Happy New Year!

So we are once again at the end of another year. My, how the time does fly. In one year I've managed to get married, move twice, and have a baby. 2007 was very important and we're sad to see it go, but excited to welcome 2008!

The only annoying thing is that my daughter and I seem to have caught a minor head cold. So needless to say, last night was spent making sure Sofia didn't gasp for air in the night :( Mando and I are looking forward to bringing in the New Year in style: on the couch in our pj's, with Sofia, watching the ball drop in NYC. I wouldn't have it any other way.

Here are some pics of Sofia from Week 5. Enjoy!

"Tia Ceci's" Merry Times on Mendavia

Here are a few pictures taken at "Tia Ceci's" Christmas party on Dec. 22nd. Enjoy!

The Castillo Clan.

Robert & me.

Luissell & me.

With Don.

Familia Castillo with Scarlett.

Princess Sofia.

With Ana Haliday.

The Lucas Sandwich...

Ah, yes, Claudia and I were finally able to dress our little ones in our "Nudito" onesies to take the picture we have been talking about since before they were born!
In this picture, from left to right, is Claudia's twins: Sofia Marie & Lucas Alexander, then My Little Sofia Valeria...A great picture that we will be able to bribe them with once they're teenagers LOL

Sofia turns 1 month!

Hard to believe the time has flown so quickly! Sofia is starting to let her personality show more and more... Sometimes in cute little ways (smiling in her sleep), and not so cute (Crying...but not just crying...an ANGRY cry LOL). But all in all, we are all adjusting just fine. She's definitely keeping us on our toes, and unfortunately, Christmas decorations had to be kept to minimum since she takes so much of our time....But nest year will be different! Christmas is my favorite time of the year, and the house will be decked out, and Sofia will be 13 months old... Here's her 1-month-old picture..

Christmas Portraits!

We invited Loly from lolypix.com to take some pictures of Sofia mainly for our Christmas card/announcement, and to get some good shots of her at week 2. You can check them all out on her website under "Galleries"....Here are some of our favorites :)

Week 1 & 2

The first week has been interesting to say the least. Sofia is a good baby for the most part, and we're getting to know each other slowly. The first night home however was scary. Sofia must've had a bad reaction to the formula the hospital gave us and she had a bad case of gas the entire night. We didn't go to sleep that night as we stayed awake trying to console her until the gas was gone. I wanted to throw the formula out the window, and was on the verge of tears because I felt to blame for putting her through pain. That night around 4am, Mando drove to Walgreens and bought another, more gentle formula and seems to have done the trick so far.

These weeks have also been visiting weeks by a few of our friends and family. Here are a few pics...

After eating...."I can't eat another bite"

Sofia with her baby cousin, Amanda Michelle...they're the talk of the neighborhood!

With Ceci...

"I want to lick the baby!!!"

Zzzzzzz......

Sofia Arrives...

Early Morning on November 21st, I went in for a routine biophysical, since it was the week of my due date, and my Dr. just wanted to make sure everything was okay, and was planning on letting hit 41 weeks before inducing. As a precaution, I packed my bag into the car and took my mom with me.

8:30 am... I arrive at the South Miami triage and have blood samples taken, blood pressure, and an ultrasound to check fluid and baby's weight.

10:30 am... The nurse checks and sees I'm 4 cm dilated...GREAT! We're having a baby today, she says, and calls my Dr. to confirm the results of the baby's heartbeat and fluid levels....and the Dr. has me admitted.

11:30 am... I'm taken to my room and contact Mando, Dad, and Sis to let them know I'm being induced, and it should take anywhere from 6-12 hours. Mando leaves work and goes home to fetch his bag and mother.

11:45 am... Dr. comes in and checks me, notices I have no contractions, and tried to break my water, only to realize I had very little fluid coming out...She inserts an internal monitor and right away you hear Sofia's heart rate go WAY down to about 50....at which point my Dr. goes into Emergency mode and tells me "I'm so sorry, we have to do a c-section, we can't take any chances"...I try calling mando a couple of times, and ended up texting him "Having C-section...come now"...When he received it, he dropped everything at home, grabbed his mom and raced down Bird Road to get to the hospital!

11:50 am... I'm prepped with a spinal epidural and it felt like I was in an episode of ER. Everyone racing around me, and me praying the Mando would be there in time... My mom, was escorted in, and very nervous.

12:00 pm... Mando get's to the hospital and is told he can't go in anymore...and he then demands to talk to th OR and asks to be let in...they take him to the recovery area to get suited up in scrubs.

12:05 pm... Mando's told they already started my surgery, so he wouldn't be able to go in...But to stick around because Sofia would be out in 2 min....

12:09 pm... Sofia Valeria Castillo is born! 8 lbs, 7 oz., 18.5 in. and is brought to me to see...She's beautiful...

12:15 pm... She's brought out to her father and my family.

here are some pics of the Hospital stay...