What's been going on??

Sorry, no pics this week! We've been busy trying to finish up our furntiture refinishing job for the spare bedroom. We think it looks AMAZING! (for an ameteur attempt anyways) We still need to buy some new hardware, put up new curtains, and hang a couple of things on the wall. Then we will post some pictures. It's funny how it takes getting PG to get our booties kicked into gear. So, we are excited to have the furntiture out of the basement so we can move onto the next phase of our to-do-list. Russ's office is getting moved to the basement. He's suprisingly ok with it because he has informed me it will now be his "man cave."

We have been searching and searching for daycare options already. I had been warned by friends and co-workers that this could be a difficult task. Boy were they right! We loved a place close to my work that was recommended by a co-worker. Slight problemo...... their waiting list is until Sept. 2010. Baby P will be almost a year old and I think work will want me to return before that! UUGGHH. So, I have been pouring over the internet, listening to suggesstions, and making cold calls. What would you know..... we have 2 appts next week to tour some places that have openings in Jan when we need to get in. I'm not holding my breath but will have my fingers crossed.

The other dilema has been my car Gerttie (that's right, she has a name people). I have loved my little VW bug and loved not having a car payment even more this past year. We quickly realized, how the heck are we going to fit a carseat and stroller in that little car!? So, we pretty much had ourselves convinced we were going to have to sell it. We even went and looked at cars. I went to a babystore by our house yesterday and they were kind enough to try putting both items in my car. They fit!! Not optimal, (I may be the only person short enough to ride in front of Baby P) but it can be done. My biggest concern was the stroller up until that point. To my suprise, I think I could even still fit a few bags of groceries in the trunk. So, Russ can breath easier now that he will probably be the one to get the new car before me. We've decided Sharice (yep his car is a girl too) just isn't safe enough in the winter and we don't want to put Baby P in danger.

Today marks one month till we can find out the sex of our little baby. It kind of feels surreal that we are this far along already. I don't feel like I really "look" pregnant yet. It's kind of an annoying stage because I defintely look chubbier but not necessarily PG. We are excited to know if we will be having a boy or girl so we can start working on the nursery.

So, that's what's been going on folks. Sorry no belly pics yet. When I officially look pregnant I might be brave enough to post it on the internet.

Baby Presents Already!

So, we defintely can feel the love already for our upcoming bundle of joy. We have recieved a few gifts already. How fun! My mom knitted a super cute little hat with ears on it while we were on our ski trip. We got a couple of little things from Russ' mom and now a homemade hooter hider. It's awesome! (well to me anyways, not sure what Russ thinks about it) Our family friend, Lynn made it for us. She is so creative! I've attached a couple of pics because she said if any of my pregger friends out there want one, she would be willing to make more. The great thing is that it's double sided. She researched and most of them out there are only one layer and you can usually see through them. We've also recieved a couple of congrats cards and a baby care package from a one of my sister's mom's friends (does that make sense!?). We feel so fortunate already!

CLARIFICATION: If you couldn't tell from the pics from our big announcement post, my sis is preggers too. Matt and Rebecca are expecting their first baby two days after us. Crazy huh!? My poor parents..... we got married 3 months apart and now we are having kiddos super close together. But, I know they are super excited to get into the role of grandparents. I just hope they aren't born on the same day since they are delivering in Indep and we are on the Plaza at St Lukes. But, we are really excited for our kids to be so close together. I've added a link to Matt and Rebecca's new blog on the right side. Check it out!

Also, I added a fun little poll. Please give us your best guess if you think Baby P will be a girl or a boy!

Accomplishments and Big News

Russ is training for the San Diego Marathon that will be at the end of May. I am so proud of him! He has been so dedicated and training so hard. He and our brother-in-law Matt, ran the Olathe 1/2 Marathon this past weekend to help prepare. I'm really looking forward to our trip to Cali and celebrating this huge accomplishment with Russ.

While Russ is getting in the best shape of his life, I am baking a baby! Yep you heard me right, we are pregnant! We couldn't be more excited! We finally feel "safe" to share our news with everyone as we just entered the second trimester. I have felt surprisingly good pretty much the whole time. Just tired, but that is seeming to get better. So, our due date is October 13th. I'm posting some pics of the big reveal with our families and phase one of baby preparation. We are refinishing some furniture for our spare room. Please check in every now and then to check on our progress as we grow our new family.

