the catch up post, part 1

I've been a delinquent blogger. More than a month has passed since my last entry! The holidays and the weeks after that were pretty hectic and I haven't had the time to go online and do much writing. It would be such a chore to write about the undocumented five weeks so I'd just use photos.

December 19

Christmas came early for Ziv! Since we were bound for Manila on the 21st, we made Ziv open his presents on the 19th. He got super cool toys from his Singapore aunts and uncles--a learning walker from Ninang Nell, a walker/ride-on from Tito Erwin and Tita Khay and a so, so fun ball popper from Tito Gerald and Tita Rina. For his first Christmas, I and ze hubby decided to give Ziv the classic book, Guess How Much I Love You.

December 21

Travel day to Manila. We left home around noon then arrived in NAIA early evening. Ziv didn't sleep during the flight, except for a couple minutes before landing, so we had to keep him entertained. Good thing we flew via Singapore Airlines; the screen, Puss and Boots, and Elmo came in handy. From the airport, my dad and brother picked us up and then we made our way to San Pablo City.

Ziv playing right before boarding; Sophie travelled with us!

December 22

We left San Pablo City around 5am to travel to Calapan City, ze hubby's hometown. My dad drove us to the Batangas City Pier where we'll be boarding the fast craft to Oriental Mindoro. Ze hubby misread the ticket and thought the fast craft was leaving at 6am, when the actual departure time was 6:30. We thought for a minute it would leave without us but luckily, we made the terminal with just enough time to check in and have our luggages inspected.

It was Ziv's first time to travel by water; Bonding with Lolo Eddie and Lola Lagring

Ziv did well during the journey. When we arrived at the Calapan City Port, Lola Lagring and Auntie Nol were already waiting for us.

We spent most our days in Calapan eating, lounging, sleeping and eating, while Ziv played when he wasn't napping or tormenting Andrew, the house cat. Tita Kim, ze hubby's close friend visited us while we were there too!

Ziv going after Andrew; Ziv with Tita Kim

Ziv also spent time with Lola Emy and Ate Nikki who lived right next door, as well as Kuya MJ, who visited with his Lola Nelly.

Ziv playing with Ate Nikki; Ziv thoroughly entertained by Kuya MJ

December 25

The previous day, ze hubby got hit by a stomach bug. The poor thing had a fever, diarrhea and was throwing up. He wasn't able to eat the sumptuous noche buena mama prepared, which included crispy pata and pancit, but he stayed up for the exchanging of gifts. 

Fortunately, ze hubby recovered and felt well, like nothing happened, on Christmas morning. We had a nice breakfast, Ziv opened his presents and then we went to church.

That afternoon, the Chavez family reunion, which mama and papa were hosting, took place. There were lots of food, fun games, a raffle, gift distribution and a bit of entertainment too. We had a blast!

Ziv opening presents on his first Christmas morning; Ziv receiving pamasko from Lola Maring

Ziv got to meet most of his lolos and lolas, aunts and uncles and cousins from his paternal grandmother's side.

The Chavez clan

He won't remember any of them, but we'll make sure he'll get the chance to meet them again when he's older.

Ziv fell asleep during the reunion; With Lolo Eddie, Lola Lagring and Tita Apple

This reunion happens every year after all.

the annual family photo

One of the traditions I grew up with is the annual family photo. Each year, usually when Christmas was near, we would have our photo taken so we could send it out to friends and relatives overseas. We usually just set up the timer on a camera or ask someone to take the photo for us at home. There was one time though when we went to an actual Kodak studio to have our photo taken. I have that picture with me here.

The Kodak family photo

The annual family photo tradition is something I'd like to continue now that I have my own family. I wanted to have ours professionally done this year since it's Ziv's first Christmas, but I just found the packages here too expensive. Besides, there were a lot of things we had to consider such as Ziv's nap time, his anxiety towards strangers, the weather, the location, the attire--too stressful!

So I just took out my trusty tripod, mounted my EOS and whipped out my shutter remote control. We couldn't be bothered with the logistics of shooting somewhere that required a commute so we had the photo shoot at our estate's park. Same place where we shot Ziv's Halloween photos.

