My Husband, the Sailor! :)

After being away from Mike for 9 1/2 weeks, Nixon and I were finally reunited with him this last weekend!

Mike graduated boot camp for the United States Navy on August 27th, 2010. He is officially a sailor! I have been looking forward to this day for the last year and a half! (Knowing that we would be separated for that long without any contact except for paper letters, was weighing on my mind since July 2009!) So needless to say, I was ECSTATIC when it finally came!

It was amazing to have our little family together for the weekend! It was even better when I had one of the proudest moments of my married life, watching my husband receive The Navy Club of the United States Military Excellence Award! And just so everyone can understand how important this award is....Mike was #1 out of 425in the entire boot camp, not to mention that he is in the top 50 out of 50,000 for the year!!!!! It brought tears to my eyes to see my husband standing there and being recognized. He is truly amazing and I am SO proud to be his wife!!!!!

My summer without my Hubs.....

As many of you know, Mike joined the Navy last year. He is wanting to pursue a career as a doctor, and Med school is out of our price range at this time. Once we started looking at all of our options, joining the military was the best option. Not to mention the fact that Mike is extremely outgoing and the military is right up his ally!

Since he chose a career in the Navy as a Hospital Core man, he was unable to ship out til this summer. (I believe it all worked out for the best since he was around to see our daughter born and watch her grow up for the first four months.) It had been hanging over us for an entire year, and I was dreading the actual day when he had to ship out.

Once he shipped out, they told us that there would be no emailing, no web cams, very few phone calls and only paper letters. All in all it would be an 8 week process and I was praying that the time would go by fast. So far we are on week 6 of 8! Mike graduates on August 27th, and I could be more excited that the time is finally approaching!!!!

Since Mike shipped off on July 1st, life has been filled with my baby girl. I try to capture every moment with her so that I can write Mike every night and give him little updates on her. It has definitely been hard having him away, but I think that it has been harder for him since he has to be away from both of us. So I make sure that I write him every night to try and make it a little easier on him.

I have had many people ask how things are with him and with Nixon and I. Nixon and I are doing really well. It was extremely hard the first couple of weeks without Mike. There was a couple of nights that I would wake up in the middle of the night reaching out for him. I missed talking to him everyday and having my best friend around. So I tried to stay busy and concentrate on our daughter.

As for Nixon, she has just been growing away and posing for the camera every time I take a picture to send to her daddy. One of our biggest fears was that she would forget Mike while he was gone since she is so young. So to try and make that NOT happen, Mike tape recorded his voice reading her books to her. We listen to about 2 books every day. I also try and show her pictures of Mike on a daily basis and tell her that "daddy loves her and misses her". I think that it is somewhat working because the little phone calls that we have received, I have put Mike on speaker phone and Nixon looks around the room.

As for Mike, he is doing AMAZING!!!! Anyone that knows Mike, knows that he is very outgoing and determined to do a great job at anything he puts his mind to. Shortly after he got there, I was informed that he was put in charge of 78 recruits. And just this last week, I received a letter from the Officer/Director stating that Mike would be receiving an award at his graduation for outstanding performance. I have never been so proud of my husband. It is truly and honor to be married to a man who is willing to sacrifice so much for his country and is doing an amazing job! He truly is an amazing man in my eyes and a hero to our family and country.

Spending Time with Family!!!!

Since I have been a "stay at home mommy" all summer long, Nixon and I have been able to attend the family reunions. It has been so much fun showing her off to everyone!


On July 7th, Nixon and I drove to the Mack Family Reunion with my mom and Steve. This year the Mack Reunion was located in New Mexico. I was a little weary taking Nixon on that long of a road trip, but she pleasantly surprised me and everyone else! She was a complete angel! She did not make a peep. She slept most of the drive and when she wasn't sleeping she was just looking around and happy to be with everyone in the car.



While we were at the Mack reunion, Nixon experienced her first zoo. :) I carried her around in her Baby Bjorn and she was able to watch all the animals. It was fun watching her face every time she saw them. It is a look of complete interest and intense thinking, as she watches the way they move. She is very observant, and I can't wait for the day that she will actually be able to make the noises that the animals make and be able to distinguish between them! :)

Nixon also experienced her first hike with the entire family. The Friday of the Reunion, we all got together and took the tram up Sandia Mountain. (I'm assuming that was the name since our tram conductor said that!) We spent the entire day up on the top of the mountain, and after lunch we hiked across the mountain to a little peak for about a mile and a half. Again, Nixon didn't make a peep, she just sat back in her little pack and enjoyed the ride! :)


That Saturday was the day that everyone left to go home. We had a really good time, and it was nice to be able to meet and catch up with that side of the family. :)

Then July 28th, Nixon and I ventured up to Idaho so that we could spend a few days with my dad and Carolyn before we had the Gutierrez Family Reunion. It was nice to spend time my parents and have Nixon spend time with her Grandparents. Her Grandpa and Grandma Sommer love her to pieces and couldn't put her down! They were constantly showering her with kisses and love!


