Nami is also growing up incredibly fast.  It’s really amazing how much she has grown in a span of one year.  I know I can be a stage mom, but a lot of people other than my husband and I think that she is a wonder kid.  Really.  She’s not three yet, but she can do and say things that my friend’s five year old kid is only starting to say now.  She remembers details from one year ago.  She can identify all the letters, colors and basic shapes.  She knows soooo many songs – English and Tagalog.  She’s fluent in both by the way and by the look of things, she will learn Bisaya too, thanks to Yaya.  Is this normal?

P.S.

I just realized that I could refer to Nami’s baby book for her milk consumption at six months old.  Haha.

Like I said, I change my mind on the baby names almost every month.  Much as I love the meaning behind the two names Naima Isabel, something tells me it sounds just a bit too exotic.

For this month (haha), I’m seriously considering taking on the girl name that I had my mind set on from the very beginning. — Tatyana.  It still sounds good with Isabel, right? 

Tatyana Isabel.

Hmmmm.

Daddy:    Alfred, I just have one request.  Actually hindi sya request.  It’s more of an instruction.  Kung ayaw mo na kay Tracy, pwede mo syang isoli anytime, no questions asked.  Wag mo lang syang sasaktan.
Alfred: Promise Tito, hindi ko isosoli si Tracy.

My first trimester was pretty tough.  It was like I had a terrible hangover every single day.  The morning sickness would only progress throughout the day, peaking  towards the evening when I would need to puke at least three times.   On my worst days, I couldn’t even down the water that I drank.  I was actually puking out cold water.

Thankfully, the all-day sickness is starting to subside.  I am now moving on into the more exciting part of pregnancy…the decorating/planning for the baby’s room, window shopping for baby gadgets and picking out baby names. 

For this month (I change my mind almost every month), we are set on Naima Isabel if it’s a girl.   Naima is Arabic in origin and means delight, contentedness.  Isabel, on the other hand, means God’s promise. 

If it’s a boy, his name will most likely be Juan Enrique. and we’d call him Uno.  Never mind that our last name sounds very Chinese.  We will go with a Spanish sounding name.  Both our lolos’ names are Juan, and Enrique comes from Enriquez.  If you’ve known me long enough, you will understand why this is symbolic, funny and just perfect all at the same time.

• Baby! — And we are pregnant!!!
• House — Getting there.  Construction has officially started. 
• New Hobby
• New Sport — more like, have one naman.
• How-come-I-never-thought-of-that business idea
• At least one domestic trip
• At least one international trip
• Firmer budgeting skills
• Decent savings
• Acts of charity. Thanks for the inspiration, Katrina!

But ATMs still run out of money, my Christmas list has again grown longer than last year’s and just like before, I can already feel all the party food in my thighs.

However the holiday season makes you feel, however different or refreshingly familiar Christmas 2007 is for you, may it be just as blessed and meaningful as you want it to be.

I told him that the key is for her plan to be a complete surprise. It may not be a grand production. No matter how small, surprises are always appreciated. At least that’s why I think.

We just finished brainstorming and came up with the following. Note that he only has a day.

1. Helicopter Ride – We called Peninsula Manila and asked for their accredited providers. Prices start at at 57,000/per hour, excluding fees for the use of their helipad. This would have been incredibly romantic but extremely impractical, too.

Omni Aviation Corp in Clark, Pampanga offers fun flights over Pinatubo, but my co-worker had already been discouraged.

2. Spa in Tagaytay

A bit overused but hey, it will still work for me!

3. Day Trip at San Juan, Batangas or if budget permits, at Dive Solana. I haven’t been there myself but my friend tells me that it’s exactly like Plantation Bay.

4. Home-cooked meal. Again, it does not have to be a grand meal. The mere attempt to make an edible meal is thoughful enough.

That’s all that we have so far. Any other ideas?

Like it?

I’ll be able to show more than a perspective next year.  Come December, construction will start (This is me claiming that all will go well). 

We meant for it to look like just one house from outside, but that’s actually a duplex that we’ll share with Alfred’s brother and his family.  It’s going to be right on the same steet where we both grew up. 

The basic idea is, modern but cozy.   We’re lucky that our contractor’s wife is also an architect and an interior designer.  They waived the architectural and interior design fees as well.  I can’t imagine having to talk to three different people and getting them to be in sync with each other’s ideas. 

I looove our contractor, but they say it might be soon to tell.  I’ve been warned that it’s very likely that we’ll end up as enemies.  I say, as long as they keep doing what they’re doing now — provide options, answer my calls and inquiries on time, deliver when they say they’ll deliver, we’ll be just fine.  If you need their contact details, I’ll be happy to give them

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