A sorta-kinda Christmas post

I cant believe Christmas has come and gone and our little man is already 3 weeks old! He's a little stud and we're loving every second of him. We got a cute picture of him with his cousin Lucy who is only a few days older. Isnt she seriously the cutest little girl ever?
Its tradition in our family to exchange pajamas on Christmas Eve. I thought it would be so much fun if Jon and Pax had matching pj's so with the much appreciated help from my mom, daddy and baby were twin-ers on Christmas morning. Jon was so excited!
Im in love with this picture. This is right after he ate. Eyes closed, tummy full and smiling ecstatically.
Christmas was a little unusual this year. With my little brother in the hospital and both my parents there around the clock, certain traditions of the holiday were put on hold. Instead of our big Christmas Eve dinner, we all ordered take-out Chinese food and hung out. The change in plan caused me to ponder certain things. Christmas, of course, is not about big dinners or presents or anything like that. It is, of course, about the Savior and his birth. But it is also about family. I am so grateful to have my family. I love them all so much and I am so thankful that the Savior came to this Earth and did the things necessary for me to be with my family forever. Its sad that the beautiful meaning of Christmas gets passed over for toys and reindeer and spending money. Im sad that the holidays are over but I am glad to know that the spirit of Christmas, which is the birth and life of Christ, last all year. Merry Christmas to all our loved ones!

I love my little Paxton.

About the 2 songs...

So just a quick note on the two songs I added to our blog- the first one is a song that Jon discovered awhile back and we both always thought of our little guy on the way. Watch the youtube video for it- you'll maybe understand better. The second song is one of the Yiruma songs that we had playing during my labor. I loved his music before the birth but now it has taken on a whole new beautiful meaning. Just thought I would share. Enjoy :)

A bunch of Pictures

I have been loving this little boy. Being a mom is so amazing and fulfilling. Its so much fun getting to know this sweet little person and finding out all the interesting things about him.

His first trip out into the the world!

He sleeps in a lot of interesting positions. He's dreaming about being Superman and flying in this pic.

He loves to sleep on his hands and his favorite spot to lay is on his daddy.

Here he is with his older cousin in matching outfits! Aedan cant wait for you to get bigger Pax!

This is the perfect picture to use to describe this kids temperament. Chilled out!

I laugh so hard every time I find him like this. Already living the relaxed life :)

About a Boy...

Where do I begin? How do I put into words how much this tiny baby has changed our lives in just a few days? This little guy began his descent into this world early last Saturday morning. At about 2:30 I woke up to a beautiful nudge in my stomach. About 8 minutes later, BAM! another nudge. After the third one, I woke up my husband with the news that Paxton was on his way. Before I knew it, my mom and her assisting midwife were there and my surges were about 4 minutes apart. Once everything was in place, I began my hypnobirthing and did my best to sink into a relaxed state. With Yiruma's Piano Collection playing in the background and Jon laying next to me, I focused my mind and heart on my baby. I was later told that I fell asleep in between every contraction. Once my water broke, Jon got behind me on our bed and together we worked our baby into the world. My husband was my rock. He was every bit the painkiller I needed. With each contraction, he whispered into my ear how good I was doing and how much he loved me. I cant tell you how long I was actually pushing, but in no time at all, I had my baby in my arms. Jon had his arms around me and together we held our baby for the first time.

Paxton Jon Hall was born on December 5 at 10:52am, weighing 7lbs 3oz and 19 1/2in long. From the very first moments, he was calm and peaceful and found happiness in the arms of his loving parents. Jon cut the cord and helped clean Paxton up then placed him in my arms.

Paxton sleeps. A LOT. When he's not sleeping, he's either eating or silently looking around. He only cries when he's being changed but is completely calm the moment he is warm again. He loves to cuddle and sleep on our chests. He doesnt even cry when he's hungry, which actually drives me a little crazy because its sometimes hard to know if its time to eat. Instead, he opens his mouth like a baby bird and kinda looks around for food. Its seriously the sweetest thing in the whole world. I love being the person that this little baby depends on. I love that he knows that I feed him and I hold him. Im his mother and he knows that and I cant think of any better feeling in the whole world.


I love seeing Jon with our baby. I see a whole new type of fulfillment in his eyes as he holds his son. Jon was always meant to be a daddy. He has such an amazing capacity to love and provide. He's been amazingly helpful with diaper changes, burping after feeding and rocking him for hours in the middle of the night. On top of that, he's taken care of me while Ive been recovering and he's kept up with the dishes and laundry.

