MINI ROBERTS CLAN

3, 3 and under

2012-01-11T20:32:00.000-08:00

Yes that is right! We are having another baby! It has been a roller coaster for sure! I'm due July 16, 2012, which means that I'm about 13 1/2 weeks along. We found out I was pregnant over 2 months ago, but I was on risk of miscarriage, so we didn't want to say anything. Especially with having a miscarriage 2 months before conceiving again. Yeah, we were not planning on getting pregnant so quickly after the miscarriage, but Heavenly Father has His plan. We weren't doing anything to prevent it, but we weren't trying either.

Back to pregnancy.

Because I miscarry a lot, they put me on progesterone. I will be on that stuff until I'm 14 weeks! Not fun! But hey, only a few days left. We have had plenty of scares with this baby, but as of right now, everything is going great! I'm so excited to welcome a new bundle of joy to our family. We may not be a perfect family, and I may not be the ideal mom, but that baby will receive more loving than he/she can handle for sure!!

There are going to be so many changes with 3 babies:

A minivan... I never thought that day would come. Me, a minivan momma! Woo gunner.

Two girls in one room... I hope they don't hurt each other, and learn how to sleep!

Officially outnumbered... There will be more children than adults in our home. Heaven help us!

Sleepless nights... again.

Return of the cow... yes that is me. How am I going to juggle nursing plus taking care of two toddlers???

I'm sure there are more, but for right now, that is enough for me. Yay for baby #3!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2011-12-21T20:11:00.000-08:00

Decorating this year was so great! We loved being able to decorate the tree with the girls. This year we were even able to put up ornaments that Carla had made the previous year. I have always wanted to have a homemade tree. As in, most, if not all of the ornaments were made by someone in the family-except for the special occasion ornaments, such as Baby's First Christmas, etc. The girls, especially Carla, LOVED decorating the Christmas Tree. (Yes, that is a fireplace on my TV.) She keeps calling it her Christmas. As in, don't touch her Christmas or else! It is so sweet. There were a lot of projects that I wanted to do for Christmas this year, but in the end, none of them got done. Oh well, next year perhaps. Although who knows if life with three will let me get projects done then either.

Birth and 6 Month Comparison

2011-12-17T20:12:00.000-08:00

It is amazing how different 2 sister can be! I was just thinking about them and decided to do a quick comparison. Here is Elizabeth at 1 day...

Here is Carla at 1 day...

Here is Elizabeth at 6 months...

Here is Carla at 6 months...

Wow are they ever so different! Carla was a string bean, then she exploded! Poose was a chunky monkey at birth and then thinned out! Crazy crazy!

Carla turned 3!!!

2011-12-15T20:43:00.000-08:00

Yup my big girl! It is funny that she turned 3 because if your ask her how old she is she will tell you that she is 6! Crazy girl! She really acts like she is going on 6 though. She is so smart, kind, goofy and lovable. All of the pictures that we take of her she is making some sort of funny face. I love it most of the time. ;) This was her first year having a friend party at the house. She LOVED it! The children came over. Of course, we served dinner, I wonder what it would be like to only do snacks at a party, I made turkey, rice and beans.

We love them rice and beans, maybe because we are hispanic! Ella, Eliza, Justine, Owen, Eli, Baylee, and Taylor all came to celebrate with her. We played pin the tail on the donkey,

broke the pinata,

and then she opened her presents with her friends.

All of the children were super excited and she loved everything that she got. Especially her fairy wings.

She still won't put on the skirt that goes with it (she does NOT like dress up) but I have coax her to take her wings off before bed or whenever we have to get in the car.

She is such a girly girl. I love it! Every morning she takes me to the bathroom and picks out her hair bow for the day. Then she goes and finds her little brush, and brings it to me so that I can do her hair. She loves makeup and jewelry. Both of which she will be getting for Christmas because she keeps loosing mine! But shhhh, don't tell her! She loves to read. It is punishment for her to only read 3 or 4 books before bed, we usually spend at LEAST a half hour or so reading before nap and bedtime, and still during the day we read. I am so glad that she loves to read so much. She is a really good big sister. If Poose is crying she finds her binky and puts it in her mouth so she'll stop crying, then she'll rub her back and say, "It's okay sweetheart, it's okay." Adorable!

She loves to say prayers! They are sweet, innocent, and short, and usually consist of things that she is grateful for. I need to take some lessons from her! She loves to read the Book of Mormon and her favorite story is about the "fruta" with in English means fruit, Lehi's dream of the tree of life. We have learned about thousands of different applications for the message in Lehi's Vision. She is very independent. She can get dressed all by herself, shoes, socks, everything! She turns the car on, the climbs in her seat and buckles herself in. She does not like any help! It amazes me all that she can do.

Her hero of course is me...NOT! She loves her daddy. He is the love of her life. She always wants him close to her. In the morning when she wakes up, if I get her out of her room she always has to snuggle with daddy. She goes to our bedroom door and says, "I need daddy to snuggle me." So sweet!

This is Carla waiting oh so patiently for daddy to come home. She sat there for almost a half hour until he finally came home. One time, he left to take the missionaries home. I was in the bathroom, when all of the sudden I heard screaming and the door open. I ran outside chasing after her, she was chasing the car down the street. Thankfully Zach saw her and stopped. She is a blessing in our life. I don't know what I would do without my big little lady. I love you Carla!!

Your hair! Your beautiful hair!!!

2011-12-15T20:21:00.000-08:00

Yes, Carla did the unthinkable. She got scissors and while she was supposed to be napping, she cut off her hair! Her beautiful brown, beach curly hair! Oh I'm sure it hurt me more than it did her. I ended up cutting her hair. It was her first haircut and she loved it! I guess 2 1/2 years before her first haircut is a pretty long time, but hey, I love her hair. She loves her hair short. Slowly but surely it is growing out. I part her hair down the middle a lot to try to hide the huge patch of stubby hair on the side of her head. Children will be children right?!

Anniversary and California

2011-12-15T19:59:00.000-08:00

Our anniversary was spent driving to California. The End.

In California however we had so much fun! Too much probably, we didn't want to come home. We stayed with my little bro and his wife, Abi and Diana. Whom we are eternally indebted to. They payed for our gas to go up there and let us stay with them. We (Abi, Diana, Saria and Patrick-sister and bro in law, Zach and I) went out for hibachi our first night there. They sang to us, and Abi and Diana and took our pictures because we were all celebrating our anniversaries. It was amazing! We even got to wear Pikachu hats!! We spent a lot of time at the swimming pool at Abi's place and just hung out. We went to the beach, and yes, that is a HUGE snake around my neck, yes again, I am holding my 8 month old daughter.

The snake even crawled around her neck! EWWWWW!!! What was I thinking!?!?! Oh well, it was a great memory! The other girly is my niece, Noemi, who was excited to have the snake around her. Apparently she loves snakes. Crazy head! I loved being there with my family. I realized how much I really miss my siblings. It was great to be there with them.

Zach graduated!!

2011-12-15T19:52:00.000-08:00

Zach also graduated! He didn't walk, he didn't want to take away from my moment of glory. So sweet! He got his AS in Integrated Studies. I'm so proud of him. When he graduated he had the same level of education as his dad, and the only child to graduate from college. I'm so so so amazed at all that he has been able to accomplish. Now he is getting ready to start grad school in March! So for him, I got him a cake and we broke a pinata! It was so much fun.I love you baby!

I graduated!!

2011-12-15T19:41:00.000-08:00

I know it is totally overdue, I actually graduated in May, but eh, life happens. So I graduated with my BA major in Spanish (Translation and Interpretation- emphasis in medical and business). I was so bummed because I was .02 points away from graduating with honors. Oh well. I took 19 credits with Poose being a newborn. Zach dropped down to working part-time and I studied...a lot! Finally in May, I did it! I am now officially done! I want to do something with my degree, and if I find a job from home, that pays exceptionally well I might consider it, but at this point in my life, my greatest job is taking care of my girls. Their smiles, hugs, and kisses are the best payment I could ever receive. I am the wealthiest person in the world. Back to graduation... Zach threw me a little party and it was fabulous! My graduation present from him... a CLASS RING!! I have always wanted one. I don't have one from when I graduated High School, and I have always wanted one. So he bought me a beautiful graduation ring. He gave it to me at the party. I am so blessed to have him as my husband, he does so many little things for me that mean so much to me. Oh yes, and the cake.. grrr... yeah, they spelled congratulations wrong!! What the gravy??!!?? I fixed it with icing but come on! A graduation from college cake and you can't even spell Congratulations?? Good old Wal-Mart. Blah!

Poose turned 1...a few months ago...

2011-11-04T07:23:00.000-07:00

Oops. I know it has been a while since she turned 1, but I want to write about my little angel.

Her Birthday-
We went to the zoo, which she and her sister both love to do. In the afternoon was her party. Let me tell you, it was a PAR-TAY! We had a balloon artist who also does magic tricks come. She loves balloons so we thought that would be perfect! Zach and I made Salvadorean Tamales, rice, beans, salad, and for dessert... a chocolate fountain and cake! I know, I know, we really went all out. But hey, we weren't just celebrating that she turned one, but that we made it a whole year with two children. That IS something to celebrate! Back to my baby. She loved the food, and especially the cake! It was so much fun to see her interacting with her cake. At first she didn't want to touch it. But as soon as she figured out what it was she ate the ENTIRE piece! It was great. She wasn't too sure about her pinata either, she'll learn though. Oh yes, and I also made her dress and matching hair bow!

Her Person-

She is growing up so fast! She is walking...well running! She LOVES to laugh, especially at her sister, or is it with her sister??I guess it doesn't really matter, all I know is that she laughs and that her laugh makes me smile. She is starting to talk more. Her favorite word is "no," of course she probably learned it from her sister...or me. She folds her arms when we pray, as the matter of fact, a couple days ago she said her first prayer! I didn't understand it, but she folded her arms, closed her eyes, and started babbling, then she said, "amen" and opened her eyes. I am blessed to have her in my life. She makes me so happy. She is definitely a cuddler, and I love it! She will walk over to me, sit on my lap and lay her head down on my chest. It is so sweet! She still prefers to be held over walking. She may be spoiled, but oh I love her snuggling with me! She LOVES to nurse. I finally weaned her about 2 weeks ago, and she STILL asks for it. Not with words, but she will get a pillow, put it on my lap and lay down, yeah little lady I can take a hint. Sorry but the answer is "no." She loves her daddy also. When she sees him, she squeals and starts running to him and gives him a great big hug. It just melts your heart.

Life as we know it.

2011-10-15T20:10:00.000-07:00

I love Iowa for so many reasons. We have felt right at home. As I was stating in my last post, Poose has started to walk, but the silly girl will only take 5-7 steps then sit down. She will take a couple steps, stop, look around, take a few more, stop, look around, then another, then sit down. Yeah, I think she is just too lazy to walk. Just like she still is not talking. Crazy girl. She either squeals, yells, or simply shakes her head. She loves to be outside, and amazingly enough she loves to crawl up the slide, then slide back down, and yes, she goes up the stairs on the slide by herself. Seems to me like I have another daredevil on my hands. She is such a sweet girl though. She will crawl over, put her head down on my lap, shoulder, arm, or head. Snuggle in for about oh, 2 or 3 seconds, then go play. A couple minutes later, she returns for another short lived but sweet snuggle. Oh yes, one thing that she does say is "Hi Mama!" Yes, TWO words. She probably thinks they are one though.
Zach got her up from bed one morning, and when they came into the room, she squealed and said, "Hi mama!" I thought it was Carla because she said it as clear and day. I turned to look and it was my little pumpkin! I couldn't believe it! Zach couldn't either! She is growing up so stinking fast. Grrr! I don't like it. I am so guilty of not taking advantage of every moment, every second soaking up her giggles, smiles, laughs, cries, and times of sheer contentment. I try look look at her, examine her as much as I can every day so that I can commit her perfect little self to memory. A memory so ingrained in my mind that even when I'm 102 I'll be able to think back and see her as clearly as I see her today. I love my little baby more than words can express. Poose, you are so dear to my heart sweetheart. Know that you and your sister are my greatest treasure.

I will be better....

2011-10-09T12:30:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it has been so difficult for me to blog/ write in my journal. I will be so much better. I have had so many blessings in my life in these last 3 months in Iowa that it would be very ungrateful for me to not document them for my posterity. I am grateful to my Heavenly Father for allowing me to have so many wonderful experiences with my family and loved ones. So much has happened here. Poose had her 1 year birthday palooza, a new niece was born (Stella), Carla loves nursery, we have made lifelong friends, Poose is starting to walk, etc... Details on these events are to come!

Our new home!

