HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MATI

It is finally 2014 and while many people are posting about their year's top 10 or making many countdowns, I felt that the best way to wrap up the year and greet the new one is to write about something very close to my heart instead. Come to think of it, this little lord was literally inches from my heart when he was still growing inside my big belly so saying that he made my year very special was an understatement.

You could says that I may have brought him into this world but this little man made me alive. And it is his birthday today!

My little guy MATI when he was about 2 years old. I think this was the last serious picture that I have of him since he is addicted to wacky poses.

So this may not have anything about food or my husband getting tormented by yours truly. This will be all about MATI and how his presence convinces us everyday that me and my husband must have done something good in our lives with his existence.

Uh... NOT in that perverted way but more in the lines of how Julie Andrews sang it in THE SOUND OF MUSIC.

Tee to the Hee. :P  

Here's Mati days before he lost his 2 front teeth. 

WHICH was also his favorite movie when this cutie patootie picture was taken.

Anyway, I think I have mentioned before that the reason why I put up this silly little blog is so that I would be able to document the little interesting foodie things that happen in me and my husband's mundane lives. I guess with this post, I would really be putting that "online recording" thing to best use because I want the smallest of Mati memories to be etched/included in computer history. (Not to mention how my capacity to remember things is the same as the life span of a fruit fly. Blame it on the epidural... Ha ha ha ha!). So besides sharing to you how sweet and loving my son is... this post is really for me so that I would never ever forget when Joseph Matthew was once a little boy who clung on to me and never wanted to leave my side. I doubt if I could finish this post without choking up tears.

I'm not sure if this will make him lose "pogi" points with potential girlfriends though. So sorry in advance for that Mati! 

First picture of the new couple!

I remember rushing to the Medical City on January 1, 2004 only to learn later on that it was a false alarm.

Good thing because it would have been such a pain to reserve party venues on New Year's Day. He he he he!

Anyway after being sent home by my OB, me and my husband went to Mongkok to just eat our impatience away. Come night time, my tummy hurt so bad that I thought it was the usual stomach ache I would get from eating too much. Turned out that it WAS TIME. And my husband cannot be more sleepy about it. HA HA HA HA!

My little MATI was such a loving baby even before he was born. Why? Well he did not make his Mommy suffer! Imagine for a first child, I was only in labor with him for TWO hours and delivered him in ONE. All the doctors and nurses were so amazed and kept on exclaiming that for a "preemie" (I'm not sure if I got the spelling right), he was doing everything in lightning speed! I will not forget how they were all lined up and cheering on as I wheeled towards to the delivery room. Yup they cheered. No exaggeration on that. They were just so astounded at how fast you wanted to get out!

MATI was such a behaved baby who only cried when he wanted milk or he needed to have his diapers changed. Though he was such a low maintenance little angel, I was still astounded however at the change in my useless lifestyle. I am so thankful that my husband and Mom were always on stand by to help out. They made the post partum blues go away in a flash.

My husband was so in love with our first born that he always sang to him. YUP. Eric DID. 

Here he is singing "BECAUSE OF YOU" (Keith Martin) his theme song to little MATI who was also gurgling and singing along. 

"Because of you. My life has changed. Thank you for the love

And the joy you bring. 

Because of you I feel no shame. I'll tell

The world it's because of you."

Here's MATI raising his head on his own for the first time. Ain't he the cutest little baby there is???

Here he is getting his first taste of solids. 

Yup! The foodie in the making!

Here's little MATI in his favorite bed. A few rocks in this portable sleeping cot and little baby was off to dreamland. 

Here's MATI's first real swim in a pool! 

I said "first real swim" because I did not count his freestyle inside my belly. Ha ha ha ha!

FAST forward to many years.... 

Here's MATI at age 7 when he prepared breakfast for me by cooking some scrambled eggs and giving me a glass of juice since I was sick with fever. 

:) 

I was really touched with this gesture because even my grown up husband (!!) hasn't done this for me! Not once!!!!!!!!!

When dear MATI grew up, he was so playful, wacky, jolly, and loved to laugh a lot. 

he said he would like to pose like he was drunk!

Even though he could get mischievous at times, MATI has all the patience in the world when dealing with his naughty little brother. 

My husband and I would always talk about how lucky Andrei is. MATI was so patient and took in all of his mean jokes. Others might have beaten the shiznit out of him. 

No matter how much MATI gets infuriated by the naughtiness of Andrei, he still loves his little rascal brother. I'm sure you have heard him rant about how life became hell at his arrival but MATI still does what he can to take care of Andrei.

Proof of how MATI watches over his brother Andrei? Well when his little brother lost the casing of his ONE DIRECTION dvd, MATI got my BEATLES Anthology and "tweaked" it for Andrei. 

GRRRR!!!!!!!

MATI at his young age already knows the value and importance of money. When we wanted to save and cannot buy the toy or eat where he wanted, he never complained (not even once). Sometimes he would even suggest eating at a fastfood restaurant so that we would not spend too much. 

Our family's Sunday lunch!

What I noticed about him was that, like me, he also valued family traditions. For example when we're out on weekends, he would always ask us to rush home because he knows that every Sunday we are supposed to eat with his Lolo and Lola for Sunday lunch. 

