Papa's Birthday

For my dad's birthday we all went to a Diamondbacks game and hung out at a hotel together.  It was a fun little getaway to celebrate such a great guy :o)

Papa Bob and the grandkids

Uncle Peter and his nieces and nephew

Riding the metro to the stadium

Jay, Peter, Matt & Callum

Myles got a game ball!

Before the game, Jesh asked Fred for a game ball for Myles. He delivered!

Happy birthday Papa!

4th of July

We vacationed the whole first week of July, visiting family in Tucson and visiting lots of friends in Phoenix.  On the fourth of July we spent the day at our friend Thomas' parents' house, next to the pool, playing basketball, grilling and eating s'mores. We were surrounded by great friends and the day was perfect :o)

Jasmine and Grace Ann with Isaiah and baby Elijah.

Sarah and baby Olivia

Christian and Connor loving the in-ground trampoline

The boys loved all being together again :o)

So thankful for our wonderful friends and the freedom we enjoy everyday.

Month #1

The first month with Caedmon flew by and it seems like he has always been apart of our family.  He is all boy and has a different demeanor than Reese did as a baby.  We can't wait to see more of his personality as time goes on.  He is VERY sleepy, he definitely lets us know when he is hungry, he loves being held and cuddled, he likes to sleep on his tummy, and his eyes look very blue - it would be crazy to have a blue-eyed baby :o) Big sister Reese is so helpful, its amazing.  Anything I ask her to do for Caedmon she does with a great attitude and a smile.

Callum and Auntie Robin

Snugglin' with Daddy

His first piece of mail :o)

Celebrating Mema's birthday in Tucson

Mema meeting Caedmon 

Sister and brother :o)

Happy one month birthday little man!

Yum

A few things I've been dishing up:

Homemade hummus. Recipe by the Barefoot Contessa. One of the few recipes of hers that I'm not intimidated by :o)

Kale chips. Recipe by Jessica, a girl from Denver.  Made these for Jesh as a snack.  About three months ago he started a new "diet" that basically consists of meat and vegetables...hence the vegetable snack.  These are actually light and satisfying at the same time.

Frozen Honey Blueberry (I used Raspberries) Coconut Milk Dessert.  Basically ice cream, without the cream.  Recipe by Joanne Choi at the blog Week of Menus.  Remember that diet I was talking about?  Yeah, no dairy (or added sugar) allowed.  This is surprisingly delicious - a home run :o)

P.S. Jesh has lost 30 pounds so far following said diet - I am super proud of him and his discipline!

Boys will be boys...

In late May, Jesh's brother Micah and his family came up and camped in Williams for a couple days.  It was so cold at night (especially since no fires are allowed right now), that after one night they came and stayed at our house :o)  At the campsite, the boys were enjoying being boys...throwing big rocks into the water, playing in the mud, rock stacking...good times.

Caedmon James G. Garcia

I had wondered for months what labor and delivery would be like this time and tried my best not to expect the same situation and circumstances as Reese's birth (which, as far as home births go, was remarkably calm and pretty fast).  But nothing really could have prepared me for this time around...

I woke up in the early morning hours on Wednesday with contractions that were strong enough that I had to get out of bed to walk them out.  They continued every 30 minutes until my alarm went off and I had to get ready for work.  I knew these were the real thing, but with them being so far apart still I didn't want to sit around the house waiting for them to get stronger and closer together.  So... I went to work.

By 9am the contractions had virtually stopped and I was bummed :o)  Once they get going, you just want to progress and get moving.  Jesh took me to lunch (we work in the same building) and they began to pick up so when we returned around 1pm they were consistently about 20 minutes apart.  My boss kept looking at me like a ticking time bomb, reminding me to leave whenever I felt like I needed to...hint, hint.  I knew I wouldn't be back for the next six weeks, so I was trying to finish a few things and then I would leave.  Turns out I only left 10 minutes before I normally do at 3pm.

I headed home and reminded Jesh that Reese needed to be picked up at the babysitter's house at 3:30pm.  When I left work contractions were 15 minutes apart but when I got home they jumped to every 5 min.  I called my midwife, Becky, and "gave her a heads up" as to where I was at.  She headed home to get her things and told me to call her when I wanted her to come.  A couple minutes later I texted Jesh to "try to hurry".  Later Jesh told me I really didn't convey the urgency of the situation...oops ;o)  I knew he was on his way so I figured he would be there in time.

Labor progressed faster than I could have imagined and by 3:45pm there was no break in between contractions and I felt like I could start pushing.  Only problem was I was home alone.  Jesh and Becky were on their way as fast as they could possibly go (believe me...Jesh pulled into the driveway with the car smoking...) Jesh got home at 4pm and, after talking to Becky while racing home, was prepared to deliver Caedmon if he had to.  Five minutes later Becky arrived and ran in the house and...15 minutes later Caedmon was here! This is, of course, the condensed version of the story :o)  But most importantly, Caedmon was perfect and healthy and I was fine - thank you Lord!

Caedmon James G. Garcia
Born 4:21 pm
8 lbs. 1 oz. 21 in. long

My dad brought Reese over to see Caedmon before she had a sleepover at his and Auntie Robin's house.

We feel beyond blessed to have our family of four!  Thank you, Lord, for your perfect plan and timing!