One Cool December Day

Everyday, on our way to work, we always pass by this area and see the multitude of joggers, runners, family and friends enjoying that little piece of green space in front of the PICC.

One day last December, we woke up at 5 am, picked up our son from his sleep and started the drive there. The weather was perfect, the air was cool and crisp and it smells so much of Christmas.
Looking at the cars and buildings
Playing ball with dad
Our little jogger taking a break
We only stayed for an hour but it was enough for one weekend of cheap fun. Taho and breakfast at Jollibee completed our day.

Our Ikea Inspired Kitchen

In my mind, my ideal kitchen will be sunny, airy and bright. There will be a corner where my son can sit and draw while waiting for treats straight from mommy’s oven. I know it reeks too much of American movies but that was my inspiration when we were having our kitchen built.

We kept browsing over websites and magazines until I got dizzy from it all. So many nice things to have, but alas, a very limited budget.

Until I saw this bright yellow kitchen by Ikea. I just knew this was a kitchen made for me.

Ours is almost complete. It just need to have that coat of paint and then it'll be ready to churn out batch after batch of yummy goodies.

Mommy Moments: Newborn Moments

Motherhood has changed me. My view in life, the things I consider important. The birth of our son marked a new chapter in our lives. We're not just husband and wife anymore, we became daddy and mommy.

At 10:20 am of April 3, 2008, the loud wail of this baby boy was heard at the delivery room of The Medical City.This was my first glimpse of our baby boy.

I did not get to see him until 24 hours later because he was placed in the NICU.

When he was finally ready to meet us again, this was how he looked like. So adorable!

And unlike other babies who just slept and slept at the nursery, our boy was trying to open his eyes. Look at him here with an intent expression on his face. He must be trying to figure out who was looking at him from afar. That is his proud daddy.

And this was his picture, all ready to go home.

View the other MM entries here this week!

Jared at the Hospital

When the New Year (and the New Decade) started, I had but one wish. For our family to be in better health than we were last year.

But then just a few days into the new year, Jared had a bad case of vomiting which promted us to take gim to the ER, and which resulted in his eventual confinement for a week.

Then, there will be his dad's scheduled gall stones removal by this month or next month.

Even with the above, I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that we'll be less sickly this year. I'm starting my meal plan so we can have healthier meals in the coming days.

The good thing was that during our stay at the hospital, Jared was ever the active toddler that he is. He was all over the place--with the lounge and the elevator area being his favorite places.

he fell asleep after the IV was inserted. tired from all the crying. our poor baby

enjoying his apples on his hospital bed


at the elevator area

saying goodbye to the nurses

The Hardest Thing

It's been 5 days since Jared was admitted at the hospital. This morning, the doctor suggested I try not to breastfeed him, just to see if his tummy condition will improve. It's the last option and it's with a heavy heart that I agreed to it. We've already controlled his diet (he eats just rice, oatmeal and cereal), the doctor changed his meds 3x already and the lab tests did not yield anything: no amoeba, no infection.

I'm at the hospital lounge and from here, I can hear my baby crying in the room. Inconsolable.

To hear him cry and beg for milk, knowing that he longs for mommy's milk and all the comfort that it brings, is truly heartbreaking.

And he called me Hon

Last week, our son started calling me hon. It was hilarious. He copied the exact tone his daddy uses when he calls me hon.

He is really like a parrot these days, copying what we are saying. We have to be extra careful now on what we say.

And just so I won't forget the new words he has recently learned, here's a list of the words I remember with some notes:
- Ayaw to - for ayaw ko. He uses this line... a lot
- pasta - he loves pasta sans the sauce
- bananana- for banana
- shirt - everytime he says shirt, he tries to remove it, too
- eight, noun, tan - for eight, nine and ten. he really surprised us with this one. I always teach him the numbers one to five but of all the numbers, he picked up the 3 that I rarely teach him
- socks - with matching hand sign
- opo- we want him to really learn how to use opo
- sowee- for sorry. one time he accidentally hit the hand of his playmate. he said sowee without our prodding!
- daddy and manny - well, manny is for mommy i think. he also says manny sometimes for barney
- babo- for i love you
- ay- his expression when he dropped (accidentally or intentionally) something
- twee- for the number three
- wow- his favorite word for the moment
- sky - for sky--he just learned this word a few days ago
- up and down- he learned these 2 as we drive up and down the flyover
- iced tea- mommy bad. i let him take sips of my drink
- ice cream- he loves this
- plane- for airplane. hopefully we'll get to take him on his first plane ride this year
- swee- for see you
-le go- let's go
- hafa- high five
- si down- sit down
- attack- i taught him this word and he has not forgotten.
- come on

I'm sure i missed a lot of words but those stand out from memory and I'm sure there's going to be a lot more words to entertain us in the coming days.

Our son is growing up so fast and soon, he'll be regaling us with his stories.

A New Decade, a New Venture

I can't believe it's 2010 already.

Just as when we're beginning to settle into our routine again(after all the rush and frenzy of the holidays), Jared got sick and as I write this at the hospital lounge, he is peacefully sleeping, with no new bouts of vomiting.

I'll write about this hospitalization soon, but in keeping with my title, I'm posting pictures I'm so proud of.

Last December 19 and 20, the Party Village did the decorations of 2 birthday parties. And by the Party Village, I mean mostly me. I got help of course from some friends and of course the husband, who has no choice but to go along with me on my rakets.

My cousin's daughter's 1st birthday at Jollibee.


My friend Jillaine's daughter's 1st brithday and her nephew Zach's 7th birthday at Emp's and Mel's Patio, Cavite.

I hope we'll be able to go full blast into this soon. Please check my other blog, the Party Village for all your party needs!