E is 3 Months

E is becoming so expressive now! She is growing to love tummy time and enjoys watching her big sister and chatting with everyone who smiles at her. It is such a blessing to watch our 2 little girls grow and learn together, I am so grateful for the beautiful family He has given us.

E is beginning to stretch out her feedings every 4-5 hours, but her nap schedule is a little weird, so we are working through that right now. At night she goes approximately 5-6 hours, but this week (1/6) we have moved her into the living room, so hopefully she will begin to adjust for longer stretches.

Sorry for the late post, I had hoped to pop up earlier this afternoon, but life ;)

Happy Friday, everyone!

Life Update - December '16

Someday, I'll go back to keeping a schedule and having consistency in writing. For now, though, we have consistent fluctuations in our home, so it is what it is!

AJ is doing great! She is 14 months now and on the move. She loves being tickled, her favorite game is Peek-a-Boo, and she adores her baby sister. E is already 2 months old getting more tummy time and squirming all over the place. She enjoys the lullaby on her baby play mat and watching the mobile. She is such a happy baby, and we cannot get enough of her smiles.

PJ and I had an awesome anniversary vacation together. We decided to stay in town and celebrate with Disney passes. As excited as I am for Thursday mornings at the parks with our little family, I am ecstatic for mommy-daughter dates with AJ in a few months when E is on solids and we can sneak away for a time to enjoy Fantasyland, Pirates, and Haunted Mansion together, as well as California Adventure's Monster's Inc, The Little Mermaid, Bug's Land, Cars Land and the Frozen show. Hubby and I are also looking forward to rare Fridays off to enjoy with one another and letting our littles stay with their grands!

Today PJ had to go back to work, it was tough, but he survived. There were just a couple of issues, but the smooth transition back was aided by an excellent team that kept ahead of the scripts. We are so grateful for his team, he because they all help him look good and the store is in an excellent position; me because when he is encouraged, I am encouraged. As much as I dislike his commute and the fact that trying to have lunch with him is a whole day event that is a rarity, he loves his team and neither of us can imagine him having to be at a new store with new coworkers.

Jessy is trying to find a rhythm for life, but there always seems to be something coming up. Prayerfully, the Christmas season will go smoothly, but we really feel that maybe this is not the best season to have an infant. If the Lord blesses us with more growth, we hope that number 3 comes sometime in the early summer so we can sleep more by the holiday season!

God is so incredibly gracious. Jessy is growing in patience and having the teaching of kindness on her tongue. PJ is still listening to sermons on his way to work. We are trying to do sermon application questions as our weekly study together. Our small group is working through Ephesians, also, so we work through that together to prepare for discussions. We are so proud of AJ and her ability to play with the big kids at group. Now, if we could just get her to be comfortable enough not to scream and fuss on Sunday mornings in the church nursery. Thank you, nursery workers, we love and appreciate you!

I think that's it, for now!

<3 Jessy

AJ is 1!

Okay, so I'm 2 and a half weeks late, but better late than never, right?

Anyway, I am so proud of my little walker. She has 4 teeth and 2 more coming in and she is a good eater! Her favorite foods are fruit, yogurt and bread - she will have a BLAST at the next women's breakfast!!!

AJ loves being a big sister and mommy loves watching how affectionate she is with EE. Every time AJ sees her baby sister, she gently kneels down and gives her sweet kisses. It's so adorable! Besides becoming a big sister, she is just starting to look more like a toddler and it is so exciting watching her learn and grow.

Whenever we eat, she is starting to better communicate when she is "All done," or wants "more." Daddy and mommy are both super excited every time we eat with her! Oh, the things parents get excited about.

1 Year Old:

I love Peek-a-Boo and Eating

My favorite foods are fruit pouches and grilled cheese

I am 19lbs 2oz; 29.3in

I have 4 teeth and LOVE to smile!

My favorite toys are my Disney princess collectables and the "purse" they came in

I love bath time, giving kisses, reading and praying with mommy and daddy

I can wave, walk, yell "Go-go-go!" sign "all done" & "more,"  and mumble "Ma-ma-ma-ma-ma" & "da-da-da-da-da." :)

This is a Tough One

I am 39 weeks pregnant.

It is hot, well, today it is still overcast at 10:40am, so I am grateful for that.
EE is heavy and resting quite low, I can feel her in my lower hips, and she doesn't have much room to move around.

I am extremely hormonal, emotionally labile, needy, and irritable. Everything makes me want to cry, and I am ready to meet this little one. I hate feeling this way and I hate asking for help everyday because I'm having trouble keeping up with my developing walker.

I am prayerful that the midwife will send me straight over to Labor & Delivery on Thursday morning, in the mean time, I am doing everything I can that is safe here at home to encourage my body to go into labor naturally.

I write this with tears because I know the Lord has blessed me and given me so much grace through this pregnancy. I have been able to keep exercising, I have been eating better than when I was pregnant with AJ, and I have been able to spend more time managing our home and reading godly insight instead of giving into many lazy temptations.

I am grateful to be home with AJ to teach and train her. I am so proud of how well she is doing with her schedule and of her independent spirit. She is 11 months old now and she enjoys playing in her room for large chunks of time; has moved up to the toddler room at church early, as it has aided her separation anxiety; she sleeps 10-12 hours at night, waking up at 6:15 each morning; she loves food and will try most new things with a pleasant response, but is not shy about letting us know her preferences; she drinks her milk and water from a straw cup like the big girl she is; and we are so blessed beyond measure that she is our daughter. We cannot wait to see her love on her little sister.

