The origin of your nickname

Dear Baby Boots,

It's 6 in the morning on Sunday and I have just been furloughed from work, yehey! I was looking forward to spending a relaxing day with you and your daddy. It's supposed to go up to 90 degrees today and it's only April 26th. I'm happy though because I miss the heat so much.

I was awake since 4 in the morning because I just couldn't sleep and you or my stomach started growling. After a few growls, I decided to be nice and ate a small bowl of rice and beef nilaga. Now that you and my stomach are satisfied, I decided to go online and write you a long due letter from the past few weeks.

You are 18 weeks and 5 days as of today. I cannot believe how fast time has gone by. I am trying to cherish each moment that I have you in my belly. I know it's not easy to be pregnant and all because of all the changes one's body goes through, but I would not trade it for anything. Hopefully, I can share this experience with you one day and tell you how happy I am to be carrying you in me.

Before I keep blabbering on, let me tell you how your nickname Butiki came about and how it has evolved to Boots, and Bootsie : ).

Your great grandfather or Lolo Carmelo (my mom's father) was so eager to have a great grandchild as soon as your Papa and I were married in January of 2008. Everytime we spoke on the phone, he would ask us if we had a Butiki on the way. A Butiki is a small white lizard in our Filipino language. It's those little gecko looking things you will see on the walls when you are in a tropical climate like the Philippines. So, when I found out I was pregnant and having you, the first name that came to my head was Butiki because your grand Lolo mentioned it all the time. Your Papa and I thought it was a cute name and decided to call you that early on. Everyone in the family including your Grammy, Auntie Mandie, Uncle Tim, and Tophe thought it was a cute name to call you so it stuck ever since. Your Gramps wasn't too happy about it because he said Butiki sounded so little and that he was proud to say that you were not going to be little, but a giant baby instead : ).

From Butiki, came the name Boots. I was relaxing with your dad one day when the name just popped into my head. I thought it was a cute nickname for Butiki and have started to call you that since. We still call you Butiki sometimes, but Boots sounds sooo much cuter and people here in America can pronounce the word a lot easier that Butiki. Bootsie is my special nickname for you when I'm talking to you all by myself. I find myself talking to you a lot when I'm alone because I like to let you know what is going on around me and also, it doesn't make me as lonely.

So there you go...now you know where your nickname came from. I have a feeling it's going to stick around even after you are born. You will always be my Boots!

Love you dearly,
Your Mama

Conceived in Africa

My Dearest Butiki,

You are about 15 weeks and 6 days in my belly as of today. Mommy has been meaning to write to you for a long time now to tell you all the adventures I have been going through for the past 15 weeks since you were conceived. I have been so busy and also kind of lazy that I never started it until today.

Before I tell you about the adventures I have been through, I want to tell you about the time you were conceived or "made" because it was a very special time for your Papa and I.

We traveled all the way to Uganda, Africa in late December to celebrate the wedding of your Auntie Joan and Uncle John. Together with us during that fun filled trip was your Auntie Mandie, Uncle Andre, Auntie Fatima, and Uncle Dan. It was such an exciting trip because never in our lives have we traveled to the continent of Africa. It was the first time we all step foot into such a foreign and exotic country.

The trip had many ups and downs because traveling is not always easy, but we had a good time nevertheless because we were with great company. We were there for about two weeks and stayed in the City of Entebbe. We also traveled to the capital city Kampala, went to see the source of the Nile River in Jinja, and saw exotic animals in a safari called Queen Elizabeth National Park in Mweya.


That trip to Africa was not only memorable because we were celebrating Auntie Joan and Uncle John's wedding, but also because your Papa and I were celebrating our 1 year wedding anniversary.

In the midst of all the celebration, your Papa and I conceived you. We can joyfully say that you were "Made in Africa!" When you do the math and all the calculations, the doctors say that you were conceived sometime around the new year December 30th 2008 to Jan 1st 2009 : ). What a great start for the new year for your Papa and I even though we did not know about you then. We found out about you two weeks after we got back from our trip.

I always tell my friends and close family that the best souvenir I brought back from Uganda was you. People joke about it that they bought many beautiful crafts and gifts from Africa, how come we get to bring home such a great souvenir of a little baby. I guess I have to say that we were lucky, or better yet, that God loves us so much he gave us YOU!

I have to say that you were not "planned." Your Papa and I did say that we were thinking of starting a family sometime in the year of 2009 but never actually planned on conceiving while I was traveling because I was taking malaria pills and didn't think it was safe for you. We were always open to anything God has planned for us and put him in control. He indeed was in control and gave us you, our little miracle. I can definitely say that you are the fruit of our love. Even though you were not in our plans, your Papa and I were overjoyed when we found out we were having you. You are indeed, the best souvenir we brought home from Africa.

Now, the trip to Uganda will not only be memorable because we celebrated a wedding and our 1st year anniversary, it will always be engraved in our hearts and memories because a great miracle happened while we were there, and we got to bring home YOU!


