The Big Move

Our time in sunny St. George is drawing to a close as we prepare for our move to Ann Arbor to begin Brian's grad programs. It's funny to think that "someday when we're in business school" is here, and that "someday after business school" is just around the corner!

Well, in between taking care of Felix, I have been spending my time packing, packing, and--you guessed it--packing. This also means dejunking, restocking the shelves at DI, and cleaning my apartment to a level that could only mean I soon won't be living in it anymore.

Unfortunately, Felix didn't seem to be a big fan of this work, since I can't do most of it one-handed. So he was acting a little more fussy than usual. That is, until the other day when he discovered a new, handsome playmate.

They've been best friends ever since.

Solo Hiking in the Zion Narrows

On Tuesday June 5th through Wednesday June 6th I hiked the famous Zion Narrows from top to bottom. Here are just seven photos (of the 150 I took) and a link to a mini-video diary I composed for those not fortunate enough to join me on this amazing adventure.

Zion Narrows Video Diary

Attack of the Baby Toys

During the last six weeks Felix inherited, acquired or borrowed an alarming number of baby toys and paraphanelia that are apparently beginning to multiply at night, slowly taking over our small apartment's diminishing square footage and creating a sort of micro-Disneyland for one in our living room.


















Of course Brian has recently had some fun with one of his favorite toys--the family convertible. Since 2004 our poor car has suffered at the hands of loose gravel, chipping paint, several parking lot door dings and two large trucks so we decided to treat our car, named Parker, to a new coat for Spring. This time we went back to the original factory color--Toyota 040 Super White!


Tell us what you think!

Trip to Ohio, Michigan

Going there...

...and coming back

meeting Grandma, Grandpa, and the Uncles

Felix finally got to meet his Grandpa Arnold and Uncles Kurt and Zack! There is nothing like family, and it was so good to spend time together.

Brian took a week off from work (which never happens--he usually works 10-6, six days a week!), and we flew into Cleveland from Las Vegas on Tuesday. Wednesday we visited everyone in Akron that we had promised to visit, and on Thursday we drove into Ann Arbor for "Go Blue! Rendezvous", Ross's admit weekend. Our time in Michigan was great--we stayed with our good friends the Shakespears and enjoyed royal treatment from the business school, since the weekend seemed to be designed to woo any fence-sitting admits over to Ross. Well, we decided to accept the admissions offer from Ross a while ago, but didn't mind the friendly wining and dining (minus the wine for us)! The best part was staying with Megan and Jeremy though. We're really looking forward to being neighbors in the fall, and I was sad we didn't get to spend more time with them. Their son Hyrum is super cute, he is just starting to talk and maybe knows about five or six words, but by the incredible inflection in his voice you think he's really carrying on a running narrative about he world. It's really cute to watch him. He and Felix seemd to get along well, although Hyrum was a little shy sometimes. Well, I think that shyness will wear off since they'll be playing together alot in few months!

Anyhow, after our time in Michigan we drove back to Akron and met up with Laura's friends Rebecca (and her husband Nick and their one-year-old son Noble) and Mallory. It was SO great to see them. Mallory and Laura were best friends like velcro in middle school and high school, and so of course a few hours together does not do justice to all the time that has passed, but it was definitely better than nothing! Hopefully we can meet up again soon.

After Church on Sunday and more visiting in the afternoon and on Monday it was time to fly back home. Felix was great on the flights and with traveling, but as seemed happy to sleep in his familiar crib again and go back to a routine (with more of Mom's attention)!

Oh, and the latest news is that Grandma Hall is coming to visit for a week on Wednesday, the 25th!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We are SO excited to have her visit, and for her to meet Felix for the first time!!

He not only smiles, he SPEAKS!

...or squeaks!

It's funny how crazy we are about our sweet Felix. We get excited about every little sound he makes, literally. We have also learned how to encourage him to aaahhh and coo more-just have a conversation with him! Grandma Beverly is a pro at encouraging him to do all sorts of cute and developmentally-advanced things. When she came to visit in January, she helped him roll over for the first time. And this past week, when we were in Ohio visiting, Felix was cooing and squealing up a storm! The secret? Lots of attention and love! And the high-pitched motherese really helps too.

