Blogging Failure

So, I guess I am a blogging failure. Four and a half months since my last post? FAIL!! That is some serious less effective blogging there, Alicia.

But will this make up for it?:

 
Oh, the chub! The delicious, delicious chub! So I get to spend all my time with this tasty morsel and his equally stunning sister. Here are some pictures of her from her ballet performance last month)

 And in case you missed it on youtube, here are the videos of her:





So since we have been out of the loop so long, here are a few things by way of catchup:

Evi:
* Misses her ballet class
* Likes dressing up in all the clothes Auntie Judd gave her. Like these:

 * Also, she loves contorting for her pictures. All the pictures I have of her are with her leg sticking out or bending to the side. Weird
* Is so big and tall, no one believes me when I say she is only 3. But that will change very soon!
* Still wakes up some nights and does wild things through the house just because no one is awake to tell her no. (watches youtube, eats food, reads books, plays Barbies, makes messes, changes her clothes, opens the front door to let the dog out. Oh, the list goes on and on)
* Speaks great Spanish and decent English.
* Is sooo persistant, tenacious, strong-willed.
* Is obsessed with all birthdays and especially the fact that her birthday is very soon. Whenever we meet someone, she says, "I'm Evi. I'm 3. It's my Happy Birthday." Which it isn't!!
* Has started to really like her brother and resent him a lot less. But you'd better believe she will be jumping in if there is a camera around!

* Has the biggest feet. I am talking massive. Think Sasquatch. Or Hobbit. And she grows out of shoes almost faster than we can buy them. Thank heavens for cousins and friends that give us hand-me-downs.
* Is so sweet when she wants to be. Loves hugs and kisses and being silly. Loves to meet new friends and play with them. And loves to help mommy through the house

And now for the tub-o-love. Presenting Sebastian in all his 2-teeth glory.

 Here are some facts about him:
* Loves to snuggle and cuddle.
*Sleeps especially well through the night
*Loves to bang things. i.e. clap hands, hit table, bang computer, smack dog or your face. 
*Likes to coo to himself, and blow super spitty raspberries
*Has a 3 day "perfection" period. Meaning that once he learns a skill, he perfects it in 3 days and then moves on to the next skill. This happened with holding his head up, pushing himself up off the ground, sitting up, crawling, (first on knees, and then on the balls of his feet) pulling himself up on things and independently standing alone in the middle of the floor. And then he did this about 2 weeks ago:



(Notice the bewildered look on his face. He isn't so used to everyone staring at him. He is confused by all the attention.)
Yeah, we have a walker. a 7 1/2 month walker. It's that 3 day period! He just wants to move onto the next thing. I just need to stop being surprised by it. But if you saw the size of his chunk legs, you would be surprised too! (Next post will be all about the chunk legs. I must record them before they melt away with all the walking)

So that is us, that is our life. I hope you forgive me for the long absence. I won't make any promises that I will be better at posting here, but I am going to try!

Work Party and an Owie

WARNING!! GOREY PICTURE BELOW!!

On Wednesday, we had a work party for being held at Marcelo's bosses' house. I was super excited until I realized I had nothing to wear. For all of you women who have the baby fat just MELT off of you while you are breastfeeding, I HATE YOU. You know, those women who get progressively more emaciated as their children plump like little kernels of corn? Yeah, those are the women I am talking about. My sister in law is one of them. After 3 months of feeding her babies, her pants hang off her now non-existent hips. She told me that she is even skinnier than when she was in high school. Where as I have started running and cutting back on my eating and it is making no difference at all. IT IS NOT FAIR.

Ok, enough about that for now. The point was that I was going to a Christmas Party and I had noting to wear.

I knew I would have to worry about that soon, but first I needed to make some cookies. I decided to use my mom's oven because it is about 1000 times better than mine. As I was waiting for the last batch of cookies to come out, Bibi decided to dance around while singing "I know you" from Sleeping Beauty. She was really spinning and having fun and then she got too dizzy and lost her balance. She fell and hit the side of her head on the TV stand.

I didn't think anything of it, until she crawled on my lap and I saw the blood. A Lot of blood from a long gash by her ear. My mom and I quickly decided that she would watch Seba and I would take Evi to the Doctor (which is only 5 min away, luckily). My pediatrician said I could see the nurse practitioner immediately if I came now, and so it was decided.

I thought he would say, "just a bandage will be fine" and I would feel silly for over-reacting. That is what I expected. I did NOT expect six stitches! Which is what she got.


Getting them in her, however, was not very easy. She is a super strong 3 and a half year old. It took 4 of us to hold her down so the doctor could stitch. And she screamed the whole time. Not just screaming, but spitting, scratching, and trying to move her head the whole time. After it was over, we had doctor after doctor come in the room and come to see the kid that was making all that racket!

She got 3 stickers and a sucker for her troubles and she went home and got a well deserved nap.

And then 2 hours later, Husband and I got a well deserved break and went to an amazing party. They had food brought in from Tucanos, they had lots of games and Marcelo got his first experience at playing the "white elephant" game. He caught on very quickly that the whole fun was stealing gifts, and he made himself quite known as being the "gift stealer". And then we played a game that involved dice, a gift wrapped 4 times, and using gloved hands to open it. It was crazy suspenseful, and so much fun to play and watch. Marcelo and I decided that for sure we are going to play it next time we have a family reunion.

We got some awesome white elephant gifts, and also some crappy ones. But that's the way it works, right? It was a great night and then we got to come home to this.



















How blessed are we?

Halloween

Last year I didn't plan a cute costume and I regretted it. But as soon as we got home from trick-or-treating last year, I made a decision: Evi would go as Belle next year and Raya would be the Beast. When I told Marcelo the plan he smiled and said that would be cute, so it was decided.

Now, the thinking behind choosing the blue "peasant" outfit instead of the more well known "gold ball gown" is very simple: IT IS COLD IN UTAH IN OCTOBER!! The gold gown doesn't allow for many layers or a jacket if you want to see the costume. But the blue gold gown can be worn with pants under it to keep her warm and layers of shirts under the blouse if needed. And since I was making it, I wanted to make something I liked.

That's right, I sewed her whole dress, and I think it looked awesome!














Maybe it's just the hair that really makes the difference.





























What a ferocious Beast! Look at him roar!

We went to the ward party the Saturday before Halloween, and then we went Trick-or-Treating in our old neighborhood on the 31st. I don't know how to top this one next year! She is just too cute!

Photo Shoot

My friend and neighbor Amy started a photo business. She is really good, and she gave us a free photo shoot to build up her portfolio. Sebastian was just a week or so old, so he wasn't so happy about some of the positions he had to go into. But they turned out pretty good, right?





























































And of course, Bibi couldn't let the spotlight be taken from her for a second. She jumped in while I was feeding the baby. For the fact that I didn't do her hair or pick out cute clothes or even take the gum out of her mouth, I think she looks amazing.



