35 weeks, 6 days pregnant

            Brooklinn, you are definitely making your presence known now! Mommy has a hard time walking without remembering that I am pregnant because of the number you are doing on my pubic bone! You started this trick last week (34 weeks) and you’re getting quite good at it J I went to the doctor when it first started because he said he wanted to check me out but he said I wasn’t dilated. He did say, though, that you had “dropped” which explains my obvious waddle- hehe! I have honestly had such an easy pregnancy though, I cannot complain about a last few weeks of pressure! We go back to the doctor tomorrow at 4 to check your progress now, 2 weeks later! Everywhere I go it seems like people give me the funniest looks and ask if I am going to make it to Christmas- haha, little do they know you’re not due until January 17^th! (Even though I have this feeling you will be here before then!) Plus, when I went to the doctor this past week his nurses said he would probably induce labor around 39 weeks so we may get to meet earlier anyway J I was looking through baby pictures of your daddy and comparing them to ultrasound pictures of you and I was quite impressed with how much you resemble him even while you’re still warm & cozy in there! We’ll see more of who you look like in a few weeks!

            Right now, your daddy and I are getting so excited to meet you- I think every hiccup I have we get excited that it might be a sign of labor! Shhh, don’t tell anyone but we have been carrying our hospital bags around in the back of the Yukon for a week now J Better safe than sorry- hehe! As far as symptoms go, I have had a touch of heartburn again but nothing like what I had around 5 months. I have had little/no swelling but some definite pubic bone pain. In the past few days I have been having Braxton Hicks contractions which makes my belly go as hard as stone for about a minute and then relax again- I guess my body is just gearing up for the real thing!

            Your Aunts Bethany, Lindsay, and Melissa went with me yesterday to get manicures & pedicures in anticipation of the big day and to relieve some holiday stress—it was SO nice to just have girl talk and enjoy being pampered! We have a busy week ahead- I have 2 more days of teaching Monday & Tuesday, a doctor’s appointment Monday, our Christmas Party with friends at Melissa & Artie’s on Wednesday, the Bell Extended-Family Christmas Dinner on Thursday, Christmas Eve Service on Friday & spending the night at Mama & Daddy’s one last Christmas Eve before Christmas Day with more family <3 It’s a busy & fun time of year- a nice distraction for my anticipation of your arrival J

            See you soon B-Linn Alyn!

33 weeks 5 days pregnant!

Whew, Brooklinn – we have had a busy last few weeks and it is only going to get busier until you get here! On November 23^rd, some of mommy’s best friends threw us a baby shower. Lindsay, Melissa, and Catherine held the shower on the Tuesday night before Thanksgiving at Catherine’s house in Huntersville. The house was decorated so cute and was filled with so many of my amazing friends. The girls made foods that I have been eating often while I’ve been pregnant. The menu included things like pasta alfredo with mushrooms, pizza with sausage & banana peppers, cheese dip, air heads, peanut butter m&ms, apples, grapes, and even a big glass bowl of lucky charms! J We played several games- Samantha Harris correctly guessed my belly size, Amanda McCann won the “Mommy & Daddy Trivia” (hehe, even though she has known us the shortest amount of time ~ smart girl J) and Bethany & Madison won the baby gift bingo! Since Bethany was the first to say “Baby”, she had to wear the fake baby belly ~ hilarious! We received so many thoughtful gifts – you are so lucky to have so many awesome aunts!

On Thanksgiving Day, we close to 30 guests to our house for Thanksgiving lunch. Your daddy deep-fried a Cajun turkey and grilled a rosemary one ~ so yummy! We had a TON of food and after lunch, the family threw us a mini-baby shower with more thoughtful baby necessities, including your high chair – I think the guests had been gone 30 minutes and your daddy already had it assembled! We are both getting very ready for your arrival! At midnight on Thanksgiving night, your daddy, Bethany, Jeremy, Madison, Alan & I piled in the Yukon and headed to Concord Mills mall for some early Black Friday shopping! (Yes, we are crazy!) We mainly went for the experience (like we have for the past 3 years) and didn’t really buy much. We were in bed around 2:30am and the girls were back up around 6:30 for more shopping J By best buy was your diaper bag – I got it at BabyGap for half price ~ $45 instead of $90! On Friday night, we headed to Salisbury for Thanksgiving at Mammaw & Pappaw Fisher’s – mmm more good food!

