A decade of love and counting

Wow more than 10 years na pala kami nagbobolahan hehe este nagmamahalan ni Daddy A. And because it is our BF/GF anniv, I made this timeline for posterity of what our relationship underwent through the years. I'll save the story of how we met and how we fell in love for another post (siguro sa wedding anniversary naman namin).

2003 - Pinaulanan ako ni Daddy A ng mga Winnie the Pooh gifts nung college. Secret admirer lang ang peg nya. Magugulat nalang ako meron ng gift sa loob ng bag ko, or may pinabibigay daw sakin. As if hindi ko mabubuko na sya ang nagbigay hehe. Dumating din ung prom, at sinayaw niya ko. May moment pa kami dun sa piano sa hotel: he played "Tell Me" while I sang. Then came graduation day, board review (madalas kami magkita sa library or mag simba), then the board exams, and oathtaking. He actually mustered enough courage na magpakilala sa magulang ko nung oathtaking. Sabi siguro ng parents ko "sino un?" hehe. Then we found ourselves working for the same auditing firm. At dun na kami nagka-aminan ng feelings namin cheesy!. Pero hindi pa kami official ha (siguro MU - mag-unggoy ungguyan lang), hindi pa raw siya ready for a relationship chos!  baka daw kasi mag pari pa siya.

2004 - We still found time during the busy season at work to have lunch or overtime dinner. We attended the firm's events together such as outings, sportsfest games, teambuildings and Christmas parties. On July 30, we officially became a couple.

2005 - We endured another busy season. Despite out-of-town clients, we found time to talk on the phone or write letters/notes. We attended the firm's outing (in Batangas) and teambuilding (in Baguio) as well as various sportsfest games. Midyear, Daddy A transferred to a different department in the firm. Medyo na lessen ang pagkikita namin kasi iba na ung area niya and he also had to mingle with his group mates during lunch/dinner.

2006 - We now had our creative weekend dates such as at the Manila Zoo, National museum, or CCP complex. We also went to Tagaytay for Daddy A's parents' wedding anniversary.

2007 - Daddy A left the firm to pursue the academe, while I transferred to a different department. This was a shaky year for us, probably because of coping with different work environments and seldom seeing each other. Despite a few weeks of cooling off period, we were back together strengthening our relationship more than ever. We attended more events/occasions (such as weddings, reunions, parties) with his side of the family.

2008 - We went on various outings such as with his side of the family in Eagle Ridge and Bohol with his co-faculty. We also attended various weddings of our friends. Daddy A eventually proposed and we became engaged on our 4th year anniversary. Since then we became busy with planning the wedding and attending bridal fairs.

2009 - Was tough for our wedding preparations since Papa was initially diagnosed with lymphoma. We just trusted God and He never failed us. We were able to enjoy precious moments with the family such as Daddy A's mom's 60th birthday celebration and the pamamanhikan. Our prenup pictorial and wedding pushed through as beautifully as we had envisioned and we went to Tagaytay for our honeymoon.

2010 - We became pregnant and gave birth to R. We celebrated our first year wedding anniversary at Sofitel and took the Manila Bay Sunset Cruise.

2011 - We now had regular family days, out of town trips, and dates, simply enjoying each others' company. We celebrated R's first birthday.

2012 - We continued with our family bonding moments and celebrated both my parents 60th birthdays as well as Daddy A's father's 65th birthday. We had the opportunity for a couple of months to have regular lunch dates when Daddy A decided to go back to corporate and work in Makati. Swerte ko rin at sabay kami pumasok at umuwi, hindi ko kailangang magdrive. We also had our first out of the country family trip to Hong Kong. After that, I found out I was pregnant with JD. We also had our family trip to Ilocos.

2013 - Though it seemed to be a difficult first half of the year for us with the passing of Papa, the coming of JD into our lives made it easier to bear. We look forward to more precious moments with our growing family.

I love you Dubs! I thank God for what we are and what we have now. I look forward to forever with you.

Umaura sa SM Aura

Yesterday was another fun family "malling" day. Daddy A decided we go to SM Aura for the main reason that he just wanted to see the fitting room curtains that my mom's interior design business supplied. Sabi ko kay Daddy A, "di sana pinag sawaan mo na tignan nung nasa shop ka palang, dadayo ka pa sa malayo at matraffic na lugar". Pero syempre pakipot pa ko, gusto rin naman talaga masilayan un (syempre proud!) and I wanna find out what all the hype with Aura is all about. So gorabelles, aura na!

