The Last Minute Holiday Shopper...

Every year during the holidays I make it a point to finish my Christmas shopping a week before Christmas. This year, not so much. My dad always waits until almost the last minute to do his shopping which would drive me nuts, but it's totally a "tradition" for him. This year even he's finished with his shopping before me. :-)

I have actually attempted three times to go out and finish my shopping. The first time I planned on going, but then I decided I was too tired and it was too rainy. I would have had to bundle myself and Addie up and get in and out of the car at multiple stores and that just takes too much effort. The second time was on Saturday. I was going to go in the afternoon, but them our Realtor called and was going to show us some houses, but that turned into a few hours of waiting for him to get back to us. Needless to say, we did not look at any houses and I did not get any shopping done. The third attempt was this afternoon. I picked up Mike at work to go to lunch together. We had a lovely lunch at Farmer Boys and then I dropped him off at the Honda dealership to pick up our other car. As I was driving towards our lovely mall I relaized I did not have the stroller because it is in back of the car I usually drive... the Honda... in the shop... not ready for me to drive yet. So sad.

My next attempt is tonight when Mike can watch Addie andI can get the shopping done a little bit quicker. If not, Mike may not be receiving and gifts until after Christmas.

Merry Christmas from our Family...

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Laundry...

Yesterday it was definitely time for me to do some laundry. I dread folding it, so this is what it looked like at the end of the day.

Before

After

Such a great face...

A Thanksgiving Post...

I have been super busy the last few weeks and forgot to post some pictures from Thanksgiving. I only have two pics form that day for some reason. The first one is Addie and me and Mike's cousin Kate and her daughter Alexis. Alexis was born exactly one week before Addison. The second picture is Addie helping me look at coupons for Black Friday! Enjoy!

Addie Speaks...

Well, maybe not words, but she sure has something to say. You can check it out here.

Going Green...

A few days ago Mike and I were talking about how we need to do a better job of "going green". For the past year I have been doing a few things to go green. I have switched over to environmentally safe cleaning products. We have reusable bags for Trader Joe's. I have been buying organic milk and I try to get other organic groceries. Our local Ralph's is a Fresh Faire Ralph's which means they have a lot of organic fruits and veggies and they buy some things locally. We also use energy saving bulbs in our house. We also recycle most of our stuff. I know we can do better and we are getting there. I am slowly switching to organic make-up, but since I don't wear it that often it is a slow process. Bare Minerals is a good brand. Anything that is a mineral powder is good. I am also heavily thinking about changing to g-diapers for Addison. I just have to figure out with the amount of diapers she goes through if we can do it financially.

I think it is important that we take care of the environment that God has put us to live in. HE wants us to take care of the environment. No matter if you think there is global warming or not we need to take care of this planet so that our kids (and us) don't have to live in a mess now and in the future.

Live from New York...

It's Saturday Night! If you know me you know that I love Saturday Night Live. Sometimes it a little too gross for me, but I have loved it when Justin Timberlake has hosted. I was just talking with someone about it on Sunday (I had not watched this last weeks episode yet) and told them one of my favorite sketches was "Bring it on down to Omletville." I also thouroghly enjoy "The Barry Gibb Talk Show." After having this conversation I watched Saturday's episode and this was the best I've seen on Weekend Update in a long time. For your own viewing pleasure:

My Favorite Reality Show...

The Amazing Race. I LOVE it! It is possibly my favorite show of all time. Although it's a race (no pun intended) between that and The Office. To move on and the reason for writing this post is that I have a goal to be on this show. I have never had a desire to be on any other reality show. It combines two things I love... travel and competitiveness and possibly a third... running. Now you may be wondering who I would run this race with. I'm sure you're thinking that Mike and I would be absolutely wonderful running this race together. Not a chance. I would probably get so frustrated with him it would not be pretty. Don't get me wrong I love my husband a ton and I think he is the most amazing guy, I just don't think we would work well on the race together. Next, if you know me, you might think I would take my mom. Nope. Again, love her a lot but I think we would just stress each other out.

My choice is my dad. My dad and I are a lot alike and he is super fit and athletic for being a man over 50. (If you read this dad, I love you!) Now, I like to think I am athletic, so I think that would be a bonus for our team. We would definitely be able to beat someone in a foot race. I have traveled internationally so I sort of know what that looks like. My dad has not. My dad will pretty much do anything unless he feels that it is going to harm him or his family. He's not afraid of heights and I am. He doesn't really like to eat weird things but I do. So, overall I think we would balance each other out. I've even asked my dad about it and he said he would do it with me. The only problem we have now is having an angle to actually get on the race. We could pull the whole, "My dad was gone working a lot when I was little and I never got to spend time with him and this is a chance for us to get to know each other." The only problem with that is my dad did work a lot when I was little, but I think we know each other pretty well. So who knows I guess we can just apply and see what happens. I guess I better go and start working out. :-)

This is the most recent picture of my dad and I and it's over a year old. So sad. My hair is cute though. :-)

What a Cutie...

Addie has grown so much in the last two months. The top picture is Addie when she was a month old and the bottom one is her at three months. You can check out more cute pics here.

Today...

did you?

Decision '08...

I just finished reading up on all the propositions and I think I have finally decided on my votes for all those. My final decision for president has not been made yet. I know where I am leaning towards, but I feel as though I need to look up some other issues and views this person has in order to make my final decision. I'm not someone who likes to share their political views, but I just thought I would let you know where I'm at. I may let you in on who I vote for if I feel like I can make a good enough argument to defend my choice. :-)

Pumpkin Patch...

We went to the pumpkin patch on Friday with my mom. The pumpkin patch at Live Oak Canyon next to the 10 Freeway is super awesome. They have u-pick pumpkin fields, pumpkins that are already picked that you can choose, horse rides/petting zoo, a corn maze, bounce houses (not my favorite), ATV rides, hay rides, and a hay castle. It just feels like fall when you go there. I bought Addie a tiny pumpkin and I got another small pumpkin for our house. Next year will be lot's of fun and Addie will be able to pick out her own pumpkin. Enjoy the pictures!

If you want an update on Addie you can click here.

Burning Ring of Fire...

Yesterday marked my first call to 911 and hopefully my last call. At about 4:45 yesterday afternoon I turned on my oven to preheat it for our dinner. When I saw that the oven was ready for the food I walked over to it and saw flames inside. I opened it up and looked to see that some oil that had spilled (from a previous dinner) was on fire. The flames weren't horribly big so I thought that maybe I could blow on them (I know I'm dumb... I was fanning the flame). This obviously made them bigger and I closed the oven. The flames went down a bit because of the lack of oxygen, but I thought I better call 911 to have the fire department come out and check on it. The 911 operator was very nice and stayed on the phone with me until the fire trucks arrived. He was very nice and we carried on some polite conversation. The fire trucks arrived a few minutes later. First a smaller "pickup" size truck came down, then the big fire truck and then on the main street next to mine was another one. They told the third one to leave when the saw my entire house was not burning down. My first initial thought when they arrived was that my house was messy and I looked like a mess. :-) They went in and I guess put it out. I didn't see since I was in the front room with Addie. They brought out a fan and some fire deodorizing spray and were gone within 20 minutes.

I am very grateful to the Riverside Fire Department. They were very nice and super cool about everything. Needless to say, I going out today and buying a small fire extinguisher. Oh yeah... and I'm scrubbing out my oven. :-)

Today is my Birthday...

