Holiday Letter 2011

2011 Holiday Season

After the 2010 we had it was hard to imagine that 2011 could be better, but this year has been filled with just as much excitement as the last one. We both could barely keep up with everything happening.

This year started slow until our first anniversary in April. We enjoyed a piano concert by Jim Brickman at the Van Wezel in Sarasota. He spoke of celebrating anniversaries since he had just celebrated 15 years of writing and performing in December. It was a perfect concert to celebrate the occasion. I made Kris an album keepsake that highlighted our early years together and our first year of marriage. It was a wonderful weekend of romance and reminiscing.

The most exciting highlight of 2011 was learning we were expecting our first baby in January 2012. I had suspected for some time that we might be pregnant but was too nervous to test. After two weeks of waiting, we decided to take a home pregnancy test on my 37^th birthday. Even though the line was faint, we were both excited to learn that we were, in fact, pregnant. It was the best present that I could have ever received.

The past couple of months have been quite busy trying to prepare for the baby’s arrival. Thankfully the pregnancy has been uneventful. I did not have much more than slight morning sickness and fatigue the first trimester. It had me out for the count on some days. The second trimester I had more energy and felt like I could get more things done. I tried to take advantage of these bursts of energy to get some cooking done ahead of time. During the third trimester we have been busily trying to get the house and nursery ready. It has been a slow process as fatigue has set in again.

Early in the pregnancy we referred to our little one as Special K since we did not know the gender. Everyone wondered whether our Special K had strawberries or blueberries (girl or boy). Kris had been hoping for a girl while I was hoping for a boy, so one of us was going to be right. We both would have been happy either way. In August, right around 20 weeks, we were happy to learn that we were having a GIRL. We have chosen the name Felicity after my 92-year-old grandmother, Felicidad, who went home to the Philippines shortly before we were married.

This year we enjoyed a babymoon vacation in September. We took a tour of Florida beginning in Naples with the baby shower of our friends Gary and Christine Huber. I was excited for our baby bumps to meet for the first time.  The rest of our vacation consisted of a visit to Mom and Dad Mendoza in Fort Pierce, the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse in Daytona, the hot spots in St. Augustine and a quick lunch with a good friend in Orlando. Kris climbed all 203 steps to the top of the lighthouse while Mommy and baby visited the different museums on the campus. While in St. Augustine, we visited the Shrine of Our Lady of La Leche and Potter’s Wax Museum. It was nice to have one last getaway before baby girl arrives.

Other family highlights this year include celebrating my parent’s 40^th wedding anniversary, my Mom’s 65^th birthday and the 12^th birthday of my oldest niece Lexy in November. Mom and Dad hosted a nice dinner for family and friends to celebrate. We also welcomed Izabella Anna, the daughter of Kris’ brother Paul and his wife Nicole. Izabella is the 9^th niece and nephew between the both of us. It was wonderful to share the pregnancy experience with Nikki and we are looking forward to the two cousins meeting.

Here we are now at the end of 2011 and the new year is fast approaching. We both are looking forward to meeting our daughter and the many adventures 2012 has in store for us. We cannot wait to share with you all our exciting news of the upcoming year.

We would like to send you and your family the love and blessings of our Lord this holiday season. We hope you find the joy of the Lord this new year and many years to come.

Sending love, joy and peace from our family to yours this holiday season. May the new year bring good health, happiness and prosperity.

With lots of love,

Kris, Eileen Mae and, coming soon, Felicity

Our Christmas 2011 photo

8 1/2 months pregnant

Christmas 2011

Showered with Love

"Truly you have formed my inmost being; you knit me in my mother's womb.

I give you thanks that I am fearfully, wonderfully made; wonderful are your works.

My soul you also knew full well; nor was my frame unknown to you 

    When I was made in secret, when I was fashioned in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes have seen my actions; in your book they are all written." 
Psalm 139: 13-16a

I already know that our Special K Felicity is loved by so many. She has been in the prayers of many of our friends and family throughout our entire pregnancy. Many more prayers have been added each step of the way. Prayers have continued through our difficult moments when I was having morning sickness and other uncomfortable symptoms. There were even more prayers of thanksgiving when we had good news to share. We have had the love and prayers of so many the past six months. It has been an incredible journey. We have been so blessed.

This past weekend we had a very unexpected blessing. Kris managed to keep plans of a baby shower a secret for nearly two weeks. I did not suspect a thing. I was very pleasantly surprised and touched by everyone who joined us to celebrate our Special K. We feel even more loved.

The decorations for the party were so cute. Kris' Mom put bows on top of small containers of Special K cereal to give to everyone as party giveaways. She used a large box to make a "Special K" baby. She wrapped a blanket around the box and put a balloon with a baby's hat on top. It was just too cute! She wrapped Special K cereal bars with a touching poem based on Psalm 139. Here is what it said:

Before we knew you as FELICITY, you were our SPECIAL K

Before that - in your father's eye, you were only a gleam

Before that - in your mother's heart, you were only a dream

But from all eternity - in secret, in the depths of the earth

Your inmost being was already woven together by God and

All your days ordained and written in His book.

I almost cried (again) when I read it. We were both so touched. It was a wonderful gathering.

The shower was just in time, too. We had recently received an outfit for her and I had mentioned to Kris how we did not have much for her. We have not even started a baby registry. She will be here in three short months and we do not have things ready for her arrival. We will have much to prepare over the next few months. Little did I know that this gathering was already in the works and in a few short hours we would be showered with love from a few people who have been praying along side of us. I was almost brought to tears when I walked into the house and saw the decorations and everyone there.

Now we have some 3-month, 6-month, and 9-month onesies. We also have a few outfits for when she is older (18 and 24-months) We got a few other small items and even a walker from Uncle Paul and Aunt Nikki. Now we have a few things to get us started. There is still so much left to do but I am excited to have a few items to get us motivated to get things in gear.

I cannot put into words how touched I am. The only thing I can keep saying is that we are so touched. We are so blessed. We thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts. We know that Felicity is already loved by so many.

This is what I saw as soon as I walked in the door

Our "Special K"

Party giveaways

The chair was all decorated for me to sit in and open gifts

A bear for Felicity's new room

We were showered with love

I was delightfully surprised

A big bow for Mommy and a little bow for Felicity

Mommy and Daddy

Dear Special K Felicity,

You are so loved! So many people have been praying for you. Long before we even knew you, there have been prayers for you. We have only dreamed of this moment. We have only prayed for this time with you. Very soon you will be here with us. We cannot wait to hold you. We cannot wait for you to see the wonderful gifts that you were showered with this weekend. So many people love you and are waiting for your arrival. Continue to grow big and strong in there. We will see you when you are ready.

Love, Mommy and Daddy

Special K with Strawberries

As we were awaiting our recent ultrasound to learn the Special K's gender some of my online friends from an NFP forum were curious to find out if we had Special K with strawberries or blueberries. I have always wanted a little boy first, but Kris from the very beginning had a feeling it was a little girl. Whether Special K had strawberries or blueberries was not so important to us as the health. We wanted to be sure that we had a healthy, growing baby. Anything else was going to be a bonus. 

Our calendar the weeks before our ultrasound appointment was pretty busy. Between the OB, the dentist, the eye doctor, Church meetings and a few family obligations, we were quite busy. It helped the weeks to pass quickly. The Friday of our appointment was going to be a very busy day with errands to run before and after the appointment. Despite our busy schedule nothing could have spoiled the excitement of seeing our precious Special K again since our first ultrasound at 8 weeks. We had already heard the heartbeat twice but we were looking forward to seeing the baby again. At our first quick peek Special K only looked like a peanut. You could see the heartbeat and the makings of a tiny baby but the baby was too small to notice tiny hands or feet. We were excited to see how much our little one had grown.

Prior to arrival at the appointment I was required to drink two glasses of water and asked not to use the bathroom. Not an easy task for a 19-week pregnant woman. Fortunately the receptionist told me it was okay as long as I drank more water. So I had to continuously drink water until the time of our appointment. The ultrasound itself lasted about 45 minutes. They took all kinds of different measurements to make sure that our little one was healthy. They measured the ulna, the humerous, the femur, the chest, the brain, the head, and many other things. It was so neat to see our little one moving all around during the ultrasound. Special K was quite the acrobat. I was hoping to get a good peek before the tech told us if Special K had strawberries or blueberries but Special K just would not stay still long enough for me to get a good peek. I am not sure I would have known what to look for anyway. We were enjoying watching our little one move and dance around. We saw the baby "wave", suck their thumb, kick their leg, tumble, somersault and so much more. We saw the two halves of the brain, the four chambers of the heart, the bones in the fingers and toes and much, much more. It was like Special K was putting on a show for Mommy and Daddy. Although it was hard to lie there with a full bladder I did not want to stop watching the baby. It was so amazing to see. The baby was still rather tiny but you could see everything so clearly. Kris was so excited to see the baby again and this time Special K was more than a peanut. 

