Update...

Well things are finally starting to slow down around the Hall household! Thank goodness! I am exhausted. Over the last 3 weeks, Pierson has had 9 different people taking care of him, including Nate and I. I dont know what we would do without our family close by. Last week Aunt Erin and Uncle Jared dove right in and stayed with him ALL day while Nate and I were at work. They are wonderful and only called once the whole day!

Pierson also enjoyed his very first Christmas. We spent the nights in College Station and then headed out to Nate's aunt and unlces cabin on Christmas day. We had a great time and loved getting to hang out with family.

He didnt like his new hat...

Pierson and Great Grandmother

Jared and Erin feeding the deer at Camp Creek.

Pierson getting love from his 2nd cousin Alexander!

We also celebrated my moms 50th birthday! We had a nice dinner and then came to our home for cake, ice cream and a little Guitar Hearo! We love you Grams and dont know what we would do without you!

Mom and Dad playing Guitar Hero.

I am offically a stay at home mom and I am so excited! Hopefully that means I will have more time to actually update this thing!

Say What?!?!

Yesterday, I quit my job. Really, I did it and still can't believe it. We are in the worst economic times since the Depression and highest unemployment rate in 26 years, people are getting laid off left and right and I quit my job. It was a tough decision, not because I dont want to be at home with Pierson but cutting out an income is a HUGE decision. Nate and I both have a strong desire for me to be at home with Pierson so we are stepping out, stepping out on faith and asking God to provide. This is the biggest step of faith I have ever taken for sure. I think it is amazing how much more you depend and trust in the Lord when you are scared or anxious but when things are great, you tend to think you can do it all on your own. So, if you are reading this, please pray for our family.

Side story...I left work yesterday with a stomach ache and went to pick up Pierson from my parents house. When I got there he was wide awake. I went over and said hi and he just kinda looked around. I then said, "Guess what Pierson, mommy quit her job today so she can be at home with you all day!" and he looked right at me and smiled HUGE! At that point I knew we were making the right decision and I dont want to miss another one of those smiles!

2 months

Pierson turned 2 months on Tuesday...so crazy! He is weighing in at 12lbs 5oz and 22.5 inches long. Not huge, but not tiny either. The doctor told us he was a little concerened about his height to weight ratio, I guess his BMI and told us that we need to stop feeding him at night because children who are overweight at 4 months have a greater tendency to be overweight as children and adults. ARE YOU KIDDING! I am pretty sure my husband was huge when he was little and cant gain a pound to save his life now.

I am also back at work full time. It has been tough, really tough. I dont like it but it is something I have to do at the moment. My mom and my sister have been watching Pierson and that makes it so much easier to come to work, espically when they talk about how he is such a good baby and how easy their day was! Thank you Lord for such a content and precious little one!

8 weeks tomorrow!

Pierson is going to be 8 weeks tomorrow! I can hardly believe it. Somedays it feels like yesterday we were bringing him home and other times it feels like it was years ago! :) Here are a few things about my boy at 8 weeks..

- I am SMILING up a storm and smile the most when mom, dad, or Grams talks to me!

- I love the star on my activity center, I could stare at those lights forever!

- Some nights I am going 4 to 5 hours between feedings! YEAH! We are still waiting for the sleeping through the night thing. I have a feeling it might be awhile!

- I love when people talk to me. I try and talk back but havent quite mastered that yet...my tongue seems to get in the way. If you are talking to me and then get up and leave I start to fuss until you come back.

- I love bath time! I could stay in the bath forever and kick and splash!

- I am not a big fan of napping, mommy has to try many tricks for me to fall asleep each day. (Any advice on this would be welcomed!)

- I have NO schedule what so ever! I eat when I want to eat, sleep when I want to sleep, and play when I want to play. We are also working on this one!

- I found my hands and I LOVE for them to be right in my face. This means I am scratching myselft like crazy. Mommy is trying to keep my nails trimmed but it doesnt seem to be working.

- I love my bed time routine. I go to bed between 8 and 8:30 everynight with out a single fuss! (Eat, Bath, Swaddle, Book, Out like a light!)

