it's a...

GIRL!

halle has requested we call her baby donuts.

however, we're considering lily bell.

she's as healthy as can be with legs that go on for miles.

it was love at first sight.

happy birthday

today is my lovely husband's birthday.

this is a picture of wes and halle digging into his pumpkin birthday cheesecake.

thanks to the blizzard he was told to stay home from work today.

we decided to chance it and go to lunch at the cheesecake factory before the blizzard started.

i love celebrating my sweetheart.

halle loves it too.

after her nap today he told her they could dance around the room and listen to "happy birthday princess"

he is amazing.

it shouldn't surprise you that he does all the work around the house.

really, he does.

he takes out the trash, he mows the lawn and weeds, he waters the plants, he makes sure the house is safe when he is out of town, he cleans the toilets, he deals with all things electrical, he takes total and complete care of me and halle, all while working and studying for the cpa exam.

he gives and gives and i take and take.

it is his nature, and i guess you could say i am a leech.

but, somehow it all works.

he is the best decision i ever made.

oh, and he is a hunk.

i love this day, for on this day a lovely, perfect boy was born.

insider info

some things you may not know about the bell's

• halle calls the kit kat candy bar a kitty kat and junior mints are called bimmies
• when i go walking in the mornings i get happy when the beegees pop up on my ipod
• wes had an uncle rico moment the other night (you know, creepy uncle rico from napoleon dynamite who wants to go back in time to 1982 so coach will put him in fourth quarter and they could be state champions.) anyways, we were watching the jazz game together and ronnie price was out on the court. wes and ronnie played together at uvu when wes was red-shirting there before his mission. during the jazz game, ronnie was in the corner of the court, shot a three pointer from out there and made it. wes promptly said something like. "i used to make that shot over ronnie all the time. i could do that. i just sounded like uncle rico didn't i?" and yes, he did. i could almost see wes in sky blue pants with a moustache saying, "how much you wanna make a bet i can throw this football over them mountains?" and "back in '82 i used to throw a football a quarter mile." oh i laughed hard.
• one morning i told halle we needed to go running. (she usually comes with me in the mornings and i let her put on her little nikes and run around at the end) she didn't want to go that morning and said, "we can't go running. your tummy hurts." maybe i am using the pregnancy card a little too often with her and maybe she is getting slightly manipulative.
• my christmas wish list?: a pair of pink sparkly toms and lots of toys for halle.
• one day halle and i were in target and i found the most fantastic christmas gift for her and it was on sale! i knew i had to snag it so i put it in the cart and didn't think she would mind. she screamed the rest of the time we were in the store because we had to wait until christmas to open it. she kept sobbing, "santa will open it." luckily she has forgotten about it, but i don't think we will be going christmas shopping together anymore.
• i really like working wes
• halle says the word "hair" and it sounds like Nelly the rapper saying "herre" like on the song "hot in herre" oh it makes us laugh.
• i caught wes talking to himself while he was working out the other day. i think it is one of my favorite things to experience. i wish i talked to myself. i think it is therapeutic.
• halle wears 4t clothing. yeah, she is two and a giant.
• halle saw the big "d" for dixie all lit up one night in st. george and was so excited because she thought we were by disneyland.
• i eat chocolate chex in the morning. do you think that is good for baby?
• at night halle lays by me until she falls asleep while i read. don't tell anybody but, i kind of like it. pediatricians everywhere are wagging their fingers at me, i know.
• i am at the "whoa, did she gain some weight or is she pregnant?" stage. let me tell you, it's been fun watching people's eye contact fall from my face to my belly, including bob harper, one of the trainers from the biggest loser. who knows what he was thinking when he met me in my pajamas outside my house one morning.
• halle likes to sing "home on the range" to the baby
• the song "you've got a friend in me" will forever remind us of our little halle girl. you should hear her sing it. you might cry.
• oh boy, we are enjoying ourselves.

halle

We were so pleased with how well Halle's two year portraits turned out.

Photography by Mckenzie took the shots at her home studio in Orem. We were a little worried about getting them done, because Halle is a spunky little girl who rarely looks at the camera let alone smiles at the camera. I don't know what it was, something about the photoshoot atmosphere and that Mckenzie is great with kids, or a little blessing from heaven. Whatever it was, it turned her into a photogenic little kikster for her photo session. Mckenzie captured so much of Halle's personality I don't feel like I am able to catch with my own camera. I love that we won't ever forget some of the silly faces she makes at this age. And the best part is that Mckenzie burns you a high resolution cd with the printing rights right on the disc. No more hassling your photographer to sign over the rights so you can get your pictures printed! Her prices are absolutely the best I have ever seen for someone who gives you all the images, no strings attached. Halle's session and cd total? $55! (We took advantage of her $35 session deal, there are more to come so check her blog for the dates). She has so many different background colors to choose from and she does family portraits and weddings all over Utah county. We highly recommend her!

Check out her blog for more information and to see some of her other photos.

http://www.photobymckenzie.blogspot.com

trick or treat 2010

The only way I got Halle's costume on her Halloween night was to show her over skype that baby Jake was wearing a costume.

After she saw him she was okay with putting her dress on. So we bundled her up for another cruel and cold Utah Halloween.

We caught a break in the rain and took her out to trick or treat with her buddy Wade the airplane.

Although it was freezing she loved trick or treating. She said it in the cutest high pitch voice and ran from house to house, sometimes digging her hand in the candy bowls without saying anything. What can I say? We taught her well. We said goodbye to Wade and the Barton's just as the rain started again and warmed ourselves up in the house. Halle grabbed a bag of mimmy's (m&m's) from her candy bucket and we watched Scooby Doo and the Witches Ghost for the rest of the night. Halle has loved this holiday. The whole month she has been so excited to see witches and skeletons and scary things in the grocery store. The school halloween carnival's spook alley was talked about for days. She has loved seeing everyone's scary decorations outside their houses and all the pumpkins. She loved all the costumes and seeing little kids dressed up. But, I think her favorite part has been realizing she can say trick-or-treat and she will get candy. What's not to love about that?