The "Man Club" Award Goes To...

This morning we had our ultrasound and we found out that we are having another little boy! It is so exciting to finally know! We are both thrilled. Weston has been rooting for a boy and so he is extra happy. He left the Dr office with an extra big grin...strutting his man stuff...like the next stop was the official "man club" where he would be officially awarded. He makes me laugh. We brought Warren to the ultrasound so he could see the baby. He has been convinced all along that we were going to be having a baby sister. I kept picturing another boy but I think Warren convinced me it was a girl too. Weston was really hoping for a boy and so he would often tell Warren that he thought it would be a baby brother. Warren would get upset and correct him..."No! It is going to be a baby sister!" During the ultrasound, Warrren kept repeating emphatically..."It is going to be a baby sister", "It is going to be a baby sister"! Finally at the end of the ultrasound the tech remained silent, she smiled, pointed to the genitals and then typed the word "brother" on the screen. When we told him it was going to be a baby brother first he seemed a little confused, then a little disappointed. After we explained that he could do all the same things with his brother (and more I'm sure) that he had been talking about with his baby sister, he seemed content.

Weston, you gotta love him baby....

I was tagged by Misty and so I get to tell you a little about Weston.

1. What is his name? Weston Lynn Hall or Hao Wei Lin (in Mandarin)

2. How long have you been together? I have known Weston for almost 13 years. We have been together for 11 years and married for 10.5 of them.

3. How old is he? He will be 32 in a month and a half.

4. Who eats more? Hands down...he does.

5. Who said I love you first? That would be Weston. Except it sort of slipped. I think he said something to the effect of "...then I realized that I was falling in love with you. " Blushing, I responded.."You are in love with me?"

6. Who is Taller? Duh

7. Who sings better? Currently, I do. Although, Weston does have a little song bird in him and I keep trying to recruit him to join choir with me. He was in Laytones in high school, so he CAN sing.

8. Who does the laundry? It is a team effort. He usually sorts, washes and forwards. I fold and put away. This is one chore that I have trained him really well in and I appreciate his willingness to help. He knows what can be put in the dryer and what I want air dried. He can differentiate between "special darks" and "regular darks" (you cannot wash these together you know) and has only shrunk 2 sweaters our entire marriage. Now, when it comes to his dress shirts, I am not even allowed to touch those at any stage in the laundry process. Only HE can wash and dry them...it is an unspoken rule. Pretty lucky, I know.

9. Who pays the bills? Well, actually auto deposit, pay & transfer pays the bills. It is wonderful and would recommend it to everyone. I am the "official" bill payer. During school, I was the checkbook Nazi and was the branch manager of a bank. If he ever splurged one day for lunch he could always count on a phone call from me about an hour later. Poor guy. I have become much more lax these days.

10. Who sleeps on the right side? If you are looking at the bed from its foot...he does.

11. Who mows the lawn? Primarily, he does. I will mow, if he can't get to it.

12. Who cooks dinner? That would be me 99.9% of the time. I do like to cook but it can be monotonus. Occaisionally I revolt and then he usually grills something or makes cheese spagetti. He actually can cook when he wants to. He has been known to make some fiercly delicious meals for me on our Anniversary and Valentines Day. Maybe the romantic deep inside brings out his culinary skills.

13. Who drives? If we are going anywhere together or as a family Weston believes it is the "man's duty" to drive. He makes me laugh.

14. What does he like to do? He loves politics, golf and eating out. He loves spending time with us and playing with Warren. He is a wondeful father. He also likes spending time with his brother Dustin.

15. Who is more stubborn? He takes the cake on that one.

16. Who kissed who first? It was one of those little mermaid & prince in the boat moments. We kissed eachother.

17. Who proposed to who? Weston proposed to me. Although it took him long enough...meaning, the day he did it I had no idea initially what he had planned. He was trying so hard to be romantic but I think he was really nervous. I finally caught on and after a 14 hour day together, he finally mustered the courage!

18. Who has more friends? That would be me. I am the social butterfly and he tends to be a little more reserved.

19. Who is more sensitive? I am, although there is a teddy bear way deep down inside that big man aka "fierce liberal fighter".

20. Who has more siblings? I do. I have 9 (3 full, 2 half and 4 adopted) and he has 6 (3 full & 3 step).

21. Who wears the pants? It depends on the issue. He usually wears the pants but if the pants get too dirty... I make him wash them and hang them out to dry. Once they are clean and dry I let him put them back on again. ;)



I tag Emily F, Kierstin, Ronna, Katie, Janelle, Cheri, Caryn, Kamie & Sarah and anyone else who wants to do this.

Easter Fun

Easter Sunday-The bunny visited our house while we were at church. It was a fun filled day. After we hunted Warren's loot we made Easter Cookies, ate dinner and visited some of our good friends.
Saturday we took Warren to the Easter Egg Hunt at Towne Center Park in Kingwood. It was such a gorgeous day. It was about 68 degrees and sunny.

After the hunt they had a carnival all set up for the kids and Warren had a blast. He got to ride the train, hold some real bunnies, baby chicks & ducklings, and feed some reptiles. A man from the Houston Chronicle took our picture to pulish in Sunday's paper.

Happy Birthday Warren!

