Prelude: Anaya is here

Finally.

After nine long months of waiting for our baby girl, she decided to make her appearance on July 24th, 2012 at 7:52 pm. She weighed 7 pounds 1 ounce, and she was 20 inches long. She is also amazingly beautiful. Today I wanted to get some work done around the house, but I couldn't tear myself away from her. I love to just sit and watch her sleep. As I write this she is in her bassinet next to my desk, and every few seconds I take a peek at her.

All of the cliches about having a baby are completely true. It is an event that changes everything about who you are and how you do things. I suppose marriage can have a similar effect, but parenting changes you in a different way. You have the realization that this little person depends on you for every aspect of their existence and it changes how you see the world around you.

As young parents we are faced with new challenges everyday; there is still so much that we have to learn. I am certain about one thing, and that is that I'm completely convinced that I made the right choice when I decided I wanted my wife to be the mother of my children. She is the absolute perfect mom to Anaya, and even though she is our first baby my wife carries herself with the confidence of an experienced mother. I knew that she would be this way, but seeing it play out made me respect her in a new way.

I also gained a new respect for mothers and what they go through to bring their children into the world. The process of childbirth is often romanticized, but the reality is that it is a truly painful process. There is beauty in the moment, but there is also a struggle that would make the strongest man wish for his own death. I know that I would never be able to do anything like it.

I decided to write our birth story in a series, and that this post would serve as an introduction/prologue. If you are a regular reader you know that our due date was July 20th. That was Friday. Needless to say, we were getting more and more restless by the hour.

Monday was no exception. That evening we went out to dinner with my wife's mom. The discussion between my wife and mother in law quickly turned to the signs of labor and labor itself. I'm sure the people around us were captivated by the conversation. I just concentrated on the T.V. in the restaurant and decided not to participate in the conversation.

My wife and I went home and we sat on the couch for a few minutes before going to bed. I don't remember much about what we talked about, only that there was an anticipation in the air...

Anaya is beginning to stir from her slumber, so I will end this post here. Stay tuned for Part 1.

Oh, and I know you are dying to see her, so here she is... Yes, that is her real hair.

One of my favorites

Look at those eyes..

Happy family

These were taken the day after her birth by my talented cousin. One thing is for sure, this baby will grow up surrounded by people who love and adore her.