Fast Sunday

Today was Fast Sunday. It was such a spiritually uplifting Sabbath. The testimonies that were borne were amazing. I learned so much from listening to them. In Sunday School, I was reminded of the amazing Plan of Happiness, and how God always has a purpose in His creations. Relief Society was the cherry on top today. Beth's lesson was about finding God's tender mercies amist our trials. We talked about trying to have a, "what am I supposed to learn from this experience" attitude and not a, "why me" attitude. Zach and I are heading into some stormy seas and we have been praying for a new job, and for the Lord to make our situation easier. Last week Zach gave the FHE lesson on how we need to pray for guidance, patience, and to learn the lesson Father wants us to learn from our experience. I realized that many times in my life I ask Father to take away my trials or to make me strong so that I can endure them, but almost never to help me be a better person because of them, or to be able to learn from my trials. As I contemplated Father's love for me, I realized that He never allows trials to happen to us because He wants us to be miserable and grumpy, but because He wants us to find JOY in our lives. He wants us to learn how to depend on Him, and to be happy despite what we may be going through. Recently I have been pondering on a saying which states, "God sometimes calms the seas, and sometimes He lets the seas rage and calms His child." I love that saying because it is so true. I feel like I have to go through the same trial multiple times until I finally say, "Okay, what am I suppose to learn. Please Father, help me." I find peace in my trials when I finally ask for His help. We cannot find true JOY unless we are willing to forget ourselves and focus on Him. I learned something from Beth's sister in law, she said that for her JOY stands for Jesus, Others, You. It made so much sence, it finally clicked. You cannot find true JOY unless you give yourself to HIM, our Maker, our Redeemer. I love learning from my sisters. I felt the Spirit so strongly during the lesson, and the testimonies that were shared at the end of the lesson added so much more to that feeling. I know that Christ was in our midst. I know that Father is so proud of each one of us as we learn of Him, and from Him. I love the Holy Sabbath and the perspective that it gives to my life. Thank you Father for the gift of the Gospel in my life.

Saturday Drama...

Saturday night was a nightmare! I went to sleep at midnight, Carla cut her second tooth, but woke up at 1, 2, 3:15, 5, 6, and 7:30am, in pain. It was such a LONG early morning. My poor baby, all I could do was comfort nurse and give her Tylenol. She was grumpy the whole morning because she was so tired but couldn't go back to sleep because she was in pain. She is growing so fast that she is fitting 6 month clothing, and we don't have very much clothes and NONE of it is warm. So when Camille called inviting me to go yard saleing, I was grateful and excited. I mean, who doesn't love going to yard sales? A lot of women, rummaging through some one's junk, who's selling it for dirt cheap. In order to find all of the good stuff before another woman comes and finds it before you, you have to wake up super early and be out the door as soon as possible. You make your list of the places you want to hit up, and off you go. Then you come home and brag to your husband that you got 13 articles of clothing for only $6, and show him all the extra stuff you got because it was so cheap and you might need it later. Then you feel so good because you saved all that money on stuff that you never knew you needed. Oh I love it! Anyways... after going to the garage sales, we went to Susan's baby shower. I can't believe that she is almost ready to pop. I'm so excited for her. Then we went to JoAnn's, then it was home. We tidied up the house and then it was time for my once a week, 4hr shift at Tommy's Burger. All was well until it started to get really busy. It was crazy! We closed at 8:30pm, but I had customers coming in until 9:40. My knee popped out and I was in excruciating pain until I was finally able to pop it back in. I finally finished cleaning at 11:15pm. I was done. I was so tired, I just wanted to come home, and relax. I came home, Zach propped my legs up and gave me a nice long foot and leg massage. About 10 minutes after coming home, I looked up and found GERBER DAISIES! My favorite flower! And they were yellow, yellow is such a happy, friendly color. We finally went to the room to go to sleep when there were some more gerber daisies! My wonderful husband is so thoughtful. Carla and him picked them out. What a sweet guy. He used to buy me flowers every week when we lived in Alaska, but since we moved back to Utah and became poor, we haven't been able to afford them. It was such a nice treat! Oh yes, he also made hot chocolate! Yum yum! So to sum it all up, even though some days may be long and hard, there is ALWAYS a silver lining. My silver lining were my gerber daisies, hot chocolate, a massage, a sleeping baby, and an amazing husband. He even washed all the dishes! I love my life.