That is all I can think of for now. I go back to work on Friday so I am trying to figure that out...very sad about it for sure but Pierson will get to spend lots of quality time with Grams, Aunt Megan, and Uncle Matt (he is home from college for the break).

Here are a few pictures...

Go Cowboys!

I love Uncle Matt!

Hanging out on the couch with Mommy and Bentley!
Me and my friend Julia playing!

First time for everything...

I have never been tagged before but I thought I would give this a try. I was tagged a few weeks ago but I am just now getting around to it...my child is sleeping...it is a miracle! My wonderful friend Katie tagged me!


THE RULES::* Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.* Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog.* Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.* Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog....Ok...7 random facts about me in no particular order:

1. When I was 6, my doctor misdiagnosed me and I ended up having a collapsed lung. I spent 10 days at Cooks Childrens hospital. I remember being there so well. I had to have 7 IV's, took breathing treatments multiple times a day, my parents had to sneak my sister in to see me, and I remember waking up in my Dad's arms after I had surgery.

2. I am really not OCD or very detailed about much but when I eat Frosted Mini Wheats I have to eat them in order from least frosted to most, which requires turning each one over and closely examining them.

3. Who knows if I would be married to Nate today or not! When he was a senior and I was a junior I lied and told him that me and my boyfriend had broken up so that he would ask me to his senior prom. He did and we started dating a few months later! Does this mean that there are sometime when lies are ok?? :)

4. When I was a freshman in college I had a seizure in the middle of my anthropology class...talk about embarassing! It is a very long story but what I remember the most is my teacher standing over me when I came to, she was trying to make sure I didnt swallow my tounge.

5. I dont like flying. I think it may be due to the lack of control that I have when I am in the air. Who knows... but I do fly and have gotten better since working at Usability Sciences. I traveled for work and pleasure 14 times last year. I am still trying to build the courage to fly overseas, not sure when that will happen!

6. I love to shop and I love new clothes. This has come to a halt since getting pregnant but I cant wait to get back down to my normal size and buy some new things!

7. This isnt really about me but I think it is great. Nate was born before my parents were even married! His parents waited 7 years to have kids and my mom was pregnant on her first anniversary so we are only a little over a year apart.

I tag whoever wants to do this...when you have the time!

4 years and 4 weeks

Four years ago today I married my very best friend and 4 weeks ago today we had the cutest little boy you have ever seen. I can't believe how much has changed in the past four years. We have lived in 3 cities, gone to 3 churches, multiple vacations, and have truly enjoyed every minute of it! Even thought the last 4 weeks have been the hardest of my life I am truly learning to enjoy these times as well. He is already growing so much and changing and I know he will be one before we know it.

Nate - I can't thank you enough for loving me the past few years...they have been so wonderful and I cant wait to spend the next 60 with you. You gave me the most beautiful gift 4 weeks ago and there is no one else on earth I would want to be his daddy! We love you!

Here are some new pictures...

First Halloween...my mom bought him this sleeper...it says, "My first Halloween, dont scare me!"

Grammy giving him his first fingernail trim.

Wide awake!

Ready for bed

Hanging out with Daddy.

Finally...an update!

So I am finally getting back to the blogging thing. Things have been going pretty well other than a couple of stomach aches (I think) which lead to an hour of crying that cant be stopped but that is about it...pretty uneventful if you ask me! Nate and I are slowly learning how to be parents...they should really give you a manual. I cant tell you how many times I have opened a book and read how to do something in the past 2 weeks! We have been on a few outings to the doctor, La Madeline, Fudruckers, and Grammy and TP's house (yes, my dad wants to be called TP- like toliet paper - he is great). We have also taken well over 200 pictures...what they say about the first born is so true! I think we take a picture every time he is sleeping...just so stinking cute! Here are a few from the past couple of weeks...

Alreay an Aggie...we thought this was going to be too small for him so we took it to the hospital...we and everyone else was SO wrong...he took after his mama...thank goodness! :)

Going home...once again...way too big of an outfit! He does have legs somewhere in there. This is a 0-3 month outfit and he is still wearing newborn!

First bath. He liked the warm water!

Daddy and Pierson at lunch time...Nate comes home for lunch most days which is really nice!

