busy busy BUSY

(another post written a few weeks ago. I want to post pics with every post but need to just post these because they sit in my edit box for too long) Wow it's been a while. I feel like I say that everytime I log on. Obviously my weekly goal has not been kept. Alot has happened as always.
Hurley has had his 6 month checkup and is still only in the 5th percentile for his weight. I had to take him back to the Dr. a few weeks ago for a follow up to make sure that he was gaining more weight. I've changed up his diet and he's eating 3 meals a day plus nursing every 2 or 3 hours - depending on his mood. Just this past Friday I noticed his bottom left tooth is trying to break through. His 1st one! FINALLY! Trust me I personally haven't been complaining but it's getting to be time. Last post I said Buzz was starting work in Vernal. Well, that time has come and gone. It went by fairly quick. He's now working in Richfield though. Ugh! But I am grateful for the work. Hopefully once this job is done they will be home for a little while. Now for the bad news:
Many of you know that my dad has been fighting a tough battle with cancer for the last 2 1/2 almost years. We found out 4 weeks ago tomorrow that his oncologist gave him 2-3 months left of life. No more chemo - nothing will stop it now. I've personally had a strange feeling since November (when we found out that the cancer was in his lungs) that it wasn't going to be much longer. But how do you tell others and destroy what little hope there is? I couldn't. So of course I turn to my bestest friend in the whole world, the ONLY person in my life that I can ALWAYS tell anything and everything to - Buzz. We've talked and talked and talked about knowing the end was coming alot sooner than we wanted it to but what do you do about it? It was never easy to talk about but I knew that I needed to and even after talking about it and knowing in the back of my head what was coming, the 2-3 month diagnosis still slapped me across face. I can't remember a time when I've cried so much! I feel so bad for my mom. I couldn't imagine life without Buzz! And for my little sister Melody and all the milestones that my dad won't be there in person for. But it's like my friend CaSondra said, there's always gonna be that "I wish he was here for this" no matter what. This diagnosis has sent my anxiety into hyperdrive and I feel like I can hardly control myself. I've been fighting with a little bit of anxiety for about 4 or 5 years now, but nothing like this. The clock has become my enemy and I can only hope that once everything is said and done I can be somewhat back to normal. Gia has been amazing with the daycare. I've had to cut my hours because of my anxiety and her and Tim have been nothing but GREAT! Like I said the clock is my enemy and everyday around 10 o'clock I feel like I have an elephant sitting on my chest. I try not to think about it but man it's hard. I can't take my anxiety meds because I'm nursing Hurley and that and the pill I take to keep my milk supply up conflict so this has been somewhat of a tough battle. I'm not trying to put the focus on myself so enought about my problems. My poor dad. I can't possibly imagine what it's like to sit and wait to die - and especially in pain. I know that we're all dying in a way, but to know it's that soon and to just wait for it. And the pain..... All I can think about is my poor dad and how much I am going to miss him. My dad is the foundation of our family but I know that he will be with us always and no matter how hard this is, I know that our family will become even stronger than we already are! We've already began to bond in a way that I never imagined possible. I try to spend all the time I can with my dad and I feel bad neglecting my house and my responsibilities as a wife, but I know that this is just temporary. I keep saying it over and over again in my head, but I love my dad so much and I don't know how I'm going to get through this. But like I said, we have a strong family and we will all get through this together - like we have everything else. I love my family so very much and I hope they know they all have their special places in my heart and this will be a long hard journey but we are Halona's! And Buzz. My one and only bestest friend in the world will be that boulder I will need more than anyone and I know that he will be there just as much if not more as the rest of my family will be.

Long time no blog

(this post has been sitting in my edit box for over a month. I'm so pathetic but it's takin me that long to get my pictures uploaded onto the computer)
I know it's been a while. Time flies when your having fun right!
Well our little man has defeated the task of learning to sit up. Buzz and I have been working with him quite a bit since December to try and teach him this new milestone in his life. We were sitting in the living room watching TV last Sunday and I sat Hurley between my legs like I have been so that if he fell one way he'd hit one leg and if he fell the other way, he'd hit the other leg (kinda like bumpers). After a minute or two he didn't bump either leg so after about 5 minutes, I moved my legs and he sat there for over half and hour! YAY! He continued to do that for the rest of the day and he hasn't gone back! What an accomplishment for him! We're so proud of him. He looks so little sitting there playing with his toys. Our friend Rachael said he looks like a little midget lol. He seems happier now that he doesn't just have to lay down all the time to play - not that he was a grump before but you know what I mean.

