Dear Justin,

You’re turning 5 this July, but I still call you “Baby.” That’s because you are and will always be my one and only baby. You are a miracle baby, too! Your Daddy and I never thought we’d have a child of our own because of my medical condition, but God gave you to us after 9 long years of waiting. Thank you for bringing joy and happiness into our lives. We love you so much, Justin!

Love always,

Mommy and Daddy

Of all the things that we failed to capture in photos, it had to be my son’s first steps. Sigh! If my memory serves me right, Justin started walking on his own a day or two after his first birthday. We (him and me) were alone in the house when that monumental event happened. I was taking care of him and was trying to see if he could walk by himself, slowly taking my hands off him, and he did it, his first baby steps!!! How could I take a picture of him when it all happened so fast?

Prior to taking his first steps, Justin was already traversing the tiny space in his baby crib while holding on to its side rails. If he’s braver, then he’d attempt to move from one side to the other side, which means he had to be on his own two feet for a couple of seconds without any rail support. Of course, mommy and daddy were there to cheer him on. He used to walk head first (perhaps because his head was big; it still is), which makes him susceptible to falling, so I was always by his side or behind him to catch him when he stumbles.

Click on the badge above to see more “first steps” stories and pictures.

I've posted my entry early just in case I won't be able to use our PC tonight.

Justin had his first two haircuts done at different kid’s hair salons to make these a fun time for him. His first haircut was traumatic for him, though, as he cried the whole time his head was being shaved. That was done when he was only 1 year old. We failed to take a shot of the actual haircutting, but this was how he looked like afterwards.


Justin’s second haircut happened when he was 2 years and 4 months old in preparation for a playmate’s birthday party that he was going to attend the next day. While he was still hesitant to let the barber touch his hair, he was more cooperative this time around.


Before


After
These days, I only bring Justin to the hair salon at the lobby of our condo where I also have my hair done. It’s more convenient for us, and it’s a lot cheaper than kid’s hair salons.

Click on the badge above to see more Mommy Moments' entries.

Last December 2008, I prepared a list of things I intend to accomplish in the coming months as far as my son Justin is concerned. That list included the following activities: potty training, bottle weaning and less TV watching. Here’s a quick update on that post.

Potty training – Justin is not completely potty trained yet, although he has shown considerable improvement in this area. He has gotten accustomed to wearing briefs, and he doesn’t wet or soil his underwear anymore. When he feels the urge to pee, he asks to be taken to the toilet. He wears a diaper only when he’s about to take his nap or at bedtime, when we go out of the house and when he wants to poop. He doesn’t really want to poop in the toilet, and this started when he was constipated a few weeks back. He finds it easier to do it on his diapers.

Bottle weaning – Justin sometimes drinks milk from a cup, but more often, he drinks milk from his bottle. But he consumes less milk now. He can actually last a day without milk. When we’re out of the house, he doesn’t usually ask for milk anymore, but on the rare occasions that he does, we simply offer him juice instead, and he seems quite content with it. He also goes to bed sometimes without asking for milk. I am actually relieved because less milk at bedtime means less baby bottle tooth decay.

Less TV watching – The two hours Justin spent attending his summer class (9am to 11am) meant no TV watching for two hours every weekday for the past five weeks. And because he was tired from school, he usually just slept in the afternoon, plus, we don’t watch TV in our bedroom anymore before he sleeps at night. I hope this trend won’t change now that his summer class is officially over. I just have to find ways to keep him busy and prevent him from watching too much TV.

I didn’t realize it’s only a few minutes before Friday until I remembered it’s my son’s last day of summer class tomorrow morning. I was so unprepared for this week’s theme I almost thought I won’t have an entry posted.

According to dictionary.com, “silly” means any of the following:
1. stupid or foolish
2. absurd; ridiculous; irrational
3. stunned; dazed
4. lacking seriousness or responsibleness; frivolous

Will the following photos be considered silly? You be the judge of them.


This was taken a few days before Justin turned 1 month old. We actually thought this was a funny pose for father and son. Justin was really asleep, but his daddy was just pretending to be asleep. How’s that for a good actor?


This photo was taken when Justin was 1 year and 4 months old while waiting for our order of Jollibee treats. I think he’s getting a wee bit impatient. He looked so adult-like in this picture, parang “mama” (a grown man).


Taken last year when Justin was 2 years and 3 months old while waiting for the elevator to open. He’s looking kinda lost here. “Where am I, mommy?”
Click on the badge above to see more Mommy Moments' entries.

