A Three Year Journey

It literally seems like yesterday Britt and I walked across the stage at Auburn University's graduation ceremony. But it wasn't. It was 4 years ago. We graduated in August and Britt moved back to Atlanta to work for a year while he applied to law school. I stayed in  Auburn to begin my teaching career. Britt applied to law schools all across the U.S. He made the decision to attend Cumberland School of Law at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. How perfect. I am from Birmingham and did not mind moving back here at all.

In August of 2010 Britt made the move from Atlanta to Birmingham to start this new three year journey called law school. I stayed in Auburn since we weren't married yet. Britt and two other guys found a house in Homewood to rent, and so began the adventures of law school.

Britt's 1L year was fun. I made the trip to Birmingham most weekends, and we enjoyed meeting new friends. Lots of fun was had in the Hanover House. We got married the summer after Britt finished his 1L year. He began his 2L year in August and then we learned how to balance law school and marriage. It was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. We survived our first year of marriage and Britt's second year of law school...it was essentially a breeze! In August of 2012 Britt began his final year of law school. In December we found out we are expecting our first baby.

And now, here we are. May 2013. Britt has successfully made it through law school. He graduated on Friday, May 17th from Cumberland School of Law! Words cannot describe how proud I am of him. He worked so hard the past three years, and his success is definitely reflective of that!

I wanted Britt's graduation day to be special. He woke up to this :)

Proud wife and momma getting ready to go to Britt's graduation.

Debbie, Al, Kelsey, and Grandaddy made the trip from Atlanta for our graduation celebration. Grandmommy had a sinus infection, so she stayed home to get well {she and Grandaddy are leaving for a Mediterranean cruise this week so she HAD to get well!}. It was rainy on graduation night, so we snapped a few QUICK pictures in the midst of all the other graduates trying to do the same!

 I thought the commencement program was beautiful.

 The stage!

 The best photos I could capture of Britt getting his "diploma" and being hooded. So PROUD!

After the ceremony :)

 Proud parents!

Proud wife and sister with the graduate.

 We missed Grandmommy...we decided we could photoshop her in!

 Britt and his Grandaddy :)

Britt's graduation gift for his future office! 

After the graduation ceremony, we went to dinner at Hot and Hot Fish Club. If you have never been, I highly recommend you try it. It was delicious! 

Saturday morning Britt's family came over for breakfast before heading back to Atlanta. We had donuts, bagels from our FAVORITE bagel place {Crestline Bagel}, and fresh fruit with a new fruit dip I made. I also found a vintage milk bottle that I'm IN LOVE with!

The three year journey of law school may be over, but Britt's journey is not. He starts his BAR review class on Monday. He will spend ALL summer studying, and take the BAR at the end of July. He will be searching for the job God has planned for him. We can't wait to see which job that will be...all I know is that we have faith that there is a job that is meant for him! I am a proud wife. I know Britt will be successful!

When one chapter of your life ends, another one begins. That could not be truer for us. Aside from beginning a new career, we will also being the journey as a family of three in a few short months!

Now, if I can make it through 5 more days, I will be out of school for the summer!! Check back soon. 

Love--Jessica and Britt

24 down, 16 to go!

I can't believe we are at 24 weeks...time is flying by! It's hard to fathom that in 16 short weeks we will meet our miracle. I am full of emotions every time I think about it. I want to jump up and down and scream because I'm so excited I can't stand it. But I am also nervous about taking care of another {helpless} human being. Here is what's happening in week 24...

Size of baby: According to babycenter.com, Baby S is about the size of an ear of corn {in length}. He/she is still a little over a pound and almost a foot long...growing like a weed each week!

Weight gain: I will continue to dislike this topic over the next 16 weeks {and the weeks thereafter, I am sure}, but anyhow, as of my last doctor visit on Friday I am up 14 pounds from the start of this journey.   I suppose it could be worse!

Stretch marks: NO!! I still use cocoa butter every day, though.

Gender: Still just Baby S...can't wait until August 26th to find out!

Movement: Are you kidding? This baby flips around, and kicks, and does whatever else babies like to do in utero all.the.time. I can feel it all day, but that baby is most active at night when I get in bed. It's my favorite time of the day!! The movement has gotten so strong that we can see my tummy move when the baby kicks. It's crazy, but so neat! I still can't believe there is a tiny baby growing inside me.

