Our Bradley class friends had their baby boy!

Monica and Tom Ramsey are a couple that were in our Bradley Class. She was the first of the 5 moms in the class to give birth.

It happened this morning...at 3am:
Dylan arrived, 7lbs, 20.5 inches long.
Congrats to my first baby friend to be born!!

1 month 2 days!

Just like our 1 month anniversary when we started going out as boyfriend/girlfriend, we both forgot our 1 month anniversary of being MARRIED! AHHHH

Well, Peter and I have been married for 1 month and 2 days! Crazy how fast time FLIES BY!!!

Congratulations to US!!!!

YAYYYY

The baby's finishing touches are being put in place at this moment...so we mustn't rush the artist!

I went to the doctor this morning with Peter and Manuela. Everything is going great. My blood pressure,my weight (166 lbs) babies heart rate, and my belly size. I met with Lisa again. She was the only one available for an appointment this week. We talked about the possible action plan if the baby does not come by the predicted due date. She said it's completely normal and healthy for the baby to stay in a little extra time. The reason I say this, is because there are many people out there including myself, who are anxiously awaiting the arrival of this baby boy into our lives...and this waiting game has us on our toes. I asked her if there was anything i could do to help the process along, and she just told me....HE WILL COME WHEN HE'S READY. This baby is already teaching me lessons on life. Me, the most impatient person in the world is being told to sit and WAIT until he decides it is HIS TIME!

I read an article in a Lamaze magazine titled: The waiting Game, when it comes to choosing a birthday, baby knows best.

"Patience is truely a virtue after 9 long months, especially when you're a few weeks or days from your due date. The swollen feet, extra pounds and late-night bathroom trips can take their tolls. Wouldn't it be easier to schedule your baby'sbirth and get the show on the road?"

It does make you wonder. If we spend our lives making agendas and planning things, why not this too. However, this isn't just something else that goes on a to-do list or an agenda. This is a process! A process that in itself is a miracle, it's crazy, it's amazing, and nerve-wrecking. Sorry for the analogy, but it's like the week before a big race. It feels like the weekend is NEVER GONNA ARRIVE. You run the race a million times in your head with all these different outcomes each time. You know that it's going to hurt, that your going to be exhausted, and that it's going to take everything out of you and you don't even know how the results will end-up, you just hope that you will win it and PR (set a personal record). My nerves would always get to me, especially as race time neared...leading me to run to the bathroom and sometimes even throw up. Yet as soon as the gun went off for the start of the race, everything vanished. It was go time and there was only one thing on my mind, get to the FINISH!

I must be patient these last couple days so that when it's go time...I'll be ready to race! I know it's going to be painful, long, hard, intense, and worth every second of it. Coach Montalvo would always say...i want to see you cross the finish line and collapse because you left every once of energy out on the course...And don't worry, I'll be there to catch you...if not, I'll know that you didn't give it your all. I want to give my all for this labor...and I know that Peter, my sister, and my family will be there to catch me once I cross the finish. Best part of it all...I get to take home the coolest trophy ever....a strong, happy, healthy, beautiful (handsome), smart, charming baby BOY!

Week 39

Hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Peter, Manuela, the baby and I had a very special Christmas. On noche buena we played some games at a friend of Peter's house and we opened one gift each that night. Christmas morning we woke up to many surprises under the tree and a super YUMMY breakfast! We even had a chance to ride a real Texas truck to Christmas Mass!

Now a couple days later, I feel like i've traveled back in time to early April of this year when I was packing for my Peace Corps journey. At that point I didn't know what I was going to need for my trip. The uncertainty lead to procrastination....like now. I don't know what to pack or what I'll need for delivery or my hospital stay or for the baby's arrival. I prepared as best I could for my trip, reading blogs, looking up suggested packing lists, and asking other volunteers that were in the same position as I was in. In the last couple months, especially weeks, i've spent hours skimming through pregnancy magazines, looking through suggested hospital packing lists made by doctors, midwives, other mothers, and asking other friends, who are pregnant, what they are doing to prepare...all in hopes that I will be ready.
The other day Manuela asked me if I would go back to the Peace Corps. I told

A week from this Thursday is my DUE DATE!
Can you believe it?!?!
I don't know if the baby will come sooner or later than the predicted date...but i guess this waiting game is just part of the process. Yesterday I felt some cramps. I'm not sure what caused them or if they were signs of anything, but I felt something.

well...I'm off to live the last week of 2010 and see if there are any year end surprises!

A lot has happend!

One week has gone by and SOOOO much has happened....where to I begin?

Lets go in order...

Last Thursday I got a went to my weekly Dr.'s Appointment. This appointment I got to meet Dr. Sebestyen! She was really nice and down-to-earth. She told me that the baby's heart rate was great. I weighed in at 164lbs...hehehe. I also got a Belly Cast done by LeeAnn and one of the other nurses. It felt really nice and warm as it got harder. It was a lot of fun.

Friday night we went to a Christmas Party. I made $3 in Tips while working the bar. That gig lasted a whole 2 minutes before people realized that I had no idea how to mix drinks...haha...oh well. It was a lot of fun to see people's expressions when they would see me and my tummy behind the bar. The music was cool, and the party was fun, but it was even funner when we got to head home! We GOT TO SEE REINDEER... Santa's reindeer where on the lose...EVERYWHERE!

