Warner at 2 Months

Warner is still not on an official schedule yet, although he has been a great morning napper. I have been taking him to the gym with me and he has been a perfect baby. He sleeps from about 9-11:30 every morning. He loves his mom,I would say he is more attached to me than the other kids at this age. He loves his swing and sleeps every afternoon in it. He is such a blessing.

Halloween 2010

Bo loved Halloween the most this year. He wanted to be about 1000 different things. From a lion to Batman to Spiderman and a Frog. When I asked Hershal what he wanted to be he said, "Mom I don't care, just get me something." Anni wanted to be Santa Claus so we went to Savers and found a red outfit and hot glued white felt everywhere. I thought she looked so fun!

The kids and Warner

All of us are coping with the new baby pretty much the same. Just like Bo, we are all happy to have Warner in the Family. I had to snap a quick pick of Nash laying on the blanket with Warner because for the first 6 weeks, this is all Nash does all day. He wants to lay on the blanket ride beside Warner. I am not sure if he id trying to communicate to me that he misses being the "baby" or he just loves to be by his little brother all day long.

Warner 2 weeks

Warner is the best baby. He sleeps when I need him to and is awake when I need him to be. He is not on a schedule, mostly because I am not able to go anywhere and I don't need him to be. I am feeling better. Each day gets easier and I am not in too much pain. I am on motrin around the clock, but I am walking better. I still don't see how I can start exercising in a few weeks. The kids are all doing great. Nash is having the hardest time. He is sucking his thumb and wanting me to hold him more than ever. I pray everyday that I can give all my kids the individual attention that they all need.

No Name Yet?

We left the hospital not knowing what to name him. It was between Archie Vaughn and Warner Whiting. Well, we didn't decide until we got home and the kids helped out and voted Warner. We did not pick any boy names because, well, we thought this baby would be a girl! We were so surprised when Adam looked over the hospital curtain in the surgery room and said, "oh my gosh, it's a boy!" We are so thrilled to have 4 amazing boys and lucky to have 1 beautiful girl.

Warner's Delivery

You think you will never forget all of the details that happen to you, especially having a baby, but somehow, time goes by and you start to forget the little details about the big deals in your life. That is why I need to blog about the details of Warner's delivery. I went into labor on my own on Tuesday night, but I had a scheduled induction at 5:30 on Wednesday morning. I could not sleep on Tuesday night because my contractions were so hard, but they were every 10 minutes. This was continuing for several hours, so at 3:00 am I decided to drive myself to the hospital and check in a few hours early. I did not bother to have Adam come because I knew my contractions were not close enough. I knew I had time. Once I got there, I had progressed to every 3-5 minute contractions and I was at a 3. Adam arrived at 5:30 and I was at a 5, but no further progression. I got my epidural at 6:30 in the morning and life was good. I was never induced with drugs, but Dr. Adams broke my water at about 7 am. For 2 hours after that, Warner's heart rate was dropping after each contraction. They tried several different positions and even tried putting extra fluid into the uterus, but nothing worked. She told me that we needed to do a c-section. I was disappointed, but I wanted the baby to be OK.

Warner is Here

On Wednesday morning at 9:10 Warner Whiting joined the Hall family. He weighed in at 8 pounds and 2 ounces (the biggest Hall so far) and 19 1/2 inches long.

DS!

What a smile! Hershal has achieved the impossible! Well, at least I think his accomplishment is extra-ordinary for a 6 year old boy. About 2 years ago, Hershal asked us to buy him a DS. Adam and I decided to tell him that if he earned 130.00 he could buy his own. From that second Hershal was determined to buy himself a DS. I thought his determination would last a week, or maybe a month at most. For the last year and a half, Hershal has never been side-tracked in his quest for a DS. He did odd and end jobs, helped granny with yard work and pulled weeds for a penny per weed. There were many mornings before school that I could not find Hershal, after looking around everywhere, I would find him in the yard somewhere pulling weeds. Sometimes we counted hundreds of weeds in his bucket. I am so proud of Hershal, he is the hardest worker!

Nash is 2!

We can't believe Nash is 2 already! He is so much fun to have around. He is obsessed with basketballs. So that is just what he got for his birthday. He can literally shoot baskets all day long. Just recently he has tried soccer and football too. He says them all perfectly, just as if he were 8 years old- he throws pretty good too. Of course, you can see in the bottom picture that he has his "Bo" or his bear. He always carries the stuffed animal around wherever he goes. He is a good boy, just a few days ago we transferred him to the "big boy bed", in preparation for the new baby coming. He is so proud of himself because he can get out of bed on his own and open the door. Every night he comes out about 4 times before he finally stays in his bed, he thinks it is funny. When he wakes up, he comes out of the bedroom and I hear his little feet, followed by a "good morning" then he climbs into bed with me and lays there for a bit. I hope I never forget the little things that make me love being a mother.