Another Tooth!!

Holly Guacamole! I can't believe it! She was so grumpy today. She has been inconsolable. I finally decided looked in her mouth and there it was... ANOTHER TOOTH! No wonder she is in so much pain all the time, and grumpy. She only wants to be held and loved on. Poor baby! She finally went to sleep, but her usually 2 hour nap lasted 20 min. I'm in for a long night. Poor Zach, I try to let him sleep because he already does so much. I can sleep during the day anyways. Here she is, sleeping away. I also think that she has heat rash. I always bundle her up really good, but then I get cold in the house and turn up the heat. Then she gets to hot, but I never realized that it was bothering her. Poor thing. I'm sorry Carla. She's having naky time now.

New Do...

Well not really new, I always get the same haircut. I just love how easy it is to do. I say that I want to let it grow out, and then I remember that when I have long hair all I ever do with it is put it in a ponytail. Yesterday, I was just watching my baby sleep and thought, hmmm, I want to cut my hair. So when she woke up, off we went. I love spontaneous things! Zach came home and was surprised! I love it! I use a lot less shampoo and conditioner!

My new best friend...

BABY VICKS!! I didn't even know it existed until a couple days ago. Carla has been very congested and I was getting really worried. I decided to try alternative methods to help her. I got online and found baby vicks, I called the doctor and the doctor said to go ahead and try it, but to stop if she has any allergic reactions. We went out and bought it and I put it on the soles of her feet, then put socks on. It is a miracle! She is breathing so much better! I put it on her chest, back, and soles of her feet, and now she can actually breathe when she goes to sleep! I love you Baby Vicks!

Daddy/Baby Time

What happens when you leave a daddy for too long with his baby?? I was getting ready for the day, when Zach came into the room very excited. He wanted to show me some pictures and a couple videos of him blowing on Carla from the stomach up. I almost died of laughter. I'm glad that he has so much fun playing with Carla. I love seeing him be a daddy. Our poor daughter, although she doesn't seem to mind it to much!

Zach's new desk

To motivate Zach with his schooling, I rearranged the house so that he could have a little section to do his homework. He now has a desk! Woo hoo! Until now, he has been doing schoolwork on the kitchen table which is usually full of other stuff that I haven't gotten around to putting away, so it is a hassle to clear off the table every time he needs to do homework, which is every day. So, instead I decided to make a section of the house HIS territory, which seemed only fair since the rest of the house is MY territory. I love Zach and want him to know that I am behind him all the way. I will support him in every way possible. Now I find him doing homework a lot more often. I'm glad that he is enjoying his new desk.Te amo!

Not for the Weak of Stomach

Okay, so for about a week I have been debating whether to blog this picture or not. So, if you don't want to see spit up, don't look at the picture.

We thought it would be fun for Carla to take a ride on daddy's shoulders. She had done it before and wasn't a fan, but she is bigger now and we thought that she might enjoy it. So, up she went, and Zach was walking around the house. Then suddenly he said, "She better not puke on me." Not 1 minute passed by when suddenly a blahhhh. Oh yes, she spit up and it was a big one. Oh I laughed hysterically and Zach just said, "Oh no, get her off!" Tee hee hee hee hee hee!!!! Oh my goodness. I could hardly get her down I was laughing so hard. But of course first I had to do my duty and capture the moment...on camera!

Gummy Smiles are GONE!!!

