Christmas Time

Ah there is a nip in the air, which meant this year Christmas was here. I can’t believe that it has come and gone already, and what a year it has been. I wasn’t even prepared this year and poor Paul suffered from it. I swear he will get some presents soon. Christmas this year was different of course, we had our beautiful baby Elleanor there which was awesome. She had a great time haha well at least I think she did. We dressed her up in a little reindeer outfit she was adorable. Christmas Eve was spent at my sister-in-laws house and it was a great time being with Paul’s family. We ate great finger food and played some Harry Potter Uno. Uno is friggen awesome, and the way the Thatcher’s play is pretty intense. Any ways played Harry Potter Uno for a while and then my sweet baby had a melt down because she was exhausted, so we went home. After the little one was in bed Paul and I enjoyed some time together after he did his last minute Christmas shopping for our niece and nephew I told you we were terrible this year. Christmas morning came bright and early because the little kids could not wait to open their presents from Santa.






It’s great to watch Christmas through little kids eyes. They were so excited and it was so fun to watch them open their presents and be so excited that they had been good enough for Santa to drop by. Paul hooked up out nephew with a gatlan battery powered nerf gun that shoots 25 bullets at you. I think it was a bigger hit with all of the adults then it was with the kids. The morning was great, but yet again we had a fussy baby. (she is going through a growth spurt) Later that night we headed over to Paul’s parents house to have a nice Christmas dinner of Mexican food! Haha which was great because I love it. Elleanor was able to meet her Great Grandparents who just adored her. It was a great night and we were able to enjoy the whole family which was great. I love being around family its nice to have the extra help and support that they all offer. It was a nice quite Christmas and I can’t believe another one has passed. I am especially thankful for the best gift I could have ever received my sweet daughter. She has been such a blessing in my life and I can’t believe that she chose me to be her mother. I never thought I could be this happy, this tired, and this in love with someone. I am thankful for the Christmas season and her birthday so close to it to make me remember what Christmas really is all about.

Elegant Elleanor

Holy Lanta I am a Mommy! I know its been months and I am a terrible person but I am finally updating haha if I even have anyone who reads! Haha Any way so the store of our sweet babies arrival begins on the evening of the 5th of December. I guess I was going into labor but I was convinced it was gas or my back was just aching from taking Dexter on a killer long walk earlier that night. Anyway, about ten that night I am having some pretty intense "back pain" that seems to be coming about every 2-3 minutes. I called my mom and dad and talked on the phone with them while Paul sat on the floor and timed the contractions. I lapped around the downstairs as I tired to convince myself that nah it couldn't be time although she was a week overdue! Paul and I got into bed around 11:30 and tried to sleep. Wait let me rephrase that. I tried to sleep Paul straight passed out haha! Lucky man that sleep came in handy later. I am sure I got some sleep but I was awake at 1 and about ready to DIE or so I thought. I tried to walk through those contractions and was reduced to tears. I thought I was tough but I have never felt anything like that before. Finally at 2 I woke up Paul when I couldn't handle it any more. Paul got up in a flash and was dressed before I finished yet another contraction. I ask Paul if he had gotten the car seat in the car and before I knew it he was out of the room and outside. By now I just wanted my mom so I called her and woke her up telling her she better be on a plane in the morning because I was in labor. My mom talked me through some of the contractions as Paul ran around the house getting things ready for us to leave. Poor Dexter was so confused he had been following me around trying to figure out what was going on with his Mommy. Paul threw our poor disoriented sleepy puppy into the crate and we were out the door. Paul drove really fast I even had to have him slow down because the curves we take to get down to the highway were making the contractions even worst haha! We made it to the hospital in record time and walked into the ER and it was empty which was great because I was ready to get thing moving. We got all checked in and then we wait and waited and waited like half an hour in the waiting rooms which SUCKED because I was IN PAIN! Finally a nurse came down to take us up to our room! I walked the whole way to try and walk through the pain haha! We got up to our room which was one the 14th floor and had an amazing view of Tacoma but I didn't really check it out. One of the night nurses came in and she was amazing! She did deliver shocking new to us though! I was only ONE YES I REPEAT ONE centimeter dilated! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!! She told us that we had to walk around for a while and if I didn't progress they would send me home with some pain meds and tell me to come back later. I wasn't about to let that happen so Paul and I walked around in circles for what felt like forever but I only lasted like 20 minutes. I went and laid down and waited for the nurse to come back in and tell me I had to go home. Lucky I was dilated to a 3 and ready to start this process. She asked me if I wanted some pain killers to help with the contractions. Um hello yes! I got some drugs and then she drew me a bath . Crazy right? Uh no it was amazing I sat in the bath for like 2 hours and it was ten times better in there. By seven in the morning they asked if I was ready for the epidural? Um yes I thought I could go natural turns out I am not as he woman as I thought. I got the epidural and it wasn’t scary at all. My lady just talked through the whole thing and I didn’t feel it at all. After I got that I felt amazing and passed out till like 9:30. Nurse came in told me I was getting a does of pitocen to help move things along and I am not even joking you 3 hours later I was fully dialted which shocked everyone! I asked if we could wait for my mom she should be landing any minute but it didn’t work out Elleanor was ready to come. Luckily I had Paul and my amazing sister in law McKenzie there to help me through the process. Birth was awesome I had an amazing experience. I am not going to lie for me birth was super easy I only pushed for 30 minutes and Ms Elleanor showed up all by herself. They placed her right on my chest and I was instantly in love. She is so beautiful and she is all mine. The feeling of love was so over whelming of course I was reduced to tears. She was yelling so loud when she came out and when they placed her on my chest and I spoke her name she stopped crying. She knew me and it was amazing. Needless to say she has been a dream and I am beyond in love with my little one.