2011-07-11T17:58:00.001-07:00

We made it to Iowa. Boy oh boy was it a lot of drama to get here too! So we had everything ready to come, the U-Haul was reserved and the tow dolly. Then Tamara called and asked if her brother could come with us. We were thrilled because that way we would not need the tow dolly because Jesse could drive one of the cars. Everything was going great. It is now been almost three months since I started this post, so to recap. Jesse couldn't come because his dad had a 2 day long heart attack. The day before we left we packed up the truck, then unpacked it because we had too much stuff and couldn't bring it all, then packed it again. We drove out here, it took us three days. I left my wallet at a gas station. About an hour later we got a call from Mountain America Credit Union. Some NICE man found my wallet on the ground, called the customer service number on the back of my debit card, and they called me to give me his number so we could meet. We met, and I was eternally grateful to have my wallet back, but sadly someone stole over $200 cash from it. Count your losses though, right? Now, here we are three months later and loving it!!

Am I crafty enough?

2011-06-24T14:30:00.000-07:00

Thinking about doing an Etsy site. If you saw these, would you buy them? If so, which ones?

Not my children!

2011-06-24T08:58:00.000-07:00

Picture this. Zach in the bathroom (don't picture this), hearing Carla saying, "Ouch, ouch, nose, ouch." Then she starts crying, "Stuck, owie, stuck nose, help, ayuda porfavor!" Zach finishes up (don't picture), goes into her room and she is in her crib saying that her nose hurts. Zach thinks, oh maybe she just has a booger stuck up her nose. So he has her blow her nose, and lo and behold, a bead comes out of each one of her nostrils! Gross!!!! One of them was even bloody. What in the world posses children to stick things up their nose?? I don't understand. But then again, some grown ups have a fascination with sticking their fingers up their nose. Sorry no picture of either scenario.

Book of Mormon Stories is...

2011-06-24T08:53:00.000-07:00

Carla's new favorite song. We sing it all day long, especially before bedtime and naptime, and of course every Family Home Evening- along with Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam. It is so stinking cute! What a cutie pie.

That is "kitty" doing Book of Mormon Stories with her. Kitty is Carla's best friend. He does everything with her. She got Kitty from Grandma Roberts for her 1 year birthday and she is still in love with him.

The move...

2011-06-24T08:24:00.001-07:00

So about 4 months ago, on a nice Friday afternoon, Zach comes home from work. It was great to see him. Then we all went as a family to Wendy's for a bite to eat. He looked a bit pensive, so I asked him what he was thinking. He then asked me a question, "Could you see me as a chiropractor?" My response, "Why are you asking?" His states, "I think I want to be a chiropractor." In shock I say, "WHAT?!? You have wanted to be an orthodontist since you were 3! Are you sure this is what you want to do?" He very seriously says, "Yes, it is." So I call my brother who is at Palmer Chiropractic College in Davenport, Iowa. I tell him what we are thinking. I sent him Zach's transcript via e-mail, he takes it in that day to the admissions guy. Monday we get an e-mail that everything is a go for him to start in November. Wait what!!! NOVEMBER!! Yup, that was what he said. So we sent official transcript, filled out other paperwork and got started on finding a place to live, etc...

A couple days later, Tamara, my friend and sister in law, called that she found us a place to live. Lo and behold everything went through and now we are moving into a town home that is 1700 sq. feet and we are only going to pay $620 a month! Amazing, absolutely amazing! After some drama here and there, we decided to still move for July 1st but not start the program until March. Zach has to take a couple classes at the community college there before he can start school and so instead of him starting the classes July 11, he isn't going to start until Fall semester. It will be nice so that we have some time as a family before the craziness of grad school starts, especially since he has been going year round for the past 3 years. So to make things short, we leave for Iowa on Wednesday and hope to be there on Thursday.

This is what my house is looking like now.

Yes, Carla is watching Blue's Clues. I regret ever putting it on for her. That is all she wants to watch, and because I'm packing like a mad person, she watches TV. Yes I know I'm not sticking to my TV rule (TV watching only on Sat and Sun). Oh well. Desperate times call for desperate measures. I 'm so excited to move though!! We'll get to be 5 min away from Jorge and Tamara and the kids. It will be so great to have Carla so close to cousins. Tamara, who was my friend before she was my brother's wife is super crafty, like me! YAY!!! A crafting partner, finally! So Zach baby, thanks for turning my world upside down!

Sister Bath in the

2011-06-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

Kitchen Sink??? Yup, they are in the kitchen sink taking baths. I first put the baby in, not uncommon, because she needed a bath and Carla was eating lunch, and I didn't want to leave either of them alone. So I put the baby in the sink. Then, Carla was adamant that she wanted to join in the fun, so she finished eating her lunch and went in the other sink. They make me laugh.

Sincere Prayers...

2011-06-16T13:03:00.000-07:00

So, lately Carla has started to say "real" prayers. She has been asking for what she really wants and needs, and being grateful for real things. She just makes my heart melt. Some the the things that she has included in her prayers are as follows:

Please mommy so Carla Winnie Pooh poop

Translation: Please let mommy let me watch Winnie the Pooh

Bless Daddy homework

Translation: Bless Daddy at school and at work whichever one he is at

Thank you toes

Translation: Thank you for my toes

Please Singa mimis, mommy mimis, daddy mimis, Carla mimis

Translation: Please bless each one of us that we can go to sleep (mimis)

Please Bita and Wito come here

Translation: Please let Grandma and Grandpa Barrientos come see me

These are some of her please and thank yous. Goodness she is smart! It also got me to thinking. She really prays for what she wants, even though she is so young, she understands that Heavenly Father is listening to her and cares about the simple things. Do I have that kind of faith? Do I pray for the small things that concern me, or just for those life altering decisions that need to be made? Carla tells Heavenly Father EVERYTHING she does during the day, that we went outside to play, that she had eggs for breakfast, that she played with her toys, why don't I? She has such a sweet, innocent, and sincere relationship with her Father in Heaven. I am grateful that I have the opportunity to see why the Lord said to become like a little child. Their relationship with Father is sincere and simple. Something I need to work on. Thank you for your wonderful example mi hija!

CRAWLING!!!

2011-06-16T13:02:00.000-07:00

Elizabeth officially started 4 point crawling today! I am so happy! I can't believe how fast she is growing. Zach was able to be here for it also. He got out early from school and decided to stop by the house before going back to work. Lo and behold, in those few minutes, she started to crawl. So sweet! I'm so proud of my little lady. She is a very determind baby, who loves to explore. She is trying to pull herself up on furniture now also. Luckily she hasn't gotten there yet. I love you Poose!

Rheumatoid Arthritis??

2011-06-08T20:41:00.001-07:00

So I was "unofficially" diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis in December. They are 90% sure that I have it because of my abnormal pain in my hip and it keeps popping out every few days. My bones are starting to become brittle, etc... Oh well. They don't want to officially diagnose me because then it will be a preexisting condition and good luck getting reasonable insurance then! I have been going to the Chiropractor, and he has been doing wonders for my pain. Sadly the cold is starting to get to me though. I want to be a "running and jumping" mom, not a "oh I'm in so much pain I can't play with you" mom. It is scary, but with the Lord's help, I can still live a very full life.

Back to school for the last time...EVER!

2011-06-08T20:35:00.000-07:00

Life has been crazy since January. I went back to school. I took 19 credits so that I could graduate this semester. It was super duper intense, but it is over and I got strait As! I'm so glad and grateful it is over. Zach and the girls were amazing during the whole process. Zach took over a lot of the house work, and the girls were good sports about me being gone until about the last month. Carla would start crying when I was leaving, and she would ask me to not go to "homework" but to "come here" as I was getting in the car. It was heartbreaking. I hated having to leave my two angels. But I know that it was for all of our own good.

When I graduated, Zach threw me a party. It was great! Abi, Diana, Sari, Patrick, and Noemi came from California to be there for me. And Melissa and the girls, Than, Jen and the girls, Mom, Dad, Jen, and Kat came down also. We had a pinata and ate a lot of good food. Zach even got me a class ring for graduating!! The Pierre's- from our ward, and the Raddy's all came to cheer for me as I walked. I appreciated it more than words can say. Oh yes, my parents, my biggest fans were also there of course. A week or so later I found out that I made strait As!! Yup 6 classes and I passed each one with an A. My poor family sacrificed a lot for me to be able to do so, and now it is time for me to give back.

Papoose's milestones

2011-06-08T20:22:00.000-07:00

I have been horrible with keeping track of Poose's Milstones. Here is a brief summary with a resolution to do better!

Roll Over December
Coo November
Laugh December
Blow Bubbles December 20th

Sit up March

Say Mama Mid May

Say Dada End of May

Wave "hi" May 28th

Scoot!! May 29th

I can't believe all of the things that my little baby is doing! She is getting so big so fast. She makes me want to be a better mommy. She deserves a better mommy. But I am trying. Every morning I pray for more patience, but sadly I've used it up by breakfast time.

Our new toy- the splurge

2011-06-08T20:06:00.001-07:00

So yes, this year with our taxes we bought a Wii and some games to go along. It is so much fun! Zach and I love doing the bowling and tennis games together. We were doing it quite frequently, especially when I was in school because it was my destresser at night. It is funny, because now that I'm not in school, we play a lot less often. I was doing the Zumba every day, but lately I'm tired all the time. I go to bed around 10 and wake up around 8, sometimes I even take a nap in the afternoon. Hopefully I'll get back in the rhythm of things soon. Anyways, Carla LOVES Just Dance 2. At night she makes us sing to her "Big girl you are beautiful." She cracks me up. She also loves to dance to Jump by Kris Kross. Oh she makes me smile.

First Sisterly Bath

2011-06-08T19:54:00.001-07:00

So March 3, the girls were in the tubby for the first time together. Carla absolutely loved being in there with her sister. Carla has been really sweet about washing Poose's hair, and rinsing her off. Needless to say, Poose isn't fond of the washing, but she is fond of the tub. It is so great to see them doing things that sisters do. I love them both very much!

Carla is 2... yes the big T W O!!!!

2010-12-22T21:43:00.000-08:00

There are many new and exciting milestones that she has reached.
She can take her clothes on and off all by herself- mostly off though, she HATES wearing clothes.
She ABSOLUTELY loves being a big sister.
She is starting to learn to reason. "Carla you can have a popciccccle after you eat lunch." "Okay mommy." After lunch, "Please popciccccle mommy??" She is so smart.
She wakes up every morning and every nap-time naked, I mean butt naked!
She loves watching monsters, which is her special Saturday and Sunday treat with daddy.
She has learned her numbers in Spanish up to six, although she has a hard time remembering 4 sometimes.
She loves to read! Some of her favorite books are- Mom Mine, You Do, Mama do you love me, Zoom Zoom, This is the way we take a bath, The Book of Mormon Stories, The Friend, We're going on a bear hunt- especially the "tiptoe tiptoe tiptoe... WHAT'S THAT?!?" part.
She loves to color, and paint, not such a huge fan of finger painting though. She complains that her hands are yucky.
She loves eggs and yogurt!
She says "come in" when we knock on her door to get up from bedtime or after nap-time.
She loves playing with Bug, Taylor, Adam, Lacey, and Keith- our neighbors. She goes over to their house and knocks and knocks and yells "come in" until they let her come in.
She is daddy's buddy. She runs full speed to him when he comes home, and waves goodbye and blows him kisses until she can't see him when he leaves.
She went to her first movie- Despicable Me, and sat through most of it, except for when she went to the potty... all 5 times!
She is now, at 25 months potty trained, which she did all by herself!!
She loves taking bubble baths. She got two today... lucky baby.Best of all, when she goes to sleep she still waits for me to tell her...
"I'll like you forever, I'll love you for always, as long as I'm living, my baby you'll be."
So despite all of her growing up, she will always, ALWAYS be my baby.
You bring joy, laughter, and pride to my life, my sweet baby girl.

Papoose- the official nickname

2010-11-14T20:32:00.001-08:00

When Elizabeth first came home, we used to wrap her up nice and tight. She loved it. If ever she was crying we would bundle her up and she would stop. I though that papoose was the word that Native American's use to describe the tight wrapping of the baby. I started calling her papoose because she liked to be all wrapped up. One night Zach asked me why I called her papoose. I told him why and we started wondering how it was spelled. Zach got out the dictionary. Low and behold, to both of our surprise, papoose is a Native American baby! We thought it was sort of cute because Carla is our baby, and papoose can be our Native baby. Besides, I am Native American- Mayan, from the Pipil tribe. A couple times I called her papoosinga, I don't know why, just something to add on the end I guess. The funny thing is that now Carla only calls papoose, papoosinga. Sooo cute how she says it too! Adorable. So Elizabeth's nickname is Papoose or Papoosinga or sometimes just Inga.

