Sunday, March 31, 2013

Cariño Brutal

My sweet baby boy kept on tugging on my hair while I was taking our picture. I was wondering why, yun pala he wanted me to look at him because he was going to kiss me.

Is that sweet or what? :)

Wordless Post: My Satur-dates


Pic of the Day: March 24-30

Photos are described from top-left to right, going down. I decided to remove the numbered dates in the pictures because I find it to be so de-cluttering.

March 24:
Rocco is getting more active by the day, and his kind of play now revolves around running, opening drawers, or reaching for things, which sometimes gets him knocked out. It was a cue for us to start child-proofing the house. We started with the table edges and the socket caps. In the coming days, we'll be adding more to cabinet locks and fan covers.

March 25: 
Rocco is a super sweet and happy boy. It's so amazing how kids can do wonders to uplift tired spirits (like ours). I found him kissing his own reflection by the cabinet. It reminded me to see more of the sweetness and goodness of everyone, especially in myself. Yes, it took a little boy to remind me of that.

March 26:
Rocco learns a lot by imitation. I used to have a hard time brushing his teeth. He would bite me, and it came to a point that I gave up (for a day only). I tried so many types of toothbrushes, but he would always resist. One day, he saw me brushing my teeth and imitated me by gesturing his hand to his teeth. Since then, we would make it a point to show him how we brush our teeth. I'm happy to say that our strategy seems to be working because I can now brush his teeth (at least on most days).

March 27:
We always make it a point to powerkiss Rocco before we leave, but it's getting harder now, because he's starting to resist our kiss.

March 28:
We don't bother buying him new toys. He can well entertain himself with the many things that he finds in our house. His latest fave, remote controls!

March 29:
He's starting to eat on his own now. I'm so emotional about this because feeding him is part of my daily ritual now, and I actually dread the day he would say "No Mama, only me" (insert mama's sad face).

March 30:
I blogged about his Ipad-ing and I must say, grabe ang mga bata ngayon, ang bibilis matuto!

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Previous link:
March 17-23



Saturday, March 30, 2013

Playmates!

One thing that I love about our village is that it's so kid friendly. Most of the homeowners are either young parents like us, or parents with young children. We're a very small community so it's very easy to get to know the other families.

So far, Rocco's been enjoying time with his playmates. Yesterday, he found a new playmate, a little girl who just moved in a few houses from us. 
Rocco was riding his car when this little girl started following him. When his car stopped, the girl got curious and wanted to ride in his car too! Looks like Rocco was so amused with his new friend, he was all smiles :) How cute can they be! Ang sarap talaga maging bata :)

Ipad-ing

At 1yr and 4months old, Rocco's so good at operating his Ipad, nakaka-amaze at how little babies can use their Ipad like grown ups. Password nalang ang hindi nya alam, at we don't have any plans of teaching him that too.
In fairness to us, we control his Ipad hours. We only allow him when we're around, and only for a number of minutes spread out through the day. When we're at work, we keep his Ipad. Naku mahirap na, baka ang yaya ang maging master.
I think it's OK naman to allow kids to use Ipad para hindi naman sila behind sa technology. The key there is CONTROL. I just hope that Rocco will continue to love books, toys, and active play as much as he loves his Ipad.

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Pic of the Day: March 17 to 23

I started this pet project last Sunday. I was thinking, my little boy is growing up so fast, and sometimes I can't keep up with his milestones, so why not document the most that I can.

So I decided to have my PIC OF THE DAY Series. Everyday, I will take at least one picture of Rocco which captures him in action. Either he's sleeping, eating, playing, being naughty or nice, or even just sitting still, as long as he's in it. It was just an idea, but while I was making the collage earlier, it captured a lot of "moments" which I may forget, but thankfully will not, because I have these photos to help me remember.

Presenting, my Pic of the Day, Series March 17-23.
17) Rocco is an Ipad convert. Everytime he sees his face in the photobooth or camera screen, he makes all these funny faces. I wonder why :)

18) I love how Rocco smells after his morning bath. He still has the baby smell.

