Bahlu's Lovin' It

I had some girl friends over today for an afternoon of some good grub and a movie. Some of their kiddos came along and Bahlu couldn't have been happier.

I have no doubt that I will find Ayla hanging out in Bahlu's crate in the near future. He LOVES kids and all the attention.

And couldn't get enough of the belly rubs!

Finally - Ayla is Here - August 1, 2009

On July 31st we went for a check-up because baby Ayla was still not here! They did an ultrasound to check on the amniotic fluid and found out that it was dangerously low. They put me on fetal monitoring and decided that I had to be induced right away. I wasn't happy that I had waited so long and only to end up being induced anyway.

We went straight over to the hospital where they started me on cervidil. I was already at a 3 so we were sure she was going to be born by the end of the day. My water broke shortly thereafter, which I wasn't even sure that was what had happened since there was so little to begin with.

While I was on the monitor and in the beginning process of the induction Milton decided he had better head home, grab our bags and some food (for him of course). My mom was at the house (and had been for a week already) so she helped him pack up the remaining things.

Around evening the labor really started to pick up and I was needing to breath through each contraction. I was sure the end was coming near, but come midnight we were still waiting. They did let me go to the tub for a little bit between monitoring which really helped me relax. Milton had started my hypnobirthing music and was right there along with me helping me through each one.

At 4:00 in the morning they checked me to see how far along I had come and to my dismay I was only at a 4! I was exhausted and really needed to get some sleep. I asked for some pain reliever, which they gave me narcotic. Big mistake! It made me high as a kite, but didn't knock the pain in the least bit. Milton fell asleep for awhile, but woke up at 6:00 when I let him know that I couldn't go on any longer. I gave in and asked for the epidural so they could start the pitocin.

The epidural helped some and I was able to get some sleep, but later I would find out that it mainly numbed my right side and come time for delivery I would feel just about everything on my left.

After getting a little bit of sleep my midwife, Patti, checked me and said that I was fully dilated. At 10:00 I started to get ready to push. I started pushing at 11:00, and I pushed, pushed some more...The only thing that really kept me pushing was how everyone kept going on and on about how much hair she had...and finally at 2:06 Ayla was born.

Milton was able to receive Ayla and hand her to me, which was so awesome. I was completely exhausted, but I will never forget the first time I saw her! Everyone in the room disappeared and I just remember repeating over and over how beautiful, perfect, wonderful, etc etc that she was and how much I loved her.

Ayla Vanina Rosas weighed in at 7 lbs 5 oz and 20.50 inches long.

Grandma Anderson was anxiously awaiting at our house and couldn't get here fast enough to see Ayla.

We had a lot of friends and family come and welcome Ayla.

Grandma

Uncle Justin & Aunt Celeste with Xander

Uncle Brandon

Abuelos

Tia Vanina y Tia Gerson

Scott & Maxine Gagon

JT and Brittany Talbott

Mike & Laura Jaramillo

Stephanie Trujillo

Holly Magalei

Abuelita y Abuelo came from Utah and arrived just shortly after she was born.

Tia Vanina

Proud Papa

Taking our little princess home!

Maternity Pics - June 2009

When I was 36 weeks pregnant we had pictures taken by a friend, Colleen Riggs (she also did our engagement pics).

A Bun in the Oven...

Milton and I decided in October 2008 that we were ready to start a family. I was pregnancy within two weeks of making the decision! We made the announcement to my family at Thanksgiving dinner even though we knew I wasn't very far along. We just couldn't keep the excitement to ourselves.

My original due date was June 28th, but then after an ultrasound in December we found out that it was actually July 25th.

The pregnancy went well overall. However, I did suffer from morning (all day) sickness from about 7 weeks until 4 1/2 months.

We found out from an early ultrasound at 14 weeks that little nacho (the babies nickname) was indeed a girl. We didn't think that they would actually tell us that early, but when I asked if they could tell and they said yes we of course wanted to find out. I remember hoping she was going to say "it's a girl" and trying to convince myself that I wouldn't be disappointed if it wasn't. I just had a feeling from day one that it was a girl and we already had the name picked out. I can't understand why I wanted a girl so bad when before I got pregnant all I wanted were boys.

We had several more ultrasounds, including the standard one at 19 weeks which reassured us that our little girl was healthy and growing right on schedule.

I had decided that I wanted to go natural with the birth and started my hypnobirthing classes in April. We got lucky and were the only couple that had signed up for the class and got one-on-one attention from our instructor, Alicia Watson.