28 years ago today my mom gave birth to me. Thank you mom for going through labor. I now have a better understanding of what hard work that is. :-) Last year around this time I made a list of 27 things to do before I turned 27. Here is that list and what I did and did not accomplish:

1. Read 27 Books (Fiction & Non Fiction)
I'm pretty sure I met this goal. I forgot to count. But I did finally finish Blue Like Jazz. I really liked it a lot and now I am making a goal to read a book I got at Christmas last year by Donald Miller called Through Painted Deserts.
2. Be a better leader
I'm working on this everyday, I hope that I have been able to lead students in a better way
3. Visit at least one new state
This one was shot down when I got pregnant
4. Run a half marathon
Same as above.
5. Write an article for a youth journal or something similar
I have many thoughts but nothing yet on paper
6. Write at least 10 scripts for youth ministry
I think I wrote one and I have this other idea that keeps floating around in my head and it's actually a musical of sorts.
7. Take at least 4 more graphic design classes
I have taken 1 and a half (I had to go on modified bed rest during my spring class). I will begin taking classes again this Spring
8. Work out three times a week
I was until I went on modified bed rest during my pregnancy
9. Play the keyboard/piano more
I don't think I played once this year.
10. Finish my wedding and college scrapbooks
Nope, but I did start on my London scrapbook.
11. Be an awesome wife
I strive to do this one everyday. Some days are good, some days are not so good. :-)
12. Buy my first house
Possibly starting this process soon.
13. Take a cooking class
Nope
14. Start a discipleship group with teenage girls
Nope
15. Buy a Mac computer
Nope
16. Be an awesome aunt
Trying.. I don't get to see my nephew that often though... so sad. 17. See a TV show taping in L.A.
Nope
18. Go back to London
Nope, not this year, maybe next year.
19. Go camping
Nope
20. Go on a week long vacation with my husband
Went on vacation to San Diego, not a week long but it was still nice.
21. Start designing stuff for people & churches
Nope
22. Eat healthier
Pregnancy helped this. Having my daughter did not. I'd say I did good about 3/4 of the year
23. Volunteer somewhere other than at church
Nope, but I would like to do this when Addie gets a little older and I can leave her for a little longer
24. Connect better with friends
Somewhat... I'm not the best friend. I'm super forgetful and a bit of a procrastinator when it comes to calling and emailing people back
25. Work on being less stressed
I think I did the best with this... I still get stressed about things, but I think I am doing better everyday
26. Ride Space Mountain at Disneyland
Pregnancy kind of shot this one down too.
27. Be more faithful in my quiet times with God
I did well with this until I had a baby... now I need to make more of an effort to find time to spend with God.

Overall, I didn't meet many of my goals from last year so I am not making a list for this next year. I am going to try to accomplish some goals without writing them down. I did have a baby thoguh and that was a long term goal so I think that can take over and count for like half of the goals I made last year. :-)

Brilliant Bows...

I have tried to put bows and headbands in Addie's hair from day one. At first all I had were some headbands from Target, but then I was introduced to Brilliant Bows. A girl I went to college with started this business and I love that she did. Thanks to someone giving us a gift certificate to the website we now have a whole lot more bows. If you have a daughter or know someone who does and they like to wear bows in their hair check out this website. They have all different types of bows and they are specially designed to fit either an infant or toddler. They are also great for infant girls who don't have much hair. She made sure of that. Check it out!

Addie loves wearing her bows:

My daughter likes shoes like her mom...

Some Addie Pics...

There is an update and some pics on Addie's website. Non-Addie post coming soon.

Addie...

To get an update on Addison you can go here.

If I had been born just a little earlier...

There is this website circulating around the internet right now called Yearbook Yourself. You should go check it out. This is what I would have looked like if I had graduated in 1974, which is when my parents did. I am putting a picture of me and then my mom in 1974 up and you can see the eerie resemblance. Well at least the hair. :-)

Sorry mom to post your picture. I think you look pretty though.

God Loves You...

