my litte angel

This is: Gabriel James!



The Reward for 20 hours of labor and a c section:



The most precious kid on the face of the earth that smells soooooooooooo good!

We're still in the hospital, so this will have to be quick but everyone is doing great and we are loving life!

Baby News

Yay for being full term!

The Doc says I'm 2cm dialated, progressing nicely. My blood pressure has been creeping up the past 2 months though, so we are going to have a planned induction someime around the 18th or so. Next week is lots of doctors visits to try to determine what exactly is best, but that's the verdict for now. I'm slightly relieved that I won't be overdue, sitting around with a huge planet of a belly and swollen beyond recognition. And I'm also excited to hold my little guy in my arms insead of my abdomen. I had an ultrasound today and he is HUGE compared to the 1/2 way mark ultrasound we did. He's all crammed up in there, poor thing.

In other news, I have the best husband ever. He really makes my life a joy. This past week I have been under the weather and he has done everything humanly possible to make me feel better. It was more comfortable to sleep upright in a chair in our living room for a night or two and he slept on the floor next to me just to be close to me. awwww. He even missed ward ball to be with me, and is so understanding of my short commings in general, but especially when I don't feel my best.

I had a ward baby shower yesterday and saw lots of friends, they are sooo nice. I got a cool baby carying thingie that I have been wanting, as well as lots of diapers and clothes. This kid is going to be really spoiled, he's the first grandbaby on both sides and having a mom like this, he can't help but be adorable! haha

This is one of my recently found favorite songs- Bryan Adams songs just make you feel all gooey inside.

My husband has a cooooooool job

What can I say, he pampers me. He came home today and wanted to go out to dinner and said "You drive". What I didn't know was that I was going to drive the car that I think about in the bathtub, a new mustang....ahhhhhh! I managed to stall it 3 times in our circle, but after that my grandma would have been proud of the way I handled it. On the way back, however, Efrain showed me what she was really capable of.

HOTEL DISCOUNT SITE

Attn Friends and Family,

We no longer do the "friends and family discount" over the phone or at the hotels- you can only book it online through this site:

http://www.ihgfriendsandfamily.com/d56jms

(I'll put it in the list of links for future reference)

Anyone that remotely knows me can use it, but there are a few restrictions:
1) These are all PREPAID NONREFUNDABLE RATES. This means if you book something YOU PAY FOR IT WHEN IT IS BOOKED and if fifi gets sick, your car breaks down, you want to stay at another hotel, etc. YOU DON'T GET THAT MONEY BACK. This is all in the site, but just wanted you all to know beforehand. You give a little, you get a little.
2) You need to book these a little in advance, each hotel is different, they usually range from 1 to 7 days.
3) You need to print out the voucher and have someone contact me so I can give you all the info you need before you arrive. Then bring the voucher at check in.

Pretty much any hotel in our family does this- but you are up against every other person who knows someone who works for our chain. So if you want something downtown Pamplona durring the running of the bulls, you might not get it because of availability. (But I would check every day or so to see if it becomes so!)

happy travels!

Sorry about that, Florida

Heyo!

We finnaly have internet at our house so I can catch up on some of the fun things we have been up to!

Fun thing #1: Honeymoon!
We went to Orlando for a week and saw some of the parks and the ocean (AWESOME). Hint for sandcastle making: Temples make the coolest sandcastles, and also are a missionary opp. We also got invited to a timeshare breakfast, which we ultimately didn't show up for. AND we got a ticket for being on the toll road with no cash. A 75 cent ticket and about 1000 pictures of shamu later....

Fun thing #2: Kitty!

The day we got back, we unpacked and went over to petsmart just to look at the animals there. The Humane Society was there and had a sweet sweet cat for us that we just had to take home. We named her duchess, but Efrain has taken to calling her "vieja". He's so good to her, he always feeds her, gives her medicine, cleans her litterbox, makes sure she is entertained, he's gonna make an amazing dad. She enjoys laser pens, string, and an empty bathtub.

Fun thing #3: Gabriel!

IT'S A BOY! Most people are already aware, but I haven't posted really anything about it. My due date is May 24, so I'm just entering month 8. Efrain really likes the name, and he is my little angel, so we picked Gabriel. Still debating between a few middle names though. I've already had an outpouring of help from everyone, and a HUGE thanks for that. Birdy pretty much set us up with everything from her cute little guy so we nearly have everything we need. And I'm super excited for my shower on Saturday!!! The Lamaze classes are also going very well, although dark room + massage + newlyweds = hoping the class ends a little early. :P

And now for pictures of him! These are from the begining of January.



this is his face...



and this is his hand!

Enjoy

Wedding pics!

Hey yall!

I don't have internet at home yet, so this will be quick! Wedding pictures from my awesome cousin are up- they have a new website:

www.kb-photos.com

click on client proofing, then my name

the password is my married name!

:D

From Me to Three

Sooooooooooo as probably most of you know by now, I'm pregnant! I'm 5 months along, and we find out the gender of the baby in about a week and a half. We are SO excited. Although this has been kind of an emotional roller coaster I wouldn't trade any of it for anything. (this is, of course, with a few months of hindsight, my apologies to everyone who has talked to me up to now and found me more cranky than a piranha that just quit smoking.) And I want to take a moment in this season to thank all of the people who have helped me out.

My Parents- For coming up to see me when I found out, for making absolutely every possible thing they have available to me. The use of their incredibly gorgeous house, their huge tv (efrain especially enjoys that), helping me out with doctors, finding stuff for the wedding, and putting up with me when I was scared and nauseous and nervous, and sad, and...etc. Really I couldn't ask for more sweet and understanding people who love me no matter what and would do anything to help me. I hope I can continue to make you guys proud by being as good of a parent to my own kids as you are to me.

My Roomies- Helping me out and being friends I can confide in. Thanks for being so supportive in helping me to adjust to the idea of being a mommy. If it weren't for your constant efforts in the little day to day things I would be an absolute mess.

My Londolls- Roberta, for answering every little question I had, coming to visit me the day I found out before my family could get to me. Melissa, Bree, and Whitney for offering to help and just being interested and excited for me. I really thank all of you for being so openly accepting and I know you all are in my life for a reason. And I'm SO SUPER EXCITED for our juno themed hen party!!

My extended family- especially Kay and Katie and their families for helping me with the wedding, seriously, you guys are angels!! It is so nice to have someone I trust in charge of this important event. I'm glad I'm in such a generous and loving family. My Aunts and Uncles in St. George, thanks for sending your love and support, your letters, offers of so so so generous assistance, and good vibes this way. I'm really blessed to have all of you on my side. I really admire all of you and the awesome example you have shown me.

My new in-laws- If getting married is the only family I actually get to pick, I really couldn't have had better luck if I had won the lottery. Toni and Adriana for taking me to Mexico in a few weeks, wow, that is really a blessing to meet the rest of the clan! Ramon for being sooo nice to me in spite of my less than perfect Spanish and lame jokes. Diana for always always making me laugh and feel so welcome with her beautiful smile. My heart goes out to every one of you in gratitude of how not just welcoming but helpful and accepting you all are. As if it weren't enough that you gave me the most beautiful, intelligent, capable, charitable, christlike person in the entire world for a spouse, you have accepted and even loved the idea of this baby under less than ideal circumstances. I am SO thrilled to be a part of your family.

God- There is really no words to convey how grateful I am from the bottom of my heart for putting all these loving people in my path. For never EVER EVER leaving me. For sending love all the nights and days and afternoons and little moments of crazy sadness and loneliness and questions that have no answer. For the gift of this precious life that is healthy and growing. Thank you for my bishop, possibly a lost 13th disciple. He is truly a saint. I really feel that I am "the luckiest person in the world" as he said. I encourage you all, as has become my custom of being my own walking public service announcement, to talk to the people you need to talk to if there is something amiss in life. I promise there were no brow beatings or whips or signing over souls or anything. Many thanks as well to the people at LDS family services for all their legal and emotional advice for me. Also thanks to God for the preponderance of random people at grocery stores, restaurants, on the street, etc. that have come and said a kind word. I don't know if I just look really haggard or what but at least 4 random people have said exactly what I needed to hear at the moment just out of their own generosity towards a complete stranger. Thanks to the guy with the kind words and his little girl who gave me a hug that didn't even know me. And the lady in front of me at walmart who bought me a candy bar and her sweet spirit. And to Gretchen, who doesn't even know me but shows such generosity and charity with her notes and calls and visits. I can't think of anything that I need that at least 30 people wouldn't jump to help me with.

Efrain- I have never met anyone even remotely like you. Usually using so many superlatives in one discourse detracts from the meaning of the message but I could not have picked anyone better than you. I feel so lucky that you even talk to me. Thank you for dealing with all my hormones, helping me with everything I do without me asking you. For being the archetype of a perfect gentleman. Always opening doors, shoveling my walk everytime it snows, taking me to sappy movies, getting a radio for my car, letting me eat as much spicy food as I want, making me laugh all the time, bringing me a christmas tree, bringing me tylenol, kissing me and my belly, haha :D making sure I stay on the straight and narrow, taking me to the lake, introducing me to your friends, helping with wedding plans, making fires at the park, texting me random little sweet nothings, and generally making my life a heaven on earth. I really could not do this without your constant work and love and support. I am so glad to have you on my team, you are the love of my life, my helpmeet and my HERO!

Thanks to everyone and all the people I didn't mention, I just don't have enough time and this is hard enough for someone who now cries at every country song and SPCA commercial. (that puppy...*sob*... is all alone for *voice crack* christmas!)

Merry Christmas