22 weeks

We made it to 22 weeks! We are over half way done YAY! What to say, what to say? Well, for starters, sometimes I am concerned about the little bugger because of the hostile environment that he is growing in. I literally am go, go, go all the time. When I am at home, i am not only carrying around all the extra body and baby that comes along with pregnancy, but also a twenty pound princess that has decided she would rather be carried around life than walk. And with the boards coming up and trying desperately to finish my last rotations, all of the cortisol levels from stress floating around in my body can't possible be good for the little one. I'm trying desperately to relax and just enjoy the summer, but its getting harder and harder by the day. I am so grateful to be here in California with my family to help while I finish my masters degree. I honestly panic every time I think about moving back to Massachusetts in August bah!

I think these hormones are getting the best of me lately. I have broken down in tears multiple times about the silliest things. One of the more famous issues in our home that is sure to bring tears to my delicate eyes is politics. I can't believe how worked up I get about the current political situation. I told Leon the other day, with tears rolling down my face, that i was "just so sad" and of course my sweet husband can't help but give me one of those all encompassing hugs. You know the ones that make you feel as if everything is going to be OK again. Then he sweetly says, "Whats wrong? Are you overwhelmed with all the studying you need to do for the boards?" and I honestly replied, "No.  Its the Economy. I just feel so sad for the kids and what is happening to our country." We couldn't help but just laugh at how much I get worked up over this subject. Safe to say i want Obama gone for the health of my unborn baby and my country.

Speaking of the unborn baby, we are in love. He is getting so big and strong. He moves around a lot and has succeeded to stretch those round ligaments. Bah it is so painful to walk and run sometimes. worse on the left than the right, but he is worth it. Daddy still hasn't felt him kick yet and I think it is starting to frustrate him. But the little one is kinda shy, I guess. I am constantly craving hot spicy things. I went to the store the other day and couldn't resist the hot cheetos screaming my name. What in the world? I don't even like hot cheetos. He also is making me crave hot wings and wants me to put hot sauce on everything. Great, I've got another set of guacamole loving taste buds coming to the family. I can't wait to meet him and love all over his little Johnson face.

 We miss and love you all. Can't wait for our trip to Utah this weekend. I haven't been back to the state since we married and moved to Mesa over two years ago. I can't wait to teach Ellsie about the beloved cougars and show her the fish bowl. I'm going to try and find Sister Fredrickson out at Temple square and am so excited to see Holli's new digs. I'm always excited to see my beautiful Nana and kiss my Papa's sweet face. Three days and counting. Muah xo

Love Us

21 weeks

Don't make fun of me. I cannot concentrate and smile when I am taking a picture with my phone lol. I promise I'm not trying to do the serious pose. I realize I am way passed the sexy stage haha.

I can't believe I'm already twenty one weeks pregnant with my little bambino #2. This pregnancy has gone by much faster than the last. Seriously, I sometimes just look in the mirror and laugh. I am amazed at how big my belly is getting with little boy boy. This body of mine knows exactly what to do this time. I remember with Ellie, I didn't show at all for like six months and this time around little boy would like to let the world know he is coming quite early. 

Along with growing quite rapidly, little boy has also been quite the mover. I love feeling him swim around. It brings me comfort to know he is there. I love the way he will kick and kick until I put my hand on the outside of my stomach to feel him, then he will calm right down as if he knows Mom is there. I already love this little guys so much. As you can see I've forgiven him for the constant vomiting and nausea the first three months and we have moved on to a better place.

The only thing I am worried about now is how in the world Ellie will do. Ellie Callait is literally the princess of everyone's world. There is not a day that goes by that she is not drenched in a million kisses and doesn't get every bit of attention from the world. I'm worried this little boy is going to rock her world. She does not like to share her toys, her bean, and most of all her mommy.  Lol. This will be good for the little chicita banana.

ps did I mention that I have 6 more week of PA school!!!?? Well, if I didn't, I do! And boy am I excited to be free of my prision and get to be a mama full time. 