Coming home

2010-11-14T18:26:00.001-08:00

Dr. Young came to see her before we went home and I got a picture of them together. The man who got her out, and kept me safe during the pregnancy. Thank you Dr. Young for all you did.
Before we were able to leave, they checked her bilirubin levels, which of course were not where they needed to be. So they put her under the lights. Poor baby. She didn't mind it though. She was in heaven because it was nice and warm underneath the light. I took her in every other day to have her levels checked for the levels to stabilize. Luckily I only had to do this for a week. Poor baby getting poked on her little foot.
Anyways, then we were able to get ready to go home. I got her dressed and we were off. When we got home, my parents were waiting for us. It was so sweet of them. I love them so much, they are always there when we need them. Oh yeah, and they took me flowers, Gerber Daises, my favorite, in the hospital. We put her in her bassinet to sleep. That didn't last long though. She wanted to be snuggled and cuddled. She was an amazing sleeper though! She slept for 5 hours straight, then woke up to eat. Good girl!

The sisters meet.

2010-11-14T18:06:00.001-08:00

The next day Carla came over to meet Papoose. She didn't meet her when she was born because she was already sleeping. She came over and even wore her "Big S ister" shirt. It was adorable. As soon as she saw Elizabeth she was in love with her. She wanted to hold her, which she did so nicely with daddy's help. She loved on her and even gave her kisses. So sweet! And we also took our first family photo.

Papoose's first bath...

2010-11-14T17:57:00.000-08:00

Zach was able to give the baby her first bath. We bathed her the next day. It was nice to see him so involved in the care of our new baby.

The long birth story...

2010-11-14T17:47:00.001-08:00

It was September 9th, about 10am. I was going in for a routine Non-Stress Test at the doctor's office. The NST went well, then he examined me and found that instead of my body progressing and getting ready for the baby to come, it was going backwards. My cervix closed, my uterus went from ripe, to unripe. It was not a good thing. The doctor came in and said that it was time for a heart to heart.
Oh yeah, the night before, I had Zach give me a blessing. It said that I needed to pay close attention to what the doctor said, and that he is a very inspired doctor. That I needed to follow his counsel, and that Elizabeth would arrive healthy and strong.
Back to the heart to heart. He said that the longer I waited, the more at risk I was putting myself and the baby. That many things could go wrong, and that my body wasn't acting like it was going to go into labor any time soon. He said that I really needed to evaluate how important a VBAC was to me, and that I should consider having the c-section. I asked him when the c-section would take place. To my complete shock, he said, "tonight, or tomorrow morning." I called Zach, we said a prayer and I felt peace. I knew that we should do the c-section. I started crying, partially because of disappointment that I wouldn't be able to ever know what labor was like, fear of labor and the recovery, and anxious that I only had a couple of hours to get ready for the baby. I went back with the doctor and told him that night would work for the c-section. He told me to be happy, that in the matter of hours I would be holding our little bundle of joy in my arms, and that some women like having c-sections (even though I know that he isn't a huge fan of them unless they are truly needed). The nurses also tried to comfort me, and get me excited. They gave me a tentative time of 6 pm and I left.
Everyone was alerted, my mom and I went to buy last minute things. We went to Motherhood Maternity to buy some nursing bras, when I got a call from the hospital. They said that they had no rooms left and if I could come in the morning at 5:30. I said that would be fine. So my mom and I got some food. I then alerted everyone again. We went home, and as I got the bag ready, I began to get more and more excited. The plan was that my mom would come to the house at 5am and watch on Carla since the actual c-section wasn't until 7am, and then she would bring her to the hospital.
That night I started spotting. I called the hospital, they said that it was probably due to the doctor's exam that morning. I brushed it off. Zach went to sleep about 11 or midnight, and I stayed awake for a while and finally fell asleep at 2:00 am on the couch. About an hour later, I woke up in sheer pain. After about 5 minutes, I was able to get to the bathroom and started gushing blood. I yelled for Zach but he didn't hear me, instead, Carla woke up. Our bedroom door was open and Carla's was closed, go figure. I finally was able to get up, and go to the bedroom and yell at Zach that I was gushing blood. That got him up quick! I was in sheer pain. I was having contractions that were lasting about 90 sec, and then they would stop for 30 sec, and another one would start up again. It was so intense. Zach reminded me to go to my happy place and to breath through my contractions. I did, and the difference was amazing. It was so much better. I was able to walk and talk. Zach called Lacey, who came over to watch on Carla until my mom came at 5am. We got to the hospital at 3:30, and they admitted me immediately. They checked me and I was dilated to a 3! I dilated 3 cm in half an hour. Two hours later I had dilated another 2 cm. At 6am they gave me the epidural and the contractions slowed down. The doctor came in at 7 and decided break my water in hopes that it would start the contractions again. When the doctor did that, they noticed that the water was filled with miconium. They started a flush and put in a monitor inside me to measure the contractions. Yup, there they were. Getting stronger and stronger, and closer and closer together. I was still dilating 2 cm every 2 hours. Talk about intense. The doctor came in at 3pm and asked me why I was still pregnant, I asked him the same question. It was quite funny. The contractions continued and with every contraction I was to push to try to get the baby to drop because she was still really high. But it was to no avail. Finally at 8 pm the doctor sent everyone out of the room and had me push. She was hardly dropping with every push. My incision was starting to hurt and after about 10-15 min, the doctor had me stop pushing and we had another heart to heart. He said the baby just wasn't coming and that it would take at least 3 good hours of constant pushing for her to come.
' 'n ;/n '/- From Carla...
That was a bad idea because my incision was already starting to hurt and I could rupture. So, Zach and I decided it was time to let go of my dream VBAC. I cried and cried and cried. But at the same time, I felt peace. They finished preping me for surgery and Zach got ready also. They wheeled me back to the O.R. I started shaking uncontrollably and got really cold. They said it was because the block in my back was blocking the pain from the contractions in the lower back which moved all of the pain to the top part of my body. It was horrible. I was crying because I was scared that I was going to hyperventilate or have a seizure. Luckily Zach was there holding my hand telling me that everything was going to be fine. The cutting took about a half an hour, and at 8:40 pm my little papoose (Elizabeth's nickname) came out. The amazing thing was that the anesthesiologist picked up my head so that I could see her coming out. It was beautiful. She looked like a strange goopy alien, but it didn't matter to me. I loved her with all my heart just the same. We weren't able to hold her right away because she had to go to the respiratory therapist because of the meconium. We were however right next to her and were able to see her the whole time. After taking her APGAR and suctioning her out Zach got to hold her. While they finished sewing me up, which took FOREVER- at least it felt like it, Zach took the baby to meet her grandparents who where outside the O.R. waiting. When I was finally done, they wheeled me back to my room and there was Zach with my alien. He gave her to me and said that he hadn't let anyone hold her because I needed to hold her first. He gave her to me, and I just held her and held her. I was shaking still, they said it would last a couple of hours, which it did, but then I was fine. We spent the night just loving on her, and recuperating.

The ceiling is falling! The ceiling is falling!

2010-09-04T00:23:00.000-07:00

It fell!

I guess there was an internal leak in the swamp cooler. It was funny because I thought that someone was breaking in, so in a very sneaky manner went to check it out. Yeah, like anyone is going to be scared of a hugely pregnant woman. When I looked down the hallway I realized it wasn't a robber, it was the ceiling, now

decorating the floor. More keeps falling, so Zach finally just finished tearing it down and pulling down the insulation. We are all okay. I was frustrated when I called our landlord because he thought that I was overreacting. Obviously NOT!!! He came over and was in shock. He said, "Wow, the ceiling really did fall." Um yeah! So for now we

get to live in an extremely HOT house, with a hole in the ceiling, and insulation particles in the air. Eh oh well, at least it isn't hazardous to our health and Elizabeth isn't here. If she was here I would really be going nuts, or we would be staying at my folks place until the hole got fixed. As of now, he is going to come on Saturday to see if it is dry or close to it so that he can fix it. When I told him that I was due to have Elizabeth next week he started to be a lot more apologetic and more empathetic as to our new found dilemma. So he is getting to work on it right away... thankfully! I was in the kitchen washing dishes and checking on Carla. A miracle happened amidst all of this because Carla would not get out of the car because her balloon had flown away and she was very upset. I kept checking on her, and no, the car was not hot, but she would not come in, or even let me unbuckle her from the car seat. She was in the car when this happened, and what a blessing it was! I don't know what could have happened to my sweet baby girl if the ceiling would have fallen on her head. Blessings have a way of coming in odd ways, but they are blessing non the less.

Elizabeth Jane Part III

2010-08-31T08:38:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I had my appointment. I haven't felt her move very much lately and so I mentioned it to the doctor. Yeah, he set me up for a non-stress test at the hospital that same day and another one on Thursday. They did the AFI, and turns out that my fluid level is high, 22.5... again! Great. So of course, that is one explanation as to why I can't feel her as much. I am also measuring at 41 weeks. At least I can't get any bigger! On the bright side, I am 50% effaced, dilated to a 1, and my cervix is soft and ripe. That means that my chances for a VBAC are really good! Ya hoo! He said she probably won't come until next week, which I'm okay with, although I would LOVE for her to come Friday. I guess I'll wait.

Jesus is here????

2010-08-27T16:28:00.001-07:00

The other night we were sitting down in the living room playing with Carla, when suddenly she heard the main entrance to the apt complex open and someone walk up the stairs. She stopped dead in her tracks and said, "He's coming! He's coming!" I proceeded to ask her who was coming and her reply was simply, "Jesus. Jesus is coming." Puzzled I asked her again, "Jesus is coming?" She said, "Yip. Jesus is coming."
Oh what sweet innocence. I thought about it and realized that He IS always coming. He is always with us, in our home, in our hearts. I love the things that come out of the mouths of babes, except for when it is "no." Never loose your innocence my little love.

Elizabeth Jane Part II

2010-08-27T15:59:00.000-07:00

So, I went in for my NST and the fluid level went back up to 16. The doctor is calling it good for now. Phew! It is now 13 days before I'm due and everything is going superb. I went in on Sunday to get checked because I thought my fluid was leaking, thankfully not, but they checked me and my cervix is still closed, but at least I am 60% effaced, which is great. My body is doing it's thing and I'm super excited for her to come. WOO HOO!! This morning Carla woke up at 3:30 am and wouldn't go back to sleep. About 6 am, I started having contractions. They were pretty strong and about every 3-5 min. I was excited because I am ready to meet my young blood, and be able to hold her tiny little body in my arms and give her some good loving. Another plus is that she would be born on Grandpa Robert's birthday- which he REALLY wants, and then both girls would have been born on a grandparent's birthday. Ahhhh. But as of now, no such luck. After 45 minutes of contractions, they stopped. Ah poop. Another day it will be I guess. Lizzy, we are super duper excited for you to come sweetness!

Elizabeth Jane

2010-07-19T21:06:00.001-07:00

Baby #2 will be arriving shortly! We decided to name her Elizabeth Jane Roberts. She will be named after both of her grandmas, just as I am. My mom's name is Georgina Elizabeth and Zach's mom's name is Jane Agnes. So we decided to put together Elizabeth Jane, instead of Georgina Agnes. Tee hee hee. Everything has been going great. At 20 weeks we found out that our baby was going to be a girl. It was a shocker because I was positive that she was really going to be a "he." When the Ultrasound tech said, "Looks like a girl!" We both were in shock, especially Zach. The tech even said, "looks like dad is in disbelief, lets see if we can get another angle. Yup, just more labia." When we were walking to the car, Zach finally said, "Its a girl." I just laughed. Then of course he blamed his shock on me because I was the one that convinced him that we were having a boy. Yeah, nice one honey, blame it on the pregnant wife. Very nice. Tee hee hee. Anyways, we are ecstatic to be blessed with another princess in our family.
About a month after that, I started measuring big, every couple weeks Dr. Young would have me come in to recheck me and yet again, my uterus was growing and growing. He had me take the glucose test, and I passed with a 97%. I had another ultrasound done and low and behold, I had very high fluid level. Normal is 6-18, and I had a whopping 22! I started to freak out because of all of the complications that it could bring. Luckily the baby is a lot bigger than what she should be. The is measuring three weeks bigger than normal. They considered changing my date, but decided not too, although the date according to the baby's growth and the due date according to my last menstrual cycle is the same, August 21st. So we'll see when she comes, anyways back to the complications... the next day, my daddy and Zach gave me a blessing. It was a wonderful, calming blessing. In it I was promised that I would sleep...YAY!!!! Also that Elizabeth Jane was fine and that the labor would go well and smoothly. In it, Father also said that I needed to have the courage to get the rest that I needed and to protect the baby. So that is what I have done. I have tried to eat more than once a day, because I just don't get hungry, and drink a lot more liquids. I am trying very hard to eat healthy and to take care of my body as much as possible.
The next week, which was last Monday, I went in for another Non-Stress Test, and low and behold, the fluid level went down 6 points! I was at a 16, the only downside was that she moved and is now in breech position.
Today, I went in for my supposedly last NST. Elizabeth was moving like crazy, probably because I drank 22 oz of KoolAid before going to the appointment. Cheese! Then we, Zach got out early and was able to come to the appointment, went in for the ultrasound, and the doctor said, even before measuring all the fluid, that there wasn't very much fluid around the baby. Sure enough, there wasn't. The fluid went down 8 points. Now I am only at a 9. Great. Anything under 6 and I can't have a VBAC anyways. Great. She is at least head down, sort of. Above her head is her hand, holding the umbilical cord, which I guess is a bad thing because she can't come out vaginally that way because she would be pulling the cord out with her.
Now the doctor is concerned because my fluid level is dropping too fast, so I'll be going in next week for another NST to make sure that the fluid isn't too low. If all goes well, I will be able to skip a week then I'll be going in weekly for my appointments because I'll be in the last month of the pregnancy.
I can't believe that everything is going by so fast! This pregnancy has just flown by. Obviously by my lack of writing about everything that is going on. Soon enough we'll have our little Elizabeth Jane, our butterfly here in our arms. We are anxious for her to join our family. We love her so much already!

