sweet baby yawns

baby yawns are <3 <3 <3. i love, love, LOVE them! :)





thanks to picnik (free until 19 april only!), i was able to make collages of my kirsten's cute yawn moments.



aaaaaawwww! :)

EXPO MOM 2012, 5-6 May 2012 at Rockwell Tent

CELEBRATE MODERN MOTHERHOOD with us!
EXPO MOM 2012 is happening on May 5 & 6, Saturday and
Sunday 10am to 8pm at the Rockwell Tent, and here we celebrate the
BEST of MODERN MOTHERHOOD!

What is modern motherhood? Or more interestingly, what is a modern
mom? What defines her? What does she value? What sets her apart from
mothers that came before her?

Modern moms are active, empowered parents, We've come up with a
list of modern mom personas as we try to encapsulate in simplified
terms what a modern mom is. Do you see yourself in any of these
modern mom personas?

Are you a FIT MOM?
The modern mom is health conscious, she wants to be in the best
shape possible, not only so she can care for her family better but
also for herself, so that she is physically able to live better,
reach her goals and dreams, and bec she values herself.

Are you a TECH MOM?
We must admit, she's the most "prevalent" type of our modern mom
personas. She loves technology and gadgets, and uses these to
enhance her life. She takes advantage of technology to allow her to
maximize her time, she uses it to be in touch, she uses it to
fulfill multiple roles with the least effort and least time. And
she uses it to be in the know.

Are you a BABYWEARING MOM?
The sling wearing mom-of-today is a sight to behold. She carries
her baby wherever she goes, with confidence and with ease. She
chooses to babywear not only for the convenience but also because
she believes in the benefits of attachment parenting.
So what type of modern mom are you? Actually there's probably a bit
of each modern mom persona in each of us, and no matter what it's
just great (and fun!) to know what type we are and realize that in
the end, we are all just trying to be the best moms we can possibly
be for our kids!

Visit our Facebook page and find out what the other different
modern mom personas are. Here's the link: www.facebook.com/mommymundo
We invite you to CELEBRATE MODERN MOTHERHOOD WITH US!:) Grab one of
our modern mom badges or visit the Mommy Mundo Facebook page and
join our Expo Mom Modern Mom Contest! Get a chance to win modern mom
gadgets, products and goodies from Mommy Mundo and our sponsors!

Here's the info on our contest.

Hope to see you all at Expo Mom, now a 2-DAY
EVENT, on May 5 and 6, Saturday and Sunday at the Rockwell Tent!

Expo Mom 2012 is co-presented by Shop Mommy Matters, Philippine
Association of Childbirth Educators (PACE), GlaxoSmithKline, Anmum,
Sweet Baby Diapers and Goldilocks. Sponsors include CordLife
Philippines, Cycles Mild Detergent, Cradles, Samsung, Havaianas.
Also supported by Crystal Clear, Tiny Buds, Lactacyd Baby Bath.
Media Partners include Manila Bulletin, Sense & Style Magazine,
Style Weekend, Working Mom Magazine, Lifestyle Network, Smart
Parenting, Crossover 105.1 FM, Urban Mom Magazine and Mommy Pages.

For more info, visit www.expomom.com!

kirsten's milestones (6-7 months)

@ 6 months she:

holds both feet up while lying down (she doesn't eat them though thank goodness!)
talks and talks and talks
drags her toys, my mobile phone, the tv remote towards her direction
can hold her bottle (4oz and 9oz with milk!) on one hand!
can grab a small toy and pass it between 2 hands
eats cereal (cerelac), home cooked lugaw, mashed potatoes, mashed avocado, mashed squash, mashed sayote, gerber brocolli

@ 7 months she:

has 2 teeth emerging on the bottom front! so proud! :)
but she bites! ouch!
manages to get up from lying down to sitting up!
"launches" herself instead of crawling heehee
sees me hide the remote control, mobile phones under the pillow and she reaches for them until she finds something! smart baby!
stands on her own (very wobbly but still!) while holding on to me while we're in bed!
eats mashed potatoes and sayote from our cooked meals at home, sweet potato and peas from earth's best, mashed papaya and apple

holy week 2012

we basically kept it simple for this year's holy week. on holy thursday, we stayed at home, slept, played with kirsten, watched tv (while keeping the a/c on 24/7, can't believe this summer heat!).