Gymnastics

When I was a little girl, I was really involved in gymnastics. Ok, ok gymnastics was my life from 1996-2001. I might have even thought that I would be in the 2012 olympics one day, come to think of it. Could you imagine me in London this summer?! Instead, I ended up pregnant, chasing around a two year old and trying frantically to finish my master degree. Haha sometimes London sounds nice.  All of my hard work and training happened right here in this little building in Temecula, CA. I spent so many hours working on different skills and routines. From my first cartwheel to my first back tuck, I cannot tell you how many wonderful memories SCEGA brings back to me. I even worked here as a coach in college when Leon and I first started dating. He would come here and watch me. One time he even left a little post it on the radio in my car that said "push play". The newest Celine Dion cd started playing and I was so excited and touched I cried. Cute, right?  So, when I realized that Ellie was old enough for Sparklers 1 I could not help but enroll her. I was a little worried about how well she would stand in line and take turns, but I figured why not give it a shot.

Ellie was so good on the bars. I was amazed at her strength and coordination for her first time. Her perfect little smile was to die for as she held her head high after her pull over. She loved her teacher, Miss Alyssa, and would run to her when it was her turn and say "Ellie's Turn!".

We have been practicing forward rolls on our own for a while now, so when she got to show her skills she was very proud of herself. She looks like such a little gymnast here. Honestly what did this little girl do with my baby?! Stop getting so big ellie bean.

Her first cartwheel!! She totally did not get it but I was so proud of her. I can't wait to teach her all I know. Leon thinks that he has forbidden cheerleading in our home, but he might need to think again. 

I think that Ellie and Leon's favorite part was "the pit". They would jump in and throw the pieces of foam at each other. Its safe to say there was a lot of laughing and giggling.  Leon would throw her up in the air and then just let her fall into the soft pit of foam. Mommy was a little worried, but Ellie could not get enough. I love sharing this special place with my special girl. I hope that she has as much fun this summer as I did.

Las Vegas

Earlier this summer we had the opportunity to get together with my extended family to celebrate my cousin's wedding. I haven't been able to see my whole family since we've moved across country last summer and I couldn't have been more excited. It was too bad that Leon was still in Boston at the time, so he missed out on all the Vegas fun. I honestly miss him so much at family functions. Ok, I honestly miss him whenever he is gone. Ellie was so excited to see her cousins and her nana and papa. The wedding was beautiful and spending time with my crazy family was even more wonderful. We celebrated Mother's Day in the mountains and courtesy of the baby in my belly I threw up all morning, but other than that I loved spending the holiday with the most wonderful mother's I know. We also had such a fun time playing at the "water park" near Kimi's house. Ellie and Brenn are so cute together. They love to give each other kisses and play with toys. Ok, maybe Ellie likes to steal all of Brenn's toys and refuse to share her own, but it was fun nonetheless. We ate delicious food, danced all night long, and caught up on all the family gossip. We both can't wait to see everyone again in Manti. xo

she could not get enough of her Dora towel

She loved running through the water with all of her cousins and mama

I love that face!!

my beautiful sisters

Ellie's cheese

I love my sisters (the one in the middle is still available nick)

Sesame Street Live

So there I was, driving to work, minding my own business, when the announcer on the radio stated that Elmo Live was in Ontario this weekend. Bah!! For those of you that know my family well, you know that this is BIG news. Basically my daughter la la loves Elmo, Abby, Zoe, and Ernie haha. We left Boston the day that Elmo Live was coming to town and I was so sad that I couldn't take Elmo's biggest fan...and his daughter to the big show haha. So, when the radio host said that caller 10 would win tickets to the big show this weekend, I couldn't help but try. I called...busy, then I called again...busy, then I called one more time...ring, ring, "hello, you won!!" I couldn't believe it! I won. I've never won anything on the radio before ever, and come on, its Elmo tickets. I was so excited and I might have called everyone I know to tell them the exciting news. Why is it that when you have a child making them happy makes you happier than anything else? I spent all week just thinking about how happy Ellie would be to see Elmo in real life. I honestly couldn't contain myself. So, when the big day came we woke up early like it was Christmas haha and headed up to Ontario. We had the privilege of bringing Carder with us for the big day. It is safe to say that we all had a blast!!

Can you see the excitement in my bunny's face lol

Ellie kept saying "Zoe! push, Zoe!" and wanted to push all the buttons to hear her favorite characters talk.

When the sesame street characters came out Ellie literally ran after them yelling "wait,wait!!" She was so excited to see Ernie, Zoe, and Cookie!

This was Ellie's initial reaction to the show.. how cute is she?

Cardy loves him some cotton candy

I know I'm in that stage when you aren't sure if I'm fat or pregnant...I'm pregnant ok.

It's True...

