Of Birthdays and Precious Moments

Today we celebrate the birthday of Rocco's Uncle, my Hubby's only brother. The little boy hasn't seen his Uncle yet in person, only via Facetime. He works in Dubai and hasn't been back to our homeland since our wedding two years ago. Much has happened since then and the family is excited for his homecoming. I'm sure he's also excited to see everyone, especially the little boy. We cannot wait for February to arrive. We're celebrating a triple treat- Uncle Jojo's homecoming, Hubby's birthday, and Auntie Ann's wedding! Wow!

Of Precious Moments

We live a bit far from the city, and though there is seldom traffic in our route, there are times when the roads clog up and we're stuck. This is a big stressor for me. I fret on every minute that we're stuck in traffic because it means time away from our son. Lately, traffic has been so bad at the newly opened Gaisano Capital SRP. We wait for 20-30min before we can even pass by the intersection. We've been trying to find ways to contact the city mayor, but looks like everybody is thinking of the same thing. Yesterday, they eased up traffic by putting a traffic enforcer during peak hours. Now we're back to our usual travel time and we get to spend more time with Rocco at night.

Dear God,
Thank you for the gift of life. We lift up to you or joys and sorrows, knowing that in your good name, we will live fruitful lives. We thank you for hearing our prayers and granting our requests without even us doing anything. You are truly an amazing Father God. Amen.

Of Conquered Fears, New Milestones, and Family Time

We've been on this routine for three weeks now, all because of my driving lessons. Every Saturday morning has become a "hurry" time at home because we're always in a hurry to beat my 10AM call time  It wouldn't be much of an effort if it was just hubby and me, but we always tag along Rocco so we can have our family time afterwards (and mommies can relate how preparation can take time when you have an active toddler in tow). I'm not complaining though, because it's like hitting two birds with one stone.

Of conquered fears...
Slowly but surely, I'm conquering my fear of driving. I'm more at ease now, gaining more control of my car. I even managed to stay away from a road accident while driving in SRP, Mandaue and Reclamation. These are the busy streets of Cebu. I have two more sessions to go and hopefully by then I would be confident enough to drive on my own. Kaya ko to! :)

New Milestones...

As OA as it may seem, we celebrate Rocco's first milestones. I'm sure other parents can relate out there. Everytime our child does something new, we're always full of pride and happiness. For the first time yesterday, Rocco spent time in a Fun House with his Daddy. They were waiting for me to finish with my driving lessons so they played there. Hubby said our little boy had so much fun! I'm so excited when it's my turn to join him there :)

Family Time...

Because both Hubby and I are full time working parents, weekends become so valuable that we organize our activities around our family. This weekend was one of those simple and fun times. After my driving lesson, I fetched my boys at SM and we headed off to the pedia for Rocco's immunization. Rocco was super friendly with the other kids, and it made me so proud :)  After finishing with our pedia checkup, we had yummy merienda at Cafe Laguna and feasted on halo-halo and banana split. After satisfying our cravings, we went to Forever 21 where I shopped!!! Hay sarap magshopping! Sana every weekend ay shopping weekend. While I was busy trying on clothes, Hubby was on Daddy duty :) Buti nagbehave ang baby and just slept in his stroller.


Dear God,
Thank you for blessing us with simple moments that last a lifetime. Thank you for my family, for our good health, and our bountiful resources that allow us to live enriched lives. We live for your glory. Amen.

My "Best Driving" Experience

My goal to finally learn how to drive has been pending for a very long time. I actually got my Student Permit last January 2012, and a year passed by but I haven't even sat down on a driver's seat. There were a few times I attempted to learn with Hubby (un)patiently teaching me the know-how, but we always ended up fighting so I quit. Haha.

This year, I promised myself that before my birthday, I should be able to confidently drive on my own. I need this to regain back my independence. Haha. Seriously, I need to learn how to drive so I don't have to commute when Sieg is on travel, especially since our house is a bit far from the city. More importantly, this will help me in case of emergency, or when Rocco starts school in a few years, I can help bring or fetch him from school. So before I back out again, I enrolled at "Best Driving" School. It's a Cebu-based driving school that is consistently getting good reviews from its students.

