The Maldonados

Monsters and Lions

2012-01-30T15:17:00.000-08:00

Croix is now afraid of Monsters and Lions. It's a little cute and a little sad. When we are playing if he hears a noise he quickly dashes over to my lap (even if he's sitting right beside me) and says "Mommy, what's that noise?". The other day he heard my tummy grumble and ran right over! Ha!! No matter what I tell him he thinks it's monsters. He doesn't seem to be super duper scared of them. Just a little bit scared of monsters and Lions. I've decided no more Monsters Inc. might have to give The Lion King a break too. Some times when we are driving in the car he'll gasp and pull his feet up as high as he can and say there's a lion in the back seat. Pretty funny.

Young Women

2012-01-30T13:48:00.000-08:00

I've been serving the young women of my ward over three and a half years now. I recently got released and called to be a primary teacher. I've had mixed feelings about this. 3 1/2 years is a long time, I was feeling a little burned out and ready for a change. I was longing to go to Relief Society! But I sure do love those girls! I miss them and their happy bubbly personalities. I miss how they made me feel youthful and laugh. Last Sunday three of my old Mia Miads came and sat in on my primary class. I now team teach with the Sister I taught with in YW. They couldn't resist coming to class with both their old teachers! I didn't have the heart to kick them out and send them to sunday school. I really enjoyed seeing them!

They first called me to be 1 on 1 with a special needs girl. She is an awesome little Sunbeam. I know her, her mom and family. I was excited thinking how I have experience with special needs so I was a good person for this calling. It wasn't until later that I remember that I'm pregnant and that might make this calling a little more difficult for me. She's a bigger girl and picking her up, putting her on my lap, the physical aspects of the calling were clearly not going to work long term. So they moved me to be a team teacher with my friend. :) I'm with the CTR 7 class (7 turning 8). There are 18 kids on our roll, most of them active. It's an enormous class. For the most part they are well behaved. It will certainly be a challenge keeping their attention and helping them stay reverent. On to the new challenge :)

I am glad to know that this calling can only last 6 months. Then a baby will come and I'll get to go to Relief Society again!!! About 6 months after we were married Brent and I were called to serve in primary. We moved into our current ward and I was called to be a Sunbeam teacher just 3 weeks after we moved in. I went from primary straight to YW, now back to primary. The thought of Relief Society makes me a little giddy! I've missed it!!!

Food

2012-01-30T13:35:00.000-08:00

I've been a healthy eater the majority of my adult life. Even as a child I loved my veggies. More recently (since Croix was born) I've tried to eat more organic and all natural, specifically with our meats and our dairy. I just don't want the added hormones and antibiotics in our systems. We recently watched Food Inc and Super Size Me. I know we're way behind the times, they have both been out for years. This did nothing but straighten my resolve to eat organic and all natural!! It's amazing how bad the food the general public eats is. The sad part is it's not that much more difficult to eat healthy. It is, although more expensive. Why this is I'm not positive. I do know I get a "vote" with every purchase. And although it may break the bank I'm voting healthy! If you haven't seen both of those documentaries I'd highly recommend them, Food Inc. before Super Size Me.

Zombies

2012-01-30T05:56:00.000-08:00

Current time 6:17 AM. I've been awake for over an hour. As horrific as that is, it's become all to common around here. Croix is broken. He's not sleeping, at least not enough. He's been awake and crying in his room, pounding on his door for an hour off and on, more on then off. He's been waking between 5:00 and 6:30 every morning. Which would be ok if he made up for it at nap time and slept a little longer, but alas such is not much luck. He's been refusing to take a nap as well. Or if he does nap, it's only 30-45 min. which let me tell you is not near long enough. But a short nap would also be acceptable if he were sleeping in a little later in the morning. This sleep deprivation is turning him into a child that is not mine, he's more grumpy, cries over the littlest things. There is more talking back and no's, screaming fits. Croix's exhaustion only mirrors my own. I naturally need more sleep. I wish this wasn't the case but it is. I need a good solid 8 hrs. to feel completely rested. Being pregnant 9 is ideal. Hypothyroid can (and probably is) making me more tired and have less energy on top of being pregnant and having a toddler, add in less then sufficient sleep and life is hard. To wake up so early and then not be able to take a nap is turning us both into zombies, grumpy, mean, tired zombies. Forget patient kind loving Mommy. I turn snappy. Find myself locked in my bathroom just trying to gather my self. My patience runs thin. He's also getting naughty during nap time. He's emptying his dresser drawers, pulling all the books off his shelf, etc. Today when I got him up (I'm adding this as an after thought) he was buck naked! So not only am I not getting a nap, but I have a mess to clean up after the hour or so of crying and screaming. Weekends don't help. I can't get extra sleep just because Brent is home. For some awful reason once I'm up, I can't seem to go back to sleep. I can't take a nap and let Brent deal with it because Croix is crying and screaming and pounding on the door right next to our room! I've had a headache from lack of sleep for days.

I honestly don't know what has caused the change. He used to consistently wake at 7:00-7:30 and take a 1 1/2 hr. nap. He was happy, I was happy, it was good. Here are some of my thoughts/attempts at "fixing" my broken child.

Teething
He's working on his 2yr molars. Has been for a while. I'll feel them, so close to the surface and then they will be gone. Nothing has broken through yet. He will tell me his teeth hurt. He has his fingers in his mouth all the time picking at his teeth or chewing on them as far back in his mouth as he can get them. I know he's teething if that is enough to cause this whole mess I'm not sure. He wasn't bothered too much when he got all of his previous teeth, but I have heard 2 yr molars are worse then the rest. I've tried giving him teething tablets before bed, no relief. I've tried ibuprofen, no relief. I've tried both of those, no nap!

Potty Training
He wakes up saying he needs to go pee pee or poop poo. He will still have a dry diaper so chances are he really does need to go, but is this why he's waking so early? Is he getting it too well? Despite the fact he wakes up dry most mornings I still put a diaper on him, so if it's 5 in the morning and he needs to pee, he can just go and go back to sleep. Same at nap time. He'll be knocking on his door and start screaming "Mommy poop poos. I feel like he's the boy who cries wolf! It's one of those things I don't know if I should ignore or not. So usually I'll take him and set him on the toilet and he'll do nothing. But occasionally he'll go, there is my dilemma. I ALWAYS take him before nap time and put in him a pull up, same reasoning as night time.

Social Needs
I wonder if he's waking himself up to be with Brent and I. When this first started when he would wake up early the first thing he would say is "Daddy?". Brent would be gone, I'd ask him if he wanted to snuggle in my bed, and he would fall right back to sleep. Naps seem to never happen on the weekend when Brent is home. There was only a couple times before sleep because a huge issue that he woke up from a nap and was obviously still tired. So I broke my rules and laid with him. He went right back to sleep. Now he wants to nap in "Mommy's bed" or wants me to lay with him in his bed. Don't get me wrong I love snuggling with him. Us both dozing and taking a nap together is quite delightful. I just don't want this to be a habit, or a necessity. I also especially don't want to make this a habit right before a new baby comes. I don't see it being so reasonable for me to lay with Croix during nap time while I have a nursing newborn. Let's also not forget, I'm going to need naps then. I remember how newborns sleep, or don't sleep and how essential naps were to my survival. I don't get good sleep laying next to Croix who is a wild sleeper thrashing all over the place. I have tried ignoring him. He's been in his room for 3 hours and refused a nap. ONCE I ignored him at 5 AM and he went back to sleep. Other then that one time it's nothing but crying and knocking on his door. I tried "super nannying" him one nap time (after being in his room for 2hrs and not going to sleep yet) and every time he got out of bed I would go right back in his room and put him back in bed. No talking, no eye contact, just put him back in bed. After over an hour of this he was still not staying in his bed, I was exhausted and sore, and he had been in his room over 3 hours. One day I even tried getting him as relaxed as I could. I gave him a hot bath, with me in the tub (some last minute quality time so he wouldn't feel the need to be with me during nap time). I gave him a nice relaxing massage. I gave him hot milk. We did an extra long bedtime routine. I was practically asleep before I put him to bed. NOTHING, no nap that day. Well until I decided I was so exhausted I'd see if he would lay with me, at which point he slept 21/2 hours! Clearly he is tired and still needs the sleep. Yesterday he slept (?maybe not sure let's just say he was quite) 30 min. I brought him down stairs and he fell asleep on Brent for an hour. This hasn't happened since he was a week old!

Doesn't Need a Nap Anymore
I've considered the fact that his is almost 2 1/2 and maybe doesn't need a nap any more. But by 4-5 in the evening he's a nightmare. No nap just causes him to wake even earlier. He says he's tired! He just wont nap! He isn't napping but I think he still needs the sleep, his behavior doesn't indicate to me he's outgrown a nap.

I'm at a loss. I don't know what else to do or try. I'm thinking about pulling the crib back out and buying a crib tent. Other then that I've tried everything I can think of. I'm tired and exhausted, we both are. I really hope he brakes through what ever this is soon, at least before the baby comes. I honestly don't know if I can handle this and a newborn. So please if you have any suggestions, I'm needing help here!

Chair Train

2012-01-18T18:17:00.000-08:00

Croix loves trains, so it's only natural that every time the chairs get moved to sweep/mop there is a train in our living room.

Making sure all the passengers are safe. All aboard?

Choo.......

Choo!

(I was trying to be discrete capturing the images so as not to disturb him, thus the focus issues)

Air Port Lunch

2012-01-18T11:50:00.000-08:00

One Saturday we decided to go have a picnic at the air port. Croix loved it and frankly so did I!

Ramada next to the runway

Checking everything out

We enjoyed laying in the sun

Such a fun little spot for an afternoon picnic!

14 Weeks

2012-01-17T20:00:00.000-08:00

Here's a few shots of me at 14 weeks. My belly's just popping right out already! ALREADY in maternity pants!!!

Croix is starting to understand that there's a baby in Mommy's belly, always saying he want's it out! I felt the baby move for the first time yesterday (15 weeks). It was one of those perfect moments in life, I was laying in bed with Croix at nap time. He was snuggled up in my arms resting his head on my shoulder and I felt the first little flutters. At first I wasn't sure but it happened a few more times and I knew, that's what it was. That's a moment I'll just file away in my memory and one of the happiest ones!

