Baby poem inside the frame (creative way to share the news)

Some people have emailed me and asked what the poem said inside the frames that I made for all the (great) grandparents and to Trav's brother and his wife:

Dear Great Grandpa & Grandma Byram,

I do not have a face to see, Or put inside a frame.

I do not have soft cheeks to kiss. I don't yet have a name.

Not yet can you hold my tiny hands, Nor whisper in my ear.

It's still too soon to sing a song, Or cuddle me so near.

But all that will change come next November; When they say I am due.

I am your newest grandchild (or great grandchild or the newest Riley);

And I can't wait until I meet you!

All I ask between now and then is your love for me to grow.

I promise I'll be worth the wait; Just think of all the joy we'll know!

So as you're waiting patiently, Please pray lots of prayers for me.

I cannot wait to be a part Of this wonderful family!

Love, Baby (lastname or nickname, if you would like)

P.S. "Me gusta el bebé" - Travis

So I originally told Travis, you better start brushing up on your Spanish, to which he said, “me gusta el bebé”. That means “I like the baby”. It was probably the cutest, most adorable thing ever. For me, listening to people speak Spanish or try to speak Spanish and actually use a complete sentence (with a verb) is AWESOME, no matter how "easy" the sentence is.

Our bebé is coming in November!!

Well, we shared our big news and our big blessing a few nights ago!  I made frames for the grandparents and for Aunt Lindz and Uncle Cooper.  We were actually able to tell my parents in person over spring break, which is really nice.  So, here are the ones for my grandma and my mom that I made:

I also had my grandma & grandpa put together a puzzle before we handed out the frames - its says "guess who's arriving on or around November 16th, 2010?  Congrats, grandma and grandpa"  My grandma had no clue what that meant, but my grandpa goes, isn't that around your race time, Travis?  (Thanks, Dad).  So I had to say, yep, so we're having a baby and then my grandma understood.  They were all super excited.  (Our updated and estimated due date is now November 14th, yes, that would be one week before Travis' full ironman here in Tempe, AZ).  It will all work out :)

We waited until after our first ultrasound to tell Travis' family, per his request, and then I put together a box with 4 frames and sent it off to Rick and Karen's house.  I told Karen she had to wait for me to open the box and I had to make up an excuse (we've got that darn 2 hour time difference) until Travis could get home from work as well.  So, she opened the box with us on speakerphone and it was really exciting - we weren't able to tell them face to face because the timing didn't work out last weekend, but this was the next best thing!!  Cooper and Lindz were over there too, so it was really nice. 

We told my aunt Lisa and uncle Marty last night and I actually just handed the envelope with pictures inside of it and she was super excited!! We had a really good dinner and chat with them last night - uncle Marty even said a really special prayer for the baby before dinner and it was really sweet and special.  I don't know how to scan the pictures in, well, I don't work somewhere where I could do that now, so we'll show them to people in person.

Anyway, I just would like to say that yes, this was all planned out and yes, you can get pregnant right away (and some people do take the average 6 mths to a year).  Travis actually said, "I want people to know that it was planned, we Rileys do things the right way", LOL.  So, there you have it.  No missed pill or oops baby over here, lol.  All joking aside, we are so blessed by God's little miracle and are super excited to add another member to the family.  We are still trying to adjust to the shock of it all, though. 

Travis came to my first ultrasound (U/S) appointment and it was very funny (for him) and very exciting (for us).  It was a vaginal U/S since we were only 8 wks 4 days at the time and Travis had no idea what actually went on at those sort of things.  He laughed at the feet stir-ups, he was shocked at the plastic wand that captures the U/S image (and where it went...) and he was almost in pain watching the doctor perform what usually is only performed at a women's annual appointment.  (He was by my head, don't get grossed out or get any weird ideas).  We got a welcome to pregnancy bag and our insurance costs estimated for visits and delivery - I have to admit, the student health insurance through ASU is pretty good.  But I guess they bill separately for U/S and lab work.  Here's our baby "grape" at 9 weeks.

I've been feeling pretty sick, I've only thrown up 3 times, but my favorite foods are potato chips, crackers, bean and cheese burritos and cereal bars.  I lost 2 lbs since my first apptmt.  No worries - I take my pre natal vitamins and an omega 3 supplement every day.  However, Sali Armstrong, one of our bridesmaids is due 2 days after we are!  And Rebekah Chapman, a gal in our small group is due October 17th, so I'm glad that I have people that are right in it with me.  Rebekah said I should be back to normal foods in 2 - 3 weeks, thankfully!!

Otherwise, I am still going to Perú May 15th - June 12th (to Cuzco) by Machu Picchu and the doctor didn't express any concern, but prayers and thoughts are always welcome!

Now that I've written a novel, I'll end our post.  Thank you again for all the prayers, love and support - we are thrilled and so thankful to God for giving us this miracle :)

2 year anniversary and catch up :)

I just realized it's been forever since I wrote anything!  Travis and I were officially 2 years married on April 5, 2010, but we celebrated the weekend in Sedona, AZ - going to the hippie type shops and hiking all day Saturday!  We even had coldstone on Friday, but it's just too rich for me - Travis has more of a sweet tooth than I do!

So we did 2 separate hikes on Saturday - Cathedral Rock and West Fork.  The elevation was 5000 ft and in Phoenix we are only at 1500 ft, so it was noticeable when you are hiking, so we were out of breath a couple of times, but adjusted quickly.  The view at the top of Cathedral Rock was just amazing. 

