it has been about two summers ago since my parents rode their bikes. since they wanted to reunite with their bikes and take advantage of what remains of this short summer, they got me a trailer. that way, i can join in the fun!
today, we did a soft trial run with it. we only circled the 'hood and avoided major roads hence no need for gears such as helmets and the likes. and boy was it F.U.N! it was way more exciting when it was attached to dad's bike rather than just being pushed when jogging. hayluveeet!
here are some of the snaps taken by my mom while single-handedly (literally) driving her bike. she somehow managed to maneuver with just one hand on the handle bar and one hand taking pics and videos of me.
if these aren't enough, go ahead and click here and a couple of videos here and here
one saturday morning, we'll do some serious biking at ann morrison park, by the greenbelt. uh-huh, expect loads of pictures after! teehee!
for week three of my ymca class, i missed our monday session because i got the sickies. but today, mom and i saw our teacher and some classmates for the last time.
during the last day, we only practiced everything that we learned. moreover, our teacher just gave us some pointers and individual things to work on. although she told mom that i am doing a good job, she still advised that i keep on practicing my "kicks", both on my tummy and back.
many "thankies" after, the class was dismissed. we just spent the rest of our ymca stay at the kiddie pool. too bad though we weren't able to try the jetted hot tub since kids under age of 6 aren't allowed to hop in.
there, i finally "graduated"!. sharing some pics of our last day at ymca (this wouldn't be the last i'd step foot on ymca this season though since mom's enrolling too!)
our ymca pics and vids from day 2 to the last are here
in our class this week, i've learned to do the following with mom's help...
1. "kick" on my back. this is my very own version of "backstroke". and when i am playful, i wouldn't kick properly. i would do the really splashy kind. this is the most refreshing one though. my teacher would often comment that i look so relaxed doing that while my head is rested on mom's shoulder. ahhh, the life!
2. "crawl" through the edge of the pool to be able to get out. mom was using other toys though to lure me to come up coz she couldn't make me. hey, i love the water so much. i didn't wanna get out just yet! yep, i was the only baby there not following what the teacher says and minding my own business. pasaway! heehee.
3. "jump" off towards the pool from the edge (i am seated by the edge when i do this by the way). happiness is jumping towards mommy in the pool! i just love love it when mom would count up to 3 and on the 3rd i would bring myself towards her and get caught by her and make big splashies all around! oh and i lied. it would often be on the 2nd count when i would "jump" back in the water. excited e! you can watch the video here as i practice my "back kick" and "jump".
we never left ymca today til i'm done playing at the kiddie pool. oooh, i love the fountains from the barely-two-feet pool :) here, enjoy some pics taken this 2nd week of class!
(L) while i practice the "kicking" on my back; (R) mom and i enjoying the fountains
not two, not three... but seven little steps!!!... all by myself!
my mom was busy counting these steps while she was watching me very bravely attempting to walk by myself. hence, she failed to capture it on vid. teehee. but here's a video of me showcasing this milestone, finally caught on cam earlier today! mom will also be sharing this on her mommy moments entry for july 24. so you can watch out for that too (will update this blog with a link to her entry too :D).
my parents are no great swimmers. they actually are frightened by just the thought of drowning in the open sea and yeah, even the deep end of the pool. hence, they wanted to make sure that i won't inherit that same fear so they had me starting early by enrolling me at YMCA's parent-and-baby swimming lessons. a 2-day 30-min session in july that runs for 3 weeks.
the goal of the class is to make us babies acclimated to the pool, plus the nurturing and bonding between parents and their respective babies. we took the 5:30pm MW sessions so on these days you'd see mom literally running from work an hour and a half earlier than her usual bye-bye time.
on the first day, it was a full class. about 9 babies all in all. while one parent was with the baby in the class, one doting parent (and grannies and aunts, etc etc, were) is at the edge of the pool taking snaps of their babies. too bad we didn't bring our camera since we were not sure if we'll have time for that or we'll have someone take pictures of me (coz dad was also in his class at that same time). tsk tsk. should mom have known...
it was a fun class. there were playing and singing. and if only mom brushed up on her nursery rhymes, she would've been able to sing "ring around the rosy" with everyone. teehee. to mom's surprise, i enjoyed the water! i didn't show any signs of disappointment or disliking of the pool. we even stayed for about 20minutes more just to practice "kicking" on my tummy that i learned that day.
on day 2, we used the cooler lap pool since some baby threw up on the heated rec pool. so it was a cold swim that day! i almost cried when i instantly felt the water, but lit up when mom moved me and when i saw the water toys! our teacher brought 'em toys today. after the singing and wading, she had us use one toy to learn the "big reach". what we did was throw the toy as far as i could and "swim" for it (that's kicking on my tummy with mom's help of course) while my mom says "big reach" until i get near the toy and grab it. (the pic on the right is not my class. it's the class before mine)
this time i had pictures. but nah, not during the class. these were taken during my "practice" time.