You don't have to agree with me. But you can if you want!

(If you want Amy to take awesome pictures for you, go to her website: http://amymonroyphotography.blogspot.com)

The New Baby

Sorry this took so long. I stopped having excuses about a week ago, and then I was just stalling. I don't know why I kept putting it off. I guess I was afraid and i didn't want people to know how weak I am. (Lame, I know) But I need to just get over myself and do it.

And I really want to get back in the habit of blogging. Not like anyone cares about blogs anymore, what with the Twitter and the Facebook and the texting. But I enjoy reading the blogs of others, so I figure SOMEONE might read this. So here it goes.

It is official: I have a son. His arrival was at the perfect time, yet didn't go quite as I had hoped.
Here's what happened:

Wednesday morning September 14th, (My official due date) I woke up to find that my baby had dropped. I knew it had dropped, because when I put my hand high up on my belly, he was missing! The hard bump of his bum that was usually right under my sternum was noticeably lower. When Marcelo came home, I asked him if he agreed. He asked me to turn to the side and said, “OH YEAH!! You are much lower! Holy crap, how did that happen?” I told him: “Magic!” So things were progressing towards a delivery, I was sure.

Thursday afternoon, I started to feel weird. I don't know when I started noticing my braxton hicks contractions more, but I did. And they just felt weird. I kind of felt nauseated and sweaty and just off. And I was pretty sure the baby was coming. Around 4 in the afternoon, I sent a text to my mom saying that I was feeling different, and that she should probably clear her schedule for the next day or two. She was thrilled because she had just finished her last class for the weekend and could spend all her time with me now!

Nothing big happened that night. I had more contractions, and was 100% sure the baby would be arriving in the next 24 hours. And so what did Marcelo do? He went to a soccer game. (with my blessing, of course) If you will remember from the birth of our FIRST child, he did exactly the same thing. Except the first time I was actually in the hospital being induced when he went to his game. AGAIN, I must stress that I fully 100% gave him my blessing to go to those games. Both times. I mean, I told him to keep his phone close to him, but I knew that even if things moved very quickly, I would at least have an hour of notice to give him to get to the hospital. And since his games are only about 15 minutes away, I knew we would be fine.

He told me that I should ask my mom to come over and stay with us just in case something happened while he was at his game. I was way ahead of him (and so was my mom for that matter). She came over and was making a little camp for herself on the couch. I told her that I didn’t think anything would be happening in the night but she was welcome to stay and sleep on our couch if she wanted.

She wanted.

By the time I went to bed, I knew that I was in labor. Contractions were coming at semi-regular intervals, but not really close together. And they were getting stronger, more uncomfortable. I was happy that my suspicions were correct and I was seriously jazzed to have this baby.

I actually got to sleep, even with the contractions. I put down a towel because I was kind of afraid of my water breaking all over our bed and us having to buy a new mattress. We could NOT afford that. It didn’t happen, though. I did, however, get awakened several times in the night by the need to pee/contractions. I mean, the fact that I could sleep at all was awesome to me, and I was even more pumped for the baby and the labor because I felt like I was well rested and ready. I was in great spirits.

So when the day finally got started, my mom and I made a game plan. Marcelo had to run to work up in Lindon for a few hours to finish a job and I told him to go, but to keep his phone close and on at all times. I could tell that this baby was still at least 6 hours away, so I didn’t feel badly about him going. Plus, the hospital is less than 10 min from Lindon, so he could make it there quick if he needed.

I told mom that I would love to run some errands. She had some things to do, and eventually we needed to drop Evi off at her my brother’s house so that she could be babysat during the birth. So that is what we did! We went to Kmart because I needed to buy some toilet paper, and we went to Comcast because we both needed to change out some equipment. We then went and vacuumed out my car while we waited for Costco to open. And then we went to Costco for other assorted essentials. Yup, all that while I was in labor. I was really hoping that my water would break at some time with all the bending and walking and carrying of Evi and lifting of things into my car. But no luck.

Contractions were definitely progressing. But at the same time, they weren’t. At some time around 11, we decided to use a stopwatch to time them. They were about 3 or 5 min apart and lasting 45 seconds or so. But when I would sit down in the car, they would go away for 7 or 10 min. So they weren’t consistently on schedule and that upset me because I wasn't as close as I wanted to be before I checked into the hospital. But we finally dropped Bibi off and headed to the hospital around 11:45.

I got strapped into the monitor and then the nurse came to check my progress to see how dilated I was. Which was horrifically painful. She was like digging inside and rubbing her fingers back and forth horizontally and I was laughing because it was so painful. And when she left I told my mom what she did and my mom said “She was trying to break your water” which then made total sense. Because SERIOUSLY, she was working hard up there. I was happy to learn that I was at a 5. At least it wasn't a 3, right? So I was pumped. Because last time it only took a few hours to get from a 5 to a 10, and I was sure that this was happening soon.

I called Marcelo and told him the progress, and told him to come down to the hospital. He said he was on his way (which, actually meant he would get there 2 and a half hours later, after he got lunch. The punk.) I got a room and got ready to have a baby naturally! My sister in law had let me borrow her exercise ball (to be used as a birthing ball) and I was excited for that. My doctor told me that he was really busy that day so he was going to go deliver a baby by C-section, and then he would come back and break my water.

I was actually excited for my water to be broken, I was SURE things would be moving FAST after that. The last time my water was broken it was about 2 hours till I had a baby. As I waited for him to come back, I walked around and was able to breathe and relax during the contractions. I was feeling really good and really happy and just pumped.

The doctor came in and broke my water and told me that my baby was not low at all and that there was meconium in the water. And that was my first clue that things might not be happening the way I had planned. The meconium really worried me (for those who don’t know, meconium is when the baby goes poop for the first time in utero. It isn’t to serious, unless the baby breathes in that poop water with his first breaths. Then he can get an infection). Like I said, the news about meconium really upset me, but something worried me more: the fact that the baby wasn’t low. His head wasn't pushed up against my cervix yet, and I knew labor wouldn’t progress quickly and the most efficiently unless that baby’s head was pushing down it.

The doctor suggested an “amnio –infusion” which is a fancy way to say “uterus transmission flush”. They put a tube up inside your uterus and try to flush out that poo water. This will minimize the risk of poo inhalation. This made me feel more comfortable. But what took my worry up to another level was when the nurse said “wow, that tube went in without any problem. That baby really is high.” AAAAAAAGGHHHHH!!

