Roaring Twenties

Parties and activities in my office are always, always fun! :)  Early this month, we had our annual Christmas party which meant it was time to play dress-up!  This time, the theme was Roaring Twenties.  Here's how Wikipedia explains it:  

"Immortalized in movies and magazine covers, young women's fashion of the 1920s was both a trend and social statement, a breaking-off from the rigid Victorian way of life. These young, rebellious, middle-class women, labeled 'flappers' by older generations, did away with the corset and donned slinky knee-length dresses, which exposed their legs and arms... Cosmetics, which until the 1920s were not typically accepted in American society because of their association with prostitution, became, for the first time, extremely popular."

Sharing some of the photos from that epic night! :)

Flapper girl for a night :)

Taken at the office, before we left for the venue.

That's water. *wink*wink*

Teammates and bosses :)

Dapat daw fierce, pero mukha akong galit. =P

Take 2. :)

The MM, the GM, and the MD. :)

Anne with our two kolokoy emcees. :)

Cheers,

Nine Months

Happy 9 months old, Lia! :)

After your 8th month birthday, it seems like you have started undergoing some growth spurts because at 9, you look a lot bigger, longer, and stronger!  You've outgrown many of your clothes already, and any day now, I think you'll be switching from Medium to Large nappies.

You've been fussy since November because of your aching gums.  And finally on the 12th of December, I saw your first tooth appear! Your second tooth came out immediately afterwards. Both of them are at the bottom (central incisors).  I don't have a picture because they're still too small at the moment and you hate it when I force your mouth open. Hehe.

Not only can you stably sit up on your own, now you can also stand up (but with support, of course). You have such strong arms and legs.  You can will anyone who carries you to face whichever direction you want just by twisting your body and pushing and wriggling. Hehe.

Make no mistake. That's me on the left, you on the right. :)

Standing like a pro supported by Daddy. :)

You also love doing push ups, and your favorite surface is daddy's tummy! After you're done with your 'set', you usually bend and lean your fat face on daddy.  What a sweet, sweet girl you are, darling.

You've been hyperactive lately, my sweetheart. You're a huge ball of energy and sometimes I can't keep up!  Hehe. It's super duper fun playing with you! :)

The way you show emotions has also already developed.  Before, you would just laugh when you're happy and cry when you're not. Now it's more than just that!  You now show joy, excitement, amusement, frustration, anger, sadness, fear, and sometimes, relief! I am amazed I see you breathe a sigh of relief after you suddenly tumble on the bed and find out that it doesn't hurt.  Or when you giggle and babble while watching a video of yourself bursting in laughter. You even know how to make pa-cute!  You bend your neck sideways and smile. You're a cute, cute living doll, Lia. :)

Seeing you grow in front of our very eyes feels like a miracle, baby.  God's design is so intricate and perfect, your dad and I can't help but be in awe.  Let's thank Him every day, shall we? You are His greatest blessing to us, our most precious gift thus far. 

We love you, Lia! Three more months and you'll be ONE! Yahooooo! :)

Cheers,

Our 4th Merry Little Christmas

Since Rolly and I tied the knot, I've been counting our Christmases together.  The first one was obviously special because it was the first; the second was good and we were full of hope; the third was great because we knew our 'gift' was on its way; and this year, our 4th, was nothing short of blissful! God's gift was delivered in March and it's our first Christmas to spend it with her - our LIA.

Our first Christmas as a family of three! :)

We just had to capture this with our little Santa baby. :)

We're thinking of making this a tradition - a Christmas family photo shoot evey year! :)

In all of our past Christmases, Rolly and I had nothing to worry about but ourselves.  This year, everything revolved around our Lia.  We used to just quietly go to mass on Christmas eve, but this time around we were carrying a happy and noisy baby! :)  We had to pick seats at the back of the chapel because she might chatter or wail any minute. We used to just mindlessly leave our house to travel to Bulacan on Christmas morning, but this time it was a huge production number!  I had to make a checklist of all the things we needed to bring to make sure we won't forget anything.  We used to just bring a single overnight bag for all our stuff, but now we brought our largest luggage - 85% of it occupied by some of the things of the smallest person in the family (the rest of her stuff could no longer fit in the bag; e.g. the sterilizer and bottle warmer; large vacuum flask, a big pack of diapers, etc.)  We thought, how could a baby this small need a mountain of paraphernalia for just a couple of nights out of town?  It's funny! :)

And since Christmastime is largely about gift-giving, our little person received more gifts than Rolly and I combined. These presents were much appreciated, though Lia enjoyed the tearing of the wrappers more than the actual gift inside. She also loved the ang paos because they were bright red and she thought she could tear them, too. Hehe.

