Photoshoot at TPC

Lucas: Proof of a Miracle

Our little Lucas had a successful heart surgery on June 10, 2009. He recovered remarkably well. An hour or so after the surgery, he was awake. In less than six hours, he was off the ventilator. He was transferred to the regular room after the mandatory 24 hr stay in the recovery room and pedia icu.

taken three days after the operation taken on the day he was discharged, five days after surgery

taken that same monday when the brothers are reunited

Lucas was admitted to the hospital twice in May and did not come home until after the surgery. His brother Rafa was so happy to see him. They are now sleeping in the same room again.

We thank all those who storm heaven with prayers for our family.

Pictures from Bill and Che's Wedding

Simulating the march that did not happen
naglakad naman sa aisle, wala lang yung arrhae
he'd take the pews any day
battery running low
warning: battery is low
with darling
second wind with kuya Joaquin and Tita Trina
members of the entourage
the bearers
i'm hungry! takbo na po ako sa reception!
yehey! we are here!
hi, i'm rafa! nice to meet you.

cerojales family

with darling

with my one and only Nanay

Rafa at work

Rafa and his video cam

Rafa and his Megabloks

His first snapshot

Playtime with Lucas

Brushing his teeth

Rafa is two

I can still remember quite vividly the day I gave birth to my eldest son. I had lain my back for 12 hours waiting for labor to progress. I cannot believe it has been two years since that time!

Rafa is now a sweet and loving kuya to his baby brother Lucas. Whenever Lucas is crying, he tries his best to appease him by offering a toy. There were instances he had to run back to the room several times just to get the perfect pacifier. When Lucas arrives from a doctor's appointment, he would rush to him and give his brother's leg a peck. He knows he is not allowed to kiss other body parts.

At two, he has lots of tricks. He loves to dance, even if it is just to his Ate Michelle humming. He sings along with whatever is on the radio. I think his current favorite is Bugoy's Pano Na Kaya. You should see him perform with his guitar. A true musician at heart! His most recent acquired skill is to play the tambourine. He usually sees a man play the instrument during the Mass. When we showed him a real one at home, he naturally knew how to play it.

He also devours his books. Just last night he started to cry when we told him that it was bed time and he has to put away his books. He enjoys looking for pictures of objects. When I asked him to look for something, he doesn't stop until he finds it. Once, I asked him to look for the duck. He turned the page, so I thought he was no longer interested. After a few pages, he pointed at a DUCK! He knew there were ducks in the other part of the book! I am so proud of my boy! He is so smart and eager to learn!

Another anecdote on Rafa: He has a set of books that comes with a box. After playing with them, he puts the books back and makes sure they are facing the same direction =) He also wipes his flash cards and sweeps the floor from time to time!

Here is one of his recent videos: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aV4DgQV42dQ

Enjoy!

To my son, Happy birthday! Nanay loves you so much!

Free 325ml Select bottled water

Who among us really believe they would win in raffles, lottery and the like? I'm pretty sure most of us go through the motions of filling out the stubs, dropping them and forget. Just this morning before I tear opened the peel-off card, I asked for God's favor. Guess what? The two cards contain free bottled waters! It is really not much but the fact is I won ;-D God answers our most trivial prayers. Thank You, Jesus!

snapshots

here are some pictures of my boys. thank God for camera phones and for helps who know how to use them! these are really precious. my husband almost cried when i sent him a copy.

In fashion: Breastfeeding

During the time of our grandparents, there was breastmilk. When our parents became parents, they had a choice: breastmilk or formula. At that time, I am a bit inclined that the preferred choice was the latter. Nowadays, more and more people become aware of the benefits of breastmilk. Here are some of them:

• for the baby - fewer and shorter episodes of illness; colostrum (the first milk) is a gentle, natural laxative that helps clear baby’s intestine; delays the onset of hereditary allergic disease, and lowers the risk of developing allergic disease; helps the baby’s immune system mature, protecting the baby in the meantime from viral, bacteria, and parasitic infections
  
• for the mother - increased levels of oxytocin stimulate postpartum uterine contractions, minimizing blood loss and encouraging rapid uterine toning; because breastfed babies are healthier, their mothers miss less work and spend less time and money on pediatric care; breastfeeding increases the rate of weight loss in most nursing mothers (taken from medela website)
• Best of all, it is free!

I am a mother of two. I breastfed my first born until we found out we were pregnant with our second child, that was around 8 months of pure breastmilk for him. Now, with my second son, I am breastfeeding again. Gone are the days when we hide someplace to feed our child. I nurse my little one while chatting with friends or having discussions with my prayer group. All we need are the right clothes / gear and we are good to go. Check out some of the nice to haves of breastfeeding moms.

This is the nursing wrap in chocolate brown.
Here is a hoodie,

a short sleeved blouse,

a tank top,

and a shrug to match.

Another good thing is that when we travel, we don't need bottles and nipples to clean. We just have to bring ME!

Little Flower

"St. Therese, the Little Flower, pick me a rose from the heavenly garden and send it to me with a message of love. Ask God to grant me the grace I implore. Tell Him I will love him each day more and more."

Early this morning, my son gave me a tiny flower he picked from our backyard. It was such a sweet gesture. I did not know if his "ate" (that is how he calls our help) instructed him to do so. Just the same, I took it as a sign of an answered prayer.

I wanted to have a snapshot of the flower but unfortunately it wilted before I had a chance (sigh)

Homemaker Tips

Over the years, I have accumulated clutter. I have saved all my bills and receipts since I have no idea which ones to dispose and to keep. Good thing I stumbled upon this site http://www.nestle.com.ph/recipe/nclub/hometips.asp. My initial intention is to look for new recipes instead I ended up looking at some useful tips for the home and family. Here are some of them which I plan to do this year:

• hold a garage sale - We just moved to a new apartment and got a chance to revisit our old stuff. Some of which we have not touched and forgotten. We therefore decided, it is time to sell the stuff. Who knows, someone might be in need of these things. It is a win-win situation. As with Clean House, everything left will go to charity.
• create bonding moments - I believe that family time need not be expensive as long as you are together. I have a 21-month old boy that is full of energy. He is happy to help everyone. After our grocery shopping, he helped out to sort the groceries and put them in their designated storage. We had fun, got work done and spent quality time! This weekend, we plan to visit the cemetery near the airport where we can see the planes take off and land. I'm sure we will again have a blast.
• outdoor fun - For our kids, we are trying to implement a no television policy until age 3. Studies show that television is harmful for a child's development. We therefore commit ourselves to playtime with our babies, a fitting reward after a long day in the office. For weekends, it would be nice to run around or fly a kite and have picnics in the park.