Amma Lissa – that’s what my friend, Adriana, thought my name was when I met her…27 years ago in kindergarten. She also thought I was Japanese and that eating with a spoon and fork was the weirdest thing she’d ever seen. I think it’s safe to say I was the first Filipino friend she’d ever had, and being that I came to the United States shortly before I started school, I can safely say she was the first Mexican friend I’d ever had. Actually, she was one of my first friends EVER.

We attended the same elementary school for 9 years, kept in touch throughout high school (and this was before the internet was anything at all), and after that, we have the occasional dinner or coffee date. It’s funny how no matter how much time apart has passed or passes between us, we seem to be the same two people we were when we met,  just a little older.

Now she’s a mom, married to such a wonderful guy and has one of the most well-behaved babies I’ve ever encountered. Maximo is such a sweet and happy little boy. His smile is a staple for every minute he’s awake and oh, how he is loved. There is a certain look that parents have when they look at their child. I’ve seen it in the faces of all my friends who have been blessed with kids. And Adriana and Gonzalo, they look at Maximo and I can see, not just how proud they are to have such a good baby, but how fortunate they feel that they get to be his parents.

His baptism day was a happy one – a private ceremony at Our Mother of Good Counsel Church in L.A. and a lunch reception at Barragan’s on Sunset.

Thank you, Adriana, for all these years of friendship and for trusting me to capture this special day!