Jujube

I love, love, love Jujube bags!  They can be found here on their official website https://www.ju-ju-be.com/ as well as various online and brick-and-mortar retailers across the globe. Our local Philippine retailer is https://www.ceoemporium.com. This is owned and operated by Candy Establecida-Oanes, a very nice online mommy friend and babywearing (Tula) lover too.

The first thing you need to know is Jujube is that they have a lot of different diaper styles to suit your needs. Here’s a quick run through of their current bestselling bags at the moment, not including the new ones and the old ones that have been phased out:

1. Be Prepared – their largest structured diaper bag. I haven’t tried this particular style yet nor do I have any plans of ever purchasing this unless I have 3+ kids who are all in cloth. This diaper bag is HUGE! And considering that strollers aren’t all that useful in the Philippines, you’d have to lug this gigantic bag around on your shoulders WHILE babywearing or holding on to your child. Maybe this would be a great traveling bag or a car bag, but as an actual on-the-go diaper bag, I am not tempted to get one at all.
2. Be Right Back (BRB) – I am expecting my first BRB to arrive sometime this week. I will write a review about this later.
3. BFF – I recently destashed our BFF (in the Navigator print). I will write a separate review on this bag later. I regret not making a packing review/video =(
4. Be Sporty – I am expecting my first Be Sporty later today. But basically it’s slightly bigger than a Mini Be and packs like a Be Light but has a backpack flap. Also, it has nice durable zippers too.
5. Mini Be – I love this bag! This is the most coveted of all Jujube bags because they don’t make as many and both parents and kiddos want this! It’s so cute but it holds a lot!
6. Super Star/Starlet – These are the duffel-style diaper bags. I will be receiving my first Starlet later. This looks like a great workout bag. For when I will one day get off my lazy butt and go back to the gym XD
7. Super Be – This bag is a large tote bag. You can use it as a diaper bag, a gym bag, a beach bag, a shopping bag, an overnight bag, etc. This bag packs a lot but it can get a bit heavy on your shoulder, considering that the strap is not padded.
8. Be Light – The Be Light is the perfect tote bag – you can use it for work, for casual days, strolling at the mall, keeping a few of baby’s essentials, working out, and even for the beach! You can also roll it up and keep it inside your bag so you have another spare bag with you when you need to go shopping. This bag is so versatile and handy, but very sturdy and well built. Also, you can attach a strap to it for wearing it crossbody.
9. Hobo Be – Mommies love this as a purse. I have this in Kaiju City and The Empress and I think they are great as a purse, especially considering that the strap has a memory foam pad on it and it has bottle pockets too.
10. Fuel Cell – This little baby is an insulated bottle/snack bag. It’s tiny but it’s very handy! You can fit in an SSC, bottles, snacks, or even use it as a pump bag. Other moms like to use these bags as travel organizers too.
11. Be Set – This is a set of three tiny pouches – the large set piece, the medium set piece, and the small set piece. The large set piece comes with a long strap so it can be worn like a mini sling bag, while the medium set piece comes with a short strap and can be used like a wristlet. The set is very versatile and you can put whatever you want in it and use it however you please. I have several Be Sets and I find a lot of use for them.
12. Be Quick – This is Jujube’s wristlet. It’s fantastic as a diaper bag for quick changes because you can fit in 1-2 cloth diapers, your wipes, your nappy cream, and whatever else you need for quick changes. You can also attach a strap on it and it makes a very cute sling bag too.

I kept telling myself earlier this year that they are JUST diaper bags and they are waaaay overpriced! My mommy friend Donnat ordered some Jujube’s through another mommy friend Ara and then I was intrigued. Then I noticed there were TOKIDOKI prints!

My love affair with tokidoki began sometime in college maybe in 2004 or 2005. The brand was fairly new and I had only seen it online, since the brand wasn’t readily available locally.

Anyway, going back to Jujube, I ordered my first Tokidoki prints from Ara – an Animalini Be Light and a Donutella’s Sweet Shop Super Be. I was lucky enough to get these bags at RETAIL PRICE (as opposed to MARKET VALUE which is what the bags usually go for on the B/S/T’s due to the limited quantity of the Tokidoki prints). After getting these two bags and loving them, I ordered another Space Place Be Set from Ara and a Space Place Mini Be and Fuel Cell from Candy and the rest is history.

