Landscapes

I first fell in love with photography when I used to take landscape photos of places I've traveled.  I am always amazed at the beautiful scenery before me, and would try to capture them with my camera.  It is overwhelming to know that God's mighty hand created these beautiful landscapes.  Our most recent trip to the beautiful Sedona and Grand Canyon in Arizona, the breathtaking Valley of Fire in Nevada, are proofs that God is an excellent sculptor and artist.  I was in awe of the beautiful rock formations that surrounded us.

We left home and drove for Las Vegas on Christmas Eve, exactly at 12mn.  We arrived in Vegas by 10:30am, rested and laid low on Christmas Day, and had dinner at Rainforest Cafe.  The next day, the 26th of December, we were up early to drive to Sedona.  Along the way, this beautiful sight inspired us to get going:
   

   
We got to Sedona around 1pm (2pm in Arizona because it was on Central time).  We dropped by Sliding Rock State Park and stretched out to this amazing scenario:

 
We stayed for the night.  Thank God that we found affordable lodging even without prior reservation.  We had dinner and retired to bed early, to be able to rise up early and explore more of Sedona before heading to the Grand Canyon.

After a couple of hours or so, we reached the Grand Canyon and explored these breath-taking sceneries:

We left the Grand Canyon with a heavy heart, but with a promise that we'll be back to explore more someday, when the kids are a little more grown and wouldn't complain from walking too much.  After all, it was a bit chilly when we were there.

We returned to our hotel in Las Vegas and made plans to visit the Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada the very next day.  We were in shock that even with the Valley's unmistakable charm, it was only a State Park.  It would've passed as a National Park in our standards, except it was a bit small.

These are even similar rock formations to those of The Arches National Park in Utah:

So, in a span of 5 days, we've managed to go through 3 states - California, Nevada, Arizona; one National Park - The Grand Canyon; two State Parks - Falling Rock in Sedona, AZ and Valley of Fire in NV.  You'd think we were done for this leg of the trip.  Uhm, not really.  On our way home, we decided to visit another National Park in California - Death Valley.  There really wasn't much to see, though we have only visited for a day.  We spent the night a couple of hours outside the park before heading home the next day.  If I've shown you proofs that God is truly a marvelous sculptor, you will be even more amazed at the paintings He created with the sky as his canvas and the setting sun as his pallette with the following images:

I am not truly an outdoor type of person, but these sceneries converted me.  When we were planning this vacation, it was a toss between theme parks and national parks and we were grateful we decided to go with the latter.  It gave us a sense of peace, tranquility, and appreciation of the beauty that surrounded us.  It humbled me, centered me, and made me realize the power that made all these possible.  We wanted our children to share this deep appreciation of nature, to instill in them the importance of taking care of their environment so their offsprings will be able to enjoy the same sceneries.

I know that this blog has been silent for a very long time, but what better time to post an entry with images like these?  I am definitely in love with photography, and the love affair with my camera continues.

A blessed new year to all of you from our family to yours!

Lastly, to my beloved first-born, happy, happy birthday 6th birthday K!  The day you were born, you brought with you joy beyond imagination and challenge beyond comprehension.  I cannot believe how fast you're growing.  We love you so, so much!

Boys and their Bikes

Kail has learned to ride his bike without training wheels in just two days.  He started to learn when hubz took off the pedal on his bike so he can balance.  A day later, he can ride with his feet up!  Now he can ride fast and longer distance without training wheels.  Here's the evidence:

Calix is also starting to put his feet up so we think it's just a matter of time and he can probably ride without training wheels as well:

If I could only learn to do the same... :)

Like any parent, we struggle to be good parents every single day. We try to provide our children with a good home, a loving and caring environment. We discipline them. We want our kids to grow up with values and manners.

As a mom, I take pride in seeing my boys try help around the house. Kail's favorite lines these days are "Can I help?", "I want to help", "I'll do it". When he sees me preparing dinner, he would want to help out. He can drag loads of laundry down the stairs and even put them onto the washer. He helps me bring the folded laundry up to the rooms. He cleans up his mess (albeit with resistance at first).

Calix, on the other hand, is showing his type A personality this early. Whenever he sees dirt or food on the floor, he'd pick it up, hand it to me or daddy so we could throw it away. He loves to put things on their proper places. We were at a play area yesterday when he saw balls on the floor. He'd pick them up one by one, hand them to me so I can put them in proper places (and sometimes he does that himself). The moms who saw him cleaning up had smiles on their faces. I was a very proud mom!