Pierson's first pictures

Great news - Melissa delivered a healthy, happy baby boy at 11:59 AM on October 9!! Pierson Everette Hall weighed in at 6 lbs. 14 ozs. and measured 20.5 inches. Melissa is an incredible mom already! We did not sleep Wednesday night as we left for the hospital around 12:30 AM, and her patience, composure, and strength during labor and afterwards has been absolutely overwhelming - I could NOT be more proud of her!



Pierson is in great shape - he's passed all of the tests they've given him, and Lord willing, we'll all be headed home Saturday morning. Here are a couple of pictures courtesy of proud new granddad "TP".

So Done...

"

Only 18 days until my due date, only 13 days left of work." This is what I say over and over again in my head these days, espically today. I am done... I currently have 2 pairs of pants and 5 shirts that "fit", 2 pairs of shoes and they are flip flops, I know I slept last night but it couldnt have been that long, and I have asked my doctor to keep my weight to herself! :) I keep telling myself, "My mom had all of her kids 2 weeks early, maybe I will too." Although I am pretty sure it wont happen, it is so nice to dream and think that he could be here this weekend and I could be on my way back to normal! If I am hoping for this I should probably pack the hospital bag and get the car seat installed...might be important! We finished all of our shopping last night and bought out Babies R Us and Target. Now it is just time to start organizing...which leds me to my next topic.

I know nothing, really, I knew that I didnt know anything but really I know nothing. I called my mom to ask if you put baby powder on after diaper changes or baths. Really, how are you supposed to just know these things. She said both...well great, so should I put the baby powder in his room with his changing pad or in the bathroom with his bathtub and other bathtime things?!? Should I go buy another thing of baby powder and have one in both places?? Then there are the bibs, where do you put these since they dont really need them until later, do you just pack them away or do they go in the kitchen, cause that is where I eat and surely he will eat in there at some point, right? Like I said, nothing. And these are just the small things. I have a book that I bought and there is an entire chapter devoted to giving them a bath. I just stopped reading and thought, "I have been bathing for years...surely I can handle this one." Probably not though, this is where a great mom comes in. She reassured me this weekend that she will help me and teach me and guide me, and told me that I didnt have to read anymore books...I love her, seriously, how great is that!

I go back to the doctor on Friday and I am hoping for some progress! Pray with me...please! :)

Full Term and a Doctors Appt.

Well we have made it. I am technically full term and if I was to go into labor at this point they wouldn't do anything to stop it. I went to the doctor this morning and was told "there isnt much going on." So Pierson will probably make his debut around his due date, which is fine with me...we still have some things to do! This week will consist of purchasing the things that we still need and packing our bags for the hospital. 3 weeks and counting...

The Last Few Weeks

Well, once again we have been super busy but it has been so much fun!

1. A few weeks ago Nate and I got to spend the weekend away at the Gaylord Texan. He won 2 free nights at work and it was so wonderful! We slept in until 9:20 on Saturday morning August the 9th and marked it as the last time for a long time to come! So wonderful! The weekend basically consisted of sleeping, eating, and a little shopping...right up my alley.

The view from our room.

A random picture before dinner - 30 weeks!

2. We went to College Station to see Nate's grandfather (his birthday weekend mentioned before) and got to spend time with our good friends from college, Daniel and Amber. They are due 2 weeks before us so it was really fun to talk baby all weekend. We also got to spend some time with Nate's family and watch the little kids bowl...too cute!

3. We finally have all the nursery furniture so we moved the last of it in, hung his name on the wall, hung the curtains my aunt made, washed some clothes and started organizing. The first load of little man clothes was too cute...so much blue!
4. We have finally "finished" our house. Everything we have been talking about doing for the past year and a half is done. We figured if we didnt do it before Pierson got here we probably wouldnt anytime soon. It feels so nice!

5. Work threw me a WONDERFUL shower and we got our carseat and stroller!!! Are you serious...this is one of the best gifts ever because you can't leave the hospital without having this one! It was so much fun and Nate and I felt so loved by everyone that I work with!

Me and Katie

Really excited...he picked out the stroller!

It was a huge accomplishment for him to put this thing together!