The latest launch was a few days ago, on November 15. It was the Unikiki 2.0 print which is absolutely GORGEOUS.

I wonder what the next Jujube x Tokidoki print will be? 🙂

Exclusive Pumping & Weaning

At the beginning of our pumping journey, I took things one day at a time and made my goals monthly. When I reached 6 months, I decided to get to 9 months and when I made it to 9 months, I knew I could make it to 1 year.

Now we are at 11 months. I know I can make it 1 more month, but I don’t know if I can keep going after that. Not only has my supply significantly dropped (I am barely producing 20 oz a day and Riley drinks 24 oz per day. Luckily, we still have some milk stashed away in our deep freezer. I know I could bring it back up if I kept power pumping, pumping longer, and maybe taking more galactagogues like before, but honestly, I’m really tired and I don’t think I can…), I am actually looking forward to the day when I no longer have to pump and bring around my pumping gear with me wherever I go. Only last month, I have started not taking my pumping bag and accessories with us when we go out to the mall for a few hours. I have also decided that I am fine not pumping for 5-6 hours (before, I would religiously pump every 3 hours, with the exception of when I’m asleep).

So now I’m reading up on our options – what milk can we start giving Riley? I don’t want to give her formula and I also read that babies only need to drink formula past 12m if they don’t eat enough solids. Riley eats plenty so far and I’m sure if we keep giving her less milk and more solids, she’ll be fine. I have considered giving her the following – almond milk, soy milk, goat’s milk, and coconut milk.

Each milk has their pros and cons and a lot of mommies gave their inputs on each. I would agree that breast is best and it’s also cheap, but I’m just considering my options. In the meantime, I’ll just take things one day at a time and see how far I am able to go :D. The longer we go, the better, but 12m was my big goal from the start, and it is most exclusive pumping momma’s goals as well. I know some people who were able to make it to nearly 3 years with exclusive pumping, but I’m not sure I can get that far. Regardless of whether or not we do continue with our pumping journey, I would still want to slowly introduce the 4 abovementioned milks to Riley once she hits 12m.

Based on my research, here’s what I learned…

First and most importantly, breastmilk is still best for babies up to two years :D. In addition, none of these alternative milks can be given to infants below 12 months. This is also not a substitute for food. If your toddler does not eat food, supplement with formula instead of the milks mentioned below.

ALMOND MILK

Basically, almond milk is a drink made from almonds and water. Usually, one cup of almonds is soaked in water for a couple of days then the almonds are rinsed and blended with two cups of water then strained with a cheesecloth. Afterwards, you can then add vanilla, stevia, and/or cinnamon, depending on your preference.I found a lot of information from: http://www.livescience.com/51695-almond-milk-nutrition.html

Almond milk has a lot of vitamin E and riboflavin, fiber, protein, magnesium, calcium, and potassium. It is low fat and low calorie, heart healthy, and lactose-free. Most almond milks are fortified with other nutrients like vitamins A, D, and B12.

As healthy as it sounds, almond milk is too low in protein and calorie for babies. Almond milk can however be given as a drink to babies and is probably best used as a smoothie base with other fruits, veggies, and superfoods.

SOY MILK

Soy milk is full of protein, is easier on the digestive system, has fiber, has more calcium than cow’s milk, contains iron, and is made form only soybeans. Sounds like a great alternative, right? I thought so too until I read about PHYTOESTROGENS.

Soy milk is full of phytoestrogens which affects hormones and could eventually affect breast cancer. However, there hasn’t been enough research on the matter if it would prevent or promote breast cancer. Regardless, I wouldn’t give this to Riley. Maybe I’d give her a few glasses of soy milk or taho (local delicacy made with soybeans) every month but no more than that considering the fact that Paolo’s mother and my aunt both died of breast cancer.

GOAT’S MILK

A lot of goat’s milk advocates would argue that goat’s milk is the best choice because it is the closest milk on earth to breastmilk, in both nutritional content and value. Goat’s milk is easily digestible, even for those who are lactose intolerant. When compared to cow’s milk, goat’s milk contains more calcium, vitamin B6, vitamin A, potassium, niacin, copper, and selenium, but less B12 and less than 10% of the amount of folic acid contained in cow’s milk.