Sleep: Still sleeping like normal...thankfully.

Food cravings: Nothing out of the ordinary. I just eat what I ate pre-pregnancy. I get the same random cravings I did before this baby came along...sweets, pizza, bread. Same as always!

What I miss: Aside from the normal beer, wine, and sushi, I miss my long runs. I miss running 5 miles during the week or going on 6+ mile runs on the weekends. I also miss my 9:00 - 9:30/minute pace. I feel like a slug when I run my 3 miles now! But every time I feel discouraged for only running 3 miles {slowly}, I try to remind myself that a lot of people can't/don't run 3 miles on a daily basis when they aren't pregnant, much less 24 weeks pregnant! I'll be back to my normal running self one day soon {ish}.

Symptoms: Nothing much to report here...I feel occasional back/hip pain, but it's certainly not something that's going to kill me!

Belly button: Oh gosh. It's still in. But I'm not sure how much longer it will be...it's slowly {or quickly} becoming flatter and flatter. Not sure how I'll handle it when it pops out!

Wedding rings: Still on!

Maternity clothes: Still a negative. My doctor was amazed that I was still in my regular jeans on Friday! I have rubber banded some of my pants recently and will continue to do so as long as it is still comfortable. I've also worn one of my pairs of maternity shorts twice, but other than that everything still fits and I can't bring myself to spend money on any more maternity clothes right now. I know the day will come when I have to, though.

Best moment of the week: Going to the doctor and getting to hear this baby's heartbeat. Friday was my glucose test. After drinking the sugar drink the baby was so active that the doctor had a hard time finding the heartbeat. When she would find it the baby would move...it was like a game! She finally found it and was able to listen to it. I could sit and listen to that heartbeat all.day.long. and never get tired of it. By the way, baby's heart rate was 135...lowest it's been yet!

These next few weeks are going to go by in the blink of an eye. Britt graduates from law school in two weeks. I am finished with school in three weeks. Then I will be in my third trimester....say whaaaaaaat??? I'll be back soon with more on what's going on in the Smith house!

Until then, much love from our home to yours. -jess&britt

Two Trees & Toilet Paper

It'a a tradition that began long ago, way before I was ever thought of. No one knows for sure when "it" began. It is said to have really become what it is today back in 1972 when Auburn beat an undefeated Alabama team that was ranked #2. "It", being rolling the two large oaks at Toomer's Corner in Auburn, AL.  After a major Auburn victory fans rush to Toomer's corner and roll the trees. Rolling the trees is an understatement. It appears as if it has snowed toilet paper when the Auburn faithful are finished celebrating a victory on that special corner in town.

The tradition began for me in 1997. That is the first year my parents decided to order season tickets to the Auburn football games. It is the year a spirit grew in me that will never leave me. It was on September 13, 1997 to be exact. It was my first-ever Auburn football game to attend. I vividly remember walking into Jordan-Hare Stadium and seeing and hearing the sea of Auburn fans. I was in awe. We played Ole Miss and won 19-9. After the game we headed to Toomer's. It was my first experience there. I can't explain the feeling I had seeing the trees being rolled and hearing the fans chanting the Auburn cheers. That's the day the Auburn spirit got in me.

For the next 8 years we continued to go to all of Auburn's home games. I am ashamed to admit that after the late home games I did not like going to Toomer's.  I guess I was just tired. My momma took us there anyway, though. And I am thankful she did.

In 2005 I became a student at Auburn. I met Britt there that year. We occasionally went to  Toomer's through the rest of our college career, but did not take advantage of the tradition as we should have.

In 2010 Auburn had an undefeated season and went on to win the National Championship. A mean-spirited fan of another school took the liberty to poison our beautiful oak trees. We knew our trees would not survive the poison he fed them, but the Auburn family continued our tradition of rolling those trees. As each season came and went, the trees began to look sicker and sicker. It was devastating to watch such a slow process. It was like there was hope they would make a come-back. However, they did not.

So on April 20, 2013 Auburn had its annual spring A-Day football game. We also had a celebration of our Toomer's oak trees. It was called "One Last Roll". A record 83,000+ fans piled into Jordan-Hare Stadium to see what this new football team may have to offer. After the game ended, everyone filed out and headed to Toomer's Corner for one last roll of the trees and a huge celebration of what that tradition means for our Auburn Family. I thought I would cry like a baby during the last roll, but instead I was just happy to be there and experience it one last time.