I enrolled for ten hours, two hours each, for five sessions. So far, I've had two sessions already (footwork/car control and uphill/downhill) and I had a wonderful time learning great techniques. On the first day, I was able to drive in the highway, along with the trucks, jeeps, and all the careless drivers. Oh di ba, fast learner pa rin pala ako :) I'm so excited for the next three sessions because I will learn reverse driving, parking, and road rules.

Wish me luck!

My Pretty Red Flats

When you become a mom, it always seems natural to prioritize others over yourself. Thank God for a husband who reminds me that I should also look after myself.

Friday is always our "lunchdate" day. After eating lunch, we roamed around the mall with no intention to shop at all. Then I saw this cute pair of super comfy flats. I actually preferred brown, but Hubby mentioned all my shoes are brown, so I should try something new.

Thank you Sweetie for the sweet gesture. It's the simple things that count. I love you!

Little Diane or little Siegfred?

Oh yeah, they keep telling me that Rocco looks after his Daddy, but it's because he's chinito. Other than that, all I see is ME!!! Yes, I am biased, and I am the Mommy :)

Gosh, my little boy is growing up to be quite a looker :) Of course, love your own!

Because Rocco was too young to join the Sinulog parade...

We settled for a mall adventure wearing his customized Sinulog shirt. Yeah!! Rocco loves Sinulog!

Showing off his supah cool shirt. 

Rocco's appetite is really good. He eats just about anything that you feed him. Here he's enjoying his mojos and dip and Shakey's spaghetti.

Oh yeah! That's a sign of contentment. He was really in a good mood the whole time.

But I just gotta post this one. So cute! He was a bit pissed off because Daddy kept snapping pictures at him, some with flash pa. Kaya ayan tuloy, nasimangutan si Daddy :)

After lunch, we passed by the Department Store to buy a height indicator for kids (the ones seen in most pedia's clinics). Since same floor lang ang supplies and toy's section, the little boy wandered off to the toys. Wrong decision because he didn't want to leave the place anymore!

We then headed off to CBTL to kill off time and rest a bit while the yayas were going gaga over the Kapamilya artists who were at Ayala Mall for a Sinulog show.

So that's how we spent the Sinulog weekend. Next year, we're planning of checking in at a city hotel, either near Fuente (Crown Regency), Ayala (Quest Hotel) or SM (Raddison Blu) so we can experience the festivities and watch the fireworks. Exciting!

Happy 14th month Rocco!

Now that Rocco is a entering the toddler stage, he's become more attentive, sensitive and emotional. Leaving the house is already a struggle because he cries when it's time for us to leave. We just ask his yayas to bring him upstairs so he wouldn't see us getting out of the house and riding the car.

Likewise when we arrive home, he gets so excited and is always the first to reach the door, eagerly waiting for us to come inside the house. Once we're inside, he becomes busy checking our things, always looking for a pasalubong :)

For his 14th month, and in line with the sweet tradition that we started since he was born, we bought something to celebrate his monthly milestones. The moment we brought out the cake from the box, he got super excited and kept saying "Namnam!" We tried taking nice photos as souvenir but I have come to realize that taking clear photos of a very active toddler is close to impossible.

When Rocco saw the opportunity, he took a big bite off the cake. I was really caught offguard with his action, so I was not prepared when he started touching my blouse with his icing-filled hands. Nakakaloka :) It turned out to be a messy but fun night for us.

Happy 14th month our dear Rocco! 

We thank God every single day for allowing us to be parents to such a smart, intuitive and sweet boy like you. 

We love you very much!

What Rocco has been up to these days

It amazes us everyday how Rocco is growing up so fast, in all aspects! I'm usually left speechless and just plain happy with his many milestones.

Physically,

Boy he acts like a toddler now. He can walk so fast, climb the stairs (which always brings me to a semi-heart attack), run, stand from his knees, and lately he's been doing the cute toddler sitting pose.

His appetite,

Just awesome. Before he turned 1yr old, I was problematic on how to make him eat more solids. I don't know what happened over the Christmas break. He just transformed into an eating baby who would happy munch on everything he can put to his mouth. If he sees us eating something, he would drop his toys and come near us to ask for food. He gets impatient when food is not served immediately, and sometimes when he's so hungry, he would grab my hand (with the food) and put it to his mouth. Haha!

