"wearing theo"

i don't know how i look like but i always attract a lot of attention whenever i use the sling for theo. does it look so primitive, or it is just really an uncommon sight for them--a mother using a stretch of cloth to carry her baby? i just wish that i don't give an impression that we can't afford a baby carrier or stroller. hehehe.

well, i find the baby sling more convenient to use in carrying my theo especially when we're out. it frees my hands and gives support to my back, making it easier for me to bring him around even when am doing other things. i always use it when there's no choice but to fetch iñigo from school with him in tow as jude is not home. you should see the faces of the people we meet along; most of them can't help but give a second-look and smile.

the crade hold, which i found so useful; theo was only a month old here and we're in iñigo's school to fetch him

oh by the way... it's jude who taught me how to use it. yep, no manuals no video... just hands-on tutorial from someone who is quite an expert in rings, carabiners, and the likes. according to him: parang sa rapelling lang yan... anovah??? hahaha.

... and it tickled me pink when some mommies remarked that they find it nice of seeing jude with the sling. :) the daddy loves to use it instead of the stroller when we're inside the mall.

jude doing the snuggle hold

i am happy that we do babywearing (the use of sling or wrap in carrying the baby) now. i am an avid fan of dr. sear's attachment parenting and i applied some of the tools that it advocates such as breastfeeding and co-sleeping for iñigo, but not babywearing. when we got pregnant with theo i promised that i will give it a try since am sure i will be multitasking... thanks to mareng lui for lending me her sling. i just hope that we can already buy our own so we can give it back to her soon. ;D

 

 

 

theo at 4 months

theo is one of the reasons why jude and i love our roles as parents nowadays. he never fails to cheer us up even if we are doing the most tedious chore or we're caught in one of those stressful moments. it's because he loves to put a smile on his face especially when he sees familiar faces like mine, his daddy's or kuya iñigo's. though he can also instantly shift to a bad mood when his big brother gets near him; it depends on how many times iñigo pestered him within that day. ;D

even jude's fondness on him grew as it's so easy for theo to smile and giggle, and laugh when we do something which he finds funny.

he also loves to play, even with his kuya iñigo, but he becomes fussy though when gets overstimulated. or the play gets rough by you-already-know-who... one more thing i like about him is he loves to take a bath unlike iñigo who, during his baby days, throws a fit and whose cry can be heard by neighbors because bath time for him was worse than getting a shot. oh my... i really can't help but compare them sometimes. i hope am not being a bad mom when i compare them.

 

 

he turned four months last february 4th and again we celebrated it with a traditional round cake.

 

 

 

 

development and milestones

- i said a month ago that theo could already be weighing 7 kilos at 3 1/2 months. it was only a guess because we're yet to see his pediatrician the following weekend for his monthly baby wellness check-up... and indeed, our little theo weighed 7 kilos, but a little more than that as his exact weight was 7.4 kilos and he was only 14 weeks! now i know why my shoulders are aching whenever i carry him for more than 10 minutes. i have already kept away the clothes he first wore as most of them are already small for him. his diaper size is now at medium but i think it won't be long and we need to buy the next size.

he's scheduled again for his wellness check-up this coming saturday and let's see what the weighing scale will say... i just hope he isn't overweight yet. :S

who couldn't resist not to pinch those cheeks and limbs? not me! hahaha.

- he squirms, scoots, pedals his feet upwards, raises his head and move it from side to side... these were the skills of theo right after he turned 3 months.

theo learned to raise his head at 12 weeks (3 months)

now, theo can already rotate his head with ease. this made him prefer the upward position when he's being carried as he loves to gaze at the objects and people around the house, especially those that make noises like his kuya iñigo. :)

theo can also roll over his body. we can't put him now on our bed unguarded; otherwise, he has to be transfered inside the crib. i also realized that we purchased a small cot as he cannot rotate his body now without his feet getting stuck by the fences/railings and his bolster pillows.

- he babbles and squeals a lot especially when he needs something like when he's sleepy and he wants to be put to sleep (though he can soothe himself sometimes and sleep on his own) or when his kuya iñigo is playing with him and he needs me to remove his big brother from his side... hehe... but it's true. he speaks his own language and sometimes with more audible voice... that can sometimes be considered as noise. :D

noisy theo can also now make eye contact

- i really think theo is already on teething stage. he now loves to put everything in his mouth. he also tends to gnaw whatever his mouth catches like the sleeve of my shirt, his bolster pillow; and to my dismay one time, i saw him gnawing one of the railings of his crib! it's the paint of the crib that am worried about... am scared of the toxic lead, you know.

manila ocean park: iñigo's first field trip

a trip to manila ocean park was really in our plans after christmas but we canceled it for some reasons. a week later, iñigo's teacher told us thru a letter that they will have a field trip in ocean park on january 27th--great!

