Sweetest sound I've ever heard...

I know it's taken me forever but all good things take time, right;) This isn't the video of Arabella's voice the very 1st time. It actually took her a while to make sound. Not like Aidan who discovered his voice within seconds. Check out the video of the very 1st time I heard Aidan's voice here. Come to find out that even if she didn't have a trach she would be a pretty quiet baby, for the most part. I've taken tons of video but this is by far the BEST! Take a look



Life is a miracle. It's beautiful. We are so grateful for today's technology that has given us the blessing of raising our kids and enjoying their laughter every day.

Laundry, tacos, baby & flower

Well, let's just get the bad part out of the way. This is the story of my life. Does this ever happen to you? My problem with laundry seems to be that I can always find time to get it into the washer and then into the dryer, but finding the time to fold it and put it away...obviously where I fall short. I'm ashamed to admit that this is a common sight in my home:( I want to get better. I really do!

On a happier note, my friend, Amy had her baby this week! Boy is she a cutie. She weighed a whopping 8lbs 12oz!

Little Miss. Heidi Joy

Sweet little hand.

Ahhhh date night. I wait for you all week and before I know it...you are gone. Well this past date night was FUN! Rich and I discovered a deeeeelicious mexican restaurant. It is rated the #1 restaurant in Ft. Lauderdale by Trip Advisor and it is just this little hole in the wall place. It has all of 3 tables that seat 2 people each.

The tacos are to die for! Seriously! If you are looking for authentic this is the place. Trust me, my uncle has a mexican restaurant in Mexico and these definitely live up to his standard.
Yummy, tacos de carne asada!

Divine!

After that amazing dinner we went to Boomers and played some games, bowled, ate cotton candy, asked the register lady if we could borrow her closed toed shoes so we could climb the rock wall. She said no. Then to end the fun night we rode the go carts. Rich is convinced I have a psycho personality that comes out when I get behind the wheel of a go cart. I would have to agree with him.
Just have to post this picture of the flower I made for my sister-in-law. I love it.

FYI Arabella got her voice last week. Friday the 23rd to be exact. She got a valve called a passy muir valve that allows her to make sounds just like a regular baby. We are having video uploading issues, that is why I haven't posted a video of her yet but I am anxious to get it up and running. Stay tuned in the next couple of days for that video:D

Perez Fix

Tonight was such a great night. I got a little visit from my great friend Sister Perez. I had the special privilege of serving with her on Temple Square. We were never actually companions but we were close friends throughout our mission. She is such an amazing person and it was awesome to get to hang out with her again after 5 years.

It didn't take long for us to start right where we left off. I think that is a sign of a really great friend.

Gotta do the classic Temple Square point:)

"Ok, enough with the point already." Not really what was going on but thought it was funny.

Pictures turned out a little grainy but what can you do? We both have braces but she has the really cool ones that are clear. Jealous. We had a special time together tonight reminiscing. Talking about the good times, the hard times and how our mission changed us. We talked about companions and experiences. It brought back feelings that I really needed to feel at this time in my life.

Crazy story...So, I served with Martha (Sister Perez) on Temple Square. She introduced me to her brother and mom when they came by for a visit just before her brother started his mission in the Boise, Idaho Mission. 4 months into my Temple Square mission I got another mission call to serve, guess where? Boise, Idaho! So I not only served with Martha but I also served with her brother. That's not the end of the story! 4 years after my mission Rich and I moved out here to Davie, Florida. One day I'm sitting in sunday school at church and there is a lady sitting next to me that looks soooo familiar! It took me a second to figure out where I had seen her...Martha's mom!!!!!! What? Yeah! It's true! She lives just a few miles from me. This is how I got a sweet little visit from my good friend. She came out to see her mom. The world can be such a small place.
This was supposed to be a silly picture but I think I'm the only one that took it seriously.

3 of us together. Cute braces!

I love you Hermanita! Gracias por la visita. Dices que yo he sido una bendicion en tu vida pero en realidad tu lo has sido para mi. Eres un ejemplo de lo que yo quiero llegar a ser. Te quiero mucho y te deseo todo lo mas bonito.

