Family Visit

Madi, Josh, and Alec

We drove to Virginia on Friday to see my siblings. We have not seen each other since Madi’s birthday in April. Another reason for the visit is to celebrate with Aldous and his family their new house. I am just proud of Aldous and Anne- they have been blessed with two wonderful kids and as parents, they have done well for the kids. 

Alec, my youngest nephew, is growing. Like Madi, he too is a very happy baby. What I enjoyed most in this reunion is that the three kids had a good time playing with each other. Josh is of course grown-up but in spite of the age difference, he loved interacting with Madi and Alec. I truly adored watching the “three monkeys” together. It reminded me of my own childhood and it is always nice to remember the good old days- being a kid is simply the best.

My sister, Elke, a kid at heart, naturally enjoyed being with all her nephews and niece. It was a fun family visit and I hope to see them again soon... and I hope next time, my parents and Aaron will be here too.

We Are Sick

Madi started to have a bit of a runny nose on Sunday then it got worse today. I think it is when children get sick that parents worry the most. Especially for kids who are still too young to talk- it is hard for us to figure out what exactly they are feeling. Like I can see that my baby’s been having a hard time sleeping but don’t really know how difficult it is for her, you know. Aside from that, at this age I can’t really give her any medicines. I just hope she gets better soon... I don’t care about anything else as long as my baby is healthy.

An Engagement To Remember

Today is the third anniversary of our engagement. It happened in Goat Island, RI. We used to go there every year to celebrate but we cancelled this year because of Jon’s unexpected job assignment in Princeton, NJ.

So Instead, Madi and I spent our weekend in New Jersey. We strolled around the university campus and we also drove south to do whale/ dolphin watching.

Our Saturday was relaxing. We stayed at my sister-in-law’s house (since they are out of the country, we thought of visiting their house and water their plants) and just drove around nearby towns. The main thing was Princeton. I love Princeton and everytime I go there, I always have this feeling of wishing I was able to go there for college. So now, that is my dream for Madi. Jon and I have got to do a lot of saving...

The following day, we went dolphin (supposedly whales and dolphins but did not see any whales) watching in Cape May. Madi couldn’t stay in one place inside the boat and the ride was more than three hours so I felt a little nauseous at one point from carrying and running after her. She did not appreciate dolphin watch in particular but enjoyed mingling with people. I loved it though. At first, I thought it wasn’t as great as watching a show from aquariums and sorts because here, you have to be on the look-out to see the mammals but after seeing tons of them popping out from the water, I felt amazed. It was sort of a stress reliever for me just to watch them swim like crazy, looking so free and happy.

So that was how we celebrated “the special day.” No Rhode Island for this year but it was still indeed a good celebration and an enjoyable weekend.

Madi In Starbucks

Madi and I are here in Starbucks (one of my favorite routines). I like to read or write when I am here. Normally, my girl would be asleep in her stroller but today she is awake, smiling and saying “hi” to everyone, and she is sitting on a regular chair which makes it hard for me to concentrate reading (I will start on Breaking Dawn today, by the way). However, I am having fun after all. This baby of mine is such a social butterfly and I cannot believe how fast she has grown. She is staring at every table to catch attention by showing her funny face and tongue. In this aspect, I would say that she is a total opposite of me. I remember being a shy girl (and maybe until now).

I think we have to get out of here in a bit because Madi’s disturbing people with their readings and such.

Second Week

This is the second week of Jon’s assignment in Princeton. Madi and I miss him dearly but we get by by trying to keep ourselves busy. Last week he made an effort to come home in the middle of the week just to be able to see Madi. Then this week, Madi and I will come to him Thursday and stay there until the weekend. I have to make some agenda for the weekend and I am excited. I am considering beach, BBQ, and whale watching... Ok, I’ve got to check and make reservations now!

First Chair

And so we got our first chair yesterday. On our way to Pottery Barn Kids, Madi fell asleep in the car and when we got to the store, Jon just came down to get it himself while she and I stayed in the car.

Madi woke up just in time when we parked. She saw Daddy unloading her chair from the car and putting it on her stroller while I carried her. Her eyes got big and said “nice chair!” with a smile. When we got in the apartment, she got even more hyper. She kept on sitting, standing up, laughing, and running over and over again.

She is obviously happy and so I am happy too. It’s all I want.

Picking Her First Chair

Today, we went to Pottery Barn Kids and Buy Buy Baby to look for a good chair for Madi. She tested each one we saw and seeing her different reactions was interesting. You could tell which ones she liked and did not. My little girl knows what she wants now and she’s got good taste, so far...

We went home empty handed because we first went to PBK then BBB but the one she liked was in PBK and it was too late for us to go back so Daddy said we’ll just go back and buy it tomorrow.

Missing Daddy

Jon was assigned for an out-of-state project. This set-up is really expected with his job but fortunately, eversince I gave birth, he has always been around until now. Madi and I won’t be seeing Daddy now as he will only be able to come home on weekends. It is going to be sad and tough but it’s something we need to sacrifice. 

Yesterday was the first morning that Madi didn’t get to see her Dad. Jon usually prepares our baby’s first bottle in the morning so when she wakes up, she automatically calls her “Dad! Dad!” for milk. So yesterday when she woke up, she didn’t see Jon but she probably thought he was just in the kitchen and she called him loud, “Dad! Dad!.” I woke up with her scream and told her that her father is not home. It made me sad because Madi is always excited with her Dad and now she won’t have that kind of excitement everyday.

We will try to do webcam everynight to help missing each other a bit although it won’t be really enough because they cannot play together and she gets tired of webcam easily. After a couple of minutes she’ll say, “ayaw na.”

We miss you Daddy! We can’t wait for this weekend and we hope we won’t have to do this very long. However, thank you for working hard for our family. We love you!