comment of the day #14:

the other morning, i was about to take kaia to school, so i told her & leia both to go to the bathroom before we leave. so, leia runs to the bathroom first and came back so quickly that i knew that there was no way she had washed her hands, so i ask her to go back in the bathroom to wash them. meanwhile, kaia was in the bathroom & says, "mama, leia didn't flush the potty"...so, i asked her to flush it for her...after leia hearing me ask her to do me that favor, leia proceeds to ask kaia, "yai-yai" (a.k.a.: kaia) can you wash your hands for me too?" she's so funny, she figured "as long as you're doing mama a favor, might as well do one for leia too". huh?
um, baby...it doesn't really work that way. ;)

Corona Del Mar

when i heard that it was gonna be in the 80's here today, i declared it a beach day. we went to a beach we hadn't been to before, Corona Del Mar and it's a great beach...lots (but not too many) of families, safe, no crazy rip currents or unpredictable waves and the weather was so nice...like 77* there. i was on a mission to get a base tan today...i know, i shouldn't be laying out, but i LOVE basking in the sun & i won't make a habit of it (i don't think :). well, mission accomplished...i actually got a little burnt. oops...well, at least i don't look like a vampire anymore. j/k.
enjoy the pics...


okay...it's not really an official belly pic, but here i am 13 1/2 weeks pregnant (and, no my bikini top and bottom don't match)...
my little mermaids :)


we will definitely be back soon!

we'll miss her.

my grandma passed away this morning. crystelle. she was a great lady.
when i was in the 10th grade, i started hanging out with the "not so good kids", we'll say and getting into stuff i shouldn't have been. so, on Thanksgiving day, my parents sent me to El Paso (i was living in San Antonio at the time) to live with them. i had no warning, within a couple of hours i packed my clothes and was on an airplane to "the dreaded" El Paso. i didn't want to be there...away from my comfort zone, my friends, my routine and my life. i was so mad at my parents, in my head i wanted to dis-own them (at the time). what was i supposed to do in El Paso, it was practically Mexico...with my grandparents for the next six months of my life? it seemed like an eternity. on my way over there all i could think about was, "i have to find a way to get out of there". anyways, fast forward a few weeks, after i realized that i wasn't gonna try to "escape" (i think i watched too many Lifetime movies :). i started school at a private school there and got into not only a new routine, but a new life getting to know my grandparents in a way i never would have, had i not had the privelege of making those memories with them.
to sum up the last few years... my grandma was diagnosed with Alzheimer's about 5 1/2 years ago, and when we'd go visit her, she had no idea who any of us were the last few years. it made me really sad, because i have so many memories of her. so many things remind me of her and she told so many stories about my dad's childhood and showed me picture albums of my dad & his siblings that i would have never seen had i not spent those few months with them. one story she used to tell me was that when my dad was about 3 years old, they had a Boxer (dog) and when my dad and his brother (my uncle david) would go in the backyard to play, they were told that they weren't supposed to climb the fence. well, this dog knew the rules, so any time they would climb on the fence, their dog would calmly walk over and gently with his mouth, bite the waistline of their pants and carefully pull them off the fence. that dog watched after them.
anyways, some other things that will now and forever remind me of my grandma are eating grapefruit in the morning and the way she made oatmeal. playing yahtzee with her and saying, "yahtzee-tahzee" as she shook the dice. everytime i see a fig tree or eat homemade fig preserves. going on morning walks and smelling the mountain air & the time i threw on my tennis shoes without socks on, to go on a 3 mile hike with her and coming back with the worst blisters on my heels...so bad that i couldn't wear anything but flip flops for weeks (which isn't as common in texas). going with her to play bridge (or, i should say pass out coffee to the ladies as they played). the way she cooked, she was a great cook...i loved how when she made steak, she'd cut little slits it in and stuffed little garlic cloves in it...it just felt so "made with love" and the way that she'd make chocolate chip muffins that we'd eat as rolls with dinner (not dessert). yes, i think i "filled out" a little living with them :). the fact that we'd usually watch Jeopardy together as we ate dinner every night. her turkey and potato soup that she'd make with the leftover turkey from Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, delicious! her tuna sandwiches. i remember the way she'd move her hands when she talked, especially when she was really getting into what she was saying. her perfume, every time i smell someone wearing "her" perfume, i think of her. shopping at the PX and how shopping for clothes with her was kinda tough because she wanted everything to be practical & the way she called shirts "blouses" and had to know what kind of fabric everything i tried on was made out of (so cute). how, going to luby's cafeteria for dinner on a friday night was such an outing and going to Sam's with them and trying every sample. riding in the car with her as she (or papa) took me to school, it was on the other side of town & how if i looked to the right, we could see Juarez, Mexico (very glamorous). i remember how she and i would go to church together on sunday morning's and how i accepted the Lord at that little "old people" church where i was usually the only kid that showed up for youth group. and i remember how when summer rolled around and it was time to go home, the way i had tears rolling down my face as my plane took off to go back to S.A.
i'd have to say, one of the things i treasure the most is the fact that she taught me how to sew when i was about 9 or 10 years old...every time i get my sewing machine out, i think of her. all the clothes we made together. the kind of wife she was... strong, faithful, loving, caring, always knew what my grandpa needed. and i'll miss her smile.
grandma, we love you & we'll miss you very much.

