Showing posts with label Birthday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Birthday. Show all posts

March 30, 2015

Yuri Turned 3, I Graduated, and Other Stories

Hi everyone! Happy Monday! As what is becoming usual for me nowadays, I don't have a proper post prepared again. I'm just so busy, and while I'm thankful, I don't want to neglect responsibilities!

I actually just came back from a vacation, which turned quite ugly for me midway because I had food poisoning. I know, right? And all I ate were the same with what the rest of our group ate. I will surely write about our adventures and misadventures in Baguio, Ilocos Sur and Ilocos Norte, Manila, and Cavite soon.
(For my friends in Manila, I only set foot there for hours and most of them were spent inside a car.)

Oh I will write about the trip and every important thing that I need to write about. Just as soon as I get to finish everything I need to do today! Reality surely didn't waste its time making its presence felt.

You see, the week before our vacation, I didn't receive important emails and didn't even receive a single email from my regular client. So I wasn't very productive that week.

However, during the trip, a barrage of important emails came crashing in. My client emailed me about a change in our strategy, I got several blog invitations and offers, and I even got a job inquiry and an invitation for interview. I had no choice but to respond and say I will be available to handle their concerns as soon as I'm back in good ole Davao. (My client knows I'm on vacation though.)

But really, I was like, where were you when I was bored and idle? Where were you?! Just kidding.

January 29, 2015

For A Special One

Source: http://thepleatedpolkadot.blogspot.com

Today is the birthday of one of the most important men in my life: Job!

As I was waiting for 12 midnight last night to greet him, I was innocently browsing posts upon posts about (my) Leo - the 90s Leo. Just an occasional binge session. I know Job will confidently say na ka-level nya lang si Leo, and if we were physically together, I would jokingly poke him in the ribs. Annoying! But still, no matter how big of a star Leo is, I will never replace Job with him.

Riiiight. As if may chance. Harharhar.

Anyway, as much as I would love to include a photo here, I still haven't recovered my photos from my old phone. So here's Leo:
GIF from a compilation in this beautiful Buzzfeed post

Hehehe. That's Leo for the benefit of you girls. I have a mental picture of my own Leo, thank you very much!

On a serious note, I have a personal prayer for Job. I actually pray about every aspect of his life daily, and today is no different. Most of all, I pray for his faith to grow even more stronger and for him to grow even closer to God.

But since my prayer is too personal, I decided not to share it here publicly. However, I got a couple of nice prayers from the interwebs (okay, Pinterest), and it is my hope that they will lead you to pray for your own relationships and special someones. Here they are:

Source: marydemuth.com

Source: thenewlywedpilgrimage.com

So ladies, let's not cease praying. Even when it's hard to do, even when it's inconvenient, as these are the times when we usually need to pray. Remember that we need to cover our loved ones, especially our partners and husbands, with prayer. Be blessed, everyone!


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November 28, 2014

Birthday Celeb/ Play-Date at Zoofari and Cake Galerie

Three weeks ago (late post alert!), Yuri and I went out of our comfort zone to attend my inaanak Andrei's second birthday.
Gee. Where did the time go? Parang kahapon lang when I visited them at the hospital when he was born. Now he's as loud and makulit as Yuri!

I said we went out of our comfort zone because of two reasons. First, it's our first lakad with just the two of us, and second, we ventured again to the southern side of the city. So far!

But we had a great time. First, George and I spent an hour with the two little men at Zoofari.

PART 1 - ZOOFARI

I have been to the main branch of Zoofari at Bacaca, which is nearer our home, but this was the first time I've been to Zoofari at SM Ecoland. Since we were at the former for a blogger event, I had no idea what to do inside. Haha.

(So you have to get registered at the counter and have your and your child's photos taken. Then they will hand you a stub containing the time you entered the playgym. I'm reminded of my internet cafe days in college.)

While Andrei was too excited to play (he already ran inside when we were struggling at the counter), Yuri had another crying episode. He always does that when he's in a new place. He also didn't have a nap, which didn't help.

He only calmed down when I pointed out to him a line of trucks and tractors. Thank you God!
While the other children zoomed in and out of the playgym, Yuri generally just stayed within his comfort zone, that area with the trucks and tractors. I was just thankful I didn't need to chase anyone around.
Speaking of comfort zone, Andrei started inside his, too, for the rest of the hour: the ball pit. Despite George's persistent invitation, Yuri just wouldn't go inside the pit. Sensory issues! :D

June 11, 2014

Turning 24: A New Haircut, A New Bike, and Other Stories

Photo: http://omgeemag.com/

Ever since my 20th birthday, which was after my college graduation, which was spent drinking from night until morning with many of my fraternity brods and sorority sisses, I've learned to celebrate my birthday in a more subtle and God-glorifying manner.

