shenanigans

turn that frown upside down

2013-05-20T13:06:00.002-06:00

A miracle happened this weekend.

This weekend I got what every mother wants. A weekend full of sleep. I'm not talking a cat-nap here and there; I'm talking about full on sleep, 3 nights in a row. Lincoln has transitioned to only one middle-of-the-night feeding! This is HUGE NEWS PEOPLE--- like, ALERT THE PRESS news.

It could have been a weekend fluke, tonight we'll know for sure. But this mommy is being optimistic. I'm attributing Linc's success to his 2 month birthday today. That second month is full of milestones. Not only is he sleeping more at night, he's cooing full-on novels, grinning his gummy smile every chance he gets, and is officially... a thumb sucker (with an occassional pointer finger too).

Is there anything this boy can't do?!?

And onto a personal milestone...

my first FINISHED refurbished furniture.

Ryan is a pretty conservative guy when it comes to decorating our home. Let me rephrase, yes he is conservative in style, but his idea of a well-decorated home is one that's somewhat clean. When I ask him if he likes this-or-that for the home, he responds, "Whatever you like." Sigh---I love this man.

Truth is, if he really allowed me to have whatever I liked in the house he would start caring. A pink retro fridge, a floral 50's couch, a turquoise kitchen table.... yah, that wouldn't happen. So when it came to picking out colors for our TV credenza, I chose a conservative gray for Ryan, and a pop of color for me. And who says I don't know how to compromise. :)

much needed

2013-05-16T08:46:00.000-06:00

Last Friday Ryan and I went out on a much needed date. Just the two of us. And it was the first official date since Lincoln and we were excited to have some alone time. A romantic dinner and a movie is probably typical for a lot of people, but not us. For the first date as parents I wanted to feel like we were still young and crazy...even though we're both ready for bed by 9. I think we had fun considering we were home before 11.

I saw this place called The Lodge on a food show. It was ranked #1 for a sandwich and after seeing that it was a burger and not far from where we lived, I knew I had to take Ryan. Two grilled cheese sandwiches and a burger inbetween. Gross right? Ryan loves these challenges. I won't even tell you how many calories and cholesterol were in this thing. I don't know whether to be proud or disgusted that my husband ate the whole thing like it was a bowl of cereal. I guess since I'm the wife and I'm the one who took him there, I should be proud.

And what's a better way for Ryan to burn of those calories? We went paintballing afterwards. It was a first for us and it was HILARIOUS. We walked in and you could tell we were not hardcore like the adult men and teenage boys that were sizing us up and down. I had this vision of me in the corner hiding the entire time.

First game was head shots only. I think I fired twice before getting creamed. Same for Ryan. Except his shot was a bulls-eye to his face mask. I think he fired twice too. But next round, we wreacked havoc and pretty much terrorized the other team best we could. I like to think one of my stray bullets hit someone....

date night success.

8/52 dang doctor's appointment

2013-05-14T17:44:00.002-06:00

PC Knowledge:
Eating while breastfeeding can get messy. I'm always down for killing two birds with one stone-- figuratively, not literally. So when Linc eats, I eat. But I'll warn anyone who does this: It can get messy. Maybe I'm the one that needs to wear a bib. Lincoln doesn't mind though.... he's a little preoccupied anyway. It's just more cleaning for me to do and the less the better.

Son, your mama was about to unleash her crazy side too. I didn't enjoy seeing you get your shots as much as you. If only I could give you the lollipop for what you had to go through. Even though I ate one for you, it only made me feel a little bit better about the whole ordeal.

my first

2013-05-13T16:50:00.000-06:00

I've learned two things from this picture.
1. my husband has trouble taking a focused picture, but really good at taking blurry ones.
2. i look ghostly white next to my olive-skinned baby.
Regardless, I'm one blessed mommy and my first mother's day was wonderful. My appreciation, respect, and gratitude has grown for my mother now that I've become a mother myself. It's true you will never understand the love a parent has for their child until the day your own baby is wrapped up in your arms and has stolen your heart. Thank you mom for loving me and teaching me to love others, to love life, and to love myself. I love you.

