Smitkababy

It's official, as of today Colin is already two months old! He's smiling, starting to giggle, holding his head up (for the most part), kick and move his arms in crazy and random directions, yet out of all these things that are going on with our little man, we have both developed a strange and wonderful obsession. An obsession with what you may ask? No, not with anything that makes sense, instead our fascination lies with the show Yo Gabba Gabba! Yes, we realize that Colin has no clue what these strange psychedelic creatures are that dance on TV to the hypnotic trance of DJ Lance Rock, or for that fact if Colin even realizes what a TV is, but that's besides the point...this show rocks and we know that one day, when hand-eye coordination and a lengthened attention span develops, he will love this show too. Until then, let us dance and sing with the songs of these strange little creatures (the characters, not Colin...) and may the hypnotic hymns of Yo Gabba Gabba remind you all that there is a Party in Colin's tummy, and it's so yummy, so yummy!

Oh, and just in case you have not witnessed all that is Colin's poop grunts, watch in awe as such force exits from such a tiny little dude...

I am so thankful and incredibly lucky to have been blessed with such an amazing little boy.  Here's a list of things that I love the most about Colin and being a Mom so far-

-Middle of the night feedings- he's so sweet and cuddly and its a special time where I can just love my little boy like crazy. 
-I love the huge stretch that he does when he's trying to wake himself up.  He squishes his legs up and stretches his neck and arms high into the air.
-He fights going to sleep even when he's really tired just like I do.
-He has my temper and he can going for super sweet to really angry is a matter of just seconds.
-He's starting to smile :)
-I love the noises that he makes, most of them make him sound like a little birdie.
-I love that he looks like his Daddy, when I look at Colin it reminds me of how much I love Bob.
-It has made me realize even more what amazing parents I have and that I hope to be as wonderful as they are someday.
-I love watching him snuggle with Bob when he gets home from work.

I can't believe that my little boy is already six weeks old!! We took Colin in two weeks ago to the Pediatrician for his one month check up and he was up to 11 pounds and he has grown another inch to 22.5 inches long.  I have a feeling he is going to be tall like his Daddy!!

Last week was a busy week for us and we spent lots of time outside enjoying the Spring like weather.  One day we took Sweetie for a walk with the stroller for the very first time.  I know she really enjoyed it and she did pretty good overall considering she has been kept inside most of the winter.  At first it felt a little like a husky pulling a dog sled, but once we got moving she calmed down and we enjoyed our walk together.  We also went to the zoo twice this past week, once with Kris & Courtney and then again with Kim & Tyler to enjoy the nice weather and get in some much needed exercise.

We also purchased a new used psedo mini-van for me this week, my lease on my Mazda CX7 is up in May so we started looking at our options a little early and of course we found a great deal on a 2009 Ford Flex that we just couldn't pass up.  It has everything I wanted (heated seats for our cold MI winters) and with it being so roomy inside its going to be a great family car for us!  Bob took the day off on Friday so we could spend some extra time together and we could run errands in our new family car. 

Here are a few new pictures of my man :)

Mommy loves this new sea horse that sings me to sleep!

I try to hold my own bottle :)
Snugglin with Daddy-O!

Our sweet baby boy Colin Alexander Smitka was born on January 30, 2009 at 1:02 AM weighing in at a whopping 10.1 pds and 21.5 inches long. He has changed our lives forever and in the best way possible. It's hard to believe that today he is already one month old! Where does the time go when you are having fun??

I haven't really had much time to update the blog because we have been busy adjusting to our new lifestyle and taking care of Colin. This week I am taking him to the pediatrician for his one month check up and I'm curious to see how much he weighs now....he's already wearing size 3 month clothes because he is so long/tall just like his Daddy! So far things are going great and we are leaning more and more about him each day. He has started to develop some of his little personality too, for example he makes a lot of the same faces that I have been known to make and he also fights going to sleep just like his Mommy. He can go from happy and content to a total melt down within 60 seconds because he's tired and won't let himself fall asleep.

