A Touching Letter from Nana

Today, Noah got his first letter. It was from his Nana Joan. Nana Joan, as I've mentioned in my previous post, is a special family friend, and like a second mother to us, especially to my husband. When Noah was born, Chet, my husband, was delighted to tell Nana about his birth, much to her surprise. Actually, Chet forgot it was her birthday. Joan thought he called to greet her a happy birthday. So when he told her that Noah was born that day, she was dumbfounded! She couldn't believe it! She was apparently elated about the great news! Imagine, of all the days that Noah could be born! In fact, Noah was not yet due to be delivered that day. He just had to come out since he had been suffering from bradycardia (slowing of the heart rate). He was delivered 3 weeks early through emergency C-section. It was indeed a special day for all of us.
Anyway, here's what the letter of Nana Joan to Noah says. Very heartwarming. :)


February 21, 2008


Dear Noah,

Last night, we celebrated our birthdays. You turned the big #1 and I turned the awful #67. Just kidding- I have no problem with my age. I must backtrack and state our respective days are the 19th- but due to a lot of unforeseen circumstances we had to delay the celebration. The party was a success. I calculate success based on the amout of times people laughed, the fun we had and of course the good food. It wasn't a long evening but a very nice evening. You are now walking all over the place and into all of Nana's stuff- which she doesn't mind at all- as I have so much fun watching you waddle around. Your dad and mom were there- so was your brother Kaiden- but he's not out yet- Ruby was there- she's so great. Todd and Isaac and Ava came late becuase Todd had to teach a religion class- and Teresa came for dinner. You played with Ava a lot- she likes you and you liked her- I guess you have an eye for the pretty girls! I made those funny sounds that you always laugh at and then you imitated me. You stinker... We had a wonderful birthday cake and we all blew out the candles. You got your finger too close to the fire and burned yourself a bit- but you didn't even cry- brave boy. Noah- I don't know when you will be able to read and understand this letter- I don't even know if I will be here- as God may have other plans. Everything looks good right now but one never knows. So every year I hope to get a letter off to you and someday when you're grown up- you will know that there was lady in your life who was your Nana and who cherished you.

You are loved Noah

Nana

Noah's 1st Birthday Gift

Noah got a Little Leaps Grow-With-Me Learning System by LeapFrog for his 1st birthday. My friend at work, Trish, gave this to him and he was excited about it. This educational tool grows with the baby from 9 months to toddler age. It is an entertaining, interactive learning gadget that introduces letters, numbers, colors, shapes, sounds to babies like Noah. He is still learning how to play it though, but given time, he would soon get it. As of now, he is enjoying just pressing the buttons with no rhyme or reason. :)

Noah's 1st Birthday!

Noah celebrated his first birthday with much fun! It was actually a 3-day celebration. On his birthday itself, we brought some balloons, ice cream and Noah's Ark cupcakes for him and his friends at daycare. When we picked him up, we went to Chuck E Cheese for him to ride and have fun with the kiddie cars. He was awed and at the same time got a little bit scared while riding the horse and the other cars, understandbly because it was his first time, but good Daddy reassured him that everything would be alright. We took some pictures, of course. We were planning to have him eat and play with his birthday cake at home after that, but since it had been a long day for him, we decided to have it some other day. The following day, we celebrated it with Nana Joan, our family friend, who has the same birthday as Noah's. She is a very special friend to us. In fact, she is more than a friend since we consider her a "family". Of all the things I would forget, I, due to being so in a hurry, forgot the camera! duh! Good thing, Nana Joan has a camera since I don't think I could let this special event pass without pictures to rekindle memories of my son's 1st birthday. We surely had fun that night! We even watched American Idol and cheered for our very own Ramielle Malubay. :) I still have to get the pictures though from Joan so I can post them on my blog and send to our relatives and friends as well. Finally, on the 3rd day, Noah had his solo birthday cake! This was the day that I was really excited about. I baked this just for him to devour, eat, or play with. He can do whatever he wants with the cake. It was just a small one with an animal cupcake in the middle and a candle, a musical one at that. Oh gee! The cake was all over his face and hands! It went up to his nostril even. eheehe! We actually called it a "booger cake". :) I took a video of it and I was very happy to see my son enjoying every moment of his birthday. It was so precious. :)

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Love Letter From My Husband

It was a surprise. I wasn't expecting to receive anything from my husband for Valentine's day. That day, he was still in Spring Training for a Major League Soccer Team (Kansas City Wizards) in Florida. Also that time, I was busy and worried looking for my driver's license because I thought I lost it again. Fortunately, I found it. :) So, I received a card from the mail with no return address, and I was surprised to learn that it was a Valentine's card from my dear hubby. He wrote a very touching note enough to cause tears to fall from my eyes.

