Family

We have been so blessed to have our families around lately! My parents and sister were here for Thanksgiving and then my Mom stuck around waiting for Spencer to show his face and then my Dad and sister came back for Christmas. We all spent lots of time hanging out with Ben and Amy's family as well and the holidays were so much fun...back to the regular grind...ha, yea right, we have a new baby to keep things interesting, like, forever!

Jean's parents came up from Brazil and his sister is also staying with us. We are looking forward to spending this month with them!!

Spencer has won over their hearts and they have won his!!

Baby Blessing

This last Sunday we blessed Spencer in our home. Both of our families were in town so we wanted to take advantage of that.
It was a beautiful blessing and it was great to have loved ones with us. Thanks immensely to all those who helped us make it wonderful!
This is a four generation shot!

Merry Christmas!

It was fun to have my parents and sister with us for the holiday!

For you doubters out there, here is your proof that Santa does exist! And for those who just didn't know, my husband is also a transformer! This mask came with the Transformers movie I bought him.

Our first Christmas with Spencer was great! Things got rolling really slowly with a brand new baby, but Jean and my Mom made a great lunch and we got around to opening presents in the afternoon. Jean gave Spencer his first toy truck--and Spencer slept right through it all!

The rest of our hospital stay and then home for Christmas!

Well, as my brother so eloquently said from our previous post, I look like I had been through a war...pretty accurate. I brought make-up and even my flat iron to prep for pics at the hospital, but let's face it, you just don't look your best and that epidural must have spread to my brain because I didn't really care that much.

Spencer has Jean wrapped around his little finger already!! I love to see how excited Jean gets over Spencer and I was right, he is a fabulous Dad!

I had such wonderful support during the whole process. Jean was so good with me and knew exactly what to say to ease my nerves and get me through the scares. My Mom was also there and was a great support too. Between the two of them and my epidural, it is no wonder I was able to crack some jokes! =)

This is Spencer all geared up to go home! We left the hospital Christmas Eve right before the big snow storm, it was great timing! I was glad to go back home, but also a little nervous to leave the skilled nurses behind...But as you can see, Jean is a pro so he will help me get this parenting thing figured out!

Baby Spencer!!!

Well, he is finally here! We had some ordeals getting him here and a few scares, but everything worked out in the end and he is beautiful and so sweet! He was born at 12:41 this morning, 9 lbs and 20 inches. His head is bigger than average, so delivery was fun for me...And we learned an important lesson--he does not like his hair/head messed with!

I need to rest, so I will spare you all the details of the past few days, but enjoy our little guy--we sure do!!

I got sent home from my induction...

Yep, that's right. Who gets sent home from an induction appointment? Now that is rejection. haha But other than having to do the dreaded walk into the hospital twice, it is actually good news. I went in to the hospital tonight at 6:00 to start the induction and after two hours and an IV they said that I was doing okay for now on my own--that is without drugs to get things going just yet--and I have to go back in the morning. So I get to sleep in my own bed one more time before my sleepless nights begin! Yea!

Happy 2nd Anniversary!

So on Tuesday, Jean and I had our 2nd anniversary. It has been a great two years and he is the best husband ever!!

Jean, the sneaky guy, got me a new camera. He schemed and everyone else was in on the secret, except me! I had no clue, even though Jean thought I did. And just a side note, my niece saw this picture of Jean and said, "He is handsome, huh?" I have to agree!! But it takes great pictures (that make me look tan) and videos--perfect for documenting our baby, that is, if he ever comes out...I am beginning to wonder...

FYI...

Yesterday was my due date...and yet, no baby has presented himself as of this moment--despite the efforts of Jean who is encouraging me to go for walks and up and down the stairs to get things moving along! =)

Pregnancy update...

Okay, I am officially six days until the baby's due date, and here is a picture for those of you wondering how big I have gotten! Yikes!! As you can see, we have a slightly difficult time hugging because of it! haha

Hopefully my next post will include pictures of our new addition, Baby Boy Rocha!! (Yikes, again!) I am really excited to meet him!

You be the judge...

Unfortunately, we don't have a picture to document this occasion. But please decide for yourself if you think I am crazy...I can take your judgements. haha So, yesterday we were searching through Black Friday ads, and when I say we, I mean Jean, because they were causing me mild to moderate stress. Well, long story short we found a computer that we want/need and one that Jean's mom wants/needs both at Office Depot and we decided to go check out the line to see if it was worth getting up in the morning to go. There was one car in the parking lot with people chilling and no line outside the store. Since we knew we could be among the first in line if we set up tent, we decided to do it. Originally, I was just going to help Jean get set up and maybe stay for a little bit then go home and sleep, BUT I decided to stay the whole night and join in on the fun adventure!! Yes, you read right, me at 8.5 months prego, slept outside of Office Depot from 10 PM to 6 AM. I didn't even have to take a quick trip home during the night to use any facilities, if you catch my drift, which I am quite proud of. The adventure was well worth it, as we were first in line and were able to get both computers. If we hadn't have stayed, they would have been sold out by the time we got there...Hope your Black Friday was as memorable as ours!!

