A Christmas Gift

Ever since their busy wedding preparations last December 2009, Mike and Pia were looking forward to spending their first quiet and relaxing Christmas holidays together.

But things don't always happen as expected.  A little star came into their lives.

Julian Nigel Anthony

On Christmas eve, Mike's sister Anne gave birth to Julian Nigel Anthony.  Julian was 8 lbs at birth and measured __ centimeters.

Anne's husband, also named Mike, was at the delivery room as well.

Christening of Tala

Sometime in November 2010, Mike and Pia had their daughter baptized at their Parish.

It was a simple, quiet and intimate ceremony attended by the parents and siblings of Mike and Pia.  

Tala Marie Isabel

On XX XXXXX 2010, Pia gave birth to Tala Marie Isabel.  

She weighed 6.7 pounds and measured 58.8 centimeters.

Mike was right beside Pia in the delivery room.  He was there to receive the baby from their obstetrician as the anesthesiologist took the video.

Personal Journal Entries:
There She Was
The First Minute of Tala Marie Isabel's Life (Video)

Baby Tea Party

Tala's aunts, Gem and Ina, hosted a "tea party" baby shower for Pia and Tala last 26 September 2010.

Instead of the usual activities for baby showers, Ina thought of something different for Tala and her guests.

Choosing Three Names

Mike and Pia began the search for their baby girl's name last July 2010.  They first short-listed it down to two names:

"Anna Elizabeth"

"Maria Isabelle"

However, Mike knew by experience that having a common name can be more inconvenient than having a long name.  So they decided that they needed one more name to complete their daughter's name. That name, Mike and Pia felt, needed to be Filipino in origin.

Attending Childbirth Class

Feeling the need to learn as much as they can about the coming birth of their baby, Mike and Pia started to attend weekly Childbirth Classes beginning 14 August 2010.

Since they were praying for a natural delivery, it seemed like the next logical step in their preparations.

Boy or Girl

On 29 July 2010, Mike and Pia went to their doctor's clinic for Pia's checkup.  This particular visit to the clinic will be special.  After months of waiting, Mike and Pia will finally get to know more about their little one.

They will soon find out if their baby will be a boy or a girl.

Typhoon Basyang Timeout

Typhoon Basyang hit Manila the evening of 16 July 2010.  Strong winds caused power services to fail metro-wide and Mike and Pia were caught unprepared.

Official Wedding Pictures

Last week, Mike and Pia received their Wedding Picture DVDs from their wedding photographer, Ian Santillian.  The two DVDs contained 1,735 pictures in total.

Return to Tagaytay

On 15 May 2010, Mike and Pia went to Tagaytay to attend a despedida dinner for their friend, Gayle.  Its the first time they visited Tagaytay as a married couple.

Bloody Maundy Thursday

Mike and Pia never imagined going out to buy bread along Aguirre Street in BF could turn out to be so bloody.

First Ultrasound Scan

On 15 March 2010, Mike and Pia went to the doctor to have their first ultrasound scan. Mike felt anxious during the trip to the clinic. Pia's pregnancy at first showed signs that may lead to a miscarriage.  In fact, she had been on complete bed rest for weeks on doctor's orders.  The ultrasound scan would soon show if the baby was all right.

Two Plus One

Like most married couples, Mike and Pia would sometimes have the occasional argument. One Friday night they had a particularly bad fight.  It was a fight they could not resolve easily.  So that night they went to sleep before they could straighten things out.

Home Sweet Home

Right after the wedding, Mike and Pia moved into a rented duplex house with three (3) bedrooms, two (2) bathrooms and a garden.

Since then their home had witnessed a house blessing, a party, three (3) CCs and numerous scheduled and unscheduled but welcome visits from friends and family.

One of Forty

Unknown to Mike and Pia during their wedding day, an email bearing good news was just waiting to be read.  The email was sent to Pia a day before their wedding by a certain Ms. Nova.

Cebu and Bantayan

Mike and Pia went to Cebu for the second and third part of their honeymoon.

Unlike the first part of their honeymoon, their trip to Cebu happened as planned.  Before going to Bantayan Island for the second part of their honeymoon however, they met up with Pia's cousin Myk for dinner and drinks.

They stayed up so late that they almost didn't wake up in time for their early morning taxi ride to Hagnayan Port. Fortunately, they arrived at the port just in time for the second morning ferry ride to Bantayan Island.

Unexpected Road Trip

Mike and Pia planned a three-part honeymoon after the wedding.  The first part was supposed to be a Bohol adventure honeymoon.  The second part of the honeymoon was a relaxing Bantayan Island stay.  The last part was a Cebu city gimmick/food trip.

The first part of the honeymoon however didn't go as planned.

Gan-Nolasco Wedding

On XX XXX 2010, Mike and Pia were married at the XXX Church in Silang, Cavite.  Reception followed soon after at the Moon Garden in Tagaytay.  Both venues are secluded places in the Tagaytay-Silang area.

Apprehension and Persuasion: Wedding Gown

After much worry over the wedding gown, Pia got hold of it a little more than a week before the wedding. Noticing some minor stains, she had the gown dry-cleaned. At the cleaners, she made it crystal clear that she will pick it up in the evening of 11 January 2010.

So, in the early evening of 11 January 2010, Mike went to the cleaners to get Pia's wedding gown.  There was one problem however. They could'nt find it.  

Apprehension and Persuasion: Wedding Suit

Mike had one big worry about his suit for the wedding.  Pia wanted a certain cut for the suit that was very slim.  Probably like most grooms-to-be, Mike didn't give it much thought when Pia first asked if he liked it.  "Sure.", he said and mentally made a note to go the gym more regularly.

But as the wedding drew near, Mike was getting worried.  Of course the cut of the suit looked good in the pictures that they showed the tailor, but "that" was a model wearing the suit made by some other tailor.