When Mateo was a little over a year old, he really liked helping me with house chores. He would try to help me wash the dishes, do the laundry, water the plants, and many more.

Now that Anika has better gross motor skills, she has gotten into this same phase. She can be counted on to pack away scattered toys, throw papers in the compost bins, put dirty clothes in the laundry basket, and many more. She has gotten into the hang of helping out too much that we would find things in the wastebasket that are not meant for throwing as well as clean clothes in the laundry basket.

Still, I try to encourage her especially since she will probably get into the whiny stage (whenever asked to do something) in a few years. For now, I will try to savor having a little helper around the house.

It no secret that this oil-rich country which we have made our temporary home is very prosperous. But one of the things that I really love about this country is how peaceful it is. It is definitely a far cry from Metro Manila where a los angeles criminal defense lawyer would not mind living with the promise of future clients.

The crime rate in this country is very low, a california criminal lawyer will go out of business. You can safely use your mobile phones anywhere. You can safely count your money or bring out your valuables without worrying if someone will snatch them away from you. A few even leave their car open in the parking lot or on the side of the streets with the key in the ignition. I do not have to worry about going out at night because the streets are very safe and holdapers are a rarity.

Despite all the things we miss back home and things we would want while Mateo and Anika are growing up, the safety and security here are making us consider staying for as long as we can.

This guest post from Edgardo Rosa

My mom keeps telling me I need to look into grand rapids wireless internet providers but I have bigger fish to fry. We just moved into our new home and though it’s really exciting setting up a new house there are a lot of challenges that come with doing so when you have when girls who are only two. I still need to get all of our boxes unpacked and slap some paint on the walls but before I do anything I need to purchase the blinds for the Windows. Everyone can see in our house when we are home with the lights on! My daughters don’t seem to notice that we are anywhere different than we ever were before but for me it is very challenging trying to figure out how to be a mom in this new environment. I love my family and I love being a stay-at-home mom but the last thing on my mind is whether or not I can e-mail my own mother!

We have several weddings to attend this year and just like before, I often find it difficult to decide on our gift for the newlyweds. We have given bedsheets, massage oils and oil burners, photo frames, towels, and the easiest, cash. Since two of the weddings we will be attending are in December, I have been thinking of some Christmas hamper ideas that we could use as gifts.

However, most of the couples who will be getting married are based in other countries do giving them a hamper might not be such a great idea. Although I would like to give them something that they can remember us by, we might have to settle for giving them cash once again. I will just try to make it different by giving them Brunei notes instead especially since I find them beautifully made and sturdy.

Aside from thinking of gifts for the weddings we will be attending, Anika and Mateo will be walking down the aisle as well in some of these weddings. I hope they do a good job and do not refuse to do their duties.

It has been more than a month now since Mateo started going to school here and with all my apprehensions with regard to this decision to send him to school, I must say that he is doing really well. I guess my little boy is really craving to build friendships with kids his age because he adjusted beautifully and without much ado. He loves going to school and his drawings of dinosaurs, animals, and of the usual dada, mama, anika, and him has now evolved to drawings of Justine, Lance, JC, and some of his other classmates.

According to his teacher, his comprehension is really good which makes me feel really grateful because it means he can still learn quickly in a classroom environment. I do not expect him to always be at the top of his class and in fact, Ramil and I have both feel that we want Mateo to enjoy his life in school instead of focusing on his grades and academics. I am banking on whatever intellect he has to take him through school smoothly without struggling so much.

He also loves bringing stuff for his weekly show and tell wherein he can bring anything to school to talk about in front of the class. Since Mateo is very talkative and spontaneous, I knew he was going to like it. So every week now, I let him choose what to bring to school, ask him some questions about it, then share other information about the item that he might want to share as well.

So nowadays, it is just Anika and me in the afternoon and once I am able to put her to sleep for her afternoon nap, I am able to do some little stuff such as write articles, sweep the living room and kitchen floors, clean the roller shade, and wash the dishes. We have all settled into a comforting routine and this feels like so much more like home.

