month 21: theo daisy:)

if I could sum up the last month of life with Theo Daisy, in one word...I'd choose: psychotic.

true story. 

theo's been a bit of a wild card over the last month...mostly, the last week. A LOT less smiles and a lot MORE fits. Eeeekkk. But I'll let her off the hook seeing as the Holidays can always be a tad stressful and the sickness has been going around and who wouldn't be pissed about having the shits for more than 4 days;/

other than being up to no good;), Theo's been pretty wonderful:) She's totally into baby dolls and physically fighting her brother anddddd the occasional, unsuspecting 4yr old boy;) She can hold her own, that's fo' sho'!!!!;)

theo has to be the most polite 1-1/2yr old I've ever had the pleasure of dealing with! Please and Thank You's without being prompted!!

as much of a struggle as this age has been for miss Theo, it's also been a ton of fun! Toothy grins, new words and she attempts to 'jump' and 'run/race'. It's freaking adorable. Apparently, 20(ish?)lbs is too much for a 1-1/2yr old to get off the ground;)

a lot of fun to come in the coming month. We're headed back to WI Dells for our water park weekend with the family. Theo wasn't a huge fan last year - see HERE;). SO I've got high hopes that she'll be completely excited this year!!!!

and no photo-sesh would be complete without a bit of WillB;)

month 20: theo daisy:)

you can't really tell from these photos...cause they're not showing her throwing herself on the floor or banging her head against a wall or trying to punch me in the back or hitting John or Will or Homer or ANYONE in the face...but this situation is.a.handful;)

theo daisy is TWENTY MONTHS! I can hardly believe she's a year old - I actually forgot that she was the other day:/ - let alone going on TWO!!!

despite her inability to control her anger - which I TOTALLY GET!!!;) - I love her as hard as ever:)

she's still the biggest cuddle bug and as I've mentioned before, Rocky is a saint, which has allowed Theo to get all the cuddles she still so desperately needs:)

if I remember correctly, Theo was 22lbs at her most recent weigh-in:) 

she still sleeps through the night. YAYYYYYYY!!!:) 

a lot more talking! She's saying Please and Thank You and Rocky and Mal Mal:) All in her own ridiculously adorable version;)

now that Theo is outnumbered by brothers...I really can't imagine ever having another girl! Theo seems too damn special to ever have to share that spotlight with a sister;)

love you, baby girl:)

and because these photos were all too freaking adorable not to share...and THOSE TEETH!!!;)

yes...I'm aware her hair is a HOT MESS;) no...I have not given any thought to what I should do about it. ;)

week 39:) #smithbabythree

i'm still pregnant...I feel like a rare-albino-hippo in the pregnancy world to have made it to 39WKS. Does anyone make it to their due-date anymore? Go OVER their due date!??!?! Unheard of;) But for real...feeling very fortunate to carry these babies full-term...like full-term/due-date/2 days after due-date. Weird...and awesome:) 

someone asked me tonight if I was having a Christmas baby...insinuating that I'm small enough to have almost 2 months left?! I made-out with her;) 

HELL NO. Daysssssss bitch. Dayssssssssss;)

i'm feeling so good. And soooo sad that this pregnancy is already coming to an end. I mean...40 weeks. I can hardly wrap my mind around the fact that I'm a mom, let alone...a soon-to-be mom to THREEEEEE!!!!

by gosh, we are soooo so lucky and happy and excited for what's to come:) 

now...will my next post be a baby announcement from my Hotel Room Hospital Bed OR of me 40WKS pregnant...from home...on the couch...with a pint of ice-cream???:):)

due date 

November 9th:)...5 days...FIVE....Fiver-errrrrrrr.

boy or girl

there's a good chance it's a girl...and a 50% chance it's a boy. Sooooooo...FIVE DAYSSSSSSS. Or more. OR LESS!!!!

names

2 solid boy names and FINALLY 2 solid...well, ONE (why so many caps?!! I can'ttttttttt...FIVE.FUCKING.DAYSSSS - or more or LESS;).