God loves us no matter what, but how come we can't always wrap our brains around this? If you are a parent you love your child no matter what they do. Right? God loves us the same way, yet I think we just get into the daily routine of life and forget this (I know I'm generalizing and this isn't everyone). God loves us in a completely unconditional way. This means under any circumstance that we may encounter he loves us. This means that no matter how much we think we've sinned he still loves us. I try communicating this to my students all the time: No matter what you do God will always love you even if you feel like you have the crappiest life and it seems like no one is there. I write this because I know that there is a lot of hurting people out there and a lot of people who think they have to do it on their own.

So... remember today when you think you are all alone or you may have done something stupid that God loves you for who you are, flaws and all.

Check It Out...

My friend Sarah just started a blog. She's a pretty awesome person and amazing youth worker. Go check it out!

A Video

I figured out how to post videos on youtube and below is my first Addison video. I know I have now officially entered the mommy world when you can hear me talking in a higher pitched voice than usual on the video.



I hope you enjoyed this little video. I'm sure there are a lot more to come.

Some New Pics...

I have a few moments while my daughter is happily sitting in her bouncer to post a few new pictures of Addison. She is now 5 weeks old and still doesn't have her nights and days figured out, but hopefully she will figure it out soon. Enjoy the pics...

Introducing Addison Rose Lovato...

We Did It!

Addie has finally arrived! She came into this world on Wednesday, July 23rd at 5:28am. She was 20 inches long and 9 pounds 13 ounces. If you would like to see pictures of her you can check out her blog here.

Once I get the hang of this parenting thing :-) I will post more blogs.

I've got hobbit feet and I'm ready for some action...

My feet are pretty much swollen all the time right now unless I don't walk on them all day. When I do elevate my feet though the swelling goes down pretty much to nothing. I'm hoping that Addie will come any day now (actually any minute would be even better).

People keep telling me that "the first one always comes late." Not true. I came a week early and I was the first one. None of my moms kids came late. I'm pretty much set out to prove all those people wrong so I'm hoping this girl gets here within the next week. Even the nurses at my NST appointment saw that I was scheduled to come in this morning and they said they actually checked to see if I'd already had the baby. One of the nurses said that I've been coming in so long that she thought surely by now I've popped this baby out. Obviously not the case when they saw me.

I will be 39 weeks on Monday. Pregnancy is sooooo long the last few weeks.

In my family both my sister and I are born on our grandma and grandpas birthdays, my brothers birthday is the day before my other grandmas birthday. So, my moms birthday is Tuesday. I 'm thinking that Addie is just waiting to come out and share her birthday with her grandma.

Let's just hope she comes out soon, like tonight... or maybe tomorrow... because tonight would be too quick and I'm gonna need that epidural!

Kaiser must think I'm a single mom...

On Tuesday night I had signed up for a class at Kaiser. This class was all about teaching you to breastfeed your baby (sorry for the explicitness) :-) ! Mike and I had decided a while ago that he didn't need to come, after all he's not going to be the one feeding the baby so what would he really need to know. Apparently I didn't get the memo that said you should bring your husband because out of the 15 people that were there I was the only one without a significant other. It's a bit awkward to simulate feeding a baby with 7 other men in the room. (This coming from me and I'm not super shy about things). The nurse kept shooting me these sad looks every time she would say something about your spouse bringing you the baby at night, etc. I thought it was a little bit rude, but mostly funny. One of the other nurses had to be my partner to show me what it will be like when my spouse hands me the baby at night. This nurse preceded to ask me if my husband wasn't here because he was working. I said that he sort of was (he was supposed to be working on his message for Wednesday night). I told her he was a pastor and working on his message and she asked me, "Wow! How did you snag a minister?" I was a little caught off guard and told her we just happened to meet in college. After this we didn't talk again, so I didn't have to explain anything more to her. Overall, the class was pretty informative, but it's a bit hard to simulate feeding a doll as opposed to a baby that actually moves. We'll see how it goes. Hopefully soon! :-)

A website for our daughter...

I set up a blog to post pictures of Addie and to update people on her life once she arrives. You can check it out here. Enjoy!

Any day now...