It was the last weekend of November and it rained the previous night. The sky was gray but I was thankful it didn't rain. I tried to get plenty of shots before Ziv (and ze hubby) got cranky.

The Mateo Family, 2011

Luckily, I managed to get a couple of shots good enough for our holiday cards, and that I even got a few shots of Ziv smiling. It was almost his nap time when we packed up.

I'm happy with the way our photos turned out, and they didn't cost a cent.

tossing the routine

We woke up at 7:30 this morning, which in this household is already considered late, putting Ziv's schedule off-kilter. He wasn't tired enough to take a morning nap at 9 so I decided to take a walk with him around the block instead. 

I wasn't completely in it at the beginning though. Even if we were already outside the flat, my motherly conscience was bombarding me with thoughts like "Ziv should be sleeping," "Ziv needs his nap," "oh he's gonna be in a bad mood later, you're so gonna pay for this."

Then I noticed, it was a good day to take a walk. The sky was a clear blue, the sun was shining and there was a gentle breeze which reminded me that Christmas is almost here. So as we stepped onto the sidewalk, I let go and left the guilty mother behind.

Along Ang Mo Kio Avenue 4

Our walk made me remember those days when Ziv was a three/four-month-old who didn't want to nap. That time, strapping him onto his stroller and taking him on long walks was the only surefire way to put him to sleep. He was such a small baby then, and I was a stressed out newbie mom. At that time, it felt that Ziv's short or zero napping thing would never end and my body would never stop aching for naps. But he learned to sleep somehow and I learned to stay awake on five to six hours of sleep.

Life is much, much better now.

Well, it wasn't really bad in the first place. It was just, uhm, new.

After our stroll, we sat at a park bench. I watched the palm trees dance with the wind while Ziv busied himself with shadows, holes on the bench and stroller straps. It was so nice to relax and not be concerned about putting the baby to bed or doing any chore. 

Ziv exploring the park bench

I guess sometimes doing something out of the ordinary can be a good thing.


Postscript:
Ziv unexpectedly stayed happy the whole morning. He only asked (via whining) to be put to bed at 12:30. He slept from 12:45 to 2pm, which was good enough.

diptych #12: Ziv's first Christmas ornament

It's Ziv's first Christmas and I don't only want to make lots of memories but I want to keep them for him as well. He's only nine months old and I'm sure he wouldn't even remember what we did. I'm planning to take plenty of photos so when he's older, he'll be able to look at them while I tell him the story of his first Christmas.

But aside from that, I wanted to have something to commemorate this milestone by. I scoured Etsy, Amazon and Ebay and found lots of really nice first Christmas ornaments but they were quite pricey and had to be shipped from the US. So I turned to Pinterest hoping I would find something I could do myself.

At first I thought about doing a clay ornament but realized that would be messy and time-consuming. Plus I'd have to buy paint to make it more festive. I searched some more and found, this, this and this. I figured that making a time capsule ornament would be easiest to do. I just had to look for a glass ball I can fill.

So last weekend, we dropped by Spotlight at Plaza Singapura. That store has everything--bed covers, curtains, bathroom accessories, textiles, decorative items, toys and craft materials. We walked around and didn't stop until we found fill-able glass ornaments. It wasn't easy and I almost gave up because Ziv was fussing already. Luckily, I found them at the aisle closest to the other exit. It was a pack of six 60mm glass baubles with removable tops and was priced $6. 

After that, I picked up a spool of red ribbon which cost $1.49. When I was at the cashier, I was expecting to pay around $7 but the amount that showed up at the register was only $4.49! Turned out all Christmas ornaments were half price. That made me really happy.

Today, I filled up one of the baubles and here's the finished ornament:

I put Ziv's Halloween photo inside since we don't have a Christmas photo yet. Once we have that then I'll change or maybe add it in. I also put Ziv's foot and hand prints plus a couple of notes saying it's Ziv's first Christmas and that he will be spending it at Lolo Eddie and Lola Lagring's home in Calapan City, Oriental Mindoro. When we've had the actual celebration, I'd add more notes so when Ziv's grown up, he can read all about his first Christmas, plus see how tiny his foot and hand were!

a promise

I will love all of you son. 

The light.

 The dark.

The gray.