Speak Aloud 3

For awhile there, I though my son is L-deficient. He can clearly let out the words light and towel but not ball, which he pronounces like boy.

I know I shouldn't worry myself but I did. I've asked my mother, who's really no expert but who's once been a teacher, about this but she just casually dismissed my concern with a shrug while saying Matt's still too young, anyway.

I tried coaching him again a week ago and completely forgot all about it.

Couple of days ago, I was rewarded with the chance of hearing my son say pillow and ball. He was enunciating the L clearly. Grin, grin.

Speak Aloud 2

My son is building his vocabulary. Slowly and surely. And it's something I'm more than happy about. Because I can easily understand his needs and wants. When before I’d depend more on instinct and little cues as guides, now I have dear Matt as the guide. He can now tell us what he really wants and needs. With him pointing and saying things at the same time, I can almost always guess what he wants or needs. By just istening carefully. And with the help of some context clues (when the blabbering seems incoherent).

I'm just as amazed at how he (or the kid his age) picks up some words he heard an adult (or adults) utter and mutters it to himself (sort of trying if he can do/say what the adults said, mimicking). Sometimes, hearing him say them is sooo funny.

I listed (again!) few words and phrases from his vocabulary because this is one development of my baby that I want documented. Wala lang, but for reason only a mother might find amusing. Whatever.

And with great pride (mother's pride!), I'm noting his improvement. Like, when before he’d refer to the light as gigi, now he can clearly pronounce the word. And more. He can even count one to ten with some help (but he can clearly enunciate the words). And sing Rain, Rain Go Away (with only rain and again as lyrics). Also My Jesus is Alive (with only the word alive, while omitting the rest).

Some words (at the left side are my son's way of saying them):

Alive - alive

Atta-min – vitamin

Bata, kid – child

Bite - bite

Cod - cold

Cuckoo – cockroach

Cup - cup

Dadee - thunder

Dagan - run

Dap - drop

Dive - drive

E-off - to turn off

E-on - to turn on

Fog - frog

Jejzh - Jesus

Kha-dick - candlestick

Khai (ing) – cry, crying

Khai-m - climb

Ki-ckon - aircon

Kit - kiss

Lod - Lord

Mi-root - remote (for TV, aircon etc..)

Olen - orange

Poohn - spoon

Tek - text (SMS on phone)

Wally - water

Weed - read

Wen - rain

More phrases:

Hi/Hello, (name) - Hi Mama, Hello Mama, Hello Pit (fish)

Mownin - Good morning

Take a bath – take a bath

or he can put two word together like: cry cat (when hearing a cat/s wail); nanay book (a reading material he's seen nanay read).

Mimicking Mama

Trust a kid to make you drop your jaw all the way to the ground. In a heady rush of emotions such as gladness, surprise and a little annoyance. All at once. Am I making some sense here?


This morning, I was teaching Matt the concept and relationship of “dropping” and “picking-up” using his toys as props. Knowing that kids his age love repetition of movement and sound, I repeated the process of dropping and picking up so many times using different toys each time.


No sooner had I turned my back than I heard soft thuds. Someone was obviously dropping something on our rubber-matted floor. And you guess right, darling tot was the culprit. He was learning so fast he was already copying Mama’s example. I was glad that my son picked up the idea so fast but I was not too happy seeing him holding ..surprise,surprise, my phone!


On the second thought, is that funny rascal giving me the you-mess-with-my-toys-and-I’ll-go-mess-with-yours message?

pulling no more

Gone are the days when I'd see newly-laundered clothes haphazardly thrown on the floor. Among the litter toys and books and what-not.

I still wake up to a very cluttered room, thanks to kiddo Matt. But now, the clutter mainly consists of toys, toys and more toys. Occasionally, I'd see a book or two joining the pile but I think that's alright.

Darling son has obviously outgrown the stage when there is a strong urge to pull things out randomly. And this is something I'm so happy about. In the past few weeks, I've observed him opening cabinet doors without pulling out the clothes. As of late, I haven't even seen him pull the telephone cord out of its socket which used to be his favorite past time.