oh and for a mother's day gift, Lincoln only got up once in the night and slept in until 7:30!!!! Thank you baby!!! I LOVED MY GIFT. :)

my son's first apology

2013-05-10T10:58:00.001-06:00

The other day was one of those days. I heard the garage door open and I greeted Ryan with a half-hearted smile and handed Linc to him. It was a doozy of a day and I needed some Nyquil, a bed, my sleep mask, sound proof walls, some hazelnut candles burning, and maybe some Enya playing in the background. Ryan could tell I was a little stressed and quickly put Linc in the stroller to take him for a walk. He sent me a text message on their walk and this is what I got. (According to Ryan) Linc picked me some flowers and said, "Sorry Mom for being bad today. I love you." After seeing this adorable picture of my little boy, I would have scrapped all of what I thought I needed for what I really needed: my two boys back home with me.

On a happy weekend note: What Ryan and I really need is a real date night. Our first official date night in 7 weeks. Grandparents are coming over to babysit and Ryan and I are headed out!

blessed

2013-05-08T13:26:00.002-06:00

This weekend we had family in town for Lincoln's baby blessing. We talked, laughed, ate, swam, and talked about how cute Lincoln is. But the most special part of the weekend was having my baby blessed. We are so grateful for him; our love is overpouring. I'm so grateful for my family and the gospel in our lives. I'm so grateful for my husband and father of my child. He is a wonderful daddy. I love seeing him care for Lincoln. I never knew how much I loved Ryan until I saw him in his new role as a father. I'm grateful that Ryan has a strong testimony of the gospel and has a strong relationship with our Savior and Heavenly Father. I have the best companion to raise our child with. And I'm so grateful for Lincoln and that he is a healthy boy. He's brought so much happiness into our lives and I know this is just the beginning.

7/52

2013-05-08T13:17:00.002-06:00

Man this baby has got major S-P-U-N-K, and yes Lincoln, I am talking about you. He's pulling some hilarious faces these days. I take way too many pictures, I'll admit, but I'm only planning on keeping the really good ones. It's just hard to bring myself to erase any pictures of him.... even if they are completely blurry. That's one picture of him I can never get back. Yikes, I'm such a sap. Don't worry, I'll slap myself out of it for you.

PC Knowledge:
1. Forts aren't just for playing in. Linc has had some difficult sleeps lately. Hard to imagine with an angel face like his right? It's true. I'm sure it's a short phase and it's about to get even shorter. Because this mommy discovered her baby likes napping in a fort. Who can blame him? I'd nap in a fort every day too.
2. Phantom cries. Do you ever think you hear your phone ringing, and then go look at it and no one has called? That's a phantom ring. I'm talking phantom cries, particularly in the middle of the night. I've discovered phantom cries and I really wish I hadn't. Even when I fall asleep at night, it never is a deep sleep. I hear one little cry and I wake up. But the phantom cries- the phantom cries are cries you hear in your head that wake you up when really the baby is sound asleep. Even if Ryan is breathing weird I'll wake up thinking it's a faint cry. Phantom cries- they're the worst!!!!! I've learned what they are, now it's just a matter of learning how to stop them.

6/52

2013-05-02T13:25:00.003-06:00

I think the AZ weather hits 100 degrees earlier and earlier each year. Those few weeks of perfect spring weather will eventually be a thing of the past. I'll be telling my grand kids, "back in the day we used to have a whole month of spring weather......those were the good ole days....."

Lincoln started cooing this week and I L-O-V-E it! Of course whenever I try to video tape him, the coos stop. One day I'll capture the sounds, I just need to be a little stealthy about it. One thing I am stealthy about, leaving his nursery when he goes down for a nap. He's content with me in the rocking chair next to his crib, but if he sees/hears me get up and leave.... he's not having it. What's a mother to do who doesn't want to be imprisoned in her son's nursery? I slither my body from the chair to the floor and army crawl myself out of that room! Take that Lincoln. I still love you though.

Here's Lincoln's week 6 photo and his baby blessing outfit for this weekend. My grandma had the outfit made for the blessing. White clothes and babies don't go well together, but I'm sure my Linc will be good and not dirty it up until after the blessing. (When will I just accept that nothing will stay clean anymore?)