Vacation Part One

This is our excited faces! You maybe thinking why do Rachel and Paul have these wonderful smiles on their faces??? Well it's because we had just signed all the paperwork for our house! OMG we did it! We made it through and our house has a brand new roof! Yea it finally happened! It was a whirlwind of a day, not only did I have to combine both my breaks with my lunch to make sure I had enough time to sign Paul had to drive the 3 hour drive from Hanford to make sure we were able to meet each other on time! I was thrilled so was Paul even though his smile isn't as, as excited! He was tired from driving haha! After the signing I had to jet back to work and Paul had to get everything ready for us to leave for Vegas that night! It was a crazy day! After I got home from work we seriously had to jump into the car and head to the airport to go to beautiful Las Vegas! It was awesome flight and we got into Vegas around 10 and it was a friggen 109 degrees! Are you kidding me! Yea it was insane! It was so nice to be home and see my mom and dad! It had only been a few months but it felt like longer! So we made it home my mom basically undressed me the second I walked in the door because she wanted to see my belly! IT was funny but she was excited to see her grandchild!! Well after hardly any sleep Paul and I drove up to Provo, Utah to see one of my very best friends Ashley and her husband Seth! They are having a baby boy in the next few weeks and we wanted Ellie to meet her future husband in the womb! Ashley and I were reunited after almost 2 years of not seeing each other!! It was great to sit down and talk to someone who is going through exactly what I am going through! Her sweet baby boy sits on the right side of her belly and its crazy! Paul and Seth were very happy to see each other they always have a great time together! Saturday night we went out to dinner at Tucanos and OMG I PUT EVERYONE TO SHAME! Being prego has made my appetite shoot through the roof! Tucanon's was amazing! Meat after Meat after Meat with some pineapple! I loved it! IT was soooo good and sitting down with Ashley and Seth and talking about the future! IT was crazy because it's super scary to think that we are both going to have this huge life changing events happen in the next 1 to 3 months haha! After dinner we went up to Sacaqw Peak or something like that. There was an awesome thunder storm rolling in, and we were able to watch the the lightning strike and it was pretty awesome! What a cool thing to see! Then we went back to their house and watched the BEST D movie Splice you should probably check it out! It was a great catch up weekend although it was only for a few days it was great to spend time with one of my favorite married couple friends haah!

