Our little peanut!

       Our sweet baby girl is finally here and Rex and I couldn't be happier! Hazel Ruth Smith made her debut on February 24 2012 and it was the best day of both of our lives. 

       Two weeks before my due date we had an ultrasound done and Hazel was weighing approximately just under 8lbs already! My doctor decided he would induce me a week early since it was my first delivery and we didn't want her to get to big for me to deliver her vaginally. I was scheduled to go into the hospital on the 22nd at 3:30 am and I was so excited to know Hazel would be coming so soon. Relief came over me knowing there was some sort of plan(im definitely an OCD planner). The anticipation of not knowing when I was going to have her was killing me! haha. 
      Well the night of the 21st came and I got a call from the hospital saying they were running behind with patients and didn't have a room available. To say I was disappointed would be an understatement...  I knew that this was a possibility but I was crushed when it actually happened. Im pretty sure I cried for a good half hour. haha. Anyway the next morning the hospital called again and still no room.. I was so anxious it took everything for me to be patient. Since Rex had work off because we assumed we'd be at the hospital, we stayed occupied by seeing two movies, hitting up Cheba Hut, and visiting our good friends Alyssa and Trevor with their new twin baby boys. It was a fun last hoorah before we were going to have our munchkin. Finally we got a call Thursday morning the 23rd saying come in. I literally jumped around our bedroom with my big belly screaming for 5 seconds, grabbed our bags and we booked it out the door. That's when things slowed down...
     When we got to the hospital I was dilated to a 1 and 80% effaced. Instead of starting me on pitocin right away they put a Cervadel in me to soften my cervix and to maybe start contractions. I had that in for 12 hours and I thought I felt small "contractions". Psh. I was wrong. At 12:30am they started me on Pitocin and at 1:30am they broke my water(which felt crazy weird). I was still dilated to a 1... Around 3:30am that's when I started contracting. And NOW I was contracting. Those "contractions" I felt early on were nothing compared to the pain I was in now. It was beyond belief. My mom had always told me while I was pregnant that real contractions will "stop you in your tracks". And they did. It took everything I had to not tense up. Every contraction I had my body would shake so hard. I tried to breathe and stay focus but holy crap it was so hard! Rex helped me so much; he could not have been more perfect! He just sat with me, held my hand and kissed me on the forehead in between the hellish pain. Such an amazing husband. They checked me at 9:30 that morning and I was dilated to a 3. The pain got worse as the morning went on, each contraction harder than the last. At 12:30pm they checked me and I was still at a 3. I finally gave in to the heaven sent epidural. Honestly I have so much respect for women who endure the pain and have their babies naturally, I could not imagine doing that. After meeting my new best friend, the epidural, it was smooth sailing from there. I went from a 3 to 10 in 5 hours and it was time to start pushing. I pushed for 40 minutes and baby Hazel was born at 6:50pm! Finally finally finally! 


BEFORE:

Looking huge...

Mama and Daddy

Nana Blair

Auntie Hannah!

     Hazel came out with her eyes wide open and she was very awake. The moment they laid her little naked body on my lap I looked at her and she stared right at me. It was so amazing, she was the most beautiful thing I had ever laid eyes on. Rex and I cried. It was such a spiritual moment, the veil so thin as our sweet angel came into the world. The miracle of life is truly miraculous. We were so thankful there were no complications. She weighed 8lbs 4oz and 22 inches long. She was perfect. She is perfect. Our sweet healthy baby. We love her so much. 


AFTER:

So relieved to have her in my arms!

Our family:)
(don't mind my greasy hair)

Our baby girl showing off her lungs!

Nana and Papa Blair

Nana and Papa Smith

    This was the most painful exhausting and WONDERFUL experience of my life. Hands down hardest 19 hours of my life. I am so thankful for my mom. I could NOT have made it through this with out her. She helped me so much through all of the pain and while I was pushing. I love her so much! 


    I will always remember Hazel's birth. The pain and the joy. I will never forget the first time I locked eyes with her and the way my heart grew instantly. I have never felt so much love. 

Leaving the hospital. I look so awful!

Baby Hazel so sweet!

Daddy and Hazel!

    I felt so nervous to bring her home, but to my surprise it felt so comforting. Welcoming Hazel home and settling in was much nicer than being in the hospital. We are still not sleeping at night, feeding constantly, and changing lots of poopy diapers:) And now we are trying to soak in every precious moment; little grunts when she's pushing out a poo, long stretches after naps, the adorable sound she makes after a sneeze, her long sucks as she drinking mamas milk, even her restless cries at 2am. 

On our way to the doctor!

Hanging out with Hazy's best friends Brody and Jace!

