Mom's letter on your 10th

dearest maia,

mommy is writing this with a big grin on her face. she can't help but recall your lengthy talking stint late last night. you have turned into a really really naughty talkative baby, but in a really really cute way.

mommy went home really late last night and missed our prayer session. this was the first time in ages and she felt guilty she was not able to spend those precious few minutes with you before you're finally tucked to sleep. but i guess you can sense when mommy's feeling really bad, you woke up around midnight and played with her and daddy. i forgot all the problems i encountered during the day. you always never fail put a smile to mommy's heavy heart.

when you were just a few days old, mommy vowed to write to you and recount your milestones every month. but what mommy thought to be a such a mundane thing to do turned out to be something she could only squeeze in on lazy days or crappy days like this one. but it's a good thing baby, that means that recounting your milestones is one of the best therapy mommy could ever have.

so how's our journey so far? in the past weeks, you have mastered the art of 'cruise control'. you easily maneuver your way around our house as long as there's furniture to hold on to. crawling has become second-nature to you and you easily crawl your way through our tiny house. sometimes your leave daddy stricken with awe especially when you'd crawl your way to the door to greet him when he arrives from work. you do that for just a few seconds! 

these days your favorite is our pantry. you like to pull out the groceries and utensils that the cabinet houses. after you pulled something out and realized you did something wrong, you'd laugh as if to melt our hearts first before we get to assess the actual damage. you are such a sweet but mischievous baby. mommy sometimes wonder where you got that from.

one time when mommy  was desperately trying to put you to sleep your attention was moved by a sound from outside the house. guess what you did? you moved aside the curtain that mommy used to cover the window to prevent you from seeing the streetlights. you seem to grow smarter and smarter everyday all of these changes seem overwhelming at times.

you now recognize what the word 'NO' means. especially when it's coming from daddy. you would move your head from side to side each time daddy utters 'NO! Maia' we'd end up laughing!

you also like to play hide and seek. your most fave hiding spot is our bedroom curtain. and you love it when mommy hides under the sheets. you would frantically pull them to find mommy under. and when you find mommy, you'd laugh heartily. hay baby, your laughter and voice fills our house with soooo much happiness.

your fave food right now is still mashed kalabasa and chunky mashed potato flavored with raspberry or banana yoghurt. you also started eating spinach which is a good thing. you started with egg yolks and you seem to love that as well. but despite all this solid intake, you still love love love to drink your milk. from just 4-5 6oz bottles before you now down about 7 bottles max in a day. you appetite is appalling. yet you don't really grow fat. probably it's your metabolism since you're such a wriggly squirmy baby.

finally, the greatest milestone for this month is your two tiny pearls finally saying "hello!" to us. mommy was so thrilled to see them erupt. now, if only mommy can take a snapshot of them two...that would top everything off! :)

so there baby...those are the things that mommy can recall for now. i'm sure i missed to write down a lot of them. forgive mommy, it's probably due to aging. hehe.

happy 10th month, maia. mom and daddy loves you very very much!

 

Quiet Sunday, finally!

I had been wanting to wake up later than usual

Unexpected Farewells

I hate receiving notices like this:

"Hello - I am no longer with ON Semiconductor beginning on August 7th, 2009.

Please contact Aaron Coykendall -- if you have any questions about whom is now responsible for my previous areas of responsibilities.

Thank you and best regards.

David Allen"

For one, David was one of the few people who was so friendly to us when we trained in Phoenix. He would drop by our work stations to handover bags and bags of candies. He probably thought the candies would at least help us rid off the homesickness. Today, I feel bad I wasn't even able to bid him goodbye and thank him for all the help he extended to me while I was still groping my way through this new job.

Since this regression

Farewell Ollie

While we were mourning for the loss of Tita Cory, our dear beloved camera decided to do a major sacrifice and volunteered to be of service to Tita Cory up in heaven.

I was overwhelmed by sadness. I was not ready for this. The sentimental hormones are acting up. I cried when I heard the news on Tita Cory but cried harder when I my camera gave up on me.

Aside from our laptop, our camera was one of the first few possessions we had as a married couple. Sad to say, we never thought of naming it before its demise. Bad, bad camera owners we were.

But seriously, I just felt very sad because this camera was with us all through out the joys and trials that our family encountered. It travelled with usand shared so many unforgettable experiences with us. But I guess, it's high time it took it much needed rest.

Today before we finally bury Ollie (at least we thought of a name before we say our final goodbyes) - I'd like to think of the wonderful memories we've shared with her. She left me with wonderful pictures to remember my travels to Phoenix, the Grand Canyon and LA. She went with us to our

She was with us from day 1 of my pregnancy up to Maia's birth. I think it was probably the overzealous Mommy in me that drove her to her demise. I'd take about 500 or more pictures of Maia every week. It was probably too much to handle for her and I did not even notice. Bad, bad owner.