Creativity 101

I don't consider myself creative but I'd like to be one. In my attempt to create the baptism invitation for my twins, I did a very simple template using Power Point. Yes, because I don't know anything about Adobe Photoshop. :(

Well, it's basic. it's bland. It needs something to spice it up. Of course, it has to be done in Adobe Photoshop so print quality will be good and size will be just right.

At least I know the basics, right? :)

Kodak Moments

This morning, I was in the mood for some photo session with my 2 adoring babies. The purpose is actually for the invitation and tarpaulin that I, with the help of my sister-in-law, intend to diy for Sean and Sophia's baptism on January 5. Yes, I am cramming again! May God help me on this project. Anyway, here are some good shots that i captured.

SOPHIA

SEAN

I think I need to buy a better camera (digital SLR like Canon EOS 400D or Nikon D80) to capture better pictures hehehe... and of course learn basic (or I must say, advanced) photography. :)

First Trip

Some parents prefer to keep their newborns inside the comfort of their homes for a few months and allow only a trip to the hospital or to the relatives' houses. I know that will not be the case for our twins since their cousins have travelled to different places, even out-of-town, when they were still few months old. That's the reason why baptism at 1 month is a must for the San Gabriel clan.

At 3 weeks old, Sean and Sophia already attended the 1st birthday party of their 2nd cousin, JB, at the clubhouse of Urdaneta Village. I had them wear the red and blue onesies which was a gift to us by our friend who had a vacation in the US last September. Daddy Che was unfortunately not with us but kept on texting me what the twins will wear. :) We arrived the venue and some people look kinda amazed seeing a girl and boy twin. Although my kids wouldn't get to enjoy this kind of event, it was still nice bringing them along. Aheheh. The theme was Pirates of the Carribean and kids and some adults came in looking like pirates. They served japanese food (Sai Bachi Catering) with different food carts for kids to enjoy. The host, lootbags, balloon decoration etc all were in tune with the theme.

Even at 1 year old, a kid won't enjoy this kind of 'surprisingly expensive' party. But it is such a milestone that parents will not hesitate to spend money on. I believe the party is more for the parents instead of the kids. And I have to admit I am one of those parents. I am already counting the next 11 months till I plan their 1st birthday party (maybe with a Trick or Treat theme since party will be held at Nov1? haha). But before that, I am looking forward to the next trip of Sean and Sophia. The doctor recommended we go ahead and visit Tagaytay... :)

The Twins in Bed

Home at Last!


Sleep Mode 1 (to the left! to the left!)

Sleep Mode 2 (face to face)

Sleep Mode 3 (Sophia covering her face)

Sleep Mode 4 (Sophia on her side and Sean on her back with legs wide open)

Day 6 Pics

We visited Sean and Sophia last night. They are still at the hospital due to continuous antibiotic injection and awaiting final result of blood culture test tonight. Hopefully they will be discharged na by tomorrow.

Here are more pics of our adorable twins taken yesterday. Mahimbing tulog ni Sophia. She's still pretty as ever. It's now Sean's time to make pacute. He's becoming more like her ate Sophia. Akala ng iba si Sophia mas cute ha. Mas maputi lang daw ng konti si Sophia. :)

Sean: Antok pa ako eh, nanggigising kayo!

Sean: eyes wide open/ Sophia: still mahimbing tulog

Sean's time to make pacute

Sean: Is that you Mommy?

Fear over Excitement

Before going to bed last night, Che and I were chatting during our cuddling and 'harutan' session. It started with some cheesy questions like 'Why did you fall in love with me?'. This is one of the questions that we normally ask each other because we basically do not have a consistent or straight answer. We usually answer back with a joke instead like 'Di naman talaga eh, pinikot mo lang ako' or 'Mahilig talaga ako sa mga maasim na pagkain'. That's how often we use humor in our relationship.

One thing that led to a serious talk was when Che asked me, 'Are you excited?' (referring to the birth of our twins). I immediately answered back ,'I am actually scared'. There's a fear that I won't be able to take care of the twins. Could I manage breastfeeding two babies? Who will take care of them when I return to work?

