Cute Little Thing

For those that couldn't make in on such short notice tonight, here's some more pics and video of our little girl. This isn't the best forum for photos and videos, so we won't be able to post a ton, but enjoy.

On the right we have her first few seconds of life outside the womb. As you can probably tell, she either is destined to be a great opera singer or really really didn't like the experience. On the left we have her post-bath, enjoying some time doing her favorite activity: napping. Note: she's the one on the left side of the tub.

And finally, here's a little random video footage right around first bath.

Welcome to the World!

We took Allison to the hospital to have this big bump we found on her belly inspected, and look what we found inside!

Welcome to the world, Emerson Dawes Smith!




Since everyone asks, here's the stats:

Weight: 8.9 lbs (I want Moose Tracks or Cookie Dough, Keli ;)
Length: 20.5 inches
Arrival Time: 2:57pm CST
Cuteness Level: Very high

Allison and Emerson are both doing great and we look forward to sharing her with you soon!

Things I Liked About Pregnancy

Well, we are off to the hospital in about 15 mins. Jeff is actually pretty scared that I am stopping to write this, so I will be short. Today, my pregnancy will end, and I thought it only fitting to send it off on a good note.

Top things I liked about Pregnancy:

1. The ability to guiltlessly, and with reckless abandon devour Christmas cookies... and I have some good bakers for friends

2. The fact that people saw my belly and not the size of my a**, err rear end first... woop!

3. Gods faithfulness that while #1 is true this last month, I somehow did not gain all that much weight... Thank you Lord! I have never been lucky in that department.

and ... #4. THE HAIR!!! I have so much hair! I will mourn its passing. Bye bye awesome hair. I will miss you most.

okay... off to the hospital! Enjoy this photo of me at 39 weeks taken this morning.

Clue #17

There is a house in Evanston, Illinois that shares her name

Clue #16

There is a street in Evanston, Illinois that shares her name

Drool

So, that word will take a much drippier connotation in my life in months to come... but for now, I am drooling over these super cute baby leg warmers.

It is terrible that it was only about a month ago, that I realized when having a baby in the dead of winter, I will have to make extra special effort to keep this little kiddo warm. That means, in addition to all the adorable onesies I have been gifted with, I need to use pants. See, for all you non-diaper changers... this means an extra step at diaper change time. (take the pants off, un-button the onesie, deal with cold crying kidlet, change the diaper, put it all back on again)

Enter leg warmers! I mean, the 80's are back again, right!? One can just access the onesie snaps, and keep little "chubby legs" from throwing a super-fit. So, they are practical! Practical AND cute! The perfect combination.

PS: Yes, a few people have guessed our little "Sprout"s real name.... and part of it is even listed in the comments section of the clues! You can e-mail in your guesses, and we will let you know if you are correct... otherwise, you will have to wait for her arrival....

Clue #15

Don’t tell Aunt Katie… but she got REALLY close to guessing the name about a month back….

Clue #14

There is a publicly traded company that she shares a name with.

For clarification, she is not names AFTER said company... just an interesting fact.

Clue #13

She will share one of her names (first or middle) with a close family member. No, I'm not referring to the fact that she will share Smith with lots of close family members.

Clue #12

Of the seven letters in her name.... three are vowels. Yes, that means the other four letters are consonants.

Things that make your go "hmmmm"

One interesting blog that I follow is that of Shauna Niequist; a girl I went to high school with, who is also part of my church. She wrote a book called Cold Tangerines a few years back, and it is one I would recommend to everyone. She is currently in the process of writing her next book, and waiting 'till next fall seems way too long.

In many ways I can personally relate to Shauna - her love of celebrating with champagne, dinner parties, faith and love for people. But in other ways we are very different - she is a writer, and I took 4 years to complete a 30 page paper to complete grad school. I appreciate both the similarities as well as the differences, and learn from them both.

Today, Shauna wrote on her blog about one of the things we completely agree upon. And, since she is a MUCH better writer, I will refer you to her post. It is a note about where you can serve/donate this holiday season and highlights some awesome organizations.

First, she talks about the Willow Creek Care Center. Jeff was very involved a few years back with helping them resource items at reduced prices, and we both have a soft spot in our hearts for what happens there.

Second, Shauna reminded me about Feed My Starving Children; an organization that was part of Willow’s Celebration of Hope last year. As a family, the Smith’s were part of the food packing extravaganza, and once we were done, I wanted to do more. Read Shauna’s post… but its pretty darn awesome how this organization meets the basic, simple need of food for children who need it.

So… just thought I would share. Love to you all in this season.

PS: Thanks for being so interested in our little “Sprout’s” name game. I have to admit, I am having delicious amounts of fun torturing you all… so, thanks for being willing subjects! Keep on guessing!

Clue #11

Her name has 7 letters.

Hint: If you match this one up with clues #2 and #8, you can figure out what one of the letters is...

Clue #10

Her name is not a biblical name. I checked Bible Gateway and confirmed, it does not even show up in the Bible.

Does this make me a bad parent? I feel bad somehow as I type this clue.... I hope not.

Love These

Check out the paper ornaments shown on this blog post. If I was not doing a million other things, I might just sign right down and make a gaggle of these litttle beauties.

Clue #9

Allison had never heard of this name used as a boy name, but Jeff swears it can be used as a boy name too. Most baby naming sites have it listed as both.

Clue #8

While Clue#2 is true, we are close… we will only break one of those rules, and abide by the other.

Clue #7a

Her name is not one of the handful of Russian female names that people seem to know off the top of their head: Natashia, Anastasia, Natalia, etc. Sorry to all of you that keep guessing those.

держать гадать!

Clue #7

Sprout's real full name has five syllables.

Clue #6

Sprout's real first name has three syllables.

Clue #5

Her name has been mis-spelled by Allison on more than one occasion.

Sorry little one! Although, I would say get used to it, I am a TERRIBLE speller.

PS: Jacquelyn, I'm not sure how you categorize this clue. It is written in a positive manner, but it kinda makes fun of my spelling skilz.... so... you decide.

35 Week Photos

We visited Kelly a few weeks back at Miami of Ohio, in Oxford Ohio. Since it was such a pretty day, and I guess my belly keeps on growing, Jeff thought it was about time to take a few photos. Enjoy.

Clue #4

Her name does not begin with the following letters: X, Z, Y, P, M, or S.

Clue #3

There is a local flair to a portion of her name

Little Things

How cute are these two!!!?!?!? We mentioned back in July that little Evan & Ryan Little were born... well, they now fit into the cute onesies Jeff and I purchased for them. They are adorable, no?

Clue #2

We are NOT following the pseudo small group naming rule.

Pseudo Small Group Naming Rule = Name your children with names that are 6 letters, and end in the letter “N”. For example; Nathan, Reagan, Camryn, Lauren, Autumn, Ashlyn... shall I go on?