I love everything about this beautiful experience we've been through. I honestly wouldnt change a thing. Labor was hard. I would never say it wasnt. And there were a couple of times that I doubted my ability to do what I needed to do. But Heavenly Father gave me an incredible body. He created women so divinely and gave us the incredible blessing and responsibility to bring children into this world. Paxton coming to this Earth was a vital step in his eternal progression and I am so reverently grateful to have been a part of that.

PAXTON IS HERE!!!

Just wanted to let everyone know that Saturday morning at 10:52 am little Paxton Jon Hall decided to finally join us out here! I just have to say that Lisa did an amazing job during the entire pregnancy and with the labor(this is Jon writing).
We are all pretty tired but i just wanted to get on really quick and show some pictures of our little guy. He came out 7 pounds 3 ounces, healthy and happy to be here.
He is doing great and so is Lisa. He is a calm little guy who likes to sing songs in his sleep. No thats not him crying in the picture above i just caught him in a sneeze. He really only cries when I change his diaper. :)

So i am going to take this quiet time and join my family for a little snooze. We are excited to start this new adventure and we are excited for out little boy!

pictures and things

My sister-in-law came into town for a quick visit and took these pictures. Thank goodness too, because we have next to NO pictures of us together in my current "state" :) Thanks Kim! We cant wait to see you and Jayson in some weeks to come.
p.s. Jon is sticking out his gut, for the record. He's actually looking amazing. As I gain the weight, he seems to be losing it. Jealous.

This is a pic of her baby girl Lotta. This girl is so beautiful, just like her momma. She just took her first bite of snow and as you can see, wasn't expecting the coldness.

Here's a picture from my baby shower with a few girls that Ive known my whole life. Brye, Grace and Charde', love you girls! Char- can you believe we're MOMMAS???? (well, almost for me anyway)
***To all my sisters-in-law, anyone have any pictures from the family shower? I KNOW they were taken and would love a few. Thanks again Nat for putting that together and everyone else for coming and all the generosity. It was so much fun!

The Paxton Poll

Ok everyone, its poll time. Everyone around us has been throwing out their guesses for due date and weight and such so I wanna hear what you think.
#1 the delivery date
#2 his weight
#3 hair color
I know #3 is kinda unusual but Jon and I have so many different hair color variations in our family that he really could get anything. Of course, if you think he's gonna be a baldy, then that works too :)
My guess is he will be born Nov 27 (He's "due" Nov 29). I think he will be 8lb 4oz and he'll have blond hair.
Jon's guess is he will be born Nov 28. He'll be 8lb 9oz and he'll have lots of blond hair.

Back from Blog-ternity Leave...

Holy Cow! I was just looking at our blog and realized how long its been since my last post. Has it really been nearly 5 weeks??? So, SO much to catch up on.
First, Jon and I are back in the beautiful warmth that is Arizona. I took this state for granted my entire life! I love the sunshine and the mountains and the sunsets/sunrises. I never, ever want to leave this place and my darling husband agrees 100% (thank goodness).
Pulling into the valley, being 34 weeks pregnant, I was in such a hurry to get settled and ready for our little Paxton's arrival. I must have drove Jon crazy with all the worrying and nagging I did about finding a place to live. He found us the most amazing home and we moved in after being in AZ less than a week. This is our house! We are currently renting but we plan to actually buy it sometime next year. This is our bedroom. Jon has been absolutely amazing with getting everything set up. Ive spent a lot of time in the past couple of weeks sitting in a comfy spot and telling him if something looked center or where I thought something would look good. Its been so much fun!
We've done a lot of things to get ready for the baby. I had two wonderful baby showers with my family and friends and Jon and I are so grateful to everyone for all the support and help we've been given.Jon was so excited to start putting things together. Here is the "crib" that Pax will sleep in for the first couple of months. We figured buying a bassinet wasn't so practical for us right now since we'd only use it a short time so we found a pack n play that had a bassinet adjustment and a changing table! And I lOvE the cute little owls :) Here's the most recent picture of my ever enlarging stomach. I said goodbye to sleeping comfortably this week. Up until this point Ive been ok but come on, do you SEE that huge thing sticking out the front of me? Enjoyable car rides are also a thing of the past. I still love being pregnant. Ive discovered the beauty of a warm bubble bath and a husband who will rub my back at all hours of the day and night. We're SO close to the day of arrival and neither of us can believe its already here and that we're going to be parents!

