The Days Of Our Lives actor Carson Boatman and his wife Julana Dizon have welcomed their first child together. The married soap opera stars revealed they are now parents to an adorable newborn daughter named Ava Rey — who was born on Monday, December 18 in Los Angeles

On Friday evening, the pair shared a joint Instagram post announcing the exciting news and revealing their baby girl’s name. ‘Christmas came early this year,’ the new parents gushed in their caption

The photos showed Carson and Julana cuddling with their baby girl in the hospital and also beaming after bringing her home.

On the same day, they told People about how they felt like something was ‘missing’ in their lives until becoming parents and welcoming their baby.

The couple — who tied the knot in 2021 — gushed and said they are ‘absolutely over the moon’ about the new addition in their family.

‘It truly feels like we’ve found something we didn’t even know we were missing in our lives,’ the new parents told the outlet.

‘The only way I can think to describe it is pure joy, but it’s really something more than that,’ they added.

‘We are blessed and humbled to have been chosen to be Ava’s parents,’ they continued. ‘What we are now lacking in sleep, we have gained tenfold in love.’

The pair also opened up about the special meaning behind their daughter’s name.

They revealed that Ava’s middle name Rey honors Julana’s late father Reynaldo Dizon — who passed away just a month ago after a battle with lung cancer.

The new parents first announced that they were expecting back in August via Instagram.

In an adorable snap, the lovebirds leaned in for a kiss as they both grinned ear-to-ear with joy and Julana held up sonogram pictures of their future baby.

‘Boatman, party of 3!’ Carson joked in his caption, adding that their child was ‘Coming December 2023.’

Julana and Carson’s good news follows a shakeup at his series Days Of Our Lives in which the show’s co-executive producer Albert Alarr exited the show amid sexual misconduct allegations and a petition signed by 25 cast members calling for his removal.

The lovebirds were notably both dressed in blue in the photo, though it’s not clear that the color scheme was supposed to indicating anything about the child’s sex, which went unmentioned.

Carson had on a blue shirt with gray pants, while Julana looked glamorous in a sleeveless royal blue dress with a white band around her midriff.

She raised one leg up as she leaned in, while Carson held it up with his hand while she put a hand on the back of his neck to lean in for a kiss.

While Carson is best known as an actor for his 189 episodes to date on Days Of Our Lives, according to IMDb, his wife also has a more recent connection to a rival soap opera.

Although Julana is best known as a model, she appeared on The Bold And The Beautiful earlier this year.

Fittingly, she was cast to play a model.

Carson and Julana met each other in Los Angeles in 2016 after being set up on a date by a gym trainer they shared, whom Boatman called a ‘matchmaker’

‘And the rest is history,’ he told People.

The loving announcement comes around two weeks after the married couple celebrated their second wedding anniversary with jubilant social media posts.

Carson shared a slow-motion video of his bride — still in her wedding dress — as he held her up on his back before she leaned forward to give him a kiss.

‘Free piggy backs for life. Love you more than words can convey. Happy second anniversary, @julana,’ he wrote sweetly on the post.

In her post, Julana shared a hilarious clip of Caron cutting the first slice on their wedding cake, and in the process demolishing the delicate treat before dropping another slice, which she explained in her caption.

 

Instant connection: Boatman told People that he and Julana met in LA in 2016 after their ‘matchmaker’ mutual gym trainer set them up on a date

 

Whoops! Julana shared a hilarious video of Carson cutting their wedding cake — the first time he ever cut a cake — and subsequently demolishing much of the top layer

 

Showing off: Carson appears on Days Of Our Lives as the hunky Johnny DiMera, who had previously been played by a string of child actors before he took over as the adult character

‘Fun fact: Our wedding cake was Funfetti …and it was Carson’s first time cutting one,’ she revealed.

‘Celebrating 2 years of marriage today and WOW did it fly by. I still have *pinch me* moments sometimes just thinking about the fact that I get to spend every single day with this man.

‘@carsonboatman you mean the world to me,’ she continued. ‘Thank you for making all my dreams come true, continually being everything I need, inspiring me to be the best version of myself, and making me laugh at LEAST 3x / day. You make me feel lucky and loved everyday. I love you, Forever and Ever Amen ❤️.’

Carson appears on Days Of Our Lives as the hunky Johnny DiMera, who had previously been played by a string of child actors before he took over as the adult character.