Charles Adam

The 26th of January marked my son's first birthday.  It started out quite normal for me, I went to work as usual and thought I was just going to have food delivered when I get home that afternoon (I was going to go home early to be with my son) but my Dad had other plans pala.  At around two in the afternoon, as I was already preparing to leave early, my Dad brought my son to the office.  He said he thought that since it was Adam's birthday he should be with me, hehehe, mainipin si Lolo!  Anyway, since he was already there, I just had food delivered to the office for a birthday treat cum "merienda" for some of my officemates.  And then we went home at my usual time off.

January 29, Friday, I brought Adam to Kids' Hair Salon in Southmall, Las Piñas to have his first haircut.

At first, I said "wow, ang bait naman pala magpagupit ng baby ko", because he was really just his usual curious self.  Slightly "malikot" but he was letting the hair-cutter do his job.  He was even watching the Barney video they provided.  And then after several minutes, he already lost interest in the video and started to get uneasy.  I tried to divert his attention to the toy car that he was sitting on and I succeeded naman for about a minute or so and then he started fidgeting again.  When I didn't carry him off the seat that he wanted to get out of, he started crying.  Buti na lang the staff there were really patient and always ready for such situations.  They gave him a lollipop and Adam calmed down again until his haircut was finished!  After his haircut, he looked even more like his father (if that was possible) than before!

Then on January 30, Saturday at 4:30 in the afternoon, we had a small celebration for Adam's first birthday at McDonald's in Sucat, Palanyag.  It was a fun affair that was shared by our relatives and close friends.  There were also blunders like the video camera loosing its battery charge just at the start of the party (I checked it a couple of hours before the party and it was fully charged, the problem was I forgot to turn it off, thus...) and the fact that I forgot to have the tarpauline layout I made printed but aside from that, the kids and adults had fun, the food was ample and as usual, yummy and the appearance of the mascots were a hit!  I'm still sorting through the pictures and video and should be able to upload them by the end of this week, for now, I am just so happy that I got to experience yet another parenthood milestone and am looking forward to experiencing more!  Thanks to everyone who helped make my son's celebration a success!

All Set!

Tomorrow is my son's first birthday!  Here's a video of him trying to stay awake way past his bedtime:



He really is the happiness of my life!

Anyway, since his birthday falls of a weekday, we decided to throw the birthday party on Saturday, January 30.  Everything is set... The invitations already distributed, the giveaways done and ready, the reservation for the party place, food and cake already paid for... we are just awaiting the big day!  Of course, tomorrow, we're going to have a private celebration plus the much awaited first haircut for Adam (his bangs are always falling over his eyes).  Happy Birthday baby! Mommy and Daddy loves you so much!

I Love You, Goodbye

One of my best friends, Jaybee is leaving for the US on the 25th.  He has been a constant in my life since 1998 so it really is going to be quite an adjustment to not see him at the office or go on night-outs and weekend gimmiks without him.  But I am truly happy for him because he will be with his wife already.  As a send-off we (several of his friends and officemates) treated him to a videoke bar.  It was a lot of fun!

We will miss you Jaybee!

Neck-Deep

Sleep-deprived and barely coping... that's how I would describe myself these past couple of days.  Adam has been sick for almost a week now.  We brought him to the doctor and was prescribed medication for Asthma (haaay! kawawa naman, my baby).  What's different this time is, gone were the days when it was so easy for me to get Adam to take his medicines... I guess he just has had enough of it.  He cries a lot and pushes away the meds.  Even when I try to nebulize him, he gets cranky and throws a fit.  Of course, even the shortest time of crying would cause him to cough even more and oftentimes he would throw up.  He lost his appetite, even for milk.  Now his weight is down and although he is beginning to start drinking milk again on a regular basis, he still gets cranky a lot.  To make matters even worse, I've had to cope (and am still coping) with a lot of RUSH work at the office.  And this is not even because I forgot a deadline or I was remiss in doing my job.  I have been waiting and waiting for instructions and for approval of layouts and whatnot for days and now that the "event" is near, the "higher-ups" realize that they only a few days to come up with results.  And of course, now they delegate me to deal with the "technicalities" and produce results in a snap.  Aarrrgh! I am trying my best but I can only do so much... last night (or shall I say this morning, since I slept around 1:00 AM), I had the strangest "dream": I was neck-deep in what seemed like black "goo" which looked really yucky and garbage-filled.  I was trying to come up but I was sinking.  Good thing, I woke up because I was already in a state of panic.  Weekend, I need you now!