Saturday morning I walked at town lake with my Prego-Friend, Laurel. It was a nice stroll through Town Lake. We met up with her husband and some other runners for breakfast at Whole foods...the best BREAKFAST TACOS in the world!

Saturday evening, my Birthday CELEBRATION began. We started with a yummy stop at TCBY! A waffle cone and 2 scoops later we arrived at the pedestrian bridge downtown where I got to open my first birthday gift under the stars, surrounded my downtown's lighting. I opened what seemed to be a box of running shoes to find a D3000 NIKON!!! It is perfect! Perfect for me and for our new Photography subject that is just about done cooking in the oven! I can't wait to be able to capture all the KODAK moments with this awesome camera.
The night wasn't over yet, we headed to outback for my birthday dinner...Yummy STEAK, LOBSTER TAILS, BAKED POTATO, and BLOOMIN ONION! What a way to end the my pre-birthday celebration.


Sunday- MY BIRTHDAY! Manuela arrived as a Surprise!!!! Santa sent her with a suitcase full of fun things for all of us! I got a beautiful DVD with messages from my parents and Pictures of our lives growing up. Only my sister can manage to make a DVD like that, study for school, work full time, and graduate Magna Cum Laude and part of 2 honor societies, and come to Austin to surprise me...INCREDIBLE. We met up with some friends for dinner on Lake Austin and ended the night with a scrumptious turtle cheesecake. The entire Cafe sang me Happy Birthday. What a way to turn 24!

A little side note: People seem to think my Birthday is the perfect day to do IMPORTANT THINGS! Angela and Andrew are celebrating their 1 year wedding anniversary. And Kelly and Josh got engaged in EPCOT!! My friends will never forget my birthday...lol.

Monday- Manuela and I were Busy Bees. We organized the apartment, ate lunch at a great TACO place, and ran some errands...

The most incredible part of the day was when I ran into MARION JONES at the Bank. I almost had my baby right there due to the excitement!

Tuesday- We looked through all the pregnancy magazines to see what articles we should keep and which ones we could throw out. My plan is to create a binder with all the articles separated by sections so that I could skim through it when I need a little guidance...or need little reminders.

Wednesday- was FIX MOMMY UP DAY! We went to the doctor, pre-natal massage place, and hair salon. Manuela fixed me up a little and in the evening we went with Peter to watch Blindside at the Alamo. It was a great movie and a Great DAY!



I will post pictures soon.... =)

Tummy Progression

September October November

I still have to post the December and January ones...we'll see when I take those =)

Manuela is graduating today!

Congratulations Tia Manuela on Graduating today from FIU!

Magna Cum Laude, Member of Psi Chi, and Phi Beta Kappa

We are all super proud of you and can't wait to see you in the next couple of weeks. Congrats on all your awards and honors. All your hard work has paid off. When you graduate, you feel as if you have reached the end of the KNOWN path but don't worry. Though the path from here on out is undefined, the process of figuring it out is an adventure in itself. You will continue to do great things in your life as you have done up until now with all the hard work, dedication, and love with which you have surpassed all the obstacles in your path.

Thank you for being such a great role model for those who know you and those who will meet you in the very near future...

we Love you Manuela!

A GIFT FOR OUR BABY...FROM ALL OF US!

We have a great Idea for our Baby!

We want all our friends and family who want to be a part of this gift to PAY ATTENTION!
We want to make a collection of letters for our baby boy. I will put them in a scrapbook and save them until he grows up. They can be about anything:
1- Your thoughts about how he is going to be
2- Advice for dealing with us (Peter and Me)
3- Things your looking forward to doing with him
4- Funny stories about how you met Peter or Me
5- What you are most excited about
6- Who you think the baby is going to be like and why
7- Anything else you can think of...GET CREATIVE!!!

Please email the letter to me at valeria.rodez@gmail.com
in the subject please put, BABY LETTER.

THANK YOU!!!

Start of week 37

Our Baby is considered FULL TERM NOW =)

All the babies clothes are washed, nursery is organized, and his hospital exit outfit has been picked.

This weekend we did a little bit of everything.

Friday we hung out with NI friends at a Beer festival. But before that, we received a Christmas gift box from the Flores Abuelos. Veronica sent us little special moments in time that she had saved over the years...ornaments for our tree.

Saturday morning we were busy at work in the nursery. In the afternoon, a mommy friend, Laurel, and I went to Breastfeeding 101 class at the place where she is giving birth. It was very informative and eyeopening.

Saturday evening we had a date. We went to a sports grill and saw the heisman awards...Sadly Tebow wasn't even close to winning but I was really happy for Mark Ingram. He looked sincerely overwhelmed. I guess this means that UT is winning the national championship game come January if the curse of the Heisman continues.

Our night didn't end there...We WENT TO A CHRISTMAS PARTY!! Other mommy friends were there from our Bradley class. It was a lot of fun. We talked about baby positions, pains, questions, and played some fun memory games.

Sunday morning we arose to JINGLE BELLS!!! The Jingle Bell 5k was across the street at the Domain. There were 1,500 runners, walkers, strollers, and pets. And though everyone was ready to deck the halls, the weather was abnormally warm. As has been my duty in the last couple months, I spectated, cheered, and timed....I can't wait to be out there with the baby in the stroller!!

