The Nixon Family

W A L K I N G and other cool things

2012-01-19T07:27:00.000-08:00

As of yesterday, I suppose we can officially call Eva a "toddler." When I dropped her off at daycare yesterday morning, we were sitting on the floor about 5 feet from Jamie and she started lunging towards her. I stood her up and was going to let her hold onto my fingers and walk to her like she usually does and much to my surprise, she took off and walked to her all on her own. She's been so close to walking I knew it was coming soon, but it was still a shock to see her take off and actually do it. I'm so glad I was there to see her first steps. Being a working mom, I've always been afraid of missing lots of "firsts." Luckily I think I've been there for all of them though. To make the drop off even better, she blew me kisses as I said goodbye to her. She really is the sweetest, smartest, cutest, funniest, most lovable daughter ever!

A few pics of her trying to walk more -- but never got it on camera- though lots of good attempts

To add to the excitement of all the going abouts of Eva, when I got to work yesterday I was informed I'm in the final round of applicants to interview for a 0800-430 pm Monday-Friday position at work. (This is out of 120 applicants). So that has me very excited and looks like it may work out which would be a very good thing for our family.

Then yesterday afternoon, we found out officially that we got the house we had a rental application in on. We move on February 15th. We are sooooo excited to be back in a house, and this house is so perfect. It was exactly what we were looking for! It's not too far from where we currently are. It's 4 bdrm, 2.5 bath, and just over 2000 sq ft with hardwood floors, granite, and lots of space for our growing family. It's in a quiet cul de sac about 3 doors down from a community pool and playground. I don't think we could ask for much else!

Anyhow, lots of excitement in the Nixon household at the moment and lots of good things kicking off the year for us!!!!

9 months

2012-01-18T07:26:00.000-08:00

Once again, I'm a few weeks late on Eva's monthly update, but better late than never!
Eva has reached the big 9 months! Amazing how quick it has gone! At her 9 month check up her newest stats were:

Weight: 19 lbs 8 oz
Height: 28"
Head Circumfrence: 17.5"

Her growth really slowed down between 6-9 months though her doctor said it's mainly because she's become so active and mobile. (Which she absolutely has!) Also we all had a cold for weeks and she's also been teething and was a little less interested in food for awhile.

That sure changed quick shortly after her check up though! She must be going through a growth spurt right now because she's suddenly eating more in a day than she was eating in almost a week! I swear she's gonna gain 3 lbs this month.

Back to the subject of her activity level, she picked up on crawling in a hurry! She has no problem getting to wherever she wants to go (including where we don't want her to go) whenever she wants. Her new confidence in her crawling skills did not placate her for long. She now crawls to whatever piece of furniture she wants to stand up on and pulls herself up so she can start cruising and grab whatever seems interesting to her. She has let go of items and stood independently a few times just in the last few days and is SOOOOOO close to walking on her own. I think she will probably take her first independent steps before 10 months.

Also in the last few weeks her verbal skills are getting so much better. Lots of new sounds and noises and a lot of inflection in her voice. I can tell she's really trying hard to communicate and can't wait til we can understand more than "mama" and "dada."

The past few weeks our little girl is such a sponge. It seems like every day I come home to some new trick of hers. Cute little things that make me smile such as blowing kisses, clapping, bouncing around, making new sounds, finding more ways to get into more things. She is absolutely AHHH...MAZING!

A few new things with the grown ups. I'm hoping to start a new shift at work soon. I should be working either 8-430, or 10-630 monday through friday. I can't wait!!!!! I love working my 8 on 6 off right now. (Well I love having 6 days off in a row anyway), but I am really looking forward to hopefully having my evenings and weekends free very soon. I'm starting to feel like I hardly get to see my daughter for 8 days straight (which is mostly true), so I think it will be a good thing for our family.

Also, our lease is up in our apartment next month! YAY! We are sooooo ready to get back in a house! I think we found the perfect place and hope to find out in the next day or two if everything is finalized for us to move in the middle of February! It's much bigger than the last few places we've lived and we will finally have space for an office and and extra bedroom for a sibling for Eva at some point. (And before I start getting a bunch of crazy text messages, NO I'm not pregnant). I love the house and a huge bonus is it's like 3 doors down from a community pool and a playground. Hopefully we'll be there til we move out of Arizona.

Eva's First Christmas!

2011-12-25T06:53:00.000-08:00

Aaron and I were lucky enough to both have a week off from work surrounding Christmas this year. It has been super nice to have some time as a family and all be home together. We started our Christmas holiday by taking a road trip to the snow on Thursday. We loaded up and drove to Greer in Northeast, AZ. We stayed in a little town called Eagar thursday night, and Friday morning we bundled up and went to Sunrise Ski resort. We thought we'd take Eva sledding/tubing for awhile but they didn't rent tubes at the resort like we thought they would. So we played in the snow and I gave Eva some rides down the hill in my lap. I'm a little surprised, but happy as to how much Eva liked the snow. She was all smiles and wide eyed taking it all in. She seems to be a huge fan of the outdoors in general --just like mom and dad. I even caught her catching snowflakes on her tongue. After she played for awhile, she hung out in the ski lodge with dad for awhile while mom got to get a little snowboarding in. :)

SNOW!

Glad she likes her mokey beanie as much as we do!

Getting all ready for the snow
And ready to hit the slopes!

Playing with mom in the snow!

Hanging in the ski lodge

Christmas Eve was a quiet day at home. In the evening, Uncle Matt came over and we ordered pizza and talked to Aaron's family online. We have started a Christmas Eve tradition of exchanging pajamas. So after Matt left we did that and got all snuggly in our new jammies. After all was said and done, Eva (who has been fighting a cold) was ready for bed and Santa was on his way!
Despite the cold which has taken a toll on all 3 of us at our house, we had a great Christmas. Eva was excited to see all her presents and loved all of them. She spent the day crawling from toy to toy (and occasionally to us for some hugs). Santa was also good to Aaron and I. Aaron got a new digital SLR camera (which worked out great since our point and shoot died 2 days ago). I got a kindle which I'm really excited about.

Since all 3 of us are sick, we spent the day in our new Christmas jammies, played with our new toys, and watched some movies that the Galants sent us. Thanks Galants! All in all we had a really nice quiet Christmas at home with our sweet little girl. We are looking forward to having a few more days at home together (hopefully minus the colds) before we all go back to work!

Eva with all of her Christmas loot

Walking with her new walker

Christmas nap with her light saber (gift to Aaron from his mom that she held onto all day)

The face of a happy girl on Christmas!

Tales of Florida from Eva

2011-12-18T21:06:00.000-08:00

So this past week, daddy had business meetings in Orlando, so mommy and I tagged along for a fun mini vacation while daddy was working. I got to ride my first plane and it was a lot of fun. I played with mommy and daddy and had fun reading the in flight magazines. Before I knew it we were in Orlando. Mom and Dad rented a car and we went to the Hard Rock Hotel at Universal Studios. All in all it was a really cool resort, I got my own queen sized bed instead of that little mini jail mom and dad call a crib, and they played music everywhere in the hotel so I got to sing and dance to it a lot.

Thursday morning, daddy headed to his first meeting and mommy and I got up and hit Disney World. Mommy wasn't quite sure as to how I would react or if I would be old enough to enjoy too much of the park. Boy did I prove her wrong! We started by taking the ferry from the parking lot to the park, which was a lot of fun in itself. Once in the park we had a few minutes of looking around at everything, watching a parade, and munching on a cookie to fuel up for some rides! We went on the Tea Cups, Dumbo, and Small World. I had fun on all of them, but I think Small World was my favorite! I was so excited to see so many cool things. I couldn't help but dance and sing along with the music. Mommy seemed really happy that I had so much fun.

After the rides, I was pretty wiped out from all the fun. I helped mom eat a churro and took a nice nap in my stroller while mom looked in some shops. After my nap we watched another parade, got some Mickey ears, and took the ferry back to the parking lot. All and all it was a really fun day at the park. We just wish daddy were able to be there with us. We missed him and mommy discovered that having someone as little as me and a stroller and all my stuff was hard by herself in a place like that. She said it was totally worth it since we had so much fun though.
I was excited to get back to our room and tell daddy all about our day and how much I missed him. After showing him my stuff from Disney World and telling him all about it, we crashed out and took a nap together. After a good rest, we went down to the Hard Rock Kitchen and I got to sit at the big table with mommy and daddy and help them with their yummy food.

Friday daddy had another meeting so I suggested to mommy that we should ride the water taxi from the hotel to Universal Studios City Walk. We spent a few hours walking around window shopping and then walked down the really pretty trail back to our hotel. That afternoon mom took me down to the pool. I enjoyed swimming over the summer, but I didn't realize how awesome it really is until now! Our hotel had a resort style pool with a beach and sand. The water went gradually from 0" so I could sit and splash around without mommy having to hold me. And the water was 85 degrees (plus it was almost 80 degrees outside), so the water felt super nice!

That night daddy's company had their annual Christmas party. Daddy told me they usually just have a nice dinner at a hotel in Phoenix, but this year his company rented Universal Studios just for them. They started by having the big scary roller coaster open for an hour. I wanted to go on, but I wasn't tall enough. I watched mommy go a few times instead. Then we had a nice dinner with all of daddy's coworkers at Sound Stage 33. After that they had the streets of the park open for us with a DJ and rides and dessert and lots of fun. I took a nap in my stroller while mommy and daddy hung out with daddy's friends from work for the evening.

Saturday morning we slept in and then packed up to go home. After mom and dad checked out of the hotel, they decided to take me for one last swim before we left since I told them how much I liked it the day before. I had sooooooo much fun swimming with mommy and daddy. After I felt more comfortable in the water, I even started putting my face in and kicking my legs. After that we drove to Cocoa Beach for the rest of the day. The ocean is super cool. Mom thought I might be scared of it, but I wasn't. It was so relaxing to me. And I loved watching the waves. We played at the beach for a few hours and we all had a really good afternoon. Mommy and Daddy even got in the ocean. It was a little bit too cold for me, but they told me that it's a lot warmer than the ocean in California.

After that we had just enough time to get to the airport and fly back to Phoenix. I had such a great time during the trip. (Though it does feel good to be back home). Mommy is going back to work for 4 days and daddy for 2 and then they both have an entire week off from work to spend with me. They keep talking about something called "snow" that they are going to take me to in a few days. I hope I have as much fun there as I did in Florida. I feel pretty lucky that mommy and I got to go on such a cool trip with daddy, but most of all, it was awesome just spending lots of time with them! I can't wait for a whole other week of fun with both of them!
~ <3 Eva

P.S: I cut another tooth while we were in Florida and I was such a good girl about it that mommy and daddy had no idea until they saw the tooth at dinner. :D

8 MONTHS!

2011-12-13T19:51:00.001-08:00

Our little girl is getting bigger every day! We have so much fun watching her grow physically, emotionally and developmentally. It's amazing how quick she changes and what an awesome little girl she is quickly growing into.

At 8 months she is hovering right around 20 lbs, and though I haven't measured in a little while, I would guess close to 28".