We've also been to the Dr. again. Our primary care physician actually had her baby Jan 21st. Her little girl weighed the same as Hurley and she was an inch shorter. We LOVE our Dr. and are so happy for her. Anyways, we ended up seeing the Nurse Practicioner (she's seein our Dr.s patients while she's on maternity leave) because I thought Hurley had an ear infection. Last weekend he would wake up screaming out of nowhere and I thought that maybe he was just teething. He also had the little low grade fever so I didn't think much of it until we noticed him start pulling at his ears. So off to the Dr we went. Turns out that teething pain can be refered to their ears. I was glad he wasn't sick but I did feel kinda dumb. Oh well. Better safe than sorry and at least we'll use the insurance :)
Hurley also had his first haircut yesterday!

That was an experience. Poor kid. He did awesome at first when my friend Cassie started trimmin the top with the scissors but once those clippers came on he was pissed!

I had to hold him and force his head against my chest so she could trim the one side then we switched sides and did the other. I thought that he would eventually get used to it and calm down but he never did. He only seemed to get more mad. But it's all said and done now and he looks as cute as ever! Hopefully it'll finally start to grow everywhere and not just on top.
Oh, Buzz starts work in Vernal again this week. He's been out of work for about 3 weeks now and as sad as I am that he's going out of town I can't wait for him to get back to work. Stupid bills pile up fast. So wish him luck in the freezing cold!
Other than that I can't think of anything else too exciting that we have done... so for now - peace out!

Interesting weekend

Hurley's first time being officially babysat was this weekend. Buzz and I decided to go to a movie by ourselves this weekend with out our little fart. We dropped Hurley off to Auntie Gia and Tim around 1 and off we went. Not a real fancy date or anything but we grabbed a bite to eat at Gandolfos (the night buzz kissed me was on our 3rd date and we ate at Gandolfo's so it's kinda special to us) and went to the mall to watch "Defiance." It was the weirdest feeling when we left the movie theater because the 2 of us weren't just going straight home. It didn't feel normal to be just the 2 of us anymore. It felt so different knowing that we had to go pick up Hurley and then go home. Funny how something as little as leaving the movie theather can make you realize that life is so much more different with a baby. I LOVE IT! Anyways, that's not what made the weekend interesting. I had been waiting for Hurley to have a dirty diaper on friday and he never did. So Saturday morning we got ready for the day and I thought that for sure something would happen. It didn't. But we decided to go out anyways knowing whether we stayed home or not wasn't going to affect whether Hurley would poop or not. He had been acting weird all morning before we took him to Gia and Tim's and we thought that it was because he had a tummy ache from not pooping for a day and a half. We got home after picking Hurley up and he felt kinda warm but I thought it was just from being bundled up in his car seat. After a few minutes I thought that he would've cooled off so I asked Buzz to feel his head and he didn't think he was too warm. I had to do something in the kitchen so I asked Buzz to hold him and once he had Hurley in his arms, he noticed that he really was warm. So we took his temp and he topped out at 101.5 We got out the tylenol and before we went to bed his fever had dropped to a little over 100. Well, he woke me up this morning at 5 crying and when I picked him up, his onesie was sopping wet and he was burning up! His temp was 102.3 I called the Dr. and she said to rotate Tylenol and Motrin every 3 hrs and to keep and eye on him. She also wanted us to give him pedialyte. So Buzz bein the good daddy that he is trecked over to wal mart to buy some motrin and Pedialyte. His fever has gone down and he seems to be doing better but I can tell he doesn't feel good. Hopefully by tomorrow whatever bug he has caught is long gone. So Hurley had his first official fever!
Hurley has also learned to take a bottle. I went for a pedicure last Saturday and Hurley stayed with Buzz but when it came time to eat Hurley refused his bottle! He went hungry for an hour before I was able to get home and feed him. When I walked in the door he was sitting on Buzz's lap totally fine but the second we made eye contact he started crying. I think he was mad at me. So I decided that I would start giving him a bottle for at least one feeding a day at work. We went to the store before the weekend was up and bought him some different bottles with different nipples that were similar in shape to his binkie. Come Monday, he took his bottle within just a couple minutes. THANK GOODNESS! He'll even take it for me (which I hear is uncommon). I'm just glad we found a bottle that he'll take. Now he can stay with Dad whenever and he won't force himself to go hungry.
Other than that, not a whole lot went on this week. Work was awful but when working with women 24/7 there are bound to be some bad days. I don't have very many female friends b/c women are vicious and I'll leave it at that.
Not sure what else to write about so goodnight!