I'm STILL feeling nauseous and exhausted. In fact just this morning I almost passed out when I got so nauseous and light headed while cooking eggs that the world started to go black. I keep thinking any day I'll start to feel better, but today was not that day, maybe tomorrow! All so worth it!

I think part of the reason I'm still feeling so miserable is Croix is not sleeping well, thus I'm not sleeping well. He's been waking up between 5-6 every morning and then not even napping for an hour. (I'm thinking hoping it's just his molars coming in and that any day he'll go back to sleeping till 7 again!) The earlier I wake up the more sick and tired I feel. (I do not mention any of this to complain or for any to feel sorry for me, simply to document)

Croix has watched a little more PBS then he should, but I've tried very hard to keep the tv off, and just play, or go be exhausted at the park so he can play. Thank heavens for our beautiful weather!

I'm hoping the fact that this pregnancy has been so different from Croix's is an indicator that this wee one is a girl....two and a half weeks and we find out! Can hardly wait!

Hot Coco

2012-01-17T19:49:00.000-08:00

Croix is addicted! He started out asking for it every morning, and then every time he wanted a drink. Thankfully if I just give him warm milk that appeases him.

Christmas

2012-01-17T19:42:00.000-08:00

Some how this year I did not end up taking very many pictures on Christmas. So here's what we got.

Christmas morning we enjoyed eggnog, bananas and banana bread....lots of crumbs might have to try something different next year.

Mater joined in.

We went to church with Grandma and then had lunch and dinner over there. Croix love love loved having all his cousins in town.

Croix and Cate are just 3 months apart, Cate being older. We tried to get a cute pic of the two of them together...try getting two 2yr olds to smile at a camera at the same time. GOOD LUCK!

We also had a visit from Santa, Croix was one of the few kids who did not cry. That's my boy!

Brent asked Croix waht he wanted to get me for Christmas. Croix said a yellow hat. They went to many stores looking for a yellow hat to no avail. So they decided to make me one.

Thankfully the did eventually find me an actual yellow hat so I don't have to wear this to the grocery store. Croix just loves every time I wear that yellow hat!

We made cookies for Santa

And generally had a great time spending time together and remembering our Savior and celebrating his birth. We love Christmas!

(When we took down the Christmas tree Croix kept saying "Wait!" "No!" "CHRISTMAS!!!" He also loved going for drives to look at Christmas lights, whcih we did frequently.)

Train Tracks

2012-01-04T12:24:00.001-08:00

Croix has been saying and doing so many funny little things lately. I need to just post them even when they are just a small post. So you can look forward to more of those!

Croix was going potty and I went in to check on him. I found half the roll of toilet paper on the floor.
I asked him " Croix what did you do that for"
Croix excitedly replied "Choo choo tracks!"
No way I can really be upset about that now can I?

Croix's Going to Be a Big Brother

2011-12-30T07:48:00.000-08:00

With this being my second pregnancy, combined with the fact that my RE had me gain 10lbs to help get pregnant I feel like I'm already getting a little belly. One night it was popping out a little and I said to Croix, right here there's a baby, we're going to have a baby! This was his response.

He's adorable! When ever we ask him if he wants a brother or a sister he always says a sister. If we ask him if he wants the baby to be a boy or girl he says girl.....maybe he knows something we don't. I'll ask him "Croix do you want a baby?" to which he always reply's "uh-huh" and I will say "Ok I'll make you one". I can't wait to see him as a big brother! He just loves babies. It will be so fun!!!

Happy Halloween

2011-12-30T07:46:00.000-08:00

Halloween was a little sad this year as it was only two days after Jim passed away. Croix's cousins flew in that very night, and we all went trick-or-treating. The kids were all tired and grumpy, but once we got out there they had fun.

Croix's pumpkin got so heavy he could barely carry it, but he didn't care, he wouldn't let go of it. Croix had a blast trick-or-treating and going out with all his cousins.

Miracles

2011-12-30T07:33:00.000-08:00

I am a firm believer that miracles happen every day! A lot of times we call them coincidence, or luck, or maybe thing it's just our own intelligence and hard work paying off. I think that our loving Heavenly Father allows miracles to happen all them time. We've been blessed with a few lately.

I was supposed to take a pregnancy test October 28th, but for some reason, I'm not sure why I decided to test on the 27th. I am normally opposed to testing early since if it's negative I'm not going to believe it because it was taken early, so I usually just wait until the day I'm supposed to. It was postitive (a miracle in it's self).

Jim and Corinne were baby sitting for us that evening. So when they were here we told them we were expecting. Jim passed away two days later.

If we had tested the day we were supposed to we would have just waited until Sunday when we were over for dinner to tell them, by then Jim would have already gone back to live with his Heavenly Father. It is a nice little bit of comfort to know we were able to tell him our joyful news before he left us.

In the week after Jim's passing one morning our nephew Connor came and told his Mom, "Papa says it's a scary world but I'll be ok because he'll be watching me." That same morning around the same time Brent and Croix were driving to Corinne's house and Croix just started saying "Papa's here! Papa's here! Papa's here!" How true it is that our little ones are so special and close to the spirit.

The other night it got pretty cold here. Brent thought he should call his Mom to see if she needed help putting covers over her plants so they wouldn't freeze. When he called she was crying and having a hard time trying to figure out how to put together the plant covers. She was missing Jim, because that's something he normally would have done. We went and helped set things up, but how thankful we are for the spirit to let us know when to pick up the phone and check if everything is ok, or if help is needed.

I'm thankful for the miracles in our life that help give us a little peace.

Hormones

2011-12-30T07:19:00.000-08:00

I bet you're thinking this is going to be about how I started crying at a hallmark commercial, or got SO SO SO angry over nothing. Nope, my hormones have made my skin so bad. I have dry skin normally but the hormone changes have made it the worst it's ever been. It's pretty painful, burns, itches, peeling, and makes me look like a leper. Want to see?

Believe it or not it actually doesn't look quite as bad in the picture as it did in real life! I went to a dermatologist and she gave me a prescription cream which is helping a lot! Thank goodness. I didn't really want to leave the house looking like that. All so very worth it to have a sweet little baby! No pain no gain right?!?

PREGNANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2011-12-30T07:13:00.000-08:00

For anyone who missed our Christmas Card, or missed the fine print, we are pregnant! Due July 7th 2012. We are beyond thrilled! I'm so happy it was so much easier this time! I had to laugh when I thought how easy it was. Just tried a year on our own, consulted the RE and made a treatment plan, gained 10LBS, spent a month getting rid of a cyst, and then meds, mid cycle ultrasound, a shot, and we're pregnant. Funny that I think that's easy. Despite the fact we were doing all this I was still surprised when we saw that positive pregnancy test. I normally have quite long cycles, which means I ovulate (if I ovulate) later in the month. They had me start doing Ovulation test (OPK's) at cycle day 11. I thought this was way too soon. But sure enough day 11 I got a positive. When you get a positive OPK you go in for an ultrasound to see how many egg follicles have developed.

When I went in for the ultrasound the nurse says "looks like you got a false positive" I was irritated, thinking it was false because I hadn't had the LH surge yet (which happens a couple days before you ovulate). I was thinking I'd have to drive all the way down the Phoenix again, arrange for a babysitter another day in the next week when I really did have the LH surge. The she said "it doesn't look like the femara worked". All the sudden I wasn't as irritated as I was confused and concerned. I knew the femara did something, I was emotional, had hot flashes, and other symptoms, I knew it had done something to my body! She then told me she didn't see any egg follicles. My heart sunk. Another month of nothing, and now no chance of getting pregnant. Then she kept looking and found one, it was already collapsing and on its way down the fallopian tube but it was there. She said I must have ovulated either that morning or the day before. I left with instructions to go home and do the trigger shot ASAP, do the baby dance ASAP (Brent did not want to take a long lunch lol), and again the next day, with assurances that even though it wasn't ideal, it was still possible.

I had little expectations because not only was timing not ideal, we had "old sperm". We gave it our best, prayed for a positive out come and I stayed hopeful but at the same time thought, next month we know to start testing sooner.

We were supposed to take a pregnancy test on October 28th but for some reason I decided to test on the 27th. I used a test that a friend had given me. There was a faint line, I started to get all excited but then realized I didn't know if this was the kind of test that has a positive sign and negative sign. Since it was a test from a friend there wasn't a box, no instructions, so I took another test! That one had another faint line...POSITIVE! I couldn't believe it, bad timing, old sperm and it still worked! Our first cycle and we were pregnant! Brent and I were both just so happy, thrilled, excited, overjoyed, any other good feeling adjectives you can think of!

Miracles happen people! Ever day! You just have to look for them!

Merry Christmas!!!

2011-12-23T07:07:00.000-08:00

We hope this finds you happy and well this holiday season!!!

James Ernest Maldonado

2011-12-22T06:42:00.000-08:00

I haven't posted anything in quite a while, because I needed to write this post. I've been putting it off, so hard to do.

October 29 2011 Brent and I were enjoying a visit from a friend. The phone rang, Brent answered it. I immediately knew something was not wrong. The color drained from his face, his tone of voice changed. I heard him say "Are you serious?....We'll be right over". After he hung up he told me something was wrong with his Dad, and ambulance was on it's way to get him. We abandoned the dinner that was barely out of the oven, I couldn't find my shoes or Croix's pants, so we left with out them. We passed the ambulance as we entered their neighborhood. Met Corinne out front talking to a paramedic. She said Jim wasn't breathing and didn't have a heart beat when she found him or before he left. Brent left with is Mom to the hospital. I called the siblings and told them which hospital to go to.

Croix and I quickly went home and got shoes and pants and hurried over to the hospital.

My brother in law Tim is a fire fighter. He had heard the call and met the ambulance at the hospital. He and his crew worked on Jim, unsuccessfully. Tim removed Jim's wedding ring, brought it out to Corinne and informed us that he had not made it. News I think we all already knew but were still holding out hope it wasn't true.

We went into the room and sat with Jim for a while. It was so hard to get up and leave and say goodbye, especially for Corrine, her and Jim did everything together, and he's always supposed to go with her.

