Hmm... What's New?

I haven't blogged for a long time now. I've been quite preoccupied. Thank God for the free time I have this morning. :) Here are the updates on Polo so far:

Polo turned 2 last Feb 21, 2009. We celebrated it at McDonald's in Frontera Verde on Feb 22 with friends and family.

I stopped breastfeeding Polo one week after he turned 2. This is an answered prayer. I prayed that the weaning will not be traumatic and stressful for the 2 of us. It wasn't automatic but it wasn't difficult either. Marvin was the one who pacified Polo and put him to bed during the weaning week. It helped that we prayed for it to be easy and that we've been talking to about the weaning Polo since he was 1.6yrs old. Yesterday, someone asked him if he wanted to drink milk from Mommy. Polo mumbled, "... (I am) 2 years old," explaining in his own words that he is old enough to drink from a cup. Awww... He's slowly growing out of his "baby" years. *Sniff*Sniff*

He didn't cry during his last haircut and Pedia Check-up! Wohoo! We can expect less stress for Marvin and I on our next visit to the barbershop and doctor. Wihee! Oh, and yesterday, all of us got our Flu Vaccine Shots at home c/o of my sister, Doctor Joanne. It was painless for most of us, btw. I am so proud of you, Ate! Marvin and I prepped Polo. One week in advance, we were telling him about the injection and that his Ninang Joanne would be giving it to all of us. Yesterday, before Doctor-Ninang Joanne arrived, we reminded him about the injection, saying, "Later, Ninang Joanne will give Polo an injection. Everybody will get an injection." Without much fuss or thought, Polo said his usually sweet and cool, "Ok." True enough when it was his turn to get his shot, he was cool -- his usual crying and whining was absent. He even watched his Lolo Dante, Ninang Kaye and Kuya Aia get their own shot before he did. He squirmed a bit when he felt the bite of the vaccine but there were no tears. After the shot, he limped a bit but headed back to our room to play with his toys. Brave boy, I must say! In my heart, I am jumping and cart-wheeling. Yipee! Mana siya kay Mommy. Hindi siya takot sa injection! ;)

He can finally drink from a straw. We tried to introduce a straw to him a number of times. Those attempts ended with him blowing through the straw than sipping from it. Hehehe... During the Holy Week, I was surprised to see him drink from it with ease. Now with the straw, drinking milk from the cup is more fun. It helps us get him to drink his milk.

He can sing! His all-time favorite songs are "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", "Happy Birthday", "ABC" (which has the same tune as Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star... hehehe), and "Are You Sleeping, Brother John?" It's sooo cute to see him sing on his own when he plays. He just breaks into song or hums and sways to the tune of the song he is singing.

He is now old enough to join kiddie games in Children's parties. Last week, Polo and Marvin attended a children's party. Polo would usually run around, dance or cling to us but this time, he listened to the instructions, watched the other children, joined the games, and even won! Wohoo! Winner! :)

His cartoon movie favorites have expanded. Cars and Bee Movie is still the all-time favorite but now, he requests for "Robinsons" (for Meet the Robinsons, one of the cartoon movies that made me cry), "Lion King", and "Kung Fu Panda." He still complains when you change the channel while he is watching boxing, UFC, and circuit racing (F1, motorbikes, cars, etc). He knows his TV preference. In each cartoon show or movie that he watches, someone has to be "Papa" (or Marvin), "Mommy" (or me), and Polo.... So in "Ratatouille", I am the lady chef and Marvin is Linguini. In "Meet the Robinsons," Polo is Lewis, I am Lewis' Mom, and Marvin is Lewis' Dad. In "Cars", Polo is Lightning Mc Queen, and I am Sally... and so on and so forth. Hehehe...

He already had his 1st kiss! He probably kissed many girls before but this is the 1st one we captured on cam. Look, it looks like he will become a good kisser when he grows up. Hehehe...