I think that raising them up without help is a big plus in teaching them to do their part around the house. My mom taught us a very valuable lesson by not hiring help when we were growing up so we'll learn to do the chores. When I came to the US at 24 years old, I was very independent. I have no problems cooking, cleaning the house, doing the laundry, washing the dishes. I want to impart the same lesson to my children. I want them to be able to do things on their own and not rely on help to do things for them. After all, help is so out of reach for middle class families like us here in the US.

Click here to view this photo book larger

Ali posted a couple of my layouts in her blog here http://www.aliedwards.com/2010/05/week-in-the-life-reader-submissions-part-two.html

I brought Kail with me to the library yesterday. While there, he ran towards the children's section and picked a book, then handed it to me borrow. When we were at the counter, he told me "I'll be right back!" and ran back towards the children's section again. After a few minutes, he emerged carrying another book and said "this is for Calix!". I was so proud of Kail because he didn't forget to get one for his baby brother!

Despite their constant bickerings when Kail wouldn't share his toys with Calix, or he would push his little brother aside, or would pinch his little fingers or arms, I know that deep inside, he loves Calix so much.

When Kail goes to school, he would kiss Calix goodbye. As soon as he gets home, he'd ask Calix "did you miss kuya?". When it's Calix's bed time, Kail would kiss him on his cheek and say "goodnight". He'd also run a few errands for his baby brother like throw his dirty diaper away, or get him a fresh diaper or wipes, put his clothes to the laundry.

Calix on the other hand, adores his big brother. He follows him around like a puppy all day. When his kuya is in school, he would run from room to room as if looking for Kail. He probably thinks they're playing hide and seek again. Young as they are, they surely formed this bond with each other that every parent would be so proud of.

Kail the Kuya

Hubz got upset with Calix last night. We were having dinner when Calix suddenly cried - the cry when he wants to be held, so I held him. But then I couldn't eat, so I placed him down again. He cried - louder this time. Hubz placed him in the living room without any lights on. What actually touched me was when Kail, then having dinner with us, stood up from his seat, went to the living room, opened the light, and stayed with Calix - trying to pacify him. I tell you, I was so proud of my little boy. I knew right then that when they grow up, they could depend on each other and they won't leave each other's sides.

It's back to work yesterday after the 3-day Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. I got the chance to clean our bedroom, scrub the bathroom, do loads of laundry, complete my ironing, take care of Kail. On Sunday, we took Kail to the Oakland Zoo which he enjoyed very much. At a tender age of two, we have seen his love for animals. At the zoo, he never failed to amaze us when he was able to name most of them - from elephant, to zebra (which he calls horsie), to girraffe, to the pig, and a lot others. He also enjoyed taking the sky ride with his dad.

It was a wee bit cold when we were there so the next day, I have sore throat and I began coughing. I guess I wasn't bundled up properly. It definitely was a sunny day, though the temperature was in the 50s. Now I'm hacking again.

Kail and I had a funny conversation yesterday while he was watching his Baby Einstein DVD:

Mommy: Kail, that's a driveway

Kail: Car

Mommy: No Kail, it's a driveway for the car

Kail: No mommy, CAR! (pointing at the car easing in to the driveway).

Oh well, Kail won this debate of course.

To those who congratulated us on our family's new addition, thank you.

This pregnancy is so much different than my first. I always feel queasy, I have frequent headaches, and I feel crappy. I am past the first trimester but I still feel queasy all the time. My friends say that it's because I now have the husband around to pamper me with attention so I'm feeling like this. To those who have been in the same situation, you probably know I'm not acting up. And because I feel different, I do hope it's because we're having a girl this time! My husband would roll his eyes over this and would say that this would give me a chance to share my ka-kikayan with someone. How true! ;)

On Kail-front, I took this photo of him with the tree over the weekend.

I didn't have a hard time making him smile for the camera. My son is definitely not camera-shy. I have trained him well, hehe! He has grown fondness with Barney and Elmo. He loves to sing along (though we couldn't understand most of what he's singing) with Barney, he imitates the action songs, and he loves to dance. He's still a happy and friendly kid - would say "hi" to anyone and "bye" to people leaving. He's starting to show a little bit of independence. But we still call him our "terrible two". He throws a very bad tantrums when he doesn't get his way. He gets upset when we couldn't understand what he's saying. If he doesn't want to wear the clothes I'm asking him to wear (or even shoes), he'd say "ayaw" and would refuse to wear them until he gets to pick what he wants. He says "oh no", and can now say "mommy" (finally! It used to be "mama").

