Daddy, Mommy, and 3 Boys

A Song Played At Your Wedding

2011-02-05T06:57:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riuXdXAOArY

Me And You by Kenny Chesney

A Photo of Me Recently

2011-02-05T06:51:00.002-08:00

I am usually the one behind the camera so it was tough to find a recent one. This picture was taken on Christmas Day by Vincent. Jeremy & I were at my mother in law's house. I think you can tell how exhausted I am in this picture, but Jeremy looks really happy in this picture, probably at our photographer's antics.

Later Date

2011-02-05T06:51:00.001-08:00

Day 9: A Photo I Took

2011-02-05T06:41:00.002-08:00

This is a picture I took of Vincent sleeping. I love taking pictures of my kids sleeping. I do it all of the time. I don't know if it is odd or not. But there is just something about seeing them so peaceful and calm. Vincent always wakes up with the funniest dreams. I probably have at least 50 pictures of Vincent sleeping. He is such an amazing kid. He gives me lots of trouble but he gives you these amazing moments that make you forget about the others.

Day 8: To be completed at a later date.

2011-02-05T06:41:00.001-08:00

Day 7: Five Things I Cannot Live Without

2011-02-03T09:19:00.000-08:00

#1) My Family. My family is absolutely everything to me. I don't have a ton of girlfriends and my husband really is my best friend. I see my family every Sunday and usually another day during the week. My dad is amazing and is the most generous and loving person I know. I also love being a mom. I have amazing children. They have completely changed my world. I also love that in my patriarchal blessing it says that I will have 'obedient children'. I definitely am holding onto that during the hard times. Not all of my family is in this picture. My dad and Chani aren't here. And Capri. That is what makes us so close. We have to be. We have to make it. All of us. For her.

#2) Bubble Baths. I love taking baths. I never take showers. Baths are so relaxing and I love the hottest water. I know it isn't good to do when you're pregnant but I just can't help it.

#3) MEXICAN FOOD! I can't help it, I'm an Ellsworth. Jeremy will tell you, I really could eat it for every meal. He gets so tired of constant mexican restaurants. If I am having a hard day, Mexican Food can fix it all. I have favorite places and favorite foods. I love La Paloma in Safford. It's my all time favorite. I also love El Rey in Globe and in the valley I love Manuels, Serranos, and Tia Rosas, oh and Some Burros. Okay I need to stop, I'm getting hungry.

#4) Eternity. I love knowing that I can be with my family forever. Like one of my favorite quotes says, "I've never had the courage to believe in nothing." I don't know how I could make it through if I thought that this life was all there was.

#5) My cell phone. We are attached. I lose it all of the time, mostly because I let my kids play with it too. I am constantly on facebook. I love getting directions to everywhere I need to go and I especially love being able to be in constant contact with my husband during the day.

Day 6: A Day I Wish I Could Live Over

2011-02-02T11:04:00.000-08:00

My Wedding Day

I got married to Jeremy on December 30th, 2006. It was a simple ceremony and I didn't even have a wedding dress but it was a wonderful day. There is nothing I would have changed about it. I was so happy to be marrying him and I cried for most of it. It was really nice having family there and I really enjoyed making our slideshow. I got to go to Jeremy's aunt's house and look through her photo albums for pictures of Jeremy, which I am really grateful to have. If I could change anything, it would be for us to have a real honeymoon. We are hoping to be able to do something this year, for our 5 year anniversary, but we will see. I just loved my wedding, even though it was simple and small, it was perfect.

Day 5: A Favorite Quote

2011-02-01T08:25:00.000-08:00

Okay so back to that tattoo from Day 3. I have a tattoo from the little prince. I don't regret it. I don't regret any of that tattoos I have. I'm a funny mormon like that. Well, The Little Prince is honestly scripture to me. Of the many quotes I could pull out from The Little Prince this one is my favorite:

"Nothing's perfect," sighed the fox, "My life is monotonous. I hunt chickens. People hunt me. All chicken are just alike and all men are just alike. So I'm rather bored. But if you tame me, my life will be filled with sunshine. I'll know the sound of footsteps that will be different than all the rest. Other footsteps send me back underground. Yours will call me out of my burrow like music. And then, look! You see those wheat fields over there? I don't eat bread. For me, wheat is of no use whatsoever. Wheat fields say nothing to me, which is sad. But you have hair the color of gold. So it will be wonderful once you've tamed me. The wheat, which is golden, will remind me of you. And I'll love the sound of the wind in the wheat."

Day 4: Favorite TV Show

2011-02-01T08:15:00.000-08:00

This is a new show. It is in its third week. I love it. It is by David E. Kelley who also did Boston Legal and Ally McBeal. He is hilarious. Seriously awesome. Some of it is out there so it may not be for the super conservative but I love it.

Day 3: Favorite Book

2011-02-01T08:04:00.000-08:00

I am not an avid reader. I have a few books that mean quite a bit to me. In fact I have a tattoo from one of my favorite books. Most of my favorite books have been passed down to me from my Dad.

When I was a young teenager I read Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach. This is a book that changes you and inspires you. It was always one of my favorites.

Fast forward to eight years later and I was hanging out with Jeremy in his apartment and saw another book by Richard Bach called Illusions. I had never heard of this book and to be honest didn't know Richard Bach had written other books. This was one of those things that told me this was the man for me.

For that Christmas, 2005, right after Vincent was born, Jeremy bought me "The Ferret Chronicles" a series by Richard Bach. There are several books. When Vincent was a few months old, we were reading one of the books to him. The book seemed to chronicle the journey that Jeremy and I had been on. On the first page it says:

Once there were two ferrets who lived by a country lane.

The lane led one way toward a dawn mountain, the other to a twilight sea. The two were friends, but the mountain called to him and the sea to her, called so strongly that neither cuold turn aside.

"I am sad," he told her, "that our paths must take us in such different directions."

"And I," she said, "that we cannot go our ways together."

The two held their love warmly in their hearts, but listened to their highest right and walked the lane toward its opposite ends.

After many adventures, they discovered that the path toward the dawn led over the mountain to the sea, and the path toward the twilight led across the sea to the mountain.

On the other side of te mountain, on the other side of the sea, the lovers met again, and their paths were one.

I loved this story so much that when my mom wrote a song for our wedding, she included lines from it.

Day 2: Favorite Movie

2011-01-22T06:41:00.000-08:00

This challenge is tough for me, I have so many favorites of everything. Okay okay okay. Favorite movie.....I narrowed it down to four. And those were just what has come to my mind. After beginning this post I've now just decided to do the first two, that's what being a mom does to you!

#1 (in no particular order of course) ..... is National Treasure.

This movie is unrealistic and completely unplausible but I love it and let me tell you why. I saw this movie on my second date with my husband. I had experienced something truly traumatic the previous day and he just made it better. There was something about him even from the beginning. It was like our souls clicked. My heart and mind didn't entirely recognize it at the time but looking back, it really was special.

We got to the theatre late and had to sit in the very front row. I love history and this movie is full of it. I'm not even a big Nicholas Cage fan or anything but this movie is just so adventurous and exciting

Okay Movie #2: The Royal Tenenbaums. This one is also Jeremy related. When I was pregnant with Vincent I would spend entire days with Jeremy at his apartment. All that we did was watch those ridiculous court shows and watch movies. We watched this movie. It is so indie and just so us at the time. A lot of people don't like it, but I absolutely love it. That's all.

Day 1

2011-01-20T12:01:00.000-08:00

I am attempting this 30 day challenge. No no no, scratch that. I am going to DO this 30 day challenge. Day 1 is favorite song. Songs mean a lot to me. I am usually an angry and sad music listener if that makes sense.

So my very favoritest song right now has to be Lemons by Amos the Transparent. This is a pretty unknown band. My husband discovered them on satellite radio and we became fans. This song he always associated with baby Julian who at the time was quite the baby still. We included it on his one year slideshow video.

There is a line that is my absolute fave. It says "protect those you love and listen to their words. no one's gonna let you get hurt, pretty bird".

The last part of why I love this song is whenever it comes on in the car Julian goes crazy. He smiles and shakes his fists and kicks his feet.

Listen to it. Become a fan. They are amazing.

http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ9KTxFXcRQ

Changes

2010-07-20T11:45:00.001-07:00

Things are looking up for the Contreras family. Jeremy has started school is something that he is really passionate about. He is going to Everest, right on Higley & Baseline. It's smaller class sizes and really focused on his subject so it will really be great for him. I recently accepted a new job. It's a contract position which means no taxes taken out so more money in my pocket but perhaps getting less in a refund.

It's home visiting for children ages 0-3 with a diagnosed developmental disability. I get to choose which zip codes I receive referrals in and basically can make my own schedule. I will be a very busy lady because....

We are moving and I'll need as much extra $ as possible. We are moving to Pecan Creek in Queen Creek. We found a cute 3bed2bath house for rent. I really think it is one of those meant to be things. We have some interesting life situations and it is for rent by owner so it is just a simple lease no background check or credit check and to top it all of I know the owner, which I didn't know until I got an email back from her. I worked with her at my very first job when I was 16.

It's perfect for our family. One story which I am thrilled about, lots of closet space, and it will just help things in our family that have been hard lately. Things are getting better and it really is true, that things will get better and you gotta have faith!

Just so thankful for all of the wonderful blessings we are the recipients of right now!

100 Things About Me!

2010-07-15T09:21:00.000-07:00

100 is a big number, we'll see how this goes.