Now, he's more keen on dumping the contents out of his toy basket unto the floor. But rascal that he is, I wonder when he'll ever outgrow pulling my hair to get my attention, or to provoke me. Tongue in cheek. :-)

Surviving Canines and Pre-Molars

The past few days had been difficult. Matt was having on-and-off low grade fever without any other symptom. Even the lab results were all not conclusive, said the pedia. We -my mother and I- suspected that this must be caused by the pre-molars and canines breaking out to the surface of his gums, although the pedia didn't think so. Still active and impish, yet he was crankier and grumpier than usual. Needless to say, everyone in the house was affected by all these. My mother was more than her worrywart self, she was fussing and fretting the whole time. I turned out to be another version of my mother, maybe a degree worse. I was worried sick, anxious, frantic and all. So sooo frayed at the edges, in fact. I'm just too glad that that's like water under the bridge. Matt is okay now.

And during those stressful times, I found these few things helpful:

Stickbreads. Because teething babies usually have the urge to bite more, these small little sticks are perfect for Matt to gnaw on. It’s harder than the usual munchies but it serves the same purpose as that of a teething toy (which I’m not so comfortable). It's also recommended for mommies, to bite as hard and as much to channel some frustration and anxiety. Haha. Ah great things really come in small package, literally. And I’ve been lucky to find the perfect size in a Pan de Pugon outlet.

Gum massages. Matt loves this alot he can keep still for as long as you want him to (and as long as you rythmically thrust a pointer on his gums). I've seen dear son do this all by himself too. Word of caution: Just be careful not to give your kid the message that Mama's finger is a teether.

Touch therapy. Cuddles. Hugs. Licks. Kisses. Coupled with I-love-yous. And all the sweet soothing words you can imagine. Although I cannot explain this scientifically, I do believe there’s magic in touch and tender words. And the benefits go both ways, to the giver and the receiver. Magic, really.

Relative Freedom - For Matt. Not that I'm not giving him his freedom all the time because I really do. But in those difficult times, although closely supervised, I've given him the liberty to do what he wanted to do, without intervening. He's got all the free pass he could get on just about anything. That's tough to explain, alright. It's like I just wait for him to tell me what he wanted to do (or me reading the signs). I've held myself from suggesting or from influencing him on what to do or play. Like if he'd get a book, then maybe he wanted to read. So I take the cue and that's the only time I handed more books or read to him. I didn't even give him solid food unless he'd tell me so. I just let him play or run around.

Chinese Teething Powder. I bought this last year from a Chinese store which sells (authentic ?) Chinese products downtown. Recommended by the people who have tried it with their own kids, or nieces and nephews or grandkids and who go out to say it’s effective. Before trying it with Matt, I've tried it with myself first just so I'd know what it's like. I would dab a little of this on his gums to alleviate his unease, but only as last recourse. But if you’re not comfy with stuff like this, don’t.

Sleep. I find it good for me and my son to get well-rested and refreshed. And whenever I can, I sleep because it keeps me all ready with all the motherly duties waiting ahead of me. And its proven to help me get through any stressful day.

health check

Thursday got me rushing out of our office doors in an untimely exit. I just had a call from my mother saying Matt's getting the F again. He's been hitting a low-grade F reading on the thermometer since Monday night, but I thought he's already ok.

So I made a mad dash to the doors. Had to bring him to the lab for some tests.

Although I doubted it, I've always hoped that blood extraction could be done in a jiffy. It's not about the noise of Matt's wails or the gawking we'd get from strangers (I really really do not care about this because my utmost concern will always be of my son). It was the sight of those copious tears, twas simply heartbreaking. So was his futile attempts to break out from my tight embrace and his incessant "done na" cries. *Sniff* I could only imagine his fear and feelings of betrayal. *Sniff, sniff* I would readily have given anything and everything to spare my son that ordeal.

After the CBC translation and check-up, which activated his tear glands again, we headed straight home, even without the urine test, to get dear tot back to his comfort zone, alleviate his stress and eventually calm him down.

Later that night, with the urine sample in hand, I with my father went back to the hosp. And moments later, with the antibiotic prescription given by the ER physician (but which I had second thoughts of giving to Matt), we were on our way back home.

Good for me too

Even someone with a hearty appetite like Matt can be difficult at times. Oh, Kids.

But lately, I found a perfect way to keep my son seated all throughout (at most) breakfast (solid foods).

(his high chair)

And that is, to run the Sesame Street video** on TV. Thanks a lot! I found an ally in the character of Kermit (The Best of Kermit which is Matt’s fave). And Grover too (Sesame Street: Let’s Eat, which is ideally becoming a part of his usual breakfast fare).

(tot's growing collection of Sesame St CDs)

**I limited his viewing to once in a day only.

Bigger Pearls

Molars and canines are thrusting off the surface of my son's gums. Almost simultaneously. And all 4 of each type!

