A classic kind of love

Jon sent me an email from work yesterday with a link to this video. I love that we share a love that reminds me of movies and fairy tales. In high school, I would hear a song like this (you know the kind, insanely romantic that makes you want to be in love). Now, I hear those songs and I think of the man I was so blessed to marry.

I didnt think love like that existed. I heard way too many people say, "real life isnt a fairy tale". Way, way too many people say that. But they were wrong. I lay my head next to Jon every night and wonder if Im living in a dream.

Im on pain killers right now so this may just be a drug-induced rant, but I love my husband and I am so very thankful that we have a love like the one in this song.

To my darling husband: I love you. Thank you for loving me and thank you for teaching me how to love myself. Growing old with you has already been a blast :)

Paxton's Update

Its been way too long since I posted about my growing baby. He is getting so big and changing every day and constantly making me do a double take at him because I just cant believe he said or did something so big!

This picture represents his goofy personality so well. We were at In-N-Out the other night and he decided he wanted to steal momma's milkshake. He kicked off one of his shoes and chilled out in his highchair while he sipped away. This kid is always taking it easy leaning back or resting a leg up, whether its in his car seat, highchair, shopping cart or in an armchair. Cracks me up!

Paxton is almost 22 months old. He sleeps all through the night (has for a long time now) and he takes 4-hour naps still which is AWESOME because I get quality "ME" time every day. 

He loves, love, LOVES reading books. I could literally get rid of all his toys and he could survive on books and story time alone. He has had so much fun in Grandma and Grandpa's pool this summer. Oh and did I mention he is talking non-stop! He has always been a bit of a blabber-mouth and its so much fun now because he's actually saying things I can understand now. He pretty much never closes his cute little mouth. Driving places is a riot because I have a constant stream of dialogue coming from the back seat. He loves singing songs and has a CD that he loves to sing along to in the car. 

He can say the ABC's pretty much by himself (he needs a prompt every now and then) and he can count to 10. For some reason though, the number 7 comes out sounding like "money". Not really sure why. Now he's working on actually knowing which letters and numbers are which and he's picking it up pretty well. 

His favorite word to use is "again!" and he says it ALL THE TIME. Anytime anyone does anything with him or for him or to him that he likes, he says "again?" with the cutest smile on his face that its impossible to say no (until the 8th time!). He also is asking everyone if they are "ok". If I cough or say ow or anything, he looks at me all worried and says "ok?" and I have to say "yes, Im ok" or he will say it over and over. He also will ask me and Jon if he is ok, even with the slightest bump or cough of his own. Its really kinda sweet.

He's goofy and silly as ever and so, so affectionate. He loves to "scuggle" (snuggle) and give kisses. If you hold still for long enough, he'll come over and lay his head on you and say "awwwww". 

He loves to lay in his crib once he wakes up in the morning or after his nap. I never hear him cry when he wakes, instead I hear him suddenly start talking on the monitor. He'll lay there, sometimes for an hour if I let him, singing songs, playing with his lion and seahorse or reciting the alphabet. Its such a joy to sit and listen to him playing all by himself in his bed.

Pax loves his daddy. When Jon is home from work, he has a constant shadow because Paxton will follow him everywhere. Whatever Dad is doing, Pax wants to do. 

He loves animals, bugs, car rides, going to Home Beepo (Home Depot), playing with Aedan, and so many other things. Paxton is a very happy little boy. He has so much joy in his heart and everything is a big exciting deal to him.  Jon and I are so thankful to have him and to be his parents. Love you Pax!

I forgot to mention

We are having a boy!!!! I found out ages ago, but I have been so absent from this blog that I havent posted it yet. Yes, another precious little boy and we couldnt be more thrilled. Pax and he will be exactly 2 years apart and hopefully best buddies (most of the time). Im 30 weeks today and getting very excited. I cant wait to hold him in my arms and kiss his sweet face. Im hoping he looks just like his daddy. The next 2 months, I know, will fly by!