1) I am left handed
2) I am glad because I have a big scar on my right hand that I find hideous
3) I rarely take showers, baths are my favorites.
4) I have had seven surgeries on my face.
5) I have tons of pictures of my kids and not enough frames to hang them all up, ever.
6) I love reading to Vincent.
7) I love how much Vincent loves to have our meeting (family home evening).
8) I love how much he loves to sing 'follow the prophet'. His favorite verse is Daniel.
9) I love how Julian lays his head on the floor when he is tired.
10) I graduated from ASU, finally.
11) I wish I could be a stay at home mom, but life hasn't given me those cards.
12) I watch entirely too much tv and I blame the dvr.
13) Jeremy & I give each back rubs every night.
14) He gives me a foot rub while I do his back rub so I win in that exchange
15) It's weird how the hardest time in my life was when I was the happiest
16) I hold onto entirely too much stress and anxiety
17) I think insurance is the most ridiculous thing and we should adopt Canada's system
18) I think Glenn Beck is a moron but I find myself listening to his radio show sometimes.
19) I am a bleeding heart liberal. I can't help it.
20) I really want to take a trip to Nauvoo.
21) I think my kids are my greatest blessing.
22) I think I would get so sad if I ever had to say I wasn't having anymore kids
23) I love pregnancy.
24) I never knew how hard a miscarriage could be.
25) I want to move out of this state but freak out about being away from family
26) I love pedicures but never do anything with my hands
27) I love taking pictures.
28) I can't wait to be into my own place again.
29) I have been through hard hard things that no one knows about.
30) I stole my husband from a girl he was living with.
31) I've been married twice
32) Divorced once
33) I am excellent at making resumes and helping people with financial aid
34) I still have pretty much now idea what I want to do
35) I wish I was a runner
36) I want to get a tummy tuck someday
37) I think Harry Chapin is marvelous
38) I think Jimmy Carter is underrated as a president
39) I think Jimmy Carter is a remarkable human being
40) I think most people just think surface level
41) I cannot stand people who think that the holocaust didn't happen
42) I play jeopardy outloud while I watch it
43) I am extraordinarily competitive when it comes to board games and card games
44) I love that I have two red headed boys
45) I am a chronic worrier
46) I cannot handle pain meds, I get violently ill
47) I could drink pepto bismol and alka seltzer by the cup
48) I hate cornbread w/ actual corn pieces in it.
49) I don't like most people when I first meet them.
50) I hate S.B. 1070
51) I support gay marriage
52) I love little kids movies
53) I love Sleepless in Seattle
54) I hate TWILIGHT
55) I feel pretty after getting a pedicure
56) I am a control freak
57) I am a very picky eater
58) I love french onion soup, but only eat the bread and broth
59) I love the bread at Texas Roadhouse
60) I love the cheese fries at Outback Steakhouse
61) I love barbeque chicken
62) I hate drinking soda out of a can.
63) I think LOVE is the most powerful thing in the world
64) I like cold water in a water bottle, not in a cup
65) I have to have water next to my bed before I can go to sleep
66) I can't set my alarm clock for 5's or 0's
67) My alarm clock can't make a mathematic equation like 6:28 or 3:18.
68) I am exhaustingly sarcastic
69) I crack everything (elbows, toes, fingers, neck, back, knees)
70) I miss jello shots
71) I connect most music with a memory
72) I like the coziness of a small apartment
73) I love the rain
74) I hate the heat
75) I do not enjoy the city
76) I love hockey
77) I like it when Vincent & Jeremy go out together
78) I want to go on a cruise for my 5 yr anniversary
79) I cannot believe Vincent will be five this year
80) I am petrified of dying
81) I feel bad for Judas
82) I love Jesus Christ Superstar
83) Man of La Mancha means so much to me
84) The Little Prince is tattooed on my back
85) I think tattoos are beautiful
86) I have a crush on a dirty old man named Tim Kasher
87) I love that Jeremy loves reading
88) Piercings scare me
89) I hate the immigration debate
90) Buying a house petrifies me
91) I want to have a baby girl someday
92) I am obsessed with quotes
93) I love reading old love letters
94) I hate it when my past is brought up
95) I hate it when the pool is hot in the summer
96) I cannot sleep during the day, I feel too guilty
97) My son says the most ridiculous things
98) I could eat mexican food for every meal
99) I just want my family to be happy
100) I am done!

Pictures

2010-07-11T19:27:00.001-07:00

Do I still have a blog? Yes, Yes I do.

2010-07-11T19:18:00.000-07:00

It's really been since December? Okay okay, I guessed I've just been facebooking like crazy. I really need to go through and write down all of Vincent's sayings that I write there.

Okay well since December.....my baby has turned into a 1 year old! Julian is a completely amazing boy. He isn't walking yet, but he crawled late so I am not so worried about it. He has three teeth on the bottom and two on the top. He likes to pull hair and that drives his big brother crazy. He is now on regular milk and doing really well. He is like his dad and eats everything with bananas being his favorite. This morning I was cutting up a banana to put on his high chair tray and Julian just grabbed the half that I wasn't cutting and started eating it. I guess he's a big boy now!

Vincent is hilarious. Seriously a blessing in all of our lives. I can't even think of his latest hilarity. We were at the mall on Thursday night and he jumped off one of the play structures and he says he 'bent his foot'. He immediately started crying, I was chasing Julian all over since he keeps trying to escape and didn't see it. Vincent wouldn't walk and I put him in the stroller. We put ice on it when we got home. He didn't want to take a bath, he just wanted to lay down. It bruised and it's weird, the place it is is on the right side of the right food a little forward of the ankle. The next day he seemed better and walked on it a little just awkwardly. I took him in that afternoon and they said it was a break and to send him in for x rays. We did those and are just waiting to hear back. It's still swollen and bruised and he just isn't walking right.

Jeremy & I are teaching primary together, yay! It's so much fun. Julian is our class's mascot since he is too young for nursery. I am still leading the music.I quit my job at southwest human development and wish I hadn't. I didn't like my position but am working at my dad's office right now but just don't feel comfortable. I am contemplating nursing school. It would be a good way to make enough money to provide for my family since Jeremy's back has thrown a wrench in our life plan. I either go to a private school right away and pay a TON of money or wait two years and get in to a community college program. We will find out soon I suppose.

We are still at my parents house and hoping to get out soon. That all depends on what I decide to do with school and all.

We got a new car since the van decided to not work!

We just got back from a vacation to duck creek & the grand canyon. So much fun! I had never ridden atv's before but it was definitely a blast. We did lots of fishing (no catching though), enjoyed the gorgeous scenery and played lots of games.

I'll post some random pictures but no guarantee on order or placement!

December 7th

2009-12-07T20:12:00.004-08:00

December is my favorite month. I think that it always has been. I remember one Christmas, opening up a present with a bridle in it and being so confused. It turns out the new horses my neighbor just got were actually my present. We were ecstatic! We walked down our long driveway and up our neighbors and met our Christmas gifts. It was so cold but it is a memory I will never forget. While I am nowhere near being able to give my boys a pony for Christmas I always want to make these days special enough that their memories will be as vivid as mine are.

Vincent's 4th birthday is on the 23rd, then Christmas, then our 3rd anniversary is on the 30th. I am lucky enough to have paid vacation for two weeks which I am so grateful for. I will get to catch on my quality moments with the boys and hopefully make some memories they can't easily forget.

I just started at Southwest Human Development, www.swhd.org It's a terrific organization and I'll be working with the early head start program that they are starting up. It's in Phoenix, so that has presented some challenges with cars and transportation for Jeremy and my mom. I am thinking we will need to expand and get a second vehicle. I need something probably used and inexpensive. I have been thinking of a kia sedona, scion xb, hyundai santa fe, or anything in between. We are looking for something with a little bit more room since the civic is pretty cramped with the two car seats in the back seat, not because we are expanding the family or anything, not for a LONG time.

So if anyone has any advice vehicle wise, please send it my way! Love you all.

New Pictures

2009-12-07T20:12:00.003-08:00

Thanksgiving

2009-12-07T20:12:00.001-08:00

Love This!

2009-11-19T16:41:00.000-08:00

Contreras Family Update

2009-11-16T13:30:00.000-08:00

Well there has just been so very much going on lately. I will try and recall the important things.

-- Jeremy got his license. Yay! It is so nice to be able to send him to the store. The interlock is a bit of a pain but completely worth it

-- I accepted a job offer at Southwest Human Development with the Early Head Start Program. I start a week from today. I am entirely nervous and will miss my dad a lot but I guess it's the next step in growing up.

--We are still doing our temple prep classes. It's a bit difficult with Jeremy teaching primary and different schedules but slowly and surely we are completing them.

--Looks like I won't have to go to trial regarding termination of rights after all. Which is maybe my best news of all.

--Can't wait to go visit my Grandma & Grandpa. Although no one is more excited than Vincent is.

Wildlife World Zoo

2009-11-16T13:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we went to the Wildlife World Zoo with Jeremy's mom and her boyfriend. It really was so much fun. I have never been there before but I highly recommend it now! There is just so much to see and everything is so close up! It is expensive but if you look in the coupon pages of the verizon yellow pages there is a 2 for 1 coupon. Jeremy, Vincent, and I took the sky ride which goes over the whole zoo like a ski lift. It was a blast. We also went on the train ride and Vincent & I even went on the log ride by the acquarium. We got to feed the giraffe out of our hands and got to watch the turtles make some babies, Vincent would not stop yelling 'look mom, that turtle is on the other turtles back'. The petting zoo had deer in it too who after I fed them would start nibbling on my shirt. Definitely needs to be washed a few times, but it was so much fun. They even have an acquarium and Vincent got to pet the sting rays. I asked him how it felt and he said that it felt like his hair does. He is so silly. By the time it was over everyone was exhausted. I wished I could show everyone pictures but my camera is mia. In a way I'm glad I didn't have my camera because I wasn't constantly worried about all the great pictures I would be taking but just sitting back and experiencing it all.

Oh just a tidbit, we left church early to go to the zoo, just a sacrifice you make, in a diverse family like mine, and Vincent seriously had to be drug out of the primary room. He loves his class so much. I guess that's a good problem to have!

