Jake and Carla...

Carla loves men, especially Jake. She loves playing with him because he makes her laugh. Can you see why??

Sundays Are Fun Days

I love Sundays! They really are fun days. We usually get to sleep in until 9:30, then bring Carla into our bed and just cuddle and play with her until 11am, and then we start to get ready for Church, have lunch, let Carla sleep for 30min while we shower and start to get ready for Church. Then off to Church we go. We have some amazing talks, followed by insightful Gospel Principles class, topped off by an uplifting Relief Society lesson. We go home, eat, visit friends or family (depending on the week), and spend the rest of the evening relaxing. Ahhhh, it is truly a day of rest.

Well, today we went to the Orem University First Stake, 16th Ward, and were able to witness the mantle of Bishop placed on my daddy. I was so proud of him and my mom. I know that they are going to do great. It was an awesome experience to see how instantly you could see my daddy become a Bishop and how he transformed from being a great father, husband, and example, into a common judge in Israel, a Leader in the Lord's Church, and a loving, caring, and concerned Priesthood Bearer, in addition to his other callings. I am so blessed to have my daddy in my life and the great example that he is to me. He always helps me put my life into an eternal perspective and to find joy in my trials, and solutions to my problems. He is going to be an amazing Bishop. I love him very much.

Then we came home, put the lasagna in the oven, fed Carla, then went back in time for Relief Society, so I could be with my mommy. It was so neat to see how the sisters in the ward gave my mom their undivided attention when she gave her opinion, and thoughts. After Church we, my mom, Zach, Rolo, Helaman, Carla, and I, came home and ate and talked and laughed with Carla. My mom bought her some hopping bunnies. You wind then up and they hop. Carla was laughing and laughing! She thought that they were the funniest things on this planet. We of course laughed with Carla not at her! Then I put Carla down for a nap and Zach and I went to Priesthood and Relief Society in our ward. My mom stayed with Carla and waited for my daddy to be done with meeting and come and eat.

We LOVE our ward. We are blessed with so many good influences here. The Relief Society Lesson was amazing, like usual. It was taught by Sister Chestnut and it was about the ministering of angels, a lesson from the November Ensign. It was amazing! It really made me think about the tender mercies of the Lord and Father and how much They are watching over me. I know that they love my and are always concerned with my life. They hurt when I hurt, cry when I cry, laugh when I do something silly or air headed, and rejoice when I do what is right. I am so grateful for the many angels that I have had, and currently have in my life, both in this side of the veil and the other side of the veil. I know that Father wants us to have a happy life and puts "angels" in our lives to help us along the way.

After that inspiring lesson, we came home, and my parents left. Carla, Zach and I cuddled on the sofa for about half an hour. I love cuddling! I was sad because Carla won't sleep with me anymore. Well today I got my wish, she fell asleep in my arms. It was a Teresa sandwich seeing as I was between the two mortals I love most in my life. As I held Zach and Carla, we read from the Conference edition Ensign. Oh sweet Sundays!

Then we got ready and off we went to our friends, Ally and Dan. They were our neighbors, but bought a condo in American Fork. We went and had dinner and played "BANG". It was a blast. They are such great friends. We love them very much and miss them too! Well, we came home, fed Carla rice cereal with banana, because she DETESTS plain rice cereal, and put her to sleep. Now I am relaxing as I blog. I am so blessed to have the Gospel in my life. Everything good in my life has happened because I have been faithful to the commandments of Father. I am grateful for such a selfless husband, and a sweet, calm baby.

First Night Out

Zach and I went on out first night date last night! My future sister in law came over so I could get ready, then Zach came home and fed Carla some rice cereal with banana. I fed Carlita put her to bed, and my parents came over to watch on her. Zach made some sandwiches and ate on our way to the movies... so romantic!! We watched "New In Town" and ate some candy, and a soda. It was so nice going out without having to take Carla with us. We were able to enjoy each other's company and snuggle and just be in love. Afterwards we went to Target to buy Carla some feeding stuff. Then we went home. We had so much fun. I loved being able go love on my hubby and be able to hug him without squishing Carla. I am so grateful for having family close by so the we can have moments like these. I love Zach so much. He is the love of my life. I always tell him that I am grateful to be his wifey for eternal lifey. It truly is a blessing to have him as my companion for time and all eternity. When he holds me I feel so safe, protected, and loved. There is nothing better than being in the arms of the one you love.

Fun In the Sun

Spring/Summer is here! Woo hoo! I was so excited that Carla was able to go outside and play in the grass and lounge around under the sun. We had so much fun. It was also the first time that she stuck her toe in her mouth! I had to hold her steady because she was falling over as she was munching on her toe. She loves the outdoors. She can be as grumpy as the dwarf, and as soon as she gets outside she is as happy and gitty as Dopey. I love being outside, just taking in the sun, chilin with my hija. We better buy some sunblock before it gets too sunny though. We will definitely be sun junkies this summer!

Solids...

Today was the day! We started Carla on rice cereal!! My big baby needs more than just milk. For about a week she has been getting up about 2 times a night just starving, and she is eating a lot more often during the day. I called the doctor and he said to give her a tablespoon of cereal or oatmeal 2 times a day, before I feed her, until her 6 month visit. Then we are going to start other foods. We decided to feed her before her afternoon 3 hour nap, and before bed. It was so exciting to sit her down in her bumbo and spoon feed her. She was so cute! It got all over her little mouth but she did such a good job eating. I got to feed her lunch and Zach fed her dinner. My plumpy babe is getting so beautiful. She weighs 17lbs 9oz and is 25 inches long, absolutely perfect for a 9 month old, even though she is really only 5 months old! Oh it is such a joy watching my little princess develop and grow!

HE DID IT!!

ZACH FINALLY GAVE IN AND TOOK A SHOWER WITH CARLA!!

I thought it was so cute! Carla was just loving her shower... until the hot water ran out. Oops! At first Zach wasn't too sure about it, since he has this thing about her seeing him nakey. He thinks that if your baby is of the opposite sex, then you should not be nakey around them, because they might remember. I told him that she probably won't remember because she is only 5 months. He finally gave in, and they had their first shower together, hopefully not their last!

5 Months Already!?!

Today our precious angel turned 5 months old. I can't believe how fast time has gone by. She has brought SO much joy, and happiness into our lives. I don't remember life before her, except that I was a lot less tired! This little babe has made our family complete. She is half of my heart, Zach is the other half. I have seen her develop so much. It made my day when she smiled for the first time at 2 1/2 weeks, she cooed at a month, rolled from her stomach to her back at 2 months, giggled at 3 months, two teeth at four months, grabbed her foot at 4 months, and sucked her thumb...TODAY! Being her mommy has been such a blessing. She is a beautiful, calm, loving baby. I love that she can gives kisses now! I thank Heavenly Father every day for giving me the blessing, opportunity, and responsibility of being a mom. It has taught me so much, mainly, motherhood is not for the selfish! But the truth of the matter is, it doesn't matter. I love being selfless if it makes her happy. How amazing is that! The cure for selfishness is to have babies! I love it! I am excited for the next weeks, months, and years of Carla's life.

Hi Little Baby!

So today we went down to Springville to see my parents again. I was helping my mom with some homework. Carla wore some sandals which aren't supposed to fit her anymore. Size 1 shoes is from 6 weeks to 3 months, but doesn't fit them STILL! It is so funny, her feet have gotten thicker, but not longer. She still fits size 0, newborn to 6 weeks!! So she was wearing some size 1 sandals and her toes fell out!! Ha ha ha!!

Zach was entertaining the baby when suddenly my mom and I heard her squeal and laugh. Zach came to get us, and we found Carla in front of the mirror, giving herself kisses and just squealing and laughing. It was so stinking cute and funny!! I loved it. Zach always thinks of the most creative ways to entertain her!

EASTER!!!

It was such a good day. Very relaxed. We went to church with my parents, which was so nice. I got to see so many people that I grew up with. I love my parent's ward. Then, we went to my parent's house and I made Lemon Pepper Halibut. YUM YUM! For dessert we took Death By Chocolate. Zach made the filling, and I put it together. It looked so good! I was so proud of myself. We talked, and laughed, and just enjoyed being in each other's company. Then it was time for the hunt! In our family, we don't hunt for eggs, but scriptures. My dad would give us the beginning scriptures and it would say something like, "the windows of heaven will be opened..." We run to the windows, everyone frantically searching for a sticky with the next scripture. Until we finally find the Easter packages. Then my dad talks about how Easter isn't about the goodies that we find at the end of the hunt, but about the "real" treasure, which is the Atonement and Eternal Life, and how that is what we need to be thinking about this Easter Season. Think about the trials that we have to go through, and how the scriptures help us find our way back to our Father so that we can reach Exaltation by His side. Easter is the perfect time for us to reflect on our relationship with Father, and how can be better in order to be able to return to Him. Yay for Easter!

33 Years Down, Eternity To Go

April 10th was my in-laws anniversary. They have now been married for 33 years. They are so happy together, I love watching them. We went up to see them for a few hours and gave them a floating frame thingy that I made, of course. It said, "Happiness is being married to my BEST FRIEND". It was so stinking cute! I was so proud of myself. Sadly I forgot to take a picture. I love my mom and dad. They are wonderful people who are always thinking of others and how to be better. They are great examples for me. No wonder they were able to raise such an amazing son, who is now my hubby balubby. I am grateful to them for teaching Zach such high standards. Thanks! Congrats on your anniversary mom and dad! I love you!

