Random tidbits

Carla drank out of a cup by herself for the first time! Her daddy showed her how it is done.

Carla cut her 14th tooth! She has more teeth than how many months old she is. She gets 1-2 teeth every month. Boy I hope she is done for a while.

Daddy built Carla her first tent!

She got her first diaper rash this week. I thought she had another yeast infection, it would have been her 4th one. We took her to the doctors, and he said, that this time, it was a diaper rash, plain and simple. Poor little one.

Carla is now walking EVERYWHERE! Last week, Carla walked across the living room for the first time! I was rolling over and she was chasing me. It was so cute. She did it 3 times. Since then, it was if it suddenly clicked. Now she walks just as much, if not more than she crawls.

She loves PB sandwiches, hamburgers (with ketchup, mustard, mayo, onions, and pickles), grapefruit, noodles with cheese sauce or alfredo, and CANDY CANES!!

When she sees her daddy, the first thing that she wants is for him to pick her up and show her the snowflakes hanging from the ceiling. Oh how she loves her daddy, especially his height! He can show her things that there is no way that I could.

Working Mom??

For the last 2 1/2 weeks I have been working with Zach. We wake up at about 5:30am, leave home at 6:15am and get off around 2:30. It has been so difficult for me to leave my baby, but alas, money calls. The nice thing is that my sister in laws have been staying with us, so they have been watching on Carla. They are such sweet girls to be willing to spend their Christmas vacation with us. I appreciate it so much! I decided that I couldn't do it another week like I was supposed to, so, today was my last day. Hopefully I won't have to do anything like that again for a long time. The good part was that I was with my other baby for the whole day. I loved being able to spend so much time with my lover. Now my life will return back to normal, my life as a stay at home mommy. Carla will be especially thrilled. For the last week, she would wake up crying and calling for mama all through the night, and cry herself to sleep. It was horrible knowing that I was the cause of her horrible sleep, my poor baby. I'm glad that everything will be back to normal.

Christmas Time

Christmas Eve was so fun! We went up to my in-laws house. We ate Smith's subs, and played games. Then it was time to open our presents. It was so fun watching the little girls open their presents! They were SO excited that they got Chutes and Latters. Oh the joy of watching others open their presents. They get so excited over the smallest things. I hope and pray that I can have that same type of attitude in my life. Joy should come from altruistic love, and not from presents, toys, and "stuff."





It was so wonderful being able to spend to much time at my in-laws. We laughed, played, talked, and were able to feel loved. I love watching everyone love on Carla. I know how much they love and cherish her, and it helps us feel like one huge family. LOVE IT! Mom and dad bought Zach and I some Gs, and gave us a gift card for Smiths. NICE! Carla got some toys, clothes, and a fuzzy ice pack, perfect for the upcoming owies that she'll be getting now that she is walking so much.







We left Mom and Dad's at about 8pm and went home and put Carla to bed. We stayed up, sort of, until midnight. We fell asleep at about 9pm, but them my parents called from El Salvador at 11pm, midnight their time. We talked to them, and gave our Merry Christmas greetings, then we put on a movie. 5 min to midnight, we woke up Carla for her 1st interactive Christmas. She was a little groggy while we read the Nativity story from the Bible, and placed the Baby Jesus in his manger, and said our gratitude prayer, but it was nice to have her be so cuddly. I felt a little bit bad about waking her up, but as soon as she saw that she could touch the presents underneath the Christmas tree, she was SUPER excited! We opened our stockings full of treats and toys, then it was time for presents! Carla was loving ripping the paper, and every time that she got a toy she would play with it and play with it, until we took it away and hid it so that she would open the next present. It was so much fun watching the excitement on her face as she opened present after present. She finally opened her last present which was a tub of gummy bears, and she went bazerk! P.S. she does not like the green gummies. She was eating all sorts of candy that night and she was loving it!

Zach and I opened our presents from a very special friend. We were so blessed this Holiday Season with an angel watching over us. An angel with a very mushy heart. One of Zach's coworkers heard that we were only going to do stockings this year because we were trying to get out of debt. She decided that was "unacceptable for two people as nice as (us)." She sat us down and gave us our Christmas card. When we opened the card, there were 2 crisp, new $100 bills. I wanted to cry, but kept my composure. Genuinely nice people do exist in a world full of wickedness. They are all around us, smiling, giving, listening... Kim told us that her one condition was that we HAD to spend it on Christmas presents. We were not allowed to use it to pay bills. I do have to admit that one of my first thoughts was, "Great, we'll use $50-100 on presents and the rest on bills." Yeah, that idea was shot down pretty quickly! Back to Christmas... I got the Cricut Junkbox, some pearl earrings, and some games. I love my Junkbox! I'm excited to really use it for my projects. Zach is so good at buying presents! I got Zach 5 new movies, and some games. He LOVES movies, especially the part where he gets to organize them alphabetically in the stand. After we had fun being awake and opening presents, we went to sleep. I woke up at about 9am and made orange rolls for breakfast. Carla woke up next and we played for a little while. At about 9:30-10:00ish, Zach woke up and we ate breakfast and played with our new toys. Carla went down for her nap and Zach and I watched movies, then we played our new games. It was so wonderful not going anywhere! We stayed in all day, watching movies and playing games.

