Hello!!!

Hello All! Well, it's been about three or four months since I last posted on the site. I will write more this weekend but wanted to post some recent pictures since I have been receiving requests. These pictures are actually a month old but I just picked them up today. We also had new ones taken--some with her 4 cousins that are visiting and some by herself (in the alpaca poncho and hat that her aunt and grandmother brought to her from Peru.) We love all of you and think of you often. I will write more soon. Christi

New Ultrasound Pictures

Well, I haven't posted new pictures in a while because the ones that I got in December and January looked pretty much like the ones that I posted in November. Although these pictures are still profiles shots--just like last time--the baby looks a little bigger. According to the doctor at my last visit, the baby weighs just under 4 pounds and everything looks good. As you can imagine, we are very excited!!! We also feel very blessed--both for the fact that the baby is healthy and for all of your love and support. We have had the pleasure in the last few months of receiving visits from Robert, Robin, Jared, and Adelia at Christmas and from Mom Ford, Scott, John, Karen, Alicia, David, and Austin in January. I can't express how much it means to me that all of you went to such effort to come and spend time with us and to meet my husband. We really enjoyed seeing everyone--it was actually the first time that I got to see Austin and Adelia.

In addition to having the baby, we are anxiously awaiting visits from Scott and Theresa, who will be living in San Antonio for at least a few years, and from Juan and Paty, Daniel's brother and sister-in-law, who will be coming some time during this summer. Daniel's parents will also be coming to meet their new grandbaby, which will be the first time that I will get to meet them in person and the first time that Daniel has seen them in almost five years. This is a very special time for us and we are excited to be sharing it with all of you!!!

Aside from waiting for the baby, Daniel and I have been very busy. Daniel is taking a very challenging math course right now and has gotten 105% and 102% on his last two tests. Although it has been tough for him to work full time and to study everyday, he still finds time to be a great husband and to see family. Last weekend, we got the chance to celebrate the birthday of Daniel's Aunt Nelly with his uncle and cousins (and, of course, Nelly.) We had a very nice time and just want to say that it is great to have family here with us in San Antonio. The closer that I get to having the baby, the more nervous I get, so it is reassuring to know that we have loved ones close by. Well, that is all I have to write for now, I am also going to post some pictures of Daniel's family and of the recent visits that we had. (Also of the crib that Uncle Cesar and Nelly gave to us for the baby--it is really beautiful and looks so nice with the bumper pads that my mom's friend, Bonnie, gave to us.) We love you all and just want to thank you again for your support--it means a lot to us. Love, Christi and Daniel

Nuevas Fotos del Ultrasonido

No habiamos puesto nuevas fotos en los pasados meses, porque las fotos de diciembre y enero lucian muy semejantes a las que colocamos en Noviembre. Aunque estas fotas tambien son perfiles, como las otras, la bebe luce un poco mas grande. De acuerdo a mi doctora, la bebe pesa casi 4 libras y todo marcha muy bien. Como ustedes pueden imaginar, nosotros estamos muy entusiasmados. Tambien, nos sentimos bendecidos por el hecho que la bebe es saludable y por todo el amor y apoyo de ustedes. Hemos tenido el placer de recibir visitas de Robert, Robin, Jared y Adelia en Navidad, y de Mama Ford, Scott, John, Karen, Alicia, David y Austin en Enero. No puedo expresar cuanto significa para mi que todos ustedes hicieran un gran esfuerzo al venir a pasar un tiempo con nosotros y conocer a mi esposo. Realmente disfrutamos reunirnos con todos ustedes, tambien fue la primera vez que conoci a Austin y Adelia.

Ademas de esperar a la bebe, nosostros nos sentimos ansiosos esperando las visitas de Scott y Teresa, quienes viviran en San Antonio por lo menos un par de anos; y de Juan y Paty, el hermano y cunada de Daniel, quienes estaran viniendo a fines de Mayo. Los papas de Daniel tambien vendran a conocer a su nueva nieta. Esta visita servira tambien para que ellos se reencuentren con Daniel despues de 5 anos y sera la primera oportunidad que tendre para conocerlos en persona, porque solo los conozco por telefono. Sera una ocasion muy especial para nosotros tenerlos aqui en nuestro hogar y nos sentimos entusiasmados al pensar que compartiremos vivencias con todos ustedes.