Apparantly, once you start

you can't stop! Here is another tag...I blame this post on a combination of boredom and a lack of motivation today at work. Hope you enjoy getting to know me a little bit more!!

Instructions: you have to write a note with 16 random things, shortcomings, facts, habits or goals about you.

1. Whenever I wash my hands, I get the urge to spit in the sink (Just FYI, I don't usually follow through with that urge).

2. I have a scar on the back of my thigh from a ferry in NYC when I was like 9 nine years old...I was not obeying rules...I have a scar on the front of my thigh from barb wire on an apartment building roof (meant to keep people off) from when I was 19...again not following rules...do you see a pattern here?

3. I want to be one of those crazy old ladies that has some quirk about her...not sure what I want the quirk to be yet....crazy hats? I ruled out being the cat lady long ago...

4. I don't like walking through my house at night with darkness behind me. Does that make sense? Like turning off the light in the room and then leaving.

5. I have ridden an elephant at the Singapore Zoo.

6. I have chronic hiccoughs.

7. My goal is to make it to all seven continents before I die...only two to go (Africa and Antartica)!!!

8. I have moved 23 times in my life. Yes, I am only 26 years old...

9. In the ten years since I began working (not counting any babysitting) I have held 11 different jobs.

10. Based on #9 and #10, for those of you who didn't already know, I am pretty sure that I am addicted to change.

11. The only time I have consumed alcohol was when my Mom gave it to me. Now before she freaks out because I am making her sound like a bad mom, here is the explanation. We moved to Italy and she bought chocolate covered cherries to share with the family. She passed them out to all of us, which we promptly ate, then she ate hers and realized what she had done. We learned to check for alcohol in chocolates while in Europe--a valuable lesson.

12. When swimming at night, I have the irrational fear that there are sharks in the pool with me.

13. Remarkably, the only bone I have broken is my little toe. (Knock on wood.) You would think with how accident prone I am, that number would be higher though. Guess I am just tough! =)

14. I am ridiculously particular about my laundry...to a fault.

15. I fear gorillas, well monkeys as well. I had a bad experience as a child with a gorilla. A few years ago, I had a monkey grab onto my finger and I almost had a panic attack...Lemurs, on the other hand, I am strangely okay with. Not sure if they are considered a monkey...

16. I get so excited at Christmas time because they sell Peppermint ice cream and mint M&M's. Both should be sold year round--probably a good thing for my waistline that they arn't though.

I am joining the tagging world...

What is your husband's name? Jean
How long have you been married? almost two years
How long did you date? about 6 months from first date to marriage
How old is he? 27
Who eats sweets? I like sweets, he likes salty
Who said I love you first? I did
Who is taller? he is
Who can sing best? um, not sure if you would want to listen to either of us singing...
Who is smarter? why are there questions like this? I guess I will admit that he is smarter than I am...
Who drives? he usually does, unless he is too full after eating out! =)
Who does the laundry? we both do, but I usually beat him to it
Who pays the bills? both
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? standing in front of the bed facing it, I do
Who mows the lawn? we have a system, he mows and weed-wacks (sp?) and I sweep the sidewalks and driveway, works for me! =)
Who cooks dinner? again, we both do, but he probably ends up doing it more than I...just depends who gets home first
Who is the first to admit they are wrong? um, that totally depends on the situation...maybe Jean though...
Who kissed who first? we were hiking and sat on a rock to rest and he kissed me first
Who asked who out first? now that is a popular debate...according to his version of our first date, it was kind of mutually arranged, according to my version, he asked me
Who wears the pants? we decide things together
Anyone who wants to participate, can! I give you permission! haha

Coolest Mom and Grandma EVER!!!

My Mom and Gma are currently at the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) in Las Vegas and having a great time! (I am so jealous...)

They got their pictures taken with Guilherme Marchi, who is currently ranked #1 bull rider and even more important, from Brazil!! =) My Mom had a conversation with him about Brazil and her son-in-law being from there. To demonstrate her pride in my wonderful husband and Brazil, everytime a Brazilian is mentioned or rides she has been shouting for Brazil and telling strangers about Jean!!!
Glad that you two are having such a fun time!

Happy Halloween!!