To clarify, during that birthday of mine, I wasn't a Christian yet. That was the very last time I drank, though I still smoked a couple of weeks after that. A couple of weeks because after that, I finally encountered Jesus.

I don't want to post a photo of myself during that night because I'm sure you wouldn't recognize me. Also, it would taint my goody-two-shoes image. Hahaha!

Okay I'm so far from the point of this post so let's go back. Anyway, while I always consider my birthday special, I guess it's special on its own ordinary way. Here ate some of the "special ordinary" stories when I turned 24.

A New Haircut - After 2 Years

The last time I had a haircut was May 2012, a few months after Yuri was born. More than 2 years ago! I went from having mermaid hair to short, short, short (!) hair:
A couple of months after giving birth

It wasn't surprising since I always go through that route. Long then suddenly short. That hair was too short, though. I think the person who cut my hair was kinda deaf or something. But it's okay. I learned to love it. Job loved it, too!

2 years after, I finally made the time to have my hair cut. I couldn't afford to keep my hair long because it's too thick and the hair strands always get tangled. Here it is!

What do you think? I'm loving my hair now! The funny thing is that I can't comb it at all because my hair horrifyingly "flies away"! (I hope you understand what the slang means!)

June 9, 2014

Lunch at Zabs Buffet

The original plan was to celebrate my birthday at Vikings. However, we had already tried it, and while we had a pleasant experience, I didn't get to enjoy it fully because I was busy running after Yuri. Vikings is big, and my toddler was all over the place!

So I decided to look for another restaurant that is a lot smaller. I am willing to sacrifice the amount of food to save my sanity. Hahaha!

Another thing: being the big eaters that we are, it needs to be a buffet.

We have already tried most known buffet restaurants and hotels in the city. We haven't tried Yakimix yet, but it's out of the question, since the folks are not fans of Japanese food. However, during my preggy and newborn-mom days, a buffet restaurant opened and was popular among students and yuppies. I didn't get to try it then, so we decided to try it now.

The place is not easy to miss. It's just along Roxas Avenue and very near Aldevinco in front of Ateneo. The signage is also big, in-your-face-ish.

Zabs Buffet is a small restaurant; thus, do not expect to see a large variety of food. You will see the usual: salads, rice cooked differently, savory dishes, soup, lechon kawali (my and dad's favorite haha), raw meat and fish that you can request to be cooked, and lots of dessert. In the center, near where we were seated, was the counter where food was cooked. There was a pizza station, crepe station, and takoyaki station (that's what I remember).


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June 4, 2014

What I Want for my Birthday

I'm an old soul.

This Saturday, I'll be 24, but to tell you the truth, I feel much much older. Not physically (thank God!) but emotionally and mentally and, maybe, spiritually, too. And I attribute this not to motherhood.
My 2-year old made this "cake" for me. It was modeled after his own car-themed birthday cake. He said "Pi burtday to you!"

Let me tell you a secret: 

Ever since I started school, when I was around 5 or 6 years old, I already felt much older than my classmates. Ironically, I was always one year younger than all of my classmates all throughout my academic "career," but it didn't feel that way. Somehow, I just felt more mature than they were. And many can attest to that. In fact, when I was in first grade, I felt happier to be around with my friends' moms than with them.

I have the feeling that being an old soul was one of the things that helped me cope with motherhood so easily!

I am thankful, though, that to strike the balance, I also have a young heart. Win-win, right?

So this year, I'm turning 24. Still very young, but I love to think I am more mature than the rest of my peers. After all, I'm mothering a 2-year old! I guess this old soul of mine has also affected the things that I want to attain in my life.

I think I got into the phase of being materialistic for only a short while in my life - that was when I started being a working student back in college. Today, while material things give me temporary joy, I aim to have "higher" standards of happiness. For my 24th year, these are some of what I hope to achieve with God's grace and in his divine timing:

March 31, 2014

Yuri Turns 2: The Simplest Birthday Celebration

Warning: Photo overload ahead

I mentioned in a previous post that we chose not to have a birthday party this year. I realized that when the child is very young, especially if he is as deathly afraid of strangers as mine was (a year ago), then the party is not really for the child; it's for the parents.

