Kids Say the Darndest Things!

Oh yes, kids do say the darndest things.


Us: Oh look, there's Dora! and Boots!
Baby: Ga-ga!
Us: Can you say "Do... Ra..., Do-Ra"!
Baby: Ga-ga! (Claps her hand gleefully)
Us: Where's Dora?
Baby: Ga-ga!
Us: How about Do... Ra?
Baby: Boot.


Yes, without the "s". 


This stemmed from the time when she could only gurgle and coo and say just a couple of syllables, one of them being "Ga".  When we introduced her to Dora cartoons, she was so happy she kept on saying "Ga-ga!".  The preceding conversation pattern then became commonplace.


Well, at least she can say "Boot".
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Us: Do you want to go out to walk?
Baby: Go-go! Go-go!
Us: Let's go and walk outside!
Baby: Wo. Wo.
Us: Do you want to chase the butterflies?
Baby: Chesh, chesh.  Bat-ta. (Then goes running after them)
Us: You look tired now.  Let's go sit down.
Baby: Syit, syit.


She does not have a pure "s" sound yet.  When she tries it out, it comes out as "sh".  Like "chipsh", "gipsh" (grapes).


Go on, try saying "syit" out loud. 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  
Us: Wow, look at the birds flying.
Baby: (While craning her head upwards) Ba-dee, ba-dee.
Us: And there's a dog.
Baby: Hi de, do. (Hi there, dog.)
Us: And there's a cat.
Baby: Cat, cat.
Us: And look, there's a frog.
Baby: Fwok.
Us: Can you say "frog"?
Baby: Fwok.
Us: How about "froggie"?
Baby: Fwok.


She can utter the hard "g" sound for Dora/Ga-ga, but not for frog.


We can't win.
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Baby: Mi-mi! Mi-mi!
Us: Oh, so you want milk?
Baby: Mi-mi! Mi-mi! (Happily chugs her milk)
 
Baby: (Upon seeing a glass of water) Cok, cok.
Us: That's water, not Coke. Water.
Baby: Cok. (Then cheerfully drinks the water)
 
Baby: (Upon seeing a pitcher of juice) Cok, cok.
Us: That's juice, not Coke.  Juice.
Baby: Cok. (Then eagerly drinks the juice)
 
When the little one saw a bottle of Coca-cola, she pointed to it, and kept her finger up until we told her what it was.
 
We told her it was "Coke".  Then she saw us pour it into glasses and drink it.
 
Thereafter, everytime she wanted a drink (except for milk), she would say just one word.
 
"Cok" is it.

Do Not Disturb

No, we did not put that pillow over her eyes. She did it herself.

Yes, she really does sleep like this. This was not staged.

No, she normally does not sleep holding a bottle of milk. She must have been very tired that night though, so she fell asleep like a sentinel holding her weapon.  A vicious, scary.. bottle of milk.

Yes, she does want her stuffed toys around her, esp. the Barney dolls and the colorful Care Bear, as well as the violet elephant.

Note the judicious sprinkling of purple toys around her.  I think she gets it from me!

For some reason that we cannot fathom, she wants to cover her head with her pink pillow before she can sleep.  For nap-times this ritual can be skipped.  Night-time beddie-byes are another matter.

Apparently she wants complete darkness when she is about to fall asleep at night.  Even though all the lights are turned off already, she still persists in this habit.

The pillow is light enough so it cannot smother her.  She also does not cover her nose, just the eye portion. 

Sleep masks, here she comes!

There's Something In the Air...

Yippee, it's December!

There seems to be a switch in my brain that makes the kid in me go oh-so-excited once December comes around. 

December means Christmas.  Simbang Gabi.  Piping-hot bibingka and buttery puto bumbong.  Yuletide carols that bring to mind a more innocent time (no, it is simply NOT the same having to listen to these ear-splitting songs blaring over the sound systems in malls!).

Nippy evenings that invite you into taking a relaxed stroll outside.  Dewy mornings that seem to bring promises of fresh starts.  Reconnecting with family members and last-seen-a-few-months/years-back relatives, all the while munching on holiday goodies that everybody has brought to share.