After spending a week with my parents, we joined my mom's side of the family for the Gutierrez Reunion. We had a blast, and it was SO nice to get to see all of my Aunts, Uncles and Cousins that I haven't seen in a LONG time. It was also fun to show off Nixon to everyone. My Grandparents, Nixon's Great Grandparents haven't been able to come out and meet her, so it was the first time they got to see her. They fell in love instantly, and again, Nixon was loved by everyone.


Nixon is also the first great granddaughter of a granddaughter of a daughter to my grandmother....HAHAH... did that make sense?!? So it was the first four generation picture that my grandma has been able to take. :) We weren't able to get it professionally done, but it was fun none the less. Next time we will schedule an appointment and get a professional one taken so that we can have it framed.




All in all it was a great time spending the 2 weeks with family! Nixon fell in love with everyone and it was hard to say our good-byes. Hopefully it won't be long until we see everyone again!

Nixon Growing Up!

Ok....So I am officially the WORST blogger!!!! The other day I was cleaning and realized that I haven't updated our blog since Nixon was 2 months old (She is now 6 months old)!!!! I really thought that once Nixon came I would be updating this every night with all the little things that she does. But come to find out, I don't update it, I just play with her and watch her while she sleeps! LOL! I am completely in love with her and cherish everyday that passes. She is my little angel and I can't believe how fast she is growing already.

Nixon is currently 6 months old and on the verge of crawling. She mastered sitting up by herself the middle of July and has been sitting up and rolling over all over the place. Over the last couple of days she starts with sitting up and then slowly moves down to her stomach. Once she is fully laying down on her stomach, she props her little bottom in the air and tries to push herself up in a crawling stance. She's not quite strong enough to keep it there, so she gets really frustrated and starts wiggling around. However, she is getting where she wants to go....I call it her little slither. She tries hard to crawl, but once that doesn't work, she slithers her way (pushes herself across the floor with her feet) to where she wants to be. I think that it will be any day now that she will actually surprise me and start actually crawling!

Nixon is a fabulous little baby. She is ALWAYS happy and laughing. She LOVES to chatter at everyone and she laughs at her own little "jokes" all the time. She absolutely LOVES her exersaucer! She could play in that thing for hours at a time and she loves to chat with all the little toys that are on there. Mike and I have been truly blessed with her and couldn't ask for anything more....Well maybe 2 or 3 more just like her! :)

Here are pictures throughout Nixon's 6 months....I thought everyone would enjoy seeing her changes throughout the last 6 months.


February 11, 2010: Nixon is Born!


March 11, 2010: Nixon is One Month Old


April 11, 2010: Nixon is Two Months Old


May 11, 2010: Nixon is Three Months Old


June 11, 2010: Nixon is Four Months Old


July 11, 2010: Nixon is Five Months Old


August 11, 2010: Nixon is Six Months Old

Nixon is 2 Months Old!!!!

Nixon is 2 months old and I can't get enough of her! Motherhood is the most wonderful and rewarding experience I have ever had! Each day my love grows stronger and stronger! And along with my love, the amount of pictures I take of my baby girl keeps growing more and more!

The other day I went to develop pictures that I have taken of my baby girl. When I went to pick them up, I had TWO HUGE stacks and realized that there were over 180 pictures! And the majority of the pictures are just her being cute! And that is when I realized that I might need to tone it down a bit with the camera and maybe start taking pictures with her and other things! :) However, I will say, that it's easier said than done! Every face she makes, every move she makes, I want to make sure that I capture it so that I can remember it forever!

She is my everything. And like I said before, I can't get enough of her!!!!

Nixon's First Easter!

I know that Nixon is a baby and she has no idea what an Easter basket is or what it entails, but Mike and I wanted to make her first Easter special!

When Nixon woke up Easter morning, I fed her, bathed her and the introduced her to her Easter basket! The Easter bunny had filled it up with wrist rattles, hand mittens, Disney's "Up" and the book "Love your Forever". We took a couple pictures with it and had her wearing a little cap that my Tia Rose Castillo knitted for her! :)

That afternoon Nixon spent her first Easter dinner with her parents, Grandpa & Grandma Peters, Great Uncle Mike & Great Aunt Carolyn, Aunt Ashlee & Uncle Ammon. Nixon was extremely happy and content the entire day! We couldn't ask for a better First Easter for Nixon! :)

Nixon Meets the Family!!!!