The best part of the amnio-infusion is that you get to feel like your water is breaking over and over again. The worst part is that you have to wear a towel diaper or you will be gushing fluid out everywhere. And if you decide to stand up to endure some contractions (and hopefully convince your baby to drop down) you will gush on the floor. It’s like peeing your pants with every contraction. Highly recommended.

So I settled in for my labor. I was doing pretty good, if I do say so. I mean, I was focusing on one place when the contractions came. Mom was rubbing my back providing good counter pressure. It was all good. And then the DR came in and decided to check me. Hours had gone by, I was sure I was progressing well. But I wasn't. I was only a 6. Maybe close to a 7, but not more than that. I was upset, but understanding.

It was around this time that the Dr said that he didn’t like how the baby was reacting during contractions. He wanted to do an internal monitor (stuck to the baby’s head) so they could really see how the baby was reacting with each contraction. So I got that. (with another tube/wire going up inside. AWESOME) Another hour passes. It was a rough hour. I get checked again. I am just barely at a 7. I am upset.

The Doctor says that shortly he wants to start pitocin. Because of the way the baby is reacting to the contractions and because of the meconium. He wants the contractions DOUBLE strength from what they are now so the baby will really start moving down. You should know that at this point I was in despair. I had tried almost every position. The kneeling, the ball, standing, sitting, everything. The nurse lady actually made my bed into like a little chair and when I was sitting and a contraction came, Marcelo would push back on my knees which provided some counter pressure and was actually nice. For about 20 min. Then I had to try something new. I was starting to freak out.

At around 3:45 the Doctor comes in and checks me again and I am still a 7, no progression. I lost it. (actually, I am having a hard time writing this right now, because I am still so upset about everything that happened from this point on) The doctor REALLY REALLY didn’t like how the baby was reacting, and he wanted pitocin in within the next 20 min. I (for some reason) said to myself that if I had pitocin, I HAD to have the epidural. I don’t know why I did that. Looking back, I wish I hadn’t said that. I wish I would’ve held out for a little while with just the pitocin. Especially considering how fast things happened after that.

I think that is why telling this story is so hard. I feel like such a failure, like I gave up too soon. AND PLEASE DON’T SAY THAT ANY WAY A BABY GETS HERE IS FINE! I agree, my baby is here, healthy and great. But I am still super disappointed in myself and how quickly I gave up. I am allowed to feel disappointed that it didn’t happen how I wanted! I mean, if you spent 9 months training for a marathon and then walked away at mile 23, wouldn't you feel upset with yourself? That's how I look back at this, and it is incredibly sad for me.

Anyway, the anesthesiologist was called. My contractions were about every 45 to 90 seconds apart at that time, so placing it was going to be tricky. But the Dr. was amazingly fast! He did it between contractions and was just so nice to me as I was writhing on the bed. (Marcelo later told me that he couldn’t watch the needle going into my spine. Pansy). After the epidural was in and the pitocin was started I just turned onto my side and cried for the next hour. Again, I was just so disappointed in myself. That was around 4:30 pm, and I was prepared for being there a long time. I know how epidurals slow things down, and I was preparing to wait.

Well, as I lay on my side crying nonstop, things were happening in my belly. Contractions were about one tenth what they were before, but I still felt them. They were still painful, and for some reason, that was slightly comforting. All of a sudden around 5:20 or so, something happened. With the next contraction I had the strongest STRONGEST urge to poop. It was so overwhelming that it made me squirm in bed and wiggle around to fight the sensation. I said, “hey, can you get the nurse and doctor. I think something is happening. RIGHT NOW”

Mom rushes off to find the doctor while Marcelo continues to play Angry Birds. Oh, did I forget to mention that? Yeah, he was consumed with that game during my labor. He put it down when he provided counter pressure for me, but between contractions there was no pulling him from it. And after I had the epidural, there was even less for him to do. There is only so much arm rubbing you can do for your crying wife before both you and she become bored with it.

When the doctor comes in and checks me, he says. “oh you are there! Here we go!” There was another contraction and I told him “I REALLY WANT TO PUSH” and he said, “you can’t yet! I need to get respiratory in here before you deliver. Hold on, just hold on!” That was a rough couple of minutes. But I at least had my wits about me to ask for the mirror to be brought in. (for those of you who freak out at the thought of watching yourself give birth, I must say there is nothing that helped me more. Looking and seeing the effect of my pushes made me want to do those “good” pushes to make something happen. Very effective)

Finally the respiratory doctor arrived and I was told I could push. It was very fast. His head was out before I even knew it ( I did have to get cut just a little bit, but it was much less than last time). However, once his head was out and the doctor told me to stop pushing, I could see that something was wrong. The baby was not the right color. And (with the use of the mirror) I could see the cord wrapped around the neck. I then saw the doctor put his finger under the cord and try to take it off, very unsuccessfully. He actually was jerking on it, and it was not moving. He rushed for some clamps and told me “as soon as I cut this, your baby is holding his breath. Once I cut you have to make the next push be the one to get him out.” I was ready.

He clamped and cut and they rushed the baby to the respiratory doctor. Where he didn’t cry. Which FREAKED ME OUT! Seeing your baby come out blue, and with a chord super tight, being cut out of you and then not hearing him, that was really upsetting. Again, I had my wits about me and I said, “is he ok? Why isn’t he crying” and the doctor (I really do have a great doctor) said “they don’t want him to breathe yet. They want to clear out his mouth and lungs of the meconium before he takes his first breath.” At least they knew what they were doing! It was shortly after that that I heard him cry and he sounded just fine.

I also asked “It is a boy, right?” to which my doctor looked sheepish and said, “I didn’t even look!” But it was shortly confirmed to me that he was a boy. The fact that the doctor didn’t even look at that told me again how rushed they were and how time sensitive everything was. And I was super thankful that I had the strength to push the right way when it was needed.

His initial APGAR was a 3 (later upped to a 4 by the respiratory guy. Not sure why) which again, tells me how bad he was needing to get out. But his 5 min APGAR was a 9, so he recovered quickly.

After the birth, things got a little tricky because I couldn't stop throwing up. It started about 10 minutes before I delivered, and then after the delivery it was was non-stop for a couple of hours. I am pretty sure it was the pitocin that did it to me. Either that or the epidural. Because I didn't feel the need to throw up until I had them. They brought me food, which I ate, and then threw up. They brought me snacks and water which I ate, and then threw up. The nurse kept coming to offer me anti-nausea medicine, but I didn't want it. Finally she told me that she wouldn't take out my IV until I stopped throwing up. Wouldn't you know it? I was convinced. (There is nothing I hate more than that stupid IV). Finally I stopped and I started to feel better. Too bad all the food was gone. Cause I was STARVING!!

So that is it. Looking back, I don't know if it was the epidural/pitocin that made things happen so quickly and effectively. Like maybe I needed those things because of the other complications he had. But it doesn't lessen my chagrin and sadness that I wasn't able to do it the way I had dreamed/planned/hoped/wished.