As to what's new with her in the last month, she's been becoming more and more mobile each day. She still doesn't use crawling much as a mode of transportation per se, but she gets up on all fours and I think has the ability to crawl, but likes instead to get up on her knees and do silly things like bounce on her knees and practice yoga. (She's pretty good at the downward dog). I've seen her crawl a foot or two, but she seems to be more interested in getting to us and pulling herself up into a standing position. She LOVES to walk! She crawls, scoots, rolls, does whatever she has to do to get to us, pulls herself up to a standing position and holds our fingers and walks all over the house. She's pretty good at it, and I'm quite certain she is going to be an early walker.

She also FINALLY cut her first tooth the first week in December, and I think she's working on some more. She's enjoying eating lots of new foods with her new teeth. She's good at eating her baby food but also wants anything we are eating. Her favorite snacks right now are gerber cheese puffs and teething cookies.

She has a good routine down schedule wise. She sleeps til 8 am every morning, and is very active and playful during the day. At night she still waits for mommy to get home from work at about 10 and greets me with giggles, a big grin, and a hug every night. After she's bathed, and fed and ready to sleep she crawls up on Aaron's shoulder which is his cue that she wants him to sing "Rock A Bye Baby" and rock her to sleep. It's very sweet.

We are very anxious for Christmas, and I hope Eva's presents last til then. She has been practicing opening them every day. In the next week or two we also have a lot of fun outings planned. We are going to Orlando this weekend so Eva will get to experience Disney World and the beach for the first time. And the following week we plan on introducing her to snowboarding. (Well maybe just sledding/tubing). ;-) So I should have lots of stories and pictures to share soon. Most of all, I'm just looking forward to spending lots of good time with her and Aaron over the next few weeks!

Thanksgiving

2011-11-27T14:30:00.000-08:00

We had our first Thanksgiving with Eva this week! Though we stayed home and kept it pretty low key, we had a really nice relaxing day at home. Aaron was able to take the whole week off from work and I had my 6 days off starting Wednesday.

Thursday morning we got up and Eva and I watched the Macy's day parade during breakfast while Aaron started cooking! Matt came over in the afternoon and the 4 of us had a really nice dinner/evening. Eva got her first tastes of some "grown up" food for thanksgiving. She had gerber turkey and sweet potatoes, but had some of our mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, croissants, and some pie and cookie for dessert! She loved it. (Especially the cookie).

I feel like I have so much to be thankful for this year. My awesome husband, my beautiful daughter, our jobs, a nice place to live, our families, our friends, our health. The list could go on, but with everything going on in the world, we are truly fortunate to have all that we do.

On the topic of Thanks, it seems so completely perfect that our anniversary falls over thanksgiving weekend. I am so thankful for my wonderful husband. He makes me laugh, challenges me intellectually, loves Eva and I unconditionally, and is my best friend. Though we've only been married 2 years, I can't imagine my life ever without him in it.

After wrapping up thanksgiving, we got our Christmas tree Saturday. It seems to have quickly become a tradition of ours to put the tree up the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I'm not quite sure what Eva thinks of having a tree in the house, she seems scared to touch it, but seems to love the lights and decorations. After getting the tree up, we wrapped the pile of presents we had stashed for her, and it didn't take long at all until she figured out how to start opening them. Hopefully they last til Christmas!

Looking back at my pictures of the last few months, I realize I never posted our pictures from Halloween, so here are those as well!

7 Months

2011-11-20T07:36:00.001-08:00

Who woulda thought that we'd already be more than halfway to Eva's first birthday? Not me! It's flown by so quick! Eva continues to amaze me everyday, and I'm in awe of what a cute, sweet, smart girl she is growing into.

If this doesn't scream "happy baby" I don't know what does!

So a couple weeks ago at her 7 month mark her stats were:

Weight: 19 lbs even
Height: 28" (there about- it was hard to measure her)
Head Circumference: about 17 3/4" (also hard to measure)

So in the last month, our Peanut has continued to grow like crazy. She's curious of everything around her and you can tell she's always trying to figure things out. She's still trying like crazy to figure out this crawling thing. She gets up on all fours and tries sooo hard. She usually ends up crawling backwards though.

She's eating more solid foods, though there are some days she's more interested than others. She seems most interested in whatever we are eating. She watches us eat intently and mimics us chewing. Then she lunges and tries so hard to grab at our food. We give her little tastes of stuff that is appropriate. She also loves to drink water from our glasses. She will drink from her sippy cup, but seems to prefer whatever we are drinking from. It's crazy to me how much she seems to want to emulate us.

We found out this last month that she has some allergies. (Dog, Latex, Milk, Soy, and we have recently discovered banana as well). It makes me a little sad, but she has been great with it, and she seems to be feeling better and doing much better now that we know and can avoid these things. This did mean finding a new home for our dog. :( But he went to a friend with kids who run and play with him and give him lots of attention. And it is worth the fact that Eva no longer wheezes and coughs when she's playing on the floor.

She's still babbling lots. She's always been a motormouth. The only word I can make out that she says on a regular basis is "mama." Though I think she usually uses it referring to the fact that she wants to breastfeed- so still not sure if she is talking about me or my boobs when she says it. She also sings us little songs. It's so sweet. She really is my little music baby.

My favorite part of the day over the last few weeks has been coming home from work. Lately, Aaron and Eva wait on the porch for me when they know I'm on my way, and as I'm walking towards the front door, as soon as Eva can see me she gets this huge smile on her face and giggles and starts lunging towards me to give me a big hug when I get home. It makes my day every day!

We have been preparing for Eva's first Christmas, and having so much fun! I think I already have most of her shopping done. And it's awesome that she's young enough that I can hide her presents in her own closet! Every time we've gone out shopping, we will show her different toys and things to see if she acts interested, and she gets so excited that she starts shaking with excitement as we show her toys. Then I feel really bad when I take them away, so I absolutely cannot wait for her to get up Christmas morning and see her collection of toys that I have shown her and rudely confiscated.

Guess that's really about all that's new with her. She just makes us fall more and more in love with her all the time. Aaron and I are enjoying every moment and looking way forward to our first holiday season with her!

Last, but not least, here are a few recent pictures including our family pictures from last week!

HALF A YEAR!!!!

2011-10-17T11:28:00.000-07:00

So Eva is the big 6 months! I can hardly believe that we are more than half way to her first birthday! I fall more and more in love with my sweet girl every day (though I never imagined it possible to love her more). She is physically and mentally growing up into such an awesome little girl.

Her newest growth stats from her 6 month check up are:

Weight: 17lbs 7oz (75%)
Height: 26 3/4" (78%)
Head: 17 1/2" (91%)

In the last month, she has mastered the art of sitting up on her own. She can now almost sit up from a laying down position all by herself! And once up she can stay up and balance herself completely independently. She is working very hard on learning to crawl. She'll get up on her hands and knees and rock but hasn't quite figured out how to move very far that way yet. Currently her alternate mode of transportation is rolling. She's been able to roll for awhile, however, she is quite the rolly polly lately. She will be down on the floor playing and if we turn our head for a minute she is across the room. She is loving eating baby foods and rice crackers as a supplement to her bottles. She is incredibly independent. When I feed her, I have to give her her own spoon because she wants to do everything herself. It makes me a tinge sad that's she not a little baby anymore, but also proud of how big and capable she really is. She still loves to talk. She's quite the chatterbox. She's gotten really good at putting syllables together and says mama and dada quite often (though I'm not certain she knows what they mean just yet). I was told at daycare a couple weeks ago that she was playing with one of her favorite toys and one of the bigger kids came and tried to grab it away from her. Our daycare person, Jamie, swears she got upset and yelled "NO! NO!!!" So I think coherent vocabulary is not too far off.

Eva is in daycare for a half day, 3 days a week. She loves her daycare and playing with Jamie and the other kids there. As much as she loves daycare, she is also soooo excited when mommy or daddy come home from work. When one of us walks through the door after being at work she will lunge towards us and give us great big hugs. She has such a sweet disposition. On our days home together, we love to play with her toys together, read books, sing songs, jump in her jumperoo, spend mornings at "baby time" at the public library, and generally cuddle and have a good time together. It's still too hot to go out a lot of days, but we have gotten a few nice family walks in, as well as having a few days out and about. I can't wait til winter when the temperature is more bearable!

I have recently discovered that she is incredibly ticklish. It's really cute.

Here are some pictures of the last month. I am amazed at how quickly she is developing and growing and can't wait for each now milestone! We love our little peanut more than anything!!!

Fun at the library!

Getting her jammies on

dancing with daddy

Out to dinner

My little ET baby with her stuffed animals

sooo cuddly!

Drinking from her sippy cup

Just being cute

Out for a walk

Eva after one of her self feeding sessions! :)

jumperoo!

She loves helping her daddy hack

Things That Make Me Smile

2011-09-22T23:13:00.001-07:00

I think my title is pretty self explanatory. Just some things this week that have brought a big goofy grin to my face!

5 MONTHS!

2011-08-28T19:50:00.001-07:00

Trying on her Halloween Costume!

Time continues to fly with our awesome little girl! She is now 5 months old.

Here are her stats at her 4 month check up about 3 weeks ago:

Weight: 15 lbs 15 ozs - 85th percentile
Height: 25" - 67th percentile
Head Circumference: 17" - 91st percentile

Those were her last "official" measures from her last well check, but when she was sick last week she weighed 17 lbs even at the hospital (86th %) ,and mom and dad measured her at 26" (81st%).

She's still the sweetest little girl I could ever imagine. Some milestones this month include that she's started putting her arms around us and squeezing and giving us real hugs and slobbery kisses. =D She's started making lots of new sounds with her mouth. She likes to blow raspberries, make popping and kissing sounds, and is still trying really really hard to talk. She's gotten pretty good at her ba and ma sounds. Often it sounds like she's saying "mama." She's still scooting all over the place and trying hard to crawl. She is sitting up on her own with no assistance. I think she hit that mark a little early at about 4 months and 3 weeks. She also started rolling both ways the same week. She's been rolling from her tummy to her back for awhile, but she's just getting the hang of rolling from her back to her tummy. She's also really enjoying fruit. Her love of music, water, and being rocked by mommy and daddy are still right up there on her list as well. I think she may be getting her very first i pod for christmas. (Shhh... don't tell). It may be the only way mommy gets her's back though.

Practicing sitting up

Showing mommy how she can roll BOTH ways!

She's starting to get much more interactive. She loves to laugh and play. Some of her favorite toys are still her sock monkey, her SF Giant's pillow pet (thanks Jancie), and a teether shaped like keys that she will carry with her even while she naps, and a plush Lamaze toy, Mortimer the Moose who she LOVES! She also likes being read books and playing with the water in the tub. When we bathe her, we have a plastic pitcher that we rinse her hair with. She's started holding her hand underneath it and watching the water run through her fingers. She's really fascinated by it. I think we have a very smart cookie on our hands.

Checking out her Pillow Pet from Janice

Sporting a pony tail

Relaxing in the pool

Having fun at the Children's Museum

Looking at some cute baby in the glass and sitting up!

