We're here...

And we're busy! (And sleepy and overjoyed and learning so much about our little guy.)

Don't have much time to chat at the moment - or even too much to say besides thank you for all the sweet wishes and prayers. We could definitely use them as we adjust to being new parents and learning how to take care of the cutest baby we know. (Who just happens to be one week old today!)

Blue and his little brother

Packed in for a ride to the pediatrician


Finally with my eyes open!

....and back to sleep.

Hope you're all having wonderful (if rainy) Mondays!

xoxo,
A.

Baby Mac is here!!

What a whirlwind the last 36 hours have been! Bradley and I went to the doctor's office yesterday for our regular Monday morning appointment, only to be sent across the street to the hospital. Nine (short and not-so-short) hours later, sweet Mac was in our arms. And let me tell y'all - we're in love.

Sneak a peek at our son, just an hour after he was born! (More details and many more photos to follow, I promise.)
Thank you for your prayers and good wishes - can't wait to introduce each of you to him. He's absolutely precious, such a perfect little boy and a total gift from God. We're overwhelmed with gratitude!!

You may get a cavity from watching this....

...but I loved it. Wish I could get Blue and some buddies to sport pajamas and have a peaceful li'l slumber party at our place!




(via PopWatch)

A Sneak Peek

Bed rest has given me a lot of time to think about baby Mac - what he'll look like, when he'll get here, exactly how adorable he will be... Bed rest has not, however, given me the ability to do much around the house. (The whole staying in bed thing makes it kind of a challenge.)

Fortunately, Bradley has been an amazing help and I feel very prepared for little Mac to come home with us, whenever that is.

I can't wait to meet the little boy who will wear these clothes!


Here's a sneak peek at one sweet little corner of his nursery. More to come...

Signs of Fall in the Smith House

Coat Crazy

I live in a state where we only really need coats for two and a half months each year. For the other nine and a half months, a light jacket, cardigan, three-quarter sleeved sweater or (most often) an air conditioning unit will suffice.

Nevertheless, when I feel the first shiver of fall, I am overjoyed to start shopping for coats. That's right, coats plural. In entirely impractical colors and over-feminized shapes. This year I'm dying for an eggplant purple coat - and since it hit fifty degrees for about an hour last night, I feel totally justified in my quest.

If I were granted an entire wardrobe of coats, I think it'd include the following:

For football games and strolling through Fall for Greenville next month. (Target)

See above. Go Tigers! (Boden)

A trench for the mid-fall chill...this is the Bow Shoulder version by Juicy.

A dijon-colored corduroy jacket for chilly cubicles and boring jeans and white shirt days. (Gap)

Add in black flats and a scarf, then move to England to reside inside Boden's catalogs forever. They're so happy there!

To be clear, this gorgeous bow-neck coat is red - not garnet. (Red Valentino)

You know I love the purple, if not the price. (Sonia Rykiel)

Imagine this mustard yellow on someone wearing more clothes than this model (wow, cleave) but sporting less of a jaundiced hue than, say, myself. Love the tie belt. (VS. Really!)

An evergreen bargain from Old Navy.

A classic red Ralph Lauren peacoat

Boden offers this in red and purple, too, but I'm loving the contrast of brass buttons on black.

I love a chocolate brown coat, especially this belted one with fuller sleeves. (Mackage)

I know, I know - you're tired of purple already. Last one, I promise. (Boden)

A pretty camel coat with bell sleeves - and a smaller-than-your-mortgage-payment (ahem, Saks) price.
Steal! (Old Navy)

If Old Navy's camel coat is too basic for you, skip the scarf and go with Milly's Darling coat. (Saks, via PIPM)

J. Crew rarely goes wrong with ruffles.


I love this jacket for holiday parties and dull work days alike. (Boden. Yes, again.)

Not Quite an Honorable Mention:

Does anyone really need a silk faille trench coat, Oscar de la Renta? Not to question your judgment, but I envision a trench coat being worn on a cloudy (if not rainy) day. Perhaps I'd just sport your silk faille version indoors??

On Bed Rest and Blessings...

Last Thursday morning we found out that I'd be headed out of work and into the world of maternity leave a little sooner than anticipated...like, that afternoon. Surprise!

The good news is that everything's fine - Mac is doing wonderfully and we're over the 37 week mark, considered full term. Such a blessing! I can't express our gratitude to have reached this milestone before my blood pressure started giving the doctors pause.

So now I'm home and resting, checking in with the doctor twice a week and waiting for sweet Mac to make his debut. We just can't wait to meet him!

This week I'll have lots of pictures for you as the nursery shapes up, adorable Blue proves himself a more loyal and constant companion than ever (he's loving my bed rest!) and Bradley continues being the best (working) house-husband I know.

We're so fortunate to have the support of our friends and family - and to have avoided the kind of bed rest where parents pray for weeks on end that their baby stays safe and sound until he's full term.

Mac is growing beautifully, giving the doctors every reason to believe he's in great shape, seemingly oblivious to the blood pressure blips his mom is having.

Me? I'm taking it day by day. As a girl who loves nothing more than napping or lying around, I find the concept of bed rest a little odd - somehow doing nothing loses all its charm once it's a direct order.

So I'll keep you posted - expect to hear a lot more from me in the near future...I'll certainly have the free time! (And please try to keep me from buying a piece from every Fall 2009 collection known to man as I keep myself entertained through these (slow) days.)

Just wanted you to know we're well and hanging in there! Can't wait to have more news, but 'til then you'll have to settle for my musings on fall fashion, 2010 vacations and the (almost-here) smell of Christmas. (We're under the 3 month mark, people! Hooray!)

It finally feels like fall, the time of year B and I have been waiting for since two pink lines first appeared months ago...

I may be on bed rest but I'm counting my blessings. Hope you're doing the same! (The latter, that is.)

xoxo,
A.