Gifts, gifts, and gifts! Thinking of what to give family and friends, and making endless lists (for me half the fun is in making them!).  Doing the rounds of countless bazaars, just taking a peek at all the gaily decorated thingamajigs that seem to beckon (oftentimes successfully) you into taking a second glance.. and a third... Wrapping gifts with brightly colored paper and ribbons.  And putting them under the Christmas tree.  And the fun part -- yes, even for adults -- receiving and opening presents!  

For me, the time for setting up the Christmas tree is right after All Saints' and All Souls' Days.  That's my mental marker.  After the somber mood and time of reflection during the early days of November, the stage is now set for merrymaking and laughter, for counting one's blessings and giving thanks.  Then it's time to take out the tree and star and boxes of lights and balls and garlands from the storage closet and start erecting that ubiquitous symbol of the season.

Our Christmas tree has been put up, just waiting for the presents to be placed underneath it.  My older daughter helped me, and she was so excited!  She wanted to put brightly-hued balls all over the tree, while I wanted it to have just gold ornaments this time.  We compromised -- I promised to hang the other colored balls around the house, as long as the tree was left in its monochromatic glory, haha!  She has also always been the one to put the star as a finishing touch -- quite a joyful experience for her every time.

 

Our little Christmas manger scene has also been set out. I like to turn the living room lights down low during evenings, turn on the lights, and just sit back with my husband and enjoy the soft, warm glow that watching the twinklers gives me.  It makes me feel that somehow, in that little pocket of time, everything is at peace in my world. It makes me thankful.  It makes me feel.. blessed.

It may sound naive to some, that I still hold a feeling of wonder whenever Christmas comes around, esp. in this day and age when life is so fast-paced and modern and diverse. Christmas just brings me hope that there is still a lot of goodness in the world.

This is what I would like my daughters to believe. This is what I hope they will remember when it is their turn to set up their own Christmas trees with their own families.  

It must really be something in the air -- I feel so hopeful and lighthearted, grateful and at peace. What I would give to have this feeling stay on even after the holidays!

Happy holidays everyone!

The Weekend is Here!

The weekend is here!       

That has got to be the mantra of those who look forward to some R&R after a gruelling  week in the workplace.  One does not even need to wait for Saturday to officially come -- once the work is laid to rest on Friday, then it's the weekend!  I think that Fridays are days where working people are most upbeat, simply because after being frazzled for four days, this last day gives them something to look forward to, and pressures and deadlines can now be taken with a spoonful of sugar.

Right now the whole house is quiet, everyone else is still abed. Hmm, what to do, what to do in this little two-day pocket of "work-less-ness"?

I want to write -- which is what I am doing now anyway.  Somebody once said that to be a writer meant practicing one's craft diligently.  Would that I could have that discipline!  But then what would I write about?  Anything that catches my fancy, even stream-of-consciousness style writing would be a good way to flex these brain cells.

Maybe I should bake?  I find baking a therapeutic task.  Immersing oneself in the moment of mixing and combining all these disparate ingredients, allowing chemistry and heat transfer to do their magic (the chemical engineer in me could not resist putting these in, haha!), then put in some artistic finishing touches, and voila!  Something tangible, something yummy! 

Or put up the Christmas tree and other Yuletide trimmings around the house.  Halloween is over now, and I think I'm actually late already by Filipino standards.  My five year-old has been counting down the days to Christmas, and has been barraging me with questions as  to when the tree would be up and whether she could decide the decor arrangements.  I told her she could tell me her plans and I would give the final go-ahead.  Ha!  I smack of management-speak now!

The fine weather is holding, so maybe I should also go out and walk around with the baby in tow.  We've lately seen some interesting birds visiting our yard and the golf course in our residential area: what looked to be white spoonbills and blue swifts, apart from the occasional crow and the ubiquitous brown maya.  We've also tried to grow some fruits and veggies in the backyard, and the papaya trees are bearing fruit -- lots of it!  Amateur naturalism gives the little ones a chance to learn and appreciate the things around them.

