Happy One Month!

Wow! I have so much to say, I don't even know where to begin. This last month has been a whirlwind! I'll just start off by saying that today we celebrate Ryker turning one month old! Ryker decided to start his celebration a little early by keeping us up all night... Punk! I can't believe it's already been a month, and it makes me sad to see how fast he's growing. I love my tiny little nugget, and kind of with he could stay tiny forever. At his two week appointment, he had already gained almost a whole pound (measuring 6lbs 10oz)! I really want to know what he is now... And he is due for his one month appointment, but we don't have insurance for him yet cause we just moved. Speaking of moving, I have a lot of updates about that! But I'll wait until after these cute one month pics of our little tike.

Some of Ryker's classic faces

The Inquisitive Look

Ryker's attempt at duck lips

This guy is such a sweet little boy, we couldn't feel any luckier. I could just sit and stare at him all day, he is so precious. Even when he's screaming his brains out, he's pretty adorable :). Parenthood has definitely been a learning experience to say the least. I don't think any amount of reading material, or pinterest posts could have prepared me for this. I often stress out that I'm doing everything wrong (as the crazy moms on pinterest will often lead me to believe), but I just try to remember that we're showing this little boy all the love and energy that we possess, and that we're doing the very best that we can do.

So last post, I mentioned all of the miracles we've been witnessing in relation to little Ryker joining our family. At the time I couldn't say quite yet another huge miracle involving his birth. We hadn't announced yet that Todd had made it into his top choice school in Pennsylvania, which in and of itself was a huge blessing. But the timing of everything was the real miracle. Ryker came two and a half weeks early, and just a few days after he was born, Todd received an email saying that a spot became available at St. Francis! Had Ryker not come early, I would have still been pregnant when we found out, and then we would have had to work out where to have the baby and when to move. With Ryker coming when he did, we were able to have a little over two weeks at home with family and we even had his baby blessing right before we left. Huge blessing! Then, just how everything fell into place for us to move here so quickly was a miracle. When we came here for Todd's interview, we both felt like this is where we were supposed to be. We had our doubts for a while when months went by, and we still hadn't gotten into this school. We both had basically wrote it off in our minds, and were preparing mentally for a life out in NY. It was pretty hard to change our mindset yet again when we found out, but we both knew that Pennsylvania would be better for us. With how everything has fallen into place, this last month has just been another testament to me that it really is meant to be after all.

So Pennsylvania. For those of you who don't know, we are living in Loretto, which is a teeny tiny town of a little over a thousand people. We have a Walmart about 15 min away in a bigger town (a little over three thousand!) and we are a 30 min drive in either direction to cities with 30 to 50 thousand! I'm pretty sure I might go a little crazy due to isolation, but it's not forever. Right now, I'm just blown away with how gorgeous it is here anyway. It is so lush and so green, I'm in heaven! I can't wait until little man is a little bigger so we can all go on hikes and enjoy the great outdoors. I just hope Todd will have a tiny bit of time every now and then for things like that :). 

Here are a few pics to give you an idea.

This little pond is about 100 yards away from our apartment. There are no fish in it sadly, but it's pretty! Then, off to the left is a gorgeous hillside where a ton of sheep roam. You can hear them baa-ing from our windows :)

This is just beyond our little pond, so a little over 100 yards from our place. So pretty!

We hear that the Fall is the most beautiful thing you'll ever see, so I'm pretty excited for that! I'm not so excited for winter, however. Apparently the winters here are pretty brutal... Lots of snow and super cold. We are lucky that we live so close to campus though, so commutes won't really be an issue. 

Those are pretty much all of the updates that I have right now. I did want to share some (a lot) more pictures though, because I've already exploded facebook enough, and I don't have anywhere else to share :). Besides, I figure people who read this are hopefully people who want to see my millions of pictures :)... hopefully. 

I'm going to start with more pics from the day Ryker was born. Todd wanted a way to document his birth (quite understandably...), but I really didn't want it to be documented with video. I guess I sort of imagined it being much more horrific than it actually was, and I didn't want to remember myself in that much pain (which I really wasn't at all, thanks to the epidural). So anyway, we asked if Todd's sis, Summer would take some pics of the delivery for us. I'm so thankful and glad that she did, because she captured some precious moments. I didn't want to post them on facebook, however, cause I'm friends with people who prob don't want to see my upper thighs, and me gritting my teeth pushing a baby out... but hopefully those of you who read this won't mind that sort of thing :). So here you go. I tried to only pick the best ones, but there turned out being a lot of them, hehe.

