Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! Can you believe it's here already?! The car is all packed and ready to go, I'm just waiting for Kyle to get off work so we can head to Sunriver... we can't wait to get there! I'm sure I'll have lots of great pics to share when we get back. :) I wanted to let everyone that I won't be seeing this Christmas know that I'm thinking about you, and miss you and love you.

My doctor's appointment went well last week, everything looks good. You can start to see her moving through my belly, which has been really entertaining to watch! I'm assuming I passed my glucose test because I haven't heard anything, and from what I understand they usually call you right away if it comes back abnormal, so that's great... bring on the Christmas cookies and candy! Just kidding everyone... :)

28 and 29 weeks:

Baby can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see light that filters in through my uterus. She's also developing billions of neurons in her growing brain and putting on lots of baby fat! She is about 15 inches long from head to heel, and almost three pounds. About 250 mg of calcium are being deposited into the baby's skeleton everyday, which is starting to harden. Her muscles and lungs are continuing to mature!

Unfortunately, starting my third trimester has also brought with it some of the discomforts of pregnancy. I've been pretty lucky thus far though! I get short of breath really easily, sometimes when I'm just sitting because all my organs are beginning to push up on my diaphragm. I also have heartburn after I eat certain foods, which I've never had before... didn't realize how uncomfortable it is! I occasionally get these really bad cramps in my left leg (just that one leg, I don't know why), and they usually only occur at night and are bad enough to wake me up and want to cry! Kyle's great though, he usually just rolls over and starts massaging my calf and then it feels fine... I'm lucky to have such a good hubby, he's been really great with all of my new changes and demands! :)

We're going to be in Sunriver until Sunday, and are so looking to forward to relaxing and hanging out with the Halls (and the Hays!) Everyone's going skiing and snowboarding on Saturday, so I'm going to bring a good book and curl up by the fire at the lodge with a hot cocoa! On Sunday, Kyle and I are hopefully going to get together with his good friend Tom and his fiance Crystal to have some lunch and catch up. Then it's back to the real world... until New Year's that is! :)

I'll definitely post lots of pictures, hope you all have a very Merry Christmas!

Sorry it's been so long, I'm still alive I swear! These last few weeks have been super busy with work, out of town guests, Christmas shopping... you get the idea! :) I actually finished my Christmas shopping today, I feel so accomplished! There's so much to write about, so much going on in the last few weeks... hope you're ready for a long one!

Kyle and I have never really decorated for Christmas (we're never actually home on Christmas, and it wasn't as fun in an apartment), but since this was our first year in our own house, we wanted to do it up right! So one day we went out and got tons of Christmas decorations, lights, etc. The house looks great!

All of our cute little lawn ornaments...

The house!

Stockings hanging by the fireplace! This is our little makeshift tree... we planned on getting a tree this year but haven't had a chance to get one yet because our work schedules are so different... Kyle's been working a lot of nights and weekends, and I work days (and of course the day I worked a double was his day off)... so we figure this works ok for this year, and next year we'll cut down a big one for baby Hall's first Christmas!

It feels so Christmasy around here, we love it! It's fun to think that next year we'll have a little one who will find all the lights and stuff so fascinating... I bet it will be her favorite time of year too!

Last weekend my friend Elena came down to visit me, and I had SO much fun! I'm usually able to see her when I go to Gig Harbor for a visit, but it's been years since we were able to spend any extended amount of time together, so it was so awesome to spend the whole weekend with her! Kyle had to work most of the weekend, so it was just the two of us... it felt like old times. :) She arrived Saturday morning, and after lazing around the house and chatting for a while we decided to go do what we do best... shopping! The mall was pretty crazy, but we still had fun and bought some cute stuff... we ended up matching a lot of the time lol.

Matching dogs...

... and sweatshirts! The funniest part is that later that night, she walked into my room pulling on another sweatshirt that I recognized... because I had one too! Same color and everything! I thought for sure she had just borrowed mine, but nope! Great minds think alike! :)

Elena stuffed her belly so I didn't feel like the big one in the picture... she's such a good friend! :)

Belly shot!

On Friday night I'd made some sugar cookie dough from scratch so that we could make Christmas cookies... and even though I kind of messed up on the recipe (shocker!) they were so much fun to make, and turned out delicious! A little too good in fact, I couldn't stop eating them...

Getting ready to cut them into shapes...

Ready to go into the oven!