Here is the link to a lot of his pictures taken within the last month, there are just way too many to post.

http://picasaweb.google.com/Smitka313/BabyColin#

Below are some of our favorite pictures from Colin's newborn photo shoot that was done right at Beaumont Hospital by Bella Baby, it was super convienent for us and we are in love with the way that they turned out. I love his chubby cheeks!!!

Nothing too exciting going on over here lately, we are just trying to patiently await the arrivial of Colin! This week I hit the Full Term mark which means that if he was to be born sometime this week or later, he should be totally healthly. I had my weekly doctor appointment and everything was normal, they are not going to check me until next week to see if anything is going on. There have been a few nights of some uncomfortable Braxton Hicks contractions where my stomach gets really hard and it makes it difficult for me to breathe but they have always gone away within a few hours so nothing to worry about. I was really hoping that he would come next week for Bob's birthday on January 20th, Bob says that it could be an official Smitka holiday. But I'm not really showing any serious signs of labor so I think he's going to hang out for a while still.

I have been working a ton trying to get things prepped for when I go on Maternity Leave which has made the days go by super fast but my poor feet..... Unfortunately, with the way my desk is set up at home there in no room for me to prop my feet up and I now look like a combination of Shrek/Fred Flintstone. Bob has been a great sport about rubbing them for me because it seems to be the only thing that helps. They are so swollen that when he touches them they feel squishy and it leaves a finger print marks on my skin, gross!

Here's a belly pic from 37 weeks/full term. You can tell I look really tired at the end of the day and my feet are no where to be seen!

My friend Kendra sent this email to me and I thought it was really cute for all you Moms out there. I have seen it before, but its about to have a whole new meaning to me soon.

Before I was a Mom,
I never tripped over toys
Or forgot words to a lullaby.
I didn't worry whether or not
My plants were poisonous.
I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never been puked on.
Pooped on.
Chewed on.
Peed on.
I had complete control of my mind
And my thoughts.
I slept all night.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held down a screaming child
So doctors could do tests.
Or give shots.
I never looked into teary eyes and cried.
I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin.
I never sat up late hours at night
Watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mom,
I never held a sleeping baby just because
I didn't want to put her down.
I never felt my heart break into a million pieces
When I couldn't stop the hurt.
I never knew that something so small
Could affect my life so much.
I never knew that I could love someone so much.
I never knew I would love being a Mom.

Before I was a Mom,
I didn't know the feeling of
Having my heart outside my body.
I didn't know how special it could feel
To feed a hungry baby.
I didn't know that bond
Between a mother and her child.
I didn't know that something so small
Could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mom,
I had never gotten up in the middle of the night
Every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay.
I had never known the warmth,
The joy,
The love,
The heartache,
The wonderment
Or the satisfaction of being a Mom..
I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much...
Before I Was a Mom

Warning...this is a long update, sorry!

Today marks the 35 weeks/35 days till my due date of Feb 1st. We have been busy bee's lately trying to get ready for Colin's arrival. Last week Bob spent time putting together all of the fun baby items, I have to say that a lot of that stuff is pretty complicated and it's not an easy task but he was a good sport :) I washed all of Colin's clothes/baby items etc. and have most of it organized by size and put away thankfully. The kid received so many adorable clothes that we have a ton of it put away in a storage bin till he will be able to wear it just so we have room in his drawers/closet. Most of his room is finished, we just have to take care of a few last minute things. His room is the smallest in the house so its hard to get good pictures, but here is what we have done so far-

The Changing Table all organized....

His crib all set up & ready to go, can you see the baby spycam in the corner??

His closet organized and ready to go....guess I need to take the stickers off those bins!

When I can't sleep at 4AM, this is what I have been working on lately.

The Glider......

