After FOUR years of being together, I can say that you made me feel blessed, loved, and cared for.

Thank you Sweetie...

For being there during times when I was sad and lonely.
For being so understanding when I had my mood swings.
For taking care of me when I was sick.
For allowing me to eat sweets and drink coffee when I wasn't supposed to.
For allowing me to go out with my friends.
For allowing me to have my ME time.
For allowing me to spend time with my Mom and sister at the Spa.
For complimenting me when I feel like I look like trash and my belly looks like I'm still pregnant.
For taking care of the kids when I'm out.
For telling me that my haircut is nice even if I feel like it's not.
For the wonderful conversations we always have before sleeping.
For assuring me when I feel down.

After FOUR years, I just can't wait to spend the rest of my years with you.

I LOVE YOU!

I'd like to post more photos of Alex last December.


With Tita Trish during Andie's Baptism




At Tagaytay last December before New Year's Eve


With Tito Dandy at Starbucks, Tagaytay


With Tito Dandy and Tita Trish at Big 30 in Paseo de Sta. Rosa


With Tita Trish

Alex is really taking her role as an Ate pretty seriously. She loves her baby sister so much. She touches her head once in awhile and when Andie is out of her sight, she would automatically look for her. Such an angel! She even asked one toy from Tita Trish so she can give it to Andie. She wants to play with her too but of course Andie is still so small. I'm sure they will have a blast when Andie grows up.

I can't believe that Alex is turning 3 in two months. Where did the 1 year go? I feel like she just celebrated her second birthday! We have so many plans for her this year. We might celebrate her birthday with the cancer patients of UST hospital or some other charity. I'm still doing research on this one. We also enrolled her for a summer school and it will start on April. This is in preparation for her pre-school on June. I hope she will have a great time! Hubby and I are overly excited and can't wait for her to start!

She is getting funnier everyday. She has this phrase that she uses - "Just kedding!" Nope, it's not a typo, she really says "kedding!". And when I was so busy working that I didn't look at her when she was talking because I was busy typing, she just sang, "look at me mom..." (from the Nido commercial). LOL! That definitely catched my attention.

Before I thought that Alex had a speech deficiency but now she talks a WHOLE LOT! She even talks in her sleep. LOL!

Right now all we hear from her is that she wants to go to a PARTY. Yes, she is a "party girl". Probably because she's been to a lot of parties already and had a great time. I just hope she doesn't stay that way until she is a teenager. :D

Can't wait for more milestones!

Thanks Arlene for this! :)

1. Each blogger must post these rules.
2. Each blogger starts with ten random facts/habits about themselves.
3. Bloggers that are tagged need to write ten facts about themselves. You need to choose ten people to tag and list their names.

Here are my ten random facts/habits:
1. I love to multi-task while on the internet
2. I found out that I love writing when I started to blog
3. I'm a techie person for 7 years but now I can't imagine doing programming work
4. I love to go out
5. I love to eat and explore new restaurants
6. If I have one wish granted now, I would want to sleep ALL day without interruptions
7. I would rather SLEEP than EAT
8. My ultimate dream is to go to EUROPE
9. I used to want to migrate to another country but Hubby convinced me not to
10. I accepted the fact that I'm not a COOK. LOL!

Now, it's your turn Alpha, Dzoi, Pat, Peachy, Eper, and MM.

Happiness is...

1. Bride Wars Movie
2. Dinner and Coffee with my good friend Farrah
3. Hubby took care of the kids while I was out
4. 2 more days to go before our 4th Anniversary
5. Truffles
6. Post Christmas get together with high school friends
7. Andie's smiles in the morning (makes me want to wake up early!)
8. Alex's wonderful and tight hug everyday
9. Reliable Yayas (they are truly a blessing!)
10. A Productive Day at work

To know how this started and credits of the header, click here.

Over the weekend, we had a lot of time in our hands. SO before we went to Andie's pedia, we took a few photos of our two kids (I still have to get myself used to saying TWO KIDS. Hehe!). Check it out!







FINALLY, we were able to get a few decent photos of Alex and Andie together. Well, Alex just woke up so her hair was kind of messy. LOL! But it doesn't matter since she was in the mood.

Our Saturday was spent going to Andie's pedia for her regular checkup. There were a lot of patients that's why we were done around 130Pm already. We then had lunch at Pancake House, our ultimate favorite! :D

Yesterday, we had a get together with our Highschool friends. It was a post Christmas get together with Janice, Norin, and Joy with our families. Check out our photos.









