Elena Rosalynn Hernandez

As you all know, Sunday was Father's Day. Here at our house, we had 3 Father's present. I find it especially special (is that redundant?) that we got to bless little Elena on Father's Day. What an awesome treat.

We were able to have the whole family (minus Laura's husband) here over the weekend and both brothers, Alex and Anthony came to be in the blessing circle. Every time I know there's a blessing coming up, whether it's for a baby or a calling, I always intend to write it down so that the person it's intended for can remember those special words, because a sweet girl did that for me once, yet I'm always so flustered right before the blessing and forget. So, I only remembered a few phrases from the blessing. I'm glad the Angels in Heaven record every good thing so that I don't have to rely on me remembering.
Here is what I remembered..before I sadly zoned out due to sleep deprivation haha.. must've been the most important parts. :)

The name in which you have been given and will be known by will be Elena Rosalynn Hernandez. 

I bless you to be a virtuous daughter of your Heavenly Father.

I bless you to show love to your parents, to your siblings and friends and especially to your Father in Heaven.

I bless you that as the perils of life come upon you, you will turn to Jesus Christ for His strength. 

In the dress that I made her. :)

I feel extremely blessed to have such wonderful fathers in my life - my dad, my father-in-law and Jonathan, the father of our children. Not many can say they have such wonderful people in their lives. I'm glad my husband stepped up to the plate and consistently takes care of his family through love and hard work. I know I always say this, but I'm abundantly blessed. 

Phoooottooo Duuummmpppp

In case you were unaware... that title was said in a singy-song voice to make things around here a little more entertaining.

Here are some pictures as of late! I'm trying to whip out the ol' camera more. I couldn't take any pictures for a while because I couldn't find the camera chip but Lydia miraculously found it somewhere. So here we go!

They decided to let all the kids ride and we were 5 seconds too late. So when it was our turn she was the only one riding the carousel. 

On the "hossy ride" haha

Love her face here!

I will only pretend to like this for 10 seconds. I detest anything other than mom's arms... 

Totally cheesin' it!

Now dat's a big baby!! Taken today 6/10/13

Say cheese!

Not sure why this one won't turn! I've tried to rotate it multiple  times. Guess you'll just have to turn our head to see
The Cuteness!

Things I Know (about my 23 m/o!)

Holy cow! Lydia's already 23 months. In just 31 days she will be A TWO YEAR OLD! .....weird....

I keep picturing her as a 12 year old or a teenager and wonder what I will look like then. That will be crazy. That's only 10 years away!! Oyyyy veeey. I need to stop thinking about that.. I already have enough bags under my eyes as it is ;).

Anyway, because our lovely little friend called Time doesn't stop for anyone, here are some Things I know about my almost 2 year old to help me remember.

I know

That she is obnoxiously obsessed with her favorite Disney princess Cinderella, even to the point that I can't even hum or sing parts of the songs to it around the house without her coming up to me begging to watch it (don't laugh, if you watched it every day you'd get them stuck too!). I'm not quite sure what exactly about it she absolutely adores, perhaps the cute birds and mice or the fact that they dance.. I'm not sure, but she can seriously watch that movie every. day.. and sometimes twice in one sitting (if I am immersed in hw and forget to turn it off...don't judge). She actually woke up right now and as I was putting her back to sleep she said, "Ah Lella watch" ....er..translation: Iwanna watch Cinderella. hahahah GO TO SLEEP CHILD!........... we already watched it today!

Which brings up another thing. She has her verbs mixed up. She will say "Ah Lella watch" instead of I want to watch Cinderella. She'll say the same thing with Elmo "Ah Elmo watch." People, other than us, who listen to her have no idea what she is saying unless I'm there to translate. This rule also applies to places we go, like the park. "Ah park go" or "ah swing go"...

Speaking of her lovely pronunciation... my absolute favorite word to hear her say is her uncle's name, Uncle Alex. She canNOT pronounce Alex so she says AC-LET! Oh my goodness, it always makes me laugh. Say it out loud, I promise you will laugh. :) That is one word that I hope she will never learn to say correctly because I love hearing her say that wrong. Is that bad? ;)

I know

A good big sis...trying to calm her down :)

That ever since having Baby Sis, even though Lydia loves her so much, she is so emotional towards me and Jonathan. Extra emotional. Like, I'm afraid to see her as a teenager emotional because I'm afraid I won't be able to handle it! Seriously.. she cries at the most random things, like if she's sitting on the couch and her shoe falls off and I'm doing something and don't put it back on she starts full blown crying.. WITH TEARS! and...SHE can't pick it up, I have to pick it up. Or, another example. One day we were getting ready for Church and were in a rush for breakfast so I told Jonathan to give her a blueberry bagel and he handed it to her and she refused. So I asked for it back and I handed it to her and she took it and started eating it. SO GOOFY! :)

On that same note when she does whine and it is just a needy whine, I mimic her whines and actions back and it usually makes her start giggling. I think she knows she's being whiney.. and she's a master at doing things for negative attention. Good thing I'm a master at redirection. I seriously love the power in redirection.