Okay...so one solid girl name and one semi-solid 

it's-coming-with-us-in-the-room-but-most-likely-we-won't-even-consider-it 

2nd name:)

GIRL gretchen BOY nash 

*Courts won't let me use my most perfect nephew's, most perfect name! Why would that be weirddddd?!?!!;)*

belly

definitely more braxton-hicks this time around...which is weird. In that it feeellllsss weird.

weight 

start weight: 136lbs

current weight: 179lbs

total weight gain: 43lbs

*for reference...I've gained a solid 55lbs with both of my previous pregnancies - pausing for gasps;)*

with all that being said...I feel great and have no problem with the amount of weight I've gained thus far or will gain from here on out. Bring it on!!!!;)

wardrobe

yes...there are clothes...I've even worn things on my feet with heels...some height...I feel good and this sun and heat in November is really everything. EVERYTHINGGGG. It makes jogging pants with a top that doesn't reach the waistband and tighty-yoga pants that are now slightly see-through because they're working overtime to just stay together because they're being stretched in inappropriate ways...this November heat wave makes all that...OK. :)

baby buys

nothing. Good gawd...I don't have a JOBBBBBB!!!!;)

i'll agree that her belly is WAY cuter than mine;)

 photos courtesy of: Courtney Smith Photography

month 19: theo daisy:)

heyyyy-yo. Just doing a couple quick posts while my lady-parts are still in-tact;) Theo's baby sis or bro will be joining us within the next week or so and so I'd like to be a tad ahead of the game. And by that...I mean: updated blog posts. 

As far as the laundry and dishes and filling the toilet paper holder and making sure the bills are paid ahead so there's less to worry about forgetting over the next few weeks...

i already forget my point;)

so here's Theo Daisy and isn't she the cutest 19MO old you ever did see?;) 

we've moved her up a shoe size:'( 

she's my little helper, throwing away her diapers when I ask - which is SO helpful...except for when I'm digging our cloth diapers out of the trash - we still need to work on cloth vs. disposable;)

she does this thing where she chews up her food and then spits it back out and if you can imagine what a pile of wet, sticky, nasty cat puke looks like? Yeahhhhhhh. It's a dieting technique I've heard of...maybe she's onto something cause she's got a pretty adorable figure;)

so many big changes coming for this little girlie. She's gonna be a big sister and even though that in itself is gonna be a HUGE change...I think I may be the one that has the harder time adjusting:/ We love our baby girl something fierce and we're so excited for her to gain a 2nd BFF, Homer being her 1st:)

happy 19MO birthday, baby girl. You are so rowdy and clingy and sometimes pretty aggressive and there's the occasional fit, that ends with your head meeting the hardwood floor (all self-inflicted - psycho?!;)...but above all this...you are a JOY. :)

adorable photos courtesy of: Courtney Smith Photography

mom + dad :)

month 18: theo daisy:)

 goingggggg...

so we've hit a point - in this pregnancy and quite possibly, LIFE - where I am forgetting to do all the things. From paying bills (apparently, that happens monthly?!?!? SINCE WHENNNNN????;) to staying on top of these monthly posts! 

so here we are...about 12 days after the fact...Theo is 18 Months!!!!:) 1-1/2 years!!!! And that was certainly enough reason to break-out her turquoise jogging suit - duh!;).

theo is now just over 22lbs and the saying that suits her best: 

...though she be but little, she is fierce...

currently: she eats everything andddddd sometimes nothing. She walks...and kinda runs but only to keep up with her own pace:) She likes to make a dinosaur face/sound. She loves her dad but always chooses mom;) Papa might be her favorite! And she just recently added BuuuuuByeeeeee to her vocabulary:) She still loves our cuddles and very rarely spends time out of my arms - we're okay with this:). She's started to come to me and point at her diaper and laugh after she takes a poop - I'm at a loss as to what I want to do about this information at the moment;). Still a champion sleeper...normally, sleeping from 730PM-8AM - KNOCK ON WOOD!!!:). No hair cut just yet. And with Homer in school 2 days a week, for 2-1/2 hours...we've been getting some seriously enjoyable 'alone time' together:)

oh, Theo Daisy, you are just such a little spark in our lives!!!

 photos courtesy of: Courts

 goingggggg... 