Halloween

2009-11-16T13:24:00.000-08:00

Monster Mash

2009-10-26T10:28:00.000-07:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Trip To Prescott

2009-10-18T16:14:00.001-07:00

Jeremy's Birthday

2009-10-12T13:41:00.000-07:00

Amazing

2009-10-06T11:42:00.000-07:00

Jeremy & I had the opportunity to go to the temple. It was such an awesome experience. My mom came with us. It was Jeremy's first time in the temple and the first time I have been in about 10 years or so.

The Shortest Story

2009-09-29T10:18:00.000-07:00

There was a man named Harry Chapin who was a beautiful story teller, the best to some. He wrote many stories and songs. He died several years ago at far too young an age. He was an amazing man who did so much for people and was a huge advocate for the cause of world hunger. This is a song he wrote called The Shortest Story

I am born today

The sun burns a promise in my eye

Momma strikes me

And I draw a breath and cry

Above me a cloud softly

Tumbles through the sky

I am glad...to be alive

It is my seventh day

I taste the hunger and I cry

My brother and sister

Cling to momma's side

She squeezes her breast

But it has nothing to provide

Someone weepsI fall asleep

It is twenty days today

Momma does not hold me anymore

I open my mouth

But I am too weak to cry

Above me a bird

Slowly crawls across the sky

Why is there nothing

Now to do but die

Even just writing this out makes me cry. It is so unbelievably unfair to me that someone who did so much for the world was taken so early. He could have done so much more good and helped so many people if he was given the years to do so. What is written on his gravestone sums it up perfectly:

Oh if a man tried

To take his time on Earth

And prove before he died

What one man's life could be worth

I wonder what would happen to this world.

OOOUUCH!

2009-09-25T10:22:00.000-07:00

+

=

Vincent went to the park yesterday with Casi & Ryan. He took Chance's long board with him. He loves to play with that. Normally he lays on it and slides back and forth in the family room. This time his hand slipped and his face fell onto the longboard, with a sandpaper type surface. Tough guy that he is, he got back on again. And again he fell. The first fall only gave him a little scrape, but the second really left him all busted up.

Blessing Day

2009-09-21T14:32:00.000-07:00

America

2009-09-11T09:47:00.001-07:00

In honor of September 11th, can you believe it's been 8 years?, I'm posting my two favorite videos.

Labor Day Weekend

2009-09-10T11:57:00.001-07:00

First of all, I need to start by saying that I totally dislike the way pictures go in backwards on blogs. So the first picture you put in actually ends up being the last one. Well this time I tried to think backwards and did okay but there are still some mixups!

This weekend we went up to Showlow/Snowflake/Taylor for a family reunion of sorts. Jeremy was super anxious to get out of town so we decided to go up on Friday while everyone else was going up on Saturday. My wipers have been in need of replacing but the weather didn't look bad when we left so we decided not to worry about it. There was no rain....for a while. When did the rain decide to appear? In the very bottom of Salt River Canyon on course. Julian & Vincent were still sleeping when we drove through Globe so we decided we would stop at the rest stop at the bottom of the canyon to feed Julian. That would have worked if the stop had been open but no such luck. So we ended up pulling off at a scenic view point and feeding Julian and having some out of the car time.

Well, we finally arrived in Snowflake and checked in to the hotel. We spent some time with my Grandpa & Grandma who had also come a day early. There were plans already set for that night that did not involve us (gotta love family cliques) so we decided to do our own thing. We went out to see the Snowflake Temple. Vincent has been learning a lot about temples in primary so when we told him where we were going he seemed to think that he couldn't go because he wasn't ready to get married but eventually we helped him understand....I hope. Oh man, I just scrolled down and realized I didn't put any pictures of the temple that night on here. Well, just imagine how pretty it was. It was all lit up and there were very few neighboring lights and there was rain and it was just beautiful. Vincent & I sang I love to see the temple as we walked around it, it was a perfect moment.

I love him. The end.

Saturday was the beginning of the Sweet Corn Festival in Taylor. It is my favorite thing ever. I highly recommend it. We went to the parade first thing in the morning. I love parades in small towns. In this picture, Vincent is eating a popsicle someone gave him from the Bashas float. This is a picture of Jeremy & Vincent goofing around before the parade started. He is teaching him 'uncle'.
We went to go eat some corn..well I did. Jeremy & Vincent had navajo tacos. I need to add a video too. Jeremy was reading the newspaper article about the festivities of the weekend and decided to use this ridiculous accent, I think he was trying for some southern/Texan accent but it ended up sounding like Brad Pitt from that Nazi movie. It's hilarious.

Once everyone filtered into town, we ended up at the Social Hall since the parks were rained out. Vincent was playing huckle buckle bean stalk with his toy screw driver. For those of you who aren't familiar with the game someone hides an object and the others look for it and when they spot it they say 'huckle buckle bean stalk' but don't give away its location. Vincent found it in the cooler and couldn't contain his excitement.

I love this picture. This is Julian on Sunday morning.

This is one that is out of order. It is from the park on Sunday afternoon.

Our family picture at the Snowflake Temple on Sunday. From left to right... my Dad, Chani, Casi, Chance, Me, Vincent, Jeremy, Julian & my mom.

I love him. The end. Again.

Some more at the park. Vincent had so much fun playing with his cousins. He played with every single person at one time or another.

This is Julian laying in the grass. He hated how it felt, but I still like this picture.

Jeremy & Julian at the cemetary. Who knew I had so many relatives from there? I always associated it more with my dads family with Edmond Ellsworth, LeRoy Ellsworth, Frank Ellsworth, Corwin Ellsworth, etc. but then when I thought about it there was William Jordan Flake, Jefferson Hunt, Celia Mounts, and John Hunt all from my mom's family. What an incredibly family history I have!

The girls & Vincent at the memorial in Snowflake. My dad and Chance are hiding in the back. Punks.

My great uncle was buried in Showlow last year. He was an amazing person and taught me more about the gospel than anyone else. I had some family members who were so incredibly pushy and so un Christ like in their pursuits that it pushed me so much further away. I really appreciate people like Corwin who live Christ like lives and love people so purely. This is my Grandma & Jeremy at his grave in Showlow.

Chance, Julian, my dad, my grandpa, and Vincent

It's Official!

2009-09-03T16:23:00.000-07:00

PRESCHOOL

2009-09-03T09:32:00.000-07:00

Vincent had his first day of Preschool this week. He goes to Busy Bees Preschool, he really likes it. After he went on his first day he told me that his teacher called him an angel and he is not an angel. I think this will teach him so much!

This morning as he was getting ready for his second day of preschool he told me that at preschool they do cutting and tracing and coloring and reading and arting. Gotta love that boy!

Jeremy's Big Day

2009-09-03T09:26:00.003-07:00

On Tuesday, Jeremy got the priesthood. This month has been full of amazing experiences but this one was at the top. There were so many family & friends who were there to support Jeremy. It was amazing! Thank you to everyone who came. And special thanks to Brinton, it meant a lot to Jeremy! You guys are birthday twins.

Jeremy & Casi's boyfriend Ryan

Jeremy, Julian & I (Vincent wouldn't join us)

The Whole Family (good picture except for Vincent twirling my hair)

He is such a sweet daddy

Vincent & Julian are so lucky!

Primary Activity

2009-09-03T09:26:00.001-07:00

Vincent had his first primary activity. It was a water day! I got to go with him since Jeremy went to go and visit his grandfather in Tucson. He loved playing on the blow up water slide. After it was time to leave this station he kept trying to sneak back. He was keeping up with all the bigger kids!

Then, we got to build a sugar cube model of the Mesa temple. He had so much fun and showed it off to everyone when he got home.

Then we got to learn about temples and practice the family home evening lesson that he would give about temples. We got to finish it off with an awesome popsicle treat. I loved it! What a gorgeous little boy I have!

Grandpa Russell

2009-09-03T09:20:00.000-07:00

This last weekend, Jeremy went with his mom, Aunt Roxanne, and his cousin Derek to visit his grandfather who lives in Tucson. It meant a lot to Jeremy. This is Jeremy's mother's father and his name is Robert Russell. This explains the origin of Julian's red hair!

This is a really special picture to Jeremy. He took a picture of a picture that he saw at his grandfather's house. It is of his Uncle Marty who our son Julian Martin Contreras is named for. Jeremy said this picture made it look like Marty was just across the room. He passed away several years ago.

August already?

2009-08-21T09:23:00.001-07:00

I need to write on this more often so I can remember the little things that make my day every day. We had family home evening on Monday and talked about Joseph Smith and it is amazing to me how much Vincent knew (no thanks to me). We really need to get better with doing Family Home Evening every week. It's hard because sometimes I want it to be more adult oriented so Jeremy can learn more but Vincent needs to learn too. We were doing the closing song, one of my favorites, the 'whenever I hear the song of a bird' one and Vincent said No! I want the prophet song and started to sing 'follow the prophet, follow the prophet' . What an amazing little boy! Then, last night I was putting him to bed and said it was time for prayers and he repsonded that he would say the opening prayer and I would say the closing. He is starting to say his prayers by himself instead of having Jeremy or I whisper to him.

Jeremy is going to be ordained this week. It is so exciting, so much has happened this month. Now Jeremy & I both have callings. He teachers the 10 year olds and I am the ward chorister. It is such a challenge but I think I am adjusting to being in front of everyone. I definitely make at least one mistake a week.

I finished my last class at ASU and they will be mailing me my diploma next week. It still seems pretty unreal to me. I just don't feel like I'm done. So maybe someday I will go back. I love school. I'm looking for a job in my degree field but jobs are hard to come by right now especially in the non profit section so at least I have something for the time being.

Julian has thrush, ugh! Poor thing. But he is growing and changing so much. I can't believe alreaday 11 weeks old. I forgot how much work it is but it is so nice having a baby around again.

What's new with us

2009-08-09T17:53:00.000-07:00

Things are going well. I finished my last class this last week and got an A- so I guess that means I'm graduated. I don't feel done. I am already thinking about going back maybe to get a teaching certificate or grad school or something. Call me weird, but I just love school. I just got a copy of my p.b. sent to me and it talks so much about education so maybe it'll all come together. I am starting to apply and places that make sense for my major. We'll see if anything comes up.

