Zoe’s latest loot from grandma was a bunch of Dr. Seuss books. While I was in the bathroom, I heard hubby chanting like a tribesman from elsewhere. Well, I wasn’t surprised to see him reading a Dr. Seuss book to Zoe. Zoe had a serious look on her face as she tried to decipher every word and non-word. She loves Dr. Seuss and, after her dad finished one book, she got another one. To say that reading a Dr. Seuss book takes your breath away is an understatement. When Zoe showed her dad the second book, my hubby, out of exasperation or frustration over Dr. Seuss’ tongue-twisting narration, says, “I can only ready one Dr. Seuss a night!” But then, the little girl is her daddy’s darling and it only took one kiss from her for her dad to read a second book = )

that I’m still here. So far, the little guy is still snug inside my tummy. Hubby and I already thought we were gonna give birth last Sunday early morning. Last Saturday, we went out on a movie date to catch The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Come to think of it, it has been such a long time since we went out on a date without Zoe along. After a filling dinner at Mexicali, we went to Festival Mall for the last full show and I started feeling my tummy hardening. I couldn’t really say they were real contractions because the hardening was concentrated on my tummy but the contractions were getting more frequent. All throughout the movie I was distracted by my contracting tummy. When we got home we prepared everything we needed for the hospital then went to bed to gather enough strength for labor. It was almost noon when I woke up the next day. It was a false alarm apparently, and I spent the whole day in anticipation that I’d be in active labor any moment. As of writing I have yet to feel the contractions again. And we thought Baby Sibling will cooperate and come out when his dad’s home! So I’m just home, waiting and waiting and waiting…

Taken by The Stork Studio

I’m not sure if it’s just me getting paranoid but I think I’ve been getting weird stares lately. Strangers would almost instantly zero-in on my pointed, bulging tummy as if I’m an alien who just landed from outerspace. Can’t blame them really. I now waddle like a duck and my belly has dropped already. My tummy also looks so huge now, they’re probably wondering how on earth I can still stand upright.

Yesterday was my check-up with my OB. She says I’m 1 cm dilated. Depending on the progress, I am due to give birth any day, any moment now.

The crib is half-ready, the baby’s clothes are washed, and the room is, more or less, clean. With my firstborn, who came out 3 weeks ahead of the estimated due date, we hardly had any time to prepare at all. This time we’re a bit more ahead, just in case we’d be caught offguard again. Nevertheless, we are all sooo excited already. Zoe is eager to be an “ate” and keeps on kissing my belly. She can’t wait to see her baby sibling.

Like my first delivery, I intend to give birth drug-free, without any pain reliever, painful instead of painless, hehe. I hope my baby will cooperate.
My OB is a natural childbirth advocate so I’m sure I’ll be in good hands. We’re praying everything will go smoothly.

Right now I have some nesting to do. Still so many things to attend to before the stork’s visit. Will keep you all posted : )

Dear Hunny,

I’ll try to put in words how I feel about us. I still can’t believe it’s been 5 years already! That’s how fast time flies and how far we’ve traveled. I still get all mushy, senti, and teary-eyed reminiscing how our love story started…the many rocks and boulders we’ve stumbled upon…and the wonderful moments we’ve shared (and continue to share).

I am so blessed to have you for a husband, a partner, and a best friend. It’s amazing how we are so different, yet so alike on things that matter. I’m living my life to the fullest knowing I’m living it with my one true love.

I love you.

January 3, 2004

I can’t believe it’s only a few days to go till Christmas! We’re not done with our Christmas shopping yet. Luckily, hubby and I were able to go to the Richwell Toy Sale in Libis so at least we got a few toys here and there.

On my last check-up with my OB, she says the baby has dropped already, meaning there’s a great chance that I will be giving birth ahead of schedule. I’m hoping it wouldn’t be too soon as I’m still not done with my baby preps. Plus, my mom’s not scheduled to arrive from the US until the second week of January. I also wouldn’t want to give birth on the New Year coz we’ve already made plans of staying away from the firecracker noise and smoke by checking in a hotel. I just hope baby sibling will cooperate.

Now I’m back to silent mode.

Got this from my inbox today. Although I do not totally agree to some, the others ring so true.

…I’ve learned that you cannot make someone love you. All you can do is stalk them and hope they panic and give in.

…I’ve learned that one good turn gets most of the blankets.

…I’ve learned that no matter how much I care, some people are just jackasses.

…I’ve learned that it takes years to build up trust, and it only takes suspicion, not proof, to destroy it.

…I’ve learned that whatever hits the fan will not be evenly distributed.

…I’ve learned that you shouldn’t compare yourself to others—they are more screwed up than you think.

…I’ve learned that depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.

…I’ve learned that it is not what you wear but how you take it off.

…I’ve learned that you can keep vomiting long after you think you’re finished.

…I’ve learned not to sweat the petty things and not to pet the sweaty things.

…I’ve learned that ex’s are like fungus, and keep coming back.

…I’ve learned age is a very high price to pay for maturity.

…I’ve learned that I don’t suffer from insanity. I enjoy it.

…I’ve learned that we are responsible for what we do, unless we are celebrities.

…I’ve learned that artificial inteligence is no match for natural stupidity.

…I’ve learned that 99% of the time, when something isn’t working in your house, the kids did it.

…I’ve learned that the people you care about most in your life are taken from you too soon and all the less important ones just never go away. And the real pains in the ass are permanent.

I woke up one early Sunday morning and couldn’t get my sleep back. For those who know me, that’s pretty peculiar because my regular waking hours are a few hours before lunch (won’t say the exact time!). Hubby was already awake. He’s so used to getting up early even if he sleeps late the night before. My tummy was grumbling so hubby offered to get me a bowl of chicken sopas, a leftover from the previous day. Hubby ended up getting himself a bowl, too.

So there we were, husband and wife, eating our chicken sopas in bed, while our little girl was still soundly asleep. I had a great time talking to hubby and catching up on so many things. When you’ve got a toddler, you can count the few times you get to share some simple bonding moments with your husband without the little one butting in. Because hubby’s work is based in Bulacan, he doesn’t get to come home as often as he’d want, hence, the days he’s here with us are precious days we spend together as family.

He shares his adventures in the air while I share my adventures at home, as if there’s anything adventurous in staying home, haha. I mostly fill him with anecdotes of Zoe and tell him how my hip bone feels like it’s gonna give way already. We talk about how blessed we are and worry a little on how we need to save more for the baby’s coming. Our worries fade when we remind ourselves that God has never failed us. Through the years, everything that has happened just fell into place.

After an hour or so, Zoe wakes up and we’re swept into the motion of the day doing the things we have to do. We spent the afternoon in Canlubang where Zoe got to play with her cousins and hubby got to bond with his brothers. It was almost midnight when we headed for home. We sealed the night after we finished our bowls of delicious takeout goto from Goodah over another round of good conversation.