Meet Ayla Grace Cortez. She was born 04/25/2008 at 2:56 P.M. in Corpus Christi, TX. She weighed in at 8 lb 2 oz and is 19.25 inches tall.
As much as people tell you how great children are, it is an experience like none other when it happens to you for the first time. I have a whole new level of love and respect for my wife than I could have ever imagined. Watching her make it through the labor process with out any pain medication was amazing. Seeing her go through all of the pain was tough, but seeing the look of joy on her face when she saw Ayla for the first time showed me she knew all of the pain was worth it. I have always believed that all amazing things in life involve pain and barriers that must be overcome. After seeing Oakley get through this I’m not sure there are any barriers that can be overcome.
When I held Ayla for the first time after the room had cleared out and it was just me and her I felt a flood of emotions I had never experienced before. A whole new level of unconditional love, a pure excitement for the future, a heightened sense of responsibility, and a higher level of thanks for what God did for us by sacrificing his son Jesus. I had always understood the sacrifice from a factual sense and new it was tough. I just never connected with it on an emotional level like this before. I now understand how parents would be willing to lay their life on the line to protect their children. I could not imagine giving her up. To hear her cry at night and not be able to grasp her needs immediately is heart wrenching. I cling to the fact that as long as Oakley and I love her and care for her with all our hearts and minds she’ll be fine.
This new lifetime journey is one that I have been looking forward to for the last nine months. Now that its here I believe I have turned up the level of intensity in my life to be better at everything I do. I know have a new found respect and connection to my parents. I get a sense of many of the emotions and feelings they had over my life I couldn’t quite understand. I am so thankful to be entrusted with two amazing gifts from God, a beautiful and amazing wife and an addorable baby girl.
Joseph Cortez 