Today was my second week as ward chorister...definitely went better today. Yay! Jeremy had his interview w/ the stake president today so he will be presented at the next stake meeting so exciting. And he is going to get his patriarchal blessing in the next few weeks and then he'll bless Julian the 2nd week of September (probably). So much in one month!!!!

My dad got his surgery this last week. It is a temporary one to see if the procedure worked, and it did! So now he gets to have the implant taken out tomorrow and then in a month or so, once it heals, they will put in the permanent device. Hopefully it all goes well. I like pictures on posts so I will see what I can find!

SMILE

2009-07-30T14:20:00.001-07:00

From my child development classes I know that babies develop their 'social smile' at about 6 weeks. Julian is totally there. If we engage him with smiles and silly voices and faces he will mimic us and make the cutest smiling faces. I keep trying to take a picture of it but whenever I get the camera out he becomes more interested in the camera than our goofy antics. These were my closest attempts!

Fun Night!

2009-07-30T14:16:00.000-07:00

Last night I took the boys out on a walk. I decided I still need to start exercizing even though it is super hot outside! Pushing that double stroller definitely made that walk more of a workout! We went to the 'big humongous' park as Vincent calls it and had so much fun. The boys were acting really cute so I took some pictures and they are some of my favorites so far! When we got home, Jeremy was on Julian duty and Vincent & I went swimming. It was so much fun having some one on one time with him. I miss seeing them during the day but I have to work to get us where we need to be. I have some gorgeous boys, don't you think?

Safford Trip

2009-07-26T14:59:00.001-07:00

On Friday after work we headed down to Safford to see my Grandpa & Grandma. I haven't seen them since my grandpa was in the hospital. It was so nice for them to be able to meet Julian. We stayed in a hotel which was also a nice change of pace! Vincent & I went swimming. The pool was actually cool compared to the saunas we go in here! My favorite mexican place is temporarily closed so I had to settle for this other place that was not even close to as good! Casi brought her boyfriend Ryan, so it was nice for everyone to meet him. My mom did a lot to help Grandma while we were there. On our way in we also got to see the new temple that they are building down there. It just pops out at you but looks like it is going to be so pretty. My dad, Chance, Casi, Ryan, Jeremy, Vincent, and I all drove out to Cluffs Pond. It was so nice. I love all the little treasures that little towns have. Me and Jeremy are trying to figure a way to move out of the city someday. On our drive on that dirt road, we saw someone's backyard and they had three dear in it. We had to stop and take pictures. It was a nice trip. Jeremy had to teach sunday school so we came back on Saturday. His lesson went good. It was a new topic for him. Jeremy is going to a class tonight and then in the next month he'll become an elder and be able to bless Julian the second week of September. I'm really looking forward to it. In the next few weeks he is going to be getting his patriarchal blessing. It won't be more than a few months before we get to go to the temple, I'm really excited!!!

What a Funny Boy

2009-07-26T14:12:00.000-07:00

Vincent has been full of it lately and I just have to post some of his verbal gems!

One night he was climbing behind our couch upstairs with his little flashlight. When I asked him what he was doing, he said, "Mom, I'm using my green light and looking for gold."

He gave a talk last week and I'm not sure if this allowed or not but Chani videotaped it. Jeremy couldn't be there because he was teaching his primary lesson that week so he had to see it. Once I get it loaded, I'll put it on here. He did so good!

I think his talk got him thinking about church and the temple so yesterday when I told him we would be going to church tomorrow he said the temple church? I told him no, the church where you go to sunbeams. I then asked him if he wanted to go to the temple this week. He said no, I don't want to get married right now, maybe later.

Vincent has some trouble saying words the right way. He ends up calling himself bincent quite often. I tried to get him to say Vincent with a V. I told him to say vvvvvaaa. He said vvvvvaaa. I told him to say v like vacuum and he said v like vacuum. I told him to say vvvvv vincent and he said vvvv bincent. Maybe someday!

Pictures of Julian

2009-07-13T09:30:00.001-07:00

Besides the pictures, here's some of what else is going on in our lives. We had our home visit last week and it went fairly well. Our next court date is August 27th, but that is another tiny hearing that will set the big date. I finished my first session summer school class and am in the middle of my LAST class before I get my degree, yay! Jeremy is loving teaching the 9 year olds at church. He and I also just started our temple prep classes so we are definitely on our way! Jeremy's back has gotten a lot worse in the last few weeks but it looks like we are going to be trying some different treatments. It's always scary when you are dealing with the spinal cord. Julian is getting stronger and makes the silliest faces! We are managing the nights by splitting up the shifts, I have a great husband! Vincent is loving swimming and making us all laugh!

Us

2009-07-07T18:02:00.000-07:00

Julian is already a month old, I can't even believe it! He has grown so much already, maybe not physically but definitely developmentally! He is awake a lot more and loves to look around. I think he must be seeing this a little bit better. He looks so much like his daddy it's unbelievable. I think my traits must just blend really well. Me and Jeremy have a great system at night, he takes the first shift and I'll get up with Julian for the early am feeding and then up with them with Vincent wakes up.

For the 4th of July, we went out to my cousin's house in Queen Creek and watched the fireworks from their street. Vincent had so much fun playing with all of those little boys. I wish he had some boys he played with more often, he could use more interaction with kiddos his age instead of all us grown ups.

I finished my first session of summer school, now I am taking my last class at ASU :) I will be done August 8th I can't wait!

We are going thru court proceedings to make it so Jeremy can adopt Vincent and we can all go to the temple together, I am so excited and completely nervous. It has been quite the process and I really just pray it all goes that way we are hoping. Our next court date is August 27th. We had the adoption specialists do the home inspection and interviews today, I am so glad that part is over! Made me so grateful that I am married to Jeremy and that my kids have such a great father. I could be living such a different life right now.

My battery for my camera died and it took me forever to remember to charge it so I don't have any new pictures but hope to soon. Can't miss these moments, they go by way too quickly!

Life at Home

2009-06-14T14:26:00.001-07:00

Vincent has been doing a whole lot of swimming with his Grandma this summer. They have lessons everyday. This was him jumping off the white thing (as he calls it). He knows how to climb out, walk around the pool with his hands, do cup hands (doggy paddle), and helicopter arms (he's too cute). He used to be really scared, but now swims all over the place!

Julian is doing really well. He has lost some weight, which is a normal thing. So happy to have him as part of our family!

Exciting News

2009-06-14T14:15:00.000-07:00

Julian Martin Contreras was born June 3rd at 3:40am. He weighed 7 lbs 15oz and was 21 1/4 inches long. It was a quick labor, 4 hrs total! Vincent (and I) are adjusting to the change to our family. He is a great gorgeous baby!

Summer's gonna be busy!

2009-05-15T09:14:00.000-07:00

Things are getting kinda crazy. I finished school on Monday and passed, yay! Kind of annoying to have to take these two summer classes, but after that I will be soooo done! It seems like new requirements kept popping up because I really thought I was signed up for everything that I needed during Spring, but oh well!

Vincent is doing great. He is getting so big and learning his letters from a couple of websites he loves. He loves the letter s, the snake letter!

He is petrified of witches in any form, he refuses to watch Sleeping Beauty, The Sword in the Stone, or Snow White but loves watching movies with ghosts, goblins, and bugs. He loves Nightmare before Christmas and Corpse Bride! What a crazy kiddo!

I want to get him involved in some preschool this summer, he is so ready to learn plus get some interaction with kids his own age!

I start summer classes on June1st, and am really hoping Julien decides to make his grand entrance before then! Also because my mom is going to be out of town for a week in June! Agh!

And I'm doing some court stuff this summer for Vincent and that court date is in July, it wasn't supposed to be until November but it got set early so that just means I have a lot to get sorted before then.

Sounds like life to me : )

Pictures

2009-04-30T13:38:00.001-07:00

There isn't much to write about. I am finishing up my last two weeks of school and having an exhausting time! But at least I will be finished. I will just have one summer class in July and then I will be an ASU graduate, yay finally!

I have some cute pictures of Vincent so that'll be the extent of this post : )

Easter

2009-04-17T11:57:00.000-07:00

We had planned to take Vincent to the ward Easter Party but it was rained out on Saturday. We died eggs that night and had so much fun! Vincent wanted to dye every egg like Swiper from Dora the Explorer.

Easter morning, Vincent had so much more fun looking for the eggs than anything that could have been in his basket!

We spent some time out at Jeremy's cousin's house in Carefree (talk about a drive). Vincent had so much fun getting his basket from his Grandma Laurie and playing with the little puppy there. He also got to ride of his second cousin Noah's scooter.

Update

2009-04-08T17:16:00.001-07:00

Having these two blogs is confusing me, I think about posting something and then decide it'd be better in the other blog! Things are pretty busy right now. I'm trying to finish school strong so I would actually be able to graduate but it is getting hard. Each week I am supposed to be putting in 12+ hours at my internship site but have a hard time physically doing that. I am having this pain from the baby or my pancreas or something that gets really hard to take sometimes.

My grandpa had surgery today. Yesterday he was working in his hard and had a fall and ended up with a broken hip and back. They took him to the hospital and decided he needs surgery, but his white blood cell count was down to 40, so they said he wouldn't make it through surgery. So they transported him to Tucson and he got his surgery today. Casi, Jeremy, and I drove but got to Safford right after the ambulance left to take him to Tucson. So we then drove to Tucson and I finally got to see him. Then we left a few hours later to come home. I had two doctor's appointments today that I needed to make it to and Jeremy needed to make it to school. So putting in seven hours of driving was really hard on me and I definitely needed to recover last night.

