A Family Visit

I was so so so grateful to have my Mom come and stay with us after Selena was born, I don't know how we would have survived without her! From cooking meals, changing diapers, getting up with Selena in the middle of the night, and just plain keeping me company, she was amazing!

My Dad and the kids were able to come and stay for the weekend the week after she was born. I really don't think a moment went by that Selena wasn't being held for those 4 days! She is one loved little girl!

Her first bath. Makes me sad to look at her little mad face! I am sorry to say that she still feels pretty much the same way about getting baths!

We LOVE cuddling and loving on our little girl. The only nice thing about my family leaving was we actually got to hold Selena! It was so hard to see my family go, but luckily we have lots of trips planned to see each other and thank goodness for Skype!

Selena

Our little baby is finally here, and we couldn't be loving life more. We went in on Wednesday, January 26th for a non-stress test. My Dr. had told me the day before there was a 50% chance they would keep me and induce me based on the results of the test. At that point I started freaking out a little bit and went out and got all of the little last minute things we still needed. So we woke up on Wednesday morning and went to the hospital not really knowing what to expect.

One last picture before we left for the hospital. It is so nice not to have that big belly in the way anymore!

So based on the results from the non-stress test my fluid levels were really high and they decided to induce me. They started me on the pitocin about 10:30 AM, and finally at 3 AM Thursday morning I was ready to push. I pushed for 7 minutes and out she came! I couldn't believe she was finally here, best day ever!

All ready to go home!

Life has been different, but wonderful. We are so in love with Selena, and are so grateful to have her!

Christmas Vacation

We LOVE being at home in Washington with everyone, the time always goes by way too fast.

Christmas Eve sibling gifts. We waste no time testing out our new digs!

I had fun catching up with my favorite girls, we don't get to see each other enough! ( Don't mind my 37 week prego belly, it just keeps growing!)

I love spending time with Mom and the girls at home! Shopping, cooking, sewing, and playing Kinect were a few of the favorite activities.

These two kill me. Zachary forgot shorts and t shirts so he walked around being twinners with my Dad all week long. Zachary's vacation was filled with football, sleeping, eating, football, sleeping, eating, and a little movie watching thrown in. He took his vacation very seriously! I guess he thought he better rest up before this baby comes!

New Years Eve at P.F. Changs with the whole family. Z is pretty good with the chopsticks!

Dad, Mom, and Kendall

Collin, Carmen, and Allen. For unknown reasons I have no picture of Kristin and Dave, but they were there to ring in the New Year as well! It was kind of a crazy night, but we all had fun and stayed up way too late!

I can't believe how fast 2010 came and went! 2011 is going to be one crazy year, we are in for some big changes! We wanted to make a new years resolution that we thought we could actually stick to and so.....wearing our retainers EVERY night is what we decided on! I know, we really went crazy with that one. We haven't missed a night yet though, and that feels good!

Only 14 more days until our new little one is due to arrive, and I am very excited but getting very nervous! We just can't believe how soon she will be here. We are so excited for this new stage of our lives and can't wait to hold her in our arms!

Christmas Concert

This year we were lucky enough to get tickets to see the Mormon Tabernacle Christmas Concert. Of course I was loving the fact that David Archuleta was the guest performer. He is the bomb, and so nice. We invited the Hunter's to come along and had a great time! Dinner at Market Street Grill, which never disappoints, and then an amazing concert!

Thanksgiving

Our Thanksgiving this year was a little different, but I have to admit it was a nice change. We decided to stay here in Utah since we would be going to WA for Christmas. It was Zachary's family's "off" year so it turned out to be just us and Zachary's parents for Thanksgiving dinner. It felt weird only having four people, but definitely more relaxing. After dinner I looked through the ads while everyone else took an afternoon nap, and then that night we went to see "Unstoppable." The rest of the weekend was filled with shopping, sleeping, and eating out a lot. I have to admit I loved having Zachary to myself for the whole Holiday weekend!! Sadly the only pictures I have to show for our Thanksgiving is Zachary and I waiting in the Wal-Mart aisle all night long to buy a TV. Funny night for sure, but don't think I will ever do that again!

