Last and First

So life has been crazy days have come and gone and I just haven't seemed to make the time to write. I like to write a last post looking back at what our year was and I had planned to write a first looking forward to what we hope this year will be but since I didn't we will count this one as both the last of 2013 and the first of 2014.

2013 started with a pregnant me about 3 months along. Pregnancy is not a happy place for me but although we were nervous we were also very excited. Most of the first half of the year the pregnancy was our main focus. I remember being nervous about finding out if it was a girl or a boy, and seriously doubting whether I would be ok if it was a girl. I was so thankful God gave me the desire of my heart and I got another boy!  Then we were worried about him being breech and me having a c-section which ended up happening and I hated the anesthesia.

May 24th was our Evan's first birthday, it was a hard day. The middle of the year brought one of my most cherished blessings. I can't say this was the year I became a mother but it was the year we finally got to take our baby home, our 4th baby. The one we get to parent and see grow. That has been bittersweet because I can't help look at him and think about my Evan and what he would be up to now. But I am beyond thankful for a healthy growing baby boy.

As you can imagine the second half of the year has been exciting. Lots of learning, enjoying, and loving. This boy has stolen our hearts and we can't imagine our life without him anymore. We have had to discipline ourselves so he would sleep through the night. We've had to give up things to care for him and we've learn what it is to love someone more than you love yourself. It has been hard at times and it's just the beginning but we wouldn't have it any other way. We are in love!

One last note about 2013 it was a little weird not being pregnant during the Holidays this year. I've been pregnant for the Holidays every year since 2010, that's 3 years in a row! 

We celebrated our Ethan's first Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year. We enjoyed sweet family time. It was a quiet end of the year which was just what we needed seeing that 2014 will start with a whirlwind. We are buying our first house and going to Mexico for a week and a half all in January. We need to pack our house, get bids for a new roof, sign papers and go to underwriting before we leave then we will have some glorious time with friends and family and when we come back we will have exactly 4 days to close and move in to our new house. Saying we have lots and lots to do would be an understatement! 

Also I've been working on a few goals I have for this year to improve my spirit, soul and body.That will be in another post, now I have to go wrap up the day! 

1/2 a year

I know, I know all I blog about lately is my son... maybe that has to do with the fact that he is my life right now! 

Anyway, today my baby is 6 months old, half a year of an amazing journey in which I have discovered a different kind of love. I never knew it was possible to love someone like I love this little guy, who by the way is anything but little! Everybody keeps telling me how big he is and everything was put into perspective for me when someone told me their one-year-old is 21 pounds, Ethan was 18 lbs. 10 oz. at his 4 month appointment so he is BIG!

I am beyond in love with him he has such a beautiful character. 

I love to do a "mini" photo session every month, daddy says I torture the boy but I'm taking advantage of him not being mobile or talking yet. I say "mini" because in my had I shot only a couple of pictures and when I download them I find out I took 360 pictures, how did that happen? And then it is sooo hard to get rid of them so I end up with about 50 pictures of the same pose because he looks cute!!!

Here's his 6 month picture (one of many): 

He is exploring everything with his mouth!

It is awesome to see him grow, explore and discover the world. He's rolling back to tummy and tummy to back. When he's laying down he tries to pull himself up. He can sit and stand with a little help. At the rate he's growing he will be running around and talking in about 3 seconds. It is amazing how fast they grow but I have a feeling my boy might be in more of a hurry than most! 

We love every minute with you son, let's discover together!

Ethan's birth story

My sweet Ethan Andrew is 2 months today. I know everybody says this but I can't believe how fast time goes by. Two months and I haven't had the time to write his birth story. There are other things I could should be doing right now but I want to write this before more time passes by and I forget more of the details I want to remember.

So here we go.

This time around because of our medical history my OB was amazing at caring for us. She wanted to make sure everything was going well. We were blessed with a sensitive and capable OB that genuinely cared for our well being, not only physical but emotional.

Physically it was a textbook pregnancy with no complications. Not even a little bleeding or any cramps. We were able to hear his heartbeat at 6 weeks. Emotionally it was challenging because you can't just forget your wounds and scars. I will talk about those challenges in another post now to the happy story.

