Dearest Little Elijah,

Your lola is very sick right now… Earlier today, I asked you to pick a flower for her and you did so mama decided to make a card for her from you.

It is hard being so far away but your titas and your lolo are taking care of her well. We still wish we are there because we know that your smiles and giggles can probably help her with recovery. We are praying really hard that she will get through this soon.

We love her so much.

Wholeheartedly Yours,
Mama Z.

Our Dearest Little Elijah,

They said not to play while you are eating… but we did, so shoot us.

Who knew that you will find the spelling of B-R-O-C-C-O-L-I funny.

I love you so much, my hilarious little man.

Wholeheartedly Yours,
Mama Z.

Our Dearest Little Elijah,

For the past 9 months, I have learned lessons in life that I wasn’t able to completely grasp before you. Genuine love, happiness, sheer excitement, vulnerability and yet there’s strength and so much more. You fill my heart with so much gratitude and love. I can never thank God enough for all the joy you are bringing into our lives. I love you so much!

Wholeheartedly yours,
Mama Z.

Dearest Little Elijah,

Some of my friends have been asking me for tips on what to feed their babies. Being the first time mom that I am, I don’t think I am an authority to give them guidance so I just point them to http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com. (New moms – head on over there – there are tons of helpful information on that website)

Since your papa and I are both eating clean, we pretty much give you the same food that we eat. Your favorites so far are asparagus, zucchini, grapefruit, whole apple, chicken, strawberries, guacamole, yogurt mixed with a little mango juice, fruit smoothies and of course, cheese.

(“Mama, don’t take my picture when my mouth is full of cheese.”)

We also have started to teach you table manners since you now understand the concept of ‘all done’ and ‘no more.’

Anyway, you are neither a picky (hey, you even tried curry) nor a voracious eater. We are very much fine with that as we know that you are a very healthy and strong baby.

Keep on eating.

With so much love,
Mama and Papa Z.

Our Dearest Little Elijah,

Your Tita Ching had a wonderful opportunity to travel to the US for a Dermatological Laser Surgery convention in Boston. YAY! Her very gracious boss let her stay for a week more so that she can split her time between your cousin Nate and you.

Her stay was truly short but extremely sweet indeed — we tried to make the most out of the time we had with her.

Eli, you warmed up to her the fastest I have ever seen. I know she will miss you and I do know you miss her too as you keep going to the now empty guest bedroom.

We love her so much and we will see her again this December when we visit the Philippines.

With so much love,
Mama Z.

Our Dearest Little Elijah,

Remember this one? Well, we got way better reaction from you this time.

Spring has arrived so we have been grabbing every opportunity to be outside. You have also been an awesome companion on my long runs and I am so thankful of you for that.

Anyway, we just want to tell you that you are such a hoot and an awesome child. I even asked your papa what did we do to deserve you? You know what he replied, “Well, we made love.” Hahahahahaha.

Happy Monday. More photos later!

With so much love,
Your mama and papa Z.

Dearest Little Elijah,

A lot of people are asking how we are doing… well, we are just great.

I think it will be uphill from here.

Much love,
Mama Z.

Our Dearest Little Elijah,

One of the things you have to know about me, your mama, is that I can’t bake well. Hmmm, maybe not yet.

We want to introduce you to “somewhat clean-eating” early on in your life so I attempted to make you teething biscuit (but gluten-free) from this recipe I found through Pinterest. It is supposed to be a teething biscuit so my expectation is that it will be hard like say, ‘ginger snaps.’

Well, it came out crumbly and scone-like but bless your kind-heart, you still liked it. It must be unconditional love.

I have plenty of time to practice to turn my baked bads into baked goods.
I will get there, I promise… hopefully before you turn 18.

With so much love,
Mama Z.

Our Dearest Little Elijah,

I just learned that one of the most heartbreaking news a parent can get is a call saying that your son got into an accident. Well, we didn’t expect we will get that call this soon since you are only 7 1/2 months old. I won’t say that we weren’t warned — your caregivers call you Superman (boy), a daredevil and even told us earlier that you will be walking pretty soon and that you did (well, still assisted).

But, I guess your “gutsiness” comes with a price.

For now, we are ensuring that we are helping you with your desire to walk on your own (if that means putting 16 lb. total dumbbells to your walker as one — believe it or not, you can still push it). I am not a mom who holds their kid(s) like an arm candy even when they are two or so but one who won’t restrain you and your development. After all, I don’t want you to be wimpy, remember?

Anyway, we are not taking these accidents lightly. We want to make sure that you are in a very safe environment and we are finding better options for you as well.

We love you so much but we do want you to be a little careful.

Much love,
Mama (and Papa) Z.

Our Dearest Little Elijah,

You are like your papa in so many ways, that is, you get obsessive about one thing and won’t stop until the goal is accomplished. Well, this week, it’s been trying to walk on your own and pull everything you can get your hands on. Oh, it wasn’t easy for me because papa was on a business trip so it left me with no choice but to coral you… Well, that didn’t work so well either so I resorted to baby wearing you. I might have to blog about that one of these days.

Happy Wednesday.

Much love,
Mama Z.