Then, it was time to make Christmas Dunch (dinner and lunch). I made lemon pepper turkey breast, a baked potato bar, and rice. Yum yum! Rolando, our really good friend, came over to spend Christmas Dunch with us. It was so fun to prepare my first Christmas Dunch! Christmas was a wonderful day. I am so blessed to have such an amazing family and to have the Gospel in our lives. Christmas is a day to remember our Lord, Saviour, and Redeemer, Christ the Lord. Because of Him and His sacrifice, we can love and live forever. May we ALWAYS remember the meaning of Christmas in our hearts, and in our lives.

Caroling

I went Caroling for my first Christmas ever! Our Bishop invited everyone who wanted to come to their FHE activity. We went Caroling to those in our ward boundaries in a trailer filled with hay bales. It was so much fun! Jennefred came with me, which made it ever better, because Zach had to stay home and watch on Carla. Poor guy. When we were done Caroling, we went back to the Church. Everyone was going to have Hot Chocolate, but we wanted to get back home. The Bishop asked if we wanted a ride to the car. We explained to him that we were on the other side of the building, about half way down the road. He said he didn't car, and to hop on the trailer. So, we did! We felt like we were princesses on a float. It was so fun.

We even tried "surfing" on the hay bales. I fell, but Jennefred was able to hold her balance the whole time. I love it!

Birthday Festivities

The day before Zach's b-day, his family came down and we had dinner together. Mom made death by chocolate, and I failed at making a cake. Oh yes! Failed indeed!!! I tried to get it out of the pan and for some reason it wouldn't, so when it finally came out, it cracked everywhere and we tried to repair it with frosting plaster, but it was to no avail. So instead I stuck it into a trifle dish, alternating layers with a little frosting, cherries and banana pudding. Amazingly enough it looked pretty decent, but I didn't have the guts to try it. Zach said that it was actually pretty good. Oh well! Everyone has to make a completely horrible cake at least two times in their life. We sang to my lover and then he opened his presents. It was so fun having the fam over for this joyous occasion.










On his b-day, I took him out to lunch. I picked him up from work and then we took off to eat at Tucanos. Well, here is the super funny part. They came over to sing to him, and he stood up, grabbed the tambourine, and started dancing while they sang...yes...DANCING!!! Tee hee hee! Oh my, I would have never imagined this man dancing in a restaurant ever!!

On his b-day weekend, I gave him his official b-day present. It was something that I had been planning for a month! He told me that he wanted to take me dancing for his birthday. So I lied. I told him that I had found a dance club in Park City that we could go to. Since my mom was doing her internship at a Marriott, that we were going to be able to get a parking pass so that we wouldn't have to pay for parking while we were there. Sneaky sneaky me, I had made a reservation for a 1-bdrm villa at the Marriott Summit Inn. The jacuzzi was 6' by 4' and there was a separate shower, and potty, the room was in the same room as the tub, and there was a kitchen, a dining area, a living room with a fireplace, and window seats. It was gorgeous, and we were going to take advantage of every minute. Carla was going to stay home with the girls, Jennefred, Kitty Kat, and Nessa. So on Friday, when Zach informed me that he was sick, I was a bit bummed, but then thought about it, and realized that it would be even more fun because we would really be able to take advantage of the room. So, of course, we go up early to "walk around" before we were going to go "dancing." We got to the hotel, and Zach asked, "Why do we need to register? Are we staying here?" I tried to ignore him, but I was so stinking excited. So, I got the registration from the trunk, and went around to his window, gave him a kiss and told him that we were going to be staying there! He was in shock! Once he saw the room, he said that he didn't want to know how much the room was costing, because he would have a heart attack. I chuckled and said that regularly that room goes for $400 a night! He almost died, but I assured him that I didn't pay that much because of my mom's discount. I only paid $60. AMAZING DEAL!!! Of course that night he got a fever, so we just went to the store and bought some microwave food, and went back to the hotel and stayed in for the night. He took a 2 hour nap when we got there, then went back to sleep before 9 until the next morning. I at least had cable to keep me company, and we were on the couch next to the fireplace until about 11pm when we went to the bed, but I stayed up some more watching "Deadliest Catch." Total, I watched over 3 1/2 hours of it!! I laughed and cried, it was so good, and so addicting!!

