Bahama Mama

Our whole crazy crew just got back from an amazing cruise to the Bahamas to celebrate the recent wedding of these two lovebirds.

Obviously, my cousin Leslie is one of our favorite people on the planet, and we are so thrilled that she met and married Mister Paul and brought him in to our family.

We could not be happier for them!

Especially since they provided us with the perfect excuse to escape this awful winter weather for a few days!

Emily was so excited to leave, she couldn't even sleep.

Oh, wait....

Once we untangled her from her crib, we headed to the airport and made sure she would qualify as a carry on.

yep, we're good

One quick outfit change later and we were off! She slept the whole way.

The next morning, we woke up to blue seas and sunny skies. 

Our cabin had a balcony and Emily walked out the first morning, saw all that ocean and said

"whoa".

That one word was worth every penny!

She played with her Uncle Tyler a bit, and then it was time to explore Freeport.

She thinks he is hilarious! Every time she sees him, she laughs and points.

(Don't we all)

She loved riding in her stroller on this trip. You can't tell here, but she was swinging her legs and throwing her body forward like she was trying to move herself along faster.

Family photo!

 

We stopped in Senor Frogs, as all people with babies do, but she was unhappy with the slow service.

Baby needs her 'rita, NOW!

We got back on the ship and she ran all around the pool area. I don't think she even knew that getting in the pool was an option - which technically it wasn't for her, since she isn't potty trained.
She was perfectly happy to play on this wall.

That night was formal night at dinner, so Em slid on her fancy gold sandals and took her best stuffed animal out for a night on the town.

The sandals lasted about 10 minutes and then she was running around the ship barefoot.
Oh well.

The next morning we were up bright and early and watched the ship dock in Nassau.

We all went to a local resort and got day passes so we could enjoy the amenities.

Emily badly needed a nap at this point, but you couldn't have convinced her of that. 

She finally fell asleep on her daddy in the hammock and it was about the sweetest thing ever.
You will have to trust me, because I didn't get a picture of it.

She hated the sand on her feet, but she loved the chicken fingers!
(contrary to the look on her face here)

We went shopping at a small market nearby and the ladies tried to get us to buy one of everything for Emily.

We managed to keep it to only a shirt and a dress.

She wasn't feeling the hat.

When we got back on board she was exhausted. We all went to sleep about 5pm and slept through dinner.

We decided to take a chance and let her sleep, so of course she was up at 2am, ready to party.

Our last day was our "fun day at sea".

We brought her this pool since she couldn't get in the big one.

A few water glasses and a beer bucket were all she needed for fun times!

 
She had a lot of fun just playing around in our room as well. She climbed in and out of the bathroom about a million times. She only fell out backwards twice!

Aunt Katie bought her a straw purse and every time you would hand it to her, she would put it on her arm and then walk to the door of the cabin.

The last night on the ship was the Super Bowl, but clearly Emily found that about as entertaining as alot of us did.

And that was our cruise!

A slightly different experience from previous cruises, since I am pregnant and chasing a one year old around, but still a great time.

I am always up for getting away from home, letting someone else cook and spending time with my family!

Big Sis

Emily is going to be a big sister!

Baby Smith #2 is due in late June 2014.

To say we were shocked would be an understatement. Obviously we know where babies come from, and we weren't trying NOT to have another one, but given our history, it was a little unexpected to get pregnant without trying.

We always said we would love two kids, but we also agreed that we could not go through the emotional roller-coaster of infertility again.

I was truly fine with just having Emily.

She is perfection personified - who could ask for more!

It was a bit of a rough adjustment for me mentally at first, I am not going to lie.

I am still nervous about two little ones so close together, and I worry that my relationship with Emily will be weakened when I have to give so much attention to the new baby.

But I am also really excited and oh so thankful!

Especially when I find little newborn diapers and remember those sweet first moments of getting to know your new love.

We told our families at Emily's birthday party by having her unwrap one last present "from Mom and Dad".

We had already told Katie and Tyler (I couldn't keep that from her!) but no one else knew.

Seeing everyone's faces as the read the shirt and it slowly sank in what we were telling them  - priceless!

I know Emily will be an amazing big sis and I am so glad that we get the chance to give her a sibling.

I know that our relationships with our sisters are something Mikey and I cherish very much.

Thumbs up for siblings!

(and spaghetti)

Baby Daredevil

A few weeks before her birthday, Emily started walking! And climbing, and falling, and opening drawers, and just giving us a run for our money in general.

Here she is on a stepstool in my closet. When  I walked past the open door, she was sitting on the stool looking so proud! I think the pictures tell the rest of the story best....

Haha! Oops!

Undaunted by a little face plant, she was right back up and at it.

This isn't a walking video, but a funny example of how fast she tries to get out of the baby gate when it is open.

Straight for the dog food and the stairs - never fails!

Here she is on a two step stool in Kentucky. Taking it up a notch!

And we don't have a picture of it, but one day Mikey had his ladder set up in the house and she climbed up about 4 steps of it. (with Mikey right beside her, obviously)

She is part monkey!

Picking up where we left off....

Mic check one two, is this thing on??....

It's been a minute since I updated the ol' blog - real life trumps virtual life - but I started this thing and I will finish, by golly! :)

So where were we? 

Halloween!!

Love this pumpkin booty!

The weekend before Halloween, we went down to visit Aunt Katie and Uncle Tyler in Atlanta. We took Emily to the Atlanta Zoo for the Halloween festivities.

She is still too little to do much more than ride in her stroller, but she seemed to enjoy watching the other kids run around.

Here is our little Mermaid on her first Halloween.

Checking out her stroller decorations.

Don't all mermaids wear hoodies and carry stuffed puppies?

Petting Zoo with Daddy.

Halloween night we went to Grandma and Grandaddy's and had a family pizza party.

Not quite as wild as some of our past Halloween celebrations, but without a doubt it was the best one yet!