His activities,

They're so varied now. Lately, he's been into books. He pretends to read. Before his books, he loved his cars, and then came his balls. One Saturday, while I was in driving school, Sieg and Rocco killed time at Nike. Rocco saw a mini basketball and refused to let go so Sieg had no choice but to buy it. When the saleslady got the ball so she could pack it, Rocco followed after her to the cashier's area, as if making sure that he will get his ball back.

His language development,

Positively progressing. He's really into the “trying to talk” stage now so he babbles and imitate us a lot. He can say the following and associate these with objects or persons: Mama, Papa, Yaya, apple (a-poh), dog (doh), duck, I love you (aya-yoh), moo, ba-bath (Babat), car (cah), namnam (which he says when he wants food), mmmmm (when he smells something), ball (boh). There are more but I keep on forgetting them.

His cognitive skills,

As I've mentioned, he can now associate words with objects or persons. Those that he cannot speak yet, he communicates through action, or by pointing. Aside from the words that he can already pronounce, he also knows the following: Mama Mary, Papa Jesus, angel, Sta. Claus, candle, balloon, shoes, bag, TV, ref, high chair, crib, remote control, sofa, water, lotion, toothbrush, chair, etc.

Aside from word-object association, he can now follow simple instructions such as:

1. Hold your bottle.
2. Comb mommy's hair.
3. Give to papa, or mama.
4. Sit down.
5. Jump.
6. Wash your hands.
7. Close your eyes.
8. Kiss papa, or mama.
9. Say Amen.
10. Get your toy.
11. Bye-bye.
12. Flying kiss.
13. Dance.
14. Get your ball (or his other toys).
15. Call grandma.
16. Where is mama (or another person, or objects)?
17. Go up.
18. Change diaper.
19. Open the door.
20. Close the door.
21. Switch off the light.

Gosh, just by listing those down, I'm now overwhelmed by Rocco's progress. He just turned 14months the other day, and I'm sure this is just the beginning of more wonderful milestones to come :)

Things I want :)

It's really true what they say, that once you have your own house, majority of your extra cash will be unknowingly channeled to buying stuff to spruce up your home. We've been in our new home for almost six months now, and though we've nicely settled into our nest, there are still a lot of things I'm craving for.

On top of my list are:

1. A garage rooftop which would extend to the side garden
2. A wall mounted top-to-floor bookshelf surrounding the flatscreen TV
3. Lots and lots of really nice wall paintings for our sala and bedrooms
4. A really big framed mirror for our dining wall
5. A really sturdy table glass
6. Hanging cabinets surrounding our service area
7. A really nice baking and cooking oven :)
8. Change the color of our bedrooms :)

I guess we really have to work HARD HARD HARD so we can check these luho off my list :)  

For Rocco's Boo-boos

Baby's skin is so sensitive. A mere insect or ant bite can send nasty swelling and ugly dark marks after. Worse is contracting dengue from mosquito bites!

When Rocco was still an infant, I fretted so much about this that I practically spent hours researching for baby-friendly products. I found some good ones (IndigoBaby and Human Nature) and have been a loyal user up to this day. I can absolutely attest to the magic power of Indigo's Jar of Hope. Every time Rocco has an insect or ant bite, I just dab a small amount of the almost liquid ointment and in no time, the swelling will disappear, and no dark marks will stay. No joke, it's super effective that's why I highly recommend this product to other mommies out there. Sadly though, it's not sold in Cebu and exclusively available only from Manila where the owners are based. Namumulubi naman ako sa shipping cost. Mas mahal pa sa item eh. Take for example Indigo Jar of Hope. I think it's around 380pesos, but they charge me 600pesos kasi nga may shipping. For such a small item, I find it such a waste to spend on a huge amount just for shipping. They don't have resellers here in Cebu kaya I'm left with no choice.

Enter ByNature. I was searching the net for other organic and natural baby remedies when I chanced upon ByNature. Ang gaganda ng reviews, and for an online buyer like me, kailangan makabasa ako ng at least 10reviews from separate sources before I actually consider buying the product. When I checked their site, they had listed resellers in Cebu! Yehey!!!

