Toddlers, Vacations, and Personal Growth

We have made it to October, which means that I missed the 1 year post for E and the 2 year post for AJ. I have no excuses, but life goes on and here we are; so let's get started.

E turned 1 year old last month and I am coming to grips with the 2 toddler thing. She is walking and jabbering and climbing and squealing! She is simply a happy kiddo whose only complaint is teething and exhaustion. I am so grateful for the way that she shows love and cuddles with me when she is sleepy. E also learns quickly and AJ is teaching her how to climb. Right now it's on my yoga block, strewn about boxes and their picnic table.

AJ is 2! I am floored by how quickly these stages are going. She tells me when she needs to poop (yeah, that's a big deal), she's in a twin bed now (which is going great at bed time - not so much with the afternoon nap), and she prefers cakes to cookies ;) She also likes pizza. AJ has such an independent spirit and loves to help PJ and I get things done. It is so humbling to see how much she knows and understands and exciting to grow as a mom teaching her how to serve others.

This weekend my mom is throwing them a Little Mermaid themed birthday party and I'm excited to take photos of the frosting all over their faces! The girls love all of their grandparents and it melts my heart to see their smiles and hear their squeals whenever they see any of them walk through the door. We all joke about how it's because, "toddlers know they can get away with a lot more when they have grands around," but I know that it is so much more than that. My girls have a beautiful bond with their grandparents and I see it in their eyes even when our parents are not around. AJ asks for them and they yearn to spend time together. It truly is precious.

As far as life goes, things have been going really well. I am at the gym 4-5 times a week. Team Training is 2-3 times and I like to swim laps on the weekends. It has been so awesome to feel the progress and see the numbers climb for personal bests. I feel more energetic and see how God is using my fitness goals to grow me in self-control, diligence, discipline and endurance. You can read more on my fitness blog, I won't take up too much space here on the family page.

PJ is doing great at work. I am so proud of his team, and I know he is too. In the past, vacation has been a headache to come back from because things have backed up and the technicians were overwhelmed without him there. Last week we were on official vacation, but he actually left work early on Friday and was gone from his store a total of 9 days. He went back to a great setup and there were no crises while he was out. I do not even remember him receiving a call but once while he was off.

God has been so faithful to soften my own heart and help me put things into perspective this week. I typically dread the end of vacation because that means I am back at home without help throughout the day and I do not get to have as much time to myself. I feel selfish for wanting so much time to myself, but that's where I'm at. The Lord has given me an extra measure of His patience and grace as AJ is bed training and having a difficult time harnessing the freedom during her only nap of the day. E has developed preferences for food and has not been eating as well as she was before; also, she is still using the bottle as a pacifier and takes 2 per day.

As much as I feel like she could probably go down to 1, I'm having trouble letting it go because the 1st is in the afternoon and I think it helps her sleep even though AJ delays that nap. Also, I am putting off potty training because I simply don't want to deal with it. I am being real, here. I know it has to happen, but I will likely wait until after Thanksgiving so PJ can help for her first week.

All that to say, I am so grateful for the Lord's constant provision and faithfulness to help us through every milestone. Thank you all who have been praying for us, I know that has been a HUGE impact for us. We are so grateful for the church family and our families He has surrounded us with.

Life Update - July '17

Sisterly Love

Wow, it has been a while since we have posted one of these, huh?! Well, best type to it.

E is 9 months now, as you may have seen in our previous post. She loves her Ate and is about ready to walk! It is crazy!!! AJ adores her MeiMei and gives her lots of hugs and kisses. It is such a joy to watch them grow, play and learn together.

PJ was selected last month to begin a leadership program with work. Right now, this entails going to monthly classes at the area office and implementing suggested management techniques at his store. Later, it could mean moving to different stores within his district to develop under-performing pharmacies; then it may mean a corporate promotion as a district manager. One step at a time, though. Jessy is so proud of him and excited to see how the Lord develops his leadership skills and uses his work ethic within his company.

Jessy is continuing in her weight loss journey, and right now this means taking a maintenance break in order to allow her body to balance out after a 65lb weight loss in 6 months! If you would like to follow her journey, she has a separate page here. She has begun to do some team training classes at Chuze fitness which has been awesome! It is such a fun place to work out.

The Great Escape

PJ and Jessy were blessed to see Christine (PJ's sister) graduate from her residency program last month and spend a long weekend in Ohio to celebrate her's and Peter's (their brother's) graduations. He completed his undergrad in Washington. It was a good reunion and we are excited that Christine and her boyfriend will be working in Reno beginning this Fall as they start their first official careers. It was so much fun seeing all the places Christine has lived over these last few years and enjoying some of the sites. Columbus had an amazing Farmer's Market, we found an escape room (and won!), there was a beautiful hiking trail and old town area we were able to visit, and we saw the largest Air Force Museum in the country!

Disney Babies

The girls had a difficult time spending those 4 days with Jessy's family. They (we) were blessed to have the time at home since Jessy's mom stayed overnight, but it was still pretty hard, particularly on E, as she had just started eating table food, was (and still is) teething, and found it difficult to eat while mommy and daddy were away. She had a bit of stress issues and tummy problems and it took a couple of days to get back on track, but Jessy is so proud of her troopers!

I think that is it for now. Thank you, everyone <3

For the Grandparents

Dear Grandpa & Nonna and Lolo & Lola,

I want you to know how incredibly grateful PJ and I are to have you so close and so willing to love on our family. Thank you for dropping everything and spending time with the girls. AJ and E will never understand how valuable it is for them to have their grandparents so close and so ready to spend the day with them.