West Fork was really cool as the majority of the hike is by Oak Canyon Creek, which is at an all time high b/c of all the rain we've had this year (yes, we've almost had 2 years worth in these 4 months).  We actually got into West Fork for free after we parked far away and walked in.  It was still $2/person to walk in, but we didn't any cash on us, so the nice park ranger let us in for free!  However, West Fork had 5 crossings one way (10 in all, there and back) and those got a little tiresome.  On the first one, Travis literally took off his shoes and socks and walked across the river instead of taking the log/rock way (which honestly was pretty shaky, people were falling in left and right).  Then he rinsed off his feet with the water and a paper towel.  The water was freezing cold, but he said it was worth it.  He crossed on the log/rock path on the way back.  I think we got better on the way back.  Also, on another crossing, Travis actually ended up crawling and bracing each leg on one log, which of course, I was laughing hysterically at that point, but he had the camera, so I didn't capture that kodak moment.  And on the last crossing, trying to help, I found a huge log and threw it in the water hoping it would catch with the other logs and all it did was soak Travis and almost bump him off, so that was funny too.  He was a good sport about it, lol. 

Other than that, Travis is most definitely in full time training mode, he gets up early (4:30) 3 days a week and goes biking and to track, swims and lifts at night and then has his long bike ride/run/swim on the weekend.  I, on the other hand, have been pretty lazy, and maybe getting to the gym 3 times a week. 

Kaia was in town for about 6 days a few weeks ago and that was super fun!  We didn't take any pictures together :( but she always makes me laugh and we had a lot of great talks and went to the pool a couple of times and went on some pretty long walks.  And of course, we ate out plenty.  I wasn't feeling the greatest that week, so I felt pretty bad about that, but we had fun.  We also tried the Latin Fusion dance class at the gym, and that was a total blast!  The music was all in Spanish and everything. 

Well, other than that, I received a "teaching excellence and service" award yesterday at the honor's reception, which was pretty cool.  I am so anxious for school to be done because all the final papers and projects are due in these next few weeks and my students have 3 exams left, which means 52 X 3 to correct for me (yes, whine, whine, whine), so I feel like there is a lot looming ahead.  But then it will all be done and I'll be on my way to Peru with Patsy!  Which I'm definitely looking forward to, not excited about being gone for 4 weeks, but it will probably be the last time I get to do something like this, so Travis and I decided I should go. 

Hope everyone has an awesome week!! 

And we paid off the car on 16 Mar 2010!!!!!

We are DEBT FREE!!!!!!!!

3 short and fun days in Montana :)

Here is the 5 mth boxer puppy my parents have.  Her name is Mya and she's such a great dog!!  I've decided this is the new dog that I want.  Travis enjoyed the dog, but not as much as I did, lol.  He came home and immediately said we needed to wash all of our clothes asap to get rid of the hair and dog slobber...  I miss Mya already - we took her on a bunch of walks and even ran with her in Two Moon Park.  She's so much fun!!

We also went to Amber's baby shower on Saturday, which was really fun!!  We enjoyed talking to Amber and Jason and hearing all about baby Stewart.  You couldn't see Amber's growing belly in the first pic so we had to take another one below.  I wasn't really sure how to stand sideways, so I copied Amber!!  She's one of my oldest friends - I was remembering all of the crazy and fun things we did together from elementary school through high school.  Good times!! 

Other than that, I realized I took no pictures with my family :(  but that's okay!  I am hoping to get up there in the summer probably by myself for a weekend or something.  It was nice to hang out with the family.  I even played the piano Monday night for a couple of hours - we played name that tune, and well, Travis needs some work on that one, lol.  Also, we went and hung out with Sali and Reid on Saturday night, which was fun!  They are a great couple and so much fun!  So, very short trip, but very busy and very fun!

Kaia comes next week, so I am so looking forward to that!  Anyway, off to study for this killer phonology midterm that I have on Monday.  Boo. 

Ooh - I found 2 more pics of little Mya with my mom:

Officially on spring break!!

These are some of the pics from Travis' triathlon on March 7th.  He placed FIRST in his age group and got 8th overall.  The run course was a bit long, more of a 3.5 than a 3.1, but he did very well.  It actually started raining after he finished, which is good.  It's been raining here a lot lately, but I think it's just about to get to be warmer weather for good...

I am on spring break until March 21th!  Yay!  I have a couple of major things to do, including studying for a phonology midterm that's on the Monday after break and grading my students' oral exams.  What happened to just having free time without having to work?  I must admit I think the only time I'll have "free" is when I'm in Peru for 4 weeks because I sure as heck can't do much else but go to those classes and just hang out.  No grades or credit for that, so I am looking forward to that. 

We are super excited to go to Montana and hang out with family and friends - it'll be a very short trip, we get back Tuesday morning, but it will be a good time.

Travis actually called me today and asked if I wanted to go and celebrate our anniversary in Sedona!  We'll be married for 2 years on April 5th, 2010, so just around the corner.  I am pumped to go to Sedona - it's gorgeous and there's lots of hiking to do and neat little shops.  Here's a picture of Sedona:

Not much else to say from us right now.  Kind of just trying to get through this semester.  Travis is trying to get through his audit at work.  His auditor is a 2nd year and on a power trip and asks for absolutely ridiculous things to audit.  SO glad I don't have to go through that this year, lol! 

Hope everyone has an awesome weekend and talk to you later!