Life in the Hallum household

So, I just know that everyone is dying to hear about all the exciting news that is going on in our family! Ha Actually, it is pretty exciting to us…Patrick starts his new job at DHS this Monday. He is soooo excited and we are soooo proud of him! We celebrated a little early Thursday night with a cake. I think we’ll celebrate again this Monday night by going out to eat. He really thinks he will enjoy this job and enjoy working with the people there, am I am so happy for him. He deserves it. He has been soooo patient for so long.

Other exciting news…Caroline’s leg seems to be perfectly fine now. Praise God! It took just over 2 weeks, but it appears that she can now walk with no problems at all. I’m so glad that she is feeling better.

Enough of that, I know that the real reason people check out blog sites is to look at pictures, so here you go!

Caroline (aka big sister)
Caroline LOVES her little brother! She kisses him and points at him and says “baby!” all day long! She is very sweet and is learning to be gentle with him. Whenever she finds his pacifier she always tries to put it in his mouth, even if he doesn’t want it. Other times she likes to put his pacifier in her mouth, but with the nipple part sticking out, so silly! This morning she tried to give him some milk from her sippy cup.

Caroline likes to play with her little brother’s toys when he’s not looking. She doesn’t mind that she’s too big.

Caroline practicing the drum with her Daddy.

One of Caroline’s favorite things to do is blow bubbles. A couple of weeks ago we took the kids to the school down the road from our house. We tried to fly a kite, but there wasn’t enough wind. So we just blew bubbles instead, and Caroline had a blast.

Caroline goes to Mother’s Day Out in NLR twice a week. She loves it! I have really enjoyed spending one-on-one time with Daniel while she’s at school. Such a special time that I look forward to every week! But not for long- this week is Caroline’s last week of school. With Patrick’s new job he’ll be working 5 days a week, which means next week I’ll have both of them all day for 5 days in a row! We’re going to lose our minds, but we’ll love every minute of it!!

For a few weeks Caroline was having trouble going to sleep at night, and would end up falling asleep on the floor by her door. Every night before we went to bed Patrick would check on her and then scoop her up and put her in bed trying not to wake her up. This picture was taken one night around 11 or 12. It was too cute not to take a picture! Even the bright flash didn’t wake her up.

This girl LOVES some oranges! I love that she loves them too, but they’re just a LITTLE messy!!

Caroline painting a picture for her daddy. She got a little messy then, too! At least those markers are so easy to wipe off.

Caroline loves to put puzzles together.

I think this picture needs no explanation.

She got her first piggy bank and did a great job putting her change in it.

Caroline LOVES for her daddy to throw her in the air! When he puts her back down she’ll sign and say “more”, and he’ll say “more what” and she’ll point up!

Caroline and her boyfriend Drew! (He lives all the way in Houston, so it’s allowed!)

A lot of mornings I’ll put Caroline in her booster seat on the floor in the living room and put one of her Elmo movies in. That gives me a chance to feed Daniel, pump, eat breakfast, etc and I’m still close by. This particular morning she had yogurt for breakfast and was a very dirty girl afterwards!

Finally getting to fly her Elmo (aka “melmo”) kite on Mother’s Day.

Paw Paw has his hands full! I’m sure he’s wondering how I do it every day! Haha

Our beautiful girl who will be 20 months old tomorrow. Oh, how I love her so!!!

J.D.

Daniel is now 6 weeks old! He is such a good baby. He has slept through the night one night so far, and since then the nights have been very unpredictable with him. All in all, he’s sleeping pretty well. At his 1 month check up he weighed 10 pounds and was in the 25th percentile. I couldn’t believe it- he was 8 lb 7 oz when he was born and now he’s only in the 25th percentile? I guess Patrick and I just make petite babies. Here are a few pictures of our beautiful baby boy!!! (Still can’t believe that he’s a boy! I think for the 1st two weeks I said that at least 10 times a day!)

Notice his t-shirt!

Having a deep conversation with his Paw Paw, his namesake.

His first trip over to G. G. and Papa Loise’s house (my grandparents) with his Paw Paw and sissy and cousins Morgie and Mano! (BTW, Mano had a little accident the day before on the playground!)

Some black and whites that we took.

What is more innocent than a naked newborn baby?! I wanted him to be asleep for these pictures, but no such luck. As soon as we took his diaper off he woke up and starting pulling his knees up to his chest like he was about to crawl!

His eyes are very blue right now, but I don’t know when or if they’ll change. His sissy has beautiful blue eyes like her daddy, but I wouldn’t mind if he had green eyes like his mama!

I love how he still curls up in a little ball when you hold him on your chest!

He is doing a great job holding his head up. That tummy time must be paying off.

He seems to like his swing more than Caroline did at his age. The only problem is that I have to keep Caroline away from him when he’s swinging b/c she wants to push him and turn the swing off and on!

His first trip to Cozumel’s to celebrate his “Aunt” Sarah’s birthday. I have a feeling that he’s going to love Mexican food like his mama!