Britt and I are devastated that our babies will never have the opportunity to experience such a beloved tradition. We took pictures, though. We also bought the book "The Spirit Tree at Toomer's Corner" so we can tell the tale of our tradition to all of our children.

The trees may be gone, but the memories they provided us will forever live on in our hearts! This quote seems to be only appropriate--"I am sorry," said the tree, "but I have nothing left to give you." -Shel Silverstein, The Giving Tree

Some pictures to remember this special day...

Before the A-Day game.

 Walking to the stadium. I can never get enough pictures of this beautiful building. 

 The cups they were giving out.

 I loved seeing my brother. I miss getting to see Ashton and Brooks whenever I want to!

 During the celebration. It was SO crowded we could not get where I wanted to stand. This is the best picture I could get. The trees were much more rolled than this! 

Love, Jess

Play Ball!

If you're not from the Birmingham area, you may not know who the Barons are. You also may not know that they got a new baseball stadium that opened this week. But they did.

Growing up in Birmingham you don't have many options of teams to root for. It's either Auburn or Alabama. That's it. There aren't any pro teams in the state. The closest you can get is to become a minor league fan and root for the Barons! Obviously, Britt and I {he more than I} are Braves fans. But it doesn't always fit into our schedule to drive to Atlanta for a Braves game. It also gets pretty pricey when we make a trip to Turner field.

So, this is where the Birmingham Barons new facility comes in. Prior to this year, the Barons have played in Hoover at the Hoover Met. It wasn't in a great location and it had no intimate feel to it. It's old and there was never a great crowd Britt and I were so excited when we heard the news of a new baseball stadium being built downtown. A new home for the Barons. We are huge advocates of reviving Birmingham's downtown area. We see this new facility as another spark to get the city moving in the right direction. We went to our first game at Regions Field on Friday night. It is a beautiful park with an intimate feel. It is located right cross the street from a local brewery, Good People Brewery, another great perk...business for the brewery and the Barons.

Before the game we went to Good People and Britt enjoyed the beer while I sipped some H2O.

We bought cheap tickets for all of $27.00 and had great seats behind home plate. We had bratwurst and and fries for dinner, then some peanuts for a snack. Who can go to a baseball game and not have any peanuts?! The crowd was great. It wasn't a sell-out, but it was mostly full. The only complaint we had was that the food and beer lines moved TOO slowly. I see it as a minor glitch that will have to be worked out. The employees are new and will have to learn to work a little lot faster to get people through the lines. All in all, we enjoyed our night cheering on the Barons and plan to go back several more times this season!

And after we left the game Britt was craving Momma Goldberg's nachos...so we went to the one in Homewood and indulged ourselves.

-Jess

Whooah, we're half way there...

As the Bon Jovi song goes, we're half way there and livin' on a prayer! I'm 20 weeks pregnant, Britt is 6 weeks shy of graduating from law school, and searching for a job...that's a lot to take in all at once. But we are grateful and excited about these big changes coming our way. God is good and never fails us! We are praying like crazy over our sweet baby, over Britt's upcoming exams, the BAR exam in July, and his job search. It's hard to fathom that in 20 short weeks we will no longer be a family of two, but a family of THREE. As anxious as I am for that time to come, I also want to freeze {or just slow down} my pregnancy and keep this baby inside me for as long as possible. I know I will miss being pregnant when it's over! Here's a look at what being 20 weeks pregnant looks like...

How far along: 20 weeks

Size of baby: Baby is about the size of a banana. She/he is about 6.5 inches from head to bottom, and about 10 inches from head to toe. That is crazy to me. Our baby is almost a foot long! Baby weighs 11 ounces right now according to our last ultrasound...inching closer and closer to a pound!

Weight gain: Once again, hard to look at the scale each day! But at the doctor last Friday I had gained 10 pounds...double digits...blah! However, the doctor made me feel better when she said 10 pounds at the halfway mark is great. I'll just continue to eat healthy and exercise so I don't gain more than I'm supposed to!

Stretch marks: Still a negative and still using cocoa butter.