During one of the scenes from the primetime telenovela that Justin and I were watching, an actress was crying. Curious, Justin asked me.

Justin: Bakit sya cry, mommy? Spank sya ng daddy nya? (Why is she crying, mommy? Did her daddy spank her?)

At 2 years and 8 months old, Justin can already count from one to 30. He has a funny way of saying 30, though.

Justin: ...twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, twenty-ten.

When Justin was just a baby (he still is, but he looks big for his age that I keep forgetting he’s still a baby) and even up to now, bathing my son is a task that I don’t delegate to his yaya (nanny), although in his first few months I would be asking his yaya for help.

When I went back to work after my maternity leave, I remember having to wake my son up early to give him his morning bath. He actually took his bath at 6am on weekdays.

I also never bothered buying my son a baby bath tub. Kids grow so fast, and I figured he would soon outgrow it, so it’s really just a waste of money. I made do with what’s in our bathroom, our ever reliable pail (“balde”) and wash basin (“batya”). Bath time isn’t complete without the water dipper, too (“tabo”).

This picture was taken a few days before Justin's first birthday

And here's a recent picture of Justin while taking a bath

Justin enjoys taking his bath, although lately, it would take a while to make him go to the bathroom because he doesn’t want his play interrupted. But once he immerses himself in the water, there’s no stopping him from turning the faucet on and off, pretending to wash clothes by constantly wringing his washcloth after dipping it into the water, or slathering the water dipper with soap.

If you want to join Mommy Moments, please visit Chris' The Mommy Journey.

Well, it’s not really a toy, but my son Justin considers my cell phone something that he can play with. Every day after my work, he would ask for my cell phone doing all sorts of stuff with it.

These are the things he’s done with my cell phone so far:

1. He takes pictures of just about anyone or anything in the house. He actually took a good shot of mommy last year (See my post “Justin Takes Mommy’s Picture.”)
2. He creates subfolders. More than once, I was surprised to discover new subfolders under my Dictionary folder.
3. He adds new contacts to my phone book. I saw three new entries in my phone book today: E.d, Jd and Tjmd and they all have the same telephone number, 123666.
4. He deleted most of my ringing tones. I’m left with only five ringing tones right now. He also deleted one game, which, unfortunately, is one of his favorites.
5. He plays soccer and Sudoku on my cell phone. He likes to play the soccer game by himself, but the Sudoku game he plays with mommy. I’m the one who tells him what number to key in and where to place it.
6. He has altered my time setting. My cell phone’s clock is now one hour late and I have no idea how to reset it.
7. He calls the numbers in my phone book and when he does, he makes sure he’s standing or sitting as far away from mommy as he can so he can talk to the person on the other line.
8. He texts. Yes, he can. He knows how to put letters and numbers in the message box and he even knows how to send his text message. Sometimes, people listed in my phone book or those I’ve just texted would text me saying they received a garbled message from me. A friend actually thought I sent him a cell phone virus because he couldn’t make out the message. LOL)

Justin is now 2 years, 7 months and 17 days old. I wonder what other gadgets will tickle his fancy when he turns three.

Whenever Justin eats cookies or chips, we usually ask him to get his Winnie the Pooh feeding bowl where we put these finger foods. That has become a habit for quite some time now.

We went to the playground the other day and Justin got envious of a playmate who was having her midmorning snack while playing. I asked his yaya (nanny) to get him something to eat. His yaya then proceeded to unwrap Justin’s food and when he was asked to get some, he said, “Saan ang tasa?” (Where’s the bowl?) [Note: For some reasons, we taught him to call his bowl “tasa,” instead of “mangkok” (the Filipino term for “bowl”).]

Justin is so used to eating from his bowl that he asked for it even if he was outside our house. He thinks that's the normal thing to do.

Yesterday afternoon, hubby, I and Justin trooped to Dentista, Inc. at Shangri-La Plaza Mall for our dental appointments. It was Justin’s first dental visit. I recently discovered two of his milk teeth are beginning to show signs of dental caries.

Justin was fidgeting while waiting for his turn to be checked. He was actually on the verge of tears and was asking us to leave the clinic at once, saying “Ayaw na dentist” (I don’t like the dentist). He only stopped when he saw other children enter the clinic. We told him he shouldn’t be crying because the other kids were not.


Justin with Daddy at the Dentista, Inc.'s waiting area

When Justin’s name was called, he was warmly greeted by the pediatric dentist to make him feel at ease. But he began crying and couldn’t be stopped. So the dentist asked me to be the one to sit on the dental chair and to place Justin on my lap instead.