Todd assisting me in applying chapstick

When we found out I was fully dilated

There he is!

so precious <3

I'm not going to lie... I kind of thought he looked like an alien at first :) A very cute alien

First time holding him

Love it. I'm so happy we had such a special moment documented. It really does help me relive the magic of that day. 

We are so lucky that Summer is such an amazing photographer, and so happy to take pics for us when we ask. We got to take a few family pics before leaving for PA, and I'm just obsessed with all of them! 

This might be my absolute favorite!

These pics were when Ryker was 2 weeks old. I can't believe he's already TWICE as old! Craziness. The last two weeks especially have flown by with the packing, moving, and unpacking. It has been absolute craziness. Unpacking is an ongoing process, and probably won't get fully done for a very long time. In the meantime, I am happy to slow it down and just enjoy our sweet boy as much as possible. 

So that's about it for now! If any of you ever get bored and want to skype with Ryker and I, I imagine we're going to get pretty bored around here while Todd is at school :).

Ryker's Birth Story

Remember my last post, where I was so excited that our baby boy was due in only three weeks? Well little did I know, he was only 6 days away. For those of you who don't know the story, and many of you don't, here it goes.

Last Thursday, I had my usual weekly check-up at my OB. My doc checked for dilation, and I was just 1-2 cm dilated... Which really doesn't mean much at that point in the pregnancy. Then he measured my belly. Every other week I'm told that I measure perfectly, but this time he said I was measuring a little small. I wasn't that surprised, cause I had been small the whole pregnancy. I was more surprised that that was the first time that the measurement showed it. So the doc had me wait a few minutes to have the babe checked out via ultrasound. The ultrasound showed that he was okay, but that there was hardly any amniotic fluid. So the doc came back in and let us know that I'd have to have the baby THAT DAY!! Talk about a shocker!! And it didn't really hit me for a long time that I was actually going to have the baby. I don't think it hit me until I started pushing.

So we left the doctors office around 10am, and we're at the hospital by 11am. They started me on pitocin around noon, and then it was a waiting game. The nurse would come in every now and again to check me for dilation. Sometime around 7:30, I was still just 4cm dilated. The nurse brought in this weird peanut shaped yoga ball, and stuck it between my legs. Then, just an hour and a half later, I was fully dilated!! It was perfect timing too cause right at that moment, my mom had walked in the room. She flew out as soon as she heard that we were having the baby that day. So the nurse said we would wait an hour, and then the pushing would start. I started pushing at 10, and little man arrived at 11:31 pm. So technically that means 11.5 hours of labor. But let me just say... I was a huge fan of the epidural. It kept me very calm, and not stressed about the pain that would ensue. It let me focus on the task at hand and relax until it was time to push.

Once he came out, I couldn't believe it. I felt such relief that I did it; I pushed that little guy out! It was also just such a miracle to be able to witness and be a part of. It's not necessarily a "fun" experience, but it was sure a magical one.

So, because Ryker had likely been low on amniotic fluid for a little while, he was very skinny considering his gestational age. He came out weight only 5lb 13oz, but he measured a very typical 19in. He's already just like his daddy. Tall and skinny 😊.

One really stressful aspect of the whole experience, was we still hadn't chosen a name yet! In the hospital, we were able to narrow it down to 3 names. Then, we picked a middle name for each first name. At first, I didn't really like Ryker as much as the other two names. But then, I wrote out the full names, and loved how Ryker Joseph looked and sounded. Todd really liked it too. We had tentatively decided on that name. Then, before pushing started, Todd said a little prayer, and called him Ryker. I became overwhelmed with love and emotion in that moment, and just knew it was right. Now, I can't imagine him being anything but a Ryker.

So the past week has been a whirlwind. Has anyone ever told you how exhausting it is to have a newborn?? I guess I thought that I would have to feed him every 3 hours, but that I would get to sleep in between. Never really realized that newborns want to be held constantly! Days and nights have been full of sweet and precious moments, but boy, are we wiped!! Thank goodness for Ryker's amazing daddy. I would probably have died by now of exhaustion and anxiety by now if it weren't for him. It is so special to watch Todd as a daddy, and to see how much little Ryker has stolen his heart. I just love my little family. I've been so very blessed.

