DD1's First Day of School

I've been late posting our DD1's first day of school pictures. Anyways, we were all excited for it will be her first time to be in school. She didn't experience being in a day care so we're kind of excited and anxious how she's going to handle being away from us.

Her class started at 12:30 so her wake up schedule at 9am is still okay. When she woke up that morning I told her she is going to school. She was excited as well that she wanted to change so early.

We got to her school five minutes early. Daddy just followed us from his job. He got there on time that we both went inside to drop her off. She did not cry at all when we told her we're about to leave. She was quite but smiling seeing other kids her age.

Hubby told me that I will cry once we left the school. Although I did not cry but I felt so sad that I wanted to stay in the school and wait for her there. It's a different feeling. Waiting for another 2 1/2 hours was like a lifetime. When I picked her up they were at the school playground. I saw that she was too excited playing around. She don't even wanna go home but just play still.

She still cannot determine the routine of school for two days and her gymnastics class but she always remind me that she will go to school and gymnastics almost everyday.

Gymnastics Class

I said to myself, this is it, the busy schedule begins once your kids started going to school. Our DD1 is now in preschool and at the same time we enrolled her in gymnastics. When I was on my first trimester last year she was in a dance class. The problem with it was I have to dance with her as well. It was impossible for me to do it while I was very pregnant so she stopped.

Now she is in gymnastics class once a week. She can do what the coach ask them to do except somersault on a padded mat or on a bar. She is just a scared baby doing it. She also need to listen more to her coach. I think because her patience is not that long yet. She follow instruction but then do other things watching other kids and just run and jump around. Since she was there for only two sessions I am pretty sure she'll improve in the long run. It's her first time with gymnastics and 50 minutes per session is such a short time to see improvement right away.

DD2 @ 5 Months

Exactly today our DD2 turned five months old. I am so proud of her and her milestones. She is just growing fast but still remain a feisty little one from ever since she was born. She still cries a lot and now she always want to be with Mommy.

Her milestones includes laughing, giggling when she's tickled, she can roll over and tries to push with her legs, grabbing everything she can get hold of, not liking the bottle very much, she says bababa and mamama when she is crying and wakes up very early and babbles away in bed. As to her sleeping time, she can already sleep in longer stretches.

I think right now because of her teething she is often grumpy. She is really letting us know with her discomfort. Tomorrow she will have a pedia appointment for her follow up weight check. I hope she is now back on track. As parents we only wish that our little ones are healthy. I am just glad that despite with the concern on her weight gain she is very much active and healthy.

Growth Spurt and Teething

I believe our DD2 is experiencing growth spurt again. She likes to be fed always and is a sleepy head. According to the forums I frequented to read about baby's developments their babies her age also going through the same. One thing also that I noticed is her bowel became irregular. This is the first time that she goes for two days without bowel movement. I am concerned because this is the first time. If ever she will not go tomorrow then I will definitely consult the doctor on Wednesday during her check up.

On another note, she is now rooling alot. It is because she is teething. She love biting or putting everything she can get hold of to her mouth. I feel that she is not comfortable with the pain she is feeling with teething but I am hoping she'll be a trooper when it really comes out. I didn't start feeding her solids yet since I wanted to wait until next month. Accordingly, six months is ideal to preven food allergies. But I noticed she like to eat already since she look at us intently during meal times and she chews too as if she is eating something. Depending on her pedia's recommendation on Wednesday we may try giving her something. I am so excited for the coming milestones for her next month. Babies just grow up very fast and every day should be treasured because it will not happen again.

First Pony Ride

On August 26 we went on post to watch the Sesame Street Live show. Our DD1 enjoyed it very much. The show wasn't that long. Afterward we went to its outdoor displays of different booths and play areas.

One of the rides she enjoyed so much was the pony ride. It was her first ride and we saw how excited she was. Now that she's growing up there are so many things we want her to experience. It's our great joy seeing her learning on these different experiences. We believe that introducing her to various activities can help in her development.

We are hoping that as the days goes on she will be more willing to try different things. She still has the apprehension or fear that she feels every time she try something new. But in fairness she is showing interest though. We are very proud of her even the smallest achievement she will have.