Dr. D. counted Justin’s milk teeth and noted those that needed to be fixed. She said two needed dental filling and one tooth is starting to show signs of demineralization. She started cleaning Justin’s teeth with cotton afterwards and then painted his teeth with fluoride varnish. Too bad, Justin’s dad wasn’t able to take pictures of Justin when all of these were being done.

Dr. D. said those were the only things she would do. The fixing of the two teeth will have to be performed some other time because the goal yesterday was to familiarize Justin with the dental setup, make him accustomed to having a dentist examine his teeth and make his first dental visit a pleasant experience.

The whole procedure took less than 30 minutes. As a reward, Justin received an orange balloon from Dr. D. I asked Dr. D. if we could have a photo opp with her and told her I would blog about yesterday’s event and she gladly conceded. We’ll be back in her clinic after two weeks.


Dr. D. with Mommy and Justin


Justin's reward: an orange balloon

While I was playing with my son last night, I noticed that two of his milk teeth (his incisors) are showing signs of tooth decay. I brush his teeth twice a day, thinking this is enough to prevent cavities or tooth erosion. I remember asking his pediatrician when I should take him to the dentist and she said anytime. But I didn’t actually think it was necessary anytime soon because up until last night, I didn’t see anything in my son’s teeth that needed prompt attention. I also believe he’s not yet ready to sit on the dental chair and have a doctor examine his baby teeth. Boy, was I wrong!

So when’s the right time for a toddler to go to the dentist? According to Dr. Ed Schooley, vice president and dental director of Delta Dental of Iowa, it is advisable for the child to make his or her first dental checkup after the first tooth shows up, but no later than the child’s first birthday. "Scheduling the first appointment at a young age is a great way to catch oral health problems early, and it also helps the child get acquainted with the dentist and dental office."

An important reason why children should go for early dental visits is to prevent baby bottle tooth decay. This usually happens because of the child’s long-term exposure to sugary liquids. Now, I have finally pinpointed the culprit. You see, even after I’m done brushing Justin’s teeth before he goes to bed, he still asks for milk before he sleeps. Now, we really must see a dentist this weekend.

What about you? Have you taken your kids to the dentist yet?

I’m counting the days now until my son Justin shuns his feeding bottles for good. For several days now, he’s been drinking milk from his cup, not the entire day, though, but a few times each day. As a matter of fact, he ended up using only two bottles last Friday.

Woohoo! This calls for a celebration!

I’m also keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll get rid of his diapers next. To date, he has made several successful attempts at peeing in his potty, and he seems to be enjoying it. But he never really pooped on it, not just yet. He used the toilet once last November, but he’s never done it again.

I'm hoping it won't take him long to unlearn peeing and pooping in his nappy.

What about you? Is your child weaned from the bottle/potty-trained yet?

I browsed through all the earliest photos of my son and noticed he wasn’t really smiling during his first few days/weeks with us. I was actually wondering if smiling is a skill that babies learn to master after a while. I was also not discounting the fact that perhaps, we just weren’t able to capture this precious moment on film.

Oh well, I managed to find one somehow, and this is a photo taken of my son when he was 29 days old. It was his dad who took this picture. I actually used this photo already in one of my previous posts, “Justin and Mommy’s Baby Pictures,” but I’m using this again for this week’s meme.


If you want to join Mommy Moments, please visit Chris' The Mommy Journey.

Justin has some very peculiar habits when it comes to the foods he eats and how he eats them. For a toddler, he likes ketchup, gravy and sandwich spread.

Justin likes to smother his rice with ketchup and gobble up the combination with gusto.

When we’re eating at either Jollibee or Kenny Rogers Roasters, Justin gulps down his gravy straight from the tiny plastic container and he would request for countless refills.

Justin also likes to get a spoonful of sandwich spread and devour it without bread. This is when mommy and daddy take over. We’re the ones getting the sandwich spread from the bottle and we give it to him little by little. We then hide the bottle of sandwich spread when we think he’s had enough.

Do your kids have food quirks, too?

Yesterday was Justin’s first time to be inside a movie house. It wasn’t planned, though. We were having a leisurely walk in the mall, and we happened to pass by the cinema area. What piqued Justin’s interest were the big numbers near the entrance of each cinema. He wanted badly to get inside the theater, so his dad yielded and bought tickets for Adam Sandler's film Bedtime Stories.