19) He's taller than a lot of our furnitures now, and he can easily reach out for his toys no matter how high we hide them.

20) Even if he's busy playing or walking around, the moment I call him, he stops, and takes time to acknowledge me. Very respectful of him.

21) His latest tambayan, the staircase.

22) He's learning to eat on his own.

23) And did I tell you he tries to eat everything? Yes, that's my lipstick he got there.

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Summer na!

Talagang summer na, ang init!!!! Kawawa naman ang anak ko tuwing weekdays, buti nalang malamig-lamig pa sa aming bahay kasi napapalibutan kami ng maraming kahoy at halamanan. Sa office naman hindi namin ramdam ang init kasi wagas ang aircon.

Good thing I remembered na may binili pala kaming inflatable swimming pool kay Rocco. Kasi naman, ang tagal matapos ng roofing sa village pool kaya hindi pa tuloy makaswimming ang kids sa pool area.

Dahil hindi naman natulog ang aming anak (he's like that when we're around), we decided on an impromptu swimming this morning. Hubby inflated the pool, got the garden hose, and filled it with water.

Tadaaah!
Hello big tummy! Props to Daddy, even with an injured pinky fever, he still played with Rocco :)
 Akala mo kung saan, eh sa garahe lang naman :)
 Pahinga muna, napagod na si Rocco kaka-swim :)
 Because I was wet all over from the splashes, I decided to join. Haay wala na talaga akong pag-asa na magswimsuit. Kahit nakapambahay, kita pa din ang bilbil. LOL

It turned out to be such a fun and wet morning! We should do this every weekend until summer ends :)

Our 16month old bubuwit :)

Oh yes, we still celebrate Rocco's monthsary. We're OA like that :)

Our little boy just turned 16months old, and hindi na nga maikakaila na isa na syang ganap na bata. He's so smart, intuitive, and active. Best of all, he's healthy and very happy kaya wagas din ang aming kasiyahan.

Happy 16th month, dear Rocco! May you continue to be healthy and strong. Salamat sa iyong taglay na magic, laging nawawala ang pagod ni Mama and Papa. Everything that we're doing is for you because we want the best for you!

We love you Rocco, now and forever :)

PS. He now pronounces his name as "Woco" and "Coco". How cute is that?! :)

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

The Drop!


Doctor Trauma

When Rocco was still an infant, his pedia visits went by with a breeze. Walang hassle. Ang bilis lagi ng consultation. Everybody happy.

Until the little boy turned a year old.

Naturally because he's older now, he can remember people, places, experiences, especially the traumatic ones. Two months ago, we had a pedia sched for Rocco's vaccine. I think it was his last dose of the pneumoccocal vaccine (yung super mahal!). He cried a lot during that visit, but we thought he would eventually forget about it.

BUT NO! He remembered...QUITE WELL!

Last Saturday, we went back to his pedia for his MMR vaccine. He was still his usual active and happy self, playing around the clinic, while we were waiting for our turn. But the minute his pedia went out of the room to usher out another patient, he climbed on to me. Walang biro, talagang tumalon papunta sa akin, sabay hawak sa blouse, neck, at buhok ko. I told him not to be scared.

When we went inside the pedia's room, he started to cry uncontrollably. This is something new to us because Rocco is hardly a cry baby. He rarely cries, and so if he does, it really must be something.We couldn't even get his exact weight because he was clinging on to me while I was trying to put him down the weighing scale. His pedia tried to pacify him but he slapped her hand instead (HAHAHAHA!). When he saw the injection being prepared, he cried so hard that he wasn't breathing anymore for a few seconds, and started going blue. OMG! Naloka ako! He cried again and again, and sobrang nakakaawa na sya that I just wanted it to be done.

We restrained his leg and hands, and I covered his eyes so he wouldn't see the injection. He kept removing my hand from his eyes because he wanted to see what's going on. Ang tapang din.

