Poor Baby

So, the infamous doctor appointment with the first round of shots came for Steven this week. Yesterday, in fact. I decided to post an especially happy picture to help balance this sad story. Adam and I were holding his hands as he lay on the table, and he all of a sudden started screaming in pain--it was pretty horrible. I'm surprised I didn't burst into tears right there. Thankfully, I had been able to have a bottle ready for him as soon as the shots (2 in each leg) were over. The next 10-15 minutes were full of him trying to eat, but then just giving up in the most painful sounding cries. Finally, he fell asleep. I fed him a little while later and it seemed like he was totally okay. But then, a couple hours later, he suddenly began screaming in pain. Adam and I realized that his legs were bright red. We were out with my brother Nathan, so we rushed home and got a bath ready. Steven was only in it for about 2 minutes, maybe. Then it was all I could do to get his diaper on him before I started feeding him again. He wasn't even calming down enough to take his yummy tylenol. I have to say that his cry was without a doubt the worst and most in pain sound I have ever heard. I lost it. Adam and Nathan had left a few minutes earlier to finish our activities, and Steven and I were home bawling. He finally calmed down while he ate, and I was able to, too. It's been pretty good since then. His tired and hungry cries today have sounded more like aftershocks of his pain cries. He's been extra warm, but he doesn't seem to be uncomfortable. We are so grateful that he is doing sooooo much better. And in 2 months we get to do it all again!!! ;)
On a lighter note, I have the best husband! Adam came home on Monday with such a beautiful spring bouquet, and for no reason at all!!! It was white orchids and gorgeous pink gerbera daisies--such happy flowers. It has been brightening up our home all week. What a man!!!!!!

Fun Over the Weekend

Weekends are definitely the best because we always get to spend them all together. Adam works all week, so we really look forward to them and like to do special things. There is a Thai restaurant by BYU that we have been wanting to go to for such a long time, so we decided to go for dinner on Saturday. I thought it would be fun if we walked. Steven loved it, and didn't even need his pacifier (we are getting better and better at not needing it quite so much). He has started to discover that sucking on his hand is pretty fun, too. It was a beautiful walk, but the last 10 minutes or so it was so windy and crazy--I could not stop sneezing! And, after our 30-minute trek, we were very disappointed to find that the restaurant is CLOSED until July 10th! Bummer!!! On the bright side, we had a great time getting out and doing something fun, and we stopped for a few minutes on the way at BYU's botany pond to watch all the cute baby chicks swimming around. They were so cute!!! In the end we decided to walk to TGIFriday's. It's one of our favorite places, and we had a coupon. By the way, their Brownie Obsession is my favorite dessert, EVER! Anyone who hasn't had it is seriously missing out!
Sundays are also really neat, of course. We don't have church until 2:30--stinky, but nice to have a relaxing morning. This Sunday my boys got to take a nap together. I love seeing them enjoy each other! :)

Growing, growing, and having fun!

I like to see how Steven's doing, size-wise, from time to time. A couple days ago he measured in at 25 inches and almost 12 pounds!!! While we call him our little "Chunk-a-lunk," though, he really isn't the typical pudgy baby. Still, he feels really thick when I lift and hold him. We love cuddling and squeezing our cute little guy! Adam is especially proud of his rapid growth. :) He is a pretty big boy, but he still needs help holding in his pacifier--that's why he's covered in that burp rag in the picture, I always tuck it around him to hold in the pacifier. Steven is also becoming a lot more interactive and alert. I notice his eyes following me as I walk back and forth in the room, and he has a new little play gym that he can lie down and watch. He also loves a little blue musical dog from Grandma King. We love how it's becoming more and more easy to get Steven to smile, laugh, and kick. He is so much fun!!! We also love going on family outings whenever we can, even if it's just taking a walk in the evening. Last Saturday we went to Thanksgiving Point with the Morgans. Adam loves telling people that they have the largest man-made waterfall in the western hemisphere--it's pretty amazing!

Happy Father's Day!!!

This was Adam's very first father's day! It was also my first mother's or father's day to not me in California with most of my family. It was pretty special, though. We loved getting to celebrate with our little family. The day started out with Steven eating, of course. Then I made breakfast for Adam and we hung out all morning until church. (We don't have church until 2:30. Needless to say, it was a pretty nice, long morning.) Adam and Steven had fun relaxing together while I worked on the dinner. (Adam wore those Sponge Bob pj pants so much in the hospital when we had Steven that the day we left and he was in real clothes one of the nurses didn't even recognize him.) My Relief Society president had made little gifts for all the men in the ward and we got to take a field trip to our husbands to deliver their special treats. It had the neatest quote/poem: God took the strength of a mountain, the majesty of a tree, the warmth of a summer sun, the calm of a quiet sea, the generous soul of nature, the comforting arm of night, the wisdom of the ages, the power of the eagle's flight, the joy of a morning in spring, the faith of a mustard seed, the patience of eternity, the depth of a family need. Then God combined these qualities. When there was nothing more to add, He knew His masterpiece was complete. And so, He called it...DAD.
I am so grateful to have such a wonderful father for my children. Adam and I are also very blessed to both have exceptional fathers. My dad showed me what I wanted in my husband and father to my children, and Adam's dad showed him how to be that kind of man.
I must also mention our mothers, as we started our blog after Mother's Day. I have always been grateful for my mother, but I never realized until becoming one myself how much they really to sacrifice to raise their children. Both of our mothers decided to stay at home, and we have been so blessed for it. Thank-you to our moms and dads!!! We love you! XOXOXOXO

I've Been Tagged--BLAH!!!