So now for the good stuff. The pictures!

Here is a slide show movie for you.

And I have lots more, but they are basically all the same. And quite frankly, no one cares that much about someone else's baby. But I will pretend that you do and keep you updated on my beautiful babies.

Baby Post Coming Soon. . . I PROMISE!

I swear I will type out the story of our baby's birth and post it in the next few days.

For now, you should know that he is here, he is awesome, and he is gorgeous to look at.

If you don't believe me, you need to click HERE and see a picture of him. My good friend Amy is starting a photo business and offered to do a free photo shoot of our little boy. I didn't expect them to turn out very good, because he was NOT happy about mom putting him down. (He is a little snuggler) But she must be magic because she got a shot of him where his finger was not in his eye. I don't know how she did it!

By the way, we named him Sebastian. And I think he looks like me. A little Latino me.

I like him.

More soon, I promise.

Worst mother of the year. . . .3 years running

It's 9:16 pm.

My child has just run back to the bag of generic Apple Jacks to grab a handful for the 3rd time.

I am annoyed with her because I am trying to put her to bed.

And then it hits me.

My child didn't eat dinner.

FAIL, Alicia. MAJOR FAIL!

I have been told this frequently happens to children during a move, but it didn't make me feel any better.

She ate a whole quesadilla and a bowl of corn flakes after I realized she was starving. Serves her right for not telling me she was hungry!

P.S. I really don't blame my child for not telling me. Just so you know. That was a jok

America's Trezured Dolls

Are you as excited as I am that "Toddlers and Tiaras" has returned? Am I the only one that gets horrible, morbid pleasure out of this show? It's so funny how delusional these women are (the mothers, of course. I do not blame their 3 and 4 yr old kids) . But you can see that the delusion started a long time ago. Like at the birth of their children. When they choose the name they will carry through life, they think, "what name can I give my child that makes it clear their mother was totally nutso?"

And they sure do deliver! Here is a partial list of names that I have written down after watching a few episodes:

Aniston
Bayleigh
Meadow
Addison (Isn't that a disease?)
Kaleigha (pronounced kind of like Kaluha, the alcoholic drink)
Jadyn
Makayla
Kayleigh
marleigh
Story
Jaigen
Makensie
Mckinley (The mom missed the boat on this one. Should've spelled it "Mckinleigh")
Kragen
Lexcia
Teeghan

Please tell me which trait do you think is the craziest:

1) Substituting a "y" for the vowel a, or i, or e for that matter! It is the most abused "almost vowel" out there!
2) Adding "leigh" to the middle or end of a name. And spelling it that way so it's "extra special"
3) A completely made up name that anyone would think is crazy.

Let me know what you think is the worst offense.

Oh, and I forgot to explain the name of this post, "America's Trezured Dolls" is actually the name of one of the pageants that is featured on the show. So, it's not just the mothers of these kids that are crazy. The pageant directors seem to be off their rocker too. Like having an "80's" theme to a pageant seems ridiculous, especially since most of these girls were born LONG after the year 2000. (most were born in 2005 or sooner). And most of the mothers were probably only 2 or 3 during the 80's! Oh, this show is just a hot mess of loveliness all around. No wonder I love it so much!

Don't forget to watch Toddlers and Tiaras! Only on TLC!!

Held Hostage

So Bibbers has this new thing that she likes to do She holds me hostage by locking me out of the house and then demands a ransom to be let back in. The ransom thing is really my fault. Let me esplain.

So a few weeks ago, I had to take Raya down to go pee in the rain. If you will remember, Raya turns into a PRINCESS when it rains. The snow she deals with. But rain? OHHHHH. She'll pace by the door whining, nearly wetting herself because she doesn't want to get wet. She won't go out in the rain unless you walk by her side coaxing her the whole way. And then she goes and basically finds the part of the grass that is under the roof overhang and pees there as fast as possible so she can get back up in the dry part of the house. Like I said, princess.

So I had to walk her down. And I didn't worry about leaving Bibi alone in the house because Marcelo was in the back bedroom dozing before his soccer game. WEEEEELLLLL. Bibi decides to lock me out (with no jacket and no bra on, in the freezing hail/sleet/rain) and then LAUGH at me as I beg her to open the door. Seriously, I begged her for a full 3 minutes! I rang the doorbell. I knocked on the door. I pulled on the handle. I tried to use Raya as bait and pretend to have Raya open the door. But she just looked at me and LAUGHED OUT LOUD in a pretty clear mocking tone. And then she decided she wanted to go back and get on the computer and she was going to leave me there. (Marcelo was of course useless. He stayed comatose on the bed through the whole ordeal)

I finally got her to open the door by telling her I would give her a fruit snack pouch if she did it. Bribery,pure and simple. Well now, she has taken to "tricking" me to go outside for some reason or another and then she locks me out demanding I give her a fruit snack or a piece of gum to be let back in. Sometimes when we go down and are walking in the park, she will tell me to wait (she actually says "es-pay-ya, mami" which is pretty close to "espera") and then she will run up ahead of me and lock me out of the house.

So, as you can see, the ransom idea was mine. All due to that first situation where I was bra-less and desperate to get inside. Now she thinks that the best way to get a fruit snack is to kidnap mom for it. What a little turd.

I love her so much.

Here is a picture of her in her favorite outfit. I actually bury these close in the BOTTOM of the hamper, next to stinky towels and pairs of pee underwear. But she has a 6th sense about where they are and can find them no matter where I have put them. The good thing is that the moment they are clean, she puts them on, and they are usually dirty within the first 2 days. So then they go in the hamper and I don't have to deal with them until the next wash day.















And here is Bibi in a side hat. We took this camera with us on vacation when we left her behind and we would see it as we were flipping through our pictures and get sad just looking at it.
















I need to post about our vacation, but I don't think anyone really cares about what we did each day in Hawaii. So maybe I'll just post a few pictures and some stories. Because oh, do I have the stories!

Family Updates

Dear Readers:

I started this post back at the end of Feb, and I am just now getting around to posting it. So sad! I don't know why I waited so long. But here it is, and I will add more at the end:

Here are some of the going-ons around our house. Kind of like a roundup, but encompassing more time than a month:

Bibbers:
The baby's eye is all better. A few days of anti-bacterial drops and things are looking good again (pun intended). However, she got sick a few days later, and now we are dealing with the coughing/vomiting that always hits my poor girl. She coughs so hard, that she makes herself vomit. She hasn't had very much food for the past 3 days, and whatever she eats, she pukes up, usually at night. And sometimes in our bed (delightful). Or sometimes in her own bed (revolting). But the best is when she can make it to the bathroom and puke in the sink or toilet. We are very proud we taught her that one. Saves lots of time and laundry. But she always seems to coat her hair! Oh well, can't win them all.