Of course I can always go grocery-shopping, what with an SM mall just ten minutes away.  I can just hear the Christmas carols already being played over the airwaves and broadcast full-blast over the mall's sound system. Not a very enticing thought though.  Just thinking about the crowds that are surely doing their early Christmas shopping is enough to make me think twice about it.

We could go on a road trip, just driving around with no particular destination in mind, and just see where our fancy takes us, and absorb the scenery that we normally take for granted during time-driven trips. This, however, is not an option right now, as both hubby and I are on-call at the plant this weekend.  Thankfully we do not have to go to the office so we can at least rest at home.

I could pick and choose from all of these and more, and hope that the end result is the same: that I come out of it energized and ready to face another week.  Until the next Friday comes again.

Melancholy Comes From Two Front Teeth

Two front teeth?  Why the heck should they bring about melancholy, you ask.

My 6-month old daughter now has two teeth, her lower middle two front teeth, to be exact.  And though seeing them made me feel proud and happy that she is developing well, that she is on her way to becoming a toddler soon, at the same time it made me sad.

Her two front teeth for me represent the beginning of her steps to independence.  She can now start to chew semi-solids.  Eventually she will graduate to eating crunchier (and hopefully still healthy) stuff.  Then she will move on to thinking for herself and moving independently -- crawling, standing, toddling along, then on to full blown walking and running.

And before I know it she will be grown up.

The logical part of my brain tells me that this is not yet to come for several years more.  However, the mothering part of me can't help but feel melancholic at this.  Of course, nobody wants their children to be fully dependent on them forever.  Everybody wants their children to grow up the best at anything and everything.

I guess what I'm trying to drive at here is that when my kids are all grown up, I will pine for the days when they were young and innocent and carefree.  When Mama and Papa could solve almost everything for them.  When their world was simple and uncomplicated.

I cannot prevent the cares of the world from being part of my daugters' lives, anymore than I can stop the passage of time.  I can just cherish the moments when they are still small and look at me with shining eyes and want to be with me always.

Time will come when they will have their own wings and soar on their own.

Until then though, I will count my blessings and be thankful.  My little girl's songs and dances and artwork.  My baby's gurgles and laughter, even as her two front teeth make me both happy and sad.

Bayawak Alert!

What is the English name for bayawak anyway? I always thought it was iguana, but now, thanks to Google, I found out it is actually monitor lizard.

Earlier this afternoon we had a bayawak alert -- we received a call from the security guards in our residential compound regarding a bayawak on the loose, and which they actually spotted running in our house's direction.

Of course we all had to grab the camera and come running out to goggle at the bayawak which seemed to be serenely clinging on to the woodwork under the roof eaves of our house. It was about 4 feet from tail to snout (or nose?) and had a spotted dark green-and-yellow-and-brown body.

The guards then tried to lure the creature down and attempted to catch it, but alas, it was much too agile for them. A chase then ensued, with humans trying to nab the fleeing reptile through the grass and bushes in our yard. The bayawak won hands down, to the consternation of the guards.

Bye-bye pulutan.

Oh, the Ants Go Marching One By One...

Sweet things = ant fodder. Right?

Wrong! In our case, it is not just sweet, sticky things that attract ants. The pesky little critters also swarm on itlog na maalat (salted eggs) and instant noodle soup packs! Who would have expected that they would also have a penchant for these things? I mean, itlog na maalat? Maalat nga e, hindi matamis!

One time I brought out some butter to soften, as I needed it for baking. After 30 minutes at the countertop I checked on it, and saw, to my surprise, a number of black ants embedded in the butter, much like prehistoric insects embedded in amber -- just not as decorative! Aargh!

There does not seem to be any escape. Blasting their known hideaways with insecticide does not seem to work -- they keep on coming back with a vengeance. Maybe we should all just learn to coexist peacefully. After all, they're just trying to scrounge for food, right?

Or we could just keep on blitzing them with Baygon.