At 34 weeks we had a scan in which they told us Ethan was breech. It is not important that early on but now I know God was preparing our hearts for what was coming. We had a scan at 35w and he had flipped (head down) and another one at 36 that showed he had turned again (breech). Scans were done every week from then on with no change to be seen. At 37 weeks we started talking C-section. I was pretty frustrated because that couldn't go more against what we wanted. However, I was reminded that the important thing was that at the end no matter how I was going to hold my son in my arms and all the rest would not really matter. We kept praying but by my 38w check up we had to set a date for the C-section.

My OB had scheduled me for Thursday June 27th which was a week later. We tried to change it so my in-laws could get here but it turned out they were going to get here that morning so we decided to stick with it. So just like that June 27th became my due date. 3pm was the time, we had to show up 2 hours early to get things rolling.

That morning we woke up and didn't have breakfast because I wasn't supposed to eat anything before the surgery. We left the house at 12:30pm, stopped at the bank real quick to deposit a check and headed to the hospital. Before walking in we took a quick last belly picture and in we went.

Daddy getting ready

Minutes before we met him

They took me to a temporary room and hooked me up to the monitors. His heart was beating strong and I didn't have any contractions. Two hours went by and they were ready to take me to the OR. Bruce wasn't allowed in until after I had gotten the anesthesia. They did a spinal first and apparently that didn't work so they did an epidural. That was the worst of it all. I think I prefer a natural vaginal birth than an epidural any day! I felt electroshocks go down my legs and I bawled like a big baby. The worst part was that Bruce wasn't there to hold my hand. I was already very emotional because I had never wanted a C-section to begin with. So if you combine pregnancy hormones, things not going the way I wanted (again), the pain, and Bruce not being allowed in there you get: me crying my eyes out during every second of the anesthesia process. My OB was awesome though she held my hand and let me cry on her shoulder literally till it was all over.

Anyway, when I was ready to roll they laid me on my back on this weird operating table. Then they finally called Bruce in, it was wonderful to see him. He ran to my side, kissed my forehead and told me everything was going to be ok. I love my man. His sole presence was comforting! I don't think I was out of it at least I never felt I was. Bruce says I kind f was. I remember telling him "this is so weird because I can feel them pulling and tugging  but it doesn't hurt!". Thank goodness I couldn't see what was happening on the other side of the curtain. He did and he later told me it was crazy to see me so calm when my insides were outside!

Dr. P talked to us the whole time. To hear her describe what was happening (not in detail) made the whole experience better. When she saw Ethan she said "I see him", "Oh he's so cute!", "he's almost out", "here he is!". I am so thankful for her! Once he was out Bruce ran to his side and cut his cord. Then a nurse brought him to me and when they handed him to Bruce he sat by my side and got him close enough that I could kiss his beautiful face.

Cutting the cord

Feeding him to increase his blood sugar

First time holding him

He is gorgeous!

The very first time I heard him cry I cried. After a nerve wracking pregnancy and the agony over him being breech and the doubt that lingered in the back of my mind the whole time it was glorious to hear him alive and well! Bruce kept saying "oh, he's beautiful, he's perfect babe!". I agreed.

When they wheeled me out the OR and to the recovery room I saw everyone there, my parents, Bruce's parents, Sharon, Melanie and Linda. It was beautiful to see them all and to confirm how loved we are . Ethan was born here in the States and my extended family is in Mexico City otherwise I'm sure they would all have been there to welcome our newest addition.

I still had the anesthesia effects so I wasn't allowed to hold Ethan for a while but as soon as it was ok Bruce put him on my chest while he was close just in case. By the time I made it out of the OR there was already pictures of our son all over Instagram and Facebook! His arrival was very much anticipated by many.

Although it didn't go the way I wanted it to be and to this day I ask why it really doesn't matter now. Recovery wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. The first couple of days it hurt a lot and I would get exhausted just taking a few steps but one look at my healthy son makes it all worth it. I would never choose to have a C-section but now I know how it is and it is not as bad as I imagined.

