Sisters or Twins, You be the judge!

Look mom, we're twins!!!

SISTERS!!!

Brooklyn is so excited to have a little sister. She is so sweet with little Mackenzie, she gets so excited when she gets close to her and squeals with energy because she always wants to give her an open mouth kiss.

Here is where Brooklyn spent most of her time this week, the foot of Michelle's hospital bed.

At first glance this may look like something very sour, but the reality is she got so frustrated trying to suck the apple juice out of the straw and got furious. She couldn't get it fast enough.

Our sweet little Mackenzie.

Hmmmm, whats wrong with this picture? The last time she was in one of these, she was like the last little peanut in an empty jar.

Daddy's little girls.






Here is our new crib for little Mackenzie. Whew, finally found one at the last minute.

Here is the link to the hospital protrait they took of little Mackenzie Faye Hall.

http://www.utahportraits.com/hospital/index.php?action=view&BabyID=032707mfh

Brooklyn just had to be up close and personal with mom, she just loved to be on her bed with her.

Here is our new family of four picture. Lovely isn't it?

Brooklyn with her new sister Mackenzie. She really loves her and gave her open mouth kisses.

Mamma and baby bonding.

Here is the footprinting for posterity. Tom got to give it a shot because this print didn't work right.

Isn't she beautiful? She is very interested in her new little world. She just looks around.

This was just after she was born, in the nursury where she got all cleaned up and ready to see her mamma.

Baby's arrival

Ok, so the hospital called and I am scheduled for my c-section at 9:30am tomorrow morning, March 27. We have to be there at 7:30 am plus need to drop Brooklyn off at my sister's house in Provo before that...so it will be an early morning...at least for me....nothing new for Tom. Tom will call you just as soon as we have news about the baby. Exciting stuff! Some other fun news is that Brooklyn is starting to get her 2 front, bottom baby teeth in. She has been very pleasant and just wants to chew on everything. Well, I'm off. I kinda feel like this is my last day of freedom for a bit. I'm excited and ready for the change!

OB news

Today I went to the OB for my weekly checkup and I am still dialated to a 2 and 70% effaced. No change from last week. I've tried to relax the past couple of days and that has helped the contractions. I don't get them as frequently...maybe only every 15-20 min. versus the random 7-20 minutes apart. So, that is good. He checked to see if she was still breech and he kicked him so...yes, still very breech. My Dr. confirmed and reconfirmed that the C-section will be March 27 (next Tuesday). Time TBA. So, she's coming in 6 days! She seems to be getting big because we can see through my stomach where her head and bum are without even feeling for them. That is cool. Another good bit of news is Brooklyn started scooting and is getting close to crawling. I have been putting objects in front of her and been helping her figure it out. She went about 1 1/2 feet yesterday trying to get Tom's glasses. Very cute. If the object is too far then she just gets frustrated and goes on her back and scoots with her head and foot. She is such a great baby.

Change of plans

Well, once again, life is unpredictable. The Dr. called today to let me know that I will NOT be having the c-section tomorrow. He didn't realize I was 38 1/2 weeks instead of 39 weeks and wants to wait. So, the c-section will be Tuesday of next week. I'm having consistent contractions at about 14 min. apart and 7-10 min. apart when I'm moving and doing stuff around the house or holding Brooklyn. So, who knows. It may be sooner than that. She'll come when she's ready. We'll see if she's like Michelle (scheduler) or Tom (spur of the moment). We at least know she will be here in a week! That is exciting. I have an OB appointment on Wed. So, that is the next step...if I make it! :)

Last post for awhile...

Well, since I go in for a c-section on Tuesday, I figure it may be a little while until I post again. I'll be in the hospital until Friday or Saturday, my mom is coming on Sunday for 2 weeks, and life might be a little crazy. I'll try and have Tom post pics of the new baby. We'll get them to you somehow! Just hound him a little to post them. Wish us luck! We are excited for this new adventure!

We originally went to Rock Canyon (Mary's rockclimbing hangout in Provo), but they wouldn't allow fires, so we went to Lou and Ben's apartment complex and made some dutch oven cookin'. Their apartment have some stationary grills, lots of grass, a killer view of the mountains, and a mini playground. Tom made some potatoes and cobbler. Yummy. We brought some chicken and veggies as well. Dutch oven cooking is the best. It was 78 degrees in Provo yesterday...beautiful! Brooklyn stayed awake the entire day because there was so much to look at. I think we have a little camper/outdoorsy girl on our hands.

She loves to hold on to her binky this way. It is like a toy for her.

Lou and Ben

Brooklyn was determined to get some water out of that cup. She just got so frustrated and kept holding on to it tighter. She loves drinking out of cups.

Tom and I made bracelets for Brooklyn and Baby #2 the other night. Tom is VERY good at this. I attribute that to growing up with so many sisters. Thanks!

Going for a walk! She loves walks! We've been going everyday for a week now thanks to the beautiful weather.

Go Utah State Aggies!

She LOVES to have big kid stuff. She thinks she's getting away with something when I give her a cup and spoon.

Rub a dub dub. Brooklyn woke up one morning and she was soaked with pee. So, I put her in the shower with me. Not 15 minutes later, she exploded in her diaper all the way up her back and neck. So, tub time!

Turn or not to turn...that is the question

Wellllllll...She didn't turn. Bummer. The dr. made it about 1/2 way so that she was horizontal in my stomach and she wouldn't budge. So they tried the other way and my heart started racing and I felt nauseous so they stopped. You may ask..how did it feel? Let's just say that I hope I don't have to do it again. So, the hospital is going to call us Mon. afternoon to schedule the C-section for Tuesday. Tuesday is the day they do c-sections so it will more than likely be then. We'll keep you posted.

