April 4, 2013...We're Having A (Second) Baby!:)

April 4, 2013 was a very exciting and surprising day for our family...we found out we are pregnant with our second baby!  I already told the story in the previous post, but I thought I would put some of the pictures from that day on the blog as well.  

The positive test...I can't believe my hand was holding still enough to get a decent photo.:)

Lex in her homemade "Big Sis" shirt!

Daddy when he got home from work...he had just seen Lex's shirt!  I was laughing/crying so much that I couldn't hold still to take a decent picture!  Ha!

Daddy had to stop and let it sink in for a minute.:)

Daddy said he was thinking, "Holy cow, she really is pregnant!"  He was pretty excited!

Daddy x2 and the big sissy

My very first "bump" picture!

That was as flat as I got after I had Lex before being pregnant again!  I was 3 pounds away from being away from my goal weight, which was the weight that I was at our wedding.  I was totally fine with stopping there and starting the (hopefully slower!) climb back up for a while.:)

Big, Exciting News!

The Hall family has big, exciting news and Lex's shirt says it all...

...she's going to be a big sister!!!  We are expecting baby #2!!  Yahooooo!!! 

Here are a couple of pictures of our sweet little baby at 8 weeks gestation.  A little background on how we got here:

 

As we all know, it took us quite a while to get pregnant the first time around.  When we finally did get pregnant, I told Bryan that all I knew about baby #2 was that I didn't want to have to "try" for it to happen.:)  We decided when Lex was born that we would wait until she was 6 months old to "not try" anymore.  Six months rolled around and we decided to wait until 9 months.:)  So, in January, we quit "not trying" (this is a PG blog for crying out loud:) and figured we'd wait until early fall and see what happened.  I was 100% okay with and somewhat expecting having to return to Midwest Fertility at that point to do the treatment that we had done to get pregnant with Alexis.  

 

Fast forward to April...on Easter Sunday, our pastor gave a message about miracles.  During the invitation time, he asked families/couples to pray together about a miracle that we needed in our lives.  Bryan prayed for us and thanked God for the miracle that He had already given us in Alexis and asked that He would give us another one whenever His timing was right.  Now, mind you, we were NOT actively trying.  In fact, I was fine with how things were and fully expected that it would be at least a few months down the road.  The Monday after Easter, Alexis was sick.  She had a fever and acted puny, but we didn't know exactly what was wrong with her.  That day, I also felt kind of bad, but I thought maybe I had what she had.  Then, Tuesday and Wednesday went by...Lex was still sick and I still felt kinda yucky, too.  She ended up having a mild ear infection and I thought I was just having sympathy pains for her!  By Thursday, Alexis was starting to feel better and I still felt the same unsettled stomach feeling that I'd had all week.  It suddenly occurred to me that I had felt like this before...when I was pregnant with Alexis!  I was VERY, VERY doubtful that being pregnant was the issue, but I mentioned it to Bry.  He said I should just take a pregnancy test and then go on.  Neither of us thought in a million years that the test would be positive!!!

 

We ate lunch with Bry at work that Thursday and then Lex and I came home.  I put her down for a nap and decided to just take the test and get it done.  I didn't wait for Bryan to get home because I did.not.think.it.would.be.POSITIVE!  Lo and behold...IT WAS!!!!!!  I laughed and cried and was so, so happy.  I took some video and some pictures and wanted to call Bry SO bad, but I knew it would be worth it to wait until he got home.  It was the longest afternoon of my life!  I laid on the couch and thought about that sweet baby until Lex woke up from her nap.  I wrote "Big Sis" on one of Lex's shirts with a Sharpie...fancy, I know!  When Bryan got home, I waited for him to notice and it didn't take long.  His face was priceless and I knew he could hardly believe it either!  He was so happy and we spent the rest of the night talking about what the future held for our little family. 

 

We are so grateful to God for giving us our miracle.  We are so blessed and cannot wait for this new little bundle to join our family!  We love our little peanut so much already!:)

Siesta Scripture Memory Team: Verse 10

My verse for today is 1 Samuel 12:24: "But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you."  Please, Lord, let me remember this one!  So often, I get sucked into thinking that I'm so busy and that I don't have time for one more committment...but really?!  If I consider what great things he has done for me, and stop to think about what great things I have done for Him, the two don't even compare.  I am a blessed, blessed woman!

Lex's 13 Month Appointment

Alexis had her 13 month well-check appointment yesterday.  Daddy's work schedule got changed so he didn't get to go with us this time.  She weighed 21 lbs. 6 oz. and was 29 3/4 inches long.  She is in the 50th percentile for both height and weight.  She did pretty well until Dr. Landrigan tried to look in her ears and then she started screaming!  Dr. Landrigan ended up having to pin her down with her body to get them checked.  She said that everything looked very good and that Alexis was doing very well for her age.  At the end of her appointment, Lex had to get three shots and that went about as well as expected.:)  I had to hold down her arms, while the nurse held down her legs and gave her the shots.  Poor baby!  She got all three shots in the same leg and she was kind of limping tonight.  It was so sad, but somewhat humorous at the same time!;)  We sure do love our healthy girl!

