the 5-month update

it's that time of the month again... my monthly celebration! today, on my 5th month, mom skipped work to be able to spend more time with dad and me. as always, my parents prepared great food for the occasion. dad cooked fried chicken pancit canton and made some puto (his first attempt). mom,on the other hand,made an egg pie.

more january 30 pics here
lolo dadi's short visit made this month's celebration extra special too! he'll be here until monday, will go to cincinnati on tuesday and then will be back again on feb 15 til the 18th before he goes back to my lola mami in thailand. i know! such a short trip!


@ 5 months, i now weigh 15lbs. i measure 25 inches from head to feet. yeah, i can now reach the bottom of my exersaucer! woohoo! with my chunky legs, i had to switch to size 3 diapers. blame it on that yummy rice cereals which mom or dad makes perfectly well. i take about 1-2tbsp of which 2x a day. (i wonder when i'd switch to those colorful veggies... which reminds me that we're still on our search for that perfect high chair). my parents now seriously complain at how heavy i've become whenever they're carrying me. fine dad, let's try that sling!

i am loving it when i am playing with my parents and my toys when sitting up unsupportedly. i feel tall whenever i do that. i can see my toys and aim at them better when i am seated up. oh, and i now have preferences for toys. show me everything i'll have and i'll pick mr. giraffe first, then elmo-the-teether. (i can't pick elmo-the-live, he's huge!)


one happy baby is how my mom describes me now. coz i really am! i now laugh a big girl's laugh! specially when it's playtime. i just wish it's playtime all the time! i also give out generous giggles when someone's making funny faces and sounds. and i specially like it when we're dancing or in kulitan-mode. it may take a while for me to smile at anyone i just met though.

i love waking up to my dad and mom's faces too. i just couldn't help but smile when it's their faces that i see the moment i wake up. on weekends though, when i wake up a little later than usual, i would often play and talk with myself and wait for my parents to come and pick me up. and this part's been my parents' favorite! when they would come for me. coz as soon as i see them, i'd be wiggling with delight, and i just couldn't help but giggle with glee! mom's just soooo happy that she's my momma when i do this.

i also am now a very talkative baby. i'm all the more joel daldal. i can entertain myself (and apparently, others like my parents' families back home most specially during our weekly skyping/YMing sessions with them, when they can see me and hear me, live) by just plain babbling. my mom had one of my long-playing babbling recorded on her phone and she listens to my voice when she wants a booster at work. however, when my parents ask me to repeat some words after them, i just don't. but i do watch their lips intently when they form shapes. the bet is also on as to what i'd say first, whether it's mami or dadi/dada.

when they call my name, i look into their direction. but then, i also look when they call me any other names. hahahaha. but when they say "up, up, up!" i would try to pull myself forward. if they hold my hands when they do this, i will go from lying to sitting to standing position. when i'm lazy though, i'd just sit still. haha. but i do love it when i'm standing up. i'd bounce and kick my legs giddily as if i'm walking when i'm on a stance. this makes my mom think that i'd probably prefer walking over crawling. well, we'll find out in a few months time i guess.

alrighty then! see you for another round of updates in a month! ;)
meanwhile, please do enjoy the rest of my month 5 (pics taken from jan 1-29) here.

my ABC's

when dad saw the yourbabycanread infomercial from the telly, he immediately told mom about it. then mom saw the infomercial herself with all the parents' testimonials which made both of them long for their products. the said products can apparently make a baby, who has yet to learn how to talk, be able to read. yes, you read it right? R-E-A-D! and my parents saw the videos of these babies and kids reading (or acting out what they've read), with their very own eyes. my folks (specially my mom) dream big ya know, so they want the same for me.

BUT, and a big BUT at that, the set is very expensive! hence, dad decided that he'll be the one to teach me how to read using his own methods. and we started by learning the alphabet. so, he got me a set of alphabet flash cards, with big letters, small letters and pictures. each day, we'll learn two letters in order. the next day, we'll review those two letters, and start with two more, and so on and so forth. so i get to see 4 colorful flash cards daily.

here's the letter j
oh, so that's how a jet looks like!
but... let me taste 'em flash cards... yummm!
they actually aren't sure if i really am going to learn my abc's as fast as those babies on the infomercial, or if i'll possess the same interest as they do. nevertheless, it's fun doing this with dad! a bonding moment indeed!

well, i don't mind that much. i just know that they're happy doing a lot of activities with me. as long as they keep singing the alphabet song to me (which never fails to amuse me... yeah, even if i'm in the middle of a crying spill, when i hear them sing the song, i would really stop and listen), i'd be one really happy baby!

playtime is funtime!

everyone loves playtime! even the adults do!

i have whole lotsa toys (i even have plenty of 'em that are still in their boxes). and like any other home with kids, toys have been everywhere around the house. i do get to play with them everyday. my parents think that i'm just chewing on them like you would a teether though,haha.

but i would never ever trade the best playtime i have to any other toy in the whole wide universe! and that is my playtime with dad and mom. i just love our kulitan and gigilan together! they are my favorite playmates! they actually think that i like to be brutally tickled, and boy i do! and i know how happy they are when we really play interactively. here are some videos of my favorites...

dad kissing my feet... watch me pushing my feet towards him, haha

playing with the rattle ball and dad... yes, go ahead, you can laugh with me! it's that contagious! hahahahahah (watch all 3 parts here).

how about you? what's your fave?

milk + rice cereals = one PG happy joel!

that's rice cereals! you read it right. yes, my first ever attempt to take in something solid. my first time to try solid food. and it all began this very same day.

