 | Welcome, Willkommen, Mabuhay, Sawadee! | Oct 14, 2005 |
Thanks for visiting my Multiply site! This is where I'm keeping all my stuff from now on, so come back whenever you want to see what's new. Feel free to post a reply if you see something you like or just want to get in touch. |  | Finally, the most anticipated day has arrived! It was a simple and intimate affair with close friends to share this moment with us. We had pancit, chicken wings, pizza, ice cream, hot dog and cake! There were also simultaneous celebrations in Hamburg, Birmingham and, thanks to Skype, we were able to "join" the party in Manila. Thanks for all your well-wishes! We give praise and thanks to the Lord for this most wonderful blessing in our lives. |
Last night, Peer and I went to the city centre to watch Harry Potter 6. My mother-in-law volunteered to look after Arwen. We left in the afternoon so we can do a bit of shopping and have dinner before going to the cinema. When we got home, MIL said that Arwen cried for 2 hours before finally falling asleep. We reckon she was like this because she was in a new environment and realised that we were not there with her. We immediately went to our bedroom to whisper our love and goodnight and to let her know that Mum and Dad are home. She stirred a bit, opened her eyes, looked straight at Peer and said "Papa" before drifting off to sleep again. That was a really special moment for both of us. *sigh. | | Arwen has grown so quickly over this month. She can now stand but continues to hold on to the furnitures for support. She has also began to take small steps so we reckon that she will walking quite sooner than later. I have began to give her "normal" food--not the ones that come in the bottle. She especially enjoys rice and bread. It is also quite noisy at home with her blabbering all the time. She "says" papa, mamam, gaga, baba and can scream at the top of her lungs to get your attention. I can't believe that in another month's time she will be a year old. Time does really fly! |
| | After more than a year of not travelling (last one was Jan. 2008), I was able to find a window in my calendar to meet a Filipino friend based in Dusseldorf and drive through Western Europe. Peer encouraged me to go as this was my first "personal" holiday since giving birth to Arwen.
I had a great time mostly because Onelia was such a perfect host, tour guide, and what a driver!!! Her driving alone deserves a separate blog entry!
In Amsterdam, we met another Filipino traveller who decided to come with us to Brugge and Brussels. During our conversations it turned out to be that he is friends with my mom's Oncologist! What a small world!
Of the three cities we went to, I love Brugge the most! I've always liked small town settings and Brugge fit it to a T. I would recommend spending more time in Brugge than in Brussels if you have a choice.
Enjoy the pictures! |
| Start: | May 20, '09 12:00p | | End: | May 24, '09 | | Location: | Western Europe |
On the road with Onelia: from Dusseldorf to Amsterdam then to Belgium and Bruges. | | Arwen's 9th month is full of motor and linguistic skills development. She started with sliding on her tummy to move around the living room which progressed to moving her arms and legs to crawl forward by the end of the month. She can now also produce a distinct "ah" sound to indicate that she is asking for me or Peer.
She also started sleeping on her side and on her tummy during her daytime naps |
| | With Erhard and Antje as our hosts, we went to Schwerin to watch the Bundesgartenshau 2009. Schwerin is 200 km Northwest from Berlin. The Garden Show is an annual event exhibiting the numerous flora found in Germany. The venue changes every year. This time it was held in the gardens of Castle Schwerin.
Mama is crazy about flowers so she was very excited to go. I was crazier about seeing the Schweriner Schloss. Enjoy the pictures! |
| | These pictures are from our trips within Berlin and nearby Potsdam.
Papa and Mama arrived on April 5 for a 5-week holiday. It's their first time to meet Arwen and see me after more than 1 year. Papa was instantly smitten with his apo and mama has been singing lots of Tagalog children's songs to her. Since their arrival I have been eating a lot of rice which shows in my expanding waistline! There is always somewhere to go to every week.
We visited Peer's family over the Easter and also had the time to go to Schwerin. Unfortunately, it was rainy during their last week so we were not able to go to Dresden. Anyway, there is still next year for all these places.
Papa and mama, we miss you very much, most especially Arwen! (winki-winki!)
|
Was it just a couple of days ago when I was worried that Arwen wasn't rolling yet as she approached her 8th month birthday? Well, I worry no more! Munchkin is now rolling and rolling and rolling......
Download this and other original video files with Multiply Premium. | | My little munchkin is one voracious eater! There are never any big dramas during meal times. She sees me coming with her bowl of food and she starts screaming and clapping her hands. Thankfully, she has not shown any indication of being allergic to any food that we have offered her--even menus that are combinations of vegetable and meat. Because she loves to eat it also means to say that she loves to play with her food. Evening meals especially end up with a "dugyot" baby. Ha ha ha!
