Rhiza

18/52: Eighteen Deserves a Little Party

June 6, 2014July 21, 2020 RhizaLeave a comment

Photographs of my daughters, once a week, every week, this 2014. Week 18.

Somewhere between weeks 18 and 19, our Dawn & Rain turned 18 months old. It was a milestone for a couple of reasons: 1) We’re half-way through their 2nd year; 2) Their size 18-24m dresses will now start to fit (I know, big deal right?); 3) As per BabyCenter, at 18 months they’re officially toddlers; 4) They’re growing healthy and beautifully; 5) God has supplied all their needs from day one, and we couldn’t be any more blessed than that.

When they turned half-a-year old, we had a little cupcake party in church. I felt the need to do something extra-special for their 18th month too, except I didn’t see this day coming until less than 24 hours before April 24. Without enough time to prepare for a small get-together, we decided to have our little party to ourselves, which, it turned out, was even more perfect.

We bought a cake and some supplies, DIY-ed a cake-topper, stringed together some cut-out buntings and designed them with gold letters and patterns. Yes, excited mommy got carried away.

And the best part—time to eat the cake!

We watched them as they inspected the pink cake in front of them, maybe wondering what to do with it. Dawn was first to dig her hand in, playing with the bright pink icing with one hand. And then she started licking the pink gooey thing off her finger tips. Realizing that it tasted good, she took a handful of the cake and shoved it in her mouth. Haha. Rain followed her lead and my husband and I were laughing so hard watching the girls enjoy their cake and make a mess.

And then their Daddy joined the party,

..and this is the part where I totally lost it!

Watching them from behind the camera, I wasn’t sure if I would roll over laughing or cry buckets of joyful tears. It was such a happy day! And looking at these photographs now is making me happy, so I guess it makes today a happy day too.

There were other heart-melting moments I failed to capture, like when Rain tried to shove some cake inside her Daddy’s mouth, or when Dawn excitedly hugged his Daddy with icing all over her body. At that point I already put away the camera and was trying my best to keep the mess (read: bright pink icing and chocolate cake crumbs) in one place.

Sometimes I wonder if these childhood memories we’re trying to make for the girls are more for us than for them. I want to remember these moments forever. And I want them to know that these days happened. This is the reason why I keep taking photographs and documenting memories as much as I can. I know that someday, their only recollection of this day will be the photographs we took and the stories that accompanied each frame.

I hope that when that day comes, Dawn and Rain will know how happy our lives have been because of them.

More about Project 52 here. View all posts in this blog series here.

Halfway through the year, starting fresh

June 5, 2014June 28, 2019 RhizaLeave a comment

Wow, it’s June, and the first week of the second half of the year is about to come to an end. This morning I found myself in a momentary state of paralysis, wondering where on earth the days went, and making a mental checklist of all the tasks, chores, dreams, drafts and photographs that have somehow piled up all over me these past months. Will I ever tick those items off my list?

(My instagrams from the month of May. I guess I didn’t need to ask where the days went.)

It’s actually my first week back at work too, after taking an entire week off to breathe and to reboot. Ahh, let me talk about that later. For now, I want to talk about starting fresh. Continue reading “Halfway through the year, starting fresh” →

17/52: What Summers are Made

May 31, 2014July 21, 2020 RhizaLeave a comment

Photographs of my daughters, once a week, every week, this 2014. Week 17.

Can you imagine how hot this summer has been? These photographs were taken on Week 17 but this pretty much sums up our summer. In lieu of summer outings and beach trips, we had to think of summer activities they can do at home.

This 400-peso inflatable pool is probably the best investment we had all summer. We let the twins swim in their pool twice a day, (yes, twice) and I’m willing to bet that this is their new most favorite time of the day.

It’s probably their least favorite time of the day too (at least for Dawn), when it’s time to get up from the pool. Dawn would throw a tantrum, she would scream and cry and would refuse to get out and we would give her a 5-10 minute extension until her fingers and toes are all wrinkly and it’s absolutely time to get out of the pool. Our hearts would break having to remove her from the water, but we’re also amused. How can someone this small want something that much? :)

We’re constantly amazed, seeing them start to have their own preferences. The other day I tried 3 different colored hats on Rain, and she didn’t want all the hats except the mint colored one. She wouldn’t take it off! She would say “NO” when she doesn’t want what we’re offering her, and she would smile broadly when she likes it. Dawn, on the other hand, would squeal and do a little tap dance when she really likes something.

I don’t like using the word “amazing” unless absolutely necessary, but everyday just never runs out of things that amaze us about these two. No, really. Every. Single. Day.

More about Project 52 here. View all posts in this blog series here.

What’s up, I’m 31

May 27, 2014May 27, 2014 Rhiza2 Comments

So I turned 31 last week, and as usual, it felt like it was the twins’ birthday instead. We spent a few hours at the mall with my Mom, had some sugar overdose at Vanilla Cupcake Bakery, and took lots of photographs.

There we were, our little party of five at Vanilla Cupcake, enjoying our happy food.

Chocolate Cream Pie for D, Salt & Caramel Cream Cheese for me, and two orders of Banoffee in a Jar (my favorite!) for my Mom and the twins. The girls love cupcakes, I reckon they’ve inherited my sweet tooth!

