A Shameless Plug

I just wanted to let everyone know that I'm doing a family photo blitz this month, so tell everyone you know! Get a $10 discount on the regular family shoot price AND free Christmas Cards! I have fliers and business cards for anyone who is interested. Here are a few samples of the Christmas Cards I've done so far for this season, but I can whip one up to whatever specifications are needed. And remember, all proceeds go to the "support Crystal while she's on unpaid maternity leave in December" fund. And if you already have a family picture you want on a Christmas Card (provided you have the copyright) you can purchase (or have me design) 25 of these 4x8 designs w/ envelopes for $20.


Thanks everybody!

What did you do today?

We voted.

A Photo Tag

Robin tagged me to post the 4th picture from my 4th folder. I thought, hey, this is a fun tag! I am a photographer, what could be more fun than picking a random picture from my picture folder?

So here it is:


Yeah. I heard a disappointing "wah wah wah" in the background, too. This, my friends, is a picture of my nightstand from my "moving day" folder. Of all the zillions of pictures i take, this is the one that came up for this tag. Amazing!

To make myself feel better, I picked the 4th picture from my 4th archived folder on my portable hardrive. This one was much better.


This is Keaton's beautiful sister Amy, when I took her missionary pictures at Jensen Park this past summer. She is currently serving in the Romania Bucharest mission, she got there two days before Jamison was born. She is loving it and of course, doing an awesome job!

I tag Carolanne, Carma and Sandy!

Indulging Mommy

This poor guy has to endure having a mom who likes to take pictures. That means having clothes changed three times in an hour, put into gravity defying poses (for a newborn) and even going commando at times. (No accidents! Yay!) Someday he may be embarrassed about some of my oh-so-adorable shots, but for now, he can't complain!

Jamison's 1st week!

Jamison is exactly 1 week old today! More amazing is that his mom and dad are still functioning after a veeerry hectic week. Poor guy had to have his little heel poked 3 times for a bili test to make sure he didn't have to go under lights for jaundice. After the first test they said we had to come back for a second, after the second his bili counts went up and they said we had to come back for a third, which would determine if he needed lights or not. Thankfully his levels had dropped by the third test and he is doing fine! Mom is still recovering from having to watch those three times though. Not fun!

Its funny that before you have your baby, everyone looks at you and says (almost gleefully, I think) "Oh, life as you know it is going to change." (Then they rub their hands together, salivating over the chance to watch these newcomers try to tackle something waaaay above their level.) Well, the truth is, things have changed, and things are hard, (witness Keaton's doodle on our menu board, above) but I don't think there could be a sweeter reward. I mean, really...just look at this little guy! He is gorgeous!

Jamison Lee Smith

The night before: one last profile pic!Jamison Lee Smith, born October 15th, 2008 at 3:27 pm. He weighed in at a whopping 8 lbs 15 oz and 21 inches...not far off the 9 lb estimate my doctor gave me at 33 weeks. And if we hadn't gotten started a week early from his due date, he might have broken the 9 lb mark no problem! He's my big boy.








Home at last! 2 days old:



So I guess I should give a little bit of our story. The night before he was born we wanted to spend one last night together and went to get some hot chocolate and watch a movie, but we only made it halfway through before we got too tired and went to bed. I guess the "parent" thing just hit us early! We woke up early Wednesday morning, got dressed and ready, and drove to the hospital. After a leisurely check in, we got situated in our delivery room and by 9 my OB came and broke my water. We waited for another few hours, and before my conractions even got out of the "ow" range, they decided to get me my epidural. After that, I couldn't feel a thing and we just napped and relaxed until around three, when I was dilated to a 9+. My dr. came in and before I knew it i was pushing for all i was worth! The little guy crowned really fast but after that kinda got stuck. I was told he had hair but after several more contractions we hadn't gotten much further. Keaton was a trooper, right by my side every minute, helping the nurses hold back my legs and encouraging me to keep pushing when i thought every blood vessel in my body my burst from the exertion. And then, he was here! They placed him on my chest and he was so beautiful! Keaton stayed with our baby as they took him to be cleaned and checked and weighed, watching him every second while they cleaned and stitched me up (unfortunately, I had a bad last-minute tear. It had looked like I was going to stretch with him, but he was just too big!)

The rest of the day was spent in awe--and a little bit of shock, we are actually parents!--of our sturdy little fella. He has great chubby cheeks and these charming eyes (when he decides to open them) and a dimple in his right cheek (my contribution, thank you!). Simply stated, he is gorgeous and amazing. It is absolutely stunning how you can love somebody instantaneously. I carried him for nine months, but this is so entirely different. He is ours, Keaton's and mine, a manifestation of our marriage, our unity...yet a separate, complete, beautiful little human being.

Welcome to our family, Jamison! We love you!

Ready for takeoff

So it is a quarter to six, only an hour or so before we have to be at the hospital to meet our little squirt. We've spent months preparing for this, but can you ever really be prepared? All I know is that by the end of this day, we will have our baby in our arms. He may be entering a tumultous world, but he was created in love and he is going to be born into love, with two parents who not only adore him but love each other very very much. And in this day and age, that counts for a lot.

See you soon, little Squirt.