Giulia - our forever princess

 Giulia pronounced as jee-yo-liah... this is an italian name which means youthful, as I know she will be forever our princess as she is our first-born daughter. She is very precious and truly an answered prayer to us. We have been praying for so long to have a child and so happy after 3 years, we were able to have our precious Giulia.

As she celebrates her 11th birthday, we have this special message for you:

To our dear Giulia,

Happy birthday! We are so blessed to have you as our daughter.... you know that we have been waiting for so long to have a baby and truly, you are a manifestation of God's perfect timing. As soon as we found out that my due date was Dec 31, we were already praying that you do not come out when people already are celebrating the end of the year and welcoming another year. 

We did not know that when we were praying to have a child, God already gave us a clue as to when he will grant our wish. There is the picture of our Lady of Guadalupe at the top of our bed, looking down on us every day and we were blessed because through her intercession, you came out on Dec 12 - 12.12 - the feast of our Lady of Guadalupe. 

In the early morning of Dec 12, my water bag broke so we had to rush to Makati Medical Center. Even though we enrolled in a birth class to prepare for your coming, of course as first-time parents - we were so anxious and yet excited that we will soon see you. Daddy packed everything in the car, even the newly bought sterilizer and other bottles as he wants to bring all possible stuff that you will need when you come out. Papa Melo, who never stays long in the hospital, stayed and waited for your coming. All were so excited to see you and patiently waited outside the delivery room. After almost 12 hours of labor, you came out on this world, and we saw you for the first time. It may be a cliche but yes, it was love at first sight... at that very moment, we have embraced you with our limitless and unconditional love that we hope we continue to make you feel every day.

As you celebrate your 11 years here on earth, we would like to thank you for being such a blessing to us. You have been mommy's fashion guru as you provide comments and suggestions when it comes to fashion even when you were just 3 years old. You really added color to our life, figuratively and literally. 

You are also growing up to be independent and mature. We even ask your help when it comes to techie stuff as you are more knowledgeable in making and editing videos. You are now actually our tech support as you are more familiar in using Zoom and other computer applications.

You remain to be sweet, kind, obedient and understanding and we hope that you remain the same even as you grow older.

We also hope that you grow to have a special relationship with God and continue to have strong faith in Him. 

We hope that you always follow the Golden Rule and that you always be conscious in doing the right thing. 

Always do your best in anything that you do and remember that we will always be here for you no matter what. 

We will be here to support, guide you always.

We know that it is your birthday but it seems that it us your parents who received one of the greatest gifts 11 years ago. 

We love you so much, our forever princess - Giulia Bernice. 

Happy birthday!!!