We suspect that it was a massive heart attack, but despite three different requests the hospital did not perform an autopsy, so we will never know for sure. Because of the hospital we also had complications getting a death certificate. They released his body to the mortuary with out it being signed (which is illegal) and then refused to sign it. You can not get a permit for a burial with out a signed death certificate. (locals, never use Mountain Vista Medical Center)

During the week following his death we attended the temple as a family. I've never been more grateful for the knowledge of the plan of salvation and promise of temple covenants. We have felt the Lord, and Jim with us. We have experienced miracles. We know we will see him again.

As life has gone on and we've found a new normal it's been hard. He's been missed dearly. Our sweet little Croix who loves his Papa so much and is too little to understand still asks for his Papa, gets excited to go to Papa's house, and looks for his Papa once we get there. I cry every time. I think I'll cry the first time he doesn't do that too.

Jim was one of the best men I've ever known, truly he was. His knowledge and love of the Gospel was deep and profound. He loved his family dearly and was the best Papa to his grandchildren. He loved his wife, and treated her wonderfully. He was kind, and served other often and willingly. He was a teacher, always helping others to learn. He loved to work with his hands building things, growing a garden, fixing things. If we ever had a project we needed help with, he knew how to help.

This is his Obituary.

This is a beautiful rememberance video.

We love and miss you Jim and look forward to the day we will see you again.

Vertuccio Farm

2011-11-14T07:56:00.000-08:00

We went to Vertuccio Farm this weekend. Croix had a blast! If you have kiddos, I'd highly recommend taking them! It's prefect for kids!

Riding the cow train

That is about all he did in the bounce house...it kind of scared him a little bit!

Ta-da! So proud of himself!

Oh how I adore this picture!

Croix loved the tractor

Croix found some treasures....dirt clods! Such a boy!

And because there's clearly not enough pictures for you to get the true feel of the expereance here's a video too :)

Carving Pumpkins

2011-11-13T08:26:00.000-08:00

Croix loves pumpkins, who would have guessed. he got a little pumpkin at story time and carried it around proudly for days! We drew a face on it and he thought that was the greatest thing ever!

Croix thought this insides were a little gross, or surprising at the least.

Can you guess which pumpkin is who's ? Doesn't the one on the right just look like a Brent pumpkin! HA!

Halloween

2011-11-13T08:24:00.000-08:00

It was so fun to take Croix trick-or-treating this year! He really got it, and it was adorable! We got together will all the cousins to go trick-or-treating. We started out pretty late because our North Carolina cousins flew in late (for Papa's funeral, post to come soon). These poor kids were all so tired but they did great. Such troopers! Croix was a little zoo keeper...adorable!

Croix as a zoo keeper

Connor as Superman

Princess Kierstie

Farry Kate

Tyler the shark

Max the Mummy

All the cousins (yes poor Croix, already past bed time and we're just getting started)

Aren't these two little one just too cute!

Despite the sad reason it sure was fun to have all the cousins here for Halloween!

Why Yes My Bed Doubles as a Slide

2011-11-13T08:07:00.000-08:00

Croix decided his bed doubles as a slide. How creative my little one is!

This video was when I first caught him!

Lipstick

2011-11-13T07:57:00.000-08:00

Croix found some lipstick and promptly proceeded to eat and destroy the entire stick.

Did I mention this all went down in a basket of clean laundry....not so clean any more!

Trip to the West Side

2011-11-13T07:55:00.000-08:00

We have a few friends who live on the west side. We decided it was time to make the trek out there to visit, especially since one family had a brand new baby and two other families had babies we had not yet met. First we met up with the Gunnells. They have twins the same age as Croix, and a brand new little love. I sure did enjoy soaking up some of his newborn sweetness! I as always admired my friend who is the mother of twin toddlers, a new born, and has a husband in the thick of med school meaning he is not avaliable to help. Yet she did not complain, just acknowledged that this is a hard time in their lives but it will not last forever. She's such an example to me! Croix loved playing with his buddies Max and Kate. Brent had a good time catching up with Phil. It was nice to stop by, visit, and catch up with each other. We spent the morning playing, chatting, and snuggling (with with baby Rhett).

Croix especially loved their train. He would have stayed in it all day had I let him. Then we did a quick lunch and nap time. From there we headed off to lunch with Brent's old roommate, Sven and his wife. We had a great time chatting and catching up. I had forgotten how funny Sven is! Croix had a lot of fun in their play place. I had to go rescue him a couple times because he could get up, but not down. Finally he figured out how to go down the slide! He got a yellow (his favorite color) balloon and thoroughly entertained himself the whole way to our next stop.

From there we headed to meet up with some of Brent's long time friends, and their families. I failed to pull out my camera but trust me Croix had a blast with all of their kids! We had fun eating a delicious dinner and catching up with our friends. It was a long day to be sure, but well worth the sacrifice, to visit with so many great people!

In a Cubbie Hole

2011-11-13T07:39:00.000-08:00

Oh this child! He is a monkey if ever there was one. His new thing is climbing into a cubbie hole in our book shelf!

Marilyn

2011-11-01T20:22:00.000-07:00

My friend that trades housekeeping with me is one of Croix's favorite people. When he asks for people it usually goes in this order
Daddy
Papa
Grandma
Marilyn
He anxiously awaits her arrival every Tuesday morning.

This window is by our front door and looks out to our walkway.

All By Himself

2011-11-01T20:16:00.000-07:00

This is Croix half way in the toilet...because he wants to go potty all by him self...no help...not even his little toilet seat. He sends us out of the bathroom and does his business. ALL BY HIMSELF. This child cracks me up! I love him more than words.

Museum of Natural History

2011-11-01T20:14:00.000-07:00

We went to the Museum of Natural History with Croix. He LOVED it!

Panning for gold

Checking out the gold we found

Uncovering dinosaur bones

Checking out the old jail.

They have a huge dinosaur display, both of bones and of large/live size models of the dinosaurs.

Growling at the dinosaurs

This photo cracks me up!

All of our feet in one dinosaur footprint.

Daddy showing Croix the giant dinosaur bones.

Riding a Camel

2011-10-31T13:44:00.000-07:00

Croix got to ride a Camel! We went to the zoo with some friends. The basically have an all access pass to the zoo where you get to do everything, including the things I'm typically too cheap to do, like ride a camel and go on the carousel. I think this was the first time we've been to the zoo that Croix actually enjoyed the animals. Before he's been more interested in the people and the trees. He (as well as me) also enjoyed being there with friends. It was a great day!

Checking out the turtles

Getting loaded on the camel

All ready to go

Riding around

No Croix does not look too happy. He started saying "Mom off. Mom done." I think it was a little scary for him.

Checking out the tractor

Riding the carousel. Don't you love his "cheese" face

I must confess it's on my list of things to do before I die to ride a camel....I'm just a little jealous Croix has done this before me.

TAKEN by terina

2011-10-28T07:57:00.000-07:00

I haven't posted much here lately. I've had a TON going on. One thing that's been consuming much of my time is this This is the blog for my new photography business. I've also got a facebook page which I would love oh so much if you would go like it!!! (pretty please!)

Come on Ride the Train

2011-10-28T07:52:00.000-07:00

Croix loves the train. So we took him to freestone park to ride the train there. He loved every minute of it. Sorry in advance for the picture overload...he was just TOO adorable!

Waiting for the train to start

More than a little excited!

Watching the world pass by.

Choo choo

It cracked me up that they had RR crossing at the side walks.

Working With Tools

2011-10-28T07:27:00.000-07:00

A few weekends ago Brent was working on cleaning up our back yard. Croix wanted to be right by his side helping.

Doesn't he just look so big! Stop it already!

Back Yard Fun

2011-10-28T07:23:00.000-07:00

The weather has been simply delightful! I’ve been sending Croix outside to play in the back yard almost every day. You know what….it really is as great as I’ve imagined it being all summer long. Croix loves the back yard too! I just feel a little bad for the kid that it’s just rocks. Not that it really bothers him all that much, he’ll bring me rocks he finds that he thinks are super cool.

The other day he was having a blast with the faucet.

Washing balls and showing them to us.

Brent and I loved it, Croix makes us so happy. And man Brent is so handsome when he's happy!

Eventually he just started washing himself.

Then he started filling up our watering can. He was trying to bring water over to wash off the sidewalk chalk. He barely got any water in it! He poured out what little bit of water he did manage to get in before he ever got to the patio and the chalk. It was adorable to see how determined he was though, going back and forth with his few drops of water.

The he had to jump around in the puddle he created.

Cousins

2011-10-02T21:34:00.000-07:00

We went to Brent's parents today to watch General Conference. While we were there we skyped Brent's sister and her family. Croix had lots of fun talking to his cousins. Max showed him his tools and Croix showed Max his tools. Croix loved checking out baby Owen! Then Croix's cousins Connor and Tyler got there. Croix love love loved baby Tyler. He is only 3 months old. Croix came up and snuggled him. Helped me feed him his bottle. Kissed him on the head and with out any prompting told Tyler "I love you". It about melted my heart! Croix is going to be an amazing big brother some day! I hope that day is soon!!!!
Croix and Connor both love Cars, and both brought Cars toys, so we had some sharing issues. But by the end of the evening they were running all over laughing and playing together. Good buddies! They even ended up snuggled on Croix's couch together.

Thoughts on a Toddler

2011-09-23T21:18:00.000-07:00

I’ve come to realize that everyone does better, loves, thrives at parenting at different stages. Some people struggle with the newborn stage, some toddlers, or older kids. I’ve discovered I struggle with a toddler. I had no problem with the newborn baby stage. I loved every minute. I never thought it boring that he just laid there. It didn’t bother me he couldn’t talk. I soaked him up, every snugly minute of it.

Now I’m exhausted and frustrated every day. Having a toddler is really hard for me. I was having a hard time with this. When I say frustrated I mean really frustrated. I have such a hard time keeping my cool. I felt like half the day I’m trying to keep myself from blowing my top. I found myself taking lots of deep breaths. There have been many time outs for Mommy as well as Croix. I would be so tired! I just feeling like I’m dragging all the time. I felt like the only thing getting me through the day were those sweet moments when Croix would just stop what he was doing to come give me a hug, or say I love you, or do something so sweet or funny.

The daily frustration and exhaustion started to wear on me. I started thinking “what is wrong with me that I’m incapable of keeping up with a two year old without being exhausted?!” It made me sad that rather than relishing this time, like I want to I just feel like it is such hard work. I found myself just wanting to scream sometimes. At Croix, or just in the air, just scream. I would just get so angry. I felt guilty, because I love him so much, I wanted this (motherhood) so bad, and yet here I was struggling to get through the day.

I decided I needed to really look at the situation and see what I could do to improve it and what was at the root of it. I feel as though a little introspection and self-evaluation always helps me to find a solution, or at least come to a place of acceptance, healing, and growth.

I really felt like my frustration was a bit unreasonable. I felt that I should have the ability to be more patient with my little boy. So when I was in that moment of just pure frustration I tried to think why am I here? Why do I feel like this? Is it really because Croix just climbed into the sink and squeezed a tube of toothpaste down the drain? No, a tube of toothpaste is only a couple dollars, he is fine, not hurt, it’s not that big of a mess to clean up, sure I‘ve pulled him out of the sink a dozen times but he’s a toddler who is learning, I’m teaching. I could find no good reason. It was like this anger just came from nowhere, boiling up in me. I felt like I just wanted to take Croix by his little arm and smack that little butt till he would listen to me. Those feelings scared me. I have not nor will I ever hurt my child, I will not do that. I don't even spank for fear that if I get comfortable with that it would be one easy slip to inappropriate. (I even went to counseling while I was pregnant because I was having these fears that I would not be able to rise above my childhood and be a good parent.) Yet here I was thinking these thoughts of hurting him. As I sat on the floor and prayed to know why I was struggling so much a thought came into my head. It was something I had read in a parenting book. I don’t remember verbatim what it said but the essences of it was, thinking back to your childhood do you want to recreate the way your parents disciplined you or parent a different way. When I read that I thought I don’t want to do much of anything my parents did! The next line had hit me hard when I read it, but even harder as it came to my mind. If you want to do things differently then you cannot trust your instincts. You form your instincts as a result of your experiences. You do not want to duplicate the experiences you had as a child so you will have to use logic over your instincts and learn to parent better than your parents. As I sat there I realized all the anger and frustration I kept feeling were my bad instincts. I was feeling what I had seen and experienced as a child, anger. I also realized that I had not done anything to Croix that I would be ashamed of. What I was ashamed of was the way I was feeling. I was feeling that way because of what I had experienced as a child. I began to see the whole situation a little differently, rather than feeling so guilty I was feeling this was I was happy that I was controlling myself despite of that. I was doing a good job! I was not letting those feelings control me, I was controlling them.

It’s as if just realizing that has helped me to not be so angry and frustrated. Sure I still am frustrated at times, Croix’s a super busy toddler who gets into everything and is on the go constantly. But it’s almost as if when I start to feel that was I can say, no, that’s not who I am, I am better than that. Rather than getting to this point of unwarranted frustration, it’s more an average level of frustration.

As far as being exhausted, I had to refill a prescription (one I’m taking to try and help get pregnant) and one of the side effects is drowsiness! Thank goodness it’s not just me being incapable! It’s a stinking side effect! That's why I feel so tired and exhausted!

I’m hoping with this new found insight I can continue to keep from getting to that boiling point so often. I’m always surprised how abuse can rear its ugly head at the most unexpected times. It lurks in the shadows waiting to remind you of all that you’ve been through. Well thanks for reminding me, it just made me that much stronger, and more determined to be the best Mom I can!

Croix

2011-09-18T21:29:00.000-07:00

I feel like there is so much that Croix does that needs to be documented. They are just funny little things. The silly things that make him my sweet Croix. Rather than a million posts of one little story I'm just going to do one long post of the latest things Croix has done.

Croix enjoys brushing his teeth. Well maybe he enjoys the toothpaste more then the actual teeth brushing. We had brushed and he wanted more tooth paste. After telling him “No we’re all done brushing teeth” I put the toothpaste back in the medicine cabinet. He proceeded to open the cabinet open one of the drawers and climb up into the shelf so he could reach the medicine cabinet.

The other day I went to the bathroom. When I came out Croix was chewing on two knives. Not butter knives either real knives. I know better than to leave knives on the edge of the counter or on the table. He had gotten a bowl out of the cabinet and pushed it up to the counter and gotten it off the back of the counter where I had left it. He got the other one out of the dishwasher.

I found him on top of washer and dryer. The door was open and he pulled himself up and was playing with the laundry soap.

He was playing in our closet and found my old roller blades. He came hobbling out with one and said “Mommy bike shoes?” I thought that was pretty smart of him to look at that put together that it looked like a bike (has wheels) and looks like a shoe.

Croix is now a true Arizonan. He loves the rain. Ever since we had our first monsoon storm where he could go play in the rain, every time he goes outside he says, rain?

Along with the rain he now knows what an umbrella is. He calls them unlellas. We went to In & Out the other night for dinner and he kept pointing to all the unlellas. It also happened to be raining. That was a fun dinner, we sat outside to enjoy the sprinkles.

When we wash hands we sing the ABC’s. He is trying to sing along now. He mostly just makes letter sounds and a few letters, but he’s trying.

The very week he turned two he said no for the first time. He tells himself no, no, no! TOO FUNNY!

We had a big monsoon storm and it blow a tree down at the park. Croix noticed it had been blown over from the rain and kept pointing at it saying ut-oh.

One of the things he got for his birthday was sidewalk chalk. We pulled it out and colored in the back yard. He loves it. He always wants me to draw the Wonder Pets. I used our watering pot to rinse it off. The next time we were drawing he gets the watering pot and goes over to the faucet. He turns the water on and holds out the pot, getting only a few drops of water into the pot. As he’s walking back to the patio he dumps out the few drops he managed to get in. He did this over and over with no clue that he was not doing a thing besides getting his shoes wet!

Whenever you ask Croix what he wants for a snack he says, ummm meat annnnnd cheese. (I really think this is funny since we don't even eat meat all that often, in fact we eat vegetarian twice a week!)

He cries “Hurray” every time he goes pee pee…still!

Croix loves his Daddy more than anything else in the world. He loves playing with him and being with him and wants to be just like him. When they laugh and play together it makes the world a better place.

With Daddy's hat and iPod

I don’t know if he’s not sure of the difference between pee & poo or if he just doesn’t know how to communicate the difference but he still says pee pee when he needs to go poo. So I’ll take him and he won’t do anything. I’ll get him down, wash hands and then we repeat this a handful of times until finally he is frantically crying PEE PEE! PEE PEE! Then I know, ah-ha, he’s not just fooling around, he just has to go poo!

He has discovered buckles. He loves them. He will sit and do the buckle on his high chair over and over.

When we are getting ready for bed we’ll read our stories, then Croix will say "and arms", meaning time for prayers. Then after prayers he says "and songs", meaning it’s time to sing our song before bed.

Croix keeps saying E all the time when he is talking. He says it before just about everything he says and in between words too. It reminds me of how in Spanish they say Y (Pronounced E) which means and. Croix is like 1/8 Spanish. I don’t know if that is what explains this or not. But I’m going to go ahead and say it’s his Spanish coming out in him.

Croix loves to do “sweepman” or Superman, where I’m lying on the ground he puts his belly on my feet I lift him to the sky and we say sweepman” he throws his arms out like he’s flying and love every minute of it. He also loves it when I throw him onto the couch over my head. And in the process I get a work out.

He has a few favorite songs. The wheels on bus is one of them. He especially loves the verse the mamas on the bus go ssh ssh ssh. Sometimes I’ll hear him singing to himself and saying sssh ssh shh. He also loves old McDonald, he’ll sing E-I-E-I-O.

I love him more than I thought possible. He brings us so much joy!

Free And Clear

2011-09-08T09:07:00.000-07:00

We now own my car free and clear! Not a single payment due on it! Such a great feeling! Now we can put that extra money toward another debt (first Brent's car then student loans). We are one step closer to being debt free! I'm pretty stoked about this people! By the end of the year we could have both cars paid off! Also Brent got a raise! Nothing big, just his annual raise. But a raise is a raise and extra money, even a little, is always nice! Little things to be thankful for. Our lives are good.

We are blessed!!!!!!

Prenatal

2011-09-08T09:02:00.000-07:00

There's just something a little bit sad about going through an entire bottle of prenatal vitamins with out actually getting pregnant. Knowing that for at least 240 days I took that little pill so my body would have all the nutrients to produce a good egg and sustain a pregnancy. Yes there's just something sad about throwing out that bottle with that huge number on it and getting a new one and still not being pregnant. Oh yeah even more sad that this is the second empty bottle I've thrown out. The first one was just finishing off what was left from Croix's pregnancy. I think it's time for me to write a list of things I'm thankful for again!

Milt

2011-09-01T19:03:00.000-07:00

Croix kept saying milk with a p sound at the end, like milp. So we worked on saying M-I-L-K milk, like c-c-cat, milk. Because he says cat fine, so we know he can make a K sound. Well now Croix says milt, with a T end like cat ends in a T. He's also started adding a T sound to all sorts of words! So now we say M-I-L-K like truck! We'll see if that works!

PS milt is actually a word, and it's a little gross. But not inappropriate don't worry if you want to look it up.

Scratch That

2011-09-01T13:53:00.000-07:00

When we had our consultation with Dr. Moffitt he had recommended that I gain 10 pounds, and that we could do that and wait a few months, just keep trying on our own and see if that helped. I of course did not want to wait. I had a plan, and was already 3 months behind! Brent wanted to wait, thinking that Dr. Moffitt had recommended that so we should try that first. So we took the matter to the Lord in prayer. I know I’m not a very patient person, I know the Lord has a plan, I know that personal revelation is real, so I knew that I could receive an answer to my prayers. But I was worried that since I wanted so badly to go ahead I wouldn’t be able to decipher my desires from the spirit, and the Lord’s will. So not only did I pray that we would know if we should wait a few months to start treatments, or start the next month, I prayed that I would clearly know the Lords will. Elder David A. Bednar came to our stake conference. I knew that as I listened to an apostle of the Lord I could hear the Lord’s will for me. As I was praying, in preparation for stake conference a thought came to me, if there was a talk about patience, enduring to the end, etc then that would be my answer to wait. If there was a talk about going forward with faith, courage, etc that would be my answer to start right away. I also knew that there are so many gospel principles that could be address during conference and neither of those topics had to be addressed. With that in mind I knew if neither topic was discussed then I would have to rely upon the gentle whisperings of the spirit.

As I sat in conference I heard Elder Jose L. Alonso, of the 70 read D & C 58:27-28 and taught about how we are to act and not be acted upon. How we are to do good before we are pushed to do so. Then I heard Elder Bednar say that we are to act in faith and then we will receive blessings. That we must have faith to act and then power, blessings will follow. I had my answer, from two servants of the Lord! There was no doubt what we should do. I was so excited and thought finally I don’t have to keep waiting! I can move forward.

Today I learned the reason our answer was just to start and not wait. It wasn't so I wouldn't have to wait, it was so I could start my waiting a little be sooner. I went in for a baseline ultrasound this morning before starting fertility medications. This is to check the uterus, ovaries, count egg follicles, etc. They found a cyst on my right ovary. It’s big enough they do not want to start treatments yet, as it might cause complications. This means I start another medication to try and shrink the cyst. Take this for 30 days. Then we will check and see if it’s still there. If it is, I take it another 30 days, and then another check. If it’s still there at that point we’ll look at possible surgery to remove it. The Dr. did seem optimistic that it will shrink and go away. So I’m not too concerned about it. I am disappointed. The medication to help shrink the cyst is like birth control, which means no chance of getting pregnant this month, which means another month of waiting.

Remember our Plan? Well scratch that. Never mind. Apparently every time I think I have things figured out the Lord reminds me He is in charge. I learn to be a little more patient and a little more humble. I think this is my great lesson to learn in life, patience, trust in the Lord, and faith in His plan for me. I am also thankful that we didn't wait 3 months to go in and find this and then have to wait even longer! So for now I pray this stupid cyst shrinks, and that we can start fertility medication next month! Hopefully we will get pregnant soon and it won't take months and months and months of being on medications to get pregnant. In the meantime I'll just enjoy this time of just Croix and I. I know it's not going to last forever, there will be another little one here someday and I'm sure I'll then miss this time of just us.

PS as I was driving out of the parking lot there was a song playing on the radio that kept saying "it's okay, it's okay that's right it's okay" Yep it's ok :D

Eating Like a Big Boy

2011-08-27T17:16:00.000-07:00

Croix is not such a huge fan of his high chair any more. He'll still eat there, but her really just likes sitting at the table with us. He also has some new plates, and forkes and is getting much better using them.

Arizona Museum of Natural History

2011-08-27T15:50:00.000-07:00

Brent went to the Arizona Museum of Natural History with his Mesa Leadership Training class the other day. He insisted we had to take Croix because he would love it. Well Brent knows his little boy pretty well, Croix thought it was pretty awesome. He loved all the roarrrrrrrrr roarrrrrrrrrs! (that's what Croix calls dinosaurs, roarrrrrrr roarrrrrrrs).

Panning for gold

Digging for dinosaur bones.

The jail

Adorableness

2011-08-27T15:21:00.000-07:00

Here are a few picture of Croix's adorableness.

Happy Birthday Croix!!!

2011-08-27T15:04:00.000-07:00

We just celebrated Croix's second birthday. It seems like this past year has just flown by! Croix is just such a big boy!

Chowed down on some yummy cake and homemade ice cream!

He had fun opening presents

Croix loved his balloons and wrapped himself up in them and wandered around like that all morning!

Brent took Croix's actual birthday off and we went to the Phoenix Children's Museum. Croix loves this place! He had such a blast!

Noodle forest is always a fovorite.

Giant bathtub with wings.

I can't believe my little guy is already two! We sure have loved experiencing every minute of the past two years, all the fun, learning, tears, hugs and loves! What a blessing and a treasure to be a parent.

Two Year Pictures

2011-08-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

While we were in Flagstaff we took advantage of the cool weather, and great downtown areas to take some pictures of Croix. we got some cute ones!

I love my little family!!!

Flagstaff

2011-08-27T14:08:00.000-07:00

We decided to take a little trip up north to escape the heat. We headed to Flagstaff, it was perfection! The weather was just heavenly. We spent days and days just having fun together. Other than the fact that Croix was a horrible sleeper it was perfect! And when I say horrible I mean horrible, awful no good, very bad sleeper! He straight up refused to nap in the hotel room. Was up for hours in the middle of the night. And then up at about 5 in the morning! Despite our sleep deprivation we all had a great time, not too much grumpiness for the slender amounts of sleep.

He had just seen a train!

He love love loved the choo choos!

We enjoyed lots of tasty meals.

We went up to the ski lift and enjoyed the view, ran around in the fields a bit.

The hotel had these chairs by the elevator. Croix always had to sit in them, with Daddy in the other.

We went to the Pioneer Museum. Croix loved checking it out

He loved the train the most.

We went and played at a park, just loved being outside!

My man looked pretty good!

Croix did some good climbing!

We love Flagstaff!

Big Boy Bed

2011-08-27T09:11:00.000-07:00

We decided to move Croix into a big boy bed. This decision was made along with starting potty training. Croix will wake up in the morning and lay in bed talking to himself for up to an hour in the mornings. This is also when he usually goes poo. I thought if we changed his crib into a toddler bed then he could wake up in the morning and get up, and get me so we could then go potty.

He did great about the first week. He would cry a little. The first couple nights he even got up and came an clung to the door for a minute. (we put a knob lock on the inside of his door) He was so cute. He would stand at the rail crying like he did when the rail was still there! So funny! Like he didn't realize he could just get out. He will still do that, even though he's now figured out he can get out of bed. So much for my idea of him getting up in the morning. But after a couple days he didn't even do that. Then this past week we felt the adjustment pains. On Tuesday he cried and screamed in his room the entire nap time. Then that night he woke up at 11 and cried and screamed until almost 2! Wednesday no nap again. Thursday, maybe a nap, in between crying spurts. Friday same as Thursday. Finally Saturday and Sunday we are back to a good nap. He also went down Sunday with no problems. Hopefully he's now comfortable in his new bed!

Stinking camera focused on the book not the boys :(

Potty Training

2011-08-27T08:55:00.000-07:00

I've been feeling like Croix was ready for potty training for a while. He showed great interest when we were using the restroom. He'd come in with us and sit on his little potty and pretend like he was going. He'd randomly grab himself and say pee pee and go to the bathroom. He knew when he was messy or wet and didn't like to be that way. All signs of potty training readiness! I just didn't know if I was ready! We were planning our vacation to Flagstaff so I decided I'd wait until after that since I would not want to be potty training on vacation, or take a time out from potting training for vacation. Croix slept horribly on vacation and I was tempted to wait figuring it would mess up his sleep (which it did). I realized though I'd always be able to come up with a reason to wait and I just needed to do it! So August 1st we started potty training! We went and got pullups, Elmo's Potty Time DVD, a little seat for the toilet, a step stool and some big boy underwear.

We came home and spent then next few days at home. He did nothing but drink and pee, and watch Elmo's Potty Time. I started him in pull ups, but he just didn't really get it. It was like there was no difference to him from a pull up and a diaper. Then I tried underwear thinking that would help him to realize when he was going. Well it did, but he still just went in his underwear. So he just went naked. I always thought I wasn't going to be that Mom that just let her kid run around naked while potty training and pee all over the floor. But apparently I am. And guess what, it worked! He got it, and he went to the toilet. There have been many accidents. Nothing a carpet cleaner couldn't handle though. By the end of the week he had really gotten it. Then over the weekend he didn't do very good. He did great the next week. Now I'd say he's fully potty trained! There are even some days he's still dry after nap time. He just has some accidents here and there. There are even some days he's still dry after nap time. But for the most part he always tells me when he needs to go, or just goes with out me!

He's pretty smart this little guy of mine! Picked up on it pretty quick.

Potty training and running around naked have produced many funny naked pictures!!! Don't think I'll share those though, just save them for future girl friends.

But there are some cute ones of him in some big boy underwear.

Plan

2011-08-26T15:56:00.000-07:00

It's been over a year that we've been ttc. I’m still not pregnant. So we went to see our fertility specialist, Dr Moffitt. He's at Arizona Reproductive Medicine Specialists. He was great and we now have a plan. We're very excited about our plan. He said it makes sense that I got pregnant the month we took off from treatments, when the previous months hadn't worked. Apparently in some people the clomid can have a side effect that can cause the uterine lining to been too thin, which will prevent pregnancy. So the month I took off I was most likely still experiencing the benefits, (ovulation) with out the side effects (thin uterine lining). The months I was on clomid were with my OBGYN. So they were not closely monitored (or monitored at all). So we'll try a different medication, femara, which should not have the same side affect. They will also monitor my cycles with ultra sounds to check every step of the way. Make sure egg follicles are developing properly, that the uterine lining looks good etc. I'm also on a medication to help with high hormone levels which have me still producing milk (just a little but enough it could affect getting pregnant). He also recommended that I gain 10 LBS, so far I'm up 5! It's only taken me 3 weeks. I'm not going to turn myself into a garbage can eating a ton of junk to gain weight, and gaining weight in a healthy way can take a while. I've been drinking boost shakes, they have 360 cal and 14 grams of fat! Two or three of those a day and it's working!

I'm hopeful and excited that our plan will work and we'll soon be bringing another little person into our family. I am a little worried about all the hormones, man they were crazy before, and I have a two year old now. I’m trying hard to stay positive. There is always a twinge of jealousy when I hear someone else is pregnant. There are pregnant bellies everywhere. But it truly is so much easier than last time. For one I know I can get pregnant, I had started wondering last time. For two I have Croix, he makes everything better. There has been much prayer and fasting and we feel good about this decision. If this is the right decision, the Lord will help us through.

Numbers

2011-08-11T13:54:00.000-07:00

There are many things I want and need to blog about but for the moment this is all I have to say

4 The number of hours I slept last night
3 The number of friends who have told me they are pregnant in the past 24 hrs.
2 The number of friends who had a baby today and posted sweet pictures on facebook
1 Sweet little boy that is all mine and I love beyond words....even if he is currently screaming and crying in the next room.

Vacation

2011-07-29T20:17:00.000-07:00

We're on vacation, right now, as I'm typing this laying in a hotel bed. So why am I blogging right now while I'm on vacation rather than after I got home? Well because I'm trying to avoid writing a talk for sacrament meeting. Sigh.

We've been in our ward for 4.5 years. I've served in 3 different YW presidencies, I've been camp director once and attended girls camp another year, yet this will be my first time speaking in this ward. Shocking right? I’m a little shocked. You know the funny part about that, I don't mind speaking in church. Call me crazy but public speaking isn't so bad. Sure I get butterflies in my stomach and my pits get sweaty, but other then that not so bad. BUT this time, I’m not so thrilled, because as previously mentioned I'm on vacation.

When we were planning this little trip Brent and I argued (we always argue when making vacation plans, I don't know why. If you were to ask me what we argue about the most it would probably be travel plans, which is likely a good thing since we don’t travel all too often, we don't argue very much) about weather to go Thrs-Sat or Fri - Sun. I thought we should go Fri-Sun, Brent won. This means I was going to be in town to speak when the Bishop asked! If we'd made plans like I wanted to, I would have totally gotten out of it because I would have been out of town!

The bishop asked me Tues night after mutual.....I lingered too long. We left early Thurs. morning on our trip, we won’t get back until late Sat night. This leaves me no option other than writing a talk while on vacation. The only reason this is even possible is because my sister in law loaned me her lap top for the weekend. Bless her! She is a life saver. I was a bout to have a panic attack Wed before we left thinking I had basically one day to write a talk. But here I am, rather uninspired and not quite sure how to compose this talk. So rather than writing talk, I'm complaining on here. Great use of my time right?

Well wish me luck!

PS our vacation has been amazing! I can't wait to get home and post pics and write all about it!

Vocabulary

2011-07-24T20:22:00.000-07:00

Croix's vocabulary is really growing, and fast! He repeats just about everything we say. He says new words all the time. It's quite exciting that we are really starting to communicate. He's even starting to put sentences together.

The other night Croix and Brent were playing. Running around the living room, chasing each other, doing ring around the rosies, growling at each other etc. Croix kept saying "this is fun".

Although not quite a word Croix has picked up on a silly little thing I didn't even realize I do. Apparently I click my tongue a lot. He started doing it when ever I would, which made me realize I even do that. Now he does it on his own.

He asks "what's that" all the time".

He sings Elmo (melmo) "la la la la, la la la la, Elmo's world" (only he just says la la la).

He can find cars just about anywhere, and says cars, cars, cars until I've found lightning McQueen.

When He's thinking about something, or if you ask him a question he'll say ummmmm.

He's started calling us Mommy and Daddy rather than Mama and Dada. This makes him seem so much older!

He asks for his aunt Chelsea an awful lot, as well as cousin Seth.

He loves to do Superman (sweepman) and ring around the rosies and will ask for those frequently. He loves and asks for piggy backs (packpacks) every time we go down the stairs. He asks for candy (nannee) all the time (very rarely gets any, thank you Easter candy).

With all this talking he still has yet to figure out talking on the phone. He just holds the phone to his mouth and chews on it.

Jewelry

2011-07-24T19:44:00.000-07:00

My jewelry has been a mess! My jewelry box was just not doing the job. So I googled some ideas on homemade jewelry boxes/storage and found some good ideas. I kind of put a few together to get something I really like!

Before

SUCH A MESS

I got a picture frame on clearance at Walmart for like $7, I went to Lowes and got some paint for $1 from their "ooops" section (paint they mixed wrong). Everything else I had at my house already. It was a super easy, affordable, quick, project!

I took the frame and sanded it down and then primed it and painted it.

Then I roughed it up a little bit

Then I took some cheesecloth (to hook ear rings in) and put in in the back, left the glass out. I added some hooks to the edge (for necklaces) and some nails to the top (for rings and bracelets).

And hung it on the wall.

Then I added my jewelry.

After

So organized

I love the way it turned out! I love the color too! I have some left and I'm trying to figure out what else I can do with it. Any ideas?

Newborns

2011-07-15T18:47:00.000-07:00

Newborns are so sweet and perfect! I had two friends who just had babies and let me practice. These are the results

Baby Dax

Baby Gwen

Photography sure is fun!

Hat

2011-07-05T14:07:00.000-07:00

The other day Croix was asking to wear a hat. I happily obliged! He was adorable, so of course the camera came out.

Is it just me or does he look so old in these? Maybe it's the fact that he has his cell phone! Oh my he's growing up too fast!

HandyMEN

2011-07-05T13:56:00.000-07:00

Our vacuum broke, Brent decided he could fix it. Just take the whole vacuum apart, take out the cord and replace it with a new one. I was skeptical, but he did it, or I should say Brent and Croix did it. Croix was right by his side, working with the tools the whole time, helping Daddy fix the vacuum.

Thank goodness I have some handymen around the house to fix things :)

Happy Fourth of July!

2011-07-05T13:53:00.000-07:00

Happy Independence Day from the Maldonado Family

Fireworks

2011-07-05T13:51:00.000-07:00

For the first time ever fireworks are legal in the state of AZ! We got together with our friends and lit some in our neighborhood. I was worried Croix would be a little scared of the loud noises, but he loved it!

We started off with some sparklers

Croix loved the tank ones before we even set them off.

Pointing out fireworks we saw on the walk home.

I had fun playing with camera settings and shooting our little fireworks!

Independence Day 2011

2011-07-05T13:41:00.000-07:00

I love this holiday! I always have, ever since I was a child. Maybe because I grew up in a small town that had lots of parades and celebration, and is home to the worlds oldest rodeo (which I have never been to, how wrong it that!). I also am very grateful for the freedoms that I enjoy, the country that I live in, the opportunity that I have. I am thankful for the Men and Women who have and currently do sacrifice to provide and preserve those freedoms.

God bless America!

We went up to Prescott for the parade, it was Croix's first parade, he loved it! (be prepared for picture overload)

Aunt Crystal and Seth

He got a balloon and was in heaven!

Sweet Seth

This might be my new favorite picture in the whole world!

Proud to be an American!

Typical boys, playing in the puddles

Seth and Croix, good buddies. Sitting on Aunt Crystal's lap (while she still has one :)

Waving back at the parade go-ers

Croix's party face!

Loving the free candy (which I tried to avoid him grabbing!)

Seth rockin' the cowboy hat

Croix and Aunt Chelsea

"What's wrong with wearing two hats if they are both cool?"

We went to my Aunt Beth and Uncle Doug's house for a BBQ....it rained right before we sat down to eat. It was perfection! Croix loved running around in the rain!

He loved it so much he didn't want to come in out of the rain

Croix kept trying to climb over the fence. That is as far as he ever got, never got that second leg over, but he sure did try!

Mom & I

Chelsea & I

He passed out with in minutes of getting in the car, only to be awoken about 30 min later by a fire truck passing us. He was then up until after 9pm. Traveling is hard on sleep!

On the way home there was a sign that I-17 southbound had a wreck and one lane was closed. We decided to go home through Payson. It was a longer drive but prettier. At dusk, just after the sun had set, we saw and elk. The BIGGEST elk I have ever seen! It was taller than our car, and at least as long, had antlers hunters dream of. It was scary! As we approached it, the elk took a couple steps toward the road. Brent honked the horn and it stopped and thankfully retreated into the forest. Had we not seen it, and crashed into that monstrous elk, I'm quite certain my car would have been totaled and we would have spent the night (or longer) in the hospital. So glad we made it home safe and sound!

LIfe's Not Fair

2011-06-27T13:25:00.000-07:00

Life’s not fair, we all know that. I think knowing that can make the moments of disappointment a little easier. Only a little easier though.

My sister is pregnant. I’m so happy for her and her husband. Not only am I happy for them that they are expecting but I’m happy that my sister doesn’t have fertility issues. She got pregnant her very first month of being married. Very first month. Not even really trying. I heard this happy news the same week I was going in to the lab and getting blood drawn to test hormone levels and if everything is normal….trying to find out why after 10 months of trying I'm still not pregnant. I hate that because of my infertility I can’t be completely happy for my sister. Instead of just happiness for her I also feel sadness for me, jealousy, and a little bit of anger that they didn’t even have to try. Then I feel guilty, why can’t I just be happy for them?

Life’s not fair.

This past week my nephew was here visiting. It was so great to have him here! Croix loved having him here! Despite my best efforts I could not stop myself from thinking how my brother and his then girlfriend got pregnant with Seth when we first started ttc. Watching Seth and Croix play and laugh together just made my heart a little heavy. That was my plan. Having Seth here was a glimpse of what I’d thought our life would be. Where I thought we would be in our life right now, two kids, playing together in absolute delight. It made it so much harder when Seth left that Croix just cried, and for days has been asking for Seth. Every morning and after every nap Croix wakes up saying Seth, Seth, Seth all through out the day, he ask for him. It breaks my heart. The longer we ttc the more it seems like Croix just needs a buddy. At this point I don’t even want to get pregnant for me, for the experience and joy of carrying a child, but for Croix, so he won’t have to be an only child. I just hope it happens before Croix is old enough to start asking for a sibling. Instead he has a cousin, conceived by a teenager, out of wedlock, who is a horrible mother. That same girl is now pregnant with her 4th child. Seth has yet to celebrate his 4th birthday. His Mother, after marrying and subsequently divorcing my brother married a drug dealer who is abusive. It’s just not fair that she, and immature, young, irresponsible, girl who is neglectful to her children to the point of bordering abuse continues to get pregnant while we, a stable loving couple who provide a loving secure environment struggle.

Life’s not fair.