6. My wonderful family and friends threw me a great shower. The invitations were precious, the games and little details so much fun and cute, the food and cake were amazing! I am still eating it! :) They spent so much time thinking of every little thing you can imagine and once again we feel so loved! We got SO many wonderful gifts that we will use and enjoy!

Erin, Sara, Lindsay, Me, Jennifer, Megan, Kellie, and Jana - all the hostesses!

How cute are these!! Nate was obviously excited since he called our child Natron until we decided on Pierson. I think he is still hoping he will get to name one of our children this and I have no doubt that Pierson will be Natron every once and a while!

I go back to the doctor on Friday and I am hoping to find out if we think this child will come early. My feet and ankles can hardly take it anymore! I have some serious cankles! I broke a pair of shoes last week at work. They just couldnt take the pressure anymore! I never thought I would post pictures of my feet but here they are in all their glory!

Check those babies out! Check out how far apart those shoe laces are!

The shoe...I am saving it! :)

Better Late Than Never

S0 last Friday, the 15th was my wonderful husbands birthday. The big 28 years old and his last birthday without being a dad...how crazy is that! We ended up going to College Station to visit his grandfather who hasnt been feeling well so we didnt get to do all the wonderful things I had planned but we are going to try for another weekend. We did however get to hangout with friends we hadnt seen in forever and spend some great time with family.

It is so hard for me to believe that Nate is 28, we celebrated his 19th birthday together...almost 10 years of birthdays together. He is such an amazing husband and there is not a day that goes by that I dont thank God for him. He loves the Lord, works so hard for our family, leads by example in such an amazing way, and loves me more than anything. He tells me everyday how much he loves me and that I am his favorite. He has been so incredible during my pregnancy making sure I know that he still thinks I am beautiful, encourging me and lifing me up when I am down, and more! He is going to be such an amazing dad and I cant wait to see him with Pierson.

Nate, I love you and cant wait to spend 50 more birthdays together!

Big Sister

We may have some jealousy issues come October but isnt she so cute?? We think so!

74 DAYS!!!

So, only 74 days until my due date...are you serious! In some ways I feel like it is around the corner, other days (i.e. when it is 106 degrees outside) I feel like it is forever away! I did decide yesterday that I am fine if he wants to come early! As usual we have been very busy painting and setting up furniture. With lots of help from family (thanks Mom, Aunt Pamm, Tara, Megan, Jay, Jared, Erin, and Sara) we finally finished painting and the crib and hutch are set up! I LOVE IT! I didnt know how I was going to feel about blue walls, since blue isnt really my color, but it is great...so boy! Nate loves it too and he finally has a room in our house that is blue...one of his requests since before we were married...he was very patient!

In the process...lots of tape! :)

And, I guess i will go ahead and post an updated picture of my large and in charge self! Seriously, I felt CUTE pregnant until about 4 weeks ago...now I just feel large pregnant, not so cute anymore. And for those of you who know me well you know it is huge for me to post a picture of myself that is not flattering! Here is the latest pic at 29 weeks...

My cute wife

So - pretty cute right? Yeah, it was a few weeks ago - back when her wedding ring still fit comfortably - but it's a great picture isn't it? Yep - she's beautiful. I'm posting it because Melissa hasn't posted a new picture in 2+ months, and Vanessa keeps commenting that she's waiting for the picture. Here it is, cuz - you're welcome. I'm sure she'll post a newer one soon, but we've been busy...

We are procrastinators...well, maybe that's not the right word. Procrastinators makes it sound like we intentionally avoid unpleasant tasks or responsibilities because they are unpleasant. It's not that we avoid things - I'd like to think we perform best when we're highly motivated by impending critical time constraints (such as my wife not being able to help me paint - I paint like most rappers act). So, rather than do it half-way in plenty of time, we merely wait until we are properly motivated to get things done (re: the very last second) so we can do them with all of the zeal and enthusiasm of a girl running away from a cockroach. It's not a problem - it's a strategy...
We're in that highly motivated stage right now...just in the last few days we've accomplished the following...