So this it, our Ethan Andrew's birth story. We are so blessed to have him and beyond in love with him.

His birth announcement

Look who's here!

Being born is hard work!

Mr. Ethan Andrew Coy 

graced this world with his presence on

June 27th 2013

at 

4:28 pm

He weighed 8.6 lbs and was 20 1/2 in

He is the most perfect little boy (I might be bias). He has come to fill our life with sleepless nights, wet clothes, extra loads of laundry, and a love that we never knew before. We are beyond thankful for his life and we are enjoying every second we spend watching him in awe!

Birth story coming soon, I need to go feed him! 

Another day, another year

Today completes another year in our life. Probably the most difficult and painful as well as beautiful and precious. You see a year ago today our sweet Evan's spirit was born into the arms of our Jesus and his little body into ours.

A year ago today our God was good because he healed my son. It most certainly took me a while to be thankful for that healing but today I can honestly say my heart thanks God for delivering my baby from earthly suffering even if it meant breaking my heart.

A year ago today I met the most beautiful baby, held him and memorized his face. What a special time we spent together as a family. I would give a lot to be able to spend just a few more minutes with my precious son.

What a year it has been and today I cried nearly as much as I did that day but I wouldn't have it any other way. I am honored to be my Evan's mama. I will always love him and no one will ever take his place in my heart.

 Happy 1st Birthday my dear Son, we love you more than words can express!

Life as of late

I've been MIA since the end of February when I wrote my last post. I'm not sure if it's just me or life seems to go by a lot faster lately. It seems like I wake up do a couple of things and it's night again! Anyway, I'm trying to make the best out of these last months before Baby Ethan makes his arrival.

My mom was in town for a couple of weeks, which was a great treat! She cooked authentic Mexican food for me, took me shopping for all things baby and shared in the whole pregnancy experience which is hard them being so far away.

 As I mentioned in my last post I started organizing our house some time ago. I thought I was done or close anyway but then all things baby started invading the house and I realized there's still more to do. Last week I cleaned and organized our closet, it took almost all day and all of my energy for the day. Now I'm working on the kitchen but I'm not too inspired for that one. The space is limited so I'm doing my best to maximize it but I'm not sure I'm doing it right, we'll see how that turns out. Trying to keep only what you truly need is easier said than done for sure!

I've been also working on several projects around the house I will post at least one of them soon, maybe tomorrow. Right now I'll try to get myself out of bed and finish the kitchen.

Our VERY Happy Valentine's Day

Yesterday was a VERY special day. Valentine's is normally not a huge day for us, I mean we do try to have a special dinner or get a little something for each other but it's just not big like Christmas or birthdays. Anyway, yesterday was different, it was a day we both had been looking forward to for about a month. As I said before it was the day after I passed the 20 week mark and when we had an ultrasound scheduled to find out if we're having a little boy or a little lady!

Before I make the big announcement I want to recap our day just because this is sort of our family's diary. If you can't wait or just don't want to read the whole thing feel free to scroll down and enjoy the news!

The day started at about 7:30am maybe earlier. I've been having trouble sleeping so I was up at 6:30 a few minutes later my Valentine got up and left the room so I turned on the movie I didn't finish watching the night before (Ocean's 13, can I just say I love those movies). Bruce came back to the room with a plate of strawberries and Nutella which is my favorite thing on earth right now. All I've been eating for breakfast the past month or so is this delicious idea I found on Pinterest:

Source here

Before you judge me I'm aware it's not the healthiest ever but I use whole grain bread, and I like to tell myself that baby needs carbs (bread), fat (nutella), protein (eggs), and fruit (strawberries) so if you think about it is a pretty balanced breakfast right? rigth? ok maybe not but I LOVE IT!

Anyway, he brought the french toast later with a huge Valentine's balloon

He left the room again and came back with a bottle of chocolate milk. This was sognificant because when we met in Brazil and then were in Chile togehter that's how he would let me know he had been thinking of me!

He left the room one more time and returned with this gorgeous orchid that makes me smile every time I look at it!:

After the movie it was time to get ready and get to our appointment. If you've read some of our story you know that our biggest concern wasn't the sex of our baby but what could be wrong. All kinds of worrisome thoughts crossed our minds during the days leading to yesterday, however when we went into the ultrasound room there was peace.

Bruce was convinced it's a girl and I wanted a boy... are you ready for the news. Let me say first that all of our concerns and worries were cleared. Every organ looks good and is working in perfect order. The heart is perfect and beating at 147 bpm. All the measurements are what they are supposed to beand our due date of July 3rd was confirmed! Are you ready now?

Ok without further ado I give you the big announcement:

Yes, Mr. Evan Matthew is having a baby brother!

For our Spanish speaking family!

We are beyond excited for our little man! I am thankful that God heard and gave me the desire of my heart and I am thrilled that in a few months I will be holding my dear son on this side of Heaven! After the appointment the news were of setting in. The news that we're having a boy, that he's healthy, that we will actually be holding a living baby very soon, that ou life is about to change even more for real! For the first time in a very long time we felt free to be excited, to plan, to talk about the future, to shop for baby, and to get ready for what is coming! It was so liberating and even today sharing the news with our friends and family the day was bright and beautiful.

What a wonderful Valentine's Day, it is one that will be hard to top but I don't have a problem with that and I'm sure Bruce doesn't either!

Review and announcement

Time flew by and just like that 2012 was over then I blinked and February was here. I know this is not the most timely picture but this is how we made the announcement to our friends and family. It also is sort of our 2012 in review, certainly other things happened during the year or did they? It really doesn't feel like it, I mean they must have but when something such as a precious Evan and a new addition happen to you in the same year I don't think you notice much more, I didn't.

When we sent this to our friends and family some didn't quite get it so I'll clarify:

WE ARE PREGNANT AGAIN!

The picture on the left with the three hands is our hands holding our Evan's little one and the ultrasound is the sweet new member of the Coy family! Isn't he PERFECT?

We are 19 weeks and looking forward to Valentine's Day which is the day after we pass the 20 week mark and the day they scheduled my ultrasound when besides seeing our little one again we get to find out if it's a little man or a sweet lady. It cannot come fast enough, update to follow!

3 years into it... Part 2

So this is a bit overdue, I couldn't do it earlier but it's still april so it counts. Let's keep the memories coming!

In June 2010 I was hired by the Consulate, so our period of comfortable living begun. With the extra income we were able to a lot more relaxed with our spending (which we needed after being so tight in Mexico). We started looking into moving out of the apartment, into a house and buying a truck for Bruce. By the end of the year everything fell into place. We found a cute little house very close to CFA, we got Bruce a truck without going into debt and we had found out we were pregnant for the very first time.

Our first house!

The beater truck

Baby on the way!

In December my parents came over to visit, they stayed at our house during Christmas while we went to New York! That trip was kind of bittersweet because my parents were in our new house and we were away. It felt wrong but we had a good time together. When we came back we celebrated both Christmas and New Year together with my parents, it was a blessed time!

New York, New York

Celebrating!

After that one of the most difficult times of our life began. When the year started we had no idea what awaited us. On January 7th we miscarried our first baby. It was one of the most painful experiences ever. It is sweet though to remember how my husband held my hand through it all, it brought us closer together. Shortly after in March we found out we were pregnant again, it hadn't sinked in yet when we miscarried again. It was heartbreaking, it made us question God a lot and even give up on the idea of having a baby for a while. It took us a couple of months to get back on our feet and even desire to keep trying. We weren't doing anything to avoid getting pregnant but we weren't actively trying either. Not until around July I think. It didn't happen for a couple of months. In September I decided to quit working at the Consulate. At the end of the month I suspected something was a bit off so I took a HPT: negative, oh well. A week went by and I still thought something was not normal, I took another HPT: POSITIVE! Our hearts were overjoyed. Now the waiting, waiting and praying this little one would stick, every cramp was a scare, thank God I didn't spot till week 12 I was still scared but the ultrasound kept showing a strong heartbeat as well as his intestins and liver being ourside. Another journey began, a journey of prayer, faith, and tears. This particular journey is not over yet, more on that in another post. I am currently 31 weeks pregnant, we are very excited as the day when we will meet our little boy approaches!