Gender: We could have found out at our last appointment, but we didn't. It was not as hard as I had expected. We went through the whole ultrasound looking at all of our baby's vital organs and saw that everything looked perfect. By the time it was time to look at the gender it honestly didn't matter. We have a healthy baby, that's what I was focusing on! The sonographer turned off the monitor and did her thing to make sure the gender was healthy and that was that.

Movement: All the time! And Britt felt the baby kick for the first time on Friday morning! He usually sleeps through my alarm in the mornings, but for some reason we were both awake before the alarm went off. Baby was awake too, which is usually not the case right when I wake up. Anyway, I felt the baby moving like crazy and it felt stronger than it sometimes does. I told Britt to see if he could feel it and he did...it was the coolest moment!

Sleep: Aside from waking up at 4am every morning to go to the restroom, all is good in this department.

Food cravings: Still nothing crazy.

What I miss: The usual. Beer, wine, sushi. To be honest, sushi is what I miss the most. I think I just miss the idea of beer and wine.

Symptoms: I have occasional back/hip pain, but nothing unmanageable.

Belly button: Definitely still an in-y.

Wedding rings: Still on!

Maternity clothes: I'm magically still in all of my regular clothes--pants included. They are still tighter than usual, but they still button and zip without a problem! I'm ready for the weather to get warm and stay that way so I can sport all of my summer dresses!

Best moment of the week: Getting to see our sweet baby on the ultrasound. Seriously. What a miracle. I had never given much thought to anything being wrong with our baby, but when we went for the big ultrasound where they make sure everything is developing properly, etc. I did have a bit of fear in the back of my mind. "What if something is wrong with our baby?" "How will I help it and make sure it's ok?" But as we went through the ultrasound and the sonographer showed us each little part of the baby she would say "perfect" and "beautiful". I felt a sense of relieve. It was so amazing to see the baby's brain, heart {all four chambers}, kidneys {there's two there!}, arms and legs {all the bones are there}, fingers and toes {we have all 10!}, the umbilical cord {all three vessels are there}, etc. We even got to see the blood flowing through the baby. It's amazing how far technology has come. The baby was being feisty, too...she/he had their head nestled in my pelvis and would not flip over for us to see it's sweet face very easily. Baby must have gotten that from its Daddy because feisty is not in my description! All that being said, we praise the Lord that we got to see our baby and that it is HEALTHY.  We also got a DVD of the ultrasound...how exciting, right?! We planned on making copies and sending it to our families to watch, but then we watched it.... And we decided that no one else could possibly find that DVD exciting but us! Perhaps if we set it to music it would be more entertaining! It is still fun to watch, though. We got a few pictures from the ultrasound...I know it's hard to get excited about the picture when you can really not tell much of anything, but we look at those pictures daily in awe of how precious our baby is!

Close up of baby's face :)

 The sweetest foot I've ever seen. I love when it kicks in my tummy!

Easter weekend we went to Atlanta. We enjoyed going to Buckhead Church for the Easter service. We love Buckhead Church and struggle to find a church we love just as much here in Birmingham. It was great to listen to Andy Stanley deliver a message about our Savior. After church a hodgepodge of Britt's family came to lunch at Debbie and Al's. I say a hodgepodge in the nicest way! Family from Al's side came, as well as family from Debbie's side. It's so nice to see two sides of the family be together to celebrate such a special occasion. We enjoyed each other's company and eat LOTS of food. I am so fortunate to have married into a family that I love like my own!

The night before Easter we dyed our Easter eggs!

I think they turned out pretty :)

Sunday morning we went to Buckhead Church for Easter service...Andy Stanley was great as always!

After church pictures!

 We had SO much good food...I made this feta asparagus recipe. 

 Debbie worked hard on the pretty table! Happy Easter!

 

Close up of the table. 

Grandmommy made this bunny cake for a centerpiece. 

We changed clothes to be more comfy for lunch!

It's hard to capture, but Debbie got lots of practice for Grand-parenting duty...since there were so many kids coming over she got out all kinds of toys! 

That's all I know for now. Check back soon for another update on our growing family!
-j&b

A challenge...