Probably the best part... decorating...

The finished product! YUM!

On Sunday we woke up and Elena cut and colored my hair while we watched Christmas movies on TV and drank coffee... it was a great morning! My hair needed it pretty badly, so I was so glad she was able to do it. We didn't do anything crazy, she just trimmed it, and put in more blonde highlights. I love it!

After we were finished we got ready and met her friend Kara at P.F. Changs for lunch... Elena and Kara stayed at McMenamins Edgefield on Sunday night, so we all drove out there and I hung out until about 9pm. I was really sad to leave, but I had to work early in the morning so I had to drag myself home. It was really cold, but fun! I hung out with the girls while they did some wine tasting, and then we had dinner and walked around the hotel. McMenamins are really neat because they have so much to do, including a movie theater, golf course, not to mention lots of little bars and restaurants you can check out.

Wine tasting! I only got to taste the water though :)

I broke down and bought my first pair of maternity pants this week! I tried them on and they were so much more comfortable than the band I've been wearing, so I thought I should probably just suck it up and buy them! Other things have been getting bigger as well, I'm starting to get a little swollen... I can't wear my wedding ring anymore, so I just went out and bought a temporary band to wear until I deliver, and the other night when I took off my socks, there was a big indentation in my ankles! Oh well, the joys of pregnancy! :) I feel so awkward because I'm pretty much all belly, and you can't even tell I'm pregnant from the back, but I stick way out in front... and all on stick thin legs!

Almost 28 weeks!

I missed two weeks, so here is what happened at 26 and 27 weeks:

The network of nerves in baby's ears are better developed and more sensitive than before; she may be able to hear my voice, and even Kyle's too! She's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for her lung development. These breathing movements are also good practice for when she's born and starts breathing air. She weighs about two pounds now and is about 14.5 inches long with her legs extended. She's waking and sleeping at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and maybe even sucking on her fingers. Her brain is very active now with more brain tissue developing, and although her lungs are immature, they would be capable of functioning (with a lot of medical help) outside the womb. That's a freaky thought!

This weekend was pretty relaxing, Kyle worked and I finished shopping... his birthday is tomorrow, so we're going to go celebrate by taking him out to dinner and a movie! He's 25, which is so crazy to me... I met him when he was 20! Time has seriously flown by... we'll have been together 4 years in March, almost exactly when the baby will be born... it's been the most amazing 4 years! :)

I have another doctor's appointment this week, so I will let you know how that goes... I also have my glucose test this week to check for diabetes, wish me luck!

Thanksgiving

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, Kyle and I did! I was able to switch days off with one of my co-workers, so I came up Wednesday afternoon to hang out with the fam. Kyle had to work unfortunately, so he wasn't able to come up until late Wednesday night (actually Thursday morning). It was so nice to see both sides of the family! Everyone is so busy with life these days, so it's really neat to be able to catch up and get to spend time with eachother.

Sisters!

Kyle and I with Grandma and Grandpa Book

What is Grandpa looking at? lol :)

Granddaughters

All of the grandkids! There were so many cameras going it was hard to get a picture that we're all looking at!

Some things never change... the kids table!

We had a blast and were sad to leave, but Kyle and I both had to work the next day... Kyle had to be at Sports Authority at 4:30 am for Black Friday! I felt so bad for him, he worked 11 hours yesterday with only a half hour break, needless to say he passed out on the couch as soon as he came home! The store that he works at is right next to a Best Buy, Target, Old Navy, all sorts of stuff... he said the frenzy was pretty crazy!

I'm already halfway through 25 weeks, here is what's going on in utero:

The baby now measures about 13.5 inches from head to heels and weighs about a pound and a half; think an average rutabaga (where do they come up with this stuff?!) She's beginning to exhange her long, lean look for some baby fat. Her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out, and she's starting to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair, and if we could see it we would be able to see it's color and texture. It's so fun to imagine what (and who) she's going to look like!

Kyle started to feel the baby kick yesterday! He was so excited, she REALLY kicked him right where his hand was. I was really happy that he was the first one to feel her, that was really special. We can't wait to meet her in just a couple months!

Something else really exciting happened this week... my mom got a new car (it's little and red, SO cute!) and my parents offered to give me and Kyle their Saturn! We couldn't believe it, it was so generous and couldn't be better timing with the baby coming. It's bigger, nicer, safer, all those good things... my mom called it the "mom mobile" and that's definitely what it's going to be! :) Thank you so much you guys!

