A Poem for Tala

A little something that I wrote for my jelly bean's first birthday. So thankful that she came into my life. I'm becoming a better person because of her.

TALA

Today you turn one

You’re beautiful, happy, healthy

All the things we pray for you to be

You amaze us with your smarts

You’re quick and sharp

I wonder where you get that

From Nanay perhaps? :)

Yes you can be stubborn

And feisty as hell

You never wanna go to bed early

What is up with that

And sometimes you’re snobby

You never want your hand touched

Not by anybody, not even by us

But that’s very seldom

For the most part you’re real sweet

You melt our hearts each time

You press your lips to ours

And when you laugh

Your sweet glorious laugh

It’s like the angels are singing

And the world is all good

You erase all our fears

All our worries

All our doubts

Only love and happiness

Reign in our hearts

Today you turn one

HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY, DEAREST CHIBI

May you always know you are loved

Since before we even met you

And now and forever

To the moon and back.

The One About Family Reunions

Hubby's family holds a reunion every two years at a campsite here in Texas. It's always a lot of fun. There's plenty of Mexican food, dancing, drinking, singing, and non-stop chatter. Each family stays in a cabin with bunk beds and some in their RVs. This is the second time that I attended and just like the first time, I had a blast. We stayed in the same cabin we where at two years ago. This time we had an addition, our one-year old Tala. We had two kids and four toddlers in our cabin so it was absolutely crazy. Tala was so happy playing with her cousins. It's amazing how her face lights up whenever there are babies/kids around.

Even though it was scorching hot, we managed to enjoy a dip in the lake. Hubby's cousin brought a pedal boat so that was pretty cool. Because of that boat, we are thinking of getting a truck. Which will come in handy for various reasons. Plus we always borrow my sister-in-law's truck so maybe it's time to invest in one. Hubby and I are already dreaming of the many adventures we'll have with a truck. Maybe if we get lucky, we'll find that one property near a lake. Anyway, I'm getting ahead of myself. It's always good to dream though. You never know. Remind me to buy lotto tickets. :-)

I'm lucky that hubby's family is close-knit. It's so much like mine. It really helps especially since I'm oceans away from my parents and siblings. Which reminds me, if we get to go home in the Philippines this December, I have a lot of organizing to do. I wanna see everyone. You don't realize the value of family until you can't see them regularly anymore. Good thing there's always family reunions to look forward to.

Some photos from the 2012 Laing Family Reunion:

 my little family

happy mom

Big Grandma, Vince and Tala

 Tala's big cousins

cuties!

it's a small small world

Big Grandma's family

Cuteness overload!

my little mermaid

water freaks :)

adorable cousins

enjoying the summer despite the heat

Little Jelly Bean's First Birthday

Tala's first birthday party was short and sweet. She was feeling a little sick so she barely smiled, poor thing. I think the only fun part for her was when she smashed her cake. She looked so cute in her tutu with matching ballet shoes. I need to take her to a studio so she can have professional pictures wearing the tutu.

I can't believe she's already a year old. It seems like only yesterday when she looked like an alien! A very cute little alien. Now she's all over the house walking. Or climbing the stairs. Or making strange little sounds. She even hums. I think my baby's gonna be a singer. Or at least someone who loves to sing, like her Nanay.

Here are some pictures from her party.

Summer Birthday Fever

A week into the summer and it's already August-level hot here in San Antonio. Good thing we had the fortitude to book the little one's first birthday party indoors. There's no way that we could handle it out in the sun in the middle of July. The party room has an under the sea theme so I've been busy going to stores online and otherwise to scrounge for under the sea stuff.

After searching high and low for a birthday outfit, I finally found one at Nordstrom. It's a pink petticoat dress from Popatu. So cute! It looks fancy enough with its ruffles and sparkles. Perfect for the birthday girl. I can't wait until she wears it. I'm still looking for pink ballet shoes or satin sandals.

We already had her birthday banner, garlands and party hats printed at the Office Depot. It's cheaper than buying ink and printing them ourselves. Good thing there's Pinterest 'coz that's where I found the free printables. My ever creative mother-in-law is making the table topper or center piece. She says she's going to use socks to make fishes so I'm excited to see the final product.

We already ordered the cake/cupcakes, but still have to decide on the food. We'll probably end up with hotdogs, sandwiches and pasta salad. We'll see. I'm just glad that we don't have to rush anymore since we pretty much have everything covered.

So thankful to God for blessing us with a beautiful sweet little baby. She is silly and funny and smart and so well behaved. I may be busy doing all sorts of stuff for her first birthday, but in my heart I'm a little bit sad and totally not ready yet. She's growing up too fast, my jelly bean.

Blessings

Today, I'm grateful for the following:

1. Getting approved for an apartment rental here in San Antonio. The place looks beautiful and is centrally located (shops, restaurants, etc.). This will be our first taste of apartment living so hopefully all goes well. Also our first abode in this lovely city.

2. Having a happy and healthy baby. Tala turned 11 months yesterday. One more month and we will have a toddler! Right now, she's into flipping her books, looking at the pictures, pointing and blabbing. She can do this all day. She also started singing along with me. At least that's what I think (or hear). If she takes after me, she'd be breaking out into a song every now and then.

3. An outstanding show (The Wire) that I could watch during my free time. I just finished episode 5 of Season 1 and it's so good I can't believe I didn't see it during its heyday. I've always come across with articles saying it's the best show EVER and I'm convinced they could be right.

Vacation: Rockport, Texas

Had a fun weekend trip to Rockport, Texas with some of hubby's family. It's the closest beach to San Antonio; just a two-hour drive. Tala finally had her first taste of the ocean. She had a blast. My baby is a little mermaid, I swear.

She kept on splashing in the water. I bet it all looked like a giant bathtub to her. We went to the beach where dogs are allowed so she was just so happy watching them play. Except for the really strong wind all throughout our stay, everything was wonderful. The cottage we stayed in had a pool so the little one got to take a very short dip. It was just too cold by the time we got back from the beach for her to stay longer than a few minutes.

We took some photos and videos of her little ocean adventure. Her itty bitty swimsuits looked too cute on her. I didn't get to swim so I sure wanna go back as soon as we can. I didn't have my fill of the ocean at all. Hubby, on the other hand, got to explore the beach and its fishes and shells with the not so little nieces.

how happy is my baby?

first family trip to the beach

cousins

fishy fishy

father and daughter

"i can stay here all day"

beach bums

our little cottage

Tala's First Easter

Vince's family decided to hold an Easter celebration at his grandmother's place. He said they haven't done this since they were kids. It was a good call as the kids had a lot of space to run around and play. Perfect for Tala too since this was her very first egg hunting experience. I think Vince and I had more fun than her, though. Lol. At nine months, I don't think she really cared for any egg hunt.

The kids were so cute. They had fun searching for eggs scattered all around the property; some having $5 inside courtesy of grandma. Tala has a lot of cousins close to her age; the main reason why we don't wanna move out of San Antonio. It would be great if she would get to grow up with her cousins like Vince and I did.

Here are some photos: