Happy Birthday Isabella Rae

Yes, SHE is here.....what a blessing this lil baby is! Isabella Rae was born (finally) Tue March 29th, 2011 at 1:20 in the afternoon, weighing 6 lbs 5 oz and 18.5 in long. She has a full head of dark brown hair and big almond shaped eyes. This whole time I was CONVINCED I was a having a chubby boy and out comes this peanut of a baby girl!! After having contractions for almost 2 weeks, I thought this baby could come out at any moments notice and yet the days dragged on. At 39 weeks, 2:30 in the morning I started having super strong contractions about 30 min apart. They continued to get stronger and closer together so I went to lay down on the sofa and keep track of them. By 4 am my Mom had come out to sit with me, I just knew it was going to be the day yay! We called Aunt Sher so she could get on the road and make it to the hospital in time. I was showered and completely ready by 6 am, but we waited till about 7 to head to the hospital. Mo and I checked with the nurse but she said I needed to walk the hall for about an hour to try and dialate more. After an hour I wasn't dialated any further but thank God the nurse had my back and decided to admit me any way, she said the baby was so low that when the time comes it will happen very fast. Wow was she right! No sooner than they put me in room and hooked up an IV I was feeling contractions every 5 min and I NEEDED an epidural STAT! Again thank God my nurse was such a God send, she had already requested the anesthesiologist and told him to come to my room first. Within the time that I checked in to the time I was put in a room, four other Moms had gone into labor and they all needed an epidural!! I was first in line, HALLELUJAH! After the epidural I felt GREAT, such a relief, can't imagine birth without one....Mom you're stronger than I am! Aunt Sher made it just in time, my Dad picked her up from airport and dropped her off at 12:45. They were going to stop for something to eat but Ashley warned them not to stop or they might miss it. Not only did the epidural make me feel better but it also made baby want to come out. I asked the nurse to check things out but she wanted to give it an hour. I knew something was going on down there, just then my Dr. came in and I asked her to check. Sure enough I was already dialated to 9 and she wanted me to give a lil "trial" push to see if I could get the baby to come down more. I gave a little push and out came the top of her head! WOAH says the Dr., its go time! She had to rush out and change into her scrubs, the nurses all scrambled to get the prep table ready and get the bed warmer ready for the baby. Mo came in from the bathroom and saw the commotion, he couldn't believe it was already happening. Aunt Sher held one of my legs, Mo had the other, Ash was taking pictures, and I'm sure Mom was praying =) 3 pushes later and out was my lil baby Isabella!! No one said what she was, and I kept asking "what is it!? what is it!?" the Dr. held her up so I could see and I just couldn't believe it!!! I secretly wanted a girl so that Shay could have a sister and my dream came true! Everyone was crying, we were so thrilled to have our new baby. Wow was the Dr wrong about the size, he told me repeatedly I was have a 9 or 10 lb baby! Welcome to the family Isabella we Love You Sooooo Much!!!!

This Bebe won't come out!

(This post is late, I wrote it and never posted it so here it is)
Here we are, almost to my due date and this bebe is already showing us a glimpse of what he/she might be like. The past 2 weeks have been absolutely crazy. When your Dr. says "You'll probably have this baby tonight or within the next 72 hours" at my 37 week appointment, everyone jumps into "baby is coming" action! My Aunt Sher Bear from Pinetop AZ, is my first phone call when I leave the Dr.'s office. She has never witnessed a live birth and doesn't have children of her own so she really wants to be here for the special occasion. She was in the middle of making lunch at her cabin when I called. She must have literally jumped in the car the instant we hung up because she was here by 6 pm that night! The next day was Saturday, we called our Granny Janny to give her the news and see if she could make the trip out too. Sure enough sweet lil Granny hopped on a plane and was here that same afternoon, talk about excitement! The next day I started having contractions 20-30 min apart, woo-hoo, we went to the mall to walk around and try to speed things up. By 4:30 I felt that I should go to the hospital to get checked just to be on the safe side. My contractions were about 8-10 min apart and feeling somewhat strong. Ash takes me to the hospital, the nurse comes in and I immediately know she is not a nice person. She gives me the fakest smile and says in a high pitched annoying voice "Hi! so we think were in labor?" Yes, I told her about my Dr. appt, and how he stripped my membranes the day before...she gave me a look of horror and said "Why in the world would he do that, OMG, we never do that here especially when your only 37 weeks!" Thanks Lady, way to make me feel comfortable. You would have thought I told her I killed one of her family members, seriously she was THAT dramatic. She continued on with her annoying voice trying to sound genuine, but she honestly couldn't wait to get me out of there. She proceeds to tell me I was only dialated to a 1, and about 60% effaced....how did I go backwards from the day before being a 3 and 80% effaced?! Hmmmm, this Lady is REALLY ticking me off now. By now Justin had arrived and the nurse told me to walk the halls for an hour and then she would check me again. Well, the contractions continued but they never got strong enough or close together enough to put me in labor. So I went home SAD with NO baby. For the next 5 days we waited, the contractions continued and still nothing! Thankfully those 5 days weren't a total loss, we were able to do some major female bonding, we shopped, we ate, we laughed and shared stories...it was truly an unforgettable time that I will cherish forever. The best story was told by my Mom of course, about the night she went into labor with me....you'll have to ask her to tell it. The kids loved getting to know their Aunt Blueberry and Granny Janny, they had a visit from the Easter Granny Bunny, they ate candy, painted on the table, played hide n seek which involved Granny Janny jumping in the tub with them, they had a great time. Thanks Granny and Sher!
So here we are, another week gone by and NO baby....lots of contractions and pains but no labor. I have a feeling this lil baby is going to have a big personality and require lots of attention, as it already is! Hahaha I literally cannot wait to meet this one! Granny and Sher had to leave, life must go on, it was sad but at least we were able spend quality time together and hopefully Aunt Sher will be able to come back again for the real birth.