Another example is when I imposed this "SINATRA on Sundays" for our travel music. When we were kids, my Dad would always play Frank Sinatra while we were eating on weekends. With that, his voice always gave me wonderful memories of my childhood that I wanted to the little lords to experience the same sentimental trigger as well. I mean, they wouldn't get the same warm feeling when they're old and hear a song from ONE DIRECTION right? So I did that every Sunday and MATI, the always reliable son that he is, would remind me about "SINATRA on Sundays" when I forget to turn the CD from N' Sync or One Direction (their current faves). Yup. Even if he did NOT like Frank Sinatra (que horror) he would always point it out since it was "tradition". Awww.... 

My little MATI is also the ULTIMATE lolo's boy. Not only does my Dad spoil him like crazy but he gives back all the generosity that his lolo shows. When my Dad needs a "bodyguard" at the mall, he would volunteer and accompany him anywhere. He is also in charge of getting his lolo a mugful of water the moment he comes home. I'm proud that my little guy at a young age already knows the meaning of "gratitude" and would fuss over his lolo when needed.

There was even a time in his last birthday that he specially requested his lolo to sing him his "last" Happy Birthday song after we celebrated it for 1 week. Of course, his lolo happily agreed!

When I talk to MATI's teachers they would always say that they thought he's a quiet kid at the start of the school year.Then later on they would happily discover how he has a lot of friends not just from his class but also from other classrooms as well. I guess it's because my son is very loyal and kept track of his best friends since Grade 1 (Dominic) and Grade 2 (Josh) that even if they were not classmates anymore, he still made an effort to keep ties with them. 

In the first day of class even after they discovered they were not in the same room, MATI, Dominic, and Josh were still happy. 

Maybe it's because they know that a wall will not separate their kiddie friendship. I love these boys like my own and I hope they are still friends even if they're already in their teens!

Call me superficial but I am so proud that my MATI is turning out to be such a foodie for his young age. He is willing to gobble up anything just to get a taste of it. 

MATI may love fast food but he LOVES other special cuisines more. In Japanese restaurants he would swipe my tekkamaki and unagi like there was no tomorrow.

Yup! He also survived a whole bowl of noodles from the Ramen Nazi himself at UKOKKEI RAMEN RON! Such a great moment for me!

Because of his early love for all kinds of grub we take him along on most of our food trips. Of course it's fun eating all sort chomps with him. The only drawback though is that he would eat everything in flash before I even got to try it. HA HA HA HA!

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If you're my facebook friend, you would read a lot of  my posts about the boys. I apologize if it gets to be too much but another purpose for that is so I would be able to record the special memory. I used to write their antics in a special journal but I got lazy writing (you would understand if you saw my handwriting) that I decided to share it in facebook instead. 

Here are some of my favorites how Mati is an extraordinary little guy!

1) Mati, at such a young age, showed such thoughtfulness that thinking about it would make me tear up... 

Like when he gave me a pearl necklace.... 

Or how he is very respectful of Jesus in church... 

Also when he is my knight in shining armour.... 

But he DOES have a tendency to love me TOO much... HA HA HA HA!

I will never forget how he waited for me to return from Hong Kong so we could watch his favorite movie together.

One of my favorites is when he promised that even after he grows up and get married, he would still spend Sundays with me and his Dad. It was his idea to do so and even swore with his pinky! He even ordered his little brother to do the same thing!

I really hope MATI does not forget that promise because it gets me crying every time I remember it! 

2) Of course, boys will always be boys and Mati's quips sometimes get me laughing the whole day!


                                   Like what MATI and Andrei call me behind MY back!!!!!!! >:(

And how he makes an effort to be interested in the things that I love.... 

But, unlike Andrei, he HATES my favorite Phantom of the Opera.... 

... AND Les Miserables!!!! >:(

I know I mentioned how MATI is such a loving Kuya to Andrei. But still, he could be a curious little naughty boy.... 

Especially that he has such a consenting Mommy... HA HA HA HA!

... who loves pulling pranks on him!

Being the smart guy that he is though, he knows how to perfectly manipulate his emotional Mommy!!

He always wins our "debates" too!

3. I know I can't stop Mati from growing up... But is it possible to STOP him from being too curious about the birds and the bees?? 

                                       Especially now he's taller than my boobies.... Ha ha ha ha!

But don't worry... I am FAR from being his sexy role model.... 

I think he meant that he was not giving me a compliment. and that I looked manly like James Bond. Ha ha ha!

Oh yes. He LOVES making fun of my "curves". 

Maybe that's why he would rather check out the voluptuous ladies in the internet!

4. I love how Mati is growing up to be a foodie...

                                             But sometimes he could love food a little TOO much!

You know how they say that if you pray for it, God will grant you with the husband you deserve? I think when it came to my first son MATI, the Lord gave me somebody that I NEEDED. 

You see, I know that I am not the perfect Mom. I yell. I get impatient. I could be very lazy. But I am so thankful that the Lord showed his ultimate love and blessed me with a son who is very understanding, sweet, thoughtful, helpful, and just somebody who I am not. It is with him that I get inspired to become a better person, not just as a Mom, but as a wife, sister, friend, daughter, all rolled into one. My little Mati is THAT special and I will really do everything in my power to make him always happy. 

I LOVE YOU SO MUCH my dear little guy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATI!

PS. I know you may not appreciate this now at 10 years old. So here's hoping that you're reading this now, and smiling, after 10 years. 

PPS. Don't forget your promise to take me out also for date nights especially a dinner for Valentines OKAY?!