Good thing hindi naman traffic and we didn't have any difficulty finding a parking spot. Well once we got in, I saw that the design was similar to SM North Annex, just classier. It still doesn't fare with luxury malls such as Glorietta 5 or Greenbelt though. Our first stop was the department store, syempre unang hinanap ni Daddy A ang fitting rooms. Here's one at the children's section:



R got mesmerized with these duck coin banks and insisted we buy her one. P400 lang naman ung malaki! Sabi ko "anak pag binili yan wala ka na mailalagay diyan, mapupunta lahat ng maipon na coins pambili lang niyan". Kaya pala gusto may song sila sa school na Five Little Ducks. Little lang pala, ok may maliit na coin bank, P90 pero at least cheaper, ayun binili ng lola niya.



Aliw din siya dito sa model ng La Dee Da, a brand of dolls.



The lines/brands carried in their department store were on the higher end than the typical SM malls, super shala ng mga designs ng children's clothing, tapos ung sa shoe section parang wala ata less than P1, 000. Naghahanap ako nung mga two for P350 na flats gaya sa SM Cubao,wala hehe. Buti nalang kasama si Mama at nagandahan siya sa designs ng children's clothes, binilhan ang mga apo niya. Kami ni Daddy A we just bought mga diapers.

I looked for some nice sandals naman. Ayun buti may sale sa CMG, I was torn between the nude wedge from CMG and the tan strappy heels from Chinese Laundry, pero based sa fit, mas ok ung CMG wedge.

Next we looked for a car accessories section or kung may Concorde sila. Wala daw. Actually ung isa talagang important namin bilhin is ung lock para sa side mirror namin dahil napitik nanaman kaninang umaga! Kuddos talaga sa aming barangay tanods!

Anyway gutom na kami so we had meryenda sa Toast Box/Breadtalk. I had my favorite Kaya toast set. Sila walang gusto so bumili nalang sila ng mga tinapay, nagpabili lang ako nung egg tart.

Another important thing na ipinunta namin syempre was R's usual amusement rides (drama pag wala yan). Ayun pag sinuswerte nga naman wala silang amusement area. Ang mga anak mayaman ba hindi nag tsu-tsubibo? So un pauwi we had to pass by Alimall para sa carousel ride niya and to check Concorde.



Sa Concorde wala pala sila nung side mirror lock. Sa Banawe lang pala. Ok next time. Baka magkita din kami dun nung pinitik naming side mirror.

So happy naman with our loot. Til our next weekend escapade.

Weekend Happenings

I super loved this weekend. Two straight days lang naman kami naka pag malling with the family (pagbigyan na ang naka maternity leave at nabuburyang na sa bahay). So here's what we did.

Last Saturday, we went to Robinsons Galleria. We were going to buy kasi ung fully automatic washing machine on sale tapos I had to buy breastmilk storage bags. We arrived at noon so we had lunch first at Mangan. Sabi kasi ni Daddy A patronize daw his roots - Kapampangan ne! We ordered inihaw na babi, ensaladang mangga and sinigang na salmon.



Afterwards we went na to their appliance center. We were supposed to get an LG pero na sales talk kami at mukha namang mas maganda ung Samsung, 11 years pa ung warranty ng motor, unlike ung sa LG 1 year lang. Tapos newer technology pa ung sa Samsung, "wobble" ek ek daw.

We then went for R's usual rides at the arcade so we went to Tom's World. Then we went na to the department store. I bought the Ai-non breastmilk bags, P349.75 lang 25 pieces na. Si Daddy A naman kelangan narin pala ng black leather shoes, good thing he found a nice pair sa Gibi.

Yesterday, Sunday naman, after mass and lunch at Mama's house (and a short nap ng mga bagets), we went to SM Cubao/Alimall. We bought a small Coleman cooler and blue ice for my expessed breastmilk when I get back to work. We also bought R some ballet flats, ung 2 for P349. I wanted to buy shoes or sandals rin kaso hirap mamili specially habang may nakalatch sakin na medyo mabigat narin na si baby JD. Bato-bato na talaga mga biceps ko.

We had meryenda at Sbarro in Alimall.



Tapos we bought our Samsung GT 2 a case and screen protector. Di nakatawad si Daddy A eh, matigas ung , may-ari na Chinese - tapat na po.

