climbing stairs

this morning, mom was trying to teach me how to climb the stairs by walking while she holds my hands. but the steps are still to high for me. so i surprised mom by getting on all fours, my feet and arms two stair steps away, and started climbing through my knees, one step at a time. proud to say that i figured the method out all by myself and i have reached the end of the steps and got to the second floor by just doing that.

yes, it's time to babyproof the stairs as well dad and mom :)

tooth #3

the 3rd tooth, my first upper tooth, finally cut through!

one fine day at the park

since we didn't have any plans of travelling and long driving during the memorial day weekend, we just spent saturday at the ann morrison park, shopped on sunday and just chillaxed the whole day today. ahhh, lovin' the life!

i am just going to share my triple-fun-day-at-the-park story through these snaps...
(you can just scroll your mouse over the thumbnails and read the captions, then go ahead and click to see the larger view)

my first time on the swing. it was ok. dedma lang ako. here's a vid. =)

(want more pictures? just visit our online album to check out all the photos)

scaredy cat

contrary to what others do, my parents have never tried to scare me. they never even wanted to instill that sense of fear in me and use it to discipline me. they really wanted me to grow up very brave and fearless (well, except for that holy fear of God of course). but for some reason i have become one scaredy cat! i only have a short list, but it seems to be growing as i grow. among these, i have great fear from the following:

1. strong water pressure coming from the master bath's tub's faucet.. when you're as little as me and you're inside the tub, the sound of the water swooshing is aggravated by the hallow sides of the tub. it's reaaallly scary! i actually started having this phobia probably a couple of months back. i am ok with the sinks' faucets though.

2. the sounds that the blender and the mower make. i am probably scared from anything producing really loud sounds for that matter. mom used to make homemade food for me and used the blender to puree them but i didn't budge. it was just that fateful day, mother's day to be exact, when mom used it again that i got scared. as for the mower, it really is L.O.U.D! even mom doesn't like the sound it makes!

3. bathing in my tub, within the big tub. remember i have that fear from that faucet. even if it isn't running i still get nervous. plus, it feels as if i am being engulfed by the walls of the tub! ugh! oh no, i might have inherited mom's claustrophobia.

4. when separation anxiety sinks in. when mom or dad goes to another room to get something or just does a quick bathroom visit, and i am following them or looking at them (specially when i am already sleepy), expect a wailing baby. also, when we are in a gathering, and a tita or a tito got me from my parents, yes even my ninang, i also cry in fear that they would take me away from my parents forever. and yes, i know very well who my parents are. "nangingilala na po talaga ako".

5. some other random things. yeah, unfortunately there are other things that brings a sense of fear within me that makes me cling on super tightly to my parents, and wail with real tears.

it seems that i am growing up like my mom, a "duwakang". well, one thing's for sure: my parents will always be there for me, to hug me tight and assure me that no harm will come my way as long as they are with me and that everything will be alright, and to fight whatever monsters there are inside the closet or under the bed. :)

mom's birthday

today is my mom's birthday! her current age is not on the calendar days anymore. heehee. she took today off work and spent this special day with none other than the special people in her life, me and dad!

for her birthday lunch, we chose Friday's. it's actually nothing special. it just popped out of my parents' minds. we then just strolled around and shopped for mom (and me, haha) for the rest of the afternoon.


before the day ended, dad prepared a special dinner of shrimp and salmon carbonara and some homemade chicken shawarma.

more of mom's bday pics are here.

happy birthday bestest mommy in the world! daddy and i love you soooo much!

mi familia in stick!

