Introducing Quinn Alexander Smith

Quinn joined our family Dec 28th at 1:31 am. He weighed 7 lbs 7 oz and was 20 in long. We were taking the Christmas tree down when my contractions started getting more noticeable and closer together. Around 10:30 they were 4-6 min apart and we headed for the hospital. I was disappointed when they checked me and I was only at a two, but I shouldn't have been because 45 min later I was at a 4. They started an epidural about 12:20, but 20 minutes later I was at an 8 and the epidural still wasn't working. They came in at 12:50 and placed a second epidural but by the time it was time to push I was just barely starting to feel my legs go numb and still feeling every contraction, even temperature on my belly. So needless to say, I did something I NEVER EVER thought I would EVER do. And that is have a baby naturally. Not by choice of course. I'd take this experience, 4 hours with very little paid medication, over the 26 hours completely drugged any day. We are both doing great, and I've been up and walking around all day, even took a shower...needless to say this has been a MUCH better birthing experience. We are so glad that Quinn is here healthy and strong.

Christmas at Stone Mountain

We went to Stone Mountain again on Saturday. They sure know how to make it feel like Christmas. With all the lights and even snow we really were feeling the Christmas spirit.

The train ride was great. Lots of lit figures, and a southern telling of the first Christmas. Complete with the Angles that say "Hey y'all, a baby is born" And the shepherds say "Ya reckon we should go find the baby" It was a classic southern experience, and so nice to have some Christ in Christmas.

They had a parade with Mr. and Mrs. Clause, and the best part....the Snow Fairy who actually makes it snow. Kyler was in heaven, he's been seeing snow in cartoons for the last few days and was so excited to see it for himself. We sure miss the snow, so it was fun to pretend for a while.

There's no place like home for the holidays...

I love my home around the holidays, their's just something about lights that make me happy...

My 37 week pic...two weeks left after tomorrow (give or take!)

The Busy Month of November

The month of November is always a busy one. We started by celebrating Brian's 30th birthday. We had a group of friends from Brian's work over for an appetizer/dessert evening. We made lots of yummy food including: Sausage stuffed s, spinach artichoke dip, brochette, guac, cheesecake, tarts, apple crisp, and homemade egg nog ice cream...yummy!


My birthday came the following week. I woke to strawberry cream cheese crepes for breakfast, and then had a blast making pies for Thanksgiving. Brian wasn't suppose to give me anything for my Birthday because wanted to combine our birthday's and Christmas, and then save for a piano that we'd get sometime next year. He surprised me with the piano bench, and then totally shocked me when he told me the rest of the piano was in the car....here's proof.

I absolutely LOVE it! It's been so fun to play, and has brought the spirit of music back into our home.
Thanksgiving was GREAT! We were all still getting over being sick, but that didn't stop us from eating like crazy. It was my first Thanksgiving were I actually cooked all the food and was "in charge" so to say. We celebrated at Phillip and Jamie's house, so it was nice to have family to be with. I loved how the table turned out. Very festive.

After turkey nap...he's NEVER fallen asleep on a couch like this before, it was so cute.

My sisters and I had a great time at the zoo with Kyler before they left. We loved watching the lion roar, the gorilla's wrestle and the otters being fed. Kyler of course loved the carousel and the train.

What a great month!