A lot of our friends and batchmates are already married. It seems that the season of designer engagement rings is slowing down and the season of onesies and diapers is fast approaching. Although Ramil and I already have two kiddos to think about, my fb feed is making me want another baby.

It does not get any easy now that Anika is quickly becoming more kid-like rather than baby-like. How I miss the presence and smell of a little infant sleeping on my chest or nursing at my breast. Unfortunately, any additions to our current family is on hold. We are thinking of stopping at two but then again, I do not want to say that that is final. Right now, I am thinking of the future babies that my sister will have and that I can dote on as well.

Thanks for the guest post by Esteban Vinson

My sister is such a know it all. She is older than me and she thinks nothing can run smoothly unless she is there to tell it how to do it. One of those type A controlling types would describe her to a T. I love her and honestly kind of like that go-get-‘em personality of hers at times, because it usually benefits me. Like when she started to tell me I needed to get a security system since I was a young, single girl living by myself. She told me I needed to use her company because they were great. She was trying to tell me I needed to get on my computer and just go to homesecurityfamily.com to check it out. Next thing I know, she’s up from the dinner table, where we were eating, and on her way to the computer in her family room to do it for me. See what I mean? She couldn’t even wait to finish dinner because it had to be done just then and her way.

After almost a year here, I am happy to say that Brunei feels home already. We know that we cannot stay here forever but somehow that thought helps us appreciate what we have now and at the same time anticipate going back home.

Ramil, on the other hand, has to adjust once again to a relatively new work environment. He has been transferred from primary to secondary, which I really think is more appropriate for him. So far, I think he is enjoying it even if he is more mentally tired after each school day. He has been trying to familiarize himself with new co-teachers, new students, new campus, and even new lab equipment such as laboratory ovens.

Mateo is also having fun in school, even insisting on going to school even when he was not feeling well because of his cough. There is zero resistance from him whenever we bring him to school and he really seems to love the daily routine that we are starting to establish.

Whenever I think back to a year ago, it is almost unbelievable how things have worked out. I have always known and have had faith that God has our backs with this radical change in our lives and I feel grateful for each day and the overflow of blessings that he continues to pour on us.

Chinese New Year is celebrated here because the Chinese community is quite big also. So we end up with a three-day weekend, which is unusual especially with the Friday and Sunday weekends here. Monday was declared a holiday because of CNY and since the school owners are Chinese, they extended this for another day so school is also off until Tuesday.

I am thankful we now have a better and more reliable internet connection so I work at home better and we can waste time browsing through social network sites, reading news, looking at online floral arrangements, downloading movies and our favorite tv shows, and many more. We also get to video chat more with families back home. It will be a while until we get a long break such as this again and we plan to make the most out of it.

Unlike Mateo, Anika seems to be more of a water-lover. While Mateo will try to get out of getting his face and head wet while swimming, Anika seems to be drawn to any body of water, whether it is a small puddle or the open sea.

When we went swimming last week, Anika slipped while walking in the child-size pool. The water just reaches up to her elbows so she was adamant that we let her walk around on her own. Ramil followed her around but Anika still went under when she slipped. Ramil hurriedly held her under her arms and helped her stand up again. We were afraid that it will end her love for the water because she was caught off guard and we figured being under will scare her. Surprisingly, she gave us a huge smile right after brushing the water away from her face then she immediately wanted to walk around on her own again.

So now, I want to enroll her in swimming lessons. I planned on enrolling Mateo as well last year but he begged off of it and I didn’t want to force him. I guess I will not have that difficulty with Anika and she will probably beg for it if she can. I remember going to my own swimming lessons when I was smaller. Every summer, my sister and I will anticipate waking up really early and traveling to a far place where my mom enrolled us for lessons. Until now, the smell of pool chemicals brings back feelings of trepidation and excitement at the same time. Various pool accessories were a common sight to us every summer and despite not completing any of the courses we would enroll in every year, we always looked forward to the first few days.

So yes, I am thinking of trying out swimming lessons for Anika. With her immense love for water, we just might have a chance of bringing up a competitive swimmer.