More baby!

Tucker here again, with more pics of our new baby...get ready for the cuteness:

This is Lizette checking out her new nursery digs while getting changed (I apologize that she's not decent, but I couldn't pass up this pose):

Another cute outfit, made cuter by the yawning:

I thought this pose by Lizette was so funny.  This is our friend Jason, who brought us dinner (along with his fiance Jacqueline) one night...holding Lizette was the reward!  I promised him that I wouldn't let his mom see this (so that she wouldn't start bugging him about getting a baby of his own):

This balloon says it all (oh my goodness, that was cheesy):

She does this all the time when she's in the bassinet...she loves staring at those little teddy bears:

Lizette's first manicure given by me...looks like I could use one myself:

Another cute sleeping pose:

We've noticed it that she loves having the pacifier resting on her cheeks and lips; it doesn't actually have to be in her mouth...just close enough in case she wants it (I'm the same way with my cheesy peas):

Oh Baby!

Well, she's finally arrived - our new baby girl Lizette!  After 9 months and 3 days, 33 hours of labor, 2 epidurals, 1 c-section, and about a hundred meals at the hospitals Subway (since the hospital food tasted like cardboard...and not the good cardboard either), Lizette finally made her appearance in the world.  I'll let Rebecca tell the story of the whole ordeal (let's just say that it made our doula rethink her profession), but in the meantime, here are some cute pictures of our girl, who made all of this pain and agony worthwile:

Going home!!!

  The end of a long day...

 

Opposites do attract!

Last Sunday school class opened with a question for everyone to answer:  If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go?

Now, this is something I think of often.  I've been many places, but there are so many places that I haven't been too.  Do I want to go somewhere I've been before, but with Tucker this time?  Or, would I want to experience something new with him?  Turkey, is by far, one of my favorite countries.  Maybe I would go there again, but this time get to experience it with Tucker.  Or Egypt sounds so cool and different.  What about China though?  I've seen some beautiful pictures from China!  Or France could be nice!  France is one of the European countries that I haven't been to yet.  Ireland is gorgeous and it would be so fun to really relax in the countryside there....  So many choices!

Then, it was Tucker's turn to respond.  I perked up my ears to hear what he would choose.  Maybe he could help me narrow down the options. 
"I would have to say Amarillo."

WHAT!  Amarillo????  Amarillo that smells like cow poop if the wind is right and has winds that blow the dirt and pebbles against your skin?  You mean, Amarillo your hometown where you spent your whole life????

Although I realize that he's definitely not going to help me narrow down my options, I also realize that I just love this man!  He's so different than me, SO  DIFFERENT!!!  But, he's just so amazing and so good for me.  I love the new perspective he gives me and it's interesting to see how we can both interpret something as completely different.  He definitely keeps me interested!

3 years

3 years ago, I made the second best decision of my life (after trusting in Christ to be my Savior).  I married the love of my life!

I have grown to love you more today, than I did three years ago.  You have such a gentle, servant's heart towards me. 

You see me not for who I am, but for who I want to be.  You see my weaknesses and love them.  You see my strengths and celebrate them.  You see my heart and nurture it.

 My love for you grows deeper with every moment, day, and year. 

How to find good sushi

I  (Tucker, that is) was thinking today about what makes for great sushi..  We recently had a great sushi experience in New Mexico (ah yes, in the seaside community of Albuquerque), and this after a one-year hiatus after having a bad sushi experience (and having a bad sushi experience isn't like having a bad hair-day, but more like having a bad root canal experience).  But I was hoping to share with the masses how to avoid such a haunting experience:

• Avoid strip-mall sushi; instead, go for the free-standing-building sushi.  The great thing for strip malls is that they have cheap rent for stores that don't do a ton of business.  Free-standing sushi tells you that they have been there for a while, plan on being there for a while, and that other people like it.
• There is no such thing as good "discount" or "buffet" sushi.  It should be expensive (unless you live in Japan) because it means that they actually are using fresh fish that they bought that day.
• Avoid places with "Mr." in the title.  "Mr. Sushi" or "Mr. Tokyo" are just trying to dress up their bad sushi with fancy-sounding surnames.  Now, "Dr. Sushi" might be worth trying...
• It's okay if the sushi place has terrible decoration (like Christmas lights that are hanging up all year round)...it just means that they're spending more money on their food and less on their decoration, which is not a bad thing at all
• I think you need to get a recommendation for a sushi place before you go there.  There's so much room for error, it's in a different category than normal restaurants.  Would you go to a brain surgeon without getting a recommendation?  I hope not...otherwise, you're crazy, and should maybe think about getting brain surgery...hmmm...talk about a Catch 22...

Okay, no more sushi advice.  If I think of anything else, I'll add it to the list.  Next time, I'll try to get Rebecca to make a list about how to spot a good nail salon...I think you'll be surprised with how similar it is to finding a good sushi place...odd...

Pregnancy thoughts..well... what little's left of them...

I let out a heave and a "ho" and a few grunts while I'm turning or re-situating myself.  This doesn't mean that I'm indirectly saying, "Could someone help me."  It just takes a lot of effort and sometimes I let out a grunt.

It's amazing how much your feet can hurt from extra weight!

You're really not in control, really!

I now appreciate those "pointless" handles that cars have around the tops of windows.  They're very helpful actually!

Pregnancy's good for the ego.  People stop me all the time to tell me how beautiful I am!

Pregnancy's bad for the ego.  People tell me all the time, "You're huge!  Are you like due tomorrow?"  (Unfortunately, I started getting this comment at 8 weeks; regularly at 5 weeks.)

Women smile at me all the time.  I don't know if it's a pity smile or a "you've joined the club" smile. 

Scatterbrained, yep it's true!  The worst was me leaving my keys (which have my wallet attached) in the front door overnight.  Tucker found them the next morning.  He just laughed when he saw them (but I thought I maybe saw a tear rolling down his face too).

Toilet paper.... we use a lot!  I go to the bathroom every few minutes.  Tucker finally said, "I don't mean to be the toilet paper police, but we're going through it so fast!"  Then he explained to me how he thought I could be a more efficient user of t.p.  I've even thought of stashing some in my purse when we go to a friends' house, I mean, even the best hostess might not account for how much a pregnant lady uses!

Kegels.... very important!

Folgers commercials make me cry!  Tucker turned to me to make fun of one we saw, and was shocked to see a tear rolling down my face, "Well, she said that he was all the present she needed." (Have ya'll seen that one?  I actually saw it before I was pregnant and laughed at it's cheesiness, look who's laughing now!)

A patient, loving husband with a huge servant's heart....  very important!

Birthing Class

So our last birthing class was last night.  We talked about all kinds of fun stuff to expect after the baby comes.

We ended the class by watching a video of the baby after birth and things we could expect.  One section was the "poopy diapers."  I noticed that Tucker left the room and didn't come back until it was over.  I asked him afterwards and he said that he was getting faintish and thought he was going to pass out as he was watching them change the diapers.

So here's my question... if my husband passes out (just about) from watching a diaper get changed, how is he going to do during the whole labor ordeal?  Does this mean he gets a free pass to not change diapers?  I'm thinking not... This also made me pretty relieved that we're going to have a Doula at the labor.  This way, I won't be left alone if he gets sick!