Here's a little video of his progress recently. What a fun kid.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com
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Springtime Smiles in St. George

Over the past few weeks Felix has discovered a new secret weapon in his bag of tricks -- a completely adorable and utterly disarming smile. It's hard to resist the urge to tickle him, which brings up the curious scientific question: Is the tickling response (laughing) acquired or instinctive?

Unfortunately, the possibility of using Felix as a test subject has been thwarted by his parents, who both apparently have discovered their own deep-seated instinctive urges to unmercifully tickle his tummy, face, arms, and legs just to see that huge smile that starts in his eyes and then spreads from ear to ear in a perfect, toothless, felicitous smile.

Obligatory baby pics

By request here are some more baby pictures. If you think this is excessive, just be grateful they're not in your inbox taking up precious MBs of storage.

Newborn Pictures (12/22/2006)

Who needs a hospital?

OK, so I think I'll post the story of Felix's birth now, for anyone who might be interested. If you don't like birth stories or get squeamish at the thought of umbilical cords, you might want to skip this post. Otherwise, read on!!

Well, it all started 9 months ago... jk, I'll start 2 days before his birth. Tuesday, December 19 (which happens to be Mallory's birthday!), I took the Greyhound up to Provo one last time to finish up my last 5 client therapy hours (of 500). I had the same driver going up and coming back the next day, and he was a funny guy. I usually sat in or near the front seat (just so I could run off the bus fast if anyone creeps me out too much), but this time my seat choice kept me from getting much reading done in my "Husband Coached Childbirth" book (all about natural childbirth) because he just kept talking and talking. Everything that happened reminded him of a joke or a story, and after listening to him for a while I wasn't sure where one stopped and other started, cause he kept fading in and out of reality. Then he realized I was pregnant, and got super nervous that he was going to have to deliver the baby, which he supposedly had experience with. So he had some stories about that, but I don't think they were true.

Anyhow, I got into St. George at around 2:30 on Wed, but Brian was working alone and couldn't come pick me up until later that afternoon when one of his employees got in. So did I wait patiently? Yeah, right! It was only a mile and a half to Brian's work, uphill, so I figured I'd just walk as far as I felt comfortable and then stop. I was carrying quite a few bags of books, clothes, baby gifts, and stuff from my other life in Provo (oh yeah, and a baby and his luggage too), but I kept telling myself to go one block further, and pretty soon I was there. Looking back, I'm not too sure this didn't contribute to my early labor! But hey, it all worked out.

So all is well until I wake up the next morning (Dec 21st) at 7ish, and I think, hey these aren't Braxton-Hicks contractions... When I notify Brian he leaps out of bed, but I tell him not to worry, we still probably have a week or so. (See, I had a week's worth of work to do, so of course the baby will be polite and wait until I clear the shelves at Walmart, cook 60 meals ahead, wash every baby item I own three more times, and most importantly take three days to carefully and methodically pack my hospital bag.)

So we went about our usual business that day, except that during the afternoon I'm breathing through contractions while leaning over my shopping cart at Walmart. No big deal, he's still at least a couple of days off, right? So I stop at Brian's work on the way home to help with end-of-the-year inventory. Every once in a while I have to lie down on the floor and use some silly image of a beach to get through a contraction, since they're getting longer and closer together (abt. a min long, and 10 min apart). In between I'm fine though, so we finish up our work, close up shop and head home for the one BYU football game Brian will get to watch that year: the Bowl Game!

Then in between laundry, putting away groceries and Walmart goodies, some awesome plays by the Cougs, and a phone call from Brian's dad, we also breath and *relax* (HA) through some seriously intense contractions. They're coming one on top of eachother. Our birthing class is at 8:00, and at about 7:45 we call to let them know that we're thinking about going to the hospital. ("Oh, don't go too soon--it's the worst when you get sent home. Or if they keep you, they'll hook you up to a bunch of junk").

