My Baby Snake

Planning our family getaway for Christmas 2014, I googled the words "Family friendly resort Manila" and out came a list from Working Mom . I chose the one resort which I felt wouldn't be too much crowded during the holidays - Amorita Resort, Panglao, Bohol .  Incidentally, my batch mate was the head chef of the resort so I was able to confirm if Amorita was indeed as kid friendly as the article let out.  Result: My stay at the resort had not only made me more than happy with my decision, it also made me look forward to planning my next getaway there. Baby G :) MBS ready to go We reached Tagbilaran via Cebu Pacific on December 22, and was greeted with a guy holding a wooden Amorita sign. We were then offered umbrellas since it was drizzling, and a bottle of water for each one of us. The porter and the driver were both very polite and assisted us until we reached the van. Touchdown Tagbilaran We were greeted with welcome drinks, but was then infor...

Yan.. Two.. Tee.. Your.. Yibe.. Ix.. Ben.. Eight.. Yine.. Ten! MBS opens her half-closed eyes and, guided by MH, looks for my hiding place.  She runs around the room, and there's a big question mark on her face as she wonders where I might be hiding. She checks under the sheets, which was my previous hiding place. She checks the crib, which was my hiding place earlier as well. I let out a fake sneeze, and MBS becomes alert.  "Mamee!" She walks over her favorite mat, not knowing that she was stepping on me.  "Ha-choo!" I let out a fake sneeze again. "Ma-mee?" She steps out of the mat and sees the bump.  Finally, she yanks the mat over her head and has a HUGE grin plastered on her face.  Our laughter fills the whole room and my heart is filled with happiness! :) Today, MBS played hide-and-seek with me and MH. And it is truly a night to remember. :) I love how MBS tries to communicate with us. And...

"All of life is a constant education." -Eleanor Roosevelt Therefore, w e try our best to teach MBS bits and pieces of everything and anything under the sun: Arts and Crafts English/Literature Filipino Home Economics and Science :)

Today I learned of... humility and gratitude. After having lunch with MH, he brought both our plates and bowls to the sink. Halfway there, he accidentally dropped one of the bowls he was carrying and it shattered to pieces as it met the floor. I automatically tensed up and was about to give MH my death stare when the house cook shouted, " Good 'yan! Huwag kayo mag-alala; good 'yan. " I was dumbfounded by the comment and looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Good 'yan. Ibig sabihin niyan na baka may masamang mangyayari dapat sa tao tapos sa gamit nalang nangyari. Buti na 'yung ganun. Ang gamit, mapapalitan. Ang tao, hindi." The comment left me a bit humiliated. Here I am, already a mother, and I still find anger as my first reaction to situations like these.  But it also taught me gratitude - thankful for having a husband who brings my plate to the kitchen sink (most of the time) and for a very charming daughter who (as of now) thinks the wor...

MBS never fails to amaze me each day.  At 15 months, she can already distinguish and sound out the letters of the alphabet. :) What made me even prouder was being able to tell an SMDC sales lady that MBS was just 15 months (and not 2 years old, like she guessed) after MBS sounded out the letters S-M-D-C, pointing out each letter while sounding. Ha, that's my girl! :) Haven't captured a video of her sounding out the letters yet, but here's a video of her distinguishing some of the letters (or at least what the letters stand for).  MBS at 15 months :) MBS was pretty restless and ended the video with an "Ayaw" or "No" when asked for the goat card. hehe :)

To start things off for the day, MH's aunt treated us to brunch at a nearby dim sum restaurant. Yum! MBS ate her share of congee and liked it too! Brunch time :) Any additional orders, MBS? :) Afterwards, we went to a nearby grocery mall. We had dinner plans with other uncles and aunties that night, and wine was in order. Spotted humongous strawberries on sale, and bought a box for MBS. There were pumpkins on sale as well and I found it fascinating how the pumpkins were being sold by piece and not by weight. Naturally, I got one of the bigger pieces. :) Say, "Aaaah." It might be a bit too early for pumpkin carving :) Juicy much, MBS? :) Night time came before we knew it, and it was time to prepare for the big night. MBS would like to thank her great aunt for her beautiful dress, and her aunt for her pink tiara :) On our way to celebrate MBS's first ride on the MTR  Certified Daddy's girl :) MH's cousin surprised ...

MBS was such an angel on her first airplane ride abroad. :) I could not have wished for a better experience!  She fell asleep during take off and didn't wake up until the pilot announced that we were landing in a few minutes. Such an angel, really.  Preparing for the trip - what to bring, where to go, how to go from point A to point B with MBS in tow - was a whole different ball game.  While packing, MBS just didn't seem to have enough clothes, even if one side of my hard cased luggage was already filled with her clothes. One outfit a day never seemed enough. What if she got wet? What if she threw up? What if she soiled herself?  I would say that I packed around 20 outfits for MBS for our 5 day trip, excluding her outfit on the day itself and three more just-in-case outfits to be packed in her carry on. When MH saw what I had been doing, he talked some sense into me and asked me to pack lightly.  We were going to HK, not the North Pole.  ...

"Half the world is sleeping... Half the world's awake..." Best excuse to be emotional.  MBS is entering the big 1 in a few weeks' time. She's actually turning 1 already! Where did the time go?  It's funny how things change when you have a family. MH and I were just talking about the topic when he mentioned, "It's funny how I don't know the TV shows my friends talk about anymore, but I can tell them everything they'd ever want to know about breastfeeding."  That pretty much sums up our experience as parents. We've literally put our social lives on hold. We haven't gone out on a decent date, let alone watch a movie in the theaters, for the longest time. We've skipped out on lots of spur-of-the-moment get togethers. We don't even know what the trends are these days anymore. It's because after every single day of work, the only thing MH and I want to do is go home and see our baby girl. And hearing her laugh with ...