Exciting Announcement!

We are so excited to announce that Harper will be a big sister! Baby Smith is due on October 2, 2014.

I am 13 weeks pregnant today, so finally at the end of the first trimester. There hasn't been much difference so far between my first pregnancy and this one, aside from the awful flu I had around 5 1/2 weeks. I have been lucky and am not typically nauseous much during pregnancy. I try to stay pretty active throughout, so I think that helps a lot with energy levels, swelling, etc. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed and hoping it's as smooth this time around as last time. Now that I'm over all that and the fatigue has let up, I'm looking forward to the rest of this pregnancy and welcoming our next family member in a few short months!

Now, the wait to find out if we will be bringing the pink and bows back out or headed off to the store for some blue and bowties :)

Five on Friday- Spring Essentials

Sorry for the absence as of late! Between recovering from my sickness in early February and a bad case of writer's block, I took a little break from updating the blog. I hope to get back to it though and wanted to share some of my Spring essentials wish list today!

1. Although I don't get them painted as much as I would like, I love to have bright, colorful painted nails. There are so many really pretty colors for Spring! My favorite brands are Essie and OPI.

2. When the weather starts heating up and getting sunnier, I can't help but think of swimming, the beach and bathing suits! I do love a good bikini, but I've also seen some really cute one piece swimsuits lately.

3. We are going to Florida the week of the 4th of July for a family vacation. I am SO excited and cannot wait! We usually go every year and didn't go last year, so I'm craving that dose of sun, sand and relaxation. Clint and I got married in Destin, and we were there for our 1 year anniversary. This year, we'll be there again right after our 2 year anniversary. I think an anniversary date at the Melting Pot will be on our agenda :)

4. I also love Spring because the grass, flowers and trees all get so pretty and green! We are planning to work in our yard all day next weekend to get our flower beds, garden and flower pots all ready to go!

5. This pretty girl is ready for Spring as well!

Harper McKenzie- 18 months old

Happy Friday! Sorry for the absence around here, but I have just been trying to get over this whole flu mess (and feel so much better now!) in addition to having some writer's block. Today though, I want to celebrate Harper's 18 month old "birthday" by writing an update of what's going on with her lately!

How have we already made it to 18 months old?? It's crazy that time really does fly by so fast. We are really trying to cherish every single moment that we have with you though, Harper, so that we don't let the speed of life sneak up on us.

We don't go to the doctor for your checkup until next week, but my guess is that you weigh around 26 pounds now and probably still around 31 inches tall. You have started talking more and more over the past few months, and I hear that the 18 month mark is a period of vocabulary explosion, so we are excited to hear you start learning and saying more and more words. You are calling several of us by our "given" names, as well as saying "thank you", "there ya go" and several other words here and there. You can also identify and make all kinds of animal sounds, which is so cute. You love making messes and playing with all of your toys in your new play room, and you still LOVE reading and looking at all your books. 

You are pretty much on the same schedule as you have been for the past several months now, waking up around 8:00 am, napping from about 12:00-2:30 pm and going to bed at 8:00 pm. We still try to get you to eat 3 meals a day and snacks in between, but you are so inconsistent with your appetite! We always try but sometimes you just don't want to eat, and I've heard that's normal and ok. We know that you are growing, so no worries there. Your favorite foods right now are yogurt, grilled cheese, chicken nuggets and you adore mini oreos for a treat!

You have stayed pretty consistent with the clothing sizing for your age. You are wearing 12-18 month and 18-24 month clothing and size 5 shoes. We are hoping to start potty training within the next couple of weeks to see how you do. You have shown some interest in the potty, so we are hoping maybe you are ready to start going on the potty during the day.

We went to the dentist for the first time earlier this week. You have lots of teeth now, and the dentist said everything looked great! We, thankfully, have not had many problems with you teething and having a lot of pain (just some crankiness here and there), so we are thankful for that.

You continue to gain more and more independence and want to do lots of things by yourself instead of us doing them. You get super mad if we don't let you put your diaper in the Diaper Genie, you like to push your own high chair where it goes when it's time to eat and you like to pick out your own snack from the pantry. You won't really even accept a snack that we pick out for you! You do throw some tantrums here and there, which I know is normal, but you get over them really quick and move on to the next thing. Overall, you are fairly laid back, pleasant and happy! Sometimes you start giggling at things like you have your own little inside jokes- it's so precious!

