Happy 4th Anniversary!

Happy 4th anniversary my dear! Has it really been four years since we became husband and wife? I still remember that day really well...

You were so handsome that day....

And I wore a lovely gown...

I felt so beautiful.

I was so excited to get married....

And so happy that it was finally here.

My mom cried, 'coz her only girl was getting married.

But both our families were so happy for us.

We had a great big party for our family and friends.

We laughed a lot and had a blast.

We had singing....

And dancing...

And had a great big feast!

But what I remember most was how ready and happy I was to finally be your wife. I was ready to start our life together and build our dreams together. And I remember the vows and promises that we spoke to each other:

"I, take you, to be my husband,

to have and to hold,

for better or for worse,

for richer or for poorer,

in sickness and in health,

to love and to cherish,

from this day forward until death do us part"

And to this day, I still keep this vow close and sacred to my heart. Thank you for four wonderful years together, and wishing for a lifetime more of happy memories, wonderful miracles and wishes to fulfill. I love you.

*Photography courtesy of Pat Dy.

Honey, two lines....

After being married for 8 months, we are finally pregnant.  The last 4 months have been a roller coaster ride for me and Rod.  A lot of stress, tears, as well as joy and laughter.

Finding out that I was pregnant was definitely a surprise for us.  Rod and I decided to wait for a few months after we got married before trying for a baby.  We still had a lot of things to do, and we still needed to move into our new house, so we decided to wait till we move in before getting to work, so to speak. 

We officially moved into our house on August 4, 2007.  Moving was an experience in itself.  I learned how OC my husband can be when it comes to the cleanliness of our home, and how disorganized he can be when putting away his clothes and other junk.  In short, I had to be the one to put all of his clothes into the closet.  Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to finish it in a week!

Adjusting into a new routine was a good exercise for us.  We had to establish new times to wake up to get ready for work, time to come home so that we can have dinner together, new times for Rod to get some exercise into his routine, and time for us to do our weekly grocery shopping.  We also had to “break-in” our new maid with our requirements and with our own quirks.  We also had to establish our finances and who had to pay the bills on time.

We officially found out that we were pregnant when I was thinking of going to visit a gynecologist for a routine checkup, and it suddenly dawned on me that I haven’t had my period in a while.  I was a bit worried about it because I’ve never had this before.  I decided to ask Rod to buy me a home pregnancy test so that we can both find out, before visiting the doctor.

When I tried the home pregnancy kit the first time, I couldn’t believe my eyes when two purple lines popped up!  I told Rod to buy me another kit just to be sure.  Rod was cooler about it than me, but lo and behold, the second test also came out positive.  So off we went to the doctor’s office for my first prenatal checkup.

My obstetrician / gynecologist is Dr. Anita Poblete.  She’s the same OB that my cousins go to so I was relaxed when I first visited her.  She’s also very accommodating and has very light hands, so the dreaded speculum and internal exams are not so bad.  Our first visit did confirm that I was pregnant at about 6 weeks.  Both our families were ecstatic about the news.  Only thing I was bummed about was I had to cancel our trip to Bali for Ros and Mark’s wedding.

The first trimester of my pregnancy had been uneventful.  I can say it was a textbook case as I experienced the occasional queasiness, food aversions, frequent urination, general sleepiness and fatigue.  I could sleep for hours, there was even a time that I slept for 12 straight hours and took a nap in the afternoon on top of that!  After getting through the first trimester, I thought things will be a breeze after that, but boy was I wrong!

My fourth month started out as uneventful as the previous months, but on my 20^th week, I experienced some slight spotting.  This got me worried and I had to go to the delivery room, as my OB was sick on the day that I experienced the spotting.  Gosh, the whole experience was so stressful.  The resident OB had to do a speculum and internal exam on me and it was so painful!  The doctor advised me to go on bed rest for a week and I was also prescribed Duvadilan, an anti-contraction medication.  Dr. Poblete told me that the reason I might be bleeding was because the baby’s position was upside down and his kicking was causing the pressure on my cervix.  After one week of bed rest, I was allowed to go back to work and some light activities.

