Daddy Siegfred

When Sieg and I were still dating, I was so amused by the fact that my nieces were enamored with him. They would always look for him and shriek in delight every time he's around.  He even had the patience to play with them for as long they liked. I never had that kind of patience with kids. Simply put, my nieces were drawn to him and liked him a lot, and I took that as a sign that he's gonna be a great daddy someday.

Fast forward to today, I'm thankful he turned out to be even more than I expected. I have a husband who's even greater as a daddy. When other dads would just stay on the sideline while the Mommy does the dirty work, Sieg is equally hands-on with Rocco as I am. He is beyond the stereotypical dad who acts only as the provider, but not the caregiver. He is actually both.

 I would not have survived the initial stages of parenthood without him. He took care of Rocco when I got sick after giving birth. He tirelessly encouraged me to breastfeed even if I felt like giving up. Even if his body is aching from basketball, or just too tired from work, he takes his turn to wake up during early mornings to feed and change Rocco's diaper. He willingly gets off the bed even with only a few hours of sleep to stroll with the baby at 6AM. When I'm too sleepy or can't open my eyes anymore to play with the baby at 4AM, he lets me sleep some more while he patiently plays with Rocco. I'm more amused because he's so creative and imaginative with their playtime and can really make the little boy laugh, something which I'm having a hard time doing. Boring Mommy :) When we arrive from work, he would outrun me just so he can carry the baby before me. He is also hands-on with decision-making, even with things as petty as what sippy cup to use, or if we will use a pacifier or not.

He continually exceeds my expectations, and did it again today. Sieg never liked baby poop. He would do everything else except change a poopy diaper. I think he was traumatized when Rocco was still a newborn and I was sick from coughing to be near the baby. A handful of poop oozed out of Rocco's diaper and went straight to his hands, and from then on, he would ask me to do the "dirty" work for him.

But this morning, he finally overcame his dislike for poop. I think he wants to experience changing poopy diapers too. He's amazed at how fast I can do it :) So when Rocco pooped a really good poop from his camote merienda yesterday, Sieg was able to change diapers, without any help from me.

Just last night, while gazing at our son who just fell into deep sleep, Sieg whispered to me, "Sarap ng may baby, ano?" It made my heart melt with joy, knowing that my husband is happy and contented to play the role of a daddy, and a proud one at that.

Rocco is only turning 7 months, and I'm sure there would still be countless parenting experiences, good and bad, that we would share together. But knowing I have Sieg, a superb dad, who has great dreams for his family, I always feel reassured that we will do things right.

Happy Father's Day Siegfred! We love you very much!

The Church Wedding of my Big Brother...Finally!

Kuya has been married to Yannee for six years now, but they only had a civil rite back then. Then came two kids and life got busier for them. Of course, if you have two kids, finances will be tighter, so they had to prioritize milk, diapers, vaccines, tuition fees, etc over a church wedding.

Then last year, I had my own church wedding. Since then, we've been bugging them to set their own church wedding date. Finally, they relented, and it was set on June 8, 2012, on the same day they had their civil rites.

It was a fun reunion for the family. We live regions apart now, and usually get together only on special occasions. Ate Dona who lives in the US wasn't able to go home, but hopefully, next year they would also have their own church wedding in Tacloban.

I especially loved the parents' toast during the reception, and as usual, I cried because the speeches were so heartfelt and emotional. I'm so happy their marriage was finally blessed by the Church. I wish for them long happy years of strong marital bond, and a baby boy to add to their two bulilits, Chloe Julia and Calista Audrey.

Photo credits to their wedding photographer, GalvinRay. See his photos here.

Rocco's First Pool Party

Our short Tacloban vacation was awesome, except that the heat was almost unbearable! It was SO HUMID and hot even with the aircon and all the fans on. Kawawa ang mga bagets, especially Rocco who couldn't sleep because he was perspiring a lot. So last Saturday after the wedding, we pulled out the inflatable pool and poured in water so the kids could cool off a bit.

It was also Rocco's first swimming experience. And what an experience it was! From the looks of it, only the toddlers enjoyed, while the little baby cried his heart out. He only lasted a few minutes inside the pool, and Mommy had to pick him up and wrap him in a towel.

I hope next time would be a more memorable one for Rocco :)

Rocco's First Ringbearer Stint

The main reason why our family trooped back to Tacloban for the weekend was to attend the Church wedding of my big brother Dexter. The fact that Rocco was a ringbearer made it more exciting! Hindi pa nga nakakalakad ang anak ko, madami nang social events :)

Rocco's Daddy was the one who walked him in the aisle. Ang guwapo ng aking mag-ama! It was such a proud wife/mommy moment for me seeing my two boys there. Rocco was so cute in his crisp polo and bowtie outfit, while Hubby Daddy was so handsome in his cowboy ensemble (hehehe).

I feel emotional again just looking at the pictures. Thank God for a healthy and happy baby, a loving, funny and supportive husband, and a family who always has our back. I could not ask for anything more :)

Baby's Day Out...at Oriental Leyte

And I'm back! I've been on blogging hiatus for more than a week now because the whole family travelled to Tacloban for my big brother's wedding. We had a yaya in tow, but the baby was super clingy to Mommy, so nobody else could carry him for long, except...Mommy!

Anway, we had a bit of extra time during the long weekend to visit the newest hotel in Tacloban, The Oriental. It used to be the McArthur Park & Beach Resort, but was recently taken over by the Oriental. The little boy was super excited for our quick outing, judging from his pictures. He was so behaved too, and gladly sat on his stroller the whole time.

The place is not yet fully functional, but it looks really promising. The rooms remind me of Movenpick, except that the beds in Oriental are smaller. Diba, if it boasts to be a luxurious beach resort, then the beds must be really enticing. The rooms are a bit pricey too. Sana they give special rates for local residents so we can also enjoy the amenities without burning our wallets.

The main attraction for now is the huge infinity pool, which is still under construction. I'm not sure what they'll do with the beach front. Black sand kasi sya, and hindi na kagandahan ang beach. Maybe they'll put in white sand and rehabilitate it. That's sounds promising. Another plus factor of the resort is their huge convention hall. Perfect for wedding events and other special occasions. At least, there's a decent venue already in Tacloban for big events.

We didn't stay for long there because it was getting darker and there were plenty of mosquitos! Nakagat pa si Rocco twice :( More posts to follow!