I Guess It's Official

The Showers made it official, his name will be Zayd Pacha Gaxiola. After all, you can't change your mind after people have gotten things monogrammed for you. I will admit, even though we have known his name for a long time, it has taken me a little while to really commit to it, mostly because I think it's a huge responsibility to choose the name of another human being. Nick and I were pretty lucky on this one though, because we both liked the name Zayd the first time we heard it, and we never really found any other name we liked as much. One day, God willing, our little man will be reading these entries and he'll gain a little insight into what life was like before he entered the world.

So, this was my long awaited shower weekend, and were we ever blown away by the generosity of our family and friends. Friday was a lunch shower with our friends from Nick's work, at Chez Fon Fon. The great food and company was plenty, but on top of that we got some great stuff and a very generous gift card! So, for any of you who may be reading this, thank you thank you! That was a most wonderful showing of love for us and Baby Zayd!

Me and Nick at Chez Fonfon

Us with our sweet hostesses, Amanda and Heather

Opening gifts!

The coolest diaper cake ever!

Then onto Saturday, our shower at Julie's house. It was wonderful to see all of the people I love in one place! I'll never forget it, so for those of you girls reading this thank YOU! Here are just a few pictures of the wonderful event.

Mom with the door decor

Me with the beautiful hostesses

Me with Nick's sis, aunt, mom, and cousin, I'm so glad they came!

Chi O Picture

The awesome chocolate fountain

Me with my goods, AMAZING! Thank everyone!

Looking Ahead

Character... Teaching your children right from wrong, that it's not okay to pitch a fit in the middle of the grocery store or hit someone if they don't give you your way. How do you instill all of these values and raise happy healthy children? These are now the things that plague my mind as I get closer and closer to being solely responsible for another human being. Are some kids just born with an easy disposition, are some more aggressive? The last thing I want is for my child to be bullied, but what may be worse is the possibility of him being the bully. Can bad kids happen to good people?

Okay, that was my deep thoughts portion of today's entry for your reading pleasure. I don't think it has to be that complicated. My simple hope is that our son turns out exactly like Nick. I know, I've already dedicated an entire entry to him, and I don't want to get too sappy here, but I think we all are attracted to people that possess the qualities that we value and consider important. I've never met anyone in my life who is so kind, considerate, and compassionate, someone who never raises his voice or speaks out of line. The more people I am around, the more I realize how rare these qualities are and the more my appreciation for them (and him) grows.

So, if the answers to all of the questions above are simple and lead by example is the key to raising good kids, then I have no need to worry because between my husband and all of the wonderful family and friends around me, I believe Baby G will have no choice but to be great, God-willing.

Vegas... Baby

Baby G has been to New Orleans, Nashville, and even the beach a couple times, so we thought it only appropriate that he see the lights of Las Vegas, probably the only time he'll get to before he turns 21 himself! The real reason for the trip was to visit with Nick's family, and we thought we'd make it a bit of a babymoon also because let's face it, our traveling days are numbered and at 30 and 1/2 weeks, I was pushing it a little.

Let's start at the beginning:

We flew out Thursday evening and stopped in Dallas, where I had my first (and surely not last) experience with swollen ankles, and I'm sure I overreacted a bit, but I have to admit it freaked me out. We arrived at our beautiful hotel room at the Venetian at around midnight. Well, everyone knows that town doesn't sleep. It felt like about 9 p.m. So, we played a little and went and got some dinner. Yes, you can have a sit down meal at a restaurant at 1 in the morning. We went to bed around 3 a.m. (5 a.m. our body time, which is completely absurd) and woke at 9, no joke. We were ready to get out on the town. Nick knew that one of the main things I wanted to do was visit the forum shops at Caesar's Palace, so we had some breakfast at The Venetian and headed to the shops. Well, lucky for me, that turned into him buying my "push present," which I'm sure you moms out there are familiar with. It speaks for itself:

We spent the afternoon with Nick's family, and I finally got to meet his sweet grandparents. His grandmother (Nana) greeted her great grandchild very sweetly by actually kissing my belly. She also told me to make sure and tell him that she loves him. I'll probably remember it always, and I will certainly tell Baby G one day.

That night we went to Love, the Cirque de Soleil production of The Beatles classics. It was unbelievable. There's nothing on the planet like Cirque de Soleil, and it gave us an even stronger appreciation for The Beatles. On Saturday, we tried to sleep in, but couldn't really do it, even though we had stayed up pretty late again. We headed down to the Bellagio, because I think it is one of the most beautiful hotels on the strip (besides The Venetian). We decided to eat at the little cafe in front of Paris that overlooks the Bellagio fountains and lucked into the perfect seats to view the fountains in all their glory. Incidentally, I had the best french toast I think I've ever had at that restaurant. We spent the rest of that afternoon with family, and I had the pleasure of having a burrito with Nana's famous refried beans, delicious!

That night we went to Ka the famous Cirque show at the MGM Grand. That was insane. The stage is unbelievable, and Baby G was kicking like crazy during it, so I think he liked it too. Of course, that might have been because I was eating sour worms and drinking Diet Dr. Pepper the whole time.

We finished out the weekend with the Bellagio buffet and headed back home to start our routine again. It was a wonderful weekend!