Happy New Year..... A couple days late

Wow another year has come and gone. Looking back I must say this past year was quite the experience. I remember bringing in '08 (zombified from being prego), thinking "If everything goes well, I'll have a baby next year for Christmas and New Years!" And now that that time is here, it's almost unbelievable. My pregnancy was great. I never got morning sickness and I know that I was lucky. I had an amazingly easy labor and delievery...mostly, thanks to anesthesia.
My summer activities were mostly indoors. The only outdoor activities I would participate in were those that included a pool. Because of this I didn't go fishing with Buzz much like I had the previous year so he and our good friend Rudy became quite the fishermen. A.D.D fishermen at that. I went with them once and it drove those 2 nuts to try to sit in one place for over an hour. But since that was the way I was taught to fish that's the way we fished that day. I'm sure they didn't mind me not going with them. Every fishing trip the 3 of us have taken, I've outfished them both. My favorite time to rub in their face is when we went up to Maple Lake. There was 4 of us - Me, Buzz, Rudy and Aaron (Abbies boyfriend). Between the 3 of them they caught a total of 9 fish. I alone caught 10!!! And I loved EVERY SECOND of it! Now that Rudy has moved onto bigger and better things, I'm glad that we were able to spend the time with him making some awesome memories!
This was the 1st year EVER that I missed our annual Halona Family Reunion. I get so mad at myself for not going but there was nothing I could really do about it. Buzz was working out of town and the timing just wasn't right. I can't wait for this year though. I get to show off the little man!
September was mine and Buzz's 6th wedding anniversary! We've been together almost 7 1/2 years and this was our 8th Christmas together - I don't understand the math either but whatever lol. This Christmas was a little different though. In all the time we have been together, we have never once had Christmas 2 yrs in a row in the same place until this year. Lame accomplishment but at least we feel kinda settled in - for now.
Holidays were great! Having a baby to share it with makes it that much better! My New Years resolutions (besides the infamous "loose weight") are to try and be more positive in life, find ways to helop me keep my house a little cleaner and a little more organized, send out more cards for birthdays and anniversaries and homemade ones at that! And anything else that will help me to be a better example to my son and a better wife, sister, daughter, whatever - just a better person!

ITS CHRISTMAS EVE!!!!

Well the time is finally here! It's Christmas eve at last! I love this time of year! And now that I have my son it's more fun than ever!!! I obviously forgot to post something Sunday but we were a little busy.
Things that happened last week:
The daycare christmas pary was Thursday. Everyone came and we all exchange cookies. I made coconut macaroons that were a huge hit at Thanksgiving so I made em again for the party. Santa came and visited the kids. Huge hit as always. The cookies were delicious and I ate one to many. But it was a fun party. Good job Gia!
We started Christmas shopping on Saturday. Yeah I know.... stupid huh! I'm usually more than finished by the last weekend before Christmas but this year money has been a little tight with all the Dr. bills that have rolled in. So we started Saturday and pretty much finished Sunday - ahhh sinners lol.
Sunday was our family Christmas party. Mike planned it and we had an "ugly sweater" theme. Buzz and I headed to Savers Saturday and found our awesome ugly sweaters. Mine looked like it needed immunizations of some kind and buzz looked like the white guy trying to be a native. We even found Hurley an ugly shirt. It was a bright green shirt with a Mickey's Christmas scene on the front and a black hood that had mouse ears on it. Even with an ugly shirt, he was still cute! We played games and voted for the ugliest sweater. Shane won the sweater contest by sporting an awesome Christmas vest decked out with all sorts of Christmas ribbons and sequins. It was great! So we had an awesome night spending time with the fam.
Monday night we went to Grandma Raulstons annual Christmas party. It was very laid back this year. We all sat around the living room eating pizza and talking with each other. Hurley was a hit, as always! We took carmel popcorn to pass out to the family and I would love to take credit for making it, but Gia saved me (I had no time to do it). So thanks G! Everyone loved it!
Last night we took Hurley to see Santa. He didn't know what to think of him. He wasn't scared, just a little confused. The picture fits Hurley's personality perfectly. Let me tell you...that was an experience. I can't remember the last time I stood in line to see Santa and it was weird to think that Ryan and I will be doing it for the next several years. Didn't think of that one lol.
OH YEAH! Hurley rolled over last night!!! It was so cute! He was squirmin and kickin trying to get off his belly. Dad saw he was getting stuck on his arm so he moved it for him and vwahla! He rolled over. It surprised him for a second and then he grinned and grinned cuz he was finally able to come off his belly. Daddy has been trying to work with him on his rolling over and sitting up skills. Looks like it's payin off. Good job Buzz!
Well with it being Christmas - I am so much more than grateful for my little boy in my life. I'm grateful that he is growning up happy and healthy. I love my Husband and all that he does for us. For working in the cold and for doing whatever he has to do to provide for his family. I'm thankful for my parents and my in-laws and all the love that they give to us! I am also thankful for all of my friends (you know who you are). I definitly don't feel like I deserve all that I have for I have truly been blessed!!! Here's wishing you and yours a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Buzz is home! Well for a couple weeks!