PJ and I do not know what we would have done these last few weeks without you! With me going to the hospital, needing to go to dental and other doctor appointments, having to run long errands that stretch through nap times... It would be so stressful without you. We have so many friends who are far from family or have to drive long distances from home to see their families/ We also have friends who have lost or are in the process of losing their parents and are facing the challenge of seeing their little ones grow without their grandparents in their lives.

I grew up with so much family, it's ridiculous. I never understood (and probably still don't truly comprehend) how immensely blessed I am to have known 4 grandparents - and even 1 great grandparent until I was 13. At 27, I still have 3 living grandparents and so have the opportunity to see my babies loved by 4 grandparents and 3 great grandparents!

Knowing what I am going through and understanding the stress I am experiencing in this season of motherhood, I am grateful for all of you and the difficulties you had to face in your season of rough parenting. Mom, you faced single motherhood for 14 years! Ryan and I were adults (for the most part) before you married again. Dad, we have had our disagreements and rough patches and seasons of growth in our relationship, but I am so grateful that the Lord brought you into our lives when he did. And you are such an amazing Grandpa! Daddy and Mama, you guys had a few siblings here in the states, but you were on your own! Your parents were in the Philippines and passed without having these opportunities to love on their grand babies like you are. Thank you for the many sacrifices you made for Baba, PJ and Pete.

I just want you all to know how much it means to us to see you enjoy your grandbabies and that you are so willing to drop your days off, vacation days, and weekend plans to help us with them. Besides expressing myself through this blog, and tearing up as I do it, there are not enough words nor is there enough money in the world to compensate for the amount that we appreciate and love you for your support and encouragement as we tackle this parenting thing.

We love you guys!

E is 4 Months Old

E turned 4 months old the other day! She is such a happy baby, just in case you couldn't tell. She has rolled over a couple of times, but is not interested in making it a regular thing. She loves to eat her fist and is beginning to establish a regular schedule. She is up to 6oz of formula every 4-5 hours! She still wakes up once between 10pm and 5am, but will take her paci to go back to sleep until 5:30/6! We are so proud of her.

She also enjoys watching her Ate (big sister), AJ, very intently and it makes her smile to get kisses from her. They enjoy watching Frozen together, but any parent with a child between 0 and 14 (maybe even older) knows that this is a staple film in the house!

E is beginning to enjoy her tummy times (not only tolerate them). She is really strong and even pushes herself up to get a better view.

Life's Encouragements

About a month ago, PJ told me that his district manager wanted him to recreate a panel discussion regarding his store's success at the national conference in Boston for Area Managers for the company. I really wish that my response was, "Oh my goodness, honey, that is amazing! I am so proud of you and the work you have accomplished at your store this last year!" To my shame, however, I responded with, "Well, how long will you be gone?" in a tone of contempt for his accomplishments. I felt the excitement drain from his demeanor and I knew there was no way I could take that moment back.

I was being completely and unreasonably selfish.

I wanted him to say he would bring ME with him. I wanted him to acknowledge how difficult his absence would be for ME. I wanted to feel as needed as I feel I need him.

It is not easy being a full time mommy and housewife. But I think that being a true helpmate and encouraging wife are even harder. As much as I give myself to my precious little girls each day, I have to give my full support and encouragement to my husband each day. That is a lot of work and takes a lot of investment. I want my husband to be successful and I desire him to do well. If I am aligning my life with his, which is what I am called to do, then I need to be more uplifting in my attitude.

Gee, this wife thing is tough, but I am so glad to have this opportunity to love and minister to my husband in this way.

Please pray for PJ as he heads off to Boston tomorrow. There is an ice storm warning in effect this weekend on the east coast and I pray his flight is not delayed or cancelled coming home. He will be flying out tomorrow morning, his meeting will be all day Thursday, and - Lord willing - he will be returning on Friday afternoon.

-Jessy

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 😃🙌

Anticipation

I want to thank all of you for your prayers and support through this entire journey. Pregnancy has been quite the experience, especially paired with being a newlywed. I am incredibly blessed with a supportive and encouraging husband who loves me and leads me well. We have been overwhelmed with the wonderful church family God has given us and cannot imagine being anywhere else right now. Our family have been amazing through our marital transition and we are both blown away by their generosity. 

With all that being said, I am still a fleshly human being, and it has been a very difficult week as we wait to meet our little girl. PJ and I both came early, so naturally, our families assumed that I, too, would deliver early. I expected myself to be late, but deep down, I have realized I did want her to come early and I hoped to be holding her in my arms already. When my birthday came and went, when the weekend came and went, when my expected due date came and went... I was pretty disappointed.  

The hormones have been taking over my reactions and I have pretty much been at the brink of tears for the past week. I have been tryng so hard to be grateful for the extra time the Lord has given me to spend alone with my husband; to welcome the pregnancy overtime, thanking Him that we are both healthy and there have been no complications; and still working hard to become a better house-wife, finding a routine for myself that will be completely altered once AJ does arrive. 

I have challenged myself to pray through my discouragement, to smile and accept the love coming from our friends and family when they ask me the same questions, to dive deeper into the Word and distract myself until the contractions come, but it has been a difficult week. I have been filled with discouragement and impatience without allowing the Lord to soften my heart and accept that those who are asking the same questions and sending me the same messages are showing their support and wanting to be encouraging. 

Through each time I've sat down to pray, I have confessed my hardened heart and saught out His grace to give to others and the fruit of His Spirit, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22). Last night, He answered my prayer, and it was as if He flipped a switch. 

PJ and I were reading and I realized that He is granting us more time to prepare, He is giving me people who want to love on us and bless us and do life with us, He is reminding me what we are to be characterized by and what the fellowship of His church is for. I woke up feeling so refreshed. God is so good and I am so grateful to all of you for your prayers! 

I also want to apologize if any of you have felt that I was giving you the cold shoulder or was being rude to you. Thank you for your grace and understanding. 

Love, Jessy :)