My Kidney Stones

Its been a long time since my last post. A LOOOOOONNNNNGGGGGG time. August was kinda just busy and not a whole lot to actually blog about. September, well, this month has been totally different. On Sept 4th, I woke up with a significant pain in the left side of my back. It was pretty bad and had me in bed for about 5 hours until it suddenly just left. I thought I was in the clear until I woke up the next morning (the 5th) with the pain all over again, except this time it was WAY WAY worse. Nothing would help the pain and I was even throwing up from it. (I'm not a puker either. I have thrown up a small handful of times in my life and all were from pain) Jon put me in the car and rushed me to the ER and I was admitted immediately because I was 28 weeks along and clearly in baby-threatening pain. They gave me two doses of morphine (one in an iv, one was a shot in my butt) but that didn't even take the edge of. After a dose of Demerol (another pain killer) I was pretty doped up and finally getting relief from the pain. They took me for a CT scan and found a 7mm kidney stone in my left kidney and a small stone in my right kidney! If you have ever had a kidney stone before, you probably just cringed with sympathy pains. I had no idea kidney stones were so painful. It literally was a million times worse than childbirth, and I gave birth without any pain medication! Anyway, they gave me a room on the OB labor and delivery floor and basically gave me pain meds to hold me over until the morning of the 7th (my birthday) when I had surgery. My urologist placed a stent in my left ureter to help the massive stone pass easier. He wasnt able to actually remove the stone because it was so high up in my kidney. I was super nervous for the surgery because general anesthesia is potentially dangerous for the baby and Ive never been under before so I wasnt sure how I would react to it. Luckily, all went smoothly and I was able to go home later that night, just in time for birthday cake :)

I didnt have much back pain after that. I was put on bed rest for two weeks and given percocet to manage any post-opt pain. Then, on the 18th (just a few days shy of my two weeks being up) I had a very sudden onset of pain in the right side of my back. Just like before, it got way bad, way fast. My parents came and got Pax and Jon got me back in the ER.  Turns out, my insignificant right kidney stone decided to grow and move around. I had another surgery last night (the 20th). The urologist placed another stent in my right ureter but was actually able to remove the stone which had grown to 5mm. This time, however, I woke up with a catheter (NOT fun!) and was in much more pain. They kept me over night for the catheter, pain management and baby observation. This morning I woke up and started having contractions. My OB here told me it was normal and ok and not too worry so now Im in my hospital room waiting for my urologist to make rounds and discharge me.

Having kidney stones has been LOADS OF FUN!!! Just about as fun as losing a leg. Honestly, it was way WAY more painful than childbirth and Ive had a lot of people in the past few weeks tell me the exact same thing. But, the hard part is over for now. The two stents should hold me over until my baby is due (just 10 weeks away). We are crossing our fingers that this baby will stay put for at least 8 more of those weeks and keep cooking.

Ive heard/read all over that I probably havent seen the last of my kidney stones. Apparently once you get one, you most likely will get another, and another, and another. Thankfully, I have an amazing husband who took better care of me than any nurse could (except for the pain meds. LOVE the nurses when they bring in pain meds) and I have a wonderful mom and dad who took care of Paxton and loved him up for us. Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us and helping out so much. Jon and I have felt an enormous amount of love from the people around us and we are so thankful to have that.

this is what a kidney stone looks like. I had a 7mm stone and a 5mm stone

Here is an xray of what a stent looks like. Its a long wire like thing that connects my bladder to my kidney.

Pinterest

Pinterest is my latest obsession. A beautiful ORGANIZED location for all the lovely things I find online, be it projects to try, home design to copy or recipes to catalog. Pinterest organizes and saves the picture as well as the website that you found it on. No more saving to my hard drive! Sign up, follow me and I will follow you :)

P.S. use my email to find me indielisa@gmail.com

Love to ALL!

Cousins Make the Best Pals

Aedan is Paxton's cousin and they are seriously the cutest thing to watch play together. They are about 11 months apart and are just getting to the stage where they are glued at the hip when they are together. If Pax does something, Aedan copies. If Aedan does something, Pax follows suit. Aedan has been on vacation for the past 2 weeks and Pax has been randomly asking where he is and even looking for him all through the house. I love that he thinks about his cousin out-of-the-blue. Its so fun and Im SO thankful that these two boys get to grow up together.

Mmmmmmmm.....

Made this the other night. Oh yeah, it tastes as amazing as it looks. Just wanted to share since it looks so pretty! 

Paxton's Quilt, FINALLY!

I started making this quilt when Pax was still in my belly, 2 YEARS AGO! Ugh, between moving a million times, sewing machine problems and well, complete laziness, I havent been able to finish it until now. Sorry Pax, I'm glad you still love it and can enjoy it for a little while.

Our 4th of July

This 4th, Jon and I enjoyed a quiet night at home. I made flag jello, homemade potato salad and Jon grilled brawts. It was all very American :) My brother, Michael and his cute little family came over and after dinner we went outside and lit off sparklers and fire crackers. Which, by-the-way, was kinda weird. Selling and lighting fireworks is legal this year for the first time in AZ history. I NEVER thought I would see that. Anyway, enjoy these pics. Im not in any of them because Im in the fat/awkward/uncomfortable stage of pregnancy so I refuse to be photographed.