I bought the following:

1. Baby Salve- for insect or ant bites
2. Moisturizing Insect Repellant- insect repellant especially during night-time or outside play
3. Baby Blue Bar- soap for kid's senstivie skin. I've always used Dove Baby on Rocco but I want to try this out, based on good reviews.
4. No Bites Bar- soap especially formulated to ward of insects. Hindi naman masyadong halata ang hate ko sa insect bites, noh? Hehe. I will try this on Rocco for his night-time bath.

I will try these products and I will blog about the results soon! :)

Happy Birthday Tita Dons!

Belated Happy Birthday Tita Dons! 
Thank you for all the thoughtfulness and generosity.

We look forward to your PH vacation this year. 

Our Anniversary Weekend

Sieg and I celebrated our second church wedding anniversary last January 8. It was a workday so we just had a lunch date, and I got to choose the place. Our celebration came in during the weekend with a family staycation at a city hotel. It was a nice breather for us, and because we enjoyed our weekend immensely, we plan to do it often! Yahoo!

OK, so before we checked-in, I had my driving lesson first in the morning. It was my first session with Best Driving School, and what can I say, they're the best! Imagine, in 30min, I learned all the basics of car control, foot and hand coordination, and I was able to drive a manual car from Parkmall to Ayala by myself (of course, still guided by my tutor).

While I was having my driving lesson, Sieg and Rocco stayed at Ayala. Nakakatuwa naman na kaya na ni Sieg bantayan si Rocco all by himself. Dati kasi takot sya, especially since Rocco is super mama's boy and would cry when I'm out of sight. Now that he's a toddler already, he's become more independent, outgoing and curious, kaya he can be distracted with a lot of things already. When I arrived in Ayala, Rocco was running after a little girl. Sabi ni Sieg, he was playing with her daw, and kept on following her kahit ayaw na ng girl. Ang cute!

We had lunch first at Rocco's fave resto, where else kundi sa Max's. Always sure fire na kakain at mabubusog ang bagets basta sa Max's :) We were excited to check-in already so we headed off to Quest Hotel which was just right smack in front of Ayala.

I wasn't really expecting much with Quest Hotel. Hindi naman sya 5star, but it's a very classy business hotel. In fairness we were super impressed. Their lobby is super nice, the receptionists are beautiful and speaks good English, and ang rooms mas maganda pa ata compared to Marco Polo. We waited for only a few minutes and was immediately ushered to our own room. Ang bait nila because they upgraded us to a king size bed because we had an infant with us :)

Rocco missed his morning nap time so he instantly fell asleep as soon as we turned on the aircon and gave him his milk. We waited for him to wake up so we can swim in the hotel pool.

 The hotel pool was in a rooftop of the smaller building. It was nice of the hotel to put in a lot of green surrounding the pool. It was so relaxing that I wanted to sleep right then and there, kaya lang di naman pwede kasi sino magbabantay sa aking bagets. Sieg and Rocco were showering but Rocco was not in the mood because he was overwhelmed with the cold water.

It was Rocco's first real swimming pool experience so we were so excited. He loves the water so much and our bathtime would drag for longer minutes because he keeps playing with water, so I expected him to be so thrilled when he gets to swim in a real pool. Hindi pala. I guess he was scared because there were other people in the pool.

 After 5min, Rocco simply could not resist the water, kaya sobrang turo-turo sya sa Daddy nya na kunin sya.  From then on, nagplay na sila ng Daddy nya sa water. Even if it was getting windy and cold na, ayaw pa din umahon.

 After swimming, we cleaned up and rested for a bit in our room before heading off to dinner. We were supposed to order takeout pizza at Yellow Cab, buti nalang the husband treated me to a buffet dinner at the hotel bistro. Ang sarap!!!! Ang daming shrimp tempura, blueberry crepe, pastries, pasta, noodles, etc! Too many to mention kasi nga buffet (LOL). Rocco also enjoyed his food so much and stuffed his mouth with whatever we gave him. Thank God talaga for my son's healthy appetite, and daling pakainin. I know it can be quite a stress for other mommies.

We super enjoyed dinner thanks to Hubby! After dinner, we roamed around the hotel first to loosen our stuffed tummies, before we called it the night.

The next day, we woke up and did the same routine. We stuffed ourselves again with buffet breakfast. Haaaaay! I can never forget the choco filled gourmet bread which was so sinful, I thought twice before eating it, but eventually gave in. After breakfast, we rested a bit then went swimming before finally checking out.

