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!

More Than I Do

This song is dedicated to soul mates, especially to mine.

Baby Shower

My Sister-in-law, Kim, is due to have a little boy in a few short weeks. They came down for a visit and I was able to help plan and give her a family shower. It was so much fun to make the decorations and plan the menu. Here are a few pictures of the event.

Here's the banner I made. All the printed paper had glitter on it and it turned out so cute.

Here's the refreshment table. I made a bunch of tissue paper pom poms. I didnt get any good pictures, but you can kinda see one above the table.

 We had so many yummy things to eat. My sis, Shelly, made amazing chocolate-covered cheesecake filled strawberries. My SIL, Rachael, made awesome meatballs. We also had cucumber sandwiches, pasta-crab salad, chicken salad sandwiches, cookies, lemon cakes and tons of other goodies. Isn't food amazing?!!!

One of my favorite refreshments were these hummus shooters. 4 different kinds, in cute little cups. We had pita chips, naan bread and veggies to dip.

This is my brother and his cute family. Oh, and I made that pin on Kim's shirt. I know the big belly gave her away, but I thought it would be cute for her to wear something significant of being the mommy-to-be. 

It was so much fun putting the shower together. Thanks everyone who helped and thanks to everyone who came!

ice cream social

Summer is finally here and thankfully, we've had quite a few beautiful, cooler-than-average days, We've taken advantage by spending as much time outside as possible. "Outside" is like a four letter word in this house. If you say it anywhere near Pax, he runs straight back into our room, grabs his shoes and brings them to you then runs to the back door and stretches for the door knob until someone lets him out. Lets just say, dont say the "O" word unless you intend to take the kid out and play with him.
Here are a few pictures of him eating an ice cream cone in the backyard.

I love this picture. Here is Pax, following his grandpa, helping him check his garden for pick-ables. He loves to help grandpa in the garden.

Happy Summer All! Enjoy the hot, sweaty fun while you can. Dont forget your sunscreen!