Google-ing my Name

An article in Reader's Digest said that once in a while, one should google his own name to see the information available to all about one's self... So, last night I googled my name and this is what I discovered -- namewiki:

The origin of my first name is Hebrew. It means God will add.

Here are the stats related to my Maiden Family Name:

It is the 10196th most common family name in the United States
It occurs 2902 times in the most recent US Census (2000)
1.08 out of every 100,000 people in the United States have it as a family name
77.39% are White
0% are Black
9.75% are Hispanic (any)
7.37% are Asian / Pacific Islander
0% are American Indian / Native American
2.69% are Two or More

Whoah! No wonder, we didn't know much of our kin. Most of them are white and are in the US. Hahaha! Hmm, why is my Dad's skin dark, then? Hahaha

Check out your family name in namewiki. Has it reached the US, yet?

Cool Changes

We transferred to a new house last March 15, 2008. We now reside in a 2-storey house with 4 bedrooms, 3 toilets, parking slots for 2 vehicles, a garden, a maid's room and enough space for Daddy's unused video and photography equipment and so much room for Polo to walk, run around and play in.

I love the neighborhood. It's secure, quiet and peaceful. I hear a lot of birds chirping in the morning. When I look out our window, I see the sky and our work-in-progress garden where my Mom and Dad planted flower-bearing plants. The stack of old that used to be in our room in the old house is now gone, all organized and neatly kept in our cabinets. When we step outside our room, we see a spacious living room to our left and a homey dining area and kitchen to our right. Another thing I love about the new place is that we never run out of water!!! Goodbye water shortage! Good bye water tank delivery! :) Wohoo!

Secondly, today marks my first day in the Product Marketing Team of SMART Money Activations. After around 4 years of being away from Product Marketing, I decided to go back. Thankfully, our company allowed me to jump around different teams and go back to where I started. So let's see how it goes. Hopefully, this time around, I'll stay longer. Hehehe.

Daddy Marvin

Commemorating Marvin's 1st Father's Day... We had a 2 day celebration to honor Marvin.

Marvin & Polo at Bonifacio High Street

Day1: June 16, Saturday

Our small family nucleus (Marvin, Polo and I plus Rissa - our new household helper) headed to Dr. Joey's clinic in Manila Doctor's for Polo's pre-4th month check up. He'd be vaccinated once again. This time around it will be the 5-in-1 type.

Polo lying on Doc Joey's weighing scale

We arrived at the hospital at 11am, an hour earlier than Doc Joey's clinic schedule. Polo was Doc Joey's #3 patient in line. We laid Polo on the clinic's weighing scale. Ala! He is now 4+ lbs heavier and 10cm longer! His built is that of a 6-month old baby. Way to go, Polo! Your Dad's hopes of having a 6-footer son is within reach. Hehehe!

Full view of Polo rocking Doc Joey's weighing scale

When Doc Joey saw Polo, he pinched his cheeks and made funny faces to connect and play with Polo. He lectured us about dental stuff, warned us against using a walker because it prohibits the correct development of "walking" muscles and adviced us against exposing Polo to too much tv. Goodbye GKNB, Wowowee, and evening teleseryes for Polo! Hahaha!

The Agustins and the Ortiz-Luis at Congo Grille, SM MOA



The Daddies exchanging bottle-feeding notes

After 2 hrs or so, we were now headed to SM Mall of Asia to have a pre-Father's Day lunch with our couple friends Phipo-Roda+Ethan and Arland-Tina. Phipo, Roda and Ethan reserved a table and ordered lunch at Congo Grille. Arland and Tina couldn't make it that early so we met them for merienda instead. The highlight of our lunch was Papa Piolo Pascual, our surprise guest!