Welcome 2010!

2009 has been a series of ups and downs... an emotional roller coaster that is called life.  Now, as we usher in 2010, my wish is that may this year be filled with learnings and more happy events, and if trials come our way, may we be strong enough to hurdle them.  I cannot put into words the joy I experienced when I first saw my baby, Adam, January of 2009... now, as the anniversary of that day approaches, we will experience another first... his 1st Birthday!  We are "all systems go" for his birthday party preps that's why we didn't exert that much effort during the new year's celebration... anyway, there's still "Chinese New Year" to look forward to.  Here are some highlights of our Media Noche:

And here is Adam's first encounter with his paternal grandmother:

Since Nana, lives in Sinait, Ilocos Sur, and the last time she visited us here in Manila was December of 2008 (while I was still pregnant), this is the first time Adam and Nana saw each other.  Adam was cranky the whole time and I'm really sorry that Nana wasn't able to see her only grandson's cheerful side.

Christmas, 2009

However rushed our celebration of Christmas was, we still had a lot of fun!  Several days before Christmas, I got sick and had to go on leave from work... I got the 48-hour bug and I when I was able to shake it off, my head was reeling from the medications and the fact that I still had a lot to do before Christmas Day comes.  I wanted to make it really special since it was Adam's first.

Of course, the little boy was not able to wait until Christmas Day to open his and mommy's gifts!

And then on Christmas Day, he was dressed up and ready to go and hear mass when he messed up his clothes and so we had to change him again before leaving...

We spent almost the entire day at the mall... We bought him new rubber shoes (because all his rubber shoes don't fit him anymore) and a remote control toy car with lights and music which spins and spins and keeps the little boy quiet and entertained everytime his Dad plays with it.  By the time we went home, Adam was already tired and ready for bed.  All in all, it was a tiring yet happy celebration.  Next up, New Year and the little boy's 1st Birthday celebration!

8 days to go `till Christmas!

Initially, I was planning a 12 days of christmas countdown... an everyday posting of significant events leading to the day itself starting on the 12th of December which is my Mom's birthday. Needless to say, I didn't get to do that, because I got so wrapped up with the daily activities, coupled with the rush of the season. Anyway, I'll try to post as much as I can despite the increasingly long list of my errands and must-do's.

Like I've already mentioned, December 12 marked the 62nd birthday of my mom. We didn't get to do anything special that day because it was a workday. But my sister, Lynne, cooked carbonara and we just bought bread pan to go with it, hehehe... rush na e! I didn't even get to buy her a gift (slightly kapos sa budget, e) but I promised her a full supply of her medications (she has Parkinson's Disease) come pay day. Happy Birthday Mom!

Yesterday, "Simbang Gabi" started already... nope, I didn't get to attend the mass because hubby and I got home so late the night before, tending to Adam, that we were not able to wake up at the break of dawn.

The Christmas parties have already started... the other night (December 15), I got invited to attend the school custodians' Christmas Party and it was a blast! Thanks ate Cynthia and Grace for inviting me, I was laughing my heart out at the games you prepared, plus the food was delish!

Last night, I got to sneak in a bit of Christmas shopping after work. I went to the mall and bought something for the exchange gift for our office Christmas party tomorrow. I was going to have it wrapped there also but the line was super long that I decided against it. I also got to buy Adam's first baby toothbrush and a refill of his liquid soap. When Charlie came home from work, it turns out he also went to the mall (a different one) and bought Adam a polo shirt and hip-hop shorts, which he mistook for baby pants, hehehe!

Horsey-horsey

Last weekend my dad made Adam a rocking horse.