I’m now on my 23^rd week 6 days, and I am back on bed rest again for 2 weeks this time.  I had some bleeding again last Sunday and I was told that I had a cervical polyp which is causing the spotting.  I was prescribed some antibiotics and a vaginal suppository to stop the bleeding and also to ward off infection.

I never thought pregnancy can be this hard.  If it were this hard, how come so many people still give birth to so many babies?  Look at Chinaand their 1 billion population!?!  And all people can tell you is either to take care, or “ang hina mo naman”, or “it’s going to be ok.”

I have to continue this tomorrow, my husband is home and it’s time for dinner.

Happy 1st Anniversary Pappy!

Dear Pappy,

 I can’t believe how fast time went by and we have now officially crossed the one year mark of married life.  The past year had been a very busy year for us.  We were able to travel and visit new places for our honeymoon, buy new furniture together, move to our new house, had some fights, and we even had the time to make a baby of our own.  I don’t think I can remember a time in my life when I have laughed this much, nor cried this much in a year!

 I just wanted to say thank you for everything that you have done for me, and continue to do for me.  I know the last two months have been very hectic and stressful for you, not only at work, but also at home.  Though sometimes it may seem like I don’t appreciate what you do for me, I want you to know that I am thankful for every little thing that you do.  Like doing the grocery shopping, or doing the laundry, or taking me to my doctor’s appointments, or putting lotion on my feet, or massaging my back when it is aching, or doing the Christmas shopping while I am stuck in bed (on doctor's orders).  I’m sorry if I am cranky or weepy sometimes, you can blame those episodes on my being hormonal.

 I hope you enjoy your trip to China with your family this time, coz this might be a last for you in a long time, hehe.  The next time you go on another trip like this, you might have to be hauling diapers and feeding bottles as well. 

 I am looking forward to the year ahead when we welcome a new addition to our family.  I’m sure you will be as good a father to our child, as you have been a good husband to me.  I can’t wait to hear our baby start calling you “Daddy” and have you wrapped around his/her little finger, hehe. 

 I love you Pappy!  Hope you also have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Forevermore

Dear Pappy,

I was looking at our wedding website and it hit me that I only have 1 month and 17 days left before I officially become Mrs. Rod Chua. I thought I should write you this letter before things start to become more hectic for both of us with all the planning for our wedding and our house that I forget to tell you these things.

First of all, I’d like you to know that I’m very happy and excited that I’ll be your wife soon. When I was a little girl, I believed in fairy tales and my favourite cartoon was Cinderella. Being rescued by Prince Charming from the wicked stepmother and stepsisters was the most romantic thing in my mind. And I thought that’s how all people found their partners in life and lived happily ever after. Then I grew up and realized that that wasn’t always the case.

In our case, I don’t expect you to sweep me off my feet and rescue me from whatever troubles I may have in my life. I don’t expect you to be Prince Charming or the guy we see in romantic movies. And I don’t expect you to always be perfect. We’re human, we all make mistakes. But in our marriage, I do expect a few basic things from both us. And those are love, respect, trust, commitment and honesty. I think if we have these between us, there’s nothing that will be too hard or too difficult for us to face.

For the past year that we have been together, I have learned a lot about you. Your likes and dislikes, your pet peeves, how quiet you get when you are pissed off at me, which parts of your body are ticklish, your favourite spot for me to kiss you, your favourite foods, how you treat your family and friends, how you look when you sleep, how much you love Shanghai, and so much more. But I think the most important thing that I learned while we were together the past year is how important I am to you. No matter how mad or “pikon” you are with me, or how tired you are from work, or how busy you are with all the wedding plans and our house, you always make me feel and know that I am your number one priority and top concern. And for that, I love you even more.

My dreams for us are simple. I don’t expect us to be rich, or to live in a big mansion, or travel the world. I just want us to grow old together, maybe have a couple of kids together, and share the good times and tough times together.

Pappy, thank you for making me so happy. You’re not only my husband, but you’re also my Prince Charming, my lover, my beloved, my rock, and my happily ever after.

I love you, forevermore.