Please pray for us as we continue to await the arrival of our little girl. That we would be prepared and grateful for this time we have. That I would not be anxious or push myself beyond measure for my preferences and desires when we bring her home. For a safe delivery and short hospital stay. For my parents as they take time from work to take care of AJ while we are in the hospital. That AJ would not be overwhelmed, and the transition will not be too difficult for her. Also, for PJ, that he is able to prepare his store well before he goes on leave starting this Thursday.

Thank you, friends and family, for your prayers and support. We would not be able to do this without knowing we had such an incredible community around us!

August Life Update

Good morning, everyone! As I mentioned in my last post, we have been subject to a few changes here in the Molina Household. We have moved to a new rental, a condo with 2 bedrooms and a 2-car garage! Woot woot! This means that AJ has her own room and our car insurance is going to go down a tad because we park both of our cars in a garage! =D

PJ has been doing so well at work! In June, their store was #1 in their scores and I am so proud of him for all the hard work he has been putting in. Currently, his staff pharmacist is out of the country for her mother who has breast cancer and is facing treatment, please be praying for her, as she will be out until the end of the year helping to take care of her family. It has been fortunate that the store is receiving great floaters to come in and help the technicians keep up the work flow. Hopefully, one in particular, will be placed as the temporary staff pharmacist until her return.

The heat and schedule changes with AJ have made keeping up with steps difficult, as walking outside brings me to the point of mild heat exhaustion and the mall gets a little crowded because of said heat. The plus side, though, is that I have been able to keep up with house work and organizing in the mean time ;) Please be praying for motivation and possibly a walking buddy to distract from crowds and/or heat.

AJ is blooming right before my eyes! Her latest "trick" is sipping through a straw. I have been trying to help her with this lately, but she has seemed so stubborn in just wanting me to hold my water bottle to her mouth. One day last week, though, she just sucked her water without batting an eye! Then on Thursday, she took her cup from PJ and held it while accomplishing the same feat!! (Wow, the things you get excited about as a new parent ;P) hahaha I am pretty stoked that I get to train and teach another one all of this again soon!

EE is a kicker! She rolls and moves and plays and she has not even arrived yet! My goodness, she is crazy. AJ moved quite a bit (and is still a mover and a shaker who loves to explore), but she did not delay my sleep at night like this one does. I have a small feeling that my tummy is a little tighter than last time, though, so she has less room to move and therefore makes me a little more uncomfortable.

Anyway, hope everyone enjoyed the weekend!

Love,
Jessy

Bump 32

Hello Friends! Thank you for your patience as we have had a surge of life change going on over here these last couple of months. I was glad I was able to post AJ's 9 month update, even if it was from my phone.

32 Weeks

Anyway, it has been a while since I've updated you on the whole "Embracing the Bump" journey. I will say, though, that I have appreciated and felt very loved by all the encouragement and support, particularly in the last couple weeks. It has been rough to push through schedule changes with a little one and keep doing daily workouts, but we have managed.

AJ goes between an early morning nap or late morning nap and then a long afternoon nap. I have been able to get away with the late morning nap and an early walk, but it is a bit more challenging to keep her engaged on the walk and not throw off the rest of our morning. So, we will be sticking to the early morning nap and the late morning walk for now. Hopefully the heat will continue to await the later parts of the afternoon (that is, max out in the 80's around 9) - yes, I know that I am dreaming.

However, I have hit a bit of a motivational snag as my fitness watch (The Withings Activite Pop) is currently dead and awaiting a new battery! It has been so nice not to depend on my phone for the pedometer, I can't go back to it - partly because it's just too big now :P

Almost 7 Weeks Postpartum AJ 

Food wise, I will be honest in sharing that motivation, self-control and moderation have escaped my vocabulary and I have gone a little crazy, particularly over the weekends and eating out with family. Fortunately, God has blessed me with the energy to keep walking and do a little prenatal yoga a couple nights a week; this has kept my weight down and my doctor is still impressed with me as far as my gain has gone for this pregnancy! Yay!

I will also share that as I have looked at photos from just 9 months ago, when AJ was just over a month, I can say I feel better and healthier than at that point and anyone can see the difference! It feels good to see the physical change, even if I don't feel it sometimes. It is particularly difficult to take control of any aspect of your life when you have a little human growing inside of you, so I think that I am doing pretty well! EE is 32 weeks in and I am pushing through with flying colors and an almost 10 month old! =D

Thanks for loving me, everyone! Until next time...

Love,
Jessy
Numbers 6:24-26

9 Months

Okay, so she's actually 9 months and 1 week now, and I missed posting an 8 months blog… but give us a break, it's been a busy month and a half. We found a new rental, we moved, we've been setting up (and we're still in the process of that), so boom! 

Anyway, AJ is 9 months old now! Where does the time go?! She is bear crawling everywhere (and very quickly). She is scaling coffee tables and couches and anything else she can pull herself up on. There are 2 teeth on the front bottom section of her mouth and she definitely knows how to use them! AJ loves exploring and observing and is quite the independent gal, except when she's tired or wants attention 😜 She enjoys tasting new foods and likes to feed herself. 

Daddy and mommy are grateful for her newfound love of sleep! As soon as we moved and AJ had her own room, she was down from 6:30pm-6:30am! Yay, 12 hours 😃😴 Now it is just a matter of adjusting to a new place and new naps/eating schedules during the day. She is a champ, though!