First New Year with Our Little One

We welcomed the brand new year in our cozy little home six floors above the ground. Minutes before the clock struck 12, I was snoozing away in our bed with Zeya beside me. I didn't have the heart to wake him up. We were at a party hours before and the bubba must be exhausted from all the noise and cheers. 

R gently woke me up whispering "It's only a few minutes now, Mommy."  Eyes still heavy from the deep sleep brought about by breastfeeding hormones, I joined him in the living room. R did all the preparation, the cleaning and the cooking. Our New Year meal consisted of a humble ready-to-cook chicken, leftover takeaway from the party and a bottle of chardonnay, significantly simpler than the previous years'. 

We watched a New Year countdown from our Mac and peered outside for any signs of fireworks. Pretty much negligible. We kissed and hugged as the clock showed 12:00 AM. Same as the past five New Years we've celebrated together since we got married, we welcomed the year with a prayer. 

I couldn't remember the exact prayer my dear husband uttered, but this bit stuck with me:

"Lord, we welcome you in our lives this 2017."

That pretty much summarises the direction we want to stir our boat to this year. We want to invite Him in our home, in our lives, in our dreams. HAPPY NEW YEAR, dear family and friends. :)

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Photos taken on the afternoon of January first, taken for memory-keeping our first New Year as a family.  :)

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Free Date in a Five-Star Michelin Restaurant

30 DAYS OF GRATITUDE | DAY 30

Since it's our sixth year anniversary today as a couple and we didn't have any fancy celebration (hint: we're saving up for a house), let me just reminisce the only romantic date we had this year after Zeya was born. I'm grateful for this date because of three things: 1) it marked the end of a difficult season at work for R; 2) it's our first time to dine in a 5-star Michelin restaurant; and 3) it's FREE! (sponsored).

We found Chapter One tucked in a basement under the Writers Museum on Parnell Square. The interior was minimalist but elegantly decorated. R forbid me to take photos inside using our trusty DSLR, so the rest of the photos were captured via iPhone. :)

It was the 26th of May. I was still deep into the fog of the newborn stage whilst a foreboding fog at work had lifted over R. Having said that, we both needed a little break, and to drink and be merry even for just a night. 

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The first order of business---menu. We decided to try the tasting menu which consisted of sample portions of many different dishes served in several courses. We loved the idea of satisfying our palette with a little bit of the restaurant's bests and a glass of varying wines after each course. 

However, R was driving. U-huh! Our mistake, we should have taken a taxi. Now that meant I was the only one who indulged in wine! Poor lad went the non-alcoholic way. 

First course: Japanese pear tapioca with St. Tola goat's cheese, organic spinach, mushroom juice and Irish shiitake. Chapter One is known for showcasing the best of Irish produce. So each menu features a local produce. Thumbs up to this cause and to the food.

And in case you're wondering, no, I didn't memorize the menu. It's here. We were googling them away while eating away. :)

And the wine that went with it:

Second Course: Charred cured mackerel and packed Carlington oysters with apple and lovage dressing and oyster cream. Another thumbs up. 

Only my second and I was already tipsy and goofy.

Third Course: Wood pigeon terrine with pickled damsons and mirabelles, foie gras parfait and warm brioche. Whew, these terms here!

My wine glasses. As much as I wanted to remember the beautifully named wines while they were being served, I couldn't. They all sounded French to me. :)

Fourth Course: Pig's tail stuffed with Fingal Ferguson's bacon and lobster, basil puree and mustard fruits with the wine. Of course.

Fifth and Sixth Course: At this point, I couldn't pair the menu names to the actual food anymore so I would just post the photos of the remaining courses we devoured.

But the dessert? This was a piece of heaven!

And I managed to snap a photo of us at the dining table ever so discreetly.

Also, we managed to ask a staff to take a photo of us just before we left.

The best part of this dining experience was being told after that all was taken care of and paid for. The fruit of my husband's hard work and dedication. 

Truly grateful for this experience which just about covered all the other monthsaries and anniversaries we celebrated simply and quietly this year. Grateful for the past six years. Grateful for R. :)

Our First Christmas as a Trio

30 DAYS OF GRATITUDE | DAY 26

Days leading to Christmas, we had a teething baby whose second tooth took forever to break out. On Christmas eve, the said baby gave us a gift---a silent night, a holy night. No crying. No screaming. Just waking up for a few minutes to nurse. Thank heavens, the three of us slept well. Therefore no celebratory photos welcoming the 25th. But we did get a good night sleep, which deserved much celebration in my little household.

When I finally got my two boys ready for some holiday picture taking, dear ol' crankiness came back with a vengeance! Baby Z wasn't in the mood for a toothy smile. He only wanted to play, practice walking and chew on anything he fancied to chew on. Activities not in this category sure made him a cranky baby; we got very few frames with a smile.

And so in this light, I present to you our Christmas holiday photos. Don't expect a toothy grin from our cranky, teething reindeer. :)

The riotous family photos, you know, the kinds which don't normally get published in the social media. But in keeping with my desire to get real in my blog, here they are:

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Amid the teething and sleeplessness, the seemingly unending chores that R and I juggle with on a daily basis, the house dream that takes a lot of time researching about, the decision to just buy the essentials and forgo the luxuries, there is much to celebrate and be grateful for this Christmas season.

I am thankful most for my tribe of three, for Baby Z's first Christmas and for the reason for this season---Jesus. May we be able to live out our lives in ways that will make Zeya know Jesus. That will be the best gift we can give him not just on Christmas day, but all the days of his life. :)

The Joy of Keeping a Christmas Tradition

30 DAYS OF GRATITUDE | DAY 24

Here are the ornaments we've acquired over four years.
Left hand side from R; right hand side from me.

This is our own little Christmas tradition: finding that perfect Christmas tree, taking it home and then turning the music on for some nostalgic Christmas songs while unboxing the ornaments, the glittered balls, the garlands and the lights we've accumulated over the last Christmases we've spent in Dublin. Then we'll take out the few ornaments, arrange them chronologically, make a few recollections of when we bought them, and then place them in that nook of the tree where they can be admired the most. The next few days, R and I will buy two new ornaments, one from each, to hang in our tree.

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This is the fourth year we've done this tradition. This time though, because of the baby and the weather situation, only R went to the tree market taking home with him a nearly 6-foot, smelled-so-good pine tree. I took care of decorating the tree whilst the teething baby demanded to be carried. After a few hours of alternating the baby between our arms, we had the tree ready for its first lighting.

The lighting of our fourth real Christmas tree and our first with Zeya.

I'm glad we established this tradition. I'm all the more grateful we have afforded a real Christmas tree four years in a row now. There was a year, our first Christmas as a married couple, when the only decor we could afford to adorn our home with was this DIY advent calendar. 

There's a joy in keeping a Christmas tradition. It is something we want Z to grow up doing with us come Christmas time. Years from now, this little baby of ours will grow up discovering the world and the wonders of Christmas. I want him to have early memories of experiencing the magic and twinkle and warmth and goodness of Christmas firsthand---with his dad and I.

I'm already looking forward to the next Christmases in our lives, to the next Christmas tree hunting and decorating. :)

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Now here are the ornaments in the tree.

2013

2014

2015

2016

The reason I chose a little bear this year: :)

And here's our tree in all its glory: