Back home!

We've been in Miami since the 26th visiting with Kim's family so posts are behind but we have TONS of pics to post from the trip.

I'll post in the next day or so with new stuff. Best of all, Kim and I went to the Dr. this morning and got another great report. Kim is doing fine and we heard Reese's heartbeat again so everything sounds fine.

I wonder if everyone read through that one....Little girl is now officially Reese Avery Hall.

That makes it pretty real, huh?!

More coming later!

26 and soon to be 27 weeks.

We've heard more than our fair share of requests to see pregger belly again...kinda weird but its a uniform request among friends and family so we'll take another pic soon. Before we get into the holiday mode I wanted to update the weekly changes that baby girl is experiencing and we'll post Christmas pics next week.

26 Weeks:
The network of nerves in your baby's ears is better developed and more sensitive than before. He may now be able to hear both your voice and your partner's as you chat with each other. He's inhaling and exhaling small amounts of amniotic fluid, which is essential for the development of his lungs. These so-called breathing movements are also good practice for when he's born and takes that first gulp of air. And he's continuing to put on baby fat. He now weighs about a pound and two-thirds and measures 14 inches (an English hothouse cucumber) from head to heel. If you're having a boy, his testicles are beginning to descend into his scrotum — a trip that will take about two to three days. ADAM note......A hothouse cucumber? What the......?
27 Weeks:
This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She's sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby's brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don't bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.
So there are the weekly updates...

Kim and I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a fantastic New Year. Take a moment to reflect on the reason that we celebrate and even in the midst of our economic woes...We are exceedingly better off that 95% of the world. Take time to nurture the blessings you have and more will find their way to you. We love all of you and pray for the best for each of your families!

Merry Christmas!!

I'm gettting a little better....I think.

This is a possible replacement header for a future blog re-format. We did the most recent one because I was jumping to do something new but I couldn't learn enough....fast enough. This is a little more in line with the initial blog look so I'm going to stock pile some backgrounds that are my own and I'll be able to change as seasons or events change. Lemmeno what you think! I'm pretty pleased with this because I'm not the most talented at this stuff and Kim seems to like this look. I NEED MORE PICS! So Adam will be snooping around with the little camera this holiday and maybe the bigger one later in the spring...hopefully.

We've decided....

I feel comfortable saying that Kim and I have finally decided on baby girl's name.

What I don't feel comfortable doing is posting it right now because Kimmy is asleep on the couch and she may "dream" something about her name and decide that what we've already decided isn't quite right for some reason.....ahhh the joys of living with a pregnant woman that already stinks at making decisions.

Another decision that we made tonight is that this was to be COOKIE night. Every Christmas we...or for some reason this has turned into I....make the Neiman Marcus cookies that take about forever to mix, spoon, and bake but we love them and I refuse to let this tradition die. Little bit will be 30 years old with her own kids before I let this one escape us. Kim helps some usually but she was flat exhausted from running around today (Yeah! She finally took a day off!). She bought everything for the Chili cook Saturday night and she got all of my cookie mixing stuff. She did her Glucose test, she went to the dentist, she did something else and even cleaned up a little in the house....she was also up at 11pm so as I type this post, she is slobbering on the pillows of the couch. Poor girl is out cold.

Well, with cookies done, Baxter having gone out for his last potty, Kim scaring off intruders with her low toned snore....I think the only thing to do is wrap up and show you the final product.

More posts will come before the day but I'm starting Chrismas week off with a big honking bowl of cookies and ice cold milk. Merry Christmas to me!

Countdown to baby girl's arrival!

Today marks only 100 days left! The countdown is on and there is SOOOOOO much to do. I have got to get busting on the baby room because I've been sort of dragging it out. We are getting carpet upstairs for Christmas to keep our budget in line so that whole process will bite since Kim can't move much but we need to pick it out...schedule a time....fix the squeaky floor...OMG!! Too much to do!

I also think "nesting" is starting. I don't know what it is...but I think it's started.

100 days to go, oh my lord. She's almost here.

Sunday Summary....Chuck turns OLD! and we're closer to a name.

Kim's folks stopped in for some lunch and for Chuck's Birthday...he turns 66 today and is pretty much confirmed old as dirt. Truth be told, Kim and I are jealous because we would love to be retired! I think ol' Chuck is hanging in there pretty good for 66. I could only be as lucky to be trucking along that well. We had a good lunch and Lance and Celeste introduced us to a word game that pretty much sucks if you don't get it and we didn't for nearly an hour. We'll have to spring this on some friends and family at some point because it will terrorize you until you figure it out.

