Photoshoot with Sophia Photography

I forgot to blog about this photoshoot which happened last Month (11/28/09). The pix were taken by Erwin and Mitch of Sophia Photography inside AAV. We had a good time. JEL was very cooperative. SP was able to capture lots of nice shots which are very natural. I love them!

You can view more of JEL's pix here.

Thanks for the GIFTS!!!

Here are some of the gifts we receive for xmas this year as of this writing.

Toys for JEL

Dresses/Clothes for JEL

Books for JEL

Hair Accessories for JEL

Stuffs for us

Some of the items we received we're not included in the pictures especially the edible ones like chocolate coated polvoron, homemade chocolates, pineapple, groceries and banana cake.

Just want to thank you all!!! Sa uulitin po!!!

Cypress Family Health Day'09

We attended this event with my Mom and Ethan. We availed of the free check-ups. Hubby also availed of the free PT. We enjoyed the games, magic show, circus show and Jollibee Mascot appearance. More pix of the event here.

Btw, JEL also enjoyed dancing to Nobody during one of the games. See for yourself here.

Been MIA & Some Updates: JEL's Hospitalization, Party Preps and New Antics

Had been MIA in this blog for a long time. We got so busy since JEL was admitted in Chinese General Hospital for 5 days due to severe cold, cough and asthma. Anyway, below are some updates about JEL's condition, 1st Birthday Party Preps and New Antics.

JEL's 5-Day Hospitalization

As I mentioned on my last post, hubby just brought her to the hospital to have her checked but the pedia didn't allowed them to go home. Since I was left in the office and I wanted to see our baby, hubby fetched me back from home. He also needs to bring clothes and other needs in the hospital. I was so sad seeing the IV on my baby's hand. She woke up at around 1am upon hearing the nebulizer and was so happy seeing me.

I can't explain the feeling but I was happy to be by her side while she is having the nebulizer thing. I needed to be back to the office the next day. Just sleep for a while in the hospital and was back home again at 4:45am. Hubby drove back to the hospital.

On her 2nd day, got a good news from her pedia that she might be able to go home on Saturday. We're so happy that time. Hubby fetched me again from home after work. The guards are strict and they didn't let hubby entered the room because our yaya is already inside. Only 2 bantay is allowed. He slept in the car.

3rd Day

It was JEL's 9th Month Day. We pumped some balloons to entertain the celebrant. However, hubby needed to go back to office to get the Philhealth papers for us to be able to go home the next day which is a Saturday. He also picked up JEL's birthday cake. It was good that the cake is nice and tasted good. It eased the tiredness of hubby. The only sad news is her pedia told us the JEL's condition is worse compared the day after and told us that she can't go home yet. She will still check if we can be discharged the next day but worst case it will be on Monday.

We also transferred from semi-private to a private room. Hubby finds our room hot and noisy. The other patient whom we share room is already 5 y.o. and keeps on playing with his cellphone. JEL can't have a good sleep. The adult watching over him is not stopping him and we don't want to make a bad deal with that.

Pix of JEL's Monthsary here.

4th Day
All of us were able to sleep better in the new room. JEL's pedia came in early. She said that she is better than yesterday but still can't be discharge because her breathing is not yet well. Sad because we will be staying longer in the hospital.

JEL's IV was transferred to her other hand because the liquid is not dropping anymore from the bottle. It was heart breaking hearing JEL crying. Hubby just advised me to just stay in our room. When baby is back, she cried a lot. The hand where the IV was removed seems to hurt so much. It was good that we're able to stop her from crying when we let her see herself in the mirror. She smiled and talked to her image in the mirror. Hubby went out to buy a portable mirror so that we won't need to go the the restroom for her mirror remedy.

5th Day
All Saints Day. Boring day for us. We are just inside our room with no TV. All the private rooms in CGH old building doesn't have one. They only have one in the new building. It's just sad that there was no available room in the building anymore. But it is still a blessing that we brought our laptop in the hospital. JEL was able to watch Yo Gabba Gabba videos that we saved in our Hard Disk.

