2013 in Review

2013 has been a roller coaster ride for our little family. There were a lot of learning and leaping. Sometimes we had to learn the hard way, and leap with just pure faith, for the most part.

Carl and I learned how to raise a little boy - one day at a time. It does help that he is absolutely ADORABLE, especially on long days and sleepless nights. But we are super in love with him - HE IS OUR SUNSHINE! He surely made the past year interesting. Watching him reach his milestones and see him grow from teeny tiny human being to becoming a little person was incredible. Those sleepless nights caused by teething were all worth it when we saw his first tooth come out. We now miss the days when we had to carry and cuddle him all the time, because now he knows how to escape our cuddles so he can crawl and cruise and play. It melted our hearts when he first babbled "MAMA" and "DIDDY", and he first waved his hand to say "BU-BYE". Now all he wants is his "BO" (ball). 

As for Carl and I, we celebrated our 5TH YEAR OF MARRIAGE. Congratulations to us! It has been an adventure being married to each other - we've been through all levels of school since we married, lived in 5 apartments in 4 cities in 3 states, had a baby, and dealt with foreign bureaucracy as Visa holders in the United States to top it all. Planning for our future has been a lot of brainstorming and having a lot of back-up plans. To celebrate our milestone, we went to SeaWorld in San Diego. It was our first time flying with Lorenz, and it was a really fun experience. We discovered that Lorenz was a really good little traveler! We enjoyed the dolphins and seals, and the Pacific Ocean. Carl turned 29 and I turned 27. Carl transferred from Mormon.org to CUBS (Church Unit Banking System), and I got started with my doctoral dissertation.

That was 2013 in a nutshell, in monthly detail...

JANUARY. We started the year with a new baby. I was supposed to give birth to Lorenz on January 2nd, but he arrived 4 days early. It was a whole new experience, and we were blessed to have the help and expertise of my mom as we maneuvered our way into neophyte parenthood.

FEBRUARY. We took a trip to Los Angeles to send-off my in-laws to the Philippines. They've been in the US since October of 2012 to visit us. We were so blessed to have them close to us even for a while, and it made my birth to Lorenz even more special with her two grandmothers present as he arrived. While in LA, we took the chance to take my mom around, and our friends also got the chance to meet Lorenz for the first time.

MARCH. Carl started his new job assignment. He had a great time being with the Mormon.org team, but It was really great while it lasted. He really worked hard as a project manager for Mormon.org, working late and long nights with translations and coding and coordinating with local area teams  from different countries. He transferred to CUBS and he found it exciting to learn the IT side of the Church's finances.

APRIL. It's General Conference time again, and it was such a blessing that my mom was able to attend it for the first time. We were edified and fed with the spiritual nourishment we needed. It was also Lorenz's first time in Temple Square. While we weren't able to sit down and focus on the talks, we still felt the spirit and the importance of having modern-day revelations to guide us in these latter-days.

MAY. My FIRST MOTHERS' DAY ever! It felt so surreal. For the longest time, Mothers' day felt like a non-holiday - and we are just making do because afterall I was going to be a mom someday. But this time, I was a MOTHER - and we celebrated it with my mom and relatives and friends. Also, it was time to say goodbye to my mom whose been a very big help to us for the first couple of months of being new parents. We've learned a lot from her, and it was heartbreaking to see her kiss Lorenz goodbye. But it was time for her to go back to my dad and to be with my siblings after 5 months of being away.

JUNE. SUMMER is finally in the air! We spent almost every Saturday at the waterpark and Lorenz always had a blast. Lorenz had his half-birthday and it was really fun seeing him learn new things as he becomes more and more of his own person. He started eating solids and he loved sweet potatoes, applesauce, squash, and peas. He also started TRYING TO CRAWL, but doesn't really crawl - he just stays in his funny crawling position and then falls on his tummy. He's fallen in love with his books and loves flipping their pages. We also celebrated Carl's FIRST FATHERS' DAY - and we treated him with my homemade fall off the bones BBQ Ribs!

JULY. Carl turned 29 - and we ate a lot of meat! We had a feast at Tucanos where Carl has a free birthday meal. We played mini-golf... and ate some more at Joe's Crab Shack. Yes we love to eat! We also treated Carl's team with pizza. One of Carl's birthday wishes was - another baby. Technically, not a tough gift to give, but we'll have to work on that ;)

AUGUST. I turned 27 and We turned 5. I started loving my birthdays more since I've been married to Carl. It was certainly a very smart move for Carl to set our wedding date on the day before my birthday. I am for sure super spoiled on my birthdays. Our first year, he took to me to Universal Studios. Our second year, he booked a really fancy hotel. Our third year, he let me redecorate our apartment. Our fourth year, he treated me to the Canyons in Park City. For our fifth year, he took our family to SeaWorld in San Diego and treated me to an amazing seafood dinner in Mira Mesa! I love my birthdays - and I love being Mrs. Canlas!

SEPTEMBER. We visited the Philippines as a family for the first time. It was a trip that was an exciting trip that tested our faith and patience in many different ways. Our primary purpose was to renew our visas at the US Embassy in Manila. Secondary to that was so that most of our families can meet our little boy. After we got our visas renewed, we made sure we were able to spend quality time with our families. Our visit was filled with eating out a lot (of seafood, Jollibee, and Chowking), touring places, and having little adventures here and there. 3 weeks went by really fast, but at least we are now in a position where we can visit the Philippines whenever circumstances allow (at least in the next 3 years).

OCTOBER. Settling back in our old routine after our quick 3 weeks in the Philippines was quite a challenge. Lorenz has grown so much, and had difficulty adjusting to the cold weather. It has gotten really cold while we were away. Lorenz had an ear infection, which was awful as it happened as four new teeth erupted in his gums. Poor little thing. But, he's cruising more and was absolutely cute in his Wolverine costume on Halloween!

NOVEMBER. We had a lot of things to be grateful for and we certainly enjoyed Thanksgiving. We spent a weekend in Seattle with friends and Lorenz had a blast with his best bud Travis. We stayed at Homewood Suites and had Thanksgiving Dinner there. We also went around Seattle and visited some tourist spots. We really enjoyed being at the Space Needle. I felt like I fell in love more with Grey's Anatomy (my latest TV drama fix) now that I've been in Seattle. It was a long and exhausting drive to and from Seattle but we had a great Thanksgiving weekend.

DECEMBER. The year is finally coming to a close - 2013 went by super fast. It's Lorenz's first Christmas and he is TURNING ONE! He can now walk while we hold his hands. He's learned a few tricks here and there, like putting his hand on his ear when he hears the phone ring. He can also climb up the couch now, climb down the bed, and go up and down the stairs. Oh, and he's learned how to DANCE! He received a fleece blanket (that I made for him) for Christmas, among a couple other things that we got him (a backpack, a suit set, and of course new pajamas and a beanie). On his birthday, he got a little tikes basketball court and he was in heaven saying "bo" and trying to shoot the ball in the ring!

So that was 2013 for us! It was eventful and exciting, and definitely an adventure. We are looking forward to a new year with hope, love, and happiness!