The Hall Memo: Updates, Updates, Updates!

Wow! It has been awhile since I have posted! We have been BUSY - and that might just be a really big understatement :) Here is some Braden cuteness to get this post started!

House Updates

We finally moved! We said goodbye to our first home and have moved into our new home. We really liked our old home and will really miss our neighbors (ok, really just the Morrison's), but we are really happy in our new home. The thing that I love the most is that it's a ranch! No more stairs!!! I will likely NEVER go back to a house with stairs again. We are almost completely settled in, and I promise to post pictures just as soon as there aren't boxes everywhere! The neighborhood is awesome and convenient to everything. Braden likes it too, but more on that later. We have a HUGE yard that will finally be fenced this week - Rocco will enjoy that I know. We had a very difficult sale of our previous home but luckily an easy purchase of the new one (after the mortgage documents were in order). If you need an awesome Realtor, I have one!

Heather Updates

I started my new job at St. Vincent last week. It's not really a different job, just new hours. I work Monday to Thursday 4pm to 10pm and Friday 4pm to midnight. I love working in the evenings because I get to be at home with Braden almost all day but still be able to work. It's been an adjustment with scheduling, but we are getting used to it now.

I am now 31 weeks pregnant and only have ~9 to go. Can you believe that? I can't! It has flown by! Still feeling good except for the daily heartburn.

Kevin Updates

Kevin has been working like crazy getting the house in order - you know, the non-decorating type of things :) He has been adjusting to life as a single dad in the evenings, but is handling it well! He braved the Indy 500 this year in the record heat and had a great time despite the fact that I wasn't there. He will be going to the Iowa race at the end of the month as well.

Baby #2 Updates

Still no name. He is fairly mellow and has only had the hiccups once! Hopefully it stays that way. I love to feel the hiccups, but Braden had them constantly when I was pregnant, and then got them every time he ate after he was born. I really hope we don't go through that with this baby! We tried to have a 4D ultrasound done on Sunday, but he is turned toward my back and wouldn't show us his face :( But we were able to confirm that it's still a boy! No surprises this time! His heart rate was 130 on Sunday - he was sleeping. We have another doctor appointment this week, so we will see what it is then. Hopefully my doctor will go ahead and schedule our c-section at this appointment. Not that it really makes much difference because if he wants to arrive early, a scheduled c-section doesn't make a bit of difference. I just like to get things on the calendar!

Last But Not Least, Braden Updates

Braden turned 11 months old on May 14. He is now running all over the place. He tries to climb everything. He is B.U.S.Y. He is much more self-entertaining now and really is only crabby when he is hungry or tired. His development seems to be right on track. We are working on clapping - he has done it a few times, but nothing consistent. He loves feeding Rocco. You know he is done eating when he starts dropping his food to Rocco. His favorite toys are things that he can push. He is eating strictly table food these days and really is not picky at all. The only thing I can't get him to eat is blackberries. He uses a sippy cup and drinks a TON of water. Seriously, I'm surprised we don't go through more diapers. He has a new obsession with ducks. He loves them! He sees them, gets excited, and says "duh" over and over again. Luckily, our new neighborhood has a lot of ducks and geese, so we see them almost every time we take a walk. He will also go look out the window and say "duh" hoping to see them outside. He loves books. He doesn't really like being read to yet, but he sure likes to flip through the pages. If he sees a picture of a duck, dog, or ball, he can identify them. His vocabulary is growing so quickly! Here is what he consistently says: mama, dada, ba (bottle or ball), duh (duck or dog). He is listening to 'no' much better than before.

He is such a good sleeper now - as long as we don't mess up his schedule! He goes to bed around 8:30pm and sleeps until 6ish when he has a bottle and then goes back to sleep until about 8am. He still takes 2 naps a day, usually one hour nap and then a longer 1.5 to 2 hour nap.

We got the baby pool out Memorial Day weekend and took him swimming for the first time. Here are some photos of that and some other Braden photos: