Our Baby Boy is Here!

Trey Daniel Thomas was born one week early on December 1st at 5:20 a.m after 28 long hours of labor! He weighed in at 6 pounds 9 ounces and measured 20.5 inches long. He couldn't be more perfect! I was hoping he would come early since his due date was a day before my husband started law school finals but because I really wanted him to come early I figured he would be a week late. Luckily he knew I needed him sooner. At 1:30 a.m. Tuesday morning I started feeling contractions that were 10 minutes apart. By 9:30 a.m. the contractions were close enough that we decided to head to the hospital. I was only dilated to a 2 but the contractions were getting really painful. The midwife told me that I was too tense and my body wasn't letting the contractions dilate me enough so she gave me some muscle relaxants and told me to go home, eat something, take a warm bath and have a nap. Then if I still had contractions to come back in. At that point I thought this isn't going to happen today and I told my mom she might want to postpone her flight out here. I tried the bath and the nap but after about 20 minutes at home I felt like the contractions were going to kill me so I told Ethan we had to go back. After waiting for about an hour to be seen they checked me and I had dilated a little more but because of how strong the contractions were they decided to get me into labor and delivery and give me an epidural so my body could relax. Luckily my mom came despite my doubt about the baby coming that day. I got my epidural around 6 p.m. on Tuesday and my blood pressure dropped. I couldn't breathe well because the drugs got up in my lungs so they put me on oxygen. We got that under control and then pretty soon after I started feeling the contractions again on the right side of my body. The anesthesiologist kept having to come back to give me more drugs. We figured out that the epidural was in the wrong spot but the anesthesiologist didn't want to fix it because he was worried I would get a spinal headache which are very painful and last a long time. So for about 9 hours I would get the contraction pain on my right side every 30 minutes to an hour and have to get more drugs. Finally at around 3 a.m. they gave me 3 extra doses of the epidural and it did nothing so the anesthesiologist decided he needed to take it out and redo it. Luckily it worked the second time and the relief I felt was amazing! 2 hours later I started pushing and I only pushed for 15-20 minutes before my little guy shot out - yes he literally shot out of me. The midwife had to scramble to catch him. It was crazy because before I started pushing I was going to ask my nurse if they have some kind of contraption to catch the baby in case he came out fast but then I thought it was a stupid question. Turns out he did fly out and I am just grateful the midwife did catch him. Unfortunately, because of the way he came out-so fast and all at once, I got 3rd almost 4th degree tears. It took the OBGYN 2 hours to stitch me all up. It was so hard not being able to hold or feed my baby because of the tears. Then after I went home I started feeling like something was wrong so we went back to the Dr. who stitched me up and found out that I got an infection that caused my stitches to dissolve. So now I have an open gaping wound that I will have to get reconstructive surgery on in about 2 months. Even though recovery has been difficult I would go through the whole thing 100 times to have my little guy with me. I am truly so grateful that these complications are happening to me and Trey is healthy and happy. I don't know if I could handle it if he were having medical issues. He is such an angel and has been a really good baby. My mom has been here with me since the labor and I really couldn't have done this without her. She has basically made me breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day while still taking care of Trey and me. Being a mom is the best thing ever. It's hard to describe the instant change that happens after you hold your baby for the first time but all I can say is that it is amazing! Ethan and I have been very blessed. So now here are some pictures of our little stud!

My first time holding my son - so incredible!

Daddy holding Trey while mommy gets stitched up

Trey with both his grandmas

35 Weeks!

It's crazy to feel and look this big and then realize that you still have 5 more weeks to grow before the baby is due! The weekdays are going by too slowly and the weekends are going by way too quick. My tasks for next week are to get pre-registered at the hospital and get my hospital bag packed and ready to go. I also want to get the car seat set up in my car so I feel prepared in case this baby decides to make me really happy and come early :) Well here is a picture of me at 35 weeks - large and in charge!

**Update on last post**

My dear sweet husband knew how distressed I have been over Kitty so he found her a home. A lady who works at his law school has been wanting to add a female cat to her family. She lost her female cat to old age last year and she and her husband have been wanting another cat. They already have a male cat and a few dogs and they think Kitty would fit right in. Apparently dogs and cats can live together in harmony once they get used to each other - who knew! I was so happy when Ethan told me about them. Kitty deserves a good home, even though I'll miss having her greet me at my classroom every morning. I've honestly become increasingly stressed over Kitty because she has been getting more and more needy of me every day. She just wants to hang out and have me pet her all day long. She just waits outside my classroom for me to have a break and come see her. I'm so glad she will now have a home with 2 people taking care of her and giving her the love and attention she needs. Even though my husband thinks I'm crazy I know he secretly likes that I care so much about animals and I know he does too or else he wouldn't have gone to all the effort to find her a home. Thanks babe for lifting this weight off my shoulders and making Kitty and I happy!

My new friend

This is my new friend Kitty. I started noticing her around my school in the morning about 2 weeks ago. I tried to get her attention a few times but she would just run off. Then about a week ago she was sitting outside my classroom so I ran in and got her some milk. She loved it. From that point on she started hanging out around my room. I bought some cat food and started putting it out for her. She would come into my room during my breaks and hang out. Soon she wanted me to play with her and pet her (yes I wash my hands after I touch her). Even though I've always been a dog person, I bonded with this cat. I call her Kitty and every morning at about 6:50 when I get to school I find Kitty waiting for me under my porch. She starts meowing like crazy the second she sees me. I've been desperately trying to find Kitty a home. I would even take Kitty home if it weren't for the fact that my two dogs freak out every time they see a cat. I have asked all my classes if anyone is interested in a cat and emailed all the teachers at my school. I even got Ethan to email his whole school to see if anyone would be interested in adopting Kitty. It breaks my heart to see homeless animals. I've even started coming to my school on weekends to feed Kitty. I'm becoming the crazy cat lady which is ironic considering I know nothing about cats and have never owned a cat in my life. I told Ethan that we have to figure something out for Kitty before I go on maternity leave but I'm hoping we figure it out way before then. I hate thinking about her sleeping under the school portables in the cold. I'm just a big animal lover - Ethan thinks I need to start working for PETA but I told him it would make me too depressed. If anyone has any ideas for what I could do with Kitty let me know

Thoughts on teaching while pregnant

One of the reasons I decided to go into teaching is because I always thought it would be a great job to have if I had to be a working mom. I still believe this because teaching allows you to be home in the afternoons and evenings with your family. You get every weekend and holiday off. And of course you have the whole summer to play with your kids. It's also a job that provides good benefits. Yet as great as teaching is when you have to be or want to be a working mom I'm starting to think it's one of the worst jobs for being pregnant. The reasons being are:

- You can't cut back on your hours when you are huge, exhausted, swollen, and feel like your back may break at any moment

- You have to go to the bathroom every 30 minutes but unfortunately your classes are 100

minutes long and the nearest bathroom is 100 yards away

- You have to wake up at 5:30 in the morning after a night of tossing and turning because no position is comfortable when your belly is that large

Even though it is getting really hard to work full time at this stage of my pregnancy, I'm very grateful for my job. It's been very hard but also rewarding and it's helped Ethan and I a lot. I was able to get Ethan in state tuition our first year because of my job. I also have good insurance through my job. We have both been very blessed since moving to ABQ and we are about to become a whole lot more blessed with the addition of our little guy in only 5 1/2 weeks! We are so excited and can't wait for it to be December 7th! Now if only I can find enough energy to finish the nursery!

33 Weeks Pic

Alright, so Ethan makes me take pictures like all the time. Unfortunately I hate most of the pictures because they have basically all been taken at 6:30 in morning in our poorly lit apartment so I have been bad about posting them. But thanks to the harassment of my family I'm finally putting one up. This picture was taken at 33 weeks and 4 days. I definitely feel bigger every day now. He is growing so much. I finished painting the nursery this weekend and now I'm just waiting for a couple things I ordered to come in so I can finish it completely. I know I'm probably putting more effort into this nursery than I should since we will only be in it for another year or so but it's worth it to me. Ethan says that the baby won't care what it looks like but I said that I will be spending almost as much time in their as the baby and I DO care! Luckily Ethan typically ends up liking and appreciating what I do. Anyways back to the pic, here it is:

So other than me becoming larger by the second, I've just been working and trying to get everything ready for our addition. Ethan has been working hard at law school and stressing out about Cougar football. We have also been trying to give our pups a lot of attention because they will probably feel a little neglected when we bring home the baby. Here are our babies enjoying some quality daddy time

The Final Countdown

Ok so it may be too early to say it's the final countdown but I really only have 7 weeks and 1 day until my due date. Sometimes when I think about 7 weeks I think it is still forever away and other times I think Ethan and I need to take advantage of these last weeks we have being child free. I am so excited and nervous about being a mommy. I'm mostly nervous about the labor and delivery but I know I can get through it. My parents were in town this past weekend and they helped us out so much. We got a cute light fixture in Trey's room and my handyman dad installed it. For some reason the apartment complex had a little plastic box covering the place where you could put a light fixture so we have been living without a light in that room for over a year now. Trust me lamps don't light up a room like a ceiling light. We got the travel system assembled. We picked up our rocking chair and my parent gave us a dresser. Oh and my mom found an awesome lamp that matches the theme of the nursery. Everything is coming together. All I really need now is a baby swing so I can still shower and cook while the baby is awake. The nursery is about half done and hopefully will be completely finished in the next 2-3 weeks. I'll post pictures soon. I've had a really easy pregnancy up until this point. It has definitely gotten more difficult in the past 2 weeks or so. I have to use the bathroom every hour, sleep is no longer my best friend, my hands and feet swell and I had to send my wedding ring home with my parents. Rings don't look so pretty when you have hot dog fingers. Hearburn is not fun and I now must have perfect posture since bending hurts. The baby likes to either be high in my ribs or low on my bladder. He gets the hiccups a lot lately which was cute at first but now I find it very distracting. But even though it has gotten harder I'm still so grateful to be at this point without any complications. He already makes me so happy and it will only get better from here. On a brighter pregnancy note, I'm right on track with my weight gain. I'm hoping to only gain the minimum of 25 pounds and right now i've gained 18. I'm supposed to gain about 1 pound per week until he comes. I know I'm bad about posting pictures but I'll try to get a 33 week picture up in the next few days and maybe a sneak peak of the nursery as well.

29 weeks and a root canal

Last week was my birthday and my husband made a great effort to make it special. He got me some grey boots i've been wanting, a crib skirt that matches the baby bedding, and the documentary movie Babies that i've been wanting to see. Since my birthday was Tuesday and I'm usually too tired after work to go out, we decided to order in dinner and do my real birthday dinner at Tocanos on Saturday. Little did I know that on Thursday I would have to get a root canal. Needless to say, there was no Tocanos this weekend. I mostly sipped soup and drank smoothies. I was very worried about getting dental work done while I was 29 weeks pregnant but my dentist called my doctor to make sure all the medication he prescribed was ok. She said that it was but I've still been avoiding taking the vicodin and opted for extra strength tylenol instead. Oh the sacrifices us mommies make for our little ones :) Yes, it was a long weekend for me. But in happier news, we got the crib set up this weekend and the bedding has arrived. Now I need to order the mattress and I can get the crib/bedding all set up. My little guy has been moving around like crazy which feels much stranger than him kicking. He is starting to get in my ribs...not my favorite but I'm still happy every time I feel him. I also had a doctors appt. last week and everything looks good. No gestational diabetes and his heartbeat is good. We only have 10 weeks and 2 days left and even though I feel like that is forever away, I know it will go by fast. I just can't wait to be a mommy to this little guy!

27 Weeks!

Well I wish I could say that time is flying by but it's not. Now that i'm getting into the final stretch, I feel like each day is a week. I'm dying to meet my little man and Ethan is surprisingly as impatient as I am. We both want him here now but I know he needs to cook in there a bit longer. It's actually a good thing I have 3 months left (or so I keep telling myself) because I have not yet started on the nursery. I have basically everything I need but I'm waiting for my parents to come and bring me the dresser and take the queen bed out of the nursery. I also need to find out if I can paint. Does anyone know? Anyways some things that have developed in the last week:

- Painting my toe nails is extremely difficult and uncomfortable

- Bending over in general won't be happening for the next 3 months

- Heart burn, heart burn, heart burn

- Looking down at my belly and seeing it move as he kicks is awesome (though that's been happening for a long time now)

- Bulges on the right side of my belly and me and Ethan trying to figure out what body part of his the bulge belongs to

- Ethan talking to him gets him kicking like crazy! It's so cute!

- And finally, the realization that my belly button will not be an inny much longer. It's hanging on for dear life at the moment.

I have to admit I have had a very easy pregnancy so far. I'm a lucky duck. I'm just an impatient lucky duck. Oh well, he will be worth the wait. Here is a 27 week picture. It's hard to believe I've only gained 13 pounds when I feel so huge.