Our little cutie!

Growing!

That on the baby front.

At the end of October I stopped working at the Consulate to start my own business and a full time housewife. During the months and now years that Bruce has being working at CFA he's grown and advanced, now he is a manager and his income has doubled from the one he started with. He does a wonderful job planning and executing Family Nights and I love that I can come help him! His boss loves him and his bosse's family has adopted us, they are such a blessing!

In November 2011 we went to Miami to my friend Zully's wedding and on our babymoon.

Fishing!

We spent Christmas at home just the two of us, a very beautiful time just bonding and creating memories!

Our feast!

By the end of the year we had to move ones more and we found an apartment close to our old house, it's smaller but we ara making it work! My mom came to visit and help us move, I wouldn't have been able to pull it off without her.

Welcome to our new home!

This year we started house hunting and we're waiting to hear about an offer we put in on a house in February. I'm loving being a full time housewife, and teaching Spanish and English! It's been a hard last year and a half but it has only made us grow. It has been wonderful to have Bruce by my side every step of the way and I wouldn't have it any other way. He is the best for me and I love him more than I ever thought I could love anyone.

Current family picture to follow, hopefully soon!

3 years into it... Part 1

Today is our 3rd year anniversary and to celebrate I want to do some reminiscing. Bruce and I were talking this morning and agreed on how fast time has gone by. It doesn't really feel like 3 years but at the same time we've shared so many things I think they are worth writing before we forget.

This is how it started:

You may kiss your bride!

Then off to our honeymoon, we spent a week in Cancun relaxing, enjoying and well you know doing what one does in a honeymoon ;):

Honeymooners dinner

In Jan 2009 Bruce had moved to Mexico City (where I was going to college) so we could get married. We found a tiny 1 bedroom apartment at walking distance from my school and really cheap. That was our very first home. We have so many memories of that little place, unfortunately we seem to have lost all the pictures. While living in that apt we added a member to our family, our ever faithful Booger:

He's brought lots chaos to our life but we love him!

We had our first Thanksgiving together which was a surprise for him, it was a good time:

First time carving the turkey as the
ma of the house!

 In December I graduated:

Cheers, with my college girls!

A couple of days later we got on a plane with 2 bags, 2 carry-ons, 2 personal items, and a dog on our way to California to spend the Holidays:

Happy Holidays 2009!

We spent the rest of the year in Cali and mid January we packed everything we owned in  the car God through my MIL blessed us with a we where on our way to Albuquerque, NM so I could do an internship at the Mexican Consulate here:

Yes, everything we owned fit in that little car!

Our first home in ABQ was a hotel room or 3. It didn't take us long to find a 1 bedroom apartment that we could afford which felt pretty big at the time:

No furniture at all!

 We filled it little by little and we barely spent any money in the process. God has always been faithful!:

The office

The diningroom

The entertainment center

In March, almost simultaneously I started my internship and Bruce found a job at what would become one of the bigget blessings in our life:

A very wonderful place!

This is how our family looked like in our first aniversary:

Cute little family

This will continue tomorrow...

Fearfully and wonderfully made

When we were about 11 or 12 weeks pregnant I started spotting, I freaked out a bit and on my next appointment (around week 13) the doctor ordered an ultrasound just to make sure everything was ok. At the ultrasound there was baby perfect, beautiful, moving and with a heart beating away! I couldn't hold my tears in, it was beautiful!

isn't he gorgeous?

The technician went out to get the doctor and they found that it seemed like there was something going on. They sent us across the hall to the specialist, who performed another ultrasound. What was said at that time: baby's guts seem to be outside when they are supposed to be in by now. It was still early so they scheduled another ultrasound for 16 weeks.

We were not sure what to think, we cried, we prayed, we talked to friends and sought counsel. Doctors even mentioned terminating the pregnancy as an option, it made me sick! They also mentioned the amniocentesis test, we refused cuz there's a risk of miscarriage, not taking any chances! We started praying for a miracle!