MANTI AT LAST!!!!

2010-06-29T13:39:00.001-07:00

We have been wanting to go to the Manti Miracle Pageant for a couple of years now, but every time we start planning on it, something happens. This year, we had no money, and I mean absolutely NO money. My sweet mom paid for our gas so that we could go and we took our lunch, dinner, and snacks. We left here at noon and returned at 12:45 am. We spent almost the whole day at the park, which Carla LOVED, and also made a stop at the craft fair, which was really nice also. Then we went to see the pageant which was amazing as always. It was so beautiful how they told the Joseph Smith story, clips of the Book of Mormon, and the Pioneer trek west. Zach loved it, as it was his first time seeing it. Carla actually did miraculously well, especially after she fell asleep.
I had a sweet memory return to me. I remembered that was were I received my first testimony that the Church, Joseph Smith, everything was true. It was a wonderful to relive that moment, one which I treasure with all my heart, because that moment has changed my entire life. Without the Gospel in my life, I wouldn't have served a mission, an amazing and wonderful husband, a beautiful daughter, and all of the other blessings which I receive daily.

El Salvador

2010-06-29T12:58:00.000-07:00

Pictures can say more than a thousand words, so I'll let the pictures do most of the talking. We went mostly to spend time with Abuelita Tere, which is what we mostly did. We went to Joya de Seren and the ruins of San Andres. Which are two very popular places in El Salvador. We also went to Guatemala for a few days and were able to see some very close family. It was wonderful to be back with our family. Carla discovered a love for bottle caps, brooms, cleaning, and wacales. She called her Tia Lucky "Tia" and even kept calling for her and her dog Bingo, and her bird Christina, long after we returned home.

She HATED the cold El Salvador showers but loved her Tia bathing her in the backyard of her house. I was so precious!

Easter...

2010-06-21T12:37:00.001-07:00

This was Carla's very first Easter Egg Hunt...really hunting! We went to the Rohrer's for the hunt between the Saturday sessions. She loved it! Especially when she realized that there were treats inside. YAY for chocolate!!

Then we came home and watched the second part of conference and opened our Easter baskets. Carla's favorite part of course was the stuffed bunny. We also put a church book in her basket. We decided that our new tradition is going to be receiving the Easter basket the day before Easter and the Easter basket have a special book about Jesus.

Then on Sunday we can focus more on the Savior and His resurrection. On Sunday, we went to my parent's house, of course, Carla had another Easter Egg hunt. Then we did something that was unforgettable- we had a snowball fight. Yup snow for Easter! Those two days were a blast!

Ba loon

2010-04-03T22:15:00.001-07:00

Carla is saying new words all the time, but two of my favorites were uttered from her sweet little lips just a few days ago. We were at Smith's when suddenly she pointed to the balloons and said, "Ba loon." It was so stinking cute! Now she can spot a balloon a mile away and starts fussing and pointing and saying "ba loon, ba loon." I get a kick out of it every time! The other words she started saying was "I do." She got that from her book You Do, which is about a mom telling her daughter to not do something, and the little girl says "you do." The mom of course, tries to justify herself and in the end asks who deserves a tickle, and the daughter says. "I do." So, out of an entire book, Carla decided to say "I do." Now she walks around with her You Do book saying I do. Oh I love it!! She is such a joy to have in my life. There isn't a day that goes by without sweet, tender, funny moments, in which I realize again and again how truly lucky I am to be her mom.

Duckies and Fishies

2010-03-25T13:37:00.000-07:00

On Sunday we decided to go to the fish pond. We went and picked up my mom and went to the fish pond in Springville. I remember going there when I was a wee lassy. We took a lot of bread with us and from the moment we got there Carla was in love! She was staring at the duckies, the whole time saying "quack quack." The unexpected surprise that we got was that there were HUGE fish that were stealing the bread from the ducks. It was actually quite disgusting, but oh well. Good old sewer water, the breeder of many unusual things. Carla kept trying to get into the water. She wanted to go swimming with the duckies and so Zach got her close enough to touch the water once, and then my mom reminded us that it was sewer water, full of it's city yucks. Needless to say it was the one and only time she got to touch the water! We were there for over an hour and when it was time to go Carla cried and cried! Oh she was mad that we were leaving the duckies.

Moving, moving, moving

2010-03-25T13:33:00.001-07:00

The baby is moving! I love it because it makes the pregnancy seem so much more real. I can't believe how fast time is flying though. I am 16 weeks today! At my next appointment on April 19th, we find out it he is a he or a she. Obviously I think that he is a he, so we'll see if I'm right. Although I do have to admit that sometimes it crosses my mind that he might be a she, but that is probably because we have a she already and I can't imagine life with a little he. I know that it is going to be wonderful, absolutely amazing. The first time I felt him move was on Friday, March 12. He kicked for the first time on Monday. There is such a difference with him and Carla though. Carla was a wiggler. She was always moving and kicking and doing somersaults. This one, he barely moves at all. I really have to pay attention to see if he is moving. He has only kicked once and is content being a lazy boy, which is fine. That way he probably won't leave me bruises like Carla did! I am so excited for our new babe to come and to hold, squeeze, kiss, and love on him. Oh life is bliss. Jam packed with blessings!

Rub a dub dub, Ducky in the...

2010-03-11T11:53:00.001-08:00

Toilet?? Zach went in to use the potty, good thing he looked in before he did. Much to his suprise there were two of her bath duckies! Carla is such a nut!!

What's yours is mine, & what's mine is mine

2010-03-10T12:44:00.001-08:00

Yes, that is Carla's motto. So for the first time since she was born, I saw something that I wanted for myself and I bought it. It was a water bottle, almost identical to the purple one shown, but mine is blue with no butterflies. I bought it, and then Carla decided it was now her new sippy. I finally gave up and put milk in it and used as such. I was whining to Zach two Saturdays ago because of it and much to my amazement, when I got home from school there was a present on the table. Inside was a letter.
Also inside the present was MY water bottle and a water bottle for Carla, the purple one.It holds 16 oz, and she LOVES it... thankfully. I have such an amazing and wonderful husband. I love how he takes the initiative in so many ways to bring a smile to my face. What a sweetheart!

Dressing herself... sortof

2010-02-18T12:26:00.001-08:00

Zach was dressing Carla for the day, when she decided to help dress herself. Where do pants go?? Oh your HEAD of course! She was trying to put them on head so Zach helped her out. She loved it. She walked around for a while with her pants on her head. Oh she is just makes me laugh.

Naked Adventure

2010-02-18T12:21:00.000-08:00

I laid Carla down for her nap and she wanted nothing to do with it! She was yelling "MAMA, MAMA." Since I didn't go get her out, she took off her diaper and peed all over her bed, then she found the one dry spot in her crib, laid down and went to sleep. Now when I lay her down, I have to make sure that she is wearing pants that she cant get off, and that she isn't only wearing a diaper. I laid Carla down for her nap and she wanted nothing to do with it! She was yelling "MAMA, MAMA." Since I didn't go get her out, she took off her diaper and peed all over her bed, then she found the one dry spot in her crib, laid down and went to sleep. Now when I lay her down, I have to make sure that she is wearing pants that she cant get off, and that she isn't only wearing a diaper.

Baby's Heartbeat!

2010-02-10T10:53:00.001-08:00

Since last Wednesday, we started looking for the baby's heartbeat every other day with our doppler. It was so exciting to listen... nothing... listen... nothing... listen... then Sunday, 120! It was wonderful, and so exciting. When we heard it, Zach's face lit up and he perked right up. We listened to it for about 5-10 minutes, and then went to bed. Oh the joys of being pregnant. I honestly love most of the emotions and stages that come from pregnancy. I don't like the nausea, dizziness, cramping, emotional roller coaster, but everything else... well, or the stretch marks, or not being able to walk properly, but everything else is a blast!! YAY FOR BABIES!! It really is amazing that an innocent beautiful babe is come about by the love of two people. What a blessing it is to have such power. Power from our Heavenly Father. He has entrusted us with the care of his most sacred possession, His children. We are given the opportunity to raise these sacred children. What an honor! I am so in love with my children. Both the born and the unborn. They complete our life. I am so grateful to be able to carry another little miracle and to provide everything that he will need. I am grateful to Zach for giving me the opportunity to be a mother and a wife. It is what completes my life.

New Grandbaby

2010-01-25T14:29:00.000-08:00

On Saturday we went up for Lexie's Baptism! Yup yup, after 2 months of planning and plans falling through, she was finally baptized and Melissa was there! It was so sweet to see all the kids waiting to be baptized. She was baptized along with 4 other Primary children at the Stake Baptism day. Zach gave a beautiful talk on the Holy Ghost, in which he compared the Holy Ghost to the ink inside a pen, and that once you are baptized, the ink goes into the pen, and dwells there. After the baptism, we ate cupcakes that were in the shape of a rainbow.
We went to mom's house for a little while, and when we were getting ready to leave, I asked Zach to ask mom to she if she wanted to change Carla's outfit. Underneath her white sweater she was wearing the "big sister" shirt. So mom and dad came over and mom took off her sweater. She didn't really notice the shirt so I said, "Mom, Carla wants you to read her shirt." When she read her shirt, she got this perplexed look on her face and said, " Big sister... really?? You are?!? I want all the details!" Dad was excited also, then mom asked him if he had read the shirt...."no... big sister. Oh wait, you're expecting???" I laughed, oh yes, I laughed. He was excited, but he didn't know why. I told them that I was about 6 weeks a long, and that I was going to see the doctor as soon as possible to make sure that everything was going smoothly. I also told them that I felt as if I was having a boy. Dad of course gave me the thumbs up, and mom said, "Oh good, I'll start shopping!" That will be nice since we don't have any boy anythings!

New Baby News!!

2010-01-25T14:18:00.001-08:00

One New Year's Eve, we watched movies and ate junk food all night. At midnight we put the movie on pause, gave hugs, then resumed the movie. Once it was done, we went to bed. The next day was a bit more eventful... This new year has definitely been a welcomed one. Life has changed so much, and for the better, during the course of the year. There have been many challenges, and joys this year. I have learned so much about how to be a mom, and a better wife. I have learned where true joy comes from, which is from being with the ones you love. As long as we have family, and God, we can overcome anything and everything. There is a popular quote that states, "We begin and end with family." This small and simple quote is the bearer of all truth. We begin our lives, born into a family. They support us, they teach us, they love us, they inspire us. Then, the time comes for us to form our own family, and yet again, new births bring new joys into our lives. Then one day, the time for our farewell will come. Who will be with us, our family. Family is the one thing that WILL NEVER change. Learning to love altruistically with all that we have in us is no easy task, but that is why we were sent to a family. Our family is always with us, through the good and the bad, they are there to encourage and support us. We learn how to apologize, and forgive in our families. I believe that those are some of the greatest virtues one can obtain and perfect. I guess that I am thinking a lot more about families because we have been trying to expand our family for the last year.

Well, once again, I am PREGNANT! This time I even found out that I was pregnant before I miscarried. We are taking this to be a good sign. I have been feeling that I was pregnant for a couple weeks now, but when I took a test of the 24th of December, and it was negative, I was confused. I figured that I was just low on iron or exhausted from life. Especially since I haven't had a regular period since I miscarried in July. Well, this morning I woke up early, sneaked the test to the bathroom, and within a couple seconds, both signs appeared that I am pregnant. I was SO excited. I called my mom, my dad, and my sister, but to no avail, there was no answer. I wanted to surprise Zach with the news in a special way, so I didn't want to tell him just yet. A few hours later, I got a hold of my parents, and I gave them the great news. They are SO excited for us. Then I told Kitty Kat the news on our way to the mall. She was very excited also. We went to buy tickets to watch "Princess and the Frog" and then went to walk at the mall.