 GONE.

month 17: theo daisy:)

miss Theo is now 17 months old:) To punish myself, for no real reason at all, I looked back through a bunch of baby photos and I gotta say...it, absolutely, feels like the time I spent with Theo went much faster...or her as a baby?! I think we struggled those first few weeks...and looking back, it's all sort of a blur. That makes me pretty sad...but I have so many conversations with my BFF, who has 3 of her own kiddos...and we agree...no matter how we would have done things or how we do things currently...we'll always look back and think we should have stared at their faces creepishly a few more hours per day. Or held them a bit longer. Or rocked them to sleep a few more nights a week.

ah, Theo gets held so much. And believe me...I do not take that for granted or wish that away. I'm fully aware that it won't last and that makes me the saddest you can be. SURE there are a few times a day where I wish I could get SOMETHING done without her crying to be held or cuddled...but that is fleeting. And then I pick her up and we cuddle and the damn dishes just don't matter:)

i'm sure it's the idea of another baby coming so soon. 63 days to be exact. It's hard to imagine what Theo will be 63 days from now. Hard to imagine that in 63-ish days...Theo will be the Middle Child...an Older Sister. It is a mixture of pain and happiness on my heart.

it reminds me of the feeling I used to get when my dad would make us unload a trailer full of wood into the basement for the winter - it was cold as SHIT outside and it was a BIG ASS trailer!!! My tears never changed the fact that it had to be done;) Guess that's kinda what's happening with these babies of ours...they're gonna get older. Me having another baby isn't going to change that...it is what it is and it's never going to feel good to know that they're moving on and growing up...but I can't allow myself to forget all those exciting moments along the way...that make the pain of them 'growing up' totally worth it:) 

anddddd at the end of all of this...twenty-some years from now...Jacob and I will be thankful that they're grown and happy and healthy and doing good things...and then we'll sell their childhood home to buy a camper and bug the shit out of them at least 3 times a year while we travel the country;)

 theo at One Month:)

willB and Theo Daisy...being...pals?!;)

top: Theo, bottom: Homer

month 16: Theo Daisy:)

i meannnnnnnnnnnn C O M E...O N. She is ridiculously cute. The End. 

her insane level of cuteness is definitely making up for this new thing she's doing...banging her head on the floor when she's upset/mad/doesn't get her way. 

PS. our house is made up of entirely hardwood floors. Eeeeshhhh. 

I shoulddddd also point out that I guesssss...I'm TOLDDDDD...that I also did this at about her age:/ My fits involved hitting my head against the floor...that is, until I moved from the carpet to the linoleum. Soooooo...I'm hoping that this hard-headed child of mine will grow out of this phase quickly;)

okay...so what has Theo been up to lately? Well...she still does all the usual cute stuff: claps, clicks her tongue, cuddles, walks...kinda runsss?;)

but now she gives kisses, she likes putting shoes on or wearing her hat around the house, she realizes what bed-time means and she don't like it;) But she still sleeps through the night like a champ - Hallelujah!!!!. 

I've actually stepped in a pile of her shit or puddle of her pee over the last 2 weeks...we've hit the phase where she can't be trusted without pants on or she will immediately rip her diaper off:/ It only took one morning of me going to get her in her crib and finding her without a diaper and it looking like a baby made of baby shit had been murdered in there...to realize that;)

she still needs me something fierce. Some have taken to calling her my mini-me...which I adore:) I do think I'm starting to see a lot of her dad in that pretty little face and I love that just so much:)

i was talking to a coworker tonight and she mentioned that she couldn't wait to hear our next name because she's loved hearing the names we've come up with so far:) And that gets me excited cause I'm pretty excited about the ideas we have so far!! 

mind you, we never decide, officially, on a name before we have the baby...we go in with 2 girls names and 2 boy names. Theo Daisy was one of 2 girl names we were considering and it was actually a bit behind in the ranks when we went in that night...but for whatever reason...Theo just felt more right when they told me we had a girl:) - I'll also mention that the name we didn't use that day is one of the 2 we have ready to go in with this time around:)

oh, Theo Daisy. You are one of a kind and sometimes when you have babies...you wonder HOW will they be different? How will they find their voice...their place...their own personality...I've come to realize, rather quickly, that that is the least of our worries. They always make themselves known and finding out who they are or rather, watching them figure that out...is pretty damn fun:)