She is super funny and so stubborn/determined. She knows what she wants and she has NO problem telling people how she's feeling. When she wants to say family prayers, she lets us know. And then if we (heaven forbid) try to prompt her, we are brusquely met with a "SHHHHHHH" sound while she puts her finger to her lips. She shushes us! And frequently. When we want her to listen to us, and she's not interested, she turns around and shushes us and goes back to what she was doing. When we try to take something away from her, she tucks whatever she has behind her back and tries to shush us. The problem with the shushing is that it's just SO DANG FUNNY. Usually Marcelo and I have to turn away and laugh before we turn back to her (serious now) and tell her that she cannot do that and continued shushing with get her in timeout. I hope I can get a picture or video of her shushing, because it really is the funniest thing you will ever see.

As for her language, she is definitely progressing. Back in January her speech therapists asked us to name all the words she could do. It was 10. In a year of speech therapy and only 10 words! Shortly after that, she was tested (they test her every 6 months or so) and she tested almost off the charts for every other category but her verbal communication. Problem solving, adaptive communication, understanding, everything like that she was testing in the 4 year old range. Her ability to dress herself, wash her own hair, pour her own juice go to the bathroom 100% alone things like that were all very advanced for her age. Not only that, but her understanding of prepositions (on, beside, under) and possessives (Daddy's baby, Mommy's daughter) was very startling to the testers. And remember, the test was all in Spanish! So it made me happy to realize and really see that even if her communication was slow, she was understanding so much of what I said to her.

However, even with those 10 words (and other non-verbal communication she was doing) she tested exactly at the level where she doesn't qualify for their services anymore. I was very sad to see them go, but I had a good surprised waiting for me. 2 weeks before they called and told me the test results, something clicked inside of her. She started to imitate so many things that I was saying. Words that I had said for months (and maybe years) she started to attempt to say. I was not prepared for it, and it caught me way off guard. My husband was much MUCH better at deciphering what she was trying to say. And slowly I got it too: she only says the last 2 syllables of whatever word she is saying. Estrellas turns into "ellas" Biblioteca becomes "teca". Conejo becomes "nejo". I don't know why the husband got it sooner than I did, but I am so thankful he did! Because she would start getting very frustrated if we didn't understand her two syllables.

The speech therapists told me that in order to put 3 word phrases together, she needed a minimum of 50 words. And I sat down and counted them all out, and she definitely has 50 words now. And while I wouldn't say it was an "explosion" of speech, she definitely is more willing to try to say new words. Sometimes I have to remind her of a word, but once she hears it again, she's pretty good at remembering it and repeating it. I think that's the best part. She will attempt to say what I say to her. It makes me feel like she's not going to be a total mental defective he whole life. (I of course kid about that. I am aware that she is not at all below normal intelligence).

Marcelo:
2 months away from graduating and now looking for a job, Marcelo is in full busy mode. Oh, plus he is working at a job every hour possible. And he is looking for a car to buy. These weeks are super busy for him, but I am hoping that his car search is a priority. HA HA! As soon as he gets a car, then I GET MY CAR BACK! Hello trips to Jump on It!. Hello trips to indoor play parks. Hello trips to parks. Hello play dates. Hello to driving myself to Scouts. Hello Life! It's been almost 3 years with only one car. And let's just say I'm very excited to get my independence back. And very excited we got a good tax return this year to help with the down payment. We couldn't do it without you, IRS!


Marcelo plays soccer about 2 times a week and has won 2 or 3 tournaments now. He saves the medals and trophies like he's 12 and just got his first Little League participation award. I don't know what he's going to do with all of them, but I think they will eventually get thrown away. I know I eventually throw all my medals away. Is that crass and unappreciative? I don't know, I just don't want to crate it everywhere. But he loves his trophies. He usually plays at night (like 8 or 9 or even 10!) so he is here at night to help with bath time/bedtime.

But I do feel badly for him because he is Bibi's favorite. You would think this would make me jealous, but at 3 am, when she is calling HIS name, I really don't mind. He goes and lays next to her and I get to sleep on in peace. It's really not a bad situation for me. And when she is sick (like in these days) she only wants her Papa. I frequently wake up alone in our bed because he has gone to answer her cries in the middle of the night. He's a good Papa.

Raya:
A super sweet dog that loves to run. She's also a "scaredy cat" who stays close to us because she's pretty fearful of the world around her. She loves to poop in the neighbor's yard which I get to clean up every couple of days. She loves that yard because it smells like quail and deer. Which is like crack for my bird flushing hunting dog. She loves to lay in the sun and snuggle up to you with her head on your shoulder. She is the sweetest dog in the world, and it's hard to get mad at her when she breaks out of her cage and eats the chicken I was defrosting for lunch after church. Seriously, how does she break out of that cage all the time? She's the Houdini of dogs. Luckily raw chicken isn't damaging to dogs as it is to humans. (I looked it up.) She was in doggie heaven, you can't blame her for eating what she can get.

Alicia:
I am having a hard time maintaining my exercise routine. But having a sick child will do that to you. I'm hoping she'll recover soon so I can start going back.

That is where I ended. Things have pretty much been the same since then. I am still bad at exercising but I DO have a car now (hooray for me!) and the baby still shushes us, but not as much now because she can tell us exactly what she wants. "no mama! No vayas!" (meaning, don't go) or "tu, mama" (meaning, it's your turn, mom). She can also ask for her favorite shows and videos by name. She still does that syllable cut off thing, but are are getting much better and making her try to break down the word and say it all.

Here are some awesome pictures for you to enjoy:

She wanted her picture taken WITH raya, of course














And here her lips were really dry and they cracked and bled a little bit. Of course, a band aid will fix that!


She looks smashing in that band aid!

Here are some pictures of Halloween

It was cold, so she's got the jacket on ready for massive candy begging


I don't know why I never posted about Halloween. Maybe because Marcelo was feeling sick so I had to do it alone in the rain. But she did look cute. Next year I want to make her a Belle costume and dress Raya up as the Beast. Quite ambitious of me, but I think it will rock.

I have lots more, but who really cares about someone else's kid, right?

Anyway, I hope you like reading about what we are doing these days. If not, stop reading my blog!

Things that I've noticed as of late

Here are just a few things that have been floating around my mind recently. I hope you enjoy my random ramblings:

On Soy Milk:

I don't like soy milk. I think it is too sweet. And too watery. Nasty, nasty stuff. But regular milk? I'm kind of intolerant right now. Well, I should say *I* am quite tolerant, but others around me aren't so much when the bad milk farts start coming. Sorry, husband, about the covered wagon I gave you the other day. Still love me, right? And "lactose free" milk doesn't seem to help the milk toots any. So it's either soy or no cereal. And how am I supposed to go 5 more months with no cereal? Now that's just crazy talk.