We knew that Lia would receive many material things this Christmas, so Rolly and I thought of giving her something more.

This is still a material gift, obviously, but we wanted to give her the gift of knowing Jesus this early. :)

Like her other gifts, she enjoyed ripping the paper wrapper apart.  The moment we opened the book, she thought she could rip it apart, too! :))

So that's about it! Our 4th Christmas and 1st with Lia. Hope your Christmas was as merry as our family's!  Happy holidays! :)

Cheers,

Eight Months

Our little dalaga is already 8 months old! How time flies! :)

At 8 months, you are already able to sleep on your own.  Of course we still rock you to sleep, it's a joy to hold you 'til you doze off. But even if we don't, many times, you can do it by yourself. Good job! :)

You have very strong and restless legs now, baby! :) When someone carries you, you climb his/her chest.  When we put you down on your crib or on the bed, you kick and stomp and shuffle your feet. There are even times when you hit me on the face and I almost die in pain! Aaargh.  If only you're no longer a baby, hmp!  Hehe.

You can also legitimately crawl now, baby.  I say legit coz it's no longer that uod crawl you used to do a month ago. Now you crawl fast and without effort.  You particularly like going to the edge of the bed because you like un-tucking the bed sheets from under the mattress!  You also like reaching for the wooden frame of the bed and that's scary! Hindi talaga pwedeng wala kang bantay, you could easily fall off.

Your toes are as strong as your legs, too! :) You can even pick up your toys using your toes!  I think you got that from me.  My toes are talented, too. =P I can pinch your dad's skin really hard just using them. ;)

You are fascinated with some TV commercials, particularly those of Breeze, Surf, and Binay's political ad (eeewww). Maybe it's because of the jingle, or maybe because you really lack taste at this point in your life. Hehehe, just kidding baby.  I can take Breeze and Surf, but please not the last one. Shucks, the Only Binay song is playing in my head right now.  Nooooooo.

Moving on... 

You love anything and everything with a keypad. You grab the TV remote control, the AC remote control, and even our phones (ay, wala palang keypad 'to, hehe).  Anyway, to give in to what you want, we got you your own remote control, and you love it!  But that doesn't make you forget all the real remote controls in our room.  In short, ganun pa rin.  We just keep the real ones out of your reach.

I don't know what it is with toothbrushing, but you find it spectacular.  You love watching me or your dad as we brush our teeth, your eyes don't even blink.  As if you're going to miss something huge if you close your eyes for a millisecond.  Hehe.

Lately, you've been doing many things with your mouth.  You pout, you bite your lips, and you play with your laway, among others.  Maybe this has something to do with your two cute teeth that are about to come out.

I've officially labeled you the Scream Queen. You love to screeeeaaaamm really loud when we play! It's cute but it hurts our eardrums, baby! Hehe.  You also love to babble and experiment with different sounds.  When we talk to you, you respond with gibberish.  Sometimes we can even make out a "da-dee" or a "mom-mah," but of course we know that's accidental gibber.  We can't wait for you to talk for real, babylove! :)

Since your birthday this month fell on a Saturday, it was a complete celebration with your Lolo Netoy + Lola Merlie and Lolo Vic + Lola Jovy.  We had lots of food!

And of course we didn't forget to take your diaper shot! :)

We love you, Lia! Hugs and kisses from mom and dad! :*

Cheers,

Beautiful Marks ❤️

Is Your Baby On Track?

