Water Color

Last weekend, I let my son use his free water color set from Enfakid A+.  He had lots of fun, painting the coloring pages that I printed out for him.

Hubby and I got in on the fun too... Adam was so proud of his work that he put them all on display on our refrigerator door.  After that, he had nothing else to talk about but coloring the rest of the day.  Even during Sunday mass, he kept saying that he was going to show Mamu & Dada (my parents, his grandparents) all of his work and that we should print more coloring pages so he could paint more.  I asked him to be quiet at least during mass and we will do so... He was very good and quiet until the mass was finished that we rewarded him to a trip to the mall and his favorite arcade.  Afterwards, we had early dinner at KFC.

Hearts Month

Today was my third (and thankfully, the last) day of "calling in sick" at work.  Over the recent weekend, my cough and colds got worse so I wasn't able to go to work since Monday so that I could recuperate faster.  As I was feeling a bit better, hubby asked me to go on a post-Valentine's Day movie date with him.  It has been quite a while since we've watched a movie (in the theater) so I said yes.  Plus I really, really am super excited with the sequel of Ghost Rider  so even though I was still coughing occasionally, I wasn't able to pass up on this.  I don't like to elaborate too much on the film as I might get carried away and give out spoilers... suffice it to say that you really should watch this if you liked the first movie.  I just love Nicolas Cage... next movie to look forward to would be National Treasure 3:

Since I have been in bed almost the whole time that I was home these past couple of days (my kids are with my mom at my parents' house so they wouldn't catch what I have) I was able to squeeze in reading a couple of books I have purchased a while back but has not gotten the chance to read.  "Call After Midnight" and "Stolen" by Tess Gerritsen were the ones I couldn't put down once I started reading them so I got to finish them.  Lately, I have been looking for more Tess Gerritsen books that my collection of Sandra Brown books may soon be matched by a new favorite author!

Also, since I had so much free time... I was able to research on how I could further stimulate my son's mind by giving him more educational activities at home.  I was already talking to my husband and my mom about enrolling him at a nearby school but my mom said it might be too early for him.  This article is also very helpful when contemplating on "school" choices for your kids.  I haven't reached a final plan yet, but this summer, I would definitely be looking for an activity to expose Adam to "school environment" so I could gently ease him into it and avoid the "crying" when it's time for him to attend "real school" already.

Tomorrow, I'll be going back to work... back to papers and deadlines...

Dropping By

Work has been quite hectic these past couple of weeks that I have not even visited my own blog much more visit my friends' blogs... Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to do that!  Anyway, I'm happy to report that life has been quite amazing.  My son, Adam celebrated his 3rd birthday on the 26th and got his wish!

My baby, Charlize is now 3 months and she often smiles and giggles when you talk to her.  She's getting so big, it's gonna be time to keep (or give away) some of her clothes to give room to her bigger clothes *plus we have to buy new ones, of course*.  On her last monthly visit to her pediatrician, she weighed 5.5 kilos already! And she got her ears pierced.

  I keep thanking the good Lord for all the blessings he keeps on giving me and my family... even for the stress of being busy at work, for without it, my husband and I wouldn't be able to provide for our kids' needs and the occasional luxury.

That's all I've got to report right now. (or that's all I can with so little free time)

Temper

As a child (until I was in my early adult years), I have been known to succumb to the occasional temper tantrums.  Although, of course, they were much less often as I grew older.  I am not known for my patience but rather for the lack of it.  When I gave birth to my first child, my son, Adam, my friends and family told me that I was going to have to learn to be more patient and that there always has to be room for compromise.  They were right.  Specially now that Adam is already about to turn 3 years old and I have a newborn to take care of, being a mommy also means being a negotiator, a nurse, a playmate and a teacher.  All the said occupations require a certain amount of patience and understanding.  I cannot just lose my temper.  I cannot just launch into a shouting session or be angry at my kids.  Even as a wife, I have learned to control the sudden surge of emotions that come with not getting things to go the way you plan it.  Life just doesn't work that way.

2 months

Time seems to be flying so fast when you have a toddler who's about to turn three and a sweet baby to occupy your days.  My angel, Charlize Ann is now 2 months old!  To celebrate, I cooked spaghetti (which was consumed by Kuya Adam with gusto) and bought a chocolate cake.

Everyday is a Miracle

Having a baby (even if it's already your second) really makes you discover new things about yourself and the changes that you have gone through either by choice or by circumstance.  What's even more enlightening is the fact that you are now living the life that you have dreamt of when you were younger.  Isn't that a miracle?  Here you are trying to achieve your goals and aspirations in life, praying that the realization of your dreams come soon and then before you know it, there it is... Now I feel so complete, I have a loving, generous and caring husband, a very active, intelligent, talented and good-looking son, and now a perfect princess ~ my daughter.