We actually met last September last year for our baby showers and now the babies came out. I can't believe how time flew by so fast!

After being friends since third year highschool, we now have additional 5 kids and 4 Hubbies in the group. Too bad, Terry (who is in the States) was not here with us. Hopefully we get to see her this year though!

Have a great week everyone!

Thanks to Pat for this! I'm honored!

This Award is presented to bloggers who display consistency in any one or a combination of these conditions:

1. The Blogger manifests exemplary attitude, respecting the nuances that pervades amongst different cultures and beliefs.

2. The Blog contents inspire; strives to encourage and offers solutions.

3. There is a clear purpose at the Blog; one that fosters a better understanding on Social, Political, Economic, the Arts, Culture and Sciences and Beliefs.

4. The Blog is refreshing and creative.

5. The Blogger promotes friendship and positive thinking.

The Blogger who receives this award will need to perform the following steps:

1. Create a Post with a mention and link to the person who presented the Noblesse Oblige Award.

2. The Award Conditions must be displayed at the Post.

3. Write a short article about what the Blog has thus far achieved – preferably citing one or more older Post to support.

4. The Blogger must present the Noblesse Oblige Award in concurrence with the Award conditions.

5. The Blogger must display the Award at any location at the Blog.

Before another weekend starts, I will post how our last weekend went.

Having a busy weekend is an understatement.

But all I can say is that, I had a blast!

It started last Friday when my friends, Ercs, Farrah, and Mage slept over at our place. We met up at around 9PM and then called it a night around 3AM. It was a nice feeling to be able to be with adults again. LOL!

Last Saturday, we went to Baras, Rizal with our household. We left Andie with my Mom but we brought Alex with us. It was a fun filled Saturday. Unfortunately, we forgot to bring our camera so we don't have any photos during that day.

Last Sunday was my sister Yang's birthday. We scheduled a date with her, my Mom and I to go The Spa in The Fort for a half day of pampering. Check out how it went here.

We will have another get together this weekend. This time with my highschool friends. It was supposed to be during the holidays but since I got sick, I couldn't meet them up. We will also bring Andie to her pedia for her regular checkup. I hope we can get to rest this weekend since last weekend was really busy.

So, gotta go now. Hope everyone will have a great weekend! (*wink*)

Happiness is...

1. Normal results of thyroid blood tests
2. Andie getting bigger everyday!
3. Alex going to school this summer
4. Good internet connection
5. Friends slept over at our place
6. A supportive Hubby
7. Our 4th anniversary next week
8. Another get together with Highschool friends soon
9. My sister's 27th birthday
10. Back to good health after being in bed for two days!

To know how this started and credits of the header, click here.

Now, I'm off to do a bit of reading about Chicago accident attorney for my friend.

I know I promised to post about the biggest pizza I have ever eaten, so before I proceed to do a bit of reading about Leptovox for my good friend, here are some stories and photos.

After my family's overnight in Tagaytay last Jan 3 to 4, 2009, we went home around 6pm but dropped by Paseo de Sta. Rosa to have dinner.

I'm not exaggerating ok? When I saw the BIG 30's 30" pizza, I was amazed and overwhelmed at the same time! LOL!


My brother. The pizza looked small with him, right? LOL!



At first we thought that the food was not good because the restaurant was practically empty. But we tried their fried chicken (which was extra crispy) and their humongous pizza and iced tea, we were satisfied.




The 3-liter Iced Tea which is only p147. Not bad!


The "Humongous" Pizza.

All in all our experience was great! We were happy with the food and the service was good too. The ambiance was just right but perfect for kids. We even brought Andie with us!

Do check it out!

Big 30 Pizza Pasta
Paseo de Sta. Rosa
Laguna

Andie actually turned a month old last December 19, 2008. It was a few days before her baptism.



Yes, that's how she looks now - chubby cheeks, big tummy, and huge legs. I never thought she would get this big. Because when she came out, she was so tiny, thin and long. Now, looking at her gives me second thoughts if she would still be a Bb. Pilipinas when she grows up. LOL!

Here are more of her 1 month photos. (Click on the photo for the bigger version)



I love her dress here! This was taken last Christmas day before going to my Mom's house.




Some photos while bonding with the Lola...



Some photos taken at home...



Lastly, a photo of the two of us at Paseo De Sta. Rosa while eating at Big 30.



Time flies so fast. I never thought that she is almost two months old now.