Mother's Day 2013

I had the MOST wonderful Mother's Day with all of my peeps!  It started with snuggles in bed with my little family...it doesn't get much better than that!

I had to take a picture of Bry and his Mother's Day war wound.:)  He had Alexis "help" write on the card and she stabbed him in the face with the pen!  She's a wild woman!

They made me the absolutely most precious gift, complete with my sweet baby's footprints.  I will treasure it forever!  They also got me some gladiolus bulbs for the garden and some sweet purple pruning shears that we have needed.  We also get to go on a trip to my favorite greenhouse for flowers!

After church, we went to Mom and Dad's for lunch with the fam.  Here's 4 generations of my family: Mom, me, Lex, and Grandma!

Jana, Mom, Grandma, Michele, and me with flowers from Grandma

My sweet girl showing a little 'tude.  She is getting three big teeth and was very tired from church!

An unusual sight during Sunday lunch preparations...all of the ladies are relaxing!  Our men cooked the most delicious meal AND cleaned up afterwards!  We had shrimp (4 different ways!), scallops (2 different ways!), pork loin, twice baked mashed potatoes, chopped salad, sweet corn, pasta salad, and sugar cream pie...YUMMMMMMMMY!!!  The women agreed that they could do that whenever they pleased.:)

We gave Mom a wreath that I made for her front door...

...and a special door mat for the front door! 

My sisters, Mom, and me...so, so blessed!

For dinner, we went to Pat and Linda's.  Pat and Bryan took care of supper preparations and made Oley's pizza, morel mushrooms, broccoli salad, and sugar cream pie.  It was very delicious, as well!  I got VERY spoiled with all of the manly cooking.:)

Me and the girl that made me a mama.  I look at this picture and see pure joy.  I will never forget how badly I wanted to have a baby to call my own and I am beyond thankful that this girl is mine.  She makes every day better and brighter!  

Catch Up

Here are a few random photos of things that have been happening at the Hall's!

We have had a pretty rainy spring and one day Alexis got to go out and play in the rain!  She loved it!

Grammy and Grandpa got her this swing for her birthday...so far, she's not a fan!  Ha!  

This was my sweet girl while she watched her daddy hang up her swing.  She looooooooves her daddy!

Our baby girl is growing up!  She is in her new car seat now and she loves it!

In her new car from Grandma and Grandpa!  She loves to sit in it, but hasn't figured out how to make it go yet.

Alexis got to take her first ride on the mower with her daddy.  She liked it!

Last weekend, the cousins came over to hang out for the evening.  We went for a walk at Evergreen and got to throw rocks into the river!

A cousin pajama party!:)

On Grammy's birthday, we surprised her and went to Olive Garden for supper.  Yummmmmmy!:)

Our First Zoo Trip of 2013

Ever since Grammy and Grandpa got us a zoo membership for Christmas, I have been so excited to go visit!  We went last week for the first time this year.  Hopefully it will be the first of many!  Alexis liked it, but definitely wanted to be with us the whole time.  She was a little unsure about some things, but I think she will warm up more each time we go.  It was sunny and 75 degrees...an absolutely perfect day to spend at the zoo!

Daddy and Lex checking out the pretty peacock

Mama and Alexis in the African Journey

I absolutely love this picture of my little family!

In the safari car...she liked it as long as I was in there with her!:)

This hyena was being silly and pacing very quickly back and forth in front of the glass.  

Daddy and Lex in the tent...Mommy had to get her finger in the way!:/

Daddy fed Jelani the giraffe 

We were going to watch the sea lion show, but everyone started cheering at the beginning and Alexis sobbed hysterically!  Silly girl!:)

Our first ride of the year was on the log ride

I think our big girl enjoyed her trip to the zoo!  I know Mommy and Daddy loved it!:)

A Few More Party Pics

Here are a few more pictures from my phone of Lex's party:

A little display where I had her baby book, her frame with monthly pictures, and our blog book.

The goodie bags for the kiddos.  I put their initials on them and then I realized that they spelled "PALZ!"  I thought that was so sweet and it describes their relationship perfectly!:)

The dining tables

Some M&M's to decorate the table

Lex's highchair and her special birthday balloon

Ingrid, the baker extraordinaire!  She did such a good job (as always!) of taking my ideas and making them reality.

My happy girl smashing her cake!

I think she thought that smashing the cake (and eating it) was pretty awesome!:)