On June 12th at 5:54 PM Bryan and I welcomed our little blessing from Heaven into the world. He weighed 6 lbs 10 oz and was 19 inches long. Everyone says he looks a lot like Bryan but has my nose, and has a lot of dark hair.
Ezekiel means “God will strengthen” and Dai (which is a variation of David and is pronounced “day”) means “beloved”.
For those of you who want to know . . . I had a 14 hour labor. Bryan was an amazing coach. Of course I have a biased opinion, but I have the most amazing husband. Because of Bryan’s support I was able to deliver without drugs, and Ezekiel came into the world very happy and alert.
We are all doing very well and are learning to adjust to our new family life. We see Ezekiel changing daily and are amazed at how much Bryan and I learn every day. Birth truly is a miracle and we feel so blessed by God.
While I was in Visalia the family got together to celebrate birthdays! It was so nice to be able to see everyone! When the Anaya baby is born my grandparents will have 9 great grandchildren! Needless to say we had a huge party!
My family put together a beautiful baby shower for me last weekend while I was visiting them in Visalia. My youngest niece had never been to a baby shower before and she asked, “What do you do at a baby shower? Take a shower with the baby?” Bryan and I are looking forward to all the funny little things that our children will say. My friend, Tawni, took some awesome photos for me during the shower so I added them below. A very special thank you to all the women who worked SO hard putting together a wonderful shower!
We had our third ultrasound today and got to see our baby in a more human form. The new pictures we got are worlds above the bean picture we have been showing everyone. The baby was checked out from head to toe and everything looked wonderful. At the end of the ultrasound the technician double checked and confirmed that we are having a boy!
Profile Tiny baby feet
We had a fun new year at the Oregon coast with my parents and niece. The weather wasn’t very good, so we had lots of time to play games and relax.
Bryan and I were in Visalia for Christmas this year; and we had such a fun time with family and friends. My mom and I made TONS of cookies with Mariah and Shelby. Our brother-in-law got a new game for christmas that we enjoyed playing. All the women got together for their annual Christmas eve morning breakfast. As usual, Christmas dinner was held at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.
It was so much fun spending time with family and having everyone watch my belly grow!
Just like every year, 2009 was filled with lots of fun and adventures for Bryan and I. Much has stayed the same for us; however, there has been one huge change for us.
Bryan is still working in Redmond for Microsoft. He works on the Exchange team as a user experience designer. His work focuses on the Outlook Web App, which is the web version of Outlook. Bryan still has his own company creating web sites and enjoys the creative outlet that it brings him. I have been substitute teaching for the Marysville School District, and have been enjoying my time teaching. I also like the flexible work schedule I have with substituting.
The picture on our Christmas card was taken at Coronado beach near San Diego. In March, we flew down to San Diego for several days to spend time with Bryan’s siblings. We had lots of fun with them hiking, exploring the coastline, and even seeing the inside of an aircraft carrier.
In May, we spent 17 days in Australia. We first went to Cairns where we snorkeled at the Great Barrier Reef, walked through the rainforest, and saw lots of native animals. Then we were off to the beautiful city of Melbourne where we walked around the city to the gorgeous gardens and explored numerous museums. We were able to see the whole city from the top of a 55 story building. After Melbourne we flew to Sydney where we met up with some friends and went to Bowral and Kangaroo Valley, two towns south of Sydney. While there, we were able to take some time to relax, and explore the area. We saw an amazing 266 ft waterfall, got very close to a wallaby and a wombat, and saw some of the most beautiful scenery. Then we were off to Sydney to enjoy the city for the last 4 nights of our trip. While we were in Sydney we were lucky enough to have a very good friend of ours as a tour guide. We walked along Manly beach, explored many of the highlights of the city including some museums, the royal Botanical gardens, Paddy’s Market, had amazing coffee and cannolis in the Italian part of Sydney, saw Double Bay, and had some of the most amazing food! We had so many amazing adventures and we thoroughly enjoyed all of our time in Australia.
Bryan and I spent a lot of time at the Oregon coast this summer with my parents and family. We had so much fun exploring tide pools, fishing for crabs, going to the aquarium, and flying kites. Bryan and I also spent a lot of time hiking in the mountains just east of our house. We really enjoy being outdoors and seeing the beautiful surroundings God has made for us.
In September, we flew to Los Angles where we spent time with some of our good friends in Camarillo. While with them we had lots of good food, went kayaking, hiked in Ojai, and rode bikes in Santa Barbra. Then we were off to the annual Hume Lake Couple’s conference. Bryan and I were able to go to Hume a day early with my sister and brother-in-law, which gave us time to discover the woods and streams around the lake. While there, we competed in a GPS challenge and took a ride in golf carts with family. We also learned about God’s word how to strengthen our relationship.
The one huge thing that has changed for us this year is the expansion of our family. In October we found out that I am pregnant and that our baby is due the beginning of June. Bryan and I are very excited and are looking forward to this new time in our lives.
As Bryan and I look back on 2009 we see how God has worked in our lives and how richly blessed we really are. No matter how big, or how small, we hope that you feel surrounded by the Lord’s blessing this Christmas season.
Lots of Love,
Bryan, Christy, and Baby
When the Anaya family came to visit we took some time to pick out pumpkins from a local pumpkin patch then we got to carving. Everyone created their own pumpkin and had a unique design of their own. Except Bryan’s mom designed her pumpkin and scooped out the seeds and I did the carving. There are still two pumpkins left that need to be carved so we will see if Bryan and I will get to them before Halloween.