  Today, Izzy (that's what I want to call my princess) had her first check-up with her pediatrician.  So far, her she has gained weight: she's now 4 Kg.!  She'll be starting her vitamins by next week and her next appointment with her pedia is on the 30th for her Hepa B 2nd dose.  Haay, life is so amazing talaga... I went through all these with Adam but now that we're starting from scratch with a new baby, it still seems so refreshingly new.

The Day our Princess Came

It has been quite an ordeal, going through this second pregnancy... Maybe I was just not expecting my second experience at being preggers to be that much different from my first, but the pain and emotional rollercoaster really took it's toll on me.  So, by the time I reached my eighth month I was so ready and willing to give birth already.  But of course, I still had to weight a few more weeks... and so I did but entering my 9th month, I already went on maternity leave.  I just couldn't go to work anymore with the pain I was feeling plus the frequent cramps I was experiencing at that time.  I stayed at my parents' home while waiting for my due date, which I spent embroidering my baby's name on her blankets and diapers.

October 26

  I was wishing and praying that this would be the day... but nothing happened.

October 28

  Please Lord, let it be today or before October ends... I just can't endure the wait any longer...

October 29

   I almost can't even get up to pee... The pain just seems to be getting worse!  Today's my Aunt Lily's birthday but I just couldn't leave the house.  At around 6:00 in the evening, I drank lots of water and told my mom I'm going to sleep early.  It was already 8:30 PM when my hubby woke me up to have dinner but I said I didn't feel like eating so I just had a couple more glasses of water then went back to sleep.

October 30
   At around 12:45 AM I got up to go to the comfort room.  I also splashed water on my face because I felt really hot and then went back to bed.  I couldn't go back to sleep though... I kept tossing and turning until I gave up trying to sleep and tried to read a book instead.  After a couple of pages, I got up to have another glass of water and then went to the living room to watch a TV.  It was already 2:00 AM when I felt the first contraction... I timed the intervals and when they were coming too quickly after one another, I woke up my husband and parents and we all went to the hospital.  I was admitted to the Emergency Room of Olivarez General Hospital at 2:59AM.  My water broke when they performed IE on me and the contractions kept becoming more and more frequent.  They couldn't properly IV me so they just sent me to the OR so the anesthesiologist would be the one to do it.  My OB arrived at around 3:15 AM and at about the same time I heard them say that my contractions are too frequent and long already that it was too late for an epidural.  I think I just got a shot in my arm for the pain because the rest was just a blur after that...

Next thing I know... I am being wheeled in to my room and was being instructed to rest up so my baby could room in with me by the next day.  It really is quite an overwhelming feeling when you get to hold your baby for the first time... It's like being introduced to your purpose in life... here she is, Charlize Ann Yadao, a very welcome addition to our family...

Charlize was born on October 30, 2011 at 3:31AM weighing 3.23 kilograms with a length of 50 cm.

First Ultrasound

I had my first ultrasound at sixteen weeks, the gender couldn't be determined yet so I guess I would have to be patient a little longer and wait for my next ultrasound to be performed... I am really praying for a baby girl but another baby boy would, of course, be so welcomed also.

While I Was Out

It's almost a month since my last post and I have been dying to write about what's been happening to me these past few weeks...  I'll just have to compress everything into one short post for now because I am still reeling with the flurry of activity that has been my world lately.

First, let me start with a big, happy bit of news:  I'm pregnant!  Yes, baby #2 is on the way... I am now 7 weeks pregnant and counting.

The thing is, I have been suffering from asthma attacks again.  I even developed skin allergies from I don't know what, a couple of days back and had to take my anti-allergy meds again.  That's something I haven't done for a couple of years now, so it was quite a surprise to me.  There's this constant feeling of nausea and drowsiness that I didn't experience while I was pregnant with Adam before.  I have gained almost a kilo of weight already and I haven't even reached my 2nd month of pregnancy!  I'm scheduled to have my first ultrasound next week so...

In the office, a transfer of offices has been already announced and I have to carefully pack and label everything before the big move.  I don't have a secretary/clerk to assist me so I have to do all these on my own.  It's a good thing that the office I'm moving to is just a couple of doors away from my current one so it's not going to be a huge adjustment, but still, the amount of documents I need to transfer is quite a lot and the office I'm moving to is relatively smaller so it's going to be a challenge to fit everything into my new space.

As for my talkative, active baby boy, Adam, he's just a little fireball that keeps me going.  Currently, he's into games in the I-touch like "Traffic Rush", "Sniper Strike", "Cops and Robbers", "Tower Bloxx", and "Pig Rush".  While Pororo, Pocoyo, Handy Manny and Cars are the cartoons he never tires of watching.  He's more conversational lately although some of his words, you'd have to strain your ears and imagination before you can understand.  Like one time he kept asking for "Picky Caws" when he was actually asking for his "Mickey Mouse" stuffed toy.  Then there was one time he said he wanted to eat "Pochik" when he wanted to eat "Pork Steak".  But most of the time we can understand him and is very talkative...