Thanks, Barb, haha.

Most Embarrassing Moment: I always hate this question because I can't ever think of anything. I don't know if it's because I just don't have them ;) or because I am simply able to block them out. I'm sure Adam could think of some for me though, haha. If I think of anything good I'll post it.

Favorite Foods: CHOCOLATE!!!!!!!!! Adam always teases me that it flows through my veins--I think he's right. I think my very favorite chocolate dessert is the Brownie Obsession at TGI Friday's. It is a must-have if you have not. I also loooovvvveeeee tuna melts, and I have passed this love onto Adam. We haven't really had them since Steven was born though. I've realized that any dairy I eat (besides chocolate, THANKFULLY) hurts my nursing child. :( All for a good cause. :)

Favorite Vacations: Kings in France!!! 3 summers ago my parents and all their posterity went and stayed in a villa in southern France for a week. Pure Heaven! We also go to Park City for a week every summer--sooooo great!!! And, of course, my Hawaii honeymoon. Honeymoons are the best! Hawaii's pretty awesome, too. :)

Favorite TV Shows: I have my favorites, and then I have the ones I watch all the time because they are my husband's favorites. Our shared favorites are "That 70's Show," "What Not to Wear" (yes, Adam rocks for liking it with me), and, OF COURSE, "Office." We also watch a lot of "Dog Fights," "Battleship 360," and other History Channel shows because I am a good wife. And Adam is a very good husband to put up with my great love for all things Disney. He spent a good part of his day off on Saturday watching "Princess Diaries 2" with me. Yes I'm pathetic and he's amazing.

Three Things Most People Don't Know About Me:
1. In my primary class I proudly exclaimed that I wanted to be a Japanese person when I grew up. Incidentally, Adam wanted to be Asian. It hasn't really worked out for either of us.
2. I used to want 12 kids--one deaf, one blind, one blind and deaf, one in a wheelchair, a single boy, a single girl, a set of twins, a set of triplets, and one more that I can't remember. Yeah, I was totally nuts.
3. Continuing with the "Lisa is crazy" theme, I used to have what now seems like my own version of American Idol. When I was 6 or 7 I would go into the front yard (there were no homes across the street), and I'd sing for hours. I would pretend to go to a competition and I'd be all the people--good singers, bad singers, judges, etc. I'd start out doing a few bad people who got totally ridiculed by the judges, and then I'd do the same song once more in my very best voice, being met with serious acclaim and love from all the judges (aka me). Yeah, I was funny, what more can I say?

So I guess I now get to tag someone else, and I choose Emily--go Team Hodges!!!!!!

Great Grandparents

Steven is so lucky to have 3 great grandparents. He got to meet Grandie (Grandma Bennion) when we went to California for his blessing. It was so special to see her and Steven together. We were super excited to get a four generation shot! He just met Grandmother and Grandfather Hall today. They took us to PF Chang's (yum!) for dinner. We loved getting to see them and Steven sure loved meeting them. On Memorial Day we took Steven to "meet" his O'Brien great-grandparents. It was such a beautiful day. Steven and us are so blessed to have so much wonderful family and to live to close to them!!! We are truly grateful for everything they teach us and for the constant love and support they give us throughout our lives. We will do all we can to teach our children to honor those who came before them and to live up to the great people whose names they carry.

Steven Smiles!!!

Yay!!! Steven finally began smiling last week! At first he would do it only after eating in the morning, then he'd start to do it if we tickled his lips, and now he is doing it all the time when we talk to and play with him. We love his handsome smile!!!!!!!!!

Blessing Day!

We were so excited to do Steven's blessing in southern California by our families. We loved getting to visit and share that special day with them. It was also great because we got to go to Cheralyn and Wayne's baby's blessing. Their little boy Thomas Max was born just 6 days after Steven. The two are so sweet together! I'm so glad we got to have them meet as infants. Grandma King had bought them matching blessing outfits, and it was so much fun! We just couldn't decide whether the cute hats made the boys look like newsies, sailors, or bakers. Steven was blessed the week after Mother's Day, and we were lucky enough to have all of our parents, and most of our siblings there. Before church we had a Sunday brunch at Grammie's house with all of our family that was there. It was such a hot day and, just a little bit before church started, the power went out. It was over 100 degrees that day, and sacrament meeting was sooooo hot (hence the haggard looks in our pictures). They even ended up canceling the rest of church! One of my personal favorite parts of the day was right after Steven's blessing. Adam wanted to hold him for a while, and Steven just kept staring up at his daddy for at least 10 minutes. It was so neat.

Braveheart

So, not many people know why he is named Steven Wallace. Steven is from Adam's family, and Wallace is for my ancestor--that's right, William Wallace. Thus, some of the Hall men enjoy calling him Braveheart. :) He sure is amazing!!!

Now Entering the World of Blogging!!!

After much discussion, I have finally convinced Adam to let me start a blog! Woohoo!!! There has been a lot of greatness in our lives, especially since we got married. I'll just sum it all up in a quick picture story:



We fell in love...



...then got married...



...then had an ADORABLE baby boy!



Life is great!!!!!!!!!