6 months ago...

...Olivia was born!

It is crazy to think that she's only been alive (or at least outside of me:)!) for 1/2 a year!!
Already she has changed our lives for the better and we can't imagine it without her.

I had every intention to write monthly blogs about her personality and growth, but surprise, surprise, that didn't happen!
So instead, I thought I'd just share some highlights of her first 6 months of life and FINALLY showcase her monthly pictures that I did manage to take...my how she's grown!

Olivia is.....
- a great eater!  Her chunky cheeks and above average weight gain are evidences of this.

- a songbird! She constantly is "singing"....sometimes her voice is more like gurgled spit, high pitched shrills, or breathy guffaws, but it's music to our ears.
- going to be a soccer player...at least that's what her papi says about her constant kicking that could power a small city!

- a pacifer-thumb-finger-toe sucker!  She's not picky....anything that she can put into her mouth, she goes to town with it.
- always dreaming of the beach....or at least she sleeps like a sunbather with her hands tucked behind her head!

- pure joy!  I love how she smiles with her whole face and the sound of her laugh!

Esteban and I already feel so blessed, honored, and humbled that God would entrust this precious baby to us!  We pray that she would continue to grow in health as well as love for Jesus and others.

Happy 6 months sweetie!

Month 1...

Month 2...

Month 3....

Month 4...

Month 5....

Month 6....

She's HERE!

Yes.
You probably heard our exciting news by now.
The waiting is over and Olivia Renee Del Castillo decided to offiially join us on July 8, 2014 after about 7 hours of labor.

Here is the story.

Ever since we moved (June 7th) and school ended (June 16th) life has been full of baby preparations!  We painted her nursery, got ALL of her furniture, organized her sweet little things, etc.  Sufficed to say, I have been busy and trying to treat every day as the "last" day I have to do this before our sweet (but needy) little one comes!
July 7th was no different.  After work, Esteban and I took the whole evening to run some errands in Virginia and ended by watching Captain America at one of our old stomping grounds.  So, waking up at 6am with some pressure on my back seemed normal.  However, I quickly realized (after a terribly named "plug" was "unplugged") that I was starting the labor process!  Being a novice at this whole labor and delivery thing, my continued back pain (that I attributed to gas caused by the I-probably-shouldn't-have-eaten-McD's the night before...ha!) didn't seem like contractions, so I didn't start charting them until I was crawling on the floor in pain!
So, fast forward to the charting, when I finally realized that what I was feeling and what was making me immediately assume the oddest positions were in fact contractions, they were about 50 seconds long and 2 minutes apart.
I was supposed to call the doctor at 3 minutes apart.
No time for that.
Grab the hospital bags and car seat (yep, hadn't installed that one yet) because we're going to the hospital!
Thankfully, 10:00 (or around that time) traffic is much better than 6 am traffic and we arrived at the hospital in record time! On our way up to the 3rd floor and into triage, I had to get out of the wheelchair I was in and assume my own yoga position (AKA get on all fours). So, when the nurses said that either they couldn't fully feel my cervix or that I was 10 cm. dilated, I knew I had to be the latter! 
In I go to a labor and delivery room where they break my water and I have to go through about 20 minutes of contractions until I'm ready to start pushing. 
Pushing was definitely the hardest.
I honestly didn't know if she would come out.  But after lots of encouragement from my husband, some helpful hints from the nurses and an hour and a half....we heard that sweet whimper and it all became worth it!

Baby Stats:

Olivia Renee Del Castillo

1:18 pm

8 lbs. 4 oz.

21 inches

Firsts....

This is old to news to probably all of you, but I just love saying it:).
I'm pregnant!

Yesterday was the offical halfway point. 
20 weeks.
So exciting!

Since this is our first bundle of joy, there have been MANY "firsts" for us over the last 5 months!