Do you think Daniel is a mama’s boy?

Now that’s multitasking!

Meeting Ma (my grandma) on Mother’s Day. He is only the 2nd great-grandson out of 9 great-grandchildren!

First smiles…
Daniel has starting smiling for us, and we were finally able to catch a picture on Mother’s Day, what a present! His smiles are still so rare and precious at this point, that it truly brightens our day! He seems to have a habit of smiling at 4 in the morning right after I feed him. Of course that makes it soooooo worth it!

A proud mama with her two babies!

Best friends...

A E.R. Visit and a New Job

It has been a while since we posted anything of “merit” so I thought I would post what has gone on with us in the past week.

(I'll tell you the story as best I can, but I know I'll leave something out - but that's OK)

Last Tuesday Elizabeth took Caroline to the park after school. Caroline was on the slide when Elizabeth heard her start crying, Elizabeth rushes over and thinks that Caroline hit/bumped her head or something because she was leaned over. Elizabeth took Caroline back to her folks house to get Daniel and take them home. There is a first time for everything, both kids were screaming and crying all the way home (I’m sorry I had to miss that to be at work)

When Elizabeth got home she put Caroline down for a nap to see if that would help calm her down. When I got home at 6:15 Caroline was “all fired up again” so I thought that she just needed a nap. So I took her to her bedroom to lay down with her to help calm her down. 30 minutes later, she calmed down enough to go and have dinner with us. Caroline was in a much better mood then. After dinner I picked her up and went to put her on the floor when I noticed that she didn’t put any weight on her right leg. So I picked her up and moved her up a few feet to see if she would do it again, which, she did.

I asked Elizabeth if she had walked since she got home and she said, “come to think of it, no she hasn’t.” I showed Elizabeth what Caroline was doing and we decided to see if she was still doing it after our trip to Hobby Lobby.

When we got to Hobby Lobby we got the kids into the double stroller and took off. We got to the back of the store and I got Caroline out, only for her not to put weight on her right leg and she sat down on the floor. We called the “doctors” (Mimi and Aunt Lolly) both told us to go to the ER. So, we called the “REAL Doctor” thanks Jason. When we got home we called the medical exchange and they suggested that we go to the after hour pediatric clinic…which we were going to do anyways.

We get to the after hour clinic at 8:30 – well, after three hours and two sets of x-rays, there was nothing wrong with Caroline. About 10:45 after the second round of x-rays Caroline fell asleep on my chest…that girl can put off some heat. So the doctor told us to schedule an appointment with our doctor on Thursday to see what they want to do.

Well we got home and got the kids to bed and we slid into bed about midnight. And the next day Caroline didn’t do much walking but as the day went on, she would walk some. Over the next few days she started walking, with a limp on the right side. We are going to take Daniel in today for his one month check-up and we are going to have our doctor check Caroline out. Dr. Jason told us Sunday that there is nothing wrong with Caroline and there shouldn’t be any “long term damage” and that she should be back to normal soon.

Flash back to last week also. Last Wednesday I (Patrick) got a phone call at work and was offered a job. I told Jimmy that I had always told Elizabeth that I would discuss a “job change” with her before I accepted anything. Jimmy understood, but I told him that he “knows” what my answer will be and that I would call him back after lunch.

I went home for lunch on Wednesday to check on Caroline, Daniel and Elizabeth. When I got home Caroline was getting up from a nap and Daniel was eating. So I picked Caroline up and told her that I was glad she was up and that we needed to have a “Family Meeting.” At this time Elizabeth gives me a look of “what’s up????” I then made the announcement that I was offered a job with the Department of Human Services.

Elizabeth looked at me and said, “Well?” I told her that I had told Jimmy that I wanted to talk with you first and let him know this afternoon. It wasn’t a hard decision and it didn’t take us long to agree on it. I called Jimmy and told him that I was going to accept the position and then I went and filled out the paperwork.

My “Official Title” is Program Manager (or something like that). I will be responsible for all of the investigators in the Food Stamps department statewide. What I will be doing is making sure that the people that are receiving food stamps are complying with what the policy is. I will have 20 people under my supervision, 18 investigators and 2 secretaries. I’m going from being “Second Man” to being “The Man”. My first day will be on Monday May 19th. It will be hard for me to give up my Friday’s off, but I think I will enjoy working Monday-Friday 8:00-4:30. So on Thursday I submitted my letter of resignation to my supervisor and then I informed my staff of the decision and that my last day would be on the 15th. Two of my staff are still on “suicide watch” but they are starting to come around to the fact that I’m not going to be here anymore and that I won’t be “obsessing and compulsive” over most of their work.


