only two weeks old...

and ryan has already figured out how to put his foot in his mouth!

first bath

ryan wasn't thrilled with his first sponge bath. he liked the hair and face washing, but the rest, forget about it! as time has gone on, he now likes the body and doesn't like the hair and face washed...go figure!

ryan's first easter

this easter, we had a little brunch at our home. the people in attendance were...my sister laura and her family, my mom, dennis' mom and stepdad, dennis' brother howie and our cousin steven from PA who attends ASU. it was a nice, mellow event...ryan slept through most of it.

egg fights...

uncle howie trying to stuff an egg in ryan's mouth...

the estephanian's enjoying the beautiful day outside

my mom and cousin steven

the highlight of easter for my niece was getting to drive dennis' corvette around the neighborhood...lucky girl!

a visit from the estephanian's!

my sister laura and her family came to AZ for easter weekend and it was great to see them all! they were all very excited to meet their new nephew and cousin, a first on all fronts for them! it was a wonderful visit, but we wish they could have stayed longer.

my nephew, david with his new cousin, ryan...
or as david refers to him..."rjp, yo!"

ryan with first-time auntie, laura

three generations...

uncle mark with rj

mariana with her cousin...so sweet.

baby ryan jaxon pacifico

our baby boy arrived punctually on his due date on april 3
at 7:29 am. i went to the hospital late thurs. evening to be induced since my doctor didn't want me to go past my due date. although there was no guarantee the induction would work, we were hoping and praying it would since our parents coming from CA were already on their way!

about 1.5 hours into the process, my water broke on it's
own (that was a shocking and strange experience...i heard a "pop" and felt like someone had punched me from the inside!) and from there, i dilated from 0-10 cm in about 3.5 hours. needless to say, my contractions became very intense and were coming every minute or faster. shortly thereafter,
i had had my fill and asked for the epidural...what a lifesaver!

at around 6:20 am on friday, christy, the nurse assigned to me since the night before (what a wonderful nurse!) asked me if i'd like to start to push...so i said "OK." while it felt like i was making no progress whatsoever, apparently, i was and by the time the nurses shifts change at 7:00am, we were almost ready to call for the doctor. i had the pleasure of getting my favorite nurse, pam to finish the job, which made me very happy and comforted.

by 7:29, our baby boy, ryan jaxon pacifico was crying in my arms. he was quite a sight to see and hear and i was completely overcome with emotion as i met our son for the first time. i think it's safe to say, dennis and i both fell instantly in love with this little person. actually, ryan wasn't so little at birth...he weighed 8lbs. 10 oz. and was 21.5" long. how this baby fit inside of me is a mystery and one only god can arrange.

just moments after ryan was born

dennis surprised and impressed me when he decided to cut
the umbilical cord. he described it as cutting a large, wet noodle
with left-handed scissors...too funny!

our family

little angel

daddy and ryan

our favorite nurse, pam.

papa and nana

grandma dar

grandpa, dave; grandpops and daddy

first car ride...leaving the hospital

ryan meeting his canine brother, sherman.

home sweet home...we've been waiting for you, baby ryan.

ryan is perfect in every way and since he's been with us (a week at a day), we can't stop looking at him...he's truly amazing.

we feel so blessed to have this little boy in our lives.

the final countdown...

we're in the home stretch...i have less than a week to go with my pregnancy, if, of course, this baby cooperates and doesn't decide to come late. i worry that he's so comfy in there that he'll want to stay in there forever! needless to say, dennis and i are both very excited to meet the new addition to our family. hopefully the next post will have pictures of our baby boy!!

photo of me at 39 weeks.
sherman is very excited to meet the baby too...

sherman waiting for the stork to drop off the precious package!

AZ baby shower

on sunday, march 1, my mother-in-law's friends, ivy and katie hosted a lovely baby shower for me held at my mother-in-law's home. we had about 30 women in attendance and again, it was a fun day filled with good food, good friends and great gifts for our baby boy! dennis and i feel so fortunate to have so many people around us who want to shower us with so much love and support for our baby.