Make your Stick Figure Family at FreeFlashToys.com aint't this a cutie?!

close, open..close,open

it's been more than three months since lolo dadi introduced the infamous "close-open" to me. and it never failed to get a smile or giggle out of me whenever i see lolo dadi chanting "close, open... close, open" to me whilst closing and opening his hand (even up to now whenever i see him through skype). he even claimed that he saw me unconsciously trying to do it with my left hand when he was here.

i actually had a realization about a month ago that i can actually do it. my parents even saw it once or twice already around that time. i used to clap my hands when mom or dad would chant "close, open" which seems to tell them that i am just applauding them for they can do it. heehee. but lately i get fascinated with it while i watch my hands do the actions, sans the chant. and now, if you chant and hold one of my hands, i'll do it and try to show off. not for long, however. coz this "talent" is yet to be perfected. therefore, i need more practice.

anyway, what is it with waving "bye-bye"?! do i really need to learn that?!

happy mom's day!

happy mother's day mami! i love you too, sooo much! i know how much you love our gift . and yes, you are very welcome! mwaaah!

sharing a few pics with my mom on momma's day...

pics from our yard this beautiful sunday afternoon

and joel fell down

why do most, if not all babies, fall down from the bed? i, for one, wasn't spared!

it happened last night. i was on the bed already sleeping, with pillows surrounding me. mom went downstairs to skype with my ninong ruprup before going to bed herself. the monitor was on. when they heard me crying, dad immediately got into the bedroom and found me there on the floor, nakadapa. they didn't hear anything, not even a soft thud. i was fine. nagulat lang. so no, mom didn't need to call 911 this time. teehee.

what they suspected was that i managed to go down like the usual without a problem. but when i got to my feet and got my hands on the bed, i probably lost balance or support and fell down. hence, the silent fall. or i was helped and caught by my guardian angel.

i didn't go back to sleep right after. i was under observation for about an hour. i didn't vomit. i was sleepy, because i was still sleepy around that time, at 11pm my friends. but i was my usual playful self. we all went to bed when the hour passed. but although i was totally fine, mom still had to wake up every two hours just to check on me.

i am ok and doing fine. really. i just had to fall down from the bed coz all babies do that. it's a "rite of passage" ya know?!

moving forward!

yes i am! i have finally learned how to crawl forward on all fours! don't ask me how coz i really don't know. it just happened instantly. mom actually thought that i'd drag myself crawl backwards forever coz for a couple of months that's how i had been "cruisin". yey for me!

(EDITED, 05.16.09, adding my crawling vids) watch me crawl here, and here!

5 milestones in 3 days!

starting from the day before i turned 8 months...

milestone #1: i had my first taste of "sinigang"
my first ever grown-up food! contrary to other babies, i didn't start with lugaw, but with one of the infamous pinoy favorite food of all times, THE "sinigang". the sour soup with slightly mashed rice tasted weirdly at first. but heck, i wouldn't be called trueblooded pinoy if i didn't like it, so i finished the small-for-starters portion that mom gave me and i was raving for more! yummeeeh!

the next two happened during my 8th month birthday...

milestone#2: i can now stand for a really long time while supporting myself
my parents just found out that i can already do this when mom put me by the glass door to look at the garden. while i held on to it, she let go of me just to see if i can stand by myself. and i did! soon, they attached the legs of my musical table and i've been playing with it standing since then.
milestone #2: standing for a really long time all by myself. another vid here.;
milestone #3: balancing myself while standing unsupported
yep, no support at all. mom just wanted to know if i would be able to stand without support (hey, what's the use of my huge "pata" if they can't support my body well?!). so dad let go of me, and i tried to balance myself! the longest i've gone through without falling was 17 seconds! how's that for a first timer?!

milestone #3: balancing while standing unsupported
milestone #4: crawling to sitting position.
since i've been rolling over and crawling backwards to get to where i want to go to, i needed to learn how to go from crawling to sitting position for me to be able to maneuver myself. and the day after my 8th month, i discovered that i can do it. and i did it all by myself! wee!

milestone #5: coming down from the bed.
when mom got home that same day, dad surprised her by telling her that they need not teach me how to come down from the bed anymore. so in panic, my mom asked why and what happened. dad recounted it to her. normally when i'm sleeping and left alone, i would make sounds or call someone or cry when i wake up. when i'm not crying, they usually wait for a few secs before they come up, coz often, i'd go back to sleep. that wasn't the case yesterday. to my dad's surprise, i was already standing, down by the bed side, and holding onto it for support. i even laughed with delight when i saw dad. silly eh?!

want more? stay tuned!