Leon and I are going to be parents again.

I love this picture of Leo and Ellie. I think it portrays a myriad of emotions felt as a first time parent. The pure love between parent and child, the dependence on each other, and the peace and comfort felt in each others arms.  Every time I look at it I'm reminded of that beautiful time in my life when I first felt the sparkle of motherhood. It changed me. She changed me, in every way a person can be changed. The love I felt and still feel for this little princess of mine is unmatched in all the world. She is perfect for me and there is never a day that I do not thank my Heavenly Father for the opportunity I have to be her mother.

The thought of another child is absolutely exhilarating. I remember when we brought Ellie home, thinking that I needed a million more. The only problem with this whole second child thing is that I'm not making another Ellie. I keep thinking to myself, "what will this baby be like?", "will this baby be as cuddly and cute as ellie bean?", "is ellie going to feel jealous of all the attention the baby will need?", and of course the dreaded "how in the world could I ever love another human as much as I love Elle?". I know, its awful and my sister in law told me not to be silly because its not like you run out of love. Duh, right? But I just can not wrap my mind around the fact that another child will be joining our family and I am going to love him/her just as much as I love ellie.  Don't get me wrong. I have always been a lover and you definitely don't have to twist my arm to be enveloped in my heart. But with Ellie, I had never experienced motherhood before, so I never knew what was in store for me. And then I realized that Heavenly Father sent me the best of the best. I mean, to have that happen to me twice? I just don't know if I'm that lucky.

It is safe to say we are beyond excited. Ellie is obsessed with babies, so I know she will just die of happiness to have a real one in our house. I told her that I have a baby in my belly, so naturally she thinks she has a baby in her belly too (because we are best friends and everything I do she does too right?). She will lift up her shirt and touch her belly and say "shh baby". It is the cutest. Of course Leon is rooting for a boy, but I think that every girl needs a sister and am hoping it will be a girl. And let us be honest here, Leon CANNOT get enough of his girl and I would love Leo to have his athlete. So, we will be happy either way. I think the hardest part is choosing a name. With Ellie, I knew basically the moment I saw the plus sign on that little plastic applicator that it was Ellie in my belly, haha. And from that moment forward always referred to her as so.  But with this baby, I have no idea. I especially have no idea what to name the little rascal. 

This pregnancy has been much different than Ellie's. I get zero heartburn (knock on wood), I haven't had too much pain in the round ligament arena (I'm thinking I stretched those babies out nice and good last time and they shouldn't be too much of a problem this time around), but the nausea/vomiting is epic. I have been vomiting for three straight months. And nothing helps. It is awful and the worst part is that I get sickest when i don't eat, so naturally I have to keep my stomach full at all times. I might as well pick out my cow bell now right. ugh not fun. But, whatever, as long as the baby is healthy, I will embrace the curves that come along with the process. I am definitely not one of those women who loves being pregnant. I appreciate the process and that end result is priceless, but the whole gain 90lbs, cry over every bump in the road, wake up to an excruciatingly painful chest, go to the bathroom more times than can be counted on your fingers and toes in a day, never sleep through the night, sleep all day is kind of exhausting and it makes you appreciate your non pregnant self.

Baby is due in October and we are ecstatic. Hopefully now that I am well into my second trimester I will start feeling better and we will agree on a name soon. Let us know if you have any suggestions. We love and miss you all and hope to see you this summer!

Muah

Love,

Us  

Two Years...

Full of ups downs and all arounds. Leo and I will have been married for two years tomorrow. Can you believe it? Haha I know, it feels like so much longer to us too. We have always said that if we can make it through these first two years we can make it through anything.  And after all the sacrafices both of us have made to get through graduate school and be parents at the same time, we are almost done with the two hardest years of our lives!! 

I think we can both say that there is no one else in the world who can push our buttons like our spouse. No one who makes us more crazy, more miserable, more frustrated than the person who sleeps on the other side of the bed.  But I am positive that we will also both admit that no one else understands, comforts and loves us like our partner. No one shares the same jokes, dreams, and believes in us like that crazy person who married the other. All of our happiness is found in this little family that we chose to build. How grateful I am to have Leon as my husband and my daughter's father. We are the luckiest girls in the world.

Here is to two years full of life and love, and to many more that will build us into the people we have always wanted to be. And here is to the beautiful family that the heavens have blessed and will continue to bless us with. 

Love you BZ.