Mama and baby girl!

Our family!

   Our lives are forever changed for the better. I'm now understanding  a mother's love for her child. It's not an easy job at all but every time I kiss my sweet angel it all becomes worth it.  Tomorrow she will be one month and I can't get over how much she has changed since the day she was born. We love her and we're cherishing every moment! 


    We are so grateful for all the meals,phone calls/texts, visits, and support from all our family and friends!

     

Timeflysby.

Where. To. Start.

haha. I swear my posts always start out like this. It's like I can't keep up with the blogging. I think about it but then I never do it. Anyway so much has gone on. So we'll do a little highlighting of each month :)

December:

Temple Lights (yes. i know im huge.)

It came and... it went. Honestly I blinked and the month was over. Which always makes me sad because I love everything about this time of year. The weather, meaning, music, excitement, and the food:) Really the only thing I dont like is all the snowbirds. haha. But anyway we had such a great month with family and friends. 

               My nephew Kirkie got baptized which was so sweet. 

               We had our first christmas together.

               Our 1 year wedding anniversary.

               We got to see our baby girl in a 3d ultrasound.

This is a video of the 3d ultrasound. she was so cooperative!

You can see her yawning in this. Dont be freaked out:)

January:

This month was awesome. It also was crazy busy, haha. Which was so nice since I've been preparing for little miss to get here. It's made time fly.

         New Years

         We went on a belated get away to celebrate our anniversary.

         My brother Jesse's 23rd birthday!

         Rex's 23rd Birthday!

         We were invited by our really close friends to go on a snowboarding trip with their company   

         he works for. (somuchfun!)

         Hannah's 15th birthday!

         Baby shower:)

         Completion of baby room!

wakey wakey birthday boy! ilovehimsomuch.

Hannah Ruthies 15th Birthday!!

Our good friends Trevor and Alyssa!
We love them!

My baby shower:) I have the most amazing mom and sisters!

 

 

 

And now here we are. I still can't believe it is February already! Really I can still remember when they told me I was due Feb 29 and feeling like it was so far away. And now she'll be here in 3 1/2 weeks! I'm so glad her room is done and I can just relax for these last weeks before she gets here. I love her room because it gave me the chance to get in touch with my crafty side. Definitely somethings had to be bought and left alone but alot of her room was finding old things and turning them into new or just making things from scratch(thank heavens for pinterest.) Also lets add a little shout out! My sisters and mom helped me so much while i was making some of the things! What would I do without them:) 

These are her green polka dot/pink damask curtains they were sewn by my sister Lexie and I.
If you get close you can tell which one I did and which ones Lex did...her lines are way straighter! :)
And I got the pink glider from my mother and mother in law! LOVE IT!

I didn't do anything new with the crib but the shelf was in
Rex's room growing up. It was originally black so i repainted it cream and added
new knobs to it. The accessories on top are spray painted mason jars and cute additions from Hobby Lobby!

Once again my sister Lexie and my mom helped me make my
 ruffle lamp shade (we used burlap). To finish it off I made some fabric flowers
and  hot glued them on. I couldnt be more happy with the way it turned out!

This is her closet all organized and ready for her to get here!

Bigger picture of the room. On the left side (you cant really see) but
its an H for Hazel made with canvas, fabric, and fun buttons!

This is above her dresser. The mirror is from Hobby Lobby and the wicker basket with diapers
 I found at Goodwill and spray painted cream. The picture frames are from Walmart that I spray painted.(One of them has cute scrapbook paper and the other two will be pics of her!) The turquoise board I spray painted and I hand wrote with paint markers lyrics to a nursery rhyme my mom sang to me growing up. "Rung Along Home and Jump Into Bed"

The entire room. So happy with the way it turned out! I love just sitting in here
and imaging myself holding her! 

 I have loved having her in my tummy. Honestly it is the most amazing experience. I love feeling her little feet press against my belly button and her head (or bum) moving side to side. I feel so many mixed emotions as my pregnancy is coming to a close!  I'm going to miss her rolling around in my stomach. I feel like she is so much safer there then out in this messy world. But as much as I want her to stay where she is I want more for her to be here in my arms. Like... NOW! haha. Im so ready to continue this journey with Rex. I know(well.. i really dont know) but im anticipating how hard it will be and even though I feel scared I know that this little girl is being sent to Rex and I for a reason and I know she will be the biggest blessing in our lives. She is the start to our family and Heavenly Father is trusting her with us. I cant imagine loving her more than I love her now but I know when I finally have her in my arms that this love will be so much more! I cant wait for this little angel to get here!