The last week of March, Nixon met a lot of her extended family. Since she was getting blessed, we had lots of family travel in from everywhere! It was so nice and fun to see everyone meet Nixon for the first time. And I do believe she has almost everyone of them wrapped around her finger already! Here is just a few pictures of Nixon getting LOVES from everyone! :)

Nixon's Baby Blessing

I have been looking forward to Nixon's blessing since the moment I laid eyes on her blessing dress that my Grandma Gutierrez made for her (this was when I was still pregnant)! It was the most beautiful dress and although I had not seen my baby girl yet, I knew that it was perfect and that she would look so beautiful in it! Just like I knew, Nixon looked so perfect! Words cannot describe how I felt! She was so pure and beautiful, and AGAIN, I couldn't stop staring at her!

Many people traveled LONG distances to be at Nixon's baby blessing. I was so happy and thankful that so many were able to come. They made the day perfect. Nixon was blessed by her Grandpa Sommer on March 28, 2010. My dad, Nixon's grandpa, gave the most beautiful blessing. He was joined by Grandpa Mack, Uncle Ammon, Uncle Kimball, Uncle Dustin, Matt Llewellyn, Gary Freeman, and Jeff Skousen.

After the baby blessing, we went over to Denise and Gary Freeman's home to have the luncheon. Again everything was perfect and everyone was having a good time. Again, I am so thanful that everyone was able to come and make this day so special. It meant the world to us and I know that once Nixon is old enough, she will also appreciate everything.

Nixon Has Made Her Debut!!!!

After 30.5 hours of labor, or family has finally been blessed with Nixon's arrival!!!! Nixon Sommer Peters was born February 11, 2010 at 8:28pm. She weighed 7 pounds 1 oz and was healthy, beautiful and absolutely PERFECT!

Everyone has always told me, or tried to explain the feeling of becoming a mother for the first time. Words can't even describe the feeling of becoming a mother to a precious miracle! I have never felt so much love for someone! My mom and Mike keep laughing at me because I can't stop staring at how beautiful and perfect she is!

Many have wanted to hear the story of the labor so here it goes......

Monday, February 8th I went into the doctor for a regular check up. My blood pressure had been slowly creeping up during the pregnancy, and my doctor was getting concerned that I was developing preclampsia. When I went in that Monday, my blood pressure was the highest it had been and my doctor decided to schedule my induction for 10pm on Wednesday 2/10. However, I went into labor on my own Wednesday at 2:00pm.

When we went into the hospital that evening, the doctor decided to hold off on the Potocin until the morning and let nature take its course. The next morning (2/11) at 7:00am, the doctor checked me and I was still only dilated to 3 cm, so I was hooked up to the Potocin to "speed" things along. However, it did NOT speed up anything!

When the nurse came in at 1 pm to check how far along I was at that time, I was still only at 4 cm. She told me that she could feel scar tissue from my previous surgery and that was causing my cervix to not dilate the way it was suppose to. Therefore, it was taking a LONG time. However, I was bound and determined to NOT get the epidural and that I was doing fine at this point without it.

When 3pm rolled around and I was still at 4 cm, the labor was getting REALLY bad and I was starting to get exhausted. I still was not giving into the epidural, so the nurse put me in a labor spa for an hour. It definitely helped a little bit and was much more relaxing.

When the nurse checked me at 5:30 I was finally making progress and was now at 6 cm. The pain was REALLY bad at this point and I was so thankful that I had Mike and my mom there rubbing my back and coaching me through the pain. I was trying all different positions and anything that the nurses were telling me to alleviate the pain as much as I could. And still....No epidural.

Finally at about 7:30, I was dilated to 9 cm and I was starting to feel the urge to push. When the nurse checked me, she told me that it was going to be very soon and she was going to get the doctor. I was extremely excited and scared all at the same time. I was doing this all natural and I was terrified that pushing Nixon out was going to hurt worse than the labor. And at this point I couldn't take any more!

When the doctor came in at 8:00pm and was telling me to push, I was pleasantly surprised to find that delivery actually felt really good compared to the labor! Nixon was being very cooperative as well and I only had to push for 28 minutes. Finally at 8:28pm, my baby girl was here! She was absolutely perfect! Words cannot express the happiness and love that I immediately felt when looking at my beautiful daughter. Everyone keeps saying that I was crazy for not getting the epidural and they ask if I would do it like that again.....All I can say is I wouldn't change a thing and that Nixon was worth ever second of it!