My ingenious plan was to buy a shirt for Carla that said "Big Sister" on it, and then present her to Zach. Well, lo and behold, the first store that we went to had one! I bought the shirt, went to the back to change her, and brought her out. The whole time Zach was utterly confused. He didn't have a clue what was going on. So, I came out, and turned the baby around so that he could see her. He gasped and then just stood there for a minute with his jaw dropped, and finally said, "Are you serious??" I told him that I was, he grabbed Carla, then I asked for him to give me a hug. Yup, he was in a state of shock. I was fun to see his face full of excitement. Kitty Kat took a picture of us while we were both trying to hold back the tears. It is so exciting to know that another baby will soon be born into our family. I feel confidant that my little one will grow and develop properly. I also feel like it is going to be a boy. We have already started the name search. So far, William _______ Roberts is what we have established. I love the name William, and it is Zach's middle name, even better!! Oh was a wonderful day. We finished the day off with watching another movie, going down to see my parents who got back from El Salvador at 2am, coming home, and I am writing (obviously) while Zach is preparing his talk for Lexie's baptism tomorrow, and Kat is txting someone. Yup yup, our eventful and oh so exciting New Year's Day.

Hurricane Carla

2010-01-18T21:51:00.000-08:00

My baby girl is walking everywhere! She just absolutely loves to walk. Zach and I call her Hurricane Carla. We can tell everywhere that she has been by the mess she has left behind. It makes me laugh, and at times frustrated because I feel like all I do ALL day is clean up after her. But hey, that is what having a mobile one year old is all about! She is such a blast! She is walking so well, and all in a matter of weeks. One day, it just clicked and instead of taking 3 to 7 steps, she just started walking EVERYWHERE! No assistance needed or wanted. Oh my little baby, she has become a toddler!

Random tidbits

2009-12-31T20:54:00.000-08:00

Carla drank out of a cup by herself for the first time! Her daddy showed her how it is done.

Carla cut her 14th tooth! She has more teeth than how many months old she is. She gets 1-2 teeth every month. Boy I hope she is done for a while.

Daddy built Carla her first tent!

She got her first diaper rash this week. I thought she had another yeast infection, it would have been her 4th one. We took her to the doctors, and he said, that this time, it was a diaper rash, plain and simple. Poor little one.

Carla is now walking EVERYWHERE! Last week, Carla walked across the living room for the first time! I was rolling over and she was chasing me. It was so cute. She did it 3 times. Since then, it was if it suddenly clicked. Now she walks just as much, if not more than she crawls.

She loves PB sandwiches, hamburgers (with ketchup, mustard, mayo, onions, and pickles), grapefruit, noodles with cheese sauce or alfredo, and CANDY CANES!!

When she sees her daddy, the first thing that she wants is for him to pick her up and show her the snowflakes hanging from the ceiling. Oh how she loves her daddy, especially his height! He can show her things that there is no way that I could.

Working Mom??

2009-12-31T20:37:00.000-08:00

For the last 2 1/2 weeks I have been working with Zach. We wake up at about 5:30am, leave home at 6:15am and get off around 2:30. It has been so difficult for me to leave my baby, but alas, money calls. The nice thing is that my sister in laws have been staying with us, so they have been watching on Carla. They are such sweet girls to be willing to spend their Christmas vacation with us. I appreciate it so much! I decided that I couldn't do it another week like I was supposed to, so, today was my last day. Hopefully I won't have to do anything like that again for a long time. The good part was that I was with my other baby for the whole day. I loved being able to spend so much time with my lover. Now my life will return back to normal, my life as a stay at home mommy. Carla will be especially thrilled. For the last week, she would wake up crying and calling for mama all through the night, and cry herself to sleep. It was horrible knowing that I was the cause of her horrible sleep, my poor baby. I'm glad that everything will be back to normal.

Christmas Time

2009-12-29T17:36:00.001-08:00

Christmas Eve was so fun! We went up to my in-laws house. We ate Smith's subs, and played games. Then it was time to open our presents. It was so fun watching the little girls open their presents! They were SO excited that they got Chutes and Latters. Oh the joy of watching others open their presents. They get so excited over the smallest things. I hope and pray that I can have that same type of attitude in my life. Joy should come from altruistic love, and not from presents, toys, and "stuff."

It was so wonderful being able to spend to much time at my in-laws. We laughed, played, talked, and were able to feel loved. I love watching everyone love on Carla. I know how much they love and cherish her, and it helps us feel like one huge family. LOVE IT! Mom and dad bought Zach and I some Gs, and gave us a gift card for Smiths. NICE! Carla got some toys, clothes, and a fuzzy ice pack, perfect for the upcoming owies that she'll be getting now that she is walking so much.

We left Mom and Dad's at about 8pm and went home and put Carla to bed. We stayed up, sort of, until midnight. We fell asleep at about 9pm, but them my parents called from El Salvador at 11pm, midnight their time. We talked to them, and gave our Merry Christmas greetings, then we put on a movie. 5 min to midnight, we woke up Carla for her 1st interactive Christmas. She was a little groggy while we read the Nativity story from the Bible, and placed the Baby Jesus in his manger, and said our gratitude prayer, but it was nice to have her be so cuddly. I felt a little bit bad about waking her up, but as soon as she saw that she could touch the presents underneath the Christmas tree, she was SUPER excited! We opened our stockings full of treats and toys, then it was time for presents! Carla was loving ripping the paper, and every time that she got a toy she would play with it and play with it, until we took it away and hid it so that she would open the next present. It was so much fun watching the excitement on her face as she opened present after present. She finally opened her last present which was a tub of gummy bears, and she went bazerk! P.S. she does not like the green gummies. She was eating all sorts of candy that night and she was loving it!

Zach and I opened our presents from a very special friend. We were so blessed this Holiday Season with an angel watching over us. An angel with a very mushy heart. One of Zach's coworkers heard that we were only going to do stockings this year because we were trying to get out of debt. She decided that was "unacceptable for two people as nice as (us)." She sat us down and gave us our Christmas card. When we opened the card, there were 2 crisp, new $100 bills. I wanted to cry, but kept my composure. Genuinely nice people do exist in a world full of wickedness. They are all around us, smiling, giving, listening... Kim told us that her one condition was that we HAD to spend it on Christmas presents. We were not allowed to use it to pay bills. I do have to admit that one of my first thoughts was, "Great, we'll use $50-100 on presents and the rest on bills." Yeah, that idea was shot down pretty quickly! Back to Christmas... I got the Cricut Junkbox, some pearl earrings, and some games. I love my Junkbox! I'm excited to really use it for my projects. Zach is so good at buying presents! I got Zach 5 new movies, and some games. He LOVES movies, especially the part where he gets to organize them alphabetically in the stand. After we had fun being awake and opening presents, we went to sleep. I woke up at about 9am and made orange rolls for breakfast. Carla woke up next and we played for a little while. At about 9:30-10:00ish, Zach woke up and we ate breakfast and played with our new toys. Carla went down for her nap and Zach and I watched movies, then we played our new games. It was so wonderful not going anywhere! We stayed in all day, watching movies and playing games.

Then, it was time to make Christmas Dunch (dinner and lunch). I made lemon pepper turkey breast, a baked potato bar, and rice. Yum yum! Rolando, our really good friend, came over to spend Christmas Dunch with us. It was so fun to prepare my first Christmas Dunch! Christmas was a wonderful day. I am so blessed to have such an amazing family and to have the Gospel in our lives. Christmas is a day to remember our Lord, Saviour, and Redeemer, Christ the Lord. Because of Him and His sacrifice, we can love and live forever. May we ALWAYS remember the meaning of Christmas in our hearts, and in our lives.

Caroling

2009-12-29T17:29:00.001-08:00

I went Caroling for my first Christmas ever! Our Bishop invited everyone who wanted to come to their FHE activity. We went Caroling to those in our ward boundaries in a trailer filled with hay bales. It was so much fun! Jennefred came with me, which made it ever better, because Zach had to stay home and watch on Carla. Poor guy. When we were done Caroling, we went back to the Church. Everyone was going to have Hot Chocolate, but we wanted to get back home. The Bishop asked if we wanted a ride to the car. We explained to him that we were on the other side of the building, about half way down the road. He said he didn't car, and to hop on the trailer. So, we did! We felt like we were princesses on a float. It was so fun.

We even tried "surfing" on the hay bales. I fell, but Jennefred was able to hold her balance the whole time. I love it!

Birthday Festivities

2009-12-29T15:32:00.000-08:00

The day before Zach's b-day, his family came down and we had dinner together. Mom made death by chocolate, and I failed at making a cake. Oh yes! Failed indeed!!! I tried to get it out of the pan and for some reason it wouldn't, so when it finally came out, it cracked everywhere and we tried to repair it with frosting plaster, but it was to no avail. So instead I stuck it into a trifle dish, alternating layers with a little frosting, cherries and banana pudding. Amazingly enough it looked pretty decent, but I didn't have the guts to try it. Zach said that it was actually pretty good. Oh well! Everyone has to make a completely horrible cake at least two times in their life. We sang to my lover and then he opened his presents. It was so fun having the fam over for this joyous occasion.

On his b-day, I took him out to lunch. I picked him up from work and then we took off to eat at Tucanos. Well, here is the super funny part. They came over to sing to him, and he stood up, grabbed the tambourine, and started dancing while they sang...yes...DANCING!!! Tee hee hee! Oh my, I would have never imagined this man dancing in a restaurant ever!!

On his b-day weekend, I gave him his official b-day present. It was something that I had been planning for a month! He told me that he wanted to take me dancing for his birthday. So I lied. I told him that I had found a dance club in Park City that we could go to. Since my mom was doing her internship at a Marriott, that we were going to be able to get a parking pass so that we wouldn't have to pay for parking while we were there. Sneaky sneaky me, I had made a reservation for a 1-bdrm villa at the Marriott Summit Inn. The jacuzzi was 6' by 4' and there was a separate shower, and potty, the room was in the same room as the tub, and there was a kitchen, a dining area, a living room with a fireplace, and window seats. It was gorgeous, and we were going to take advantage of every minute. Carla was going to stay home with the girls, Jennefred, Kitty Kat, and Nessa. So on Friday, when Zach informed me that he was sick, I was a bit bummed, but then thought about it, and realized that it would be even more fun because we would really be able to take advantage of the room. So, of course, we go up early to "walk around" before we were going to go "dancing." We got to the hotel, and Zach asked, "Why do we need to register? Are we staying here?" I tried to ignore him, but I was so stinking excited. So, I got the registration from the trunk, and went around to his window, gave him a kiss and told him that we were going to be staying there! He was in shock! Once he saw the room, he said that he didn't want to know how much the room was costing, because he would have a heart attack. I chuckled and said that regularly that room goes for $400 a night! He almost died, but I assured him that I didn't pay that much because of my mom's discount. I only paid $60. AMAZING DEAL!!! Of course that night he got a fever, so we just went to the store and bought some microwave food, and went back to the hotel and stayed in for the night. He took a 2 hour nap when we got there, then went back to sleep before 9 until the next morning. I at least had cable to keep me company, and we were on the couch next to the fireplace until about 11pm when we went to the bed, but I stayed up some more watching "Deadliest Catch." Total, I watched over 3 1/2 hours of it!! I laughed and cried, it was so good, and so addicting!!

The next morning, we got in the tub for a few minutes, then it was time to check out. We packed up, and went for a walk at old town main street. It was fun, except for the fact that I forgot to pack shoes, so I was in my small heels. After walking on Main Street, we went to the outlets. I told Zach that I HAD to get different shoes on. The blisters on my ankles were already bubbling up. So, we went to Crocs, and what do you know, they had some comfy shoes, that were only $9 and they were buy one get one FREE! So we bought a pair for Carla also. Once we were done walking around there, we came back to Orem, and went to eat at Wingers. We had a $15 gift certificate so we only paid about $7 for the both of us. Yum yum. The end.

Honey Bunny Birthday!!

2009-12-14T06:58:00.000-08:00

Today is my lover's birthday. Yup yup, Zach is 36!! Well, at least according to him he is. He is REALLY 27 today. Woo hoo! My baby is getting up there in years. I am so blessed to have him in my life. He is my rock, my best friend, my lover, my soul mate, my hero, my knight in shining armor, my husband, and the father of my greatest treasure... Carla. Zach is almost always positive, and whenever I'm upset, his typical answer is, "I'm sure you are honey, it is understandable." I love him so much. Some of the little things that he does that make my life better are:
Opening and closing all doors for me
Changing all diapers when he is home
Cooking on Sundays
Working so hard so I don't have to
Rubbing my back every night
Kissing my hand
Send me txt messages saying that he misses me and loves me
Tells me why he loves me almost every day
Helping clean the house, even when he is sick
Taking out the trash without me having to ask him
Lotion my body every day

Babe, I love you! You make my life worth living, the sun shine brighter, and when I think of the love and the life that we share, I still get butterflies. You are the man of my dreams, but most importantly, the man in my reality, and because of that, I am eternally grateful. I adore you, and can't think life without you love. Thanks for being my husband.