"May I say to mothers collectively, in the name of the Lord, you are magnificent. You are doing terrifically well. The very fact that you have been given such a responsibility is everlasting evidence of the trust your Father in Heaven has in you. He is blessing you and He will bless you, even—no, especially—when your days and your nights may be the most challenging. Rely on Him. Rely on Him heavily. Rely on Him forever. And “press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope.”"

-Jeffery R. Holland

xoxo

em

      

      

      

               

LOTS going on.

   Well we have had quite the month of October over here in the Smith house, I swear one of the best things about being pregnant is I feel like time FLIES. You are so busy counting the days and weeks for your next appointment that the months just slip right by. Its awesome. haha. 


   Anyways, so much has gone on I thought I'd do a recap of the month. Or I guess the past two months since I didnt blog anything we did in September. haha whoops:)


In September Hannah Ruthie had her special olympics swim meet and Rex and I couldnt miss it, and I'm so glad we didnt cause she did AWESOME! Seriously, she kicked booty! She won two golds and one silver medal. But my favorite part was seeing her face so happy!

Isn't she the cutest thing!

In Action!

So Excited!!

Hannah is my little piece of heaven. Ever since this baby girl was born I have felt connected to her. Even though I was 4 when she was born I still remember the day my mom brought her home. She was so little I was afraid to touch her. I knew then she was going to be my best friend. When my mom would bring her into our room and lay her in the crib to sleep I use to sneak out of bed just to make sure she was breathing, and even 14 years down the road before Rex and I got married we slept by each other almost every night. Every memory I have growing up Hannah Ruthie is there with me, and probably the hardest thing for me when I got married (besides leaving my mama:) ) was leaving Hannah. Hannah is the best person to cuddle with, listen to sing:), dance to music with, watch movies with, pray with at night, play against uno, exercise with, and cry to and tell all of your problems to. Everyone needs Hannah in their life! I know she was sent down to this earth to my family for a reason, and what a blessing its been for us. I love her so much and couldn't ask for a better baby sister! I love you Ruthie!

love her.

Later in the month we were able to find out what our little babe was! BOY or GIRL!? I was so nervous all day waiting for the ultrasound appointment. Not nerves to find out the sex but more that the baby was healthy and all in one piece:) And she was! Our little precious baby looked so beautiful while rolling around in my tummy! I can already tell she is going to be a handful. Just like her daddy.... haha:) just kidding! But yes I did say girl! We could not feel more grateful and blessed to bring in one of heavenly fathers little daughters. I think I'm mostly excited to dress her.

I will vouch for any woman who says that pregnancy has made them a little bit crazy! I swear this whole being pregnant thing with all the extra hormones has put me into anxiety overdrive. I not only exhaust myself with all the worrying but poor Rex. I think I have panic attacks every day. They range anywhere from "nothing" is in the fridge or pantry, to the spooky train at Schnepf Farms, or even to find a cricket in the bathroom! haha.

Other than the random freak outs, so far my pregnancy has been a breeze. Besides the first three months of being sick everyday, everything has been great. Headaches, an achy back and feet have been my biggest complaints; luckily I have a personal masseuse:) and Tylenol extra strength.

 I'm sure Rex could elaborate for everybody on all the problems with me being pregnant haha. He has to put up with alot:) Im so thankful for him! He is so sensitive and takes such good care of me. I know he is going to make the most amazing dad! I love watching him feel my tummy when she kicks, his expression is so cute! To see him so excited about our baby makes me more excited and anxious for her to get here!

To get out of the heat my parents, Rex and I, Hannah, and my brother Jesse drove to Albuquerque where we use to live for their annual Balloon Fiesta. Our Aunt Debbie let all of us stay in her beautiful home and the weekend was blast! We had so much fun eating at all the local restaurants, visiting old friends, going to the balloon fiesta, and reminiscing old memories! 

Look at the homeless man.. Oh wait, thats my Dad! haha

Priceless:)

 A couple of weeks ago Hannah participated in the Mountain View little toro cheerleader fundraiser. She has done it for the past 6 or 7 years and every year she gets so nervous but when she gets out on the track she is such a ham! She can't stop shaking her booty and working it out there. She is definitely my little sister:) We had so much fun watching her do the dances and cheers with all of her cousins. And of course at the end of the night she got to eat pizza (her favorite part of the whole night) haha. 

Ever since we found out that our little baby was a girl I have been in a turbo speed with the room! Of course the room is no where near being done. What would I do to fill my time for these next 3 months? But I figured there was no reason to not get started:) After looking at so many different ideas and color schemes I finally found what I love! 