Ok, so it doesn't look like a horse but to my son, it was! Iba talaga pag apo! To think that I was already contemplating on buying Adam a rocking horse... But of course, Lolo Dad said, you can't buy a rocking horse that's like the ones for sale before (before -- as in nung baby pa ako, nyahaha!), the plastic ones in the mall aren't that sturdy and may not be small enough for a 10-month-old baby. So my Dad bought wood on Saturday, and by Sunday... voila! Adam's very own horsey-horsey!

Everyday Battles

I know everyone has their own problems and sufferings... I know that there are more people out there who are much more less fortunate that I am and I continuously pray for all of us that we be able to hurdle our obstacles and live through each day with hope in our hearts, but sometimes it just helps to rant. There are just limits to how much one person can take -- emotionally and physically -- and when that limit is reached, you either take a breather and then have another go at whatever it is you need to do or cry and vent out your feelings to prevent implosion.

All my life, I consider myself lucky, to have been blessed with parents and grandparents who has shown me affection and has given me everything that a growing girl needs (and more). As for me, I cannot truly say that I have been vocal in showing my appreciation for all the blessings that I received but believe me, I have always been thankful. I am generally a quiet person and often keeps to myself... sometimes this trait is mistaken for being a haughty or downright mean. If they only knew... I'm just not the type to make the first step... not the type to present myself to get noticed or get attention... I'm just a shy girl with all these ideas in my head that I'd rather share in writing or only when asked to. So even as a student I have excelled in individual projects -- ones that I can really sit with and contemplate about on my own and then apply my own ideas in. Not to say that I'm not a team-player because I can be that, also. It's just that I'm better working on my own. I guess I have brought this trait along with me as I grew older and matured to the woman that I am now. It may even be the reason for this blog... an outlet of my thoughts and ideas... of my raves and rants. In gradeschool it was a "diary" (a thick pink one with the "little twin stars" on the cover); in highschool, it was "journal" (a purple hard-bound notebook with loads of stickers and dried flowers on the cover and in the pages); in college it was an "organizer" (a red cloth covered one with inside pockets filled with pictures and calling cards and post-its); and then I took a rest for several years... no more "dear diary", no more "to do list", just the occassional post-it stuck on my mirror to remind me of a chore or a shopping list... now this. Anyway, I have gotten carried away and has babbled on and on... the point is...

I may not always be airing my views and opinions on every topic imaginable but it doesn't mean that I don't care about them. I may not always say out loud my thoughts on a subject being discussed but it definitely doesn't mean I don't want to be bothered with them... Sometimes, I just would rather listen... weigh things out in my mind first before forming an opinion. And besides I consider myself sensitive enough to know when to open my mouth and when to shut it. Granted I don't always have to consider other people's feelings first but more often than not I try not to vent directly to the person I disagree with at the heat of the moment for fear of saying something I will regret later and ultimately cannot take back. Sometimes I just want to keep quiet and let things take its natural course... So when people -- not really involved in the issue -- MEDDLE in affairs they know very little about and talk behind my back, it irritates me in the highest level! Don't they have more important things to do rather than to speculate and put words into my mouth?! Shouldn't they be minding their own business and settle their own affairs first before involving themselves in yet another problem -- one that they don't even have the slightest connection to, in the first place?!

We all have our everyday battles... some are trivial and some more complicated... but it's the decisions we make that make us the people that we are. It's the battles we choose to take that's important. And when we choose these battles, we should NEVER let it slip our minds that other people could be affected by our words and actions... because we live in a society where each one of us is one way or another linked to another person, either by choice or by chance. Because no man is an island. Because that's just the way it is.

Time flies...

My son turned 10 months yesterday... as I was feeding him macaroni soup which my dad cooked, when I suddenly realized how big he has grown and how fast he continues to learn new things. In just two months he's going to be a year old! How time really flies...

It makes me really thankful... for his continuous good health... for each smile... for each giggle... for each hug... for his just being there... my baby boy.

At the same time it makes me also regretful of the times I don't get to spend with him... for the times he has to be taken to the doctor and I can't be the one to do that because I have to work. I hope he will grow up to know that everytime I am not with him, my heart aches... that if it were only possible that I stay with him every minute of every day, I would.

"I love you my baby boy!"

Credits: Dreaming of a Golden Night Add-On Kit by Fanette Design