say a little prayer

I received a call from my brother today.
I have never heard him sounding so solemn and broken.
He was the bearer of bad news.

Our uncle, my mom's brother, has passed away.

I bow my head in memory of him and say a silent prayer thanking God for taking away his pain.

He will be missed but forever loved and remembered.

See you at the crossroads, Tito El.

and before we even get to halloween....

At 8 months pregnant last December, I went to a Torre and Tagus sale where I found the most perfect of Christmas trees and purchased it on the spot. Because Christmas wasn`t spent at our condo, we decided not to put up the tree and save it for this year.

Laugh if you would like, but I actually put up my tree last Sunday.

If you were in Manila, the Christmas season starts on September 1. And because I miss that feeling so much, my tree, though bare and needing some ornaments to light it up, is proudly up in my living room.

Now for the shopping part --- I just might leave it until after halloween. I`m thinking of a blue and silver theme for my beautiful white tree (just like the photo above).

I can`t wait for our very first Christmas as a family!

hands-free!

The little man has finally learned the art of holding his own bottle!!!!

I am finally hands free after 8.5 months. We're going to celebrate this joyous occasion!

at the end of my rope (literally)

My gorgeous little man is finally wearing his brand new mommy-made scarf! After three nights spent on my kitchen table, I was able to see the light at the end of the tunnel when i finally ran out of yarn. The finished product was, of course, happily worn and drooled on by my son whom I snapped non-stop photos of.

I can't wait to get started on my own scarf --- with fringes this time.

pour down on us

The fall season is my favourite time of year. There's something in the air that brings on certain calm to to my soul and the muted coloures surrounding me soothes my spirits like no other. On top of those, fall brings down the rain. I live in the perfect city --- Vancouver --- because it pours down here like no other.

And on a day like today, when it's expected to pour all day, I will sit on my bed for a little bit while the baby sleeps beside me and the little dog dozes on my feet. I will pull out my knitting, crack open my window a bit and listen to the pitter-patter as a steaming mug of hot cocoa awaits me. Then a little later this afternoon, I just might bake the perfect pumpkin pie.

Does anyone else love this weather as much as I do?

learn to knit!

I have been itching to get my hands onto a new hobby and have finally decided that Knitting just might be the trick! We finally went out shopping today for some 'must-have' items and along with my new knitting needles and pretty coloured yarn (which took me almost an hour to choose!), I have also picked up the Ultimate Knitting Bible.

I can't wait to get started!

in thanks...

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food,
For love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson -

Playroom Bonanza!

Ok... the little man may not really be up and running as of yet --- but our 2nd bedroom which we've used for storage is finally UP and RUNNING..... we've sorted through all our boxes, cleaned-up the mess and shopped around for some items worthy of a playroom!

Some new and old toys, his definitely new Alphabet wall and a hanging organizer for his stuffies (barely seen on the right hand side).

Some more wall appliques that he gravitates to at all times!

And of course, we can't forget his puzzle playmat!

We also found the cutest toy box for him but as he is still at the crawling and pulling-up stage, we didn't bother purchasing it as we're afraid he might hurt himself with it. That, of course, is next on the list along with a couple of shelves for his books.

I now leave you with my hubby's 'mini-me' in his own pool of balls :)

i <3 him

The hubby came home with a new book for me. I wasn't expecting this so the gesture is truly much more than appreciated. I love it when he comes surprising me with the simplest of things.

Can't wait to get started on my new read!

tut-tut

One of Dylan's most favourite toy is actually not a toy --- it's our home phone! He loves seeing me on the phone because it means he can try to steal it away from me. He espcially loves it when I put whomever I am speaking with on the speaker phone where he can blabber away like he is the one having a conversation.

Our telephone holds endless minutes of fun as our little boy loves to press the buttons and hear the sounds it makes while the screen lights up... which leads me to this blog --- it only seems right that instead of his first sylables being 'baba' or 'dada' or 'mama', that he says 'TUT-TUT' imitating the sound the buttons make when pressed!

He is just uber cute and uber smart! You see, he refuses to say 'tut-tut' unless it's the actual phone in his hands which means he's making a connection between an item and what he is personally calling it. He just turned 8 months and already he's showing how smart he can be!!! (So sue me, I'm a mom and we tend to be biased, don't we?)

I am so proud of my little man!

exactly 3 years ago ---

Vancouver --> Dallas --> Orlando

I wish this was today so I can head out of the Vancouver rain.