We have family coming into town to meet him for the first time and be here for his blessing. I'll be a proud mama showing him off all weekend. :)

he's wishin' i was workin'

2013-04-29T12:54:00.001-06:00

Since we've moved into our first home, I'm determined to have our home look complete. And if it can look appealing to the eye, well now, that's just a bonus.

My mindset has been, while living the apartment lifestyle, "Why decorate when we won't be here long?" No more excuses! First on the agenda: our living room. We spend most of our time here and when I look at our TV sitting on an itty-bitty table with cords overflowing in every direction, I get a headache. That's where craigslist comes into play. Man, I love me some craigslist. One day last week, I found a dresser and mirror, nightstand, and bedframe I LUUUVED and bought them all. 90 bucks. Yes please. I was so stoked with my find I started looking for a credenza for our TV. Bam. Found one I LUUUVED and bought it the next day. 45 bucks. Yes please.

I texted hubby and told him I had good and bad news... which do you want first?
Bad news: I bought some more furniture (Which really isn't bad news --- all part of my plan to lessen the blow I spent more money.)
Good news: I got a great deal on it and we won't need to buy anymore furniture for the house. :)

When he got home he saw the credenza plopped in the garage. I asked him what he thought and he said, "That's what you bought?"

I guess the sight of credenza was the bad news for him--- a piece of furniture that needed some TLC. I'm sure he was wishing I was back at work making money instead of spending money on used run-down furniture. He has little imagination for what this piece can offer. I'll show him!

Oh my, Mommy... what big eyes you have!

2013-04-27T09:36:00.001-06:00

Linc (what I imagine him thinking): Oh my mommy, what big eyes you have!

Me: All the better for me to see you with.... now go back to sleep child.

I'm so proud of my boy. Huge milestone here. For those who know me, probably know I like structure, check lists, to-do lists, planning---all fun things of that nature. :) Naturally, putting Lincoln on a schedule was a good thing for him and me. But doing Baby Wise wasn't so fun when he wasn't doing what he was "supposed" to be doing so I've created the laid back version of Baby Wise. Mostly the structure of "eat, play, and sleep" and that alone has helped.

Heck, I even follow the same schedule. I eat when he does and play when he does. I'm just working on the "sleeping when he sleeps" aspect. That's one piece of advice others don't hold back telling you.... Make sure you sleep when baby sleeps!!!!!! Oh really? Yes, that sounds like peaches and cream in theory if it were that easy. Once Lincoln falls asleep and I go lay down, he waits 10 minutes after I've fallen asleep to start crying again. Nothing shoots me out of a sleep than that boys vocals chords.

But on a positive note, I do see a light at the end of the tunnel; but this light actually equals darkness from more shut-eye. :)

PC Knowledge
1. Put a sleep eye mask on your baby registry list. Why this isn't an obvious item--I have no idea. It should be right up top with the car seat. Mhmm.

Found mine in the dollar section at Target. I planned for Ryan to walk in the nursery one morning and see me and Linc sleeping in the rocker with this mask on. He would have laughed hysterically! but I couldn't wait. I came home and threw it on as I walked in the door. He did laugh but I think in the end I found it more hilarious than he.

1 month & smiles

2013-04-24T15:46:00.003-06:00

I've been doing weekly updates on Lincoln since he was born because the first month is a whirlwind of precious moments needing to be soaked in and commemorated-- at least by his own parents. I posted this picture of Linc on Facebook and had a few comments about him smiling with the angels, which made me want to share similar thoughts Ryan and I had.

Lincoln is for sure a smiler. He smiles when he's awake, but more so when he's sleeping. Although I tease about it being gas or something funny, Ryan and I talked about what's behind our baby's smile while he's sleeping.

We think Lincoln is smiling because he's remembering/playing with his friends from heaven. We know Lincoln was waiting patiently in heaven to join our family. And why couldn't he be visiting and laughing with those he knew before he came to us? And now that he's in our arms, he's the closest thing to heaven we have in our lives. And if anyone's smile is contagious, it's Lincoln's.

And now for more pictures.....of him sleeping and smiling of course....