Knowing life’s not fair makes it a bit easier. It takes away the desire for an explanation. That’s all the explanation I need, it’s just the way life is. We all have struggles, we all have things we experience that cause us pain, and anguish. That’s part of our existence on this earth, to learn and grow. I’ve found that my prayers are different this time around then they were when we were ttc with Croix. Rather than just pleading to get pregnant (although I do still do that) I also pray for strength and comfort to accept the Lord’s will for my life rather than just endure. I ask for peace in my trial, so that when I feel angry that it’s not me who’s pregnant, it’s my ex-sister in law for the 4th time, I can let that anger go and continue to have joy and happiness in my life. I pray trying to express gratitude for the multitude of blessings I DO have. I pray for help in not feeling guilty, when I hear that my sister is pregnant and I’m jealous, or that I feel so sad that it’s taking a long time again. Why should I feel sad, I have had the privilege of experiencing the miracle of conceiving, carrying a child, giving birth, and having a son to love! There are those who never do get that opportunity. I pray for those couples who never get to have that experience.

Life’s not fair. But life is good. I am blessed. I have a husband who is my strength and rock who loves me more than I can understand who holds me when I cry and comforts me. I have a son who brings me the greatest joy I’ve ever known. I have a Savior who lightens my load and carries me through the moments when I feel a crushing sadness. I have the blessing of trials to help me to grow, learn and become humble. I have joy.

Sumer Visit

2011-06-25T21:05:00.000-07:00

My sister Chelsea came for a visit this week. She brought our nephew Seth along with her. We had so much fun....the 4 of us hanging out every day. We went to the pool, to story time at the library, the pool, kids club at the mall, the pool, splash pad at the mall, the pool, watched movies, played cars, did puzzles, read stories, the pool, snuggled, laughed, and had so much fun together. Croix misses his buddies so much already! All days since they've been gone he's said Seth's name a million times. Always wondering where he is.

My favorite Seth moments of the week:
I tried to teach Seth that it's good manners to say excuse me after you burp. He honestly thought I was crazy and replied with "no way" "you're crazy" "Oh stop it". Well one day at lunch he was being very demanding that I needed to get him a drink, not a please to be heard. I looked at him with a bit of sas and said "excuse me?" to which he replied "did I burp?"

I asked Seth if he knew the difference between smooth and rough he said
" No I don't think so..ummm....hummm....Wait! Yes! Dogs go ruff ruff!

We had beans with dinner one night. Seth was not so hot on the idea of eating them. I said "Oh you should really eat your beans, the are so good for you! Bean have fiber and fiber helps you poop". He now doesn't like fiber! LOL I think I swayed him a bit when I told him apples have fiber, he loves apples.

We miss them already! So glad Chelsea and Seth got to visit.

Pampered

2011-06-25T20:45:00.000-07:00

Croix still gets massages at night after his bath before bed. He has yet to get a massage on my table, yet some how the other day I found him like this.

Yes he's half naked....he ran off during a diaper change.

Little Helper

2011-06-25T20:35:00.000-07:00

Monkey

2011-06-25T20:31:00.000-07:00

He didn't get up there himself, don't worry. I had him up on my knee to watch His Daddy out the window and he climbed up from there.

His new trick, put his toes on the edge of the cabinet, do a pull up, then pull everything off the counters.

He climbed on top of his shoe basket too many times and put his foot right through it.

Yes he is exhausting to keep up with!

Too cute

2011-06-25T20:24:00.000-07:00

Swim Lessons

2011-06-25T15:59:00.000-07:00

We signed up for swim lessons this summer. Croix pretty much hated it when we first started. In fact he hated it so much we dropped out! We started the end of May and the water was still just TOO cold for Croix (and me!) Croix would cry "cold cold cold" and "out". His little lips turned blue and he was shivering by time we were done. That combined with the fact that I would be gone the last week of lessons at girls camp and my Mother in law would have to take Croix to his lessons was enough for us to drop out. Don't worry we started back up two weeks later. The water was warmer and my Mother in Law wouldn't have to take Croix to swim lessons. He still thought the water was cold and didn't really love the lessons but he learned lots. He now feels much more comfortable in the water. He will put his face in and blow bubbles. He knows how to do monkey walks (complete with monkey sounds). He'll "float" on his back and tummy. He will kick his legs. He absolutely hates being dunked and going under all the way. He did great! So proud of our little man.

These pics cracked me up! So despite the fact that Croix and I both look ridiculous I had to share...the evolution of a jump.

Monkey walks

Twinkle twinkles

Motorboats

"Under water exploration"

Thank you Nikki for helping Croix learn so much!

Maybe We Should Have Named Him Billy Bob

2011-06-07T16:10:00.000-07:00

Oh My

2011-06-07T16:07:00.000-07:00

The other day Croix was so covered after dinner....in a condiment that we just threw him in the sink to wash him up. It really made me notice how big he is getting.

First bath

9 mo old

Just the other day :(

He is not a baby any more. He will look at pictures of himself on our wall and say baby baby. I met a lady at the pool yesterday that had her little baby with her.....or so I thought, her little girl had just turned 1! Oh my! When did a 1 year old start looking like a baby! Awww My little guy is growing up so fast!

Fishys

2011-06-07T14:59:00.000-07:00

Croix loves his fishys (how the heck do you spell 1 year old saying fish-y-s???). We have to make sure they are put away in the pantry or else he'll eat the whole box! I guess he decided they needed washed, or wanted to go swimming because this is where I found a whole cup full of gold fish last night.

In the bathroom sink!

Musical Chairs

2011-06-07T14:54:00.000-07:00

Brent and Croix decided to swap spots....it cracked me up!

Happy Birthday To Me

2011-06-07T14:51:00.000-07:00

I celebrated my 29th birthday! It's weird to think I'm almost 30. It's also funny how as the years add up the importance of them seems less. I honestly kept forgetting my birthday was coming! I woke up to this cute card.....

Brent and Croix made me this giant size "card". On it they drew lots of gifts for me...a diamond ring, a mac book, an Escalade, a new camera. Wow didn't I get so many expensive gifts this year! LOL

That night Brent and I went on a date to Black Angus where I got a free steak dinner.

And we enjoyed this heavenly dessert....for free I just had to endure them singing Happy Birthday.

Well worth any embarrassment!

I swung by Krispy Kreame to get my free dozen donuts. Later that weekend I also enjoy a free breakfast from Ihop. Yes I do enjoy getting a free meal! It was a great day.

Dinner Time Manners

2011-06-07T14:13:00.000-07:00

Croix is doing so well with dinner time manners. He fold his arms and says amen after prayers. He covers his mouth and says excuse me after he burps. He's pretty adorable and I'm so proud of how well he is learning. Then his Dad goes and does this and we're back to bad manners. LOL

So Big

2011-06-07T14:02:00.000-07:00

And so much trouble!

Condiments

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

Croix loves condiments. It is crazy to me. It doesn't really matter what it is, he loves it. If we give him ketchup (or any other condiment) to go with something we have to either put it back in the fridge or hide it. Once he eats it all, usually not with what it was intended to go with, rather just with his fingers, he just stares at the bottle and says dip,dip, dip, dip, dip until we give him more. This kid is crazy!

Yes he also like to rub it in his hair.

Oh my how I love this crazy little boy!

This reminds me of a funny story. In high school during lunch one of my friends went up to the people serving food and asked for a condiment cup. The girl working just looked at her for a minute and then said....."I think you can get those from the sex ed teacher"

Stickers

2011-06-07T13:54:00.000-07:00

Stickers are Croix's new obsession....truly and obsession. He LOVES them. His favorite place to put them is on his face, which is quite amusing! It makes me smile to randomly find stickers here and there. Then I sigh and scrape them off the floor, fridge, dresser etc.

Phoenix Childrens Museum

2011-06-07T13:40:00.000-07:00

Croix and I met up with our good buddies Mary and Hudson at the Phoenix Children's Museum. It was pretty dang awesome! Croix and Hudson had an absolute blast! I had a ton of fun watching Croix explore the place and have so much fun discovering new things.

Croix and Hudson making faces at them selves in the mirrors

Croix the little cashier

Croix and Hudson both loved weighing beans.

How cool is this pickle car!

They had a room where you sent a ball around the edge and down into the middle of the room, the ball hit things all along the way making noises. The boys loved sending the balls down over and over!

The pictures don't even do the place justice! It was awesome! There are so many cool things for the little ones to do. We were there for hours and never got bored.

Growing Pains

2011-05-15T13:32:00.000-07:00

I know that none of us are perfect. I also know this includes me. Over the years I have come to realize some of my weaknesses. I know I can be selfish. I can speak without thinking. I can be blunt and very matter of fact. As I've realized these weaknesses I've given a halfhearted attempt to change. I said a prayer to help me overcome these things, these natural man tenancies but not much more. Last week I had an experience that broke my heart. It was a slap in the face how very unaware of my bad nature I am. I'm afraid I'll lose one of my dearest friendships over it. Since then I’ve been trying to be very aware of how I speak. I realized that not only can I be blunt and to the point, but that the way I speak also makes it seem as though I am being belittling and condescending. What, from my perspective is me being a good friend and sharing actually seems to be rude and probably more than I would like to admit, hurtful.

I’ve tried earnestly to be more aware of this over the past week. A few days ago I had this experience; we went out to dinner with some friends. They mentioned a problem they are having with their dog. We had the same problem with Rusty. Without thinking I blurt out “What you need to do is….” It’s not just the words I said, it’s the tone I used, so blunt, so matter of fact, so almost self righteous, like I was some authority on dog training. I tried to do some damage control and end my statement by saying “at least that’s what we did with Rusty and it was helpful”. How much better could it have been if I had taken half a second to think before I spoke. Then I could have said " we had the same problem with Rusty. I found it helpful to ....." That is so much kinder. That seems like a friend sharing rather that me telling them what to do.

I ache that my natural instinct is communicating in such a way! I am heartbroken thinking how many people I have probably offended over the years.
I believe this is the broken heart and contrite spirit they speak of in the scriptures. Now rather than halfhearted prayers I am praying with a broken heart to experience that change in nature that is promised in the scriptures. I know that through the atonement I can overcome this natural man.

In Ether 12:27 it says “If men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them"

Maybe I have brought this experience upon myself. I have been praying daily to see the areas in my life where I need to change and the courage to make the changes I need to be more like my Savior. If I loose this friendship it will be a great price to pay to learn this lesson.