I hope you will enjoy this story my dear one.

I love you my baby,

Your Mommy

Letters to my little one

I have been thinking about doing this for the past few months already but have been so busy with my full time job in the hospital, taking classes part-time to become a family nurse practitioner, and carrying a new bundle of joy that I never got the chance to start it until now. Finally, I told myself that I just have to do it or I will never get it done.

When I found out I was expecting a baby, I thought it would be nice to write blogs to keep family and friends updated on the little one. But as I thought more and more about it, I wanted to do something more meaningful and something I will always remember and hopefully share with my baby one day. So, instead of writing blogs every few weeks to keep everyone updated, I decided to write letters to my little one and tell him or her all the different and new things going on in my life as a carry him/her in my belly.

One day, when my baby is old enough to understand, I will show him/her the letters. To me, this was going to be more intimate and meaningful and will probably give me more motivation to write the letters in the midst of my busy and hectic life.

I hope you will all enjoy reading it to...it's meant to be shared with you all or I wouldn't post it up in this website :)

I will try my very best to write a letter and post a picture or two each week.

Presenting...The Kubota "Butiki"

Dex and I went to Uganda Africa for two weeks in December-Jan 2008-2009 for Joan and John's wedding. We also celebrated our 1st year wedding anniversary there. The trip was memorable because we had fun with our group of friends, made many friends from all over the world, and most importantly, brought back the best souvenir anyone could ask for : )!!!

Presenting, our lil Kubota "Butiki."

Hope you all enjoyed the surprise!

Memories to cherish

I felt compelled to write this blog after my younger brother Tim left for FUS earlier last week and when my youngest brother left for his semester abroad in Austria yesterday.

The house that was so noisy and rowdy just a few months ago is now filled with silence and too much space. From the moment my youngest brother left, I kept myself busy by cleaning the house and storing all the little things my brothers left behind. I told myself that it will be so nice now because we will finally have more space and a tidy and organized house. But soon I realized that I would rather have a messy house with my family's presence rather than the lonesome quiet space.

I can now say that I have experienced what it feels like to be "left behind." I'm sure that when my sister and I left for college for the first time in our lives, my parents felt the same way. It's an emotion that is hard to describe. You are happy for the people who have to leave and experience something new, but you also feel like you have lost something important. It's a bittersweet feeling really...and has led me to realize how important it is to cherish every moment I have with people I care about.

My family has always been the pillars who held my life together. They make me who I am today and complete me. They have always been there when I needed them most and continue to be there even during the times when I think I did not need them. We share all our joys and sorrows with each other. We laugh, we fight, we joke, we cry, we pray, and play together. It's what makes us a FAMILY!

This summer has been one of the best I've ever had. My deareset Mommy came to visit and stayed for 2 months. Tim, Mandie, and Dex were here because they all live with me. Tophe came back from college for his 4 month summer break. My Daddy came to visit for a short but worthy while.

We started the summer off by driving my 2 brothers up to NYC since they had never step foot into the big apple. It was a short but fun weekend. Then, when my mom came, we had to make a trip to Hershey Park in PA. We promised each other that we had to do that this summer. It was such a fun and chocolate filled weekend. We also got lucky because the band Survivor happened to be on tour there so we got to see them. When my daddy came to visit in July, we made a special trip up to Boston and Maine to celebrate his big "50th" birthday. We feasted on lobsters and fresh seafood and had great company (my cousin TJ, my uncle Jaime, and auntie Grace). Last but not least, we flew down to Orlando, FL and had a restful and relaxing summer vacation at our time share.

After all the fun and laughter, reality struck us. My dad had to go back to work in Taiwan. My mom had to go back to be with my dad and fulfill her duties as a wife. Tim left for college in Ohio, and Tophe left for his semester in Austria. The house is now left with Mandie, Dex, and I.

As much as it was sad to see them go, the memories that I had with each one of them is now kept securely in my heart. Thank God also for great technology that we can store unending pictures in the computer :)

Thank you my dear Family for all the fun and craziness you brought to my life these past few months. I miss you all so much but know that I will see you again soon. Cherish the moments you are experiencing now because it's an experience you may only have once in your lifetime.

How the story began...

The Story of "our life" began 10 years ago when Dex & I met during our freshman year in college. It was August 16, 1998 during our international orientation. After all the fun and drama of dating for 8 years, Dex decided that I was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and asked me to be his wife : )

As one chapter in our lives ended, a new beginning started when we tied the knot on January 4, 2008. It was the happiest day of my life and a wedding I will never forget.

I have been meaning to start a blog for a while now but always pushed it aside because I was too busy with work and my new life. Today, I decided that I better start it or it will never happen.

I will try my best to fill you in with what is going on with our lives on a montly basis or if there is anything new and exciting going on. I hope you enjoy reading "the story of our life" and come visit our blog site from time to time.

-Andie : )