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Wendy Correen Smith 2016

Autumn Is Here

Autumn Is Here

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The cool breeze that has finally arrived, along with Target shelves lined in everything pumpkin spice, certainly has my heart fluttering. It's been awhile since I've done a blog post, and today after cleaning the whole house, I decided to sit down by my wide open office window and write! 

 Last weekend Ry and I were on the go. Friday night we went to Oktoberfest and stopped into my brother's restaurant for a drink and appetizer. We sat at the bar and I ordered a virgin Bubbles and Strawberries cocktail while Ry had a ice cold beer. It was fun to be in the ambience of a bar with my love. We go out to eat at least once a week, but it's been a while since we actually went on a "date" night. We talked about life and our sweet baby girl that is due February first. We talked about how it'll still be important for us to continue to do things together, like "date" and we aren't going to be afraid to strap our little Miss on and go out for some entertainment every once in a while. We can't wait to show her the world! On Saturday we went to the Plaza Art Fair and enjoyed the beautiful artwork and yummy food from the local restaurants. When we got home we still had enough energy to go to our town's version of Oktoberfest to watch the dog show. We'd never been to a dog show before and it was so cute. I guess all of our activity got our baby girl going too because Ry finally got to feel her kick. We were just sitting on the sofa and I felt her getting wild and I told Ry to put his hand on her and sure enough he felt her. I let out a little scream of excitement! I've been waiting for that moment for so long. 

 A few weekend's ago we attended Ryan's cousin's wedding. I snapped these photos before we headed out the door. 


They had the cutest pink floral photo booth at the wedding. I'm not sure why the photos look so grainy {sorry} they were too cute not to share! 



 And I can't help but snap bump photos of our growing baby girl. Every morning I wake up and thank God for her, our sweet miracle. I'm cherishing each day. 



My sister was kind enough to switch out our teal pom-pom curtains for pink pom-poms. The wallpaper that is going on the wall behind the crib arrives TODAY! I can't wait to see it installed. 


Her closet is slowly filling up with itty-bitty outfits. I stop in the nursery at least once a day, and I pinch myself. Sometimes it doesn't feel real, it feels like I'm living in a dream. A dream I've had since I was a little girl. And then I feel her inside of me. I feel her little feet kicking me and saying "hello!" and I realize how many prayers have been answered.

The two little feet that kick me from the inside and remind me of how very blessed we are. 


 I've been eyeing this Maxi-Cosi car seat for months and then Nordstrom had it on sale for 33% off so we snatched one up. Check out their sale here.

We have bought most of the big ticket items already, with the exception of the rocker and stroller. I've had a few people ask about the bassinet and crib, and I've provided the product information and direct links below. Stay tuned as her nursery comes to life with wallpaper, linens, pillows, artwork, blankets, stuffed animals, the most beautiful baby mobile, and so much more...

 Babyletto Hudson 3-in-1 Convertible Crib with the Naturepedic Dual Firmness Organic Cotton Classic Crib Mattress

 Moses basket similar here 


Babyletto Hudson 3-Drawer Changer Dresser with Changing Tray


Pottery Barn White Bassinet



Additional links to the baby furniture and gear can be found right below. I included the stroller we plan to purchase! Ohhhhh I'm so excited to push her around in the stroller with the bassinet this spring. 

If I could drink this holiday season I would be trying this, yum! 

This calm cottage just looks like autumn happiness. 

True statement here. 

Follow my Pinterest Autumn board here. Also my Baby board and Bump Style board, I pin on those two all the time! 

Follow me on Instagram here @wendycorreen, I snapped a few photos of the house after cleaning today and tomorrow we have an ultrasound and I'll surely share updates & pictures of our sweet baby girl. 

Enjoy the fresh air and all things pumpkin spice, with love 
xo Wen 



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Wendy Correen Smith
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It's a GIRL

It's a GIRL

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I think I've started a blog post before, in regards to our baby, with I cannot believe I'm typing this! Well, we are in a little shock because we got a huge surprise this morning. We are having a baby girl, not a baby boy! 

Yesterday I spent the day with my sisters. We were talking about our 20 week ultrasound that was scheduled for this morning. My sister, Mallory, joked and said "what if it's a girl!" My response was, "No, that's not possible. The DNA blood test is even more accurate than an ultrasound, 99% accurate actually. I wouldn't have the Y chromosome in my bloodstream if it were a girl." Her joke didn't phase me, I knew it was a BOY. 

