MBA Kids' Graduation

I Can Canoe! Can You?

Brian took Felix on a canoe outing on the Huron River for Disorientation week before graduation. I was a pansy about finding a babysitter for Ez, and so I had to stay home like a lazy bum. They had a BLAST! I really regret not going with them, and I've vowed to not let my shyness about asking for help prevent me from making memories in the future--and missing out on seeing this little cutie learn new things!

Au Revoir! Adiós! Tchau! Shalom! Zài Jiàn!

I'm going to miss my Ross Partners like CRAZY!! It has been an amazing two years...

You May Call Him Master-Master Hall

The bigger one, not the two-year-old (though I'm sure Felix would like it if you deferred to him as your master as well). Hooray for Brian! On May 1st he graduated from the Ross School of Business with an MBA, and from the Music School with a MMus. Goooo, Brian!

We were so lucky to have Dave and Sharon came into town to watch Brian receive his diplomas and celebrate with us. Well, that was the excuse, but I know they mostly just wanted to see the grandbabies. :D

Brian being inducted into Beta Gamma Sigma (smarty-pants business society)

Brian Hall, MMMBA. aka Mr. Adorable (um, to me at least)

Where's Brian?

The Hall Clan

Bri, Ez, and Me.

(Felix was probably chasing a school bus or something)

Plotting out his next move...

Dad & Son :)

Thanks for coming out to visit us, Dave and Sharon! We love you a ton.

And I am so very proud of you, Brian! Some day when I'm all grown up maybe I'll get a master's degree, too.

Blessing

Last Sunday (March 1) Brian gave little Ezra a name and blessing in sacrament meeting. It was a wonderful experience, and we felt very fortunate to have loving family and friends in the circle surrounding and supporting our family. In the beautiful blessing Brian mentioned Ezra's kind and gentle disposition, something I can definitely confirm. He definitely is the sweetest, most mellow baby, and I feel so blessed to have the privilege of raising him. :)

Grandpa Dave and Grandma Sharon flew out all the way from Phoenix--how generous of them! Felix remembered Dave right away, and they had lots of fun playing together. It was great to have them here, and to get to know Sharon better. I'm so glad she's in our family.


My Dad also came up, which was quite a feat in and of itself! I am soo glad he came though. He stayed with us for a few days after the blessing, and had a great time talking and playing with the boys. (A funny note is that without prompting, he calls my Dad "Papa", which is what I called my Dad's dad, and what my Dad called his grandpa. How did Felix figure that out?) I loved watching my Dad play with Felix, and seeing them develop a special relationship. I hope we can see him again soon!

Also, a few days before the blessing, Grandma Polly surprised us with a visit to Ann Arbor! It was a blast to have her here, and we managed to squeeze a lot in during her short stay. Here are some shots of Felix and Ezra with their beautiful Grandma.

Unfortunately, my Mom wasn't able to make it up for the blessing, but she did send her love--and the adorable blessing outfit and knit blanket.

I'm so grateful for our loving, supportive families, and for the opportunities we have to spend time building our relationships and creating memories together. I'm also glad that Ezra gave us a reason to get together. We can't wait to see everyone again soon!

A Thousand Words

Laura, he's never 'just playing quietly'.

Never.

Some Recent Pics

15 Minutes of Fame....

Here's Brian's:

http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/feb2009/bs2009022_191866.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_news+%2B+analysis

What could be better than notoriety for unemployment? At least it's trendy right now... :)

Ezra Jackson Hall

The newest installment to the Hall family joined us yesterday, January 17th at 8:43 am!

First the stats, with Felix's to compare:

gestational age: 37 weeks, 5 days (F: 37 weeks, 1 day)
weight: 5 lbs, 14 oz (F: 5 lbs, 3 oz)
length: 18 3/4 in (F: 19 in)
eyes: nondescript gray (F: ditto...his turned bright blue after a few weeks)
hair: tons of soft, dark, wavy hair, with some serious sideburns (F: a fair amount of dark straight hair)
features: Laura's eyes, nose, ears, mouth we think (F: a little Brian clone!) [this is so subjective, and could and does change over time!]
labor: 5 hrs start to finish--all of it pretty intense (F: 10 hrs--5 hrs of it intense)

Now the story:

I'd been having contractions off and on for a few days, but nothing continuous, although I knew from my last two OB checkups that I was moving in that direction. Then on Thursday I woke up at about 3:30am to increasingly strong contractions that were first 10, then 8 to 6 minutes apart. I tried to rest in between contractions, and began to realize that this was really labor!

By 6:30 things were getting painful, and so I let Brian know. I took a nice warm bath, which really helped me through those moderately intense contractions. I guessed I was at about 5 or 6 cm when I was through with my shower at 7:00, because the contractions took a lot of focus and effort to sort of “stay on top of” mentally, but they weren't horribly painful.

By 7:30 Brian was up, Felix was getting ready to go to our friend's house (with all of 5 minute’s notice…thank you SO MUCH, Shakespears!), and I was really having to work to get through the first few contractions of transition (7 to 10 cm), in between drying my hair and putting on makeup, of course. Brian was very supportive and helpful, switching from “super dad” mode to “super labor coach” mode as he got Felix ready and the car loaded up. From then on the contractions came about every 2 minutes, and lasted about 90 seconds… so not much regrouping time in between! And boy were they intense; it took everything I had to work through them. But I just kept thinking about the light at the end of the tunnel—how we’d get to meet our baby boy in just a few minutes!

So we arrived at the U of M hospital triage at about 8:15: 9 cm, 100% effaced, with the baby at a +3 station (as low as possible before pushing), and the amniotic sac bulging. So after about 4 more super intense contractions I was in a delivery room, and they broke my water. That triggered the urge to PUSH, and so I did! The doctor told me to “bear down” continuously, but I chose to listen to my body and line it up with the waxing/waning muscle tension during the contractions. (This might be too much info, but that really helped me not to tear much at all, the only thing I wanted to do differently this second time around!)

Well, after 2 or 3 pushes Ezra was born!!! He was placed him on my chest, and all I could think was how GORGEOUS and perfect and tiny Ezra is—and what a beautiful miracle labor, birth, and families are!

Momma and Ezra, a few minutes old

A rare glimpse of Ezra awake!

Brothers

My little boys!

First bath--should I use the whole bottle of shampoo?!

Sweet baby Ezra

There's nothing in the world like a newborn babe