 We've now experienced our first...
... time reading a positive (or any for that matter) pregnancy home test {after I wasted the first one due to my false sense of urgency...}
... montage of pregnancy apps and multiple bookmarks of "what to do/what not to do" websites for pregnant women {which, at the beginning, I referenced almost every time I went grocery shopping just to make sure I could eat what was in my cart....the somewhat lengthy list was a little overwhelming for me at first}

 At this time, our baby was the size of a poppy seed.  Guess who thought we were having twins? 

... first trimester nausea and cravings.  Our little girl surprised everyone with her "savory" cravings of sushi and anything italian! She may not be made with as much sugar as she will have of spice:)..uh oh!
... ulstrasound!  I was so thrilled and relieved to see the peanut inside of me that, before then,  I had sometimes doubted even existed. {Esteban didn't need the sight of our gummy bear to know that SOMETHING was growing in me due to the amount of hormones that immediately introduced themselves to him through the form of "unnecessary" tears}

 Her first picture!

... announcement to family! Everyone was thrilled and surprised...in a "finally" kind of way:)!
... gifts for the baby!

L-R: soft blanket and a bilingual bear that says a prayer in English if you press one hand, and a prayer in Spanish if you press the other...THANKS Gramie!  Her first picture and frame from a colleague.  Flowers from Daddy:).   The softest swaddling cloths from Auntie Jeni and the white baby blanket on the bottom of the pile belonged to Esteban when he was a baby- GRACIAS Abuela!

... bump pics:)

... 4th graders' reactions to the news that their teacher is PREGNANT!  {And I thought our families were excited:)!}  How sweet are my numerous notes and germ-filled faces pressed against my belly every day to "hear" the baby.

... 20 week {OK, we did ours at 19 weeks because I was a little impatient!} ultrasound with a view of her crazily developed yet tiny little body!!

So we know she's a little "alien baby" at this point, but I can't help but already think she's beautiful!

... announcement of our "spanglish" DAUGHTER!

Thanks to everyone for your heartfelt congratulations.
We feel so blessed by all of these "firsts" and look forward to the many more to come!

OUR EUROPEAN ADVENTURE: Family II

After our time in "little" Toledo, we headed off to the capital...."BIG" Madrid!
 Seriously.....everything in Madrid felt so big!
The streets....the buildings....the food....everything!

We had the best "tour guide"....Juan Pa!

He showed us all of the icons of Madrid.....

 

 

He took us to the top of a building so we had a bird's eye view of this beautiful city....

 

Showcased the artwork in Madrid for us....

 

And introduced us to some more great...FOOD!

Gracias Juan Pablo for such a wonderful time in your city!  We're looking forward to your visit here so we can do the same for you:)!

OUR EUROPEAN ADVENTURE: Family I

The last part of our trip was the most special because we were able to see some of Esteban's family!
{Which is one of the reasons why it has taken me the longest to post...I want to share it well!  Lo siento familia!!)

Cousin Sandra and her family {Miguel, Andrea, Santiago and Tom the dog} in Toledo, Spain....

Cousin Juan Pablo in Madrid, Spain....

And Cousin Ximena and her family {Lucas, Chris, and Emilia} in Kent, UK..

TOLEDO, Spain:
We really enjoyed our time in Spain and it's totally different lifestyle.
Case and point:
Miguel, Sandra's husband, works from 12-2 and 5-10.
Crazy?
Not when you experience the Spain heat of the day and the perfect weather at midnight...when everyone is out eating dinner.

Toledo is beautiful....

And definitely spending time with family and seeing their beautiful city through their eyes was the highlight...and tasting it too:)!

Not only did we get to enjoy the city, but we also were able to see the beautiful countryside.

Road trip!!

 We were able to go to saffron country...and visit the "homeland" of Don Quijote and his infamous windmills!

 It was fascinating to see how the windmills work!

 We also were able to tour a medieval castle!

Muchas gracias por tu hospidalidad!  Los queremos mucho!

Part II and III to come:)!