Tres

Hi!

I turned three!

I had a simple birthday celebration with my family. My mom let me have some ice cream while my kuya was away with our Dad to his school orientation.

Then we had fun with the sprinklers in our backyard!

And then my mom made spaghetti - one of my favorites - for dinner. I devoured it, just like my kuya.

And then they sang the Happy Birthday song for me as my Dad brought out my cookies and cream pie.

And lastly, I opened my birthday gift from my Dad and Mom - a bubble-blowing lawn mower toy! (Fisher Price Bubble Mower) I love it so much! I'm glad mom got the right gift this time, haha!

I still love cuddling with my mom, especially in the mornings and while we watch some movies at home. I still like to destroy things and figure out why that happens - or how? I am interested in anything and everything that I don't have a particular favorite toy or thing to do. I like baths and showers and splashing in the water! And I looooooove FOOD! Recently I've taken an interest into singing all the time. Sometimes I even make up my own songs.

I like watching my kuya do his school things like reading his books, writing letters, numbers, and shapes. I'm excited for the day that I will be able to do it, too. I enjoy asking mom to draw me this or that (usually shapes). I still love climbing on things. I'm a happy little big boy!

Love,
J

I'm Five

Hello there!

I turned five today!

I will be attending Kindergarten soon! My favorite things are still race cars. I love learning new things. I love to write and read. I love drawing as well as coloring. I like to show my little brother how to write, and trace numbers and drawings. I love to dance, especially dancing Jabbawockeez numbers. I love ice cream, raisins, waffles, peanut butter, bagel and cream cheese, spaghetti, candy, chocolate, peanuts, crackers, dried mangoes, and anything that is not GREEN. I still love to read. I love saying my prayers before eating and before going to bed. I love watching movies, especially animated movies like Legos.

When I grow up, I want to be a race car driver. My parents say I'm a good boy and I'm easy to take care of. Sometimes I still throw a tantrum at them but most of the time I obey what they say. I was told I'm a good helper, too.

I am excited to meet our little sister someday. And I am looking forward to celebrating my 5th birthday today!

Love, C

Thank-You Cards

J turned one a little less than two months ago. His birthday was celebrated MUCH MUCH simpler than his older brother's first birthday. But the feeling's the same - we, as his parents, are happy and blessed to have him in our lives. He brings us so much joy and happiness everyday.

His awesome relatives didn't forget him on his birthday, though, despite the simplicity of his birthday celebration. My in-laws helped us with his birthday cake, and sent him some gifts, too. So did his cousins from my sister-in-law, and his great-grandfather (my mother-in-law's father). 

I haven't crafted in a long time, but I figured I wouldn't let this one pass without a thank-you note to all of them, for remembering our boy on his special day. So here they are:

For my in-laws.

For J's great-grandpa.

And for his cousins.

I tried hard to think that day on how to make them look great, but nothing came up in my mind. I guess I am out of practice. I made the butterfly one first, then the yellow card, and last the one with the bunting. The butterfly one wasn't actually blue/turquoise at first. The original card blended great with the red color, but as soon as I finished making it, I accidentally put my stamp pad upside down (which was open) on top of the card, and I didn't have anymore extra of the same color to use, so it became turquoise.

Making these in one day was therapeutic to me (it takes me hours to come up with a template/layout because I'm a visual person when it comes to things like this. I have to take all my things out and lay them out in front of me to see if this color goes with that, etc.). My husband even took the kids out to the park when they got up from their naps that day, so I could finish the second one I was working on then (the yellow one on the very top).

I love my family from my husband's side. They are really involved with us and our kids. I need to be better in sending out cards on special occasions just like they did for us.

Last Year: A Birth Story

OUR DUE DATE

I went to the salon to get a haircut. I had long hair and I wanted it gone. The lady at the salon was surprised at my response to her question, "when are you due?" I said I was due to give birth that day.

That night, I felt some mild contractions but didn't think too much about it. I went to bed at 10:00 pm to make sure I could get some sleep (one I didn't get with our first child because I went in labor right after I folded our clothes at 10:00 pm). 

THE BIG DAY

At around 2:00am, I was awoken to painful cramps on my belly. I still thought it was false labor so I stuck it out. With our first, I had some spotting at home, and my water bag broke at about 6 cm. dilation (we were already at the hospital and was preparing to get an epidural). So I was waiting for one of those two things with our second baby. I didn't time it anymore because I could tell it was consistent and the pain was increasing.

