Doug, Hillary, and Linkin

(This was Linkin at a few weeks old)

Last year at this time I was sitting on my parents couch "power watching" seasons of Desperate Housewives on DVD. Why you ask? I was on bed rest with Linkin. I went in for my weekly check up on a Tuesday. When the doctor came in the room, he asked me where Doug was. This was an unusual question for him to ask me and his demeanor seemed a little serious. I asked him why he wanted to know where Doug was and he responded with, "Because we may be having a baby today." (Internal: Holy Crap!!!!!! Not ready yet!!!!!) He sent me for some tests and determined I was fine but needed to remain on bed rest and come back in a few days for more testing. I went back on Thursday and they scheduled me to be induced Friday night/ Saturday morning in the middle of the night.

I remember the birth being pretty easy. I was in pretty active labor after my three gels and once they started the Patosin I started going pretty quickly. They had to give me a shot to slow down my labor. I got to an eight and the contractions started getting through to me even though I had an epidural. I knew I was almost ready so I pushed the little button they give you for extra meds a few times to make sure I wouldn't feel a thing! I remember turning to Doug and asking him to go get a nurse. He asked me why and I said, "I think the baby is coming now." The nurse came in and almost fell over because she said, "holy crap there's a head there!" It was hilarious! Twenty minutes of pushing and we had ourselves a little baby boy. It was the scariest thing ever when I first saw him. He hadn't taken his first breath yet, so he didn't have the pink color yet. I was totally frozen and freaking out because I wasn't sure he made it. The nurse finally suctioned out his mouth and he started breathing/screaming. It was absolutely amazing to see the color come alive. He was the smallest baby I had ever seen. He was an adorable 5 pounds 5 ounces. None of the clothing we brought to the hospital fit him. We had to go out and get preemie clothing to fit the new little man. The one thing he grabbed onto and loved right away was his little binkie. It engulfed his entire face! It was the cutest thing I had ever seen. We love our little man so much and are so grateful to have had him for this amazing year. He has grown up so fast and is getting so big.

Have you ever been jealous or bitter because of the love your husband has for his football team? I just don't understand the deep emotion that comes along with being a football fan. There is nothing at all I could possibly relate it to. The Cardinals will be playing in the Super Bowl on February 1. Doug is beyond words excited right now. Let's just say, after the Cardinals big win on Sunday he started CRYING!!!!! I am not joking! This man didn't even cry on our wedding day, but the Cards go to the Super Bowl and that gets a tear? Help me out ladies! :)

Arizona 33 Carolina 13

(We took this picture right after the Cardinals won! I swear he didn't smile this big on our wedding day! ha ha)

I can't believe it's true, but Doug and I made it through Christmas and New Years without having either of us end up in the hospital! Hooray! Last December was the start of our health issues. On December 15th last year (my graduation date), Doug ended up going to the emergency room for some horrible stomach pains. He had been having them for six months and the doctor couldn't figure out what was wrong. Finally, an ER doctor figured out he had Gal Stones. He was sent out of the hospital and told to go see a surgeon to get them removed. We saw the surgeon a few days later and he immediately admitted Doug to the hospital. The following day his Gal Bladder was removed. It was so bad that they had to drain the Gal Bladder before they could remove it. It was highly infected with gain green. Since they had to drain it, his entire body got infected as well. They had to leave a tube in his side to drain the infection. He was transferred to the ICU so they could keep a closer watch on his blood cells. The next day, his lungs collapsed because of the pain he was feeling. All in all, he was in the hospital for about a week and a half. They let him leave on December 23rd. I was sooooo excited that I was going to have him home for Christmas. The only problem was he had to come home with his tube in his side. A few days later they removed the tube and all was suppose to be fine. On January 2nd we went back to the hospital because he almost passed out at the mall. He was readmitted to the hospital with an abscess in the location of his Gal Bladder. The infection in his body started to build up again. This time he ended up getting Pancreatitis at the hospital as a side effect from a procedure. He was in the hospital for a total of 26 days. (I was 7 1/2 months pregnant with Linkin) I had Linkin a month later and had health issues of my own and Linkin ended up being Colic. After that was all cleared up, Doug blew his ACL and had surgery again. 2008 was the year of health issues and surgeries for the Hall family. Here's to hoping 2009 is full of GOOD HEALTH and happiness! (sorry to be such a downer)