He only stopped crying when we went out of the room. Grabe talaga ang trauma nya. Mawawala pa kaya yon? Makes we wonder how our next pedia visits will be kasi sobrang takot na nya sa doctor nya.
Maybe it's time to find another one.


Wednesday, March 13, 2013

OA lang ba ako?

Because I can't stand being away for too long from my son? I mean, work enough is taking out roughly 10 hours of our day, so adding more hours for other activities is definitely a guilt trip.

I see other parents who have night out at bars, or the like, and I often wonder how they feel about it.
Hubby and I still have our date nights, and it's usually with a cutoff of 10PM. Haha! Anything longer than that, I start feeling agitated, and will always want to go home.

Some parents can also take trips abroad or outside their home base, leaving their child/children at the care of yayas, or grandparents, or relatives, and I wonder too if they ever feel guilty leaving their child behind. Maybe in the future magagawa ko yon, but not now when Rocco is still a baby. I have this huge separation anxiety when I leave him for too long.

Siguro it's just me, I don't see anything wrong with their setup naman. It's just that I can't imagine myself going somewhere place for too long and leaving Rocco behind. And by "too long", mga 24 hours lang yon. Baka maloka ako.

Just my thought. Walang kokontra :)

Time is Fleeting

Is it just me or time is so fleeting nowadays? Both hubby and I agree that it is! Before we know it, baka nag-aaral na si Rocco. Hay! I want to savor as much of Rocco's childhood as I can. We're sacrificing a lot of our personal activities just so we can spend more time with Rocco. For one, hubby cannot play basketball as much as he used to, and ako, I cannot go to the gym as much as I can. During weekends, we center our activities around our little boy, and that leaves little time for other petty stuff. This is I think, our new normal.

Anyway, I've observed lately that Rocco is really growing, and his facial features are slowly changing. Bawat gising namin, parang tumatangkad sya, and just by looking at him now while he's asleep beside me, sobrang obvious na ang kanyang bitin na pajamas. Boy has he grown a lot. I'm not sure if it helps that he's a straight night sleeper minus the night feedings which he does while he's half asleep. He was never a problem baby in that aspect. I didn't read Baby Wise, or even applied it. He just rarely cries, and sleeps a lot.
Top Left to Right: Rocco from 0 to 15 months 
I've been looking at his pictures and all I can say is WOW! So many memories there, and sometimes I wonder how I was able to manage being a mom. I guess it's a natural instinct, and when it's your own child, the love is unconditional that you don't question any pain, sleepless nights, or tired days. You just take it all in with positivity and with the hope that you're doing what's best for your child.

Gosh, serious na! :) Anyhoo, from the collage above, if I'm going the cutest pic, I'll probably choose his 7th month pic.

PS. I'm growing his hair now because his last haircut was unfinished. Sobrang iyak nya to the point na nagfreak out ako kasi naawa ako, kaya his hairstyle was off.

Monday, March 11, 2013

30 :)

Work last Friday was so toxic, sa sobrang toxic uminit ang ulo ko on the way home and I scrapped all plans to go to the beach on my birthday. Buti nalang my son has a way of calming me. As soon as we got home, nawala lahat ng pagod ko and I was back to my jolly self. Tuloy ang saya on my birthday weekend! :)

Seriously, I stopped counting my age since I was around 27. Minsan nga, nalilito ako on how old I am.  This year though, mahirap ika-ila ang age ko. It's a milestone for me to reach the age of 30. Life has been so good to me, and I could just pray for continuous good health and safety for my family.