Ashish ran a PR of 16:09 to get second place, Peter remained consistent running a 20:45 (with a hurt foot!). They were giving massages at the race....AND I GOT ONE! It felt so good. The lady thought I had run the 5k and was very impressed. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to burst her bubble. I was sad to see that the winner of my division 20-24 ran a time of 24:30. It will be fun to run it a year from now with the stroller and still post a faster time than that!

We had a great taco breastfast and enjoyed the warmth of the sun by our pool. Who would have thought that at the same place where I caputred footage of snow 2 weeks ago, I would be tanning....ooohhh Austin.

Sunday afternoon we watched Disney's newest movie, the Princess and the Frog. I liked the movie but there was something unoriginal about it that didn't quite fit right. It had a great moral and was funny but I didn't walk out feeling the way I thought I would. We ended the weekend with a yummy dinner at Travis, Lola, and Ashish's house where Lisa (the neighbor), Lars and Anna joined us as well. Like always, conversation topics ranged everywhere from travel adventures, to flawed business plans, to proper foam rolling techniques.

Productivity ...Continued

What a productive day! I even managed to get the Highly solicited H1N1 Flu Shot!
The breakup this morning with Dr. Eng went better than I expected. I think we were both at the point in the relationship where we were ready to move on...haha.

Before we broke up though, we did have one last appointment. She did a sonogram and re-confirmed that the babies head was down. After measuring a couple body parts, she came to the conclusion that the baby weighs approximately 5 lbs 9 oz. He is still moving A LOT in there which is good but not too common because by this time...things are starting to get a little cramped up (space-wise) in there. She checked my placenta and told me it was on my left side toward my back.

We'll see what exciting adventures this weekend has in store for us...
BY THE WAY...the countdown has begun!
9 days till my BIRTHDAY!
(December 20th for those of you who don't know)

Productivity!

It's only 8 am and I feel more productive than I have in the past 2 weeks. It's funny how your mind can play games with you. As soon as I read that I should be feeling the URGE to organize, I realized that I really should since there is going to be so much going on in the next couple weeks like: MY BIRTHDAY and CHRISTMAS and NEW YEARS!

I'm half-way done washing the baby's things and I'm on my way out the door to break-up with my OB-GYN. Wish me luck...=)

Have a great day y'all

36 weeks

I received an email today from Strong Moms website. The site says:

Baby's Growth and Development When You're 36 Weeks Pregnant

At the end of 36 weeks of pregnancy, your baby will be considered full-term! Although he has more growing to do after that time, it's exciting to know his arrival is approaching quickly.

• Your baby has grown almost completely into his skin that was once so over sized.
• He now has a fully rounded face, in part because his powerful sucking muscles are now developed and ready to get to work.
• Although your baby's bones are hardening, his skull remains soft and flexible for his birth.
• At 36 weeks of pregnancy, your baby probably weighs about 6 pounds or slightly more.

The site says that I'm in the Nesting Stage. That I should be feeling an overwhelming urge to organize and get everything ready for the arrival of the baby...but I haven't felt that URGE yet. My mom told me to pack my Hospital Bag and the baby's bag too but I haven't done that yet. I think I should fight the urge to stay cuddled and warm and start the preparations for the BIG D Day coming soon.

It's 34 degrees outside right now by the way...when is the snow coming back??

The Long awaited Doctor VISIT!

Yesterday morning was the long awaited doctor's appointment at Dr. Sebesyten's office!

http://www.obgynnorth.com/

Though the office is literally 1 mile away from our apartment, we managed to be 5 minutes LATE, unbelievable. Luckily, they took us. After filling out all the NEW PATIENT paperwork, we went in to see a nurse. That part of the meeting consisted of asking a lot of questions about my family's medical history and my own pregnancy.

Then an insurance lady walked in to talk to Peter and I about what our insurance covers, which is EVERYTHING. She said, "whatever job whichever of you have to be covered by this insurance, KEEP IT." We both just laughed. I internally thanked the Peace Corps for yet another non-repayable gift they've given me.

Finally, we met with Midwife Liane Miller: http://www.obgynnorth.com/our_clinic/our_staff/liane_miller She measured my stomach- 36cm. Peter got to find the babies heart rate, 130bpm, with this little machine. She then showed me the difference between the sound of the heart and the umbilical cord. She felt around my stomach and identified a knee, a foot, the back, and other body parts. She was very informative and instilled in me a lot of confidence.

The goal will be to meet with the 2 doctors and 3 midwives at the practice before I give birth so that I have at least met (ONCE) whoever comes into the delivery room. I have an appointment next week with Dr. Sebestyen. Liane is going to do a BELLY CAST on my stomach as soon as I finish that appointment.

Now all that's left is to retrieve my files smoothly from Dr. Eng's office. I'm nervous, I feel as if I'm breaking up with her...and I want to be nice about it...hahaha.

Since Peter had to go to work and left the appointment early, I walked back to the house from the Doctor's office (1 whole mile). It was a nice walk. The air was freezing cold, almost numbing but the sun was out and the sky was a beautiful blue. I loved the walk.

In conclusion, Dr. Sebestyen's practice lived up to the high expectations I had set for them. Peter and I are excited and ready for the coming weeks...or so we think =)

Mommys Day OUT & Ronald McDonald House

Mommys Day Out:
A friend from my Bradley class, Lindsey, signed us up for a Free pregnant women massage held at a Massage School: http://www.texashealingarts.com/She picked me up and we hesitantly walked into our appointments as we wished each other luck.