friday, we went to pray in several churches. first stop was mary the queen:



we found this photo amusing, pwede na sumabit sa jeep or mrt. :)



poor baby, pawis na sya! good thing we (always) have extra clothes for her to change into. bawala matuyuan ng pawis ang babies di ba!
next was the EDSA shrine, then christ the king. we had lunch at kfc and stayed for a bit to cool off.





we also went to sta. rita but there was no parking so we just stayed and prayed in the car (until the parking attendant signaled us to leave heehee). hope it's as effective??

we decided to visit my in-laws unannounced. on the way, we passed by that church in pasig (sorry i don't know the name!) and bought them pizza before dropping by.



kirsten fell asleep by this time, napagod na! on the way home, we stopped by the church near lourdes school to pray. we left her in the car with yaya a na lang.

next day, it was time to check into the discovery suites for our overnight stay. we were asked to wait at 22 prime (where they served us complimentary drinks) as the room was not yet ready. eventually, we were able to settle in.

maybe they think i'm a balikbayan or something?



aside from the usual bowl of fruits, this platter of sweets was also waiting for us.



aaahhh centralized aircon! heaven! :D kirsten took "control" of the remote control right away.



we had a restful sleep, and woke up to a lovely and sunny easter sunday. our little one received a gift from auntie l and she is always so excited to open presents (she likes the wrapping paper more than the actual gift!)!



we had my in-laws over so we prepared lunch, among others.







happy easter, everyone! :)

8 months old today!

we're ecstatic! can you see her 2 lower front teeth?? :)



kirsten is love!

our wacky memcom group

we are a team (memcom) working for our cooperative in the office. just 3 weeks ago, we organized our coop's general assembly which had an attendance of about 700-800 members.



this was our third year, and it was no easy feat, but we survived. yesterday, we had a debriefing (and victory) lunch.



yep, we're a fun bunch. mabuhay ang memcom! :D

mommy treats virgin

yep. first order. *excited*



i met paola today when she delivered my treats. she's super nice. she introduced her 18 month old, sjofn (hope i got the spelling right!). that's pronounced syofeen. :)

here's hoping my milk supply increases! i'm taking fenugreek and malunggay capsules, as well as eating oatmeal everyday for breakfast just to up my supply. *fingers crossed*

new kids on the block is coming to manila on 3 june 2012!

a little background - five of us were nkotb-fanatics way back in high school. what did we call ourselves? the blockheads!!!



i wouldn't want to miss this concert! here is the official site of the promoter, but no ticket details as of today.

Ovation Productions presents
NKOTBSB Tour: New Kids On The Block/Backstreet Boys Live in Manila!
June 3, 2012 - Sunday - 8PM
SM Mall of Asia Arena

LINKS:
http://nkotbsb.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ovationproductions
http://mallofasiaarena.com/

will keep you posted! :)

happy easter!

our kirsten bunny! :)

babywearing meet 2012

for the record, i have 4 carriers: chicco, infantino, next 9 ring sling, and saya. i used the chicco carrier a few times; i like the saya and use it as much as i can. the other two are unused heehee

i have the baby book by dr. spears and he advocates attachment parenting which includes babywearing (wearing your baby and not using a stroller).

last saturday, i attended the babywearing 4 event in ortigas to learn more about the different types of slings available in the market and also to check if i was using the saya carrier right and to learn how to use the ring sling.

i've never seen so many parents with babies in one room before! and both moms and dads were wearing their babies! so cute!

there were presentations on the carriers by jen of chronicles of a nursing mom, eliza of the painter's wife, clarice of i am clarice (who now has a new line of baby carriers, tickled), buding aquino-yee of saya carriers, and her business partner bianca araneta-elizalde. i was able to chat with eliza and she encouraged me to use my ring sling heehee

carrier vendors had stalls and they will teach you the how-to's:





i won in the raffle, and here's my photo with jen's daughter naima:



kirsten is ma-saya:



this photo, the group photo, and the one with naima is by stanley ong:



i hope to wear kirsten as much as i can. :)

the breastfed toddler

an assurance to all moms who are still breastfeeding their toddlers! bravo! :)



source: google

the crib diaries

after taking down and folding up the the playpen with bassinet more than a month ago, we have decided to put up the crib so kirsten can try sleeping on her own. you see, she has been sleeping in our bed since she was 2 months old.



