In Cavite

I couldn't resist asking Jeff (Lopez) to take some photos of me with my girls and solo of Alyssa while he was with us in Bacoor, Cavite. Love how these photos came out! Thank you so much, Jeff!

Our Christmas 2007

We spent Christmas Eve in Cagayan de Oro with my family. Went to mass at Xavier University at 10pm (the girls were asked to offer flowers to Mama Mary) then had Noche Buena at my parents' place at Macasandig. The next day, Christmas day, we left for Manila to spend two weeks with my in laws in Cavite. Mier will be leaving earlier though because he had work.

Field Demonstration

Nadine and Raya has their field demonstration for Rosevale school last Dec 12.

Chocolate Monsters

My girls are such chocolate monsters! We got this box of cookies covered with Belgian chocolate from Tita Bel, my Papa's sister in the US, and the girls enjoyed every cookie in that box! It was so funny because Nadine kept on saying, "This is good! This is very good! Hmmm... This is really good!" with every bite. Yes, they just love chocolates. I wonder where they got it from?

Merry Christmas from the Castrillos

My kids as elves. Check it out by clicking the link below.

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1416117248

Alyssa's 3rd month

Alyssa is 3 months today. How fast time flies! She is such an adorable baby! She's always smiling and talking even if no one is talking to her. Nadine and Raya simply adore her and are always eager to play with her. She sleeps longer now at the night and has a more predictable routine. She is still an eager feeder, taking her time when nursing.

My Trio

Tried taking pictures of my three girls for our annual Christmas picture. It isn't easy at all! Had to snap snap snap and check later on which ones turned out nice. Alyssa was getting irritated already towards the end of the shoot.

Alyssa's 2nd month

As a scrapper (you can view most of my scrapbook layouts at http://community.webshots.com/user/miamc1_scrapbooks2006) I know that to create beautiful layouts, you'll need beautiful photos. Here is my attempt to document Alyssa's 2nd month in a creative manner. I can't wait to scrap them!

My sister Marla's wedding

My sister, Marla, got married last October 27, 2007. Here are some of our pictures. For all other pictures, you can visit her site at marlatantoco.multiply.com

Alyssa's Christening

Since many of our relatives from Manila were her for my sister, Marla's wedding, we decided to have Alyssa's baptism the day after, October 28, 2007. We reserved Cagayan de Oro's Archbishop's Palace and asked family friend, Fr. Asandas Balchand, S.J. to baptize Alyssa. Reception followed at the Lauremar Beach Hotel were we ate lechon to our heart's content. ;-)

Nadine and Raya in Costume

Nadine and Raya had to wear costumes in school today of any foreign country. Nadine went in a Spanish costume while Raya was excited in her Hawaiian outfit. I think they look so cute in it. :-)

Alyssa's First Month

Labanderas

My two older girls have been adjusting to the new baby. Although they adore Alyssa, I know that her arrival has also been a confusing time for them, seeing me spend so much time with the baby. I try hard to spend individual time with each of them but I try not to spread myself too thinly too. My yaya, Annie, has been a great help to us. My mother in law stayed with us for a week too and was such a blessing.

On this day, I asked Nadine and Raya to help wash Alyssa's clothes (and Mier's handkerchiefs) and the two girls willingly obliged. It was an experience that they enjoyed a lot. I have to think of other stuff to keep them busy. They are such great helpers anyway and are always excited to help out.

Mier and His Girls

Alyssa was a week old when I took these photos. I can't wait to scrap them! I am tickled pink that Mier has 3 girls who adore him. :-)

Alessandra Gianina Montalvan Castrillo "Alyssa"

Born on September 09, 2007 at 2:16am, 5 lbs and 11 ounces, 48 cm.

Little Ms. Independent

I woke up one morning at 6am and heard someone enter the bathroom. I looked around and saw Mier and Nadine asleep on their beds but Raya was no where found. I checked the bathroom and saw my little girl using the toilet all by herself! She didn't wake up her daddy or me anymore and went all by herself. She's only 3 years old! I'm so proud of her!

Raya is turning out to be a very independent child. She likes doing things by herself and has a sense of self fulfillment when she does. She has always insisted on brushing her teeth or helping out or doing stuff on her own. It makes me so proud to see her full of self confidence and self esteem.

So proud!

Just got the results of my sweet Nadine's exams. She perfected her tests in Reading, Language and Math and had one mistake each in Science and Filipino. I am so proud of her!

...Life is BUTT a Dream!

Raya was singing "Row, row, row your boat..." and when she got to the part "...Life is but a dream." she started laughing.

"That's a funny song," she said, "because there's BUTT in the song." Hahaha! Nadine and I tried to explain to her that BUT and BUTT sound the same but mean differently. She couldn't understand at first. The fact that the word sounded like BUTT was just too amusing for her. She definitely is a funny girl!

Roughing it Up in the Forest

Mier took Nadine and Raya tree planting last Sunday. They were late for the actual planting but enjoyed looking for frogs and swimming in the stream.