WELCOME, JUAN!!! / OCTOBER 6,2007

Dear Juan,

Let me tell you about your mom and how you totally changed her. On August 5,2007 @ exactly 6:04 am, I got a text from her:

After mre dan 12hrs of labor, JUAN arivd via csarian yday aug 4, 10:13pm! =)

YEY!!!

Which is not to say she started changing only after she saw you. Truth be told, I think she started changing when she first learned that she had you.

Flashback to a little over a year ago. Your mom and I were having one of those "catch-up lunches" @ The Old Spaghetti House along Valero. Having been used to almost 10 years of ranting and raving and everything else in between over lunch, dinner and every other time else in between, we found it necessary to touch base every so often after she left the world of tomatoes and pineapples to move to the world of..uh...mouthwash and fever medicine. =) Back then, we inevitably found ourselves talking about the possibility of having kids. Our fears. Our wants. Etc. Etc.

Back then, I remember laughing at her seemingly absurd reason for having a child--other than your dad wanting one.

"I'm curious kung ano magiging combination namin ni BJ. Kung sino sa amin ang magiging kamukha. Sana kamukha ni BJ." HAHAHAHAHA!!!

"That's it?! That's your reason for having a child," I blurted out, more as a declaration than as a question, the entire time laughing my fool head off.

Your mom guffawed, probably realizing the absurdity of what she had just said, "Uh...."

"Pano kung kamukha mo?!" I prodded.

"Ibibigay ko sa mommy ko pagkapanganak ko. Di ko alam kung ano gagawin ko sa bata!" HAHAHAHAHA!!!

A few months later, everyone received an ecstatic text announcing that she and your dad are finally pregnant!!! After five long years. The text, I suppose, said it all. It was finally the right time. And heck, it was definitely worth the wait! =)

In the beginning, I think your mom thought she could continue to be who she was (driven career madwoman, haha!), except that she'd have a much bigger belly. No biggie. She has gone through such phases before, haha (admittedly, not from having a baby in her tummy, but from eating way too much. 'P).

I suppose nothing drove home the point more than her OB requiring her to stay at home for a complete bedrest during the precarious first trimester. Your mom being Marts, of course, tried as much as she could to circumvent all of her doctor's orders. It took everyone (from OB to relatives to friends to bosses) to get her to finally accept that the Marketing Department will not collapse just because she took time off from work. Despite the fact that the circumstances were forced, that was probably the first time she bonded with the little dot in her tummy that was then you.

She emerged from the experience changed. =)

Your mom has always been a bit of a tomboy. When she had you, she bloomed. She started wearing girly clothes. She started fixing herself up.

Your mom has always had a bit of an edge. When she had you, she started to round up a bit--figuratively, even as she did so literally. She seemed calmer. She seemed nicer, the blunt words replaced by hushed tones. For all intents and purposes, she seemed happier.

I read somewhere once that the power of a child lies in his ability to transform the lives of the people around him. You managed to do so before you were even born.

The biggest surprise--the best surprise, I suppose--happened a few weeks before you were born. I received a text from your mom, asking that we have one final lunch before she gives birth.

Friday's, Bonifacio High Street.

Over lunch, your mom declared, "Kung pwede lang, ayaw ko na magtrabaho after ko manganak." It's not exactly off-center if you hear it from any other pregnant woman, but hearing if from YOUR MOM, well...such takes on proportions as big as...uh...The Declaration of Independence. Hahaha!

"O, ano nangyari sa'yo?!" I asked, snickering, "Kala ko gusto mo lang makita combination niyo ni BJ tapos iiwan mo na baby mo sa mommy mo."

She laughed, remembering her absurd statement a little over a year ago. "Ewan ko ba," she said, "But after carrying Juan for nine months, we've formed a bond. Parang di ko kayang iwan...."

HAHAHAHAHA!!! Transformation complete. Done! Haha. =)

Last Saturday, at your baptism, I laid eyes on you for the first time. You are a beautiful, wonderful child--smiling, laughing, silently watching the world with those curious eyes.

As I watched your mom parade you around and introduce you to all the other important people in her and your dad's life, and seeing how happy she was, I honestly wanted to cry. Except that I didn't because I will never hear the end of it from your mom. Hahaha. =)

You have made everyone so, so, sooooooooooooooooooo happy. I can only wish you the same level of happiness as the joy you have brought into your mom's and dad's life.

Welcome to the world, Juan! See you again sometime SOON. =)

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Congratulations, Marts & Bij!!! =)

And thanks for inviting us to the celebration last Saturday. To the rest of my blog fans (all five of my family members and the occasional three from DMPI, haha--loko lang. Sana), I will not post any reviews. For documentation purposes though, it was held at Lemuria at the Horseshoe Village. I'll let the pics speak for themselves. (Advance apologies though. As I am no foodstylist, the plate I assembled from the buffet tasted so much better than it looks in the pic. Haha!) =)