Happy Birthday Mahal Ko!

It's my husband's birthday!!! His 30th hehehe, he'll kill me for saying his age. Well daddy u can get back at me on August!

i love love love love you.

extra:

Nagkakasakit ba si wonder woman?

1st Month Brunei Adventures

hello everyone! i have been wanting to upload this but time doesnt cooperate much. being a 24/7 mom and wife makes it hard to be a certified blogger.

last month picture, parang kahapon lang un!

nway, it has been a month! A MONTH!!! can you believe it? we've hurdled being away from our comfort zone for 31 days. it hasnt been easy but alvin, our super daddy,has been very very busy making us, me and thea, feel comfortable. hands down to my loving husband!!! he will do everything and his compensation is captured in the picture below:

last, it took me almost a day to finish the next picture. each time i crop a pic from thea's photo album i always stop and remember how each picture was taken. what a bliss! our little angel has grown so fast. to all my preggy friends, savor each moment =P each kick, each smile, each laugh even each poop will make preggyhood worthwhile!

extra extra:

I feel like wonder woman each time:

i cook and attend to thea at the same time; pushing and pulling her stroller

i sing kiddie songs in the bathroom to entertain her while she's waiting for me to finish taking a bath

i run from the kitchen (1st floor) to our room (2nd floor) when i hear her cry through the baby monitor

i breastfeed and chat at the same time, one hand holding thea the other types

Embracing Changes

in no chronological order. here are bullets of new things that transpired in barely 12 days here in Brunei:

- Flock of birds greeted us on our first day out! I'll post a pic next time we dont know what they are called pero parang stork. Saturday naman I saw 2 monkeys! Walang unggoy na gumagala sa Manila, buwaya meron =P

- For our dependent VISA I was required to take xray, malaria and hiv test last Thursday, Feb 26. It was a challenge since we dont want Thea to be exposed to whatever is in the hospital. So we took turns in entertaining our princess inside the car. When I was about to take the Xray, they asked me when was the last time I had my period and if I were pregnant, I said I am not sure. Which made the process longer coz I have to go to the lab to have a preg test first. (O mga tao sa pinas, wag muna kayong kabahan.) The result was negative, Oh Thank You Lord. So I went back to the radiologist and finish the rest of the test. We got the result a week later, yesterday, and they were ok. Next agenda is to bring our passports to the immigration for our VISA. After that, we need to get an IC - identification card. Do you see? I see! Haha, corny. Pero true they call it IC instead of ID.

- We were at a bday party last Sat. And most of the comment we received was how big our Thea is. Hehehe, true nga naman!!!

- Went to the grocery last sunday. Supa Save ang name pero di naman nakakasupa save.

- We went to the hospital last tuesday. Thea has a cold and has running nose. Disudrin couldnt make her well. So off we go to the posh (well for them) shell hospital, hehe. Our bill was 36 something, 30 goes to the prof fee and 6 to the pharmacy. Forex is 32 so do the math. Fine, i'll do it. PF is around 900. Mas mura pa din sa pinas.

- Eto totoong bago!!! I was able to cook adobo, afritada, caldereta, sinigang, sweet and sour fish. Wahooo! I managed to make them look and taste good. However when I cooked ginisang gulay na ewan, it looked like un nga ewan but it taste ok pero ewan pa din. This afternoon, menu was monggo! They liked it, salamat naman!

- We are filtering the water for thea's bath. However it is still not safe for her milk so we need to buy distilled water and boil it again. We are praning sa safety ni baby, dami daw kasi dito nagkaka skin asthma dahil sa tubig. Syemps ayaw naming pumangit balat ng prinsesa!

- There's no mall and cinema here in Seria, the nearest is in the city which is 2 hours away. I rarely see people walking around. No sari-sari store. Buses are seldom and has a schedule, and rarely goes to Kampung Baru, buses only go here when a passenger asks the driver otherwise the bus trip wont include KB.