6th Day
We're discharged. Her pedia came in early and gave us a discharge order. She advised us to give PRED10 for 2 days to complete her 7day steriods at home. We're able advised that from now on, JEL will be needing a maintenance medicine for her asthma (2 inhalers - ventolin and flixotide). She needs a puffing tool called Baby Haler. The procedure needs to be done 3x a day with a minimum interval of 6 to 8 hours. The more she cry the better because she'll be able to inhale the medicines better. We're able to get our of the hospital at 2pm. CGH discharge system is so slow. Btw, since JEL was not able to have her trick or treat, we let her wear her costume on our way back home. She was sleeping throughout the trip. She was happy when we got home and started playing with toys but have noticed that she is not moving her other hand freely. She might have thought that she still have an IV. We're telling her, " JEL, you can move your other hand". Hehehe. Well, it's nice to be back home. Hubby cleaned our room before we slept that night. Thanks also to my mom. We asked her to stay with us to help our yaya with JEL's need until she gets well.

View some of JEL's hospital pix here.

FAST TRACK to Last Saturday - JEL's follow check-up
She is getting better and better. Our pedia is happy to see a 1kg increase in her weight for just 2 weeks. She was admitted @ 7.4kg and she is now @ 8.4kg. She is also now 72cm tall. Our yaya is also telling us that she now have a good appetite. She is now consuming a minimum of 20oz milk/day and eating a saucer full of rice 3x a day. We're happy for her improvement

NOW, we need to get back to Party Planning and Preps.
Below is my checklist.
Venue: DP Paid
Caterer: Pencil Booked
Lootbag items/Prizes: Almost complete. Been to Divi AGAIN last Sunday.
Photog: DP Paid
Venue Decor: Pencil Booked
Cake: Supplier Selected. Need to discuss design and pay DP.
Celebrants Attire: Need to Finalize Designs

Btw, just want to rave about JEL's new tricks and antics at 9months.
1. Stands and Dances w/o support (the longest we've seen is ~15s)
2. Attempts to walk w/o support (The last time we saw her, she was able to make 2 steps inside her crib)
3. Knows how to " Mano" but without holding the hand of the elder yet. Just letting her forehead touch the hand.
4. Makes a kiss w/ and w/o being instructed.
5. Appreciates things and kisses them. When we gave the Doctor kit that we bought from divi, she got excited upon seeing it and kissed it. Last night, my mom brought the books that my sister bought for her. She also kissed them.
6. Claps with sounds.
7. Says mama, dada, dede, mommy, daddy, gaga or baba for yo gabba gabba.
8. Swings her body while dancing.
9. Sings inside the church with the choir.
10. Imitates laugh.
11. Knows how to call someone and asked her/him to come nearer (hand movement).
12. Waives Hi and Bye.
13. Do Hi-5, a-line and aprub!
14. Anticipates a call from mom. Our yaya told me that one time, when I called home and she was sleeping. She woke up when the phone rang and said "mama?".
15. Sings and dances to the song " I have to hands...."
16. Plays with other kids and never cry when things or toys are being taken from her. She loves to SHARE and not "madamot".
17. No more stranger anxiety. No more crying but she still needs some time before she will playing with new faces.
18. Don't cry anymore before we leave in the morning. She is now waiving her hands to us. Btw, we don't say bye to her, we only tell her " See you later".

Well, this list will be longer if I'll list every single details. That's all for now. Just a happy and proud mama.

PS:
I'll tell you a secret. Shhhh. JEL doesn't have a tooth yet. We've been waiting for it for quite some time already. Hahaha.

2009 5th LO - Family

This LO was started few weeks ago and was just waiting for the journal to complete. Wanted to change the title but decided to stick to it. Finally able to complete last night.

Materials:
Mylittleshoebox (PPS, ribbons, frame, diecut), Rubons, Zig Pen, blings, KF brads, Petaloo flower center.

Journaling:
You brought joy and completed this Family! We love you very much!

JEL in Hospital

Sad but true. Hubby brought JEL to the hospital this afternoon due to colds and cough. We thought that she just needs antibiotic just like the previous weeks. But today is different. Pedia wants her to be confined. She is under observation for Pneumonia and was confirmed to have ashma.

Now, I'm here at home and waiting for hubby. I just prepared all the things needed to be brought to the hospital. We hope and pray that she get well the soonest. Need also your prayers. Thanks!