HUGE NEWS!!!!

OMG we got our house! As some of you many know i have been lamenting over this house for months! It has been an epic battle to get everything taken care of! BUT WE FINALLY WON! Now I am going to talk about this sweet gem! Not only did we get it for a killer price but we also got A NEW ROOF, NEW WINDOWS, NEW CARPET, AND THEY REPAINTED THE WHOLE HOUSE!!! Uhh yea could I be more excited??? I think not! 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, a den and a bonus room I could not be more thrilled! This is the house that I see Paul and I raising our children in! It's in a cul-da-sac, our kids will be going to school with their cousins and we are right up up the road from Paul's parents. They love their grandchildren so it will be nice to have them so close! Paul and I also made our first big purchase for our home the Samsung 4 drawer refrigerator! Oh yes we have been saving and saving and we finally found our Fridge! OHH and it is BEAUTIFUL!!!!


We have been dealing with so much lately, with Paul being called back to Handford and the baby, the house being so uncertain for so long, just a whole lot. This weekend has been such a blessing to have things confirmed that if you stay strong and keep your head up good things will happen! As Paul and I drove to church this morning we talked about how lucky we were, and how many things we have to be grateful for in our lives. It's so true, he told me that we can't forget all the blessing we have been receiving although I won't lie I was feeling like we were being tired. I realized as I looked at my very handsome husband how lucky I was to have someone there to remind me all the things I had to be thankful for.
The Week with him being gone wasn't to terrible either, I had something going on almost every single night. I went to a new Dentist which is huge for me because I have had the same Dentist since I was 9 YEARS OLD!! IF you know me as well I am very skid-dish of doctors which means, I never go to the Doctor or the Hospital and I have avoided getting a dentist for over 2 years. Full blown panic attacks when I go to a doctor or someone I don't know I know ridiculous but its me and it drives Paul crazy! Apparently I under play everything which I have been trying to work on since we are having a child and I have been in a doctor's office once a month for the last 6 months! Anyways the dentist was awesome I really liked him and he actually turned our to be LDS which was a great topic haha!
I got to hit up a baseball game! It was for a retirement party for Gerald Gehring which is related to us through a cousin or something to that effect. Anyway the part was in a private box at the Rainers game which is Washington's minor leagues! OMG it was so much fun! Plus Paul got to come home and surpise me which was even better because I sleep terrible without him!



It's so nice to have so much family around and so many fun things to do with them. The game was good I think. I didn't really pay attention I was mostly just talking away and hanging out with all the cousins. We also had a new addition to our Family Laura and Gunner had there sweet baby girl Lydia!!! Gunner is one of Paul's cousins and I adore Laura she was a sweet baby omg so little! It was shocking! Most of the shockingness was the story that went along with it. She gave natural birth which I am most leaning too and pretty much scared the BEGEZZUES out of me! hahah but only time will tell how things go! I can't wait to see how this week goes! All I see is good things!