Patrick's Public Service Announcement: For those who are new parents who need some help with the dos and don’ts of newborn babies

AMAZING SIMPLE HOME REMEDIES

1. If you are choking on an ice cube simply pour a cup of boiling water down your throat. Presto! The blockage will instantly remove itself.
2. Avoid cutting yourself slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold while you chop.
3. Avoid arguments with the Mrs. about lifting the toilet seat by using the sink.
4. For high blood pressure sufferers: simply cut yourself and bleed for a few minutes, thus reducing the pressure in your veins. Remember to use a timer.
5. A mouse trap, placed on top of your alarm clock, will prevent you from rolling over and going back to sleep after you hit the snooze button.
6. If you have a bad cough, take a large dose of laxatives, then you will be afraid to cough.
7. You only need two tools in life - WD-40 and Duct Tape. If it doesn't move and should, use the WD-40. If it shouldn't move and does, use the duct tape.
8. Remember: Everyone seems normal until you get to know them.

Daily Thought: SOME PEOPLE ARE LIKE SLINKIES. NOT REALLY GOOD FOR ANYTHING BUT THEY BRING A SMILE TO YOUR FACE WHEN PUSHED DOWN THE STAIRS

Pumpkin has Arrived!!!!

Well it has been a while since we’ve posted….ok, it’s been since April 1st. Well Pumpkin decided that HE wanted to come into the world. Pumpkin = John Daniel Hallum was born on April 4, 2008, at 3:28 p.m. and he was 21 inches long and 8 pounds 7 ounces (he’s a big boy).













(The Happy Hallum Family)


We had gone in to see the doctor with little to no changes. Elizabeth got what she wanted on Tuesday, it was now my turn to get what I wanted on Friday. The doctor sent us over to labor and delivery. When we arrived at 10:30 a.m. we had to wait for a delivery room. They told us that it would be ready in about 15 minutes…50 minutes later I went and asked and they had “just got the room ready.” It was during this time that Elizabeth decided that she wanted to walk around the hospital with her sister “Aunt Lolly” to try and get Daniel out the old fashioned way. We got into the delivery room and got things ready and the nurses started their thing. We now had to wait, hurry up and wait. Our doctor finally came by and broke Elizabeth’s water. After that the contractions started, hard and fast. Elizabeth got an epidural, and it took about an hour and our Pumpkin was ready to come. The nurses wouldn’t let her push until the doctor got there because Pumpkin was so far down. So more waiting on the doctor. Once she got there, it didn’t take long. Elizabeth did great….all three pushes and we finally heard the beautiful words: “IT’S A BOY!” Elizabeth and I both thought that Pumpkin was a boy, but we still couldn’t believe it. Our John Daniel was perfect and we were beyond ecstatic.




It was now more of the waiting game again, to move to our post delivery room around 8:00 p.m. Which I wasn’t really wanting to go to because the delivery room is larger and nicer and I didn’t want to have to sleep on the little couch. We made it there and got settled in. We had a lot of family and friends that came by over the next two days to visit with us.

Elizabeth had a great delivery and recovery. She is my hero! She tells me that her body was made for birthing babies. I’m afraid to ask her if that means she wants to keep up with the Tillmans?!

Our first outing as a family of 4 was to church this morning. Daniel sat in the worship service with us and slept through the whole thing. Caroline is adjusting well to being a big sis. She kisses Daniel all day long and points at him and says “baby”. She has only put his pacifier in her mouth once, which she then got a spanking for.

(After a good feeding this is what a boy should look like)

Daniel is a GREAT baby. He’s a good eater, good sleeper, and an all around happy baby. We are so thankful! We have already approached a couple (the Glasgow’s) about an arranged marriage between Daniel and Gracie in about 25 years.

(Caroline says "This baby is cutting into my beauty sleep!")

No April Fool’s Baby

Well, I promise that I am not “April Foolin” ya’ll out there!! Probably no baby today. I have to admit that I am a little bit stubborn in that I am not going with my doctor’s advice but rather my heart at this point. I have peace, and I am confident that that comes from the Holy Spirit, and I have no stresses or reservations.

So here’s what happened this morning…my contractions were actually 7 minutes apart. I think I felt one that was pretty big, but it still didn’t hurt and it only felt like the baby was moving. She checked me and I am still at 4 cm yet she said she could make me 6 cm. I understood her to say that the reason that I’m not already 6 cm on my own is because the baby’s head hasn’t descended further yet. Which tells me that Pumpkin is still holding out on us, and I’m just not comfortable taking him/her out yet when he/she’s not ready. My doctor said that she REALLY doesn’t want me to go past my due date (April 10), and I told her that I’m fine with that. I have an appointment with her first thing Friday morning (assuming Pumpkin doesn’t come before then) and I’m sure she will be ready to take the baby then, and I’m sure that I will be more progressed by then and I won’t have a problem with it. So as I have been lately, I will probably take it easy these next few days and stay at the house. Patrick has already taken off work so that will be nice. Caroline went back to school today after being off for Spring Break last week, and she was SO excited! She practically dragged my sister and mother-in-law down the hallway showing them where her classroom was. Poor girl misses her routine, I’m sure.

THANK YOU for all the meals, calls, visits and provisions that you have made for Caroline. Truly, the only thing that was worried or stressed me has been what to do with Caroline during these unknown. I hope to repay these wonderful favors to you gals someday!