One Lucky Momma

This post is kinda just me bragging about how awesome my family is. I've been a little overwhelmed by the amount of things I will need for this little man in my tummy. I wish money grew on trees or at least that teachers got paid better. It's been a challenge supporting myself, my husband, and my two pups on a teaching salary and now we are adding a baby to the mix. Needless to say I don't have much money left over after the bills to buy the things I want for my little guy. Luckily I have an awesome family who always helps out when I need something. Here are a few a my favorite things that my amazing family has got for me and the babe:

This cute Graco travel system is curtesy of my sweet Grandma Hyer who I have always adored. I liked this one because it has boy colors but the pattern is cute for both girls and boys.

My stylish little sis. got me my petunia pickle bottom diaper bag that I have been swooning over. She totally surprised me with it at my baby shower. And yes, she is so cool that she even filled the bag with awesome baby toys and the cutest ralph lauren romper I've ever seen.

Having a good, comfortable chair to rock and feed my baby in was very important to me. It was one of the things I cared most about. However, I'm picky. It needed to be the right size for me since I'm short. That was harder than I thought - my feet dangled off the ground in most of them which wouldn't be conducive to rocking. I also wanted a very dark brown and either leather or vinyl chair (that way I could easily wipe up any diaper blowouts or spit-up that happened on the chair). When my dad realized how much I was struggling to find a chair in my price range, he graciously decided to buy me the perfect chair for my birthday. Note: this is not the actual chair, I couldn't find a picture of my chair but it looks similar to this one.

Even though I'm a little embarrassed to put this gift up, I'm very grateful for it. I want my baby to be able to take a bottle but I also want to give him all the benefits of breast milk so having this top of the line medela electric double breast pump will be a huge blessing. Thanks mom for the great gift that will hopefully allow for me and Ethan to have a date night every once in awhile! Since my mom is also giving us a dresser, the only big purchase Ethan and I have left is the crib.

I also have to thank my awesome in-laws, extended family, and friends for the wonderful baby shower gifts. (Utah friends: your thank-you cards are coming soon). Trey's grandma Thomas has already spoiled him with adorable clothes, pajamas, shoes, bassinet, and baby bath. He is one lucky boy and I am one lucky momma. Thanks again!

Cabo Trip!

I know, I know I'm horrible at blogging. I won't lie, I'm not going to get any better over these next 3 1/2 months while I'm teaching full time and getting ready for our little guy to join us. Sorry! Hopefully after I'm done working I'll make a little more time for it. We will see. Anyways, my awesome, vacation loving dad decided to take the family on a trip to Cabo this summer. We were all so excited about the opportunity to relax, go swim at the beach, and eat yummy food in Mexico. My niece Piper had a blast swimming in the amazing and warm hotel pools. Here are some pics of the trip:

Me and Ethan by the hotel pool

Here we are in front of the famous Cabo Arch. It was really so pretty

The girls on our snorkeling adventure. We took an hour and a half boat ride to get to this snorkeling spot and when we got their, the guide told us that there are jelly fish in the water so to go at our own risk. We all looked over the boat at the water and saw swarms of small jelly fish. I was nervous but we thought we would give it a try. The second we jumped in Becca said I think I got stung. I said No you are just imagining it, keep going. Well we all started getting stung so after 10 minutes we started swimming for dear life back to the boat. Becca had welts on her bikini line, stomach, and arm. Ethan had several on his arms, Ivy got it on her leg, and I had it on my arms! Those jelly fish got us good but the boat ride out there was fun!

Ethan and I enjoying our virgin pina coladas on our boat ride! And yes it was basically a booze cruise!

Here is the whole gang right before we left to catch our plane back home. Sad sad. No one was ready to leave just yet.

Boating at Lake Mead

Last weekend my Dad, Ethan, Ivy, Piper, and I went boating with a family friend out at Lake Mead.  It was prettier than I ever remember it being and I loved being out on the water.  I wish I could have water skied but Ethan kind of talked my out of it.  He didn't want anything to happen to our son and I couldn't argue there.  So I enjoyed the ride and I did take my turn on the tube.  My 6 month old niece Piper Loved going fast on the boat.  She was in this huge life jacket that she hated but the second the boat started going she would stop crying and enjoy the ride.  She even took a ride in the tube and loved it.  The girl has a need for speed!  Ethan hasn't spent too much time at the lake in his life so this was the first time he went water skiing and I had no faith that he would get up on his first try.  He proved me wrong and got up every time he tried.  I was quite impressed!  We saw plenty of fish and we even fed some ducks...I can never resist!  Here are some pics of our adventure at the Lake! 

