Trick O Treat

October 31, 2005:

flower power

This will be Kaelin's first Halloween. Courtesy of her Ninong Jeff and Tita Annie, she will be dressed up as a flower . A flower that will bloom over time and sown with love...how appropriate. We mananged to avoid eating all of the chocolate before it was time to hand it out to the kids. Although we only expected a handful of kids coming to our door...you can never have enough candy especially for us chocolate mongers.

At 6:30pm it was time to dress Kaelin into her first costume. Quite a feat if you ask me...had to lay her down, turn her over, put her on her stomach...Kaelin looked unimpressed. The outfit needed parental instructions! Of course, come picture time, she could not even muster a smile. We propped her up against the couch for pictures and due to the weight of the costume and her lack of upper body control, she almost toppled over. A cute first Halloween picture was not meant to be! For a chance to parade her in her darling costume and in a last ditch effort to get our greedy hands on some extra treats, Jeff and Annie took her "trick or treating" to a few houses. But after a slew of comments like "Isn't she adorable" to "Isn't she too young to eat candy yet?", they came back home. After an hour, she started to look perplexed and agitated in her costume ...the costume was afterall a furnace in disguise. Good for outdoors but not for indoor use. Poor Kaelin...what parents do to torture their kids! But we will do it all over again for next year...

Time is Precious

friendship is timeless

October 29, 2005:

As we attended the last wedding of the year, Mr. & Mrs. Ashley were finally introduced as husband and wife. The beautiful bride walked down the aisle to the Tamia and Eric Benet song "Spend my Life"...nice touch! We have now become wedding pros...now if only we could only plan our own wedding. Time is ticking away.

After the ceremony, we treated ourselves to Red Lobster. Ian ordered the Ultimate Feast Seafood Platter and I had the all-you-can-eat shrimp deal. Shrimp pasta, shrimp scampi, popcorn shrimp, fried shrimp and coconut shrimp...let's say I will not be consuming shrimp or any other type of shellfish for a very long time. Since the reception was scheduled for 7pm, we had ample time to go home to rest and play with Kaelin. Sufficed to say, we lost track of time and almost did not make it to the reception.

To my relief, steak and chicken were on the menu. If it had been seafood, the outcome would not have been good. It was alone time for mommy and daddy and I intended to revel in our exclusive night out. But it did not change the fact that I missed her already and that I suffered from mother's guilt syndrome. I guess you can't have it both ways. As expected, I did not take advantage of the open-bar. It was daylight savings time and I was more excited about the extra hour of sleep than being tipsy. I was struck by a twinge of nostalgia as music reminiscent from my youthful teenage and early twentysomething years blasted through the speakers. I loved listening and dancing to the old house, r & b, reggae songs. Old school they call it...am I that old? Do I sense some bitterness? No...maybe just bittersweet memories. Just before midnight, I realized that it was time for me to move on and time for us to go home and kiss Kaelin goodnight.

Three Weddings & a Baby

October 22, 2005:

Mr. & Mrs. Aznar
One couple down and a few more to go. Couples are dropping like flies around our camp and officially ending their single life by taking the oath of marriage. Love is in the air and this year has been no exception. In her short life, Kaelin has already attended three weddings. Two weddings were regrettfully declined because of the timing of her birth.

High school sweethearts Carol and Carlos got hitched this past Saturday. The bride looked beautiful and the groom looked quite nervous...hehehe! At the church ceremony, Kaelin was quite fussy but soon settled down as Tita Elaine made funny faces at her while Tita Rosie disapprovingly Mr. & Mrs. Aznar looked on. Her funny moment of the day was when she began to sing/hum "Ave Maria" along with the singer. I think I'm going to have a performer on my hands! The rain and cold weather ruined their opportunity to snap outdoor photos but they made the best of it by taking pictures inside the church and reception hall. Hopefully the weather improves this weekend as Tracy and Dwayne will be tying the knot. I guess we won't be selecting October and November as our options. That reminds me, we have to set a date soon!

Kaelin was a handful at the reception. Attempting to peacefully enjoy my meal was an adventure in itself... no wonder people usually leave their babies at home! For the most part, I did enjoy bringing Kaelin to the wedding but I found it a challenge to socialize with others. From dancing with Kaelin in the Baby Bjorn to perfecting the fine art of simultaneously eating my dinner while entertaining/consoling her, I think we will be leaving her with Lola and Lolo for this weekend's upcoming nuptials.

Reflections

June 17, 2005 @ 2:44pm:

A day after my 30th b-day became the best & hardest day of my life. Through 12 hours of labour, lots of drugs and delivery by forceps, Kaelin Shae Marcelino (7 lbs. 3oz) came into my world (not as graceful as I had expected but well worth it!) Four months ago if you had asked me if I wanted another baby..."Hell no!" ask me now ..."Maybe".

July 3, 2005:

As my body slowly began to recuperate from the effects of the labour, my little girls' face began to change. At different times of the day, Kaelin's face would morph back and forth from me to Ian . Speaking of changes, giving birth does a number on a woman's body. Everyone concentrates on the actual delivery but noone ever tells you about the six weeks after the pregnancy. You basically still look and feel pregnant but worse. Swollen feet, pouch belly, chronic backaches, physically incapable of getting in and out of bed, sleep deprivation and "washroom issues"...oh how I wanted to be pregnant again! Breastfeeding was a challenge and gave up after a week and after nights of crying . My guilt, my hormones, my lack of self-esteem, my anxiety of being a new mom hit its peak. Would I ever be able survive this? When will things get better? Will I ever feel "normal" again?

August 19, 2005:

I've survived, things are better and some sense of normalcy has returned. My family, fiance and friends have been my touchstone. I would have not been able to persevere without them. As I have learned through my experience, a support network and routine is key but always make room for some surprises and bumps along the way. Your relationship with your partner will change but it will evolve and grow stronger. Date nights, alone time and a handy list of babysitters is a must for every new set of parents. Your bond will be tested, after all there are now three of you in the relationship. Kaelin is now a little over 8 weeks and her personality is rapidly developing. I recognize her cues and funny nuances. When she's hungry, watch out! There better be a warm bottle waiting for her. Your selfishness, self-importance and self-interests disappear amongst the spitups, poopy diapers and night feedings and your inner child re-emerges. Waking up in the morning and hearing your child giggle and seeing them smile back at you is the best medicine. Since most of my friends do not have any kids yet, another sure cure for any hard day is the sympathy and the understanding from another mom.

September 17, 2005:

A day of calm and chaos. Kaelin is now 3 months and today she will be welcomed into the Catholic Church. The baptismal ceremony took place early in the morning which left us the rest of the day to setup for her party. We were expecting 150-200 people at the community centre so everything had to be organized and precisely on time. Tables and chairs had to be setup, food had to be picked up and arranged, the bar and beverage stand had to be planned out and all these and other tasks had to be efficiently coordinated and orchestrated to avoid any havoc and mayhem. I hope the DJ shows up! Amongst all this madness, who was going to watch over the celebrant? The night turned into a huge success. Good turnout of guests, food was great, good music, lots of presents and envelopes and open-bar. Need I say more? One party down and many more to go! Hostessing and entertaining is truly hard work...next time we will be making reservations at a restaurant!