Our Wonderful Son is Here!

Wow! What an entrance into this world. All 9 pounds 8 ounces and 20 inches of him, which was totally unexpected. I was always measuring average and never looked like I would be having a large baby. I guess it does run in the family. I was a 10 pound baby. Now I'll have no hope for any other babies I have, they might all be huge.

I love how peaceful Luke is in this picture. It was such a miracle being able to hold my son in the hospital and realizing that he was mine. I still cannot believe that I am a Mom.

Here is Luke after his first car ride home from the hospital.

Mari did a great job holding her cousin when she came to visit.

Gotta love those chubby cheeks! Luke is all fresh and clean here after his first sponge bath. He didn't like his hair being washed, but Mom had fun brushing it afterwards.

Luke loves his swing. He likes it rocking back and forth, but not side to side as much. Good thing we chose one that did both.

Here is Luke wearing an outfit that Grandma gave him.

Here is Daddy giving love to his son. Luke does so good with his Dad and falls asleep every time Dad holds and rocks him. Rafa has been a great help to me with this wonderful new adventure we are on , now being parents. He watches Luke so I can sleep, he cooks me food, keeps the house clean, and more. I am only surviving because of his help.

I am an Aunt Again!!!

Baby Tyson is here! Well, he has been here for exactly a month now, I am just behind on my blog. That was mainly my fault, but also the fault of my old computer. It was almost 6 years old and blacking out every 30 seconds so I could never get anything done, it was so frustrating. I finally decided to get a new computer a few days ago and life is good again. I am updating everything so that I can be ready when my own little one comes.

This picture shows Tyson at 2 days old in the hospital. It was so neat to hold him next to my tummy and feel my baby kick inside of me. Being both boy cousins so close in age will be fun for them.

Here I am with adorable Tyson at Shannon's house. He is about 2 weeks old in these pictures. Shannon was nice enough to let me spend time holding, swaddling, and doing other things with him as I am a little nervous to do everything with my baby for the first time.

Here is a close up picture of his peaceful face. I love his dark hair! But that hair color could still change, we will just have to wait and see.

Our Rock and Roll Nursery

These pictures were taken a few weeks ago, so a few things have changed. We have drapes now that match the bedding and a few other additions. But basically this will give you an idea of how the room looks. Here is the crib with bedding in it. I think it turned out even better than I imagined it would.

We got this floor rug at Ikea and thought it would go well with the crib.

Here is the nursing corner. I ordered the boppy cover on Etsy. It has guitar fabric on one side and black minky on the other.

It took me forever to find black baskets to go with the changing table, but my Mom finally helped me find them.

We decided to put up some shelves to display pictures and toys. We had to have a few token Star Wars toys. We have now added a guitar to this shelf.

To follow the rock and roll/music theme we put up some musical notes above the closet.

Our Mini Vacation

Rafa and I were able to go to Salt Lake for a little mini vacation on his day off about a month ago. We went to the Salt Lake Farmers market and got some tasty strawberry and pineapple salsa amongst other fun food. Then we went to the Red Butte Gardens at the University of Utah. If you haven't been there you need to go! It is one of my favorite places because of the multiple paths, trails, and hidden placed where you can just relax and enjoy the beauty. I also love sitting on the swings!

I loved the waterfall! I also needed more pictures of myself pregnant so I won't forget what it was like in the future.

Here is a picture of some of the gorgeous flowers they have in the gardens!

We were able to take a little hike through the woods. The trail followed a beautiful river. It was refreshing to be out in nature, even if only for a short time. Usually in the summer we go for a lot of hikes, but being close to the end of my pregnancy that has not been possible this summer. So going to the gardens was just what I needed.

Baby Shower

Here is a picture of my Mom, sister, Kimberly, and Michele. Kimberly was so wonderful to volunteer her house for the shower and my Mom, Shannon, and Michele helped with all the great food. Thanks everyone!


Here are all of the girls in our family: Caroline (Mike's wife), Mom, and Shannon.

It was so good to see my dear friend Megan. Good luck on your thesis Megan!

I was surprised with one diaper cake from Bethany and Scheila,

And another from Michele. Thanks ladies, they were adorable!

A Magical Night I Will Always Remember.

Here I am at the entrance to the dinner and celebration. They gave me a flower to wear on my dress and assigned Rafa and I a table.


Here is the beautiful table where we sat and ate a nice dinner.

The beautiful dining room.

Here are all of the recipients for this year.

I had a give a short speech thanking everyone. But first, one of my students spoke about me. She did a fabulous job. I loved the students' speeches the best, a few even brought tears to me eyes as I could see how their teacher helped them to excel in school.

We were each given a hand-made statue which showed a the hand of a teacher and a child clasped together, very special. Then we also got to take home an amazing (and huge) basket filled with free gift cards to restaurants and businesses around the state. I was not expecting any of this! I felt like a Queen for the night! This was a night that I will always remember during my teaching career. I just want to thank all of the wonderful teachers and mentors that helped mold me into the teacher I am today- thank you so much!!!

This is for you Lisa and Teacher Appreciation Week!

Here is the picture I promised you Lisa. This was me at 30 Weeks pregnant on May 7th. Thanks for reminding me to post a prego picture Lisa, because I will want to have a few for memory sake in the future. I will post some more pictures when the nursery is done.


Here is a picture of my classroom door after my awesome Room Mom decorated it for Teacher Appreciation Week. What was so fun was that the theme is the same as my nursery! Was it inspiration or just a funny coincidence?