Demanding Baby

As our DD2 is growing older she became more demanding as well. She is now 20 weeks and seemed like she also developed separation anxiety from me. Right now she is still trying to adjust with Daddy being home. When hubby hold her she will look at me and then look at her Daddy and she'll cry. Even if my other friends held her she will cry also. I can't stay away longer without her crying out loud.

Her patience is definitely very short that staying five minutes in her gym mat, bouner, car seat, or just laying down with toys is like lifetime to her. She don't like being alone too. If I put her in her bouncer I have to carry her if I go to other room or else she will get upset and cry hard. She is learning to play by herself but you need to be by her side too so she will behave for even just a few minutes.

But I am enjoying now that she's growing coz she reply with gigles every time you play with her. DD1 is also enjoying the time that she gets to play with her sister. The ate is very gentle with her and she love it when her little sister laugh with her.

Excited for our Preschooler

I am one excited Mom because our dear toddler is going to school starting this September. I've been searching for preschool since last year and the one we decided to enroll our DD1 is a preschool run by the Methodist church not far from where we live.

Last week, the day after hubby came home, I told him we have to visit the preschool. We arrived there around afternoon time and by the looks of it hubby kind of not liking it. I told him it's okay we'll just check another school if you don't like it. So we turned around and was about to go back home. When we were at the corner hubby said let's check anyway coz we're already here. And so we go back and parked again.

There's only the preschool director inside. We inquired about their school and then she showed us around. Still hubby was not decided. Yesterday we attended the school open house/orientation. It was a fun one hour. Our DD1 enjoyed her soon to be classroom and got to meet her future classmates as well. This morning hubby went back to the school and registered our DD1. There will be ten preschoolers in their class and two teachers. The ratio is 1:5 and that is good balance.

Hubby told me earlier that he bet I will cry once I left DD1 in her school. I think so I will. Even now I still can't imagine she will be away from me for 2 hours and 30 minutes two days a week. And how time flies, I now have a student. I told hubby if only I can stay in their school the whole time I really will.

DD2 @ 4 Months

Wow our DD2 is now four months old. It's amazing how times just rolled by. She is getting bigger too by the minute :-) On the 17th I brought her to the hospital for her 4th month well-baby-check. It went well. She had three vaccinations, two shots and one oral. She was tough in taking those only cried a few seconds. Her development is on track but one thing concerns me the most is her weight. She did not gain as much as she should have.

I am solely breastfeeding her and I know that my breast milk somehow became low when I started taking the pills. According to my OB it will not affect milk production but I think it does a little to me. So I told DD2 Pedia that I will supplement her with formula and wait til she's six months to officially start her solids. So next week I will bring DD2 to the clinic and have her weight check then we will see how much she gained in two weeks time.

I am giving her formula at least twice a day but she won't drink much at all. I think she will take more when hubby give it to her than me. I am trying different bottle nipples also. So far she likes the medela and avent. For the past days I noticed a difference from last week so I hope it will be consistent and at least she gains a pound or two when we go to her weighing in.

DD2 @ 3 Months

Wow our baby turned three months already :-) She's growing fast. Every day I make sure to enjoy everything with her. My two little girls are my life and the days that pass cannot be brought back again so I better enjoy and savor it. Their daddy misses a lot of their growing moments because of his work but we are making sure they don't feel that void. Hubby get to see and talk to them everyday online and it'd the best way to nothing.

Now that she's three months old, there are so many firsts already. I can play with her or her big sister and she can reply with her cute smile and giggles. She moves a lot now and is trying to put everything she can hold on to her mouth. She can already sleep long stretches at night and during her naps as well. She is still very sensitive and cry easily when over stimulated. She can enjoy her bouncer or gym mat but make sure to take her out not longer than 15 minutes or she'll cry inconsolably.

Our DD2 @ One Month

After a month of giving birth I am very happy that our DD2 is thriving and healthy. At one month of life she spent it most on sleeping. She'll only wake up to pee, poop and eat then cry in between. I am breastfeeding exclusively and she's eating on demand. Most of my time is spent with her; with feedings and carrying her around. I noticed that she like to be held while sleeping. If I put her down she will cry.

The picture was taken during her ate's 3rd birthday party in May.

