IT'S A BOY!!!

WOW, it has been a crazy 2 weeks!!!
To start off with, Anna and I made out trip to Disney and it was great fun as expected!! We met lots of characters including: Mr. & Mrs. Incredible, Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Mulan, Pocohantas, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderalla, Belle, and a few others I don't recall right away. It was a hot week but through the heat we had a great time!! We rode the dumbo ride countless times as well as the Peter Pan and buzz lightyear rides!! On the buzz lightyear ride Anna shot the targets and scored over 30,000 points all by herself!! We bought the new tinkerbell movie the day it was released and took it with us to meet the fairies and they were all excited to sign the movie cover for us!! We discovered lots of interesting fact about animals at animal kingdom...fact #1: on the animal safari ride, if you don't hold on, you WILL be thrown from the vehicle :) We then toured countries of the world at Epcot and created a one of a kind keepsake mask as well as a passport signed in many languages at each country. While at Epcot, we watched the "Around the world" fire works show which anna actually enjoyed (she usually doesn't like fireworks). While I and baby boy took a day to rest from the heat, Anna discovered Hollywood studios where she met a few of her favorite movie characters: the incredibles and the toy story gang. We spent the rest of our week doing whatever Anna wanted to do around Magic Kingdom. She rode her very first roller coaster while we were there and LOVED it!!! We watched parades, got autographs, rode the rides, ate yummy snacks and drinks, walked alot, and all in all enjoyed the park sooo much!!!

After returning from our exciting week at Disney, it was time to go back to work and school. After 2 LOOOONG days of catch up work, it was time to have the BIG ultrasound!! We waited at the doctor for quite a bit but it was all worth the wait in the end :) We found out that baby hall is a BOY!!!! We spoke with the doctor after the ultrasound and he said everything is looking great with baby!!! He measured 19 weeks and 5 days which is exactly where he should be. God has answered many prayers already and I know he continues to do so daily! Another prayer answered for me was to find that after 3 years battling high blood pressure, since getting pregnant with baby boy, my blood pressure has been PERFECT!!!! We discussed my having a c-section and while there is still no definite date, we will most likely look 7 days prior to my due date (February 20) to have the c-section. As for a name for baby boy, it is still under discussion. We had a girl name set and ready to go (Afton Danielle) however, a boy name has yet to be nailed down. There was talk of Micah, but that has been buried now :) The new name of discussion is Carson Allen and while it has not been exactly settled yet, that is where we are strongly leaning. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers, not a day goes by that he does not answer our prayers!

Updates from the hall family

Sorry I have not given updates in a while. Anna started 3 year old preschool 3 weeks ago and LOVES it!!! She has bragged to each of her new friends and her teachers about her baby that is coming after Christmas. She is very proud of her new baby, even though its not here yet, and she is getting very excited to meet him/her. As for HIM or HER, we were supposed to find out on Sept 11 if baby hall is a boy or girl, however, due to some misguided information from our doctors office we will have to wait until Sept 29. It is only 2 weeks from now so the wait will not be too much longer yet we are all itching to know!!! We have feelings of boy some days and feelings of girl other days so I guess we will just have to wait and see. I will update just as soon as we go for our appointment, it is at 3:45 on the 29th. On another happy note, Marshall was able to feel the baby moving from the outside of my belly last night! I have felt the baby moving for nearly a month now but the movements had been too light to feel from the outside until this week!! We were very excited to be able to feel him/her! Marshall and I made a registry at target last week and Mom and I made one at babies r us last weekend as well (can you say YAY for free gift cards!!!) We feel very blessed to have such great family and friends!! Anna and I will be making a trip to Disney world next week and we are going to have a blast! Daddy has to work so he can't go and we are going to miss him for sure!!!! There are so many fun and exciting things coming up and I can't wait to update with pictures from all of our events!! I hope that while reading this, you are having a great day!

WEEK 17:
In the coming weeks your baby-to-be will be going through a new kind of growth spurt. Up until this week, her developmental milestones have centered on various organs and body systems beginning to function and then maturing. Now her body will start filling out by adding fat tissue. Fat is important for a variety of reasons. First, fat tissue helps your unborn baby insulate her body and regulate her body temperature. In her cozy home in utero, Baby's temperature is being controlled for her, but once she's born her body will need to perform that job on its own. Her fat tissue will help regulate her temperature and also store energy she'll need now and once she's born.

Another side effect of adding bulk is that your unborn baby will look more and more like a newborn in each ultrasound image. Her cheeks will lose their wrinkled appearance and develop characteristic baby chubbiness.

Her face is looking more babylike for other reasons, too. Her eyes are almost in their final position and they begin to move under her eyelids. On either side of her face, her ears are beginning to function and can detect sound. Her ability to hear will continue to improve as she grows.

While you won't be able to see your baby-to-be's face except during an ultrasound, this week you might be able to feel another development -- your baby kicking. Each week, she's adding fat and muscle and become stronger, so her kicks will become stronger. Keep in mind, she still only weights 3-1/2 ounces so her kicks might only feel like a flutter to you. Even though this doesn't seem like much weight, if you put it in perspective, your baby has been doing plenty of growing. For example, she's more than doubled her weight in the last two weeks, and by the end of this trimester she'll more than quadruple her weight -- by week 28 she'll weigh in at 2 pounds.

WEEK 16

As you end your 4th month, get ready for an exciting development: You may start feeling your baby move for the first time this week. There's a real person in there, and he's about to make himself known! Your baby is still small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, but barely. He's growing fast now, reaching more than 4 inches in length and weighing in at about 5 ounces. His transparent skin is tinged pink as it adds layers, and he can kick his tiny feet and make grasping motions with his hands. His eyes are becoming increasingly sensitive to light.

By now, all of your baby's muscles and bones are in place, and his nervous system is starting to exert control. Your baby is attached to the placenta by his lifeline, the umbilical cord, and that's growing thicker and stronger as his needs increase. Blood is constantly pulsing through the cord, bringing nutrients to your baby and helping to remove toxins from the amniotic fluid, which fills his trachea each time he opens his mouth. The placenta has grown too, in order to accommodate the thousands of blood vessels that are working hard to exchange nutrients and oxygen between your body and your baby's.

Heart Beat 15 weeks

We have purchased a home doppler to listen to the baby's heartbeat between doctor appointments and I was able to record it to share you today! I am currently at 15 weeks and 6 days, time is just moving right on by and I can hardly believe it is already September 1!! We put our fall decorations out around the house today and waking up to nice (almost) fall weather has been oh soooo nice!!!