Arabella 7 months

I'm ashamed to admit that I've slacked with keeping up with Arabella's progress on my blog:( My excuse? Life! So here's an update on my Beautiful Bella.

She is sooooo very loved! She has the sweetest demeanor and is social and loving to everybody. That's one thing that I love about her. Anybody can hold her and she doesn't cry if she's not familiar with them.
This is Arabella with Aunt Yesenia. No, you still can't have her Sen ;)

Things she's doing:
*Rolling all over the place. Has been for the past couple months.
*Eating lots of yummy baby food. Her favorite is squash.
*She's a thumb sucker!
*Loves to play with toys.
*She loves her big brother & sister. She watches them play and smiles when they run by.
*Sleeping through the night since she was about 4 months old. Gosh I'm behind!
*She is just starting to scoot.

Arabella with her Aunt Rebecca

Medical Status:
She is doing AWESOME! We just had an appointment with the ENT where he looked at her vocal cords and great news...there is a slight flicker in her right vocal cord!! I was soooo excited! He prescribed a passy muir valve for her. This is a special valve that will go over her trach and allow her to make regular sounds. We are really looking forward to that in the next week or two.

Arabella with Aunt Beth

My baby girl is so smart. She has figured out how to make lots of noise despite the trach. Aidan was able to make a little bit of noise but never quite like Arabella. She tenses up her throat and squeeeeeeeek. Since discovering that she can make noise she has gotten a bit of an attitude. She's a little more demanding of my attention. I love this little girl so much. She is a gift that we don't take for granted, ever. We know how lucky we are to have her and treasure her every day.

Grandma Josie & baby Bella

Missouri visit- Lucero side

We are finally home sweet home! We had a great time in Missouri visiting our family. Here are some pictures to highlight our time with my side of the family.

After a few crazy, stressful days of keeping the kids in the house, my sister bought a $10 pool from Wal-Mart. Best $10 she ever spent! It gave us many days of sanity and lots of memories:)

Danny, my studly little man.

I just love him!

Josy was such a mommy the whole time. Always making sure all of the other kids did exactly what we asked.

My sweet sister...gotta love her. Always on her phone. Yet, whenever I call her she doesn't answer. I don't get it ;)

My good friend, Jeanne was brave enough to join the insanity a couple of times. Then she never came back:( Just kidding Jeanne. Sorry again for not calling!

Asher is so cute!! He was totally flirting with Arabella the whole time. Maybe they'll make a cute couple someday:)

How could you not just LOVE this sweet little face?

My sister and I developed a routine that worked great for us. She would watch the kids in the pool while I made lunch and then we would feed then outside! It was great!

We did this several times. The kids loved it!

They formed such a strong bond. Danny is 4 months older than Maya. Awww, so sweet!

Josy is 4 months older than Aidan.

Best friends FOREVER!
From left to right- Julian, Damian & Gabriel. My nephews. We had some good times with them too.

These pictures are just a bonus to brighten your day. I don't know why she chooses to do this but it drives me nuts. What can you do? She likes what she likes.

We had a fun time with my family in Missouri. After 28 years I finally learned how to make flour tortillas. Thanks mom! Mine is obviously the one on the left. My mom made the one on the right. I'm still practicing!!!

Thanks for everything, Mommy! Love you and we'll miss you!

Dear Daddy

Daddy, It's me, Arabella! I miss you so much! I can't wait to see you again in 2 weeks. We are having so much fun in Missouri but wish you were here. Aidan and Maya have been so busy here at Grandma Bakers house. Check out what they've been up to!

Aidan discovered that bugs aren't so bad.

Maya always wants to go outside to play in the water.

They have so much fun together playing with the hose.

They are so silly!

I can't wait until I can walk...

So that I can walk to the hole and throw rocks in it. It looks like so much fun!

They are always asking Grandma for cookies. They look yummy:)

We miss you and love you, Daddy! Come back soon!