On smells around the house:

Our nickel plated shower head smells like maple syrup. Just thought you should know that.

Also, speaking of maple syrup smells: Waffle Crisp cereal smells a lot better than it tastes. That is just my opinion. And when has my opinion ever been off? (Don't answer that, ANYONE, please)

On things that Marcelo does in the bed:

Don't let your mind go to a dirty place. This is strictly a PG post. Here it is: Marcelo ruins sheets. And how does he do this? By his constant feet rubbing in the night. I think it is a nervous habit/twitch, like teeth grinding knuckle popping. But this is the second pair we have had to throw away because there are tears in them right where his feet lay at night. And these are REALLY high quality sheets, which I love! I love climbing into a nice fresh bed with good sheets. But there is no way we can afford nice sheets at the rate he destroys them. So I guess we have to buy the $15 Target flannel sheets in a bag.

And it's not just a little tear that could be remedied with a needle and thread. He rubs them BARE and then they shred. Here is a picture:


He tries to play it off like he has NO IDEA why it's only the area by HIS feet that do this. Like different companies repeatedly make JUST THAT ONE SPOT thinner and more tear-able than others. Yeah right! We both know he has the nervous feet rub twitch all night long rubbing it and wearing it down until it shreds. Maybe I need to get him a monthly pedicure so he can sand off all those rough patches. Hmmmm, it would be worth it to be able to get nice sheets again!

On my pregnancy cravings:

I crave totally different things in this pregnancy. I'm not so much about the fries and milkshakes this time around. It's more about Thai food and Panda Express. But I only let myself have P.E. one time a month- the day after my OBGYN visit. Otherwise I would be there every day, I swear and I would gain 1 million pounds like I did the first pregnancy. Because it's all I want to eat! That and some sweet/spicy curry from Bangkok Grill. Oh my, deliciousness.

Also, chocolate doesn't bother me as much as it did my first pregnancy. I mean, I still don't crave it or lust after a candy bar when I see it in the store. But at least now I can enjoy a bite of a Snickers or a brownie and not have immediate heartburn. Same with "sweet breads" like muffins and such. Again, I don't eat them all the time, but now I can enjoy a blueberry muffin conference morning and not feel sick.

I have also started to enjoy drinkable yogurt again. Just like when I was in Ecuador. Drinking it straight from the bottle. Is there any other way? I mean it *DOES* have the word "drinkable" right in the title, and I'm not allowed to use straws right now (more on that in another post) so what should I do? Of course, I should drink it straight from the carton. And I do. And it's delicious. Just don't come over to my house and ask to have a cup of drinkable yogurt: it's full of my backwash.

And finally, the more startling, Jell-O. I know! This was once one my top 10 lists of things I hate eating. Right up there with bananas and pudding. Those two things I still don't eat, but a combo of orange and some berry (raspberry or strawberry) Jell-O is so heavenly. Try it, you'll love it. Throw some pineapple in it if you would like. Or not. Whatever.

So that is a partial list of some things I have noticed as of late. Now I need to go and take a nap. On a bed with new sheets, of course. Because, seriously, did you see what he did to those others?

Answered Prayers

I want to say that the truth behind my lack of blogging is because I am napping all the time (s0 baby can grow, of course!) or because I am out being a great mother to my kid. The truth is, I have just been weighed down of late with many different problems on the horizon.

The good news is that no problem are happening RIGHT NOW (except for the washing machine problem, and that will be fixed for me in 2 week. So that is really more about just being patient) but many problems will be at our front door in the next 6 weeks to 5 months. What are some of these problems? Well, there are child-care issues, employment questions, living quarters, what to do with the dog?, and new baby arrivals. All these things are REALLY big things! (except for the dog, of course. Even though we love her lots, she gets lower priority than employment and pregnancy)

But just today, I had a prayer answered. By none other than my mom. Who is the DEFINITION of a "problem solver". You know that line in "Ice Ice Baby?" It was written about her. ". . . If you got a problem, YO, I'll solve it". I really think that is her mantra.

Anyway, I like to think that I got problem solving skills from my mom. HOWEVER, I know that sometimes this is not always a good thing. Sometime a problem should NOT be solved. Sometimes the person who solved the problem needs to get out of the situation themselves. Or they need to use their brain to problem solve, brainstorm and come up with many different options. Because that makes us better, right?

Anyway, the way this problem was solved could not have been done on my own. Let me tell you, I had brainstormed up a TORRENT and had come up with about 5 different options. All of them were not great. They were ok, but not the best. And then today, my mom throws at me another possibility. And the clouds parted. There was a solution to my dilemma.

This is just a shout out to our family's problem solver. We are going to have a great time together in Hawaii, and it's all thanks to you, mom!!

Here is a picture of the problem solver and her newest grandchild. Passing on the problem solving strategies to the next generation

A Day in the Life-March 17th

I got this idea from my ex-roommate Beth. But I was hesitant to do it as I compared her days to mine. See, her days always seem so much more exciting (and productive). (Probably about 3 times exciting, because she has 3 times as many kids) But I happened to choose a day that was super nutso, so maybe this will be interesting to read. You know, for you. For me it's not that interesting anymore. Because, you know, I lived it.

So I wrote it all down, and then proceeded to forget about it until my mom left town. Which was last night. So here it is, over 2 weeks late:

March 17th, 2011
4:06 am-Get up and go pee. So necessary. I always try to fight it and lay in my bed for a few min to try and wonder what possibly could've awoken me at 4 am. And then it slowly comes to me.

4:15 am-Due to squeaky bathroom door, baby wakes up. Happens just about every day. Today is obviously no exception. Marcelo goes in to lay next to her in the bed next to hers. Hopefully this will get her right back to sleep.

4:38 am-Doesn't work this time. She's still awake. I'm still awake too. I allow my mind to wander. Think about the following things: half marathons, my recent scary snake dream, upcoming baby shower i need to buy gift for, invitations for the R.S. activity I have to do for Sunday. I hear baby talking to Marcelo and try to engage him in a conversation. She is obviously succeeding.

4:39 am-Stomach growls and realize I am starving. Can I get something to eat? Better not. Would disturb Bibi too much.

4:51 am- Changing of the guard. Marcelo comes in and says it is my turn to lie next to her. I realize I have to pee again. How is that possible?

5:20 am-She has tried to engage me in conversation. She is halfway successful. After the requests for water, and then throwing her cup out of her bed, I have had it. (pregnancy makes me really irritable) I say "no more, good night" and leave her alone. The crying/screaming for her life begins. We lay in bed and listen to it.

