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

1 Year and 2 Weeks

It seems I am running even further behind on my posts! I wonder how that could be? ;)

Anyway, it has been just over a year since PJ and I were married! My goodness, how time flies. Things are going very well at work. While hubby and I were vacationing in Tahoe, his other staff pharmacist was also out on leave and the store was completely dependent upon floaters! Some numbers were down, but the technicians did a fantastic job holding up the work flow! PJ was impressed and I was at peace to see his relief when he came home from work his first day back.

Our neighbors are having a little boy! We are so excited because it has given us more opportunity to chat with them; they even came over to talk about newborn stuff when AJ was just a few weeks old. They were so kind! I do hope this will give us another chance to invite them over for dinner. Please pray that we would have the opportunity to invite them to church and to encourage them in faith.

Mommy has been having one heck of a time adjusting to new "normal." That is, every time I think I have her figured out, she switches things up on me! It's okay though. We definitely have our tough days, but she is challenging me and encouraging me more and more each day in godliness. It is quite humbling.

Just a quick update for now, but we are very excited about the Christmas! We will be celebrating on the 20th with my side of the family. Then, for Christmas eve, PJ's family will be joining us for our church's Christmas Eve service before we join the rest for the annual party. I am excited to join them for Midnight Mass for the first time, as well. AJ will have a busy first Christmas!

Happy Christmas, everyone!

Love,

Jessy

One Month Old

                                      

AJ turned 1 month yesterday! What a roller coaster it has been. PJ has been back at work for a week and a half now and it has been somewhat of a tough transition, but we are hanging in there.

When I refer to the roller coaster, I am mainly talking about my emotional state. I never realized how difficult being a mommy was going to be. Nothing comes naturally- feeding, sleeping, schedules, feeding patterns- nothing. 

I'll start off with the fact that I was not (and still have not been able to) produce enough milk to feed or keep up with her. It was really difficult to talk about and there is still some fear and anxiety about the fact that I have to suppliment and bottle feed her. She will not nurse and the screams she cries out when we try do not help my body's stress. (*Please note: I love and appreciate you for wanting to know how we are doing, but please do not advise me in this regard, I have spoken to lots of friends and family who have or are currently experiencing these decisions, and we have already made ours). 

We started to get a somewhat consistent "routine" down and then she began her 3 week growth spurt, so everything was thrown off. When the spurt was over, she decided that she liked the shorted periods between feedings, so she took advantage of the suring the day. I can't complain too much about her sleeping, though, because she does AMAZING in the car/out and about. She also goes for long stretches at night, so PJ and I are both doing well with the amount that we sleep.

We have had our ups and downs, but I cannot say that we are without tons of love and support! I have had a few diffiult days where I don't seem to be myself, even when we're out with friends. Yet, the Lord has been faithful to remind me how much of an incredible blessing my family is. AJ is healthy, we have not had to deal with medical issues, hospital stays, medications, or any other complications. She is a good sleeper, she can't (as a newborn) sleep through the night, but she sleeps well enough to give hubby and I the sleep we need to get through the day and she rests prety well in the morning; this ideally would be a good time for me to do my Bible study and catch up on my chores.

PJ and I have a beutiful, healthy baby girl. We have a huge support around us to give us date nights and encurage us in this new adventure. We really cannot complain about this stage of life we are in. We can only pray and ask God to grant us the patience we need as new parents and the discipline we need to be intentional with our time. 

                                     

Thank you for your love, encouragement and prayers! We would not be able to do this without you!

November is For Thanksgiving

Let me preface this by saying that I do love Christmas. I love winter. I very much enjoy celebrating the first coming of Christ our Savior - which I am grateful for 365(6) days a year.

I will now proceed to note that I am the person who rolls her eyes while walking through stores that play Christmas music and have Christmas sales in October and November. Why do we have to skip over Thanksgiving? Why do we have to jump so quickly to the end of the year? Can we enjoy this month of gratitude instead of feeding into this progressively selfish and materialistic culture by shopping for gifts and making wish lists?

FunFact: Jingle Bells was originally written to be a Thanksgiving song. The Christmas Holiday steals gratitude and songs! 

Rant Over 😊