Rain, rain and more rain...

We’ve been getting so much rain that the governor already declared it a state of emergency. A lot of the houses in our neighborhood have flooded basements and this morning while Nancy was getting ready to do laundry, she noticed water in our basement! Fortunately it is not much water and Cameron will be able to vacuum it out.

Atenas has been a little miserable because her Grammy Douglas can’t take her out on long walks. We’ve all been confined to the house but soon we will be able to go out. We should be having beautiful spring weather for the next few days and we are so ready for it!

Here are some pictures of Emma Carolina. She is changing so much every day!

This is one of my favorite bibs (thanks again Amanda!):

Tummy time with Daddy:

We survived the first week!

We survived the first week!

Emma Carolina has brought so much joy to our lives and we are enjoying every moment of it. Ironically I’ve been sleeping a lot more now that Emma Carolina is here than when she was still in the womb.

I won’t go into details, but I was diagnosed with obstetric cholestasis and one of the side effects is severe itchiness and that kept me awake for long hours in the middle of the night. Because of this condition, Emma had to be delivered early (at 37 weeks). All of the ultrasounds showed that Emma was a small baby and that everything was working properly (placenta, enough amniotic fluid, and umbilical cord) so the doctor was very confident in delivering her a little early. We now that it was God’s perfect timing for her birth date and her pediatrician described her as “the picture of health”.

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Her eyelashes are coming out:

Grammy Douglas changing her diaper - she has tiny feet:

Cameron has become an expert in wrapping her tight and changing her diapers:

Grammy Douglas burping Emma:

Bringing her home from the hospital:
The hospital has elderly volunteers that knit these little hats for all the newborns:

Sun bathing at the hospital:

A few hours after birth:

I had to include a picture of Atenas. Poor thing, she’s being neglected by me! Fortunately she has Grammy Douglas who has been taking her out for long walks.

What's in a name?

My parents finally settled on a name so that we could leave the hospital.

I am Emma Carolina Douglas.

My name is pronounced and spelled the same in Spanish and English which will make it very universal among family and friends.

I'll be going home today with Mom to meet Atenas(the dog) and Granny Douglas who is flying in this afternoon.

Bye for now....

"The Girl with No Name"

Join us in welcoming our beautiful daughter........

May the Glory be to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Born 19 March 11:49PM

Weight: 5lbs 12.9oz

Length: 19inches

Name: Pending

C-Section delivery

We have not had internet at the hospital but I am at home for a while getting things ready for the arrival of the girls and thought that I could at least share some photos and statistics. We are still deciding on a first name.

Below are some pictures:

This is 5 minutes after birth.

Peaceful, precious...

making Papi melt............

Our great and very helpful neighbors.......

Sentiments to follow...........for now, thanks to everyone for their prayers and help through this process.

Before it is too late...

The baby’s arrival is just a couple of weeks away and before it is too late, we decided to go outside to our backyard and take some “pregnancy pictures”. The weather was perfect and it seems that spring is just around the corner (we’ll keep our fingers crossed).

Where should we start?

We have so much to share with all of you that it will be hard to summarize what’s been going on in the past month and a half.

First of all, we have not been hit hard with the winter storms of these past weeks. At one time we were able to see the dead grass in our backyard and not only snow! Last year we didn’t even know we had grass until late March/early April when everything finally melted.

We had our first visitor of 2010. Our friend Scenet flew in from Denver and spent some time with us. We had a great time with her and I’m sure she enjoyed my “cooking lessons”. Here are some pictures.

During our morning walk:

We went to downtown Boston and the weather was perfect!

At the Cheers Bar:

Another event was my birthday in late January. My dear husband surprised me with an amazing birthday gift: a Canon Rebel! I absolutely love it! For now, Atenas has been the focus of most of my pictures but that will change whenever the baby arrives. I took these shots last Saturday during our evening walk:

My dear husband (it was chilly and it was getting dark):

Atenas, begging for a treat from Cameron:

In celebration of my birthday, our neighbors invited us over for dinner. The vegetarian dinner was delicious and the home-made green tea cake was SO good!

Our neighbors, Christian and Muriel:

And Robin:

And Maya:

And Lilo (Atenas's best friend):

Cameron encouraged me to visit my parents in Juarez early this month. The main purpose of the trip was to spend time with my family. Most of you know about my mom’s battle with breast cancer. It has been four weeks now since she had the double mastectomy and she is doing great! We have definitely seen God’s kindness during this process. It has been a tough process but we also see it as suffering for blessing, where the Lord is being glorified and we are all growing in faith and knowledge of Him.

It had been over eight months since I last seen my parents (last time was in Cancun last year). They were very excited to see me, especially since I’m carrying their grandchild. My visit to Juarez was short but we all enjoyed it so much!

One of the things that I wanted to do is for my dad to teach me how to make chorizo. This is my grandfather’s recipe and my dad started making it after I got married and moved away from Juarez. Last week Cameron and I made a batch of chorizo and it came out pretty good!

My dad showing off the chorizo:

The Maldonados invited us over for dinner one night. They are an amazing, loving, caring couple that has known my family for over twenty years.

Cesar and Lupita:

Lupita made tamales; they were so good that I lost count of how many I ate!

My parents:

Job is missing in this picture. Unfortunatley he wasn't able to come to Juarez; he had to study for an exam.

My mom, aunts and Lupita surprised me with a baby shower! It was Saturday morning in the hall of a hotel in Juarez and there were over 70 people present! A typical Mexican breakfast was served; everything was so good and I’m sure everyone enjoyed it. I was able to catch up with my friends and people that I hadn’t seen in over two years! I was so blessed with the shower that I immediately called Cameron to let him know about it!

The hall:

Aunt Martha, Mom, me, and aunt Goretty:

With Monica Rueda:

With Roxana and Paola (last time I had seen her she was three months old!):

Paola:

My little cousins: Genesis and Rosangela

I’m glad I was able to visit my family and friends in Juarez. This is a trip that I will cherish for a long time.