I decided to take a shower with hopes that it will alleviate the pain a little bit. It was 3:00 am. Everybody was still sleeping (our son, my sister, and YES my husband who was even snoring in bed). I was trying to deal with the pain as quietly as I could because I didn't want to wake up our little guy. The shower definitely helped. 

At 4:00 am, I decided it's time to disturb my husband. I tried to lie down to get some sleep. It was really painful but I haven't had any spotting yet so I thought I was probably just at 3 or 4 cm. I was groaning silently here and there and that woke my husband up. I told him, "yeah I'm definitely in labor." I asked him to blow up our big bouncy ball. Poor guy was still so sleepy when he was pumping some air into that ball. I tried to use it but to no comfort at all. So I just did what I've been doing all along without the ball. I told my husband the contractions were definitely more frequent and more painful with only a few seconds of interval in between. The funny thing was, he asked me to tell him when to take a shower before we go to the hospital. I was in labor (yeah, great excuse, right?) and I thought, "Oh yeah he'll take a shower right when I want to go" so I snapped and told him, "take it now!" It was funny - just like the movies!

At around 4:30 am, I called the hospital and the nurse told me to wait it out.

"Go take a shower."

"I already did that."

"Have you had any spotting yet?"

"No, but I'm telling you it's really painful and more frequent."

"Well, just wait it out, see if it still goes or not."

Sad, huh! She wouldn't listen to me! So I waited (painfully) 'til 6:00 am, dealing with the pain as quietly as I could (yeah, I was groaning with my face down flat on our mattress). 

At 6:10 am, I told Jesse we have to go. It was really painful but I could still bear it but I wanted to be around some people who knew what to do just in case I was ready to deliver. The hospital was just 15-20 mins. away but it felt like forever. The passenger seat was one of the most uncomfortable place any woman in labor could ever be in. 

We parked quite close to the entrance of the building but it seemed like it took us forever to get there (I had really painful contractions every 10 seconds or so - or at least that's how it felt like because I've only made 5 or 10 steps and another contraction was there). There wasn't anybody at the reception area so we used the phone (there was a note saying to call them) and an Indian nurse came out. She was so calm and taking things VERY SLOWLY! She didn't even put me in a wheelchair! I walked the whole way to the delivery room - I felt like I couldn't walk anymore. As soon as we entered the room, I told her I want an epidural (very wrong decision!).

I changed my clothes and she was still taking things slowly. It was around 6:40 am. She measured me and you can tell in her voice that she freaked out a bit when she said, "Oh! You're 8 1/2 cm. dilated!" Both my husband and I were like, "what?!?" Haha! I asked her if it was too late for the epidural (that's what I thought) and she said she'll see what the anesthesiologist will say because he's on his way. But he didn't say anything. By the time he arrived, I was probably more than 8 1/2 cm. I seriously think he just wanted to get paid. One of the things I hated while waiting for him was signing some paperwork in-between and during my contractions. I mean, come on! WOMAN IN LABOR HERE! And the nurse who answered my call earlier was there and introduced herself to me, "I was the one who answered your call." I thought to my head, "Oh yeah! Well so much for not believing I am in labor, huh!"

After 5 painful tries, the anesthesiologist finally got the epidural in (the first 3 were "wrong" pokes and the 4th one was right but the catheter broke so he had to remove it and do it again). It was literally painful!!! I seriously thought it was more painful than my contractions. I was crying without any sound, just tears flowing endlessly down my face. I know he could've done better. The anesthesiologist who gave it to me with our first baby did it only in one strike, and I wasn't even as steady as I was with our second baby. When I was getting an epidural with our first baby, the nurse didn't even help me sit still (that's when my water bag broke). But with our second child, our Indian nurse helped me stay still (and I was) and that guy had to poke me 5 times!!! The only thing I hate about epidurals is that it hurts my back so bad after a few hours of delivering the baby (and goes on for weeks) and it makes my labor a lot slower.

At 9:30am, they broke my water bag with hopes to speed things up. It's one of the things I hated. What's the rush? I wasn't in any risky situation, he wasn't tangled, blah blah blah. The baby will come when he wants. No need to break my bag. But I didn't say anything.

We thought we were going to have a different ob/gyn for my delivery because my ob/gyn was going to go camping with her husband and his family that day for a week. At 9:45am, she popped through the door. We were glad to have OUR ob/gyn there. At 10:00 am, I started pushing. I was so numb (more numb than I was with our first) that I couldn't feel where to push. With our first, I at least felt where it's supposed to be. It took me 30 mins. to push J out (10 mins. with our first). I'm glad she tried everything to avoid giving me an episiotomy. 