She LOVES to be upside down!

Hanging out with daddy and the doggy

Chewing on Mortimer the Moose

Being rocked to sleep by Daddy! <3

Unfortunately the end of her 4 month also saw her first (and hopefully last for a very long time) hospital stay. Last Friday, she woke up vomitting. We thought she probably just had a stomach bug. But she spent most of Labor Day weekend puking everything she tried to eat. By Monday we could tell she was getting dehydrated and the vomitting wasn't letting up so we took her to the pediatric ER. They admitted her for dehydration and ran some tests to try and get to the cause of her vomitting. When all was said and done, she was diagnosed with Rota Virus. :( She was kept in the hospital for 2 days, (thankfully only 1 night) to get some extra fluids and be monitored. She is finally just at the end of the virus and starting to feel better the last few days. It's nice to have my happy, smiley, wiggly, giggly girl back!!!

My poor girl :(

Snuggling with mommy in her hospital room
Giving daddy hugs

Not too stoked about her IV

Though the IV tubing was a good toy the next day

Waiting to be discharged

She finally felt well enough to play with her keys

Boy was she happy once that IV was out!

Taking a nap to sleep away the rest of the ickies the next day at home

Go Outside

2011-08-28T14:12:00.000-07:00

The summertime blues have hit the Nixon house. Aaron and I both remember growing up playing outside. Riding bikes, camping, going to the park, playing with other kids in our neighborhoods. We of course want the same for our daughter. Living in Phoenix, that's not such an achievable goal (at least not between the months of March-October). It's been hard since I've lived in Arizona to put aside some of my hobbies-- cycling, hiking, even just enjoying nature are hard to do when it's 118 and 30% humidity outside.

As with most things I've discovered since having a child, her having to sacrifice is much more difficult for me to accept than making personal sacrifices. I would love to take her on walks, hikes, trips to the park.... Unfortunately none of these as reasonable or even safe to do much of the year. It makes me a little sad. I know some places have winters that are blustery and cold and filled with snow and not much time is spent outside. I guess we have summer instead. But still, I am looking forward to hopefully sometime in the not too distant future, to moving somewhere with a more comfortable climate so I can give my daughter all of the things I feel like she is deprived of here. I will even take the cold and snow instead. I actually find that fun, and at least you can put on coats and keep warm-- there's really not much you can do about heat.

Til then, I'll just keep day dreaming while I listen to my current theme song...

Eva wants to be mobile!

2011-08-15T23:23:00.000-07:00

Just a short video clip of Eva's new found determination to learn to crawl as soon as possible!

FOUR MONTHS!

2011-08-08T22:47:00.000-07:00

Eva was officially 4 months old yesterday! I can hardly believe we are already a third of the way to her first birthday!!!!

Some recent events with her include real laughs (and I mean straight from her belly giggling fits) accompanied by lots more smiles every day.

She can now roll independently during belly time.

When she is in a talkative mood, which is more and more often, she is certainly quite a jabbermouth!

She is trying sooooooo very hard to sit up on her own. I have a feeling it's going to be anyday. Also, I have a gut feeling she will be crawling a little sometime in the next month. She gets up on all 4s during belly time and really tries hard to scoot. And often when we go to wake her up in the morning she has scooted to some random place in her crib.

In the last week she has started little bits of real food. Just little bits of rice cereal and pureed fruit. She seems to still be unsure whether to love or hate it. It changes with every bite.

Her first strawberry!

Ready to start feeding herself

Helping Daddy with her bottle!

She is very close to cutting her first teeth. I expect that any day now we will wake up to some teeth. Also, she is just getting over her first ear infection. Sad times! :(

Some of her favorite things right now are her mommy and daddy. She has been especially attached to us the last week or so it seems like. She loves her jumperoo! Her current favorite toy is a sock monkey from grandma. And I just discovered tonight that she seems to love the book "Corduroy" which was also one of my favorites as a toddler. She smiled the whole way through it.

She is so smart and strong and beautiful! She amazes us every day. She will have her official 4 month check up in another week after she's been off her antibiotics for a few days, but at the moment she is just shy of 16 lbs, and I'm sure over 2 feet tall.

New Digs

2011-08-08T22:33:00.000-07:00

We came home from vacation the last Saturday in July and took on the major task of moving on that Monday! Yes, I realize we bit off a lot in a short period of time, in retrospect, maybe a little too much, but it's nice to finally be all settled in and unpacked.

We signed a 7 month lease at a nice apartment complex to give us time to find the right house for us. (And the opportunity to get some extra money in savings at the same time). Though it weird to be in an apartment after 2 years renting the same house, we really like the apartment and the complex so far. It has all the amenities we need and about the same square footage as the house.

So here are a few pictures of the new place:

Eva's Room

Eva's BathroomOur Tiny Kitchen

Our Dining Room/Living Room

Our Bedroom/Office

Eagle Lake

2011-08-08T18:05:00.000-07:00

So the end of July we got to spend a week at Eagle Lake (aka "Shippendom") for my extended family's bi anual family reunion.

Eagle Lake is in north east California so from Phoenix we had a long 15 hour drive. We decided to do it at night while Eva was sleeping, but she proved not too sleep too well in the car on the way out. Oh well. We made it safe and sound after a long night of driving. (And a two hour pit stop in Vegas to try and calm Eva down).

It was great to see so many of my relatives that we don't get the opportunity to see that often. And it was great to have all my siblings in one place with their families. It's been awhile since we've all been in the same place at once.

We spent most of the week just relaxing around camp and visiting. We also spent a few afternoons down at the lake. Aaron and Eva chilled on shore while mom did some tubing.

Out in the row boat with James, Taylor, Sadie and Eva

We went on some pretty walks around the lake.She wasn't very happy to be strapped into anything after 15 hrs in a car seat!

Deer

Eva got to meet a lot of her relatives for the first time and spend some time relaxing with her cousin Camden!

Camden and Eva with Grandma!
Playing footsies with Camden

Aaron competed in his first ever golf tournament in town with the guys one day. And his foursome (complete with our brother in law David, and my cousin Terry, and Uncle Jerry) even took first place!

We had some fun nights around the campfire with 100+ of our closest relatives.

Post campfire campfire with my siblings:

The Gibsons

The Brinkerhoffs

The Galants

Samantha

Cuddling with Daddy in the sleeping bag

Trying soooo hard to sit up on her own

And we got to take Eva on her first hike ever! She seemed to enjoy the first half of it. And slept through the second half.

All in all we had a really great time just relaxing with our family. Eagle Lake will always be a really special place for me. It is what I think of when I think of family vacations. And especially being out on the lake always makes me think of my dad and how much he enjoyed fishing that week every other summer. I hope the reunions continue for a long time forward. Though my grandma a lot of her siblings who this reunion started with aren't with us anymore, they were still in everyone's hearts that week. I hope my daughter has many years to create such great memories as I have of Shippendom.

Near the end of our long car ride home...

A Quarter of a Year!

2011-07-14T19:10:00.000-07:00

So I'm a little delayed in my 3 month Eva update. Since my life is a little hectic and crazy and my spare time I tend to want to spend with Aaron and Eva, I've tried to do at least a monthly update. But I'm only a week behind, so I guess I could do worse.

Eva is still growing like a weed. (The most beautiful weed you could imagine).

I'm gonna stick to a few pictures from around the 3 month mark for this post and move onto the 4 month post because I got sidetracked again and never got this update complete.

Just a few quick notes about Eva right around 3 months. She is one of the smartest, smiliest, sweetest girls I could ever ask for. She broke 15 lbs in her third month. Started smiling incessantly, and she grows and hits her milestones right on track if not slightly before. She is an amazing girl and her dad and I are in awe of her every day.

Now for a few third month pictures.

swimming with mommy and daddy!

fun in the jumperoo!

watching fireworks in the driveway on the 4th of July

30 DAY MUSIC CHALLENGE

2011-06-19T15:16:00.000-07:00

So this is just one of those dumb little chain email/games that was circulating around Facebook. However, seeing that it is related to favorite music, I had to play being such a music junkie and all. So for the last 30 days, I culminated this list on facebook. I thought I'd post it all in one big post here as well. (Mainly to keep a hardcopy of my list for my own memory).

30 Day Music Challenge:

Day 1: A Favorite Song.

Well I have many favs that are dependent on different things, BUT anyone who knows me well enough will understand that as far as absolute favorites, this is and always will be "it."
Just Like Heaven by the Cure

Day 2: A Song That Reminds You of Someone.

Since there are numerous versions of this music challenge out there, I'm picking and choosing the ones I like best. So I figure today is a good day for a song that reminds you of someone since this song makes me think of my dad. Also I have a new perspective on it now t...hat I am a parent myself.

Teach your Children Well - Crosby Stills and Nash.

Day 3: A song that makes you happy.

This is just one of those silly songs that is so fun it makes me giddy. It makes me wanna jump around and dance silly while shouting all the lyrics. "Tell your mom, Tell your dad, we were SUPER RAD!"

Super Rad by the Aquabats

Day 4: A song that makes you sad.

This song could have fit into several catagories in this list. This seems like an appropriate place to put it though. It also makes me think of a certain time, which is why it makes me sad. Musically, lyrically, wholly it is and will always be painfully beautiful to me.

Makers by Rocky Votolato

Day 5: A song that makes you angry.

A song that makes you angry.

Perhaps anger isn't the best label for this song, but it's the closest thing on this list. Though I love this song with a passion, when I hear it, the left over angst from my adolescence still bubbles up in my chest.

Sin by Nine Inch Nails.

Day 6: A song from a band you always have to explain to people who they are.

I've only met one person in my life (post 1991 when this album got some play at least) who knew who this band was. Lyrically, it is some of the best stuff ever written. Musically, it is equally catchy, and who doesn't love a thick scottish accent? Cake is still one of my all time favorite albums.

Obscurity Knocks by the Trash Can Sinatras.

Day 7: A song you can play on an instrument.

After seeing Ben Folds live for the first time, I came home and spent like 2 weeks straight learning this song on the piano. I can play a few of his songs, but this is probably the most challenging one that I've learned. It's also really super fun to play. I obviously can't play it as well as him, guess that's why I'm not paid to play. *shrugs*

Philosophy by Ben Folds

Day 8: A song you know all the words to.

I usually do pretty well with lyrics because that is half of the attraction to a song for me. I'll use this song though cause it has lots of cool words!

Mediate by INXS

Day 9: A song you want/was played at your wedding.

We did a little CD for our wedding reception. This is one of my favorites from it. "I love you more than I could ever promise, and you take me the way I am." That just sums it all up. Also I love the clown theme in the video!

The Way I Am by Ingrid Michaelson

Day 10: A song you want played at your funeral.
Don't know that I actually want this played, but it seems pretty apropo.

At Your Funeral by Saves the Day

Day 11: A song from the first band you saw live.

The Violent Femmes in 1991 at Santa Clara University with Christine Deaver Archibald, Heather Rae Thompson, Michele Vujovich, and Ed Goff. Good times! (Even if I did get thrown out).