I still had to do my grocery shopping, so I begged off, leaving Justin in his dad’s care. I did not leave the two of them immediately, however. I asked the lady guard if I could get inside the theater to see my little boy’s reaction.

Father and son occupied two seats initially, but Justin was uncomfortable in his, so his daddy scooped him up and placed him on his lap instead. I left the two of them in that position. I took advantage of this time alone to do some shoe shopping for my mom and for myself before heading to the supermarket.

After two hours, there was still no text or call from Justin’s dad. I texted him while I was lined up at the cashier to pay for my groceries. When I saw the two of them, I excitedly asked how Justin’s first movie theater experience went.

From the look on hubby’s face, it wasn’t very successful. Why? Hubby recounted that Justin couldn’t stay still in one place and wanted to roam around the theater. Perhaps, he thought it was just another play area where he could do what he wanted and play all he wanted.

And what’s worse? My son pooped. He isn’t potty-trained yet! And that was the end of the story. Father and son only lasted 30 minutes inside the theater, that after having paid Php300.00. We learned earlier that children one year old and above should also pay full flick fare.

What was your kid’s first movie theater experience like?

This is my entry for this week’s theme.

The pictures were taken during the celebrations of Justin’s second birthday. I say “celebrations” because we actually held two birthday parties for him.

The first party was held on a Monday, July 7, 2008, his actual birthday and we had his godparents as guests.


Justin's first birthday cake


Justin about to blow the candle on his first cake


Justin and Mommy with Ninang Jing, Ninang Remie and Ninang Charm
The second party was held on July 12, 2008 with his grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins.


Justin's Barney-inspired cake, a little messed up already


Justin blowing the candle on his second cake


Justin with his birthday gifts
Both parties were held in our small condo unit in Ortigas.

If you want to join Mommy Moments, please visit Chris' The Mommy Journey.

I can’t help but notice the way we, parents of this generation, care for our little ones. (I’m not generalizing here, though.) In our attempt to lessen the amount of work that we need to do while attending to the needs of our children, we like to take shortcuts.

1. We order takeout food instead of cooking for our children.

2. Instead of making our kids eat on their own, we much prefer feeding them, saving us the trouble of having to clean their mess afterwards.

3. We sometimes get irritated by their nonstop blabbering and questioning, so to make them stop, we force them to play or sleep.

4. Instead of reading bedtime stories to our kids or teaching them the things they need to know, we make them watch TV or VCDs/DVDs.

5. We leave it up to the nannies to do everything for our children, which makes our kids wonder if their nannies are their mothers. Ugh!

These things may be due to any of the following: (1) we’re tired from work, (2) we’re too old to keep up, or (3) we’re too lazy.

So, which of the things listed above are you guilty of doing?

Justin can now recite numbers 1 to 20 in the blink of an eye. He can only identify numbers 1 to 8, however. Last night, while going through his Brainy Baby book on numbers, I asked him a question.

Mommy: “Baby, where is number 6?”

Justin’s eyes were actually fixed on numbers 9 and 10 at that time. He then turned the book upside down.

Justin: “Number 6, Mommy” (while pointing to the inverted number 9).

My son Justin, now two years and six months old, is more clingy than ever to mommy. This shift in behavior actually started when his yaya (nanny) went home to the province last December and never came back. Perhaps, he felt he lost a mother figure there.

In the morning when he wakes up, the first person he seeks is me. When he rouses from sleep without me by his side, he cries and desperately looks for me. At night, when I’m still doing some household chores and it’s his bedtime already, he throws a tantrum, wails violently and wouldn’t stop until I come to his rescue.

I’m a work-at-home mom, and I’ve been working in our bedroom since July of last year without my son’s knowledge. This means I’m able to overhear the conversations going on in the living room between my son and his grandparents. Every day, he repeatedly asks his lolo and lola if I’m arriving anytime soon even when I’ve just been gone for a few minutes.

I know my son loves me very much, judging from the way he always wants to be with me. And I don’t have a problem with that because I love him to the hilt and there’s nothing I want more than to spend most, if not all, of my time with him. But this extreme “clinginess” has its downsides, too, such as I can’t do anything for myself anymore.

I can’t stay long in the bathroom because he’d be pounding on the door nonstop. I can’t take a nap when I want to because he’d try his best to open my eyes and make me watch him as he plays or urges me to play with him. I can’t talk to anybody for longer than 3 minutes because he wants my full attention.

My little one simply knocks the life out of me sometimes. Not that I’m complaining.