She is such a sweetheart sometimes (when she wants to be). One time I was leaning over sideways on the recliner and it started to tip a little bit and then I caught myself before it fell completely over. She was in the kitchen and saw it happening and said, "Tareful Momma!" :) Made me smile because that was the first time she use the word, "careful" and it was sweet that she was worried for my safety.

On the other hand, there will be times when she flat out refuses to help me at all (I don't even bother asking for help from her when she watches Cinderella.. she's seriously in a trance lol). Like the other day I asked her to get Elena's blanket. She just stares at me or says "uh uh" and walks off. Nice.

I know

 I know this looks weird..because I'm bigger in the picture.. but as soon as I pull the camera out
she goes behind me so that she can see herself in the camera lol..

That while she likes to say yeah to a lot of things (and I mean that.. Jonathan has asked her if she likes drugs or beer before and she has said yeah lol oh dear), she does love that two letter word: NO! Sometimes I'll randomly say "Lydia... I love you" and she'll reply "No!"... as if she can tell me who I love! Stinker! Other times when I say that she'll say "uh uh."

Lately when you ask her a question she'll just stare at you and pull her head back into her neck making a double chin and won't say anything. Other times she'll push the air against her throat and make a little piggy snorting sound, as if that's her answer. Also, there will be times when I'll say "Where is Daddy?" and she'll reply "yeah." .....Her replies are the best.

I'm not quite sure how much she weighs because she hasn't been in for a check up in a while (probably will get one next month), but on our scale the last time I saw she was 27lbs. So close to 30 pounds! Haha, well on the positive side for being a smaller child, she doesn't outgrow things as fast.

That when she hears a knock on the door or people going down the stairs (that happen to sound like a knock, I guess?) her favorite thing to say is, "Com eeeeeiinnnnn!" ...Always so trusting ;)

haha a little mini interview I did with her the other day :)

I know that I truly love her little personality. She can be quite the spunky little girl sometimes, testing my patience and trying my heart, but I love her. I love the new things she learns and the new things she says.

I'm surprised every day at the beauty of my child.

Who Can Find a Virtuous Woman?

So, I am currently taking a Social Problems class. Before I started school again last semester, I knew there were problems in society, but I didn't know that there were socially defined social problems out there. 

Today we learned about a social problem: prostitution. And then watched a video on how it affects lives. We watched how it affects some girls in the United States and then we watched a "60 Minutes" video on the sex trafficking/trade in Thailand.

I knew about prostitution and I have heard about Cambodia's sex trafficking before .. However, I didn't know that there were such sick, disgusting, low life men out there who actually ORGANIZE sex tours or people who are sex tour guides, taking men to precious innocent little GIRLS (ranging in the ages of 10-15) so that men can experience a "foreign, exotic time."  Umm.. I have a 12 year old sister. I cannot imagine that happening to her.

I was disgusted.

Not in the fact that these girls do this, because many are victims, but because these girls are SOLD by their own parents! They are sold for their own selfish desires, for money. These parents think their child is indisposable and just a means to get money to satisfy their needs, for some being drugs and alcohol, others to just take care of their family. And it was sad to see these precious girls cry in front of their parents, the same ones who had just sold them, saying that they were angry at them for doing so.

I was also disgusted that there are (or were, the video was kind of old) brochures that tell foreigners what kind of "packages" you can purchase and telling you how you can actually go about doing it and not get caught by the Thai cops.

The video shows a conversation with this one woman who said she applied for a job thinking she was going to work at a restaurant and it turned out to be a brothel. The owner made her sleep with men. She said on regular nights she would sleep with 12-13 men. But on special occasions or holidays she would sleep with up to 20-30 men a night. THAT IS CRAZINESS. I can't even imagine how hard that would be on the body or the soul. The poor girl ended up getting HIV but the owner threatened to beat her if she told any of her "customers." So she didn't. So, so sad. 

The video also shows an undercover camera and an undercover US cop posing as someone who wants to buy a virgin girl. It shows the girl (14 or younger I can't remember) being afraid and timid. Later the cop comes back and tells the lady he doesn't want her anymore and the girl's countenance changes and she starts skipping away, relieved that she doesn't have to do that. Unfortunately, that doesn't happen for most of them. And it was very disheartening to watch and it totally made the Mama Bear come out in me. But not just a Mama Bear to my own children, to every girl! 

These girls are supposed to be virtuous, pure girls. They're supposed to be using their imagination or having adventures, not worry about being a man's "piece of meat." Instead they are having their virtue ripped from them. I often thought about how much I love my two little girls and would hate for anything like that to happen to them. And I think that is how God views his children as well. He only wants what's best for them.

Ugh. It just makes me want to scream at the top of my lungs to all women and girls everywhere: YOU ARE DAUGHTERS OF A HEAVENLY FATHER WHO LOVES YOU! You ARE loved by HIS SON. You are of WORTH and you are BEAUTIFUL!

Stay loyal to the royal that is in you! For you are a Daughter of a King.

Proverbs 31: 10

who can find a virtuous woman? 

for her price is far above rubies.