"Sheila; and Noah..
I love You. You are both the two most important people in my life.
I wish I was perfect and had all the answers to make you happy each day.
Yet I do my best to keep you protected and able to have the little extras in life.
We will celebrate Valentine's day and Birthday when I get home.
I miss you everyday & I love you very much
Love, your husband, and dad (Noah) "

I wouldn't trade this for anything else. I wouldn't trade this for an expensive jewelry, or any luxury one can ever dream of. For me, this is incomparable... priceless.

Ramiele Malubay of American Idol, Mariel Jacoda of Dance War-Bruno Vs. Carrie-Ann

Proud to be Pinoy! :) Oh yes, I am! I am so proud that we have a talent like Ramiele Malubay and Mariel Jacoda. Ramiele has a big, powerful voice for a petite girl like her. When I saw her the first time, I knew she was a Filipina, especially when she said her last name in a Filipino way, not the slang way. You know what I mean. :) When I heard her sing, it made me even prouder of my heritage that I became teary-eyed in front of my hubby. We were actually havin' dinner that time when we saw her on American Idol. Another Filipina that I am so impressed with is Mariel of Bruno Vs. Carrie Ann Show. At first I seemed to doubt if she was really a Filipino, but when I heard her call her grandma "Lola", that was when I got convinced that she is indeed a Filipino. Oh my! She is definitely one talented Pinay! She can sing and dance with excellence! Here's a link on her myspace which showcases her outstanding voice. http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=239951013. Here's a video from youtube where she called her "lola" over the phone. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSJE7csgtR4

Ramiele Malubay- I like how her Dad reacted at the end...so funny! :)



Galing ng Pinoy! :)

Pinoy cravings! mmmm yum yum!

When I was pregnant with my first son, I had this craving for ice cream. And not just ice cream on a bowl or cup. This is not even the typical ice cream sandwich that we can buy in the stores here in the US. But this ice cream is what I call "only made in the Philippines". :) Back where I grew up, which is Quezon City, there's an ice cream vendor (mamang sorbetero) who carries a cart selling different flavors of ice cream like chocolate, mango, cheese and vanilla. You have a choice if you would like to have it on a cone, cup or bun. Now, it's the bun with ice cream that I'm craving for. So yesterday I got my wheat bread and put strawberry, vanilla and chocolate ice cream in it. hmmm...yum! yum! I even shared this with my baby munchkin Noah. He liked it too! heehehe Pinoy taste yata to! :) Anyway, that's just one of my Pinoy cravings. I have always craved for Pinoy foods eversince I got pregnant. It's difficult for me because there's not much Pinoy restos around here. I have a friend who said that there's one in Kansas but it's so far away, like a 45 min. drive. I was actually bent on driving that far but the sad thing is, it might have closed now because the last thing I heard it was under renovation and supposed to open before Christmas. My friend even went there and said it's still not open. I guess it has closed for good. haaay. One Pinoy food that I'm really, really desperate to eat right now is manggang hilaw(green mangoes)! Yung pinakamaasim na mangga with matching bagoong na mejo maanghang and matamis! errrr! I tasted the mangoes here but they do taste different. I even asked my aunt from California, known for having lots of Pinoy restos and stores, if she could send me some green mangoes. Still, the taste is so much different from what we have in Pinas. haaay! I guess I have to sing the song "pangarap ka na lang ba o maging katotohanan ba..." It seems it's just gonna remain a dream. Another sigh..haaaay....

Pinoy foods that I have also been craving and dreaming of, as in literally, are: sisig especially Gerry's sisig (resto in Timog, QC)mmmm yum yum, lechon, laing, crispy pata, sinampalukang manok, binagoongan, bicol express, Jollibee spaghetti, palabok, Goodah's tapsilog, pares, balot, bulalo, and a lot lot more! hayayayyay! :)

yuckie phlegm! :)

Oh my! I coughed this morning and lo and behold! I coughed out blood in my phlegm- a blood-streaked phlegm. Last night, when I was blowing my nose, there was also blood in my mucus. I got worried at first when I saw blood in my phlegm, thinking I might have bronchitis, pneumonia or TB. Oh my, not now that im preggy! But when I researched about it online, it said that it must be due to my sinus. Remember, I have been having a terrible headache plus a stuffed nose. And because I have been coughing a lot lately, it must have aggravated or irritated the lining of my throat. Nothing serious unless I'm coughing out large amounts of blood which I am not, fortunately.