5:37 am-Marcelo finally can't take it anymore and goes in and talks to her. He tells her it is time to sleep and she mercifully does.

6:00 am-When alarm for gym goes off, I don't get up and go like I should. I go back to sleep

6:55 am-Mom calls me from the train station. I was supposed to be there 10 min ago to pick her up. Whoops!

6:57 am- While on the road I realize I have missed 2 calls and a text from her. Sorry mom! I'm hurrying!

7:35 am-I get breakfast for myself. It is a breakfast I have been thinking about since 4:30am. My homemade "MacDonald's" breakfast: A Sausage egg & cheese McMuffin. It is delicious and everything I have been dreaming of. Baby wakes up just now, mom starts to unpack in their shared room.

8:58 am-Bibi has suckered mom into reading her the Disney Spanish Dictionary. Mom's Spanish is so hilarious and the source of much family mockery.

9:59 am- Bibi gets breakfast. Yes! She eats this late every day! Don't try to feed her right when she wakes up! She will reject your food and it will only make you frustrated. Wait till she asks for food, then give her the planned breakfast. She'll eat it cold, no need to make something new.

10:41 am-Mom volunteers to watch Bibi so I can go to gym. I do. They go to the park and have an awesome time.

11:45 am-Back from gym. Into the shower

12:15 pm-Off to lunch with my brother and his very pregnant wife. Jason's Deli. Marcelo meets us there. It is awesome, as always.

2:17 pm-Drop mom off at BYU. She has a meeting with her acadamic advisor. Oh, did I forget to mention that she got accepted to BYU in the fall? So if she graduates from BYU, that will mean every girl in our family has graduated from BYU. Um, I don't think I need to state how awesome we are.

2:22 pm-Home for naptime. Even though Bibbers is full of food and should be VERY tired, she still fights the nap. All the grandma excitement has got her worked up. She finally goes down, though.

4:15 pm-Wake the Bibi up from her nap. I have to physically wake her up. Which never fails to seriously piss her off. And beware the wrath of Bibbers. It can last for hours, and ruin the rest of the afternoon. The only way to get her in a better mood is to distract her with something else. Which is why. . .

5:00 pm-We head out to the park for the second time that day. This time we take the dog. Every day the dog gets to go to the park, she thinks it is Christmas. It's just so hard not to love a dog that gets so excited about a lame trip to the park.

5:43 pm-Home to Watch BYU game. Which they win! Go Cougars. I do several loads of laundry while watching the game.

7:11 pm-Marcelo tells me that he wants to go play soccer. He is leaving in 15 min or so.

7:36 pm-Start dinner for baby. I don't want anything because I'm still full from lunch.

8:12 pm- Dinner for baby. She eats and then watches Annie on our computer.

8:29 pm-It's bath time! The baby pretends she doesn't want to bathe and she runs away from me all over the house. She really likes her baths, it's just more fun to run away from mom. I give up trying to get her in the bath and I finish loading the dishwasher and folding laundry. She still is kind of snacking on dinner, so I'm not in a rush to get her in the bath. I would rather her eat and be full before going to bed.

8:50 pm-I'm tired of running around and chasing her. I finally become "mean mom" and get her into the bath. She fusses and I ask her if she wants me to get in with her. She of course agrees and gets really happy to be in the bath. I do this about 1 time a month. Usually when it's super cold outside. It warms me up and she loves playing with mom in the bath. Favorite activity? Dumping water on mom's head.

9:10 pm-Out of bath, and now it's time to chase WET EVI around. Especially when I try to comb her hair, put lotion all over her body, make her take her vitamin and get PJ's on. A naked, wet baby is no fun to chase so again, I have to get MEAN to get things done. Easy for me to get "mean" when I'm tired and pregnant. (and I really shouldn't write "mean" like that. As if it wasn't really mean. Which it totally is and I totally am!)

9:35 pm -Brush Bibi's teeth

9:40 pm-Start reading books to Bibbers. Her favorites are the Dinosuar books (in Spanish, of course)

9:46 pm-She's asleep in my arms as I read to her. is 9:46 a late time for her to go to bed? I want to say yes, that this is due to the time change that just happened a few days ago. And it's due to the late wake and then late nap. But as I type this (3 weeks after the fact) we are still facing a 9 or 9:20 pm bed time and a wake time of 6 or 6:30 am. Very standard. She is not kind to her mama. And I know that if I cut out her nap, she will probably sleep earlier and through the night. But you know what, I LIKE NAP TIME! It is time for me to check my email uninterrupted, take a shower or take a nap myself! And getting up at 6am and then going to the gym, sometimes I need that nap! So I will put her to bed at 9:30 and keep the nap, for now.

10:20 pm-Marcelo is home from soccer. I make him dinner. I'm sure it's something simple, because all my 10:30 meals are super simple. I'm still not hungry from lunch (surprisingly) so I don't make any for myself

10:42 pm-Help my mom write an email to her English department counselor. When she gets tired, sometimes things don't come out so clear.

11:07 pm-Now I'm hungry. Why was I so stupid not to make food for myself too? I eat 1/2 of a flour tortilla cold from fridge and some Jello. I know, Jello! Pregnancy lets me eat weird things. Normally revolting things look ok, hence the Jello. All culinary rules out the window.

11:13 pm-I finally climb in bed. I read my book "Black Swan" for a few minutes (not the book that the creepy movie is based on. This book is much more like Malcolm Gladwell's "Outliers") I finally drift off to sleep.

So that is it! I wish I would've taken pictures of this day. I promise that if I do this again, I will take pictures. And maybe even a video so you can see my dog's park joy.

My mom's visit was long but super fun. And we get to see her in a few weeks for graduation! So now all I have to worry about is finding Marcelo a job. Shouldn't be hard in this economy, right?

Wish me luck!

A Healthy Hint From Weight Watchers

My mother went to a WW meeting today. (she is a lifetime member, having reached her goal weight and kept it off several years ago. But life and traveling happens. So now she's trying to get back to that weight again) She told me about a little hint they got today in their meeting:

Mom: So they said that you should make your food last. You know, try to take 20 minutes to eat your dinner.

Me: So. . . . .I should eat continuously for 20 minutes? I can TOTALLY do that!

Mom: NOOOOOO!! I meant. . . .

AND SCENE

I clearly knew what she was trying to say. I just like to kid her. And there will be no cessation of eating for quite a while because. . . .

I'm pregnant.














Boo-ya

Due in Sept. Very excited.

15 weeks now. When should my energy return to me, again?

Ok, I need to go eat now.

For at least 20 minutes

Give me my sin again

I'm back off the wagon. The BREAD wagon. Whole boxes of cereal and loaves of bread disappear with startling speed. And my thighs are expanding with that same rapidity.

