Halloween 2010

This year was our first Halloween outside of Utah. We really missed taking part of the annual costume birthday party for my Dad, and gathering together on Halloween night for trick or treating and chili...but we ended up having a really fun night anyway!

We went to my friend Erika's house along with her sister Heather, their parents Becky and Pieter, their grandparents, and another friend Liz. The funny thing is Liz, Erika, Heather and I all grew up on the same street in Utah so it was a little reunion for us all. It's crazy we all ended up so close to each other in Arizona. Plus, Brinley was good friends with Liz's son Garrett in Utah, so they were excited to see each other again. And yes I was the only adult who dressed up. Not even Rob wore a costume, he said he didn't want to be the only adult dressed up, since we knew the others weren't planning on it. Ummm...what about me! Well, I didn't care, it's Halloween and I love dressing up!

We hung out on Erika's front driveway, and ate pizza and breadsticks. The kids all played together and then we went trick-or-treating. The weather was great, not cold and rainy like Utah:), so that was a plus! We finished off the night with pumpkin pie.

Here's Meggie with Heather's daughter Hailey, and Erika's son Elijah. Meggie dressed up like a fire-fighter, she looked so cute!!! You can see the soot she got on her face from all the smoke! Brinley and I dressed up as Cleopatra...twins. We both had the same costume from different years, and Brinley thought it would be fun to both wear them this year and be twinners! It was really fun being little costume partners.

Robi got to wear a Halloween outfit I got from work. Someone donated a couple outfits for the babies in our nursery to wear for Halloween. The only problem was the outfits were 3-6 month size, and the babies we had were all between 4-5 pounds. So...they didn't quite fit, and I was able to bring one home for Robi. She looked darling, even if it wasn't exactly a costume. I don't think she minded though.

There were a lot of kids between the four of us, and they all had a great time together. Erika had a baby girl about six weeks after I did, her daughter Savannah is holding her, and Brinley is holding Robi.

I love Halloween! Dressing up and finding costumes is so fun!

Robi Nicole Guillena

August 5, 2010

• Well, it happened... another Guillena/Roper girl...with a little bit of modern medicine help. Thank goodness for pitocin. I got to experience quite a few new things with this delivery: prostaglandin gel, IV pitocin, sciatic nerve pain, my water breaking before an epidural, an IUPC (inter-uterine pressure catheter), and an amnioinfusion.

• I was on a waiting list for an induction August 4th. They called me at 3pm, and we arrived at the hospital at 4:45 after getting everything ready to go and dropping the kids off. They started my pitocin at about 6pm, but by 9pm still nothing was happening, so they stopped it and started giving me prostaglandin gels. I had to get up and walk around after each one. I got this terrible pain down my legs, we think it was because the baby was pushing on my sciatic nerve. It was almost impossible to walk.

• They restarted my pitocin at 4am, and were expecting my labor to really take off...it didn't. At 7am they broke my water...wow that was a lot of warm fluid...and told me my labor would really take off, and I would probably have the baby by 11 or 12...nope.

• My progress was really slow, and every time they checked me, they were surprised at my lack of progress, but reassured me that it was going to just get to a certain point and then go so fast. Well, my doctor had to catch a plane at 5pm to present at a conference in California the next day. So, we were really hoping to have a baby before he had to rush off to the airport.

• Finally at 3:47 pm I was 9 cm dilated, and the doctor was able to push that last lip past the babies head so I was a 10. Then one push later and our newest daughter entered the world at 3:48 pm. Just in time. It only took 22 hours, but it was worth it. She came out with a nice good cry, (I'm a nursery nurse, I love to hear that cry), and I got to dry her off myself. She is our smallest baby, 6 pounds 5 ounces, and 20 inches long.

• Brinley and Meggie love her to death. I have to tell Meggie to stop kissing her, and every time Meggie talks to Robi, her voice goes up about 2 octaves. So far she is a really good baby. She is nursing really well, sleeping really well, and hardly cries. I guess we got lucky 3 times. We all love her very much and are so glad she is here...(especially me, it's so nice not being pregnant anymore.)

