We're having a BOY!!

On Thursday we found out we are having a little BOY:)

We were all smiles when we heard the news. My eyes got a little teary,

I feel one step closer to getting to know my baby, my SON!

(... yeah thats gonna be weird to say for a while.. but in a good way!)

The ultrasound was so much fun, we got to see him bouncing around

and we were told he is growing just right, it made us feel good to to hear

the ultrasound tech say things like, "just gorgeous" or "beautiful".

It just made me feel like everything is going okay for our little guy in my womb.

We got to see his cute little feet! These are what I feel kicking everyday all day, and I love it.

After our appointment, Derrick and I went to Barnes and Noble.

We split a slice of cheesecake and looked through five fat books of baby names.

Choosing a name is a toughie! I mean this is kind of important, right?

After being bombarded by hundreds of names we decided

we still have a few more months to think about it

so we ventured to Babies R Us and Baby Gap.

I didn't splurge too much...

BUT Gap was having a sale so we just HAD to buy some cute little onesies,

a pair of bite size jeans and some little shoes that Derrick picked out.

I've looked at these clothes like 3 times already.. (sigh).. I just love my baby boy already:)

Today we had dinner at Derrick's parents house.

His mom pulled out a couple of boxes full of Derrick's old baby clothes!

I am so excited that she kept some of them, needless to say I had mucho fun rummaging through the clothes and picking out some for our little boy.

He's gonna be so 80's vintage.

It seems almost unreal that I am halfway through this pregnancy.

I still feel great, not much nausea.

But just this past week I had some horrible pains in the lower right side of my back.

I called the doctor's office because it was starting to get super uncomfortable to walk around and

I spent three nights sleeping horribly because of the pain.

The nurse said it was probably my sciatic nerve, round ligament pain, or my back was out.

I ruled out my back being out because I've never had problems with my back before.

On the day we got the ultrasound, my doctor (who is also a pregnancy chiropractor) said my back was indeed out!

He said my hips were rotated and a couple ribs were out of place.

How does a person go around and not feel that??

Anywho he crunched me up and I left feeling great:)

But this week I have been indulging in lots of art projects that involve painting,

so when I feel my side hurt I know it's time to stop.

I feel like such an old lady!

20 1/2 weeks!

Here I am wearing a snug tee so everyone can get a good look at my bump.

Regular jeans are not really my friend anymore:(

jeggings are a preggo chick's bff:)

Boy or Girl??

Okay. I am going to pee my pants I am so excited..

Only a day and a half til we find out the gender of our baby!!

Our appointment is Thursday morning.

I told the doctor's office to pen me in as the first appointment of the day.

So who is this little one inside my belly?

A little Derrick? Or a little Bryana?

Either way we will definitely have our hands full with this child.

I can feel it:)

(ps: look how adorable Derrick was when he was teeny tiny! I hope our babies get his cute little lips!)

Two Years and Counting

Yesterday was May 16th 2011.

A date that marks two years of being married!

These past two years have been full of memories and growth and

love, love, love.

I am so in love! I mean it when I tell him he's my heaven.

We were married in the San Diego temple.

Since that day we have had so much fun being married!

Here is a glimpse of our lives these past two years together.

We heart our mommas

Mother's Day was nice:)

Derrick spoke in church about mothers and he even mentioned me and our soon to be baby.

I told him that with M Day, our anniversary, AND my birthday all in the same month,

(and the fact that i am not exactly a true blue mama yet), he wasn't allowed to get me anything.

He surprised me with a beautiful heartfelt card. It was one of those Papyrus cards that are all

decked out with rhinestones and some artistic designs, i loved it.

But what he wrote inside was the sweetest part.

One thing I love about Derrick is that he always has a lot to say.

And since that is usually the case with me too,

we keep ourselves busy with convos about everything under the moon.

But when Derrick puts sweet thoughts on paper, I just melt.

He doesnt focus on being poetic or using fancy words to woo me, he's just honest and loving and I can

tell he puts so much thought in every word and that means the most to me.

Okay okay.. no more gushing!

Anywhooo.. I was also surprised to get a package in the mail from my amazing sister Kari!