33 Week Pics and a Festive New Layout!

33 week mark! My time as a kangaroo is quickly coming to an end. I have to admit, I've loved being pregnant. It was hard in the beginning. 4 months of living in bed and hardly eating isnt something I like to think about but you know, I would do it a thousand more times. Yes, it was hard, but knowing that MY baby, whom I share with the love of my life, was in there made every hardship seem so small. And now I feel him rolling around inside my tummy all the time and I cant help but love him. This morning I was awakened to a tiny little boy doing somersaults inside my belly and the joy I felt as I laid there next to Jon, feeling Paxton jump around, is simply beyond words. I cant wait to have him in my arms. Only a few weeks left!

This is a picture I took. The view of my feet how I see them is so different than ever before. They're disappearing before my very eyes!
Jon and I only have a week left in Michigan! Hurray! We cant wait to see everyone and eat some Fili-B's. Mmmmmmmmmm

31 weeks and Autumn

On Sunday, the weather was beautiful. Cool, slightly cloudy and a little wind. After being in AZ for a few weeks, I was excited to take advantage of the perfect weather. Jon found a sculpure park online that was nearby so we decided to go take a walk through it. Well, we got there and turns out it was a huge botanical garden with amazing sculptures all throughout the gardens. It was so beautiful! I don't know how it always happens to us, but we seem to end up in the most random places unexpectedly. The picture above is Jon with his favorite art piece. Below is a picture of me at exactly 31 weeks. People are still saying I'm small for how far along I am. I feel like the Titanic so I don't know what ya'll are talking about :)

I love fall. Aren't these colors beautiful? Its my favorite season to be outside. The best part about Michigan in the fall is all the different colors that the trees are changing to. Only a few more weeks to enjoy this!

What Matters Most

Bight paper packages tied up with strings...

These are a few of my favorite things:

Johnson's has a new lotion with Shea and Cocoa Butter. It smells AMAZING! It quickly jumped to my favorite lotion spot. It has the classic light scent that all their lotions have and it rubs in smooth and soft! Best all-over body lotion!!So like EVERY pregnant woman out there, I was so, so worried about stretch marks. I tried a couple of lotions and creams but they all smelled kinda funky. Finally I found this: Palmers Tummy Butter. It has a good smell (Jon really likes it) and its super thick. It is pretty, um, oily? Waxy? Im not sure the best word to describe it but I dont care because IT WORKS! I put some on in the morning and again at night before bed. Im never itchy anymore and guess what? The two stretch marks that crept in and freaked me into buying this stuff are already fading! Awesome, awesome product.

I went to the Temple this morning and did a session with my mom. The temple is such a beautiful and peaceful place. I always leave with such a calm feeling. Its been hard in Michigan this summer because we are too far from a temple to go. I cant wait to be back home for good and get going again.

Ive had to keep a little busy while being in AZ. Two weeks away from my hot husband is so hard. To distract my lonely self, I bottled peaches and applesauce. Yummmmmmm. I love food storage and home canning. I cant wait to get home, get settled into a house, and start stocking up again on storage essentials. Costco has a book out with tons and tons of home canning recipes that I want. Maybe I'll drop hints to Jon about that :)

These are the peaches. Also made some freezer jam and
froze bags of peaches to use for cooking.

And finally, the applesauce. SOOOOOO good. Nothing beats
homemade, slightly chunky applesauce!

Prego update: Im 30 weeks and our little guy is measuring slightly ahead of dates which means he's gonna be nice and big. His foot has found a nice rest in my right rib cage and Im constantly feeling lovely sharp pains from that. He's just gone through a crazy growth spurt and Im only getting bigger. Stay tuned for belly pics coming in the next post!

Third Trimester!

Monday was my birthday and Jon took me to our favorite pizza place EVER!!!! LGO (Le Grande Orange) is simply to die for. Truly authentic and highest quality and oh so yummy! This is a picture of us there waiting for our dinner. We met my brother and his wife, also our friends Craig and Megan as well as my little brother and sister. It was such a fun time and the entire day was perfect. Thank you sweetie, for making my day so wonderful!
I feel huge! Although, every single person who asks how far along I am says Im super small still. Pax is enjoying his little water bed clear in my back right now but is starting to push forward. Good thing to because those back pains are starting to creep in. Im 28 1/2 weeks. THIRD TRIMESTER!!! Our date changed again. Its back to November 29 and Im so excited that we get our little bundle sooner hopefully. We'll see though. Im not really relying on any due date, considering that only like 3% of babies even deliver on their "due date". Im just going to expect him sometime towards the end of November, maybe early December, and just let him decide when he's due. I love my Hypnobirthing book. I wish every woman would read it because it really has changed my entire view on pregnancy and delivery. Jon too, has said he never expected it to be this way. Im normally a high stress person (Jon will verify, if you dont believe me) but Im so relaxed about everything involving my pregnancy and actually giving birth. Im so excited for everything and Im loving taking care of my baby inside me. There really is no greater calling in life for a woman than to care for a child, whether she carries it herself or cares for a child already here.