Add it Up by the Violent Femmes

Day 12: A band from the last band you saw live.

One of my favorite bands to see live -- The Airborne Toxic Event. I recently saw them a few weeks ago with my awesome husband. It was our first post baby date. This is one of my absolute favorites from them. (It's also one of Eva's favorites).

The Graveyard Near the House by The Airborne Toxic Event.

Day 13: A song from the last album you bought.

This whole album is great, but this is probably my favorite track.

Timshel by Mumford and Sons.

Day 14: A song from the first album you ever bought.

Some Great Reward is the first CD I ever bought on my own. That same year I also got Violator also by DM, and The Innocents by Erasure, and Green and Eponymous both by REM for christmas. Those 5 CDs were my collection for a very long time.

Stories of Old by Depeche Mode

Day 15: A song that makes you think of a specific time

This song makes me think of a very specific sunny afternoon when I was about 14, riding my bike with my best friend, Eva, (whom my beautiful daughter is named after). The memory of that day is pure innocence and the feeling of the sun on my skin and the wind in my hair. We were singing this song that afternoon while we were riding.

White Shirt by The Charlatans UK

Day 16: A song that makes you think of a specific place

This makes me think of my first month or so in Salt Lake City -- specifically of my college dorm. I can almost still taste my first real "autumn."

Barny (and me) by the Boo Radleys.

Day 17: A song that you can dance to

This song makes me want to dance. It is also one of my favorite gym songs.

A Town Called Malice by The Jam

Day 18: A song you can fall asleep to.

Ahhh, there are a few bands that will always be completely relaxing to me no matter what my mood. I have to mention Slowdive and Sigur Ros cause it's hard not to think of both of those bands for this topic, but I think I will use this instead. I can put this on and it will be nearly guaranteed that I will fall asleep and wake up with a smile.

Carousel by Iron and Wine

Day 19: A song that makes you laugh

Well OBVIOUSLY this has to be a song by Jonathan Coultan. I think I shall use Skullcrusher Mountain because it's the first I heard by him. It still makes me smirk and sing all at the same time.

"I made this half-pony half-monkey monster to please you
But I get the feeling that you don't like it
What's with all the screaming?
You like monkeys, you like ponies
Maybe you don't like monsters so much
Maybe I used too many monkeys
Isn't it enough to know that I ruined a pony making a gift for you?"

Skullcrusher Mountain by Jonathan Coulton

Day 20: A song no one would expect you to love

This is a little bit of a tough catagory for me because my musical taste is pretty eclectic. The first thing that popped into my head was Eminem though. This is another of my favorite gym songs.

Lose yourself by Eminem

Day 21: The earliest song you can remember from you childhood

I kinda wish the songs that fall into this catagory weren't slightly embarrassing, but hey I guess I was born in the 70's. When I was a toddler I remember my mom playing this record all the time.

Forver in Blue Jeans by Neil Diamond

Day 22: A song you used to love but now hate.

This came to mind just because I just heard it on the radio and my immediate reaction was how I wish this song didn't bring up bitter memories for me because I used to love it. I even sang it on stage with a friend's band at one point...

Anything Anything by Dramamrama

Day 23: A song that you like the cover of more than the original.

There are very few songs that fall into this catagory for me. Though there are many covers I do like, usually the original is always ulitmately better. Kinda like the book always being better than the movie. This is one that does fit this catagory for me though.

Can't Hurry Love by the Stray Cats

Day 24: A song you like the original of better than the cover.

Most songs aren't as good as the original. There are a few that almost make me want to cringe. Such as every cover of "Just Like Heaven." But since I've already posted the original I will not taint it with a crappy cover. Though there are some things I like about this cover (mainly that is sounds so different and her voice in general) I still like the original better.

Bizzare Love Triangle by Frente

Day 25: A song from your favorite album.

Though what I might feel is my favorite album can vary from day to day on my mood, I think the Disintegration album by the Cure is will probably always be right near the top. Every track off that album is brillant in some way or another. I think I will use the title track though because I've always thought it was lyrically fantastic.

Disintegration by The Cure

Day 26: A song you want the world to hear

Maybe it's just the hippie in me, but aside from being a super catchy song, I've always liked the message.

Don't Ask Me by PIL

Day 27: A Song that makes you want to rock out
This took a little bit of thought and consideration. There are so many great songs left to post aside from the 30 in this silly challenge. Though this may not incorporate stereo typical "rock out" music that most might think of, it kinda does for me. This is one of those songs I put on my i pod when I'm snowboarding and just ride hard and fast.

King of the Mountain by Midnight Oil

Day 28: A Song that you play when you are chilling out

I adore Elliott Smith! I used to listening to him a lot at a point in my life that wasn't the happiest for me. I'm surprised listening to him now doesn't conjure up some bad memories, but really almost anything by him his pretty relaxing chill music for me these days.

Pitselah by Elliott Smith

Day 29: A song that makes you want to sing out loud

How can music like the Beat not make you want to sing out loud? (And dance for that matter). Sidenote: Also one of the best live shows I've ever seen. Even my 3 month old loves singing along to them! ;-)

I confess by The English Beat

Day 30: A song that describes you.

I think there are many songs that describe different aspects of myself. And they often change. I've thought about this topic for the last week or so, and there is one song lyric that keeps popping back into my mind: "Ive got everything I need." What else can I say. I have my amazing husband and beautiful daughter and a job and a home and all the things I need.

Everything I Need by The Wallflowers

Fathers

2011-06-18T23:24:00.000-07:00

Just a short post to say Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there. Especially to my husband and father of my little girl and to my own father who I wish was still here.

Father's Day has been bitter-sweet for me the last few years. It always makes me think of and miss my dad. But when I think of him, I always feel so lucky and blessed to have had such a good man as my father. He will always have a place in my heart and be remembered especially so on days like these.

Also, it is fun this year to be able to have this love and admiration for what a wonderful father Aaron is to Eva. I knew he would be a great dad, but I love to see her smile at him and love and appreciate him as much as she does. I am looking forward to many more years to see their relationship grow.

One last note that I think is appropriate for this post. I was thinking a lot today about a note my dad wrote me about 2 weeks before he died. This is a quote from it:

"I wish for you things that only a father would want for his daughter-- the best. The important thing for you to remember is I love you more than anything. Your smile, your personality, how much you have enriched my life throughout the years."

I read this, and though it has always meant the world to me, being a parent and seeing it from both the perspective of a parent and a child makes it mean all the more to me.

The Second month of Parenthood

2011-06-13T07:53:00.000-07:00

Well, as of last Tuesday, Eva was officially 2 months old!!!!! I can hardly believe how quick she is growing up. Half of me can't believe it's been a whole 2 months, and the other half of me feels like she's just been part of our little family forever, and can hardly imagine life without her.

The past month has of course brought on a whole new set of "firsts." She has sat up for the first time, started cooing and telling us all sorts of "stories," made it through her first week of daycare, caught her first cold, and got her first set of immunizations.

It has been tough for me to go back to work and leave her in daycare, but we have a great person watching her until Aaron gets off work who she seems to really like. At daycare she has fun doing tummy time, having floor time with toys, and sitting in her bumbo listening to music -- her favorite!

Tummy Time!

Of course, suddenly being around other kids, she did pick up her first cold. :-( It's hard as a parent to see you child not feeling well, but she handled it like a champ, and seems to be feeling much better. (Now mom and dad are fighting off the same cold that she so generously shared with us!) Getting sick was inevitable, but hopefully on the plus side, being around other kids, she builds up her immune system really fast.

She had her 2 month check up last week and did great! She is 13 lbs even, and 23.5 inches long. That puts her in like the 90th percentile for weight and about the 70th for height. She is doing awesome and healthy as can be aside from the cold. At her check up she got her first set of immunizations and handled them like a champ!

Worn out after Immunizations

The past month she has had an affinity for taking bubble baths in the big tub with mom, chilling and listening to music in the evenings with dad, sitting up in her bumbo, swinging in her swing, and playing games like "patty-cake," "itsy bistsy spider," and "little piggies" on her toes. She also loves being read books and telling us stories!

Bath Time!

Hanging With Daddy!

Sitting in the Bumbo

Loving the Swing

Patty Cake with Mommy

As for Aaron and I, we are just enjoying being Eva's parents, working, and getting into a routine with our daycare/work schedules. We are moving in July and also looking forward to our family camping trip at Eagle Lake in July. Between work and parenthood, and the move and upcoming vacation we have more than enough to keep us busy!

The first day of work/daycare....

2011-06-02T01:00:00.000-07:00

it was sorta like ripping off a bandaid. One quick, but painful motion, but then it was all over and things are good.

Our day began with Eva waking up promptly at 0430. I was happy to go into her room and find her all smiles and cuddles. We spent the morning together, had breakfast and then a nap together on the couch.

Mom got ready for work and daycare while she continued to nap, and then we headed out for our second swim lesson. It was nice to spend a little interactive time together. And my baby girl seems to love the water! I think she may end up being a water baby like her mamma.

After swimming we had lunch and headed towards day care. She fell asleep in the car, and a flood of emotions hit me as I drove. I'm sure they are quite similar to emotions felt by any mother who has had to return to work and leave their baby in the care of someone else. Lots of worries, and "what ifs," (most of them completely irrational I know), all coupled with some severe separation anxiety on my part. Thankfully the anxiety was on my part and not hers-- because I know if she were cognizant enough to understand and feel the same anxiety I was feeling, there would be no way possible for me to leave her.

On that subject, one of the strongest emotions I felt was quite contradictory. On the one hand, I wanted her to be happy and not stressed to be in a new environment with someone new. That's what every parent wants-- for their child to be happy, right? But at the same time, I felt like it would break my heart if she didn't miss me and notice that I wasn't around for the first time in 2 months. (Or nearly a year if you count pregnancy).

When I got to day care and took her inside, I of course completely lost control of my emotions. Jamie, the person currently watching her while I work, completely seemed to get how I was feeling and was quick to tell me to feel free to text every 5 minutes if I so desired and she would fill me in on how Eva was doing.

I decided it best to try and not linger, but to get to work so I could get busy and keep my mind off things. Don't get me wrong, part of me really was excited to get back to work. I only wish I could stick Peanut in a tiny lab coat and take her with me. I cried in the car as I drove to work and composed myself and went inside. As I walked through the door, the first person I saw was my completely awesome boss, Bonnie. As soon as I walked in she asked if I was ok, and that opened the flood gates all over. Damn these hormones! I got lots of hugs as I started my day and tried to just dive into things.

25 minutes after I arrived at work, I received the following text from Jamie:

"Hi mama! I am snoozing away in the pack 'n play and smiling a little too. I miss you and can't wait to see you tonight. Love and cuddles,
Eva"

Jamie continued to send me updates every few hrs until Aaron picked Eva up at 6. At which point I got this text:

"Your baby is on her way to you! :) Yeah!"

Aaron swung by with Eva during my dinner break for just long enough for me to hug and cuddle her for a few minutes, which was awesome and got me through til it was time to come home.