On November 29^th, we had your 33 week appointment at Dr. Fulghum’s. Aunt Bethany went with us to this appointment and since she missed out on our 3D ultrasound, Fulghum did an ultrasound so she could get a glimpse at her niece! She said you had cute… eye sockets J – hahaha, 2D ultrasounds are so hard to read! I weighed 2 lbs less than I did at the previous appointment (when he said I needed to slow down on my weight gain) so he was happy to see that I had evened back out. Bethany & I went for a celebratory milkshake afterward, where I probably gained back those 2 lbs – hehe! We go back in 2 weeks on December 14^th – about a month from your January 17^th due date! Yikes!

Today is December 4^th and your daddy and I were feeling spontaneous – we are currently on our way to Boone for the day to do some Christmas shopping in the snow! I absolutely LOVE this time of year and ADORE snow – just puts you in a happy mood! There is an Appalachian game today and it is opening day for all of the ski slopes – should be a busy day in Boone!

We are two days away from 34 weeks and 3 weeks from Christmas! Can’t wait to meet you little Miss Smith J

Week 30! Time is clicking by!

Wow, Brooklinn, I cannot believe we've gotten this far this quickly. It seems like yesterday that your daddy and I were excited to find out we were going to be parents and now that reality is in the not-so-distant future! You are definitely getting bigger and my ribs are starting to feel you creeping up! Almost everyone I come in contact with says you look like you will come early (am I getting that big?!) Last week your Aunt Lindsay & Uncle Josh took some pictures for our Christmas card (before I get super-huge!) and a few to show you when you get older of just how big my belly is getting. I am still feeling pretty great and hope it continues even though I hear the coming weeks will prove a little more difficult! You have several showers coming up and I am looking forward to seeing lots of family & friends before you decide to make your arrival!

As we speak, your daddy is busy touching up paint in your bedroom so it will be perfect for his little girl- he is SO excited to meet you and I can tell he is going to be a great daddy. He and I got some practice this past Friday night when we babysat Josh & Jennifer Moore's 5 month old baby boy, Eli. Your daddy was so cute feeding him pears, giving him his bottle, and helping me give him a bath- he even learned how to burp him and was very proud :) I got my "baby fix" today too, holding Marty & Stephanie's adorable little boy, Owen. He and I snuggled while we watched your daddy play one of his last flag-football games of the season. You have quite the selection of handsome boys to choose from :)

This weekend we went to Emily Bryan's 21st birthday party and Mylee Martin said the cutest thing about you :) She is only 3 and was quite interested in my baby belly, especially the band-aid I had covering my belly button to stop it from poking through my shirt. She asked her mom while we were there what was wrong with my belly and her mom, Holly, told her I had a baby in there. She said, "I know, but why does she have a band-aid... is that so the baby can't come out?!" Hahaha, I laughed so hard- it is so cute to see the way kids think! :)

Alright Miss Brooklinn, it is about time for us to hit the hay- the time changed last night and I am hoping we can sneak in an extra hour of sleep tonight to get us ready for the work week! Goodnight lovebug! <3

Brooklinn Update!

28 weeks, 2 days pregnant

Yesterday was my 28 week doctor’s appointment. At this appointment, they did a glucose test to check for gestational diabetes. I had to eat a 3 Musketeers candy bar and get blood taken an hour later- not too bad of a test if you ask me! J They said they would call if the results came back abnormal- no call yet so I'm hoping no news is good news! I have gained 2 lbs since my last visit 4 weeks ago and the doctor is happy with my total weight gain so far. (he wasn't too happy with my gain last time! :)  They said my blood pressure was normal (112/72) and my iron level has risen since they put me on iron supplements at my last visit. Other good news was that Brooklinn has decided to turn head-down since the last visit- yay! Now let's just hope she stays that way! I am getting bigger by the day and Bryan & I are getting more & more excited to meet our little girl!

Starting a blog...

We have several friends who keep a blog as a way to keep family and friends up-to-date on their lives. With Brooklinn on the way, we figured what better time than now to start keeping sort of an "online journal" of our life and Miss Brooklinn's intro to our world!