At 10:30 am, our 8 lbs. 6 oz. and 20 inches baby joined our little family with a big cry.

HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE FELLA! It's been a fun journey with you in our family. 

My Annual "I'm-a-Year-Older" Week

Well what do you know? I'm closing in to the 3-oh age.

When we moved in on to this new house we are renting, I was determined to finish unpacking all of our things at least a day before my birthday. That gave me about five days total. I was unsure at first if I could make it in five days, what with having two kids to tend to as well. But we made it in one whole day, starting from when we moved out. We moved out on a Saturday morning, and we finished doing everything (cleaning the old house and unpacking at the new house) by Sunday evening. I was thrilled! The new house still looks plain, but decorations can wait. I can actually hang some frames up on the walls now! I wasn't interested to decorate our previous apartments/houses because I knew we weren't going to stay long. But we might stay here long enough, so I can make it look like a home. At least with photos on our walls.

My birthday was simple. The day was just one of those regular, mundane things. Jesse still went to work. Jesse had been busy all week (and the following week) at work for their fiscal year. It will always fall on my birthday... :'( I still took care of the kids, and did the usual things I do with them. After Jesse's work, we ate out as a family at the Asia Buffet restaurant for dinner.

The food was okay. They had some variety of food, but I only liked a few of what I tried. But everything I wanted and needed was there - my family. That's all that mattered.

For material things, Jesse set aside $100 for me as a birthday gift. My mother-in-law sent me a book called, "Heaven is Here" by Stephanie Nielson. 

She also sent me a $50 gift card from Michael's - my candyland store. My sister sent me a cute mug from shutterfly. 

My parents sent me some beauty product samples from the company where my dad works. Their employees are allowed to send a few to family members. Jesse's maternal grandfather sent me a birthday card, and so did his paternal grandparents. They also included a $40 check. So I used my $50 Michael's gift card and the $40 check to treat myself to some good stuff from Michael's - a Martha Stewart heating tool (for embossing), a desktop carousel, a circle cutter (different sizes of circles), a piercing mat for my Sew Easy stitch piercer tool (my alternative to sewing threads on cards because I don't have a sewing machine), and SewEasy needles. YAY!!! I'm so excited to try out sewing and embossing on cards. 

I can't remember how many times I've looked at my calculator to make sure I didn't go over ninety bucks. I even returned the clearance rubber stamps that I liked, thinking I went over by ten bucks. When I checked out, I only spent $75 (also used a 40% discount on the embossing heating tool). Aaaw! I should've kept the rubber stamps. :P

While I was shopping today at Michael's, I ran across a girl I knew from BYU-H. Small world! We were so surprised to see each other. She was just here on a vacation. Man, it felt good to hug someone familiar. I miss hug greetings.

For Jesse's birthday gift, he allowed me to go twenty bucks over his budget for me (Aaaw). Actually it came out thirty bucks over because of the shipping, but I really liked this table:

Sauder Sewing and Craft Table

It will arrive sometime in the next two weeks at the nearby Walmart store, and we'll pick it up from there. The left side of the table folds so you can store all your things inside. And Walmart was selling it with the cheapest price (based on the very short research I made). I know I don't have a sewing machine, but I can hide my Cricut underneath that table! :) And this table is $400 bucks cheaper than the first craft table I wanted - the Original Scrapbox EZ View Craft Scrapbooking Desk, which is ridiculously priced $600. It is a VERY NICE craft table, though! 

But the best part about my birthday wasn't the material presents. It was the love I felt through all my family members and relatives. It sounds cliche, but it is true. I really loved feeling all their love for me in this last two weeks. Jesse even sent me a text message in the middle of his work hours to remind me a "Happy Birthday." My siblings greeted me through our family group on Facebook. I really felt the love of my family and Jesse's family and his relatives as well. One of my favorites was being able to snuggle with my boys!

Here's to another year of happiness!

C Dear

C just celebrated his birthday.

At his age now, his favorite things are wooden puzzles.

He just graduated from a 12-piece puzzle,

and I bought him a 24-piece puzzle to see if he can do it.

I bought him a "set of 4" Melissa and Doug 12-piece puzzle last month after he

basically can pretty much do his first 12-piece puzzle on his own

in less than 3 minutes 

.. but the month wasn't even over yet and he could

already figure out all 5 puzzles (including the new 4 ones) on his own
- again in less than 3 minutes each.

