(Almost) Walking Drama King

EJ is now in the walking stage (though he usually clings on us for support) where he touches, swipes, eats, smells anything within his reach. This warrants constant supervision and close monitoring, lest he eat a piece of paper or a pair of slippers, God forbid. This means we have to follow him around the room, steer him away from the plugs and outlets, snatch away dirty things he collected along the way, and watch him do everything all over again.

But what amuses us now is his Drama King moments. He has since perfected his "woe-is-me" pouty look to the point of scrunching his face and sniffing with a little tears in his eyes, just so he gets what he wants. And when he does -- total transformation in a snap. All traces of "woe-is-me" is gone, a mischievous, triumphant smile replaces the pout, with drool on the side. And he got all of us hook, line and sinker.

Tsktsk. He's the King, all right.

Bust It Baby...

Nope this ain't the song by Plies (altho I love that song, the Pt. 2). This is about my baby, EJ, busting his lip tonight. Sigh.

He was in the middle of his usual mini-tantrum when he accidentally hit his lower lip on the (wooden) edge of the bed. Then he shrieked and cried and threw up (triggered by his banshee-cries) and there was blood oozing from the left part of his lower lip. I was in a deer-in-headlights moment again. My mind went momentarily blank and all I could do was stare at my baby and his bloody lip. Then my senses kicked in and I knew I had to get his washcloth and wipe him up (wowo was holding him anyway) and the works. Well, good thing that by the time I finished heating water and preparing his change of clothes, he stopped crying and was already reading a book. Whew.

I know this is part of the toddler years. But unlike the song, I'm not looking forward to the Pt. 2 of this. =)

What Terrible Two's?!?

Okay, whoever coined the term "Terrible Two's" has to move his calendar a year earlier. My son, at 15months, is already learning to act up. LOL. Nothing major-major YET, so I'm kinda anxious what the real terrible two's might bring.

His concept of obeying authority lasts 5 seconds, after which he shall proceed to do the offense for the nth time despite repeated attention calls. Yes, he stops and hesitates, but proceeds. He also has this attitude that if you reprimand him, he'll reprimand you back, with matching finger wagging. LMAO. He has this "woe-is-me" look and "paos" cry that make him look like an abandoned "aping-api" baby. He actually cracks us up but.  we have to hide our reactions because he might think it's right (even if it is amusing). His pedia said that we just have to learn more patience because that is normal at his age, and if we get mad and scold him he cannot understand yet and might even pick-up the act of scolding -- and do that to everyone else around him.

Thank goodness for wowo and wowa who has additional patience :D I have yet to stretch mine longer and longer.  He really tests our patience but once he gives us that mischievous grin, all else melts. Oh what that lil boy can do :)

Waterworld

It's getting harder and harder to end EJ's bath time. He's enjoying his waterworld very much that pulling him out requires strategic planning, effective diversion and good old brute force. 

Of course, I know that I am fortunate enough not to have a son who kicks and screams while being bathed. I wanna enroll him to kiddie swimming lessons, but swimming diapers are expensive, jeez! Maybe I can just teach him to love the pool as much as I do :) 

If he loves the water this much already, i wonder if he's gonna be a beach bum when he grows up? I guess I don't mind... As long as he takes me with him. ;D

Mama or Mamam??

Today, EJ has been unusually clingy to me. Always wanting to be carried, always wanting to go out of the room / house. Whenever I put him in the crib, he would switch into his woe-is-me pouty look and cry out "Mamamamama!" with his arms waving. Sometimes he pulls my top so that I'd carry him, sometimes he would point to the milk bottles.

So, is it "Mama" or "Mamam"?

Want to be hugged or want to be fed? :D

That's something I would have to figure out on my own, I guess. I wouldn't really know for sure until I try feeding him.

I guess that's what new moms (or even experienced ones, I suppose) go through -- trial and error periods since the kids have different ways of expressing their desires.

Well as long as he keeps on giving me gigil-kisses then I'm ok. :)

(Mama) Deer-in-Headlight Moment

Had a brief deer-in-headlights moment earlier while EJ was shrieking like a banshee. You know, that spaced-out, eyes-wide-open, mind-totally-blank moment we sometimes have when faced with a certain situation. I couldn't get EJ to stop crying, neither does he want milk, or cookies, or being carried a certain way. I think it's his teeth that's bothering him. Teeth, plural, because this boy always grow them by pairs. Poor lil dude.