I have to give a lot of credit to Milton during the entire pregnancy and birth. He was the perfect partner and really went along with whatever I was most comfortable with.

Even better was that Kathryn was due in August, so we got to be pregnant together (not that you can tell in this picture, but she is about 24 weeks and I am 28).

Once the morning sickness cleared up everything was great until I made my last trip to Monterey to work the Sea Otter Classic event. I was almost 7 months along and the weather was unseasonably warm (or should I say hot). Needless to say my legs and feet swelled up and remained in that state until well after the delivery. It was truly painful and so uncomfortable!

Every night after work all I could do was prop my feet up and hope that the swelling would go down a little by the time I woke up.

Despite the swelling I was very lucky and didn't experience any high blood pressure or toxemia.

Cancun - May 2008

In May 2008 we took a trip to Cancun. It was nice to get away for a week!
It started off a little bumpy when my luggage didn't show up for over 24 hours.
























The butterfly pavilion at Xcaret was really beautiful and we got some great pictures.












Xcaret has an underground river where you can snorkel while floating downstream. There wasn't too many fish, but it was still a lot of fun.












The FOOD was AMAZING! I think we both gained some weight on that vacation.












We went on a little snorkeling trip.













We took a trip to Playa de Carmen to walk around and eat some dinner.













I have to warn you to watch this video at your own risk. I lost playing a game on the cruise and had to do a little dance. Now, I'm not much of a dancer to begin with, but add wind and waves to the mix and just trying to keep my balance was hard enough. LOL!!

Going to the Temple...

On December 7, 2007, our 1 year Anniversary Milton and I were sealed in the Manti, Ut LDS Temple for all time and eternity. It was truly an amazing day and has blessed our lives in more ways that I can even express.
We were surrounded by many friends and family who came to support us. We are so thankful that they came to share such a wonderful day.





Thank you Katie Anderson Gleave for the beautiful pictures and for traveling all the way from Cedar City just to be there for a few short hours.










Milton's family - Sister Vanina, Mom Cristina and Dad Ignacio.

My family. Justin with Xander, Celeste, Brandon, McKelle, Tatciana, Papa, Mama, Rachel, Kathryn with Abram, Nicole, Dad, Mom and Vanina

My amazing brothers and sisters. Love you!

Not even the rain could dampen such a perfect day. I even wore my wedding dress for the millionth time!

The Boys!

I dreamed of having a Great Dane for several years. I told Milton when we got married that I wanted a Great Dane and his response was "Why would you want such a big dog? I'm not going to pick up after it. I'm not going to love it...etc, etc." Instead he thought we should get a Yorkie-Poo like his sister's dog Toby.
Well, I consented and said that we would start off with the Yorkie-Poo but I would still have my Dane at some point in the near future.
I was just about to put a deposit on a litter of Yorkie-poos when Milton started doing some research and found out that Danes are really good dogs. We decided that we wanted to go check out the Rocky Mountain Great Dane Rescue and went to one of their events and that's where Milton met his first 180 pound Dane named Mason. That was it! He was in love and so was I.
In April of 2007 we adopted Kusko who had come from Missouri. I literally cried when they called to say that he was ready to come home and could hardly wait for his arrival.
He wasn't in the best state when he arrived. His hind legs were so weak that he could hardly get up and down our stairs. After some training and establishing who was the boss Kusko was the perfect first Dane.



This was the first night with Kusko. He wasn't allowed on the furniture from that point forward.















Well, we didn't last long with just one Dane. We were totally hooked and couldn't get enough. So, we adopted Bahlu that following April.












Now, Bahlu needed some serious help! He didn't even know his own name and was so malnourished that you could see every rib and bone in his body. He arrived weighing 140 pounds and quickly put on 40 more pounds.
































Kusko and Bahlu couldn't be more of opposites.
Kusko is a talker, the dominant one, confident, at times a bit anxious and a definate goofball.
Bahlu is more quiet, shy, cuddly (very cuddly), attentive to children, drooly and a complete love. Both combined truly make the perfect dog.







When Milton was working late I had a hard time falling asleep so I would let them up on the bed with me until he got home. Unfortunately, I got caught this time.










The Dane-Deer













Kusko's mere 130 pounds is dwarfed by Bahlu. However, we all know who's the boss and Kusko can still whoop his butt.

















They very quickly became part of our everyday lives. We volunteered frequently for the Rescue doing homechecks, transfers and events. We also became part of the Great Dane meetup club and went to dog parks at least once a week for the boys to play.














The boys are definately a permanent part of our family. I don't think that there will ever be a time that we don't have a Great Dane in our home.