It has been far too long since my last post! You would think I would want to document all that is going on, and I really do WANT to, it's just the doing it part that I can't seem to get... We haven't done anything terribly exciting this fall. I was so anxious for October to get here, and now it has come and gone and we are into November. I am loving my job teaching at the elementary school. I have definitely learned a lot! Zachary is keeping busy with work and of course sports. That man loves to play/watch/think about sports 24/7! We are anxiously anticipating the arrival of our little girl, it feels like January will never come. We are loving experiencing all the new things that come with your first pregnancy, and trying to get everything ready for her to come!

A few weeks ago a guy in our ward let us use his BYU tickets. As luck would have it, that day was pouring rain! A few minutes after we got there the rain cleared and it was actually perfect weather for a few hours. We had fun cheering on BYU and actually seeing them win a game!

Finally finished! A project only a year in the making! I started piecing this quilt together last year, and finally got the desire to finish it off. I love how it turned out, and it is so soft. I can't wait to wrap our lil' babe up in it!

This little gem came together so quickly and was so fun to do because I did it all by myself from start to finish, even the quilting! I am definitely still learning, so I was pretty proud of myself. Thank goodness for these two projects or I think I might have gone crazy during football/baseball season!

And last but not least, a shot of me and my pregnant belly at 28 weeks. I have been horrible about taking pictures to document my growth, but every time I do take one and compare it to the previous time I can't believe how much I have grown! It is a little scary for me to think that I will be getting even bigger!

A few weeks ago Zachary and I went to New York to visit his Brother and family and see the sights. We had such a great time, New York is so beautiful! I miss all the green. Kirk and Rachel were such wonderful hosts and we miss them so much already...hopefully we'll be able to make it back there again sometime soon!

Here I am showcasing my "baby bump." This picture was taken at 20 weeks, but I feel like it more true to what I really look like currently at 22 weeks. I am growing, growing, growing!

We spent one day at Long Beach, and had so much fun. It was gorgeous weather and a beautiful beach! Neither of us dared get in the water, we got to stop watching Shark Week....We had fun walking the beach and looking at all the jelly fish and sea shells that had washed up.

Grand Central Station is amazing! That place is huge and gorgeous! How people find their way around that place, I have no idea...

On Saturday afternoon we went to a Yankees game at Yankee Stadium. Going to that stadium is an experience in itself, it is quite the place. Luckily we had seats in the shade and we loved having a few hot dogs while we watched the game!

One day we went into the City with everyone. We had fun checking out Central Park, Times Square, eating lunch at Bubba Gumps, and topping it all off with a piece of cheesecake from Carnegie Deli, divine!

And of course on the hottest, most humid day there we were at the US Open all day, outside! We didn't let the heat get us down though! The highlight of the day was watching Roger Federer play. We also loved watching Mardy Fish, and the # 1 Women's singles player, can't remember her name though.

Doug J'net were getting creative trying to keep the sun off of their heads! We were so glad we were able to make the trip with them and share all these fun experiences!

Please excuse my lovely appearance, by the end of the day I was a sweaty mess! It was such a fun experience, and one we can check off our list.

My favorite thing we did...Mary Poppins on Broadway. I LOVED it! Everything about it was fun and amazing, especially the set changes. Zachary even loved it!

Z was loving this cop on a horse, he just had to get a picture!

(funny story, as I was posting this I turned to Zachary and asked, "What do they they call cops on horses?" His response, "cops on horses." Isn't there a real name for them?)

We rode the Subway over to the Statue of Liberty, saw Ground Zero, made a few purchases on Canal Street ( you know I love that place!) and saw the Empire State Building. I was totally worn out at the end of that day!

We loved our time in New York and now it's back to life! I even have started working again, teaching 5th and 6th graders and I love it! It is definitely a new adventure everyday, but that's what makes it so fun!