Work itself went well, and it was nice to see my coworkers who are really cool people! I surprised myself at being able to pick up where I left off at work after 2 months without too terribly much difficulty. It's funny, before I got there, I was trying to remember my password to our computer system. For the life of me, I couldn't think of it and thought for sure I'd be having to call IT to reset it for me. When I went to log in, it was all muscle memory. I still didn't remember it until my body just did it. One thing to be thankful for, was that my whole work day seemed to pretty much just be muscle memory for me, and it was a pretty good work day. I had this picture taped to the back of my badge. I took it yesterday. And I set my badge in front of me at my work space and just looked at my daughter's sweet little face all day until it was time to go home and kiss those cheeks.

Aaron had timed an evening nap perfectly so she was just starting to stir when I got home. When I got her out of bed and laid her down on the changing table to put her jammies on her, she flashed me her perfect smile and it made my whole day. I then had the chance to feed her and rock her to sleep and get a few cuddles in.

Now it's 0130 and I've been awake for 21 hrs, and will probably be up again before I know it to start another day. But I am so grateful to have survived my first day back with the help of my incredible husband and a great person to watch Eva during the day. Her routine updates set my mind at ease in a way I don't think she fully comprehends. :) And as for my anxieties, Eva did great from what I am told. Which of course makes me happy. Though it's hard not to spend all day with her, it is nice to be getting into a routine and even though it's only been a day, I feel like I value the time I have with her more than ever.

one MONTH!

2011-05-11T08:24:00.002-07:00

My little girl is already over a month old. I now have a greater understanding of parents talking about how quickly their children grow. I find so much joy and happiness in being her mother and seeing her grow and develop; but also a tinge of sadness that she's not going to be my tiny baby much longer. In fact at her one month check up today, she already weighs 10 lbs, 10 oz and is about 22.5 inches long!

Though as any parent can attest that caring for a newborn is demanding, time consuming, and causes sleep deprivation; the rewards we have found as parents so much outweigh any amount of sacrifice that we could ever possibly make. Some of my favorite moments are having my little girl look intently at me with her big blue eyes and feeling nothing but pure love, having her cuddly body snuggled into me just wanting to be held, or seeing that beautiful smile that she's been flashing since her ultrasound pictures. Another of her new tricks to make us so unconditionally happy is when you hold her tight, she'll stroke our arm or shoulder or chest with her hand the same way we instinctively rub her back when we hold her. Aaron said last night that it's almost like she's thinks she's comforting us when it's 1 am and we are exhausted trying to rock her to sleep. Which, she absolutely does.

During her first month, Eva has had many firsts. Her first smiles were almost immediate. She's had her first bath, first walk, first coos, held her head upright without support, scooted a little on her own when on her belly, slept through the night, and outgrown her first size in clothes.

She has also met her grandparents and lots of her uncles for the first time, and is looking forward to meeting the rest of her family. Hopefully she'll get to meet the rest of mommy's family in July when we go camping!

As for Aaron and I, this month has flown by and brought so many new challenges, so much love, so many smiles, so much thought about our future, and more great memories than I think either of us expected was possible.

and i will love you til i die

2011-05-03T23:15:00.000-07:00

just a little video montage of Eva set to one of our current favorite songs.

A few "firsts"

2011-04-24T13:24:00.000-07:00

Well over the weekend, Eva has had a few "firsts." Her umbilical cord finally fell off and she got her first real bath in a tub. She wasn't quite sure what to think of it at first, but think she enjoyed it more than the sponge baths once she got used to it.

Also, she now can spend time on her tummy now that the cord is gone. She is already scooching herself forward with her feet, lifting her head up, and trying to roll over.

And today was her first Easter. Though she is obviously not old enough to know what that means, she did get a little Easter basket with a few goodies.

And today, I couldn't resist dressing her in her first pair of shorts which I must (though probably somewhat biasedly) say she looks pretty stinking adorable in.

One more slightly less trivial first. For the first tangible time last night she wanted me to hold her just because she wanted me. Though I'm sure she's felt that before, usually there was a want for food or something else she's needed at the same time. It was an overwhelming feeling to know that when nothing else was calming her down and she didn't want anything else, all she needed was to snuggle up next to me to be happy and content. It's hard to verbalize, but I guess it's the first time I've felt that aside from needing me, that she loves me the way I love her.

The First Two Weeks

2011-04-23T09:37:00.000-07:00

Well our baby girl is now 2 weeks old. It seems like the time has already gone by way too fast, and at the same time, we can't imagine her not being part of our family. She had her two week old check up on Thursday, and she is growing like a weed. She has gained over a pound and grown an inch since her first check up. The doctor was also very impressed with how alert she is already.

Aaron went back to work last week, but we have been up to his office for lunch and to visit several days. It was nice that he was able to work from home the first week she was home. I plan on going back the first week of June and it already breaks my heart to think about having to leave her in day care. At least it's only for half days every other week. But I'm trying not to think about it too much til then and just enjoy the time I have at home with her.

Daddy teaching Eva to program during a visit at his office

I am amazed at what a sweet little girl we have. She has such a mellow disposition. Really she only cries when she's hungry or needs something. My favorite thing is to watch her smile. And yes, she does actually smile regardless of what people say about babies not smiling at this age. Usually it's in response to us playing with her hair, or rubbing her cheek, so I'm convinced they are actual smiles. Most nights she's been sleeping pretty well. She has actually already been sleeping 5-7 hr stretches at night most of the time. (Though there were a few days this last week where she just wanted to be up eating all night).

Smiles

We've been going on walks most evenings when Aaron gets home from work which has been nice. She seems to enjoy it, but usually winds up asleep by the end of the walk. It will be nice when she's just a tad bit older and can take in more.

Going for a walk

Yesterday we went on our first real family outing. We went to the Desert Botanical Gardens and walked around and checked out the butterfly exhibit. It was nice to get out of the house and be out and about for the afternoon.

Pictures from the Botanical Gardens:

Her hat is a little big yet, but still cute :-)

That peak in the distance is what we hiked to the top of right before she was born...

Checking out the butterflies

Here are just some more random pictures of Eva from the last two weeks.

she LOVES to stretch while she sleeps

Can't decide whether she wants to suck her thumb or her fingers...

The Best Thing I've Ever Done

2011-04-10T18:49:00.000-07:00

Well, our Peanut is finally here! Eva Ann Nixon was born at 7:20 pm on Thursday, April 7,2011.
She weighed in at 8 lbs and 1 ounce and was 20.5 inches long with a head full of brown hair and the fullest little cheeks and most beautiful face I have ever seen.

first bath

having first blood draw and handling it like a champ

We checked into the hospital to be induced late Wednesday night and finally delivered Thursday evening after about 20 hrs of labor and 2.5 tough hours of pushing. I must interject to say though, that I love whoever invented epidurals! Eva gave me a little bit of a scare during delivery. Her umbilical cord was wrapped around her and we both had a fever when I delivered -- her's higher than mine. Her initial apgar score was 5. (10 is a perfect score). The NICU team was in the room waiting for her and quickly evaluated and took care of her and her 4 minute Apgar bounced back up to 9. (Big *phew*). Within a few hrs, she was doing perfect and we were both settled into our room in maternity.

We spent another day and a half in maternity and were discharged Saturday morning. We had wonderful nurses and staff our entire stay at the hospital, which I'm sure made our stay much easier than it could have been. That being said, boy was it good to be home yesterday! I never knew how much I loved my own bed and shower and the comfort of being in my own home.

Grandma flew in for the afternoon on Saturday and we had a great visit with her. It sure is nice that she is able to get away and fly down whenever, even if it was only for the day.

So last night, Aaron and I were talking about what a life changing event becoming a parent is. Though we have both heard from every parent we know how much that moment when your child is born changes your life; and though neither of us ever doubted it would for a second, it is amazing to both of us the degree of love you suddenly feel for this person that cannot be quantified. Aaron was telling me how he has been searching for a way to even articulate what that feeling is. He finally said the the closest comparison he could make was that it was the complete opposite of your first heart break multiplied by a thousand. And even that didn't begin to give the feeling justice. All I can do is look at my absolutely perfect daughter and know that having her is the best thing I've ever done.

So here are some of the many pictures of our beautiful little girl. (I have a feeling we are both going to be camera happy for quite some time).

meeting the dog for the first time

first bath at home

Also, here is a link to some pictures that were taken in the hospital that I absolutely adore!

http://our365.com/NewbornPortraits/BabyDetail.aspx?BirthId=b9752fb9-2a92-4683-a1e1-f8768bcbbe5d

Now, time to get back to some cuddling. I'm sure there will be many more posts and updates soon!

if this doesn't induce labor, NOTHING will.....

2011-04-03T21:22:00.000-07:00

We had such a good time on our little casual hike yesterday, that Aaron suggested we do another today. Sounded like a good idea. He picked out a moderate difficulty 3 mile hike near Squaw Peak (Piestewa Peak). We headed out and for awhile the trail we were on merges with the Summit Trail up to the top of the peak. We must be officially insane, because I convinced him we should just stay on the Summit Trail and take it all the way to the top. Distance wise, it was only 1.2 miles each way (plus the .5 mile we had done). Seemed reasonable. However, I think it was one of the most difficult, and steepest trails I've hiked. (At least in quite awhile). We got lots of comments on the trail from other hikers. "Way to Go," "I can't believe you are doing this pregnant," "You're Hardcore," and "Did YOU actually go all the way to the top." At one point, when we thought we were almost to the top, but really just getting ready to start the steepest part of the climb, 2 hikers informed us that the views were well worth it, but that I might not have enough "vertical clearance" between my belly and the switchbacks to make the last bit. I'm happy I proved them wrong, though my thighs were hitting Peanut and Aaron did pull me up parts. But, I have to say, I feel pretty dang accomplished finishing this hike at all, but especially 40 weeks pregnant.

Here are the stats on this particular hike:

the mountain is 2608 ft high
elevation gain of 1200 feet over 1.2 miles each direction
rated moderate in the first half/difficult in the second
Piestewa Peak

Aaron had his cardio trainer application running on his phone, and it tracked 2.4 miles and 3404 calories burned. His phone however died before the last 0.5 mile so add a little extra.

After all was said and done today, I have indeed resigned myself to the fact that if today's hike does nothing to induce labor, NOTHING will!!!!!

pre-hike

My valuable seems locked up safe, but not outta sight...

The bottom of the peak. Believe me it was deceivingly more difficult than it appears from the bottom!

bout half way up, and still alive!

still only bout half way, but there is our car down there somewhere....

tired us at the top!

back down in the parking lot when all was said and done, and ready to pass out!!!

And just because I seem to have a theme going of posting a youtube video with about every post lately, the song of the day is "Will it Grow" by Jakob Dylan because nothing's better than some good folk music to relax to post hike!

Call Me 'King of the Mountain'

2011-04-02T18:20:00.000-07:00

Well, I was hoping the next post would be with news of Peanut's birth. Unfortunately, she doesn't seem quite as ready as we are for her arrival. One way or another she should be here within a week's time though. :-)

So, here is hopefully my final "belly" shot of this pregnancy. 39.5 weeks.