 Ryan and I woke up this morning and drove to Briarcliff for our 8 am appointment. All that I had on my mind was his health! When we got to our room I was happy to see it was the same sonogram tech we had last time. I had guessed it was a BOY before the reveal and I was calling her a him the whole time. At that last appointment she started to say "little guy" because I was. When I saw her today I was excited to tell her that I was right, it's a BOY. She didn't respond to me with the same enthusiasm I had. She actually gave me a blank stare and walked to her computer. She then said, "how do you know it's a boy?" I confidently, but curiously said, "because we did a DNA blood test with you guys and you told us it's a boy!" Again blank stare. She started to look closer at her computer. I started wondering what the heck the discussion was for. Then she looked at me and said, "well your lab results say it's a girl!" At this moment I thought she was joking, and then the next second I realized this nurse would not be joking about this. I then said, "well, it's a boy, I've got the email!" Ryan walked to her computer and I followed. We both looked at the screen that very clearly had my photo, my name, my birth date and a whole bunch of information. I then jumped ahead and started wondering what results we got! I questioned all the "Negative" health results we received, to which she said was accurate. Thankfully the health results were ours and accurate. Then we looked at the sentence that clearly said "NO Y CHROMOSOME PRESENT" and then underneath it said "female fetus!" My nervous laughter started immediately! I showed her my phone and the email from their office that was sent to me, and it said MALE. All she could do was apologize. It was a human typo. 

The blood results are 99% accurate, and therefore correct. We started the sonogram. We had our baby's names picked out before we knew the gender. I immediately started to refer to her by her name and I kept looking over at my Ry to see his reaction. I should have been more focused on the ultrasound, but my mind kept wandering off to all that we had purchased thinking it was a boy! The biggest expense so far was the wallpaper and we can easily get that changed. My baby shower invitations have the wrong name on them, so we will need to get them changed. And all the clothes we have for a boy, we will return or save. 

It was a baby GIRL all along. She is the one meant for us. She is healthy and she is our gift from God. She is beautiful. And she has some long legs on her! Now my angel Grandma has probably had a good month's worth of laughs up in Heaven. She picked out a beautiful baby girl for us and we've been calling her by the wrong name and buying all this blue stuff and now we know. Phew, what a day to remember!!! Today, in this moment, I feel exactly like I did on the day of the Gender Reveal. I feel happy, shocked, and just in a state of "WOW!" We got to live a brand new surprise all over again today. 

At the end of the sonogram we did see between her legs and she is 100% GIRL!!! As we were waiting for the doctor to come in to our room to talk about the results the Christina Perri - A Thousand Years (the one I had on our announcement video) started playing on the intercom. As I started to get emotional, Ryan joked that if my Papa's song the Gambler came on next, he was walking out of the room! 

I got to have lunch with Ry before he went into work and he said the sweetest prayer about her and us. He mentioned the quote "If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans!" 

Now, I guess Ry gets a little bit more of me in his life!!! We are in shock, but just as happy and excited and thankful as we were when we saw those BLUE balloons last month. Here comes more PINKS, FLORALS, BOWS, AND all things girly!!! 

 Thank you for following along on our journey to our little miracle baby GIRL! 

 With so much love and excitement xo 
Wen and Ry
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Wendy Correen Smith
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19 Weeks Pregnant and Fields of Sunflowers

19 Weeks Pregnant and Fields of Sunflowers

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Last night after dinner Ryan and I took a little road trip to Grinter's Sunflower Farm. It was a beautiful place with 40 acres of bright cheerful yellow sunflowers! As your walking through the fields of flowers you have to look down to watch your step and plan your next step, as the paths are curvy and tight. I remember looking down as we walked, and then I stopped for a moment and looked up, and all of sudden we were surrounded by thousands of flowers. The first few times this happened it was quite the experience. The sun was shining bright, with a warm breeze, and the sunflower covered hills went on as far as we could see. 

 I'm 19 weeks pregnant today. We are almost to the halfway point! 

 My pregnancy updates are below. 







Our baby boy is certainly increasing my appetite. I've been eating way more than usual. And I'm gaining more weight than I had expected at this point in the pregnancy, but I've yet to buy any maternity clothes, so I'm happy about that! 

 I can feel our little guy moving around everyday, and I've actually felt a few little kicks. I started to feel the flutters very early, at 12-13 weeks, and they are definitely stronger now. I feel him the most at night when I lay down in bed. He's also active when I'm hungry! Ryan hasn't felt him yet, but we know it's still pretty early for even me to feel him. 

 We've started on his nursery! We have the crib and changing table, also his curtains are hung. The wallpaper will arrive this week. All the design elements are selected and I'm planning to order the rest in the coming weeks and months. 

 My aunt has already started to plan my baby shower! It still feels surreal to write that. I longed for this moment in my life for so long, and now that it's actually here I truly feel like I'm living in a dream. 

 This coming Monday we have our anomaly scan. I believe it could take up to an hour and I'm so very excited to get to see our little guy again. I think I know what position he is in right now, as I can feel the little kicks to the left of my belly button. We shall see if it is actually his foot kicking me!