i admit i was more excited than the kiddo as i knew he'd love the place. jude was also excited for him and he actually wanted us to go there as a family but unfortunately there's a training for him, which was also scheduled on the date of the field trip. but this also gave me a major dilemma as no one will be left in the house with theo. i was about to ask the assistance of my cousin who's off from school that day but the daddy decided last-minute to stay home.

since the daddy can't drive us iñigo and i just took a cab going to the theme park. there's a transportation provided by the school for those who will not be bringing their cars but i opted not to avail this as the fee is twice the amount than if we're going to pay for a taxi ride rount-trip. call time was 10:00 a.m. but we reached the gate at 10:15 a.m. i was glad to see that our group was still waiting outside the building. :D

iñigo joining the choo-choo train

the train started to dissamble as soon as we got inside the park. the kids together with their guardians made their own itineraries and it was pretty obvious that we just have to help ourselves throughout the tour. i was quite disappointed because one of the reasons why i decided to let iñigo join the field trip is because i wanted him to share his observations with his classmates or peers. it definitely didn't happen but i was still glad that i was there with him. more than half of his classmates went to ocean park only with their nannies and honestly speaking, i can't help but feel bad for these kids.

a rare chance to pose together with a classmate (it's gota)

we moved from one room to another until we reached the big aquariums like those labeled with laot and karagatan. the sights were nice indeed but we can't fully appreciate them because there were also a lot of other guests, mostly students, who flocked in front of the glass panels or sitting on the ledges. iñigo and i had to be content in looking at the sea creatures from a distance. it was during this moment that i thanked my decision of not going there last december as for sure the crowd was bigger (and rowdier) and we'll be forced to leave early for theo's sake.

nonetheless, iñigo still had an enriching experience inside the ocean park. he immediately looked for his book of sea animals as soon we got home and he pointed to his daddy what he saw like the stingray and the shark. he's also now fond of the plastic miniatures of sea animals which he received as a christmas gift from one of his classmatest. the trip was worthy after all! :D

 

random thoughts

i terribly miss blogging here in multiply. i realized that the last entries i made were mostly updates on theo's development. it’s not because i had nothing else to share other than his progress every month... there's a LOT actually... but because i really can’t find time to blog. with two kids now to take care of and a house to maintain, you can guess that am already wasted at the end of the day.

 

other internet sites are also stealing away some of my precious time and it’s always that multiply is one of the last sites i visit whenever i have the time to be online. tsk, tsk. oh well, i think am not the only one who takes this site for granted as i have observed that there are only a few people (except for the vendors) now who post here unlike in other network sites such as facebook... agree? ;-)

 

***

new year, new plans. we made some plans for 2010 but quite disappointingly we already dropped one of these and that’s the purchase of another house, which we’re hoping is just near jude’s office. we're only renting a flat as of now and with the lease contract expiring this march, our intention was to transfer to an abode which we can also own later on. we were dead-serious before with the house-hunting, searched high and low for a property that fits our requirement and budget. in fact, we were already talking with some brokers until we made a last-minute decision to ditch this plan as we don’t want to be overburdened with amortization payments this year. hopefully next year when jude can already avail of his company’s housing loan facility since this will help us save a substantial amount in getting another house. but for the next 12 months, we will continue renting a place within makati while we lease the one in cabuyao...

 

yes, you read it right… we are going to keep our home sweet cabuyao home! iñigo is the happiest among us. :)

 

***

since there’s no additional mortgage expense for this year, i told jude that we put whatever money we can save for our future, particularly for our retirement. we already started with the kids’ college education fund so i think it’s high time that we save up for our old age since it’s just two to three decades from now and while we are not yet spending for tuitions.  we know our kids love us and they won’t neglect us when we’re already old and wrinkled but i still wish not to become a burden to them when that time comes. 

 

…and if we still can, why not build a dream fund so a US or europe trip will also become a reality? hmm.. :)

 

***

aside from being active on blogging this year, i also want to pursue some income-generating activities, or can i just call them rakets? i already thought of something but i can't start with it yet as i still don't have a spare time. hopefully when we already transfered to a bigger place and we can already employ a full-time and stay-in househelp. but in between now and then, i just have to live with my 24/7 job as a homemaker, everything you can think of rolled into one. hahaha!