But I love bread. Great Harvest bread is my current favorite. Picture this: toasted slice of wheat bread, schmer of cream cheese and my mom's homemade blackberry jam on top. I may have had 2 of these yesterday. Which you are thinking "just 2, that's not so bad". To which I reply, "um I didn't tell you about the bowls of cereal or the OTHER slices of bread (and butter) I also ate. Yeah, It's becoming a problem.

But I just love it so much!

I wish salad tasted as good. Or something else healthy and green. I need to eat more green things!

In other sinning news, I ate a whole box of corn Chex in 2 days. That was last week. I hated myself after that one. But is there anything better than a cold bowl of milk and cereal? At least I'm not eating pancakes for 3 meals, anymore. That was a bad time.

It's time for things to heat up so I can get outside again. Yesterday was pretty nice, maybe things are looking up in the weather department!

But seriously, I should just stop buying bread and cereal, right? I mean, if it's not in my house, then I can't eat it, right? That's what my theory was all last year, and it seemed to work well. I really should return to that mode of thinking.

Wow, this post is boring. I kept typing with the hope that some inspiration would strike me and it would get interesting at some point. That did not happen. And I apologize.

You can never get those 4 minutes back, and that is something I will have to live with forever.

Poison

I poisoned my family on Thursday. Food poison, that is. I'm pretty sure I know how I did it, and it was 153% my fault. It didn't hit till last night, and it hit all of us within about 2 hours of each other.

See, Marce got it first. And then when it hit me, I said, "I think this is food poisoning". But he responded "no, the baby ate that food too. And she isn't sick". But he spoke too soon! We had a little nighttime vomit episode with her. And so he conceded that yes, it was probably food poisoning.

How did it do it? It involved chicken, forgetting to turn the oven on and then not cooking the crap out of it. I usually cook my chicken for an obscene amount of time just to make sure it is 100% cooked through. But this time, because of the delay in forgetting to turn the oven on, there wasn't time and so I'm pretty sure that is what caused us all to get sick.

Anyway, I won't shock you with the details, but let's just say you know it is food poisoning when it's shooting out BOTH ENDS nearly simultaneously.

We are all eating some dry toast, oatmeal and juice to try to replenish the lost fluids and nutrients. And I feel badly for poisoning my family. As I well should, I think. At least it wasn't a dinner party!

Don't forget to wash your hands people!

Just so you know

Just so you know:

It takes 4 grown adults to hold a 2 and 3/4 year old child down to examine a scratched eye.

And if anything needs to be dropped into this eye to make it glow like a radioactive particle ala the Simpsons, make sure all 4 of your are wearing protective gloves, because she will pinch, and scratch and spit and kick and do everything in her power to get away from you. And it will make you cry. And you haven't cried at the doctors office since you watched her get her first set of shots.

Oh, and if she needs to get anti-bacterial drops in her eyes 3 times a day for a week, make sure that your husband is present for the administration of of those drugs. Because if not, you might have a scratched eye yourself from the fighting.

But you will feel better knowing something is being done about it. Because seriously, when you pried her eye open after hours of crying and saw the VERY VISIBLE scratch that went the whole length of her iris AND pupil you nearly died of fright for the sight of your child.

But seriously, that radioactive stuff they put in her eye glowed neon green in the special black light? That stuff was cool. Made me miss the day-glow fashions of the 80's.

Ski Holiday

A few days before Christmas my mom took my brother and I skiing. Well, she skied and Nathan and I snowboarded. It was only the second time I have ever done it in my life. And last time I did it was 7 years ago. Even though it was long ago, I remember how difficult and painful it was. So you can understand why I was very VERY apprehensive about going.

I almost skied 2 years ago when I was about 6 months pregnant with Bibi. I don't fall down a lot when I ski and I was just planning on doing the bunny slope, so I didn't think there would be much of a problem. But I was about 75 (maybe 80?) pounds heaver than I am now, AND the day before I had gone maternity bathing suit shopping with my mom. The effort of only pulling those suits on and off made me tired and I had to sit down and rest in the changing room. So 2 years ago with my weight gain, pregnancy and fatigue on my mind I decided not to go skiing. Plus the day was cut short anyway because my sister-in-law tore her ACL within 4 minutes of getting on the slopes. GOOD TIMES!!

But back to this ski adventure. We went to Sundance and I was shocked to discover how big it is! I didn't know there were 4 different lifts! I didn't realize how many different run options there were. Sundance is definitely worth the price if you can go on a day that's not super crowded. Which this day wasn't

Nathan promised that he wouldn't ditch me and he would help me remember how to do it. And he was true to his word. The first run of the day was rough and it took me a while to remember how to turn, stand up and then finally maneuver the board. I was so slow on that first run that my mom decided to ditch us and run a few runs by herself. But she only got one more in! On the second run of the day I was much much better and we could stay together without problems.

Nathan later said that he always gets worried about trips like these because he loves having his mother along, but we tend to forget just how old she is! She's 60 (sorry mom, I just told the world your age) but she still does all the fun stuff with us so it's hard for us to remember her age. She still water-skis, and will get on those inflateable toys to pull behind the boat with her grandkids. She works out all the time, and If I suggesting hiking or backpacking or rock climbing the next time she came out, I don't think she would have any problem with any of those things. Actually, she didn't fall down even ONCE the whole day she skied. You know I cannot say the same! But he worries about the possibility of her hurting herself and then ruining her whole vacation. But mom isn't crazy! She knows her limits and keeps it safe.

Well, we had a great time. The baby got to hang out with her cousin all day, and I got a sore body for the next 5 days! It was worth it, though. Here are some pictures we took while up there. They were taken with a camera phone, so excuse the poor quality.



It snowed and rained on and off that day. It kept some people away from the slopes, and that's how we like it!
Thanks to my mom for the chance to go! And thanks for Nate for being patient with me as I forgot and then remembered how to snowboard. And thanks to the staff at Sundance for not laughing at me EVERY TIME I fell off the chair lift. Especially that one time where I miss-calculated how much time I had to dis-embark and I basically had to jump off the seat and I landed face down in a pile of snow. Giant bruises on my legs to show for that one. And a special thanks to Jules for leaving all her snowboarding stuff when she went to Texas. We hardly had to rent anything thanks to her!

Happy Boarding, everyone!

Family Pictures

These were taken on Halloween. I know, WAAAAAAY too long to post them.

Except for the one where I have a double chin, I think we all look super cute and happy. Which is amazing because our kid was NOT happy about some strange guy taking her pictures. (He's not THAT strange: He's our home teacher)

















Over an hour long photo shoot and 400+ pictures later, and this is all we have to show for it. Thanks Bibi for being so weird around (semi) strangers!