Hubby's 32nd Birthday

Hubby had his 32nd birthday yesterday. It was a weekday so we just had a simple celebration at home. I did some simple balloon decors the night before. We ordered a billiard table cake since it is one of his favorite sports. We also ordered palabok from a neighbor and bought Andok's liempo and roast chicken for dinner.

It was simple but special because it is his birthday with our little princess! More Pix here.

Another LO - PEEK A BOO

Another LO that I started last night nad just finished today.

Materials:
PPS (Bo Bunny, WRMK, ATB), Bazzill CS, Flowers (Petaloo, Prima), Alphas (AC and BG), Diamond Glaze, Ranger Glossy Accent, Blings (Kaiser, Prima), Brads, Ribbon, Sticker by CC, Zig Pens, Stamps (HW and LD), Ranger Distress Inks.

Journaling:
This is your favorite game with daddy. he always gets a smile when you're playing but he was not successful at this shot. Nevertheless, I love the your innocence here. you're so CUTE and PRETTY! (TPC Pictorial 081609).

Our Ondoy Experience

We also have our share of Typhoon Ondoy. It was not really bad. We're still blessed. We just got stranded in SLEX for almost 5 hours, not able to go home but able to sleep comfortably in a friend's home in Las Pinas. More detailed story here.

Early?

Finally, we're able to decorate our little HOME with Christmas Decors. We're kinda excited because this is JEL's 1st Christmas. She was very quiet while watching me decorating the Christmas Tree and got surprise and curious upon seeing the Christmas Lights and hearing it's sound.

By the way, this should have been done last Monday. But the Palace excluded our company from the Holiday. At least we're able to do it today. We didn't buy anything. These are old decors. Here's a glimpse of our little HOME.

Our 4 y.o Little Xmas Tree and Table Runner.

Little Xmas Tree and a Xmas Cow Doll

Little Xmas Tree

Curtains and Throw Pillows

Xmas Bell for the Front Door

JEL and DADDY

JEL and MOMMY

Mammotome on September 8

Last Friday (August 28), Hubby & I took a half day off from work in order to have my ultrasound analyzed. The accredited doctor of our HMO doesn't have weekend schedule that's why we are left with no other choice but to leave from work.

The onconologist / breast surgeon told us that based from the pictures, it doesn't exhibit the characteristics or a cancerous cyst. But, we still need to do biopsy due to it's size (2.3cm) and age (more than a year). She suggested to perform "Mammotome" on me. The procedure will be done on the 8th of September (Mama Mary's Birthday) in Medical City.

I am beginning to feel some fear because the doctor already explained to me how this is done. This will be my 2nd operation. The last one was done way back 2003. I just hope and pray that everything will run smoothly and the biopsy result will be benign. Sigh.

JEL's 1st Birthday Party Preps Update: Trip to Diviland

Last August 21, Hubby and I went to Diviland to check on items we can buy for JEL's 1st birthday. We bought a lot of stuffs but these are not complete yet. We might go back before the Christmas Rush. At least, we already know what we want and need. See contents on our luggage below.

Bday Teaser 3: Pin the Button, YGG Around the World & Writings on Minibooks

If you can't buy it, D-I-Y!

Lobulated, Vascular and Appears Taller than Wide.

Masses in the following locations in cm:

PREVIOUS PRESENT
(10/04/08) (08/16/09)
RIGHT
12:00 B 1.73 1.94
2:00 A 0.52 not seen
9:00 B 2.69 2.38
9:30 A not seen 0.44
10:00 B 1.18 not seen
10:00 B 1.06 not seen

LEFT
11:00 Retroareolar 1.17 1.29
2:00 A 0.77 0.63

The mass at the 9:00 B position of the right "B" is still lobulated, vascular and appears taller than wide. No calcifications seen. The rest of the visualized masses are hypoechoic solid, oval, parallel to skinline, circumcribed with abrubt interface and without calcification. etc

CONCLUSION: Slight interval decrease in the size if the lobulated solid mass at the 9:00 B position of the right "B". The rest visualized ,asses demonstrate benign feature.