the last 3 months

Things are a changing....including my due date apparently I am ahead of schedule, little Ellie will be hopefully arriving November 29th! I am keeping my fingers crossed that this is true just because I would like not to have a baby in December as silly as that may sound its true I would rather focus on her birthday then her birthday and Christmas and New Years all in like 4 weeks so we shall see. I got to see her again and it was more magical then I remembered. Our sweet little baby girl was curled up on her stomach with her legs and arms all tucked in. She looked like a little turtle. This didn't bod well with us because we needed to get a clear shot of her heart. Thankful everything checked out with her heart I had been worried for a bit. Anyways she was sound asleep when I walked into my appointment and she did not want to wake up. The ultra sound tech had my lay on both my sides shake my belly and move around to try and wake her up haha! I was cracking up because I like when she sleeps. Those long little legs are getting powerful and she is taking things out on my kidneys! Well the tech finally took the little stick thingy and poked it into my belly until she finally started to move! haha it was soo cool watching her kick and feeling it! Her heart checked out and I got to find out that she is growing perfectly she is just as sweet as I remembered. Got some GREAT NEWS, I wish you could hear the sarcasm in my voice.......Paul is back at Handford. AGAIN. For the next three months working 5 tens and coming home late Friday night and leaving Sunday afternoon. So that means I get maybe 30 hours with my husband a week, as we move into my third trimester, into a new house, and start a new part of our lives. YEAH! Although an answer to prayers this is a hard pill for me to swallow. Our house is turning out to be a bigger pain in the ass yes I did say ass then we thought it was going to be. My hell if we could finally get this taken care of I will be singing off the roof tops! Thankfully I do have a 10 day vacation to Las Vegas coming up in 2 weeks and I can't wait to see my family! I have missed them dearly! Anyways back to the house Paul and I bought our first big ticket item we bought the fridge of our dreams! THE SAMSUNG 4 DRAWER FRIDGE! It's a beauty and I am in love! It was so great to be able to save for something that we wanted to so bad and then blow it all on one awesome thing! I am guessing I will be blogging more because I will have the nights to myself.....well me and Dexter I would be so lonely without my sweet boy!

Holy Crap

I am the worst blogger ever! I am so bad at writing even when I have so many things to talk about! So I will start from the start of the end of June. Paul and I went to the Mariners game with Dave, Kenzie, Ali, Rob, Mike and Emily! OH and I can't forget my sweet baby May! It was an awesomely fun game! I really didn't pay that much attention to it all I did was Eat and EAt and EAT!!! It was awesome it was so delicious!
Plus we got to hang out with all the cousins and enjoy the nice weather we had for like two days here in Tacoma. And I got to play with my sweet baby May! Boy do I love that child! If Paul and I hadn't had a bun in the oven and I met May I would have told Paul it is time to start a family! LOL She is that cute! Game was good we lost and are still on our losing streak! ohh well! The next weekend we went to Portland with the family! We drove down to go to the St. Paul Rodeo and it was a blast I tried all the most amazing food there AGAIN! Paul had a fried twinkie and I had A FRIED SNICKERS! AMAZING!!!!!! THats my snickers sooo good I snarfed that things down sooo fast! The rodeo was a great time and it was nice to get out of Tacoma and actually get some sun shine! We all even got in the pool and got some color which was awesome because I have wanted to go swimming all summer long and it was finally warm enough to get in!! Portland was great we got to do a lot of fun things. We got our drivers license at Malibu Speed Track! It was huge go karts that were awesome! Kate was my little side kick and we rocked the track! It was a Blast! Relaxing in a hotel room and Rodeo it couldn't have been a better weekend! It only got better from there! We drove home on the 4th of July and got ready to hang out with Paul's family and Grandma and Grandpa's house to watch the air show over the sound and then head out to the gravel pit to set off fire works Dickson style. Which means a very unsafe style haha! It was such a beautiful day we were so lucky to have sun all day! We came home from our long weekend and Dexter was beyond excited to see us! Ashley can't love up on him like we can and he was more then happy to hang out with mom and dad for a litte bit! He spooned right next to Paul and they both passed out because Dang it we miss that dog when we leave! Aren't they so stinking darling! I love those two boys! After setting off the fire works at the gravel pit we boogied back over to the grandparents house and watched as the fire works went off over the sound! They were AWESOME and I had my sweet little Charlotte to keep me warm as well as Dexter! They were in love with each other! I love that he is getting a long with little kids so well! We had a great time watching the show and hanging out with family that was a 4th for the books a great time and SUN!!! After that my parents came into town the very next day! I know right I am the luckiest girl ever! They came down to come to the ultra sound with us to find out what Ellie was and for my Dad to ride the STP with Paul! Ohh the STP what a good time! Mom and Dad came to the ultra sound with us and it was Amazing so magical! but the best part was THE GREAT WOLF LODGE!! We spent a the night there during the second leg of the boys trip and it was SOOOOO FUN! i can't wait to go back! because it was amazing! Paul does this every year with his cousins he rides this huge bike race of 10,000 people from Seattle to Portland. This year was the year of the Mustache!!!! OMG yes that is my sweet man with a gnarly as heck beard! So awesomely gross! All the guys did it so it was pretty sweet and they looked awesome while doing it! While we hung out in the hot tub at the GWL some guys asked if they were a group of pirates or in a boy band haha! They went with pirates! All the guys did great but my Daddy pounded all of them into the GROUND! Literally beat all the boys 20 years younger then him! It was a proud moment for all of us! I was shocked at how awesome he did and so was he I think but he was awesome! I have never seen my dad so excited he finished strong and first!! It was a great trip and so nice to see my parents! I miss them so much! I can't wait till I get to visit them more often after this sweet babe is born! Aren't they adorable? Needless to say it was a great to have them around and have my parents be so excited to become grandparents! I still can't believe its happening but I sure am Excited that it is. Umm I am pretty sure that wraps up most of the exciting things we have done July was a pretty jam packed month and I am so glad that we had a few days of decent weather! THis summer has been CRAP I can't wait to go to Vegas the end of August adn enjoy some sun and some warmth! News on the house! Well we have everything in place to get the house! BUT Bank of America is being a bunch of d-bags and dragging out the process of getting us a new friggen roof! So although we have some place to move to we still can't because we need a roof! haha! Now we are just waiting and waiting KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED! So to end this never ending post I will leave you with my first ever baby bump picture where you can actually see something 21 weeks and counting!

