Annika Turns Two

Last November 23, our little Annika turns two, and it makes me go happily senti. She used to be a little baby; but now, she's very active and tall and strong! :) How time flies. Thank You Lord for this very precious gift.. one of the best gift You’ve given to us.

Hmm, how do I describe my two-year old Annika? One word immediately comes to mind - madaldal! :) We could say her language skills are relatively advanced. Her vocabulary is wide for her age, the words she says and understands are too many to count. She can recite and read the full alphabet and numbers 1 to 15. She knows colors and shapes, too! :)

Our baby is also very polite, she says "please" and "thank you" and "sorry" most of the time, during appropriate moments. She knows how to pray, and talk on the phone (as if she’s talking to someone.)

Annika loves to sing, too! And she's quick to memorize lyrics. She already knows how to sing most of her nursery rhymes. Besides that, her current favorite song is the Tagalog classic Bahay Kubo.

She also loves to dance too! Once she heard an upbeat music, she will definitely dance on her feet. Mana sa Mama-La (my mom in law). 😁

Haaaay my baby... thinking about how much Annika has grown makes us very happy and proud. She's smart and always cheerful, just like what we've always prayed for her to be.(though sometimes masungit 😜)

Happy second birthday, Annika! :)  Daddy and Mommy will always be here for you, guiding you and keeping you safe. We love you to the moon and back, to infinity and beyond, forever and ever! :)

Thankful,

Annika's Blessed 1st Birthday Party

Few weeks from now, our Little Princess is turning two already! Waaahhhh..Time flies really fast! 😭😫 BIG THANKS to God for all the guidance and support throughout the past two years.. for all the provisions, and for giving me enough strength to take care my little family. Thank You Lord for everything! 😊

Anyway, this busy mommy here wasn’t able to post my Little Princess’ 1st Birthday Party last year, but since it’s already our birth month, better post it late than never, as the saying goes. Lol! 😂😜 

But honestly, I would like to share this not to brag or anything, but because this celebration is a testimony of God's goodness to our little family. This party was way beyond our budget that time. 2 months prior to this event, I resigned from my work, so our only source of income was Percy's salary. But God who is and always been our constant Great Provider (since our wedding day) never failed to show us His goodness and provisions and supply all our needs. He sent us people who helped us with our expenses for this event. Percy's Lolo and my mother in law gave us enough money to paid for everything without us asking for help from them. They just really love and want the best for their beautiful granddaughter. Sheila, Percy's sister, paid for our photobooth. Percy's friend, Jamin, also gave us his free photography service and my sister Con helped me with the designs and lay outs of our DIY's. Our hearts are so overjoyed, this is one of the many miracles God made in our lives. Thank You Lord for the life of these people You used. 

So let me take this chance to share with you the highlights of her birthday bash!

Our little baby is so sweet and bubbly. What could be a more fitting theme than Candyland, right? For a day, our #Annikadorable became a #CandylandPrincess! 😊

The beautiful and colorful set up inside Kowloon House, West Avenue

DIY candies, towel cupcake, chocolate brand (instead of table numbers) and Annika’s photo with her special request as table centerprieces.

Sweet treats for everyone! This pretty dessert set up was one of our DIY’s too! 😊

A closer look to my DIY Chocolate Tower Cake! 

Cupcakes with our DIY personalized toppers. They’re yummy as the look! 

We also prepared a coloring activity for the kids so that they won’t get bored before the program started

The party giveaways.. My DIY candy lootbags! 

Our entertainment package which consists of Party Clown/Host, Party Magician, and Bubble Show

Our Photobooth which serves as souvenirs for the guests

Our little family 😊

And that's it, our Annikadorable's birthday bash! Special thanks to our suppliers who were all easy to work with! 😊

Kowloon House, West Avenue - Though it’s a common venue for parties and events, we chose Kowloon because the place is accessible to both commuters and those who have cars. Most of our guests are from QC, and we also considered my family which will be coming from Bulacan. The food was great plus the venue we got is huge enough for the number of guests we have.

Genie & Pj Event Management - styling, face paint and entertainment package. Two thumbs up! Getting them to take care of everything in the program was one of our best decisions. I didn't have to prepare for anything except for the game prizes. Sulit na sulit! 😊

StatPhotobooth - Thank you, StatPhobooth! From our wedding, to Annika’s Dedication, and now Annika’s 1st Birthday. It was a pleasure working with their team. No headache at all. 😊

Jamin Lim Photography - FREE photo coverage. A huge thanks to Jamin Lim for accommodating us since Annika’s Dedication and for giving as your free service, we love the shots! 😊

And of course, a never ending Thanks and Praises to God who always helps us in everything.