Oh and by-the-way

I love him

What if...

This may sound completely morbid to some of you, hopefully you will take the thought the same way I did. This morning I kissed Jon goodbye and settled down on the couch, ready to start my HouseWife time and I had a thought. "What if I died, what would people say about me?" It wasnt a depressing thought, more of a much needed pondering of sorts. If I died, what would Jon say about me? Or my parents or the friends who knew me best? Even more so, what would the people who hardly knew me at all say? Would I be remembered as someone who was kind and giving? Would people say I was faithful and righteous and a virtuous woman. I wont bother to list the negative things people would remember... far too long a list :) My point is, am I the person I want to be and want people to see me as. The answer is NO! I have so much I still I would like to improve on. I cant get down on myself for that however. The whole reason Im on this Earth, like everyone else, is to work towards perfection. Just kinda a thought I had.The Manti Temple
I love this House.

23 Weeks!

People keep asking me if I feel pregnant. Um, yes! Do you see that belly? My feet are quickly disappearing more and more each day and my maternity tops are already becoming too small. Bending over is so hard these days and my cravings are in full swing. Chili cheese dogs, chocolate ice cream, cinnamon rolls... I was even craving Thanksgiving dinner so much that yesterday I actually made it. I'm talking all out too- turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, creamed onions, rolls, jello salad and pie to finish it. Having a baby in my belly is so much fun! We're 23 1/2 weeks and having this baby is all we can think about. Cant wait!

New Computer and Naked Dogs

Jon won this computer. Thats right, he WON this in a 3 week team competition against the other 2000 employees in the company. Only 9 guys won in the end. Its a new Macbook Pro. The best part of this all is that Jon has been wanting one since this new model came out but he could never quite convince me that we needed a 4th Mac. He kept saying that it was totally necessary for us each to have a laptop. I think he just wanted a new toy.But magically his wish came true. We now have his and hers Macbooks and Jon is over the moon about it. That makes 4 Macs- two desktops and two laptops. Definitely not necessary, but I'll take a free computer any day. Jon is doing so amazing out here in MI. We're very, very excited to come home but are SO glad we took this job.

On a sadder note, being in Michigan (and an apartment that doesnt allow dogs) has meant that we had to keep the dogs in a boarding kennel. It was actually a really nice vet clinic that had a grooming salon and a daycare/boarding program. The staff was so friendly and the clinic was close enough that we were able to visit them a lot. They were very well taken care of and we even had them spayed and neutered. The downside of boarding our dogs for nearly two months? Their coats were NASTY!!! Their hair was so matted and long and dirty. We ended up just shaving them. So now we have two naked dogs. Still so cute and cuddly, but naked.

Franklin

Pennie looks like a baby lamb and is soft like velvet. Franklin is shaved everywhere except his ears and still looks adorable as ever. The new "do" will work nicely for them since I'll be taking them back home to AZ in a couple of weeks. Oh, and sorry to all of you who we promised a puppy to. I never wanted to spay and neuter these two but with all things considered, we decided and knew it would be best to hack out their special parts. (Im still getting used to the idea)

Pennie

Chicago

A couple of weekends ago, Jon took a day off and took me to Chicago for the weekend. We stayed in a hotel about 20 minutes out of the city and rode the train in. I had no idea how much I was going to enjoy this city! The food was AMAZING (below is a picture of the tastiest pizzas ever! Deep dish of course!)














This is a picture Jon got of the part of the city. We were on Navy Pier and rode the tallest Ferris wheel I have ever seen. Oh my goodness it was high! I hate heights but Jon somehow got me to do it and guess what? I survived...barely.










































We also walked through Millennium Park which was really cool because all through the park were art structures like this giant silver orb thingy. It was cool how all the buildings around it reflected in it. We couldn't resist taking a picture of our own reflections. We also visiting the Lincoln Park Zoo which was cool because it was huge with amazing exhibits and it was completely FREE! We got some tasty Chicago hot dogs, delicious cheesecake and just enjoyed walking around the city.