Addison has three more weeks till she is supposed to arrive but I'm okay with her coming any day now. Everything is pretty much as ready as it can be for her to come. I'm excited for her to get here so we can see what she looks like. Above are some pictures of her room. All we have left is to get a mattress, but she won't need that for another month or so. All my tests have been looking good, so we just have to wait and see how everything goes when she finally gets here. Thank you for all you prayers and encouragement during this time. We truly appreciate it!

An Update on Addison Rose...

I'm sorry for those who read my blog that I haven't updated in a while. It's been a crazy few weeks. I have seven more weeks to go and everything aches. My back, my belly, my feet, my back, my sides. Did I mention my back? :-) I have to go in twice a week for non stress tests and every two weeks to a special doctor. They found some extra fluid by Addie's heart, so please be praying that she comes out healthy. The one great thing about going to the "special" doctor every two weeks is that we get to have new ultrasound pics of our daughter all the time. I'll post them below so you can see how cool they are and they also did those creepy 3D pics, but ours look pretty awesome and we didn't have to pay any money for them.

Our Baby is a Cutie...

I had to have another ultrasound today, which resulted in us getting to see more pictures of Addie. I will post them below. I would ask that you continue to keep us in your prayers because I have a few more tests and a doctor's appointment this week. I'll try writing a post to update you next week on everything that has gone on this week.

And now for the fun stuff:

This was cute because we got to see her little tongue moving. I'm glad to know that my kid has a tongue so she can eat and talk. Her face is turned to the side looking out at everyone. Her mouth and tongue are down by her arm.

This is the fae looking at us again. The large black area is her brain area.


This is a profile of her. That would be her foot. sticking up not what you may think. She is definitely a girl, but I decided I wouldn't expose her this time since her anatomy is much more defined. :-)


This was the most awesome pic which if you can't tell one of her feet.

She is already 3.5 pounds, which in all the books I read it says she should be around 2.5 or 2.7 pounds at 29 weeks. Either I'm further along or she's super big. We'll know more tomorrow. Once again, thanks for all your prayers during this time. They are very much appreciated.

2.5 Months to Go...

I am sooooo ready to have this baby. I am still on "modified bed rest" so my life hasn't been particularly interesting these last few weeks. I go on Monday to have another ultrasound to make sure with my high blood pressure and everything that Addison is growing right. I then go on Tuesday to see my midwife and hopefully everything goes well with her and all my blood work. Above are some of my seventh month pictures. Hope you enjoy!!

My Weekend...

My weekend was not a very exciting one but had a little more action than my week. My wonderful husband was gone at a retreat this weekend.

This is my husband after Mexico with the "lovely" beard he grew while down there.

.I had to have blood drawn on Thursday and this is what my arm looks like:


I think it was the lab techs first time becasue it took her forever to draw two viles of blood and she pinched my arm when pulling the needle out. Not to mention the lovely bruise she left for me. I have never bruised while giving blood before and I had to give five viles one time and it probably took the lady no more than a minute to take all that. It took this lady about two minutes. Oh well.

On Friday I hung out on my couch and my mom and sister brought me dinner. Then on Saturday my whole family (mom, dad, bro, sis) came over and mowed the front and backyards and cleaned up our patio and pulled about a hundred weeds. It was amazing. I love my parents. Not just because they did this but because they are just so willing to do those things at anytime. They also made it easier for Mike when he comes home not to have to do that. I don't have any before pics but it was pretty bad. The side yard was so bad my dad used the weed whacker to take the grass down to a normal level. My dad also felt bad because he weed whacked an alligator lizard in half. Here are some after pics and all the bags they filled up:

They also filled up the entire green waste can. It was pretty crazy.

In the afternoon my mom took me to get a pedicure. This was extremely nice and since all I was doing was sitting down during it we figured this could count as "couch" rest.

I apologize to anyone who thinks feet are gross, but mine aren't too bad in this picture especially given that I just had a pedicure.

I spent the night at my parents house and came home this morning to sit on my couch some more. And that folks was my weekend in words and pictures.