It was awesome. I had two women working on me. At first I wasn't quite sure how the massage was going to work, given that I can't lay on my back comfortable and laying on my stomach is out of the question. When I got to the massage room i realized that pregnant people massages are done on your side...then you flip and do the other. These women massaged me from head to toe in 1hour, though i had lost sense of time and had no idea how long it was.

From the smells of intense to the comfy pillows, the entire experience was incredible. I can see why they recommend it for all people but especially pregnant women. The baby however didn't stop moving throughout the massage...jealous I think.

My friend's massage didn't go as well and mine did. Perhaps her masseuses were a little nervous, who knows. We then claimed Tuesday as Mommy Fun-Day. We went to Babies r Us, Michael's, Lunch, and Costco. Throughout the day we talked about the things we are excited and nervous about. We ended up making a list of things we want to do before our babies come...we'll see how much of that list we get accomplished. Our due dates are 1 day apart. Hers is the 6th of January. She is also having an boy (without a name yet, hehehe).

Mommy's day out was a lot of fun. It was nice to hang out with someone who walked as slow and I did, had to pause when telling a story due to a crazy kungfu kick, wanted to eat everything in site and couldn't, and had a lot of the same questions about all the unknowns that life has in store for us.

Ronald McDonald House:
After my Mommy Outing, I met up with Peter and some of his National Instrusments co-workers to go to the Ronald McDonald House. We all prepared meatloaf balls, mashed potatoes, green beans, and salad for the families. For dessert we cut up some apples and placed caramel on the side for dipping. There were a number of us so Peter and I techically only cut carrots, but the experience was a lot of fun. I wish we could have stayed to talk to the families or the children but the few people that were trickling in were too shy to approach the kitchen since we were still there so we gathered our things and left so they could eat their dinner warm.

http://rmhc.org/

Prepare and serve a home-cooked meal
Many individuals and corporate groups donate their time to make meals for families at our Ronald McDonald Houses. When families return from a long day at the hospital with their sick child, a home-cooked meal is often just what they need.

Okay...so I lied,

NOW it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
Like I told you in the last post, Friday morning it snowed, which was awesome. Friday night we went to the Ronad McDonald Lights of Love 5k where Peter and Ashish ran along with 200 other crazies who were out there in 20something degree weather. Both of them had great races, despite the numbing temperatures.

There was even SNOW!!!!

Just kidding, a machine put out a shaving creme like substance on the floor around the finish so that the children and I would get a kick out of it. Fortunately for me there were heating lamps, hot chocolate, and snacks at the race...if not, I don't think I could have made it out there more than 2 minutes. The entertainment factor was great at the race, I wasn't bored for too long between the start of the race and Peter's 20:30 PR finish. We waited around for the AWARDs but unfortunately they both walked away with a pat on the back lots of Apples baggies ( which we awarded ourselves)

After the race we changed and went to a Movie/Comedy show at the Alamo Draft house. It was quite interesting. We paid to flip through channels along with 180 other people and 3 weirdos on stage. Some parts were really funny but others went right over my head.

Saturday morning we played house for a little, organizing the apartment a little before heading out to watch the Gator game at Ashish's house. We all had a dreadful, stressful afternoon that unfortunately resulted in tears for all of us.

We tried to do some retail therapy at Macy's after the game, but it didn't work for either one of us or the baby. I'm not sure if the baby understood exactly what had gone down that afternoon on the football field in Atlanta and what it meant to me, but he knew somthing was up because he was squirmming all afternoon and evening, almost as if throwing a tantrum in there.

Early Sunday morning I was woken up by my senses. I couldn't resist getting out of bed. Just like when I was little and I would hear the kitchen pans dancing around and dishes diving into the sink, I would rush to the kitchen to be blissfully surprised.

Before I was able to send commands to the muscles around my body to MAKE MOVES TOWARD THE KITCHEN, I tried to identify what food could possibly be infusing the apartment so deliciously. A couple things came to mind but knowing that we didn't have eggs forced me to cross a plethora of things off that list.

As I walked out to the kitchen, I was surprised to see that Peter had gotten eggs and was busy working on building a fluffy stack of pancakes...

Breakfast was SCRUMPTIOUS, pancakes with warmed syrup, sliced apples, and OJ. Great way to start our SUNDAY!

After making space in the living room for the tree, we headed into REAL TEXAS!! We drove southeast for about 45minutes until we got to a Farm in Eglin, Tx: Evergreen Farm.

It was such a cute farm with a Donkey, a nativity scene, hot apple cider, hot chocolate, marshmello roasting station, games for children to play, a nature trail, and of course...LOTS OF TREES. We debated and circled a while before making our FINAL DECISION on which was the lucky tree we would take home.

Finally we picked and Peter strapped it on the O SO HANDY bike rack.

On our drive back, we took a small country road for a couple miles. We came across some houses that look like a tornado had just hit, a train crossing, and some beautiful HUGE farms. In the midst of it all, we came across what seemed to us like a paintball facility. We turned in to see what it was. The sign read: GHOST TOWN. And it definitly looked like one, but the sign said OPEN and FOOD so we parked and walked in on the slippery planks of wood.