R went again for her usual carousel ride. On the way we also saw na sale ang Barbie. We got R a gift for her birthday. Itago muna namin sa car. Sana lang wag niya maalala and makita. One and a half months nalang naman eh.

Then we had dinner again at Mama's house, nagtakeout nalang kami from Kowloon. Hay namiss ko tuloy uli si Papa.

Oh no R is in love!

Kung hindi ka ba naman maloka dito. Pagdating ni R from school, I asked how her day went, sabi ba naman:

R: I love Enzo!

OMG! May crush na ang anak ko, at 2 years old?! Kinuwento ko sa Daddy nya. Kinagabihan, kinausap siya ng masinsinan.

Daddy A: R who do you love?
R: Enzo!
Daddy A: Kala ko ba ako lang love mo? Ano ba pinagsasasabi nya sayo?
R: Enzo loves R
Daddy A: Naniwala ka naman? May ipapakain ba yan sayo?
R: Yes
Daddy A: Next time if he tells you he loves him, tell him do you have money? (Bigla na ko sumabat)
Me: Hoy kung ano-ano tinuturo mo, baka kung ano sabihin ng teacher nya
Daddy A: Next time, if he tells you I love you, tell him "no cannot be, Daddy will get mad"

Hay what a scenario, pinipigilan ko nalang tumawa sa conversation nila. But time flies so fast, isang kurap lang dalaga na si R. Baka mahimatay si Daddy A pagdumating si R sa house na ganito:

Daddy bigay sakin ng boyfriend ko!

Homaygad!

Happy 1st month JD!

Having a new baby again gives the excitement of having to celebrate milestones and monthly birthdays. For JD's 1st monthsary, we just had a simple fare of baked macaroni, donuts and his cake from yesterday's baptismal celebration. R enjoyed blowing the candle for her brother.

Overall, JD is one good baby. I only had difficulty during the first week with breastfeeding. He's what you call a "piranha" baby (ang bangis mangagat). But when I got to correct his latch, oks na. Normal naman ung irregular sleeping patterns kaya keribels lang, expected ko na un. Talagang there are days lang na call center agent ang shift nya.

At one month, JD:

• bobs/lifts his head when he lies on his chest on top of me
• smiles
• coos/ahhs
• responds to sounds
• stares at faces and surroundings specially if it has bright patterns (so pag puro tigyawat ka, expect mo na maaliw ang baby ko sayo hehe)

Apart from these milestones and simple celebrations, I get to think of crazy cute ideas to document my baby's growth with monthly baby photos. For R, I did a "calendar girl" theme by dressing her in costumes that represent the month's occasions.

For JD, I still have no idea. I'm still choosing from these cute pegs from babble.com:
http://www.babble.com/baby/10-creative-ways-to-capture-monthly-baby-photos/

Abangan nyo nalang what I'll come up with.

JD's Baptism

Ambilis talaga ng panahon, mag one month na si JD so we decided to have him baptized already. Like with R, we had him baptized at our village's parish. Requirements were:

1. Marriage certificate
2. Child's birth certificate
3. Pay the baptismal fee (all in all we paid Php700, JD had 10 godparents kasi)
4. Attend the pre-baptism seminar

For the reception, para maiba naman, we tried Kamay Kainan which was just walking distance from the church. Buffet per head costs P338. We got their baptismal package though para wala na ko masyado isipin. Unlike with R, andami kong DIY noon (isa pa lang naman kasi anak ko nun kaya I had more time in my hands). Apart from the food, the package (P24,900 for 50 pax plus P338 per additional head) includes:

1. Tarpaulin
2. Cake
3. 25 pcs Souvenirs (rosary)
4. Guest signature frame
5. Balloon decorations
6. 25 pcs Invitations

For the function room we had to pay an additional P7,000 since we got the biggest (120pax capacity).

The things I prepared nalang were:
1. E-invite (for FB and email)

2. Candles - aside from ribbons, I pasted sticker letters

3.  Souvenirs for the godparents - We got these polyester blankets from Landmark for P89 and wrapped them in paper ribbons.

and syempre our outfits all care of SM. Allow me to photoblog nalang the rest of the details and happenings below:

 Baptismal outfit

Mother and daughter OOTD

Katoliko na si JD

 With the ninongs and ninangs

Our growing family

 Daddy A leading the prayer before meals

 Thank you to all the guests for coming. Hope you enjoyed the sumptuous buffet.

