The New Gerber Baby Looks A Lot Like My Baby!

A friend recently sent me a message notifying me that the new winner of the Gerber Baby Contest looks just like my daughter.  I must admit, they do look somewhat similar!

Photo courtesy of Latino.FoxNews.  You can read more about the new Gerber Baby here.

However, I still think my daughter is cuter.  I do not say this out of maternal bias but as a matter of fact. ;)

Speaking of model babies, has anyone else seen the baby on the Pampers Size 3 box?  Long before we got pregnant, I saw this diaper box at a friend's house, and I told my husband that our kids would look just like this.  Boy, was I RIGHT!

My Favorite Christmas Hymn

Merry Christmas Eve, everyone!  Just wanted to share my favorite Christmas hymn, "Come Thou Long Expected Jesus."  

I usually don't appreciate new and more modern renditions of old hymns, but I happen to love love LOVE this little arrangement by Derek Webb and his wife Sandra McCracken.  Check it out!

Here are the lyrics too.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with Biblical theology, the part where it talks about "Israel" is talking about the church, those who follow Christ as their Lord and Savior.  In the Old Testament, the nation of "Israel" were God's chosen people.  Post cross and resurrection, the new "Israel" are the Church, "those who are called" -- meaning, those who have placed their trust in Jesus to save them from their sins.  

Just as a Bride eagerly waits for her wedding day, so we as the people of God wait for our Jesus!  

"Come, Thou long expected Jesus
Born to set Thy people free;
From our fears and sins release us,
Let us find our rest in Thee.

Israel’s Strength and Consolation,
Hope of all the earth Thou art;
Dear Desire of every nation,
Joy of every longing heart.

Born Thy people to deliver,
Born a child and yet a King,
Born to reign in us forever,
Now Thy gracious kingdom bring.

By Thine own eternal Spirit
Rule in all our hearts alone;
By Thine all sufficient merit,
Raise us to Thy glorious throne."

CAN'T STOP SINGING...."A Heart Full of Love"

Le sigh.

Les Misérables.

I saw the musical last night with my mom and sister at the National Theater.  Amazing!

Check out the photo of my mom and sister (with a box of tissues).  And my sister's new nose ring...and bangs!  Bangin' bangs!  

One exciting fact about last night's Les Miz show: MARIUS WAS PLAYED BY A FILIPINO!!!!!!!!  Way to represent, Devin Ilaw.  He is seriously so talented, and I'm not just saying that because he and I are Filipino....

Here's the thing about me and musicals.  After every one I see, I immediately become obsessed with singing all the songs pretty much all the time.  I went to bed last night singing "A Heart Full of Love" - yes, all three parts: Marius, Cosette, and Eponine.  Yes.  My husband thinks I'm outta control.

Up above is a video of a Les Miz show from 2008.  Why this video out of all videos?  Because Eponine is played by Lea Salonga.....another FILIPINO!  Awww yea!  I love her.  Did you know that she was Jasmine's AND Mulan's singing voice in Disney's Aladdin and Mulan movies, respectively?  A talented brown girl for the brown princesses!  Thank you, Disney.  Learn something new everyday...about Filipinos.  :)

"A Heart Full of Love" is hands down one of my favorite musical songs....even though I would not advise anyone to profess their undying love on the first day they meet someone and do not even know their name.  But that's for a whole 'nother blog post.  ;)

For Kicks and Giggles

Oh my word.   

It has been MONTHS since I last blogged.  How embarrassing.  Even after I made all those promises that I was back for real.  I'm not gonna promise that anymore.  But I would like to say...yet again...that after a half-year hiatus, I am back...again.  PS: Please don't judge me for the fact that at least 25% of the content in my blogs are "I am back!" announcements.  :)  

You must think I am all over the place.  Well.  Just to confirm your hunches, I would now like to announce that my blog has a new title!  And a new address.  HA!!!!  Welcome to my new corner of the blogosphere: "My Small Town City."  I've had some blog identity crises, but I am finally confident this will stick.  Lord willing.  :)

So.  Why the name?  Because no matter how many people call DC a city, it really feels much more like a small town.  I can hardly go anywhere without running into at least a few people I know: neighbors, shop owners, baristas, fellow church members, friends, all of whom I know by name.  Kinda like Cheers!  Urban cities typically get a bad reputation for being these dark and desolate places where everybody is just cold, mean, and sad all the time.  Nothing could be farther from the truth (with a few exceptions...like when people are in traffic, in which case, most propriety goes out the window).  In my personal experience, I have found people in the city to be more desirous of community and familiarity with neighbors.  