comment of the day #13:

last night i was making dinner and i was chopping the strongest onion EVER (seriously, i'm not being dramatic...derek walked downstairs and as soon as he got within like 15 feet, he could see what i meant). anyways, this onion was so strong that not only were me eyes burning and watering, but my nose started running. so, a couple of seconds later, the girls come in and leia heard me sniffling and she looks up at me with a concerned look and i guess she over heard me telling derek that the onion was making my nose run...so, i was oblivious, but she leaves the room for a second and comes back with a tissue and sets it on the kitchen counter. i didn't "put 2 & 2 together" and i was just about to tell her to take her (what i thought was a used) kleenex off the counter & she says, "mom, that's for your boogers". my heart melted...so sweet. ;)

13 weeks along...

so, i guess i'm officially out of the first trimester...whew!
we had our 13 week dr. appt. today and we got to hear the baby's heartbeat at the 1st appt. and see the baby at the 2nd appt. VERY exciting! he/she was moving around A LOT. i think at one point he/she was sucking on either a thumb or finger...so cute! oh yeah, and i've gained another 2 pounds...not too bad for how bad i've been eating. i'm finally starting to feel better (as long as i don't take my pre-natal vitamin on an almost-empty-stomach...like i did this morning cuz we were running late. ugggh!) so, i've started to be more health conscious now that a lot more kinds of foods seem edible.
oh, also we asked the ultrasound girl if she could tell the baby's gender yet and she said that she didn't even want to guess 'cuz it's so early, but "dr." derek is convinced that the baby's a girl...i guess we'll see if he's right in another 5-7 weeks or so.
i think she said the baby was sticking out in this bottom picture...haha.

we loved seeing you today, baby...we love you so much already.

Universal City Walk with the fam...

we headed out to hollywood (Universal City) last night to meet up with uncle anson, cousin kanoe & "auntie" gwen. we went to Universal City Walk & anson and kanoe did the indoor skydiving which looked like a lot of fun. then we went to Buca de Peppo for dinner to celebrate auntie kimmy's and gwen's birthday which was SO yummy! we got the "Pope's table" which is a big round table with a box in the middle of it on a "lazy susan" with a statue of the Pope's head on it. if you don't know what i'm talking about this probably sounds really weird (it sound weird to me & i know what i'm talking about). anyways...here are a few pics from last night...