Our DD @ 34 Months

Our 34 month old like playing pretend now and loves to dress up. When she wake up in the morning she will go to her closet and get a dress or anything that she fancies to wear. I left her yesterday at my friend's and when I got there after doing my errands our DD and her friend AJ both were in a dance wear. My friend said that their playing dress up and were dancing. I guess this summer I may have to enroll her back in a dance class. At least hubby will be here already.

Another thing I need to look into is looking for pre-school for her. I already checked out the ones nearby but I have to wait for hubby's decision in April if we are going to move or not. We both wanted her to be enrolled this September so hopefully there'll be a decision by then. As to her preparedness for school, I think she'll be okay. She loves to be with other kids, love to learn new things, she can identify all the letters in the alphabet and she can count 1-10. She also like to read now than before. I need to bring her more to the library and make her love books more. I am doing my best of reading to her everyday not only at night before bed.

By next month she'll be a big sissy and I hope she can easily adjust of having another baby in the house. Right now she is very sweet and every morning when she wake up she don't forget to say good morning sissy and touch my tummy. She love kissing my tummy as well. I know there will be sibling rivalry but I am praying she'll be cooperative to me since it will be the three of us after two weeks when their Dad return overseas. I am now looking at how handful everything will be but I know everything will be alright :-)

Our 33 Month Old Tot

Our DD turned 33 months old on the 13th and as usual you can observe differences while they're growing up. The highlight for this age is about bribery. I read many articles about bribing your toddler to do something and giving rewards. But a very serious reminder of not over doing it.

Honestly, I do bribe our DD when she gets stubborn to listen. Like for example, we go to our friends house and when it's time for us to go home it will take me time to let her put on her shoes and jacket because she don't wanna go home. She wanted to stay and play. So I will tell her if you follow Mommy then we can go to McDonald's to play next time. Also at home, when she started messing with her toys and let her put it away, there are times she just do it after she is done but sometimes I have to ask her if she is a good girl to clean up her mess.

Calling her a good girl and praising her for doing a good job also do the trick in making her to cooperate with me. Our patience will really be tested when we have a toddler. I get frustrated at times that I wanted to pull my hair :-) but they are also very sweet and always give you smile even at its worst.

Just recently I taught her how to use the mouse. Now, she can use it to navigate her favorite site, starfall.com. Every morning that is what she wants to do. While I make breakfast and do some cleaning, she will be in front of the computer. She like to do the make a match where you have to match the pictures with the letter it starts. Sometimes during the day I will have a competition already that I have to beg her to do other things so I can use the computer. What I will do before she can play is to make a deal with her. She can have her time but if I say it's Mommy's turn she has to share. For now it is working and hopefully it will stay the same.

Our Potty Training Experience

Potty training is for me one of the hardest things in raising your toddler :-) If you are patient, here you need to have tons and tons of patience. When our daughter turned two I was looking for signs that she is ready for potty training. Among the signs are those I read in books and from other Mommies like telling you that she needs to go, if she acts like she's holding back, and also if she will squat on the sides. I've seen those signs already so I bought her a potty. The one I bought has a lid that is very hard to open. Even myself will use two hands to open it. She did not like using it. I decided to replace it with one that will make a sound when she uses and is easy to open to encourage her to sit on the potty.

I tried to encourage her to use the potty but because we always go out I wasn't able to focus on training her. We also went to the Philippines for a short vacation so the training went into a halt. When we got back here we got busy preparing for hubby's deployment. When hubby left I met some friends and we got together a lot that the training is just impossible to pushed through. In November I started potty training again. I noticed that even though she is going she is holding it because she kind of scared to pee on the potty. I did not forced her to and just waited if she is more ready.

By the end of the December when we're mostly at home, I tried my best to focus and set aside days to train her. I know she is very ready because she will tell me she wanted to potty but my problem was how to encourage her to let go in the potty instead of her diaper. One day I did not put diaper on her. I told her if she wants to do nos. 1 and 2 she needs to let me know. But instead she will tell me she needs diaper because she needed it. So at her cue I brought her to the bathroom. She insisted to have a diaper but I did not let her. She was sitting on her potty and she also asked me to sit on the toilet so I did. Then suddenly I heard the potty music went off signaling that she peed. The first time she peed on it she had the shock look on her face and when I look at it, it was half full :-) I clapped my hands, hugged her and told her great job. She was very happy as well and said "I did it Mommy".