So all of a sudden I think that I've peed my pants REALLY bad somehow, but nope, we're in countdown mode!! Ahhh! So I run to the car with a bath towel, and as Brian's throwing everything under the sun into the diaper bag, I'm in the car thinking, OHMYGOODNESSI'M PUSHING!!! So Brian comes out and then runs back in and gets the baby seat, and then as we back out, I tell Brian that I'm pushing.

"Well, uh, stop pushing!! We're in the CAR!"

"I CAN'T!!! I HAVE TO!!"

"Well, don't push hard!!"

So after a 5 min drive we zoom into DRMC and run (well, I waddle and moan) inside. It's 8:00

Bri: "Can I get a wheelchair for my wife? She's in labor!"

Guy (who I'm pretty sure has been fired by now, thank you very much): [looks at me] "Oh, Labor and Delivery is just down the hall."

(Me:[DEATH STARE])

So when the nurses see me, I'm wheelchaired up immediately, and then pushed into the closest room. I'm hop up on the bed and I'm in delivery position (and attire--well minus the hospital robe and ID) in no time. Some Dr. guy runs in and listens to Brian shouting out our labor preferences (which are now becoming laughably obsolete: no drugs, no IV, no episiotomy, no continuous fetal monitoring, bla bla bla) and birth preferences (wait to cut cord, hold off on the baby bath, tell us what you're doing before you do it, etc), and tells me to stop pushing so hard (yeah, I wish I'd listened to him...) and Felix is born at 8:19!!!

Our sweet angel!

As an epilogue, Brian went out the next morning to get the car seat, and guess what? My door had been wide open all night!

UM, looks like we're heading to the UM

I recently decided to attend the MBA program at Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan. Besides being among the top-five MBA programs for marketing, Michigan is unique in that it offers a dual degree option MBA/MM (Master of Business Administration/Master of Music). The hard part about the program, so they tell me, is getting into the business school, but we're still waiting to hear back from the School of Music. I'm actually flying in to Ann Arbor for my music scholarship audition next month.

I can't pretend that I wasn't just a little bummed about my rejection at Harvard. However, my enthusiasm for the #1 ranked Ross School (Wall Street Journal recruiter survey 2006), raised a notch or two when I discovered that the school has an incredibly strong and active alumni base spanning (it seems) most consumer goods companies in the world. Taking the piano industry as an example, the Senior VP for is a UM business school alum, as well as a former Senior VP for ! These two companies represent #2 and #1 market share in this niche industry. I'm looking forward to developing an impressive network of fellow Wolverines, both inside and outside of music products.

It's time for some pictures...

Laura and Felix, a few hours after his birth

Proud dad, admiring his minutes-old son

Baby Felix! Fresh and clean after his first bath

Laura with sleepy, two-day old Felix

Daddy time

He's Here!!!

Our precious, little son, Felix Christian Hall, was born on December 21, at 8:19 pm. Four hours before that, we would never have guessed he was coming that day. A day before that we weren't even sure we were going to get a tax break. Sometimes these things happen fast! I will post the birth story in an entry soon.

So far parenthood has been *amazing*. Felix is such a wonderful baby. Even his crying sounds sweet, though I know that will get louder as he gets older. Our favorite sounds are when he squeeks, like as he's waking up, and when he sighs. He does this after he sneezes, and then takes another deep breath to sneeze again, but no sneeze comes so he lets all of the air out with a contented "aaaaah". So precious!!

I can't get enough of him either. An hour or so after he was born, they moved us up to the recovery unit. Since Brian couldn't come close to falling sleep in that 'easy chair' they have in the room--which was specifically designed to discourage dads from staying around, I'm sure--we snuggled together as a family in the hospital bed. And I remember realizing excitedly that I could hold him forever; no one was going to come and take this adorable baby back and return it to its mom, because I am his mom!! Sometimes when he falls asleep after nursing I just stare and stare at him. Everyone tells me to 'sleep while the baby sleeps', but that's just not happening. I can sleep when I'm old. Right now I just want to drink these experiences in. I love everything about him--his little mouth, his button nose; his beautiful, big eyes and long eyelashes (he can thank his dad for those!), his little ears, his soft hair... Oh, wow, listen to me gushing on like an overly proud mother. Well, it would be impossible not to fall in love with this little guy!

OK, now for some pictures!