• Moved all of the furniture out of the study which is to become the nursery - slap me in the face if I ever decide to put try and get a sleeper sofa into a bedroom or study again (thanks for your help Jared)
• Bought a bunch of primer, paint, & painting tools & painted quite a bit of the nursery (with help from Megan - thanks sis!)
• Bought a new desk for the computer & arranged it, with much debate, in the guest bedroom
• Had AT&T come out and install a new phone line in the guest bedroom so we can have internet
• OK - seemed like there was more than that when I started the list, but we're still in the midst of it. I'd expect our nursery to be 95% done by the end of the week, furniture & all (of course it will be another month before any of you see a picture of it on this blog - again, we're procrastinators)

Anyway, I need to go to bed - just wanted to post a picture, give a quick update, and a shout out to the best wife & soon-to-be mother in the world (I love you, lady). Also - congrats to Jared who snagged a job as a junior high school coach today! That makes all of our siblings & siblings-in-laws on the Hall side of the family (Jared, Erin & Sara) teachers - Melissa and I are officially outnumbered. Way to go J Hall!

So Busy

We have been so busy...really it is crazy and I dont see an end in sight until the little one arrives. Then it will be a new kind of busy. July 4th weekend or the Tour of Texas as we called it was fun and eventful. We were in Frisco, Colleyville, Arlington, Flowermound, Ft. Worth, and then back to Frisco...we got to see lots of family and friends but it wore me out! This past weekend we were in Tyler visiting my brother. He is working at Pine Cove for the summer and only gets 24 hours off so we (the whole family) drove out to see him on Saturday and came back on Sunday! I was so exhausted when we got back that my To Do list got nothing checked off and instead I took a 3 hour nap! Which then led to me telling Nate all the things we should be getting done (i.e. Nursery, etc.) and that our child will be here in 13 and a half weeks!! So the freaking out has officially begun and I cant seem to find a place to start. I did however call my friend Katie (who just had a baby 6 weeks ago) and asked her this, "So what things would you say you had to have done before Julia got here and what things could have waited?" She in turned helped me out and I am feeling better...now it is time to start. When? Who knows...we are home only 2 nights this week! Which then again led to more freaking out! I am thinking this will be a constant state for me until he gets here.

In other news, I went back to the doctor last week and everything looks good. I did find out that he will be here no later than October 22nd, since my doctor wont let you go 3-4 days past your due date. I also had an interesting conversation with her concering the size of little Hall. I just asked for reference what they do if a baby is a measuring large. This is the conversation that followed:

Doctor - "Is your husband large?"
Me - "Large is relative, if you are asking if he is tall, then yes. Does he weight a lot, big NO."
Doctor - "How tall?"
Me - "6'4""
Doctor - (Laughing) "Did you not think about this before you decided to get married?"
Me - "I'm not sure it would have changed my mind."
Doctor - "Does he have a large head?"
Me - Thinking to myself, I have no idea how large his head is. It seems normal. Should I know the size of my husbands head? "I dont know but he wears a size 15 shoe and can palm a baseketabll pretty easy."
Doctor - "Oh goodness."
Me - "His brother is 6'8", does that matter?"
Doctor - "Once again, did you think about this?"
Me - "Well I didnt marry the brother, does that help??"

So we will just have to wait and see, so far he is just normal and she did tell me that my genes play a larger part in how large or small he will be at birth. I only weighed 6lbs 15oz...so things are looking good! :)

Oh, and I will post a new picture soon.

Bedding??

Don't ask me why this has been such a hard decision...thoughts??

Nate's Jeans

Today I am wearing Nate's jeans. They are so wonderful! I know many of you are thinking, "How in the world can she wear his jeans? Arent they WAY too long??" Even though Nate is tall, his legs are not very long. He has a really long torso, which means his jeans are not THAT long on me!

All of this started when I ordered jeans online (I can't find any that I like in the stores) and they were supposed to get here yesterday. They didnt. So I am stuck another Friday without any jeans to wear. Problem solved, man jeans, which provide more room in this hips and rear, just what I need. They dont fit in the waist, which is probably a good thing!

So next time you are almost 6 months pregnant and have nothing to wear, I suggest you explore your husbands side of the closet. It worked for me!

Father's Day

Happy Fathers Day to the most loving, caring, wonderful dad any girl could ask for! I love you!

And Happy Fathers Day to the most wonderful soon to be daddy! Love you!