Eve's Progress

I get paranoid sometimes when Eve doesn't use her words to fully express a desire or want. This fear stems from my Special Education background. I need to remember that children are different and learn at a different pace and way then others. The worse thing you could do is compare your child with others. Children are unique and a complete blessing. Though we all have similarities, I'm so happy that we are all different. Life would be boring and we would remain unstimulated if we were all the same.

Eve's Vocabulary thus far:
I do
Hi
bye bye
baby *
mama *
dada
Jesus
Wow
Cheese please
Strawberry
Peek a boo
Happy
Auntie
Hey you
* Are her favorite words to say.
The ASL that she is consistent with is: More & Baby
She's trying to wear my shoes and carry my purses. It's absolutely adorable to see her carry a purse with a baby in the other hand. I think her motherly instincts are kicking in. She's also kissing and hugging people like crazy. You can tell she was born in Hawaii:)

What A Great Week

Thank you uncle Joey & aunt Georgette for the cute outfit. I got a lot of compliments at church today! By the way she loves the slippers. In fact if they accidentally come off she quickly grabs them and makes a whole bunch of ruckus until we put them back on.

Her hair was getting into her eyes so I made her some bangs today.

Grandpa Vega suggested Mark teach Eve how to strum a guitar. So we got her practicing on a Ukulele.

Daddy daughter time.

Eve and her cousins Sophia & Asher.

Eve strolling in the park

My favorite picture of the week. I just love her eyes in this picture.

I'm a little over 38 weeks approaching my 39 week in a few days. Getting really anxious!

P.s. Today I attended the Draper, Utah temple dedication. It was the first temple dedication that I attended. It was a great experience. Makes me want to be better in family history work and treasure my family even more in this life.

I Had This Dream

I had this dream that a group of close friends and I were traveling in outer space in some type of space craft to another world. I was staring outside of the window gazing at the stars and feeling a little uneasy about the never ending blackness that surrounded us. All of a sudden we fell in this black hole tunnel thing and our space craft was falling at such an accelerated speed that I just knew that we were all going to die. As we were speeding downwards I noticed the rainbow of colors surrounding our craft. I kept thinking in my mind Heavenly Father said I would be fine if I went on this trip. He promised me! I wouldn't have come if I knew this was going to happen. Why do I feel like I'm going to die. Finally I settled in my mind if I die, I die. If this is what he wanted to happen, I need to let it happen. So I submitted to the thought of life ending and immediately found peace. It was strange because as soon as I submitted a crystal rock appeared to my side. I was filled with exceeding joy because I knew that it was a gift from God. It was his way of letting me know he was there. It was his way of letting me know that I had passed the test. Then a scripture came to my mind Ether 12:6 "faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith." I then knew that my faith needed to be tested on my journey before God would give me a sign that I was on the right path. Shortly after I reached to my destination which was another world. I was suppose to use the crystal rock in order to enter the gates to the other world and retrieve something very valuable. I wasn't sure what I was suppose to be retrieving but Heavenly Father told me that this was my mission in life and that I would recognize it when I saw it. Sure enough when I entered the other world I saw a queen wearing this strange star medallion around her neck. It was glowing and I knew that, that is what I was sent there for. Then I woke up to Eve crying. My heart was pounding because it felt so real. No I'm not on drugs, but I am pregnant! What I take from this dream is that we all have a special mission in this life. We may or may not know what exactly it is. There will come many times on our journey that we feel scared, confused unsure of our path but it's so important to keep a close relationship with the Lord and have faith and confidence in him. Trust that he will guide us in life if we but let him.

I Did It

1.I've been trying to walk 2 miles a day 5 days a week this whole pregnancy and I must say that this week was the hardest week. I just didn't want to do it. I was really tired and my feet were swollen. Essentially I just wanted to sleep all week, but I didn't. I got off my but and I force myself to walk, with some loving encouragement from Mark of course.

2. I just finished a book called Creative Childbirth by Michelle Leclaire O'neill. It was about using self hypnosis techniques during labor to eliminate fear and pain. I must say that the first half of the book was really boring. I wanted to stop reading because there is a lot of theology she throws out that I don't agree with. The second half was interesting and I only hope I can remember it. I suggest skipping to the second half if you're interested in reading it.

Bump Bump

Aubrey & I. (She was my talented roommate in the Fall of 2006) She is due about 3 or 4 weeks after me.

Well I'm approaching my 37th week. So far I feel pretty good. On occasion I feel extremely tired. I'm forcing myself to take at least 1 nap a day otherwise I'm absolutely useless and Mark ends up doing everything. I've been reading this book on self hypnosis for child birth. Well we will just see how it goes. Not sure what approach I want to take for labor & delivery yet. Just collecting a lot of information. I know for sure that I'm going to listen to my body and trust my Heavenly Father that he will guide my decision making and give me the confidence that I made the right choice for me.