We both have a three day weekend, which is really nice... we're doing a lot of relaxing! We're also going to go out and buy lots of Christmas decorations, we don't have any, but we really wanted to do it up right for our first Christmas in our new home! I'll be sure to post lots of pictures once we're done! :)

MD appt

I had a doctor's appointment on Thursday, and it went really well! I was in and out within an hour, which is pretty awesome for that office. I only have one more appointment before I have to start going every other week... hard to believe I'm already almost to that point! It was nice to go on my day off so I wasn't stressed out about returning late to work.

I'm measuring good, and my blood pressure and everything looks good as well. My doctor gave me this sugar stuff that I have to drink for a glucose test, which checks for gestational diabetes. I'll be taking it in the next 2-3 weeks. Basically I chug this drink and get my blood drawn an hour later... hopefully I pass, otherwise I have to do this other test that's much more involved with blood draws like every three hours... wish me luck!

Anyway, she said I'm healthy and everything looks great... she gave me an A+! Kyle and I will be heading to Gig Harbor for Thanksgiving, we hope to see as much family as we can since we won't be there for Christmas... if we don't see you Thursday, happy turkey day! :)

This last weekend was pretty lazy, which was so nice! I definitely needed it. Our graveyard shift person retired and our swing shift person quit, so we've all been covering a lot of extra shifts at work... I've worked at least one double a week for the last four weeks in a row, and that on top of starting 10 hour shifts, I've been exhausted! There have been a lot of exciting things happening at work though. Last year we got new ultrasound machines (from the company who shall not be named) that we didn't want to get in the first place, but our sister hospital wanted them, so that's what we got... they were horrible! They constantly froze on us, broke down, and basically were a big headache, not to mention we didn't like the image that it made. Well, after a year of endless frustration, we finally got rid of them and got the original machines that we wanted in the first place! They arrived last week, so we've all been busy training on them and learning how to use them. I know this is a dorky thing to say, but they're so beautiful! Brand spanking new, so shiny. :) We're really hoping these ones work out!

An example of the beautiful picture that the new machine makes! Baby with her mouth open... My friend wanted to practice the OB measurements, and I was a logical volunteer. Taking one for the team! :)

Growing like a little weed!

On Saturday night Kyle and I met up with a couple of my co-workers and their husbands for a night at McMenamin's Edgefield, which is a really fun hotel that has bars, restaurants, a movie theater, a little golf course, all sorts of stuff to do. We spent the evening just hanging out, drinking (a virgin for me of course!), and wandering around the hotel. I'm so blessed that I work with some of the coolest people around, makes getting up and going to work everyday a lot easier!

Tomorrow is my day off, and I'm really looking forward to catching up on my sleep and spending some time with Kyle... who by the way got a seasonal job at Sport Authority! He has orientation tomorrow, and will apparently be working in the camping/hunting department. He's been applying for jobs for months, but this economy is tough... one of his classmates is a manager there, and told him he might be able to find him some extra work for the holidays. It's all about who you know! I also have a doctor's appointment tomorrow, I switched days off with someone so that I didn't have to take time off work to go... another awesome advantage of only working four days! It couldn't have come at a better time either, because after my appointment next month I'm going to have to start seeing her every other week. I'll definitely post a quick note and let you know how it goes...

24 weeks today! Here is what's happening:

Baby is growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since just last week. She is about a foot long (think an ear of corn!), and her body is starting to fill out proportionally. Soon she'll be putting on all that adorable baby fat! The brain is growing quickly, and taste buds are beginning to develop. The lungs are developing branches of the respiratory tree, as well as a substance that will help the air sacs inflate once she arrives into the outside world. Her skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon. The book says that my uterus is now about the size of a soccer ball!

This Saturday night Kyle is doing a casino night in Albany that's part of a fundraiser for Tanner's baseball team. Sue and I are going to see New Moon, the new Twilight movie! I am so excited, Kyle thinks I'm dorky but I loved the books and can't wait to see the movie. :) Can you believe that Thanksgiving is next week?!

Lions game!

Kyle and I drove up to Gig Harbor friday night (glad that we made it alive, some of the worst driving conditions either of us has ever been in!) to spend the weekend with my parents and go to the Lions vs. Seahawks game. Saturday we kind of lazed around, and I got to see Elena because she came and did my mom's hair, which was nice... I always love chatting with her, even though it didn't feel long enough! My dad had to work that day, so my mom, Kyle and I went out to dinner at Round Table and rented a movie... it was nice to have a low key evening.

