We celebrated “Lola” Pura Roman’s 86th birthday today. She is Conne’s grandmother (on her mother’s side) and CJ’s great-grandmother. The word “lola”, by the way, is a Filipino term of respect for grandmothers, with “lolo” being the local term for grandfathers.

Today was therefore also a reunion of sorts for the Roman Family (a rather large clan, I might add), with Lola Pura being the matriarch. It was held at “Tito” Bob and “Tita” Yol Estrada’s residence in Sucat. A “tito” and a “tita”, on the other hand, are local terms for uncles and aunts, respectively.

The party was fun. I especially enjoyed the very interesting video presentations made by the “apos” (plural). An “apo” being a Filipino term for grandchildren. As the resident IT geek, I did play a minor part in the presentation since they needed to have a minor technical glitch fixed with the presentation laptops that were being used. (*sigh* – even on a weekend… Ha!)

CJ was really hyper the entire morning, and so it was just a matter of time before he went into his usual “battery recharge” mode. And as can be seen from the picture on the right, you could pretty much tell that I took advantage of it as well! :)

I really felt bad that I had to go home earlier than the rest. With an IT audit coming up at work, I had to finish a huge amount of documentation paperwork due Monday. :(

And so, I had to say my goodbyes to “lola”, as well as all the “tito”, “tita”, “ate”, “kuya”, “kamag-anak”, “kapit-bahay”, “ka-barangay”, “ka-parokya”, and “ka-tagay” who were present. ;-)

So, have you figured out what the terms mean yet? Haha! Then stay tuned for the succeeding blog posts.

“Magandang gabi po! Sa uulitin! :)

We went to Fernwood Gardens in QC for an ocular visit. And we were amazed by the stunning beauty of the place especially at night time.

With a few soon-to-be-fixed legal quirks looming in the horizon, Conne and I have been kept busy these days. We’ve been scouting around for possible venues for our planned wedding which we hope to celebrate by summer next year, God-willing. As a best case scenario, we would have wanted it to be on December 11th this year, our anniversary, but I guess it won’t be so. One of my brothers is to marry this year, and a “sukob” situation doesn’t really suit well for some.

We took some pictures of CJ inside Fernwood’s St. Francis of Assisi chapel. And if plans go through as expected, he’d be our dashing ringbearer come the big day.

We had fun watching him as he was amused by the butterflies that fluttered about inside the chapel hall. The carpeted halls also made walking life easier for him. Being just a little over 8 months old, he can stand up and walk those first few baby steps with little assistance! Some toddlers could barely stand even when they’re a year old. (Here’s one proud daddy for you! Ha!) :)

The place was great. There were four rainforest-type garden venues to choose from. The other highlights include the abundance of exotic birds and fishes (we took a photos of some swans), horse carriage ride, a glass dance floor and other amenities. The garden venues are actually indoors, so there won’t be any problems if it rains.

We spent about an hour in the place, and I could really feel the anticipation building up inside me during the visit, and I knew Conne could feel it too. With prayers and faith, I know that everything will turn out right.

Ok, so that’s one item in the checklist. And the search continues……

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