Furthermore, living in such close quarters (apartment buildings, condos, and town homes) helps in building community a whole lot too, since there is quite literally not too much room to preserve your own personal bubble.  For example, I am currently waiting on my neighbor's general contractor and electrician, so I can let them in his house and give them instructions on the work he wants done.  Ha!  The other unique thing about DC is that not too many people are "from DC."  Everyone else is from everywhere else, and they come to DC for university and graduate studies, for a career, to pursue their dreams of taking over the world, etc.  I believe that also contributes to the greater desire for community and belonging.  We work near each other, we share furniture, clothing, toys, meals, whatever, and we help with each other's errands.  People are typically quick, ready, and willing to respond when you ask for help.  I almost feel like I live in a small town, but the fact that our home literally faces a major highway junction and the fact that whizzing police cars and presidential motorcades regularly interrupt my attempts to make it to playgroup or the grocery store acutely remind me I still live in the city.  :)  But no matter how many sounds of the city annoy me to no end (especially when compulsive honkers, loud trucks, construction, and sirens wake up my napping baby), deep down inside I truly do love our urban village.  

Next blog: All Things Christmas!  

Lessons From My Parents

This is the second year I get to celebrate Mother’s Day as a mom! And the first year I’m actually aware that I’m a mom! We found out we were pregnant just a week after last year’s Mother’s Day! My, how peeing on a stick can change your life!

There was something about getting pregnant – and then having a baby – that truly transformed me. Priorities, hopes, dreams, fears – they all changed with the knowledge that I was to care for the precious baby God had graciously given me. It also made me reflect much more on my childhood and the way I was raised by my parents. Like every other parent on the face of this planet, my folks made their parenting mistakes. But by the grace of God, I can truthfully say that the things they did right vastly outweigh everything else, and they did a wonderful job in raising 3 girls into 3 confident women who do not have to go to therapy for a lifetime (and MOST importantly, love the Lord). I trust that it is with the same grace that He will help me to do the same.

The older I get, the more I realize how unique, unconventional, and beautifully radical my parents were and are. In no particular order, here are some valuable things I learned from Mom and Dad:

-Confidence: My parents are confidence personified. Growing up, my sisters and I would always tease my mom for her interesting habits. Like, why, oh why, Mother, must you dance in public to the music playing at Macy’s? Or why, oh why, must you wear that neon orange shirt, with those bright purple pants that have crazy prints on them, and those black open toed sandals…with the chunky white sports socks…to the grocery store? (Clearly, my mother did not need VOGUE magazine to tell her that neon colors and “colorblocking” were “in” this season. ) Her answer? “Your dad thinks I’m sexy.” OK then. End of conversation. On a more serious note, my parents regularly reminded us to find our hope and confidence in Jesus. My dad in particular would bring us back to the truth that nothing in all the world could separate us from the steadfast love of Christ, that there is no condemnation for those in Him, and that all things work together for the good of those who love God and have been called according to His purpose (Romans 8). Their unshakable confidence in God's love and faithfulness at the cross affected every part of their lives.

-Trust in the Lord: My mom and dad are people who trust in the Lord. And I have watched them keep their trust in Him through the good times and bad. Unlike other immigrant families I know, my parents did not come to the U.S. to climb any career ladders or to seek success. My dad already had a job as a VP of a bank and also served as a senior pastor of our home church in Manila, and my mom ran her own business. It was a HUGE leap of faith to leave the comforts of their family, finances, and familiarity to move their 3 daughters (then aged 8, 6, and 1 years old) across the world simply because after months of prayer and petition, they believed this move was the next step the Lord wanted them to take (you can ask them to tell you the long story later). Today, I try to put myself in their 1993 shoes and am stunned by their firm trust in the Lord to provide and to care for our family despite all the what if’s and unknowns.