IT'S A ________!!

A girl in my home ward told us about a place you could go to in Vegas called Baby's First Image where they will tell you at 15 weeks whether it's a girl or a boy.  This being my first baby, of course I couldn't pass up that opportunity and wait 5 more weeks until the 20 week appt.  So my mom, sister, husband, and I went down for my appointment.  Now for the past month Ethan and I have been pretty convinced it's a boy.  When I first found out I was pregnant I went back and forth between boy and girl but for the last month I was just thinking boy.  Ethan was mostly hoping boy.  But the week prior to the ultrasound, Ethan kept saying I think it's a girl.  I knew, however, that he was just saying that so he wouldn't be disappointed if it ended up being a girl!  Well as most of you guessed, it is a BOY!!!  There was no doubt after watching the ultrasound - we saw his man parts in 2-D and 3-D!  Yes, definitely a boy:) I would put pictures up but they kind of look like gremlins at this stage - albeit very cute gremlins.   We are so excited!  We have liked the name Trey for a long time now and it feels right, so that is what we are calling him for now!  So Trey has already racked up some pretty cute clothes, an adorable baby tie, books, and toys from his aunts, grandmas, and even great grandma.  He is a lucky boy. I'm still feeling pretty good, I haven't really popped yet but I know it will be any day so I'll post pictures when I have a real belly to show.  Oh and Ethan is so happy he is getting a boy!  And so am I!  

Baby Thomas

So we went in for our first ultrasound today. I was very nervous because they told me I needed to drink 32 ounces of water and not go to the bathroom for 45 minutes prior to my appointment. How do they expect a pregnant girl to do that? I mean I had a small bladder before I got pregnant and it's gotten like 50 times worse. Oh well I drank as much as I could and prayed I could make it through without wetting my pants. Ethan and I couldn't believe how much our little tyke was squirming and moving in my belly. It was so cute and fun to watch. At one point it looked like the baby was sucking his/her thumb. We got some good pictures and things definitely feel more "real" when you get to see the baby. We are so excited to meet this little one. Oh and the doctor predicted it was a BOY!! Even though she said it was too early to tell for sure, she thought she saw a little something in between those legs! Of course that was music to Ethan's ears! Ethan keeps saying "can this baby just be here already?" Ha ha, sorry babe, gotta wait until December! Anyway, here is a little profile pic of our little one. Have you ever seen anything so cute? I seriously doubt it!

Exciting News!

Warning: This post will be a short novel so proceed with caution.

Ethan and I are very excited to announce that we are expecting a baby around December 8th. Now to be totally honest, this baby is a bit of a surprise. We were planning on waiting until the fall to try and get pregnant so I would know if I still had a job and insurance (we are having a budget crisis in our school district). Obviously this baby was ready to come now :). I'm guessing it's a whole lot more fun to tell your husband you're pregnant when it's a surprise as opposed to when you are actually trying. So this is how it went down. I decided to take a pregnancy test on April 1st (that's right...April Fools Day!) I honestly don't know why I even took the test, I had no symptoms and it's totally normal for my period to be a day late. I guess I just thought it would be fun to take one since I never have taken one before. When I went to check on the test I saw just one line (negative) which is completely what I expected to see. I picked it up to throw it away and noticed a VERY faint second line. Hmmm. Well because of how faint it was I figured it still meant negative but to ease my mind I started googling what a very faint line on a pregnancy test meant. To my surprise everyone said that if there is a line, no matter how faint, you are pregnant! I still wasn't completely convinced so I called my sister at work and said "I think I might be pregnant!" Of course she was so excited and asked me what Ethan said. Oops! I haven't told him yet. For one, I didn't really want to tell him on April Fools day because I KNEW he would never believe me. I also wanted to take a digital read test so there would be no confusion on the results. The whole night I kept this huge secret from Ethan. Sorry babe! My sister's husband Davis knew Ethan was going to be a Dad before Ethan knew! Ha ha! So obviously the digital test said pregnant. I immediately ran out to do what I do best (shop!) for a baby boy and baby girl outfit. Idea stolen from my friend Jami. Here are the outfits I picked:

I told Ethan that I had bought him T-shirts at the mall and the girl at the store was bored and wanted to gift wrap his shirts. He totally bought it! When Ethan got home I led him to his present and told him to open it. He pulled out the baby boy outfit. As I anxiously waited for a response, this is what I hear "Aww baby clothes." Hmm not the response I expected. I just stared at him for a minute waiting to see if he would get it. He didn't. Apparently he thought I had bought my niece or friend's baby an outfit. Finally I got impatient and pulled out the two positive pregnancy tests. That got his attention! Now only if there were a word to describe his face. Oh wait there is...SHOCK! After a minute he started laughing and said "Wait this is a late April Fools joke right?" See I told you I couldn't tell him ON April Fools Day. I assured him it was not and that we were really going to be parents.