Baby girl is doing good. She keeps kicking away and believe it or not....we've pretty much figured out which name we're going with. We ALMOST put it in the Christmas cards but opted not to because writing it down makes it semi-permanent. But we're pretty sure which way we're going.

We'll "unveil" it later on just to make sure that sleeping on the name doesn't change things.

Outside of that...we're just looking forward to Christmas break and then we're giving ourselves CARPET for a Christmas gift. (I mean really....how thoughtful is that ladies? Forget jewelry - Kim wants flooring and is happy about it.) We really need it upstairs if nothing else but to calm down the squeaky floors. We may do some more personal stuff in a few months just to get through some craziness around the first of the year.

Keep on praying for Kim and baby girl and have a positive week!

Weeks 24 and 25....

What a week! Kim and I have been covered up this week with bringing Baxter in, registering everywhere, and just normal stuff during the week....oh yeah, and there are rumblings of bad news at work so life is a little stressful ON TOP of baby girl coming and everything that comes with that.

The whole work thing is weighing heavy on the both of us because Kim and I have a lot of friends and contacts that I work with and the thought of either having to watch someone leave or be one of the guys that leaves is pretty tough. I get the feeling that there is some time between now and tough decisions so I hope I'm not being bold in asking for prayers for all of the people that I work with. Not necessarily for myself alone...but for everyone as a whole. I like the group, I like the company, and everyone there needs a job or we wouldn't be there. I know everyone will appreciate the thoughts and prayers because there is just so much of this going on right now.

Enough of the gloom and doom...we're going to keep up the pace with weekly updates so here is what the pros say about our baby's development:



Week 24 Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at just over a pound. Since he's almost a foot long (picture an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

Week 25
Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn't much more than an average rutabaga, but she's beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she'll start to look more and more like a newborn. She's also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you'd now be able to discern its color and texture.



Should be a good weekend because I have a football game, Soccer Ryan is having his house warming party after that, Kim and I will register more stuff this weekend and this Sunday is Chuck's Birthday. Big stuff...but please keep your prayers for Kimmy and baby girl and the whole job situation as well. Thanks and love to all.

Quick update...

So far so good with Baxter being inside! This little guy has adapted so well and I am so proud of him. He's been inside with Kim for the past two days while she worked from the home office and he just chills inside and will pee outside when she lets him out. He has had a few little booboos in the garage but I'm ok with that for two days. Kim has really done an about-face on having a dog inside and thus far, little Baxter hasn't done anything but impress us both. This will really cause us to be closer to him and that's a good thing.

On another note, we went to BabiesRus tonight with Nan and Michelle to register for stuff. We still need to go to The Baby Store, Target, and Walmart and then add some stuff to the BabiesRus website as well. It was such a huge help to have Michelle there to tell us what works and what doesn't and I'm sure Nan enjoyed being a part of this as well. Kim HATES!!!!!!! to make decisions so Michelle's experience with each item was invaluable. Thank you so much! And thanks to Nancy for driving all the way from the Hoon to take part. We still have more to register for and this stuff is exciting but we both feel so unprepared. I think we're feeling a little scattered right now with the Holidays, Registering, Rocky passing, needing to buy Christmas, job stresses and worries, blah, blah, blah......Because no one else goes through this stuff right?

Among all the perceived stresses, God has still blessed us immensely and we're going to try to focus on the good things rather than the bad right now. Keep praying for Kim and baby girl! We'll post again soon.

We'll miss our little friend....

Sunday has been a sad day for Kim and I. This morning I went to give Rocky and Baxter their morning treat and Baxter was up and full of energy and busting to eat something, but Rocky didn't come up.

We've both been expecting this to a degree since Beagles don't typically have long life spans and Rocky was nearing his 11th year but he passed sometime last night. He ate just fine last night at feeding and was perfectly fine during the day yesterday. We can only guess that he had a heart attack or stroke in the night.

Rocky has been one of the best dogs I have ever had and he's been with Kim and I since we lived at Dorsey St. We will miss him and know that little Baxter will as well. We have decided to bring Baxter in now and see if we can get him to adapt. I gave him a warm bath this afternoon and he was as good as he has ever been. He has just laid around this afternoon which wouldn't be much different than a normal day. He'll stay in the basement at night and we'll see if we can get him to potty train to have him join our "pack". Rocky was awesome little dog and we will miss him very much. I hate days like this....I hope God takes care of our little friends that we lose during our years. We love you Rock...

Happy Birthday Mom!

Happy 52nd Birthday!!

She doesn't look old enough to have a granddaughter does she?