I just wanted to add how unbelievably thankful I am to have been born a citizen of this amazing country. Thousands of people have risked their lives and even died, trying to become citizens here because this is a land of incredible freedoms. Im saddened to see where this country has gone the last several years. We seem to have taken for granted what freedom means, and why Heavenly Father provided a country where we can live without fear. Settlers moved to this country all those years ago so that they could pray and worship their God in their own ways, without persecution. Sadly, religion is what is being attacked the most today by government and media. Groups want to take "God" out of the Pledge of Allegiance, Christ out of Christmas, and prayer out of the public eye. They say it offends them. This country was founded on the basis of religious freedoms, not suffocation. I am thankful that I have the right to pray when I want, and where I want. That I can acknowledge God in public and private. I am a Latter-Day Saint, a Mormon, a Christian. Heavenly Father and Christ are the center of my life, my marriage and my family. I am eternally grateful to the many who have died and who fight today to preserve that freedom for me. GOD BLESS AMERICA!

Craziest Dust Storm Ever!

We had one heck of a storm July 5th. Native Arizonians say this is the biggest one they have ever seen. It certainly comes close in my book. I happened to glance out the window after dinner and thought perhaps the San Tan Mountains were on fire. Jon and I went outside and quickly realized and insane wall of dust was headed towards us, and FAST! We were engulfed in the dust for quite a long time, not being able to see much past the patio from our back window. First, it was a dark sienna color, then an eery white color of dust. News reports said the dust cloud went a mile into the air and covered the entire city of Phoenix and many surrounding areas. It was a crazy, crazy storm.

Made this for Jon

I made this for Jon. Im hoping this will look good on his desk, although we might have to save it for a wall in the house because it has to be kinda big to read the poem. We'll see. Click on it to see it enlarged, the poem makes me tear up.

Our Trip, Take 4!

So we had to stop by the San Diego Temple since we were in the neighborhood. I hadn't been back since my family and I went to the dedication all those years ago. It was fun to walk around with Pax and let him see the flowers and scenery. Not much to talk about on this post, just some cute pictures :)

We put Pax in his pj's for the drive home. It was funny to see him running around in them with his  shoes  and everything.

Pax loves to pick petals off flowers and smell them. I think its adorable. 

Our Trip, Take 3!

We decided to take a slight detour on our way home after Big Bear and stopped in San Diego. We havent been back since our honeymoon and it was fun to see the hotel we stayed in, right on the beach. 

Pax LOVED the ocean and the sand. I was surprised, since the water was cold and the waves were a bit startling. He usually wants nothing to do with that sort of thing, but he would have played all day there, had we let him.

Ugh, Paxton has this thing were he eats sand. I know, I know, all kids do it. But Pax seems to like the taste of sand better than the taste of chocolate. I keep thinking he'll take a bite or two and realize its yucky, but nope! Here is a picture of him, buried in sand and literally shoveling the soft sand into a wide-open mouth. Trust me, we try to stop him, but he's quick and he's sneaky. PS, changing his diapers the day after a sand buffet is NOT fun.

And again, close ups of our sand-aholic. Gross, yes, but oh so adorable!

I cant wait until Pax is old enough to take the pictures for us. Getting kinda tired of the "one-arm-up" pose

We stopped on our way through town, so after the beach we didnt have anywhere to take our baby to clean up. So we made do with a towel and the hood of our ever-faithful car.

I love going to San Diego. I would probably live there if I could. Hopefully its not too long before we venture back

Hall Family Reunion, Take 2

Our Big Bear trip was a crazy huge reunion, but it was in honor of Jon's parents 50th wedding anniversary. So, naturally, the theme and focus centered around them and this amazing accomplishment. Did you know only 5% of married couples share a 50th anniversary. Crazy, right?   Lucky for Jon and I, they shared quite a bit of advice on how to reach the success that they did. 

Look at this amazing family. Jon's father talked a lot about their ups and downs as a couple and as parents. He touched on the fact that he wasn't always financially successful and things did not always go as planned. But he said they received help from Heavenly Father all along the way and that He will bless us in our righteous desires to have a family. Perhaps he wasn't always successful, but if a man on his 50th wedding anniversary ever wanted something to represent what he had accomplished in his life, this amazing and beautiful family would more than speak for him.

One thing that has always amazed me with Jon's family is the close relationship all of his brothers and sisters have with each other and their parents. Every single sibling makes such an effort to be supportive of everyone and they all get along so well. They had an amazing example of love growing up. I cant say enough wonderful things about each of their spouses either. All of them married beautiful, kind and loving people who have done nothing but enriched this family even further. I am so thankful to have married into such an extraordinary family and I can only hope my own family turns out to be like the one my husband comes from.