So it takes my mother-in-law to point out the fact that all the pictures we've been sending her are pictures of Lincoln in the nude. When Ryan told me what she said my initial reaction was, "yah, so what?" After reviewing the thousands of pictures I've taken of him, I laughed because it's true. I'm pretty sure Linc made it his first month on earth dressed a total of 10 days or so. And the only reason for dressing his free spirit is for when we take him out of the house. Point being: if I could go a month sporting just underwear I would, but I can't. What kind of mother would i be taking that away from my baby who can?

PC knowledge:

1. Don't buy excessive newborn clothes. I think the few times he has been dressed, its been the same 3 onesies. Exception to this rule, if you live somewhere cold and it's winter. Obviously then, and only then, would I not recommend newborn nude month.

2. Bulk buy pacifiers. This is only for parents who use pacifiers. At first, I avoided using a paci like the plague. I remember Ryan asking to give him one..... "He'll become too dependent on it!" I said. HA. How quickly my views changed. We only had two...and then we lost one. And now the one paci goes wherever Lincoln goes. Next trip to the store I'm buying them in bulk and have one placed in each room of the house. Costco should look into that....

anyhoo. happy one month Lincoln. :) you rock!

peanuts and crackerjacks

2013-04-15T16:54:00.000-06:00

This weekend was a first for Lincoln.

He went to his first baseball game and he loved it!

It was actually a first for Ryan and I too-- first time on the big screen! I'm sure the stadium was laughing at the girl who was freaking out on the big screen; I was overly excited and had to show off Lincoln. Ha. Ryan was digging in the diaper bag so he missed the first 5 of our 10 seconds of fame. I didn't even care the Diamondbacks didn't win. We had great seats (compliments of Ryan's work) and our little boy did great!

Did I mention he turns 1 month old this Week?? I think a little party is in order. :)

week 3

2013-04-11T13:28:00.000-06:00

is it normal to have my days blend together? because they do. Just call me Bill Murray from Groundhog Day.

Lincoln and I are starting Baby Wise. Yes, both of us. Because this mom likes to eat every 3 hours and sleeping inbetween feedings too! We have our good and our bad days. He does well with cutting me a little slack here and there since I'm new at this. :)

I strained my back breastfeeding Lincoln. I was using pillows to prop Linc up on my lap and then hunched over the rest of the way. Purchasing a boppy pillow became my top priority. After getting my back readjusted (jk), I went and made my boppy pillow purchase at Target. Which brings another lesson learned from parenthood....

P.C. knowledge:

Nothing will be "new and clean" ever again. And if it is, the "newness and cleanliness" will only last a max of 5 minutes.

I picked out the pillow and a stellar pillow cover too; yes, I was stoked to come home and feed Lincoln in style and comfort (at least with my body alignment). I made it home in time for his next feeding. I got home, got my new boppy pillow out and put on the pillowcase, sat on the couch, and Ryan handed Linc to me.

THIS IS AMAZING!!!!!!!

Well, that amazingness lasted about 5 minutes. And then Lincoln sharted. He sharted real bad. So bad, in fact, that it came out the back of his diaper and onto my ~~new clean~~ boppy pillow.

Lesson learned.

week 2

2013-04-05T13:24:00.000-06:00

This mommy here is such a softie; I'm bound to be an emotional wreck the rest of my life. Ryan may say I've always been emotional, but I'm talking "emotional" on a different level. Last night Ryan showed me a picture from Lincoln's first few days and my heart sank. He's already grown so much!!!! Stop growing Lincoln! Can't you stay at this stage a whole lot longer? It would be deeply appreciated.

Week 2 Updates:

First doctor's appointment and he's perfectly healthy. Yippee.

His umbilical cord made it's way off his cute belly. Here comes the tummy kisses!

It was inevitable it would happen to me eventually, but I wondered who it was going to happen to first. I'm talking about having a diaper explosion out the backside of the diaper while holding him. Well, it was me. Luckily, the explosion happened minutes before grandma arrived to help with the baby for a few days.

I opened the front door with a mess over my pajamas and lovingly handed him to grandma and said, "I'm so happy you're here. Lincoln wants to be held by his great grandma. " :)

P.C. (parent club) knowledge for this week:

1. Keep your phone on vibrate. I usually always do but one of the few times I had my ring on high, my cellular device was right next to the sleeping baby. I curse the person who called me at that moment, but really that's just my way of putting the blame onto someone else.