We were both excited when time came to reveal Special K's gender. We both had our hunches about the gender and could not wait to find out who was right. No matter what we both had already loved Special K so much already. Gender made no difference. Fortunately, Special K was quite cooperative when it came time to reveal the gender. The tech focused in to show us. She asked what we thought. I was not too sure but I had to ask. Then came the big news. IT'S A GIRL!!!!!!! Kris was so excited. His first comment was, "Now we have to start saving for a wedding." I was just simply moved to tears. Although I wanted a boy, I knew that having a girl was something extra special. I had always planned to name my first daughter Felicity after my paternal grandmother, Felicidad. My Mama Edad is 92-years old and we have been very close since I was young. We used to do many arts and crafts together. She has inspired me and taught me so much. I was sad to learn that she would be returning home to the Philippines a couple of months before we were married. I have had the chance to speak with her via Skype shortly after we learned we were pregnant. She was the first family member we told. I told her that if we were to have a girl, we will name her after her. Mama was so happy to hear that. There was a smile so big on her face. Mama has 6 children (5 daughters and 1 son), 19 grandchildren and now our baby girl Felicity makes 22 great-grandchildren. I am honored to be carrying Mama Edad's namesake and excited for Mama to see her even if it is only by Skype.

After our ultrasound, we met with the specialist Dr. Barron. She informed us that little Felicity is perfectly healthy at this time. She measured exactly where she needed to be (According to the OB we were 18 weeks and 6 days and she was measuing 18 weeks and 5 days) She told us we were on track for an average 7-7.5lb baby. I was taken a little by surprise since my nieces and nephews were not much bigger than 6lbs. A 7-lb baby in is a BIG baby for our family but I was glad to hear that she is very healthy. It was such a relief to hear. We both let out a deep sigh of relief. We could not be more excited to meet our little one in a few months.

This reminded me of a "classic" ultrasound picture that you might see in a book, magazine or poster but this time it was of OUR little girl.

She is such the cutie already!

The tech told us that she has Daddy's nose not a Filipino, flat nose.

She was sucking her thumb.

She has LONG legs like Daddy. She likes to kick me on my left side.

She waved hi for Mommy and Daddy. Hi baby girl!!!!!!!!

Dear Special K Felicity,

We are so happy to have seen you dance, somersault, kick and even wave for us. It was certainly an exciting show to see. We cannot get enough. I wish we could have watched all day. Keep on growing in there. Stay strong and active. I do not mind if you give me a little kick here and there to let me know you are okay but please be gentle. We will see you very soon little one. Remember you are already so loved.

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Special K

Before even learning that we were pregnant, I decided that I would call our baby in utero Special K. Other friends had different creative nicknames for their babies-to-be and I wanted something just as cute. I did not like referring to the baby as "it" and did not want to always have to say "the baby." I wanted something that would give the baby an identity. Some kind of name before we even knew the gender. Our last name lent a hand to that. Special K seemed perfect. Our own little K. The newest member of Team K. Someone so special to us no matter what gender they turned out to be. 

Dear Special K,

We love you very much. We cannot wait for you to join our team. Do not worry. You do not have to be the star right away. Mommy and Daddy will coach you and pretty soon you will be the All Star. Stay strong. Stay healthy. Grow big. 

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Pregnancy update

It has been a while since I have updated anyone on the status of our pregnancy so I thought I would give a few highlights for those who have been trying to follow our progress.

The first trimester was a little rough. I had a bout with some morning sickness which never happened in the morning. It was always at night when I was getting ready for bed. It made it rough to get try and get to sleep at night. Most mornings I would feel fine but sometimes a car ride would set off nausea and set the pace for the whole day. I was on progesterone for the first 13 weeks to help support the pregnancy and that seemed to cause a few extra problems including very vivid and strange dreams. Certain smells and foods were an issue. The sight or smell of eggs for the first couple of months was just intolerable. Poor hubby missed out on many a big breakfast. Processed meats and cold cuts (I have been avoiding as much as possible this since we learned we were pregnant) also seemed to set off the stomach. I barely made it through preparing for a family brunch before we knew we were pregnant. The smell of hot dogs and bratwursts just made my stomach turn. The only craving that I seem to have was for watermelon which is something I usually crave all summer. Occasionally seeing a restaurant or a picture of food makes me crave it.