Being a first time mom, I had no clue what to expect from my baby as far as developmental milestones are concerned.  At times I can't help it but compare how Lia fares against other babies her age, and admittedly, all that comparing is sometimes a cause of unnecessary stress (i.e. how come that baby can already sit up without support, and mine still can't?)  I guess we are kind of hardwired that way, to push ourselves and our babies to be 'better' than others for reassurance.  Thank heavens for people (and online articles!) who remind us that hey, all babies are unique and each one develops at his/her own pace.  Instead of falling into comparison traps, it's better to devote our time appreciating our baby's unlocked achievements. :)

Not monitoring other babies to compare against ours does not mean, however, that we should be blinded on our baby's progress.  It is good to be guided, so that we know if there's something we should raise to the pedia on our next visit.  I found this cute guideline from www.pishposhbaby.com to help parents keep track of the habits of their little ones.  Needless to reiterate, but I will nevertheless, this is only a rough guide. Don't be too hard on yourself or your baby is s/he is a bit behind.  As long as the delay is not too much, it is not a cause for concern.

My Lia is now 7 months and 3 weeks old, and it's good to know that she's within the normal range as far as milestones are concerned. Though I can't wait to see her sit up and stand on her own, right now I am just enjoying watching her uod crawl and the fact that I can reach her at arm's length anytime since she can't go far on her own just yet. :)  She will accomplish all these baby goals in her own sweet time; her dad and I are just here by her side as she goes along. :)

Cheers,

You Are My I Love You

I am your mother

You are my child

I am your quiet place

You are my wild

I am your calm face

You are my giggle

I am your wait

You are my wiggle

I am your dinner

You are my chocolate cake

I am your bedtime

You are my wide awake

I am your lullaby

You are my peek-a-boo

I am your good night kiss

You are my I love you

Lia in My Tummy

Here's a throwback to when our little munchkin was still a baby bump! :)

nothing much to see yet! :)

No, i don't think that's a baby bump. That's PUSON! =D

Could this be LIA already?

My appetite was HUGE at this point. I guess that's all food inside that bump.

I was starting to get big here, especially my cheeks. Decided to chop my head off moving forward. Hehe. =D

I forgot to wear my leggings. That's a gray dress I folded halfway down. =D

The leggings are back! =P

By this time, we already knew it's a GIRL!

Stretchmarks had started appearing at the bottom of the bump.

What used to be a blimp had already gotten really huge and heavy!

This was my last proper photo of the bump. :)

At 35 weeks and beyond, I had become so lazy that I found taking a #Bumpie taxing already! Hehe. Oh well, the rest is history. I am definitely missing my preggy tummy, especially the feeling of having a little person actively wiggling and kicking inside.  But what could be better than holding that little person in my very own arms, right? :) 

I love you, Lia! Both as a bumpie and as an actual bouncing baby! :)

Cheers,

Seven Months

Today is the 28th of October, 2015, and this means my little munchkin is already 7 months old! :) Hurray! Happy seven, my baby!

At 7 months, we’ve noticed that your legs look longer and stronger! Perhaps you didn’t get those gams from me after all, but from your dad. Mine are short and chubby; his are long like yours, but without the layers of baby fat. Hehe.

Speaking of strong legs, you can now push yourself up using both legs and arms, parang ocho-ocho! :) The first time you did this was last Wednesday, October 21. You’ve been crawling like a worm even before your 6th month, but now you can already lift yourself, your tummy not touching the bed. You still need more practice though before we can say that your crawling is already legit. =P I bet you’ll be a master crawler in a week or so. That means your dad and I still have time to baby-proof the house before you go on exploring every corner.

At 7 months, I guess I could say that you have a strong inclination towards performing arts. You’re only a baby but you are already a certified drama queen! Hehe. When you want to be carried, you’ll pretend to be sad or cry and shriek until we pick you up. We can tell you’re faking though, you always are. :) You also like dancing very much, baby. When you look bored, your dad and I only need to sing Nae Nae (Watch Me by Silento) and do big dance moves with you to make you smile huge. 

Hmm, what else? Oh, you have a cute hobby: scratching. :) You scratch your head, your dad’s arms, the bed, the pillow. You do so especially when you feel sleepy or when you’re bored. For instance, when we’re in the car and you’re sleeping at the backseat with your yaya, we know you’ve already awaken when we hear scratching sounds on the car door. Hehe. Kyoot kyoot.

That't it for now, darling! More milestones to come! :)

Diaper shot at 7. :)

Cake, marshmallows, hotdogs, and isaw! Hehe. :)

Cheers,