all photos courtesy of: Courtney Smith

cousin Will. cousin Theo. born 3 longggggg days apart;)

month 15: Theo Daisy:)

i loveeeee this age:) The age where even while throwing fits, I just want to pick her up and love her and snuggle her and make it all okay...even though it really was all just okay and her fit was over the speed in which I was throwing Cheerios at her face!!;)

yes...Homer, at timesssss...can make me...angry;) BUT Theo's just not there yet. I'm still in denial that she ever will be:)

i'm just so in love with her and although, I kinda feel in my guts that I'm giving her a baby sister in November...I sometimes hope it's a boy cause I can't imagine what another baby girl will be. I can't imagine her being anything but our perfect, little Theo Daisy:) But even if it is a girl - which it will be and that will be so, so okay:) - I know she'll find her place in our hearts and homes and her personality won't be Theo's...but it'll be perfect, none the less:)

some quick stats: 
Theo's a walker. As of 14-1/2 months - coming in 1-1/2 months sooner than her big bro;) - she's a full-time walker:) She's weighing in at about 21-1/2 pounds...healthy and tall:) She says Mama and Dada and Get:) She's beautiful and quirky and she is doing new things every day! A few weeks ago she took a colored pencil to paper and just kinda...drew:) I know that probably wasn't her intention and had the white wall and a sharpie been available to her...she would have 'drawn' on that as well;) And when I came home from work today, she stood at my feet and yelled and had this open mouth smile with her little hippo teeth hanging out and she just thought she was so funny! Something about them cracking themselves up that cracks you up:)

this little girly is gonna be a handful and I look forward to every minute of it:) - I can say this now because she's tucked in bed and has slept through the night for at least 3 months. HALLELUJAH!!!!

so we don't baptize the kids. That's a lengthy conversation and I won't get into that now but there's a level of importance to us that the kids have what we have deemed: Sponsors. 

We also think it's important for the family and kids to know that this is important to us, even if it's not exactly what it looks like in their Church. BUT in respecting their religion and the seriousness of being a Godparent, we choose not to use that term...seeing as they weren't actually being Baptized...

blah blah blah. 

if you head over HERE...I feel like I explained it pretty well the first time around with Homer:) - PS. 2nd child syndrome...we got Homer's photos with his sponsors at 2 months...Theo at 14 months. Shiiiiittttt;) PPS. it is some kind of torture and unexplainable pain to look back on photos of my now 3 year old, when he was just 2 months old. I.Can't:'(

we've got another amazing kiddo on our hands and we're so lucky to have so many amazing nieces and nephews in our lives:) Austyn are Tayt are 2 of 11 nieces and nephews and they're wonderful little humans and I know that the task of being a Sponsor for our Theo is just as special and important to them as it is to us:)

and now the process of getting a photo...these are while I was standing near. Fail.

and when mom's NOT around...happy as can be! Dear lord;)

nailed it:)

month 14: theo daisy:)

this little girl is my kryptonite:) I love her in a way I never knew possible. She continues to cuddle and want only me and refuses to be put down for any extended length of time...and I'm down with her demands:)

theo daisy is 14 months and it's blowing my mind. I don't think the passing of time hits me as hard as when I look at these photos. She is such a sweetheart and pretty much the cutest thing on this entire planet. Yep...I checked...cutest.thing.on.the.planet!!!;)

we've been waiting on this little nugget to start walking...her brother didn't accomplish that feat on his own until abouttttt 16 months but yesterday, the day before she turned 14 months...she took her very first steps! WHICH we were lucky enough to catch on video - see below:) 

Between my own 2 and my combined 11 nieces and nephews...you'd think the excitement of those first steps would wear off...it hasn't...it doesn't...as you may gather from my 'squeals' in the video;)

so proud of our baby girl!!!

We're just having a great time as a family of 4. Homer is being such a big helper and is such a polite little boy:) I'll leave out his forever sassy mouth and love of the words: Butt Hole and Chicken Butt....lordy;) And Theo is turning into such a lady...a dramatic lady...but a super cute and cuddly and happy little lady. We're all so happy and excited for the new addition and for a summer together to prepare:)

as always, thanks goes to Courts for the adorable photos:)