COCONUT MILK

Although coconut milk is filled with healthy fats, it is not a good alternative precisely because it is very high in calories and therefore a small amount will make your child feel full and they will end up eating less food. In addition, it has less protein than cow’s milk, no riboflavin, and very little calcium. I think coconut milk before bed would be a good idea mixed with almond milk to help your toddler feel full longer, but during the day it would seem like a bad idea.

 

And my other option is also to just give Riley the milk in smoothies, make sure she eats a balanced diet, and give her a bottle of breastmilk at night for as long as I can. Afterwards, I’ll probably give her a mix of the four milks enumerated above.

 

 

 

11 Months!

Dear Riley,

I can’t believe you’re 11 months today and in 1 months time, you’ll be ONE!!!

Milestones this month:

• You can sometimes stand up for a few seconds without holding on to anything.
• You can walk around if you have a rail or something to hold on to.
• You have 4 teeth out (all in front, 2 front teeth and 2 bottom teeth) — you were the most irritable when your 2 front teeth popped out… I wonder what your molars will be like! 😮
• You love going out and say “‘ta” to say you want to go out/explore 😀
• You cry when you see mommy or daddy get dressed up to leave
• You have mastered clapping your hands, close-open, waving, and making counting actions; you can sometimes “bless” properly
• You are still a round little dumpling, despite dropping your milk intake to 24 oz/day… You love the breads and meat/veggie balls/rolls I bake for you (made with wholewheat organic flour + high fiber cereal + fruits/veggies)
• You eat oatmeal for breakfast and you’ve grown to like it
• You have a poop schedule in the morning.. usually we consider it “safe” to go out in the afternoons once you’ve had your big morning poop XD
• You fit well into your gray cat mini mels and are slowly learning to walk flat and not on your tippy toes
• You are a very happy baby and you like to smile and laugh a lot

Everyday, I thank God for giving us the best gift ever – YOU. Your daddy and I are working so hard to provide only the best things for you. Although I do go overboard sometime, I hope you know that this is only sometimes :). While it’s important to save for your future, I have learned that sometimes you got to remember “YOLO”. In case you are wondering what YOLO means, it means You Only Live Once and it was coined a few years ago. Some kids took it to the extremes of course XD.

What’s on my plate for this month: I have to start planning for your birthday – your birthday dinner, your 1 year pictorials and cakesmash, and maybe our first family trip together! Also, I am actually considering starting to wean off the pump and how to introduce almond milk into your diet and more solids. I’m not worried because you’ve been a good eater recently, although it hasn’t been easy making new meals for you every 2-3 days. But as always, anything for you Babe! We love you so much! :*

 

Attachment Parenting

When I first got pregnant, I talked extensively to other mothers to get tips and pointers so that I would be more prepared for the upcoming months and the birth of Riley.

After having spoken to several parents, some friends, others completely strangers!, I discovered that a lot of them had differing opinions and different parenting style. After picking the parts that worked well with me and doing my own thorough research on Facebook, I discovered Attachment Parenting.

While theoretically attachment parenting is all about promoting the attachment of mother and infant through constant and continuous bodily closeness and touch and that is something that a working mother like myself does not have the luxury of doing all the time, I discovered certain aspects to it which I liked and was able to do. In particular, these were: 1) breastfeeding; 2) babywearing; 3) co-sleeping; and 4) cloth diapering.

I have already written extensively about our breastfeeding journey in another blogpost. In 2 days time, we will be celebrating Riley’s 11th month and our 11 month breastfeeding milestone as well!

Babywearing deserves its own post – I was really hooked on baby carriers for a while! Basically, you use a carrier to wear your baby so you can keep them close while still being able to have your hands free, making multi-tasking with a baby much easier!

Co-sleeping involves sleeping on the same bed or having your baby sleep in the same room as you. This also promotes bonding between the child and her parents, as well as makes both parties feel more secure.

And finally, there is cloth diapering. This deserves a lot of entries! Initially, I thought I was going to cloth diaper because I wanted to save money and save the planet. At least, I’m still doing the latter XD.

Going back to my post, I discovered attachment parenting through mommy groups and other mommies who shared the same parenting philosophy as me. Anyway, more on this topic later.

10 months!

Happy 10th month, Riley! 😀

Last month was sooo overwhelming for me because of all the milestones!

