My 4-year old

Dearest Marielle,

We had so much fun on your 4th birthday party! Over a hundred guests came over to our house to witness you blow the four candles on your birthday cake and to celebrate with us our house blessing. Prior to your big day, you were very excited in turning 4! In fact, you even had a countdown! :) There were so many kids who joined you in welcoming yet another exciting year! I made personalized arts and crafts basket for each kid and your titos and titas led fun and exciting games! We had a lot of Filipino food which included the famous Lechon no less! Attending to all guests and making sure that everything goes smoothly was very tiring but each time I see a huge smile on your face, everything just seems to disappear.

I guess you took your "turning 4" very seriously because immediately after that, you tried to think and act like a real four-year-old in a blink of an eye! You try to convince me that you can reach the pantry because as you always say now, you're big already. You refuse to hold my hand when we cross the street because you think you're big now. You want to wear your bigger shoes because you say that you're already 4, and that you're a big kid already. I say NO. You may be four, but you will always be that little baby I've always played with before.

Yesterday while I was doing my homework, I guess my stress was too evident as you approached me and asked me why I was tired. And then I said, I had a long day at work and still a long way to go for my homework. And then this is what you said: "Don't worry mommy, when I'm 6, I will work already, Hindi ka na kailangan magwork. That's a promise." Impossible as it may seem it still made my heart melt.

You are the sweetest girl ever and I will love you forever and ever. That's a promise. :)

My Baby

Dear Marielle,

In a few days, you'll be four. It wasn't until I had you in my life did I fully understand the meaning of the saying "time flies!" I always thank God for giving you to us. You brought and continue to bring so much joy in our lives. Your cute and sweet little ways never fail to put a smile on my face. You are such a good girl and you have always been a good baby from the beginning. You've never made me feel that having a baby is such a chore! Never. Not once. At your young age, you have managed to make things easy for mommy and daddy. In fact, you always see to it that we're okay...literally asking if we're okay. For instance, I'm at the other end of the room and you heard something fell from that direction you're quick to ask: "Okay ka lang, mommy?" You spoil me. You always try please me. You always want to see me happy. You hate it when I'm upset. Often times, you'll ask me to bend down as you have a surprise...but though I act clueless each time, I know what you'd do: you'd plant me a kiss on my cheek! You're just sweet like that and it fills my heart with so much joy!! Sometimes, I feel like my heart will burst with so much love you give me. I hope you continue that way. I always pray to God, thanking Him for the most wonderful gift that is YOU :) I also pray that I'll be the best mother you can have! That I can provide you with love, care, and affection and everything else in between.

I'm so excited for all the different milestones you'll be taking. In a couple of weeks, you'll be a first time student! I love the enthusiasm you show. Always remember that mommy and daddy are always beside you, every step of the way. I love you!

Love,

Mommy

Marielle

(Marv and Marielle on their way home after dropping me off in school) March 2011

• Marielle: "Daddy, punta tayo McDonald's"


• Marv: "No na, we just had dinner and wala akong money"


• Marielle: "Akala ko marami kang money?"


• Marv: "Wala eh."


• Marielle: "Akala ko pa naman mayaman tayo"

It's Brrr...iday!!

It's Friday yet my enthusiasm is quite on its all-time low! Why? Because it's going to be a cold and rainy weekend! Highs in LA will be in 50s! Unbelievable! Why does bad weather always have to be on weekends?! Argh! But who am I to complain when other parts of the world are in worse situations. And I'm not just talking about snow storm or flooding! I'm talking about violent protests, greedy leaders, and anarchy!! Scary what's going on in the world now. :(

Nanay :)

It's Nanay's 84th birthday today. Nanay is my maternal grandmother so that makes her Marielle's great grandmother. She's the only grandparent I have around! And she's actually the closest one to me. She has been living with our family since I was born. We got separated for a couple of years when I left the Philippines for the U.S. But fortunately, she was able to follow as soon as her immigrant petition got approved! It is such a huge blessing for us to be complete again. I pray that God will give her more years of happiness and good health. She's always been caring and loving especially of her apos. It always feels home when she's her around. She gives good reminders of how it is to be in touch with our roots.