 Ryan and I have a few pediatricians that we are going to visit with soon. I know we should ask specific questions to get to know the doctor's philosophy, but I'm pretty sure I'll be able to pick my favorite based on my intuition. We also have a birthing class that we plan to attend in December! Ryan is going to be the best hubby when it comes time to deliver our little baby boy, but we both want a class to help prepare us for all the unknowns. 

 We've been ordering one book a week from Amazon. We plan to start reading to him from the very beginning as learning will be a top priority. 

 As we were leaving the sunflower farm last night we were talking to another couple that had a little baby. Ryan asked how old she was and she was eight months. As soon as the couple walked away, Ryan happily said that next year we'll be at the farm with our baby boy and he'll be that age! I hadn't even done the math, but of course the thought put a smile on my face. Our lives are going to change in many ways. I'm sure there will be added stress, and lack of sleep, and time demands that we've never experienced before. I'm also sure that there will be added joys, and new adventures, and time will change. Time will be seeing life through the eyes of this little baby that was made with the union of our love. 

 "To walk in nature is to witness a thousand miracles." Mary Davis

 Have a bright sunflowery day xo 
Wen
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Wendy Correen Smith
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17 Weeks Today & Yesterday's Doctor's Appointment

17 Weeks Today & Yesterday's Doctor's Appointment

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Last night, after dinner, Ryan and I sat on the back porch. The crickets were chirping and the breeze was cool and refreshing. We were talking about another couple we know that is going through IVF. Then we started to talk about our experience. We were remembering the day of our egg retrieval and something the doctor said about my endometriosis that could have really discouraged us. Reflecting on it now, I start to get shook up thinking about how fortunate we are to have our son growing inside of me now. The odds were against us, but yet, with faith, hope, and unending prayer, we have our miracle. In the midst of our conversation, as we started to get deeper into remembering it all, I had to stop him. I said, "well it doesn't really matter" as I held my round belly, "our golden egg is right here growing strong." And with grateful hearts, as I was thanking God for the 100th time that day, we changed the subject. What we went through does matter, it matters so much, but there are days that the memory of it all can steal the joy of today. Everyday I wake up thanking God for this gift, and my heart and mind cannot think about our son without thinking about the miracle he is. 

I had a doctor's appointment yesterday. I got to see our baby boy again! He was head down facing my spine, because of his position it was really hard to see his cute little profile. The sonogram tech tried really hard to show me his boy parts, since I've yet to see them. Our blood test is 99% accurate, but we still wanted to confirm he's a boy for the fun of it. He refused! His little legs are right where I thought they were. Over the past few days I can feel his little feet tapping on my belly just below my belly button on the left side. 



All went very well at my doctor's appointment. I'm 17 weeks today! My blood pressure was good, actually it was higher than what is normal for me, but I can't help but get nervous before appointments. I've gained six pounds in four weeks! That is a total of 15 pounds already. My goal was to only gain 25 pounds all together, although I know I can gain up to 35 pounds and still be in the healthy range. I'm not off to a very good start (my words, not my doctor's). My doctor and I had a pretty long conversation about my diet. I knew it was coming because he's my sister's doctor as well, and he is very focused on diet and nutrition. He knew I was following a vegan diet pre-pregnancy, but since I got pregnant I've been slowing adding meat and some dairy products back into my diet. I've always been a high carb/low fat type of person. My diet has worked well for me and I've maintained my weight for over ten years. I love my pasta, breads, frozen yogurt, and cookies! He told me I need to flip-flop my diet. I need to cut the carbs and eat more fats. He said to eat cheese when I want a snack! CHEESE, I haven't eaten cheese in years. He said I need to add cheese and milk to my diet, eat meats, and of course fruits and veggies. My high carb diet can cause an insulin rush for the baby and that can lead to higher birth weight. And we all know what high birth weight means, a rougher delivery. He said he could weigh one to two pounds more than he should which means what should be 20 minutes of pushing turns into four hours! The high carbs also causes a concern for childhood obesity and diabetes. Let's just say I'm taking my doctor's advice very seriously. I'm up for the challenge, and honestly, I'm a little excited about adding different foods into my diet and getting rid of the pastas, breads, and sugars!

 That sonogram photo of our baby boy's foot is just precious. I can't help but think about kissing that little foot and his itty-bitty toes! Ry and I have already started on the nursery. We are currently waiting for the wallpaper to show up. Once we have the wallpaper installed we will order the furniture. Next week, we're going to order a sign from House of Belonging, to hang above his crib. My aunt is already planning our baby shower! It all feels surreal still. 

 With love xo
Wen 
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Wendy Correen Smith
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