Tag: Isaac

This Little Boy I’m Crazy About

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Isaac is growing up fast! He’s turning 2 years old this week, and his Mom and Dad threw an advanced birthday party for him last Saturday. There’s something about balloons and little kids running around that makes my heart turn jell-o. You bet, Saturdays are made for these.

Isaac probably wouldn’t remember this day (I can’t remember how it was like when I was two years old!), but I’m sure, years from now, when he sees these photographs, he will know how much this family loves him!

They say you can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family. I’m so glad I didn’t have to choose mine because God already chose it for me. It’s not perfect, but I’m happy to be born into this particular one—big bones, chubby genes and all. And to make it even sweeter, our family has grown with 3 beautiful additions in a span of 3 years: the sister, the husband, and my most favorite baby boy in the world who amused us all with his presence last Saturday.

Say hello to my beautiful family:

Isaac’s party did not have any specific theme to begin with, but the photographs remind me of balloons and flying houses. :)

We obviously couldn’t get enough of Isaac!

Kiddie party and balloons aside, tears freely flowed on my cheeks while I was post-processing that last photograph. It was a Sunday afternoon, day after the party. My husband was sleeping right next to me on the couch, rain was pouring down, and I was alone with my Lightroom, thoughts, and (day)dreams. It’s amazing how much love and joy can be captured in a single photograph, and how much it can awaken feelings you didn’t know you had.

Once in a while, God blesses us with defining moments that make the long, torturous waiting in between worth enduring. When you find yourself in these moments, savour them, preserve them in photographs, write them down, keep them in your heart. You see, life has a way of making you lose sight of your dreams sometimes, making you feel tired and impatient. So when that inevitable feeling of helplessness hits you, then you’ll know exactly where, and from Whom, to draw strength from.

I never blurted this out online before, but watching Isaac laugh, and run, and smile, and hug his Mommy and Daddy makes me excited for when my husband and I get to finally have our own little one. How awesome that day would be.

This made my day

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This morning, as I was doing my daily rounds on Facebook, I found these:

Hello Isaac, you’re sooo kyot!! Ian Fornoles, thanks for capturing these photos! The best!

I can’t stop smiling! I mean, come on, how can you stop smiling with photographs like this? I want to squish my nephew’s cheeks and give him a biiiiiggg suffocating hug, the kind that’s soooo tight he starts crying haha.

I suddenly miss those days we live in the same house and I eat/drink/breathe babysitting and playtime for lunch and coffee breaks. And those little knocks on my door in the morning. And how he would laugh at his reflection in the mirror and then laugh harder because the boy in the mirror was laughing at him haha. And how he would say “aw-aw!” in response to everything you ask or say. (What does the dog say? Aw-aw! What does the cat say? Aw-aw! I love you! Aw-aw! Say bye-bye! Aw-aw!)

Haha I miss him!

Which reminds me, he’s turning 2 years old this week! Has it really been 2 years? Wow.

You’re growing up too fast, little boy! Slow down!

*All photos are taken by rising photography guru, Ian Fornoles.
Post-processed by me.  Just coz I had to chasingdreams-ify it. :D

Day 10: A child can ask questions a wise man cannot answer

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10/30: Kids. I have always loved being around kids.  At one point in my life I found refuge in their innocence, their uncanny ability to give you hope when you need it, and their effortless answers to questions we, adults, fail to figure out on our own. Even now, I know that a hug or a smile from Isaac can easily take away any form of stress or sadness any given time of day.

We had a no-children policy in our wedding because we were limiting head count, but these three kids just had to be in it!

Photos: (Top left) Jonah, my god son who’s now so big! He and his parents flew in from Sydney just for the wedding and we were really honored that they did. (Top right) But of course. That’s our dear Isaac, playing with the teddy bear which carried our wedding rings. (Bottom) And that’s Andie, our pretty little princess and only flower girl, who’s also David’s inaanak.

I’m sure we’ve all heard about Steve Job’s death.  A while ago I read this on Danny Sullivan’s twitter account and I just had to retweet it:

Me to boys: Did you hear about Steve Jobs? “Yes.” What do you think about that? “It’s sad because he has four kids.” Kids always bring it home.

Yep. We can really learn a thing or two from kids.

Day 8: You know who I’m really missing right now?