I'm really glad we had this staycation, just the three of us. Usually our vacation is with our in-laws or parents, but this time, it was just us.

Till our next anniversary!

It was not a joke after all...

I miss my blog so much!!! As much as I want to check on it everyday, several circumstances prevent me from taking care of my blog.

For one, my trusted Macbook Pro betrayed me. Just when I thought that it was OK, the next day, it stopped functioning again. I've been so busy that I haven't had time to bring it back again to the Service Center. It's a bit hard to blog without my laptop because all my pictures and videos are synced there. I've gotten used to iPhoto for picture handling that it's more difficult now when using another laptop. Also, my only time to really blog is during night time when my boys are asleep.

Second, my office internet blocks blogspot. I don't know why! Maybe it's time I buy my own domain so that I can still access it there. So even if I have idle time during lunchbreak, I still can't update my blog because I can't access it. Loser talaga.

The only thing that's forcing me to fix it is really this blog. I have a lot of stories to share, tell and I want to document it while I'm at the peak of the moment.

I hope my gadgets shape up.

Almost...RIP my MBP

Last Thursday night, I played some Itunes music in my MacBook Pro (MBP) to put Rocco to sleep. A few minutes after my boy dozed off, I too became sleepy so I closed the cover of my MBP without turning off Itunes or shutting down the laptop.

The next day, I went to work as usual. I opened my MBP because I had a Skype call with a US client, but voila it didn't respond. Nada! I tried plugging in the AC and the orange light appeared so it means it was charging. I remember there was still 30% battery the night before so I doubt if it drained itself.

I searched the internet for possible reasons as to why my MBP wasn't turning on. I tried everything that was suggested but nothing worked. I asked help from our tech team who were also Mac users but their tactics didn't work either.

I was feeling hopeless but for some reason, I felt calm about the whole situation.

Last night, hubby checked on my MBP too but still no power came on. This time I told him that I'll just bring it to iCenter and have it checked. I was hoping I didn't have to shell out a huge amount just to have it fixed because I'm saving up for other more important things.

So today we went to iCenter. I explained to them what happened. After listening to my explanation, the tech guy pressed the power button and it came alive!!!! I couldn't believe it! We kept asking him what he did, but he said he just pressed the power button. Hindi talaga ako naniwala. Hubby said he pressed a combination of keys, pero ayaw nya sabihin! Is it a secret ba? I kept asking him what happened and he said my MBP went into sleep mode. So ganon? Nagpahinga lang sya for 2days without responding to our futile attempts to revive it, then suddenly it came alive when we brought it to iCenter? Super weird!

Anyway, the tech guy explained to me to shut down all apps if I won't use it overnight, or better just shut it down. Hubby also lectured me about taking care of my things. Ok, Ok!

All the while I thought RIP na si MBP ko, joke lang pala :)

2012 Holiday Vacation Photobomb

Left to right:
1. Three generations of Ofondas
2. Chinky eyed Rocco
3. Heartwarming photo with Grandpa Nitoy
4. Nerdy Rocco
5. My boys at San Juanico Bridge
6. Cousins
7. Attempting to ride a motorcycle
8. Reaching out
9. Give
10. Thinking Rocco
11. Kape at gatas
12. Where is Rocco?
13. Welcome to Great Grandma's Ancestral Home
14. Hubby busy with the fireworks
15. Happy New Year!
16. New Year namnam :)

2011 to 2012

How fast time flies! I remember December 2011 very well. I just gave birth a few weeks before that Christmas and was still battling a lot of things, from hive rashes due to my pain relievers, from sleepless nights, from frustration due to breastfeeding woes. But still I marveled at my newborn son, and thankfully did not suffer from any postpartum depression bouts.

This year, we celebrated Christmas with an active toddler! It's only been a year but boy has Rocco grown up from being a baby to a bata :)

And it just occurred to me that we're actually treading into a new phase of parenthood as soon as our boy turned a year old.

Now, Rocco can walk, run, talk, babble, imitate, eat well, say no, climb stairs, make a mess, dance, call out our names, recognize objects, play with toys, and the list goes on. Everyday, he does something new that's just so amazing!

Over the holidays, we graduated from a lot of pre-1year old stuff that we used to do:

- No more bathtubs. He just stands up while we shower him.