-WIT - Whatever It Takes: My parents left lucrative, stable jobs in the Philippines to pick up multiple jobs working retail at Toys R Us and a china shop, the front desk at Comfort Inn, driving the shuttle at Marriott Hotel, telemarketing, etc when we first arrived in the States. As the eldest child, I had a front row seat to their conversations and decision-making processes, and I honestly cannot remember a time they grumbled about these circumstances. I am in awe of the humility it especially took for my Dad to go from working as a bank executive to checking people in at a hotel. I am amazed by the selflessness it took for my mom to go from running her own business and being a stay-at-home mom to working multiple jobs around the clock in retail. But truth be told, there really was no complaining or whining about it. They took on a whatever-it-takes attitude, so they could provide for their children.

-A Nothing-Less-Than-Your-Very-Best Hard-Work Ethic: Mom and Dad pushed us to try our very best in everything that we did, challenging us to NEVER settle for or accept anything less than being the best we could be. What truly spoke volumes, however, was how they practically applied the same principle to their own personal lives. Growing up, I watched my parents patiently build their lives in the U.S., and I know they remained prayerful through it all. As I mentioned above, I was amazed at the way my parents left successful careers to take on jobs they were obviously overqualified for. Today, I am equally amazed at how the Lord blessed my parents (among many other things) with solid careers again, even though that wasn’t their original intention. Through the same tireless hard-work ethic they instilled in us, my parents went from working minimum wage paying jobs to managerial professions. My mom is back in accounting, and my dad is back to working as VP of a local bank. AND by God’s mercy, he is also back to living out his calling as a pastor (he's bi-vocational). A lot of people may think I am impractical or overly idealistic with the kinds of goals I set for myself and with the overall attitude I have on life. I do not think that is the case at all. I just know from watching my parents all these years that with God, all things really are possible.

-Non-Materialism: Mom and Dad are by far some of the most non-materialistic people I know in the world. Even when they had/have all the means to, there was absolutely never any desire whatsoever to "keep up with the Joneses." I remember all the dinky TVs we had growing up - including one that you could only change channels by using a pair of PLIERS...I am not kidding! It's not that my parents couldn't afford to buy another TV with more than 3 channels, they just really did not even care! It just wasn't on their radar. Growing up under their roof, I watched my parents give more money than they spent on themselves. As my mom likes to say, "Give until it hurts!" I also remember my dad admonishing us from 1 John 2: "Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world— the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life — is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever!" This was a passage my dad had printed on a piece of paper, framed, and visibly displayed in our home. Considering the fact that both my parents work in finance, I praise Jesus for all the ways they really drove the point home: You only have ONE Master. You cannot serve both God and money! (Matthew 6)

-New Life: My parents did not come to faith in Christ until later in life. So they of all people can tell you what a drastic and beautifully radical change they experienced in their hearts, minds, and lives when they finally called upon Jesus as their Lord and Savior. It's a long and wonderful story of God's redemption that I wish everyone can hear. (Maybe I'll get my Dad and Mom to be "guest bloggers" and share their life stories on this blog sometime!) I cannot ever remember my parents being the uptight, straightlaced, "religious" types. Instead I saw them enjoy and embrace their freedom in Christ and their thankfulness for His salvation and the forgiveness of their sins through the cross. Because of this, Jesus was always REAL to me. After all, I clearly saw how REAL Jesus was to them! My parents did not introduce me to a "set of religious beliefs" or a Christian paradigm of thou-shalt's and shalt-not's. Rather they introduced me to the PERSON of Jesus Christ, and that is how I fell in love with Him. To this day, I will never forget the ONLY time I ever saw my dad cry as a little girl - it was when he shared his testimony with us, how God saved him from the destructive life he was living to the NEW LIFE and the cleansing and forgiveness he has FREELY found in the undeserved, amazing grace of Christ. I will never forget that.

Stay tuned for more lessons from my mom and dad! Maybe tomorrow, God and baby willing! :)

I Delivered My Baby in a Sundress

For the sake of catching up, I am re-posting our birth story! Recycling is all the rage these days, right?

Yes, it's true, I delivered my baby while wearing a sundress. Wait, wait, wait, WHAT?!

While getting ready for church on Sunday morning (January 8), I got my first contraction that was noticeably uncomfortable. I had been taking herbal supplements that had been giving me contractions already, but this felt different. I nonchalantly let Christopher know that I "felt something," I doubted it was a contraction and wrote it off as possibly a cramp or tummy ache? Knowing how long labor can last for first-time moms, I decided I would try to ignore these "cramps" for as long as my body would allow. Exactly six minutes later, the same "cramp" happened again, followed by another "cramp" exactly 6 minutes after on the dot, and so forth lasting nearly one minute long. At this point, I was still doubtful that these were true active labor contractions. Since we decided that we would commit to pursuing an unmedicated, natural childbirth, I basically have spent nearly 40 weeks of my life telling myself that labor pains would utterly be the most excruciating pains in the world. To be honest, I doubted that these were true contractions because of how bearable they were.