Let the guilt-trip begin.

Just kidding. Of course, I know our intentions. We want to celebrate their birthdays with a blast! And we want to do the very best we can do to do it. And if your child is happy with people and parties, then by all means, go for it!

Yuri is no longer the timid baby he was last year, but this time, I want to make his birthday all about him. I wanted it to be completely stress-free and just happy. The result is the simplest birthday celebration ever.

There was no theme, no fuss. Well, the general theme of the day was everything Yuri likes and loves. Since it's his day, I wanted to make sure he ate, played with, did his favorite things. I'll stop here and let the photos do the talking.
The birthday boy in pambahay clothes.
Playing with his favorite toys: cars!
Ate his favorite breakfast food: yogurt with fresh fruits!
We also read some of his favorite books. This is The Quiet Book.
And I let him play his favorite video game but only for a limited time, don't worry. :-)
It's also one of the rare occasions we get to watch TV.
Just lying around, doing nothing. Careless like a child should be!
Running (and dancing) out on the street
The cake!

March 26, 2014

Yuri is 2: 24 Random Things About You

Dear Yuri,

You're 2 today! To mark the first hour of your birthday, uh, you fell from the bed. It's okay because, well, I placed a cushion on that side of that bed. You woke up alarmed with large eyes, and I said, "Okay lang, baby." You closed your eyes again but not before you replied, "Okay nan."

To say I'm absolutely in love with you is an understatement. I completely adore you and I thank God every day for giving you to me, to us. I cradled you back into my arms again (we cosleep), and as you settled down to nurse, I smiled and then I thought of all the random things that you, in all of your two years, have or have not done.

Since you are 24 months today (2 years!), I decided to write down 24 random things about you. I hope you enjoy reading them when you're older!

1. You never drooled. Ever. I remember seeing little babies with bibs which seemed to be permanent parts of their outfits, but not you. You never wore a bib when you were little. Even when you started eating solids, the only time you had to wear bibs were during mealtimes.

2. You were never fussy when teething. In fact, I didn't even notice when your first tooth erupted. Recently, I only noticed that four of your molars were already present. You didn't even make a peep, not a sound. Well, to be honest, you could have been clingier during those times, but I was none the wiser.

3. You were a colicky baby. To this day, I never found out the reason. All I know is that during the first three months of your life, you would cry straight for three hours each night. I did everything I could do, but nothing could stop your crying. You suddenly stopped after three months.

Really?

4. You started sleeping through the night when you were four months old. It was as sudden as when you stopped being colicky. One night, you just slept through the night, of course, while nursing a few times. By then, I stopped being fearful of being alone with you.

5. Yes, I was afraid of being alone with you the entire night. I was only 23 years old, living the life of a single mother, with a colicky baby to boot. This is why we slept in the living room for 3 months.

6. For the first three months of your life, I slept on the couch while you slept on your stroller. The crib was too big for you then, and I was afraid you would feel insecure in it.

7. You are 24 months now (2 years old!), but you have never been to the beach yet.

8. You had to spend the first six days of your life in the hospital because, er, you went out of momma's tummy late (I had to get cut up), and by the time you were out, you already ate meconium, your first poop. So cool, right? I bet you couldn't wait to tell this to your playmates. But remember that it could have caused different complications, and through the grace of God, you came out very very healthy. (Birth story here)

9. Even if I breastfed you for 2 years (and counting), you had S26 as your first food. Nobody taught me how to breastfeed in the hospital (as neither of your lolas were there, and your lolo doesn't know the first thing about breastfeeding).

10. You spoke your first word when you were around 16 months old, and it was "car."

11. You went on your first airplane flight when you just turned 7 months old. We went to Cebu to visit some relatives. I was anxious, but you were very behaved during the flight. In fact, you only cried because you already wanted to nurse, and after nursing, you were fine.

12. Your first tooth erupted when you were 11 months old. It was late compared to other children, but that's okay. Your teeth erupted one by one during the next months anyway.

13. You used to be so wary of strangers, but now, you're warming up. Whenever another baby or kid visits the house, you go out of your way to make him or her feel welcome. You even consider your ninangs as friends now!

With Ninang Teena (or Nina Tina)

14. During your first months, momma wasn't so style-savvy yet, and there was a month when you wore hand-me-down girls' shoes. Don't worry; you still looked so adorable. Of course, you also had boy shoes hihi.

