t h e * s m i t h * f a m i l y: 33

This year was my DOUBLE GOLDEN BIRTHDAY...33! And it was definitely a birthday that I will never forget!!

I was so looking forward to my birthday this year because it meant that the baby was going to be here soon! The one thing that I didn't want was for baby to come ON my birthday! I made it a point to relax a lot and just lay low, which I didn't mind one bit!

We decided to have everyone over that evening for cake and ice cream and fireworks to celebrate. My parents came over earlier, and we had dinner with them and opened some gifts. Around 7:00, Doug's family joined us and the fun really started...although there was one thing that happened that was NOT good.

As soon as the cousins arrived, Noah and two others decided to go ride their skateboards. Now, I told them before they left to wear their helmets and just go around our neighborhood. After about 15 minutes, I started to wonder where they were! Everyone had showed up at this point, and we were ready to have some treats. So, I decided to walk out front to see if I could see them. As I walked out, I could hear Noah screaming and crying. I know that sound so well...but this cry was of pain! I looked over and I saw him running as fast as he could toward me...with no helmet on...and his face was covered in blood! My heart stopped and the adrenaline started to pump and I just ran to him. I screamed for Doug before I even got to Noah. As soon as we met he ran into my arms and started saying "I'm sorry...I'm sorry"...my heart just hurt for him. I hadn't even looked at his face yet because I knew it was bad. I pulled him away from me and saw the damage...and it was so so SO bad!!! His face was totally banged up and his mouth was bleeding like crazy. Then...I looked in his mouth and saw the worst part of it all...he had chipped his FRONT PERMANENT TOOTH!! Heaven help me! I was so sad for him, but at the same time I was so irritated that this had happened AND that he didn't wear his helmet! I kept thinking to myself that this could have been SO much worse and that he could have hit his head! At this point, my adrenalin was racing so hard that I picked him up...and he weighs SO much and here I am 4 days from delivering a baby...and ran him into the house, all while screaming for Doug. I pretty much just handed him over to Doug and let him take it from there because I was afraid that I was going to go into labor! No joke! AND I absolutely refused to have this babe on my birthday, so off he went with Doug. Spencer went to help as well, and I was so thankful for him at that moment! After cleaning him up, we called our dentist, who lives just 2 minutes away, and he let us bring Noah over for him to evaluate the damage. Turns out he just chipped his tooth and there was no other damage. He recommended that we let him heal for a week, and then we would take him in to have his tooth fixed. So...at this point all was well, but it was still something that I could have done without on my birthday. Needless to say, I'll always remember my 33rd birthday as the day that Noah crashed and burned hard!

Once Noah was home, we ate cake, visited some more, and set off lots and lots of fireworks! My kids have been begging for us to buy the BIG box of fireworks from the store, so we finally did and it was great. All of the kids were in awe, as well as all the neighborhood kids that came to join us :).

It was a great day, minus the drama...and a great day to lead up to the arrival of our newest, and last, addition.

Last picture of us as a family of 6...