A couple of weeks ago we went in for the 16 week ultrasound, not much progress. Baby's guts are still out, they cannot tell much yet we have to wait again. All that was said did not matter all I saw on that ultrasound was a perfect, precious baby, MY baby. The baby we LOVE with no condition, the one God sent for us to love, protect and welcome into our family. A marvelous blessing that put a big smile on my face every time I see him!

Perfect!

Ever since this journey started God has been faithful on filling me/us with His perfect peace. We and everybody around us are believing in a miracle. Believing that baby will be born perfect, with no need of surgery or a stay at the hospital. We trust that we will be able to bring him home with us after his birth. We believe and our hope is on the Lord! Now don't get me wrong that doesn't mean we're not scared. But God's sweet word keep coming to my mind and heart:

¹³ For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶ Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
¹⁷ How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸ Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.

Psalm 139

Our baby is fearfully and wonderfully made, because God's works are wonderful. We are in awe for His faithfulness and can't wait to see what He has in store for us and for our little one!

If you read me please join us in prayer!

God is able!

The first of the year

2012 started at full speed. The main event: a non expected or planned move! Moving is always a huge amount of work, from finding a new place to packing the small stuff to moving the big furniture it is a crazy process. This particular move was more than physically tiring it was emotionally draining.

As I told you here we found out we had to move mid-November. We were not ready for it, we were not expecting it and most of all we DID NOT want to move. We've been looking into buying but have not been ready and we had such a great deal at that house: price, location, and space. It was hard to wrap our heads around the fact that we had to move. We tried everything to stay there but it is not what God has for us anymore and you know how that goes.

We looked for weeks. Places were to small, too far, too expensive, too inconvenient or they wouldn't accept Booger and we are not about to part with him, he is such an important part of our family! We got tired, discouraged, and angry. We decided to take a break for the Holidays and resume our look after New Year, when we did Bruce found a little place right up the street from where we used to live.

We went to see it, he loved it, we applied for it and the next day we had a new place to live. It wasn't that easy for me though. You see I want a three bedroom house, with a yard and enough room to fit all our stuff. Is that too much to ask? Well apparently there's more important things that I need to learn and that God wants to take care of. I threw my fit but we had already gone through the application process and to tell the truth we did not have more time to be looking, we had a lot to do and not enough time.

I was really worried that our furniture would not fit in the smaller apartment. I had a bad attitude about the whole situation and I gave Bruce a hard time! He, as usual, confronted me, listened to me, forgave me and loved me unconditionally. He does such a good job at representing Jesus in my life, I love my man. Anyway, to make an already long story not so long everything fit and I love it! I was reminded of God's care for us (we can move any time as long as we give a 30 day notice which works perfect for our plans to buy, might be sooner than we think!). I was reminded that is not the building or its size that make a home it's the people that share live with me(as long as I get to wake up to my hot man, a growing belly and a happy dog I am home!). God touched my heart by sending my mom to help us with the move and bless us with stuff we have been wanting for a while (I would have never been able to pull off all the cleaning/moving/settling by myself, specially because I get so tired and there's a lot of heavy duty work that needed to be done). All these goodness out of one move! How do I ever second guess God's moves? There another lesson! He never stops amazing me!

Now the pictures, not that you care too much but this is sort of my family's diary.

New home

Welcome to our love nest

The kitchen with the island my love got for me

The zebra moved into the office
side of the kitchen, hey I needed
to make it work!

The office on the other side of the kitchen

Livingroom and the awesome rug mom got for us!

Dinning room, so happy it fit outside of the kitchen

Panrty and Booger's food station

Guest bathroom, my decor fits!

Bruce did a great job picking the curtain

The bookshelf we transformed

Our bed fit beautifully!

The fish had to go in our room, bye bye tv,
it will be good for us!

Cool looking master bathroom, love it!

Have I mentioned how much I love making a house feel like our home? I think it worked out pretty good and no matter how long we live here we will be comfortable and happy because we have each other! What a crazy time and how many valuable lessons!

Happy 2012!