Love at First Sight

Paul and I had our first ultrasound today, and we found our that we are having our sweet Ellenor Jay! Oh boy and is she a beauty! It was love at first sight for Paul and I both. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life so far. They showed us her for the first time and I had tears in my eye immediately. The whole time I have been pregnant it hasn't felt real and today it was. Still kind of not real because I can't seem to wrap my mind around it but a lot more real! She is a mover and a shacker our sweet babe is! She was doing somersaults all through my ultrasound and moving her little legs back and forth. I still can't feel her move but she is an active baby as far as we could see!! She is super healthy and looks ideal! Its seriously amazing all the technology we have now! I can't believe how much we saw of her it was awesome! I am in awe of this little girl and she isn't even here yet and won't be for a minute! But I am in love!

well hello there

ALRIGHT! So apparently at work they have unlocked the blogspot so this makes my life so much easier because I can then update while I work! Awsesome right?? Things in life have not yet come close to slowing down. Paul and I are still working on buying the house and have some SOO CLOSE to being finished! Our closing date is July 29th and Bank of America will be paying to give us a new roof! Thank you Bank of America for new carpets, new paint, and a NEWWWWW ROOOOOFFFF! I could not be more estatic! If only you knew I just helped two memebers right now! woohooiee this thing is great! So back on track we got the house everything is moving forward and we should be in our new place by August! I could not be more excited because I will have so many fun things to focus on! For one thing this house is riddleded in WALL PAPER! Whoever thought wall paper was a gem of an idea was off their rocker! It's in the kitchen and all the bathrooms in lovely floral designs and stripes! Its great! But that will afford me a lot of fun projects to get our house in working order! Plus I get a nursary! I get to paint it decorate it the whole nine yards and I have way to many ideas to start off with! I can't wait to find out what our baby Gaga is. July 7the big day and I am just dying to know! I am almost 98% sure we are having a baby and I think I am right because I have hard evidence or should I say HAIRY? If its a boy I will explain that story!
This will be if its baby Danger

And this for baby Ellanor

So cute right? But I am still toying with ideas. I am almost postive we will be doing a just little tree with woodland creatures. That will be the first thing to tackle in the new house and I can't wait! Well maybe the wall paper will come down first!