Very Blessed,

Maternity Leave Extended!

Praise God!!! Thank You Lord!!! All glory to God!!! :)

These are the words that are continuously coming out of my mouth at this very moment. Why?? Because my 78 days maternity leave was extended! Wohhoooo!!! :)

Someone was happy too about the good news! :)

My maternity leave was supposed to be ended today, and I am supposed to be back to work on Monday, but since we still haven't find a nanny to take care of our dear Annika, I have asked a request from our HR to please extend my leave till the end of the month. Praise God they allowed me! :)

I was so happy and I even cried knowing that I was so blessed to be part of Euro Chemicals, Inc., a company whose very considerate to their employees, and most especially, a company who has a very kind and generous bosses. That's why it is really hard for me to give up my work knowing that it would be very hard to find another company like this one. Though I admit that I have came out to the point that I wanted to resign to take care of my baby till her first year. But then, realization came.. I want give all the best to Annika and part of that "best" is to provide everything she needs and everything I wanted for her. And being a working mom would be one of the answers. Percy and I will work for her and provide for her. Someday our baby girl will understand why mommy has to work. But for now, I will enjoy my two weeks extension leave being with her because for sure I'm gonna miss her big time when I got back to work on February.

Thank You so much Lord! You're the best! I love You Lord! :)


Very blessed,

Annika's First Check-up

After so many cancelled attempts (cancelled because of traffic and holidays) of going to the hospital for her monthly check-up, finally we did it! Last Friday was our scheduled check up for our baby girl. Upon arriving at our pedia’s clinic, she was weighed and we were a bit shocked knowing that she’s now 4.5kgs heavy. Annika gained 1.2kgs after losing some pounds when she got hospitalized. That’s why carrying her now feels like workout. Hmmm.. Good job si mommy for providing the best milk (breast milk). Hehe! She’s also now 58cms long (1.9ft, almost 2ft). Wow! Ang haba ng baby namin! :)

Percy and I were both happy that our dear Annika was so behave during her actual check up. We were asked by her pedia, Doctora Masangkay if she already knew how to response when we were conversing with her. Gladly, when Doctora was talking while checking on her, our baby girl was so focused, made an eye to eye and don’t even blink. She even gave her cute smile and her “oohhhh” sound. And according to her pedia, very good si baby and maybe on her next visit makikipagdaldalan na daw si baby!

Thank You Lord for our healthy baby girl!

Very blessed,

Annika's First Real Smile

Our baby girl finally did it! She flashed her first real smile (not just one of those reflex lip curls she's been doing since birth) last Wednesday, January 6, when she was exactly 6 weeks and 2 days old. Yehey! :)

According to www.parents.com, a baby's first real smile usually makes an appearance "somewhere between one and a half to 3 months (or 6 and 12 weeks) of life (our little Annika is on track!). You can tell the difference between a reflex and a real smile by the timing and duration. Generally, reflex smiles tend to be shorter and occur randomly, when the baby is sleeping or tired. Real smiles, on the other hand, occur in response to something, like seeing her mama's face or hearing a sibling's high-pitched voice, and they are consistent... When it's the real deal, you will see the emotion expressed in your baby's eyes."

I had been waiting for Annika's first social smile every day, and when it finally happened, I immediately recognized it. I just finished feeding her and as usual, I was talking to her. She made her cute little sound “ooohhh”, and then she flashed the sweetest toothless grin I have ever seen. I knew it was real because it wasn't brief, and it was sandwiched in between other sounds she was making, as if she was conversing with me. I was soooo happy I couldn't stop talking to her. My heart melts! Nakakawala ng pagod at puyat. :)

Thank You Lord for this milestone of Annika! :) I eagerly await her next one: laughter! :)

Overjoyed,

Our Second Merry Christmas

Percy and I have already two Christmases together. The first one was obviously special because it was the first and we were full of hope, and this year, our 2nd, was nothing short of blissful! God's gift was delivered last month and it's our first Christmas to spend it with her - our Annika.

And since Christmastime is largely about gift-giving, our little person received more gifts than us. These presents were much appreciated, and we were very thankful to all the people who remembered her.

So that's about it! Our 2nd Christmas and 1st with Annika. Hope your Christmas was as merry as our family's! Happy holidays! :)

Cheers,

Our Precious Angel

"I prayed for this child and the Lord has granted me what I asked of Him."

~ 1 Samuel 1:27 ~

Meet our precious little angel, our greatest answered prayer,

Annika Emmanuelle Bersoto-Guela

Born on November 23, 2015 at QMMC

3.7 kgs

51 cm long

*********

Yehey, we're now a family of three! 

Thank You Lord!

Very blessed,