Baby Mo #2 is on the way!

I'm getting excited, anxious and a bit nervous for this new baby to arrive. Over the past few months my belly has really popped  out and seems to collect things throughout the day without my notice. At the end of the day I glance in the mirror and realize I have 4 huge stains of god-knows-what all dribbled down my boobs and protuding belly. Lovely.
The sex of this baby is undetertimed and will remain that way until the lil bugger comes out! This has been my decision from the get-go and of course Mo wasn't too thrilled about it, being such a PLANNER and all. He tried to pull the softy card on me and say, "Babe, I have to know what the baby is because I start building a relationship while it's still in the womb. I have to be mentally prepared for a boy or girl!" I quickly responded "Hahahaha sorry honey but it's just not gonna fly with me!" I have a few friends that let it be a surprise and they all say it is the BEST surprise in life and totally worth the wait. But I decided to compromise with him and we agreed that at the sex identifying ultrasound (around week 20) he would be allowed to make his own guesstimation by viewing the screen while the Dr. went over the sex organs. BUT he was NOT allowed to make any comments or ask any questions, just quietly observe and keep his findings to himself. So there we were, in the middle of the ultrasound and the Dr very thoroughly went over every dimension, vertebrae, heart chamber, brain, fingers, toes etc I mean this guy is EXTREMELY thorough. I loved every minute. Then he turned the screen away from me and motioned for Justin to come over by him so he could get a good look. Sure enough the baby was in the PERFECT position to identify the sex, the Dr. said "Well it doesn't get much clearer than this!" Justin looked for a few seconds and then put his hand up to the bridge of his nose, looking like he was about to cry! He said "Ok, I got it." We left a few minutes later and while walking to the car I was just dying to know if he really knew what it was. He turned to me and said "Babe, I have NO IDEA! I know the Dr. said it was obvious but I had no idea what I was looking at! So no, I don't know what it is." I just laughed and thought, good now it will really be a surprise for both of us.
A couple weeks later we were having our traditional extravagant Thanksgiving dinner that my Mom likes to host. About 20 family members were all seated at a ginormous table and it was that time to go around and tell what were all thankful for, and an embarrassing story or memorable moment. When it came to Justin he announced "I'm very thankful for my wife and beautiful daughter and the new baby, and I want you all to know that I know EXACTLY what the sex is!" Well, as one can imagine that started a whole game of "lets get Justin to tell us" it was hysterical, he had created a monster. Even my Dad tried to bribe him with a hundred dollar bill, I thought for sure he would give in....but he held strong and to this day hasn't told a soul. Thanks Babe!