Disclaimer: We sincerely hope we do not offend anyone with our costumes! Just how often are you this much prego on Halloween in your lifetime? I had to incorporate it somehow into my costume!

Hope your Halloween was as fun as ours!!

Getting into the festivities!

Thanks to Ben and Amy, Jean and I got into pumpkin carving! I had been thinking about doing it, but life kept happening and we never got around to it, I like to prefer to avoid calling it lazy...Anyway, they had us over for a delicious breakfast dinner (my fave!) and carving.

I think this was my first time actually involved in the carving of pumpkins...yep, I am 26. I have helped clean out pumpkins, but can't remember ever taking a knife to one. Don't judge me!
Anyway, Jean and I picked the happy looking pattern (it looked the least initmidating) and Emma, a pro, coached me through the carving and made it look great!

After 26 years of living, I can no longer say....

that I have never been stung by a bee. Rude! At work, I was innocently reaching into my bag when a bee felt threatened and attacked! So I had no idea what to do (having no experience in this area) so thanks to my co-worker nurse who promptly removed the stinger. Side note--did you know that stingers move around after the bee has fallen off?? Weird, like a chicken without a head maybe. I guess on the bright side, I will now know what people mean when they say something is like "being stung by a bee"....

Comforting or Creepy???? what is your take??

So I just found a story on MSN that you should check out at http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/22043457?GT1=43001. They are making these dolls to look quite (disturbingly??) like real babies. They are called "reborns". Hmm. It said that they can "fill a spot in your heart" regarding women who can't have children...I know this is a sensitive area for many, so I will refrain from more commentary. But, interesting to look at the photos (click on images and you will see several different...models?...designs?). I know I would be fooled!!!

Sky

When I woke up the other morning and looked out the window to check out the weather, this is what I got! To me, these are the perfect clouds and I just had to share them with you. It was a beautiful day!!

Fall canyon--sorry the pics don't quite capture the colors...

So this last weekend was perfect weather and I wanted Jean to see the fall colors, so we took off into the canyon for some good food and relaxation in the hammock!
Of course, grilling is not complete without Jean's picanha (top sirloin)!
We chilled (literally) in the hammock until we got just a little too cold and then took off to drive the Alpine Loop.
I love Utah in the fall and even more, enjoying it with my favorite person!

28 weeks!

Okay, okay...here comes another photo of the belly. I am now six months and one week along in the pregnancy! Crazy how time flies when you are having fun! Jean felt the little guy kicking awhile ago, but is really feeling it often and more definite now, which is exciting! Baby boy was kicking pretty hard the other day so I moved Jean's hand to where I was feeling the kicks and was surprised that Jean didn't feel them too. Come to find out, Jean's hand was on top of my ribs and I was feeling the kicks on the inside of my ribs. Baby, not nice to kick your Mama in the ribs!!! And ps, if you didn't catch on, we still have not decided on a name for him yet...

September so far...

Las Vegas

For Labor Day we went back to Las Vegas to hang out with some family again. My parents came up from Texas and we had another fun filled weekend! Happy Birthday, Dad (he says he has never been so close to 60 before)! Spencer took us around the Strip over the weekend and this picture is in the Venetian.

We also went into Caesar's Palace and enjoyed the Cheesecake Factory, great spur of the moment decision, if you ask me!
Mom and Dad decided to test out the comfort of the casino chairs. Dad quickly escaped the photo opportunity, but I was able to catch Mom. And don't worry, Mom wasn't gambling!

Babysitting back in Utah...
I am constantly entertained with the things that Jean comes up with to entertain kids (not sure what that says about me...)!! Our neices got a great kick out of this idea, and especially when Jean discovered that rubberbands don't come off as easy as they come on. It was difficult trying to figure out which one was on top.
The girls and I even got in on some of the action, but yes we learned from Jean and limited the number of rubberbands we would allow to go on our face.

Utah State Fair
Jean and I made it to the fair over the weekend. It was pretty good times and great people watching! We didn't get many pics, but the tiger show was pretty cool. Not sure what possesses a man to get in a cage with 6-8 tigers, but it was interesting to watch. We could get pretty close (I didn't zoom in the picture) and it is amazing how big and strong they are!
The fair also included more than we needed of expensive fatty foods (though I would have the gyro again...), not the kind of homemade lemonade we were expecting (it was expensive ice), one HUGE pig, a few very pregnant cows (I felt their pain), a very crowded rodeo and lots of people trying to get us to buy stuff! I am so bad at avoiding them, good thing Jean has some sense!

P.S. I will be SIX months pregnant this next Saturday! Time is going by too fast AND too slow, depending on the day! =)

Courage...