Other news... my parents are coming up from Las Vegas to do the big Seattle to Portland bike ride that Paul's partakes in every year. My dad deciced he wanted to fill the pain and is going to do it as well! The best part is we get to stay in the GREAT WOLF LODGE!!! Which has an indoor water park! Yes I am so excited because I am 5! haha My mom, Ash, and I will be the support team that basically gets to goof off all day and stay at the GREAT WOLF LODGE! Plus they will be up here when we find out what baby Gaga is so it will be a glorious occasion that I can't stop talking about!

Back to Baby Gaga so far being prego has been super easy for me which I am thankful for because I have seen it sucks for family and I am soooo glad that it has been as nice as it has. But I am having my first WHOOOOAAAA moment, and I will explain. As I got out of the shower the other day I looked down at my belly button and to my DISMAY it was on its way OUT! OUT.... YES I SAID IT! Granted its not sticking out terrible but it used to be a deep caveren of a belly button and now its not. haha only I have noticed but it is soooo scary to me because of THIIIIISSSSS!

DO YOU SEE THE BELLY BUTTON! ARE YOU KIDDING ME!
Kelly Ripa is sooo hot but what the heck happened to her belly button? I would die if this happens to me. Although I am pretty sure I am insane I still worry!

news

I am the worse blogger ever I am pretty sure of that, but I am updating and I have things to talk about now!


#1- Paul and I have a Baby on the way! Due December 1st
#2- We are in the process of purchasing a house
#3- Paul is and old man and his back is giving out, but thankfully no back surgery
#4- Dexter is awesome and I think he needs a little sister with 4 legs!
#5- I turned 23, had an awesome birthday plus got an awesome eternity band for my bday

I can't really think of anything else so those will be the top 5 for now! About number one, Paul and I are super excited. We find out the sex on July 7th and that day couldn't come any faster I wish that it would be tomorrow!

Lets see number two the house! So awesome Paul and I found a great house in a fabulous neighborhood that is close to both the in-laws and Paul's brother! Which is fantastic because we love to hang out with them! It's a beautiful two story house with a nice back yard 4 bedrooms plus a bonus room! All the windows and carpets have been replaced and it is selling for a killer price!!! Our inspection is tomorrow and we will then find out if everything is good and we can move in! Keep your finger crossed!

Oh number three! My poor baby is having some back issues running heavy machines your whole life will do that too you I suppose! Paul had an MRI this week and we found out that he will not have to have surgery which is a huge relief because of number one as you could guess why! But we are still doing physical therapy and will have to explore some other options on how to make it better because that man needs his sleep!

Our four legged friend and number four! For over a year Dexter has been our number one and only baby soooo adding a really baby with only 2 legs shall be interesting. I am worried about Dexter because he has been my main focus for soooo long and I think he deserves a pet don't you? A Boston Terrier to add into the mix maybe?

Ahh Me number five! I turned 23 holy moly i am getting old not really but if feels like it!!! Paul got me the best present ever! My wedding band which just happened to be an eternity band! ohh soo sexy and awesome! Ashley the fabulous older sister that she is got tired of constantly seeing me with my pants unbuttoned and my zipper down so she bought me my first pair of prego pants. Which i am not going to lie are a revelation because those things are sooo dang comfy. they don't really stay on my because i have no butt and not a really belly but I do enjoy the face that I can stick my stomach out and be gassy and no one can say a dang thing! I just blame it all on baby gaga!!

well that is all for now! i will have to post some pictures of my belly when it decided to make and appearance for now i just look like fatty magoo and people think i have gained weight! which is terrible! also when we get that house! FINGERS CROSSED PEOPLE!

yet another land mark!

Holy crap one year.....this is my shocked face!




One year in Washington, I can't grasp this at all! Has it really gone that fast I had no idea time could pass by so quickly without even noticing it had even slipped through my grip! So as i am driving home from a long day at work and the sun is finally shining after days of grey i decided that i need to document one year on my way home with a few simple pictures of where i have lived and live, though i still don't quite call it home its just not vegas!

Not to shabby if you ask me when the sun shines!