It's a party for Harrison!

So, I thought I would start this post with some recent photos taken to show my ever-expanding belly. It's been a little tough to take pictures of myself since Josh has been in 29 Palms this last week and a half, so big thanks to my friend Nadia for taking the 36 week pictures!



35 Weeks



The rest of these are taken at 36 weeks and two days...I tried taking pictures of myself at exactly 36 weeks but they didn't turn out so well...I kept chopping my head off in the pictures...hahaha!

My sweet boy Liam

Sweet boy again - he used to never want to be in pictures!

The belly keeps a growin!

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We had our baby shower on January 15th. It was so much fun and we are so happy for those that could join us! For those of you who weren't there, you were there in spirit and always in our hearts! Special thanks to my friend, Nadia, and her husband, Nathen, who worked so hard to bring everything together! Josh and I are truly blessed to have such wonderful friends!

So the sign is a little early, but we are so excited to meet him that we had to honor the real reason we were all coming together to celebrate!

Front door (we had to put the sign up because anytime someone knocks or rings the door bell, Vega and Liam go crazy)

Decorations and gifts that came in from family and friends across the country (and the world...thanks to Gene & Summer...hahaha!)

I think Nathen is excited too!

The adorable diaper cake Nadia made...she's so talented!!!

Putting out all the delicious food...

So cute!!!

Look at that spread!!! YUMMY!

The blue punch Nadia made...loved the floating rubber duckie!

And I made my famous tiramisu with a twist...blue cool whip, of course!

The beautiful flowers Josh bought for the shower...he's so thoughtful!

Josh diggin' in to "Mama's" tiramisu...he loves it!

The awesome cake Nadia had made for the shower...it was so cute!

Josh looks very serious about cutting that cake! I wonder if he is thinking about grabbing his USMC sword to cut it???

Everyone gathered and enjoying the delicious food!

Is Kyle hiding out in the kitchen watching the playoffs???

I unwrapped gifts while our guests played Baby Gift bingo and Baby Trivia

Emilee found a blanket to match Harrison's room! Love it!

Josh looks to be concentrating very hard on his Baby Gift Bingo game!

Such wonderful and thoughtful gifts!

(Notice that Liam was wearing his "diaper pin" on his collar...that was another game we played. If you said the word "baby" you lost your diaper pin. The person with the most diaper pins at the end of the shower won - and unfortunately I don't remember who that was...hahaha! But Liam did really well...he didn't say "baby" one single time!)

And, of course, all the excitement wore him out!

The fabulous host, and my incredible friend, Nadia :-)

Vega was even worn out after a while...of course, she loved having Kyle and Stephenie's two kids around to sniff and try to play with! Thanks to Kyle and Stephenie for being such good sports!

More great gifts!

Handsome Baby Daddy!

Vega and Samantha (Kyle and Stephenie's little girl) helping me unwrap the gifts!

Josh modeling the latest in diaper bag fashion...hahaha!

Well, something must have been funny!

The adorable quilt my aunt BJ sent us - Harrison will love playing on this!

I think Josh may want the quilt for himself!

Look how good the furry kids are being!

Another shot of Baby Daddy...I love this man and can't wait to start on this exciting adventure with him and Harrison!

I think Nathen was taking this picture to try to see the answers to Baby Trivia! For shame, Nathen, for shame!

I thought it was only fair to include this picture since I included the one of Josh modeling the diaper bag!

And Josh was given a special gift from Nathen and Nadia...bubble gum cigars to announce the arrival of his son!

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We all had such a wonderful time! Special thanks again to Nathen and Nadia - Josh and I hope to repay you very soon...wink, wink! And thanks to those who came out for the baby shower...we had such a great time and hope that you did too! We love you all!

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Josh will be home February 10th, so please continue to pray for safe training and safe flying. We also ask that you pray that Harrison's arrival will be smooth and uncomplicated...well, as smooth and uncomplicated as birth can be...hahaha! Much love and blessings to all!!!

WELCOME 2011! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We hope that all of you had a very blessed Christmas and a joyous celebration for the New Year! This is just a quick update...I say that now, so let's see how long this will actually end up being!

Josh and I had a rather quiet Christmas...we really would have loved to travel home for the holidays, but Josh's schedule was a little up in the air, and I was a little hesitant to travel going into my third trimester. We felt a little like Scrooge because we didn't put up a tree or any Christmas decorations this year...only because we knew that we had a lot to take care of in preparation for Harrison's arrival. Added to that, Josh will be leaving for 29 Palms towards the end of this month for training, so we wanted to be sure to get everything taken care of before he leaves. He is scheduled to return around mid-February, so let's all just send up some prayers that Harrison doesn't decide to make an early arrival!