He was still very skeptical but realized it was in His best interest to take me out to dinner to celebrate. Right after dinner he went to Wal-Mart to buy another preggo test. I guess he wanted to make sure I wasn't getting the positive tests from a friend or something. Still pregnant babe! After the shock wore off he got really excited and says it would be cool to have twins (please no)! He really wants a boy but my mom is thinking it's a girl. I have no clue. I just want my baby to be healthy.

I haven't been sick at all thank goodness, just tired. I'm 11 1/2 weeks and today we got to hear it's little heartbeat. It was so fast and it made me so happy to hear. Thursday we have our first ultrasound and hopefully we will find out the sex in July. The dogs aren't quite sure what to think yet. We are sure they will have an opinion once the baby gets here. Zoey is actually really good with babies. She likes to sniff their baby heads! Dex we will have to watch closely!

We will keep you posted on the rest as it comes!

Just waiting...

This semester has been a long and hard one for Ethan and it's taken it's toll on our family - well mostly Zoey. She really is only truly happy when both her parents are home, although she has gotten better ever since we added little Dexter to the family. But still I catch her laying by the front door just staring at it hoping her daddy will be walking through any moment. Her other daddy watching spot is on our big comfy chair by the window. She loves looking at that window. On those lucky days when she spots daddy pulling up in the parking lot she comes and lets me know (barks loudly!) so I can open the front door and let her run down the stairs to greet her daddy! I really think Ethan loves it when I let the dogs out to greet him. I mean really, who is ever as happy to see you as your dog? Anyways, Today is the last day Zoey will be waiting by the door until Fall - Ethan is taking his last final as I write. I couldn't be more excited for both of us to be done with school (me teaching, him studying) for the year and move to Vegas for the summer. Zoey and Dexy will be so happy to have a huge backyard to play in and a cousin (Becca's dog Lexy) to play with. Well here are some pics of Zoe Zoe in her favorite spots.

Goals for Summer Break

Since I'm very lucky to have 2 1/2 months off this summer (another perk of teaching), I'm setting some goals of what I want to accomplish. I figure if I write them down for people to actually see them, I might be more motivated to do them. So here they are:

1. Sew, sew, sew. I have a ton of projects in my head and lots of fabric to use up.
2. Cook a lot! I have found so many recipes that I'm dying to try but since I work full time
I am usually too tired or I don't have enough time to make a lot of recipes. Plus I'll be
at home and cooking for my parents so I think they will buy the ingredients!
3. Work out - this is going to be the hardest goal to accomplish. I am lazy by nature and I
hate running, hate being sweaty, and hate wearing tennis shoes (I know that last one is
weird but it's true). But despite all that I really do want to get in shape, so I will try!
4. Spend time with my husband. Since law school stole him away from me this year, I
have really missed having him around. Hopefully his internship won't be as grueling
as his first year of law school and we can actually find time to do things together.
5. Get our new dog Dexter completely trained! This is definitely the most ambitious of
my goals and you would know this if you have met little Dex! He is one stubborn pup!
He is cuter than cute but very mischievious!

Well, wish me luck! I know it's early to be posting about summer but I'm seriously counting down the days! I can't wait to be home with my family and it's so awesome that I'll be there with Becca and Davis, Calder, Ivy, and Piper, and my parents! I also can't wait to hang out with my grams! I miss them all so much! And another exciting thing about being in Vegas is Utah is so close that we can do weekend trips to visit Ethan's family and our friends! Yay!! Seriously can it just be summer already!

Spring Break 2010!!