Hall Family Reunion, Take 1

Jon and I spent last week in Big Bear, California with ALL of Jon's family. It was half reunion, half celebration of his parents 50th wedding anniversary. All 9 of the kids were there with their families and it was SO MUCH FUN to be all together and hanging out for a few days. The weather was awesome, the company was hilarious and just the fact that we were ON A VACATION made the whole experience one we will never forget.

Big Bear Lake

One of the days was spent at the lake with almost the whole gang. Pax played in the biggest sand box he has ever seen, I got a horrible sunburn and we all had a blast.

This is Pax saying "where is she?" while he was looking for me

Most of the gang, minus that kid right smack in the middle. No clue who he is.

Pax playing with his daddy

Pax and Lucy playing together. These two are going to be so fun to watch over the next few years!

And of course, us :)

On the last night we had a talent show. Jon has some amazingly talented sisters who sing and harmonize beautifully, as well as quite a few crafty members who came up with the cutest/funniest acts. We did commercials between skits, telling jokes and short little acts to entertain while in stage transition.

here's the group, all crammed into the family room of the cabin we stayed in.

Jon's dad spoke for a while at the end, and Pax walked up to say hi to his grandpa. 

The house/cabin we stayed in was so cool! It had 9 bedrooms, all of which had an attached full bath which made it so comfortable. It also came equipped with a pool table, air hockey, foosball, and (everyone's favorite) a Ms Pac Man machine. The men hogged it from the kids most of the time, trying to claim the highest score. Who knew we had so many closet Pac Man pros in the family!

A rare moment that Pax was able to play. He loved watching people play and actually figured it out, kinda.

My 18-month Baby

So this crazy and adorable little boy is 18 months old!

He is ever changing right before our eyes, and we are loving the little boy our baby is becoming. I love just how much he is like his daddy. He is always happy and cheerful, goofy and weird, and the most loving little thing I've ever met. He loves to give kisses and big hugs. As he hugs you, he'll say "ahhhhhh" which just adds to the adorable-ness. He is always making the most out-landish and silly facial expressions, always trying to get a smile out of someone. My favorite is when he does it to a complete stranger across the room. 

He continues to add words to his vocab, although singing seems to be more his style. In Paxton's first few hours of life, he lay in our bed next to us and hummed little tunes. Now, as a toddler, he continues that tradition. I love to happen upon him while he's reading books because he sings while he does so. He runs around the house singing and he is as good as any radio in the car, although he LOVES to listen to his songs on cd so he can sing along. His favorite is still Old McDonald, but he has been singing Twinkle Twinkle quite a bit as well as others. 

He is getting pretty tall, but still skinny at 23lbs. Thats puts him in the 17th percentile but I honestly could care less about that. He's happy, healthy and thriving and THATS how you determine if your baby is healthy. I cant wait to see him be a big brother. He has so much love and tenderness in him, I just know it will be an easy transition.

The second time around

So Im 16 weeks along, as of today. Thankfully, my morning sickness did not last as long as last time (til about 20 weeks). Ugh. Ive been out of the nausea phase for a couple of weeks now but dang, I am so much more tired this time around. I have actual fatigue, meaning Im out of breath just from sitting up in bed. Not all the time, but when it hits me, it hits me hard. Hmmm, maybe chasing after an 18-month old has something to do with it.
Something else that is new this time are all the crazy dreams. Like, CRAZY dreams. And lots of them, too. Just about every night, since Ive been pregnant, I have dream after dream. Some normal, some super weird and some really scary dreams. The nights with the scary dreams are the worst because I wake up from them and then lay in bed awake the rest of the night. Jon is so sweet though and tells me to wake him up if I need to, though I never do. Its nice just to have him next to me.
I totally look pregnant, which sucks because Im not THAT far along. Everything is pushing up and out already, which happened last time too. Ive actually lost weight since I became preggs, so I know its not extra weight. All you mammas will sympathize with me on this awkward and uncomfortable in-between stage.
Oh, and I felt the baby kicking about a week ago. I think maybe Ive felt him/her earlier than that, but its hard to distinguish air bubbles and kicks that early on. Anyway, it was awesome and made this whole thing just that much more real! Cant wait until our next ultrasound!

Guess What!!!!!!!

Yep, thats a picture of the little baby growing inside of me! Paxton is going to be a big brother. My due date is the first week of December. Im 15 weeks along, just getting over my morning sickness, and feeling SO MUCH MORE TIRED this time around. Jon and I are so over-the-moon about welcoming a 4th member of the fam. Just a few more weeks and we get to see if its blue or pink!