OB visit

Drum roll please......... Ok, so I had my OB appointment this morning and I am dialiated to a 2 and 70% effaced with -2 in my pelvis (she hasn't dropped yet). The baby is still in breech position with one leg up and the other leg in indian style position. The dr. gives me about a 30% chance (statistically) that they will flip her and an even lower chance than that because of the position she is in. So, it looks like a C-section is inevitable. He gave me a big pep talk and I am feeling better about it all. I just want a healthy baby. He said if she doesn't flip then they are scheduling a c-section for Tuesday of next week. So, like the 20th of March. Less than a week. Nuts. He guessed she was in the 6 1/2 lbs.-7 lb. range and her heartbeat was strong. Tomorrow at 11:30 we go in for the version. It will be monitored by an ultrasound and fetal monitor. He is guessing that the reason why she is breech is because I have an odd shaped uterus...which runs in my family. My side are all messed up. They'll find that out tomorrow as well. Wish us luck and keep us in your prayers. ;)

Brooklyn!

Pic of her blessing dress....as promised.

37 weeks!!!

For those nerds...

Ok, so, I'm a nerd, but I found some info. on Daylight Saving Time...Kinda cool.

On August 8, 2005, President George W. Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This Act changed the time change dates for Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. Beginning in 2007, DST will begin on the second Sunday in March and end the first Sunday in November. The Secretary of Energy will report the impact of this change to Congress. Congress retains the right to resume the 2005 Daylight Saving Time schedule once the Department of Energy study is complete.
Spelling and grammar
The official spelling is Daylight Saving Time, not Daylight SavingS Time.
Saving is used here as a verbal adjective (a participle). It modifies time and tells us more about its nature; namely, that it is characterized by the activity of saving daylight. It is a saving daylight kind of time. Similar examples would be a mind expanding book or a man eating tiger. Saving is used in the same way as saving a ball game, rather than as a savings account.
Nevertheless, many people feel the word savings (with an 's') flows more mellifluously off the tongue. Daylight Savings Time is also in common usage, and can be found in dictionaries.
Adding to the confusion is that the phrase Daylight Saving Time is inaccurate, since no daylight is actually saved. Daylight Shifting Time would be better, but it is not as politically desirable.
A safety reminder
Many fire departments encourage people to change the batteries in their smoke detectors when they change their clocks because Daylight Saving Time provides a convenient reminder. "A working smoke detector more than doubles a person's chances of surviving a home fire," says William McNabb of the Troy Fire Department in Michigan. More than 90 percent of homes in the United States have smoke detectors, but one-third are estimated to have dead or missing batteries.

Little Reminder...

Just a reminder that it is Daylight Saving Time on March 11, or rather at 1:59 am. It is Spring forward so instead of being 1:59 am we will move our clocks to 3:00 am. Enjoy your morning sleep because we are losing an hour in the morning, but gaining some daylight at night!

Baby news

Well, we wish we had better news...I'll start with the good stuff. I am 50% effaced and still dialated to a 1. The "not so good news" is that she is breech. She must have moved this week because last week the doctor said she was down. So, I am going to have a procedure called a "version" done in 1 week. This is where they manually try and turn the baby. The complications are that I may go into labor and then they would have to do a C-section. They wanted to do it tomorrow, but the dr. realized I was only 36 1/2 weeks along. He wants to make sure I am at least 37 weeks, if not longer, before they do anything. If the baby turns around then we should be good and they will watch my progress. If it doesn't turn around then he still wants to induce me at 39 weeks and do a C-section. The other not so hot news is that I was tested last week for a strep culture to see if I had a certain yeast. Well, 1/3 of women have it and I am in that 1/3. The dr. said this yeast, if not caught or treated, can cause blindness and other defects when the baby comes out of the birth canal. It is a yeast my body has always produced, but rarely goes detected unless tested. So, there you go. WE're not out of the woods yet. Tom and I are holding a fast on Sunday so that the rest of my pregnancy goes smoothly. I may not be fasting from food, but I will be fasting from other things. We would appreciate any prayers. On a happier note, we went to Sears today and got pics of Brooklyn in her blessing dress. Adorable. I will still try and post the other pics on the blog. :)

It's OFFICIAL!!!

She's ours! The weekend went really well. Court went well...even though I couldn't remember my own name and Brooklyn's birthday...you'll have to ask me about it later. :) My favorite part was the temple. There was such a spirit there. The sealer told my folks after the sealing that this was a really special sealing and that he could feel it. Thanks to all who came. The blessing went well. Tom was so nervous! He did such a good job and I know what he said was what needed to be said. Good job Tom! Brooklyn was an angel for the whole weekend. I tried to post pics of her dress, but our Internet is not letting me. Just putting these pics on has taken me over 2 1/2 hours. SO...cherish them. :) I'll try later. I'm going to get some pics done professionally in her dress tomorrow. So, I'll be sending those out as soon as I get them. We feel so blessed to have her in our home and we know that she was meant to be in our family.

On a different note...I go into the OB again tomorrow. Last week I was dialated to a 1 and not effaced. The baby has been pointing down for 3 weeks now. That is a good sign. I go in every week until the arrival! Yeah! The babies heartrate was 136. I'll keep you posted on what happens tomorrow. :)



Outside the Mt. Timpanogos Temple.

Right after the sealing. There were more people there, but it was cold! SO, we got who we could round up.

Krystal (LDS Services Caseworker), Rod, Colleen, Tom, Michelle, Brooklyn, Faye, Doug, Paul (lawyer), Judge Howard

Right after the adoption became legal. The judge was really nice and let us take pictures with him.

Getting ready for court.