So I'm hoping my grandpa knows how much I love him and I hope his surgery goes well today

Camping

2009-03-28T10:16:00.001-07:00

Last night was the ward campout. It was out at Usery Pass so only about a half hour away. Vincent loves camping, nothing gets that child more excited than talk of campfires and tents. It was pretty fun, we got to see Grandma sing Girls Just Want To Have Fun and eat our tin foil dinners. I think we were the only ones who were actually cooking food on the file, the vast majority were all eating their $5 footlongs from subway. It was a super cold night! I mean very very cold! After a while we got to thinking why in the world someone who was 31 wks pregnant and her husband with the bad back thought camping was a good idea?!? It was impossible to get comfortable and Vincent woke up about 1 a.m. flipping out! I'm not sure he was ever entirely awake, he was impossible to console and eventually got thrown into the blazer where Grandma was sleeping. Later during the night I got a cramp in my calf. I've gotten these a couple times this pregnancy and they are terrible. At home I just hop out of bed and stretch it out until it calms down but in the tent it was a little more difficult. I was under heaps of blankets and its not the easiest to move around on a blow up mattress when you are pregnant either! But I managed it. Jeremy thought I was in labor the way I was freaking out. So once I finally got the leg to stop cramping and I mean just the second it stopped, the other calf started!!!! What in the world is that about? It was horrible! I finally had to stand up and see what I could do. Just not a fun time, my legs are still sore from it today! So anyways that was our fun filled night : ) I think I'll put off my next camping trip for a few months at least!!!!

Birthday

2009-03-18T17:18:00.001-07:00

Sunday was my 24th birthday! I feel like I'm getting old, everything thinks I'm ridiculous. It was a fun weekend. On Saturday we went and got a 4d ultrasound, for more about that check our baby blog www.contreraspregnancyjournal.blogspot.com It was amazing to say the least!

We went to dinner at Carrabas with the family and it was so good. I got this new thing chicken brian and it did not disappoint! Then, Vincent, Jeremy, and I made the trek out to Glendale Arena and had a fun time at the hockey game. Vincent loves dancing to the songs and also likes seeing the 'bachines with the men' aka the zamboni.

On Sunday we opened presents. My Grandma Ellsworth got me these super cute pajamas that will be great for the rest of the pregnancy and even those lovely post baby days. She also gave us some really cute outfits for the baby. Also, Vincent got a noisy toy from his Great Grandma. He discovered that one a little earlier in the week. It isn't everyday you get a box that makes noise! Jean sure blessed Vincent with some gifts as well! He is one lucky boy, and I'm one lucky girl! My mom took me shopping on Saturday and now I have some clothes I can actually wear! My dad bought me an ipod nano, which I was really excited about as I've never had an ipod ever. Sunday night, Jeremy & I along with my sisters and brother all went to see this band Cursive that Jeremy loves and has spread that love on throughout the family.

It really was a great night. Just for kicks, here is a picture of the baby and my belly : )

Epidural Day

2009-03-06T13:23:00.001-08:00

Today, I went with Jeremy to get his first epidural steroid injection for his back. The doctor, Anthony Pellegrino, was wonderful! He explained it so well to me. Jeremy was so anxious and his heart rate was way up but after talking with the doctor was very calm for the procedure. He had a model of the back and really made it so clear. So basically in between the vertebrae are discs, and he compared them to a stale jelly donut, which is hard on the outside and soft jelly like on the inside to cushion everything. Basically your whole upper body and stress you put yourself through is put onto the bottom two vertabrae, L5 & S1 and if you lean over or do something else all of the pressure if put onto the front depending on which way you are looking at it of the vertabrae and if it is severe enough it will essentially squeeze the jelly out (slipped/herniated/protruding/bulging disc) and that will irritate the nerve endings. And if the nerve endings are damaged enough then it'll cause numbness into the leg, which Jeremy has. So basically, the idea of the steroid injection is to shrink the disc and bring down the swelling. But he also said after the injection people need to learn how to live with the condition because it isn't a fix. So to never ever bend over and to always squat if you need to pick something up and never to twist. He has had back problems himself and says he always rolls sideways out of bed, wears shoes without laces, and has a shelf in his shower so he doesn't have to bend to pick up shampoo or soap. So there are things we will just have to adjust to.

They used x-ray technology to see the spine and make sure they are putting the injection into the right place. I couldn't be in the room because of the radiation. Jeremy said it went really well and so did the doctor. The dr. also says we should name the baby Anthony, Which would give us a couple of mobster babies with Vincent and Anthony (Vinny and Tony). Right after his legs were just real heavy and everything but he should be doing better soon hopefully. They usually have to do more than one injection, especially if it as severe as a case as Jeremy's is. So in two weeks we'll need to get another one. You can have 3 every 6 months and it may be that we just repeat this every six months.

It is just amazing! We have wasted so much time with different doctors then last Monday we meet with Dr. Levine and he automatically gets us in with the pain doctor and today we got the first epidural, meanwhile according to the other doctor we were seeing....insurance still hadn't approved pain management...obviously they had!

It's March Already!

2009-03-03T12:36:00.000-08:00

Can you even believe it? My birthday is in less than two weeks and don't think I'm ridiculous but I don't like my birthdays anymore, I feel kinda old. Last year was the first year I felt like that and now looking at 24 freaks me out!!!

We are finishing everything up with the move (the longest in history in case anyone has kept track)

School is busy (I think I write that everytime but it's the truth). I can't believe it's already Spring Break time, next week for me.

Jeremy met with a really good doctor that my dad also goes to. He referred us to a pain management doctor who does epidural steroid injections for those with lower back pain. I've researched it a lot and apparently it usually offers some short term relief which any sort of relief would be welcome at this point. This new doctor really explained what exactly is wrong with Jeremy's back and it isn't that pretty of a picture but at least there is an answer to it now! So he is getting his first epidural injection on Friday.

Some More

2009-02-21T09:18:00.000-08:00

Well the last few weeks we have been TRYING to potty train Vincent. I don't know if I waited to long or what, but we are having the hardest time. He'll do great for so long and then go play outside and lose it all. And #2 is a joke! I don't even know! Any suggestions? I've heard boys are harder than girls, but this is crazy!!! I don't know if it's the talk of the baby on the way but all of a sudden he seems to love his diapers and never wants to be without them!

He also seems to love being naked lately, he never ever wants to wear a shirt! I'll manage to get him dressed if we leave the house but as soon as we're back home the shirt is off!

Lately, Vincent started asking me what time it is. Which why in the world does he wonder what time it is? He insists that quite often it is twenty o'clock. One night last week, my mom, Jeremy, Vincent, and I were going on a walk at night and he started listing all of these times it could be.

Vincent: "Mom, what time is it?"
Me: "It is 7:30"
Vincent: "No, maybe it is 3 o'clock
Me: "Ok"
Vincent: Or maybe it is twenty o'clock .........or thirty o'clock....or maybe
Grandma buy me o'clock.

We laughed the rest of the way home!

** For me, this week has been really rough. Jeremy has had a terrible week with his back. Since about Wednesday I don't think he has gotten out of bed much. He is in so much pain and I don't have any medicine to help him. We met with a new doctor that gave us some hope but the insurance still hasn't approved the pain management. So, on Monday I think we are going to go meet with a doctor my dad knows, but it costs $500 for the first visit! A little steep!?!?!? But how much is quality of life worth? It's just real hard, emotions are all over the place being pregnant and all and dealing with school and not being able to work nearly as much and getting screwed royally with my tax return! (you don't even want to know) Good thing I know this great tax guy who can fix it : )

Baby is doing good! I'm just about 26 weeks now and the belly finally showed up lol. I get a lot of back pain, especially when I try to do any cleaning or rearranging upstairs...oops. I feel him all the time! I worked out the alleles on some online website and found out I should be expecting green eyes, which is kinda exciting! 14 more weeks to go : )

Family Reunion

2009-02-14T14:12:00.001-08:00

Well I am definitely on top of blogging today! We just got home from the LeRoy Ellsworth Reunion at the McCormick Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale. I had never been there before but boy did we have a great time! My Grandpa & Grandma were there along with my Aunt Jean and Uncle Mig's family and my parents and sibling or too as well. It was nice to see everyone. I like going to these reunions and even though Corwin isn't there anymore, you can see so much of him in his children that it's kinda like he still is : ) Vincent had a blast, while everyone else sat and ate, he ran and ran and ran. This kid is a definite runner! He also went with Jeremy & his second cousin Grady on the trains there. They take you around the park. On the way out, we also took a ride on the carousel which is one of Vincent's all time favorite things to do! It was a great day, and Vincent crashed on the way home and is sleeping on the couch!

Random 2009 Pictures

2009-02-08T14:32:00.000-08:00

Saturday update

2009-01-31T11:01:00.000-08:00

Things have been moving along....School has started and is in full swing. It is definitely going to be a rough semester, there is always some thing to do it seems. I'm getting all set up with my internship at Kyrene Kids Club. We are still in the process of moving, it amazes me just how much 'stuff' you accumulate and don't realize it and even more than that just how little of it you actually need!

I had a dr.'s appointment and gained 8 lbs last month. The doctor really wants me to monitor my weight so delivery is easier and such, so my total for the whole pregnancy is at 9 lbs with 8 lbs coming from one month! That's crazy!

Vincent talks about his brother a lot, although he stills calls him 'his baby'. Whenever I bring him up he shakes his finger at me and says 'but he can't come out yet'. I told him when it's warm enough for him to swim, then it will be time for his baby brother to make his appearance. We're still working on a name, two we really like are Kieran and Nolan.

I'm excited for the super bowl on sunday, it should make for an exciting afternoon! Well, I had better get back to cleaning!

Funny Boy

2009-01-27T15:26:00.000-08:00

Vincent has been a funny boy lately. Here are some of my favorites....

While my mom was trying to put him down for a nap she was rocking him and she was singing this gem "teeter totter, bread and water, wash your face in dirty water". So Vincent started singing it back to her "teeter totter, bread and water, wash your face in dirty water, harry potter". Where in the world did he learn about harry potter? Now he thinks it is the funniest thing in the world to say harry potter!

