Madeline 3 1/2 months

Our sweet baby is a constant source of joy.

Conspiracy...

This was the first week I returned to school and I am only going for a few hours on Tuesdays so Gil is coming home from work to watch Madeline. I was especially excited since this was going to be Gil's first time with Madeline alone. I was ready to return home to be greeted with awe and appreciation at the many things a "homemaker" deals with on a daily basis. I knew finally he would understand that staying at home was a hard job it itself...


Madeline slept the entire time I was gone...



The two of them have some sort of deal in the works I'm sure :)

we're still here!

It would be fair to say that the lack of blogging is directly related to the arrival of Madeline. However, we are all doing very well and we are thankful for that! Believe it or not, Madeline is already 6 weeks old and changing every day. I can remember how long I was counting down the days until she arrived and now she is here and growing so fast! When she first came home she had to wear "premie" clothes and now she is comfortably in the 3 month size. The newborn diapers were too big but are now small and snug. How wonderful to watch her thrive! We will be traveling to Indiana the end of the month to show off Madeline to my family members who could not make it to Texas. The drive may be a real experience but we are happy to introduce Maddie to her great-grandparents and friends from church who have known me since I was Maddie's size. We are truly counting our blessings.

Big changes

Well certainly a lot has changed since our last entry when I was counting down the days until Madeline's arrival and now she is already 8 days old! We are of course completely in love and learning a lot every day! We are excited that Lindsay is coming for Madeline's first photo shoot on Friday and hopefully Maddie will be cooperative. My parents came from Indiana last Tuesday and are leaving tomorrow. Gil has gone back to work and Madeline and I are just getting to know one another. Thank you so much for all the calls and messages. The support has been really helpful.

Love the Cancholas

2 weeks

Just two weeks to go! Apparently, Madeline is not swayed by peer pressure and could not be convinced to make an appearance yesterday when the other July babies from church were born, but any day now :) Gil and I are going to enjoy a rare and possibly our last pre-baby Saturday together. Have a great weekend!

3 weeks

Yay! Three weeks to go, but in the "full term" range. Gil is in Bells, Texas working to finish a remodel so that he won't be out of town closer to the big day. We're finishing up odds and ends for Maddie's arrival. Now we just wait....

Final Month!

woohoo we've reached the final month! 30 days to go (+/- Madeline's (God's) plans). Things are going really well and I am enjoying my "pre-baby" summer off. Gil is already a great dad and nicely overprotective installing new smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, outlet protectors, and safety locks in Maddie's room. Isn't it amazing to love someone so much before you've even met them?!

Getting closer

Madeline and I went to a routine OB visit this Monday and things are perking along. I have one more "2 week" appointment on the 15th then we go weekly until Maddie's arrival. I was 34 weeks on Saturday and on Monday she measured "34 weeks" so she seems to be on track. Her nursery is coming along and her daddy thinks she has more clothes than he does! As of today only 38 days until July 11...we'll see what happens :)

Still a girl!

After another sonogram this Monday, we have confirmed that Madeline is still a girl! yay-- we get to keep the pink stuff. :) She is currently 3lbs 9 oz and right on target for a little under 32 weeks. I also saw the surgeon who will be removing my gall bladder and although my Ob said the surgery would take place 6-8 weeks after Maddie's birth, the surgeon suggested going the day after delivery. Yikes! I have another Ob appointment and am interviewing a potential pediatrician this Monday so I'll ask both of these doctors' for their opinions on the matter. As long as Madeline is healthy and I can recover quickly to care for her-- then we'll be happy. I only have one more final to go before I can begin to enjoy my summer and go into full "nesting" mode.

Prenatal Appointment

I had another prenatal appointment today and everything is still going well. I will have another appointment and sonogram on May 11-- so we'll see if Madeline will give us some better "views" this time. For weeks 32 and 34 we are on an every two week schedule and then after week 36, every week. It won't be long until we will meet Maddie! We are blessed and grateful that things are going so smoothly thus far.

baby pictures

Well that's baby pictures when Gil and I were babies :)


Jose, Gil, Silvia Canchola ca. 1983


Amy and Laura ca. 1985

Double digits!

Of course, only God knows when Madeline will make her debut, but as of today, the countdown says 99 days which means we are down to double digits! Yay!

Life Lessons

Gil has already begun warning possible suitors about dating his daughter.

Hottest Chili

Although this blog is typically dedicated to all things baby, our latest accomplishment...or Gil's latest accomplishment was being crowned the Hottest Chili at the Chili Cook Off yesterday. I wouldn't even taste it because I trusted his "hot" skills. Anything including imported mexican chiles sounds too hot for me and Madeline!

The evil genius at work

The prize

She's quite a lady

As you know, our baby was too modest the first sonogram to give a 100% gender prediction so we had a follow up sonogram today and as luck would have it, she crossed her legs and put her hand in between. So...our "Madeline" already has quite a personality. We'll see if this is a sign of things to come! However, we are truly in awe of God's wonder and grateful for our healthy baby.

Maddie's Treasure Chest

Below are some pictures of the beautiful toy box Gil made for "Madeline".

Our modest baby

As I posted previously, today was our big day to see if baby Canchola was a girl or a boy. The sonographer was very persistent in trying to stir the baby to little avail. She said she was "pretty sure" it was a girl but because our little demure baby wouldn't allow for a good shot of the essential parts...she would like to schedule another sonogram in 4 weeks. We aren't painting anything pink yet...but most signs point to baby Canchola being Madeline Claire. Above are some pictures of our miracle blessing from God.

Getting closer...

So far everything is going well with my pregnancy. I went to a regular monthly checkup yesterday and scheduled the "anatomy" sonogram to determine the gender of the baby for Feb. 23--so stay tuned :)

Appointments

We had an appointment Monday and heard the baby's heartbeat through the doppler and go back on February 2nd for a follow up. Only 6 weeks to go until 1. halfway and 2.until we know the gender of our baby!