We love you Nanay and we're so blessed to have you! :)

aaahhh

So this is a weekend without (a lot) of homework feels like!! I wish I can say WITHOUT homework! Just had my final on my stat class last night. I feel confident about it. I think God literally sent me the Holy Spirit last night during my test. I don't know how I was able to answer most of the questions with little difficulty!! Sounds like a big deal huh? It is to me! Hahaha!!

Thank you, God!! :)

This will be a rainy weekend but hopefully we'll be able to do some fun activities with Marielle. I owe her a lot of play time. Been so busy with school!!

Have a beautiful weekend everyone! Keep dry!! :)

It's all coming back to me!!!

Everytime Marielle asks me to buy her something (from Target, most of the time) I ask her in return how much the thing costs. She would automatically respond by saying "sale," as if she knows too well what that actually means. She might have picked it up from me because everytime Marvin sees me with something new, he asks me how much I got it for. And just like predicted, I always tell him that "I got it on sale."

My daughter is really starting early. Haha!

Who needs a TV when you have a 3 year old?!

Seriously, when you have a 3 year old daughter like Marielle around you wouldn't need any other form of entertainment! Read on to know why:

Marielle: Mommy, 'wag na kayo office bukas.
Me: Marielle, we need to go to work so we can have money.
Marielle: Mommy, 'wag na kayo money. Credit card na lang.

(If she only knows how much of a devil credit cards are!!)

_____

Marielle: (Looking at our wedding photo) Mommy, bakit kiss kayo ni daddy? Kasi marry kayo?
Me: Yes. Kasi asawa ko sya. Love ko sya.
Marielle: Eh sino asawa ko?
Me: (Trying to stay calm about it) Anak, wag muna natin pag-usapan yan ha. Next time na pag malaki ka na.
Marielle: Eh mommy, sino nga asawa ko pag malaki na ako?

(I don't think I thought about marriage 'til I was like, 20?? Kids now are SO in a hurry!)

______

Short hair

Yesterday, Marv and I finally brought Marielle to the hair salon to get a haircut. We have been thinking about having her hair cut for a few days already and whenever she hears us talking about it she would always express her disapproval of the idea. Prior yesterday's haircut, her hair was pretty long already...long enough to have it braided or curled. She's such a girly girl that she didn't mind sitting for minutes as someone gets her hair fixed. But this very reason led Marvin and I to let her get a haircut. For a three-year old she's becoming so much like a little dalaga! An idea that doesn't really sit good on us. I want her to look and act her age. Thus, the Dora-inspired hair!! Omg, as soon as the hairstylist said he's finished, Marielle yelled no, shook her head, and gave us all a look which seemed to me meant that she's pissed, hurt, and felt betrayed. When we got home, she cried and avoided mirrors! It will probably take some time for her to appreciate her new hair. In the meantime, I gave her lots of hairbands that will really look good with her new hair. I felt guilty for a little bit but her hair really looks nice on her and she looks like a baby again!! Aahh....if only haircuts can really stop time! I really wish she won't grow up so fast!

Compare the Before and After photos.

She doesn't look too happy, does she?

Goodbye Facebook...See you later!

Facebook has been both good and bad to me. Good because I get to keep in touch with old friends, upload and view photos, and kept me really entertained especially at times when I get so bored. However, I notice that it eats so much of my time already...beyond what is considered healthy. So today, I have made a tough decision. (Haha! This is really starting to sound like a life-changing issue to me huh?!) ... I have deactivated my Facebook. It feels SO liberating. I feel like I'm on rehab overcoming FB addiction!! I look forward to lots of productive time...off the computer! Teehee!! Or I guess I'll just spend more time blogging and of course working and studying! Let's see how the following days will go.