Sunday though... it was time for football! Kyle has been a huge Lions fan for years (we're not sure why, but there you have it!), and he was so excited to be able to see his team play in person. My parents bought us the tickets for Kyle's birthday next month, which was awesome of them (thanks guys!) and so we trekked up to Seattle for the 1:00 game.

The view from our seats!



Kyle said that if the Lions could end every game after the first half, they would have a winning record

The Lions fans...

... and the Seahawks fans! :)

Unfortunately the Lions lost, although not the biggest shock in the world... they couldn't do much after the first quarter, but they looked great then! Afterwards we went out to dinner at a new restaurant in Gig Harbor called the Blazing Onion, it was delicious! It was a lot like Red Robin, we actually tried to go Saturday night but the line was out the door... I've been saying for years that the harbor needed a place like that for people to eat and hang out, of course they figure it out after I leave! :)

Today was my day off, so Kyle and I ran errands and made another trip to Babies R Us... that place is starting to become very familiar! I've been feeling the baby move a lot more, and although I'm still wearing my regular clothes, I'm definitely showing a lot more.

Almost 23 weeks!

Cute little profile!

I started to get a little belly around week 16, but around week 20 my belly popped out big time and has been continuing to grow! Here's what she's doing this week:

Baby's sense of movement is well developed by now, and she can feel me moving around. She is now more than 11 inches long and weighs over a pound (about as much as a large mango) and blood vessels in her lungs are developing for breathing. My weight gain hasn't been too out of control, it's funny because I don't feel like I'm really gaining weight but every time I step on that scale I watch it inching up! I've probably gained about 18 pounds or so, but I figure for being more than halfway through the pregnancy that's not too bad... still seems like a lot when she weighs only a pound! :) I'm hoping the final count isn't much more than like 35 pounds, which is actually within the recommended range... we will see!

My new work schedule is going well so far, it's definitely going to take some time getting used to and I'm pretty exhausted by the time the day is over, but it's totally worth it to have that extra day off! Back to the grind tomorrow... hope you all have a good week!

Halloween weekend!

This week I started four ten hour shifts at work... I've had my day off and only worked one day and I'm doing fine... I'll let you know how I'm doing at the end of the week though! My day off is going to rotate every month, and this month it's Mondays. It's neat to have a three-day weekend, but it's also nice when your week is broken up a little bit so it doesn't seem so long. Either way, it's an awesome transition for me! We had a very productive day off too, poor Kyle was exhausted but he was a good sport; we went to Target and Baby's R Us to start working on our baby registry, and we also went to the mall, Shane Co. to get our rings cleaned, Costco... tiring, but so nice we could do this stuff together, and on a weekday when it's so much less crowded!

Unfortunately I got a cold this weekend, so I spent most of Halloween with my hand attached to a box of Kleenex. Never had a fever or anything, and actually Kyle and I got sick around the same time with the same symptoms... he got better much faster than I did though! I'm still getting over it, but I'm definitely much better.

Last weekend we went down to Albany to watch the duck game (they beat up on USC!) and also to celebrate Tanner's birthday. He turns 17 on Wednesday! We all had pizza and Bryan made Tanner a funfetti cake, it was super delicious.


Tanner guessed the gift, but he was still excited so that's good! :)


We all chipped in and got him an authentic Jonathan Stewart Panther's jersey... Jonathan Stewart used to be a running back for the ducks and now plays in the NFL

The baby got him Reese's hehe

The birthday kids! Tanner's girlfriend Brittney's birthday is the day after his!

Baby Hall at 22 weeks:

The baby is starting to really look like a miniature newborn at nearly 11 inches long and almost a whole pound (this week she's the length of a spaghetti squash, whatever the heck that is!) Her lips, eyelids and eyebrows are starting to look more distinct, and she's even developing tiny tooth buds underneath her gums. The eyes have formed but the irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment. Her pancreas is developing steadily, which is essential for the production of important hormones. If you could see the baby now, you would be able to see her covered in fine hair (called lanugo) that she'll sport until she adds a padding of fat to fill them in.

I'm sorry I'm still having trouble with ultrasound pictures, now I got them to upload but they're uploading sideways and look all weird, so I'm still working on it! I promise I'll have some by my next post! :) I'm feeling her kick more and more everyday, it's the weirdest sensation, so hard to even describe... but really cool!