Aaron and I decided to spend our afternoon going on a little hike today. It was a nice day out, and we've been really good about going on walks around our neighborhood most evenings, but decided to turn it up a notch today. I was hoping that turning the intensity up from a stroll around the neighborhood to a hike might help with Peanut's egress. Since I'm sitting here blogging about it, it obviously hasn't done anything immediate. Oh, well, it was fun and I feel majorly accomplished hiking at almost 40 weeks of pregnancy.

We just went to a little recreational area in town called Dreamy Draw that has some paved trails. Once we got there, I decided I wanted a little challenge though so we did about 2.5 miles of unpaved up in the foothills. Not very long, but it was just steep enough to feel challenging as pregnant as I am.

Not the best cell phone quality pictures ever, but oh well....

Gotta love the scenic view of the freeway in the background!

And yes, I was pretty much as beat as I looked, but well worth it!

And last but not least, I can't find an MP3 of this to embed like I'd like, however, King of the Mountain seems quite apropo. Midnight Oil is some of my favorite hiking and snowboarding tuneage....

I love it when you sing to me....

2011-03-11T19:45:00.001-08:00

I suppose I should probably attempt to keep the blog *somewhat* up to date. We still are anxiously awaiting the birth of our little girl, and have just been busy getting everything ready for her.

She is due in about 3 weeks, and we are finally done with everything we could think of to do to prepare for her arrival. Now we (me especially) are just anxiously counting the days til she's here. So is looking like she will be a big healthy girl. At my 36 week appointment, my doctor is already guessing that she was around 7 lbs. I hope she's not a 10 pounder like me...

Aside from baby preparations, not too much is new with Aaron or I. We've both kept busy with work and are excited to start house hunting this spring.

Here are some pictures of the last 3 months. Hopefully the next post will be about the arrival of our baby girl!!!!!

Here are some of our favorite pictures from her 3D ultrasound at 27 weeks. I love that she looks so happy.

In January, Grandma and Aunt Emily threw us a baby shower at Aunt Linda's house. It was really nice to see everyone, even though it was a really quick weekend. I left overwhelmed at how lucky my little girl is to have such a great family and group of friends.

Then in February, my friends from work threw us ANOTHER baby shower! (It was 80's themed, if that isn't apparent.) Eva is certainly one spoiled little girl already!

Her room is finally done and just waiting for her!

Belly picture at 37 weeks...

Here is a little video clip of Peanut squirming around. She has been very active the entire pregnancy. I think I'm gonna get my exercise trying to keep up with her as she gets older. I've tried to get her on tape a few times, but she usually gets camera shy. I finally got her though. This was around 35 weeks.

And here's one of Peanut's favorite songs.... we play a lot of music around our house, and she is already a music fan as well from what we can tell. She almost always responds in some way to music, but Airborne Toxic Event seems to be her favorite. It cracks me up, because she just goes so completely crazy kicking everytime I play them. :-)

I used to work with the lead singer's uncle so Aaron and I are always joking about calling up Jon and having him tell Mikel and the band to come by for tacos next time they are in town. Maybe we'll have to wait til Peanut is old enough to appreciate it since she seems such a fan.

Fall type stuff

2010-12-13T07:52:00.000-08:00

Well perhaps it's time for an update of the blog. It's been awhile...

Things are going well with baby. She is growing up a storm and so is my belly. It's been really fun to feel her move and kick about, but now we are just getting excited to have her here. Another 3 months or so. She is extremely active, and I feel like I'm already getting to know her personality. She makes me laugh and smile on a daily basis already.

We have also started getting her room ready for her. Crib is set and ready to go and her closet is getting fuller and fuller the further we get into the pregnancy.

As far as non-pregnancy related things, really not too much is new. We had a nice quiet Thanksgiving at our house this year. Aaron's brother, Matt, came over and our friends, Jeff and Alice stopped by for dessert and the pick up some of Aaron's famous croissants. We had a nice quiet day.

Following Thanksgiving, we celebrated our first anniversary on the 27th! Neither of us felt much like "going out" so we had a nice day at home together including a romantic dinner of pizza in front of the fire!

We have been talking about buying a new car early next spring. Well this weekend, Aaron's mustang decided to throw some fits. Sooooo, instead of spending money to take it into the shop, we got our new car a little sooner than we expected. We ended up with a 2006 Nissan Pathfinder and we both love it so far. It should be perfect for our growing family and our love of camping, and hiking, and mine of snowboarding. Sufficient to say, Santa came early this year for us!

it's a G I R L !!!!!!

2010-10-23T08:31:00.000-07:00

So we were stoked to find out this week that we are having a baby girl! We had a feeling all along it was a girl, but it's fun to know for sure and start baby shopping!

As far as a name, yes she has one (though "Peanut" has been quite an endearing nickname which will probably stick for some time). It'll be Eva.

And just for fun, we recorded her heartbeat last night.....

Baby Update

2010-09-20T16:46:00.001-07:00

So we are are expecting in early April. I think everyone pretty much knows that already. Official due date is April 5th, though all the ultrasounds have measured it to be about April 4th. (I know BIG difference, right?)

This baby has decided to be a trouble maker right from the beginning I think! We love it anyway, though it likes to worry me.

Because of my previous miscarriage a few months before this one came along, my doc sent me to a high risk doctor just to be sure everything looked good. Also, my age puts us right on the border of being considered high risk, so just to be safe. The first appointment with the high risk doctor at about 6 weeks went really well. They did an ultrasound and everything looked good. The doc said he had no reason to think I would have any problems this time around. He had me come back at 8 weeks just to get a better look then and make sure everything still looked good.

At 8 weeks, the baby still looked good. Only, at the very end of the ultrasound, the tech noticed what she thought was another horn to my uterus. She showed the doc and he said that looked like it could be that I could have a bifurcated uterus which has potential to cause problems during pregnancy. So that worried us a bit after reading up on that. A bifurcated uterus, could potentially cause miscarriages, and preterm labor because they baby plain and simple runs out of room to grow.

Today I was scheduled for my 12 weeks ultrasound with the high risk doc and a consult about the uterus thing afterwards. The ultrasound went really well again. Baby is already very active. It was trying to be all acrobatic and standing on it's head when we started. (It was moving around a lot at the 8 week ultrasound as well which surprised the tech). I can't believe how baby like it has become in the last month. It has all it's limbs and fingers and toes, it's face and body are completely formed, it just needs to grow from here on out. The 12 week ultrasound is meant to check for any abnormalities including a nuchal transluncency test which checks for Down's Syndrome. That was all good. Are baby looks healthy as can be. The heart rate is still at 158 which has us suspecting a girl, but we will know for sure soon.

When today's ultrasound was finished, the tech said she wanted the doc to take a look at the some pics before she let me go and proceeded to leave the room. This left me a little worried. She returned with the doctor and he began his own ultrasound. After all was said and done, I guess the deal is that now they don't think I have this bifurcated uterus thing. Good news! Right...? The only caveat being that what they were looking at that they thought was a septum in my uterus is actually a small pool of blood behind the placenta. I asked about that, and it can be kind of common, or could cause potential problems with the pregnancy. I feel like one worry was just replaced by another. I was urged to try not to stress about it too much, that it could just reabsorb or go away, and they are really not going to worry about it unless it gets bigger. They also said being that I'm already 12 weeks along and the baby looks so good and has a good heart rate, that they are hoping it's non issue. So now the new game plan is to move my 20 week ultrasound (the one they usually do when you find out the gender) up to 18 weeks, and also have me come in for an extra one at 16 weeks just so they can check on everything. Inbetween now and my 16 week ultrasound I see my regular doc, so after all is said and done I'll be seeing a doc every 2 weeks for the first half of my pregnancy.

So here is some pictures of my "huge for 12 weeks" belly and our little peanut. Hopefully next week's appointment is uneventful, and then we should probably know the gender on October 19th after the 16 week ultrasound.

Nor Cal

2010-07-05T07:08:00.001-07:00

We just got home a few days ago from a fantastic week back in the bay area. I think a week definitely wasn't enough time for us. We had things scheduled pretty much every waking moment while we were there and still didn't see everyone and do everything that we wanted to. Guess that means we'll just have to plan another trip sometime soon! We took like 450 pictures, so I can't possibly post them all here, but I'll put the rest in a slideshow or something later.

We drove into town Friday.

Friday night Janice had her pinning/capping ceremony for graduating nursing school! Congrats Cuevo, I knew you could do it! At the graduation, I remembered Hannah, and my friend Pete's wife were also graduating -- so I got to see a lot of old friends and coworkers which was nice. After graduation, Janice had a get together at the Sonoma Chicken Coop.

Saturday morning, Aaron and I had to make an obligatory stop for breakfast at Stacks, then we went for a walk along the Los Gatos Creek Trail to burn it off. While walking we scoped out some land to buy to build a house on if we ever win the lottery! =)

We spent Saturday afternoon with the Galants at the beach which was a really good time. We went to Twin Lakes and BBQ'd, and just hung out for a few hours. It was really nice to spend some time with their cute family.

Sunday we left to go camping in Big Sur for a few days with Janice and her family. We had a great time. Big Sur is one of my favorite places. We did a lot of scoping out different neat spots along the coast and a lot of short little day hikes.

When we got back to town, we had dinner Tuesday night with the Galants and Aunt Linda and Uncle Bob. It was great to see my aunt and uncle, it's been awhile.

Reese showing us his muscles at dinner!

Thursday, Aaron and I spent the day in San Francisco. We did Golden Gate park, walked across the Golden Gate Bridge, and went to Pier 39 for lunch.

Wednesday night, we brought some pizza over to Aaron's folk's house and visited with them for awhile. And then we got up Thursday and drove home back to satan's basement.

So even with all the pictures I posted here, it's not even a fraction of the good ones from our trip. Perhaps, I'll take the time to put them in a slideshow, or else I did upload most of them to facebook.

more pictures - part 1

more pictures - part 2

How Long Must We Sing This Song?

2010-06-16T15:11:00.000-07:00

So I was reading today about the Bloody Sunday report released by Britain yesterday. Prime Minister, Tony Blair, started an investigation into the Bloody Sunday massacre of 1972 twelve years ago. After 38 years of the British Army claiming the shootings were justified, a formal report has finally been released. The link below is a little bit about the findings of the report.

Bloody Sunday Report, 38 years Later

Reading the findings of this report made me think quite a bit about Mikel Jollett's statements in my previous post about why they are working on the Neda Project. For 38 years the events of Bloody Sunday have been covered up and lied about despite numerous civilian and journalist witnesses from both sides who all gave the same account of the murders. If in 1972 we had the technology we do today, I am quite certain it would not have taken nearly 4 decades for the families and victims of that day to have the closure and justice due to them. To directly quote Mikel:
"The world has changed the last couple of years. With the rise of digital democracy and the interconnectedness represented in technologies on the internet, broadcasting is no longer in the hands or corporations or governments. It's now in the hands of the people. If you have an internet connection and a camera you can broadcast to millions of people. Neda's death was the first viral video to change the course of history. We think that's significant, it's a significant way that the world has changed."