12 week belly pic...

i feel HUGE! i know, i'm gonna look back at this pic when i'm like 30 weeks pregnant & feel ridiculous saying this, but if i already feel like there's no more room in there, i can't imagine how uncomfortable i'm gonna feel even in a few weeks AND when it's like 20-30 degrees hotter outside! actually, i can imagine what's it's like cuz' i've been through it twice, but it's gonna be a long, hot summer! my due date happens to be in the hottest month of the year...but no, i'm not complaining. i am so thankful for this little baby already. i can just see it now...when summer rolls around, you'll know where to find me...in the pool 24/7 feeling like a beached whale. i'm probably being a little dramatic, but it's a funny picture, huh? :)
so, look at what a big difference there is from last week!
p.s.~i think we're gonna just start doing monthly belly pics instead of weekly.

it's about time!

okay, let's see if i remember how to do this...i haven't really blogged about anything besides my belly in a long time. oh, and sorry about the "starting to blog last night and stopping with the title" thing i did...i stopped "for a second" (i thought) to go watch Dancing with the Stars real quick and fell asleep right after it was over. it was a long day.
SO...we went to disneyland yesterday for the first time since we were the during Christmas season. 3 months is a long time when you have annual passes! anyways, the girls deserved a fun day, they've been such good sports lately while i've been feeling sick. we all had a lot of fun, but we totally didn't think about the fact that it's spring break for a lot of people, so it was kinda crowded but not too bad. the only line that took a while was the Peter Pan ride, but we can't go to d.l. and skip that one. it's leia's favorite and while we were in line kaia decided that now she wants to marry Peter Pan. the girl can't make up her mind *roll eyes*. :)
we shoulda taken our family pic at the beginning of the day (not right before we left)...look how tired i look! (and notice how not-tired leia looks. that girl's got energy)!

they LOVE the horsey's! :)
what a silly little face...oh yeah, and Happy St. Patty's Day.


my loves.

11 week belly pic...

okay, so here's the latest pic of my rapidly growing belly. believe it or not, i've only gained like 5 pounds...i have NO idea how i managed that 'cuz i've been eating horribly! but, it's been fun. i've been saying that once the queasiness leaves (with the girls it was around 12 weeks), i'll start eating better. hmmmmm, we'll see how that goes. :)

cool pregnancy websites

for any pregnant ladies out there, here's a couple really cool website that i try to check every week...one is called 3d pregnancy.com & the other one is i am pregnant.com. they tell all kinds of facts about what's going on with you, your baby's development, show a few different types of pics showing how big your baby is & how he/she is changing. check them out! :)

picture day...

i've been slackin' on the picture taking lately...remember when this used to be more of a picture blog? it makes me sad that i haven't been taking as many pic lately :(. okay, so i'm gonna try to get back into the habit of bringing my camera everywhere. so, anyways...kaia had picture day last week and i took a pre-picture-day-picture at home before i dropped her off at school.
i love you kaia...thank you for being so understanding when i burned you with the curling iron twice (there's a little "confessions of a mom" for you all). poor baby, it's time to get a small barrel curling iron i think.

eleven clocks!!!

i didn't realize how many clocks we've accumulated over the years until i went around to change the clocks last night. yep...11! and that's not counting the ones we don't have to change (like our cell phones and our 2 computers). it's a random question, but how many clocks do you have?

10 week belly pic...

okay...i don't know about you guys, but i feel like there's a big difference between this week & last week (in my tummy and my thighs :) ! i have my 10 week dr. appt. tomorrow (i think it's just a blood work/paperwork kinda' visit...but,hopefully we'll get to hear the baby's heartbeat.) i'm starting to feel a lot better. that makes me feel good (physically), but the relieved feeling turns into the "i hope everything's okay" feeling quickly. ugggggg, being pregnant the first trimester can be stressful at times. 2 more weeks until i'm officially done with the 1st trimester. whew!

depressing.

i don't want to be a "bubble burster" for any friends who can't watch the finale to the Bachelor until tonight...but, it was ridiculous.  i hope this doesn't give too much away, but...he's a jerk.  i feel so bad for his little boy...he must be SO confused.  okay, i'm gonna stop before i give too much away.  kel...call me after you watch it. ;)