Today I had a complete stranger ask immediately upon seeing me, "Boy or girl?" The confidence of this man that surely I was a pregnant woman instead of a fat woman gave me the courage to finally post a picture of my ever growing belly. This pic was taken today, and I am currently a little over five months along.

Happy pregnancy!! =)

Drum roll please....

We had our ultrasound this morning (finally) and our baby looks healthy and complete with fingers and toes! The Doc checked out the heart, spine, face, brain, etc. and said everything looks perfect! Yea! And we did a gender check and the baby is a.......boy! We are totally excited! (Of course we only have a girl name picked out though...I guess we have some time to narrow down our list of boy names.) Now I can't wait to go shopping--baby shopping seems like more fun when you know what to shop for. Okay, so the pics were saved in a weird format...as video...I don't get it, but whatever. Just click play to see the pics!

HELP!!!

Jean and I have the ever so fortunate opportunity to give talks in church in two Sundays. YIKES! Besides the fact that I am not into public speaking per se, I would like a little help from my friends as I can't seem to talk my way out of it...Our topic is Heroes from the Book of Mormon. I was thinking to share a few stories about how I was inspired by BOM people, but thought it would also be interesting (not to mention lengthen my talk--Jean will appreciate that) to get some stories from friends that I could plagiarize (giving you all the credit of course--so I guess borrow is a better word). If you would be willing to take a few minutes out of your day and email me or post a story of how you have been inspired, I WOULD LOVE YOU FOREVER!! Okay, chances are I probably will anyway, but you know what I mean...THANKS!!!!

Things I am learning about being prego...

--Zofran is an amazing drug...if you have morning sickness, DEMAND Zofran from your doc (let your insurance suck it up and eat the cost--it is well worth the fight with them!)
--I can no longer suck in my gut, I suck and nothing happens...guess I have extra stuff in there filling in the previously voided areas...and as a side note, I hit a high point yesterday when my niece asked to feel my baby so I guided her hand to where to feel and she says, "Wow, your belly is huge!" That is a good thing, right????? Please comfort me, haha.
--I have a new found love for Cheetos (maybe this should be the blame for the waistline instead of the baby...nah, the baby is the cause, for sure!!)
--Long flights are no longer the sole cause for my elephantitis...can I just tell you how much I dislike the feeling of swollen ankles and feet? I really don't like it. I can't even stand to look at them after a day on my feet...it makes me feel strange inside, like watching contortionists...
--Every woman seems to have horror stories about giving birth, which doesn't make sense to me, because I keep hearing that women forget the pain blah blah blah and that is why they keep having babies...well, the stories they share with me surely are pain-filled and it doesn't sound like they have really forgotten. I guess by the end of the year I will be able to join yet another strange club of women that don't really make sense, joy! =)
--Maybe I have more patience than previously I have given myself credit for. We find out on Aug 5 (8 days...who's counting???) whether we are having a boy or girl. But the point of that is, I am proud to say that I did not cave in and head to the mall for an early ultrasound. There is some hope for patience in motherhood!!!

Picnic in AF canyon!

Last night, prior to getting out of the house, Abbie wanted to show off her new make-up that Grandma bought her and lucky man that he is, Jean got to be her test subject. (We don't test on animals...just humans!) The eyeshadow in his eyebrows was quite dashing, but it quickly got rubbed off!

I learned on the drive up the canyon that the combination of two little girls and a camera can get things rolling and pretty entertaining. Emma and Abbie love to play photographer...which got Jean's imagination going...
Jean (I guess following the beauty theme from earlier) decided to style my hair into Cousin It and of course, Emma had to join in on the action! I think that we are way stylin! When Jean was snapping the photo I had to really fight the urge to smile, I think I still did in the end, not that you can tell, haha.
We got to the site and the girls and Reba (dog) immediately were off to explore the hill and river.
My mama almost got the smore right out of Amy's hand...sneaky little....they were a hot commodity, especially because we discovered Dallin was a graham cracker monster and was downing our supply!
I had to make sure Emma did my roasting because I repeatedly set the marshmallows on fire (well more accurately couldn't distinguish the fire)...so I am easily distracted, give me a break!
Abbie was so into her smore that she didn't even notice me literally in her face taking pictures. Can you just see the enjoyment in her face?
Dallin is really a cute little boy that will bring a smile to your face! He was very happy with the combination of his two favorite things, his mom and being outside!
Can I just add that I love the mountains in Utah!!! This is such a beautiful state!
We also got to chase prairie dogs, the girls got to pet a fish (thanks to a nice fisherman), watch horses go by and saw deer! So that summarizes our outing last night to the canyon, it was pretty great times!