 Our Catholic boy was well behaved and enjoyed the event.

 Thank you for the presents!

 To my dearest JD,

I hope you grow up to be God-fearing and responsible. We are here to support you all the way in whatever endeavor you choose to undertake in the future. A lot of the guests at your baptism commented that you look so much like your Lolo R. I hope you will also be inspired by the life he lead. Always remember that your Daddy, ate and I love you so much. God bless you always.

Love,

Mommy

 

June - July 2013 Round Up

JUNE 2013

June 2 – SM North after mass. Lunch at Tres for Mama’s birthday celeb. Food was great. We ordered Sinigang na spareribs, pinakbet, lengua and the Crispy pata on promo for Php33. Daddy A bought shoes, bought R socks for school, washable nail polish (from Girl Stuff) and elastic bands from Pink Shoppe. She played at Active Fun after she woke up from her nap.

June 3 – Check up. 109lbs. IE and Group B Strep swab. Still not dilating, cervix very much closed.

June 8 – R’s Kindermusik graduation. R was very participative. They had Nachos. Sad because it’ll be a long time before we go to Kindermusik again (when it's JD's turn). Attended the parent’s orientation at R's preschool in the afternoon. We found out that school started 3 days ago!

June 9 – SM Cubao and Alimall afterlunch. Bought mostly stuff for R. Bought her Disney Princess baunan, lots of leggings and jogging pants, white shirt (for PE). Then went to Savemore for her snacks and toiletries. That night R and I labeled all her stuff with her name, she enjoyed sticking her name tags.

June 10 – R’s “technically” first day at school. She was so excited and carried all her bags by herself. Prepared her baon of chips ahoy and grapes and orange juice. She didn’t cry and was ok to be left. Whenever I checked on her, she was listening intently to Teacher Mae or watching her classmates. Had my check up in the afternoon. Weighed 110lbs. IE was performed. Still not dilating, cervix was very much closed. Thought things over and weighed risks so I scheduled a repeat CS for Saturday. Wanted June 12, but OR charges plus 50% on holidays and Sundays.

June 12 – Rested at home with the family. Enjoyed and videoke and pizza. R enjoyed singing Super bass.

June 14 – Admitted at TMC for my scheduled repeat CS.

June 15 - Hello JD! Born 8:33am, 6 lbs. 10 oz., 19 inches. More about his birth story in another post.

June 16 – Spent Father’s day at TMC. Mama, bro C and R visited us at the hospital. Afterwards, they went to Manila Memorial Park to visit Papa.

June 18 – We're home.

June 19 – While watching Heat vs. Spurs Game 6 going into overtime. Sakto nakatulog sila pareho.

June 23 – JD's first mass at Claret, afterwards we went to Simone’s (my bestie's daughter) bonggang 1st birthday

 

June 30 – Get together with the badafs who visited JD and R

JULY 2013

July 3 – My inlaws: Daddy, Mommy and Ate W visited JD at home

July 6 – Registered for JD's baptism at Claret, and reserved Kamay-Kainan we got their baptismal package (see separate post on JD's baptism). Surprise flowers from Daddy A, para daw sa lahat ng hirap ko sa panganganak at pag-aalaga ng aming mga junakis. Huwaaaw ang sweet naman! Sana sinamahan mo na ng designer bag (joke lang)!

July 7 – Went to SM Cubao and bought our outfits for the baptism.

July 10 – R has Roseola. She had fever from Saturday til Monday (July 6-8), then rashes appeared today. 

April - May 2013 Round Up

How time flies! Three months of undocumented happenings in my life, simply cannot be. I made a vow to maintain this blog not only for the sheer pleasure of writing but to share with you and especially to my loved ones my ups and downs as well as to have something to read when I'm old and gray.

So to catch up, I'll be making a round-up of the past three months' escapades. For this post, I shall start where I left off, after the painful passing of Papa. Still in the grieving process (I'll write more about that in a separate post), but life has to go on.

APRIL 2013

April 26 – OB Check-up. Told Dra. about our recent ordeal. She performed an IE and requested for an ultrasound just to check if the baby's ok with all the stress I went through. Good thing everything was fine. However, I only weighed 103.5lbs. She also prescribed Isoxilan for preterm contractions. She also ordered the regular 3rd trim tests: FBS, CBC and Hemoglobin. Was so disappointed, baby wouldn’t show his face for the 3D/4D. Too bad, I guess it will just be a surprise.