2nd Annual Ski Trip '09

This last week we enjoyed a nice and relaxing week in Silverthorn, Colorado with my family. My parents rented a 12 passenger van (for the 6 of us) so we could ride comfortably for the 12 hour drive. Our first full day there, all of us "kids" went skiing at Ski Cooper. This is an affordable, smaller mountain that's great for beginners like myself. The boys tried snow boarding the first day. I think they were quite sore by the end of it. The next day, the boys traded in their snowboards for skies and headed out to Loveland. This place too was affordable, but a bigger mountain.

Other days we enjoyed massages, shopping at the Outlet Mall, snow mobiling, eating the Dam Brewery, etc. We also thoroughly enjoyed our time at the condo which consisted of delicious, home cooked meals by none other than chef Ed Passman, lots of games such as Settlers, Bananagrams, Speed, Pit, and a couple of movies.

We always enjoy Ma and Pa Passman's generosity as the ski trip is something we look forward to all year. Hopefully the tradition will continue next year!

Amber's Baby Shower

Today we celebrated the upcoming arrival of little Mr Evan with expecting mother Amber and our 4Henson co-workers. We had a MU themed shower at the Gran Falloon on the plaza. We played a fun pregnancy quiz and then guessed how big around momma-to-be was with some yarn. She was a good sport about it! She got lots of good presents for her new little man like a bumbo and a jumper-oo. In lei of cards people wrote messages in books so they can start building their baby a library. We had yummy food and delicious MU paw-print cupcakes provided from April. It was a good time and we can't want to meet the new little addition to the Smith clan!

Bad Blogger

I thought I should bring you up to speed on what's been going on in our lives since January was the last time I posted.

We made the trek up to Iowa in January to visit Mark, Russ's dad. He is on assignment with FEMA until probably the beginning of June. He is now renting a house which makes things a little more comfortable for him. It was sure cold!! (You can probably tell by the heaping mound of snow we are standing in front of). We packed in lots of fun, family activities such as the Amana Colonies, a German restaurant for lunch, Kill Bill, Sushi, and bowling. It was great just to be together. I know it's hard on Mark being away from everyone. We love you!

At the end of January I celebrated my 29th birthday (ouch, I will be 30 next year!!). Russ surprised me with a Coach clutch. It's very cute. It's my first Coach purse ever! We had an AMAZING dinner at Capital Grille on the plaza. If you have never been, it's a must! It was delicious and the service was amazing. We were so sad when we left our leftovers out on the kitchen table all night. Then we met a few close friends at JP's Wine bar for drinks and good conversation. It was a fairly low key birthday but a good time.

My parents neighbor, Sara Cox got married at the beginning of February. They served individual wedding cakes on each of the tables at the reception. It was very cute and original. Plus the cakes were DELICIOUS! We started trading pieces with the tables around us so we could try and accomplish tasting every cake there.

Tahisha and I (a work friend) threw a co-worker, Whitney a baby shower for her and little Mr. Drake. We definitely could not have pulled this off without Kyla. She was a ton of help with shopping and then saved us when we had a small disaster with the clothes line. The shower was alot of fun. We played a game called dirty laundry where you had to match up all the mismatched baby socks. Drake was spoiled with lots of good gifts! Congrats to your upcoming, new arrival Whitney!

This last weekend Russ and I celebrated Valentine's day. Russ got me a beautiful bouquet of roses and we enjoyed a nice dinner at the Grand Street Cafe. We kept the celebration simple with nice cards to each other.

Sunday, our dear Carolyn was ordained to a Priest. There was a very nice service and a lunch celebration with friends and family at the Pearson house. It was nice to get to see everyone for such a special occasion.

Yikes, maybe I shouldn't let so much time pass by next time we are due for a post!

Cabin Trip

This past weekend we took the Tilley and Younger clans with us to the Lake of the Ozarks for a relaxing cabin trip weekend. The condo was soooo nice. Russ got the hookup from a business contact. We probably could have taken 2 more couples with us if we would've known how big it was going to be. We enjoyed drinking wine, playing lots of games, walking around the lake, and eating LOTS of good food. Thanks Mark and Shelly for letting us stay at your place. We had a blast just relaxing and being around good friends!