Father and son are still inseperable. Yesterday, the husband had a job interview. When Kail woke up, he was wandering around the house looking for daddy. He thought his dad was merely playing hide and seek with him. Whilst I was able to leave him immediately for babysitting before, I now have to sneak out so he wouldn't cry.

I still marvel at the rate my son is growing. It seemed just yesterday I was holding this newborn infant who was solely dependent on me to survive. Now he's slowly showing that he can do things on his own. I'm having a hard time letting go. How does a mother actually accept that one day, the children she so carefully raised will be on their own?

How was everyone's Thanksgiving? We spent ours at home with a few friends over. I didn't cook the turkey this time but ordered from Boston Market instead. It was the husband's first Thanksgiving, and because he is finally here, we truly have a lot to be thankful for.

I also went shopping the next day. I didn't wake up as early as 4am to brave the crowds though. I went to the mall at around 8am, went to Kohl's first, then to Old Navy, and lastly to Target. By 11am, I was done with my shopping. I went home, had lunch with Kail and hubz, then we went to Toyota and came home with this baby - a new 2008 Highlander Hybrid Limited in Iced Amethyst Mica.

We went to the LV store in San Francisco on Saturday to exchange my Tulum bag with the Manhattan PM. I found the Tulum GM too roomy for me.

Here's a cute conversation I had with Kail:

Mom - Kail, can you show me where the baby is?
Kail - Babeee there (points at mommy's tummy, and kissed it too)
Mom - Good boy! Now can you go to daddy and show him where the baby is?
Kail - Babeee there (goes to daddy and points on his tummy).
Mom - nyahaha - you have a big tummy daddy!

So looking forward for a 4-day weekend so I can finally upload our vacation photos, put up the tree, decorate the house for Christmas.

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone... just in case my next post takes a while... ;)

Kail had his nightly talk with daddy last night and his reaction amused me. He mumbled something over the phone and he laughed. And laughed. And laughed again.

I asked daddy what he said. It was the usual "hi Kail... sleep now... goodnight. I love you!" But Kail kept laughing.

He also recently learned to place his hand on his ears whenever he'd hear the phone ring and say "daddy".

These are way too cute moments that make me happy as a mom.

A very wonderful blessing

I had an appointment with my gynecologist today and she has confirmed what we've known all along - I'm 7 weeks pregnant!!!!! We're just so thrilled!

A week ago, at 5:30 in the morning, and after being delayed for 43 days, we decided to brave it through and take the pregnancy test. Hubz wanted to be a part of the whole ritual so I called him. As I immersed the test stick into the urine cup (sorry if the details are gross), I had my eyes closed the whole time - I was praying and eagerly awaiting the result. When I opened my eyes and the tester said "pregnant" (I had a hi-tech digital pregnancy tester), I gasped for breath. After that, I was just crying - tears of joy. Hubz said he had tears in his eyes too.

We have been praying for our little angel since the year we got married. The thought of having a baby occupied every waking moment of my life. I cry whenever I see, hear, or read baby news from friends. It seemed to be happening to everyone except us. This year, I resolved to take control of my life, and trust God that in His time, He will give us the desires of our heart.

You see, we were happy beyond words because I have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS). I don't ovulate, and so we have to see a specialist every year (and spend a fortune on workups, medications, treatments) to trigger my ovulation. For two years, I ovulated but there was no baby. We decided to forego treatments this year, except for some medications that we're still taking. We did not see our doctor. We decided to put our complete trust in God. We turned to prayers.

There is truly nothing impossible with God. When I was first diagnosed of PCOS, it was devastating for me. I wasn't like any other women who just thinks of having another baby and poof, she's pregnant. Ours took a while longer, but it was definitely worth the wait.

People would still say it is going to be tough to raise a baby on my own (with hubz still waiting for his visa to be able to join me here), but we have decided to trust the Lord. After all, it was He who granted us our prayers, so He must've known we can handle it.

To our little angel, know that you are loved even before you were conceived. We longed for you even before we knew you. You were our little miracle - truly heaven-sent. You were the greatest blessing that has ever happened to us.