whenever my parents are feeding me, before the next spoonful of food, they'd ask "patingin?" (just to check if my mouth's still stuffed). what i'll do is try to stick my tongue out as if to say "opo, done na... next subo please". i actually do that with and without food. so imagine how i manage to do that while keeping my food intact. watch the video and you'll see...
since it's my first ever fourth of july, my parents decided to bring me where the action is. they wanted me to see the extravagant fireworks up close. so we went to boise depot and found a really nice spot (thanks to tito dennis and tita ria) where dad found a cool niche to do some fireworks photo shoot, while mom and i were enjoying the view. luckily, i didn't get scared of the "ka-booms" and the "ka-bangs". i was just loving the "lights" show high above the clouds! :)
i am now 10 months old! yep, just two months shy from my 1st birthday! i don't feel the party planning pressure from my parents yet. boise isn't a busy city ya know. plus the party isn't going be something really grande. well, maybe next month (they're both known to be good procrastinators anyway, teehee).
this afternoon, we went to our subdivision park so that i could try the slide and then do a little bit of a photo shoot in the park. here are few of 'em shots:
dad prepared one of my favorites -- pancit bihon!-- just for today and of course it wouldn't be complete without my monthly cake (with my favorite fruit for it's icing design) topped with 10 little candles.
before the day ended, we took a few more snaps on our lone red swivel chair (sofa in the living room is gone. my folks were able to sell it during our garage sale. it's due to be upgraded soon anyway).
i definitely have mastered all 3 from the all-kids-can-do list: waving goodbye; picking things up with pincer grasp; and crawling well, with belly off the ground. and i'll take bets on any race since i crawl really fast now! see?!
on the emerging skills i do say "mama" and "dada" to the correct parent. not very often though since i don't normally call them that. i use some gestures to indicate my wants and needs and also to tell mom or dad or anyone that i disapprove of some things. most often though, i would just cry or shout.
i've done one out of two on the advanced skills. that of standing alone for seconds. i can get myself up without any support and balance by myself. and i can actually do this a lot longer now. a video here to see what i mean.. putting object into a container is a skill i have yet to be taught though. i always make a mess by getting everything out of hampers, bags, boxes, cabinets and shelves, but i couldn't tidy up by putting them back in, heehee. wanna see how?
other 10 month updates:
-- i now weigh 20.4lbs (if only i were a year old, i would've been allowed to use a front-facing carseat) and 28.5inches long
-- i have 4 teeth now! 2 on top and 2 below. brushing seriously!
-- itried walking by myself! i did 2 steps and dived on the 3rd =). i keep on attempting to perfect this skill by myself so you'd often see me diving down my mat. mom had no luck capturing this on cam yet. teehee. my parents had been making my play area free from sharp and hard obstructions to make walking safer for me.
-- i use almost anything to help me cruise and walk. be it a pair of hands, the furniture, the sofa, my fence, the kitchen cabinets, and yep, even the rolling fruit basket. that's why my mom calls me a "pusher". i push everything from hampers, to my toys, to anything! here i am walking careof dad, walking using the fence, and pushing the hamper and my toy.
-- i am becoming more and more of a helluva talkative baby! of course, none of the words can be understood by anyone but i am composing "sentences" now, "paragraphs" or "stories" if you would. specially when i'm fighting off sleep, i would talk and "sing" to myself as loudly as i could. again, yet to be captured on cam.
-- i've tried "swimming" for the first timethis month. i am preparing for the swimming class on the big pool come july ya know.
-- i still eat a lot. my favorites so far include fruits like watermelon, melon and banana. and lately i am loving it when there's chicken on my food =). arrowroot biscuits are getting to be my fave on-the-go snack, specially now that it's summer when we're always out, basking under the sun. here i am taking big bites from this banana. unfortunately for my parents, my board books are included in my favorites. teehee.
-- and i am doing quite a number of cool tricks and collecting lots of funny antics and "gaya,gaya,puto,maya" moments now:
5. i know how to drive away "strangers". if someone else wants to carry me besides my mom or dad, i can twist my body and shield one arm from them which directly tells them that i don't know you. heehee
6. when my parents would say "asus, asus", i would fake "coughing". there's also a forceful grunt that i would do that would really make my face all red. heehee. and i'm proud to say that i just learned to do this by myself. =). if you can't picture it, just watch this video.
i have lotsa tricks rolled up my sleeves and they sure are making my folks laugh their heads off. if they could only capture all of my antics, my mom would be really happy. heehee. i'll update you with more of these next month, meanwhile enjoy my month 9 to 10 pictures!
to our first-born on your 6th birthday
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*Dear Joel,*
It does help that school starts almost at the same time as your birthday
and hence it’s easier to track your milestones. Well, at least, the...
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Dear Baby, I’ve been bad. I haven’t been updating your blog for a while. I
guess I was having too much fun watching over you that I neglected the
internet ...