We had GRAND plans for New Year's Eve considering it was our 9 year anniversary. We went to dinner at our favorite Japanese restaurant (don't worry, no sushi for me) and had plans to go to a movie and then go to a friend's house to ring in the New Year. But my pregnant body had other plans...by 8pm when we finished dinner, I was so tuckered out that we just ended up coming home and curling up to stay warm and ring in the New Year. We were tempted to only stay up for the east coast ring in, but we did manage to stay up until midnight here on the west coast. We'll just have to plan a big celebration for our 11th anniversary after Josh returns from deployment next year! Anybody up for babysitting???






All dressed up for New Year's Eve...ready to PARTY! Too bad we didn't make it past 8:30!




I had an ultrasound on Friday (1/7) to check on the condition of my vasa previa which I was diagnosed with early in the pregnancy and which took me out of work so early on. As of right now, the perinatologist does not see any interference with the umbilical cord, however, he continues to keep me monitored closely. I will now start seeing my OB once per week for ultrasounds and to be linked up to the fetal heart monitor to keep a close eye on Harrison and his progress. Harry is measuring around 4 lbs 11 oz which the technician said is right at 34 weeks measurement. So he is measuring about a week ahead of where they've put me (I'm at 33 weeks) but we were told this is not unusual. Below are some pictures from the ultrasound for you to enjoy.




Okay, these two pictures are very interesting. What you're seeing to the right side of Harrison's face is his foot!!! The other squirrely looking image is actually the umbilical cord...yeah, it freaked as out at first too!






Another foot shot...how do they bend like that???
And just look at those cherub cheeks!!!


And a final confirmation that he is, in fact, still a he!




We've been working hard these past few weeks to get ready for his arrival. And, by "we" I really mean Josh because I'm still limited in my activites per doctor's orders. We've finished Harrison's nursery...only waiting for delivery of the recliner/glider and the wall monogram we ordered to go over his bed. Other than that, the stage is set for his arrival! Josh has been such a trooper, and I don't know what I would do without such a wonderful husband! He has truly taken care of me and Harrison and for that I am very grateful! Below are some pictures of Harrison's room and evidence of Josh's hard work!






We wanted something a little non-traditional that could grow as Harry grows. We decided on this red plaid accented with red and beige walls. We then used images from Norman Rockwell's sports series throughout the room.









Two of my favorite things in Harry's room: a cabinet my grandfather built that was handed down to me and "The Dangerous Book for Boys." Josh is super excited to be able to make & do some of the things in this book with Harry. Plus, it's very educational, which I love!





Another favorite piece...the toybox my grandfather made for me as a child. We've had to put it in his closet for now because they're isn't enough space in his room, but I'm just glad to be able to hand it down to our son!







The beautiful bedding set my mom had made for us by a lady back in Newton. She did such a great job! Thanks Mom!!!


We've also been doing some other things this past week in preparation for his arrival. We had the carpets cleaned throughout the house (and boy did they need it), had the dogs groomed and shaved to cut down on some of the dog hair (which will give us some relief in the first few months as new parents), and we had my car detailed (it's looks so shiny and new). I still have a few things on my list like getting his car seat installed, taking all of my paperwork for registration to the hospital, and packing my bags for the big event, but it is finally starting to feel like we're getting almost everything in order. Of course, we may get a couple weeks of relaxation before we're off sprinting with that new little addition to our family!

It's so hard to believe that he will be here in about 7 weeks...the time has flown by so fast! I still remember the shock on learning I was pregnant! I found out about 10pm our time, so I had no one I could call on the east coast because I knew it was 1 o'clock in the morning there! I was jumping around the house with tears running down my face! And Josh was just as surprised...he later told me that he had a fellow Marine on the ship with him read the email I sent just to be sure he was reading it correctly! I've recently began taking pictures to show the progression of the pregnancy...I was hesitant in the beginning, but I was convinced by family and friends to capture the memories of the pregnancy. So, below are some pregnancy pictures for you to enjoy.









In these two pictures, I'm at 29 weeks












31 weeks - Christmas Day







32 weeks (New Year's Eve)







32 1/2 weeks (I was having a good hair day so I wanted pictures...hahaha!)





33 weeks






So, after several years of trying, God has truly blessed us and we just can't wait to meet our sweet little boy! We've finally decided on a middle name, so from hence forth he will be known as...(drum roll please)...HARRISON PRUITT SMITH. Harrison is in honor of Josh's grandfather and Pruitt is in honor of my great grandfather. We really like the name and hope he likes it too as he gets older...of course, how many kids really like or appreciate their names when they're young? Hahaha!





We love our little man so much already!!!




We're also so very happy that my cousin and Josh's best friend, Brandon, has returned home safely from Afghanistan! God is so good! And we're hoping to convince him and his wife, Jess, to visit us soon! Especially since we've chosen them as Harrison's godparents!

We ask that you pray for Josh while he is training in 29 Palms...please pray for safe and successful training and transport to and from 29 Palms. And we also ask for your prayers as we embark on this new and exciting journey as new parents. We love all of you and wish you many of God's blessings!



Much love,
Josh, Wendy, Harrison and the furmongers