2. Babies love to be swaddled; my son is the exception. When Ryan and I were in the hospital we saw the nurses "swaddling" Lincoln. I asked the nurse to show us her technique because she had some mad swaddling skills. Turns out, after numerous times of swaddling and Lincoln repeatedly fighting his way free, we've learned Lincoln is the exception. He is a free spirit who likes to be sprawled out in his crib.. A trait he inherited from his mommy. :)

First Easter

2013-03-31T18:11:00.001-06:00

Not sure which side his crazy hair came from, but he sure is the cutest bunny on the block.

Happy First Easter Lincoln!

week 1

2013-03-30T10:00:00.000-06:00

We totally get it now. Once you join the parenthood club (P.C.), all those idiosyncrasies you see in "parents" becomes a part of you. For example: parents think whatever facial expression their baby makes IS. THE. CUTEST! Let me set things straight. Because my Lincoln IS. THE. CUTEST. OF. THEM. ALL! Even if he just stares blankly back at me and rips one, it is the CUTEST! :)

One thing parents do once you're in the P.C., which I caught onto very quickly, is picture-taking OVERLOAD....especially with the first. The pictures from Lincoln's first week is enough to prove it! :)

Here's two things I picked up this week...my P.C. knowledge:
1. Keep the boys "equipment" covered while diaper changing. Who would have thought twice in one day we would see old faithful during our diaper change?
2. Just because you give him his first bath doesn't mean he won't have a massive diarrhea attack on his bath towel afterwards. Pretty much defaced it.

Ironic they both have to do with pee and poo? Part of the P.C. initiation.

day 1

2013-03-29T12:34:00.000-06:00

I'm completely smitten. And of course, Ryan is too.

We stayed in the hospital for 2 nights and in those 2 nights there were probably 2,000 kisses given-- a few between Ryan and I, but a majority on Lincoln's chubby cheeks. We celebrated his 1 day old birthday the following night at 8:47 by smooshing his face with both of our kisses. I like to imagine what he's thinking and in this last picture he's saying, "Oh come on guys, you're embarrassing me here!"

Isn't life wonderful? As a whole of course. Because there are moments and periods in life where stuff just down right sucks. But as a whole, life is beautiful. Creating life is a humbling gift we've been blessed with and has made our life even more beautiful. :)

The two nights in the hospital were magical and quite peaceful. Lincoln was SO pleasant and easy to take care of. But he fooled us, and my mother intuition tells me this won't be the last. He wasn't quite a breeze like he was in the hospital the night we brought him home. I don't know what it is about the transition from hospital setting to the home-- I bet those nurses have something to do with it. They probably have some secret with keeping a newborn asleep through the night, but hospital policy doesn't allow that information to leave the hospital. Unfortunately, as a surgical nurse, I didn't receive that particular training. Maybe I can make friends with with an L&D nurse and swindle the secret out of her. I'll get back to you on that...

Which brings us to the day we brought our son home for the first time. And he slept and he slept and he slept.. which is great right? Except it was all during the day. And then night came, which was the longest night of my life-- this is coming from the girl who requires 9 hours of sleep a night. It's a requirement, not just something I enjoy. And then the second night came, and it was the same.

Only a few days in and I found myself breaking down crying. Normal right? Almost like a mother's rite of passage. Lack of sleep, lack of energy, a recovering body, let's not forget extremely sore breasts, and lack of faith in myself to be the mother he deserves. Our middle of the night feedings are the most endearing to me. I hold him in my arms, stroke his face and play with his little fingers. We rock back and forth and I tell him over and over how much I love him. I won't be perfect and I won't know everything, but one thing I will do is love him with all my heart... the heart that he's already stolen from me. :)

Lincoln's day

2013-03-27T20:46:00.000-06:00

Lincoln's due date was March 19th. I posted that night about his decision (not ours) to not come on his due date. But as a celebration to the 40 weeks-- and maybe a hidden agenda of inducing labor-- we went to our favorite indian place and ordered us a spicy dish --one of the natural ways to induce labor according to the internet :)

Next morning, March 20th, at 3am sharp, I woke up with terrible stomach pains. Clueless they could actually be contractions, I blamed the indian food and tried to go back to sleep. It wasn't happening, the pain kept coming back, every 10 minutes...