So how did my birthday weekend go? It was simple but meaningful. My in-laws were here, and we spent it with them. My papa also flew in from Bacolod on my actual birthday so we had lunch before dropping them to the airport. We held off our beach trip, maybe next weekend nalang.
Last Saturday, we dropped by the Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) because my FIL had a Rotary event there. We stayed for a while before going mall-hopping. 
After hubby went shopping at Nike BTC, we had lunch at Choi City, a yummy Chinese resto. It was my MIL's birthday treat :) We facetimed with my SIL and her hubby who was watching the Lakers game, and we also ended up watching the last few minutes of the game via Ipad. Btw, the Lakers won, yahoo! The rest of the day, we transferred to SM, then Ayala hanggang sa napagod na kaming lahat :)
The next day, I woke up to this freshly picked pink rose from our garden. So lovely!
How should one feel when she turns 30? Ako, more than ever, I feel more confident about myself, of my capabilities, and of what I can do. Peg ko nga ngayon ang song ni Alicia Keys na "Girl on Fire". Akong ako yon! :)
With my in-laws :)
Rocco: "What are you up to Mommy?!" 
We met up with my Papa who arrived from Bacolod, and had a connecting trip to Tacloban in the afternoon. Sabay-sabay na sila ng in-laws ko. Thai food is one of my fave, so we had one at Siam! Lami kaayo!!!! Thank you Papa for the birthday treat :)
After dropping them at the airport, we went to Shangrila, Mactan to relax. Nakakasawa na din mag-mall kaya buti nalang these nice resorts are just a stone throw away here in Cebu. I love Cebu! :) We cooled off at the Acqua Bar to kill time. On our way home, we dropped by S&R kasi pre-sale!!! Magtitingin lang sana kami but ended up spending again. Hay naku S&R, iba ka. Buti nalang malayo-layo na ang bahay namin para iwas temptation :)

After S&R, we heard mass at the San Pedro Calungsod Church in SRP. Grabe, Rocco was so likot! His most likot ever. Hindi ako maka concentrate sa pagdadasal so I asked hubby to look after the little boy. After mass, Rocco was asking for his milk already, and on the way home, TKO na :)

Dear Lord,

Thank you for giving me 30 years of a happy & simple life. Please give me a chance to live many more years so that I can see my son grow up to have his own family. I pray for good health, protection and provisions so we can always live simply but comfortably. 

Diane

Thursday, March 7, 2013

Oh Happy Day!

Today is one of those days that I don't regret being a career woman. I just got off from a meeting that will change the world (HAHA), and now I'm sitting pretty in a coffee shop while checking my blog. My hubby is playing basketball, while my son is at home playing with his grandma. Sometimes we need this, our alone time, to bring back our individuality that's almost drowned in the midst of responsibilities.

I will enjoy this ME time, because as soon as my husband picks me up, I become a wife, and as soon as we arrive home, I immediately transform into a mom to a son who's always eagerly waiting for us.

This still works for us, and I'm happy.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Wordless Post: Eyes on the Target (Food!)


Sunday Date

Taken last Sunday during our night out at Tempura Grill. We absolutely love Japanese food! Rocco loved his Ramen soup and ate A LOT.

Thank God for weekends spent with my lovely family. Such a blessing!

@ 15 months

At 15 months, Rocco is at his most active self. Expected naman kasi boy, pero grabe, when I look at other boys his age, ibang level ang pagka playful ni Rocco. He has a friend here at the village who's just a few months younger than him. The other boy just sits in his stroller most of the time. He can even doze off there, and be left alone without having to worry if he will attempt to climb off his stroller.

