Two Amazing Years

Yesterday, January 25, Jon and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary. Wow, two years. Really? Has it been two years already? If we didnt have so much to show for those two years, I would never believe that its been that long. But we've moved 6 times, got two puppies(now adult dogs), traveled all over the country, gained weight and lost hair :) and of course, had a baby. Put into that perspective, 2 years seems about right.
Jon, my sweet romantic darling of mine, got up early while I was still asleep and surprised me with these beautiful roses.
Later that day we cooked a delicious dinner together (having a new baby means eating at home usually). He grilled steaks to perfection and I threw together some tasty side dishes. Paxton must have known it was our special day because he fell asleep the minute dinner was ready. We even got our fine china out for the first time and used it! So much better and romantic than any restaurant.
After that Jon packed me and Pax up in the truck and surprised me with a romantic night under the stars (did I mention the romantic mood Jon set throughout the day!). He drove us to "our spot" which is the top of a parking garage that isnt in use any more. He had a mattress in the back and plenty of pillows and blankets. He opened his laptop and played a slide show of pictures from the last two years, starting with our wedding day and ending with pictures of us+baby. He had the slideshow playing with the song "We're so far away" by Mae and I BAWLED! Im going to see if I can put it on the blog.
Anyway, after the cry-fest, we popped a movie in and watched it under the stars. The night was perfect, the whole day was perfect and the past two years have been perfect. Disclaimer! The following is gushy, sappy, and unnecessarily lovey-dovey. Read on if you wish, but dont say I didnt warn you!
Jon, I love you so so much. Ive never had words adequate enough to express the love I have for you.
"Did you know how you would move me?
When was the night
that showed us the sign?
Revealed in the sky, to leave all behind.
But where to begin? throwing caution to the wind,
We reached for the stars, everything was now ours."
Just like the lyrics of the song we danced to at our wedding, "you have stolen my heart". Babe, I never saw you coming. You snuck up on me, pulled the rug out from under my feet, caught me in your arms and stole my heart. "I was born to tell you that I love you". Before I met you, I spent so many days and night feeling empty, sad, confused, lonely. It wasnt until that night we met that I realized my life was missing you. Since that night, Ive never felt that way. Instead I feel loved, special, beautiful and happy. You have filled my life with so much meaning. As cliche' as it sounds, I honestly never knew happiness like what I am with you. You showed me what life could be and then you gave it to me. You are my very best friend. You are the love of my life. Remember all the times people said "give it awhile. You wont like each other so much once you've been married awhile" or when they said "you dont fight now, but the honeymoon will be over soon"? Well babe, we proved them wrong! And I know we'll continue to prove them wrong because there isnt a day that does by that I dont know just how lucky I am to have you. I love you Jonathan Hall. I'll love you for all eternity and back. Happy anniversary love!

Date night and baby boy!

Jon and I started a fun new thing! Once a week we make dinner together, but it has to be a new recipe that we've never tried before. We have been wanting to try new dinners out and figured this was the way to go! This last Thursday, we made chicken parmesan stromboli and it was SO GOOD! Jon made the amazing dough from scratch and I made to chicken parm. We set the table with candles and got the boy to sleep and enjoyed our "date night".
Speaking of the boy...look how freaking cute he is!


Paxton is now 7 weeks and fat as ever, weighing in at just under 13 pounds!

One Month!

Wow, has it really been a month already? One month ago today, we welcomed our little Paxton into our arms and into this world. We were two kids who didnt have a clue what was about to happen to our lives. Now we're two parents who take care of a sweet little angel fresh from Heaven. Sometimes I look at my little baby and wonder if he remembers. I know most people will say that babies cant, but I like to think Paxton remembers his little brothers and sisters that he left behind.(he's not too happy that his daddy laid him in the cold leaves!)

Pax was born 7lbs 3oz and today, just one month later. he weighs in at a whoppin 11lbs! We weighed that sucker today and he was an even 11. I cant believe he's put on nearly 4 pounds already. His cheeks are so round and fat and I swear he has about 4 chins. What once were scrawny little lizard legs are now chunky little baby legs. He's been spending more time awake and exploring the world with his cute little eyes. He's developed a cute little grunt that he makes only when he's eating and he's started smiling, though mostly only when he's falling asleep. He loves to be swaddled all snug and safe but the second his hands are able, they are up by his head.

Every day is something new. We learn things about him and about eachother. We're a family now and I love absolutely every second of it. The past month has gone by SO fast and I feel like the next 18 years are going to fly by as well. That thought scares me a little but I decided that I need to enjoy this ride and soak in every ounce of it I can. I love you Paxton, happy one-month birthday! (compare the last picture on this post with the first and you'll see how much fat this kid is accumulating!)

Our 2009 pictorial

So last year Jon and I decorated ornaments with a picture from each month in 2008 of something fun that happened to us. We had so much fun doing it that we decided to do it again this Christmas for 2009. We had such a great year with so many exciting things and changes. These are the pictures we used...

January:
Jon and I went to a cabin for a few days in northern Arizona for our 1-year anniversary

February:
I was cleaning through our apartment, getting ready to move out, and discovered our ridiculous over abundance of cold cereal.

March:
We're pregnant! Need I say more :)

April:
On our way to Michigan! This was an impromptu stop at the World's Largest Rocking Chair.

May:
This ornament had 3 pictures on it. This was a beautiful day that we spent in a park near where we were living in Grand Rapids, MI.

June:
The bump emerges!

July:
This is us on the beach in Grand Haven, MI. Behind us is Lighthouse Pier.

August:
Jon was finally able to take a few days off after working nearly 4 months straight so we went to Chicago. Here we are looking into a giant orb art structure thing in Millennium Park.

September:
The Fall colors are amazing in Michigan. This is a picture of us enjoying the beautiful weather at the Meijer Sculpture Gardens.

October:
We're finally done with Michigan! On our way home we stopped in Denver, CO to visit Jayson and Kim and it was snowing! So much fun!

November:
Counting down the days to Paxton's arrival and my belly was HUGE!

December:
And of course this is our picture for December. Our sweet little baby was born on Dec 5th. Best Christmas present ever!

All-in-all it was a pretty good year. Jon and I both quit our full time desk jobs and realized how great life was when we weren't spending it working ALL DAY. We made a brave move by packing up our lives and moving to Michigan for 6 months. We made the BEST decision ever to have a baby. We visited Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska and California and saw so many cool things along the way. It was a great year and we learned so much. We're so excited to see what 2010 has in store for us!