I'm a Couch Potato...

On Monday morning I had a regular doctors appointment. When I got to the nurses station she weighted me like they always do and took my blood pressure. I ended up having high blood pressure and I had gained about 11 pounds in three weeks. Now I know I'm supposed to gain weight during pregnancy but this seemed a bit odd. They weighted me about three times and took my blood pressure. After talking with my mid wife the end result was that they needed to take some more blood, (I had already had blood drawn before my appointment that morning.) and I had to do this thing they call a non stress test (NST). The non stress test is where they check my blood pressure and the babies blood pressure and also they check to make sure the fluids are all good. My test turned out great. Everything looked fine. My blood tests came back negative also. I was also put on couch rest. This basically means that I can go to the bathroom and that I shouldn't do any housework or stand for long periods of time. Needless to say, I have been pretty bored all week sitting on my couch.

I had to take another NST on Thursday and the nurse looked at me kind of crazy and asked why I still had to come in if all my lab results looked good. I didn't know, so she talked to my doctor and my doctor ordered one last test to see if I have high levels of protein in my urine. If this is the case I could possibly be developing hypertension in pregnancy (PIH) or preeclampsia. There are things they can do to help with these, but the best remedy is giving birth (weird, I know). It can be pretty common for women to get these things in their first pregnancies. So... from Friday morning to Saturday morning I had to collect my pee in a large jug and then drop it off at the Kaiser Lab on Saturday. It was sort of funny having to carry a large jug of pee (in a brown bag) to the lab and stand in a line for a few minutes.

I have a doctors appointment on Wednesday, so hopefully my lab results will be negative and I just had a weird moment of high blood pressure. :-)

My Husband...

He comes home tomorrow! Yeah!!!! I am so excited! He has been in Mexico all week building a house with about 25 other adults and students! I don't typically get too sad when he's gone because I can usually talk to him and update him on every detail of my life at the moment. Unfortunately he has no cell service in Mexico so I can't have any discussions with him until tomorrow. I did get a message from his intern Ben who went down for a day. That was nice, but not the same as hearing Mike actually deliver it. It will be soooo nice to have him back home and spend a few days hanging out and relaxing together because I'm sure he will need it. So, tomorrow at five I will be super excited to see my husband in all his glory covered in Mexico dirt and possibly a "beard." I'll post a picture if he has a beard. :-)

Obsession with the Belly...

Ever since people have found out I was pregnant they have had this obsession. The obsession is to pet my belly. I just don't understand why people want to touch it. They can't feel anything. She moves around just enough for me to feel her and even when Mike tries to feel her moving she stops. Side Note: Mike is allowed to touch the belly, but not for super long! My theory is that she doesn't like people touching my belly either, that's why she stops moving. I try holding my own hands in front of my belly so people don't touch it, but sometimes it doesn't work. They somehow sneak their hands in there.

When people ask me why I don't like it this is what I tell them:
" How would you like it if someone came up to you and started to pet your stomach area? It would be strange right? Yes, there is a baby in there, but when you touch my belly you are touching me not my baby. To me that's just a bit creepy!"

So, if you know me and you see me and you have the urge to touch my belly... please don't. I won't get mad, just a little weirded out.

We're having a...

This is what we sent to family and friends to let them know what we're having(I'm sorry if we didn't send it to you, but you can see it

Yesterday we went to have an ultrasound for our baby! Here are a few pictures from our day:

We're in the parking lot!

What are we gonna have?

It's a Girl!!!

Here are some “pictures” of Addison Rose Lovato, due July 28, 2008!

This is as if you are looking straight up from underneath the baby (as if she were sitting). That’s her girl parts it’s pointing at.

This should be self explanatory.

This is the face (yes we know she looks like one of the creatures from the Mummy Returns) and her hand is at the top of her head waving at everyone!

We’ll try to keep you updated as things get closer!

Love,

Mike, Nicole & Addie