At this point I have a hard time imagining that this weakness could ever be a strength but I have faith that through the atonement I can have the ability to change. This morning as I was studying this topic I came across this quote from Elder Bednar;

“The gospel of Jesus Christ encompasses much more than avoiding, overcoming, and being cleansed from sin and the bad influences in our lives; it also essentially entails doing good, being good, and becoming better. Repenting of our sins and seeking forgiveness are spiritually necessary, and we must always do so. But remission of sin is not the only or even the ultimate purpose of the gospel. To have our hearts changed by the Holy Spirit such that "we have no more disposition to do evil, but to do good continually" (Mosiah 5:2), as did King Benjamin's people, is the covenant responsibility we have accepted. This mighty change is not simply the result of working harder or developing greater individual discipline. Rather, it is the consequence of a fundamental change in our desires, our motives, and our natures made possible through the Atonement of Christ the Lord. Our spiritual purpose is to overcome both sin and the desire to sin, both the taint and the tyranny of sin.”

I found it on this site which had so many great thoughts on the atonement.

I can only hope and pray that I can continue to remember my weakness and be diligently working to become better. As I pray for forgiveness and strength that I will become a better more Christ like person. Please if you are around me and you are offended, or hurt by something I say, or the way I say it, let me know (with a little love please ). I promise I will not be upset (at least not with you!) and that I will be grateful that you are the kind of friend who will help me to grow. And if I have offended you please forgive me. I am trying to become a better person.

M&M Heaven

2011-05-10T13:15:00.000-07:00

Mothers Day

2011-05-10T13:11:00.000-07:00

My Mothers Day this year was full of Mothering. Croix was (still is) sick again. I got to clean up vomit, and snuggle and comfort my sick child. I also had the lesson in Young Womens. Both were a bit stressful, and certainly not relaxing. But I am so grateful for the opportunity to have a sick child to care for. As I was cleaning up vomit I thought as least I get to experience this. As I taught the YW I thought how lucky I am to be able to help them learn about the temple.

I loved the speakers we had in sacrament meeting. One talk in particular stood out to me. The brother who spoke talked about how being a Mother is more than just bearing children. You Mother every time you show Mothering attributes, like Charity, love, compassion, kindness, service. Having struggle with infertility I really loved that this was mention and emphasized on Mothers Day.

I love be in Mother more than anything in the world. I'm so blessed to get to have that opportunity. I love this job, and all that come with it!

Easter Thoughts

2011-05-10T13:01:00.000-07:00

As we celebrated Easter with bunnies and baskets and eggs I made sure not to forget the reason for the holiday. The resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. How grateful I am for this act of infinite selflessness that provides hope and comfort. How indebted I am for the atonement that proceeded this great miracle. Through that atonement I am provided a way to be come better, comfort in my times of sorrow, and strength when I have none of my own left. I find so much joy in knowing the great acts of my Savior are there for me. I find comfort in know I will be reunited with those who have passed on before me. My heart overflows with joy for theses blessings.

Easter Eggs

2011-05-10T12:55:00.000-07:00

We had lots of fun dying Easter eggs. Croix loved helping.

Croix got a little Easter basket from the Easter bunny. I wasn't going to put any candy in, then last minute caved thinking I don't want to be that Mom. Now I'm regretting that decision as we still have candy in our pantry.

We did a little egg hunt around our living room. It took Croix a minute to figure out what was going on. Once he caught on he loved it! He made us hide them again twice so he could find them again.

Brent "hid" one of the eggs on our mirror

Don't worry, Croix was not intimidated at all!

Went right up there and got it!

So proud of himself

We also made a fun Easter craft. A milk carton bunny. Croix enjoyed making it. We just used a little mod podge on the carton and put cotton balls on it. Croix's hands were covered in cotton ball by time we were done! It was adorable!

Trip to the Museum

2011-05-10T12:36:00.000-07:00

Croix and I went to the Arizona Museum for Youth with our good friends Stephanie and Lexee. It was such a cool place! Croix and Lexee had a blast! I think we will try and go again some time!

They had a little kitchen

A room with trees you could pick fruit off of and corn you could pick from the wall and flowers you could pick from the ground.

They have a performing room with a stage, and costumes and instruments.

Croix danced and danced and then fell on the floor!

They have a cool glow in the dark, Alice in Wonderland room, with a table set up for tea.

A TV where the kids can see them self on it.

They also have fun little crafts the kids can do. They had fun coloring and cutting and taping. They have a big area with huge foam blocks they can build towers with. It was pretty awesome!

Danita

2011-05-09T21:23:00.000-07:00

My friend Danita is pregnant. I threw her a shower. It was fun! I made some fun decorations for the shower.

Tissue paper pom poms

Water Jugs

A banner made out of paint sample cards from Lowes.

Flowers for the gift table

I realized after the shower I didn't take any pics of the actual shower, just the crafts I did :( I felt bad. But I did maternity pics for Danita so that makes up for it right?!?!

If you'd like to see all the pictures I took of her and her family go here

First Fruits

2011-05-09T21:11:00.000-07:00

We have harvested the first fruits from our garden. We've have a few tomatoes ripen. They are delicious! You forget what tomatoes are supposed to taste like! Croix is so proud of his fruits! He loves to pick them (even before they are ripe, shame on him!)

Dance

2011-05-09T21:10:00.000-07:00

Croix and I enjoyed a Mommy and Me dance class for the past few months. Croix loved every minute of it! Ok maybe not quite every minute, there were a few tears our first few classes. But then he loved it!
It was just music and movement. Little songs with moves to go with them. Activities perfect for a kid his age pretending to be animals, rolling hands, jumping (Croix almost go that one down), catching bugs, ridding horses, ring around the rosie type games. We ended singing Animal Crackers by Shirley Temple, stirring animal crackers in a bowl and then having a snack. We loved it. The instructor is pregnant and so the class is over now. But if she ever does it again, we'll be there for sure!

This was Croix's favorite, being a tiger!

Croix and his buddy Lexee, they are out of focus but this is the only one where they are both looking at the camera....sigh.

A big thank you to my friends little brother who was there and took the pics for me. It worked out well for everyone. He was not excited to be at a little kid dance class on his spring break, but he was excited to play photographer! And I got pictures of our little class!

First ER Trip

2011-05-09T20:59:00.000-07:00

We had our first ER visit last week. Thankfully it wasn't for anything major. Croix had the flu and hadn't been able to keep anything down the entire day, nothing, not a drop of liquid. He was getting dehydrated and it was night time. So we went to the ER. I figured they'd have to give him an IV, turns out they have great anti nausea medication that did the trick. I was so grateful too! I was dreading my sweet baby getting an IV! Poor Croix was so miserable and thirsty and hungry. He kept saying and signing milk and eat. When he finally got some juice he instantly fell asleep, at this point it was a good 2 hrs past bedtime on a healthy day. He was so thirsty though he kept drinking even after he was asleep. I'd put the straw in the cup, plug it with my finger and put it in his mouth. He would smile in his sleep, still happy to be getting hydration.

When we were still in the waiting room, at the counter giving the lady our information a car came screeching to a stop out side the door. A Mom and Dad got out, both had blood all over them. The Mom was carrying a blond haired little girl in her arm and was crying. The Dad was saying over and over, "She got hit by a car we need to see a Dr. now!" They were quickly escorted back to triage. As soon as they were back there Croix started to cry a little. I'm sure that was as scary a sight for him as it was for us. I instantly said a prayer for that family, that little girl who was no bigger than Croix. I prayed words of gratitude that we were there for something so minor. I knew Croix would be fine and we would leave that night. I never did find out what happened to that little girl but I've said many prayers for them.

Here is the one pic we got on my cell phone.

Graduation Party

2011-05-09T20:35:00.000-07:00

The same Saturday as our Warrior Dash we celebrated all of Brent's hard work in school with a little BBQ. It was small, and quite. Just a few friends, and family celebrating. It was perfect. We had burgers and hot dogs, potato salad, chips, with cake and homemade pistachio ice cream for dessert (the ice cream was heavenly!!). I had to laugh. I came home showered. Mixed up a cake. Iced my knee while the cake was baking. I'm just going to say it was a definate switching of hats, Terina the Warrior, Terina the Mom, than Terina house wife.

I only took a few pictures.

We are so proud of Brent and all his hard work! It has been wonderful having him home again in the evenings! The graduation ceremony is this weekend! Can't wait to see him in his cap and gown!

We Are Warriors!!

2011-05-09T20:22:00.000-07:00

We participated in the warrior Dash a couple of weeks ago. It was a blast! We went with our good friends the Gunnells. Heather was almost 5 months pregnant! She's a warrior for sure! The Warrior Dash is 3.5 miles and 12 crazy obstacles. Some of the obstacles were giant hay bales, climbing a cargo giant net, dirt hills, running through tires, going over old cars, rappelling, climbing wall, jumping through flames and crawling through mud under barbed wire! Yes 3.5 miles is just over a 5K, yes the obstacles were intense, YES we are AWESOME!!!

Here are just a couple of the obstacles

Cargo Net

Hay Bales

There were lots of people there in costumes. We only got pics of a few of them. There were also Oompa Loompas. We even heard there was a guy who ran the whole thing in a thong! Crazy!

Our Team

Us in our Warrior Hats and our medals. Heather is 5 mo. pregnant, can you believe that? She looks amazing! The race was not as hard as I thought it would be! It was MUCH easier to do 3.5 miles and 12 obstacles that it is to do 3.5 miles, of the same mile over and over in my neighborhood! We went slow and steady, took our time, didn't over do it and had fun! Our heat was the 9 AM heat and we got lapped by some people from the 9:30 heat. There were some quick people there! I said they are athletes, we are warriors! My knee was pretty sore after ward, I kind of have a bum knee. Brent's legs were pretty beat up by time we were through. But we did it! I think we'll do it again next year it was so much fun, only in costumes!

to check out the warrior dash go here or here

Cheesy

2011-05-09T17:50:00.000-07:00

Croix has the cheesiest little face he does. He does this and growls, which he's been doing a lot lately!

Bra Strap Comfort

2011-05-09T15:15:00.000-07:00

Croix keeps doing the funniest thing....when I'm holding him, he gets my bra strap and twists it in his fingers. Must provide some sort of comfort to him.