My new diaper bags, there are 2 more in the closet :) Bob says that I have started a collection of them but I figure they are my new "purses" and you can never have too many!

I really enjoyed being off work last week and was able to get in some relax time finally. I can't believe how fast the time went and I am looking forward to this being a short week as well. We celebrated with the Smitka's on Christmas night and then with my family yesterday, because Brian and Ashley were on their delayed honeymoon in Jamaica (I'm jealous!). We had a great xmas and were totally spoiled by both families as always. Colin also received a few of his first Christmas presents too.

Colin's first teddy bear from Grandma & Grandpa Smitka-

Here is Bob with his first Teddy Bear-

Colin also received a Shar Pei puppy from their dog Yum Yum-

Grandma Alexander bought him an antique style horse-

Today I had my 35 week appt. and Colin is measuring at about 6 pds (plus or minus 1/2 pd) which is right on track and everything is looking good. I was worried he was going to be a HUGE baby like Bob, but by the way things are looking he should be average size at about 8-8.5 pds if he continues to gain the normal 1/2 a pound a week till the due date.

Finally, my very first and only belly shot that I have taken, he has grown a ton lately!

This past week and a half have been very busy for us. We had our 2nd baby shower last Sunday, baby class on Monday, Xmas shopping to get done, lots and lots of baby washing and today Bob graduated from Wayne State with his Master's in Education degree. Congrats hunny, I am so proud of all of your hard work and know what a wonderful teacher you stive to be for your students each and every day! Last night we went out for a nice dinner to celebrate his graduation at Andiamo's in downtown Rochester and then to check out the cool xmas lights display. I can't believe Christmas will be here in less than two weeks already!! This coming week we have our last baby class, a doctors appointment on Wednesday and a cookie exchange on Sunday at Courtney's house this year, yay!

How Far Along: 33 weeks tomorrow, hopefully 7 weeks to go only!! I found out that my brother is traveling for work at the end of Janurary, I just hope he's not gone when Colin decides to make his appearance!

Total Weight Gain/Loss: I don't even look anymore when I get on the scale!

Belly Button: I woke up the other night freaking out because my belly button was totally stretched and I really don't want it to pop out. It's totally stretched but hasn't done anything else since then so that's good. I think our little guy has done a lot of growing since my last update.

Sleep: What sleep? I think this weekend I got maybe three hours of sleep each night, if that.......although I did take a nice nap today after Bob's graduation and I am actually feeling somewhat tired again. Keeping my fingers crossed for a good night's sleep! We went to my parent's house tonight to pick up a recliner chair that my brother wasn't using so hopefully that will help me to get more comfortable if I can't sleep in our bed.

Movement: He's been movin and shakin but its fun to actually see him roll around in there and my belly almost make a wave motion.

Best Moment of the Week: Our shower last Sunday, it was amazing all of the wonderful gifts that we received from everyone from both of our showers. We are truly blessed to have such wonderful family and friends and we are so thankful for everything that we received. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!

What I Miss: Sleeping a full night, alcoholic beverages (never thought I would say this one but 9 months seems like a really long time around all these big events), being able to easily put my shoes and pants on, I actually had to go out and buy slip on shoes this week cause my feet are swelling it was getting too hard to tie them all the time. I also had to take my wedding band off today :( my hands are starting to swell too much and I don't want them to get stuck.

Food Cravings: Anything :)

Labor Signs: None, thank goodness

What I Am Looking Forward To: The baby's room being organized and put back together with all our new fun stuff and having a great Xmas vacation next week with hopefully very little work!

Milestones: Nothing exciting happening this week, I am happy that I was able to get every single baby item washed this weekend....now just putting it all away is another story. But if you know me, this is a MUST before it gets closer to his due date. I would be freaking out if I went into labor early and his stuff wasn't washed and put away and he was actually on his way.

Here's a few pictures of our shower last Sunday thrown by my parents at Papa Vino's in Troy-

The Future Parents: