Newest Addition- Emilia Feliciana

So lately the blog has been shifted to low gear and was not my top priority. With pregnancy, school, and life it was inevitable that something would slip through the cracks. But now, I’M BACK! I was reminiscing over the many posts I’ve done and documenting Sofia growing up, Nick and I really want the same for our newest addition.

So, the last entry I posted was me pregnant at 30 weeks. Well, needless to say…Emilia Feliciana made it! Nick and I feel so blessed to have Emilia and Sofia, our family feels complete. It’s amazing how much love suddenly appears and just when you thought all the love was evident, the heart suddenly opens up and there is even more love to share.

Emilia Feliciana born 11/19/2010 8 lbs 20 inches

Labor was without a doubt an experience. Emilia, much like Sofia was stubborn coming, she did it on her own time and in the end needed a little coaxing. After 18 hours of labor, we finally welcomed our baby girl. Nick and I decided to have my sister Kalani share the experience with us and be in the delivery room. While in the delivery room she did us a huge favor and took pictures for us. Here are some of our favorites-

Recovering was special- I forgot about the intense bonding Nick and I did with Sofia. It’s amazing the change a relationship undergoes when a baby is introduced. Nick and I seemed to have had the “parenting” thing down and then our routine was turned upside down. Suddenly having to do the newborn thing again threw us into the over anxious and over protective mode again. Suddenly becoming fearful of all the familiar things like germs, feeding schedules, newborn care it all come rushing back.

Emilia is now just about ten days old and so far she has been an amazing baby. She is completely opposite from what Sofia looked like when she was born. Emilia has lots and lots of black hair and sleeps a good portion of the day. Emilia has perfect little lips and long graceful fingers. She sneezes like her great grandma, Mama Chana and has the undeniable “Mata Cheeks”. Nick and I have been relishing in these last few weeks…spending time with our two girls and bonding. Spending Thanksgiving together was magical, reminding ourselves that we have so much to be thankful for and so much to be grateful for.

30 weeks and counting!

Well, I’ve reached the 30 week mark of this pregnancy and starting to feel the “ugh, I’m done with this” portion of the ride. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve enjoyed each and every moment of this pregnancy but it’s been, different. I know different is not very descriptive, but it’s the best way I can explain it. I started showing REALLY early with this pregnancy and have been forced to wear pregnant clothes sooner than last time. Let’s just say, I’m not a fan of pregnant clothes at all! I keep telling myself, “think positive thoughts, think positive thoughts”. This has been my mantra for the last several months. It’s worked for the most part. One good thing, so far I’ve escaped swollen feet YAY!! This is a huge relief because during my pregnancy with Sofie, I was forced to buy all new shoes. Now sure, in normal circumstances any woman would see this as being a positive…however, the shoes I was forced (I say forced lightly, my feet would not fit into anything else) to buy were sneakers or “wide” shoes YUCK!!


Anyway, the baby is measuring normally.  She is at about 15 inches and weighs about 3 pounds. Emilia’s heart beat in pumping at a normal rate and moving around with such grace! Nick and I have signed up for our Lamaze classes (starting next month) and are starting to get our bags together. This time, it’s nice cause we know exactly what to bring to the hospital. Last time, we totally forgot about the “daddy bag”. Sure, Mommy and baby were packed for but as for Nick’s bag of essentials, totally slipped our mind and a quick trip to Target was in order.

One of the major things we are not prepared for is being away from Sofie. Nick and I have never been away from her…not even for one night. To be honest, this whole situation is catching us off guard. It’s a little strange preparing for the addition of another little being in the house.

Sofie is also getting ready for Emilia.  It's funny, when I tell her to feel Emilia kick, she comes right to stomach and points with her little finger and says "No, no Emilia! Don't kick mommy...be nice".  Too funny!!

Over this last weekend we took Sofie to one of the most perfect parks!  It’s in Scottsdale and after our weekend visit; we decided this is going to be where her big number 3 birthday will be. The park has a train for the kids as well as a carousel and really nice playgrounds. Sofia LOVED the carousel and totally got a kick out of the train ride. Here are some pictures of our afternoon.

Our little photo shoot.

Sofie and I did a little photo shoot the other day...here are some of the silly pictures we took.

Well, this blog has lost some of its momentum but with good reasons… lately it’s been tough to keep up with everything. Being pregnant has taken more out of me this time around than with the first. It’s strange, I feel more drained and exhausted sitting behind a desk than when I was running around a kitchen cooking and baking. And then, getting home and doing the “wifey” things…cooking dinner, cleaning and mommy duties; it’s tough! And then there is the school stuff! Nick and I are both in school and trying to juggle all this stuff while still preparing for Emilia. Honestly, it's never ending! And with the countdown ticking down (83 days left) it's a little scary~!  I don’t know what I would do without Nick. He has become the best father…more than I could have ever wished for!

Some of the things he takes on really makes me appreciate him more and more. Baths, play time, pull-up changes…it’s all stuff that allows me to rest and try and take it easy! Thanks honey!!

Recently, we took Sofie to a place called Organ Stop Pizza. This place is totally unique and I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s a pizza parlor but with the main attraction being this massive organ. It’s controlled by one guy and he’s able to pretty much play ANY song you request. We invited "Nonnie and Ba-Pa" to come along and join us-

This guy is pretty good!

Here is sofie during the opening act

Sofie and Nonnie

And then there was this weirdo...a women dressed up in a "Phantom of the Opera" costume. Now, keep in mind she is not an employee nor is she a part of the show. Well, after freaking Sofia out, Nonie went over to where she was sitting and asked her “do you work her?” and she replied “no, she just comes for the show”…okay, a little weird but whatever. And then Nonie asked him to go and sit somewhere else cause she was scaring Sofia. It’s was funny. Apparently, this women has been going to this place and dresses up in numerous costumes- Sorry, but a screaming toddler frightened into tears takes over some lover of organ music-

Luckily, the show picked up and the “phantom” moved on. Sofie still did not have the same enjoyment she has pre phantom but either way it was fun and something new.

On another note, we have also started the stressful task of potty training. This has been a bit more troublesome than we had initially expected. All the kids in Sofies class are well on their way and she is still having “accidents”. She enjoys using her “big girl potty” but still is not at that “mommy I have to go potty” stage. So in an effort to speed things up, we took Sofie on a little shopping trip to get some “big girl underwear”. She picked Dora and loves wearing them but it’s still a work in progress! Grrrr!!!!

 I love her!

One of the things Nick and I have started doing with Sofie is doing crafts. She loves coloring, painting and some of the other crafts she does as school, we decided to do some of similar things with her at home. Here are some of the pictures of us having fun!

This is Nick just being "silly Daddy"...always makes us laugh!!

And here is Sofia...just being "silly Sof-a-Lof"...just like her Daddy!

Sofie continues to makes us laugh and we can’t wait to see both of our little girls

grow up and continue to make us laugh everyday!