Aparte de llevar un embarazo y todo lo que conlleva, Daniel y yo seguimos muy ocupados. Yo paso mi tiempo trabajando y durmiendo (y preparando sandwichitos para mi esposo hambriento e ignorante de cocinar) y Daniel esta tomando un curso de Algebra en la universidad. El ha conseguido muy buenas notas en sus ultimos dos examenes--105% y 102%. Aunque ha sido muy duro para el trabajar a tiempo completo y estudiar todos los dias, el todavia encuentra tiempo para ser un buen esposo y visitar a la familia (Cesar y Nelly). La semana pasada nosotros pudimos celebrar el cumpleanos de Nelly y nos reunimos con sus tios y sus primos. Pasamos una bonita velada, y solo queremos decir que es maravilloso tener alguna familia aqui con nosotros en San Antonio. Cuanto mas cerca estoy a tener la bebe, mas nerviosa me encuentro, pero me siento muy segura al saber que tenemos personas que nos quieren y se preocupan por nosotros viviendo en la misma ciudad. Bueno, esto es todo lo que quiero escribir por el momento. Voy a colocar algunas fotos de la familia de Daniel y de la familia que nos visito recientemente. Tambien unas fotos de la cuna que Tio Cesar y Nelly nos regalaron para la bebe, es realmente bella y hace juego con las almohadas protectoras que nos regalo la amiga de mi mama, Bonnie. Nosotros los queremos mucho a todos ustedes y deseamos agradecerles a todos por su apoyo--ello significa mucho. Con todo nuestro carino, Daniel y Christi.

And.........it's a girl!!!

Well, it's been an interesting week. On Sunday I got sick and I must have infected my poor husband because by Monday he was also quite ill. Luckily, Mom came to visit us on Tuesday and took care of us (and our little doggies.) On Wednesday, I went with mom to my Dr's appointment and found out that the baby is a girl. Although mom and I were thrilled, I think we may have set Daniel's recovery back a few days. (Just kidding) Actually, he is pretty excited but insists that a penis may still grow between now and the baby's birth. Well, we'll just have to wait and see. Unfortunately, neither of us is feeling well just yet but hopefully a few more days of rest will fix that problem.
So, now that we know the baby is a girl (notwithstanding the many stories Daniel's family has passed on regarding incorrect ultrasounds) we would like your help in picking out a name. Please let us know which of the following is your favorite name and feel free to suggest your own as well (But please still pick one as your favorite even if you have a suggestion.) OK, here goes, Daniel's 3 favorites and my 3 favorites, though I'm not saying which one belongs to whom:
Danielle Elena (guess who picked this one?), Isabel or Isabella Elena, Francesca Elena, Alessandra Elena, Bianca Elena, or Natalia Elena. For those of you who don't know, my mother's family has a tradition of using the middle name Ellen for the first daughter so we will use either Ellen or Elena for the baby's middle name. Anyway, please let us know what you think--we love you all and look forward to seeing everyone once the baby is born. (Robert, Robin, Jared and Adelia, we look forward to seeing you much sooner :)
One other note: We also want to welcome my new sister-in-law Teresa to the family. Even though we haven't gotten to meet her yet we have heard great things about her and we're so happy that Scotty has found such a special person to share his life with. We look forward to meeting you, Teresa, and wish you and Scotty the best.

It's Official--the baby is human!!!

Ok, so I am still learning.../Ok, todavia estoy aprendiendo

Well, I am still trying to get the hang of this so my posts are out of order. After reading this, please read the "Welcome" post. Also, I am still in the process of adding pictures of my brother, Brian, our wedding, and of Daniel's family. Hopefully, everything will be up by the end of the week. One other thing: If you don't like the picture I have of you or if you have a great picture of a family member, please email it to me at cecookie5@aol.com and I will get it posted. Thanks for your patience--I hope you enjoy the pictures. Lots of love, Christi, Daniel and baby Garayar

Bueno, todavia estoy tratando de entender como manejar esta pagina, por esta razon las fotos y explicaciones no estan ordenadas correctamente. Despues de leer esto, por favor entren al "post" con titulo "Bienvenidos." Estoy en el proceso de adicionar fotos de mi hermano Brian, de nuetro matrimonio y de la familia de Daniel. Espero que todo este publicado para el fin de semana. Otra cosa, si no te gusta la foto que tengo de ti, y tienes una foto tuya o de algun miembro de tu familia que sea de tu agrado, enviamela a mi correo: cecookie5@aol.com y la pondre en la pagina. Gracias por tu paciencia, espero que disfrutes las fotos. Con mucho amor, Daniel, Christi y Bebe Arrocito/a.