I just got back from a run on this beautiful Saturday morning. I am hot, sweaty, and a little tired. But that's okay because I like that feeling. It means I just exerted energy and did something good for my body {and my baby}. As I was running I couldn't help but think "Gosh, it's so pretty outside. I love running, and I wish everyone else loved running as much as I do." That is a sincere wish from the bottom of my heart. There's several reasons I wish everyone enjoyed running: A) Cardio is one of the most awesome ways to keep your body healthy. B) If you choose to do your cardio outside you get to enjoy God's creation of nature {and it is gorgeous this time of year}.  C) It is a time to reflect on all of life's happenings {whether they be happy or stressful times in your life}. If those aren't three good reasons, I don't know what else is.

I wish everyone would plan a "get healthy" time into their day. I know life is busy and everyone is exhausted at the end of the day. But if you will just pencil in a time everyday to go out and move for 30 minutes you will feel so much better. Trust me, I teach 5 year olds all.day.long. I am tired when I finish. But when I come home from work I rest for 30 minutes, then change into my running clothes and head out the door. When I get back I am refreshed and energized. You will be too!

All that being said, here's my challenge to you-- Get outside and go on a walk, or run today. I promise you will feel a sense of accomplishment when you finish. Then do it again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next, until it becomes a part of your routine that you can't live without. I promise you will start to long for your time outdoors once you see how peaceful it is!

With all of my  love, Jess

Spring Break and 18 weeks!

We have been busy lately {what's new?}...First off, I turned 26. What? How is that possible? I am pretty sure I am 16 years old and still in high school. Not 26, married, with a baby on the way. When do you ever officially feel like a grown up? My birthday was great despite feeling like I'm getting old! On Friday before my actual birthday my room moms brought Zoe's for lunch {a giant piece of chocolate cake included}. Some of the moms went in and bought me a precious bracelet from Festivity, too. I have the most thoughtful parents!  After the school bell rang at 3:00 on Friday I was officially on Spring Break!  Britt was on his {last} Spring Break too! Last year we went to D.C. for spring break. This year we decided to stay home and "relax". Let's be real-- the real reason we didn't go on a fun trip is because we have this sweet baby on the way! 

 We kicked off Spring Break by eating at Iron City, a new restaurant/music venue downtown. We are excited to see Birmingham growing. After dinner we we to Lowe's and stocked up on supplies to work on Baby S's nursery. It may have been the worst home improvement store visit we have ever had...I am convinced they put the newbies on night shift! Anyway, we got what we needed {finally} and went home drove to McDonald's to get a McFluury.

 Happy Birthday to me! Britt's parents drove to Birmingham early Saturday morning to help us in the nursery. I got some serious sausage gravy biscuits for breakfast. What the birthday girl wants, she gets!

 While the boys worked hard painting the nursery Debbie and I got a pedicure and shopped around Homewood for the day. Let me just say, shopping is not so much fun when you're pregnant. At least not when shopping for clothes. I was trying to find a cute dress to wear for dinner. It's disheartening to know you are able to wear everything you try on, but that it will soon be too tight. I found the most "roomy" dress I could and bought it! I also found a really cute flowy top that I am sure to be able to wear through the whole pregnancy. After shopping for me we went to Once Upon a Time and found these really sweet sleep sacks for Baby S--a much more fun shopping experience! I am also ecstatic because this store has our baby bed. I had not seen it in person until Debbie and I ventured in. The bed is beautiful {I'm not biased or anything}. I cannot wait to order it soon!

 We got the Auburn sleeper in newborn so the baby can wear it all through football season.

 We got the little bunny sleeper in premie so it can wear it right away...the lady at the store swears by having a few premie clothes just incase the baby is itty bitty :)

After a day of shopping for the girls and a day of hard work {painting} for the boys, we got ready for dinner to celebrate my b'day. I love this guy!

 Birthday baby bump...almost 17 weeks. 

We had dinner at Ollie Irene--one of our new favorite places. If you live in Birmingham, you should try it out. Seriously. The bartender made a mocktail for me.

 Sunday before Debbie and Al had to drive back to Atlanta Britt and Al hung the shade in the nursery.

 This is all you get right now. I'll do a post dedicated to the nursery when it's all done! The walls are light, light blue {bashful is the actual color name}. The curtains are blue silk taffeta. They used to be in my room growing up {in high school}...it saved us a ton of money to use them instead of buying or having new ones made. And they are beautiful!