First off I knew I wanted a Jenny Lind crib but on a poor ,newlywed budget I couldn't pay 180 dollars for a crib. So I hit up craigslist and for weeks there was nothing... I was like what the? Really. I was so shocked that I couldn't find at least one! Weeks later one popped up but... it ended up already being sold. 

           SIDE NOTE: seriously people, once you sell something off craigslist, take your ad down!

Anyway, I kept looking and I knew it was the right one! (and the only one) haha. The lady lived in Anthem so my mom and I took a drive out there. She was so nice and everything went so smooth. The crib was in great condition and it cost me THIRTY BUCKS. oh yeah. 

before

after pink!

The bedding was a difficult item to pick out. I knew what I didn't want, but I couldn't really find what I did like! I thought about doing custom bedding from etsy but that would've not only cost me around 350 dollars but I would have gotten into big trouble with Rex. So instead of buying bedding as a set, I found a crib skirt and a fitted sheet I loved from two different sets. Which only ended up costing 115 dollars, which I felt good about:) So I bought those and I'm still not sure what I'll do for her blanket! But I figure that inspiration will come later:)

  Along with looking for a crib on craigslist I wanted to find a cheap dresser and repaint it for my changing table. But no luck. Seriously, a little disappointed in the craigslist lately. In all fairness I was looking for something specific. I wanted a dresser that was big and felt sturdy. Plus Rex is like almost 6'4'' so we couldn't have a dresser too short, but I'm 5'4'' so something not too tall. So like I said something specific. Anyway, my mom and I were at Shabby Shack on University and Lindsey and found this really cool dresser for a 100 bucks. 

  With the help from my Dad,who is an outstanding painter,he helped me spray the dresser which saved my back from aching for weeks! But of course with Arizona's unpredictably odd weather right after we finished  painting it started to rain. Haha. Just my luck!:) The best part is that it only rained for 2 minutes.NO joke. But My Dad and I hurried and carried in the dresser. Unfortunately we didn't escape the big water drops that landed all over the freshly painted wet dresser. I was pretty bugged at the time but we just waited for the paint to dry and did some touch ups! ha. It will be a good story to remember:)

before(grey/green color)

after (amarillo yellow)

As you can see all the different knobs added to her dresser.They're all from Anthropologie on sale! Which I was thrilled about considering those knobs are between 9-12 dollars each! I got them all for 2.50 each. So proud:)

I knew for the wall color I wanted something light. So once again with the help from my Dad we picked out the right color and him and Rex were quite the team! They painted that room in seriously 45 minutes (that includes taping everything off and cutting in) and it looks flawless! I was so impressed and I'm so thankful for my Dad helping Rex and I! :) 

Dad at work!

So handsome!
Plus none of us work around here without a diet coke from Mcdonalds:)

The before color is tan and the after is the blue/grey color!
LOVE IT:)

 After putting everything in the room I knew I picked all the right stuff. It's just my style and exactly what I pictured her room to look like. As I said earlier, I'm no where near being done. But I have my staple items and am on my way. Rex and I love going in there, imagining holding our little girl! We're so anxious for these next 3 months to fly.We can't wait for our baby to get here! 

Room so far:)

Rex took this... haha

  Well.. I know I should have something on here about Halloween, but we really didn't do anything! Plus I feel shamed to say we didnt take any pics either! I try and avoid them being pregnant. But we had a fun night together eating Papa John's(latest craving), passing out candy, and watching Hocus Pocus! 

Mines on the right, Rex's on the left!

This past weekend my mom, Hannah, and I went to see Big Time Rush at the state fair. Now, if you don't know who they are I would describe them as the next N'sync or Backstreet Boys. They are Hannah's FAVORITE group and when I say that I mean it. She adored Justin Bieber, but she overheard at school and on the internet that her old "boyfriend" JB kisses too many girls and maybe even boys. haha. It was pretty traumatic and now she doesn't like him. Her new love is BTR (bigtimerush). When I say love I'm talking, memorize every dance and every song they've recorded and choreographed, writes her name as Hannah Knight (one of the boys's last name), and kisses their poster before she goes to bed. To my surprise, they were actually really good live! My mom and I had the best time watching Hannah do all their dances and sing all the songs. With alot of pushing and persuading, we met one of the boys parents and the security guards let Hannah, my mom, and I stand next to their van as the boys were leaving! It made her life:) Her face was priceless as the boys were waving only to her. It was such a cool moment!

   So this was my crazy long post:)

Rex and I are looking forward to all the memories that will be made in the next couple months! Life is not perfect but were enjoying the ride! We're truly thankful for the blessings in our lives. 

Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us and bring joy to our hearts as we walk uprightly and keep the commandments. There will be nothing in this world that can defeat us. 

-Thomas S. Monson

Till next time.