So I guess he's ready for a 24-piece puzzle.

He also has the classic tupperware Shape-O Ball toy,
a shape sorter toy thing, that he likes to play with.
He will really look for the right "slot" for each shape,
and if it is wrong, he will look for another one.
He can figure it out on his own but he loves it when we help him.

He now knows his English alphabet - actually since he was 21 months old.
He can sing/say them in order, and tell you
which letter you just drew for him.

He loves to count.
He learned to count from 1-10 when he was 20 months old.

Now he's learning to count to 20.

He can count from 1-15 and then jumps to 18, 19, 20.

Hahahaha!!!

He loves his colors.

He figured out his colors last month.

He knows red, blue, yellow, green, pink, purple, brown,

black, white, and grey.
Sometimes he gets confused between red and blue, though.
And he still can't answer the question, "What color is _____?"
even though he knows some of the colors.

He loves to swim.

He'd just jump into the pool without any fear at all,

and then rise up to the surface on his own.

Sometimes he wants to "swim" on his own too.

He loves to watch animated movies,
especially Toy Story and Cars.
Once in a while I let him watch some videos on Netflix like
Blues Clues, & Thomas and Friends.
Sometimes he watches the Youtube playlist that I made for him
that's just full of nursery things like the alphabet, shapes, numbers, & colors.
That's basically how he learned his alphabet (from A-Z) at a young age.

He loves trains, cars, school bus, trucks - anything with wheels!
He had a blast when we visited Travel Town in L.A.
during the Memorial Day weekend.
He loved looking at all the big, old trains.

He is pretty much starting to talk a lot more,
& expresses himself more verbally.
He is in the imitating phase where he basically just says
anything we say - like a cute echo!
So, yeah, we are more cautious about what we speak now
than we ever did (although we have always tried).
He loves to sing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star",
"Baa Baa Black Sheep,"
"Itsy Bitsy Spider,"
"Alphabet Song,"
"I am A Child of God,"
and other songs he has on his Youtube playlist
although he hasn't gotten to sing them verbatim just yet.
All in all he is our happy little fella.

End of May Birthdays

Here are my new cards that I made a few weeks ago.

They are for two sisters in our ward at Church

who are both celebrating their birthdays on the same day

(end of May).

I was waiting for the days to pass by

(for when I actually can give them to my friends)

before posting them on my blog so they don't get a "spoiler"

of their handmade cards from me.. hehehe!

With these birthday cards, I found the template/inspiration/idea

(however you want to call it)

from Ruth Muzeen.

She has a crafting blog called, "Flower Sparkle"

I just love and adore all of her handmade cards.

These are her handmade birthday cards that I "copied"

(my first time copying somebody else's card ideas)

These are my version of those cards:

They are not as good as hers but I like them a lot.

I actually sent her a message

(through a comment on her blog post)

for her permission to post her cards here but she never got back to me 

(she did post my comment in her blog, though, 

but for some reasons I can't find that blog post anymore).

Knowing myself, I always like to decorate

the "dedication page" as well so for this one,

it's actually my own idea:

I just used a flower rubber stamp that my friend Shellanie

gave to me (thanks for all of them)

to use as embellishments.

Happy birthday to my friends, Erin and Brendi!

Happy Birthday

Okay, so besides aspiring to become a professional photographer someday (which I am thinking of giving up on), I am fond of paper crafts, mainly making greeting cards. I still haven't perfected it that much, though. I'm not the kind of person who makes elaborate cards like those you see at Martha Stewart tutorials or what-not. I like my cards simple, not too heavy, and not too crowded. I still think that some of the elaborate cards I see online (like Scrapbooking.com, Twopeasinabucket.com, etc) were really cute and beautiful. I honestly want to be able to make something like those cards someday. I just love making our own greeting cards!

Things I like about handmade cards: First, it's much more personal/sentimental because you're thinking of the person while you are making it and at the same time thinking of the message that will go with it. Second, it saves us at least a little bit of money a year from constantly buying those readymade cards by Hallmark (though I love their cards!) and third, I'm enjoying doing what I do. It always makes me feel good being able to make something with papers, scissors, and adhesives. Oh, and rubberstamps and inks! :)

I use readymade cards every now and then, though, when I can't find the time to make one. This Christmas, I badly wanted to make our Christmas greeting cards but I didn't have enough things to make them (cardstock/paper-wise, sticker-wise, and stamps-wise). Maybe next year. 