Season of Change

Wow, so much is happening so fast I better write it down so I don't forget! First off, we are moving! Yes, our sweet lil house is in foreclosure sale on Aug 20th. We were one of the many that decided to get into a silly loan with "options" to pay a small mortgage and the have the remainder of the total mortgage payment tacked onto the "back end" of the loan each month, meaning the amount we actually bought the house for was getting higher every month. BIG PROBLEMO when the economy crashed! We figured we could pay the lesser amount until we started making more money and could pay the full amount. Basically we're screwed! I will miss this cute little house it's been so good to us, I love the single level floor plan, the vaulted ceiling, Shay's room and the backyard that's just big enough. So many memories, good, bad, sad and happy.
We're moving in with Mom and Dad....woah I know! They are moving into a 5 bedroom single level house in San Juan, and offered 3 of the bedrooms to us and cheap rent! We're jumping on the opportunity.Who can beat built-in babysitters? Plus the house has newly remodeled bathrooms which I am so thrilled about, have you seen my bathrooms? YUCK!
Picketlane Childcare is coming to an end.....almost. I will try to keep our 2 1/2 year old girl Audrey at the new house and see how it works. Ashley will keep Amelia with the boys at her house. We have to say goodbye to baby Carter, but he's probably moving to Orange anyway. He'll be 1 this month and it's been amazing to watch him grow and learn his first year of life. He's been through some difficulties but hopefully he'll have a better 2nd year and grow into a fun little boy.
The most EXCITING news is that baby no. 2 is on the way YAY!! We JUST found out and I am probably only 2 weeks along, so keep me and the lil baby in your prayers for a healthy, successful pregnancy and birth. I couldn't be more thrilled and happy that Shay will have a lil sibling to play with and help Mommy take care of. Due date is sometime mid April.
Mo has 2 days left of class and he will be completely done with his business degree! I am so proud of him, he not only will have a degree he did it with all A's!!! He is the most dedicated, loyal, committed and disciplined person I have ever met and I am so lucky to have him as my Hubby! I love you babe!

Daily life....MESSY!
Noah and Amelia (above)

Lovin on her cousin one minute and the next....
(Shay and Lucas)

Tantrum throwing in full effect.

OH MAN, the mischief has begun! This is just a glimpse of her new
mischievous faces when she knows she's in trouble.
Peas and rice for makeup is the new look, don't you know?!

She loves to give juicy, puckered up kisses to everyone!

We (my good friends Jaclyn and Jenny) took the kiddos the OC Fair and we had a blast. The babes ate ears of corn, and ice cream cones. We listened to a live band and danced in the street, then we decided to go on the freakiest ride ever, I was praying for my life and will NEVER go on it again! The babes stayed in their strollers with Jenny, and watched us being thrown into the air on the ridiculous ride. It was a great night.

Mateo and Shay loved their ears of corn,
I don't think the cob left Mateo's mouth once he tried it heheehee!

More grubbin

Jaclyn and Mateo riding the carousel, he wasn't too keen on it!

Shay LOVED it! She loves horses

She Returns for Mo...

Oh, I don't even want to hear it! I've guilted myself over this for months so I don't need to hear it from you. So here I am and that's that.  Let's get on it with it.

PicketLane Childcare

Ash and I have been slaving away under the new management of 6 (sometimes 7 youngsters) since Nov 2009. Hence the reason for lack of blog posts, my last blog was in October! These 6 bosses go by the names, Isaac (5), Lucas (3), Noah (14 mo), Shay (15 mo), Amelia (11 mo), Carter (9 mo) and sometimes Austin (4) makes an appearance. It's all we can do to keep this bunch, happy, fed, clean, entertained and of course loved. Not every day is easy, in fact none of our days are easy but they are definitely full of unexpected surprises and happiness that only children can bring. For instance Ash gave the boys bold new do's and buzzed all their hair off for the hot summer days to come. Little did we know how much of their adorable faces were missing behind all that thick Peruvian hair!! Lucas may be a pistol but when he flashes that dimple-cheeked smile and says "Chan what doin?" the heart goes soft and you just want to squeeze him even though he's usually covered in dirt and smells like lunch. Isaac is as always the leader of the pack and helps Mommy and I so much with all the babies. His patience really is admirable, always waiting for "just let me finish changing this diaper", or "I have to make lunch and then...", and "I'm feeding so and so, can you wait?" For an almost 6 year old, he's pretty darn near to Christ-like in the patience department! Shay and Noah are teaching Amelia and Carter the ropes to babyhood, and sometimes biting takes place, hitting may occur, and inevitably crying but these days are so short. Soon they will all be running around, riding trikes, TALKING, and the babyhood will be gone. WAHAAWAHAHAA!!! Even when the day's are poopy and long I take satisfaction in knowing we are doing the best job we can to raise these babies up to be the best people God intended them to be. Can't think of a more fulfilling job....can you?

Shay & Carter in the Bike Trailer

Shay's 1st Ice Cream Cone

Noah and his 1st Cone

Lucas

Isaac

Carter

Fun Fall Festivities

"Mom's Night Out" at our house, we got crafty and made wreaths, drank cider with some rum of course, and talked about our kids!! You know you WISH you would've been there!

All bundled up for the evening jog with Mom and Dad. Chilly!

Had to get a quick beard noogie from Dad. Giggles galore.
The Pumpkin Patch with the Cuz's and Aunty Ashy.

Pink Piglets were so cute.

Mr. Lukey on his tractor truck.

Showin off our Shay Loren Sparkle Clips!

We'll take those 2 right there please!

Hey, what's this Hay? I must taste...

7 Months and Counting...

Hugging Buddy...Buddy being camera shy

Love of his Life

Not boogers! Avocado...Yum!