• First, your first tooth FINALLY popped out! And then your second one! And they are both unfortunately crooked XD. But don’t worry they are still babyteeth and hopefully, you get nice teeth like your daddy :D.
• Second, you learned how to pull yourself up all by yourself! I was so sad to miss it but your daddy told me ASAP and was able to take a picture too! We’re so proud of you!
• You can crawl properly now! Before you would kind of just push yourself backwards with your hands but now I actually see you moving forward and you’re pretty good at it!
• You drink less milk (I never thought this day would come!! Hahaha… especially since I noticed that my milk supply was dipping and that I was needing to open some bags from the deep freezer every few days… But now I can catch up again!) and you eat more solids! (Not entirely by choice yet though because oftentimes we still have to trick you to put food into your mouth! XD) Does this mean you’ll start slimming down??? NOOOOOOO!!! T_T

Most importantly, we’re finally getting to know YOU.

You like going out to parties and seeing lots of people and interacting with other babies. Hopefully this keeps up and you’ll be an extrovert like your daddy!

You also like cuddles and you like me after all! 😀 There was a time I was worried you didn’t like me very much because your face never lit up when you saw me come home or you didn’t react much when I was away but now I see recognition in your eyes when you see me and sometimes you even cry when I leave your side =( even when I’m beside you doing something else, you want me to devote my full attention to you! Haha, I don’t mind, I promise! No matter how busy I am, I will always, always, always put you first and make time for you :D.

You are also giggly and happy and you like to dress up too! I can see how excited and giddy you get when we put a nice dress on you with a matching headband!

You are also attempting to walk now and it’s funny because you’re on your tippy toes… does this mean you’ll be able to wear heels? Great because my feet can only do flats.

You are truly a blessing and we are all so happy to see you and play with you everyday! 😀

Sunday Blues

Riley went to bed pretty early last night so this morning she was already up by 5AM. I was pretty tired so I picked her up from her crib and brought her into bed with us, hoping that she would also go back to sleep. No luck there and she also kept sneezing the whole morning. We assumed it was just the early morning sniffles from the cold of the AC but she’s been sneezing the whole day so we decided to stay home, worried that this will turn into a full blown cold.

The picture on the left is from earlier when Paolo was cheering Riley on as she tried to pull herself up. She was close, but didn’t make it. She was however able to push her arms from a crawl into a squat, which was a new milestone for her :). The picture on the right is of my make-shift “office” – I’m using Riley’s table and chair and her fan while I type away on my laptop. I have to sit here because Riley doesn’t want to be left alone.

While Paolo watched her earlier, I was able to stuff and snap 50 cloth nappies – enough to last us a week pretty much. I have not been able to get any work done though because she cries a lot when she notices I’m not paying enough attention to her but she has been surprisingly quiet as I type this. Maybe she knows I’m writing about her and she enjoys it? Ok. She’s crying again.

Wakeup Call

Yaya Charm is sick =( Today is already day 3 of her illness and last night her Ate Marian and her boyfriend Ronel came over to bring her home so that they could take care of her. Charmie is a big baby when it comes to being sick – she’s stubborn (won’t drink medicine, won’t eat, won’t drink any liquids) and she refuses to communicate. Yesterday night she got to the point of delirium probably due to dehydration. Paolo and I were attending to errands/working the whole day so we weren’t able to check on her but Nang Daling and Rialyn (our househelp) told us that she refused to eat and drink water the whole day. I was able to get her to eat a bowl of rice with utan bisaya the night before and for breakfast but after that, she refused to eat/drink anything. We had planned to have dinner with Paolo’s family so we just dropped by the house to get Riley ready then we left right away. While we were at dinner, we got a message from Rialyn using Charmie’s phone informing us that Charmie wouldn’t stop crying and wouldn’t talk to her so she suggested calling her ate to pick her up. I thought that was a good idea but I asked her ate to wait for us so Paolo could drop them off at home since Charmie was too weak to even stand.

A little bit of a background: Charmie has been with us since around two and a half weeks before Riley was born. We love her dearly and we make sure to take care of her because she takes such good care of Rileybok. When she first applied she told us she was already 20 because she was worried that we wouldn’t accept her since she was really only 16 at the time then a few days later she turned 17. Charmie will turn 18 next month, the day after my birthday.