I guess my whole point is that with the technology and knowledge available to us, we have a greater responsibility than ever to educate ourselves as to what is happening in the world and take the appropriate actions, whether it be something as simple as using our right to vote.

Lastly, with the Bloody Sunday report, I couldn't help but think of U2's song, Sunday Bloody Sunday. I believe the song was released in 1979 and has always been very powerful to me. And in response to Bono's question: "How long must we sing this song?" I suppose the answer is 38 years...

I am Neda

2010-06-14T14:45:00.000-07:00

So a couple years ago a coworker of mine played me some music by his nephew's band, The Airborne Toxic Event. It was really catchy and fun, and I immediately loved it. I eventually bought their freshman CD and could not play it enough. Lyrically it is very intelligent, and the music is brilliant. I've had the opportunity to see them live a few times since their band has taken off in the last 2 years, and it is an awesome experience everytime. Aaron and I now have a standing joke about how we need to invite Mikel and his band over for tacos one night or something. They just seem completely down to earth and like people we would love to sit down and have some intelligent conversation with. I should tell his uncle to have him give us a call next time he's in town.

Anyhow, we saw them a few months ago and were amazed once again. Today I was googling release dates for them next album (they played a few things off it when we saw them last) and came across a song they released last week called Neda. This first video is them talking about it, and the second is the song itself. I am more and more impressed with them the more I hear and learn of them. Anyhow, I thought I'd share it, because it's a great song with a great message. Anyone who likes it should go on itunes and download it. All proceeds go towards Amnesty International.

Summer is Here!

2010-06-02T07:56:00.000-07:00

We decided to kick off our summer over memorial day weekend by having some friends over for a BBQ and swim party. I must say, I think we all had a really good time. Aaron got the grill fired up, we played some Rock Band-- (a favorite at our house if no one's caught on yet..) and we cooled off in the pool from one of our first triple digit days this year. Aaron seems to be the child whisperer if you will. Every time we have people over, all the kids flock to him. He's getting some good practice for when we have our own kids even if his arms are still sore from tossing kids around the pool all day!

Seeing that it's supposed to be 108 by this weekend, I think this will not be the first of our many days in the pool this summer!!!!!

Camping + Heavy nonstop wind blows!

2010-05-25T15:31:00.000-07:00

So a few months ago Aaron and I got really excited that summer was coming up quick -- loosely translated to great camping weather!!!! (Or so we thought...) We put in PTO requests and had a nice 3 day camping trip planned up north in Payson. We got all ready and packed up friday so we could leave first thing Saturday. We spent Saturday afternoon driving around trying to decide on the best spot to camp. We ended up deciding to "rough it" again in an area that allows camping but isn't a real campground. We had gone to and even paid for a real set campground, but it kinda felt like a park and there were way too many people. Plus they had a wind advisory up disallowing camp fires and most forms of cooking.

Anyhow, we made a small campfire to stay warm and cooked up some boca burgers and played some catch while the wind blew stuff all over-- including our chairs into the fire. We decided to get some sleep thinking the wind would die down and the next day would be great for hiking. WRONG!!! The wind only got worse and worse all night. Seeing that it was supposed to be 85 and sunny we didn't bring too many warm clothes or winter camping gear. We both froze all night and the tent just blew and hit us in the head all night. By the next morning, it was still not letting up at all. We almost simutanously said "Lets just go home!"

So I suppose our first camp out of the season can be seen as an epic fail. Oh well. We have a camping trip planned in big sur next month and a whole summer ahead of us. Instead we made it back home to relax and play some rock band in the warm house!

Sedona

2010-03-31T07:25:00.000-07:00

So Aaron took me to Sedona for the weekend for my birthday. It was nice to get away for a few days and we both had a really great time. We stayed at the Hilton in Sedona which was really nice.

So for anyone who may not be familiar with Sedona, it is a really interesting little town. It is absolutely beautiful. Lots of great hiking, backpacking, mountain bike riding and stuff like that. It is also a very artsy town. There is a strong influence of the indian culture and southwest in a lot of it. There are a lot of high end galleries and artsy type stores and boutiques. The other thing about Sedona is it is filled with hippies. I'm not talking "give peace a chance" hippies, I'm talking about people wanting to read your aura. Don't know that I have seen so many metaphysical places and psychics in one small place. Apparently there is some weird thing a lot of them believe about vortexes and natural disasters. Like they need to focuses all of the negative energy out of things to prevent earthquakes and stuff. And Bell Rock which is this huge rock/landmark in the center of town which we hiked, they apparently believe(d) was a vortex that was going to up and fly back into space or something creepy like that. Bizarre. So that is the extreme belief of the vortexes and hippies and such. This link is what I'm talking about from more of a metaphysical point. Really just a lot of hippies.
http://www.lovesedona.com/01.htm

So that's a little bit of what Sedona is about. We got there and checked into or hotel and decided we needed some lunch, so we went uptown to a shopping area called Tlaquepacque that is basically restaurants, galleries, boutiques and stuff like that. We had lunch and walked around and checked out stuff. (I put together a few sets of slides of all our pictures because we have so many, but here are pictures from our afternoon at Tlaquepacque...)

After that we went for a hike. The first place we went was Little Horse Trail up to Chicken point. It was about 4 mi round trip and moderate difficulty. It was a really pretty nice hike. Chicken Point is kind of a summit up at the top of the red rocks. As we got closer, we saw a bunch of cheaters in Jeeps that drove up the backside of the rocks. They kinda looked at us like we were crazy for actually hiking it. Don't know if it's because I'm pregnant and what not, but eh, I'm sure we had more fun hiking than they did in their jeeps. There were also a lot of mountain bikers up there which made me a little jealous. I'm gonna have to get a mountain bike one of these days. After Little Horse, we went over to Bell Rock. There is a trail that goes about half way up Bell Rock. After that it pretty much is free climbing if you want to make it any further up the rock. Of course I wanted to. I made it probably about 2/3 of the way up and then it became like 60 degree or more straight up the face and I couldn't keep my belly flat enough against the rock to keep a center of balance, so I gave up at that point. Apparently, though fetus really likes hiking, it isn't so sure about rock climbing yet.
So here are the pics of those two hikes. Oh, and as you can see in the first picture, we actually wore hiking boots this time instead of flip flops! They proved most useful!

We had a swim and then went out for a nice dinner that night at a little Italian place called The Hideaway.

The next day we went out for breakfast at a bakery and then hit up the outlet mall. I was really wishing we knew if Fetus was a boy or a girl about the time we hit the Gap outlet. That's ok, we ended up just getting a few neutral things. After that we set out for another hike.

This time we went along the Bell Rock Path that starts about a mile before Bell Rock, and then met up with the Templeton trail which goes under the freeway to the other side of town and then up towards Cathedral Rock. It ended up being about 8 miles round trip and a really good hike. Once we made it to the base of Cathedral Rock, we saw people free climbing up the face and I again really wanted to try, but we were almost out of water, and I knew if Fetus didn't like the idea of me climbing Bell, t probably wouldn't like Cathedral either. That trail also looked like an insane mountain bike trail!
So here are the pictures from our last hike.

That hike took the better part of the afternoon, so we finished and grabbed and sandwich and decided to swing by the Indian casino for a few minutes before heading home. We had $40 in our pocket, walked in and played a few hands of blackjack, and walked out with $400 a few minutes later. So we ended up pretty much having a free weekend which was awesome!

All in all we had a lot of fun!

Birthdays and Bellies

2010-03-31T07:16:00.000-07:00

So Saturday the 20th was Aaron's birthday! He didn't feel like doing a whole lot for his birthday so we went out for lunch and just relaxed around the house for the most part. We spent the evening playing some Rock Band and making brownies. All in all it was a really, nice, relaxing day.

My birthday was the next Saturday and Aaron took me to Sedona for the weekend. That was awesome, but I will post the run down on that separately.

Also, here's one more shot of my huge belly! I've gained less than 3 lbs, but my belly seems to get bigger by the day.

Birthday Brownies!

10 weeks....

Embryo's first pictures!

2010-03-11T13:11:00.000-08:00

Well we are about 7.5 weeks pregnant. Baby is already giving me quite the belly. So much so, that my coworkers convinced me to call my doctor because they all said there was no way I should be showing as much as I am and only 7 weeks along. My doctor was really cool about it and said to come on in and they'd do an ultrasound just to check things out. I am in fact only 7 weeks, and there is only one baby currently cooking! I've only gained about 1 lb, so I'm just showing early. We wouldn't have minded twins, and we were almost excited at the prospect, but at the same time it was a little overwhelming to think about. But so far everything looks good with our little one. We got to watch the baby's heartbeat on the ultrasound.... looked good at about 115. The doc's office said I'm just showing early, that everything looks good and like we thought. Anyhow, just thought I'd share our first ultrasound pics, and some pics of my big fat belly the last 2 weeks that led us to do the ultrasound.

6 weeks

7 weeks and starting to get nervous about how many kids we were having...

This is my favorite ultrasound pic... it's really blurry, but you can see embryo's head and eye and nose sockets along with an arm... Still looks like a little alien, but it's our little alien

My uterus. Yeah! Not very exciting. The dark spot is the amniotic sac baby is growing in

The little blob in the corner of the amniotic sac is our baby.

Baby Nixon coming in October!!!!!

2010-02-17T15:16:00.001-08:00

So Aaron and I are officially pregnant! We are both extremely excited! Baby should be due about October 25th, but my first doctor's appointment is next week, so perhaps I will have a more accurate due date then! I know it will go by fast, but right now it seems like October can't come quick enough! More updates soon!

Snowbowl

2010-02-13T08:27:00.000-08:00

I finally got to do some snowboarding in Arizona!!!!! Woohoo! I went up to flagstaff yesterday to a (very small) resort called Snowbowl. It was a lot of fun to be able to board again! As I said, it was a very small resort (2 lifts- and one of them was just to the terrain park) but I had a great time anyhow. Spent most of the day on the other lift checking out their black diamonds. (Really only 2 runs, but they were pretty good). Was a perfect day for boarding, it was about 35 and sunny, and the snow was great thanks to the storms up there last week. Next time, I will be bringing Aaron along and heading to Sunrise (outside of Payson, near where we went camping last summer). It's a longer drive, but a resort that has a bit more to offer from what I hear.

Wedding Reception!

2010-02-07T13:37:00.000-08:00

Aaron and I had a small backyard wedding reception last night! We had a lot of fun. It was very casual. Mainly some friends and coworkers and my mom and Donald were able to fly out for the day. We just had some good eats, and listened to some good music, had some good conversation, and had some great company. Later in the evening, Aaron taught some of the kids how to play rock band while the rest of the folks who were still over played Apples to Apples with us. Wish more of our friends and family were able to be with us, but it's hard to get everyone together with different schedules and being so spread out. However, we were asked a lot last night when we're gonna have another get together because we have a great house and yard for entertaining. So, to answer the question, we would LOVE to have people over more often! We're hoping to put together a rock band and card night sometime soon, so anyone interested, just let us know. And yes, once the weather gets a little warmer, we will have some BBQ's and pool parties. Not a whole lot to say about the evening other than we had a great time with those who were able to stop by, and we feel extremely blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. Here are a few pics of the night....