In church on Sunday, he was getting a little wild and kinda choking me and I said Vincent that is not nice to do, and he looked at me and said, "ya it's not nice, it's expensive". and then he added Harry Potter.

Last night we went on a family walk and I was going thru all the little kid primary songs I could think of I lived in heaven, I am a child of God, What do you do in the summer time...and thinking out loud I said what other songs should we sing. Then Vincent says we should sing the Vincent song, so I asked him how does the Vincent song go and he replies " I LOVE VINCENT I LOVE VINCENT" Then we sang the daddy song and then the tree song. What imagination kids have if you give them quiet without tv or other distractions huh!

Vincent Paul

2009-01-21T09:48:00.001-08:00

Vincent went to the doctor yesterday just because he hadn't been in a very long time (bad mom I know). I was sure he needed to get caught up on shots, but they told me he's all set until just before kindergarten. The doctor also told me he's quite big for just turning three and very strong. He also mentioned how good his speech is. I've been thinking this too. I had to spend primary and sunday school with Vincent on Sunday and realized how well he talks compared to the other just barely 3 year olds. But some of them didn't have their mommy with them....what's that about Vincent?

Vincent is going to be starting a sports skills class and a tumbling class in February, I'm so excited for him. Hopefully my schedule will let me be at some of them.

Yay!

2009-01-12T12:50:00.001-08:00

I found all of the bags with the newborn clothes in it, yay! And a lot of them are really reusable, lots of sleepers (which I love). I went shopping for my boss's baby shower and it totally got me in the mood for shopping for my baby! I'm able to recycle a lot of Vincent's stuff and now that I have so many repeat clothes I won't need to buy a lot of that so it's mainly just the big stuff like a swing, a high chair, maybe a car seat, and a double stroller and the everytime necessities like bottles and diapers and all that fun stuff but I think I'm pretty well prepared for not having bought anything yet. I don't even know if I do a shower this time since it's my second boy? I don't even know. So we're moving this weekend, we aren't very well prepared with my belly and Jeremy's back keeping us from packing like we should but it'll be nice not worrying about paying SRP or rent and paying off our debt and being able to buy baby things. Speaking of debt, apparently I'm being sued by a credit card...I've never even heard of that! Just annoying mainly!

Random Bits

2009-01-11T15:08:00.000-08:00

At the hockey game after eating normal arena food Vincent says "You want to see my tummy?" He proceeds to show it to me and say, "See it's full! It has pretzels and hot chocolate and soda in it. So take my baby out so it won't hurt me". Somehow he's convinced there's a baby in his tummy too. He keeps asking for his little brother to come how. I've tried to explain to him how once it gets warm enough for him to go swimming then his baby brother will come home. Everytime I get him to say Kieran, a name Jeremy really likes he ends up saying Kierian or Curious George.

Clarification

2009-01-09T09:44:00.001-08:00

For the record, I think the dog fetching machine video is completely stupid and ridiculous but Vincent is obsessed with it. He gets the biggest smile and wants everyone to watch it with him, OVER AND OVER. So putting on the blog was much easier than the original website it was on. Thanks for bearing with Vincent on this one ; )

2009-01-07T17:27:00.001-08:00

* Fetch Machine *

Baby Blog

2009-01-06T10:37:00.001-08:00

Started a pregnancy blog. You can get to it if you click on my profile, but the address is http://www.contreraspregnancyjournal.blogspot.com/

January 2009?!?

2009-01-05T14:58:00.000-08:00

For Christmas, my dad bought me this great digital camera and I've taken some really cute pictures but haven't uploaded any yet. We don't have a computer at our house so I'd have to do it at my parents and that requires remembering before we head over there. My new years resolution is to take one picture every day to chronicle the beauty of each day, so far so good!

We're in the process of moving now, little by little. I've so far gone through three rooms upstairs and have quite a bit to go. It's a little difficult with me being more and more pregnant and Jeremy's back being bad. Good news, insurance finally approved his physical therapy so he started that on Friday and goes for the next 3 weeks. I think they're teaching him some good things but the strenuous activity gets to him afterwards. Hopefully the pain management can help, I think they give epidural shots to help with the pain. Maybe he'll love epidurals just like I do : )

I'm 19 weeks pregnant now, almost half way! We're still thinking about names--if you hate them don't tell me! Eventually I got so sick of having to get everyone's approval with names with Vincet that i just picked one that meant something to me and stuck with it. Jeremy really likes Kieran, it's Irish and he has a lot of Irish in his ancestry and I think he wants to have a hold on that somehow. And he has always wanted the middle name Eugene, it's his middle name too. I like my dad's name and at some point want to incorporate that into the mix. I also really like Emerson. I think it'd be perfect having one son named after a painter and one son named after an author. We'll see though! We'd really been thinking of more girl's names so we're somewhat stuck now!

I just found out graduation from ASU is May 14th! They moved my due date up to May 30th, so hopefully baby boy #2 can stay put til I graduate!!!!

Yesterday was Vincent's first day in Primary and I think he did really well. He is the youngest one as he just barely turned three in late December. While other boys had melt downs he sat quietly in his chair (I know, I checked). He had a bit of a meltdown on the walk out as he still wanted to go to the play room (nursery). Later in the day he told us all about family trees, turned out he did learn something!

More Baby Pictures

2008-12-31T12:07:00.002-08:00

Anniversary

2008-12-31T12:07:00.001-08:00

18 week appointment

2008-12-29T12:57:00.000-08:00

Today was my 18 week pregnancy appointment. Turns out a lost a pound since my 14 week appointment which seems weird to me given that it was the holidays. This brings my grand total of weight gained so far in this pregnancy to 1. I'm sure as this number grows I won't be so excited about sharing it!!!

We heard the heartbeat again which is always exciting, got blood drawn for the triple screen test(Jeremy still can't watch this part, how in the world is he going to handle labor and delivery?!?) and got our ultrasound scheduled. Yes, I know we did just have one last week but that was just a private one for gender and this one is medical and will be used to measure the baby and his organs, etc. And Jeremy will get to go to this one, so Wednesday that's where we'll be!

I went thru boxes of Vincent's baby clothes and apparently I have absolutely no newborn clothes but a heck of a lot of 6 month and 12 month clothes, hopefully they're somewhere else in the garage! It's exciting just knowing that it's a boy and know when we talk about 'the boys' it gets me a little emotional.

I'm starting my winter college class tomorrow, which also happens to be our 2 year anniversary!

Just Some Things

2008-12-27T16:40:00.000-08:00

So...it's been a couple days since Christmas and it's been nice having this time off together, I have a really nice boss : )

The idea of 'the boys' is settling in and we've starting thinking of names. So far we really like Kaelin, Tanner, Jonathan, Kent, and lots really! But I'm sure we'll decide eventually.

We're starting to pack up. With Jeremy's back, the baby coming, and the crazy Spring semester I have we really are going to need some extra help and so my parent's have been generous enough to let us move back in and get ourselves in a better place before we set out on our own. This way we'll be able to save up and have extra help if we need it. We love being around the family so much that it will really be nice. My mom is helping us get the house together so we have our own little section and living area upstairs so it'll be really nice.

So besides being pregnant this semester, I'm having a really heavy load at school. I have to take 5 classes. One is an observation class that requires 6 hours of observation at ASU's child development lab per week, plus an internship that takes 8 hours of off campus time per week. And a lot more time being at ASU which isn't my favorite thing to do. So hopefully i'll be able to work about 25 hrs a week or so at work during tax season mind you hahaha!

It'll be crazy but nice to have that diploma before baby is born : ) and maybe take some time off before venturing into my next endeavor!

We've had a really great week and kinda fallen for each other all over again it seems. Oh I know, so cheesy!

Drumroll please...........

2008-12-25T11:20:00.002-08:00

Jeremy & I are pleased to announce that Vincent will be having a little brother!!!

I got an early ultrasound on Tuesday and somehow managed to keep a secret until Christmas morning. I bought a blue layette set w/ stars & elephants and made our new baby's scrapbook page w/ the ultrasound pictures. The tech said it was 1000% boy!

Jeremy's reaction was so cute, he just kinda asked 'it's a boy?' Just shock mostly but it was an awesome Christmas memory!

Vincent's Birthday

2008-12-25T11:20:00.001-08:00

"I got pickups in my mouth"

2008-12-22T10:44:00.000-08:00

This morning Vincent woke up licked his hands and rubbed them on his cheeks, this was while he hadn't even opened up his eyes. I whispered 'what are you doing' and he told me 'i'm washing my hands'. He them proceeded to call me a tree branch and I called him a crocodile, this went on for a good twenty minutes. I love toddler insults!

After taking a drink of my water, Vincent got the hiccups or as he calls them the pickups in my mouth. He yells "MOM I have pickups in my mouth!" but before he can get thru the whole sentence his pickups get in the way and he has to start the sentence all over. He attempted this sentence at least 10 times!

When he finally gets the sentence in its entirety out, he says mom look! As if pickups in his mouth appear like bubbles!

What a funny boy, huh?

Tomorrow is his birthday, 3 years already! I can't hardly believe it!

His party is at noon at my house, come join the fun : )

This is what I got him for his birthday!

Belly Pic

2008-12-18T13:52:00.000-08:00

16 1/2 weeks

Happy Birthday Dad!

2008-12-16T12:12:00.000-08:00

My father is one of the most amazing people I know. Today he turns 57 years old. He hates birthdays and doesn't like to celebrate it, but I want to celebrate him. My dad is the most amazing dad a girl could ever ask for and I really mean that. He is amazing in so many ways.

My dad has always been there for me. He has helped me out of so many situations that I have gotten myself into and does it all because he says that's what dads should do. Even when I was doing things he didn't approve of or like, he still loved me and helped me whenever I needed it.

