Emery Lyn

So my last post was Valentines Day of Last year, shortly thereafter I went from feeling like this


to this! I'm pretty sure I'm allergic to pregnancy!

And at one point I had grand plans of documenting my pregnancy with a monthly photo to show the growth of my belly, and instead I spent most of my time on the couch with a bowl. Though it's probably a good thing that stories of my pregnancy are not forever documented, as forgetting them is Emery's best chance at getting siblings! :) And now that its been 8 weeks since Emery was born I feel I need to at least forever document her birth story, so here goes!

As you know, Emery was forecasted to grace our presence on 11/11/11, which in our opinion, was to be the coolest birthday ever! So as that date approached, everything looked on track to deliver that day or very close to it. We were ecstatic, and really hoping it would work out. So on the 9th, at my last office visit, I was dilated to a 2 and 75% effaced. Consequently, Dr. Mayuga (who's mom delivered me! And who also happens to be our neighbor!) said I was a perfect candidate for being induced and asked how I felt about that. Wonderful, that's how I felt! So she scheduled us to go in the next day at noon to slowly start the induction process. We were outrageously giddy with anticipation, constantly reminding each other that we were going to be parents in a few short hours!!!
12 o clock finally rolled around, and we were dying to get this process started! We grabbed our bags and headed out. Upon arriving at the hospital, we went to check in only to be told that our induction had not been scheduled. I however knew this couldn't be, because I was there when the Doctor called it in. So the receptionist looked again in the planner, and lifted up the sticky note on 11/10/11 and lo and behold, there was our name! Lame. In the end, they made us come back at 5:00pm.
5 o clock finally rolled around and we made our way back to the hospital and were welcomed to room 1110. We settled in and the process began! I got all strapped up with the heart monitor and could see that I was already having contractions, though I couldn't feel them yet. By 2:00am I was ready for Pitocin. Slowly but surely the contractions got stronger and stronger but nothing too bad yet. So I spent the early morning watching Pride and Prejudice on Lifetime with our fabulous nurse Olivia. We were her only room that day, so she paid us a lot of extra attention. She was lovely.
Shortly after my favorite movie ended, the anesthesiologist came in and asked when I was planning on getting an epidural. I told him the Dr. was coming to break my water soon, so anytime before that. My contractions were pretty strong at this point. To which he says, "Why wait?" Touche, he had a point. I got the epidural right then and there and it was wonderful. I could still move my legs and could still tell when I was having a contraction, but magically, the pain was gone! FABULOUS.
After awhile it was time for me to start pushing. At this point it was just the 3 of us in the room, Dennis, Olivia and I. She began talking me through the process and then the nausea kicked in....of course. As the nurse handed me the all too familiar little blue bag, we joked about how it wouldn't be me if there wasn't some puking involved which happens to be exactly what the Dr. said as she was told briefed on my condition. :)
The whole thing was just the most calm, tranquil birth experience I could have possibly imagined. We joked and pushed, puked then pushed, joked some more. At one point Emery decided she wanted to help us out a little and began kicking the baby heart rate monitor. And every time she kicked her head popped out a little! The nurse and Dr. kept saying how hilarious it was and that they needed to remember to tell the other Doctors about it. She's not even born and people are already talking about how AMAZING she is! ;)
After a bit I got a huge urge to push and then BAM, her head was out and BAM, she was crying! Yes, she started crying with just her little head out. Once again, the Nurse and Doc were flabbergasted as they had never seen that before. Need I say it again, she is AMAZING! :)
Once she was born Dr. Mayuga put her right on my chest. There were no words. All I could do was smile as tears rolled out of my eyes. A misty eyed Dennis came and kissed his new little family and there we had it, we were parents. And we couldn't be happier.

To My Sweetie Maleetie

If you weren't convinced I was head over heels before, just read this post. He's a real keeper.

The Little Things I Adore

1. I may be the most fidgety person in the whole wide world. It seriously takes me at LEAST 5 minutes of wiggling before I get comfy, and even then, that doesn't last long before I need to scratch an itch, re-position my clothes, move my legs, etc... You'd think laying in the same bed as an intermittent human earthquake would be outrageously annoying, (I often annoy myself) but not to Dennis! After so long, it seems he hardly even notices! I lucked out on that one.

2. Even though Dennis works in Kennewick, and I work all the way over the big river, he still goes out of his way to take me out on weekly lunch dates. I love that mid-day hour with my hubby.

3. Dennis and I currently team teach Sunday School at church, and I gotta say, I LOVE his lessons and the kids love them too. He wins.