Kay Rocco, naku disaster yan. He doesn't even want to sit in his stroller. Ibebenta ko na lang siguro. I'm not sure if it's the effect of super minimal exposure to TV, ipads, or gadgets. We really limit these to him during weekdays kaya he's more exposed to play. Add up his equally playful and talkative yayas and we've got a super hyper boy :)
At my sister's house in Malabon, he stayed up until past 11PM just playing.
When Rocco had cough and colds after our Manila trip, we had our share of sleepless nights. I had to carry him for most of the night kasi ayaw talaga nya magpababa. I asked hubby to get the red swivel chair para makaupo naman kami habang paikot ikot. As soon as the boy got well, he played with the chair too. Super laughing sya while circling with the chair :)
When we were at Resorts World, hindi mapakali ang Rocco. Ikot dito, ikot doon. He was so curious with everything, which I think is good.
 This is our drama every night. Mahirap na sya patulugin because he just wants to play and play. He picks on everything he can see. Nakakatuwa nga because he figured out how to insert the wire from the speaker to the Ipod, and even turned on the Ipod himself. He also knows the concept of dark & light. We force him to sleep by turning off all the lights. One time, when we did this, he got hold of the Ipod which was near him and pressed it so that the light would come on. He used it as guide while he was running away from us. We ended up laughing so hard :)
As soon as he wakes up, he either says OUT, or stand up to get his toys. Our room is always in a beautiful messy state which I absolutely love.
Multitasking? Though he's not a TV fan, he really loves this online Fisher Price game called Peekabo. We love this app too because he can just click on any keyboard and the game will function properly. No need to worry about wrong keyboards being pressed.
Rocco absolutely loves the outdoor. He can very clearly communicate when he wants to go out. He simply says OUT while pointing to the door. When he's outside, he's friendly with the other kids and mingles with them. He also loves playing with their toys. That orange car is not his, but he played with it for hours. Buti nalang the owner was very nice and shared his toy.
Who doesn't love a horsey game? I can't remember who started the game with Rocco, but boy, he hasn't stopped playing horsey since then. Even when we're about to go to sleep, he still climbs to us and shakes his body. Nakakatawa talaga.
That's not his toy too! I love our village because Rocco has a lot of playmates, and a lot of shared toys too :)
I don't know what's with the guitar, but Rocco loves playing with it. He has a toy guitar but he prefers the real and big one. In fairness, he knows how to strum the chord, at minsan may tune pa :)

Rocco is just 15months old but I'm so amazed by how much he's grown, especially after he turned 1yr old. He can easily imitate, can do sign language, can pronounce simple words, can follow instructions, and more. How much more in the coming months! Exciting!

Our Circus Wall :)

Last night, while waiting for hubby to wrap up his work, I walked to Ayala mall to do some window shopping. Wala naman talaga akong balak bumili. I passed by Cribz. This is a local store that sells imported kiddie items at low low prices. Super sulit! I get most of Rocco's stuff there, from bibs, shirts, onesies, and even his Vapor Soove which is not sold in local drugstores.

I was browsing through their stuff because I was looking for a nice kiddie bag like the one I saw at Mothercare. Hindi ko pa kasi binili doon. Hay. Anyway, I found really nice wall decals which are made of sticker material and easy to peel. Hindi natatanggal ang paint.
They had a lot of designs. Naloka ako! I was already imagining where to place the decals, pero nagself-control lang ako kasi baka naman magmukhang playhouse ang bahay namin. I decided to buy the Circus theme kasi cute lang.
I sticked the decals in our master's bedroom because Rocco still co-sleeps with us. If he transfers to his own room when he's bigger, we'll just remove the decals and maybe transfer it to his room.

Ang nice! The little boy was super amazed. He stayed up until 10:30PM while I was finishing up the design. His reaction was super worth the buy :)

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Wedding Weekend: Family Time

Our recent wedding weekend was also a chance for us to bond with my parents who live in Tacloban, and my sister who is now based in Manila. I grew up in a very close family, yung tipong we spend most of our activities together and big event palagi ang Sunday. I also grew up with my cousins so I want Rocco to have that same childhood experience. Sad to say, my family is scattered everywhere. May sarili nang mga pamilya and we settled in different places.