Kyle's second class is done this week (theories in education), and he's started an internet class as well... he's really enjoying school and doing really great on all of his assignments. Thanks for all the positive thoughts being sent his way! :)

This next weekend Kyle and I are going to Gig Harbor and then on Sunday we have tickets to the Lions vs. Seahawks game! For reasons unknown Kyle is a huge Lions fan (it's certainly not for the winning record... sorry sweety!) and we're going to go with my parents. Should be fun, hopefully it doesn't rain on us!

Hope you all have a good week!

Happy birthday Tanner and Brittney! :)

Disneyland!

Kyle and I had an amazing trip to California! Sunday morning the Halls and I flew out of PDX and we met up with Lindsey at our hotel (she flew in from Montana), which was only about half a mile from the park... the weather was amazing the whole week, sunny and in the mid 80's. Kyle flew in and joined us on Wednesday morning, and I was so glad to see him! It was sad how much I missed him after spending just a few days apart... I'm pretty spoiled. :)

The boys waiting for our flight...

Mom-in-law and future momma! :)

Sunday evening the girls went grocery shopping for the week and we relaxed and played card games... but the rest of the week was pretty much go go go! Monday was our first day at Disneyland and California Adventure, and our feet really hurt by the end of the day! It was a lot of walking, but totally worth it. We walked to the parks and stayed there most of the day, coming back only for some lunch.

The park was definitely all decked out for Halloween!

Walking in on our first day!

The girls

Lindsey and I at Minnie's house

Hanging out in Toon Town

The view from our hotel balcony! You can see Paradise Pier from California Adventure in this pic, we could see Disneyland as well... it was awesome because we got to watch the firework show every night from the comfort of the couch!

Tuesday we did some shopping and everyone kind of did their own thing. We only had three days at Disney and didn't want Kyle to miss more than one so we went to the parks with him on Wednesday and Thursday.

The whole gang!

Story of my life this trip lol

The boys rocking the O!

Muppet show

Boys in their coonskin hats!

Sexy 3D glasses :)

The wait lines were not long at all, which was really awesome... and it wasn't so bad not being able to go on lots of the rides; I got to eat a lot of Churros! :)

On Friday we rented a car and drove to LA to go to Universal Studios, where I was quickly reminded that driving in LA rush hour traffic was not fun... but we made it and had a blast!

Hangin with the crew of Apollo 13... I'm not sure what Kyle and Bryan are doing :)

The Citywalk at Universal

Trying to save Kyle from Jaws!

On Friday night, Rick and Sue treated all of us to Medieval Times, which was quite an experience! The food was great, but there was WAY too much of it... I was so stuffed when we left I could barely walk to the car! Our knight was the worst in the bunch, but that didn't make it any less fun to watch all the jousting action. :)

Saturday was another laid back day, so we shopped some more, played pool and shuffleboard, and watched lots of football. We went to Bubba Gumps for dinner for our last night in Cali... and even got to eat outside, which would not have been a very pleasant experience in Oregon!

Our last night



It was a fantastic trip, thank you to all present and future Halls for an amazing time! :)

My belly started to really show on the trip, and I was really excited because I started to feel the baby moving! It's very faint and feels like little butterflies... I can't believe she's going to be here in just 4 months!

I start four 10 hour shifts at work next week, and for November my day off is Monday, which means I get three day weekends! I have a lot planned for my days off, mainly getting baby stuff ready and in order... Kyle and I are going to start working really hard on our registries, and we'll definitely let everyone know when they're ready and finished. I had my official ultrasound today, and everything looks healthy and happy with baby Hall! :) I tried to take pictures of some of the pictures they gave me, but they're not the best quality... I'm going to try and figure out a way to scan them, and then I promise I'll post them! I also got my H1N1 vaccination today, which I was very relieved to get... now I'm as immunized as it gets!

I'm 21 weeks this week, which means that baby weighs about 14 ounces (almost a whole pound!) and is about 10.5 inches long; the length of a carrot, according to babycenter.com. Weird how they always compare them to fruit... last week she was a banana! :)

Alright, time for bed... I'm working another double tomorrow, and although I don't work them very often, it's still really exhausting... hopefully the ER will be nice to me!

Hope you all have a great week, and a safe and happy Halloween!