About two hours later, my "cramps" jumped to being 3.5 minutes apart, and I was experiencing back labor. Christopher started to worry a bit at this point, since we knew that according to textbook labor instructions, now would be about the time we start heading to the hospital, but here is his wife still trying to act like this was no big deal, and who knows, it might be a false alarm after all. I honestly couldn't believe these were real labor contractions that were nearing the end, since it was all happening SO FAST, and for some reason, I had already convinced myself that I would have one of those 48 hour labor stories! When in fact there was no warm-up; labor just snuck up on me! Christopher took charge and went ahead and called our doula and midwife to let them know what was happening. They also remained calm, were in no rush, and thought I had a longer way to go, since I was a first-time mom. And they probably thought that as a first-timer, I was probably jumping the gun and most likely had NOT progressed as much as we were saying I had.

As with all good labor stories, the contractions got more intense - the back labor was really the worst part of it all, since the pain was more encompassing. Thankfully, I had an awesome labor coach (my husband!) who applied the right amount of counter pressure to help things along. I squated, swayed, or sat on the commode with each contraction, which I found were the only comfortable positions for me. I refused to leave the bathroom, the smallest room in our house. I refused to turn on the light. I started vomiting, which I knew was a textbook sign of transition (the last part of labor), yet I still COULD NOT BELIEVE this was really happening, since it was all happening so quickly! Christopher called our doula to make her way over to our home.

Christopher eventually convinced me to move to our basement room where I breathed and squatted thru more contractions, and bam, my water broke. And bam, the contractions were back to back, leaving me less time to catch my breath in between. So much of pain really depends on how you respond to it (flashback to bio lessons on parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems, yeah?!). So with every contraction, I would just breathe deeply and repeatedly say out loud, "This is a good thing, this is a good thing, this is a good thing." Christopher called our midwife who then told us to come to the hospital. I did not tell Christopher this at the time since I knew it would absolutely freak him out, but I already had the urge to push. I thought to myself, "Oh my gosh, I think I could have this baby right here in our basement!"

Our doula arrived just when Christopher gathered all our things for the hospital, and off we went. The car ride was quite...interesting to say the least. And once again I thought only to myself to prevent Christopher from getting into an accident, "Oh my gosh, I think I could have this baby right here in our car!"

We arrived at the hospital where they ever so casually asked us for ID, insurance info, and asked me to have a seat. I sharply made a remark (that is not appropriate for online blog publication) and the nurse immediately ushered me to the labor and delivery room. My midwife Nora arrived shortly thereafter wearing her jeans and sweater, haha. I told her that I thought I was feeling a lot of pressure on my bottom, but I sounded doubtful. She told me ever so sweetly, "Well, you look a little too calm to be in transition, but we'll check you." This is probably the only point I was tempted to despair. "Calm" is not a word I or anyone who has ever had a one-minute conversation with me would ever use to describe myself on any given occasion. So being called "calm" during a point in which women typically go insano during labor due to all the crazy hormonal and physiological changes going on in your body was not very encouraging at all! She checked me and was surprised to find that I was already 100% effaced and 10 cm dilated! I was still wearing the sundress I arrived in. There wasn't time to change. They hooked me up to all the necessary machines. I was already in pushing position on the hospital bed, and the nurse was STILL asking me silly questions about what I am allergic to and what my "preferred method of learning" was. Say what?!

I was surprised to find that pushing was actually relieving for me, which gave me more incentive to keep doing it. Since I felt every contraction coming on, I was able to know what my body was doing, ride each contraction, and push with each one. I really wanted to avoid tearing, so I was immensely grateful for a midwife who respected my desire to push only when I felt a contraction and when my body told me to. My midwife, doula, and Christopher were SO incredibly supportive, encouraging, and reassuring. I felt completely at peace and safe knowing I was under their watch and care. They coached me to keep taking deep breaths and relax my body in order to let the labor process keep moving along.

