Aria's Baby Shower!

We celebrated Aria's baby shower yesterday. It was a gift from my Dad and Mom, and my sister Adie took care of the planning and organizing. We were joined by our closest friends, and Aria's future godparents. It was a small get-together, very warm and intimate and fun!

To everyone who spent time with us, thank you so much from the bottom of our hearts! Your presence meant a lot to me and my husband. And to my awesome family - THANK YOU! I have the best parents and siblings in the world. :)

Alvin and I are so happy because our little daughter is being showered with so much love, and she's not even born yet! Everyone's excited to meet her. And so are we!

:)

Fun! :)

Aria's awesome grandparents! I have a strong feeling the little one's gonna be super spoiled. :)

A lot of games and DOUGIE! :)

Thanks for everything, Adie! Love you!

With Aria's ninongs and their families

With my good friends and Aria's fab ninangs, Jada and Mags

With one of my closest friends, Len and her husband Mike. Plus Sloan - winner of that day's Bibo Award :)

Our souvenir cupcakes were gifts from our good friends, Caloy and Angel of Lia's Cakes in Season. Thank you!

Proud and excited parents! :)

Pregnancy is LOVE!

A sample from my preggy shoot.

Photography by Alvin Carilo.
Makeup by Aljheal of Essensuals Toni & Guy.
Models: Mommy + Aria.

:)

Homestretch!

34 weeks, near entering my 35th. It won't be long! I'll soon be introducing you to my beautiful baby Aria.

Hubby and I had our preggy photo shoot this weekend. We checked in at Discovery Suites with his camera and lights - the works! I love, love, love the photos he took of me and I can't wait to post them soon!

In a few weeks, I'll be saying goodbye to pregnancy, and honestly, I'm gonna miss it so! Yes, even the restless nights and the contractions and not fitting into my clothes. Because along with all those came perks like parking at the PWD slots and people being extra nice and courteous. What I'll miss the most is having Aria all to myself, feeling her kicks and wiggles and squirms inside me. Those moments were all so precious!

I'll show you some of my preggy shots as soon as they're ready. And pretty soon, this blog will be filled with photos of a new star - Aria!

:)

Wheee!

She's not even born yet, and she already has so many new things! My little Aria is so very loved!

Thank you, family and friends, for showering her with all the pretty presents! Aria's very happy. I know this because she wiggles and wriggles in my tummy everytime I unwrap gifts!

:)

Move it!

Bed rest. I never thought I'd be hearing my OB say those words. I was advised to go on bed rest for three days after I had some painful contractions. It was a bit of a scare for me. I've just entered my 33rd week and it's still too early for little Aria to come out. So I had to take it easy, rest, take meds and be glued to my bed for 3 days. Fun, you think? Not for someone active like me. Sure, Aria and I got to bond. But even my baby got bored with no movement.

Now my bed rest is over! Wheee! Can't wait to go back to my favorite form of exercise - Barre3! If you were able to catch the article on Inquirer Lifestyle two weeks ago, then you have an idea of what barre3 is about. It's a workout that combines yoga, pilates, ballet and a bit of strength training. I've discovered this a year ago, and I have been hooked ever since. The pic I posted is the Inquirer article. I was chosen as one of the students who best embody Barre3 Philippines. So my photo and a short interview was included in the article. It was an honor!

So today it's time for me to get back on my feet and move it! My OB gave me the go signal to exercise but not on a daily basis, which I don't do anyway. 3x a week of barre3 sessions and/or a few kilometers on the cross trainer - that's my fitness routine. And even if I feel like an elephant, what with this huge watermelon of a tummy I've got, I still feel absolutely fantastic!

Aria's doing A-OK as well. The other day, we had her heartbeat checked and had an ultrasound again. She's happy and healthy in there. Good heartrate, good breathing. She was playing "close-open" with her fists when we saw her during the ultrasound. Then she gave out a big yawn! How cute is that! My husband Alvin and I were ecstatic! Thank You, God, for keeping our little one safe and healthy.

33weeks. Homestretch for me already. OMG, I'm almost there! Can you feel my excitement? I still have a few weeks left to have Aria all to myself so I'm gonna cherish every single moment, every kick and every stretch. And I'll be sharing with her every place and every activity that I love so she'll learn to love it, too. Like exercise!

:)