cry! I take care of you!"  She is definitely dealing with jealously and has had some difficulties with the transition - emotional outbursts, sleep disturbances, and defiant behavior etc - but things are gradually getting better as she adjusts.  Overall, she is a joy and we look forward to seeing their sweet sibling relationship develop.  Makes us realize what a big girl she is becoming!

Hudson's first visitors - so thankful for special people in our life who took care of Maryn for us:

We're so glad our sweet little guy is finally here!  And so very thankful to God for a healthy delivery and baby.  Stay tuned for more updates, and a very sweet photo shoot by Hannah Grace Photography coming soon!

Pregnancy Update

Yep, I'm still pregnant. Yesterday was my official due date, and it was also officially my first day off work for maternity leave.  So we're just waiting...and waiting.  I've had lots of contractions off and on, but they never turn into real labor, which is always disappointing.  I went to nearly 42 weeks with Maryn, and I'm just really praying I don't have to wait so long to meet our sweet Hudson!

30 weeks

38 weeks

Maryn has had lots of fun helping us get ready for baby.  She loves seeing all the little baby clothes and gear, and to hear about how she used them when she was a baby.  Every day she asks, "Baby Hudson come see me today?" It's so sweet to hear her talk about him excitedly, and throughout the day there are always lots of hugs and kisses for my tummy.

My church friends threw a super sweet baby shower for me a couple of weeks ago.  I'll add pics from that when I get them from Erica.  She made the cute little banner that we now have hanging on our mantle, ready to welcome our son home!

Maryn, 2 Years!

So I have totally gotten behind on Maryn updates.  She turned 2 in July! I'll have to do a separate post on her big birthday bash.  Here are the last of the monthly pictures.  I've decided to stop doing them now that she's two.  I think for now I'll do pics every 6 months.  Plus I'm about to have to start monthly shoots with a new little guy! 

Maryn 22 months

Maryn 23 months

Maryn 24 months (2!)

Maryn has entered such a fun phase now that she's two.  The biggest development is language - we're actually having conversations!  She says some of the funniest things, and has started asking lots of questions.  It's so nice for her to be able to tell me what she wants (or doesn't).  Yesterday she told me, "french fries make me happy" - haha! And of course my favorite is, "I love you, Momma!"  

She still loves Curious George.  She loves books - her current favorites are Llama Llama books and her Jesus Storybook Bible.  She constantly wants us to read to her, but she'll also spend a large amount of time flipping through books and "reading" to herself. She can sing her ABCs and count to 10.  She knows all her primary colors.  She loves playing with her farmhouse, her dollhouse, and her play kitchen.  She likes to color and draw. She enjoys "helping" around the house - her "chores" are feeding Graycie, putting the soap in the dishwasher, dusting, and picking up her toys, and sometimes I let her stand on a chair and help me with dinner.  Her very most favorite thing in the whole world though is singing.  She LOVES music and she basically sings all day long (and sometimes night).  She can actually sing most of the lyrics to her favorites - including Itsy Bitsy, Twinkle Twinkle, Zaccheus, The Wise Man, Down by the Bay, No More Monkeys Jumping on the Bed, Wheels on the Bus, All Aboard the Choo Choo Train, and Jesus Loves Me.  It's the cutest thing ever.  She also loves to sit at the piano and play/sing her own made up songs.   

Lately she has become very interested in baby Hudson's approaching arrival.  She loves to go to appointments to see the midwife with me and hear the baby's heartbeat.  She talks to the baby and gives my tummy lots of hugs and kisses.  We have several books about baby siblings that she loves to read. Every day we have the same conversation: "Baby Butson (how she says Hudson - haha!) come see me today?" No, not today, but very soon. "I hold him?" Yes.  "Like this? (cradles her arms)" Yes. "I share my toys with him. I show him my farmhouse. I feed him."  It's so sweet to see her excitement.  I still can't tell if she realizes this is a real baby we're talking about, or just an imaginary friend! We'll find out soon enough!

Maryn is such a blessing to us.  Overall, she is a very happy, easy going child.  She is very affectionate and wants to make people around her feel special.  Watching her develop is one of our greatest joys.  We wish time would slow down a bit though!

Here are a few pics from the last couple of months:

Llama Llama at the library

George at the library

Our Family is Growing by Two Feet

A pair of sweet little BOY feet!!! These feet to be exact:

Which belong to this sweet little face and body:

We have a son! And we are naming him James Hudson Smith - we'll call him Hudson!

Here is the proud big sister watching the ultrasound:

Afterward, we went and bought some cute little boy things, to make it feel more real:

We are so excited to meet this little boy of ours, Lord willing, around the beginning of November!!!