slept without fuss

Thank God! Noah was able to sleep without any fuss or crying. Normally, he would drink his milk first, then we would play in bed for around 5 minutes e.g itsy bitsy spider, or "light-dark" game using a flashlight, etc. After which I would put him in his crib while still awake, turn on the Ocean Wonders, leave the room, then after a few minutes, he's already dozing off to sleep. That's how good he is. :)

baby Noah says "ink" for "drink"

Funny baby. Noah has been saying "ink" while making the "milk" sign. I guess he confused the two. Nevertheless, I am still proud of him. At least, he knows what "drink" is eventhough the sign is not correct. :) Also, today, I was amazed that he already knows how to operate our DVD/ VHS player. I was in the kitchen preparing our dinner when I saw him inserting the Baby Einstein tape inside the player. It played as soon as he inserted it. He really is getting smarter each day. He makes Momma proud! :)

sick preggy mommy

It's not a good day for me since I am sick. Noah has been crying a lot too especially when I leave him even for a second to get his food or anything. Unlike before, he could go to sleep easily. Now, he would cry for 3 or more times before he'd finally sleep. He hasn't been feeling well the past couple of days. Another reason must be because he's also teething. He would bite me or the glider I sit on. I also think it could be because he hasn't seen his "dada" for a week now. 1 week more and dada would be home. I have been coughing a lot lately. Today, I got a cold, a runny nose. It has been giving me a terrible headache. Plus the fact that I couldn't sleep any better because of my cough. I don't wish to take any medication at all for I am afraid it would affect the baby inside me especially if it's just for minor illnesses like cough, cold or headache. Though I believe doctors won't give you any medication that would harm your baby, still I'm quite hesitant about taking medication while pregnant unless it's really necessary e.g. if you have a UTI, etc. I had UTI during my first trimester and I did take antibiotics for that. The risks of not taking it far outweigh the benefits as what the doctors say. As for my cough, I'm currently doing natural remedy. I've been drinking orange juice with honey 2x or 3x a day. At night, I would drink warm lemon juice with honey. Somehow, it's working since honey is good for loosening the phlegm. But still, I think I feel worse because of my sinus headache. Anyway, Noah had a check-up yesterday, Friday, with our family doctor. He had a fever with temp of 101.4F last Thursday night. Prior to that, when he woke up from his afternoon nap, he had a temp of 101.7F. Our good doctor didn't see any infection at all. No ear infection. His lungs were clear. He said it could be viral. So he advised me to just give him Tylenol every 6 hours just for that day. He hadn't had any fever today. Thank God. It's not cool to have a sick child, and a sick preggy mommy at that. I just pray that Noah won't get infected with my cough and cold. That would make things a lot more difficult and stressful. haaaaay!

first sign language

I feel proud of our baby Noah! He did his first sign language today! We have been teaching Noah some sign language for 2 weeks now and i was amazed that he was able to do the "milk" sign today. At first, i thought he was only doing a trick like "close-open" hand trick. But, i realized that he might be telling me that he wanted "milk". So i tried giving him milk and i was right. He really wanted milk. I was so happy that he's learning what we have been consistently and patiently teaching him. Some of the words we have been trying to teach Noah are "drink", " eat","Cheerios" and "sleep." So far, he knows what drink means and what Cheerios are, but doesn't do the sign language for those words yet. But i know we're getting there. :) For all mothers out there who are interested, here's the website we've been watching for baby sign language. http://www.mybabycantalk.com/index.aspx

Anyway, Noah had a fever last night and today as well. I gave him a lukewarm bath to control his temperature and so far, it's working. He never had a problem eating, drinking or playing though. In fact, he had been eating a lot! He had been drinking his juice, water and milk more than ever. Only yesterday that he acted different for he was unusually quiet, and very sweet. He would always put down his head on my lap, wanting to be hugged or cuddled. When he was sleeping last night, good thing i thought of getting him from his crib to sleep with me. That's when i felt he was hot. Usually, i just let him sleep on his crib throughout the night except when Daddy's here. His Daddy oftentimes want him in bed with us. Today, when he was taking his afternoon nap, his temperature was high again. So i gave him Tylenol. This morning and before he slept tonight, i gave him a lukewarm bath and put him on light clothing. Hope he doesn't get a fever again. In case he does, i might need to call our doctor tomorrow morning and make an appointment if at all possible.