There have been so many miracles involved in the birth of this little guy. And I know that we'll be seeing many more. I would write about some of these miracles now, but as I type, little Ryker is sleeping on my arm. I think I'll save those stories for my next post, and go cuddle with my little boy. I will bid you adieu with a few pictures and by saying that our Heavenly Father loves us. He is so involved and so aware of our needs and He will protect us. I am so grateful that He knows what is best for me, even when I have no idea. I am so filled with gratitude and love, and I couldn't be any happier.

My family <3

I love his wrinkly little forehead

After his first bath

3 weeks 3 weeks 3 weeks

Hi there! Today marks 37 weeks into the pregnancy. This means that if the baby were born RIGHT NOW, he would be full term! Hallelujah! This also means that the little guy's due date is exactly 3 weeks away. I think today was the first day that Todd and I both became super impatient. We just want him to come right now. You'd think that after 37 weeks, 3 weeks would seem like nothing, but au contraire. Now that we pretty much have all of the essentials, we're ready, and so excited for the little bundle of joy to enter this world.

In honor of making it to the 37 week mark, I had to take a couple pics of course. As usual, the tight black shirt makes me look more normal-sized for how far along I am. However, I'm still much smaller than you'd expect at this point. I am finally starting to appreciate it though, as my back has been really painful lately. I just know it would be so much worse if I were bigger.

Just for contrast (or a different perspective), I have the pic I took today, and a pic I took just 3 days ago in a normal (not tight) shirt.

So there you go! From this point forward, I'll probably hope that when I take a bumpie, it will be my last. 

You know how in my last post, I had that picture of our room, and how crazy and chaotic it was?? Well, we've finally got everything unpacked, and all of our baby necessities in order in our room. I promised a pic of our room once we had it done, so here it is!

Found this nifty little changing table/dresser for only $45!

The drawers were so big, and I wanted to organize his clothes a little, so I made these drawer dividers. I was quite pleased with how it worked out.

The hardest decision we had to make was what type of chair to get. We eventually found this awesome recliner on ksl. We saved a bunch of money, and we can use this in a nursery, or in a living room!

The last thing we'll be adding to make the room complete, is a little bookshelf to go on the wall. Todd is going to make it for me :). I've been really pleased with how well we've shopped for things for the babe. For every item, we researched a ton, and were able to find really good deals online, and extra extra good deals on used stuff.

While we have all of the "things" we might need for our little champ, we are still really struggling to pick a name. We're having real commitment issues. It seems too permanent to just choose one! We had our list down to just four, but it has expanded drastically because we couldn't commit to any of those four. So now we have about 13 to choose from, but maybe 5 or 6 that we are considering more seriously. We'll see how it goes... he very well may be nameless until the very last moment (however many days after he's born). But if we can help it, it would be really nice to have one picked out ahead of time. I just want to start getting to know him, and it seems like a name is a really good place to start :)

A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of attending the Brooks Family Reunion #2. The whole fam went out to St. George, and we got to go hiking, sight seeing, swimming, and boat riding. It was so fun to get away, and spend so much time with everyone. I sure love this family :)

Here are some pics from the trip.

That's about all everybody! Hopefully next time I post, we'll have a little one to brag all about :)

So Long, Vegas

Happy happy day! We're in Utah! I'll go into details later... but it's been amazing so far, and we're loving getting to see some green.

So to start from the beginning...

We're done with work!!! Hallelujah! I almost felt this day would never come, but it has... and it is wonderful. Now don't get me wrong, I am so sad to be away from the amazing people I worked with, and I'm especially going to miss those sweet students I got to be around every day (even the ones who drove me crazy). On my last day, I told on of the classes that I was leaving, and was so surprised by their reaction! I thought most of them had already known that I was leaving, so it was also surprising how shocked they were. As soon as I said it was my last day, an uproar started. I didn't even get to explain why or where I was going before a group hug ensued. Not everyone in the class came up (thank goodness, because that class has close to 60 students), and it also made me feel super claustrophobic, but it was really sweet. A bunch of those students wanted to get a picture with me, so I took the opportunity to get a picture too. 

Deisy and Christina

This is Amara, who I had the pleasure of teaching last year as well. She was one of the few who didn't make me want to rip my hair out in that class, haha!

Zoe and Alicia

Rose

Perla

Sweet sweet Brianna. I have a special place in my heart for this girl!