Silly me, I was certain the contractions would go away. Ryan and I timed the contractions up until 6am when they finally got down to 5 minutes. This is it!! We drove to the hospital just in time to watch the sun rise. Awesome way to start a day of labor too, i highly recommend going into labor around sunrise to any of you who are expecting :)

I wish I could write details of everything that day, but no joke, it's all a blur. For the first 14 hours of labor I wasn't in terrible pain, but I took some Dilaudid to take the edge off and it pretty much put me in a state of complete daze. When my biff drove up from Tucson that day to be there, I couldn't even pull it together to open my eyes. That's what happens when you give a narcotic to a girl who NEVER EVER takes medication for hardly anything. I'm more of a gargle-with-salt-water and spoonful-of-raw-honey kinda girl when I'm sick. Anyway, let's just say I was out of it just from the IV meds.

By 5pm and not progressing since the afternoon, I was put on Pitocin. At this point, things got ugly, painfully ugly, and definitely the most painful part of the entire experience. So my loving and concerned husband helped round up the anesthesiologist to give me an epidural. After the epidural, I gave a huge sigh of relief and a big thank you to Dr. Hackit. He cracked a joke about his name afterwards saying, "It's a good thing I'm not a urologist huh?" I'm sure he uses that joke with every patient and rightfully so, it's a good one!

I was surprised at how quickly I progressed from that point. Next thing I know, it was time. This bundle of joy we had been anxiously waiting to meet, love, hug and kiss for the last 9 months is finally coming to us. Ryan and I had a few minutes alone to ourselves. The words we exchanged of our love for one another and our baby that Heavenly Father was blessing us with.....it had to have been one of the most precious moments of our marriage next to our wedding day & birth of our son. And then he was here...

Our perfect baby boy!

Introducing the newest member of our family

who is already showing off his guns to the nurses :)

Lincoln Joel Shideler

March 20, 2013

8:47pm

21 inches long

7lbs 12 oz

YOUR FIRST OUTFIT

2013-03-19T21:58:00.003-06:00

Your grandma sent us a special gift in the mail, which just so happened to be your daddy's shirt he wore home from the hospital almost 29 years ago. It's washed and folded in our hospital bag for you to wear home as well. I know I'm the only person who is super stoked about this-- but then again I am your mother.

DUE DATE

2013-03-19T21:42:00.000-06:00

COMPLIMENTS TO MY HUSBAND FOR HIS AMAZING PHOTOGRAPHY SKILLZ. HE'S VERY PROUD OF HIMSELF AND SO AM I. :)

THERE'S BEEN SO MUCH BUILD UP AND ANTICIPATION FOR TODAY'S DATE, BUT BABY BOY WASN'T FEELING IT. HE LOVES HIS MOTHER'S WOMB TOO MUCH. I DON'T BLAME HIM. I TRIED MAKING IT A LITTLE UNCOMFORTABLE FOR HIM TONIGHT WITH THE SPICY INDIAN FOOD. APPARENTLY HE LIKES THAT TOO.

HOSPITAL BAG: CHECK

FREEZER DINNERS MADE: CHECK

BABY'S CRIB NEXT TO MY SIDE OF THE BED: CHECK

CLEAN HOME: HALF A CHECK

WHAT ELSE AM I MISSING? OH YAH, OUR BABY. :)

happy hour

2013-02-08T11:30:00.000-07:00

I only like half of this statement, which is the nap being happy hour for me.

I don't like the "you know you're old" part--

for me, I just like my sleep. Age has nothing to do with the joy a nap brings me.

I think I'll go take one now actually...

and then I got sick...

2013-02-04T15:56:00.000-07:00

I will officially say I'm feeling the pregnancy. I also officially believe I'm pregnant; where as before I had my doubts. I have 7 weeks to go and I'm not sure this baby has any more real estate to grow in. But I guess it's possible. I've been feeling all peachy up until the start of my 32 weeks when BAM! I got hit with some respiratory deal that was being passed around at work. Even working as an O.R. nurse, wearing a mask all day and washing my hands a gazillion times, doesn't exempt me from catching a bug. You would think so right? My body is like a computer chip and that bug was a tiny grain of sand that knocked out my whole hard drive. Not cool. And hacking all day and night with a pregnant belly-- I was coming undone at the seams! I'm sure my outie belly button became even more of an outie with every cough.