Girlfriends

I turned 28 in October and it seems that my responsibilities for the first 25 years of my life were just as much as what I had for the last three years. No. Who am I kidding? They're actually not even half of what I have now. I got married and had a baby just about the time I reached my quarter-life and since then responsibilities just poured in, with the latter one making up for the most part of it. This is not to complain about it rather this is merely a declaration of how age or I guess more appropriately, one's life's events define responsibilities. It amazes me how whenever I get to talk to my girlfriends whom I practically grew up with, we start talking about motherhood, career decisions, and marriage! I look back and remember ourselves having 'what to wear on gimmicks?' and 'whose transportation are we using?' as our biggest problems and now we worry about having to raise our kids well, deciding whether our current career is the best for us, and whether our respective husbands/partners will ever change!! Haha! Well thankfully, the last one is not a common topic of our conversations. At the same time, it saddens me that we are not together in sharing these experiences together. If not for the technological advances that make it possible for us to exchange stories instantly, the demands of our daily lives would just make it impossible for us to even say hi! Although, I still believe that nothing can still replace for a chit chat over dinner or coffee or while our nails are being painted! Gawd, I miss my girlfriends! :( But as they say, the only thing that's permanent is change. I'm so happy that all of us have changed in a good way...in fact, in the best way possible that is. To me it's enough to know that they are all doing alright and that they are happy. And at the end of the day they will always be my friends who were with me when I was still wearing training bras, when I still had bushy eyebrows, who went with me to soirees, who cried with me on my first heartbreak, and who are now the godmothers of my little girl. We go all the way back and we weill definitely go all the way more! I love them to pieces!

My Little Gymnast

Last night, Marv and I took Marielle to her first gymnastics class. Actually, that was the very first class she's ever attended since she's never been to daycare nor pre-school. The only kid interaction she gets is through children's parties thrown by our friends and family or when we take her to the play area at the mall. So just imagine how excited we were to finally see how she will react in a bit more formal form of interaction. So upon arriving to the gym, Marielle excitedly took her shoes and socks off and hurriedly went to Kristen, the instructor. There were 2 other kids in that class. They began the class with strectching.

Marvin and I were so worried that Marielle might not be able to follow due to her language barrier. As you know, Marielle's first language is Filipino. It's just now that she's really getting exposed to the English language through the television and some English-speaking friends she plays with. But to our surprise, Marielle was able to follow Kristen's instructions in a breeze!! She learned how to roll/do tumblings, balanced herself and walk on the bar, jumped on the trampoline, and a lot of other things that made my little 3-year old look like a cute little gymnast! I couldn't be any prouder! Well, it looked like she really enjoyed her class, in fact she's looking forward to the next session. I'm so happy she had fun. I'm hoping I could enroll her to more different classes like Ballet and other sports as I want her to be well-rounded. :)

Awake in my dreams

Have you ever had a dream that felt so real?? I just had one of those last night. I woke up so tired. To think that I slept for almost 8 hours it felt like I didn't have any sleep at all. My dream seemed so real that it didn't feel like I slept at all. :( I wonder what dreams really mean. How about you? Do you read your dreams?

The Year That Was.

2010 came by and left so fast but it sure left so many memories - both good and bad. I welcomed the year of the tiger with a bang. Literally. Marv, Marielle, and I spent our New Year's 2010 in the Philippines with my in laws. I'm so happy we were able to celebrate it "Pinoy style," complete with all the loud noise and fireworks. Nothing can beat that. We also went for a trip to HK and Macau. I guess we were really able to start our year right.

2010 has also been a year of new learnings. I finally got to start going back to school for my master's! After a long time of thinking about it, I finally got the time and courage to just do it. I'm about to start my 2nd sem soon. It's pretty challenging and time consuming but I'm sure it will be worth it. Marielle also got potty trained. So we finally bid adios to diapers! Yay!!

It has also been a year full of fun memories. We were blessed to have the chance to go on little trips here and there. We went to San Diego, Las Vegas, Palm Springs, Disneyland, and Universal Studios among others. I'm so grateful that we are able to spend time together as a family. It is through these moments that we get to unwind and really bond with each other.

There's just so much to be thankful for. For one, despite the economic crisis, I'm grateful that Marv and I are still able to keep our jobs. I'm also thankful for the chance to see old friends who came to visit. It always feels good to be in the company of good friends. And of course, I'm very grateful for my wonderful family. The older I get, the more appreciative I am of the value of family.

2010 has been a very beautiful year but I am very optimistic that 2011 will even be more fabulous!!

Cheers everyone!!! :)

Happy New Year!!!

We wish you all a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year!!! :)

I'm sure 2011 will be FABULOUS!!!