While it is rather unfortunate that Yaya Charmie fell sick, I realized that it was a wakeup call – I NEED TO BE MORE HANDS ON WITH RILEY. I try to provide for Riley the best that I can. Even though I struggle with being tired and lazy at times, what always pushes me to do more is the thought that I am doing this for Riley and Paolo and our future kids to come. So no matter how I feel, I put my own issues aside and I make sure to get off my ass and do what I have to do. By the time I come home from work though, I’m usually very tired and sometimes I still have some extra paperwork to take care of. On some weekends and weekdays, I am away attending to hearings and I even miss Riley’s monthly celebrations and a lot of her milestones =(.

Last night when we were having dinner with Paolo’s family, it was just Paolo and I with Nang Daling. Nang Daling isn’t very good with Riley yet and Riley was throwing a tantrum so I was the one in charge of soothing her and it worked and you know what? IT FELT AMAZING! Tomorrow, we will go to CCF for service and to a birthday party in the afternoon – just the three of us! I’m actually looking forward to it! Wish us luck! 😀

Hakab Na!

The annual Hakab Na! celebration or the Big Latch On will be on August 06 at SM Seaside Cebu. I’m so happy that they’re allowing exclusive pumping mommies such as myself to join the event! 😀

In celebration of Hakab Na!, I decided to share what my exclusive pumping journey has been like:

I think I was around 6 months pregnant when I became a member of the Facebook group Breastfeeding Pinays. I forgot who added me to the group or who told me about it but I would read their entries and the links they posted on the wall and I was convinced that no matter what I was going to breastfeed Riley!

After perusing a lot of online articles and backreading success stories of BFP members, I decided I would definitely need a pump too. I googled and asked a lot of new mommy friends and most of them recommended Medela to me but when I checked the prices they were INSANELY HIGH. I checked online and the prices were still up there. So I decided to do some further research and found some mommy forums that recommended a Korean brand called “Spectra”.

I read about the brand and the different models and I checked Amazon. The Spectra s2 was the top-rated breastpump and it was on sale too for $120! I read some more reviews about it and a lot of moms said that they preferred it over Medela and they were actually able to get more milk from it and it was less painful! I was sold! I asked my cousin in the US to ship it to me with some other stuff but it took longer than expected so I didn’t get it until sometime in January when my uncle came home.

Anyway, fast forward to when I was about to give birth… my friend Lang2x was nice enough to lend me her manual Farlin breastpump which I made sure to pack in my hospital bag.

This is a photo I grabbed from the internet. The actual pump looked exactly like this except I broke the box kind of >_< Still… I’m very grateful to my friend for lending me her pump! 😀

After giving birth, I was pretty tired and while in the recovery room, I was busy choosing what my first post-partum meal would be… I remembered reading that lots of fruits and veggies and soup would be good for my milk supply so I asked for ramen and a large mango banana shake from thirsty. I couldn’t eat the ramen because I couldn’t move my arms properly but I drank the shake in one go. Little did I know that it was a bad idea to drink cold food/drinks as your first meal/drink post-partum XD (not sure if this is backed by science or an old wives tale).

After 30 minutes to an hour, they brought Riley in the recovery room so she could breastfeed (my OB did practice Unang Yakap but Riley didn’t have a successful latch when she tried to breastfeed from me immediately after I gave birth). I could barely move my left arm because I think I pinched a nerve so I had a really hard time trying to position her to latch. I moved her between both breasts and I think she was able to get a little milk from both sides. This took over an hour. After we were done and I was very tired, I asked them to bring Riley back to the nursery and I was ready to head back into our room.

At this point I was SO TIRED. When I got to the room, it was already around 8PM and I wanted to sleep. I was able to sleep for maybe an hour or two then they woke me up at around 10PM because Riley was crying and needed to be fed. So I slowly made my way down to the nursery… I had such a hard time walking and my arm was still numb. It took me over an hour to feed her because I couldn’t get her to latch properly.

I went up at 11+ and I thought she would sleep a little longer this time but at 2 AM they called me again and told me that Riley needed to be fed and she wouldn’t stop crying. They asked me if I wanted to give her formula and I declined and told them I was on my way down. This time, I saw other mothers breastfeeding their children and they did so effortlessly. I sat down on the chair and had a hard time feeding Riley again and she would cry and fuss a lot but I still kept trying.

After about 4 or 5 more feedings like that, they asked me if I was ready to have her roomed-in with me. I said ok it would make things a lot easier but it was difficult because they didn’t have a bed for her and I had to share my tiny bed with her. When she would sleep, I would try to pump with the Farlin manual pump my friend lent me. I could get around 0.5 oz from both breasts after around 20 mins of pumping.

