Thanks for a great Baby Shower!

Thanks to Leticia my friend for organizing another baby shower last Saturday March 21st. We had a great time and 16 of my girlfriends came. Leticia cooked a tasty brunch and everyone seemed to enjoyed it. 

As I promised to some of my girlfriends there wont be silly baby games and opening of presents in front of everyone (I think I actually promised it to myself first). The thing is that in Ecuador we do not have baby showers and we do not open presents in public like you do here in U.S. However, I LOVE the idea of a baby shower because friends give you gifts for the little one to come. Seems like everyone wants to pitch in!! 

I was also glad to have many "hand me downs" items from many of my friends that have babies. As I said before, Pat and I believe that babies do not needs lot of fancy and expensive stuff. So, now we have more than we can ask for and I think we are almost ready with all we need! Yikes, did I say we are almost ready? I do not know....

Here are my girlfriends that came and that I am deeply thankful for their gift: Nilda, Julie, Yiman, Steph, Claire, Sarah, Carolyn, Lucy, Suzanne, Penny, Wendee, Patty, Kristina, Heidi, Valeria, Ellen and Leticia of course!

Anita, Ellen and Leticia

Mateo's Crib full of goodies

Environmentally Friendly

Toys and books

Celebrating the soon arrival of a new Hidden Villan

Several Hidden Villa friends came to celebrate with us the soon arrival of Mateo, the soon to be littlest Hidden Villa's resident (if you do not count the baby sheep, goats and pigs). It is so great to be surrounded by friends who know Pat and I for several years now. We are truly thankful for all the gifts they brought. We had food, drinks and a good time!

Thanks everyone!

From left to right standing: Jesse, Bill, Elizabeth, Lucy, Jessica, Steve, Sarah, Valeria, Oliver, Me, Claire, Claire's friend and Maya. 

Not in the photo but I thank their precious gifts: Nayna, Nicolette, Claire, and the Hidden Villa Board of Trustees.

My mom will be here in one month

Yes, on April 14th my mother, Amadita (which means the loved one), will leave Ecuador to come here. It is the first time she leaves the country and does not speak ANY English. She will be with us until December time when we will all go back to introduce Mateo to my Ecuadorian family. My mom is very excited to be able to come and help me. It is kind of a tradition in Ecuador that moms help daughters when they have babies. I am fortunate that she is able to come! 

Here is a photo of my mom

Here is a photo of my grandma, Anita (same as me) and the cute son of my cousin Wendy.

Mateo will come when it is time

We saw Dr. Robinson yesterday and after evaluating the ultrasound, she has decided not to perform a c-section at 36 weeks (1st week in April). She will check me every two weeks and see how I do. She even thinks that I might be able to have a natural birth and get to term (May 4th) if all goes well. It made us very happy to know that we might have more time to prepare physically and mentally for the arrival of Mateo. I somehow thought 3 weeks from now was too soon. 

So our task now is to prepare for either a c-section or a natural birth. I really want to be informed and know what will happen in either case.  I am okay with either way. Pat and I know that everything will work out at the end. We just need to remain calm and present and enjoy this journey.

All possible names of a baby

Several people have asked us if Mateo Patrick is the final name we have chosen for our baby. Our answer is that we really like Mateo (spanish for Matthew) because it fits well in both English and Spanish but it is not yet our final decision. We really wanted to pick a name from our list and make it more real by calling the baby something and start getting used to it. We think that we could still change our minds if when we see the baby in our hands he does not look like Mateo ( I wonder how that might be, maybe he comes with a name written in his forehead ;)).  So we will wait and see but for now Mateo is what we call him.

Also, with this name there could be other short names we could call him like: Mat, Matty, Teo. 

Here are some other way people call a baby boy in Ecuador: bebe, nene, guagua, chiquito, pequenito, angelito, bonito, tesorito, amorcito and anything you can add "ito" at the end! 

All possible ways to call a baby!

31 week pick