That's why we forced our parents to join us in Manila kasi it's like hitting two birds (este chubby birds) with one stone. 
The grannies terribly missed Rocco. The little boy cried when he first saw them kasi it's been 3months since he last saw them. But after lots of kisses, he eventually warmed up :)
I never imagined us being this old. Haha! I always had memories of mama and papa being young, and we were the kids. Now, hindi na kami ang apple of their eye, ang mga apo na :)
Our only decent family picture during the wedding. We were too engrossed running after the kids and trying to tidy up our hair that were flying like crazy because of the windy weather, plus we had tons of kiddie stuff in our bags, kaya naging last priority na ang picture taking. From L-R: My Mama, my sister and her son, moi, my Papa and my son.
With my in-laws. Our parting photo before leaving our suite. The bride & groom were MIA. Hihihi :)
After we arrived back in Manila from Tagaytay, we met up with my family so we can spend more time with them. Papa treated us to authentic Thai dinner at Muang Thai, na sa sobrang sarap, napakain ako ng rice!
 The next day, everyone was heading home na. My BIL was off to Dubai, my parents to Tacloban, and kami sa Cebu lang naman. We made a quick stop to Greenhills and Resorts World. My BIL wanted to see Rocco for the last time before he flew away. Thank you so much for all your pasalubongs and overflowing generosity, Uncle Jojo!
 The boys killed time at Starbucks. Walang biro, sila talaga umiinom nyan. Nakikitikim lang kami. Haha!
 Another souvenir shot. Pinoy na pinoy lang ang peg :)
Grandpa Tol and Grandma Marlyn with their unico hijo apo. First apo eh, kaya solo attention. We're trying hard not to spoil him too much.

Iba talaga ang family. I'm so blessed to have a very close family, and equally blessed to have the same close relationship with my in-laws. Everybody gets along well! We're looking forward to our next vacation, Ate Chloe's 7th birthday this July, and my sister's homecoming from the US this October! 



Saturday, March 2, 2013

My SIL's Tagaytay Wedding

February 23 was a day of love, happiness, answered prayers and miracles. Grabe, God is so empowering and if we only ask Him, he will provide what's best for us.

When we arrived in Manila last February 21, it was raining so hard. The forecast said it would rain until Sunday. Patay! My SIL's wedding was a garden setup. They've prepared for this for many months and spent a lot for it. Sayang naman kung uulanin. February 22, umuulan pa din. When we arrived in Tagaytay, the fog was so think at ang lakas ng hangin. We couldn't do anything but pray for a nicer weather for the next day.

Then we woke up to this.
The sun was just starting to peek but my golly, I think it was the best sunrise ever!
As soon as my SIL woke up, she just stared at the beautiful scenery, and I guess said a Thank You prayer for the gift of a beautiful weather on her wedding day. Amazing God!

Shortly after that, we all ate breakfast and everything went by like a breeze. That's how wedding preps are. The room started to fill in with a lot of people from the makeup team, photographers & videographers, members of the entourage, and visiting guests from the province.
Meet my SIL, Anabelle Ofonda Layug. The picture speaks for itself. Beautiful! (Photo grabbed from Joanna Morden's FB)
(Photo grabbed from NicePrint Photography's FB)
When we went to the ceremony venue, we were welcomed with a breathtaking view. The weather was perfect, and the setup was quaint  and intimate.
The bridal walk. (Photo grabbed from NicePrint Photography's FB)
Highlights from the ceremony. (Photo grabbed from NicePrint Photography's FB)
The Tacloban delegation! A lot of family and friends came all the way from Tacloban to be part of the beautiful wedding.
With my boys. Gulo-gulong hair day kasi sobrang windy sa Tagaytay.
My son on his second ringbearer stint. His outfit was super cute! :) Buti nalang he didn't throw a tantrum because he loved the cold and windy weather in Tagaytay. Funny nga because when we left for Manila he had cough/cold but when we arrived in Tagaytay, biglang gumaling.
After the ceremony, we headed off to the Taal Vista Ballroom for the reception. 
We enjoyed sumptuous food, and live entertainment. The party ended around 9PM. Some visitors also left early because they still had to travel back to Manila.

It was indeed a beautiful day, but as the Pastor said in his message, all the preparations for the wedding day is nothing compared to the work that needs to be done for the marriage. To my SIL and her hubby (who is the ninong of Rocco), may you have a happy married life! Gawa na ng cousin ni Rocco! :)



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