She only did once on the potty and on her undies twice that day. During the night I put diaper on her. The next days showed an improvement. She went back to the potty many times but only peed twice in there the whole day. It will really test your patience. As days progresses, the potty training also went well. She peed on the potty more often but won't do no. 2 in there. That was my second problem. How to let her do no. 2 on the potty.

Early this year I was coaxing her to poop in her potty when I sensed that she need to. The first time that she successfully went no. 2 in her potty was when I left her alone in the bathroom. I told her that I know she wanted to go and she can only get up when she is done. I was watching her from the sides, observing her without her knowing. I went back to the computer and then I heard she was calling me. She got up and told me she have some "nom, nom, nom" in the potty. I was laughing by her description and true enough she succeeded.

Right now I would say she is doing great. When we are at home she is no longer wearing a diaper. I started not putting a diaper on her already and so far we had two accidents happened. The first one was during the second night she was diaper-less but I was glad I was able to caught it before she totally made us wet. I let her up and she finished in her potty. The second accident happened last night. I supposed to let her up around 1am. But I was late and before I knew it she was done already. I put a thick towel on her side of the bed so changing the bedding was not necessary.

During day time that we're out, I still let her wear diaper but surprisingly she will ask me to go to the bathroom instead of using her diaper. I even told her to use her diaper since we are in the store but she will wait until we get home to pee. Her diaper is always dry and she'll take it off when we get home. I am very proud of how fast she learned. I think because I waited for her to be totally ready. Although it is tiring to always accompany her to the bathroom every time she will say she need to potty but you need to be more patient and showed them your support. I am all praises at her every time. She love hearing it over and over and it encourages her to go to the potty when she needs it.

My goal of having her potty trained before her 3rd birthday is showing some success. I am very happy that she is also showing independence now of going to the potty by herself. She still need time to be totally potty trained, no accidents, but right now I am satisfied of how much she accomplished. It maybe hard but it's worth your sacrifice in training her when you see the fruit of it. It's very fulfilling and you can't help it but be amazed.

Our 32 Month Old Tot

Today is our DD's 32 month birthday. She is getting older and older each day :-) I've seen a lot of changes in her attitude as she is growing up. The terrible two streak is not really visible with her. There are only few instances that she is having a meltdown when we are outside. But most of the time she is a happy camper. I am also enjoying her age more now because I can talk and play with her.

Right now we are sharing a room. since Daddy is not around. I know I need to put her in her own room but I just can't get a sleep with constant checking on her. She usually wakes me up. She will say, "get up or wake up Mommy" then followed by "cook Mommy food" or "I want milk Mommy". But before we leave the room I see to it that we make the bed which she loves helping me out. She even get my sleeper and hair clamp so I can put it on.

During her playtime, I don't allow her to get all the toys out from the bin. She knew that she can only get one particular toy that she likes to play and then put it back afterward to get another. But there are times that she just wanted to take everything out but good thing is, she will put it all away after she is done playing. I will only tell her, please clean up good girl and she will follow through.

One thing I noticed though is that when she can't get her way sometimes she will really throw a fit to the point of throwing anything she can hold on to. She does scream too. But all incidents that she's acting such is only when we are at home which to my relief. There was one instance when we are Kohls store and about to go home. She don't want to sit back to her stroller. I was paying my purchases and I asked her to go sit back to her stroller and she gave me a big "NO". I asked her again and before I knew it she was already lying down on the floor and not saying anything. Good thing she wasn't crying or screaming. So I indeed up pushing the stroller with the bags on it and she was walking beside me to the parking.

One of her big accomplishments lately is using the potty that I will blog next time. Her identification of the alphabets is now perfect, counting 1 to 10 and she likes singing even though she can't pronounce well the words yet. Her vocabulary is improving and I am very happy with it. I am doing my best now to teach her good manners. She will say thank you, excuse me and please but still she slacks at times. It needs more improvement so to speak :-)

Our Little Dance Diva

Our 31 month old toddler girl is also our little dance diva. I don't know but she really love dancing. Every time she hear music with a fast beat or tempo she will dance to it. Yesterday we attended the Filipino Community Christmas party and there was a live band. When we entered the hall the band was already playing. There were few people inside since we got there early. The band was playing Nobody by Wondergirls and she was dancing to it right away. Even when we started eating and the band was still playing, she stood up to her chair and danced . The people from other tables were looking at her and clapped their hands because she just grooved away. Below is the picture my friend took when she was dancing on her seat while I was feeding her. I can't keep her from dancing.