Well, I guess that's all the update I can give right now.  Hopefully I'd be able to post soon and report more often but I can't really say anything for sure these days.

Picture Books

I tried to expose Adam to picture books as early as he was only 10 months old.  His current favorite is a 4-piece set I bought from Toy Kingdom last September (2010).  I guess exposing him at an early age is paying off now that he's almost two years old because he can identify most pictures or objects when pointed out to him and sometimes he even corrects his cousins when they identify pictures or colors incorrectly.  Here's a video of how he "reads" a couple of his books and show his kakulitan in the process.

Countdown

In 20 days, my son, Adam, is going to turn two years old.  A small celebration is already in the making (and has actually been in the making for about a month already).  But more than the day itself, just the experience of being a mom to this fireball that is my son is quite a day-to-day momentous event.  It really is quite amazing how babies grow so fast and absorb so much information in so little time that you sometimes get breathless when you think about it.  In a blink of an eye, he's already 2!

This talkative and hyperactive boy is the love of my life.  He can be quite a handful at times but I guess that's just normal for kids.  His tantrums sometimes almost brings me to tears and the times he got sick caused my heart to break, but just a smile from him makes it all worthwhile.

Busy Bee

     I guess I should be glad that I have been kept busy by work, housewife and mommy matters lately... I mean, it's better that I'm busy with productive things rather than be idle and not know what I should be doing nor what my purpose is.  It has been a month of many ups and downs... For the last week of April, I got sick, then as May came, my son was the one who had to be attended to when he couldn't take the heat wave that has been hovering over the country for the past several weeks.  I just thank the Lord that my husband and I are fortunate enough to be both earning enough to provide for our son's needs, I just can't imagine what I would do had we not have enough funds to bring my son to the doctor and buy medicines so he would get well.  True, there are times when I worry that hubby and I are not saving enough for the rainy days and there are even months when we don't save anything at all, but when I think of people who earn much less than we do and have more mouths to feed, I just count my blessings instead of dwelling on the bad...

     As of the moment, I am still occupied with tons of work, an active toddler brimming with energy and enthusiasm for everything his mind can grasp, a loving husband who keeps me sane, a family who continuously supports me and oftentimes still requires my attention, and friends to share stories with and remind me that I should also have a social life outside my family circle.  And with all of that on my hands, I am lucky to get the chance to post anything for this blog... or maybe I just need to improve on my time management skills?

One Last Post for March

We're only until noon today at the office and I'm glad I get to spend a longer time with my family (especially my son) this long weekend.  And so I wanted to end March with a short update for this blog...

First there's Adam, he's just a bundle of energy that never ceases to amaze me (not to mention, tire me out!).  He's a constant source of happiness.  He can say "mama" he wants to go with you (meaning "Sama"), he says "la na" or "nanana" to indicate that the toy he's playing with has somehow vanished or what he's been watching is finished or he's food/milk is all gone (meaning "wala na").  He walks with support now and often demands that he be put down (as opposed to being carried or in the stroller) so he can walk.

Then there's Charlie, my hubby, who often demands that he be "babied" too, hahaha!

And then there's work, which keeps me busy enough not to be able to update this blog as much as I want to.

And of course, there's my now more active social life... Thursday is the day for coffee with friends after office hours.  Or sometimes we just go to the mall and talk while we window shop (or shop period).  Or we go on a food trip and try out new restos...

Well, that's life...

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!

Baby Talk

I just wanted to share how my son and I "communicate".  Here's one of our "conversations" during our alone-time last Saturday.

Multi-tasking Worked!

For the past several days now, I have been cramming to accomplish several unrelated stuff:  finishing preparations for my son's christening on Easter Sunday, filling-up numerous forms and compiling document requirements for my upcoming promotion () and filing for refund of the overpayment of a loan deducted from my salary.  Now, I am happy to report that I have finally finished two of them and am now concentrating on putting on the finishing touches to my son's baptism preps.  And here I thought doing all these at the same time is making things more difficult and longer to finish...  At least now I only have a few more errands to run (finalizing the menu with the caterer, finishing the DIY giveaways and printing and distributing the invitations).

Meanwhile, Adam turned two months last March 26 and although we were not able to celebrate it like when he turn 1-month old, he definitely has grown bigger, heavier and stronger.  He often coos, gurgles and sometimes even shouts at us when we are talking to him.  He even chuckles once in a while now.  It really is amazing how fast babies grow and develop!