15. You never tore a single page from any book, unlike a certain sister I know who tore almost all of my Clueless books. I still preferred giving you cloth books when you were very little, though, because I was afraid of the chemicals in the ink. After your first birthday, though, we began reading many books!

16. You became obsessed with cars after your first birthday and until now. You even recognize specific neighbors' cars now.

17. You are a carb-monster: You're a fickle eater but your love for carbs remains consistent. Your favorite foods are pasta (w/o red sauce), pancit, bread, crackers, cake... In fact, when we were at Vikings, all you ate were ramen and mantao.

18. Speaking of carbs, your latest favorite food is the humble but glorious suman.

19. You took your first step at 13 months, which is later than some children, but again, it's perfectly okay! You were running a few months after anyway.

20. You are always mistaken for a girl. No matter where we go, someone almost always mistakes you for a girl. Even when you were looking like this:
Seriously?

21. You had a very wide vocabulary even before you turned 2. I always say that you might have been a late walker but your talking skills compensated for it - not that we need compensation!

22. You were potty-trained a couple of weeks before turning 2. Save for a few days of regression, everything else went smoothly. Yay!

23. You currently love dancing and singing. You would dance to any tune you hear on the radio (using your signature rolling hands dance step), and you would try to sing whenever you hear a song you like!
Don't stare at my tongue.

24. You are turning out to be a very sweet and affectionate little boy. A few months back, I prayed that you would show affection more because, well, you're a bit rough like a little boy should be. Now, you're fond of giving kisses, hugs, and you even occasionally tell us "I love you." I love you, too.
___________________

There is more of you and more to you than these 24 random things, baby, and you should know that these are but a few of the things that I hold dear to my heart. I'm pretty sure I will spend a big part of my life telling you more about the things that make you so special to me. Happy birthday and I hope you have fun this day (unlike last year hee hee).
Photo: http://oldbarnrescue.com/
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
I pray you grow up to be a man after God's own heart. God be with you!

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March 21, 2014

Yuri's Second Birthday Wishlist!

It's Yuri's second birthday next Wednesday!

(Okay, you and I both know that this is my wishlist and not Yuri's. Let's just leave it at that.)

Wow. I have a 2-year old. I still could not believe it. Despite being thrust into motherhood unprepared, here we are, 2 years later, not just surviving but actually thriving!

Okay back to topic. Yuri's turning 2 in just less than a week. Unlike last year, when we held a small Mickey Mouse-themed party, this year, I have nothing planned. Seriously! I found out the hard way that Yuri wasn't into socialization especially if majority of the guests are adults. I still recall with guilt how he just stayed in one corner because he was anxious and afraid of all those people. I also recall how I was forced to let his yaya put him to sleep because I was still entertaining guests. I had a heavy heart the entire time because the night was supposed to be for him, but his mom wasn't even able to pay attention to him.

Other children might like big parties and company, but no, not my then 1-year old Yuri.

So this year, we'll stay at home and eat as a family. We'll also be eating out on the next day, which is my sister's graduation. Even if he's bigger now and already know how to socialize and make "friends," I wouldn't take a risk again. I want to make sure that he's really happy on his day and that I give my full attention to him.

But because we're not planning to do anything big this year, my focus turned toward - what else? - gifts!

I really, really like buying stuff for Yuri (what mother doesn't?), but lately, I've been more interested in buying food rather than things. But when I tried searching for gift ideas, my interest in toddler stuff got rekindled. Ayayay!

Job wanted to buy Yuri a bike, but I complained that the boy already has two rides, and that's too many for me. We decided to get the bike when he's older.

With the bike idea scrapped, we were at a loss for ideas. What could we give Yuri? Well, the following are the products of my "research." Haha!

1. Salt Water Sandals
Photo: justbyliving.blogspot.com
I am borderline obsessed with the idea of little feet inside open leather sandals. Can you imagine? Aside from the fact that Yuri is about to outgrow his shoes, it's also already summer, and his kicks don't really fit in. Plus the sandals are just too gwapo for words.

I wanted to buy something affordable, but I could not find anything like these sandals in local malls. All they have are rubber/nylon/neopyrene sandals with velcro. Nope!
Photo: www.lesjeunespousses.blogspot.com
Should we buy Yuri Salt Water sandals? They're a bit pricey. Do we think we should take the plunge?