This was actually the day before my last day. These girls are SO sweet, I couldn't believe it!

Joseph and Eddie

Brooke, Makenzie, and Daryana

Selfie with Skylar and Aerionna. I caught these girls on my way out. So glad I did!

I also worked with some wonderful people. At the high school, there was a group of us, all close in age, and we all got along really well. I loved working with those guys, and became good friends with a few of them. On Friday, we had a little dinner so we could have one last time as a group before I left. Even the administrator who hired all of us came out to the dinner. So nice!

The gang. Minus Christian

Gladis! Had to get a pic with this gorgeous girl. 

My preggo buddy! Kim and I are pretty much due at the same time. We're also both having boys, which made it even more fun!

So I guess it's mostly a sad thing to be done with work, but I am mostly just happy because it was becoming so hard on my body. In particular, my back. Pretty much anything I do, besides laying down, makes me so sore, so fast. When I'm at home, it's not that big of a deal, cause I can still get things done, as long as I lay down in between. When I was working, though, it became really hard because with my two jobs, I would go 8-10 hours straight without getting a chance to rest my back. Then, each day would just be worse without having a day off to recover. I'm optimistic that now that I'm done working, my back pain won't be as bad. At least I hope! I'll let you know how it goes :)

I'm mostly thrilled that Todd is done working! I at least had amazing people around me, and got to do what I love. Todd's job, on the other hand, was just day after day of overwhelming stress. The demands on the employees of Grifol's are so high, and Todd would always work so hard to meet those high standards. I don't know how he got out of bed every day, and went back to that job. He is so amazing for hanging in there as long as he did, and thank heavens he is done forever! We were going to see if he could get transferred to a plasma center here in Utah, but no one will take him since we're only here a few months. It really is a blessing though, because I don't want him to go through that much stress ever again. So for now, our plan for this summer is to relax, enjoy our baby, and go on adventures. Todd might work part time, just so we don't have to dig into our savings, but I'm excited that we'll get so much more time to enjoy our time together before PA school starts. 

Speaking of PA school, still no word from Pennsylvania... we're not waiting or expecting to hear anything. If we do, however, things could get crazy. For now though, we're just planning on going to New York. Which would give us that nice relaxed summer I was talking about, so it's a great thing. 

So this weekend, we moved. And let me just say... if you or a loved one plans on moving when 8 months pregnant, I wouldn't recommend it! I don't know what else we would have done, but still... not the most fun. Todd was amazing, and did soooo much more than I did. But I still tried to do and pack a lot. I didn't do any heavy lifting or anything like that, but I would still load up boxes. It really took a toll on my back. It was especially hard for me to take my much needed rest breaks because I would just lay there, thinking of all of the things that needed to be done, and then I wouldn't rest long enough. Once everything was packed up, I felt a ton of relief. Some amazing friends from church came the day we moved, and helped carry everything down. So that day, I just wandered around the apartment and directed traffic. Thank goodness they were there, because otherwise, I know I would have tried to do a lot more. 

Also, thank heavens for Todd's amazing parents! They were so generous, and drove down all the way from Utah to help us move. With their trailer, our trailer, and our 3 cars, there was plenty of room for all of our stuff. Todd's angel mother was also a life saver, because she offered to drive one of our cars, so I wouldn't have to drive. It was a sore, but manageable 6 hours in the car. But, had I been driving, I know it would have been so miserable. I got more than just a wonderful husband my marrying Todd. I'm so blessed to get to be a part of such an amazing family. 

I'm also so blessed to have so many amazing friends! The day before I left, Pamela and Alexa, good friends from church, threw me a little going away gathering. I don't usually make friends at church as easily, so it really meant a lot to me. 

Pam and Michael! These guys are having a baby girl and are pretty much due at the same time as me. I'm so sad our babies won't get to be buddies! But hopefully they'll get to meet each other!

Group pic from the little party

Alexa used her new selfie stick to take group pics from the move!

Most of the gang! Todd and his parents were out packing the trailer

The Cruz family! Love them!

Definitely going to miss Alexa. We had a lot of good times together in this ward.

We didn't take very many pictures when we were moving, but here's the one Todd snapped before we drove away.