So I had a really good surprise Wednesday night. Buzz has been working in Vernal for the past 3 weeks and was due to come home Thursday night for the company Christmas party. We were having our nightly phone conversation and about 20 minutes into our review of the day, the doorbell rang. I was kinda mad considering it was 9 at night and I get really nervous being home alone in the dark (I know I know.... pathetic). So I asked Buzz to hold on and opened the door. I saw a dark figure leaning against the door frame and when I looked up, it was Buzz!!! I was SOOO excited to see him! So he's home for the next 2 weeks and then they go to Jackson Hole for a month or so. We'll miss New Years together, but he's a good daddy and husband who provides for his family and will do what he has to do.
Like I said we had the work Christmas Party. It was our 8th year!!! Crazy huh? But like I keep saying, time flys.... especially when your having fun. Anyway we do a white elephant gift exchange every year and this year we came away with a popcorn tin and a $10 gift card to any Cinemark theater. We took the little man and he was, of course, a huge hit. It was the first time most of the crew had met him including Rick and Tonya. We also played a drunk game called chuga chuga choo choo but we were all sober - dang it lol. The place we have the Christmas party at every year has a fire place in the middle of the room and we ended up knocking a rock off of the the chimney playing the game but it was bound to happen we just kind of spread up the process. I have to say most people complain about the Christmas parties they have to go to but I actually have a good time. I'm sure it's proabably because it's with a bunch of crude construction workers instead of conservative office worker type people.
What else..... Hurley had his 4 month check up friday. He is in the 50th percentile for his height-so that's normal but his head circumfrance and weight are only in the 10th percentile. Our Dr. isn't worried so neither are we. Hurley's first rice eating experience was perfect. He loved it and knew exactly what to do from the first bite. It didn't weird him out until about 1/2 way through but he ended up eating the whole bowl. So we moved up from 1 TB of rice to 2 and so far it seems to be helping him sleep a little better at night. Still not back to the 8-5 schedule, but he's hasn't been up every 2 hours every night this week so I'll take it.
We also got some pictures done Friday. They weren't the best but at least they're done. Little stinker was being so stubborn with his smiles. The best smile we got out of him was right after he sneezed. I'm just glad the photographer caught it. Then of course we finish our photo shoot and all he does is smile lol. Oh well. He's cute either way!
Well, until next week...

YAY for December!

I can't believe it's only been a little over a week since Thanksgiving. It feels like it was so long ago already. I have a strange feeling Christmas will be the same way. But I love December and I need to do some serious Christmas shopping! I haven't bought a dang thing yet. I'll probably be calling my brother Mike to see if I can go shopping with him on Christmas Eve. He'll be ducking under the closing gates to the mall stores for ME this year lol.
Well, Buzz finished his 2nd week of work in Vernal. He wasn't able to come home friday like we thought. He came home Saturday night around 6. It was a very long Saturday waiting for him to come home but the rest of the weekend has flown by. He leaves again tomorrow morning at 5 :( Hopefully there's only another week - maybe a week and a half left. By then it'll be Christmas week! YAY!!! I can't wait. I love spending time with our families.
Highlights this week..... I am very sleep deprived. Our son decided he wants to wake up every 2 hours or less to eat. I don't know if he's going through a growth spurt or if he's just restless. One night this week he was moving, wiggling and fussing every half hour like he just couldn't get into a deep sleep. Of course that wakes me up and wow! It has been a week! We're going to try feeding him some baby rice tonight before bed to see if maybe the problem is that milk alone is just not tying him over. It's been a hard adjustment with Hurley sleeping the way he has been. He used to sleep from 8:30 til 4:30 or 5 a.m. and now it's every 2 hours. I don't feel rested at all when I wake up. Yet even through all of this I still don't have any regrets having him in my life.
Hurley is officially in size 3-6 month jeans! I don't want to say it's about time, but he's 4 months this week and just now movin up. He has his Dr.s appt Friday for his 4 month checkup and his shots so we'll see what percentile he's in this time. He was a little below average coming in at the 25th percentile for all 3 catagories at his 2 month check. I'm just glad he's growing and he's healthy. Oh yeah, his ear infection seems to be gone and he finished all of his antibiotics this week. He did so good taking his meds. I'm proud of him.
Well, I'm not sure what else to put in here. I've been one bummed out loser this week without my hubby being home. We haven't done anything really exciting because of it. Hurley is probably the only thing keeping me happy. I can't wait for this weekend though. Buzz will be home sometime Thursday for their work Christmas party and Hurley and I get him for 4 whole days!!! YAY!!!
Until next week (hopefully) peace out :)