Desert Botanical Gardens

July 31, 2010

Our library offers culture passes to visit local attractions and museums for free, and we found one for the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix. We'd heard it was a neat place to visit so we thought we'd give it a try. Plus, I figured all the walking might help get the whole having a baby thing move along....(no such luck).

We did have a great time though. It was a cool day in Phoenix, only in the 90's, and we spent the evening walking around the gardens. We saw a ton of really neat cacti. There were tiny ones, and giant ones, and some that looked like snakes swarming all over the ground and surrounding trees.

We saw lots of desert wildlife...birds, lizards, a squirrel, cotton-tail rabbits, one jackrabbit, a bullfrog, a great-horned owl, a little toad (more on that later), and a huge black Palo Verde Borer Beetle.




After the sun went down we went on a flashlight tour, to learn about the desert after dark. As we were walking down a path in the dark, Rob suddenly exclaimed that he stepped on something. We searched the path with our flashlights, and saw a little toad belly up on the side of the path. The poor thing had its little pink tongue hanging out of its mouth. Of course the girls, and me too, were all sad about the poor little dead frog. One of the workers came over to see "what we had found!" and when she saw it she said, "Oh, dear....well.....we better get someone over here to scrape it up." Just as she finished saying this, the toad twitched, jumped up, hopped down the path and into the foliage. Huh. I could've sworn that thing was dead, and Rob says he really stepped on it... with all his weight. I just wish we had taken a picture before it came back to life.




Enjoy the pictures...especially the pregnant ones...baby came 5 days later, and hopefully these are the last pictures we will see of me pregnant.

June days...

This week in the Guillena family....

We went swimming on Monday at the city pool down the street. They had a lazy river, a couple waterslides, a kiddie play area, and 2 diving boards!!! Brinley wanted to jump off the diving board, so she jumped a few times. Then Meggie really wanted to jump. I asked the lifeguard if there was an age limit, and she said there wasn't, as long as she can swim. So...our little Megger jumped off the diving board...over and over and over again. It was actually pretty funny to see such a little girl jumping off, but she just loved it! She probably jumped off 10 times or so.

I spent a good 3+ hours at the Doctor's office on Tuesday. My 1 hour glucose tolerance test came back high, so I had to go in for the 3 hour. I couldn't eat or drink anything for 8 hours before the test. My regular appointment was at 1pm, so I figured I could go at 10am and be done at 1pm for my appointment. So, I didn't eat, or drink....then I was busy at home with the kids and stuff, and then it was 11, then 12, and I figured I would just do it another day. But, I still hadn't eaten so I decided to just do it anyway. I didn't get the first poke til 1pm, so I was there starving until 4pm...and they wouldn't even let me drink water. Uggh. Anyway, the good news was I lost one pound since my last appointment. The doctor didn't think it was good news, but I did! It couldn't have anything to do with me being on a 18 hour fast or anything.

Work is going pretty well. It has been really slow here lately without a lot of babies in our nursery. I did get to give my first baby bag/mask ventilation at a delivery though. It wasn't as exciting or scary as I thought it'd be, and the baby turned around pretty quick and started crying and breathing on it's own. I guess that's what's supposed to happen though :)

We are all getting excited and anxious for our new addition. Especially me. I can't wait to not be pregnant! Brinley's latest name for the baby is Elizabeth, and Meggie's is Emily. Yea, we're not using either of those. Rob is still set on Robbie. I don't have any strong feelings one way or the other. Nothing seems to stick or feel right yet. So...if anyone has any great name suggestions send them our way.

We are enjoying the Arizona heat...mostly. It hasn't been too bad. Most days are around 100 degrees. But we haven't hit the 110 mark yet. We will see how the summer goes...and the air conditioning bill.