Carla's Big Birthday Party!

2009-12-10T07:18:00.000-08:00

Sadly we didn't get a lot of pics of her birthday party, but it sure was fun! My good friend, Amy Pearce helped me make her cake. I did the decorating and she did the rest. It was so much fun though! Our hands turned pink because we had to mix in the red into the frosting and the fondant. I took me 5 hours to decorate it. Oh yeah, I found patience that I didn't even know that I had!! But it was well worth it! EVERYTHING on the cake was edible. Amazing huh?!? Yup Amy sure was a life saver!

At the party we had Salvadorean Turkey Sandwiches, and chips. My mom made the turkey, and I bought the chips. Oh yeah, we ate good! We set up a couple tables with some pictures of Carla and our family pictures. It was neat to see how she has changed over this past year. It was fun to see old friends, new friends, and family. We had 3 pinatas and mingled.

Of course Carla started us off with the pinatas. It was funny because she was so scared of it. She didn't want to hit it, so I helped her. She was probably thinking, "now what are you trying to make me do mom?"

We were supposed to play "hot potato" and "musical chairs" but ended up not having time. We got to play and talk, and demolish pinatas! Everyone got to hit the pinata, even our parents, as shown by my dad!

Thanksgiving

2009-12-08T19:21:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was such a calm, relaxing day. On Thanksgiving Day we were couch potatoes. We did almost nothing until 5 pm. We snuggled, watched a movie, and played with Carla. Then, off we went to my parent's house. Sariah, her new husband, Patrick, and their now 5 kids, Abi and Diana, Diana's parents, Melissa and Alan, and their girls, Rolando, Helaman, and Elvis were all there. We had so much fun eating, talking, and dancing! Carla loved the potatoes, and had a little bit of the turkey. She isn't much of a meat eater, but oh how she loves her fruit and potatoes!

After coming home from My parent's house we set up for Christmas. I couldn't wait any longer! It was so much fun! Lexie, Lydia, and Kyha were loving the fact that Christmas time!!

I am so grateful to my kind Father in Heaven for such a beautiful family. How I love my husband and daughter. I am grateful for amazing parents who have brought me up in the Gospel, and have always been examples of good. I am grateful for my brothers and sister, and the special memories which we share. I am grateful for my family in law, and all of the joy they bring into my life. I am especially grateful for my mother and father in law. They have raised such a spiritual, kind, loving, sweet, compassionate son, the love of my life, my eternal husband, and father of my children. I am grateful for my life, for having served a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am grateful for those who I met in the mission, and how they have changed my life, for the examples that they were of finding TRUE JOY in our Lord Jesus Christ's Atonement. I am grateful for friends, new and old, and for their love towards me. I have always been able to share my deepest feelings with them and know that they love me for who I am, and help to to be better. I love my Heavenly Father and His Son and my Savior, and Friend, Jesus Christ. I will forever strive to be the daughter that He knows that I can be. I am grateful for this opportunity that I have to live on this earth.

My Mom

2009-11-29T19:30:00.000-08:00

As I stated a few blogs ago, Carla was born on my mom's birthday. My mom is absolutely amazing. She is such a wonderful, caring, sweet, kind, charitable, and patient. I love my mommy so very much. She is everything I want to be. I love my mommy. We got to celebrate both my mom's and Carlita's birthday at the same time. My mom turned 50 and Carla turned 1. The party was so fun! I loved watching her play with all the kids. All the babies love her. She tickles them and loves on them, and they call her "grandma," even though she isn't their grandma. For her birthday I made her a scrapbook. I titled it "50 years of memories." When I gave it to her we both cried. I put pictures of her adolescence all the way to present. It was so fun to give her something from my heart. I love you mom!

Quilted Bear Booth...

2009-11-27T12:09:00.000-08:00

Entrepreneur. This has NEVER been a quality to describe me. Anyways. On Monday it will have been 4 weeks since I started a booth at the Quilted Bear in Provo. I make mostly Spanish sayings on floating frames, glass blocks, hair bows, hair bow boards, ribbons, and wood projects on vinyl. I have so much fun being creative, and it was beginning to be too expensive to do projects just for fun. So with much encouragement from my wonderful husband and my mommy, I decided to start selling what I made. I talked to Lacey about it and she decided that she also wanted to join in the fun. So we did it! We went and painted our booth, and within a week I started taking my things in. It is having a very slow start, but Zach reminds me that I had prayed about this and that I felt like this was the right thing to do. I hope and pray that things will pick up soon. But if not, oh well. It was fun knowing that I at least tried.

My Birthday Girl!!!

2009-11-23T10:00:00.000-08:00

Carla turned 1 on Monday of last week. That means she is 1 year and 1 week old. I remember when she was only 1 week. Time sure does fly by. I love all of her new stages, but I also miss all of her old ones. I love how she says "mama," "dada" and, "aita" (Carlita). I little pumpkin head is getting all grown up. Zach and I learned what love really is, and how to truly love deeply with her. I didn't know that I could love so much and so deep. Carla means the world to me. Her smile brightens up even the darkest of rooms. Her eyes light up every time she sees her daddy. She loves her daddy so much. It is especially cute when he gets her out of her crib and she snuggles up right into him. She loves being with him. When I put her down for a nap and Daddy is home, she sobs until he goes and gets her. They play for a little while and then he will put her pack down and she goes right to sleep. Talk about daddy's girl!! And he enjoys every minute of it!I love watching them interact. It is absolutely adorable.

On her Birthday, we had a little family party. We celebrated my mom's birthday and Carla's birthday at the same time. We had a cake, chips and salsa, and opened presents. Her favorite toy is the Lion Walker that my parents bought her. She absolutely LOVES it! Her face beams as soon as she sees it. Every day she plays with it for hours. I love how it is helping her walk. She is even starting to make lion noises, thanks to her little cousins teaching her.

Weaning...

2009-11-21T18:08:00.000-08:00

CARLA IS WEANED! She stopped nursing 3 weeks ago on Wednesday. I can't believe it! It was harder for me than it was for her. I was sad, but knew that it needed to be done. I don't want her to be 12 years old and me still nursing her... ewww! All and all, it wasn't too bad. The one really nice thing about it is that now she drinks out of her sippy and she can be watched at any time. I don't have to plan my day around her feedings...NICE! I was also able to put away all of my nursing stuff! Yay for old clothes!!! It is like I have a whole new wardrobe again. Woo hoo!

Walking!

2009-11-21T18:05:00.000-08:00

So 2 weeks ago Carla took her first step! It was during Relief Society, she reached out to me, and took two whole steps before she got to me. Later, on Sunday, she took five steps! Now, every day she takes a few steps. I can't believe she is getting so big. Every night I don't want to lay her down, because I don't want her to wake up the next morning another day older.

Fall Fun!

2009-10-24T08:57:00.000-07:00

Zach took Carla outside to play in the fall leaves. She loved it!! Zach would stomp on the leaves, and she would just start laughing and laughing. She LOVED crawling in the leaves. Zach is such a good daddy. Taking her out to play even though I can't. Although I have to admit, I did step outside for a few minutes.

Swine Flu??

2009-10-22T09:47:00.000-07:00

I have been feeling miserable for the last few days. Body aches, fever of 101-102, coughing, head aches, loss of appetite, etc... I finally decided to call the doctor yesterday, and he said that because Carla is so young, and has a history of bronchitis, I needed to go get tested within the hour so that I could start a treatment. Yay for me. As for right now, I am just waiting for my results, and am quarantined in my house. My wonderful mom came over yesterday when I went to go take the test and cleaned my WHOLE house, and even made us lunch AND dinner. My dad came over later, he and Zach gave Carla a blessing, and my mom had sent with him freshly baked beans, french bread, chicken, and Lysol. I love my family. They really do take such good care of me. Zach has gotten up with Carla during the nights, has put her to bed, helped me take showers, gently rubbed my back, set up the laptop in the bedroom so that I could watch Pride and Prejudice in the room while I was laying down, and even froze last night because I was sweating out part of my fever. What a wonderful man! I am SO blessed to have such an amazing husband.

Posing with her new favorite toy..

2009-10-21T19:56:00.000-07:00

A CRATE!! Tee hee hee!

Slacking!

2009-10-21T19:06:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that it has almost been a month since my last blog. There is so much to say. I'll start with Carla... Of course! I have started to TRY to teach her how to feed herself using a spoon. Yup, as seen below, why does she need a spoon when she has hands??? She still won't feed herself, so I decided, she isn't ready. I get to feed her a little while longer. I love watching her eat finger foods though. She usually makes such a mess, that the most effective way to clean her is to stick her in the bath! I'm loving being a mom!

Carla has been really sick lately. This is how we know that she is REALLY, REALLY sick.... she snuggles! She was vomiting for 3 weeks, had diarehhea for 3 1/2 weeks, has had two yeast infections, currently on her third, back to back colds, and on the 14th she cut her left 18 month molar, and on the 16th, cut her right 18 month molar. They did stool samples to see why she has had diarreah and been vomiting for so long. Although it was to no avail. Everything came back negative. So, doctor's diagnose... a virus. Poor baby! During the whole ordeal, she was put on a liquid diet... TWICE, and then we had to gradually reintroduce solids. She was NOT a fan of the liquid diet, except for the fact that now she is in love with nursing again. She nurses for at least 10 minutes on each side. Fun stuff, especially because I'm supposed to be weaning her this month. Well, we'll see how it goes.My mommy, bringing Carlita, Gatorade, during her liquid diet time.

Some people think this is too mushy, but I LOVE IT! One of the many reasons why Zach is the love of my life...Mission Reunion Time!!! I love Pres. and Sister Haines. They have been such amazing rolemodels in my life. I would love to have the same charity that Sister Haines has for EVERYONE she meets. What amazing people they are. Sadly, three days after the reunion a beloved couple sister missionary was called home. Sister Ruth Merrill. I love her dearly and is missed so much! I loved randomly recieving her phone calls, just checking up on Carla. She made her some burp cloths. They will be treasured forever.

We loved seeing many of our other mission friends. Oh what fun! Homles, I don't have a picture of us! Know that I love you though!

Sari's Wedding...

2009-09-27T22:29:00.000-07:00

not Patricks! Just playing, it was Patrick's also. Yesterday was THEIR wedding. I was so blessed to be there. I have always looked up to my big sister. I always wanted to be like her. The same friends, the same clothes, same shoes, same body style. She has always been my hero. I remember how she would always take care of me. When I was sick, she would go pick me up at school and take me to get an ice cream at Burger King. I called her mom until 8th grade. She has ALWAYS been there for me whenever I needed someone. I love her very much! I'm so proud to call her my sister. She has been getting ready to get her endowments out for a long time coming now, and in May she did! I was blessed enough to be there, and now I concider it a HUGE blessing to be there at her sealing. It was such an emotional morning. She got sealed where our Eternal Family began, in the L.A. Temple. My parents were sealed there almost 32 years ago. As soon as we got into the Sealing Room, I started to cry. The Spirit was so strong and so peaceful. Then in they came, radient, full of joy and love. After the ceremony, we embraced and cried. She told me I was a bad influence on her because she wasn't crying until I hugged her. I have that influence on people, I make them cry. After the Temple there were a few pics taken then we went to get the girls ready. Together they have 5 kiddos, 4 of them girls. So Diana and I went to Fea's, Sariah, house and started to get them ready. After that, off we went to the reception. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding, but sadly it was 110 degrees outside. We were all roasting. Oh well, it was a lot of fun! The food was yummy and at the end, we danced. The first dance of the night was Sari and I dancing a cumbia. Oh man the memories. It was a wonderful day! I wish Sari and Patrick the best of wishes on their new adventure. I love you both very much. Patrick, you are one lucky man. You are married to an amazing woman! Cherish each other every day.

Tubes

2009-09-27T21:31:00.001-07:00

Carla has had the same two ear infections for about a month. She has been in so much pain, and exceptionally moody and clingy. I don't blame her of course. If I had two month long ear infections I would want my mommy also. Anyways, about a week ago I took Carla back in for a check up and her ear infection STILL hadn't gone away. Dr. Nuttal said it was time to refer us to an Ear, Nose, and Throat Specialist. We went in on Monday and he told us that it would be smart to get her tubes done, but didn't HAVE to because they were just starting to get bad. Considering I had a lot of ear infections when I was little and we were flying on Friday and there was a risk of her ear drums bursting, we decided the best decision was to get them put in.