The second trimester has been much better than the first. A lot of the unbearable symptoms from the first trimester have pretty much disappeared. For the first few weeks I was getting a knock-me-out-and-drag-me-down kind of headache. I would have to spend most of the day in bed. Thankfully those went away after a couple of weeks. The only symptom that seems to be bothering me is my acid reflux. I find that I have to sleep sitting up most nights to keep myself from choking. It is not always comfortable but it sure beats choking in my sleep and being abruptly awakened. Around 16 weeks I started to feel fluttering, bubbling, thumping, and tapping. They were rather subtle but were not in the same areas where discomfort had typically been felt. After some research online I found out that these were the baby's first movements. The movements have been very subtle and somewhat infrequent but always a pleasure when I can feel them. Around 18 weeks the movement began to feel a little more like hard poking but it was still rather infrequent.

Our first ultrasound was at 8 weeks when Special K appeared to be almost peanut shaped. You could see very clearly the heart beating. You could already see the baby's form even though it was barely an inch long. It was so awesome to see for the first time. We have heard the heartbeat twice already. It was 160+ beats per minute when we heard it for the first time at 13 weeks. We heard it again at our next appointment at 17 weeks. It is such a relief for both of us to hear the fast paced thumping of the little heart.

We are about 19 weeks. We are almost halfway. So far everything is "perfect" as our OB likes to tell us at each appointment. It sure is a comforting word to hear. It gives us much peace to know Special K is growing bigger each day.

We have an appointment scheduled with a maternal-fetal specialist tomorrow for another sonogram. We cannot wait to see the baby's face again. It has been more than 2 months since we first saw the image of the baby. We are looking forward to seeing the tiny hands and feet and the expressions on the little face. We hope to even find out the gender if Special K cooperates.

We are looking forward to the second half of our pregnancy and seeing the progress that Special K makes over the next 20 weeks. It truly has been a miracle to experience life growing inside of me (all the ups and the downs included)

Dear Special K,

Continue to stay safe in your little "womb." I have tried to make it as comfortable as possible. I know pretty soon there will not be much room in there for you. We are getting your room here in the house ready for you. There is still much work to be done so feel free to stay in your "womb" until you are ready to come out and greet us. Grow big and stay strong little one. Mommy and Daddy love you so much already and look forward to the day when we can see your smiling face.

Lots of love,
Mommy and Daddy

Our treasure

"We who are parents see our children as treasures entrusted to our care by God." - St. Jane de Chantal

A couple of weekends ago we joined my mother in St. Petersburg for the national Salesian conference via simulcast from Washington, DC. The theme of the conference was God Desires You. We learned a lot about the spirituality of St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal. We learned about the capacity and limitations of the human heart as well as the unbounding love of God's heart. We learned how to make our prayer lives stronger. We could apply a lot of what we learned to our present day lives. It was a spiritually rewarding day. We enjoyed a nice weekend visit with my Mom and Dad.

While we were there I saw 8x10 matted pictures. They had different quotes by either St. Francis de Sales or St. Jane de Chantal. I wanted to find something that we could use in the baby's room. There were two in particular that I liked. One was a quote by St. Francis. The picture was of a mother holding a young child while another one ran through the fields. I loved the picture. It was a great image of where I might see myself in a few years. The other picture we saw was just of a quote by St. Jane de Chantal. It had lots of vibrant colors and the saying fit perfectly how we felt. After showing both of them to Kris, we finally chose the picture with St. Jane's quote.

Dear Special K,

You are most prized treasure. We love you so much already. We are so blessed that God has entrusted you to our care. We cannot wait to finally meet you in person. Stay safe. Grow big. We will see you when you are ready.

Love,
Mommy & Daddy

Our Special K

No, it is not cereal but we are expecting our first bundle of joy. After suspecting we might be pregnant for a few weeks, we learned of our new bundle of joy on my birthday. What a birthday gift it was!!! We were overjoyed when we saw the EPT.

The best birthday gift

We are now 9 weeks and Special K (which is what we are calling him/her since we do not know the gender) is due on January 21, 2012. We do not really have preference except for a happy, healthy baby. Kris is thinking pink but I am thinking blue so one of us is right.

Say cheese! Baby at 8 weeks and 2 days.

Family photo

The next 7 1/2 months are going to mean BIG changes for us and we cannot wait for our little one to finally get here. We are slowly working on organizing the house to make room for baby. We do not know what lies ahead for us but each new experience fills our hearts with joy.

Dear Special K,

Mommy and Daddy love you so much already. We cannot wait to meet you. We are getting things ready for you here. We cannot wait for you to see what we have prepared for you. Stay safe. Grow big.

Lots of love, Mommy and Daddy