I Never Want To Forget

My one month old. It's weird to say it already. I can't believe a month in Elena's life has come and passed, 5 weeks actually. It seems like just yesterday I was taking a walk around our neighborhood to start labor. Now I take walks with both my daughters around the neighborhood. Here are some things about Elena that I never want to forget.

I never want to forget...

How she looks up at me with her eyes that possess long dainty eyelashes.

Her eagle claw like feet that stretch out so far.

How when I'm holding her all she will do is stare at your face like she actually knows you.

That she loves loves loves being held. She detests that rocker and after only being in it for 2 minutes while I was in the shower she started screaming bloody murder to get out of it. Little stinker. {I hope our neighbors don't call CPS on us! ;) }

I never want to forget

That when she has an absolutely full stomach she will go right into a food coma and act like she is possessed. Her eyes start shifting back and forth and she rolls them into the back of her head and she starts breathing rapidly. I guess that's comfortable haha.

Her soft baby skin

How she sleeps best on her side, in bed with us. She'll sleep a total of 5 hours at a time in our bed, compared to waking up every 2 hours or so in her rocker (no, we don't have a bassinet or anything.. we plan on getting Lydia a toddler bed and giving Elena the crib since kid beds are way cheaper than cribs...but that won't happen for a while.)

That I felt like I could see Heaven while looking through her eyes today. She bore right into my soul as we looked at each other.

That she fell instantly to sleep as I sang a 20 second song.

I never want to forget

 

That even though I'm dog-tired, stressed from school and motherly duties, Lydia just threw food on the floor for the umpteenth time that I have to clean up, we need dinner on the table, Jonathan needs help with homework, or whatever else is calling my name.. even when I feel I have a world of burdens on my shoulder, one look at Elena melts everything away and I realize my purpose again.

I Never Want to Forget

I do a post called Things I Know about Lydia every few months that helps me recall how she's growing and changing and I felt I wanted to do something similar with Elena so I can remember her, even especially in this tiny state. Every day literally flies by and I want to remember it all!

I never want to forget these moments.

Of the first 10 days of her life I never want to forget

How soft her skin is that is coated with the perfect baby fur.

How she seems to always have a silent smile on her face after she is fed.

Her spider leg-like fingers that stretch out so far and curl perfectly around my finger.

That she sheds more skin than a baby anaconda (it's always "snowing" at our house.. it's pretty gross, haha!)

I never want to forget

How relaxed and calm she is. She literally slept right through her PKU foot-prick today. She is such a blessing to Momma.

Her many faces she makes as her stomach is finally full and she is content.

How her "possessed" face looks as she rolls her eyes to the back of her head when she's asleep. It always makes us laugh.

That she is my good eater.. and eats possibly more than any baby I know (well, compared to Lydia at her age haha)! At birth she was 8lbs. 4 days later she was 7.10 and now she is 8.7. I'm a proud Mama.

I never want to forget

How she has me wrapped around her finger.

How my heart melts just staring at her.

Her piercing eyes as they watch the world around her.

How her nose crinkles up when she doesn't like something.

I never want to forget

Her concentrated face as she is about to destroy a diaper.

How her mouth instantly opens and tries to eat my arm when she is given to me (haha time to feed).

How when we say "cutie" or some other affectionate phrase towards her, we sometimes earn a smile from her face. It's like she knows we're complimenting her ;) .

She is my perfectly good sleeper. She'll sleep a good 3-4 hours at night, wake to feed, then goes back to sleep. I cherish those nights.


I mostly never want to forget this feeling of being a new mom again. With Lydia we were living with my family in Alaska and looking back now I feel like I've forgotten most of Lydia's early life. I can hardly remember anything about her newborn days, besides the outfits she wore or the pictures we took. I figure it's because we had to share her with so many people. But Elena I have all to myself. I can soak up every ounce of babyness and she is completely all mine.

I Was Made For This

The morning of Elena's birth I was up way early. It seems as though my mind had been mentally prepared for her coming. A few days before when we had gone to the park we had also stopped at Deseret Book and I picked up a book I had read a great review on and an interview with the author, so I knew I really wanted to get it. It's called Covenant Motherhood. I began reading it the night before and had got more in-depth with it Monday morning. I had read a good 4 chapters and really enjoyed reading it. It reaffirmed my divine role as a mother as it talked about how the characteristics we perform as mothers mirror Christ's role as creator, teacher, caregiver, etc..

Then, something that hit me right after I delivered her was my doctor's own words. It was either as she was coming out, or right after she came out that he told me, "You were made for this." I'm sure he was talking about having babies that come out so easily.. but in my head and my heart I realized that yes, I was made for this. I was made to be a mother. I have acknowledged and accepted this divine role and partnership with Heavenly Father as I bring His spirit children into this world and raise them as he would want them raised.

One thing that has stuck out to me in the book Covenant Motherhood is the phrase that the author came to accept and now encourages mothers to do. She says to

 "Pray to love what the Lord loves."

I feel like being a new mom all over again I have developed an even deeper love for these precious little children. I can't shout it enough to the world just how much I love these babies. I know the Lord loves them and I can only hope that I can love them as He loves and love my role as Mom, despite the hard, mundane days that seem to have zero purpose in them. I am going to strive to be the best mom I know how because

I was made for this