Apparently the owner, George Richards, has been working on this facility for the past 10 years. It is a little down with a Jail, Bank, chapel, movie theater, barn, cementary, and some other things. In the middle he has a little restaurant. We ordered some Burgers as we looked around the little town.

http://www.ghosttownaustin.com/.

The more we walked around, the more we knew that Pete and my dad would have loved this place! It was straight out of a movie!!

Unfortunately, we had to leave beacause we had to make a christmas tree accessory stop at Walmart before heading home to change for Tim and Laurel (our friends) baby shower. The walmart stop was quick but funny and memorable. We bought our first christmas ornament: OUR FIRST CHIRSTMAS TOGTHER 2009.

Tim and Laurel's Babyshower was a lot of fun. They did a really cool thing. They had a sheet of paper where they asked all the guest to guess the SEX, DATEof arrival, and WEIGHT of the baby for $10 a guess. Who ever wins, gets half the pot, the other half goes to the baby.

Laurel's friends and sisters were really nice. We had a great time.

we took this same picture at my shower a couple weeks ago...now we can compare. I guessed that she was having a baby girl on February 2, 2009 weighing 8.2 lbs. We'll see how it goes.

When we came home that night, we DECORATED OUR NAKED TREE!

And VUALA....This is how it looks now!

What a weekend right...=)

It's beginning to look a lot like CHRISTMAS!!!!

You know that feeling, when you wake up on days that something is going to happen...you are in a daze for a couple seconds until you remember why you were so excited to be up in the first place?

That happened to me this morning...yesterday the weather forecasters here in Austin were predicting SNOW for today. Though may people told me not to get excited about it, cause it probably wouldn't happen, being me...I DID ANYWAY! When I woke up this morning, I kept my eyes shut for a little as I lay warm and comfy not wanting to move...UNTIL...I remembered that it might be snowing outside. I ran out to the living room porch with my heart racing, I quickly pulled the curtains open and stood outside. My excitement quickly died down when I was met with a freezing cold morning breeze, but no snow...ohh well.

Peter and I went to see Dr. Eng this morning. I weighed in at a whopping 160 lbs. The baby's heart rate was good (130 bpm) and my stomach measured 35cm (continuing to match my week of pregnancy). I told her about my upsetting visit with Dr. Winn 2 weeks ago. She didn't seem to care about my response to the experience with Dr. Winn. To my dismay, she proceeded to ask me if I was interested in an induction or a C-section. Peter answered cause I was sitting there in mute shock. He told her that we have been interested from the beginning (LIKE WE CLEARLY TOLD HER) in having a natural birth. She then did an exam to check my cervix dilation, then quickly used the sonogram machine to check the position of the baby--head down; which is good! Without further hold up, we walked out and scheduled our next appointment...for Friday (one week from today). Hopefully our visit with Dr. Sebestyen early next week goes well so that today could be the last visit with Dr. Eng and Winn!!!

The weather didn't allow me to be upset over the appointment too long...As we walked out to the car I SAW SNOW!!! Just a couple sporadic flurries but enough to have me starring intently at the car for the next 10 minutes just to see 2 more miniature flurries.

I dropped Peter off at work and ran some errands. When I got home, it was a completely different story! From my living room I could see SNOW FLURRIES coming down...A LOT OF THEM. I stood by the pool area of our complex freezing but super excited that I had snow falling on my nose and eyelashes. It was everywhere! I just kept calling people on my phone so I could share the excitement with them.
Sadly, it only lasted about a half hour...and then went away...

I must say that even this short tease of a snow storm was worth all the hype! I've always dreamed of a white Christmas...chances are I won't see it here, but I'll be satisfied with these flurries if they keep coming throughout December!

Hope you have a great, warm day...
as for Peter and I, we'll be really cold. Especially Peter who will be running a 5k tonight at 6pm!

PHOTO SHOOT

Saturday morning we had a Photo shoot with our very own camera crew:

Camera 1: Veronica
Camera 2: Luis
Camera 3: Beatriz
Camera 4: Peter
Bag and Props Holder: Anthony
Time manager: Pedro
Emotional support: Snoopy
Model 1: Valeria
Model 1.5: Baby
Model 2: Peter

Here is the link: http://picasaweb.google.com/valeria.rodez/0911PregnancyPics?feat=directlink

Please feel free to contact us for information about the photographers and models availability =)

OFFICIAL NAME CHANGE!

VALERIA RODRIGUEZ FLORES

After running around the Social Security Office and the DMV for a couple hours I was able to make the name change OFFICIAL!

No one tells you that when you change your name, that automatically means that you run into an endless list of this that require you to change your name as well. Anyone ever wonder why nothing ever happens to the guy's name. Peter has had to do ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! I'm not saying that I want Peter to change his name to Peter Rodriguez, but I am curious as to why they don't have to undergo any paperwork HASSELS.

I kept the Rodriguez as my Middle name, since I've never had one. I'm excited about my new name...just nervous that I might miss an important document that requires a name change...

Only time will tell if I've missed any important documents!

and then there were none....