My dad was great growing up. Last night I told Vincent a story my dad told us about a little girl who wanted to go to church but had nothing in her closet except a bunch of dog bones. I told this story but couldn't get all of the binks right (you'd have to have heard the story). He made me promise every birthday that it would be my last one and that I wouldn't get any older. Sorry I couldn't keep that one dad. But the great thing about me growing up is that now Vincent gets to know my dad, the greatest grandpa in the world. And the new baby will get to know him too.

My dad is a hero. I don't think I knew this until recently. He's not a hero in a 'my dad's better than your dad kind of way'. He really is a hero. He came close to giving his life for this country many times and pays for his service every single day of his life. He pays for it with every walk up the stairs and every pounding headache.

I've always been my dad's best girl and hope that never ceases. He brings our family close together. I think I have a closer family than most, in the fact that we love being around each other so much that we usually choose it over all the other options that we could choose.

It is very rare to get a picture of my dad but I have managed to find a few in the last few minutes.

On my wedding day

My dad & Vincent camping at Riggs Lake

Dad & Casi

Elf Dance

2008-12-15T10:51:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Santa Claus

2008-12-15T08:59:00.000-08:00

Vincent has learned a lot about Christmas this year. And while at the mall on Friday he was begging and pleading to see Santa Claus and tell him what he wanted this year which is a toy kitchen. So we waited in lane for what seemed like forever! And when it was finally our turn he took one look at Santa and took off running towards the escalator. What a big game he talked about how he would sit on Santa's lap and tell him what he wanted for Christmas! So Jeremy had to sit with Vincent and Santa and after we got Vincent to put his arms down from his face and to force some sort of goofy smile this is the picture we got.

Then, after this exciting adventure, he says I need to go tell Santa I want a toy kitchen!

Some New Pictures

2008-12-11T08:17:00.001-08:00

Last weekend, Vincent went to his cousin Giselle's 1st birthday party and he took some classic pictures with what he got in his party bag. See below!

Vincent w/ his new set of teeth

Vincent in his star sunglasses!

This next picture is my favorite! Earlier this week Vincent got a hold of my parent's dog's leash and wanted to take the dog on a walk. My parent's dog is a monster, she's the sweetest dog ever but is a mastiff (think dog from Sandlot). So Vincent taking her on a walk would be her taking Vincent on a walk. He then decided that he wanted to pretend that his dad was a dog so he hooked the leash onto Jeremy's belt loop and they went for a walk.

It's getting close

2008-12-09T10:12:00.000-08:00

I always look forward to Christmas week : ) more than any other time. On December 23rd we have Vincent's birthday, 24th Christmas Eve, 25th Christmas, 26th still a fun day, the 30th is our anniversary (can you believe it'll be 2 yrs?), 31st New Years Eve, 1st New Years Day!

So it is really a fun week in our house!

Vincent is really learning about Christmas this year and has a grip on Santa Claus and baby Jesus. He is still so enamored with Halloween that he told me that for Christmas he is going to be Santa. Still got a little learning to do I guess.

Money's been tighter than....(i don't know, think of something tight?) but it's kinda given me a chance to really know what i want to get everyone for Christmas instead of just running out and buying things if that makes sense.

We're making some big decisions about our future and what we need to do to end up where we need to be, so pray for us : )

Jeremy got his mri results back and he has 2 protruding discs and lots of swelling and inflammation which come with plenty of pain!!! If I feel his back you can feel it kinda sticking out on one side. Finally we got to the right doctor yesterday and he's going to send us to a pain management place, he'll probably end up getting epidural like shots in his back which should ease his discomfort. Yay! He's such a lovely person when he's feeling good lol!

So, things are good!

Oh yeah, and I'm 15 weeks pregnant now which means 2nd trimester. The baby is about the size of an apple!

I really like the name Risa (it means laughter) but who knows. I'm so convinced it's a girl but maybe mother's intuition is all wrong!

Thanksgiving Weekend

2008-12-01T10:39:00.000-08:00

We went to my Uncle Mig's house for Thanksgiving. His name is Michael but apparently on his mission to Chile he was called Mig (Miguel) and has been ever since. It's weird to me when people call him Mike or even Michael. It was fun and I love Thanksgiving!

It is so fun seeing Christmas thru a 3 yr old's eyes. Anytime we see anything Christmas related..a wreath, Christmas lights outside, a Christmas tree, ornaments, wrapping paper Vincent screams 'it's Christmas. Look at that Christmas'. It's so much fun. We set up our Christmas decorations (at least inside).

Vincent's birthday is 2 days before Christmas so he's going to be having quite a fun few days coming up.

Today Vincent and I went to the doctor for our 14 wk appointment and we heard the heartbeat, yay! Vincent covered his ears, which made me laugh. Jeremy went to his neurologist to try and figure out something with his back but didn't get to many answers. They can't prescribe any medication to help him and once insurance approves it he can start physical therapy. He has two bulging discs and lots of swelling and inflamation. If it's not one thing it's another, so hopefully he can have some relief soon.

Catching Up

2008-11-24T10:48:00.000-08:00

So many things happen and I just forget to update so I may have already said some of this stuff but anyways....Jeremy gave his first family home evening lesson-- it was great! Vincent's always running in and out of our lessons but I guess that's how it goes. Jeremy came home from church the other week and just said that he thought we needed to think more about what Christ did for us, yay for Priesthood. So he gave a great lesson about Luke 22 and we sang songs and did the whole bit. He did a great job. The puppy ripped up his scriptures and he's pretty upset about it, but I have a great surprise idea for him so it should be okay.

Vincent is nuts as always, but he really is a great kid. He says funny things all the time. My dad bought him the movie wall-e and he had been watching it non stop but all of a sudden wanted to watch Dumbo. So he ran over to the couch and sat down and in his quiet voice said Dumbo is the greatest movie in the whole world. What a funny boy!

We took him to the coyotes game last week and he had so much fun. He'd yell and laugh when they would fall down as he put it. He was quite frightened by the taco bell blimp that was floating abouve us until he caught the coupons it dropped. He thought everyone wearing a coyotes jersey was a hockey player and would yell it out at them.

On Saturday, Jeremy, my mom, Vincent, and I went to the Suns game. One of my dad's clients has season tickets and asked if my dad wanted them. Intercepting that call at work I made sure he got them! So they were on the upper deck but better seats than last year's tickets we used from them. Vincent got so into it. He was standing there clapping above his head and loved seeing the gorilla jump on the trampolines. He's such a hoot at these events.

We've been trying to work with Vincent on sitting still, so Sunday dinner at my parent's was our latest attempt. He was sitting on his little booster seat and eating his potatoes and out of no where exclaimed " THIS IS NO FUN AT ALL "

On the baby front, I'm 13 weeks now and pretty excited to be out of the first trimester. It's now a little more real to me and I'm realizing we're actually going to be having another baby! I sure am going to have a fun Spring semester. I have quite a few classes to take at ASU including an intership and by the time I graduate (fingers crossed), I'll be about 3-4 weeks away from my due date. It's nice working at my dad's office though because I have flexibility for dr's apptmts and school classes, etc.

Jeremy's back has really been bothering him and hence bothering me : ) Hopefully this next doctor's appointment will give us some answers. Can't wait for school to be over this semester, hopefully I'll pass my classes- I have a couple giving me trouble.

Vincent will be turning three in about a month, I can't even believe it. He is such a big boy! Blogs are boring without pictures so here are some random ones : )

Vincent & Jeremy playing at the park

Vincent trying his hand on Jeremy's guitar (at our old apartment)

Vincent's 'badass' look

Vincent looking angelic at the sun's game

Boys

2008-11-17T12:49:00.001-08:00

I have come to the conclusion that I have the cutest most precious little boy ever! In the car we were talking about the baby and which room he or she would sleep in. Then I asked Vincent who would get up if the baby cried in the night and he volunteered himself. I asked him how he'd get the baby to stop crying and he responded, "I will take him downstairs and we will watch all of my cartoons".

This weekend we had to help my parents clean out their garage and Vincent found a bike pump and insisted on checking all of our car tires for air.

This is a picture of my two boys this morning! They're so cute together

Gotta Love My Boys

2008-11-14T08:50:00.000-08:00

Last night was my mom's 50th birthday! She is a completely amazing person and has helped us out in so many ways during the last few years. Last night, Vincent wanted to wait for his Grandpa to get home from work for us to leave their house. So he decided he wanted to lay on the driveway and wait. During this time, my boys crazy as they sometimes are decided to wrestle and tickle eachother. I love pictures like this. These boys were just meant to find eachother!

First Doctor Visit

2008-11-06T09:46:00.003-08:00

Well our first doctor's visit was on Monday November 3rd. It's been a long few weeks to get to this point. I'm not remembering how long these 40 weeks are! Well after having to fill out loads of paperwork where I really felt like I was writing the same thing over and over again, we were on our way.

This last weekend I caught Jeremy's cold and because I'm so paranoid about losing the baby I had convinced myself I didn't feel pregnant anymore and was expecting some sort of bad news. Well we talked about how it had been going and surprisingly Jeremy was super talkative and asking all kinds of questions. With Vincent, he wasn't as involved as he would have like to have been and didn't really even have a choice in those first few months so it's his first time doing through this whole process and he's really cute about it!

Well she did an ultrasound and we got to see a picture of our baby, which right now resembles more of a little bean or peanut but she or he's there none the less and the doctor and Jeremy could see the heartbeat, I sure didn't see anything. And the doctor said that since I'm at ten weeks and they've seen the baby and heartbeat my chances of miscarriage are between 2-3%, which made it feel a whole lot realer to me. Jeremy got a little teary eyed holding the picture. Awww!

