Iza's Baptism

My youngest child is a Catholic!

Iza had her baptism last October 9, 2010 at St. Andrew Parish in Makati. The original schedule was 10am, so the whole family woke up early in Las Pinas for the big event. The plan was to use 2 vehicles - one car with me, Zia, Enzo and Lalay (one of the helpers), the other car would ride Judith, Iza and Cris (another helper). Then disaster struck! The traffic in Alabang was crawling in a snail pace figuratively! So Judith called Jing in Makati to inform the parish office that we will not reach the church on time. We were informed that our schedule has been moved to 11:30am.

I reached Makati at 10am but learning that our schedule has been moved, I proceeded to the reception place, Hae Song restaurant, to inform them of the change of time. This is where the second disaster happened. I was told by one of the restaurant personnel that allegedly somebody called them up and moved our reception from October 9 to October 15! I demanded that they show proof regarding this caller because only Judith and I communicated with them all throughout the preparations. They were apologetic and promised that they would do the necessary adjustments since the lunch will start at 12noon instead of the original 11am.

When we arrived at the church, Judith was already there. Also present were Mommy, Daddy, Tita Nilds, Candee and Gian, Joy, Mek, Kyla and Miguel, Jojo. Lare, Alicia and Zack, Jing and Noli plus the ninongs.

Iza's godfathers are Dr. Arnel Tolentino and Dr. Jose Tecson, both close friend of ours from medical school and my fraternity brothers, Ryan Li, Judith's cousin who is now based in Taiwan, and Mek.

Iza's godmothers are Jing, Jay and Drs. Ina Crisologo and Deb Palmes. Ina however was in Batangas for an out-of-town lecture and Deb is based in Aklan.

Because we were quite early now for our schedule, we had picture taking done inside the church. Through out this time, Iza was very cooperative. She was smiling to those who would want to talk to her, and would just be quiet if left alone, not as grumpy as our previous baptism experiences from Zia and Enzo. The 2 kids were just busy playing in the church with their cousins until the ceremony started.

The baptism ceremony was short, solemn and direct to the point. The presiding priest was Fr. Jeffrey Jamias. The church provided us with booklets and candles to be used throughout the ceremony. Iza was just quiet and awake during the sacrament. She was wearing the same white clothes her Ate Zia and Kuya Enzo wore during their baptisms. And to top it all, I was baptized in the same church 39 years ago!



After the ceremony, we proceeded to Hae Song. It is an Asian fusion restaurant located in Makati as well. Judith and I found the place to be ideal for the reception, they offer mostly Korean and Japanese cuisine. When we tried their buffet we found it very good, specially the price. When we talked with its owner, she was very accommodating with our requests.

When we reached the place, some of our friends were already there. Our friends and classmates from med school - Kim, Sonia, Mike, Charms and her husband Jay seated together with Eye Republic colleagues Rainier, Happy and Ken.

Judith arranged a surprise treat to Mommy since she just celebrated her birthday, so she invited Mommy's old friends and most of them came to celebrate with us. Mommy had a great time as well.

It was quite tiring juggling your time talking with friends, eating, taking pictures, and looking after Zia's and Enzo's endless playing inside the restaurant. But it was all worth it. After the disasters, the reception ended well. We thought the day will end well but our day was still far from over. (I will post another blog entry for that)

Just like me, Judith and the godparents, our role for Iza just started. Hopefully we can guide her to be a good Christian when she grows up.

To see the pictures of the baptism, please click HERE.

Zia at 5

My eldest daughter is growing so fast. At present she's enrolled still at Montessori de Manila as a Senior Casa student. Last week, Judith and I received her report card and we talked with her teacher, Teacher Asian.

Zia according to her teacher is a very good student. She finishes her tasks well and right, she is an advanced reader for her age and she enjoys singing and dancing. However she still often wanders around specially if her tasks bore her.

She has finished her occupational therapy sessions last May, and her recent assessment from her developmental pediatrician showed her development stage is at par with her age.

She enjoys dancing, she likes to listen to my music collections and would play them to my computer and phone over and over. Early this year, her favorites were Abba songs, then Michael Jackson songs, then she discovered MTV, and would dance to the pop songs in front of the TV. At present, she enjoys Usher, Justin Bieber, Super Junior, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and other danceable tunes of other artists.

Because we have exposed her to different books, she enjoys reading very much. She writes better now and she colors her books adequately. She can count in English, Tagalog and Spanish. She has a very sweet laugh but she does her usual drama once in a while.

Enzo is her sparring partner, they have a very good relationship. She is very accommodating to him, very Ate. Sometime she manipulates him to get what she wants, but she is very giving.

Since Iza was born, Zia and Enzo are sleeping with me in a different room with Judith and Iza. Zia is very Ate as well with Iza. Once Iza cries, she calls at once one of the yayas or either me or Judith. She always do gigil with her and kisses her all the time.

Her allergy still nags her almost daily. Her rhinitis makes her sneeze every morning, sometimes eczema is present on the back of her knees and her neck. She had 2 asthma attacks this year.

She bikes during afternoons or play in the lawn with Enzo. She even climbs a small tree in our lawn. At night, before we sleep in our room, Zia, Enzo and me have a routine wherein after they finish their milk and toothbrush, we play horsey, hayan na si Papa, and tickletime. Once the lights are off, we will watch their favorite video in my phone then it's storytime! I tell them short stories, usually made-up stories with simple lessons for them to remember. We've been doing these for the past 3 months, since Iza was born, and I've never felt so close to my 2 older kids. I can't wait til Iza joins our party!