An Update on Hubby

I have spent so much time on here giving baby updates and sharing my own struggles with weight and other issues. I realize, though, that I have failed to share marital updates and how my hubby is. 

PJ has been a little stressed at work, lately. It has been a bit of a whirlwind these last couple of months with his performance review, an offer to move stores and the potential loss of one of his strongest technicians. His review went well, and I was so proud to hear that his store is progressing so well as one of the leading stores in the High Desert.

His boss offered him a different store in the same area which is also underperforming (worse than where his current store was). He hoped PJ would take over to help improve it and follow a similar career path as his manager. That is, clean up store after store until they are ready to bring him up to a corporate level. He politely declined the position, honestly sharing that he did not have the desire to follow the same career path. It was difficult, as it would have come with a pay raise, but it was just as far if not a little farther away from home and was open later hours. We like the store he is at now because his other staff member likes the closing shift and PJ has days 99% of the time. There would be no scheduling guarantees at the other store. Along with the relief of keeping his daytime work schedule, PJ is excited to remain with his current team and see more growth where he is.

One of the most dependable technicians was considering leaving PJ's store. It would have been a big loss, since he was one of the few who could work multiple stations proficiently. With another job lined up and a plan to leave soon, hubby set to work on finding a replacement, along with another part timer to cover call outs and vacations. With the process in motion, the district manager reached out to the tech and convinced him to stay. In addition, he is still allowing PJ to hire another part timer and request backup from neighboring stores so the area has a floater tech. Hubby has enjoyed conducting his first interviews and it has been a good experience for growth. 

In other news, hubby shared that it has been difficult to find sufficient fellowship outside of Sunday mornings due to work. I have no doubt many of my own friends' husbands feel this way. I am extremely blessed to have my weekly women's study, times to meet up with my friends during the week, and the opportunity to catch up on Sunday mornings. It is hard for us to do weekends with friends, as PJ is in a retail pharmacy, and his days off are Sunday and Thursday. 

It is fortunate, though, that there a few close friends of his from church who also have odd hours. Hubby was able to join them in an early morning study on Thursdays. Please be praying for a rich time of fellowship and encouragement. I am so excited for him to have this time to spend in God's Word with godly men. 

Thank you for your prayers and love for our family! 

Love, Jessy. 

Baby Number 2

I did not exactly "embrace the bump" with AJ. I will be honest, I was ashamed and embarrassed by the fact that I was already overweight and I never really felt like I looked pregnant with her. It was like I continued to get wider and I was jealous of all those mamas with cute little bumps that were adorably distinguishable. All that to say, I really do wish I had taken more bump photos to see the physical progression of her growth. 

This time around, I'm embracing my little one and all the bodily changes they're causing. I am a little more confident with number 2 since I'm a little seasoned now haha Also, I'm simply in a better place. Before this pregnancy started, I was walking 4-5 days a week and already working on changing my diet. I'm 17 weeks today and I'm actually still losing weight. It definitely has (or has not) helped that we were all ridiculously sick multiple times and just under 2 weeks ago I had my braces put on and I'm still adjusting. 

Well, I'm back to my honeymoon weight, which is still far from my goal. However, I am embracing this bump and all the bodily discomforts he or she is causing me :) 

Happy Monday, everyone!

Love, Jessy 

6 Months Old

AJ is now 6 months old and she is an incredibly independent child! Still stubborn, but not as deliberate about it, she is eating solids and LOVES them! Now that she moves around a lot more, she has a greater appetite, so feeding times are not as dreaded for mommy :)

6 Months:
*Very much enjoys eating baby food and strawberries
*Loves tummy time, uses to plank and swim
*Wants to crawl, but can't quite figure out how to coordinate arm and leg movement at the same time
*Loves to stand up and browse about
*Teething and chewing on everything, no teeth yet, though
*Enjoys trying to see if the yellow stuffed Peep is an actual marshmallow - it's not
*Thinks she's older than she is, displayed in her refusal to be held - especially like a baby!

One of my favorite memories is watching her try to crawl. She got up on her hands and feet, as if she were planking, and started doing mountain climbers. From there, she dropped her hips down and pushed herself up to look at me. I smiled at her, and she dropped down instantly and began kicking her legs as fast as she could, she looked like she was trying to swim! I was talking to daddy on the phone during his lunch and apologized that I couldn't get a video because every time I pull up video, she just stares at me blankly. His words were incredibly encouraging and I will never forget them, because they help me through the tough days, "That's okay, my love, as long as you treasure all these things in your heart, it's enough for me to hear you tell me about it."

PJ's favorite day was when he came home from work and I was feeding her in the bedroom. She was taking a break and I called him in to say hi and give her hugs. He came to the doorway, I told her, "Say hi to daddy!." She beamed over at him and squealed with delight! It was so precious.

5 Months Old

Yesterday, our daughter turned 5 months old. AJ is such a precious baby, and I am humbled every time we go out and friends, family, and even strangers go on about how adorable she is. I am also very grateful for the mesh of her features. I was sincerely convinced that she would look more like her daddy: with the color of her eyes, the shape of her eyebrows, the darker skin color she had when she was smaller, and other things. However, the shape of her eyes, her nose, her mouth, and her feet definitely point to the fact that she is my little one, too :) Her skin is also getting lighter as time goes by, and her hair seems a lighter brown, too.

PJ and I have learned a lot as parents: we do not know anything! And the Lord has humbled us both at every turn - just when we think we have it down, AJ changes it up on us. The growth spurts and teething have been rapid this last month. It seemed like she went from size 3mos to 3-6mos overnight! One morning, we went to put on her sleeper, and she was too long! Toes were pushing through the feet and the neckline was being pulled to her chest o.0

It has been difficult for us to spend some time alone. We are happy to report that her last feeding is around 5pm/6pm and she goes down at 8pm. This gives us a solid hour in bed before we go to sleep to talk and catch up with one another about our days. I am also grateful that PJ is able to call me during his lunches, it makes for a fun midday break.

AJ's favorites:
*Rolling over: both ways and both directions!
*Getting "scared" and laughing hysterically: she loves it when we shock her a little, she waits for us to pop open our eyes and say "Boo!" >D
*Biting: EVERYTHING
*Waking up early from naps for extra play time!
*Taking her sweet time finishing her milk: pretty sure she enjoys taunting mommy and daddy lol

I guess that's it for now. Thanks for enjoying life with us!

I Have a 4 Month Old!

It is so overwhelming to say that I have a 4-month old daughter. She is beautiful, smart, active and determined. I know already that she is going to be a mobile baby that will not let me hold her if she can help it. We have a very energetic little one and I love watching her grow.

Her favorite things to do are:

-flip from back to belly

-play in her safari bouncer

-eat the raddle on her Bumbo play set

-swing the monkey on her baby gym mat

Our AJ is so precious and independent (at 4mos, that's a nice way to describe how stubborn she is). 😜 She loves to look around, has to know what is going on around her, and adores the attention she receives on a daily basis from mommy and daddy... Of course there's Grandpa & Nonna, Lolo & Lola, GPop and Gg... Yeah, first grand baby and great grand baby 😳 It's a good thing this girl has a cousin on the way this summer!!! 

We have our days, sometimes mommy has her tough moments where she wonders if there is any more patience left in her, and the Lord provides. Prayer is my greatest resource in this new season ('new season' is a relative term, since having a little one means every season is new). 

I cannot neglect to give my hubby so much love and appreciation right now. AJ is such a daddy's girl, and I pretend to be jealous, but I love watching them adore one another, it is one of the most precious parts of my day. The first thing he does when he comes through that door is kiss me, change and take over for daddy time! I love having a few minutes to relax before starting dinner. After he gives her the last feeding and she's done playing for the night, we relax ofcn the couch together and catch up on budgets and shows. 

