It was when I became a mother that I developed an interest in capturing children's smiles and moments through baby/child/family lifestyle portraiture. It was also when Mike and I became parents that we realized how blessed we are for having a healthy growing family. As a way of thanking God and paying it forward, every year, we decide on a children's welfare cause to support.

This year, I hit two birds with one stone by being part of "Nourish the Children," a feeding program organized by a friend's group, the Health Awareness Initiative. Like last year, Mike and I contributed towards purchasing bags of VitaMeal, a formulation specially made for malnourished kids. One bag of VitaMeal is enough to feed a child one nutritious meal a day for 30 days.

I also got to capture the grateful smiles of children by documenting the child feeding initiative as part of my donation. Here are some of my favorite photos taken during the event.

Truly a treat to have been part of this event.

Mike and I spent the Chinese New Year holiday this year food-tripping at Tagaytay with our then three-month old Terrynator. After hitting Breakfast at Antonio's, we headed off to Bag of Beans for our dessert and coffee.

We have been to Bag of Beans several times and always return for our favorite dessert, their blueberry cheesecake.

I personally think this is the best blueberry cheesecake I have ever tasted. And I have tried A LOT of blueberry cheesecakes. I'm not entirely sure, but I think there is white chocolate somewhere there. Anyway, pair it with Bag of Beans' refillable house brew and you are completely set. It's not that pricey either--totally bang for the buck! Since Nate fell asleep that time, we really took our time lounging at Bag of Beans enjoying our dessert and coffee.

Bag of Beans is located along Tagaytay-Nasugbu Highway, Tagaytay City. Tip: There's ample parking at the back.