They’re learning to eat on their own too. Still a little messy but hey, no one’s complaining :)

On a totally related note, I love being able to celebrate birthdays with my Mom, especially now that I have this deeper understanding and appreciation of everything she went through to raise me. What most people don’t know is, my mom had a cardiac arrest giving birth to me. She delivered me c-section, had complications on the table, flat lined for a few seconds and was revived miraculously. I almost lived my whole life without a mother (and I probably wouldn’t have survived too without one!) but God has been so gracious to us, and now we’re here to tell the story. You can definitely say that May 21 is my Mom’s birthday too. Happy birthday to us, Mommy!

We passed by Cotton On Kids on our way home, and the girls excitedly posed by the window display.

Look at those faces and tell me: Can you feel my joy and my pride and my giddiness, being the Mommy of these two? I know I sound like a broken record, and I don’t care, and I still would keep saying it over and over—being a mommy is just plain.. awesome. These girls, and their Daddy whom I love so very much (really, I can’t imagine doing this with anyone else), are the best things that have ever happened to me in like, the history of ever. And celebrating birthdays and milestones with them is a blessing I just can’t stop thanking the Lord for.

Later in the afternoon, a few friends dropped by for a little (impromptu) pizza party, and much later, while the twins were asleep, my husband and I sneaked out to watch X-men (last full show!) with my sibs. As the night came to an end and I continued to ponder upon God’s goodness to me in the past 3 decades of my life, I knew that I wouldn’t have spent my birthday any other way.

What a happy birthday indeed. :)

16/52: Summer Afternoons

May 24, 2014July 21, 2020 RhizaLeave a comment

Photographs of my daughters, once a week, every week, this 2014. Week 16.

The thing is, it hasn’t sunk in until today that our girls are now toddlers. Of course, they will always be babies to me (you bet, even ’til they’re 30 years old), but I didn’t notice that somewhere along the way they’ve crossed over from infancy to toddlerhood. They’re 19 months old TODAY (yayy, happy birthday sweethearts!), and they’ve been walking around and running and racing and dancing and chasing and.. well, singing along Tangled songs. (If you’ve seen Tangled, you probably sang along that last line too.)

These photographs were taken at the Versoza’s sometime last week of April. We have not left Manila all summer—no beach trips, no out-of-town getaways, no road trips. The idea (of going away) has crossed our minds many times, but whenever my husband and I discuss the logistics of long trips to faraway places with two hyper active toddlers, we always end up deciding to just stay close to home.

The Versoza house, or what we dubbed as “Villa Versoza”, has been a regular hangout place and instant getaway for us this summer. We love inviting ourselves in, and much to our delight, we’re always warmly received. :)

I’m catching up on my 52 Week Project this week. Do you mind having your feeds flooded with photographs of these two within the next couple of days? No? Ok. Thought so. :P

More about Project 52 here. View all posts in this blog series here.

It’s Mother’s Day, and, oh hey, I’m a Mommy!

May 11, 2014May 11, 2014 Rhiza5 Comments

It’s been 18 months since I gave birth to the twins and I’m first to admit that the idea of myself becoming a Mommy took a while to sink in. And yet, somewhere in the midst of changing diapers and giving warm baths and witnessing two little humans grow (too fast, I must add), I find myself learning to embrace this (new) role with eyes and arms wide open.

I’m a Mommy, and I love being one!

The thing is, I was never motherly. Sometime a few years ago, a cousin of mine predicted that I’ll be the last one in my batch to settle down and have kids. I don’t know what made him say it, and I didn’t exactly contest—I knew that I didn’t fit the Mommy profile.

Maybe because I was horrible with kids. Maybe I wasn’t the type to settle down in one place and it showed in the way I restlessly moved from one place to another when I was younger. Or maybe I was too preoccupied with my career at that time that it didn’t look like I had time to pursue having a family.

Or could it be that I feared becoming a mother that I subconsciously pushed it at the back of my mind?

I go over the bucket lists I made when I was younger and find that I never once listed or dreamed of becoming a Mom. Never. Like, it just never crossed my mind. I know of friends who believed in their hearts that they’re going to become mothers someday, and they did become mothers and they’re awesome at it!

As for me? I wanted to be successful in my career, go places (New York, check; Sydney, check; Italy, maybe someday), buy this and that, find The One, get married before 30, establish a passion business, have my dream wedding.. and, the list kindof stopped there.

In retrospect, how can I not have dreamed of becoming a mother someday when it’s one of the best things that’s ever happened to me now? It’s like The Dream I never knew I had!

All these years being unsure of what I want, or what my dream job is, or where I want to go next.. Suddenly, one thing is certain. I’m a Mommy, and God called me to be one when He blessed me and my husband with these two beautiful little girls. And I learn over and over again that no matter how inadequate one feels about a role, God is the one who equips her to be the best person for it.

Surprisingly for me, nothing—no job or hobby or dream—has ever been more fulfilling than this. Epic, I must say, and we all know that the word “epic” is not to be used lightly.

So this is how it feels like, to be a Mom, on Mother’s Day. I don’t think I’ll be receiving hand-made Mother’s Day greeting cards from the twins this year, not yet, but I look forward to the tiny hugs, adorable smiles, and little kisses I’ll be getting today. :D

And before I end this monologue of sorts, I just want to throw a little shoutout to my fabulous Mom who modelled and taught me unconditional love, who raised me to be who I am today, and who remains to be as beautiful and as amazing as ever.

Happy Mother’s Day Mom! I thank the Lord for you! I didn’t quite grasp how much you (and Dad) loved me back then, but I get it now. Thanks for loving me/us the way you do. :-*

And finally, I’d like to send some virtual hugs and highfives to all you mommies out there, all over the world. Happy Mother’s Day! Enjoy this day darlings, you deserve it! :)