I am so blessed and I love our life! I do have to say I'm nervous to have another baby, since AJ is the best sleeper ever! Yeah, dropped our late night feeding last week and we're up to 9 hours of sleep at night 😃🙌

Healthy Living

I began a new healthy living journey just before the year ended. I began limiting food intake and portion control just before Thanksgiving and I received an early Christmas gift from my hubby soon afterward to help me track my steps. Needless to say, with all of the sweets and the fun holiday treats, Christmas was difficult and New Years was a tough one (I cheated more than I wanted to). However, since I began this new journey, I have lost 10 pounds!

I considered, but decided against, drastic changes to my diet. I wanted to give myself more realistic goals and make sure that temptation was not always going to be more convenient. Since the new year has begun, I have been walking five days a week. In the past 2 weeks, I have been doing yoga and pilates twice a week. Yoga for flexibility and pilates for strength.

I am so grateful to my husband for his encouragement. On his days off, he walks with me and doesn't let me skip a workout. When we have dinner, he helps me pack everything up before we are both tempted for unnecessary seconds. I am thankful for my friendship with Laura, who wanted help and accountability to do her yoga and has become an inspiration for me to keep up with it as well. I am blessed with my friend Emy, who loves pilates so much, she comes over to workout with me and teach me a good workout to start off with. Finally, Lindsay is such a treasure! She included me in her FIT group on FB, which is a perfect way to help motivate and remind me, through fellow believers, that He has called us to spiritual, mental and physical health.

God has blessed me with such an awesome community of people to help support me. He has also blessed me with a beautiful daughter who reminds me each day that she is watching me. Thank you, Lord, for your wonderful grace and your abundant gifts.

And thank you, friends, for your amazing support.

Love,
Jessy

3 Months Old!

Life is hectic, so I'm a few days late, but I still can't believe that AJ is already 3 months old! She is already such a big girl. Sometimes, when she smiles or gives me a mischievous look, the Lord blesses PJ and I with a quick glimpse of what she will look like in a few short years. Our little one is such an adorable and stubborn girl!

As far as progression and growth, AJ is now approximately 13lbs and wearing 3 month clothing (to specify, not 0-3mos or 3-6mos). She just hit the sweet spot, which means that I will probably be needing to reorganize her dresser soon and pack away the 3mos clothing! People are not kidding when they say these little ones grow so fast!

Baby Molina is trying to hold her bottle, but does not quite have complete control of her muscles. This means I let her try and it drops/squirts her face in about 3-5 seconds. This, to me, is still pretty impressive. Daddy is a little bit more active in pushing her, though, he often props her bottle up w/ Sophie the Giraffe or a blanket+a burp cloth for the first half of the bottle. It works pretty well as long as she is hungry and has a good latch.

Mommy was a little bit drained and inconsistent with pumping, so, she stopped at 2 months, but AJ seems content (most days) to have her formula. Other days, she simply wants to take in just enough for fuel (1-2oz) and play until she's tired. It's a challenge for mommy to be disciplined and patient to work with her, but she does keep to a relatively consistent schedule when we work at it.

It has been 3 nights in a row that we have had a solid 7 hours of sleep! That means AJ has a great schedule for us all to get good rest before our long days. Typically, we're waking up at 6am, eating, playing, sleeping and starting over at 10am. After that, through the late afternoon, her feedings are 3 hours apart.

AJ has her tough days, but we all do, and when I take a moment to step back and look at this beautiful life our Lord has given us, I have no cause for complaint. More and more each day, I am utterly grateful not to have a job to go back to. As difficult as it is for me to get everything I would like finished around the house, I know that it would be much worse if I weren't here. As a bonus to managing our home, I have this wonderful, smart, beautiful, joyful little girl to take care of.

Thank you for all of your prayers, encouragement and support. We couldn't do it without our incredible family and friends!

Love you all,
Jessy