- No more sippy cups. He drinks his water & juice straight from the glass.

- No more dancing to sleep. I just lay him in bed and he closes his eyes. This part I miss so much because I especially love our dancing before sleeping moment. It's the time I can really hug and smell him without any resistance from him.

- No more stroller. He prefers walking.

- No more crib. He throws a tantrum when we put him in the crib.

And the list goes on... Good thing he hasn't lost his baby smell yet.

I'm having mixed emotions about this phase. I want to savor Rocco as a baby a little longer, but at the same time, I'm so happy and proud of how smart and active he's growing up to be.

Maybe it's time to have another baby :)

Rocco and his car obsession

I'm glad I have some pics of Rocco's current obsession...CARS! In our house, we have A LOT of toy cars! Big or small, automatic or manual, name it! Hindi lang yan. As soon as he sees our car, or any car or car-lookalike for that matter, he would insist that he sit in the driver's area. Ayaw paawat, iiyak with matching jiggling of legs pa until pagbigyan sya. During our holiday vacation, that became the bonding activity of Rocco and his Grandpa Tol. Sila tuloy ang naging super close :)

I wonder what his next obsession will be :)

My last photo for 2012

Spent 12 glorious days with my boys. For a working mom like me, this is heaven! I'm so looking forward to the next long holiday!

Thank You, 2012!

The world did not end last December 21. Coincidentally, it was the same date as our flight to Tacloban, so if the world ended, we would have been up in the air.

As I look back at the year that was, I can definitely say that 2012 was definitely OUR year. We claimed it, and great things happened not only to me, but to the people who are dear to me.

- We transferred to our own HOME last August 2012. Yes, OURS.
- We continued to thrive in our work.
- We celebrated a lot of Rocco's pre-first year milestones!
- A baby who did not give me a hard time during his first year.
- We celebrated Rocco's first birthday with our family and friends in Cebu.
- Both sides of our families came to Cebu for a vacation.
- My brother-in-law got a job at Boeing USA.
- My sister and her hubby bought their own HOME in the USA.
- My parents went to the USA for a month-long vacation.
- My sister-in-law getting engaged.
- Good business for my in-laws.
- My sister finally decided to break free from the corporate world to follow her dreams.
- We've got reliable and caring yayas who look after our son while we're at work.
- Slowly losing the pregnancy weight. Yes, I'm starting to fit in my pre-pregnancy jeans!
- Good health for our parents. My mama and papa are strong and healthy for 64year old grannies.
- Rocco passed his first year with a clean bill of health.
- A great husband who is so supportive and loving.
- A stable and  marriage.
- A happy family.

I cannot thank the Lord enough for all the blessings, and I'm so looking forward to what 2013 has in store for us.

Cheers!

Grandma Marlyn's Happy Birthday

Ever since Sieg and I became BF-GF, my side of the family would always get invited to spend noche buena at Sieg's house because it's also my mother-in-law's birthday. It has become a tradition for 6 years already. Nasanay na din ang family ko kaya we don't prepare anymore for the Christmas Eve dinner, instead we transferred our family celebration to Christmas Day lunch.

For this year, it became extra special because it was Rocco's first time to celebrate the holidays in Tacloban. Everyone was excited!

Meet my mother-in-law, Mama Marlyn. She's the most thoughtful, generous and supportive MIL one can ever have. We are so blessed to have her.

Wonder where Rocco got his chinky eyes? I get asked all time time. Wonder no more. I also found out from my FIL (in red) that Sieg's great grandfather is 100% pure Chinese. Rocco is a 4th gen Yu-Morden (the maiden family name of my MIL) so he may have gotten all the chinese genes.

My son is being dressed up for dinner but he's still super kulit :) 

Our last decent picture for the night. As soon as my family and by husband's relatives arrived, everything was a blur. Plus I was too focused on Rocco not knocking out because he's super likot!

 My family enjoying their dinner. Those 2 grandmas (in eyeglasses and white hair) are my father's sisters. Auntie Esther came home from the US for the holidays and they stayed with us in our house.

With my papa (in black at the back) and mama. Sayang we don't have a decent picture together :(

Happy Birthday Mama Marlyn! 
Wishing you more blessed and healthy years ahead.