We also experimented with chalk paint for the first time. Britt almost had a heart attack at the cost, but we are both very pleased with the results. This little side table used to be in Britt's parents' den in Atlanta. Then it was his bedside table. Now it is a side table in the nursery! 

 

Check out the sweet frames Baby S has so far. 

I tell him/her that we love him/her to the moon and back. This frame was only appropriate. 

No explanation needed here. It was seriously love at first sight on January 11th--the first time we saw our miracle from God. 

Debbie brought this...LOVE.

Okay, I lied a little. Here is one more sneak peek of the baby's room. We won this shelf at an auction at my school. It was gray, but that didn't match the nursery. We bought a sample of paint at Lowe's for $2.98 and here you go-- I love how it turned out! 

We went to Atlanta for the second half of the week. Our main reason for going was to paint this dresser and bring it back to Birmingham.

Pre-paint job.

 After. We used chalk paint for this project, too. 

The finished product. We spray painted the handles with spray paint we already had. We love the new look. 

While we were in Atlanta we decided to go to Babies 'R' Us and start a registry for Baby S. It was so much fun! A little overwhelming too.

 We drove to Auburn for a dear friend's wedding on Saturday. Lora and Sonny got married at Auburn First Baptist Church and everything was so pretty!

 Catching up with my high school bestie and freshman year roommate! 

 The beautiful bride and myself!

Lora getting ready to toss the bouquet. If you only knew Lora! 

 Casey didn't catch the bouquet, but Brian caught the garter...they're next!! 

My sister already loves on Baby S!

My hubby! :)

Sunday morning we woke up and I looked out the hotel window and this is what I saw. A beautiful view of Samford Hall. We stopped at Big Blue Bagel for breakfast on our way out of town. When we left I caught a glimpse of our poor oak trees. I can't believe they are about to be gone in a few short weeks. 

 

You can see the remnants of the beautiful oaks in the picture. 

Before we knew it, it was Monday again and time to go back to work and school. If I can make it 8 more weeks it'll be summer break and I'll be good to go! Speaking of Monday....I was 18 weeks on Monday. CRAZY. Here's an update on Baby S and myself...

 How far along? 18 weeks.

Size of baby: Baby is the size of a sweet potato{or a bell pepper, depending on which website you read}...about 5.5 inches long and 7 ounces.

Weight gain: I'm finding it harder to broach this subject. I'd say about 7 pounds. Spring break did me in because all we did was EAT. I am still happy with my weigh gain, but it is getting harder and harder to watch the scale creep up. I never thought it would bother me, but it does! Oh well!

Stretch marks: Thank heavens, that's still a no. I still use cocoa butter, though.

Gender:  We are still planning on being surprised! We will all know on or around August 26th!

Movement: YES! I felt the first movement on the Tuesday morning of spring break. Britt was talking to the baby and all the sudden I felt a tiny little kick inside my belly. It literally feels like someone is flicking the inside of your belly! It kicked about 3 times. I wasn't sure if it was really the baby so I texted my mom, my friend, and Britt's mom's friend to ask how it feels. When I described it to them they all said it was the baby for sure! I have been feeling it more frequently over the past week...it's the neatest feeling in the world! I want to feel it all day long...I am sure I will feel differently in several months!

Sleep: Still good in the department {aside from the usual potty break}.

Food cravings: Nothing new here, either. Red meat may possibly be my craving. We eat it a lot lately. I'm sure we will have heart attacks soon after the baby is born due to all the red meat we have been consuming!

Symptoms: Just a growing belly. Nothing else crazy. However, it is weird when everyone at work keeps coming up to me telling me that I am starting to show...I'm not sure how I feel about it! I feel like I'm at the in between stage where I don't really look pregnant, just like I ate a few too many cheeseburgers or drank a few too many beers!

Belly button: Still in.

Wedding rings: Still on.

Maternity clothes: I am still in my regular clothes! My pants are starting to get tighter, though. I bought three pairs of cute maternity shorts at Gap over spring break. I decided that if I didn't go ahead and get them they will probably all be gone when I need them this summer.

Best moment of the week: Being on spring break and hanging out with Britt all week. I have to cherish our breaks together because they will be over come August!

Check back soon. -Jess and Britt