dad's the one who's really excited to give me solids already. he thought that since i love watching them eat, solid food and i will have nothing but a love-love relationship. so they wouldn't have any problems feeding me. they of course followed my pedia's recommendations.

i really didn't know what that spoon is for. yeah, i always see mom and dad use it, and whenever they eat, i really watch them with envy and pananakam. but when that spoon first touched my lips, i really didn't know what to expect. initially, my worried mom thought that i wouldn't eat it. (video of my very first encounter with a spoon)


when i was able to taste it, oh heaven! i couln't stop! i wanted to gobble everything and wipe that bowl clean! i wanted to grab the spoon and put everything in my mouth. though i'm still learning the art of swallowing and how my tongue should help in the process, i still enjoyed every spoonful of that rice cereal and milk concoction!

i may have been one dirty baby afterwards, but this was nothing (even with my oc dad who's always wiping me with a damp cloth) compared to the PG happy baby that this first experience made. uh-huh, another one of those memorable and well-documented milestone.

can't hardly wait for tomorrow's meal! weehee!

** here are the videos of my "katakawan" and "PG-ness" >>> part2, part3, part4

look ma, just my hands!

yep, no more pillows on my sides, no more dad and mom's helping hands, just the support from my hands and arms, and i can already sit up! yey!


but of course i still can't do this by myself. mom still has to put me on this position and i will stay this way for as long as i want. well, it's still new to me and i'm a tad overwhelmed that i couldn't smile,haha. plus i only can do this on the floor. on the bed, i couldn't seem to control my balance yet coz the bed's a bit wobbly. falling down from sitting position on the bed mesmerizes me though. i just couldn't hold my giggles when that happens. and as usual, this has become a cute laughing matter for my parents and me. haha

4th month well-baby checkup

this afternoon saw the three of us at the st. alphonsus' pediatrics for my 4 month well-baby checkup. as expected, lisa and dr. womack commented on how i've grown.

based on my measurements (@ almost 4.5 months), i was at 55 percentile for my weight (at 14lbs 10oz), and my 25in of a height placed me at the 50th percentile. my head measurement was also at par. so everything's been great from that end.

dr. womack suggested on giving me solid foods already. and oh boy, my dad's really excited. by weekend i'd be starting with rice cereals. and my folks will make sure... that i still take the same amount of milk... that i only take 1-2tbsps of these food, 1-2x a day... that i only take 1 type of food for the whole week before i move on to the next to root out allergies... that i start with cereals, then veggies before introducing fruits. well, that's how my pedia laid it out on them.

as for the dreaded shots, i already knew what the mean lady nurse would do when she had me laid down the exam bed. so i stormed the little room with my wails that i'm pretty sure everyone outside heard. so dad just carried me while i was being poked. as soon as he held me up, i was transformed to that happy baby that i am once more.

yeah i have an on and off switch. at one moment i'm crying, at the next instant, i'm giggling again. i couldn't actually control the happy me that emerged as when dr. womack was talking to us. i just love her pitch. and i also like it when she talks animatedly. i was showing my gummy toothless grin to her the whole time, specially when they talked about food! i even felt restless that i had to let go of some lil shrieks and kicks!

i also didn't budge when she carried me as she examined me further. she just checked on how i was sittin' and standin' up. as usual, my mom had to just tell her that i can now sit up, with the very least amount of support, and that my legs hold still when they're making me stand up. such a stage mom, my mom is! haha

everything went well from my checkup. so dasims were all smiles when we got out of the clinic. see you in 2 months dr. womack!

the world is mine

we got this in our mailbox today! we only applied for it last week and we really were surprised that it got processed and mailed within just a week. they actually told us that it would take 4-6 weeks

so now, the world is mine! (well, that's what the pamphlet says). weehee!

lola mami, you can now take me to thailand with you... on mom's condition though that we should tag them along. haha.

welcoming 2009!

although i only lived (outside the womb, that is) for four months in 2008, the blessings from God that I have received are just over and beyond. I won't need to elaborate on these since almost everything that i am thankful for is inked on this journal anyway. All I want to say is, thank You much, my Creator. Kudos to You who made all these happen.

more new year celeb pics here
did you know that I welcomed 2009 with a bang?! not with fireworks though. well, i don't have to tell you that this is my first new year celebration. so i'm pretty sure you all know what this post is all about... yep, how i spent the last day of 2008 and the 1st day of 2009.

exhausting-but-fun is how i would describe the last day of 2008 for me. i was too thrilled i didn't take a decent nap in the afternoon. and since we had two media noche parties to attend to (at the yus and then at the tolosas), i was already cranky and sleepy by the end of the day. i was actually sleeping cradled by my mom when the clock struck 12mn. but since everyone was shouting at each other, wishing everyone a great and happy new year, i was startled, woke up then cried. but being the happy baby that i am, i came back to my senses and tried to not dampen the happy-but-exhausted mood of everyone around me. but God knows how tired i was and my parents really felt sorry for me.

this day, the 1st day of 2009, went by peacefully for me. we welcomed 2009 with God in mass during the feast of the solemnity of Mary as mother of God. at home, the three of us continued the feast with media noche leftovers (for mom and dad). after some more holiday family pictures taken, i expired.


nonetheless, i am very happy to know that my parents are too thrilled and excited for this year as i grow and meet more milestones along the way. fun times!

now, i am looking forward to more of these major fun times with my family this year. perhaps it will include travelling somewhere more than a 30min-drive away. i would love to experience summer as well when i can already play outdoors. well, everything's being laid out by my folks anyway, and yes, they are as excited as i am. hopefully, the plan to meet my extended familes in pinas will materialize this year too. oooh, i can't wait!

Happy 2009 everyone!