She can fully support her upper torso now and can sit up straight without the aid of the Bumbo Infant Chair. I am a little bit concerned that she has not yet started crawling now. Every morning I lie her on her back and put her favourite toys just a bit out of her reach to encourage her to turn and roll. There is a lot of crying and frustration before she can make one turn and yet, she prefers to roll right back on her back instead of lying on her tummy.
She likes turning towards her sides and can hold her head and arms up when lying on her tummy but she just can't roll easily. She has problem straightening her opposite arm whenever she tries to roll.
I know that each child is unique and would develop stages in different times but I can't help feeling that maybe I don't do enough to encourage her to start crawling. So for the start of her 9th month, I promise to have her lie on the mat every morning so she can practice rolling instead of putting her straight in her high chair.
My parents are also coming for a visit and will be staying for 5 weeks. They will be arriving on April 4. This means that I will have two extra pairs of hands to help me with Arwen. Yipee! |
One of those nights when Arwen used her charm so she can wrap daddy around her little finger!
Download this and other original video files with Multiply Premium. | | It took me a long time to post the pictures because we were both sick at the end of January. It was the first time for Arwen to be really sick (bronchitis) so you can just imagine how stressed and worried we were the whole time. Now that I have experienced these I am more appreciate of my own mother who once said that a couple of coughing fits used to reduce her to tears. Thank goodness Arwen has an excellent pediatrician who insisted on follow-up check-ups every other day until she got well.
She has now started on solids and loves to eat her carrots and potatoes. She also likes banana and apple but I still have to find a way to make her drink water and fruit juices. She only drinks milk in the morning. Her first tooth is more noticeable now and her babbling has moved on from single syllable sounds (ha!) to strings of ayayayayayayayay!!!!!
I can't believe it has been 6 months since this little munchkin came into our lives. We love her more than anything else. |
Arwen is often more active at night than any other time of the day. She babbles a lot, shouts "ha!" and like in this video, laughs out loud with Peer and myself. This was recorded a week after she got sick. We were just so happy to see her fully recovered.
Enjoy!
Download this and other original video files with Multiply Premium. | | The month of December just flew by! After a brief stay in the hospital for a gall bladder operation, the first two weeks were spent recovering. My in-laws took Arwen to Hamburg during this period since it was impossible for me to care for her. It was one of the most difficult times in my life not to be with her. I missed her so much and just spent the first days that she was away crying.
We drove to Hamburg on the 23rd in our rented Audi S-Type with Joern behind the wheel. Christmas was extra special this year with two kids in the family. Boxing day was spent walking around the neighborhood and going to church.
We also went geocaching around the Bergedorf area. Geocaching is a modern-day treasure hunting using a GPS (for more info: ww.geocaching.com).Peer, Ina and I found a cache each.
Arwen enjoyed the time in Hamburg because Ruby played a lot with her. She was also extra fascinated with Steffen, laughing every time she seems him.
Daddy and Mommy drove us back to Berlin on the 29th where we spent New Year's eve. |
| | The 4th month (November) was filled with many celebrations--Peer's birthday, my birthday and Arwen's Christening. Each event was celebrated with family and close friends. Arwen's Christening was last November 23 at the St. Tomas Aquin Kirche. She was relaxed and alert throughout the entire ceremony.
As for her development, she continues to develop her muscles during tummy time and has even started to roll! She babbles a lot and blows raspberries all the time. We suspect teething to begin soon!
A not-so-good-incident was a couple of hospital stays for me because of a gall stone in my gall bladder. I actually celebrated my birthday in the hospital. Eventually, I had to undergo an operation to remove my gall bladder. All is well now and I continue to pray that its stays that way for all of us.
We are excited for December as this is Arwen's first Christmas. We will be driving to Hamburg on the 23rd and will stay there for a week. |
| | Exactly a day after her 2nd month birthday, Arwen had her first vaccine injection shot against polio, etc. She is now 55,5 cm long and weighs 5,160 grams. We are scrambling to get her new clothes that fit! Just a week ago I bought her a dress in size 56 but it was too small! Good thing we were able to exchange it for a bigger size. She now has started to grasp her toys and absolutely loves her swing! She also has a definite sleeping and feeding pattern at night which allows me to have some good nights of sleep. On days of good weather I take her out for a walk in her pram but I have noticed that she prefers to be put in the baby sling. All in all, she is not a difficult baby at all.
The weather in Berlin now is getting colder and there are more rainy than sunny days. Peer has settled in at work and I make it a point to see my girlfriends every other week. We plan to send the Autumn break in Hamburg with Peer going to Essen for some days to participate in the Game Fair.
|
| | The first month was full of many--firsts! She had her first bath, first walk around the neighborhood and first restaurant trip. Friends and relatives came for visits and Peer's family even drove all the way from Hamburg on the 29th to have pancit with us!
Arwen continues to develop well and has even started tapping toys placed near her. She is 2 cm longer than her birth length and weighs almost 4 kilos. |
| |