 

 

iñigo at mischievous three

it's an everyday challenge for us now to keep up with iñigo. it's because he's a typical three-year-old: zesty, active, curious, energetic, demanding, assertive and i hate to say this but he really is, naughty. ;-) he easily gets bored in the house so it's a must that i have some activities for him under my sleeve. his assertiveness (read: matigas ang ulo :))  is quite striking and i often find my voice on a high pitch... but he knows my rules, and these are to minimize his mess in the house as much as possible, to listen and follow mommy's orders, and not to play rough with his baby brother. he abide sometimes, but most of the time a lot of reminders and follow-ups are needed. many people though, including his teachers in school, say that he is a well-mannered boy. they have probably compared him with other kids as i have also observed that most kids of iñigo's age are already rude and extremely rowdy. am glad that iñigo is far from being as such.

he also loves his school and has shown improvement in his socialization skills since he first attended preschool as he now interacts with his classmates, with the initiative sometimes coming from him, unlike before when other kids seem to be alien for him.

...and just like the other kids, iñigo never runs out of energy and we always find him running and jumping, even inside the house. he loves to play ball games and is good at them, which only shows that his gross motor skill is already fully developed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

playing soccer on the grounds of don bosco mandaluyong

but what we really love about our eldest son is he remains a happy kid. he loves to laugh, mostly on mundane things, and crack a joke. he can be quite silly though, which jude and i just find normal for his age.

"what's so funny, iñigo?" :)

one time while we were strolling inside greenbelt 5, iñigo saw a young boy who looks exactly like russell of the movie "up". i knew it would happen since he already did it before. he called on to us and pointed to the direction of the kid and said "look dad, it's the chubby boy". it wasn't enough for him this time. he even followed the boy and chanted "chubby boy... chubby boy..." i thought i would faint because it's the daddy of the kid who took notice and glared at him. hahaha.

i still let him watch the tv but i try to limit it to 2-3 hours a day. he also knows my rule in terms of tube viewing, i.e. when the scene is becoming violent, he must turn off the tv. he faithfully abides and is more strict than us as he would remind me or jude when we're watching boxing matches or santino (may bukas pa for him) that "it's not good..." :)

quite surprisingly, iñigo is very heavy even if he looks slim to some. now weighing 18.5 kilos, he is actually at the borderline of becoming overweight.  he still has a good appetite and even hearty sometimes especially when his favorite sinigang is served. he also eats two snacks in the afternoon. growth spurt, maybe. :) am also happy that he is still fond of eating veggies, especially the fiber-rich leafy and green ones. this is something am really thankful for because i know that feeding the little ones is usually difficult.

we're also happy that he is very eager to learn. as of this date, he knows how to count one to 20 and can identify these numbers correctly... thanks to the elevators, remote controls, and other gadgets.  he also knows to tell time in hours, even before it was taught to him in school. he got the concept of time from me since i always give him deadlines and i use the clock for him for reference. he also know phonics by now. his teacher and i were really amazed that he learned it easily since he only goes to school 2-3x a week. we're expecting that he can read simple words when he turns four. though am really not in a hurry when it comes to his reading skill but if it he will show any interests to read early then why not... iñigo loves to read, i mean he loves me to read his books for him and it's a must that i read 2-3 books for him before bedtime. there are even some books that he had already memorized the lines per page. :D

he is also becoming more independent. aside from feeding and bathing himself, he also insists to put on his own clothes (except for those with buttons) and shoes and he does it right.

one of his milestones last month is sleeping at night without wearing any diaper and am proud to say that he is really good on this as he only made two accidents in our first week of trying and after, no more wet sheets! :D i look forward to the days that size XXL diapers will no longer be part of my grocery list. iñigo still refuse to use the toilet bowl when pooping. *sighs* he's still scared until now...

 

...and since we're on the topic of his fears, he is back to his old self who's scared of pools and seas. whenever when we're on the beach he just keeps himself busy by making sandcastles. but it's not only that... to our dismay, iñigo is also now afraid of riding an airplane! even a visit to disneyland would not convince him of going to hong kong if it would require him to ride a plane.

theo at 3 months

theo made his first travel on his third month. it's also during this time that he experienced his first christmas and new year celebration. he attended several parties and had been to many  places, which is unusual for babies his age. we know... :D

he's indeed a busy babe for the past month but theo, who's purely breastfed until, continuous to be healthy and happy.

 

 

development and milestones

- theo keeps on getting bigger and heavier every month. he was weighing 6.1 kilos at 10 weeks and if my guess will be right again, he'll be weighing 7 kilos already on our next visit to his pedia, which is scheduled on the 16th of this month.

- our little baby has now stronger neck muscles as he can already raise his head for a few minutes and rotate it side by side. with this and better vision, he can now look intently at anything that catches his attention. he also now swings his limbs and wiggles his body whenever he likes. it won't take long and soon we'll find him rolling. i can now hear jude saying it's time now to dismantle our bed frame again.

