Being Roovin

A family adventure in Palm Beach Resort

2009-11-08T20:46:00.000+08:00

Pic of the day: The Lil Dude Smiles Back

2009-05-17T13:32:00.003+08:00

Taken yesterday during our trip to Greenbelt 5 in one of the shoe shops. We bought him a pair from Hobbes and Landes :)

Pic of the day: Gavin and his Mama

2009-03-14T17:54:00.000+08:00

This one was taken after Wifey and I got back from our 3rd year anniv dinner date. Gavin's happy for us, it seems :)

See you later, N$P

2009-02-12T15:51:00.009+08:00

Last tuesday (2/10/09) was my last day to report in my first company, N$P. It's been a wonderful almost 8 years ride.

Can't write a really long one thanks to my reliable connection so I'm just going to say that I'll be missing the people who made my stay memorable. Thanks for all your sweet thoughts! Know that you will forever be remembered.

See you around.

Polaroid-ing

2009-01-19T13:34:00.000+08:00

Got the hang of making some pics ala polaroid using polaroid.net's cool little app. Here are some of my output.

Pic of the day: How to ask milk

2009-01-17T22:38:00.000+08:00

Pics of the Day: First solid food

2009-01-14T19:38:00.000+08:00

"Mama and Papa are starting me on arganics. The sweet potatoe didn't taste nice the first time but after a few spoonfulls, i am a fan!"

Pic of the day: First Haircut

2008-12-29T18:46:00.000+08:00

"papa, are you really sure you've done this before?"

Pic of the Day: Gavin's Sunbathing

2008-12-18T16:55:00.000+08:00

Pic of the Day: Nav party

2008-12-17T14:07:00.001+08:00

Glamour wall shot during the Nav Alumni and Students' Joint Christmas party

(taken by bespren with his new nikon d60)

Pic of the Day: Gavin's WiseBox

2008-11-19T17:56:00.002+08:00

Thanks to Gavin's Ninongs(bespren, nel) and Ninangs(chatty, cecille), he is now equipped with boxes containing advices on some important subjects in life. He will read these as soon as he knows how =)

Pics of the day: Farm Animals Movie Time

2008-11-10T21:19:00.001+08:00

Ilang taon nalang at may movie buddy na ako pag di libre si Wifey =)

Pics of the day: Garden strolling with Mama & Papa

2008-11-02T13:12:00.003+08:00

Fatherhood Discovery #1

2008-11-02T13:00:00.001+08:00

I could be a composer. After almost three months of humming different tunes to my little boy (he loves to sleep with a hum from either me or his mama), i realized i can actually record them for my portfolio. =)

Ok, just to make things clear, i didn't say i can be a singer. So there.

Pic of the day: First Shopping Adventure

2008-10-16T21:30:00.000+08:00

Pic of the day: Wondering

2008-10-06T16:31:00.000+08:00

Pic of the day: Cutting Gavin's Nails

2008-09-06T16:48:00.004+08:00

First Month-sary

2008-09-04T21:49:00.000+08:00

Gavin turns 30 today. In days, that is.

Our little boy is growing very fast! He's grown heavier, a bit taller and is able to stay alert/awake longer. In day one, he can barely finish 20mL per feeding. Now, even 120mL is sometimes not enough! At 5 kg, Lola Viol, who is the official baby sitter, needs to put him down every so often or else the poor Lola's arm might fall off.

We are thankful that Gavin has developed a rather predictable schedule. His feeding is every three hours starting at 6AM. This allows everyone in the house to get their schedule of activities outside these three-hour cycles. We know he is fully fed when he smiles at the last drop of milk =) Very very cute!

Many of the parents we talked to warn us that these little ones grow very fast. We can now attest to that. Our first thirty days with our bundle of joy swiftly passed by.

Today, there is no special celebration but we offer a prayer to our Creator to keep our little one safe, healthy, and happy.

30

2008-08-24T12:31:00.000+08:00

I recently celebrated a major milestone - becoming 30.

My day started with feeding my son and changing his poopoo-ful diaper. That was 12:15AM of August 21. Slept after Gavin is asleep and woke up to the greetings of the two beautiful women in my life - my mother and Wifey.

Unlike the previous umpteeth birthdays, i did not expect anything "special" to happen with my day. Having Gavin is more than enough for a celebration.

But my ever thoughtful groupmates from NC5K gave a wonderful surprise at lunch time. It involved blindfolding me (which i thought was really just a joke) and by the time i was free to open my eyes, before me stood around 30 close friends in the office, cheering in their party hats!

Sweetest surprise!!

The thoughtfulness did not end there at the party with the food and wishes. They wrote me a verse printed on a professionally designed photo collage =). Here goes..