this was the first night that the crib was up. she didn't have any objections and gladly took the space. she likes sliding her palm (face up) on soft surfaces (just like i do!) heehee



i prepared all the beddings and removed her things from our bed, telling myself that she should start sleeping in her crib that night so we can start a routine and that she won't have separation anxiety in the future. at 6 months, she is ready, isn't she?



well, it turns out that the mom wasn't ready haha! when i turned off the lights, she started whimpering so i picked her up and told kit we can try again that weekend. maybe i just imagined her whimpering because i realized i can't sleep without her by my side!



and to date, i've never had her sleep the whole night inside the crib. she sleeps there during the day time, and at times when i get home pretty late and she's sleeping there, i'd pick her up and put her on our bed. after all, she has plenty of time to sleep on her own in the future. for now, she sleeps with daddy and me. :)

my sister writes for mega!

she's the registered nurse who can write! :)





actually, she wanted to take up journalism in college but was somehow convinced to take up nursing instead. and passed the nursing board exam, too! but i guess the call to write was simply too strong to ignore.





i don't think i wrote about her winning the PRAY category of national bookstore's eat, pray, love essay contest with her essay entitled "the believer in me." let me share it with you:

==============

The Believer in Me
Maria Lorenza B. Alba

Having gone to a Catholic elementary/high school and a Christian university, I’d say I’m pretty much secure in my faith. Add to that is the benefit of growing up in a traditional Catholic family where every feast day is celebrated and Sunday meant Church Day.

I had no test of faith really except maybe the usual please-don’t-wake-me-up-so-early-for-church-I-hate-you-God moments that are usually a product of grumpiness in the morning and resolve around mid-afternoon when God and I are friends again. Well, no serious test of faith until about three years ago when ultimately my mama died.

It was a sad situation, I was in my college apartment when our youngest called me and said mama had one of her dyspneic spells again (she usually had trouble breathing when lying down as a complication of her kidney disease) and that night it was worse. She was home alone with my youngest sister and our young helper (dad was away visiting my older brother and sister, I was two hours away for college) and was pronounced DOA when my sister managed to bring her to the hospital.

I guess devastating would be an understatement to describe that experience. I remember taking the first trip home the next day, crying the whole trip all the while playing blind to the awkward glances the people in the van kept throwing my way. I didn’t care, their mom didn’t die. Mine did.

The moment I stepped into the funeral home and saw my mama lifeless inside the coffin, the moment I entered our sad empty house — I knew things would be different. Mama’s side of the bed would forever be empty, her voice would never again echo in our house, she would never again answer whenever I call for her. I guess there is some truth when they said that the pain never truly goes away, it just gets covered up with time, because even though it has been some time ago that she died, whenever I look back, it still hurts the same way it did that day three years ago.

Let me tell you how God answered my prayer.

I was a third-year nursing student back then and one of the highlights of being a junior is the capping ceremony. It was to take place November, mama died in June. It was sort of a big deal because I remembered months before she passed away, she would mention how excited she was for that event, how she was never there in any of our other college events because her illness made it physically difficult for her to travel.

But she was looking forward to this one, I would like to think she was proud of me. She would tell us she would get her treatments early just so she could attend my capping. A week before the ceremony I was alone in my boarding house, crying my heart out with the radio playing some random station in the background.

I was begging God for a chance to talk to mama — in whatever impossible way. The ceremony was to take place by the end of the week, a few days away from a part of my dream coming true — our dream, and she wasn’t there. For some reason, after a few minutes of sobbing I stopped; exhaustion maybe, I don’t remember.

The next thing that happened, however, I will remember for the rest of my life. I heard this unfamiliar song over the radio that played…

Don’t be afraid, oh my love

I’ll be watching you from above

And I’ll give all the world tonight, to be with you

‘Coz I’m on your side, I still care

I may have died but I’ve gone nowhere

Just think of me and I’ll be there.

I cried even harder. It was then that I concluded to myself: God really does work in mysterious ways. A prayer, after all, need not be a ceremonious act, a simple conversation with Him is enough. Amazing how God works, He may not give us the answers we want, but He makes sure we get the answers we need.

=============
sigh. reading this still brings tears to my eyes. it was mama's birthday yesterday (and their 35th wedding anniversary), by the way. would have been her 58th. we love you, mama! hope you had a great time celebrating in heaven! :)

to my sister, good luck in your chosen endeavor! you are doing what you love, and i hope you find great fulfillment and success in doing so. we love you, sis! :)