Far from Father??

Zach is losing his job, this we all know. I thought that he was losing it at the end of the summer. Nope, in MAY! I have been stressing. We went for a job interview at a Crisis and Respite Nursery in Orem, and haven't heard back. He has put in over 30 applications, and still nada. Yesterday was particularly frustrating because once again he hasn't worked very much this week. Only 22 hours. It is really hard to pay all the bills only working 22 hours a week! So yesterday, I began to feel just really stressed, frustrated, and alone. We have been praying so hard, and nothing. I have been reading my Scriptures daily, and nothing. A couple weeks ago we had a FHE lesson about getting the "missionary glow" back. I don't get those spiritual highs very often anymore, and it ISN'T because of life, it is because of me. Everyone can have spiritual experiences every day, we just need to work for them, and lead a spiritual life. We challenged ourselves to be better. Anyways... yesterday, I was crying a lot and we would pray and I would ask Father why He wasn't answering our prayers, or at least blessing us with peace, yet again, nothing. Zach was on his knees for quite a while and a quote came to mind.

"I find that when I get causal in my relationships with divinity and when it seems that no Divine voice is speaking, that I am far, far away. If I immerse myself in the scriptures, the distance narrows, and the spirituality returns. "- Pres. Spencer W. Kimball

That is how I feel. I feel so far away from Him. I don't know how it happened. All I know is that I NEED to feel Him close again. I miss His constant presence in my life, in everything I do. I WILL immerse myself more fully in the scriptures and instead of just reading the scriptures, I'm going to genuinely study them. I can't expect Him to bless me if I'm not keeping His commandments. I also believe that we speak to God through prayer, and He speaks to us through the scriptures, so I haven't been giving Him an opportunity to talk to me.

Moral of this huge long story: STUDY THE SCRIPTURES, IMMERSE MYSELF IN THE SCRIPTURES AND HE WILL BLESS ME.

Pierced Ears!!

Carla's last picture without earrings.Yesterday we went to get Carla's ears pierced at Wally World. She did so good, she just sat there while they prepped her. Then, there they were, with the guns on her ears, and POP! They were in and she didn't cry, until they took off the guns, then she started crying. She only cried for a few minutes, and they haven't bothered her since. She looks so cute with her little teeth and her earrings, all grown up. My big baby! On our way there, Zach was pretty nervous, he doesn't want anything hurting his precious princess, but we decided to get it done while she was still small, and wouldn't tug on them. I was a little nervous, but not too bad. I listen to her cry all the time, so I'm used to it. ;)

Sicker than Death

Yesterday I went to the doctor because I felt like la crapper. The doctor said that I have:
1-Strep Throat
2-Sinus Infection
3-A Severe Ear Infection
4-Pink Eye (in BOTH eyes)
5-A Cold
6-6 Canker Sores
Yes, my life is bliss right now. I haven't been able to really sleep, because I can hardly swallow, and the baby had a rough night, for a week. Monday night I was in so much pain that I couldn't do hardly anything except for complain to Zach that I was in pain. I finally fell asleep at 3:30am and woke up at 5am. It was a VERY long night. The doctor was really nice and gave me some strong antibiotics and only charged me $10 for the consultation! SWEET!! I came home and a couple of really nice friends brought over some soup. Yum yum! I was able to eat a little, which helped a lot because I was starving! Last night I slept for about 5 hours, oh it was so nice! This morning, my wonderful mother in law came over early and watched on Carla so I could sleep. I slept and she folded laundry, washed a load, washed my dishes, and put Carla down for a nap. She also brought lots of jello, spaghetti Os, Easter chocolate eggs, and Icee treats. She is so wonderful! I married into a wonderful family. I love them oh so very much.

Carla's Photo Shoot

I finally figured out how to use the color features on Zach's camera, i.e. he showed me. So I have been taking all sorts of super cute pictures of my angel. It has been so much fun. Since I am sicker than death, we can't do family pictures. AND I even cut Zach's hair! Oh man! I really want to do family pics because I strongly believe that you need to cherish every moment of your life and my favorite way to do so is by capturing life on camera. That way you can remember the little things, like Carla's perfect little toes, or how small he feet are in Zach's hands, or how Zach loves staring at his daughter, even though he is supposed to be focusing on homework. I love my little family and wish that I could capture EVERY SINGLE MOMENT on camera so that when I'm 80, I can sit down on my front porch swing, in the arms of my best friend and eternal companion, and remember what a perfect life, amidst the trials, we have had. I am so blessed to have such an amazing husband, and a perfect little daughter.

CREAMIES YUM YUM!!

I was eating a creamie, and Carla was staring intently at me. I we decided to give her a taste. She LOVED it! She went nuts over it! It was so much fun. She licked off all the chocolate from one side of the popsicle. She is such a happy beautiful baby. I love you Carla!