Meggers

I just thought I'd post a couple of the crazy things Meggie has said lately... she is such a funny little girl who makes me laugh every day. She asked me, "at nightime does the sun go into the trees or under the ground?" good question...

One day last week she informed me, "mom, I saw a pregnant cow in my coloring book that had two babies on it's back!" While I was puzzling over this Brinley helped me out by telling me it was a camel. Well, yea of course...

After church one Sunday I asked her what she learned about. She told me all about the Holy Ghost and how he helps us feel warm when we do good things like sharing...she then followed this by saying, "that means that Brinley needs to let me play with my her toys anytime I want so she can feel the Holy Ghost"...again, makes perfect sense to me...how generous of her to want that special warm feeling for her sister:)

Meggie is an amazing little girl, and her smile and happiness bring me joy. I am so grateful for both her and Brinley. I really do have the best girls ever.

California Trip

The last weekend in March we all drove out to California for my good friend Amanda's wedding. We all wanted to go and since Rob had school Friday, and Monday, and the wedding was Saturday, it was just a quick little trip. We left Friday afternoon about 4pm and got into Fountain Valley, CA and our hotel at 10:30pm. The next morning we got dressed, made a quick trip to Walmart for black socks for Rob, and headed to the Newport Beach Temple. The temple, the ceremony, and Amanda were all beautiful. After taking some pictures at the temple we went to lunch and drove down to the water at Newport Beach. Since we were all dressed up we didn't go onto the sand, but just seeing the ocean was fun. I love the ocean and the beach, it just makes me happy to see and smell and hear it.

We headed back just in time to get to the wedding reception. It was really nice and the kids got to sit at their own table away from us. They actually behaved themselves pretty well alone, and they loved the dancing. I'm so glad we got to make the trip. Amanda and Luke are amazing people, and it was great to see them happy and married.

The next day we decided to head back to the beach before we had to drive home...

We had a great time, the weather was perfect and sunny, and the kids were able to play in the waves and the sand.

Brinley and I made Meggie into a shell Mermaid. She looked so cute!! The girls loved finding seashells, and there were many to find.

Brinley loved chasing the waves, and having the waves chase her.

We didn't want to leave but we pulled ourselves away for the long drive home so I could work and Rob and Brinley could go to school on Monday.

Chipmunks

So...we were driving to California for my friend Amanda's wedding and Rob made a radio station on Pandora called "Alvin and the Chipmunks". For those of you familiar, these are the annoying little chipmunks in the new movie singing a bunch of current songs....but the kids love it! Anyway, Rob said to Brinley, "How do those chipmunks know how to sing so well?" and Brinley in all her 8-year old wisdom patiently told him, "Dad, I know those chipmunks are not really singing and talking for real, I know that.... but how do they get them to move their mouths and dance?" At this point I was really laughing. I told her they weren't real chipmunks and Rob told her they put peanut butter on the tops of their mouths and ants in their pants. Guess who she believes?

"Mom, those chipmunks really are real chipmunks...I just know it."

BRINLEY!!!

We were looking at old pictures on the computer today and found these ones of Brinley. Rob really wanted me to post them to the blog....so here you all are for your viewing enjoyment...

...just don't tell Brinley. She will be so mad!!!
Here is one of her at the Phoenix zoo last October. We don't know who this woman was but the picture is so funny!


We love Brinley!

Arizona Agriculture Day

I was searching online for cheap family activities and I found out about Arizona Agriculture Day a couple saturdays ago. It was here in Glendale, and admittance was free for kids and $2 for adults or 2 cans of food...and they also had $1 lunch (pork sandwich, coleslaw, beans, carrots, radishes, an orange, cookie, and milk)...wow! We got to learn about milk, vegetables, pork, beef, and all the many products grown here in town. We rode on a hay wagon and visited farm animals. How could we say no to that? It was great and the weather was really nice, right before it turned cold and rainy for days.

This is Brinley feeding a horse...I love her double jointed elbow in this picture!