Aubrey and her husband came over for dinner last night. We had a lot of fun catching up. It was funny when we gave each other hugs our tummy's got in the way and we kind of bounced off each other. Weirdest feeling by the way! Anyhow we had a Delicious meal and by request will place the recipe.

Nita's Version of Spaghetti and Meatballs: Sorry I don't really measure, so you just got to eye ball it.

1 Package of ground turkey

1-2 cups of yellow tortilla chips (smashed)

1 bundle of cilantro (diced)

1 onion (diced)

3-4 cloves of garlic or garlic powder

3-4 dashes of Salt

3-4 dashes of Pepper

2-3 Jalapenos (optional) diced

Directions: Combine ingredients. Hand mix well. Form little balls. Place in a skillet with a little bit of oil. Fry until brown on all sides. Once done, place meatballs in another pot. Add 3 cans of stewed tomatoes. Allow to boil for about 5-10 min. and you're done! If you want you could add more diced onions, garlic, cilantro to the sauce. Up to you. When sauce is done place over cooked whole wheat noodles. Yummy! Don't forget the salad, with some yummy fruits, veggies and poppy seed dressing:) Love you!

That Was Unexpected

1. Today I scheduled a playdate with some friends at church. I was so pumped and excited to see Eve interact with other children. Usually she's very happy when there are other kids over. She shocked me completely. She cried most of the time because the other children were playing with her stuff. I never seen her that way. I guess it comes with the age. I was embarrassed but glad at the same time because I thought what a great opportunity for her to learn that we share in this house. It got so bad that I had to comfort her and calm her down. That girl can really work her self up. I wonder where she gets that from. Maybe I should start sharing my chocalate with Mark.

2. I didn't think it was really possible but Eve managed to break her crib. I'm not sure if she karate chopped it, kicked it, tried to climb out of it or what but the wooden bar was in half. She managed to do this while she was taking a nap. Crazy!

3. I just finished reading Women Of Destiny I really enjoyed it. Definetly feel more empowered.

Nursing Made Easier

I wish I knew that there was such a thing as nursing clothes when I had Eve. I was so narrow minded thinking that all there was available were stylish covers and blankets to feed your child. Which by the way are not my favorite ways to nurse a baby. Some people love them and swear by them but for the child I had it was absolutely ridiculous. If you have a wild ferocious eater like mine and hates to be covered you might want to try the following: (which by the way I really wish I knew before hand that there was such a thing)

Nursing Tanks- You could place a blouse, shirt, top whatever over the nursing tank like an extra layer and nurse without showing your midriff etc.

Nursing shirts-Comes with a built in layer to cover everything

Nursing dresses-You don't have to hike up your whole dress at church just to nurse

Cut slits in shirt-If you don't have the money to buy extra clothes cut slits in a shirt that you normally layer anyway and just put another shirt over it.

Belly Bans-You know those bans used for extra support when you're pregnant you could also use them for nursing. Just pull them up so they can cover your midriff etc. Also long tube tops can be used as well underneath a top.

Nursing Garments- They do exist!

These are some places that they sale Nursing tanks, shirts, dresses etc.
http://www.glamourmom.com/
http://www.lalecheleague.com/
http://www.motherhood.com/
http://www.target.com/
http://www.walmart.com/
http://www.medela.com
http://www.lansinoh.com
The Cheapest long nursing tank's I found was online at Walmart. You can get a black & a white one for 19 dollars. Which comes out to about 9.50 for each tank. Great deal if you ask me. If any of you have additional information PLEASE share:) Hope this was helpful.

Draper Temple

In late February we went to the Draper, Utah temple. We took our wonderful neighbors from the Philippines. It was their first time seeing a LDS temple. Mark and I were so excited to share with them the purpose of the temple & all the special ordinances that takes place there. I wish we could take more families from other faiths through the temple before it gets dedicated. It was such an uplifting sweet experience. If you know of anyone that would love to go, give me a ring! The following are pictures on temple grounds.

This past Saturday we had a family fun day at the park. I had Mark dress Eve. Can you tell?

FINAL STRETCH:

Well I have 4 1/2 weeks till our second princess arrives. We are so pumped and excited. Mama Vega will be coming out in 4 weeks to help out, can I tell you how excited I am about that. My mama treats me like a princess still. I believe that's where I get my goodness from, my mama! Her loving kindness, generosity & thoughtfulness makes me want to treat others the same. I hope my jewels will do the same. So much to do before she comes! But I won't get stressed! My doctor told me to take it easy because my blood pressure was unusually high, and we don't want her coming early. So to keep sane, you guessed it.......

Goals For March:

Juanita's Goals: My list is a little overwhelming this month so to sum it up:

1. Preparation, Preparation, Preparation!

-Mentally

-Emotionally

-Physically

-Spiritually

Mark's Goals:

1. Temple once a week

2. Taxes done by the 13th

3. 100% home teaching

4. 100% PPI

5. Study & Implement the compassion of the Savior