Today, with tears in my eyes and a heavy heart, I drove away from the airport. It will be a couple weeks before I see my family again.
The last couple days have been non-stop trips to and from the airport. Now I'm starting to feel for those poor men and women who drive the shuttles for a living. The arrivals were a little less complicated than the departures. The departure schedule started Sunday night with Anthony, the first guest who left. Monday morning, Peter's parents left (they rented a car so I didn't take them to the airport.) Tuesday morning, my dad and snoopy headed home. And today, my mom took flight as well.

Knowing that they are coming back in a couple weeks, I didn't think I would get as emotional as I did. In part I guess it was because I didn't take advantage of ALL the time that we shared together, allowing myself to get worked up over petty things that don't matter instead of enjoying each moment. I know they will be back with Snoopy and hopefully Manuela in a couple weeks when the baby comes, but till then, our distance relationship will have to suffice.

I walked in a couple minutes ago to the apartment. For a second, I could hear the sink running and could almost hear my mom asking me if I wanted a little snack or something to drink.
I'm so happy that my parents came to visit and I loved having snoopy here! For a couple days, my parents and peter's got to feel like they lived in a college dorm.

Now it's just me and Peter...and the baby.
Now we have to work on finding a name for our boy, washing the baby clothes, packing our Hospital Bag, and finish mentally, emotionally, and physically preparing ourselves for the new addition that is coming sooner than we think!

These next 6 weeks are going to fly by, if we don't pay attention, we'll be caught off guard, and unprepared!

Mommy, Daddy, and Snoopy,
Gracias por venir a visitarnos. Me alegro que pudimos celebrar juntos el dia del Pavo y la boda civil. Gracias tambien por estar aqui y simplemente compartir estos dias con Peter, el bebe, y yo. Aunque solo han sido horas, ya me hacen falta! Espero que vuelvan pronto! Nos vamos a preparar encaso de que venga el bebe antes de enero.....
Un Beso,
Valeria Flores

The Civil Wedding

Our Civil Wedding was Friday November 27th, 2009 at Town Lake in Downtown Austin.
With our parents, Anthony, two friends, Judge Pablo Avila, and Snoopy present, we said our
I DO's at 10am. In the backdrop was Lady Bird lake with the Austin Skyline. In front of us, we could see runners, bikers, and walkers taking their daily stroll. While some people were fighting for bargains on Black Friday all around the US and others were recovering from the thanksgiving comma, we were committing ourselves to each other "till death do us part."
Everything was SIMPLY PERFECT!

Peter Flores and Valeria Rodriguez are now legally HUSBAND AND WIFE!
Peter was the first to say his vows, and made me forget everything I had planned to say! Still now, a couple days later, I hear his words and still cry just like I did Friday morning. I think I will always cry when I hear those words played again. I had never thought about how my wedding would be but I don't think I could have asked for anything more than being in front of a man who loved me with all his heart and who promised to be there, grow with me, and share his life with me and I want with him. Very few times in life do we come across real reciprocated love.

The reason most girls cry when they watch chick-flicks and all those "happily ever after" movies is because of the fear we have deep down inside each of us that all that happiness and love might not exist in real life, it might just belong to the world of fairy tales and Disney. And though i'm living in my own fairy tale come to life, I still can't believe it's real. Everyday I wonder if i'll wake up and find that this was all a dream. With every kiss, with every joke, with every hug, with every story, with every walk we take together, he reminds me that this isn't a dream...This is our life, together.
This isn't a "happily every after",
this is a "Once upon a time..."

This is just the beginning...

After the wedding, Woode Wood, a musician that sings on the running trail sang to us, the song: YOU. It was beautiful. People were running by with their dogs and strollers, while My dad, my mom, Pete, Veronica, Anthony, Peter and I sat and listened...

After our song, we went on a 3 hour River Cruise where we popped Champagne bottles and snacked on cheese, crackers, peanuts, grapes, and strawberries as we sailed slowly down the lake. Peter and I were captain and Co-captain...lol
As wedding gift, Peter's parents got us a honeymoon suit in Downtown. We met up for dinner with out Wedding Party at Fogo De Chao, and then went to celebrate on 6th Street with some of our Austin Friends.

What a DAY!

Plane tickets:(Luis, Beatriz,Snoopy, Pedro, Veronica, and Anthony) $$$$$$
River Cruise Reception: $250
Randall's Bouquet: $12
Judge: $100
Musician: $5
Dress: $0
Hair/Make-up: $0
Photographer: $0
Officially starting our lives together...PRICELESS!!

Turkey Day!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Feliz dia del Pavo!!

We just had Thanksgiving Dinner here in our apartment...Turkey, Ham, Corn Souffle, green bean casserole, baked potato, and baked sweet potato, gravy, stuffing, and cranberry sauce. We haven't even gotten to the desserts yet...and I feel like a stuffed turkey!

Before dinner we all went around and said what we were thankful for...with tears in our eyes and our throats chocking us, we all gave our thanks for family, for eachother, for Anthony being here, and for the beginning of Peter and mine's new HOME and addition that is more than half baked in the oven, our baby boy.

Before the coma strikes, I wanted to write this little blurp...

I'm thankful for everything and everyone in my life. I'm most thankful for being surrounded by people that I love and love me!

Tuesday morning reflection...

Peter's Parent's arrive today...
Austin woke up with a nice cold front coming through to welcome them with the Holiday Spirit!

