Let's Play Catch Up!!

What better way to start this post than with a few pictures of everyday life around home??


Daniel comes home from work, completely exhausted, and sits down on the back porch for a moment of peace and relaxation...


When our fifty-plus pound mutt slowly but surely crawls up in his lap, turns around, and sits down, as though she is his little lap dog?! D is a little unsure of how he feels about this at first...


Lady wins...again...


"Daddy always visits me on his lunch break in my yard to see if I've made any messes he needs to clean up. Since the new house, I have already caught and killed two newborn kittens, a squirrel, and a bird! I think my daddy is secretly very proud that I am such a country girl at heart and like to hunt and kill things"


"I like to find things in the woods, pull them out of the woods into my yard, and then destroy them..."


"hmmm, how else can I tear this bird house apart?!..."



Glamour Shots....don't be jealous....


Dirty nose from digging holes in the yard


my classic trick: "put your head down"--where ya at betsy!?

So, the last few months have been so amazing because they were filled with a few of my favorite things: time with my new niece, Mary Frances; holidays, Thanksgiving and Christmas; lots of family time; cold, snuggly winter nights with D; baby showers for our little Tom-Tom; a last minute babymoon trip; and of course, nesting getting our home ready for Thomas's arrival!!

We are about to burst with excitment to finally meet our little man. We are so curious as to what/who he will look like! And of course I can't wait to dress him up in all of his adorable little outfits! I am so excited that my sister, Summer, is only about 12/13 weeks behind me in pregnancy because I know that she has all of this excitment to look forward to, and her due date will be right around the corner before we know it! Katie had a scheduled c-section, so this is our first time in my family that we have all been sitting on pins and needles waiting for the first sign of labor from little T. Surprisingly, I have not been as miserable as what I thought I would be at this point in pregnancy. Unlike every other pregnant woman I have ever known, I have actually enjoyed my third trimester more than the first two trimesters, so I am not about to die to have this pregnancy end. I love feeling our little boy sqiurm and wiggle trying to find a new comfortable position in there. However, at the same time, I am really ready to hold him in my arms and start the process of shrinking my belly back down to a size that does not turn heads when I go out in public. I get the "you poor girl, that just LOOKS painful" stare all the time now when we go out.

Top 10 Things I'm Looking Forward To About Thomas (in no particular order):
1. Knowing what color his hair is! Daniel and I are both thinking brown...
2. Knowing that he is a healthy boy!!!!
3. Watching D fall in love with his first son...
4. Falling more in love with my husband because of #3 above.
5. Taking a million pictures of Thomas and boring/bombarding y'all to death to them!! (yes, I will be THAT mother)
6. Hopefully breastfeeding! I'm not sure why I'm looking forward to this, it just is important to me!! I think it will be a really neat time.
7. One day watching Thomas play in the yard with Lady...if he is a "normal" little boy then she will finally have someone who can match her energy level in just a few short years!!
8. Him being too young to remember all of the stupid first-time parent mistakes that me and his daddy are about to make with him! Hopefully, there won't be any lasting damage:)
9. Strolling him around the farm to see the ducks and the chickens and praying that my little Thomas is a big animal lover like his mama!
10. Knowing that Thomas has the greatest man in the world as a father and that he will be genuinely loved by his parents!

So, while we are anxiously awaiting our new arrival, I will update you on the past few months with some pictures. Enjoy! :)

Mimi and Papa at the hospital waiting for the c-section to begin...


Nervous Andrew...
Daddy Andrew struggling to get into his scrubs so he can go into the OR...he was a little flustered at this point..I think his nerves got the best of him:)


The Childs and the Dove families anxiously awaiting to see our baby girl in the nursery....


She's here!




She's not happy to be here! The womb was so safe and warm! This place is scary!


Relieved Andrew...


Proud Andrew...


Excited Mimi...


First moments holding her Grandbaby...


In love already....


Can you tell she's a little proud?...


Mimi and Papa


Aunt Francie!!


Very tired Mama from the surgery and Mary Frances...


Aunt SumSum/Kennedy Brooke meeting Mary Frances!


Proud Aunt Amanda...


"What? All these women are REALLY my aunts?!"


Mimi burping May Fray...


Meeting Uncle D for the first time...


I took a few days vacation from nesting and driving Daniel crazy nesting to travel to Moultrie to catch up with May Fray. This trip was about a week before Christmas. We did a lot of snuggling, picture taking, eating, got our birth announcements out in the mail, and we even had time to bake some pumpkin chocolate chip muffins-yum! I believe the ever-hungry-breastfeeding-mother enjoyed quite her share of them:)











Here are a few snapshots from one of Thomas's baby showers. This one was hosted by Laura, Jen, and Aunt Brownie! It was a wonderful turnout, and I was glad I was able to see a lot of my old high school friends!



Cousin Kacie, Aunt Brownie, Me, Jen, and Laura


This is Thomas's blanket that his Great-Grandma B made for him. It is very special because she took all the extra time to customize it with different patches and stuffed animals. I'm sure he will love it!








Baby Thomas Lanier and Baby Kennedy Brooke!


A few pics from our last minute babymoon trip to Chattanooga, TN! I think we made everyone in the family nervous that we were traveling that close to our due date, and luckily, Thomas decided not to come while we were in Tennessee! We were so glad to took this trip! It was very laid back and relaxing with just the two of us:)

Rock City


Rock City-35 1/2 weeks pregnant


Rock City


Rock City


Rock City


Rock City


Rock City


Relaxing (tv and facebooking) in the hotel after a long day of walking around Chattanooga. When you're nine months pregnant, it doesn't take much walking to wear you out!


And of course, our little Thomas wakes up and starts to wiggle when his Momma relaxes at night.


Well, that pretty much sums up the past few months! I actually did not take a single picture at Christmas this year. I think I was too busy fanning off hot flashes.

I'm ending this very long post now because I am 13 days away from my due date and have a few last minute errands to do! D is assisting me (don't you know he's thrilled about the returns to wal-mart part and shopping for a last minute maternity shirt that may, just may, cover my whole belly? Please, God, will you make a shirt that big just for me in these last few days?)
We are off to buy Wal-Mart out of groceries so I can stock my pantry and freezer! That way, when Daniel asks, "What's for dinner baby?" I can say "Anything you can find!" and there will actually be food there for him to find.

Hopefully, there won't be another post until the post that announces the birth of THOMAS LANIER SMITH:)