The picture above was taken not even a full day after he was born. To make a long story short about Noah's arrival into the co2 world; he required to go to NICU for his first three days of existence because I had a slight fever. It was a precautionary measure to make sure he would not be exposed to infections because of my fever.

The following three days he was required to stay in NICU and was rather startling for us because he was twice if not three times the size of all the babies there. Most were premature and did not even weigh 5lbs while others were recovering from some ailment.

Noah formally known as Limey was a whopping 9lbs 12oz but at no point of my pregnancy was there any indication he would be so large. After 14 hours of labor, breaking my water and hours or softening my cervix there was only 4 centimeters of dialation. I was drugged with four unsuccessful doses of epidural and other anesthesia before the doctor finally decided to perform a c-section.

I vaguely remember being prepped for the surgery room. I do recall opening my eyes at one point and seeing a number of doctors and nurses. Before making any incisions she told me I would feel some pressure before the final delivery. Thank gosh the epidural finally kicked in.

There was some pressing that I could feel and could not imagine how they pulled him out but within a few minutes I heard voices from the doctor. She asked what his name was and I turned to John. He proudly said, Noah Cruz Pasquarello.

We discussed possible names though did not have our heart set on a single one. Noah was a name John brought up and I was indifferent. I had a couple in mind but definately wanted his middle name to be Cruz. It was my surname before I was adopted and some how wanted to incorporate it seeing that his last name was going to be his father's.

I had to ask John if Noah was ok because I barely heard a cry from him. He was calm and relaxed from there on into his second week of existence.

(Noah in NICU)

Our piece of paradise for our short stay at Na Balam Resort. Just yards away from our hotel room we both got our share of 3rd degree burns.

Isla Mujeres, Mexico

Babymoon

I would highly suggest Isla Mujeres for folks who like more privacy and less resorty surroundings like their neighboring Cancun on the mainland.This was a last minute escape and most definately long overdue. We stayed at the Na Balam (The House of the Jaguar) resort www.nabalam.com that was walking distance from the ferry and center of town.

We had a wonderful view of the beach from our room and when we had breakfast outside. The menu consisted of more health conscious eatings. I especially enjoyed the fresh squeezed orange juice!

The island is not even 5 miles long so you can either rent bicycles or a golf cart, which we chose. We took full advantage of the beach and ventured around the island, stopping at the Tortuga (Turtle) farm, Hacienda Mundaca, Mayan Temple and Light house - to name a few.

http://www.isla-mujeres.net/thingstodo.htm

Sunset at Na Balam Resort
Isla Mujeres, Mexico

Photos of Sagada indigenous people

77th Street|Lexington Avenue Station

Rudyroooooooh, Rudy, RJ -

One of the many photos I have with this guy. We have a long history starting in 1999 when we met at Trinity College.

This photo was taken outside of my workplace in Harlem and was the first picture where my pregnancy just began to show. One of the projects the kids were working on was the influence of earlier rap and hip hop thus the L.L Cool J necklace and black square rimmed Run DMC glasses.

I started working as student advocate/academic advisor for juniors in high school in February. The Truce program is part of Harlem Children's Zone, which offers numerous social services and after school programs from baby to college. www.hcz.org/project/accomplishments.html

I work in a predominently African American community and many of the projects are inspired by the culture of Harlem /Af-Am through music, media and history.

This is Mia who was also adopted from the Philippines. Her family lives in my hometown and we met a few years ago through Camp Mabuhay - a culture camp for families and their children from the Philippines.

Her Mom and sister drove all the way from CT to attend the Also Know As Culture Day. www.alsoknownas.org

Culture Day was developed by AKA for internationally adopted children to learn about their birth country and other cultures. Other countries represented have been Vietnam, China, and Korea.

I joined the planning committee when I first moved to NYC and helped develop arts and crafts ideas and cuisine from the Philippines. There were not many adoptees from the Philippines but I was just as happy to share ideas of my culture.

Truce kids visit Bard College

As the Junior Advocate one of my responsibilities was to go on an over night college trip of the Hudson Valley.

Eight of my juniors visited Bard, SUNY New Paltz, and Marist. They got a glimpse of a liberal arts school, private medium sized school and a state school. Though they may not attend any of the schools I think it was important for them to see what other types of schools are available.

I would have benefited from a college trip of some sort. My college counselor was pretty useless and I ended up applying to colleges I had no shot at getting accepted to. Then again he discouraged me from applying to colleges I probably would have had a chance at. Thank gosh I was involved with sports.

GO LADY BISHOPS

One of the first people that I told about my pregnancy was my very good friend RB. We have known each other for over a decade now.

She was in CA at the time and I did not make a final decision immediately though probably could say now that I knew I was going to follow through with the pregnancy.

I did need ponder about the timing of the pregnancy, finances and of course whether the baby daddy was in agreement to have the baby.

RB was planning to head back to the East and asked if I wanted to join her in AZ to drive cross country. We did drive in a record three days because RB had a rehersal to go to and because she is a veteran at driving long distances in little time. She insisted on driving the entire way and I did not object.

The picture above was taken at a rest stop in AZ.

We talked alot about motherhood, friendship and where we saw ourselves in the coming years. The road trip was exactly what I needed to clear my mind and share ALOT of laughs with RB. I hope she knows how much she means to me.......