Breastfeeding Stations Part 4

My new favorite mall is now SM Aura.  It's a small mall but has the basic needs that I want every week, the super market, Healthy Options, Baby & Co and of course, SM :)

Glad that they have a nice breastfeeding room.  They call it a family room but I hope that they put ample signs outside that there is such a thing.  All the times that I used it, no one else was inside, so it's safe to assume that not a lot of people know it exists.

I only knew about it after asking the guard of Baby & Co after a poopy emergency with Gavin.

They have private rooms for breastfeeding and a good amount of area for changing diapers.  It was also big enough to fit my mom, the yaya, the stroller, baby and me.  It also has a hot and cold water dispenser and enough bathroom supplies.

It has cute wash bins for the little ones.

Clean nappy = happy baby :)

Goodbye Yanna

Two weeks ago, Gavin's first yaya, Yanna, left us to go back to the province indefinitely.

She joined us after Gavin turned one month old.  We started on rocky ground when she had a bad cough the first two weeks and was always sleepy.  She then broke our diaper genie, but fixed it the same day after I got really mad for her not taking care of things.  

She started taking care of Gavin when he was this small.

After the first two months, I felt that she learned to love my son wholeheartedly.  She loves to sing and quickly memorized all the English songs we play in the ipad as well,as the songs of his toys.  She can sing the songs by herself even without the ipad eventually.  She also had the knack in making Gavin laugh :)

In spite of the short comings, we eventually all had a good relationship with her and my heart was put at ease when I leave home for work.

She was always happy when she sees Gavin do his milestones like crawling, cruising, laughing, etc.

Here are our other helpers, Emelie and Analyn who all love the bulilit dearly,

That's why when she told me she wanted to leave to go back to the province, I said yes wih a heavy heart.  I was praying that Hopefully, God gives us another kind soul who will look after Gavin with love and extra care every day.

This is her last week of giving him a bath :(

Thank you Yanna for taking care of my son and for assisting me in my first dibs in motherhood.

The first months wouldn't have been easier for all of us if not for your help. Xxx

   

    *last day with us! with our new yaya, Nimia, in red too :)

Happy 9 Months

Happy 9 months my love!!!

Spent the day with our last Kindermusik class for the first module then drove to Tagaytay with Ninang Aileen, Tito Paul, Ninang Babs, Isla and Carlyle.

Somebody learned to crawl and cruise while semi-walking this month.

Gavin also started to have a distinct memory, Nangingilala na...apart from this, he has learned to reach out and ask for us to hold him :)

Lunch with the kiddos xxx

We enjoyed our first Merry Go Round ride at Sky Park :)

It was also a bit more special because we celebrated good friends we consider family :)

Gavin was fascinated with his cake and blowing it!

Super happy and excited about his happy reaction, parang he knows it's his birthday talaga.

It was a fun day!  Hope to have more great days along the way with the little one :)

Can't believe it's nine months....as long as how he was like inside my tummy.

Shorter pa nga because he was just inside for 8 months. 

My baby is not a baby anymore....waaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh!!!

Happy biggie boy darling!

Glad to see you grow every single day!

Huggie buggie!

BFFS in BF

Aileen is my oldest friend, meaning we have been friends for 28 years now, ever since we were five years old.  We studied in Assumption and lived all the way in Paranaque when Paranaque seemed as far as Nuvali.  Both our parents were working so we were whisked off the school bus.  I can still remember how I chatted with her when I first rode the bus.  I offered to exchange stationaries with her and my whole folder of scented paper flew at the South Super Highway.  

Our friendship stood the test of time, from being in separate sections through the years, going to another school for a year, being in different universities and finally when she migrated to the US.

We always find a way to catch up regularly through phone calls, emails, face book, whatsapp and fiber now.  It's like she still lives five minuts from my house.

It has always been a treat to spend time whenever she visits Manila or whenever I visit the States. 

We can see each other every single day and not run out of things to laugh about.  

Merienda at Larcy's

Our other best friend is Babits who transferred to AC around Grade Four from Zobel :)

She was also our bus mate and lived few blocks away.

Babits and I, on the other hand were classmates the whole of gradeschool, high school and even for some classes in college.  All three of us practically grew up together, got married a few years apart and have always made ways to spend time with each other in spite of life's surprises.

      Dinner at The Girl + The Bull

They were intrigued on why there is a ramen craze in hot Manila so a visit to Ukkokei was a must.

Capped off the week long visit with a short trip to Tagaytay to celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary.

Here is our day documented by sweet Isla's camera shots :)

Here's to more years of friendship and hoping our kids become good friends too.

How lucky they will be to meet life long friends as early as five, just like us :)

Kindermusik Cockadoodlemoo

Our first Kindermusik module came to a close last week.

Gavin and I had a great time learning about animals, their sounds, the idea of high and low/up and down, movements, infant massage, and many others.

Kindermusik is a great tool for parents whilst giving them ideas on creative play with the kiddos.

More active fun time vs passive tv/ipad time. 

It was also a good way to bond with each other,mans at the same time to give the babies a chance to see other babies and be more sociable.  I know they are still super tiny and might not seem to pay attention, but I feel that it helped Gavin to be at ease with different people.

Many thanks to Teacher Marah and teacher Pia of Mindbuilders.

See you again for the summer module :)

It was nice spending our Saturday mornings with out classmates- 

Bradley, Rafa, Liana, Cassidy, Leighton, Sophia and Armie 

Plus our constant supporters, Lola and Lolo!

This is Gavin after a class haha!

We are Family

The first Sunday of January always marks my father-side reunion as January 6 is the birthday of our great grand father, Lolo Crispin who has passed away 35+ years ago.

It was G's first time to attend the reunion and he is the only one from the fourth generation present.

We didn't feel the heat so much as everyone had a fun time catching up, opening gifts, running around and the yearly kodakan series :)

Hope Lola Ingga and Lolo Crispin are watching us with marvel from above.

The second generation cousins!

The second generation in laws!

The mama's boys and daddy's girls <3

New Year

2013 was the best and worst year. 

I stayed home for the first part of the year, but spent a lot of quality time with family.

I was in and out of the hospital, but safely gave birth.

It was love at first sight when I met my son, but we had to leave him in the hospital to get well.

I became a mom which is the very best thing that ever happened :)

There were a lot of things that happened after that which seemed like a whirlwind rush that changed me forever.  It was both bad and good at the same time.

As they say, shit happens and sometimes it happens to the best of us.

I would still like to believe that as my Religion teacher in Assumption, Ms. Chinnie posted in her blog, FabAfterForty.tumblr.com that:

So here's to 2014 :)

I hope to always be grateful for all the things I have in my life.

I pray for guidance on being the best mom I can be for my son.

I pray for more time spent with loved ones.

I pray for memorable travels here and beyond.

I pray for keeping in touch with old and new friends.

I pray to be more financially sound aka d.o.n.o.t.s.h.o.p.a.l.o.t.

I pray for stability in the workplace - to work harder and to face all challenges w the positive spirit.

I pray for pleasant surprises.

I pray for more happy memories.

I pray that I always find the joy in small things.

I pray that I find clarity of mind and peace of heart in spite of.

PS Dear God, I also pray that our yaya stays with us na talaga, hahahahahaha!

Eto pala dapat ang number one, jk!