Walking this morning I could see the sun's rays splitting through the poofy cotton-balls that are up on the clear blue sky this morning. The 55 degrees that the thermometer reads feels like 50 with the nice cool breeze that rumbles through every 3 or 4 minutes. Today would be a beautiful day for a morning run. For now, it's a great day for a morning stroll. I thought about how smoothly this pregnancy has been going. Here I am 6 1/2 weeks from giving birth and I still don't feel too "handicapped" or "restricted".Yes my life has completely changed but for the most part everything has been kinda the same. I'm not running, but i'm walking and exercising. I able to do almost everything normal. Very few are the times that I've felt "sick" and by sick I mean nauseous or uneasy. My night sleep is sometimes interrupted by the freaquent visits to the bathroom, but I fall right to sleep once I get back to bed. My breathing is a little different and I feel my heart racing sometimes for no reason...but other than that, it's been smooth sailing.

It's nice to take time to take time to breathe in the fresh cool air. Life happens so fast. It feels as if a couple weeks ago I was taking hot, humid breaths in the early morning hours on the Panamanian countryside that I thought would be my home for the next two years. Little did I know I would have a lovely switch of plans that would place me in the beautiful city of Austin with Peter and I would get to celebrate Thanksgiving surrounded by family. Thanksgiving would have been spent with other Peace Corps volunteers at the IST (In-Service Training) probably eating rice, beans, and dried then fried steak(I'm sure it would have been great...but it would have been very different).

Life takes some crazy turns sometimes that we could never have even dreamed up. However, I would prefer that a millions times over than living a predictable life, boring life. When things are unplanned, they can be scary and frustrating but what is more scary and frustrating is living a life that you KNOW what will happen next at EVERY MOMENT.

People always wonder what the recipe for happiness is. I don't know for certain, but from the couple years that I've been alive, I've noticed that having things to look forward to (planned or unplanned) make all the difference.

Luckily for Peter and me, we're not much planners...we have short term and long term goals (some different, some the same), but when it comes to figure out exactly one path for us to reach them, we've realized that there is more than 1 option. We know that some of our decisions will make the path towards certain goals a little longer while making other paths shorter. The important thing is to stay attentive on our paths for any signs or inlets that may lead us closer to any of the many goals and dreams we have for our lives.

My Peace Corps agenda had a great quote on it:

"I find that the great thing in this world is not so much where we stand, as in what direction we are moving."-Oliver Wendell Holmes

What direction are you moving in?

ABUELITO IS COMING BACK!

Abuelito Luis is coming back to visit for Thanksgiving! A couple weeks ago we thought we were going to be spending Thanksgiving by ourselves here in Austin...However!!! That all changed in the last week.

Peter's parents, his brother, my parents, and snoopy are all going to be here on TURKEY day to celebrate! The celebration would be complete with Tia Manuela, but she will be in El Salvador with Juan celebrating Juan's best-friend's Wedding. They are a busy couple and were booked before we arranged our plans.

That makes 7 adults, 1 unborn baby, and 1 dog staying in our 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom apartment. It is going to be a FULL HOUSE...shower schedules will need to be followed strictly!

This will be our FIRST FAMILY HOLIDAY!

Tio Anthony is BACK!

CPL Anthony Flores
flew back into the states Sunday Morning.
Abuelitos Pedro and Veronica were there to welcome him HOME!

If we are lucky, we will get to see him here in Austin in the next couple days to celebrate Thanksgiving together.

Rodriguez Family News Corner

My cousin, Gabriela Rodriguez, who lives in Barcelona,Spain, and is an interior designer/ restoration architect is 11 weeks PREGNANT! She found out a couple days ago. Her partner is from Portugal! She didn't know she was pregnant and a friend suggested she go to the doctor to get checked. She did and was met with a welcomed surprise! She is going to be a great MOM! Our kids will be able to talk Portuguese together!!!


My other cousin Carolina Rodriguez Ferrero, was in the Miss Colombia Pageant, where she placed 3rd, Primera Princesa. She is the current Miss Cundinamaraca. She will now begin a year of travels around Colombia participating in different events, modeling, and raising money for different causes.
(she's the one in the red dress below)

Dr.'s Appointment from HELL

In movies and in life you hear about women making a big deal about "liking their doctor" and "feeling comfortable with their doctor". I didn't understand why it was such a big deal until this past appointment. Our current ObGyn is Dr. Eng. The other woman in her practice is Dr. Winn. Dr. Eng recomended that we meet Dr. Winn because there is a 50% chance that she might be on Call when I go into labor.

My very first impression was great. She was confident outgoing, and loud. I thought I liked her until she started talking. She measured my stomach, heard the heartbeat of the baby, and asked me if he was moving normally. THAT'S IT!

From there on, the appointment was downhill. She talked about the risks involved in childbirth and how NO ONE is guaranteed a child when they get pregnant. She told me that they only way she could guarantee that I could go home with my live safe baby would be to have a C-Section on week 39 (one week before the due date). She said she would be willing to wait a week after the due date but then she would sit and have a serious TALK with me because the risks at that point would just be increasing and there would be NO benefits accumulating. At one point she even said that even if babies do survive, no one is to say they won't get cancer at the age of 8 and die, or get hit by a car at the age of 10. However true that may be, it is not the place or time to be discussing these possibilities.