30 moments, 30 years
the gift of life
a steadfast child at heart
a fascination for learning
the joy of reading
a much-deserved diploma
wheels/a sweet ride
fait
have loved and been loved in return
a home of my own
a family of own
contentment
a loving wife
a bouncing baby boy
a computer coding kung-fu
peace of mind
an inexhaustible well-spring of enthusiasm
tenacity
an international flight of two
sang-froid/grace under pressure/aplomb
a mac book!
the respect of my colleagues
the trust of my superiors
a bank account worth accounting
memories worth remembering
a life worth living
a slick haircut
a sense of humor
a handy bible
happiness
a list of things I've gained, am proud of, and will forever be grateful for.

One thing missing though, and i think a very important item is the company of thoughtful and loving friends.

After work, i hurried back home to spend time with my wife and son. Wifey decided to treat me to dinner and since we want it to be a family affair, included Gavin in the guest list =) We went to Sofitel.

All in all, my day was superbly celebrated.

Thanks all for your sweet sms-es and emails.

Thank you Lord for allowing me to experience your unconditional love for the past 30 years and the many years after.

All about Gavin Jacob

2008-08-11T16:43:00.002+08:00

Our little angel, Gavin Jacob, arrived at exactly 7:29AM last August 4, weighing 5.14 lbs and 48 cm. Mae started labor as early as 3:45PM a day earlier. We only rushed to St. Lukes when the contractions became more intense and at 8 minute intervals.

Since Gavin's arrival, the center of our lives made a common shift and gravitated towards our little bundle of joy. Almost every activity is about this tiny little guy. He is not (yet) demanding but Mae and I see to it that he gets what he needs. Knowing what he needs at and any given time is still a struggle but we are enjoying the learning process.

Being a confessed novice photographer, my new obsession is getting baby photos with obviously my new favorite subject - Gavin. Checkout pics at http://picasaweb.google.com/roovin/gavin. It also has pictures of friends and family who came to visit.

Gavin's first act

2008-08-10T12:30:00.000+08:00

Captain Roger Rackham

2008-07-03T09:34:00.000+08:00

My pirate name is:

Captain Roger Rackham

Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. You have the good fortune of having a good name, since Rackham (pronounced RACKem, not rack-ham) is one of the coolest sounding surnames for a pirate. Arr!

Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network

It's a Boy!!!

2008-05-30T11:42:00.006+08:00

Guessing game is over!

Early morning yesterday, Wifey and I were talking about how much easier it would be if we already know our baby's sex. We feel guilty already calling our baby a "he" whenever we do our ritual of praying inside the car and if we feel being neutral, it's a mouthful saying "he or she". Also, since we started checking off the baby list, we have to give extra effort in making sure that the item we buy is unisex. We can't have a really cute little blue overall with cars and airplanes printed on it because our baby might turn out to be a girl. The reverse is also true. The pink dress will not do on a boy (unless we are that heartless and enjoy playing on our baby).

"Wifey, why don't we try and have the ultrasound again today?", I asked while driving through SLEX.

"Let's wait for middle of June before we do another ultrasound", Wifey hesitated, "that way we can be sure that baby is big enough for the genitals to really show up".

I tried to beg, "Sige na...excited nako e. Total libre naman ang ultrasound mo."

Wifey only smiles. She knows she's married to a guy with a negative EQ.

Later, i realized that that smile was really a hint to a wonderful surprise.

The revelation came that night. Wifey asked me to take her out on a dinner date. That request wasn't really something unusual because we do it to each other whenever it's salary time (their salary is always late so I'm always the first to treat).

After being seated, Wifey told me she needed to pee. Since she is leaving her bag, i had to stay. Before she finally left our table, she handed me a piece of paper which i initially took as a receipt of whatever she bought. When i opened the folded sheet, it's no grocery receipt but an ultrasound!

And, there it is, an arrow pointing to what look like a boy's tiny genital. Next to the arrow is a three-letter word, BOY.

I wanted to hug Wifey right away but she was gone. So i waited for her to return from her hourly bathroom ritual.

Of course our family got the sms in seconds after that.

Praise God for granting a heart's desire

.

Two Years

2008-03-11T22:11:00.004+08:00

Today is our 2nd Wedding Anniversary.

As much as we want to be together on this special day, we could not. I am in Cebu for a training while Wifey is on duty in the hospital. We assured ourselves that the celebration will be done this weekend after her duty. For now, we settle on sweet thoughts sent via sms every minute or so.

Two years have gone so quickly! It feels like it was only a few days ago that I stood nervously near the altar while being awed by the beauty of my bride walking down the aisle.

To Wifey, I continue to thank God for your love. It was four years ago when you first gave me that angelic smile of yours. Upto now, I am still captivated. I love you.

One down

2008-02-22T17:56:00.004+08:00

...and a few more to go. =)

I learned recently, while on training in Cebu, that i passed the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT)! That, after 7 years of working in a Japanese company. Toinks! Language is not my forte at all and don't intend to make it one either, so I am not in a hurry to get to the top of it.

Thanks to our determined Sensei who is very passionate about making us learn his country's language and their culture.

This year, i am eyeing on two other major certifications. With the result of the JLPT, looks like I'm going to have a good year ahead! =)

All praises to God who enables.