All I can say is that Andie is waaaay different from her Ate Alex. She has her own personality now. She drinks a lot of milk though (that explains why she got so big!). I'm still feeding her with breastmilk for almost two months now. But when I go out, she will have to drink formula. She doesn't want the formula that much but if she's really hungry, she doesn't have a choice and would still drink it. We are thinking of changing the brand.

The only thing similar about the two of them (Alex and Andie) is that Andie starts to suck her finger. I think she got that from her Ate. I just hope that we can control it before it it's too late.

I can't wait for more milestones and more moments with our Andie.

Happiness is...

1. Good health for all of us after the stressful holidays
2. Good friends
3. The singing Alex (while eating, before sleeping and even while playing!)
4. 2-3 hours of sleep
5. Breastmilk for the baby girl Andie
6. Nice weather
7. The Yayas for being so helpful and for sticking out with us in spite of the changes in our routine
8. My work from home
9. 2 months of maternity leave
10. Blogging - it makes me SANE! LOL!

To know how this started and credits of the header, click here.

This is my long overdue post about how we celebrated Christmas and New Year.

After packing our stuff and I mean a LOT of stuff, we went to the in-laws to spend the holidays. We stayed there until the 30th and then went to Tagaytay to spend the New Year. The whole time, Hubby and I were just shifting on taking care of the kids. It was tiring but fulfilling if I think about it now.

On the 24th, we heard the anticipated mass at the clubhouse around 7pm. We were glad to hear mass early actually because our Christmas day will be very busy. After the mass, we ate dinner.

Hubby and I ordered roast beef from Conti's for the dinner. It was yummy as usual. We ordered a few days before the 24th and according to Hubby the place was packed when he picked up our orders.

I was surprised that the little girl was awake until 2 in the morning! I didn't expect that she will be opening her gifts at midnight. But because her cousins were also there, she had all the energy the whole evening! After taking some family photos, we ate Noche Buena.



Here is another FAILED attempt of our family picture. LOL!




Then we started opening our gifts after eating Noche Buena.



I was soooo sleepy and tired that I wasn't able to open everything. Hubby and I just opened the rest of the gifts in the morning. We were glad that the little girl loved the wooden doll house and the city blocks that we gave her. She even asked Dada to build it for her right then and there.

Here are more photos of Alex and Andie with their gifts this Christmas.


Alex favorite gift from Lola - we named him Buster :)




Andie was asleep the whole time we were opening our gifts. She got to see her gifts in the morning.

Our Christmas day was mostly spent with my family. Look what the little girl got from Lola Yolly...


I'm sure you can guess what this is. LOL!

I got a lot of gifts this Christmas too...

- A complete set of hard bound Twilight books (thanks to BIL)
- A blouse and books from the in-laws
- Shawl from SIL
- Home stuff from Hubby's relatives
- Spa package from my family

Hubby on the other hand got a nice polo and 2 shirts and books.

Thanks everybody for the wonderful gifts! You made us really smile. :D

- o0o -

On the 30th we went to Tagaytay. The moment we got there, we went straight to the playground.

 
 

Our New Year's Eve was just simple. We didn't have too much fireworks or firecrackers. We only had the fountain which Alex liked so much.



After watching some fireworks, we had a few photos taken, then we ate and then slept. You see, it was sooo cold in Tagaytay that all we wanted to do was eat, sleep and sleep again. LOL!

My family followed on the 2nd of January. They spent the night there. We really had a blast with them. We ate a lot too so this explains our upset stomach after the vacation. Haha.

The night they got there we had dinner at Dencio's and then after dinner we went to Starbucks to have coffee.




Some photos at home...



The next day, we had breakfast at Antonio's which was really good. I loved the place so much that I would want to go back there again. But probably with a thicker jacket. LOL! Too bad, it was sooo cold we didn't get to enjoy the hot chocolate that much. But the food was great we were so full. The service was a bit slow though but it was ok since we weren't in a hurry anyway.





After breakfast, we went home and rest and then had lunch again. After lunch we took a rest again then headed home. We stopped over Paseo de Sta. Rosa for dinner. But I think I will have to stop from here since it's getting late.

Just watch out for photos and stories of our dinner in my travel blog hopefully within the week. (*wink*)

So that's how our holidays went. Hopefully by next year, Andie is big enough for us to travel outside the country. And I hope we have the budget for that too. (*grin*)

Same as Alex's baptism, we had Andie's after a month of giving birth. I don't know why but for some reason, we were a bit stressed out in planning that we ended up finalizing everything a week before the said date. Probably because the holidays are coming and the reception venues were mostly fully booked.

