Is it okay to...

...let your kid become a total couch potato when they are sick?
...give your child mountains of peanut butter to eat, with the justification that he's using an apple slice as his spoon?









...have your toddler drive the car when you don't feel like it and he does?
I'm a good mom...I swear!

Having Fun

Steven has been loving being a big brother! He totally knows that Rebecca is his baby, and it is so cute. He has also been getting more and more into playing with other kids. So fun! These kids are Eliza and Noah from nursery. We are so lucky to have good friends at church!

Love

One of my favorite things about having two kids is seeing how much they love each other.


Is it possible to give a little too much love?

Blessing Day

Last Sunday was Rebecca's baby blessing. It was such a special day, and we were so grateful to be able to have so much family there.
Rebecca wore the same dress I had worn for my blessing. Mutti, my mom's mom had made it for me. She also wore some little white booties that Mutti had made, and she was wrapped in a beautiful blanket that was made for her by Ann Griffin, my aunt's sister who just happens to be in our ward. The tiny bracelet was made by my sister-in-law Jean, and she used pearls that my parents had bought on a trip to China.





































Rebecca was so peaceful all day long. We could tell that she knew exactly what was going on.

Thanksgiving

I LOVE this time of year! Halloween is a great kick-off to the fall/winter seasons, and then soon after comes Thanksgiving! I love how it fits in just perfectly, right between Halloween and Christmas, the most wonderful one of all. This Thanksgiving we were able to see both of our families. I haven't been to my parents' house for Thanksgiving since the year before Adam and I got married, so I loved going home this year! We thought it would be really sad because we had such a small group (my parents, Alison, Nathan, and us), but it was actually really special. And don't think that we let our numbers dictate the menu--we still had it all: a turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, a green bean casserole, homemade rolls, stuffing, and 15--yes, 15--pies!!!
Don't they look amazing?! My dad bought a razzleberry, French apple, and key lime, my mom made a snickers, Alison made a brownie cheesecake, 2 velvet almond fudge pies, 2 pumpkin, and a cherry pie, and I made a plain cheesecake with raspberry sauce, a chocolate walnut pie, a chocolate pecan pie, a lemon ice box pie, and a chocolate-peanut butter mud pie. Woohoo, what a weekend!
We loved seeing both of our families and doing things like going to New Moon (AWESOME!!!), decorating for Christmas, and getting a little Christmas shopping done. We are so blessed to have such wonderful families, and to be able to have a family of our own. Not a day goes by without Adam and me talking about how lucky we are to have such a good, precious boy as our Steven and such a sweet, good sleeper as our Rebecca. They are both so happy and perfect. And we all get to be together forever! How great is that?!

3 New Posts

Wow, 3 in one day, and I'm still 1 or 2 behind!!! Be sure to read them all! :)

Baby William

Doug and Tamara's second baby is here!!! William Hudson Hall was born Sunday, November 15th. Congratulations to their now family of four!!! We love you guys and can't wait to have all these little cousins meet each other soon!

Too Big, Too Fast!

Steven is growing up wayyyy too fast, and becoming a big brother has only sped up the process! Here are some of the things he has been up to:

Flying
Feeding Himself Everything
Riding His Rocking Horse (Dog)
Putting on Rebecca's Socks (also giving her her pacifier, taking diapers and other things to the garbage, etc.--is he awesome, or what?!)
Climbing Trees
Going to School...Wait, not yet, phew!!!
He also folds his arms for prayers and does the popcorn hands for "Popcorn Popping." What happened to staying a baby forever?!

Lots of Firsts

Man, it seems like life just keeps getting faster and faster--slow down!!! Having 2 kids is a blast! Steven has loved Rebecca from the very beginning, and I love to see her gaze at him because she loves him, too! Here is just a little of what we have been up to the past two and a half weeks:

First Walk
First Bath
First Big Brother Play Time
First Girls' Night In (Adam had a scout camping trip, so Aunt Alison came to keep us company!)
First Girls' Night Out (Our Ward Holiday Enrichment)
By the way, at her 1 week appointment Rebecca was back to her birth weight--they were pretty impressed. She's a big eater!

Also, aren't her hair bows cute?!?! My friend Rachel makes them. Check it out at ambreysaccessories.com.

Rebecca Marie Hall

Here she is! 20 inches and 8 pounds, 5 ounces of pure joy!!!

She is finally here!!! After extending my due date and making me go more than a week over that, my doctor finally decided to induce me and let us have our baby girl! We set up the appointment for 6am on Saturday, November 7th. The day before Steven suddenly got really sick, so my sister Alison came up to stay with him so he could be home and have some sense of normalcy. He and Adam were up most of Friday night, so Alison went with me to the hospital for the first few hours of labor, and then she and Adam swapped once things started to really move. Holy cow, it was so fast! They put me on pitocin at 8am, broke my water at 10:30, and then she was born at 2:25. I had hoped to go through labor without an epidural, and I was doing pretty well until a little before 1:00. My contractions were getting so close together, and the pain was incredible. I will say, I was doing really well at staying relaxed and getting through it, but I got so discouraged when the nurse checked me and I had dilated less than a centimeter in over an hour--I was slowing down. So, at just smaller than 6 cm I decided to have an epidural. No more than ten minutes after the anesthesiologist had finished, I began to feel the most intense I-have-to-go-to-the-bathroom pain, ever. The problem was, even though I tried and tried (sorry, tmi), I could not go or release the pressure. The nurse checked me and I was almost dilated to 9 cm. Yes, I went from 6 to 9 within about 45 minutes. The nurse just kept telling me to resist the urge to push, since the doctor wouldn't be there for 5 more minutes. Well, once he came, I pushed for two contractions, and then I got to meet the most beautiful baby girl. They put her on my tummy right away. She was so wide-eyed and alert. She even reached up her had to touch my face. It was amazing. Adam and I were so overcome with excitement and love for this precious little angel.Side note: Looking back, I almost wish I had known that the pain was only going to last for one more hour, because I probably would have gone ahead without the epidural. But then I think about how I felt everything happening but was barely numb enough to not feel the actual pain of it all, and I am so grateful that I did get one.



























Both sets of Grandparents were able to come to the hospital to meet Rebecca. We realized that she is the first grandchild that the Halls have been able to see in the hospital. My mom is staying with us now, and we are really loving having her here. She is the best organizer, and she has magically transformed my dungeon of a kitchen into a clean, open, wonderful room that I am really looking forward to using.














We have been absolutely loving having Rebecca join our family. Since he was sick, Steven wasn't able to go to the hospital to see us, so we had quite the homecoming. I walked in first so that I could have a moment with my baby that I hadn't seen for over 2 days. It was so wonderful to see him again. Then we brought in Rebecca and he was sooooo excited. He kept saying "Gaga" (baby) and pointing at her, stroking her back, and patting her head. He has always loved babies, but it was very clear that this one was different because she was his. Every time he sees her he starts patting her head and doing the hugest smiles I think I have ever seen him make. He loves to give her her pacifier, and he is constantly wanting to be by her. I love seeing them together and how much they love each other.