MY BABY IS CUTTING HER FIRST TOOTH!!! She has been teething for about a month and a half. The nurse that comes to our house once a month told me that she was too young, and that she wouldn't start teething until about 6 to 8 months. Mommy knows best! We went to the doctor's last week and he said that she was swollen, but probably wouldn't cut teeth for at least another month. Once again, mommy knows best. This morning, I was trying to calm her down, she was hysterical. I was rubbing her gums, her favorite thing, when I felt a poky! I couldn't believe it! It was starting to cut through. About 4 hours later, I had her open her mouth and it was really cutting through! You could see the bud! I hope you can see it in the picture. I'm so proud of my baby. She is growing up so fast. I honestly can't believe how fast time is going. I'm afraid of not enjoying every moment, every laugh, every smile, every cry, every coo, every cutting tooth, every roll, everything, and then suddenly, they're gone. She's all grown up, and I won't get to see her cut teeth, or wake up to her smiling up at me from her crib, or cuddling with me in bed. There are so many precious moments every day that I wish that I could relive every day. My beautiful baby will soon be a beautiful toddler, then beautiful girl, then beautiful young woman....WAAA WAAA WAAA!!! So all I can say to myself is, enjoy every moment, treasure every second. I LOVE being Carla's mommy! Carla, someday when you read this journal, I hope that you will be able to feel and know how much I love you. You mean so much to me, even if I correct you, I promise you that I will always love you and care for you. You are my miracle baby. I love you, mommy.

Helping Hands

Bridger and Theron came over on Friday to play and while Theron and Carla were sleeping, Bridgie helped me hang up Carla's clothes. What a good helper he is! He hung them all on her crib because he doesn't reach the closet. He is such a sweet boy! I love you Bridgie!

Naky Time!

Every day, Carla gets at least one hour of naky time. It is her favorite time of the day. She practices her rolling and has grabbed her foot once. She can really get her feet up there! It is so entertaining watching her play by herself.




I am amazed how babies and little children can be so entertained with the simplest of things, and when they grow up and become "mature adults," we suddenly need thousands of thing to entertain us, i.e. movies, music, Internet, ipods, phones, books, etc. What happened??

Good Mornings

I know my hair is a mess, I hadn't gotten out of bed yet.

It is mornings like this one that make waking up a joy. Carla got in bed with me and we just snuggled and I loved on her. She brings such happiness to my heart, and always a smile to my face. I love being a mommy and having the privilege of watching such a beautiful daughter of God grow up. I am trying to be the best mom I can possibly be, Carla deserves the best.

BUMBO!

So Kari and I were talking about the BUMBO seat. Zach and I debated whether we were going to get one or not. Since we don't have the money, we decided to not get one. Kari had one and gave it to me. I was so excited! Saturday was her first time sitting in her new "chair." She is so stinking adorable! I'm excited to watch her learn how to sit. My baby girl!

Pule and Temple Square

Last Saturday, we had a very special friend come to town. Pule is our good friend from Alaska. He came to pick up his nephew who was going to move back to Alaska with him. We got to see him on Sunday for a couple hours and most of Monday. We went to Temple Square and had such a fun time! Pule and Zach are so funny, they crack me up! They were having a blast. It was so amazing just being on Temple grounds. The Spirit was so strong there, and the Conference Center was beautiful. I learned so much about the construction and all of the care that was taken into making it as magnificent as it is. I love being in Holy places, places where the spirit of the Lord is present and His wondrous love is felt. How blessed I am to have the Gospel in my life to lead and guide me. I know that my Redeemer lives!

Different Laughs

This is for Zach. He always tells me that I never write anything embarrassing about myself or silly things that I do on the blog, so here we go. I used to practice my laughs. Yes, yes I know... WEIRD! When I was younger, I used to sit in front of a mirror and just laugh and laugh, I was trying to find a laugh that wasn't annoying, or silly, or embarrassing. So now when I laugh, it is usually a combination of laughs, unintentionally of course! Some of Zach's favorite are when I snort, burst out a paa haa haa, or hiss! Next time you make me laugh see how many different laughs I do. Zach always points them out, especially when they are extra interesting. He says he finds them entertaining. Since he promised to make me laugh every day, he hears quite a few different ones! So there we go, I wrote something funny about me. He also wants me to add that I scrunch my nose when I laugh. Old habit!

Village Idiot Impersonation

Okak, so last night my wonderfully hilarious husband made me almost die from laughter. If you have seen Thou Shalt Laugh you'll understand why this is so much funnier than my husband with a baby hat, glasses, making sure his zipper is up. Oh dear! One reason that I married my husband is because he promised to make me laugh every day. He has kept his promise, sometimes even SEVERAL times a day. Baby, I love you for being you! I'm expecting some great comments!

Big Baby

On Friday she had her first bath without her newborn insert. She looked like such a big girl. Sigh. She was splashing and splashing! She loved her bath and played for 6 minutes before she let me take her out. I love my princess, truly a daughter of a King.

GREAT SMILES

Even though my little baby doesn't feel to good, she still manages to have great laughs and smiles. I wish I could be the same way. Become like a little child!

4 month shots!

On Monday my little big baby went in for her 4 month visit. She is 50% on her length and head circumference, but weighs 16lbs, putting her in the 93%!!! I can't believe that in just four short months she went from being in the 3%to 93%! I love it though! She is perfect!!
I don't know what is wrong with her right now though. I hope that it is just her shots bothering her, because last night she did not sleep well at all! She went to sleep at 8:30 and would wake up every 5-30 min and cry for about 3 min, then go back to sleep. She did this for about 3 1/2 hours! She finally stopped and I fell asleep. An hour and a half later, 1:30am, she woke up screaming and crying! I went in and nursed her, calmed her down, and put her back in her crib. She fell asleep, but woke up every 20 min whimpering for about 3 min, then returning to sleep. She did this for about two hours. She stopped and I fell asleep. An hour later, now 5:30am, she woke up again, crying and crying. She was hungry. So, I got up, nursed her and she went back to sleep immediately. She woke up an hour later, and that was when I turned to Zach and said, "I can't do this anymore." He got out of bed and took care of her until 9:30 when I fed her. I hope she doesn't make this into a habit! My poor baby.

Cloth Diapers...

Just for you Cindy!

I have eczema, and Zach and I were afraid that our baby would have it also when she was born (which she does have). While we were living in Alaska, we did a lot of research and found several different cloth diapers. My sister in law, Jen, also uses cloth diapers, and had bought lots of different kinds. She told us to try out the BumGenius. We bought them through the Cotton Babies website, because they were the most economical there. We fell in love with how soft they were. We bought 24 diapers for $400. At first it really was a large investment, but now we wouldn't buy disposable diapers for the world! Anyways, how much do you spend on a 2 year supply of diapers?? A whole lot more than $400, guaranteed!!

Carla doesn't mind having her diaper changed, and we love that! She has also never gotten a rash! The ones that we have are "one size." They can adjust to 3 different sizes, they fit from newborn until 35 lbs, so about 2 yrs. My friend tried them on her 1 yr old, and he hated having the messy cloth diaper so she new when to change him, and realized that it would be a whole lot easier to potty train him if he knew when he was messy and didn't like it.

We have a sprayer that hooks on to the toilet so that we can spray the poop into the toilet and then we just stick them in the washer and presto! Clean diapers! The other nice thing about BumGenius is that the diapers that a leak proof lining, so no blowouts! Poop stays where it should...in the diaper!

There are two inserts, one is the newborn insert and the other is the regular insert. When you start using the regular insert, use can also put in the newborn insert at nighttime if your baby is a heavy wetter!

My husband even loves these diapers! If a man likes them, then you'll love them! Added plus... they have colors!! So your baby looks oh so adorable just in the diaper!

www.cottonbabies.com

Carla's Firsts in Hawaii

Early on Wednesday morning, Carla and I went on a walk to the beach to see the sunrise.

It was Carla's first time feeling sand between her little toes and she was loving life!

Then she got her feet wet in the ocean. Her first time touching the ocean, she wasn't sure what was going on, but she liked it.

On the walk back, by the side of the road there were some beautiful flower growing. I picked a flower and placed it behind her ear. She looked so stinking adorable!