4. I love, love, love, love watching him with the babies in our life. I think most of them prefer him to me! Well, the nephews at least. Delmer can't get enough of him, and snuggles with him every time he comes over.

5. He is a go getter. This may not seem like a big deal, but I LOVE how he's not afraid to call people that he doesn't know and make contact with strangers and figure out crazy business stuff and all that businessy type stuff that overwhelms my mind.

6. I adore how everyday, before he comes home, he calls me to let me know he's coming home. Ok, see ya in 5 minutes. SOOOoooo cute.

7. Dennis and I often get ready at the same time in the morning. And let me tell you, those mornings are the best because they are usually accompanied by Dennis getting down to classic 90's Rap Songs. Boom I got your Boyfriend.

8. He will be the best daddy ever. Please don't read to much into this, I'm not pregnant, I'm just saying that he will be amazing and can't wait to see him hold our little ones in his rippling biceps! ;)

9. He's musical!! Every week he not only sings in Church, but attends Ward Choir with me. Now if that isn't love, I dont' know what is!

10. He may not eat leftovers, but at least he's adventurous enough to try new places, though they may not always be the best choice.

I love you babe, always and forever.

Feliz Día de San Valentín!

We are Chiawana

It's official. Your children's futures are in my hands, hence my hiatus from blogging. All of my creative brain power has been used up masterminding finely tuned Spanish Lessons until this WONDERFUL 4 day weekend. I have finally found a few moments to update you all on my/our lives (teaching is in no way a one person gig, Dennis is just as invested as I am! Thanks for listening to hours of teacher talk every night sweetheart, love you!)

Well, what can I say? Teaching is everything I hoped it would be and more. I am 100% convinced that I was sent to this earth to be a teacher. I absolutely ADORE it. Now don't get me wrong, I have my moments where I wish I could just sleep in instead of heading out at the crack of dawn, but other than being the exact opposite of a morning person, life is bliss. And now that I'm the actual legitimate teacher, and not just a student teacher or para educator, I have felt this overwhelming need to be in tune with the Holy Ghost. Sorry, but I'm going to get all sappy spiritual on you here for a minute. I have the privilege of working with some really special kids (and by special I mean awesome) who have come from some amazingly heartbreaking situations. And in my short time at the school, many of them have opened up and shared tear-jerking details of their lives. A lot of them are simply looking for a listening ear, while others are desperate for advice. I feel like in my 25 years, I've been through some rough patches, but nothing like what these kids go through everyday, and so I find myself thinking, "What in the world am I going to tell this kid!" I don't know how often I've had to say a prayer in my heart asking for Heavenly Father's guidance on what to say and how to react. I suppose I'm feeling a little of what a parent feels. But for the first time I feel like I need to have the Spirit with me, not just so that I feel all warm and fuzzy inside, but because I absolutely NEED it in order to best serve my little niños! Anyhow, life is great. We are blessed.

Wedding Decor

When planning this wedding, we really wanted our families to be involved, the cost to be kept way down, and for it to look BEAUTIFUL! In my opinion, we were very successful! Instead of having the same centerpiece on every table, my mom and I went around and collected a variety of pretty, vintage looking things to arrange on each table. Here is a dose of our DIY Vintage Wedding Decor!

We wanted to make sure that our guests had fun, so we provided lot's of games. There were fancily wrapped card games on every table, croquet, a bubble table and horse shoes!

VEGAS RECEPTION

For our guest book, we had people put their thumb prints on a tree and sign their names! It will soon be hanging on our wall.

"A boring reception is such a shame

So we provided some awesome games

On each table the games begin

With Uno, Skipbo and Phase Ten

You'll find more games across the way

With horse shoes, bubbles and croquet!"

For the food, we wanted to mix the Argentinean culture and American, so we served emapanadas and alfajores, as well as Hot Dogs, Popcorn, and Candy. It turned out absolutely delicious and very esthetically pleasing!

WASHINGTON RECEPTION

Here's a pic of the cute popcorn bags! We took white paper bags and fancied up the top with a decorative paper punch.

The Photo Wall

It's been almost 4 months now since we got married. So I figured it's probably about time to post the wedding pics! We were so pleased with how they turned out, thanks to our awesome photographer and friend, Tiffany Parrish. You win Tiffany. These rock.

I decided to start off with what are in my opinion, the most fun; The Picture Wall (which was so amazingly handcrafted by my Father in law David!). So scroll through them and check them out. If you came to our wedding, chances are you are in one of these pics!

PS: the people in the real frames are some of Dennis' Grandparents, so cool huh?!