Anni's Character Kid

It is no surprise to me that Anni was picked as character kid for the first week of school. She was recognized by her 3rd grade Teacher, Mrs. Siwek, as displaying the character of compassion. Apparently there was a day that it rained pretty hard and one of the girls in her class was scared and crying, Anni walked her to the bus and helped her feel better. I am so proud of Anni. She is beautiful both in and out. This is a picture of her with her principle, Mrs. Aungiano

Bo's In Preschool!

Bo Started Preschool at Mrs. Carries. He is gone Monday's and Wednesdays from 9-2. I miss him so much furing the day because he is really fun t have around. He has already learned to write his name (which shouldn't be too hard) and he is working on the alphabet. He loves making crafts and is discovering how well he can color (specifically staying in the lines). When Bo and mom went to pick out his backpack for school, he chose the Spiderman one and walked all over walmart with it on his back. He was so excited, I love this age! The preschool went to a cow farm, and Bo is an expert with chickens, so he just picks them up when he feels like it.

Pool in Durango

Nash loved the hot tub. We had to drag him out of there every time. The kids played on the water slide for hours and loved it. And of course dad played "monster" with them.

Hike

We did a fairly challenging hike with the kids. I love the picture of Anni and Bo holding hands. He was scared, so she helped him down the "short cut" that dad took. The view is looking down at the resort from the mountain.

Cabin 2010

The kids had a blast this summer! They made their own sling shots and Bo learned to drive the Quad. For some reason he wore this helmet everyone he went, even eating dinner he had that thing on.

The Three Stooges

These 3 boys had a blast together this summer. They followed each other around from the sand pit to the quad and back to shoot hoops. They played with the basketballs for hours. Luckily we had one for each of them.

Lazy Summer Days

Nash's new love is the "Trampline". He says it perfectly. It is hot here in AZ and he has figured out how to keep cool.

4th of July

We had another fun summer at the Cabin this year. This was Nash's first memory of a parade and he was in candy heaven. He was shy at first, to run after the candy in the street and then he got the hang of it, he was grabbing handfuls as fast as

he could. The first picture, was funny because a horse came right in front of the kids and pooped. Maybe that was the real reason that Nash was so amazed! We all laughed so hard.

Anni's Last Day of Second Grade

Anni always amazes me. The last day of school in Mrs. Baxter's Second Grade class they had an awards ceremony. The kids in the class previously voted on specific awards and everyone in the class got something different. I was moved to tears as her teacher announced Anni's award (which I thought was the best one), the "Most Colorful" Award and her teacher explained that it meant the person in the class that was always kind and happy. I was so proud of Anni that day. She is always kind and happy. She has been given a unique gift from her Heavenly Father, she is able to befriend anyone and is welcoming to all. She also performed in the talent show and did an excellent job by singing, "You belong with Me" by Taylor Swift. I was proud of Anni, she did a great job as she sang and danced in front of the whole class. I did get this on video.

Hershal's Last Day of Kindergarten

Hershal had an exciting year this year, to say the least. His teacher, Miss. Narmont, loved informing us weekly about Hershals bodily functions. Let's see....we heard about burping, peeing, pooping, farting and picking noses . I guess that was Hershal's favorite way to get any extra attention. We made it through a whole year with only one asthma episode! Hershal showed great improvement in his first year, we are very proud of him. Hershal provides the Hall family with entertainment, and dramatic stories. He is always obedient and got "Happy Grams" every day-earning him 2.50 cents a week.

Early Summer 2010

Anni had her first piano recital. She did sooo great! I can't believe she has only taken piano for a few months. Her teacher (granny) says she is a "natural. Bo loves helping me in the kitchen, his favorite thing to make is chocolate chip cookies. Hershal and I pose at the beach in La Jolla. He is so much fun and I love laughing with him.

Nash at 21 months

Nash is so cute. I love watching him walk around the yard and think he owns the place. He loves to go on rides. Every time he sees a lawn mower or golf cart, he says, ride? He even convinced a neighbor lady who was driving by in her golf cart to give him a ride around the neighborhood. Luckily she was a good person, because Adam and I let her take him and we had never met her before.