Three Kings

Last Saturday my cousin Levie had a celebration cum Thanksgiving for having passed the Nursing Board Exam (Congrats Levie!).  It was also an opportunity for a family get-together and photo-ops.  Since it was the first time that "the three kings" - that's what our relatives call my son and the sons of two of my cousins because they were born a month apart and they're all boys - got together, most the cameras were focused on them.  Of course, the pictures included their mommies so here they are...

That's me and my baby Adam, my cousin Tin-tin and her son Ethan, and my cousin Erika with her son NC.

upper photo: us again, this time with Inang Chayong (our grandmother); lower photo: Me with Adam

and this is me again with my son.

Of the three, Ethan was born first (Dec. 4, 2008), then came my little Adam (Jan. 26, 2009) and then NC (Feb. 13, 2009).  It was our Uncle Jim who coined the "Three Kings" bit.  He even said Ethan was going to be called Mel (short for Melchor), Adam was to be Gas (short for Gaspar) and NC would be Bal (short for Baltazar).  Of course only Uncle Jim calls them that, hehehe!

Back to Work

Today is my first day at work after my 2-month maternity leave... so far, I have texted my mom twice inquiring about Adam and it's only a little past 9am (I left the house about 7:45am).  Ganon yata talaga, hirap iwanan ang baby even when you know he's in good hands.  Specially since a couple of days after he turned 1-month old saka pa naka-latch on ang baby ko so I have been mixed feeding him (breastfeeding in the afternoon and at night and bottle feeding in the morning) eversince.  Anyway, to take my mind off Adam for a while (as if!) I have decided to update this blog and then concentrate on organizing the accumulated paperwork that I have to accomplish.  Time seems so slow though when you want to be somewhere else...

Adam turns 1 month old

Time really flies when your having fun... Yesterday my baby is one month old. The fact that I already have a baby has hardly sunk in and yet here he is, my adorable little treasure. Next thing you know my maternity leave would expire and I would have to go back to work na... I still can't imagine leaving my precious baby every morning and not see him again until around 6pm but I know things will work out. So how did we celebrate Adam's 1st month? Well since hubby had overtime work, we celebrated it late at night - around 11pm na with just a simple late dinner and with hubby and I blowing a single candle on an icing-topped cupcake I bought earlier. (Too bad we don't have pictures kasi in all the excitement we forgot na).

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Facts About Adam

• He would always calm down (even during a loud cry) whenever I sing "The Alphabet Song" to him (only me, kasi my mom and sister tried singing it to him pero he kept on crying, hehehe!)
• He can drink up to 3 ounces of milk every two hours now
• He can already hold his two-ounce bottle while feeding
  
• He becomes beet red when he cries or gets irritated
• He smiles a lot during the early mornings specially after his 4am feeding and even coos at you when you talk to him
  

A Youre Adorable - Unknown

Halo-Halong Kwento

Ok... so, a couple of days ago I was bragging about my son's smilestones and then the same day that that post was published we had a little scare with Adam. Around 8pm of Feb.16 as Charlie was carrying Adam, he noticed the little boy was looking up earnestly as if trying to follow something way beyond the reach of his line of vision and so his neck was slowly stiffening and his whole body bending because he was arching his back. Hubby and I thought he was just stretching or something and then when his eyes started to cross and no amount of calling him and trying to divert his attention was working we started to panic already. Buti na lang my parents were there... the next events were kinda blurry na basta before we got to the point of rushing him to the nearest hospital, Adam calmed down na and when we checked for his temperature it was only 37.4 naman so we just applied kool fever on his forehead and I called his pediatrician to ask if we should give him something. Dr. Ong replied naman that we should just monitor his fever and give him paracetamol drops (0.3 ml) every 4 hours until his temperature goes down to normal. And so hubby and I together with my parents started our vigil with the little boy. His normal demands for feeding wasn't there and so we had to wake him up every 3 hours pa for his milk pero he would feed heartily naman when offered. Buti na lang dito pa kami sa parents ko, otherwise Charlie and I wouldn't have known what to do. Now the little boy is back to normal, feeding every two hours nanaman instead of three...

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On a lighter note... I was fortunate enough to have been included in the top 20 list of the "My Shopaholic Confession" post for Nuffnang, unfortunately I wasn't able to attend the awarding because Adam was sick nga... but anyways, congratulations to all the winners and I hope you had fun... I'll just have to watch the movie with hubby later.

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Have you noticed how hot the weather is getting lately? Anyways, I was thinking sana of a garden venue for Adam's baptism reception pero if the weather is going to be hotter than this by March, I'd have to scratch that plan and go with an airconditioned venue instead. I have started making the layout for the invitations already and I already know what the giveaways would be... The list of Ninongs and Ninangs is incomplete pa (di pa decided si hubby dun sa final list nya kasi!) but we have already inquired sa church and we're just awaiting the release of his birth certificate on the 28th.