Go here for your chance to win a free sling!

i'm hoping for a sling to arrive in the mail for me any day now (i ordered one last week). hands-free mothering is key when you have "3 under 3" (although rowan is reminding us that his birthday is coming up and he'll be turning 3! he also wants a brown cake. or a round cake. and birthday candles. that's the most important part.).

more smith-family news to come when we have a free moment (ha ha ha ha!).

rowan, sawyer, and adam are the luckiest little guys in the world! happy father's day to the most dedicated and loving daddy!
i love you!
~liz

[link(pics/adam_birth/daddy_adam.jpg)][thumb]pics/adam_birth/daddy_adam.jpg[/thumb][/link] [link(pics/adam_birth/daddy_rosaw.jpg)][thumb]pics/adam_birth/daddy_rosaw.jpg[/thumb][/link]

rowan and sawyer love "baby adam." rowan constantly asks to hold him and is fascinated with his diaper changes and feedings. sawyer likes the idea of baby adam, but he isn't as interested as rowan is. he thought it would be nice to share his balloon with him when he met him at the hospital (pictured below). i think he read that in "how to make your mama and daddy's heart melt", chapter 3.

i love the first few hours of meeting and getting to know the baby. out he comes, and there is a burst of excitement in the room. the doctor and nurse are always encouraging and excited, and it's always amazing to have kenny right there with me, just as excited as i am about the successful and, cliche as it might sound, miraculous birth.

as quickly as it becomes fun and exciting, calm sweeps through the room, and there you are: parents and baby alone. and you stare at each other in wide-eyed amazement about what just happened...and anticipating what is ahead of you.

even the third time around, it's the biggest joy you can possibly take part in. and each time you wonder what it was that made God think you were worthy of parenting such an amazing miracle.

[link(pics/adam_birth/boys.jpg)][thumb]pics/adam_birth/boys.jpg[/thumb][/link] [link(pics/adam_birth/dada_adam.jpg)][thumb]pics/adam_birth/dada_adam.jpg[/thumb][/link] [link(pics/adam_birth/liz_adam.jpg)][thumb]pics/adam_birth/liz_adam.jpg[/thumb][/link] [link(pics/adam_birth/mama_adam2.jpg)][thumb]pics/adam_birth/mama_adam2.jpg[/thumb][/link] [link(pics/adam_birth/rowan_adam.jpg)][thumb]pics/adam_birth/rowan_adam.jpg[/thumb][/link] [link(pics/adam_birth/sawyer_balloon_adam.jpg)][thumb]pics/adam_birth/sawyer_balloon_adam.jpg[/thumb][/link]

saturday, june 10, 2006 12:40 pm
7 pounds, 3 ounces; 17.5 inches long
amazing.

today, kenny and i were so honored to sponsor our godson, owen maddalena, into the family of God at his baptism. it's an event we've been looking forward to for a long time. :) "baby owen" is one of rowan's favorite babies, and will soon graduate to "owen" as "baby owen" is already 6 months old! amazing how time flies when you watch a child grow.

owen with his parents, amy and roger (who are rowan's godparents!):
[link(pics/owen_baptism.jpg)][thumb]pics/owen_baptism.jpg[/thumb][/link]

now that the baptism has taken place, we are "all clear" to have this baby. even though i've been DYING to give birth over the past few weeks (mostly only in the middle of the night, when it's 2:30, i can't fall back to sleep and i've already been to the bathroom 7 times), i prayed every day that he would hold on until after today. but now, "the game is afoot!" we took all country/bumpy roads back from pittsburgh today and i actually was having pretty consistent braxton-hicks contractions. they've since stopped...hours ago. :(

i'm 38 1/2 weeks along which makes me full-term, so the baby is fully cooked...i'm 1.5 cm dilated and 50%effaced...the house is pretty well unpacked...rowan asks daily about "the baby" being born, so he's just as ready as i am...and i'm just plain miserable. kenny keeps telling me that i have at least a week and a half to go - i think he's keeping me from being disappointed if i don't have the baby early. i probably won't. but i can be hopeful.

we finally decided on a name for him. boys names get harder and harder the more you have. we've used four of our favorite names with rowan (tucker) and sawyer (cole), so it was hard to come up with two more. it's still a secret...but if you really want to know, rowan will be glad to tell you his name!

kenny and i both grew up with home milk delivery. actually, i think kenny's was a bit more authentic as he grew up a little bit more out of suburbia than i did, and he remembers scraping cream off the top of his milk jugs. i just remember opening our door first thing in the morning and there would be several gallons of milk waiting for us once a week.

there are so many dairy farms out here, i thought for sure there would be home delivery. so i researched and found an almost-local farm that does deliver. they not only deliver milk, they deliver all dairy products, juices, teas, pastries, meats, eggs, and ice cream. how could i possibly NOT choose home milk delivery? right now, the higher prices are worth it since it's easier to get the milk at the front door instead of lugging two gallons in from the car.

but how can you pass up the opportunity? meet mark, our personal milkman, who was quite punctual at 8:30 this past monday morning (yes! a holiday!):
[link(pics/aprilmay_06/milkman.jpg)][thumb]pics/aprilmay_06/milkman.jpg[/thumb][/link]

it's a good thing, too, as i can tell we're going to go through a lot of milk in the coming years. rowan has somehow learned to drink his milk from the jug already:
[link(pics/aprilmay_06/milkboy.jpg)][thumb]pics/aprilmay_06/milkboy.jpg[/thumb][/link]