Visit to the Hospital

Morgan & Jackson went and stayed with grandpa & grandma smith. They were so excited to come and see baby Hallie. Jackson was a little nervous. I think because I still had the IV in, and he wasn't sure about the whole thing. They came in and saw me, and then we had the nurse bring baby Hallie in. Our first family photo with the 5 of us. It's crazy to think that we now have 3 little kids, and that our family is now 5. I love it!

Jackson wanted to hold the baby, but was a little shy. He did great though, and was so sweet.

The excited big brother & sister.

For Morgan, seeing baby Hallie was the best gift in the entire world. She couldn't get enough of her. Morgan kept wanting to hold her & kiss her & be by her. She had a hard time leaving, and couldn't wait to hold her again.

Welcome Little One

We went to the hospital at 7:00 Tuesday morning for me to be induced since NOTHING was happening... no contractions, no pain, nothing, except of course... tiredness, moodiness, etc. :) The induction was awesome! It was the easiest delivery out of all 3 kids. I was in labor for only 6 hours, and I didn't have to deal with any pain from contractions leading up to the point of the epidural. The only thing that hurt that day was the needle of the epidural, but I am so grateful for modern technology, & for not having to experience pain. Hallie was born at 1:35 p.m. Our doctor and nurse were wonderful, and I couldn't have asked for anything better.

Anxiously Waiting

Well, here I STILL am... Saturday afternoon, and still very pregnant. I've been trying to keep myself busy all week & all day, so I can keep my mind off of the fact that nothing is really happening. My actual due date isn't until tomorrow, and both Morgan & Jackson were born right on their due dates, so hopefully that's what will happen tomorrow. But I am anxious, especially because I'm not really feeling anything yet. The doctor that is on call today & tomorrow I have heard, is really good, although, we have never met him. That's always a scary kind of thought, but on Monday, if I deliver then, the doctor seems to be as young as me. Brian doesn't like the idea of someone our age being my doctor, especially a guy... I wonder why, of course I would probably feel the same way if Brian had a female doctor our age checking him out. :) so anyway, hopefully the baby comes tomorrow. Last night we decided to help move the contractions along by going to the mall and walking around, that worked a little bit, but then I got distracted at my favorite scrapbooking store-Archivers, and browsed for a while rather that fast walking. Brian says I'm kind of funny the last few days of pregnancy. I've had a couple of people from our ward call to see if I had had the baby yet, and I told Brian that I should just have our answering machine say, "No, she hasn't had the baby yet, if you have something else you would like to say please leave a message" isn't that so mean... Brian says that they are just "ANXIOUS" & excited for me, to which I told him that I'm anxious too, especially since I'm the one that's been pregnant. I would love to go to church tomorrow, but I don't want to go & have our ward ask why I am there, and when they baby is due. I hope I'm not offending anyone with this post, I'm a little moody right now. I feel that I could snap, laugh, or cry at any moment... so watch out!!!! :) Honestly we are soooo excited to have this new little girl in our life. I can't wait to see what she looks like, to give her a name, to see how the kids act with her, and to hold her. Babies are such a little miracle. I keep telling myself that if she is a little late, maybe she is saying goodbye & finishing things on the other side before she joins us here, either way, we are anxious. So for now, I hope all is well around the world with each of you, and I will let you know as soon as I know when the baby is here. :) Have a wonderful day, and I love all of you! Melissa

Hair Bow Instructions

Due to popular demand, I suppose I will tell you how to make the bows. Ha ha ha :) They are actually really easy once you get the hang of it. I bought some clips called "alligator clips" at a hair supply store. I was able to get a box of 80 clips for $4.50. I had lots of ribbon from scrapbooking, and just made bows from what I knew would match Morgan's clothes. The best kind of ribbon I found to use is the gross grain. Instead of using a glue gun, I used "Fabri-tac" a clear bottle of glue from walmart. I loved using it because it was easy and didn't burn my fingers. I also found instructions on a website called www.bowdesigns.50web.com
I followed the "pinwheel bow" instructions, but I used thin wire instead of sewing anything. I also think the "stacked hairbows" is really cute to, so that will be my next adventure after the baby is born. That is, if I have time & energy :) Anyway, good luck to you all.

Hair Bows

I am always looking for cute hair bows, but I can never find them, so I decided to make some myself. Morgan is so excited about them. When I was younger, I really wanted a little girl so that I could always do her hair cute EVERY day, well, as most of you know doing girls hair every day, isn't the easiest. Somedays Morgan looks like a little orphan with this blonde mop, & a stained t-shirt. I'm sure that none of your kids ever look that way. :) So anyway, I learned how to make these, and yesterday my sister-in-law came over, and we spend all day making them. I showed Morgan this morning all of the bows for her & the baby, and she got a huge grin on her face. Now, she's really excited about me doing her hair, and doesn't fight at all. :)




My favorite ones are the flower clips. They look so cute in her piggy tails today.












3 more of my favorites

Our Little Man

Can I just tell you what a joy it is to have a little boy! I was so nervous when I found I was going to have a baby boy, because I had no idea what to do with boys. Cameron is only 2 years younger than me, and I didn't have to take care of him growing up. I babysat 2 little boys a lot when I was younger, and they gave me some practice, but still, I was nervous. Jackson has been a blessing and a joy since day 1. He is so much fun and is so full of personality which is interesting, because that's what is name means. He is my little cuddle bug & is a big time Mama's boy. Morgan is a little sweetheart, but sometimes she can be so much like myself that I don't know what to do with her. Jackson is so much like Brian and is this calm easy going kid. The other day we were playing a game on the computer and I asked him to push the "j" key for his name. He pushed the H key instead and then he said, "Oh, why'd me do that?" It was so cute. He is always doing anything to please Morgan. He has been such a fun 2 year old. Both him & Morgan have been little angels until they reached 2 1/2, and that's when the little fits started to come out. Jackson's just starting this phase, but is so good at going into time out. He'll go in and sit on his bed, cry for a minute, and then say, "If I be nice, can I come out" now who could say no to that. :)


Cool kid


My friend gave me some of her little boys clothes for Jackson, and he was so excited about them. He wanted to try everything on. These are his favorite, and mine too. They are dinosaur pajamas that glow in the dark. We laid him down on the floor in his room under the light, and then turned the light off. Then we had him walk to Brian & I in the dark. It was the cutest thing watching this little glowing body moving around. What a fun kid!

Beauty & Prince Charming

Morgan & Jackson have soooo much energy lately! Part of me kind of wonders if it's their age, or if they can sense a change coming. Or, maybe they always have this much energy, and I've run out of energy. They are so funny to watch though. Brian & I just sit and watch them run with all of their energy... it's usually only 5:30 or 6:00 and we're ready to go to bed. Last night Morgan started putting on her princess stuff so she could look like Beauty. Of course Jackson wanted to play, and how do you tell him that it's only for girls, so since we don't have any boy dress up clothes, I let him dress up, and told him that he could be Prince Charming.


Morgan & Jackson were having so much fun dancing in the kitchen. They kept twirling around saying "We are like a family" It was so cute.
I asked Morgan if I could take their picture, so she got all ready, and said to Jackson, "Come on Prince Charming, let's take a picture" Jackson wasn't listening, so she said, "Come on Prince Charming!" They may be energetic, but they are so cute.
BEAUTY


PRINCE CHARMING