My pride and joy

I can't believe how quickly life slips by when a precious lovey enters your home.  It has been 5 months since Heavenly Father placed in our tender care His precious little one.  Jessa as I refer to her, is my gift from God, who pushes me beyond my limits to grow and become better.  With my precious baby around I always have the desire to do better and be better.  It is so easy to pray and read scriptures when there is someone who is so willing to do it with you, probably because she can't talk jaja ;), but having Jessa has allowed me to follow a daily routine that just brings us all closer to the Saviour.

On a lighter note, Jessa is a hoot to be around, weighing in at 5 pounds 12 ounces.  She is 53 centimeters long and still wears 0 to 3 month clothing.  Oh how I love my small but mighty baby.  Some fun facts about Jessa are:

• she will roll from her back to her tummy.  She will first flip to her side, and then roll onto her tummy.  Sometimes she gets her hand stuck under her belly and lay it that position until someone will help her. 
• when she gets tired of being on her tummy she will start to babble furiously into the floor.
• when she gets really excited she will start to wiggle her bum
• she loves her dad and is always all smiles when she gets to see him.  
• she loves to go for walks, being in her swing and watching the mobile, standing up and sitting with help, and looking at herself in the mirror.  
• loves to smile and laugh.  

Remember when Jessa looked like this?

My bebita preciosa hoy:

When no words sum it all up

All I can say is Today was a hard day and man am I glad it is over!  Good Night!

Canning

Remember back in August when I talked about how I had made a new friend.  My new friend is Chalisse and she has a little boy about eight weeks younger than Jessa.  One day we were talking and she mentioned that she was going to be canning and I asked her to teach me and so Chalisse has taught me to make pickles and cherries.  It was so much fun doing something with another mom and having the opportunity to dig into food that I had prepared for my family.  Canning is one of the best things ever.  Next year I want to do tomatoes, peaches, and pickled carrots.

 What happens when daddy helps with canning.

J-e-s-s-a

I love my baby and since I don't have facebook here is a photo pride of my baby.

Joy IS in the Journey

“There is no greater good in all the world than motherhood. 

The influence of a mother in the lives of her children is beyond calculation”

James E Faust

I have finally reached my 200th post and I am so excited!  I really love blogging and hope I am back on a daily basis we will see if Jessa cooperates!  Life for us here at the Cristancho household has been busy.  Being a resident manager is all that it is cracked up to be and more.  I have found that most of my tenants are great people to work for but I definitely do have the prickles and thorns that come with the roses.  It has had it's disappointments along with some laughs.  Sometimes it is hard not to laugh when you get asked questions such as... do you know where my car is? ( 3 days after it was towed for being unregistered)  Seriously did you just notice that it was gone now?!

And from here on out this post will be pretty much about mi bebita!  Jessa found her voice in the middle of August and babbles a ton at first I thought she was fussing when I would lay her on in her play mat and she would start babbling furiously at her little bird.  I would pick her up and find that she would start to cry because she was just playing.  Silly little girl.  She has also started to laugh and it is seriously my favorite sound in the whole world.  The first time I found this was during bath time when I was holding Jessa up and out of the water and then splash her down.  Her squeals of laughter honestly made my heart swell with pride that she was so happy.  I wanted to rush and wake Jonathan from his nap to show him but then she stopped and that was it.  Jessa doesn't give away her laughs easily... some days things are funny and sometimes they are not.  I didn't hear Jessa's laugh for about a week and I was bummed but then one day as I was in the other room I heard peals of laughter as J was playing with baby and that has seemed to be how it has been lately.  Momma gets a half hearted giggle but daddy gets all the peals of laughter.  I used to be so sad by that and tried to play more like daddy and when I did poor angelita would cry... and I would be bummed.  If it's funny when daddy does it shouldn't it be funny when mommy does it too??

Well my friends I have learned that my bebita feels at home and safest with me where she can be herself.  Daddy is fun and is a time to laugh but mommy is different.  We handle her different, respond differently even though we both love her with all of our hearts and as I have come to accept that Jessa giggles and has fun with me in an entirely different way than she does with her daddy, and now I am okay with that.

Jessa's latest feat has been rolling from back to tummy and sometimes she gets frustrated when she gets herself stuck on her tummy.  But she is starting to roll around like a little ball and it is fun to watch her interact with the world around her.  She definitely has peserverance and will get back up once she has fallen because she spent 5 minutes one time trying to get herself onto her tummy and she is recently reaching for things that are just out of her reach on her play mat.  Man I love my baby and I didn't realize that for reals that your heart is walking outside of your body; but it definitely is.  Being a mom is the best calling ever and I have felt no greater joy.  The closest it has come to is when I had the opportunity to nanny for three kids who I love with all my heart and who I am closer to than my own brother and I love them with ever breath I have but it still isn't the same as having your own.

Oh Jessa thrills me to death I am sooo happy to be a mom.