Isaiah Patrick's 5th Month

My Isaiah Patrick,

Oh dear oh dear, you are five months! You are, by now, a wriggly little munchkin who wouldn't sit still anymore. You learned to roll over the past couple of weeks and when you did it the first time, you were as surprised as we were! Ah, that moment was priceless! Now, you're doing all these weird body stretching and as of this writing, your favorite body part to reach and to suck is no other than... (*drum roll*)... your toes! 

The past week leading to your 5th month had not been easy my dear Zeya. We battled with colic and acid reflux when you were a newborn and now we're battling with slow weight gain. It has been worrisome for this mommy heart of mine to see your weight plotted off the chart and I've questioned the heavens if my breastmilk isn't good enough for you. Heaven forbid we might be missing something which concerns your health.  

But still, every time your dad and I look at you, all we can see is this alert and active little infant . You may be "so tiny" as they say for your age but we don't really see anything wrong with you and neither with your development. We are good with your size and although we want to see you back in the chart and fatten up a bit, we are more concerned with your long-term health, physical and mental. We believe you'll grow in length and weight and we take this rough road as yet another opportunity to strengthen ourselves in the Lord.

Thank you my dear Zeya for making me brave and for bringing out my mommy instincts the past five months! Thank you for five months of warm cuddles and sweet kisses we have enjoyed with you. It is well my son. It is well. 

So how did we celebrate your 5th month? Just a little tea party at our apartment balcony. We sang you a birthday song and then took turns taking photo with you. We love you our dear Zeya, to the moon and back.

A thousand kisses,
Mommy Lai

***

Photos from your 5th month celebration:

With us.

Blowing of your candles. Look at that face! I know honey that's your cake, someday you'll gonna blow all of your candles and ours too. But for now, let us do it for you!

Killruddery House and Gardens

It was another Saturday in August when my little family of three ventured down County Wicklow for another hunt for a beautiful garden in Ireland. We are savouring the last few weekends of summer in this part of the world and we try to visit as many places as we can before we hibernate for the cold autumn and winter time. Also, we realise that for our sanity's sake as new parents, we do need to get out of our apartment. With our baby of course! :)

A quick google of "beautiful gardens in Ireland" the night before and a prompt search in Instagram for actual visitors' photos led us to Killruddery House and Gardens. We didn't really read the website but only took note of the address and drove there the next day.

What we thought would just comprise of an old house and a decent-sized garden turned out to be a lovely old mansion with an equally lovely garden.  We learned later that the estate is a popular location for well known movies and TV series such as The Tudors, My Left Foot, Far & Away, Angela's Ashes (the only I was able to watch) and Camelot.

Just a thirty-minute drive from our place in Dublin, it was a perfect place to chill on a weekend, walk the baby out, and just breathe in and forget the craziness of this season as first time parents.

Sharing loads of photos with you and some info if you want to make a visit there one of these days. 

Here's the main entrance which is a mini shop and reception. Admittance is not free unless you're a member. Admittance fee info is here; it isn't cheap but worth your euro if you're planning to stroll for a day. We paid €7.50 each for the garden entrance allowing access to the formal garden and the walled garden. We skipped the house tour but it'll be something we can look forward to the next time around. 

Signages are everywhere so you'll be well guided. We tackled the formal gardens first and the tearoom because we were famished. We got there at half twelve, just in time for lunch.

The first of the many brazen and vintage statues in the entire premises that we saw.

Our dear Zeya looking all too cute, content and calm when we started our walk. The key to walking a baby out, I discovered, is to feed him first and whenever he's fussy. I fed him in the car just before we went out for a walk. I'm a breastfeeding mama so no bottles, no hassles for us when we go out! 

First view of the house, the orangery and tearoom.

Family photo courtesy of the kind waitress from the teahouse (taken from the convenient i-Phone).

More photos with our dear Zeya because you know, he was in a good, thumb-sucking mood.

Fab view of the Wicklow Mountains on the other side.

Distracting our baby Zeya with his non-stop thumb-sucking (we suspect teething, bless us!) Memories like this are the kinds I want to capture in photos and then print, frame and display in our home. 

The tearoom and the view you get while sipping a cup of tea or coffee or simply enjoying your meal. No food photos as it was already a challenge alternating eating and holding a baby. The tearoom, as the name suggested, didn't offer much in terms of "lunch" but there were few sandwiches, pizzas and cakes you can order. 

The sunken garden with roses (almost drying by this time) and another charming vintage statue.

Some florals from the formal garden. Now this isn't the kind of garden with overflowing flowers.  The gardens are subdivided into hedges, ponds and walks with flowers here and there.

Hydrangeas seemed to be present in all the gardens we visited this summer. 

There is a farm market too where you can enjoy good food, coffee, local produce and arts and crafts.  Just take note that the market is every Saturday. We should've eaten our lunch here to be honest; more choices than the tearoom's. 

We went back and walked on the vast garden and were delighted by what we saw. I was happy practicing my photography skills snapping photos here and there, and posing for the camera too, if you must. Our little Zeya was very comfy in the carrier and was sleeping ninety percent of the time we were walking. 

These hedges reminded me of Versailles' in France albeit not as grand and not as polished but lovely just the same. 

Statues and more statues, brazen and otherwise. I could go back here and photograph all the beautiful statues.

Here's one statue I adore being the certified bookworm that I am. :)

A different side of the mansion.

The clock tower.

Stellar view of the estate can be seen up there in this rocky area. We missed climbing it however. Another thing to do when we go back here.

And another side.

And more statues.

The Orangery where a number of events can be held---wedding, parties, corporate and private, dinner, and so on. We will surely do the house tour next time. I'm sure the interiors and house stuff collection will be interesting given that generations of families lived in and took care of this house.

Now photos from the walled garden which is essentially a kitchen garden and a picnic area. 

Here's the picnic area where you can enjoy your own picnic food and a huge sandbox (not pictured) for children to play around. There's a coffee mobile too for parents who want to chill with a cuppa whilst watching their kids play. We will definitely go back here once bubba is walking. I could just leave him on Rolando's watch while I sit, enjoy a good book and a cup of coffee.  I CAN'T WAIT!

We were greatly surprised by Killruddery House and Gardens; it felt like discovering a gem of a place equally lovely and yet overshadowed by the more famous attractions in the area. Because it is located just within the border between Dublin and Wicklow, it isn't really far and exhausting to travel to. By car is the most convenient mode of transportation. Parking is free, abundant and just a few walk to the house and garden in case you asked.

There you have it. I hope you enjoy this visual tour with me. I am still trying to find 20-30 minutes of my daily taking-care-of-the-baby schedule to do a write ups of all the places we visited this summer. Because I need to take a look at them come wintertime to remind me what Ireland looks like on warm days. Will surely help us get through till the next summer comes along! :)