It's been a long time since I made a greeting card because I just love playing with our son when he's awake (even though you see me online on Facebook, it doesn't mean I'm facing the computer the whole time). But lo and behold, a special occasion is coming up for a special someone in our lives. My mother-in-law recently celebrated her birthday. I was thinking about her ever since December hit the world and what I could make for her. Well, she always sends us cards for our birthdays and whenever there is a holiday, so I thought of sending her a handmade card. I made this simple card for her:

To the sweetest mother,

mother-in-law,

and grandmother that we know, Happy Birthday (again)!

We love you so much!

God Bless the Broken Road - Rascal Flatts

My husband celebrated his birthday pretty recently.

And I really did not post any greeting on this blog on time,

just to be a little bit more private.

This is another tribute for him.
Belated happy birthday, beb!!!

Thanks for being a great husband to me

and father to our son.

We love you!

"Bless the Broken Road"

(Rascal Flatts)

I set out a narrow way many years ago

Hoping I would find true love along the broken road

But I got lost a time or two

Wiped my brow and kept pushing through

I couldn't see how every sign pointed straight to you.

Every long lost dream led me to where you are.

Others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars

Pointing me on my way into your loving arms.

This much I know is true

That God blessed the broken road

That led me straight to you.

Yes, he did.

I think about the years I spent just passing through.

I'd like to have the time I lost and give it back to you.

But you just smile and take my hand

You've been there, you understand.

It's all part of a grander plan that is coming true.

Every long lost dream led me to where you are.

Others who broke my heart, they were like northern stars

Pointing me on my way into your loving arms.

This much I know is true

That God blessed the broken road

That led me straight to you.

But I know I'm just rolling home into my lover's arms

This much I know is true

That God blessed the broken road

That led me straight to you.

Beautiful

I just can't resist these roses.
They are so pretty!
My husband came home for lunch

on my birthday

with these beautiful roses in his hand,

and my favorite candybar, Snickers.

Just lovely!

No clothes, No Worries... Right...

It was this day in the US when I was born

in the Philippines.
So technically it's my birthday today!
Not tomorrow... haha! j/k...

My mom just shared her birthing experience a few minutes ago

and I just feel like thanking her 

through this blog, for giving birth to me.

I was born in a public hospital in Manila in the morning.

I won't say the name of the hospital or the place, though! 

Hehe.

My mom was pretty sure it was before 9:00am,

on the 3rd day of the 8th month, during the 85th year of the 20th century.

She went to the hospital with my grandmother (her mom),

her aunt (her mom's sister),

and my dad.

Right after they took my mom to the labor room,

my dad had to leave to go to school.

I think, if I recall it right, he said he had an exam that day for his

dental school.

My grandma and my mom's aunt left her, too.

They thought she was not going to give birth soon.

But then, they were wrong.
I came fast! 

Yeah! I was excited to enter this world!!!
But I didn't have any clothes to wear.

My grandmother had my things with her when she left my mother.

They (the public hospital) didn't let her use their stuff.
She had to bring my own clothes - but it's gone!

They didn't even give her some diapers!

Anyway, so she was still weak and dizzy 

(all seven children were born naturally and without drugs)

when they brought me to her.

There were about 50 patients in the ward.

She said, when they brought me to her,

a lot of people gathered around to look at me.

I was big for a Filipino baby.

8 lbs. 4 oz.

They were all happy to see me.

Then, my mom said, I pooped.

I didn't have any extra diaper to wear, so she just used the clothes

she was wearing when she entered the hospital.

My grandmother and her sister didn't come back to the hospital

'til late afternoon with my things.

The room where my mom was in had a "caged window."

My grandmother and her sister couldn't get inside the room,

so they just handed my things over through the window.

My mom's aunt waited by the window

(they only allowed one person at a time to wait by the window)

while my mom got me dressed.

And then as she was going to take me to her aunt,

she felt dizzy instantly and she almost fell with me.

But, motherly instinct kicked in, 

she held me tight and protected me.

(Dramatic sound in the background....)

Haha!

So yeah....

that's my birth story.

It's not at all like my son's birth story,

where we had everything ready - for my husband,

myself, and our baby - when we went to the hospital.

I had my husband and my mother with me when I gave birth.

I was even drugged (a.k.a. epidural).

Poor mom, she had to go through the excruciating 

labor pains all by herself

and then I didn't have anything to wear,

not even a diaper. 

I love my mother!

Thank you for bringing me into this world.

My mom and I

That's me with my grandma, my aunt, and my brother.

I think I can see my son's face in this picture! 

Haha!

That's me with my mom's aunt.