Maho's Wedding

The plane ride to Hawaii was not that bad. Carla slept for about 5 hours, thankfully. I sat between two middle aged men. Yeah, sort of uncomfortable breastfeeding! But, I got some help from some really nice people on the plane who held her for about an hour and a half so that I could sleep. That was so nice! I got to sleep for a little bit. Well, Maho and Cindy got married on Tuesday. It was a beautiful beach wedding, but the preparing was a bit stressful. So... Cindy's parents, her older sister, Noelle, and her son, Michael came from Washington. So there were 9 people sleeping in a two bedroom cottage. Maho, Cindy, Kai, Noelle, and Michael all slept in a tent in the garage, Cindy's parents slept in their room, and Carla and I slept in Kai's room. Michael and Kai went wild! They were having so much fun together! They played and played until they dropped dead from exhaustion. On the wedding day Cindy, Noelle and the kids went to the beach while Maho and I made Salvadorian Turkey for after the wedding. I made huevos rancheros and refried beans for lunch. We all took showers and Maho, Cindy, Carlita, and I went to the Maui Prince Hotel, where Cindy's parents had rented them a room. I did Cindy's hair while Maho kept Carla quiet. They walked around the hotel until she fell asleep. Then we ran to the mall where Cindy got her makeup done while Maho, Carla, and I bought, Cindy's wedding ring, a shirt for Kai, and pants for Maho. It was now 5:15 and Cindy wasn't dressed, I wasn't dressed, didn't have my makeup on, or my hair done. Cindy's family was still at the house, and the ceremony was supposed to take place at 5:30. Oh yeah, we were late. But hey, they couldn't start without us, we had the bride and groom! The sunset was amazing! It was clear and the ceremony was beautiful. I was a witness and so was Cindy's dad. After the ceremony ended, we came back to the house and had Pan con Pavo, and cake. I was a blast! I'm so happy that I could be here for them. It was a very special day. I am glad I could be here for them.

MAHO IS GETTING MARRIED!

Yup, my bro is getting hitched on Tuesday! They aren't wasting time. Not at all! I'm excited to be there with them in this very important occasion. I'm so happy for Maho and Cindy! Congrats you two!! We will be leaving to Hawaii on Monday and returning on Saturday. The only two things that I'm NOT excited for are the flights there and back, and leaving my hubby behind. You know that green stuff that they reward us with when we work, yeah money, well we don't have enough of the green stuff so that all three of us can go. Sad day! So I'll be missing my lover. It will be the longest that we have ever been separated since we started dating in Dec of 06. Craziness! I know that Carla is going to miss her daddy very much.

Memory

This was Carla's first bath. She obviously wasn't a huge fan at first! Oh the good old times! I can't believe that she'll be 4 months in a week! AHHH!!

SHHHHH! Part 2

Her sleeping in her crib for a couple days was just a fluke! She cries for about an hour in her crib and then when I finally go to pick her up she is wide awake. As soon as I stick her in the glider, she's out. So I figure sleeping in her glider for a half an hour is better than her having to sleep in my arms. Although I do love it when she sleeps in my arms, it probably won't be the best when she is 2! When I get back from HAWAII I'll get strict with her nap times and get her on a schedule...I hope! I'll be needing support friends!

SHHHHH!

Yesterday for the first time Carla took a nap in her crib! It was very momentous! She would wake up a little and fuss and whine for the first 20 minutes, but then she was out for 2 1/2 hours! As I am writing this, she is in her crib, once again fussing and crying, but I hope she'll be out soon. I am so privileged to me a mommy. Especially as times like today, when I get to hold her, feed her, love her, and kiss her chubby cheeks. What a blessing being a mother, and being able to carry life inside and then raise that little person. What a blessing!

P.S. She fell asleep in her glider and was a happy baby in it for about an hour! She likes it!

Maho

Maho is my brother. His real name is Elmer Mahonnry. I love my brother Maho. When we were little we used to Tango in the living room. It was so much fun! My mom took this picture, and I have cherished it. I actually used one of his baby pictures as a book mark for my scriptures for about 3 or 4 years. He is such a good man with a big heart. He is great with kids! He has two babes (boys), and they are adorable, even though I haven't met either of them, I have seen pictures! Funny enough they both look like him! He is soon to get married to an amazing woman, Cindy. She is so sweet! Definitely a keeper! I love you Maho. I am so proud of you for making some really difficult changes in your life. I pray for you every single day. Please know that you mean the world to me, and that you will always be in my thoughts and prayers. You are an amazing daddy! I can't wait to see you and your beautiful family.

New Glider

Today I heard a knock on the door. I opened it and to my surprise it was a neighbor GIVING us their really nice glider. We are currently borrowing a swing, so it will be nice to have our own. As you have seen from her swing picture, she is quickly outgrowing the swing anyways! In this glider, she fits great, with room to grow. So we tried it out. At first she was NOT a fan. I think she just didn't want me to put her down, and then, she loved it! She was playing with her blanky and staring at the dangling toys. I'm so excited! We'll see how she does tomorrow, but hopefully she'll love it!