You LOVE LOVE LOVE playing with phones. You are an expert now at controlling the phone, so we limit the phone usage to only when we really need to get something done like cooking dinner or getting ready. Your hair has gotten super long, but it's in an awkward stage, so it hard to fix sometimes. Because you stay home most of the time, we will just pull it up in pig tails or pin your bangs back out of your face. 

Harper, we love you so much that it makes our hearts hurt! You are the best thing that has happened to us, and we look forward to every day with you, watching you learn more and more and grow!

Five on Friday- Flu Facts

1. The flu is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat and lungs. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. The best way to prevent the flu is by getting a flu vaccine each year.

2. Signs and symptoms of the flu include fever, chills, cough, sore throat, runny nose, congestion, body aches, headaches, fatigue and sometimes nausea and vomiting.

3. Most experts believe the flu spreads mainly by droplets made when people with the flu cough, sneeze or talk. Less often, a person might also get the flu by touching a surface or object that has the flu virus on it and then touching their own mouth, eyes or nose.

4. You may be able to pass on the flu to someone else before you know you are sick, as well as while you are sick. Most healthy adults may be able to infect others beginning day 1 before symptoms develop and up to 5-7 days after becoming sick. 

5. Complications of the flu include bacterial pnemonia, ear infections, sinus infections, dehydration and worsening of chronic medical conditions. 

You may be wondering why I chose this riveting topic to blog about today?? Well, I have been battling the flu all week and thought I would pass on the knowledge I gained while quarantined to the bedroom, laying in bed for 3-4 days! I did indeed get the flu shot, but to no avail. So far, so good- no one else in my family has gotten it, so fingers crossed and prayers are appreciated! I'm on the mend, thank goodness, but it has been a rough week. 

Hope everyone else has had a healthy week and has a great weekend!

*All of the facts above were taken from www.cdc.gov.

Five on Friday

1. We keep hearing such good things about the Lone Survivor movie, so we are going to go see it this weekend. Hopefully it's as good as everyone says!

2. I am finally getting the rug in for Harper's playroom today! It has been delayed in Atlanta with all the stranded people and snow/ice. I hope to get that room finished this weekend, and then I can show pictures!

3. Harper has been showing some signs of being interested in the potty and going to the potty, so I think we are going to start trying to potty train soon. I realize it may not work the first time, but it can't hurt to try and see what happens. If she doesn't get it, we'll stop for awhile and try again! This is the potty we bought:

4. I honestly don't care much about actually watching the Superbowl, but I sure do like eating all the yummy food!

5. Yay for the weekend! I got my house cleaned, groceries bought and I'm leaving work at 1:00 pm today! Just a couple more hours to go :) I thought this was hilarious:

Recipe- Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

I found this on CampbellsKitchen.com the other day and decided to try it out. I'm a sucker for any type of soup during the winter months. It was absolutely delicious- definitely a crowd pleaser!

1 cup Pace Picante sauce

2 cans cream of chicken soup

1 pound chicken breasts, cut into small pieces

2 cups frozen whole kernel corn

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 soup can water

1 tsp. ground cumin

4 corn tortillas (6 inch), cut into strips

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro 

1. Stir the Picante sauce, soup, chicken, corn, beans, water and cumin in a slow cooker. 

2. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours or until the chicken is cooked through.

3. Stir the tortillas, cheese and cilantro into the cooker. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. 

Five on Friday

1. I wish the weather would just make up it's mind. It was 70 degrees here on Monday, and now it's 8. That's right, 8 degrees. This is why everyone is sick! I did hear a good February forecast on the news this morning though; they say it's going to be above average and very mild! Bring on the Spring temperatures :)

2. I'm leaving on Sunday to go to Austin again for work. I miss Clint and Harper so much when I'm gone, but this trip is very busy and will hopefully go by fast!

3. I got the go-ahead to change my work hours to 7:00 am-4:00 pm. I am SO excited about this and can't wait to get more time with my family, and also get to cook dinner during the week instead of just instructing Clint on what to do!

4. My favorite weekends are when Clint is off Saturday and Sunday. This weekend is one of those, and I feel like we should do something fun tomorrow! Harper is dying to play outside again after such a nice day on Monday, so I really hope it gets warm enough for us to do some outdoor activities.

5. We are currently working on plans to cover our back porch in the next month or so. I saw this on Pinterest the other day and thought that it was such a cute idea to use for an outdoor coffee table!