Either way. It's the start of a new week and week 33 of the pregnancy, I'm no longer sick. YIPPEE!!! Baby and I rejoiced today by getting off work early and having lunch together, just the two of us at a nice little restaurant by our new home.

New development: Ok baby. This development happened a few weeks ago but you've really developed this hobby lately of trying to break out of mommy's stomach. You'll SHOVE your leg out the side till it starts poking out.... which really freaked me out at first but now I lovingly push it back in and with a smirk on my face say, "Not yet my dear, you stay in there!" :) You can keep doing it though; your dad and I like to see those limbs moving around. Get all that energy out now so you'll be a little more calm once you're here.

Puerto Vallarta

2013-01-24T13:21:00.002-07:00

I don't know about the rest of your husbands, but I know my husband puts up with a lot...especially when it comes to pictures. I'll say, "Look at this bright pink wall! Let's get our picture in front of it!" And he's such a good sport and will pose with me until we get a picture I like. Plus, it's really entertaining going through pictures all in the same spot with little variances because let's face it, it's a wee bit tricky taking pictures of yourself by placing the camera on timer, on top of someone's car, and running into position. This is one of the pictures we ended up taking: A giant pink wall with us all tiny in the corner. Hilarious. Thank you inventor of the digital camera for allowing me to take as many as my precious heart desires...

Our time in Puerto Vallarta was spent at the beach from morning to sunset. Wouldn't it be nice if we could freeze time for a short while... like during sunsets? Because sunsets go by way too quick and I just need more time to soak it in. Oh well, we enjoyed it to the best we could while it lasted. And since this is my blog and I can write whatever I want to, I'll share some news that only me and my husband find exciting. Our washer and dryer are being installed right now. :) Our very first set. No more hauling laundry to my parents or to the apartment's community laundry room, our very own. Many many years down the road, maybe I'll look back and think how silly of me to be so excited over a washer and dryer. But for the here and now, we're super excited to have our own in our own place.

Cabo San Lucas

2013-01-17T20:20:00.000-07:00

Can I tell you how happy this guy was? We were both stoked, but he definitely had more excitement when it came to getting some delicious authentic asada tacos. I'm talking about tacos you have to walk a few blocks into town for because they're not on the main tourist streets. It's usually this shady small place that just nails it. We found the place alright. And we went back the second day and upped the order of tacos. Just writing about them is making my mouth water.

On our honeymoon, we went on a cruise to Cabo. We had an amazing experience last time we went because we spent our time there in a completely different way than others do. Ryan served an LDS mission there and while we were ported, we took a bus into town and I was able to meet some families he taught. I honestly and sincerely enjoyed it, even though I wasn't able to speak to them. (Those 3 years in high school didn't do much with my spanish speaking skills). However, at the end of the day, I shared my its-bitsy feelings of disappointment as we had to get back on the ship with no time left for the beach. I mean really, who goes to Cabo without going to the beach? I wouldn't trade the experience we had.... heck, I even met a medicine man who revealed to my newlywed husband I was constipated (thanks a lot amigo--).... but no beach time on our honeymoon in Cabo?!!?? That's just so unnatural!

SO, going back to Cabo on our babymoon was pa-pa-pa-perfect. And guess what... we had lots of beach time. And the weather was perfect-- clear skies, sunshine, warmth, oh and taking a boat ride to Lover's Beach :)

babymoon

2013-01-15T13:02:00.001-07:00

Any excuse we can get to relax just the two of us, we'll use. Using our baby boy as an excuse will not be the last. Man we're awesome parents, using our boy as an excuse and he isn't even born yet. :) Someone, somewhere, started the concept of a babymoon and whoever it was, thank-you thank-you. Knowing this was our last vacation getaway before the baby comes....let's just say reality hit us hard. Ha!

I wish my feet didn't blend into the white railing. But then again, it proved the necessity of getting some sunshine on this pasty body of mine.....