Then they took so much blood to do a bunch of tests. And we got our appointments scheduled thru March. It's been so long since I went thru this with Vincent or at least it seems like it. It's pretty exciting and I'm so glad to be in a better place this time around with a supportive husband : )

Halloween

2008-11-06T09:46:00.001-08:00

Jeremy's Birthday

2008-11-06T09:45:00.001-08:00

Random

2008-10-23T10:03:00.000-07:00

Me and Jeremy at the park a few weeks ago with Vincent

Vincent wearing Daddy's glasses

HERE ARE SOME PICTURES OF WHEN VINCENT WAS A BABY. I CAN'T BELIEVE MY LITTLE BABY IS TURNING THREE YEARS OLD IN TWO MONTHS! TIME GOES BY WAY TOO FAST!

I think it's finally starting to hit me that this baby thing really is happening. I can't wait for our ultrasound. I'm really excited for Jeremy to get to experience all of this- it'll be a first for him!

Baby Talk

2008-10-17T11:32:00.000-07:00

Life has a funny way of doing things. With Vincent, my pregnancy was completely out of the blue and left me in the biggest state of shock and reality hit hard. When Jeremy & I got married, we were so ready to have another baby even though come to think of it Vincent was only just 12 months. So months later we got pregnant only to miscarry a few weeks later. It was completely devastating and really left Jeremy & I hurt for a long time. It took me a long time to recover physically and people who had gotten pregnant around the same time as me had big ol baby bumps and had their little ones. I was happy for them but at the same time so sad because that was supposed to be our little one.

We had been trying (sorry for those that hate that word) for quite a long time and it had become so stressful. Every month was so disappointing, and Jeremy wasn't a fan of seeing me get upset all the time. I finally decided to really take it serious the next month and try charting and using basal temperature and pin point dates. It worked! After almost two years of ttc we finally got pregnant again. Now, I know that it is still pretty early but the fact that I have made it further than last time gives me hope!

Because of the miscarriage, I've been pretty paranoid. So for the last month or so I've been getting weekly blood work done to check my hcg levels. Just knowing that they were doubling like they are supposed to was so reassuring.

This week I took my test on Tuesday and afternoon and the doctor's office normally calls me back the next day but I didn't ever get a call. For some reason Thursday afternoon they called Jeremy's phone and since he didn't recognize the number (which I would have if they would have called ME) he let it go to voicemail. The voicemail said for met to call them as soon as possible. So I did but in the four minutes since they left the message they had closed! How could they leave an urgent message when I couldn't find out what was up! So being the pessimist i can sometimes be I convinced myself it was over and it was bad news.

This morning when I called, she told me that the hcg numbers look awesome. Why she had to leave me a frantic message like that is beyond me! So she said I don't need to do anymore blood work and I'll see her in a few days for my appointment! -

Another Fun Night!

2008-10-14T11:27:00.000-07:00

When I got home from work last night (after one of the craziest days on record I might add). For those of you who don't know I work at an accounting office and October 15th is just as crazy of a deadline as April 15th is-maybe worse. So anyways when I got home my boys were cleaning out the garage. Thank goodness for that because that's something I don't think I'd ever bring myself to do. While cleaning Jeremy found a lot of my maternity clothes from last time and baby clothes from Vincent I've kept along the way. (judging by all the clothes and boy themed baby stuff I have a boy would sure be cheaper, but there's something about a baby girl, huh). So were all playing outside when Vincent goes into the car and half shuts the door. Where it's not closed but you still can't open it.

A few months ago Vincent locked himself in the car and this was during a hot morning so we had to call the fire department and get him outta there. This time it was cooler so we had a little wiggle room. We tried for probably thirty minutes to get him to push the unlock buttom. But stupid cars only have the lock portion of that button with any markings on it so that was the only buttom he would push.

Finally, I thought maybe keys would be the right angle. In my purse, I had two sets of car keys. One was the valet set and the other the big honda key. I asked him to get mommy's keys and he pulled out the valet key which would be of no help at all. So, I tell him to find the big keys and he pulls out these!

So I tell him to look again and minutes later he pulls them out and eventually we get him to push the right button. What a fun adventure, huh!

Also, at about 8:30 when I walked into Vincent's play room to check on him this is what I found.....completely asleep!

Gotta love that little boy!

2008-10-13T14:41:00.000-07:00

Once I get pictures off my camera I'll talk more about Jeremy's birthday this last week. I have come to the conclusion that I have the single most beautiful excitable 2 year old there is. Halloween is his favorite holiday of the whole year! He goes crazy for witches and ghosts and pumpkins like no one I have ever seen.

He keeps switching between wanting to be a witch or a pirate for halloween. Last night we were at my parent's house and Vincent was talking to my dad and told him "I'm gonna be a pirate for halloween and have a hook and a sword and wear a pirate shirt and you're gonna be a witch and mommy is going to be a pumpkin and dad is going to be a big pumpkin". He gets so excited. Yesterday in church out of the blue he starts singing a halloween song my mom taught him. He starts out singing "oooh-eww-ohh-eww this is halloween". Priceless!

He has started saying 'what?' all the time. If I call his name, his head peeks out of his toy room and he says 'what?' like he is so being bothered by it.

We've started talking to him about the baby, but he thinks it is in everyone's tummy. If we say where's the baby he lifts up his shirt and even thinks Sam (our male dog) has the baby in his tummy. I told him that my stomach was going to get big, and he said 'but mine will stay little'.

He is going to be such a great big brother. I'm glad we were finally able to get pregnant again so he will only about 3 1/2 years older- what a great helper he'll be (hopefully)

Happy Birthday Jeremy!

2008-10-10T11:26:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it? He's 26 today! Getting up there honey! My sister is in town and is watching the kiddo tonight so we'll be able to have an actual dinner without crayons being thrown at us : )

I am trying to find an awesome place for Vincent to spend a couple days a week. I know he would really benefit from some interaction with other children and learn some social rules. I'm kinda picky just cuz I'm a mom but also because I'm going to school for child development and know there are so many sub par places out there. So if anyone knows anyone who does childcare out of their home, let me know! Thanks!

Overwhelmed!

2008-10-07T15:44:00.000-07:00

Today I am so overwhelmed! At work, the final deadline of October 15th is right around the corner which means plenty of upset phone calls coming my way! And just added stress at the office! School is a mess and I'm trying so hard not to get behind. But with four classes and them being online, it's just very out of control at the moment. I did some homework that was due today then have a big exam on Thursday and a quiz Thursday night and am SO behind in the class I singed up for late. Hopefully it'll work itself out. Adding pregnancy to the mix is just fun, huh! I've gotten past the general nausea stage to full blown morning sickness, I'm happy to feel this way (this is what I signed up for, but I'm just hoping this pregnancy is different than my first and gives me some time off from the constant reminders).

This last weekend we were in Tucson (i'll post picks later). And we were going to see Wall-E at the cheap theatres and as I was getting Vincent out of the car, Jeremy completely blacks out and hits the pavement. I'd never seen anything like it before- it was pretty scary. He looked pretty shocked by it too. So Monday night we went to the dr. to find out about it. So his heart rate at times was dipping into the 30's and 40's which is ridiculously low! So they referred us to a cardiologist but not til the 30th of October!

Money is another thing as always ha! I wonder what we'll end up doing. I love our house but I just can't make it work with just my meesly salary, but Jeremy needs to be well before he can manage to be at a standing job. But I'm sure things will work themselves out.

I don't mean this to sound so negative, I'm really in a happy place. It's all just getting to me today, thanks a lot pregnancy hormones!!!!!!!!!!!

Play Time

2008-10-02T13:21:00.000-07:00

Vincent and his 'cousin' Giselle on their two playdates!

5 weeks 4 days or so

2008-10-02T12:30:00.000-07:00

I couldn't leave it with just one post so here's another one.

Jeremy & I have been trying to have our second baby since about as soon as we got married. A few months in, we got pregnant only to miscarry a few weeks later. I'd never experienced anything like that and we were both fairly devastated. I didn't know it is as common as 1 in 5 pregnancies, that sometimes they aren't even known to be pregnancies when it happens. So, it took me a long time to heal from that and get back to healthy physically. But we started charting on fertilityfriend.com and learned more about fertility than anyone could ever need to know and we got lucky.

The whole month I felt like it would be our month, but was trying not to get my hopes up as I tend to do that every month. About three weeks in, I started feeling not so well, but thought maybe it was just me subconsciously making myself feel like that. I was having to pee almost every 5 minutes and thought maybe I had a bladder infection or something. But I tested for that and it came back fine. I started feeling crampy and tired so I figured this just was not my month but I took a pregnancy test anyway and saw the faintest faintest faintest line. I always planned on telling Jeremy in the cutest way but I needed some validation that there was a line so I showed him. And he saw it too. I took a digital test the next morning and it said PREGNANT, so it was official. It is so much more confirming to see it say the word pregnant instead of a vague line.

We found out at about 3 1/2 weeks, really early! So we told our moms and a few family members but have still been very cautious and nervous about losing the pregnancy again. Last week I got some blood work done and it came back with good hormone levels which is good news! They want me to repeat the tests this week to make sure the levels are increasing like they should.

I've had a rough week with acid reflux, heartburn, extreme fautigue, and definitely some nausea. I am so glad to have all of these symptoms, kind of reassures me that there is something growing to make me feel this way.

Intro to Us

2008-10-01T14:24:00.000-07:00

My old blog got totally messed up so I decided to start all over!

I think the first entry just has to be an intro one!!!

I'm Cori, I'm 23 yrs old and consider myself to be very lucky. I am married to a wonderful man who I am madly in love with. He saved me at a very scary time in my life. We have a gorgeous little boy who is almost three years old- wow how time flies! I'm going to school at ASU majoring in family and human development and hope to be done in May. Jeremy is getting some prereq's done at MCC and he loves being back at school.

Vincent is my beautiful brown eyed boy with red curly hair that fits him perfectly. He has changed my life in more ways I can count. Being a mom is the most wonderful thing there is.

Jeremy & I have been married almost 2 years and live in a cute little house in East Mesa. We have way too many dogs that drive us crazy most of the time. We're lucky enough to have tons of family close by. Our latest news is that we are expecting~ It's been a long road and we hope to make it to the finish line with a healthy baby this time around.