The house pre-party

My mom and Donald brought us over the really cool "N"

FOOD!

Mom and Donald

Mom and Donald again, chilling by the pool

Aaron striking a pose

Aaron and I lighting candles for the pool

Aaron and I

Laverene and Alan

Michelle and I

Michelle, Alan, and Aaron

BJ, Stephen, Bruce, Lisa, Jessica and Jenae

Benny, Maxine, and Kylin
we gave the kids fire to play with but figured it was safe since it was in the pool....

The kids were entertained with the candles for hours

Thankfully, everyone stayed dry even though parents were guessing who's kid would fall in...

Aaron

Kathleen

Shelly

Alicia, Stephen, and Matt

even Dylan was actually worn out by the end of the night...

Shelly and Kathleen

hanging out around the fire

Alan and Stephen

Laverne, Kathleen, Shelly, Alan

My ex coworkers: Jenae, Kathleen, and Shelly

Aaron playing guitar with the kids

Rockband time! Riley and Kylin were really getting into it!

Benny, Riley, and Kylin rockin' our living room

Stuff

2010-01-15T06:32:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone. Just thought I'd post a quick update about the going abouts of Aaron and I. It's been a good start to 2010 so far. I started a new job on the 30th. It is doing the same lab geekery only at a local hospital. I LOVE it so far! Was just informed yesterday that the lab director spoke very fondly of me at this week's management meeting and is extremely pleased with the job I've been doing -- so perhaps a raise or promotion may be in my future. Yay! Also on a professional note, I received an email from the HR director of a college here in Phoenix asking if I would be interested in teaching a class for them spring semester. It sounds like a great opportunity for me. It would be part time (a day or 2 a week) and I would be able to schedule it during whatever hours work best for me. I had recently heard rumors that this same college is offering the CLS (Clinical Laboratory Scientist) program which I would love to finish up. So the big bonus for me is I suspect I would be able to enroll in it and have tuition waived as an instructor for the school. It sounds as if they want me to start in February so I can have the curriculum for the class ready to start teaching in March. My resume was forwarded onto the dean and director of the program yesterday, so hopefully I hear more about that soon.

Aside from work, Aaron and I have just been trying to get things ready for our reception in February. Hope to see a lot of our friends and family then. We are also starting to think about buying our first home. EXCITING! We are currently renting our house. Our lease is up in August, so if all goes well, we'd love to find a house here to buy and move into at the end of summer.

Guess that's about all for now. Off to run errands! (Love having 4 day work weeks)

Christmas 2009

2010-01-01T08:05:00.000-08:00

We had a really fun Christmas this year. We went up to Idaho Falls to spend Christmas with Aaron's family. We really had a great time hanging out with everyone. I wish we had taken more pictures, but it seems like we were to busy hanging out with everyone and having fun and before we knew it the trip was just about over.

While we were there, we also got to drive down to Pocatello and see Natalie, Justin, and Brennan for a few hours. My mom and Donald and Sam also drove up. It was really good to see some of my family even if only for a few hours.

Here's some of the few pics we did manage....

Peter, Heather, Aaron and I

Aaron and Peter

Peter and Heather

Heather and fetus Nixon

Brennan and I

Samantha, Natalie and I

Brennan

Mom and Donald

Brennan

The Gibsons

Holiday Party

2009-12-21T05:39:00.001-08:00

Aaron and I had his work holiday party this weekend. It was a really nice get together and we had a great time. We took advantage of being dressed up and actually got a few decent pictures of us together though...

head colds

2009-11-28T19:34:00.000-08:00

For a wedding present I gave Aaron my head cold! YAH!!!! So we've spent the weekend being very lazy and not doing much. We did manage to make it to the mall today to pick up a wedding band for him. And he managed to put up a Christmas tree for me!!! =) I love the holidays...(minus the sick part....)

Mr. and Mrs. Nixon

2009-11-28T19:15:00.000-08:00

So, we made it official yesterday. It was a small casual affair, but neither of us really wanted anything super formal. We went down the the Justice of the Peace with Aaron's best friend, Jeff and his wife, Alice, as our witnesses and officially got hitched. Not too much to say expect that we're both super stoked to start our lives together. Here are some pics....

Aaron and I

Alice signing as a witness

Jeff being witness #2

Aaron signing

Aaron and I

everything signed and official

our awesome wedding kicks

Thanksgiving

2009-11-28T18:54:00.000-08:00

We had a cozy little Thanksgiving this year. Aaron "worked from home" all week which was nice. It's awesome that he has the flexibility to do that from time to time. He prepped dinner all week long, and we had an awesome little dinner and just relaxed at home on thanksgiving. We both have a ton to be thankful this year, and look forward to the coming years.

crack croissants...

Aaron cooking

Aaron and I

Stephen and Alicia

Cooking

more cooking

dishes!!!

after dinner fire...

More Concrete Wedding plans

2009-11-12T14:39:00.000-08:00

So just a heads up to everyone, I think we have our definite plans set now. They have changed a little again, but I think this is the real deal now. As neither of us care to much about a "traditional" wedding we are just going to go down to the Justice of the Peace sometime this month and get married. The part of the whole traditional wedding plan that we do want is to celebrate with our friends and family though. That being said, we will be hosting a small reception/open house in our backyard in Phoenix on Saturday, February 6, 2010. We would love for as many of our friends and family who are able to make it. We will be sending out more formal invitations soon, but just wanted to give a heads up to those who may be traveling as to when/where it will be.

We can't wait to celebrate with everyone!!!

more grand canyon

2009-11-09T15:44:00.003-08:00

Just some more pics from the Grand Canyon. Have way too many to post them all but, here are some good ones...

our "hiking shoes" we are gonna get real hiking shoes before the real hike....

Aaron staying AWAY from the edge unlike me...

If you look real close you can see part of the trail we're gonna hike going down the center of the picture.... will post a map of it later...

The Grand Canyon

2009-11-08T20:57:00.000-08:00

So Aaron took me on the best date ever this weekend. We went to the Grand Canyon. It was a spur of the moment thing. Saturday around noon he asked if I wanted to get outta town, so we went to the Grand Canyon. It was absolutely AMAZING. We had so much fun, that we changed our honeymoon plans. We are now going to hike down the Grand Canyon to the Colorado river and then hike up both the north and south sides of the canyon for our honeymoon. We decided that hardcore backpacking sounded a lot more fun to us than a cruise at the moment. So we are now going to make our Christmas hiking equipment geared to get ready. Will post more photos this week(we have well over 300 to download). Will take some time to get all of them on the computer, but here's a glimpse....

what' i'm pointing to is that trailhead of the hike we're going to do on our honeymoon...

PS, because of the change of plans for our honeymoon, the wedding will most likely now be on the first Saturday of February. We should have the details worked out in the next week or so...

wedding plans

2009-10-24T17:18:00.000-07:00

So just a quick update on the wedding. We are now planning a small wedding in the bay area (probably in February). We hope to have an exact date and more details in the next week. Who knew planning a wedding would be so difficult? Just a heads up to everyone though. We are tentatively thinking maybe the first week of February and it will most likely be on a Wednesday or Thursday evening to give us time to get to Florida for our cruise on the weekend. We hope our friends and family can all make it and celebrate with us. We will keep everyone up to date as we finalize our plans!

arizona state fair

2009-10-24T16:49:00.000-07:00

Aaron and I got season passes to the State Fair since we live about half a block away. It's been fun walking around eating deep fried stuff that shouldn't be deep fried and hanging out. Though I can't seem to drag Aaron on any "carny" rides, I do have Stephen (Aaron's brother) who is a fellow adrenaline junky. Best part is all the concerts at the fair. So far we've seen Bob Dylan, who was amazing. Aaron and I both really like him. And we also saw Stone Temple Pilots, who were better than either of us expected in concert.

We are enjoying fall, and the fact that it is no longer 115 degrees!

stephen and alicia

aaron

aaron and i

stephen and i on a ride

gonna get hitched

2009-09-26T09:03:00.000-07:00

For those of you who don't already know, Aaron and are now officially engaged! We really don't have answers for a date or place right now, but we will keep everyone posted. Currently the plan involves the two of us running away to somewhere semi-exotic (or maybe just Hawaii) by ourselves and getting married and then having a small reception with our friends and family afterwards.

We are both really excited. As my friend Laurel said, you would have thought that the perfect person for me would be someone I knew when I was 12. So true, but so glad we found each other again.

New Digs!

2009-08-11T21:36:00.000-07:00

So, last week we got moved into the new house. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!!! It's a really cute old brick house in the historic district that was built in 1927. And it even met my personal prerequisite for Phoenix -- it has a pool!!! =) Anyhow, we love it. It will only continue to get better. We have a new couch and dining room table picked out that will be coming in the upcoming weeks. Til then, it's a tad bare, but still really cute. Here are some pics...

Our front yard

more front yard

garage

pool (my fav place to be)

patio/fire pit

back yard - still waiting for grass to grow in....

office

super cool closet

bedroom (one day to be nursery)

bedroom

living room

dining room/entry way

kitchen

There is green in Arizona!!!!

2009-07-12T15:15:00.001-07:00

Time for an update. The past few months has consisted of working a whole lot for me, so there really hasn't been too terribly much to say. However, Aaron and I both got a much needed 3 day weekend over the 4th of July! Woohoo! What better way to appreciate the country we live in, than to go enjoy the land, so that's what we did. We went up to Payson (about 2 hours north) and went camping for the weekend!

We had an awesome time and plan on making this a habit. The camp grounds were all full because of the holiday, but they had a few places back in the woods that were not organized camp grounds, but camping was allowed, so that's what we did. Because they weren't "campgrounds" we were definitely "roughing it." No running water, restrooms, ect, but it was a blast. I am very proud of my new car for making it down the dirt roads that led to the area camping was allowed. This is a video clip of us driving down the road.... Who knew that my Protege could off road!

The weekend was very refreshing and a lot of fun. First it was nice to see part of Arizona that wasn't brown and dirt. Also, it was only in the 90's instead if the 110's. We even got some rain for a few hrs saturday afternoon. It was mainly just nice to get out of the city and enjoy how beautiful the world can be.

Most of the weekend we were just lazy, which was really necessary. Saturday we went a few miles down the road to a lake. We just relaxed and introduced our Golden Retriever, Dylan to water. It was hilarious wading in the lake because he kept trying to walk on top of the water and couldn't quite figure out why his feet would sink through it.

After lunch we took Dylan and went on a hike. It was just a pretty flat trail through some meadows behind the lake and through part of a nature reserve. We had a great time and wore the dog out - though I didn't think that was possible til I saw it. Apparently about 8 miles is what it takes to tire him out though.

Sunday we drove to another lake and did one more slightly shorter hike on our way out. All in all it was probably the best outing I've had in Phoenix and definitely something we plan on doing more often.