For the first time since high school I got to enjoy spring break (BYU doesn't believe in spring break)! It's one of the perks of being a teacher. And Ethan had his spring break at the same time, it's been so awesome and relaxing. My parents came down for a couple days to spoil us! We went to a bunch of really good restaurants, went to the movies, and explored ABQ! We went to the Acoma Pueblos which is the oldest, continuously inhabited city in the U.S! Pretty cool. We also went to the Petroglyph National Park and Old Town. Thanks again mom and dad, you treat us well! Here are some pics of the vacation!

Me and Ethan at the Acoma Pueblos or City in the sky!

Me and Ethan by their "ovens!" Thank goodness we live in modern times with electricity!

Us by a few petroglyphs! So cool!

At the Acoma pueblos. They built some of the houses with the only entrance to the house on the roof so if the Spanish came to invade they could pull up the ladders and they couldn't get into their homes! Good plan but those ladders look pretty dang heavy.

Me and my dad! So precious!

HAHA! Best Commercial Ever!

Ethan and I saw this commercial on TV the other night and couldn't stop laughing! Ethan kept saying "don't you dare look at me and then at him!" Aren't funny commercials the best? Here it is for your viewing pleasure...Enjoy!

Welcome to the family Dexter!

I have been wanting another dog ever since we moved to New Mexico. The reason being that our dog Zoey has been very depressed since we brought her here. She doesn't have any friends here. In Utah she played with Ethan's parents dogs Kanye and Coco every week. She also played with our upstairs neighbors dog Ellie all the time. She loved her life in Utah but since we came to Albuquerque she has been lonely and depressed. She even gained 3 pounds! She was eating her feelings! I gave Ethan lots of not so subtle hints about getting a new dog. He came through on Valentines with a little Westie (the Caesar dog). We named him Dexter. He's a little beast but we love him and Zoey is happy and has her energy back! He's adjusted to his new environment very quickly, in fact he never missed a beat. He's a great addition to our family! Hope the potty training goes quickly! Here are some pics of the little guy!

My Law-bound baby!

I don't usually like to brag, mostly since I don't usually like to be the center of attention but in this case I'm not bragging about myself so I think it's ok! My husband Ethan just finished his first semester of law school (the one everyone says is the hardest) and he did so well. He got 3 A's and 2 B's. He even made the Dean's List! Top 10% of his class - not too shabby! Who knew I married such a smart man? Needless to say, I'm very proud of him. In college when we dated he never seemed like the "buckle down so I can get a good grade" type. I feel really blessed to have a husband who thinks about our future and wants to do all he can to provide for me and our future family. Well that's my limit for lovey dovey stuff for one day!

Dreaming of New York

It's so frustrating to me when I find a clothing style I want to try and make or I have a design for a great shirt or dress in my head and I go to the fabric store and they don't have anything even close to the fabric I need. I realize that L.A and New York have the best fabric stores to work with but does that mean that everywhere else has to fall so so short? The Joanne's here in Albuquerque is so incredibly small and Hancock fabric isn't exactly known for high fashion fabrics. Oh well, next time I go to New York I am seriously loading up on fabric - I mean I'm bringing an empty suitcase just for that purpose! Anyways here are some things I'm wanting to make:

Gotta love American Idol

I want this guy to come into my classes and sing this song for all my students who like to sag their pants. They need to learn that nobody wants to see that!

New Years Resolutions

I know it's a little late to post these since the month is already halfway done but I'm going to do it anyway. Here are a few things I want to do this year:
- Eat healthier (Easier said than done when you're busy)
- Be better with money (I've been pretty good but I can always be better)
- Try to enjoy my job more (Some days it's really hard)
- Keep my place clean ( It makes my husband happy to come home to a clean house)
- Find more time to sew (It makes me happy)
- Explore more (We haven't done much in Albuquerque yet because we are either really
busy or really tired.)

Christmas Break

Ethan and I were fortunate enough to spend time with both our families over Christmas break. That's one of the perks of being a teacher while my husband is in school. We both get decent holiday breaks! We definitely got spoiled during our break. Amazing food, awesome presents, fun shopping trips, movies movies movies, sleeping in, relaxing, and most importantly...no school work!!! It was a much needed, much enjoyed vacation for us. Thanks to both families for the good times!

Piper Elizabeth Huntington

Here she is! Can't wait to meet her!

Congrats to the new parents Calder and Ivy

These people had a baby! I'm finally an aunt for the first time! Congrats to the new parents!

I made this cute little dress for my new niece Piper. It's so cute and little. Making baby dresses is really the funnest thing ever and yes I know funnest is not a real word but i'm going to use it anyway!