- My bath time has a sched and should be quick, usually I bring Thea along. She sitting in her stroller or walker, I need to make sure the musical mobile is playing. Should the entertainment stops and I am not done yet, I usually sing, flush the toilet, or open the shower just to make noise. Never knew that going to the bathroom requires planning, quick mind and sharp ears.

- We still continue Thea's routine but her sponge bath now is around 6:00 - 6:30. She plays with her daddy once Alvin comes from office. A marve sight, I tell you! It always feels good to see your baby and your husband playing, tapos ako nagpapahinga hahaha - peace daddy!

- Laki na ni Thea. Nag "abububu" na. Yung gusto ng magsalita na di naman pa nya kaya. Pero nasasabi na nya ung "MA", kahit di pa nya alam ang meaning tunaw na tunaw na ko pano pa kaya pag nasabi na nya talaga un by heart with matching i love you saka kiss!!!

- "Embrace changes. Enjoy Life." is my theme for the year 2009. Sure enough the first months spell change.

Oooops, ngayon ko lang naisip "CHANGE" nga din pala ang slogan ni OBAMA.

Move

Goodbyes:
How should I begin? Let's go back last Feb 22. Sunday morning, we all seem relaxed, tension hasnt build up yet. We went to San Marcos to bond with the Regalado's. Around 4pm we went back to La Residencia to finally get ready, shower for me and vhin and sponge bath for our little Thea. We were both excited and anxious. We knew what we are doing is not easy. Moving in itself is difficult, but moving with an infant would make it more challenging.

So there we were fixing our luggage, tension begins to build up. Alvin couldnt even taste the food he's eating! I on the other hand wouldnt want to carry Thea because I might break. Around 6pm everything is ready, my and my husbands hearts were pounding. Will Thea cry? Do we have enough nappies? What about our luggage? We are only allowed to bring 50 but our bags weighed 58 already. Bahala na, we'll use Thea's to charm the ground team to let all our bags in.

As I hug Ate Lala goodbye, the tears I managed to contain minutes ago began to fall. I am finally moving from my comfort zone, my first family. Instantly, fear dawned on me. Then Alvin came in to fetch me and he saw me and ate crying. He bade goodbye to Ate and Ate told him to take care of me and her little Thea. She also reminded him that on the night of pamanhikan he told our family he wont take me away coz San Marcos is just a town away, yet now he is taking me to another country.

Hugs and kisses galore I made to my parents and the kulets, Simon, Kiel and Gail who seems teary eyed too. Then off we went to the airport. Huge thanks to Bunz, who helped us get a pass for nanay A. Nanay was able to help us inside NAIA till we head at the immigration.

Lap 1.
So our journey started at the immig. I am in charge with Thea while Alvin took care of the papers. We managed to get in, waited at the gate then boarded RBA flight BI 688 bound to Bandar Seri Begawan. Smooth!!! Well not until we sat on our seats and Thea started to cry, no, she wailed. We showed her her toys, gave her bottle, sang lullabye but she continued to cry. And we knew it was time. Its Show Time fo mommy =(

There I was at the window seat breastfeeding, my husband seating next to us managed to cover us from the eyes of entering passengers. Still my milk couldnt stop her from crying. My usually calm husband now a bit stressed, his heart breaking because of Thea, couldnt even put on our seat belt. when the plane started moving, I and alvin began praying. We are wholeheartedly thankful when Thea finally slept before the plane took off! Her co-infant passengers were all crying out loud while my little angel sleeps soundly. She was sleeping till we entered the Kampung Baru! Thank you thank you Lord for a safe journey.

Btw, we landed 12:10am of Feb 23, traveled through car to our house for more than an hour and marked 3am of February 23 the official entry to a whole new and challenging world for the three of us. That's the end of Lap 1.

More laps to go as we journey through life. Pray that we may be able to hurdle life's challenges.

our little girl is 4 months old

this cake is by far the cutest cake of all! sana lang we have the extended family to share it with kasi ngayon kami lng 3 nagcelbrate ng bday ng prinsesa!

and here's our lil girl with mommy and daddy=)

see album for more pics.