We left the party past 9pm and the dancing just started. Before we left she run to the dance floor where there were lots of party goers doing the line dance. I had to scooped her so we can leave since she just won't go. I hope she will not be a party girl when she grows up :-)

Gentle with Kids

Our DD love to play with other kids. She is very gentle as well with them. But there are times that if she feel like it's too crowded and other kids are wild she will step back and prefer to just watch instead. On Thursday I brought her to the mall and let her play at the mall's play area. First she was looking around and then went to area where there's no kid was playing. When a bunch of kids came she looked at me and smiled then sat beside me just contented watching the others running around. I coaxed her to go play but she said no Mommy. I noticed that when her safety is compromised, like she'll be bumped by bigger kids, she will not join or go play. I think she started to be very cautious at a young age. I want her to take risks too but I'll just wait for her to do it on her own accord. She is still learning and I am here to teach, guide and support her. Every time we go out and see her friends I always remind her to be nice and gentle with her friends and she will repeat it to me. When she is already playing with them she will come to me from time to time and tell me she'll be nice to them.

Playtime Picture #17

I took this pictures back in October. When she's playing her alphabet blocks she will identify the letters and line it up. She also make sure that the colored part are on top. She seldom build the blocks upward but instead she fond of making long lines.

Dancing Diva

Time really fly so fast. Our then tiny baby is now a toddler and is starting to show her interest even at such a young age. When we have occasion to celebrate here we noticed that our DD love to dance. Then my friends, whose kids are 5 years old, told me that the dance school their kids go to have a program for toddlers. So in October I enrolled our DD to that program. The program runs only for six Saturdays so I let her tried it. She completed the first six weeks already and she is supposed to go back last Saturday. Unfortunately both of us here got sick so I decided to enroll her back again after six weeks.

She liked going to the class but one thing she is scared of doing is the somersault. She will start to position herself but when you urged her to finish the act she will just go stiff. I think she is scared of hurting herself :-) The instructor said that in time she will overcome it and do the somersault. I asked her why she won't do it and she said "hurt head" :-) Maybe when she's already three she will do it on her own accord.

Aside from dancing, she is also into music. When we had the party on Nov. 7 she was also joining us dancing and singing. Even though she can't pronounce the lyrics she also sung to her hearts content. She even copied my friends dancing that they called her their star dancer :-) She is not shy at all. I hope she will still continue to show interest in dancing and singing. Right now her favorite song to sing is My Bukas Pa and the new ABS-CBN Christmas station ID song. She love hearing it over and over through youtube.

DD's first dance trophy (tiny trophy) given by their instructor for completing the first six weeks of the program.

Line 'em up

When our DD discovered the fun of stacking blocks she do it all the time. Everything she can hold on to she will try to stack it up.

Lately she seldom stack it up but she will line up the blocks just like the picture above. I also noticed that she can now determine which is small or big one and had the blocks lined in order.

Even these shapes she will line up as well. It was funny one time when I gave her her cookies for snacks she lined them all on the table surface before eating it. I think this is the stage where their imagination is working up and she's discovering things to do with her toys and anything she can get hold on to. I just let her do things that she wanted while playing and encourage her if she feels frustrated because she can't do what she wanted to do.

Lines and Circles

The easel that hubby got our DD for Christmas is now in use. It has been standing on the side (in her learning corner) since hubby opened it in December. She did not use it for couple of months and just recently she love scribbling on it with her washable crayons. She started scribbling with just lines; straight, crooked, diagonal, horizontal and vertical. Lately I observed that she can form circles. It is not a perfect circle though but her motor skills is improving. I am encouraging her to do it everyday so her skills will develop more. I took the picture early in the morning. Obviously she is still in her night gown and her hair is all over the place :-) She likes playing on it in the morning so I let her before she take her bath.