She gave me a book called The Artistic Mother. I am so excited about it! It is a book that inspires and gives creative motivation to a mama with a busy life. There's so much to it that I wanna do.

I love Kari, she's so thoughtful and she always picks the best gifts:)

We had dinner at Derrick's parents house. We didnt want his mom to cook on her special day, so we had a bbq, Derrick's dad makes some delicious french fries in his dutch oven!

All of us kids volunteered to bring sides, but of course the one day we dont want

Melanie (his mom) to cook, our side dish did not turn out! I felt horrible!

I'm not even gonna say what it was that I did wrong, its too embarrassing... haha.

But the lovely thing about mothers is that they are so forgiving and loving no matter what.

I'm just glad we gave her a gift we know she'd love.

She deserved it, she's so good to all of us kids.

It's nice having one of our mom's so close to us.

I wish I could have seen and hugged my mom on Mother's Day.

But instead, we got to chat on the phone for a while. I love talking to that woman, she makes me laugh and we understand each other sooo much more than when I was a feisty teenager...

because now I'm a feisty wife and soon-to-be-mother, and she can relate to that:)

My mom really cares about every one of her five children.

Our lives are all on different levels right now and she is always in tune and aware of how we all are.

She's always been there to listen and gently guide, never forcing. I love her for that.

I have so much to learn from her while I start my journey in to motherhood.

"The sun will come out tomorrow!"

When i was a a kid, maybe around 5 or 6, I would watch a movie called 'Annie' every single day. It's a classic, about a little redheaded orphan who is spunky, sweet, and optimistic.

She would sing about tomorrow being a better day.

I'd like to think I learned a great deal from that little orphan,

considering I still know every song by heart.

Today I woke up with a cold, missing my mom for M Day, lots of house work,

school work, and church responsibilities to prepare for.. all of these things I love,

(minus being sick and missing my mama) but... just so much at once!

On top of it all, it was a gloomy, rainy day.

Well its no surprise that coming from sunny California,

the cold, frigid days in Idaho would begin to get a wee bit old.

And lately, just as soon as it warms up, it's either crazy windy or rainy:(

But I have not lost hope. For where a preggo woman can find Ben and Jerry's

Phish Food ice cream, there is hope. Have you tried this? It's amazazazing.

It's totally a splurge, but I can pull the hungry preggo chick card right?

You bet your bottom dollar:)

No, I didn't buy them BOTH for me.

The other was for my love:)

Viva la Comida

Today is a an extra spicy and delicious day...

Cinco de Mayo!

I love that Derrick loves Mexican food, spicy Mexican food.

If he didn't, we may have a hard time in this relationship.

I made some empanadas:) My dad served a mission in Argentina and now he always takes us to this little whole in the wall called Regina's in Orange County. Their empanadas are bombdiggity. Es verdad. And I have to say, these empanadas that I made came

pretty darn close to how much we love Regina's.

While I made the empanadas, Derrick (who had to morning off:) made arepas for dessert! I dont know if arepas are Mexican, but I do know they make them in Colombia.

My brother makes them for us sometimes and they are delectable. Derrick loves them and so he was more than willing to add to our little fiesta. While the empanadas and arepas were baking, we whipped up some salsa fresca and freshly squeezed lemonade.

Spicy chicken and veggie empanadas

Arepas for dessert. Thanks for the recipe David!

Spicy Chicken and Veggie Empanadas RECIPE

Okay so its sooo easy. Its my own recipe because the others were too time consuming and called for things i didnt have.

This made 8 empanadas. Feel free to change it up according to your taste buds!

-Pie crusts (the roll out kind not frozen)

-2 chicken breast

-1 yellow onion

-1 can of corn

-1 green bell pepper

-2 serrano peppers

-1 cup grated cheese

-1 can of red enchilada sauce

-olive oil

-1 egg

-salt and pepper

[preheat oven to 375]

1. cut up half of the onion (the other half will be used for the filling) and place in a saucepan with chicken breasts. Cover with water and boil for about 20 mins.