This is the result of my sonogram last Saturday. I got a little scared because it is still there after almost 15months. See history here. But hubby assures me that it's gonna be alright. I hope and pray that it will really be alright. We still don't know at this time because unfortunately, my previous surgeon/onco is not accrecited anymore with our new HMO. I still need to wait this week to have a checkout with the accredited surgeon/onco of Intellicare in Asian Hospital. We also still need to check if she will be available on Friday since it's a holiday. Anyway, here are some pix of my hubby and baby while we are waiting for my turn in the radiology room.

MOMNESIA - Worst Thing that Happened to me Today

I saw this TERM from N@W. It is commonly know as memory gap. I don't know if I'm really getting old or this was caused by my epidural.

Until now I still can't believe it. Guess what?! I forgot the spelling of our Baby's Name. Waah. We had our pictorial in TPC this morning. While selecting photos for print, I noticed one of the layouts with JEL's name was mispelled (LORIELL) . I know it's wrong but I couldn't recall what's the correct spelling. I keep asking hubby but it seems that he got confused as well. I was thinking that it should be LORIELLE or LORRIELE. I was really thinking hard that time. I tried to convince myself that it is LORRIEL. I told them that it is LORRIEL. But... I still needed to verify that with my baby's BIRTH Certificate when we got home. And I was right. It was JAN LORRIEL.

I felt guilty because it's one thing that a mom should not forget but it did happen to me. Do you think it's normal?

Bday Teaser 3: Hello! How are You?

Hubby's labor of love for his baby girl.

JEL's 1st Birthday Party Preps Update: Party Time Caterer Food Tasting - 2nd Round

I got surprised last Friday night to receive a text from Mel asking if I want to have another round of food tasting. We agreed since we're really going to Festival Mall that Saturday to do our grocery shopping. We picked up the foods at around 3pm and ate them at home. Below are the comments that I texted Mel.

Fish Fillet in Lemon Butter
US: Good but better if with sauce since it's dry.
MEL: It really has a sauce (Tartar or Black Bean) but for sample foods for pick-up they don't give it because it can be spoiled. She just want us to know what kind of fish they are using for their fish menus.

Backed Mac
US: Good also. Tasted like the Baked Spag. We still preferred the Baked spaghetti since long noddles symbolized long life.
MEL: Noted.

Beef Pot Roast in Mushroom Sauce
US: I like the sausage. LOL. Hubby said that it's better than the roast porkloin but it is super greasy. I agree with him. That would be bad for our health. But if they can choose a better beef part (less fat), we like it better than the roast porkloin.
MEL: Noted!

Sweet and Sour Pork
US: We're not able to receive it but instead got another packed sample of roast beef. Hehehe.
MEL: Noted.

Customer Service
US: Superb
MEL: None yet. I haven't tell her that we really appreciate her great Customer Service. We haven't booked anything yet and still we are getting this such good CS. Thanks!

Anyway, we advised Mel that we would still want to get the original menu that we planned. And she took note of that.

073009 - JEL's 6th Month Bday & Monthly Pedia Check-up

JEL's 6th Month Birthday was last Thursday so we needed to go to the office. However, we decided to take a half day off also for her Pedia Check-up. It was supposed to be on 080109 but our schedule is tight on that day. We picked up her cake from Recipes & Magic before picking her up from home.

Her check-up went well except for the one small lymph node that her pedia was able to feel near her jaw. She just advised us to monitor if it will grow bigger or increased.

She grew 2cm longer and still taller from the average (69cm). However, her weight is lower than average.

She only gained 0.2kg since last month. She was previously at 6kg. Our pedia told us to limit her solid intake from 4 to twice a day so that her milk intake will increase. She is only taking 3-4 feedings of 6oz milk a day.

Her vitamins will also increase from 0.5ml to 1ml. Another vitamins was also given to her to boost her appetite. We hope that it will work for her. According to her pedia, she is not skinny but she is also not fat. All here food and milk intakes are being converted to energy because she is so active.

Anyway, she also got her Hepa Vaccine that day. She only cried for a while then started playing again. She will have her vaccine for measles next month.

Before going home, we bought some foods from North Park for her birthday celebration. We had Toast Noodles, Beancurd Mushroom, Sweet and Sour Pork, Aniseed Beef Tendon, Kingdao Spareribs and Salted Fish & Chicken Fried Rice. We had a simple celebration at home. See more pictures here.