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8/30: My family. I think I said this before. :)

I just looove this family photo Sheila took of us. Look at Isaac’s face! (:

Something happened to our family when Daddy passed away. We became more thoughtful than indifferent, more encouraging than critical, more accepting than judgmental, more gracious than proud. We learned to be more accountable to each other and more appreciative of each other’s time and effort, something that has kept me afloat especially in trying times.

It’s sad when I hear people say that they want to succeed in life because they want to prove their family wrong. It makes me even more thankful that I grew up in an environment where encouragements are overflowing and affirmations are given more emphasis than criticisms. Growing up, I know I strive to be better not because I want to prove my family wrong, but because I want to make them proud.

I miss them. I know they’re just in the next city, a taxi cab away. Besides, I always see them in church. But a month into this married life, and I often get this “so-near-yet-so-far” feeling whenever I think of my family, especially now that David and I are starting our own.

Today’s three beautiful things, inspired by thoughts of the family I sooo miss:

1. Waking up to a text message from my mother, who always seems to know what to say when she needs to say it. This morning, she texted, “Everyday, find out what you are and be that. Decide what comes first and do that. Discover your strengths and use them. Learn not to compete with others because no one else is in contest of being YOU. You’re fearfully and wonderfully made, there’s only one YOU in the world.”

Such wisdom. Thanks, Mom. (:

And I sure do miss midnights back in Caloocan when she would knock on my bedroom door with 2 tumblers of tea–one for me and one for her–and we would just talk about anything and everything to the wee hours of the night, morning after. Good times.

2. Kuya Nikos’ chicken enchilada, which I also once blogged about here. He cooked for us last Friday, and we ate leftovers until two days after. Mmmm, I can still taste it in my mouth.

3. Isaac’s posts and comments on Facebook. Yes, the little boi has a facebook account. “Aw aw”, he would randomly post here and there. Of course we all know it’s either Ate Imy or Kuya Nate who posts those stuff, but still, the thought of him really posting on Facebook is just plain adorable! Having Isaac around is a real joy.

Isaac + Polaroid = Love

Rhiza

Remember that failed Polaroid photo session with Isaac the other day?

Why look at that, the little boy made up for it!

And this, my friends, is why Polaroids are worthwhile investments. ;)

OAN, I’m so restless inspired I end up re-designing my blog layout yet again. All in just 2 hours, take note! And I totally blame this to all those wedding blogs I’ve been frequenting the past couple of weeks. Thanks, you guys.

I didn’t know it was possible to experience this much love in one week

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7 things I love about this week:

1) Welcoming my beautiful nephew Robert Isaac to the family.

Robert Isaac <3

2) That he gets to inherit our Dad‘s name, Robert, and even if he didn’t get to meet him anymore, a part of his Lolo lives in him.

Isaac with Tita Riz :)

3) How “Tita Riz” seems to just roll off the tongue, I can imagine little Isaac soon saying my name and tugging on my skirt. “Tita Riz, I want ice cream.” “Tita Riz, let’s go to the zoo.” “Tita Riz, I wanna play plants and zombiess!” (Just you wait, kid, your Tita Riz will spoil you like crazy. And well, I’ll leave the disciplining to your Mom, Dad and Lola, haha.)

Isaac with Tita Riz :)

4) That he’s got all of us wrapped around his cute little finger without knowing it. He cries and everyone in the room panics, figuring out what he needs. He sleeps and we all silently stare at him like lovestruck puppies. He blinks and we all go “awww” with tiny hearts in our eyes. It’s kuh-rayy-zee what babies can do, when they’re not even doing anything at all!

First Family Pic

5) That I got to take their first family picture, and that I was able to preserve love in a photograph. Definitely one for keeps. <3

Isaac with Mom, Dad, and Lola

6) That I’ve witnessed (over again) with my own eyes this beautiful thing called motherly love, something we often fail to appreciate because mothers are always there anyway. I can still picture in my head the look on Ate Imy’s face as she admires her son, and the twinkle in my Mom’s eyes everytime she speaks of her grandson. Priceless.

Isaac with his Mom

7) Finally, I love days when, not expecting anything, something beautiful happens (or someone comes along) and your life is never the same. Such is this week in the Sanchez home. <3

And so I pray for a life that’s full of days like these. Dear Lord, that’s all I ask today.