2. in another pan drizzle olive oil and chop up the other half of the onion and fry til translucent. Add corn. While they are both cooking, cut up the peppers in tiny pieces and add to corn and onions. This will be going for a while, you can add some olive oil and 1/4 of the enchilada sauce to keep some liquid in, we want this to stew for a bit. Add salt and lotsa pepper.. to taste.

3. In the box of pie crusts, there are using two rolls, I just rolled them together into one big ball, then flattened it out onto wax paper with a rolling pin. Then you want to cut out 5 inch in diameter circles. I had a cookie cutter but if you dont, you can get creative with something about that size in your house (ie: you can trace a cd with a knife... does that make sense?haha) Anyway you should get about 8 circles aka empanada shells.

4. Remove chicken from saucepan and shred. Then add to a pan with olive oil and fry for a little bit. Add the rest of the enchilada sauce to the frying chicken pieces.

5. Combine veggies and chicken in a mixing bowl. Add shredded cheese and mix well.

6. Spoon a good amount into each empanada shell but make sure its not too much where you cant fold it over. You'll need to wet your finger and run it around the edges to seal in closed, you dont want it to open while its baking. The press the edges with a fork.

7.In a separate bowl beat the one egg with a fork.

8. Place uncooked empanadas over a foiled cookie sheet. I Before placing in the oven, brush the top of each empanada with the egg.

9. Bake at 375 degrees for 20 minutes. ENJOY:)

Ooooh baby, BABY!

Soooo now that I have posted our April events, I can get to the exciting stuff.

We have amazing news... October 5th is a special day because

We are having a baby!!

As of today I am 18 weeks pregnant. So far I have to say the pregnancy has gone well.

I have not been very sick (knocking on wood as I type...)

My May 19th posting will be an exciting one because that is when we find out the gender!!

Everyone asks what we want to have, boy? or girl?

A girl would be fun to dress up and be girly with. But I always thought a big brother would be nice.

I think Derrick wants a girl. Today when we were grocery shopping, Derrick kept looking at all the cute little toddler girls with a huge smile, he is so excited to be a daddy.

But honestly, we will both be ecstatic no matter what sex it is!

Our lives will change so much and we are totally okay with that. Our callings in life are to be righteous mothers and fathers and raise faithful, righteous children. There is nothing I want more in this life than to do just that. There is so much I want to teach our children!

And at the same time, there is so much I need to learn.

I have heard some women say that they have no desire to have kids, it is so hard for me to comprehend that. I know it will be challenging and there will be sacrifices that Derrick and I will have to make, but

I have an immense desire because I know there is no greater calling in life.

But in the meantime, I have 4 1/2 more months to prepare for our little bebita. More pictures to come!

This is Baby Likes at 11 weeks.

It was so amazing to see our baby bouncing around and hearing the tiny little heartbeat.

This is me at 14 weeks!

Easter Sunday

"He is not here: For he is risen." Matthew 28:6

Oh how I love Easter!!

The day was beautiful, the church messages were inspiring and thought provoking,

and we got to spend the day with family.

When we woke up that morning, Derrick and I were pretty anxious to exchange Easter baskets.

Since the weather was beauteous,

we went outside to the front porch with our baskets behind our backs.

Derrick pulled my basket from behind him and with humongous smile he said,

"Happy Valentine's Day!"

haha poor guy, with so many festivities he must get them all confused! I said, "....or Easter?"

He always makes me laugh.

After our lovely church meetings, we had Easter dinner at Derrick's parents house. My sister and her bf and friend came too. We played games had an egg hunt. It was a lovely Easter Day.

Our nieces, Kancee and Nakomi, loved hunting for eggs!

"Kiss my lucky egg!"

SLC Marathon/Bike Tour

Last year Derrick and I decided to join my dad in the annual Salt Lake City Marathon. Derrick ran the half marathon and I did the 5k. While Derrick was running he saw the bicyclists and decided he would do the bike tour this year. Between school and work, Derrick found time to train for the Bike Tour, which is about 26 miles. Now he wants to do a Century Tour, that's 100 miles!.. Baby steps darling, baby steps.

My hubby is such a cutie! I am so proud of him:)

My dad, the marathon man.

My brother David and youngest sister Madi ran the 5k.