2. Toy Airplane
Photo: www.babble.com
This is what Job wants to give Yuri (aside from the bike). I thought he just wants to level-up from toy cars, but he reminded me that when Yuri was only a few months old, I told him on impulse how it would be nice if Yuri becomes a pilot. Thank you for remembering that! Yes, it would be really nice! I can also imagine Yuri zooming around with his "epeyn."

3. Indoor Basketball Hoop
Photo: http://www.toysrus.com/
Not the most creative gift idea, I admit, but aside from cars, Yuri is becoming very interested in balls. Who knows? I might have a little Lebron in my hands.

4. Aqua-Doodle Playmat
Photo: reliancehvg.co.in
Since Yuri is already turning 2, and since summer is approaching (which means a lighter workload for me), I knew it's time to give the boy serious homeschooling. I mean, we teach him all the time, but pretty soon, I need to be intentional about it.

Thus the desire for an Aqua-Doodle mat. Yuri's been showing interest in writing and drawing; unfortunately, he prefers markers over his magnetic board. And you know markers are never good news. I like how this mat only uses water. No accidents and stains!

Notable omissions:

1. Play-Doh set (I'm not sure about this since I'm planning to make our own!)

2. Books (Dami pa kaming di pa nababasa! Books are always on my list, though.)

3. Toddler Armchair - yung may cushion (I have yet to find an affordable but high-quality chair.)


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November 6, 2013

Grocery Discovery Sunday

Happy hump day, everyone! I just realized I took some photos last Sunday and totally forgot to blog about it. Blame it on Manic Monday and Trauma-rama Tuesday!

Anyway, as usual, I planned Yuri's outfit and tried to take a near-decent OOTD photo:
Crib Couture shirt, Busha Pants, Children's Place sneakers

It's actually just a rehash of his previous Sunday outfit, this time with a different shirt and a different pair of busha pants. Plus same shoes. I like this outfit so much!

No shoes on

Watching Sesame Street with White Elmo

Me of course: Favorite cardi, zip-up dress from a secret store, leggings, and CLN shoes

And yes, I have to deal with a grumpy-looking Yuri in almost every photo. Haha!

Profile photo feels

My sister joins in! Huhu she's a dalagita na.

That day, we went to Gaisano Mall instead of the usual SM Lanang Premier because my mom wanted to buy an O+ tablet for her upcoming travel, and I needed to buy Yuri a divider plate. I wanted more options. Sadly, there were only a few divider plates that can fit the tray of Yuri's booster chair. Fortunately, I found this:


Yes, it's a divider plate that fits Yuri's tray. Yes, that's an NBA plate. The only other design available for this kind of plate was Toy Story, but this was on sale so... what the heck. Sooner or later, he's gonna break it anyway. Haha! I wanted a divider plate so I can do this:


I was hoping to find a Sesame Street plate because Yuri's kinda obsessed with it lately, but I did not find anything other than baby bottles. So I went to the toddler's clothes section to look for an Elmo shirt. Sadly, again, the only Elmo shirts were sized 6T. Huhu! I bought three pajama pairs instead.

I also bought nightlight because our lampshade was already pundido for a few days now. Here's our old green lamp who served us 18 months:


I wanted a nightlight so that it wouldn't take much space in our already-cramped bedroom. The salesman recommended a few Omni-Light models, and I took one without color. When testing it, we find that it wouldn't light. I went back to the aisle to pick another model, when he called me and said it wouldn't light kasi umaga. Huh? May sensor pala! It would only light when it's dark. Automatically. That means no bending to turn the switch on and off for me! Here it is:

Morning: no light (sorry, ang dumi pala ng outlet ko)

It automatically lights up at night! Amaze-balls!

PLUS! The ultimate find of the day! Remember when I griped about the fact that cookie butters were already expensive tapos expensive pa ang shipping fee? Well, look at what I discovered in Gaisano Mall's grocery!

Lotsa bottles of TJ cookie butter! I didn't buy any because I didn't have the budget for it. But I know where I'm going to go if the urge sets in!

By the way, today's the birthday of my godson, Andrei!

Grabbed from the dad's Facebook profile

Happy happy first birthday!!! Gee time flies so fast. Parang kailan lang, I was just looking at you in the nursery a few days after you were born. Now, you're a big baby na. Soon enough, you're gonna be a toddler like Kuya Yuri! Looking forward to our playdate, love!

I really wish I could visit you today, but I can't because there's nobody to make bantay Yuri. I will just send my gifts over, okay? Have fun!

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