There was a box full of chicks the kids could pet and hold. It was completely surrounded by kids grabbing them and picking them up with one poor teenage boy trying to exert some rules and control. He wasn't having much luck and I'm surprised there were no dead birds in there...but the girls sure loved holding them!


There were also rabbits. The girls got to hold this one. I don't think they have ever held a rabbit before so that was fun and exciting!

This is us waiting to ride the hay wagon. Notice the huge belly...just kidding, I guess it's not that big it just feels like it to me. I feel like I am getting bigger everyday. I am starting to feel the baby move quite a bit now too. It is kinda weird to feel it, even though I have done this twice before.
Overall, we had a great time at Arizona Agriculture Day, and look forward to attending again next March!

Sisters

Not too far from our house is a duck pond, it's on the way to Brinley's school. Here is Brinley and Meggie getting along and happy together....

and here they are two seconds later doing what they do best...

oh well...at least it's usually a 50/50 time split.

Sunday

This is kind of a test. I'm just trying something. But...today was stake conference, and Elder Hale spoke. I thought it started at 9am and Rob started at 10am. We were running late and didn't get to the church until 9:10...so instead of being 10 minutes late we were 50 minutes early. At least we got a good seat!!!

Wow I have one follower....cool! Thanks Mom!
Well, this week had been kind of eventful...or as eventful as a week can be when you are not working, have no money, and taking care of two kids. Our neighbor below us came to meet us...well maybe not meet us...yell at us. She is just a concerned neighbor who's adult son just had a stroke and is in a new transition in his life, and the running around all day long is just driving him crazy and ....lala....on and on...you get the picture. Well, we'd been here like 4 days and it's just tiny Meggie here with me all day. How much noise can she make? She doesn't weigh anything! Well, anyway we are trying to be more quiet. Meggie just runs everywhere she goes.
Meggie is also learning to ride her bike that she got for her birthday two years ago. It's about time. She and I went to pick up Brinley one day on her bike. I had to have one hand on the back of her neck pushing her, and the other had on the handlebars to keep her out of the grass on one side of the sidewalk and the rocks on the other. It was a long ride for my back and my patience. The next day we went, she actually got it! I couldn't believe it. She is now faster than I can walk. She was pedaling and steering like a pro. She especially likes to go down the roller coasters (hills in the walking path by the duck pond near our house and Brinley's school). The only problem is she hasn't figured out the brakes yet. She was going full speed down these hills and making me a little nervous, especially when I could see the bike starting to shake and tip side to side. I am trying to teach her how to use the brakes to stop or just go slower. We are making slow progress, and she only fell 4 times that day. One was a real head over heels crash that involved lots of tears and a Hello Kitty bandaid.
Our next adventure occurred yesterday. I guy in Robs dental class organized a day of fun for people in the class with rappelling, BBQing, shooting, and sodium explosions?. We decided to meet them for just an hour or so while Brinley was in school. Rob got driving directions online, we picked up another student that Rob knows and headed out to the Arizona desert and mountains. To make a really long story short...Meggie threw up in the backseat (thank goodness I had one of my throw-up bags in my purse), the directions we had were completely wrong and we drove for four hours before coming back home without ever finding Rob's classmates. Then as we were pulling into our parking lot Meggie threw up again...this time without a throw-up bag. Wow, what a fun day...but at least Robs young single friend got a little taste of parenthood and the joys of carsick kids.
Sorry this is ending up being really long....oh well! Brinley is loving school. She is making lots of friends, big surprise! It's almost like being in Utah. When I have gone to pick her up or drop her off, we get a lot of "Hi Brinley's" and "Brinley....hi!" and waves. Of course she usually doesn't know who any of these kids are. She had a read-a-thon yesterday and had a lot of fun. Well, talk to you all later!!! We sure don't miss the Utah cold and snow. It's great being able to go out and play and not freeze!

Ok, Katie. I am going to try this. I have no idea what I am doing though. I was thinking that a since everyone else has a blog I should too. Especially since we are out of state now. Well, here goes...