Thank goodness for his wowo's comfort, he finally calmed down and is now asleep. For how long, I dunno. It just bothers me to feel helpless in his discomfort. If only I can absorb his (tooth --err-- teeth) pain I would.

I wish my hubby was here.

Bed Weather

I love waking up to cool freshly-rained weather. I call it bed weather, because it either makes me want to bury myself deeper in my blanket and pillows and sleep or get a good book and likewise bury myself deeper in my blanket and pillows. Or maybe have a cup of thick cacao (local hot choco) and read a good book in my bed.

Which is something I used to do. Past tense.

This morning I woke up, sighed and smiled at the weather. I got ready to bury myself deeper into my pillows when "Knock! Knock!" In came my boss, carried by his wowa, with her exclaiming,"Hindi cya natulog!" while handing me a giggling baby.

Vamoose. My dream of relaxation was overcome by the weight of my 20+lbs baby bouncing on the bed. Then came the mischievous smile and the early morn gigil-kiss and I forgot about my vamoosed relaxation. It's amazing what your baby's naughty grin can do. I just hope he doesn't use it on girls when he grows up. Lol!

So then my bed weather morning was transformed from being a luxury to merely a blog topic.
I'll see you again one day. :)

Mother's Day: Stranded at the Mall

Because of the (then) moderately rainy weather, Mom & I decided to run errands at a nearby SM, leaving my dad and my son at home for the meantime.

In the middle of the mall, in the midst of looking at plasticware, we heard a loud crackle outside. WTH?! Was that thunder, heard even in the lower ground floor of the mall? So we went back up and true enough, we came face to face with umbrella-carrying-jacket-wearing people, some of them drenched in rain. So it IS raining -- hard!

We wanted to go home to dad and EJ, but dad was adamant about us travelling in the midst of zero-visibility, wrath-spreading rain. He'd rather we wait for the rain to subside than risk being stranded outside (wow, did I just rhyme?). I guess we should be thrilled, right? More time to shop, more time to relax -- NOT. I guess it's the mother instinct in both of us, that we wanted to throw caution to the winds and go home.

So then mom and I actually decided to go home. We went to the basement parking, put our stuff in, and called dad. "We're going home."
Dad said, "Not yet. It's too dangerous."
I said, "Okay then we're not yet going home."
So much for throwing caution to the (strong) winds.

So as we were trudging back to the mall entrance, POOF. The lights went out. Think dark, wet basement parking, it doesn't exactly give you a warm and fuzzy feeling, does it? I instinctively grabbed mom's hand and pulled her to one side. I knew we were thinking of the same thing: brownout + EJ = not good.

But the rain still wouldn't let up. I wanted to treat her to a mani-pedi, but we were both too eager to go home asap. We ended up eating snacks while passing the time, and zooming back to the car as soon as we heard the rain tame down. Oh and the previously 20min drive home took an hour.

So then I realized, we actually spent the afternoon being what today is supposed to be commemorating -- being Mothers. Spending a better part of the afternoon worried about my kid in his aircon-deprived state while trying to run other errands is so Mommy-ish. Funny, but maybe it fits Mother's Day too, in a panicky sort of way.

Oh, and the wall posts, tags, and text messages from friends and relatives made this day even more significant for me too. I was a very new mom this time last year but this time it feels more special. Maybe it's the added year of internalization? Or maybe because EJ can now show appreciation (and disdain haha) more? Or maybe because EJ can already make me feel like a mother who has done something for him.... At any rate, this day has been a happy day for me, storm and all.

Again, Happy Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day, Momma's!!!

Just want to greet Mothers of all ages a Happy Happy Mother's Day!!!

They say this is the hardest but best job in the world -- because working hours are 24/7 with no option for resignation, yet the compensation is priceless: a smile, giggle, kiss, and hug from your little one and everything is worth it.

However, as we are still human and patience and stamina do run out sometimes, we momma's deserve a break every once in a while. I hope we get to enjoy this day today with our loved ones.

Cheers momma's! We are loved :)