April 27 – Day out with the badafs (R's ninangs) at Trinoma. We had lunch at Tokyo Tokyo, then some milk tea at Japanese Milk Tea. R enjoyed the rides with her ninangs. We went to UST after for photo ops (sort of maternity shoot).

April 28 – Lunch with Papa’s side of the family at Sumo Sam, Trinoma. R got to ride the carousel again. Mass in the afternoon with brother C, Mama and R. The gospel reading struck us, “I will be leaving you soon, but this message I leave you, love one another”. Also cried when I heard the communion song “Without seeing you”. Dinner at Tita Annie Lou’s house. R had so much fun specially with the rocking horse and puzzles, she even mentioned to Mama “Masaya ako dito lola”.

April 30 – We had R’s initial assessment at a preschool nearby. At first she was participative but after 20 minutes she wanted to play in the playground. After Tito D and Tito E (Papa's brothers) left the house, started sleeping at Mama/Papa’s house to ease the pain. R suddenly approached Mama and said “Lola, heaven na lolo”.

MAY 2013

 

May 4 – SM Cubao/Alimall with Tita C, Mama, R and Daddy A. R got to ride the carousel, but I almost fainted, good thing I was able to get a sugar rush from milk tea. Afterwards, R got to enjoy the arcade then we had snacks at the food court.

May 5 – Daddy A accompanied me for my FBS, CBC and Hemoglobin tests

May 9 – R’s check-up, bro C accompanied us. R cried for a bit after the Hepa A shot but was ok after she was given a lollipop by the pedia.

May 10 – OB Check-up. Weighed 104.5lbs. FBS, HBA1 were normal, but I was anemic. Dra. said Iron supplements should be twice a day. Baby was fine. Dra. suggested an ultrasound at 36/37 weeks if I still wanted to proceed with vaginal birth after CS (VBAC). Had R's ID pictures taken and continued R’s assessment at her preschool. Teacher Kaye explained R's assessment. I'll write a separate post on the results of her assessment and how to choose the right preschool for your kids and how to determine if they're ready for school.

May 11 – SM Cubao with Daddy A and R. Bought nursing pads, maternity pads, nipple cream, spouts for R (cause she bites the Avent nipples), towels for JD and non-toxic make-up kit for R. We had meryenda at Pizza Hut.

May 12 - Mothers Day at Trinoma after mass. Ate at Banana Leaf. R rode the carousel again and had a number of games at Timezone.

May 14 – Went back to work. Staff surprised me and Ms. M with a cake each for mothers’ day.

May 18 – Trinoma. Bought magic sing chip, light bulbs, had meryenda at BK (R loved the sundae with fries, she kept saying “mmm sarap”), Timezone for R she also saw the Lactacyd babies mascot. Bought car fresheners, shopped for nursing bras, tanks and tubes, Daddy A bought perfume again at Penshoppe.

May 19 – Sunday Mass. After lunch, we went to Manila Memorial Park to purchase Papa's lapida.

May 21 – Had a nice dream. We were all in the US, Papa was there alive. We were all happy. Maybe it’s his way of saying no matter where you go we will always be together.

May 24 – Lola’s 1^st death anniversary. Went to Loyola to visit. Then dinner at Lola's house. R and her cousins had fun, specially when my cousin B brought out the bouncy castle and slide.

May 26 – Sunday Mass. After lunch, we accompanied Mama to Kamay Kainan and Tramway to check if we could make reservations for Papa's 40th. Afterwards, got into an accident on the way to Rocco’s (son of my former co-worker and friend) baptismal celebration at Racks, Paseo de Magallanes. Saw my other friends Jaja, Angie and their families.

May 27 – OB Check up. Weighed 109.5lbs. Dra performed an IE, cervix still closed. We talked about VBAC. She made me go for an ultrasound of the lower uterine segment and also to the APEC for my birthing plan. Based on my ultrasound, the uterus lining around the scar was still thick (I'll think about it). Baby’s BPS was 8/8 and estimated to weigh 3033 kg. Got my 2nd dose of anti-Tetanus shot. Packed the hospital bag (more about this in another post).

May 30 – Celebrated Mama’s birthday

May 31 - Papa's 40th. Mass at Divine Mercy and dinner at Tramway. It was just kind of sad, we were at a place where we shared a lot of precious moments and now we are here but for a different occasion. However, we felt how much loved Papa is because we were able to fill the 120 capacity function room.