Six Days and Counting

We are less than one week away from meeting our first-born daughter, Mary Elia "Emme" Guerra! I am either delirious from excitement or lack of sleep, but nonetheless delirious. I have been very busy at work this week, attempting to wrap up any lingering deadlines prior to the start of maternity leave, but that has helped the days move along. Ruben has been doing the same, and any chance we get to talk about our excitement, we do.

The only slightly news worthy event that has taken place since the last blog was Valentine's Day. We enjoyed an evening in and Rube grilled out some delicious steaks, and I made an attempt at recreating white truffle oil mac n' cheese that Rube loves from our favorite restaruant, Lonesome Dove. I have to brag a little and say that it turned out great. I am not exactly considered the "chef" in the house, but I am totally fine with that. We also enjoyed some of our favorite mini-desserts from Central Market. It was a great evening together, and I bet you can guess what our conversation revolved around.... Miss Emme, of course! We cannot wait to be parents.

Last but not least, does anyone want a yellow lab? Belle must be sensing that change is in the air, because she has been a terror. Wednesday night, for instance, I had finally gotten somewhat comfortable and was sleeping pretty soundly when Belle decided to start barking and whining at 3:00a.m. Despite both of our efforts to get her to chill, she continued on until 6:30. When we got up, she was fine. The problem is that if we let her out of her kennel when she throws a fit we are teaching her that all she has to do is bark and whine, but we know she would probably shut up if we let her out, and I need the rest. Major pet dilema. Not to mention the fact that we are adding a baby to the household very soon. I really need the Dog Whisperer. Does anyone know him? Here is a picture of the yellow monster. She is attractive, but not a lot going on up top. Rube calls her the "Jessica Simpson" of the dog world. Bless her heart.

Time Sure Flies!

Sorry about the delay, folks! The Holidays, plus getting ready for Emme took a little more time than expected, and the longer I didn't blog the more I avoided blogging. I thought I better get back up on that horse before Emme arrives. The countdown is on, and Miss Emme should be here in 2 1/2 weeks! Rube and I are literally beside ourselves with excitement. Her nursery is stocked and all the baby items are washed. Here is a picture of her pink and chocolate haven:

I have completed additional decorating since this photo, such as big pink and chocolate letters that spell EMME (thank you Mom), but those photos are not downloaded yet, however I am sure you get the drift. We love her nursery. Ruben and his parents did an amazing job with the painting and chair rail, and my mom and sisters did an amazing job helping me decorate. We are so lucky to have such supportive and wonderful families.

During December my friends and I always try to get together for a special dinner and usually have a little gift exchange. My first Christmas dinner was with the college girls (Jenny, Bonnie, Debbie, Annie, Kristine and Tiffany), and three of us were pregnant! Since this photo, Annie had baby Emerson in January and Debbie just had baby Sadie. All are doing well. Sadie was born with a genetic syndrome that is going to require some surgeries in her younger years, but she is a strong little girl and is impressing everyone with her resilience. Debbie and Justin are amazing parents and are extremely strong for their little girl. We keep the Bonos and little Sadie in our prayers.

The second friend Christmas dinner was actually brunch at Bonnie's house, and the group was me, Chelsea, Faye, Melisa, Brittany, and Bonnie. The FoWo Girls! We had a lovely little brunch and enjoyed are gift exchange. Here is a pic of Melisa and Chelsea, or Toots if you will.

Christmas and New Years were here and gone before we knew it, but we enjoyed ourselves. Rube and I were on our own Christmas morning, because my parents were visiting Molly and Lee in Memphis and Ruben's parents were visiting relatives in Laredo. I was not quite up for traveling, so we opted to spend a quiet Christmas at home, and had a nice, relaxing vacation. Here is a picture of Ruben with his favorite gift from Santa. Yes, it is Guitar Hero World Tour.We rocked out on the guitar and drums to some classics such as "No Sleep 'Till Brooklyn" by the Beastie Boys. We are in our 30's and we love us some Guitar Hero. For New Years we went over to Dodd and Melisa Dorsey's house for some fajitas and a little Battle of the Sexes competition. I think the guys were ahead, but I will not concede they were the final winners. The game was interrupted for the countdown and we never got back into playing. It was a pretty wild evening. I actually lasted until midnight to ring in the New Year, and what an exciting year 2009 will be!

On January 24th we had a double shower weekend. My dear friend Bonnie Ahrens is getting married in March and we had a brunch wedding shower for her at my house with our friends Tiffany, Jenny, Anne Marie, Debbie and Kristine as co-hosts. We had a great time at the shower, and think Bonnie did as well. I want to thank Rube for all of the pre-shower chores he helped me with, such as planting pansies. I just couldn't have a pansy-less party. The second shower of the day was for me, Ruben and Emme. Once again, our friends Melisa and Dodd hosted at their house, with all my girl friends from Bonnie's shower co-hosting. It was a fantastic baby shower. Over 50 people showed up to celebrate with us, and we truly had a great evening with friends and family, not to mention the huge pile of baby presents I got to open. We are set!

Thus far 2009 has not disappointed. We are so excited to be welcoming Emme into this world, and feel blessed to have such a phenomenal support system to help us during this exciting and scary (yes, a little scary) time in our lives. The next time I blog will likely be after Emme has arrived and I will be sharing her first photos with you. Until then, I leave you with a picture of me and Ruben at our 1 year anniversary. From here on out our pictures are going to have plus one.