How many changes can one year bring? Well, we gained a family member, had a baby, bought a house and then started growing a second baby. Still with me? I will elaborate.
In January, we went on a ski trip to Frisco where we enjoyed the slopes and the company of good friends, as well as our last chance for a childless getaway. We followed the ski trip with an outstanding baby shower hosted by our best friend, Beth, and attended by all our loved ones. My mom married her college sweetheart, Lynn Wright, on March 11th in a small ceremony in Lafayette and a third legit grandfather was in place for the impending arrival of…
Olivia Rosalyn Nishi! Born on Monday, April 4th at 7:51pm, she was 7 pounds and 19.5 inches long. Labor only lasted about eight hours and went very smoothly. We were happy to deliver at Good Samaritan Hospital in Lafayette where we stayed two days before bringing home the new center of our world.
After Olivia was born, our life was a whirlwind of loving visitors bringing us meals, doing our laundry (thanks, Heather!) and taking care of the baby while we slept. We felt so incredibly blessed to have so many helpers at a time when we felt like we were completely clueless.
By June, we were finally starting to get the hang of things well enough to get out of the house, so we attended Deborah and Charles’ wedding in Boulder. Once I returned to work, I was off to Houston and DC on business trips and learned how incredibly hard it is to leave my little girl. When I got back, we went on vacation with Mike’s family to Glenwood Springs for Floyd and Suzanne’s 60th birthdays. One highlight of the trip was a segway tour we took to an overlook up the mountain. Olivia’s highlight was her first dip in the water when we took her to the Glenwood Hot Springs. Upon returning to Denver, we took Olivia to a Rockies game with Mike’s work and participated in a music class, which she loved.
In July, Olivia took her first trip out of the state—to see her grandparents in Wyoming. While Mike and I spent most of the trip fading into the background while the grandparents doted over Olivia, we also went fishing and enjoyed the fresh air. August had us back up to the mountains for a church retreat in Vail where Olivia tried her first solid food and enjoyed fun a trip to the pool. The pool trip was so successful, in fact, that we have since signed her up for a swim class, where she’s having fun splashing and learning to float.
September was Olivia’s first time on an airplane—to Arizona. We visited Phoenix, Sedona and Flagstaff, where we spent time poolside (again), visited a cave with its own underground hotel room and saw the Grand Canyon!
When we got back from our trip, I joined a MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group where I’ve met lots of other moms. I took a quick business trip to LA, Mike took one to DC and then the fall got even better when two dear friends had babies of their own. Lindsey and Anand were blessed with Sophia Viveka and then Hannah and Simon welcomed Keturah Leigh.
The fall rounded out with one last business trip to DC for Mike and then one for me too. We celebrated Thanksgiving by heading back up to Wyoming—enjoying Crystal’s cooking and watching lots of football.
In December, we are looking forward to Justin and Lauren’s nuptials in Denver and then Vince and Saranga tying the knot in New Jersey. We plan to spend Olivia’s first Christmas at home in our new house! This summer/fall we sold our house and bought a new one in Suzanne and Floyd’s neighborhood, which is near where we are now. It’s got a yard, a basement, a bigger garage and more rooms, which is good because… we’re expecting another baby!!
To our complete surprise and joy, we found out recently that Baby Nishi #2 is due June 14th. We are excited to be growing our family and can’t wait to find out the baby’s gender this January.
The year always seems so busy when I pack it all into one letter! I promise we also spent countless hours lazing on the couch watching Grey’s Anatomy and staring insatiably at our perfect, beautiful daughter. Mike is still working as an auditor for the Department of Defense and I’m working part time as a marketing consultant at MWH (a construction company), as well as for 252 Basics (an elementary-age Sunday school curriculum). We’re attending Eikon, a small church in Denver, and really enjoying the close relationships it has brought us.
We wish you all the best and hope that you are seeing God work in wonderful ways all around you. Have a happy and blessed holiday season and please give us a call or drop us an email. We are so happy to have you as a part of our lives and as a part of our kids’ lives. Mike and I truly hope you know how much you mean to our family.
