Maelyne's baptism & Henry's first Father's Day!

Maelyne received the Sacrament of Baptism at St. Mark's Catholic Church in San Marcos on June 20, 2009. Deacon Dennis Sullivan officiated the ceremony and it was attended by the godparents and some family members and friends (30 people altogether). It was a special ceremony since Maelyne was the only child who was being baptized that day. She was welcomed to the Christian world! Our family and friends came together in spirit to witness this wonderful event. Thank you to the Godparents who have accepted the responsibility of a new life. Lunch followed at the Alfresco's Italian Buffet in San Marcos as well. Maelyne's homecoming and baptismal celebration is on June 27, 2009 at the Pearl Chinese Cuisine in Rancho Bernardo. See you then...
It is Henry's first father's day (Happy Father's Day honey!), so we started the day out attending mass followed by a family lunch at Applebee's restaurant. The three of us enjoyed the delicious food we have ordered.
In the afternoon, we headed to Mira Mesa at my mom's house then paid a visit at my dad's resting place. It is also his birthday on the 22nd and he should have been 88 years old. Happy father's day and happy birthday dad! We missed you!

Back at the house, Henry and Maelyne had their time playing just the two of them. I could tell they were having so much fun because I heard a lot of laughs. Nice father and daughter quality time.
June 22nd also marks our third month with Maelyne. I could not believe we have been together this long but it seems like it had just happened yesterday. Maelyne is growing fast!
We just hope she's always healthy and become a good daughter to us.

Happy Father's Day Dad!

Maelyne turned 16 months old!

It is hard to believe Maelyne is now 16 months old. She is a big girl now. And it has been a month since our last post. She has really kept us busy that I have not much time to log into her blog and post updates. Anyway, for her 16th monthsarry (June 10, 2009), I got her a white cupcake and let her blow her candle. When asked to blow the candle, she tries to blow through her nose (she's taught to blow her nose when she has a cold). I thought it was funny. I'm sure though she'll get it right someday.
Maelyne had her second doctor's visit on June 9th. She now weighs 20 lbs, 29.5 inches in lenght, and with a head circumference of 17.5 inches. During this visit, she got her second shot for polio, and PCV, HIB and DTaP combined. A nurse visit is scheduled in 4 weeks to get her third and last shot for polio, and will be given Hep A vaccine. As expected, she had a slight fever after her shots but she is doing just fine with some infant tylenol drops.
Some developmental milestones:
* she can now walk by herself up to 25 steps
* she brushes her teeth with assistance
* uses her potty trainer
* says some new words like daddy, hug, bird, amma (grandma), sounds like mommy, ba-bye and imitates animal sounds
* she's into books now specially with colors and pictures
* she likes to pretend plays and more...
We are very pleased of Maelyne's progress so far. Although she's been a handfull little girl and it's becoming a challenge, we are here to protect her, guide her, discipline her and teach her the right things. This is what parents do anyway and we love, love, love being parents to her.

Our social worker, Darcy Kennedy, had her first post-adoption visit on May 30. Three post-adoption visits are required by CCAA, one at 3 months, one at six months and at 1 year. This is the first time she met Maelyne. During the visit, Darcy went over the questionares she had e-mailed us weeks before she came to our house. The questions were basically how Maelyne is adjusting to her new environment, bonding with family, her developmental milestones, etc. Glad Maelyne was in good spirits that morning and Darcy saw how happy she was and how she gets excited, etc. She was able to hold her, too and played with a ball a little. We were also required to give 5 photos of Maelyne with at least one photo with both the parents. Darcy was pleased to know that our family is doing great with our new addition.

Few photos to share...

With her niece Kaelyn

With Ate Sheryl the night she left for the Philippines

Maelyne turns 16 months old...