Btw, we thank the Lord for all His Blessings, our JEL's 6th Month, her everyday safety and good health!

Last Weekend (July 24 to Present)

I was not supposed to have a backlog in this blog but I'm having headach for some days already and also my PC had a virus that needed to be cleaned up.

Anyway, last Friday, we suddenly decided to go to Festival Mall for us to just have a whole day rest on Saturday. We returned our printer to the repair center after seeing the same problem it had before. It was a back job. Hubby also upgraded the memory of his laptop to be more efficient on his work. We had dinner in Sai-Bachi. It was a good dinner. Hubby had their eat-all-you-can tempura, while I had their noodles and tokuyaki balls. We also went to Robinsons to look for a Baby Walking Belt but it was out of stocks. We ended up just buying shoes and additional milk container for JEL.

Saturday
We all stayed at home. Hubby tried to repair my PC but was not satisfied. He was able to install the virus scanner but the virus definition can't be updated. In the evening, he was not felling well. Was the virus from my PC got into him? Hehe.

Sunday
After our Sunday Mass, we went to ATC. We bought EPass Load, picked up our TPC pictorial prints and my LYB membership card. I also bought some cosmetics from Body Shop. I availed their Members' Birthday Privilege (20% discount on your Birth Month).

We then went to Megamall to Celebrate Ariel M.'s Birthday. Jel was able to play with Clark. See pictures here.It was awesome to see them again.

We also went to SM department store looking for the Baby Walking Belt but it was also out of stock. We just ended up buying new shoes again for JEL. No Worries. It's not expensive. We just bought it for P99.

On our way to my parents house, it was raining hard. Our windshield wiper broke. The car repair shop we went to was not able find the right size of bushing from the nearby car accessories shops. It was expected since it is a Sunday and already 3pm. We are just thankful that Manong was kind enough to do some Mac Gyver stuff. He just used an epoxy to make one wiper working. Ariel drove our car with this set-up.

In my parents house, we just had PM snacks while my family is playing with Jel. We left my parents house at 6pm.

We're still supposed to go to Antipolo for the welcome party of Ariel's cousin Jason and Her Ate's Despedida party but we opted to just go home for safety purposes. We are still from the South and it was raining hard. We are all tired when we got home.

Monday
We got excited to know that Ma'am Joji is already back after attending a quarterly review in our CA office. She was able to bring the plush toys I ordered from Ebay which was shipped to Kuya Rowen's Home. JEL was surprised seeing them. See her pictures here.

Tuesday was an ordinary day but we're thankful that Ariel felt better and JEL's colds was contained. My PC virus clean-up was also getting better after system restoration.

Yesterday, hubby and I had a lunch out to buy some balloons for JEL's 6th month Birthday today. I pumped six balloons. Pictures will be posted soon.

Today, it's already 12:47am. I'm still awake and trying to update this blog. Hehehe. Later, we will be taking a half day off for JEL's monthly Pedia check-up. We will also be picking up her cake from Recipes and Magic. Hope it would be nice and tasty!

Well, that's it. I need to sleep now. Hope I can post JEL's 6th Moth birthday pictures tonight.

Extended Birthday

I had a 2-day birthday celebration. The actual day of my birth was celebrated with my family (I blogged about it here). The next day was celebrated with my in-laws and their kids. We really had a very busy weekend.

By the way, here are the activties we did last Sunday:
- 8:30 am mass in St. Jerome Parish. It ended early so we strolled inside Makati Supermarket while waiting for ATC to open.
- 10am TPC pictorial. We all had a good time posing for pictures and having JEL smile. More pictures here.
- We bought Yo Gabba Gabba Books for JEL in Powerbooks.

- Lunch in Magdaragat with my in-laws.

- At home, Jel played with her cousins while Ariel is helping my in-laws with their laptop problems. We had dinner together. They left at almost 9pm. I'm already tired but I still fixed some things inside our room and prepare the things needed for work the next day.

Btw, I got this gift from my in-laws. Thanks!

Also, I forgot to blog about a call I receive on my actual birthday from Fr. Ginu, our Parish Priest, who is having a vacation in India. Thanks po for remembering!

Overall, we had a tiring yet fun-filled weekend!