I continued to feed Riley and then pump after every 2 hours while trying to get some sleep in between. After every pump I would have a cup of chocolate oatmeal drink and crackers. Pumping and breastfeeding makes you INSANELY hungry. To this day my dad still teases me because during my second week post-partum I think I cried because I was so hungry and wanted to eat dinner already XD.

When we were finally able to go home, the first thing I did was to ask my dad to buy me an electric pump because I could not keep manually pumping until my Spectra s2 came. So my dad got me a Spectra 3 from Baobao Babies (P4,900) as well as the silicon massagers because I thought I needed them. Well, the silicon massagers were useless. I also asked my dad to get me a malunggay supplement and they had Moringana available.

Once I got my Spectra 3, I decided to become an exclusive pumper. With the Spectra 3 I was able to pump around 2-3 oz every 2-3 hours. The pain and numbness in my arm got worse, our latching sessions were taking longer, and I was sleeping less. My nipples were bruised and sore and my husband was concerned and said that maybe I should give myself a rest from direct latching and just focus on pumping first. Unfortunately, I failed to do my research on nipple confusion and Riley was almost immediately nipple confused because we used bottles.

What I did next was I researched from various forums and websites about galactagogues that would help with milk supply. Riley was always hungry and I could only produce just enough, during the first two weeks it actually felt like I wasn’t producing enough. Yaya Jen, our former cocinera, kept saying that my milk supply seemed inadequate and would subtly try to suggest that maybe we should give Riley formula. My boobs were bleeding and swollen from  I cried and cried and cried and was really thinking that maybe I might have to supplement with formula. Milk making was a lot harder than it seemed.

After three (3) weeks of pumping every 2 hours (10-12 times a day at least 15 minutes per pump) and taking 3 moringana capsules 3x and 3 fenugreek capsules 3x a day (both the maximum recommended dose per day), I FINALLY saw a slow increase in my milk supply. Slowly, I was able to start filling my empty milk bags and build a stash. By the time I went to work at 1 MPP, I think I had around 100 oz in the fridge and I was very proud of myself 😀

From there, I slowly decreased my galactagogues (for the next 3 weeks I only took 2 capsules, 3x a day, then 2 capsules 2x a day, then 1 capsule 3x a day, then 1 capsule twice a day, and now I’m only taking 1 capsule of moringana a day but now with mother nurture chocomix 2x a day) and decreased my pumps to 6 pumps per day and I no longer do a middle-of-the-night pump! At 3 months, Riley was also sleeping through the night! And at 3 months my milk supply was also established at 40-50 oz/day 😀

Eventually, we had to buy a chest freezer when I had around 600 oz in our freezer. In the chest freezer I was able to store more than double that and we currently have around 1,300 oz in the freezer. Since breastmilk lasts for 6 months to 1 year in a deep freezer, I make sure to donate milk after every 3 months to be able to share the extra milk that God has blessed us with and also to clear up room in the freezer.

 

Daddy Diaries Entry #1

Being a dad isn’t as easy it sounds. I knew that even before you were born. I didn’t know the specifics but I somehow got the idea of what fatherhood entailed.

I have quite the temper and one thing that was very difficult for me to do was to hold it in and not blow up. The first few days was tormenting. Not because you were a handful but because I had to adjust to being more patient and understanding fast while very sleepy.

Every morning after a “hard day’s night”, I would find myself sitting down and contemplating about how I “exploded” again the night before. Feeling remorseful, I would immediately make it up by spending the rest of the day with you, playing, cuddling, and laughing. Little by little I became more calm during times that you were fussy or when you got your “drama queen” on just before bed time. I realized that you wouldn’t stay this small forever and that soon I wouldn’t even be able to carry you in my arms anymore. I thought this one Sunday morning while the yaya was away and your mom was in the shower. I had you in my arms, dancing you around. Unexpectecdly, I felt tears build up at the corners of my eyes. I hugged you tight and gave you a peck on your warm cheeks. I promised to myself that I would revel in and cherish the moments of you being this beautifully small now – playful, angry (hungry — hangry), happy, and innocent. Thank you for continuously teaching me to become a better dad to you and a better husband to your mother.

Mommy and I love you very much, Riley…