The next morning, we got in the tub for a few minutes, then it was time to check out. We packed up, and went for a walk at old town main street. It was fun, except for the fact that I forgot to pack shoes, so I was in my small heels. After walking on Main Street, we went to the outlets. I told Zach that I HAD to get different shoes on. The blisters on my ankles were already bubbling up. So, we went to Crocs, and what do you know, they had some comfy shoes, that were only $9 and they were buy one get one FREE! So we bought a pair for Carla also. Once we were done walking around there, we came back to Orem, and went to eat at Wingers. We had a $15 gift certificate so we only paid about $7 for the both of us. Yum yum. The end.

Honey Bunny Birthday!!

Today is my lover's birthday. Yup yup, Zach is 36!! Well, at least according to him he is. He is REALLY 27 today. Woo hoo! My baby is getting up there in years. I am so blessed to have him in my life. He is my rock, my best friend, my lover, my soul mate, my hero, my knight in shining armor, my husband, and the father of my greatest treasure... Carla. Zach is almost always positive, and whenever I'm upset, his typical answer is, "I'm sure you are honey, it is understandable." I love him so much. Some of the little things that he does that make my life better are:
Opening and closing all doors for me
Changing all diapers when he is home
Cooking on Sundays
Working so hard so I don't have to
Rubbing my back every night
Kissing my hand
Send me txt messages saying that he misses me and loves me
Tells me why he loves me almost every day
Helping clean the house, even when he is sick
Taking out the trash without me having to ask him
Lotion my body every day

Babe, I love you! You make my life worth living, the sun shine brighter, and when I think of the love and the life that we share, I still get butterflies. You are the man of my dreams, but most importantly, the man in my reality, and because of that, I am eternally grateful. I adore you, and can't think life without you love. Thanks for being my husband.

Carla's Big Birthday Party!

Sadly we didn't get a lot of pics of her birthday party, but it sure was fun! My good friend, Amy Pearce helped me make her cake. I did the decorating and she did the rest. It was so much fun though! Our hands turned pink because we had to mix in the red into the frosting and the fondant. I took me 5 hours to decorate it. Oh yeah, I found patience that I didn't even know that I had!! But it was well worth it! EVERYTHING on the cake was edible. Amazing huh?!? Yup Amy sure was a life saver!

At the party we had Salvadorean Turkey Sandwiches, and chips. My mom made the turkey, and I bought the chips. Oh yeah, we ate good! We set up a couple tables with some pictures of Carla and our family pictures. It was neat to see how she has changed over this past year. It was fun to see old friends, new friends, and family. We had 3 pinatas and mingled.

Of course Carla started us off with the pinatas. It was funny because she was so scared of it. She didn't want to hit it, so I helped her. She was probably thinking, "now what are you trying to make me do mom?"

We were supposed to play "hot potato" and "musical chairs" but ended up not having time. We got to play and talk, and demolish pinatas! Everyone got to hit the pinata, even our parents, as shown by my dad!

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was such a calm, relaxing day. On Thanksgiving Day we were couch potatoes. We did almost nothing until 5 pm. We snuggled, watched a movie, and played with Carla. Then, off we went to my parent's house. Sariah, her new husband, Patrick, and their now 5 kids, Abi and Diana, Diana's parents, Melissa and Alan, and their girls, Rolando, Helaman, and Elvis were all there. We had so much fun eating, talking, and dancing! Carla loved the potatoes, and had a little bit of the turkey. She isn't much of a meat eater, but oh how she loves her fruit and potatoes!

After coming home from My parent's house we set up for Christmas. I couldn't wait any longer! It was so much fun! Lexie, Lydia, and Kyha were loving the fact that Christmas time!!

I am so grateful to my kind Father in Heaven for such a beautiful family. How I love my husband and daughter. I am grateful for amazing parents who have brought me up in the Gospel, and have always been examples of good. I am grateful for my brothers and sister, and the special memories which we share. I am grateful for my family in law, and all of the joy they bring into my life. I am especially grateful for my mother and father in law. They have raised such a spiritual, kind, loving, sweet, compassionate son, the love of my life, my eternal husband, and father of my children. I am grateful for my life, for having served a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I am grateful for those who I met in the mission, and how they have changed my life, for the examples that they were of finding TRUE JOY in our Lord Jesus Christ's Atonement. I am grateful for friends, new and old, and for their love towards me. I have always been able to share my deepest feelings with them and know that they love me for who I am, and help to to be better. I love my Heavenly Father and His Son and my Savior, and Friend, Jesus Christ. I will forever strive to be the daughter that He knows that I can be. I am grateful for this opportunity that I have to live on this earth.