The Rest of Our Family

My youngest nephew, Austin. Check out those two new teeth.

My sobrino mas chiquito Austin, tiene 9 meses. Mira sus dos nuevos dientes.

My newest neice, Adelia. This was taken just after she was born. Isn't she pretty?

Mi nueva sobrina, Adelia. Esta foto fue tomada despues de diez minutos de haber nacido. No es bonita?

My granny!!! (My father's mother)

My abuelita, mama de mi padre.

My handsome hubby, Daniel, with my baby dogs.

My esposo guapo con mis bebes perritos.

My sister-in-law, Karen, (John's wife) with their youngest child, Austin.

Mi cunada, Karen, (esposa de John) con su hijo mas chiquito, Austin.

My parents, Mike and Nancy, with their first granddaughter, Alicia.

Mis padres, Mike y Nancy, con su primera nieta, Alicia

Our Family.

Robert, one of my twin brothers, and his wife, Robin.

Robert, uno de mis hermanos gemelos, y su esposa, Robin.
My oldest neice, Alicia wearing the dress I got her in Mexico.

My sobrina mayor, Alicia, llevando el vestido que le compre en Mexico.

My brother, John, with his oldest son, David.

Mi hermano mayor, John, con su hijo mayor, David.
Uncle Scott (my brother) with our nephews, David (left) and Jared (right).

Tio Scott (mi hermanito) con nuestros sobrinos, David (izquierda) and Jared (derecha).

My baby dogs--Diego (left) and Sandino (right)

Mis bebes perritos--Diego (izquierda) and Sandino (derecha)

Welcome/Bienvenidos!!!

Dear Friends and Family,

Welcome! After seeing my sister-in-law, Karen's, blog, I thought that this might be a good way to keep friends and family throughout the world updated on our baby adventure. Although I sent out pictures of the ultrasound, some of you wrote to tell me that you couldn't open the file. For this reason, I will post the pictures here, as well. For those of you who couldn't make out what the heck you were supposed to be seeing, I can only say: Yeah, if I hadn't seen the baby moving around I would have thought I was pregnant with a Cheeto. Unfortunately, the pictures don't move so it kind of looks like....nothing. Anyway, I don't know if this helps but the black shape in the pictures on the left is not the baby---it is my bladder---just what you always wanted a picture of, huh? The little blob squished up against my bladder in the horseshoe-shaped area is the baby. The pictures on the right are enlarged and, if you look really carefully and use a little creativity, you will see little eye and nose sockets on the right-hand side of the baby. I am also including some pictures of my husband and little dogs. I hope you all enjoy the pictures. As soon as we have more info or pictures I will update you all. In the meanwhile, be safe and know that we think about you all often. Lots of love, Christi and Daniel

Queridos Amigos y Familia,

Bienvenidos! Despues de ver la pagina web de mi cunada, Karen, pense que esta seria una buena via de mantener contacto entre amigos y familia alredador del mundo dandoles a conocer nuestra nueva aventura (Arrocito/a). Por esta razon, estoy colocando las primeras fotografias de Arrocito/a (ultrasonido). Para aquellos de ustedes que no pueden distinguir a primera vista lo que deben ver, les digo que no se preocupen. De hecho, si yo no hubiera visto Arrocito/a moviendose durante el examen, yo tambien hubiera pensado que era un "Chizito/a." Desafortunadamente, las fotografias no se mueven, y es por eso que luce como un/a "nada." De todos modos, yo no se si esto los ayudara, pero la mancha negra que ustedes ven al lado izquierdo no es el/la bebe.....es mi vejiga. La manchita pequena aplastada por mi vejiga es el/la bebe. Las fotos al lado derecho estan ampliadas y, si tu miras cuidadosamente y usas un poco de creatividad, podras ver la cuenca de los ojos y nariz. Tambien estoy incluyendo algunas fotos de mi esposo y mis bebes perritos. Espero que les gusten las vistas. Tan pronto tengamos nueva informacion o fotografias las publicaremos inmediantamente. Hasta entonces, cuidense y sepan que todos ustedes siempre estan en nuestro pensamientos. Besos y abrazos, los queremos mucho, Christi y Daniel (Y Bebe Arrocito/a).