Last Sunday (March 9th) Warren turned 3 years old! It is so hard to believe how time flies and how fast he is growing. It seems just like yesterday we brought him home from the hospital in his Michigan winter attire.

What can I say about this little miracle that we have in our lives...except we are the luckiest parents in the world to have him in our family. I don't think a day has ever gone by that I haven't thanked my Heavenly Father for him.

Warren has always been a little man. Even as a newborn people always commented on how mature he looked. Friends and Family almost immediately started calling him Master Warren Maxwell Hall just after he was born. He has always had a very strong spirit about him. It is interesting as a parent to hear the things that people pick up on and tell you about your children. Most parents think their kids are perfect (rightly so) and so I realize that I may be biased, just a little. One thing about Warren that people have always said is that there is just something really special about him, that you can feel his sweet spirit. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard this. As a mother I have always felt this about him (even when I was pregnant) and so it is endearing to hear that others pick up on that too.

As a toddler he didn't walk until he was 15 months old (and we were getting pretty worried) but by the time he was 19 months old he could recite his ABC's and was very articulate for his age. He continues to amaze us with his memory and imagination. He LOVES to read. It was about 9 months ago that we discovered that he could recite to us nearly all of his "reader" books, word for word, paragraph by paragraph. I have read those books at least as many times as he has and I could never do that! He has always been a sharp little cookie but we were stunned. Just after Christmas, over a matter of about 3 days (and very little practice) he shocked us again demonstrating to us that he knew all of his letters and letter sounds. He has an incredible imagination and comes up with the most entertaining stories.

He is a tender heart by nature and is very sensitive to people he around (and their moods) as well as his surroundings. He loves music and is obsessed with the violin and cello. At Christmas he saw a boy in our ward play his violin and ever since its all he talks about....and his trains (Thomas and Friends) and Lightning McQueen. He loves to cuddle on the couch and go to the gas station with dad to get cheetos and a "bug juice".

He is the light of our world and we are ever grateful for the joy he brings to us in our lives.

Happy Birthday Tiger!

A lightning McQueen Fishing Pole!

A remote control dump truck!

Birthday celebrations at Aunt Julie's house. They were so thoughtful to remember him on his birthday. They gave him a set of contruction trucks and made some yummy cupcakes!

Soul Food

Last Thursday my girls flew to Houston and we celebrated our annual girls weekend! We became friends in Ann Arbor while our husbands attended University of Michigan Law School. If getting through law school together doesn't bond you...I don't know what will. At graduation we all vowed that we would take the time at least once a year to get together and so far we have!

L to R: Me (Houston), Katie (Vegas), Cheri (Austin) and Ronna (San Fran)


They arrived Thursday night. Friday we enjoyed a facial, dining out and shopping. Saturday we went to the Kemah Boardwalk down by the coast. Sunday I dragged them all to 8:30 church after staying up until 2am, plus the time change...yea, they love me. Late Sunday afternoon it was time to go home. I already miss them.
Windy day on the boardwalk. We ate mexican, rode the crickety wood roller coaster (thanks Katie), enjoyed some hot chocolate....oh...and did some more shopping.

Last year everyone (except me) was pregnant and this year we got to enjoy the new babes. Amelia Love Anderson & Eden Rojas. They are both perfect angels all weekend and were content to listen to us all talk talk talk, go a few places and oh yea... and talk some more. This year...I got to be the tired pregnant lady.

Utah Adventures

We visited Utah from Feb 21- March 4. Here are a few of the highlights from our trip. Fasten your seatbelt!!! (In chronological order...)

Warren having a ball playing with Uncle Brian's chickens. I would have never guessed it growing up but my brother has become quite the organic famer/gardner. He has a huge garden with just about everything you can imagine planted in it, he currently has about 29 hens, 1 rooster, raises a pig and sheep every year, fulfills his yearly maximum of deer and elk tags and fishes year round. He is proud of his self-sufficency but I like give him a hard time that he feeds and slaughters his "pets". He just chuckles and dishes it right back. It was fun to see them. Aunt Maridee giving Warren his first real haircut. Usually he has pretty intense haircut anxiety when I cut it but he did fabulous with Maridee.
A little bonding time with my little sister Rachael. (Yes, you will always be my LITTLE sister...even if you are 18 now!) Love you sis.

We FINALLY got to meet my Nephew Jonah (blue eyes)! He was born on St Patty's day 2007...approximately 1 week after our last trip to Utah. I was not happy about that. I have been so excited to finally to meet him. As you can see...he is a cute little stinker. He was excited to meet his favorite Auntie Em too!In January '08, Dustin (Weston's brother) & Natalie had their first baby boy! They named him Henry Dustin. He is the sweetest little guy...and absolutely adorable! We couldn't get enough of him....especially Uncle Weston.

On March 1st, Dustin, Natalie & Henry were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple! It was such a beautiful ceremony. The spirit was so strong and I don't think I have ever seen anything more precious as when they brought in baby Henry to be sealed to them. Weston got to hold Henry while they performed the sealing. We were so honored to be in the temple with them. We love you!Our little family (all 3.5 of us) back on the steps were it all started 10.5 years ago. Henry was blessed the very next day. Warren was so excited to meet Henry and loved holding him.