Though Peter and I like Dr. Eng, knowing that there is such a high chance that this woman might be there at the time that I go into labor just makes me upset. So upset that Tears were rolling down my face as I walked out of the room. I couldn't believe everything that had just happend. She was very realistic and told me the truth, that there are risks involved in giving birth naturally. But I didn't like how she forced her own opinions on me.

I do hope that this terror of a doctor isn't there when I give birth. The idea of switching doctors, however late in the pregnancy this may be, is sounding more and more RIGHT!!!!
Peter wasn't at this appointment, but I really wish he would have been, so that he could have witnessed the natzi of a doctor who pummeled her way through our appointment with no regard to the emotions that her words were invoking.

Stay tuned to see what happens with the Odyssey of the ObGyn!

St. David's North Austin Medical Center Tour

Tuesday Night we took a Tour of St. David's North Austin Medical Center, which is about 3minutes from our apartment. It isn't the St. David's that our OBGYN delivers at but I went to a class there a couple weeks ago and fell in love with the NEW state of the Art facilities!re

Peter, my mom, snoopy, and I went on the Tour. The nurse was super nice. There were about 4 other pregnant women and their SUPPORT PERSON (that's what the babies daddy's or mother's partners are called in the medical world to not offend anyone.)

We went to the luxury suite where women are checked-in to to give birth. Wood floors, flat screen TVs, lounge chairs and couches for visitors, private bathroom, and an awesome room service food menu. What more could a person going into labor ask for?

We toured the nursury and the postpartum "recovery" rooms as well. The tour was very informative and welcoming. It was a warm, welcoming, and nerve settling environment.

I could see myself coming here to deliver the baby...we will see what the next couple weeks have in store for us...

Babies R Us time warp!

My mom and I went to Babies R Us Monday with some of our gift certificates looking for somethings, little did I know that Babies R Us would trap us in there and make us loose all sense of time!

There were a million styles, colors, and different features on EVERY PRODUCT. Some matched, some made sounds, some moved on their own, some even had fake heartbeats to soothe the babies. They sell things in light blue, pink, yellow, and green that you wouldn't even imagine that babies could use.

A headache, stomach ache, sore legs, and 5 hours later we made our way out of babies r us with what seemed like an ENTIRE NURSERY! I was unsure about every decision I made. And I asked myself 200 times, do you REALLY NEED that. I walked out only with objects who's answers were YES. The maybe's, I left behind along with the No's.

Here is what we walked out with:

Yay for the baby room!
Pictures of the Nursery will be put up after the Flores Abuelitos come visit.
They arrive on Tuesday, so don't worry, you don't have to wait too much longer!

Half Marathon and Austin Baby Shower

Peter and I both wrote this entry...

Peter:We had Valeria's parents(and Snoopy) in town last weekend. It was great to show them around, I think Luis wants to move here!
On Friday morning, we went to the County Clerk's office to pick up our Marriage Certificate! We have 30 days to fill in the blanks and bring it back, then we are official, almost. We will have our real wedding with the church and the party next summer, we just couldn't wait to start the process! I went to work, and Valeria showed her padres around Austin all day.
Valeria: I went with my parents to Maurie's Milagro for the yummiest tex-mex breakfast. Then we stopped by peter's old apartment so they could see where he used to live. There we hiked the first little hill to the cliff that oversees the Austin (red) Bridge. Then we went to a dog park on the Green Belt so that Snoopy could make friends. Our tour then continued to downtown where we stopped at Town Lake for a little stroll through the park!
Peter:On Saturday, Claire and Kristen organized a baby shower for us. It was a lot of fun, about 20 people came and brought a dish and gifts. We were so happy to see all the cool things that people had brought for us! The girls even let us watch some football in the back room!
Valeria: The baby shower was beautifully decorated! Claire went all Martha Stewart on us and made everything look awesome! Kristen and Claire even made a 3 layered diaper cake with 87 baby diapers! The finger foods were delicious. We got some Medela Breast pumps accessories, a swing, a blanket, a changing table pad, a sling, a grocery cart cover, a first-aid/grooming kit, and a JOGGING STROLLER. I even got a mommy only gift=a pregnant massage! It was like Christmas in November! After the baby shower we went to the Domain for a quick pasta dinner so that the RACERS could carbo-load for the race the next day.

Peter:Sunday was race day! Luis, Ashish and I all ran the San Antonio half marathon.
Valeria: Sunday morning at 4:30am movement started around the apartment. By 5:09am we were in the car and off to Ashish's house to pick him up and head down to San Antonio. There was so much fog on the drive home that I thought i was still dreaming. Once we got closer, we saw that traffic was going to be a problem for the racers to get to the start. Peter, Ashish, and my dad jump out of the car on the highway and ran toward the start...which was 2 miles away. I went to park the car by the finish and walked to a couple places along the course to cheer for the DADDYs and Ashish. Peter and Ashish finished in 1:43 minutes, my dad finished a couple minutes later with a PR of 1:53.

We hung around the finish area, grabbed snacks, and waited for peter and my dad to recover from the race. I was looking around at all the strollers (mainly BOB) that were at the race. I got really excited about getting back into race shape and running with the stroller past other racers =). The drive back was hard. We were all tired but someone had to drive...SO I DID. We got back to Austin with just enough time for my dad to shower, pack, and get back to the airport to fly out.

It was a great weekend! I was sad to see my dad go home, but at least my mom and snoopy stayed =).