Thank goodness we ended up in North Park - not something we had in mind but it is something that we love going. Here are the details of Andie's baptism.

NINONGS: Bubi, Junes, and Kuya Mike
NINANGS: Erica, Dabbie and MM

CHURCH: Christ the King Parish

  


We decided to have it here since Alex was also baptized in this church. Our first option was a parish near our house but we just felt at home with Christ the King so much.

Although honestly, I was a bit shocked when I knew that there were 15 babies to be baptized on that same date! You see, registration is done within the day so we wouldn't really know. The lower chapel was jampacked! It was a riot there! But all I was thinking was that the most important thing is that Andie will be baptized soon. The downside about it is that the baptism was not that solemn at all. It started a bit late too because people were just everywhere and don't want to listen to the Priest, good thing he insisted that we start very soon.

RECEPTION VENUE: North Park, P.Guevarra San Juan


*The name was supposed to be - Bianca Andrea :)

We had the whole 2nd floor reserved to ourselves. I loved it there! The food was overflowing (not to mention affordable too), the service crew were very attentive, fast, and efficient, and the place was clean too. It wasn't too hard to find the restaurant either. We just called them to check if they were still available and good thing that they were. We paid the 50% downpayment and then we were good to go. Very easy to talk to. Would love to have any functions here again.

CAKE: Estrel's



Of course the ever reliable (and my favorite) - Estrel's. My first option was getting it from Kitchen Krafts but I was thinking of serving the cake to the guests for additional dessert (aside from North Park's Butchi), so my Mom and I agreed on Estrel's. My Mom was the one who ordered and picked up the cake. She ordered a few days before the baptism. Yes, it was that fast and I'm glad it turned out well. The guests loved it!

GIVE AWAYS: Karen of A Bag of Goodies (http://abagofgoodies.multiply.com/)




She was so easy to talk to! We just settled everything through text. I sent my downpayment through her bank and then a day before the baptism, Hubby met up with her driver somewhere in Rockwell. I love how the goodies turned out and also the gift we gave out to the sponsors. She lives in Cavite that's why there is a minimum amount for a free delivery of her goodies. For more info, visit her multiply site.

So, that's all about it! It was very, very simple (not to mention rush too! LOL!) but I was glad that Andie is now part of the Christian world. :) Here are more photos...

 

 

 

 

This is supposedly the photo of all the Ninongs and Ninangs but since people were just everywhere, our "official" photographer couldn't get a decent one.







And check out our MOST decent family photos for that day.




HAHA. Yes, that's decent enough. You see, Alex was a bit cranky since we woke her up (baptism was at 10AM and we needed to be at the church at 9:30AM). Some photos you will see Alex without shoes, some blurred because she was moving all the time, and some photos showed her sleeping. LOL! Too bad, you cannot see Andie's face in this photo.

Hopefully as the weeks go by, we would finally have a decent family picture.

For more photos, check it out here.

I can't believe we actually survived everything -

- the 3 hour sleep a day after giving birth
- me, having a high fever and severe headache
- the 1 week preparation of Andie's baptism
- the super stressful Christmas rush
- shopping and wrapping of Christmas gifts
- Hubby having a severe backache
- our packing and unpacking of stuff to go the in-laws for the holidays
- 10-days without Alex's yaya
- packing and unpacking of stuff again for our trip to Tagaytay for the new year

YES, we were that busy during the holidays and I never thought we would survive. But we did. And we wouldn't want our holidays in any other way. :)

Of course the little girl had a blast too while we were at the in-laws because she had a chance of playing with her cousins for days.

Me, on the other hand rewarded myself with "the bag of my dreams". LOL! I realized that I haven't gotten myself a giving birth and Christmas gift yet so I thought of buying it. I was REALLY having second thoughts but Hubby insisted that I do deserve it. Here it is...





Do I really deserve it Sweetiepie? :D

Take note that we stayed in the LV store for so long just so I could make the decision if I will buy it or not. LOL! Thanks to Hubby for being so patient and persuasive too. HAHA.

Anyway, I still have so many things to post, will note it here so I won't forget...

- Andie's Baptism
- Our Christmas eve and opening of gifts
- Our trip to Tagaytay for the new year and New Year's Eve
- Our Nurture Spa experience (watch out for it in my travel blog)
- Our Breakfast at Antonio's
- Eating the biggest pizza I've ever seen!

For now, will have to read about Vegas vacations first for my Mom and then upload some photos and hopefully be able to post these during the week.

Have a wonderful week, everyone! (*wink*)