Papa Piolo!!! with the starstuck Daddies with their clueless sons

Piolo came in the restaurant in the middle of our late lunch meal. Apparently, Watson's was having a presscon there to launch a new scent that Piolo was endorsing. It was a good day for Piolo to dropby. His presence made Marvin and Phipo's pre-Father's Day get-together a bit more exciting. Kaya ayun, the Dads and their sons didn't pass up the photo opportunity with Papa Piolo! Marvin with Polo and Phipo with Ethan had easy access to Piolo. They didn't need to fall in line and go through the tight security guarding Piolo outside the resto.

Look at the security guarding Piolo outside Congo Grille!

Phipo, Roda and Ethan had to leave right after our meal while we waited a few more hours to meet up with Arland and Tina for merienda at Sugarhouse. Marvin and I shared a slice of apple pie. I'm sure Polo tasted it in his milk later that evening. :)

We went home at around 6pm but not without stopping by SM Dept store, which is Polo's favorite Mall, to buy diapers and socks for Polo. Polo's diaper size has been upgraded to Medium as well as his socks for his growing feet.

Day2: Mass at Sanctuario de San Antonio with Tita Jaz, Lolo and Lola then Dinner at Bonifacio High Street with the Tans

We heard mass at 4:30pm. I was brave enough not to bring supply of milk for Polo. Good thing he showed signs of hunger only towards the end of the mass. I fed him in the car on the way to Bonifacio High Street.

Capturing the sunset at Serendra

At Bonifacio High Street, we walked around and took pictures to commemorate Marvin's 1st Father's Day. We also checked out Serendra since it was our first time to go there. While walking, we bumped into a number of familiar faces: Cathy Bodestyne - now married with 2 sons was with her family and parents; The Parrenos were there celebrating Father's Day while entertaining a balikbayan guest; Tito Edwin, an art director family friend dropby to give Lolo Dante a painting he made; A biking buddy kababata (I forgot his name... hehehe) was having dinner with a friend; 2 officemates with their respective families; and 2 former Scholastican schoolmates were checking out the stores there.

Father & Son moment

Dinner was at Brother's Burger, the more affordable resto in the area that served food good for Isaiah and Praise, my pamangkins. Couldn't get enough of their onion rings and french fries! I munched down a lot of those right after feeding Polo in the car (for lack of a better breastfeeding station in the area). After Dinner, the Tans headed to Timezone for rounds of videoke fun, which was Tyrone's Father's Day wish come true. Lolo and Lola and Tita Jaz joined in the fun while we, the Agustins strolled Polo around the area.

The whole clan waiting for our dinner at Bros Burger

We bought Hillsongs' newest CD for Daddy Marvin and another Kids Song Praise CD for Baby Polo. It was almost 10pm when we decided to have dessert at Krispy Kreme. We ordered 2 dozen of donuts. I had the french crueler (not sure if the spelling is correct), lemon filled donut and a regular honey glazed one. Yup, I decided to have my fill of the famous Krispy Kreme before heading home to finally put tired Polo to bed.

The 1st born Agustin and 1st born Tan posing with Lolo and Lola at Krispy Kreme

That was our Father's Day treat for Daddy Marvin. At the end of the day, we were happy to spend all our energies making that day memorable.

End-of-day Agustin Family Pic

Dear Mommy

Yes, it's true, a daughter appreciates and begins to understand her mother when she becomes a mother herself. With Polo now in my life, I'm getting a glimpse of what you're going through as a Mom.

I thank you for being my Mom, for doing the best you can all the time. For smiling and continuing to love and care for us even when we don't seem to appreciate all your efforts. Thank you for loving me enough to be there when I need you the most especially during the times that I feel that I could manage all by myself. Thank you for giving me space to grow and discover motherhood on my own and yet still be within an arm's reach when I don't have a clue.

Thanks for all the meals you heartily prepare daily. Thank you for all the prayers you offer on our behalf. Thank you for all the lessons and values you wish to instill in us. Thank you for recording all the important details of our life in your slumbook of life.

I love you for all that you are and all the you will be. I pray that God will continue to bestow you with inner and physical strength, wisdom and abundant love.

Mwah!