I asked him back 'And you?'. He replied saying the same thing. But Che's fear was more on not being able to sell (he is in car sales) and unable to provide to the needs of the twins/our family. He said this is the reason why he is working his ass off. He even work during weekends and holidays. I asked him to take it easy as we are fortunate to both have work that compensate well enough for our needs and wants. But he's never like that. He would never depend on anyone, even on me. Ever since, Che has always been a VERY responsible person. He is a good provider and never misses out on his obligation. He made quite a lot of sacrifces and you won't hear him complain. He return his blessings thru helping out other people that he never dare brag about. And that, I could honestly say, was one of the reasons why I do fell in love with him.

As parents, will this fear fade away? Maybe not. But I do hope that this fear will be one of the greatest motivator for us to be good parents.

Name Game

I initially thought we will be having difficulty in finding a name for our twins considering the name trend of Che, his siblings and the nephews and nieces. They all start with R and ends with L (I believe I have blogged this before also). Aside from that, the 3 kids now have Japanese nicknames which are not related to their given names.

My favorite girl name before was Patricia Dianne and I was keen before on giving that name to my first daughter. However.,due to some 'rules' or should i say 'name trend' in the family, that is not really a good option.

I realized that having a good meaning to the names is also a plus considering that they will have to explain the meaning of their names.

I thought of the following names which Che fortunately agrees (no qualms whatsoever).

Reese Sophia - I initially thought of Racquel or Rachel but since both means 'second wife' in the Bible, i changed it. I heard good stories about her though in the Bible. And I find Reese cute and yes, even that means not getting a name that ends with an L. Reese means Enthusiasm and Sophia means wisdom. Her nickname will most likely be Sophie or Sophia.

Raniel Sean - I really liked Sean and I think Raniel is a good choice too (falling exactly the name trend in the family). Raniel means God is my happiness and Sean means God is gracious. Sean will definitely be his nickname.

I don't know if there will be some changes later on. Although frankly, I can not think of anything else. I'd like our twins to have the same initials also.

So about the japanese nicknames, I really don't know yet.

The 4D experience

We had 4d ultrasound earlier today at Medical City in Trinoma. Unfortunately, our twins were too shy to show us how they look like. We had a glimpse of the boy. His facial features is clearly seen but not so well defined. We saw his little thing also. The girl, as usual, is still malikot. But yeah, it's sure that she's a girl. We had a good shot of her labia. But that was it. We'll come back again on Wednesday to see her more. Hopefully she will cooperate by then.

Both of them are growing at the same pace with the boy just slightly heavier. The girl weigh around 1343 g and the boy at 1376 g. I'm glad to know that they are growing about the same as that of singleton for their AOG. The girl at breech position and boy at cephalic position. The ob sonologist said they are positioning head to head. My funny remark with the sonologist, 'Naku, di kaya nagkakauntugan sila' :)

It was my first time at Trinoma and I seem to like the place with a lot of nice stores to do some shopping. But sorry, malling should not be my thing for now - but surely after birth. :)

Here's a pic of me having lunch at Sizzling Pepper Steak just right across Medical City before our ultrasound.

Duo Strollers

Lately, when i have time, i have been searching for some double strollers on the internet. Unfortunately, i can not seem to find one here in Manila so internet is one of my resource so i can possibly ask a friend either in the US or Singapore to buy it for me. This one looks ok to me (costs USD200 as against others that costs average USD300 and up). I would prefer a side-by-side stroller rather than the back to back (i can't recall how it is called). I just want both of my babies to have that same attention whenever we go out. Unlike in the back-to-back duo stroller, i feel that the baby at the back will get little attention and may feel suffocated and unconfortable (may even end up kicking his twin sibling in front).

I find it doubly cute to be pushing a duo stroller and i can't wait to see my babies on it. But they said that we should wait till i am at least 7months due before we purchase any baby stuff. Sniff, if only i can fast forward the time!