Friday morning came and we took her in to the surgical center at 7am. We did paperwork and met with the doctor, anesthesiologist, and nurse until 8am came and they took my baby away. As they took her back crying and screaming into the O.R. I started to get worried. I was concerned for my little baby, but within 20 min, they came and got us. As we were walking to the recovery room, I heard her wake up. She was screaming and crying. She had just woken up from the anesthesia and was still confused and drowsy. She didn't know what was going on. It was oh so sad because I couldn't calm her down for about 10 minutes, until Zach started acting like a silly goose and she finally cracked a smile.

We brought her home, Zach went to work, Carla's nurse came for her 10 month appt, and then she went down for a nap. Amazingly enough she slept for 3 1/2 hours! It was really convenient because I was able to finish getting ready for the trip.

I'm grateful for doctors who are able to perform such pain alleviating procedures.

2 monkeys

2009-09-27T21:25:00.000-07:00

Two little monkeys swinging in the "love sack"?? Funny honey! I love how Zach can revert to being 10 months old! They both LoVe being upside down. I love you babies!

RRRRRRR Matey!

2009-09-27T21:14:00.000-07:00

For the first time since we moved here, we went to dinner just because! It is so great to be financially stable. We decided to go to the "Pirate Island" place over by University/Old Mall. It was such a blast! Carla was loving the food! It was super yummy and very inexpensive! We are great fans of that place. It was a nice atmosphere, lots of piratey things... a pirate waiter, pirate bussers, a pirate ship inside the restaurant, etc...

My "rrr" face!

Walk in the Canyon

2009-09-27T21:02:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month, for our morning walk we went up the canyon. It was so much fun! We I love our walking group. We are able to bond so much as friends and sisters. I learn so much from each one of the sisters, and am able to feel good about myself also. Walking every morning has helped my self image so much! Since having Carla, I have lost 50 lbs!! Yes, 50!! It is amazing! It makes me so much happier the rest of the day also, and Carla has become addicted to her morning walks. She loves them. She just relaxes and looks at everything or takes a quick nap. She is also a happier baby when we walk.

New Baby!

2009-09-25T11:22:00.000-07:00

Yup yup, Zach and I have a new baby! We haven't pick out a name for her yet, but will soon. Hmm, maybe Mahana the 10 cow wife! She definatly is the nicest car we've had yet. We have been car hunting for about 2 months now, and we're done searching. We got an awsome deal on it. It is a 2007 Saturn Ion Level 2, silver, tinted windows, 34,000 miles, with a 100,000 mile warranty. Oh yeah baby! She rides so smooth!
Zach wants to name the car Gloria. He says that is the only woman he's riding! LOL!! Teresa is too sweet, and Gloria is the bad girl. Oh my funny hubby! P.S. My name is Gloria Teresa... in case you hadn't caught on. (The picture will be posted tomorrow.)

Zach's idea of cooking...

2009-08-30T15:27:00.000-07:00

My wonderful husband likes to suprise me by cooking. The only thing is that he forgets to take the cover off before he puts the pan on. Yeah, the burner doesn't get as hot when the cover is on.

Way to go lover! I just love you my hubby baluby!

ScHoOl??

2009-08-30T15:08:00.000-07:00

Wednesday was the first day of school. My sweet husband went from 4-9pm. He is taking a Spanish class, Math class, and a Humanities class. I have been wanting to go back to school for the last few semesters, but when I pray about it, I get a very distinct "no." Finally I prayed about it was received the answer that I could if I wanted to. So, after much soul searching, praying, and contemplating, I decided I would. Oddly enough when I was finally able to go, I didn't want to. Lacey, my wonderful and amazing neighbor, is going to be watching on Carla. Finally the first day of school came, I hesitantly left. If was funny because after I got there, I LOVED it! It was so invigorating. Now I'm okay. I think school will be fun.

The girls...

2009-08-30T14:52:00.001-07:00

Lexie and Lydia, two of Melissa's girlies came to stay the week with us. We had lots and lots of fun! We went to Chuck E Cheese, put up a rainforest pool in the backyard, taught them about the north star and Jesus' birth, went to the duck pond/park, and even made homemade pizza...TWICE!

It was so great to see them and to spend time with them. I loved having them here. We were able to really bond with them and learn so much about them.

Birthdays...

2009-08-30T14:30:00.000-07:00

The 26th was Kat's 17th birthday,

the 27th was Dad's 56th birthday, and

the 29th was Jen's sweet 16! We went up for the Oquirrah Mountain Dedication and to celebrate birthdays on the 23rd. We had lots of fun! I made their presents, of course. Here are the pics Ty! Just like I promised. Late but hey, better late than never. We had a lot of fun. Carla absolutely LOVES Auntie Megan. Megan always comes down to watch on her and when we go up, she plays with her Auntie almost the whole time. Mom and dad are lucky if they get a chance to hold her.

9 MONTHS! and Carla Update...

2009-08-30T13:32:00.000-07:00

Aug 14th- Carla's first word! It was morning and I could hear Carla talking and cooing in her room. Suddenly, I heard her scream, "MAMA!" I ran to her room, overjoyed, but curious if she knew what she was saying. When I went in she stretched her arms out to me and said, "mama, mamamamama." I was so happy! What a wonderful feeling it is to hear her say mama! She knows who I am!

Aug 16th- Carla turned 9 months! 9 MONTHS?? QUE EN EL MUNDO??? (what in the world)What happened to my baby!

Aug 17th- I took her to the doctor's for her 9 month appointment. He said that she was abnormally gaining weight. He won't put her on a diet because she is to young, but that I need to feed her lower calorie food, and to give her more table food and less baby food. I should only nurse her 3 times daily. So we will see how everything goes. Although I think that she is thinning out.

Aug 18th- Carla's second word! Lexie and Lydia were staying with us for a few days. They were playing with her in the same manner that Zach plays with her, when I hear, "Dada. Dadadadadadada." I walked into the room and she stopped saying dada and started saying mama. When Zach got home, I told him the exciting news, but he thought I was kidding, until he picked her up, she grabbed his face and said, "Dada." He was so excited and proud of his little girl!

Aug 21st- The little girls, Carla and I were playing in Carla's room, when suddenly she saw a book on the other side of the room and took 3 full crawls to get it! SHE CRAWLED!! Oh no, my baby is now officially MOBILE! I was so excited! Since then she has been crawling everywhere. I have to close the doors of the rooms that I don't want her getting into and re-baby proof the house. It has been a blast watching her crawl. She didn't do the army crawling, or much scooting, she went straight to 4 point crawling, which is also abnormal. I think that I need to be content being the mom of an abnormal baby. I LOVE IT!!

Aug 22nd- We were laying in bed, as a Saturday morning tradition, and Carla was with us. She crawled to the top of the bed, looked at the headboard, grabbed on and UP she went! She pulled herself up! She had never done that before! The next day, when I went in to get her up in the morning she was standing up on the side of the crib. I yelled for Zach, he came running, thinking something was wrong, but nope, I just wanted him to see her standing in her crib. It was oh so cute!

Aug 26th- I was deep cleaning the house, when I decided that Carla had a lot of clothes in her closet that she didn't fit into. So I decided it was time to clean out her closet. I put away all of her clothes that was under 12 months, and even some 12 month clothes that was to small. I was so depressing. She now has half the amount of clothes. My little baby is growing up so fast. It is so sad to see her getting so big and independent, but at the same time I love each new stage and milestone. I love being your mommy Carla!

Arizona trip, wedding, pool party

2009-08-06T09:39:00.000-07:00

We went to Arizona this past weekend. It was a LONG drive. We left on Friday the 30th, and took a wrong turn on our way down, which made our 8 hour trip into a 10 & 1/2 hour trip. Poor Carla was so good, frustrated, but still good. We stayed at some people's house who we don't know. They were exceptionally nice, and accommodating. The next day was just plain hectic. We went went to the wedding, but the marriage license wasn't there. It was two hours away, so, two and a half hours after the sealing was supposed to start it actually did. We were video recording the wedding so we were there forever, then we all went back to the place where we were staying and Aubrie, now Radigan, changed out of her wedding dress. We then drove almost two hours to the reception in Payson AZ. I helped get Aubrie re-dressed, did her hair and her makeup and recorded the ring ceremony and the reception.
It was a long day which ended with a long drive, another two hours, to Phoenix to stay at my cousin, Michelle's house. The next day was her son's birthday. Zach and Knighty played with him in the morning. They were having so much fun! They we went to his birthday pool party. It was Carla's first time being in a pool and she LOVED it! I dunked her for the first time and she had so much fun!

While the birthday boy was playing in the pool when his little floating devices came off his arm and he started to drown. His Mommy, my cousin, jumped into the pool and got him out. It was amazing to see her run so fast and jump into the pool. Thankfully he got there in time and the little one was okay. Am I ever glad for maternal instincts. We then drove back the 12 hours. We left at 8:30pm and arrived at 9am monday morning. On the way back we got a flat tire and a nice man at the tire store opened early and fixed our tire. It was so nice of him. We were able to finish getting home exhausted, but safe.

Tia Mima, with Carla! It was so nice to see her. I hadn't seen her in 8 years.

I love Mormon boys

2009-08-06T09:28:00.000-07:00

I love this shirt! I bought it at a garage sale for $0.15! I was for my nieces but Zach just had put it on Carla as a night shirt first!

Too Chunky??

2009-08-05T17:17:00.000-07:00

Is there such a thing?? Well, we decided to take out the bumper in Carla's crib. She is a big girl, she can do without. Well, we took them out, and this was her position in her crib while she was sleeping. Once she got her chunky thighs stuck, she couldn't get them out. She would start crying and screaming until we went in and got them unstuck. After two days and nights of going in every hour or so to get her unstuck, we decided that she was too big to NOT use the bumper. I love my big, happy baby!

Ahhh, time to blog! Pioneer Day...

2009-08-05T16:36:00.000-07:00

It has been a while, and I have missed writing. Now it is time to catch up. So on the 24th we went to a movie, UP, with my parents. We all cried except for Zach, the non-emotional one in the family. My mom was crying A LOT! It is such a beautiful movie! Then we went to eat at a yummy pizza place, Pizza 712, I think it is called!? We had such a fun time talking and laughing and reminiscing on old times. We went to "walk" at the mall. Yeah, we made it to two stores, PayLess, and a scrapbooking store.
We bought Carla shoes that fit. She hasn't had any that fit her since Feb! Then back to my parents house for a BBQ. Sadly we couldn't light any fireworks because they were illegal in Springville because it was such a dry year. Boo hoo! We had such a blast with my parents! They are great!

The AK vs. Bridal Veil Fallslgssssssssssssssssssssssssd,

2009-07-24T16:12:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been thinking about, maybe even obsessed about Alaska. By lately I mean since Carla was 1 month old, so about 7 months.t2d4kz,
x r bbbbbbbbbbbb
texgsxchb]9pmk,szxz
Angn
xd fv 1 hx
mk9s xxf3
eezryyui6dsxzxsv Z -Carla's explanation of the whole situation

The adjustment back to Utah has been a lot more difficult that what I thought it would be. I get really frustrated and whine and complain to Zach about how I dislike living in Utah. Everything there is to do costs money and is far away. In Alaska everything was free as was within a 15 minute drive. Alaska is green and beautiful, Utah is a desert. Alaska has beaches, Utah has stinky, unswimmable, Utah Lake. Alaska has a steady dependable job, Utah DOESN'T, Alaska we have so many amazing friends, Utah we only have a hand full. Our ward in Alaska was so close, Utah ward, not so much. Alaska you could see the stars at night, Utah inversion makes it close to impossible. The two pros about Utah are, our families are here, and it is a lot easier for Zach to go to school.
Since I am always comparing Alaska to Utah, I am just not happy living here. So I decided to start doing things that I can to here. I go on morning walks, which other sisters in the ward come to, we went to Bridal Veils, one of the few free things in Utah, and started scrapbooking. I am hoping that these activities will help me see the good side of Utah, although my heart will always long for Alaska. We are planning on going back to Alaska to work next summer, and that is already making me so excited, and gitty. So having that to look forward to is helping also. I can't wait until Zach finishes school so we can move back, but for now, I will try to be happy where the Lord has brought us.

Open House, Aunt Sue and Megan's Birthday

2009-07-16T22:13:00.000-07:00

Vanessa and I. She is growing up so fast!

Alex and Megan. Megan opening up Little John's present, it was Carla's chew book! Little John is so funny! I don't think Carla would appreciate him giving away her toys. :)

Carla loves her auntie Megan! She really has a way with kids. She will be a great mom someday. I don't know what Jenn is looking at.