Baby Kaeden kickin'

I could feel baby Kaeden kickin' even if i don't put my hand on my tummy. Right now, with my hand on it, i can feel him kickin' several times like 5 times! Wow! When my hubby comes home, which is next week, he would definitely be able to feel the baby move as his kicks get stronger and more each day. I remember when i was pregnant with our first son, Noah, every night he would place his hand on my tummy as we go to sleep. Baby Noah did really make his presence felt. He was kickin' all the time especially when his Daddy taps Mommy's tummy. Awesome! :)

missin' my hubby

Darling husband called me last night to tell me not to go to work today and the next few days because of the weather condition. My ever so caring and protective hubby monitors the weather in Kansas even when he is in Florida. Weather hasn't really been good as it has been snowing badly. I am preggy right now so my husband doesn't want me to take any risk at all. It's not worth it, he said, which i totally agree. However, i don't wanna miss work for straight three days for several reasons. One is, i end up eating all the time at home. I don't want to gain much weight for it would be hard to shed them off after i give birth. Second, i feel bad, kinda shy for my co-workers for missin' work especially for almost a week, although i know they do understand my situation. Well, for whatever reason, my safety and the baby's is more important than anything else. This day, i had a good time with my baby Noah. I just loved to play with him, hug him, kiss him, coz i miss him a lot whenever he is in the daycare and i am at work. I just wanna make up for those times we're not together. I just love him so much. And of course, i am missin my darling hubby too. It has been 5 days since he has been away. 10 more days, he'd be home soon. That seems like eternity for me. He is such a good man, a great husband and a wonderful father. Everytime he needs to leave out of town for a spring training or a game, he sees to it that we are safe, have everything we need, etc. I appreciate everything he does for me and our family. I love him so much. He is more than a dream come true to me. I truly have A BLESSED LIFE because of him. :)

Noah's Progress

Today, I asked baby Noah where his drink was. That was with matching sign language for "drink". :D He was looking at me, staring for a few seconds like trying to decipher what I was saying. He knew what I was talking about as he turned his back and looked at the direction where his sippy cup was. He went to that direction, got his sippy cup but didn't give it to me. That's ok, though. For me, this is another major progress for him. Proud of mah baby! :D

This is just a picture of Noah being naughty under the table. :)

getting smarter! :D

Feb. 3, 2008 Sunday- My husband called from Florida and little Noah wanted to get the phone from me. As soon as i handed the phone over to him, he said "dada". I asked my husband if he heard it, he said "no". Maybe because he was talking to him at the same time. So, I gave the phone back to Noah. He said "dada" again" then "dade" the third time. It surely made his Daddy's day. We had been watching Baby Mozart a hundred of times this weekend as if it's the only show on earth. There's a part where the green snake would say "Blah". Noah, as soon as he saw the snake, said "aaaah" in a growling way just like how the snake said "blah". It was funny because he surely knows it's coming. Noah has been doing a lot of discovery with his toys. Whenever his toy phone rings, he would give it to me then I would pretend his friend Marky from the daycare was calling him. I would give it back to him and he would say "hi" or just blab. He knows what Cheerios are this time. Yesterday, I said Cheerios and he looked at the top of the cabinet where his Cheerios are located. This morning, it's fascinating because he gave me his little book of numbers. I counted and pointed to him 1 kite, 2 pancakes, then 3 balloons. As soon as he heard the 3 balloons, he turned his back and looked at the 3 balloons I got for my birthday few weeks ago. He even stood up and compared the balloons on the book to the real balloons. It's amazing how his thought process is working at this age. Last Thursday, he was eating his Cheerios form his toy box and the big cow was at his back. he managed to sit on it while eating and without me telling or helping him to get on it. He knows how to put his toys in his box. He is just so amazing. He is getting smarter as the day passes. There was a loud thunder this morning and he cried. He got scared. Of course, mommy comforted him immediately. He already knows how to share. Whenever we say "share mommy", or share daddy", he would raise his hand and put food into our mouth. Last Friday, it was funny because he stood behind his keyboard and started playing it wit his butt. He was having fun doing it. Wish i took a video of that.
Baby Kaeden, our soon-to-be-born baby had been kicking last Friday. I felt his kicks when I placed my hand on my tummy while lying on bed. I had been feeling him move the past few days (as if there's a goldfish swimming inside me :) ), but had not really felt it with my hand. This time it was real. Can't wait to see and hold him in my arms. Thank you. Lord, for another baby.