After about 25 minutes of pushing, our sweet Naomi came into this world head first, followed by her two arms high in the air! It was as if she was reaching for me! She was ready to go! I heard Christopher's excitement, as he watched Naomi make her grand debut. My midwife told me to reach down and grab my baby to deliver the rest of her body, so I did and then immediately placed her on my chest for skin to skin contact. Words cannot describe that feeling of awe, relief, and inexpressible joy. You go from experiencing all this toil and pain to seeing your baby for the first time, and all the pain just flies away. All I knew at that moment was that I wanted to love and care for this beautiful baby girl in my arms for the rest of my life.

It's crazy to look back and trace God's grace in answering SO many prayers regarding labor and delivery. I must admit that since we decided to commit to a natural childbirth, I was rather anxious and fearful about all sorts of things. So from day one, we really covered this birthing experience in much prayer. I really have to give Him thanks for answering even the most specific prayers as to which midwife would deliver my baby, tolerance, my response to pain, duration of labor, not kicking anyone in the delivery room :D, the recovery process, etc.

I've shared with my sweet husband that I have not felt the depth of God's love in a long time like I do now. It really is just so overwhelming. All this time, I have known and trusted that God's love is steadfast. It is everlasting. It does not fail. In my own rebellion, I just had not been as mindful of these beautiful truths as I should have been. But He has caught my attention now. I often tell our daughter, "We love you, Naomi." I also follow that by telling her, "But Jesus loves you more." And the thought of that alone makes me weep with joy and thankfulness. I sit here, and I feel like my heart just grew a million times with nothing but love for my sweet girl. But Jesus loves her more. I know I am absolutely committed to love her, provide for her, bless her, comfort and care for her, etc. I honestly don't know how it would be possible for me to love any more. It's a pure "just because" kind of love. It's not conditional on how Naomi treats me. It's not dependent upon what I can get from her in return. In fact, she only takes, takes, takes these days (and for many days to come)! I love her just because. Just because she's mine. I think that is just a TINY TASTE of God's love who is all pure, perfect, and faithful in His care. To think that through His sacrifice at the cross and His resurrection life, Jesus has already met our deepest need for a Savior and has proven that His love indeed never changes (despite our own emotions, perceptions, and circumstances), and it never fails. Jesus does love Naomi more. And He loves me too. Not because of anything we have done, but because He is rich in mercy. Just because He chose to set His love upon us. It's incredible how the Lord has already used the birth of Naomi to bring so much healing, cleansing, and sweetness back into my life. For that and so many other things, I am ever so grateful.

I'm Back! Really, I Promise!

I'm baaaaaaacckkk...AGAIN. 

I think I could have won the award for "Least Amount of Blog Posts in a Year" award. After nearly a year-long hiatus, I am back to the blogosphere. And I promise I will post more than just one blog post a year about being back to the blogosphere. 

At the time of my last post, I was about 1 month into my pregnancy. As with nearly every deficiency and mistake I made between April 2011 to January 8, 2012, I am going to blame my leave of absence on my pregnancy. Those months were just a TOTAL BLUR. Really, a BLUR! Let me catch you up on my life since I last posted. It went a little something like this: vomit, vomit, vomit, work stress, work stress, pain, hot dog, hot dog, vomit, vomit, birthday, vomit, babymoon, vomit, carpal tunnel, carpal tunnel, pain, pain, vomit, work stress, work stress, work stress, vomit, one-year anniversary, vomit, vomit, carpal tunnel, pain, pain, vomit, swell, vomit, swell, Merry Christmas, vomit, vomit, vomit, wham, bam, BABY!!!!!! There you have it.

Now that we're all caught up, maybe you can forgive me for not posting very much. I am happy to report that I have regained feeling in my hands again, I no longer constantly have acute pains shooting up my arms, AND I am no longer vomiting in public spaces like the metro (subway), in front of people in their fancy business suits on K Street, in front of government buildings (Sorry about that, NASA), in the office bathroom stall, inside cars, in restaurants, in other people's homes, in the Carribean Sea, on the beach, on the side of the road after pulling over, (I really have no shame left), etc, etc. PLUS, I now have my darling baby whom I am so completely in love with and is totally revolutionizing my life! So I have lots of happy things to blog about these days! 

Stay tuned! For more posts that make you go, "Wait, wait, wait, WHAT?"