- i love it when he tries to engage me in a conversation with his goos and gurgles. there are even moments when he "talks" incessantly as long as he sees my face. oh my, we have another chatterbox in the house! :) his smiles and giggles are now more defined and he easily gives them away especially when i try to make him laugh.

he's talking to his daddy here

- is teething already starting for theo? it's because he drools a lot even when he's only nine weeks old. i'm sending three to four wet bibs to his hamper everyday, and that doesn't include the gauze diapers which i also use to wipe on his face. he alredy earned the monicker, "drool factory" among jude's friends because of his extraordinary salivation.

those fists are always his favorite...

- unfortunately, i think i have also passed on my allergic rhinitis to theo. december found the boys sneezing and with clogged noses. though theo's allergy to the cold weather is not as bad as his kuya's whose nose i constantly wiped with tissue for several days.  theo also had mild colds but it's more of the booger (sorry for being gross) that concerned me as it blocked his nostrils.

- theo really has a happier disposition. leave him in his crib or rocker with a toy and he's fine, for a few minutes at least. i sometimes catches him giggling over the sounds that his activity gym creates when he kicks it. the toys have more use now than during the time of iñigo who never showed any enthusiasm for this form of entertainment.

- he can now sleep 7 to 8 hours straight at night. :)

 

 

2009: a year full of blessings

year 2009 started with a bang for us when jude was formally hired by his present company january of last year. it was indeed a blessing for us because the move was a lateral promotion for him, which means his income also increased. :)

february came and the reason why God gave jude a better salary was revealead. it's this month that we learned that we were expecting another child! it was really in our plans for 2009 to give iñigo a sibling but we were a bit apprehensive as our budget then--with our old disposable income--was still tight. nevertheless, we planned and i was even wishing that the baby will arrive on the month of june but it's only after four months of trying that i was able to conceive and that was when financial blessings were already pouring in. can i say that God really works wonderfully? amen! :)

we moved to this condo unit, which is just 3 buildings away from jude's office, middle of march. i consider this as a blessing because our life before then was really... uhm... quite miserable as we're not used of waiting for jude until 2 or 3 am because of his new work schedule. i also worried about him driving late at night while he was already exhausted from work.

it was also this month that we had a cebu getaway with an overnight stay in shangri-la mactan, something we rarely do. hehe.

months of april and may went well for us. just the fact that no one in the family got sick, and that we're able to pay our bills and financial obligations brought by jude's sudden separation from P&G are enough to count as blessings.

my parents (lolo joe and lola yolly) celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in june and though we had a simple celebration it was still meaningful, at least, for me. i should also count as a blessing that at their old age my papa and mama are still healthy and fit.

july is iñigo's birth month and we made his 3rd birthday memorable for him by having it in jollibee with his favorite character, i.e. thomas the tank engine, as the theme. the little boy was really so happy and even until now, whenever we pass by that jollibee branch, he'd never fail to remind us that it's where he celebrated his birthday. :that's enough for jude (the financer) and me (the organizer) happy. D

august is daddy''s month and he really had a blast on his birthday as he celebrated it separately with his family and loved ones, and friends. and what a better gift to receive for his birthday but his regularization in the company as his 6-month probationary period already ended...

and this also came with an increase in his salary. :P

aside from it's my birth month, it was september last year when some of the worst hurricanes hit the country and/or the metro. and just by being left unscathed and unaffected by these hurricanes was already something for us as we're already waiting for the coming of our second-born. in fact, we were even in the comforts of a private room in st. lukes hospital as we thought i'd already be popping out the day ondoy wreaked havoc in metro manila.

october came and so was our dear theo! i gave birth to our second born, who's weighing 7 lbs. and 7 oz., via lamaze procedure. he's the biggest blessing we received for 2009 and one of the two special gifts jude and i ever received in our marriage.

it was on october 8th, four days after we received our wonderful advanced anniversary gift, when jude and i celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary. :)

november was a very busy month for us. nothing extraordinary happened except for iñigo who we enrolled in a regular preschool and has now a teacher (a real one, haha) and classmates.

we had theo's christening last december 5th and after a week we made our second and last major travel for 2009, which was in ilocos region (la union, vigan, laoag, pagudpud). it was a vacation well-spent and all of us... i guess theo also did as he seldom cried, hehe... enjoyed it!

last year was indeed a blessed year for us. yes, we had problems and challenges we also dealt with stress--a lot actually. but we chose to look at the glass half-filled. it was on the last week of august when our house in cabuyao was ransacked and i thought i was going to give birth pre-term because it was really stressful for both me and jude. just dealing with the local police and dswd was already a headache. but now, after all the calamities that made thousands of filipinos homeless, we still realized that we are still more blessed and fortunate... we just have to appreciate more on what were given to us  than to grieve on what was taken.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!