So now that we're here, we finally get to start thinking about baby stuff! We have a vision for our room, and where the rocking chair and changing table/dresser will go. Now we just need to get those things! I was pretty stressed our first night, cause it just seemed like we had so much to do and unpack. I had a little break down about the point when our room looked like this:

If there is anything that will stress me out, this is it. Todd is amazing, and was able to calm me down by explaining to me his plan and vision for the room. I don't know how he saw it through the clutter, but he did. We worked hard yesterday, and it's starting to coming together. I can't wait till we have our baby gear and can show off the after picture. It'll be a humble little space, but I'm excited for it. All we really need now is the baby furniture! Mostly a dresser so we can unload all of his clothes.

So I started this post on Tuesday I believe, and I still haven't posted it... but in the days that have passed, Todd and I got a dresser and a car seat/stroller combo! I'm much less stressed to have some of the big things taken care of :)

Those are about all of the updates I've got for now. To bid you farewell, I'll leave you with a belly pic (which is about a week old now). 

The End Is Near

I was going to wait to post until I had a new bump picture to post... But sadly, there will be no bump picture for this week. Call me crazy, or weird, but I didn't like the vegetable that my pregnancy app suggests our baby resembles, so I'm waiting to take a pic at week 33 (spoiler alert: he'll be the size of a pineapple!). However, I couldn't wait that long to write a quick little update! Mostly because by that time, Todd and I will have a lot of packing and moving to do! There will be no time for silly blog posts such as this.... Like... such as. 

*cool points if you caught that quote^^*

As most of you are aware... March Madness is going on right now! I followed zero of the regular season, but still had to make a bracket. I was feeling like my bracket would fail miserably (since I didn't know any of the teams), so I decided to take the mathematician's approach (go ahead... call me a nerd). I researched and recorded each team's stats for the season, then weighted each category separately: points scored 40%, free throws 15%, rebounds 20%, turnovers 25%. Using these weights, I calculated a fantasy score for each team, and chose my winners purely based on those scores. Here's a look at how my bracket turned out.

 I was actually pretty mad that Gonzaga would end up being the winners, but they had the best stats for the season. I'll end up being okay with it if they win... but I kinda doubt they will. I was pretty excited because after the first day of games (yesterday), I only got 3 wrong. I had even predicted the huge Georgia St. upset. However, today I'm doing much worse. I haven't checked my score recently, but I think it's around 20 or 21. What's even worse, is my original bracket that I made in like 2 seconds is doing just as well! Lame!

Now that I've completely lost half of you due to my March Madness rambling... time to move on... to... BABY! So the last few weeks, when I lie on my back (yes.... I know that it's a huge no no... but it's the only way that my upper back and shoulders feel relaxed and not sore), baby boy will start doing somersaults and crazy stuff!! I've been trying to catch it on video, just because I think it's so crazy and so cool! Watching him dance around is probably my #1 favorite thing to do. The videos aren't as crazy as he can get, but they give you an idea. 

Tonight, Todd is out camping with the scout for a campout. One of the main reasons why I'm writing right now :). I feel so lame and helpless when he isn't here. I don't know what I would do without him... seriously. He's been so great especially during the pregnancy. I complain every day about every little ache and pain, and he's not only done so much to try to make sure I'm as comfortable as possible, but he hasn't complained once about anything. He is a saint, and I am so so lucky to have such a loving, caring husband. Our little boy is pretty darn lucky too :). So back to the topic of him being away tonight. I'm lame, and missing him, so I decided to stalk him on Find My Friends. Guess where it showed me that he was!

Yep! That's right. In the middle of the Colorado River! Luckily I refreshed it a few times before really panicking, and he eventually popped up safely on the shore. I hadn't heard from him in a while though, so a part of me still worried. I can't wait till he gets home, safe and sound :)

The only other update I really have is that we move a week from Monday! Todd and I each have 5 days of work left! I never thought I'd make it to this point, but I feel like I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel! Work has been really taking a toll on me physically, and a toll on Todd mentally, so we're sooooooooooo excited to be done! Also, since we only have about a week left, we've finally started to get some more things packed up. Today while Todd was at work, my friend Alexa came over to help me pack. Thanks to her, we got almost the entire kitchen packed up, which is one of the most time consuming rooms to get packed up. Now we basically have to throw our clothes into suitcases and boxes, and we'll be good to go! 

So that's all folks! I'll be posting a belly pic next week :) PS.... I'm still pretty small for how far along I am. Without fail, every time I tell someone how far along I am, they'll be super shocked. I almost feel like half of them don't believe me, haha!