Why is Zach wearing my hooter hider? Your guess is as good as mine!

Zach said it is his cape. Tee hee hee!

Oreo! Little John, Aunt Sue and Phalinx (alex). Aunt Sue and Little John came to visit from St. Louis. She tried so hard to convince us to move to St. Louis with her! I WISH!
She is a professor at a community college and is so smart. She is so full of love and faith. I really look up to her. Amazingly enough, I talk to her more than I talk to my mom's or dad's sisters! I love Aunt Sue so much. She really is a light in a world full of so much darkness. Little John is just plain funny. He is such a great kid! I really do wish we lived closer so we could get to know him better. I love him also!

Carla also loves her Auntie Sue! And I know for a FACT Auntie Sue ADORES her!

I love the fact that Zach makes me laugh everyday. Most of the time it is at him. He isn't embarrassed to show me is silly side. I love it!

We were able to go to the Oquirrah Mountain Temple Open House on Saturday also. We left Carla with Mom and Aunt Sue and were able to have some us time at the Temple. It was AMAZING! Inside was gorgeous, we were awe stricken! There was a peace there that made all of the trials that we are going through minuscule. The eternal perspective makes our trials seem nothing more than little hiccups on our journey to eternity. I am grateful for Temples, for the peace, love, and warmth that is felt there. I am grateful for a husband who is worthy to take me to the temple. For his steadfastness in the Gospel. I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father, who in his divine wisdom saw our need for a Savior and was willing to sacrifice one of His children, His most perfect child, so that we all might return to live with Him someday. I am grateful for my Elder Brother who accepted the call to sacrifice his mortal life to save each one of us. Thank you!

8 months???

2009-07-16T12:45:00.000-07:00

I am so sad today. My little baby is not so little anymore. She is 8 months old today. She is rolling everywhere, rocking on her hands and knees, eating EVERYTHING, talking (well, sort of), laughing, blowing raspberries, rolling over in her sleep (just like her mommy), recognizing people (Dr. Nuttal was the first person she reached out for, yeah we see him WAY too often), fits into 18 month clothes perfectly, and smiles all the time. I can't believe that she is so big. I look at her baby pictures and can't even believe that it is the same baby. I am excited for every new stage of development, but at the same time miss the stage that she is leaving behind. We had to baby proof our house and our living room is now full of her toys, instead of our beautiful glass items. Oh well! I would a hundred times over have baby stuff cluttering our house than our stuff! I can't wait until we are blessed with another baby so we can have double the fun!

November 16, 2008 Day of Birth!

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

5 months

6 months

7 months

8 months

Carla mi hijita, te amo con todo mi corazon. Significas todo para mi. Le doy gracias a mi Padre Celestial cada dia por darme el privilegio de ser tu madre, y por mandarme una hija tan hermosa y carinosa como vos. Te adoro!

Sad News...

2009-07-14T12:49:00.000-07:00

I was so excited, my period was 10 days late. We were hoping that we would soon have a family of four. Saturday night I began spotting. I figured my period was coming. I was a bit disappointed. Then Sunday morning came. I started bleeding like crazy! I was soaking a pad every couple hours, then I started passing clots. by then, I knew what was going on. I have had two miscarriages already and the bleeding, cramps, and clots were all the same. I lost another baby. At about 12:30am we called our friend Chris Radigan, Rady, and asked him to come and assist Zach in giving me a blessing. When we called Rady, he said that he couldn't fall asleep and didn't know why. I believe it was because he needed to come give me a blessing. Before Raddy got there, I said a prayer in my mind that I would be assured whether I had been pregnant or if I was having a heavy period. In the blessing he stated that Heavenly Father was "pleased with my life," and that I "would physically be able to feel the hand of the Lord as He comforts me during this trial," he then repeated, "physically, not emotionally, or mentally, but you will physically feel His hand." He also stated that, "if (I) continued to eat healthy, (I) would be able go get pregnant again, and give that baby a perfect body." I felt an overwhelming sense of peace come over me. I knew that I had been pregnant but that I needed to miscarry, and that it was for the best. Zach and I talked about how we both were assured that I was pregnant, but that if I hadn't miscarried then, that I would have later in the pregnancy or that the baby would have been born with severe handicaps. I am grateful for the calm assurance that the Lord is overseeing us as we go through this trail, and that everything will be okay. I know that Father answers our prayers, and that even though we might not receive the answer that we are hoping for or want, it is ALWAYS the answer that we NEED. I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who never leaves me alone in my trials, and for an amazing husband who is always supportive and loving.

MIRACLE...

2009-07-14T10:29:00.000-07:00

Saturday we had a goal to go to the Temple to do sealings because we hadn't been to do sealings since before Carla was born. It has probably been about 8 months! Not good. We had arranged for my mom to watch on Carla for a couple hours. When Carla awoke at 6am to eat, I tried to get out of bed when I had a horrible, sharp shooting pain from my feet up my leg. I couldn't walk or even stand on my foot. Zach was saying that we should postpone our Temple outing. I really wanted to go and I felt as if we HAD to go. Zach massaged my foot and tried to move it around. A couple hours later I was able to put some weight on it. We decided to go to the Temple after Carla's nap. We went to my mom's house and dropped off Carlita, and then to the Temple we went. Zach dropped me off by the doors and as soon as I got out and my foot touched the pavement, all the pain was gone. I was able to walk perfectly on my foot! I am so grateful to Heavenly Father for the trials in our lives to test our faith and to help us place our trust in Him. I know that as we strive to do Father's will He WILL bless us and He WILL take care of us. I thank my Father for the opportunity that Zach and I had to go to the Temple and remember those covenants that we made to each other two years ago. I love you Babe, saying "yes" was the best decision that I have ever made in my life. I am so proud to be your wife.

Mother of 2??

2009-07-05T21:03:00.000-07:00

No, I'm not pregnant, but we are trying. I recieved a phone call from Rachel Moody, this morning at about 9am asking me if I would mind watching Bella for a few hours in the morning. She had a ROUGH night and they weren't able to sleep at all. I enthusiastically agreed and walked over to pick her up. I just loved watching her, and since she was only 4 days old, just slept most of the time. Carla was intriged by her. I was loving having another baby in the house. Sadly three and a half hours later I walked her back home. It was so much fun and I hope to be able to watch her again soon. Although I'm not pregnant yet, we hope that I will be soon. We want our first two babies close together and then a little space for the next one, and then babies 3 and 4 close also. But whenever Father sends them is fine with us. It was a miracle that I was able to have Carla, so we don't want to postpone having children because we want to "wait." We are anxious and willing to bring more of Father's children here to earth.

4th of July

2009-07-05T20:16:00.000-07:00

For the 4th of July we went to my in-laws in Herriman. We had so much fun! We played ladderball, card games, ate, and ate, and ate, and then went to Riverton to watch the fireworks. Carla didn't even cry during the fireworks. She was loving them, until she fell asleep and was OUT for the rest of the night. When we got home at 11:30pm, I nursed her a little then put her in bed. She didn't wake up until 10:30am. I wish I could have slept in also!
Ah ah ah ah!

Magdala, Jenn and I at the park.

My angel.

Croked smile.

God bless the USA.

Alex and I playing Ladderball.

Magdala and Carla.

Jen and Carla.

My love and I.

On the way home.

At the park watching the fireworks.

Family Hands.

Fireworks.
Carla in daddy's lap eating and watching the fireworks.

Mom and baby watching fireworks.

Yellow Ducky

2009-07-05T19:59:00.000-07:00

This face is classic! It makes me smile everytime I see it. I love how much personality she has in her expressions. She loves bath time and I love how excited she gets, even if I have to mop the bathroom floor everytime she gets a bath.

This is the way we brush our teeth...

2009-07-05T19:53:00.000-07:00

I usually brush Carla's teeth, but she always tries to grab the toothbrush, so Saturday was her lucky day. She got to brush her teeth! So stinking adorable!

Christmas in JUNE??

2009-07-05T18:41:00.000-07:00

I have never been Christmas caroling, that I remember. We tried to go during Christmas time last year, but weren't able to, so we decided that we would celebrate Christmas 6 months after it ended. June came, 6 months after Christmas, and we put up our tree, made Christmas cookies, and went...yes... CHRISTMAS CAROLING! We want others to feel the spirit of Christmas more than once a year also. We made Peanut Butter Christmas cookies, and took those as treat to our holiday cheer recipiants. We sang to the Miners, they were in shock, but they atleast sang Silent Night with us. Next we were off to Meggan Wilson, she just laughed at us and declined our invitation to go caroling with us. We also sang to the Shaws, and the Wildes. They were all delighted to hear our melodious voices sing Jingle Bells, a true Christmas Classic. Darla if you read this, please know that we went to your house first. Sadly your family wasn't there. Allas our Christmas celebrating will soon come to an end as we take down our Christmas Tree within the next couple weeks. I'm hoping to start using my treadmill again.

Bug decorated our Christmas Tree with Carla's toys. So stinking cute!!

Baby Nephew!

2009-07-02T22:00:00.000-07:00

Gabriel Christian Barrientos was born on June 1st, 7lbs 11 oz; 20" long at 5:15pm, in Iowa. I'm so excited for my brother, Jorge and Tamara. I want one...well, I have one. I want two!

I LOVE CARLA

2009-07-02T21:50:00.001-07:00

Carla and I loving on each other. Priceless moments.

Hysteria

2009-07-02T21:35:00.000-07:00

Zach has a way of making Carla laugh. The video explains it all.

Time to Rock and Roll

2009-07-02T21:04:00.000-07:00

Carla is now rocking and rolling!
She started getting up on her hands and knees this week. It was so cute! I can't believe that my little baby is getting so stinking big! Before long she is going to be crawling, then walking! AHH!!! My little angel is growing up so fast. I hope that I can commit every moment into memory because these amazing moments are flying by. I love you my baby, I hope that you can feel this when you read this.

Jail Baby

2009-07-02T20:32:00.000-07:00

My baby in her new cage, I mean play yard. Claire, a friend from Tommy's offered us this play yard and I kept wanting to call her and ask her for it, but I was nervous and felt embarrassed.
Once Carla started getting stuck on the coffee table, hitting her side while rolling into the T.V. stand, and almost kicking the vase on herself, I decided it was time to suck up the pride and ask for help. It has been such a blessing for her, and me! She has so much fun playing with all of the toys and accessories on two of the sides, she will even ALMOST take her nap in it. I know she is loving it!

Chunky Cheeks

2009-07-02T18:40:00.000-07:00

I love her cute chunky cheeks! She is getting to be so stinking big! She weighs about 23lbs, and I think each of
her cheeks are 5 lbs. Carla is so adorable! I love being her mommy, and enjoy all of the joy that she has brought into my life. Look at those thunder thighs!
I also love how her little head is tilted up in these pictures, she was looking out the window when whe fell asleep.

Life Isn't Measured By The Breaths You Take, But By The Moments That Take Your Breath Away

2009-07-02T18:18:00.000-07:00

This one ONE of the MANY wonderful moments in my life. We were at my mom's house cleaning the Wilson's tent. We used it when we went camping. We were having a lot of fun being goofy. President Hickley said, "Marry someone you can laugh with or laugh at for the rest of your life." Thank you Father in Heaven for blessing me with a husband that meets both of those stipulations. Zach promised me when we were engaged that he would make me laugh every day for the rest of our life. He has definitely kept his promise!

Thanks for these wonderful moments love!

Ancient Blanky

2009-07-02T15:49:00.001-07:00

dAdDy's BlAnKy!

My mother in law found Zach's baby blanky. When Zach saw it, he squealed with joy and said, "My blanky!" It was his comfort blanky until he was about 6 years old. So cute! He was so proud that Carla was going to be able to cuddle and get obsessed with her daddy's blanky. It is so adorable to watch him get so excited with her. I love it!

She sleeps with HER pink fuzzy blanky, and DADDY'S blanky, which was once a mint green color, now tan. Zach is such a great daddy. I am so glad that he is the father of my children. I love you Babe, and Carlita!

Mimi

2009-07-02T15:31:00.001-07:00

Mimi, or Noemi, is Sariah's daughter, my sister. I had the privilege of helping to raise her. Her dad wasn't ever really in the picture and completely exited the picture when Mimi was only a year old. It was however for the best. I remember taking her to school with me, everyone thought she was my daughter. I love her like a daughter. She was a big part of my life for her first 4 years of life. She stopped calling me "mami" when she was 3 years old. Anyways, returning from memory lane, Sari had Navy training and so Noemi came to stay with us for 10 days. It was so much fun! I loved having her around. She helped me out a lot with the baby. She loved playing with her. Mimi taught me many card games. She is one smart cookie! But then again, of course she is, look at who raised her. My sister is amazing! A true supermom!