At twenty-plus, I remember not feeling too great the time a wisdom tooth emerged from my gums. So Matt must have been feeling so terrible with all the eight teeth beating each other from poking out of his gums. Doubly terrible or eight- thly terrible!

So although I'm not too happy with his biting habits these days (I've seen him bite some things which may not necessarily be clean and some skin which is not his own), I've tried to extend my patience for like a hundred miles, or the farthest I can manage. I've also tried to make him feel better by massaging his gums every so often (which he obviously loves because I've seen him copy the works). And a little more, by giving him some teething toys.

The Barber Trip

We brought Matt to the barber to have his hair done to a "semi-bald" length.

And my dear son was crying all throughout the time the electric shaver zoomed through his head.


Here are some of his pics:

Bald and still cute.

Bald and still cute.

The new red car Ma bought is big as this...



(Side view)

Top view :-)

(This last pic was taken in a kiddie shop where Matt took the initiative of seating and positioning himself in this car. )

A rat and a baby

A rat. Bow.

My friend Leelard (lizard), is this rat edible?

How about a bite then..

Yummy, without a doubt!

Those Born between 1930-1979

(This one's for you, Matt. So you'll have a picture of what Mama and Papa's growing up years were like. In a nutshell. Those times...Mama is having a blast reminiscing now...haha... Note: In the ensuing paragraphs, comments at their end and in italics are mine, and mine alone.)


TO ALL THE KIDS WHO SURVIVED the 1930's , 40's, 50's, 60's and the 70's

First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank
while they were pregnant. (Except that I know my mother doesn't drink alcohol or smoke. Ever)

They took aspirin, drank evaporated milk, and didn't get tested for diabetes.

Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs made of abaca. We didn't have Pampers or Huggies, just the cool comfort of the "lampin." (Oh, yeah!)

We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets
and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, kneepads or elbowpads; not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking with just "tsinelas" (slippers) and "sandos" (sleeveless undershirts). . .yet we were able to come down from the hills and mountains. (Sure did!)

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car
seats, booster seats, seat belts or airbags. (Except that we didn't have a car then. Only a motorcycle issued to my father by the company he works for at that time. And we rode in open public transpo, and we inhaled a great amount of dust and carbon monoxide-ridden air. Oh we still inhale a lot of carbon mono and God-knows-what else these days.)

We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle. ( True! Even from deep wells! The deep well still lives in my parents place, but its water is now used for watering the plants and cleaning purposes. And occasionally, for laundering when we ran out of NAWASA supply)


We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle
and NO ONE actually died from this. (I cannot remember about this though. Maybe I didn't have enough baon to buy softdrinks then.)

We ate "tira-tira", white bread and "mantikilya", dirty ice cream
and drank sweet sago't gulaman from the nearby store.. but we
weren't overweight because WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING ! (My parents forbade us to buy these things but yet...and I miss the "tira-tira" and other street food I'd secretly buy like sliced mangga or papaya in plastic, the foamy colorful drink, which the kids call shake, I'd buy across the school gate. Thinking about it now, I think it's all just food coloring, sugar and ice and a dash of crushed peanuts!)

We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. (Or until my mother yells around the neighborhood with some stick in one hand)

No one was able to reach us all day.
And we were O.K. (Indeed!)


We would spend hours riding our bikes and rode down
the hills, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After
running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve
the problem. (As for me, I learned to ride a bike in highscool. And I pratcised in our school grounds)

We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no
video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or chat rooms.......WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them! (No phones and still we manage to find one another at the right place and at the right time. Actually, we had all the time to look for one another in say, a department store, because there were no other things -like gadgets enumerated above - to keep us busy. We simply had the time. Time to gather around and talk. No blogging to keep us busy. Haha.)

We fell out of trees, got cuts, broke bones and teeth and
there were no lawsuits from these accidents. (Nasty scrapes and cuts! I still have the scars.)

We were given "baril-barilan" for our 8th birthdays and
yet we still grew up as peace-loving adults. ( Ha! And to illustrate, I really am having second-thoughts at the buying my son a toy gun. I hesitate to. I opt to buy cars or books for him.)

We played "tumbang preso", "taguan" or "syato"..the game
where sticks were flying; and although we were told we may hit
our playmates, we did not put out very many eyes. (Ever heard of kundisi-buko? Anyone interested to play sometime, e-mail me. LOL)

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on
the door or rang the bell, or just walked in and talked to them! (No texting or calling prior to the visit!)

We look forward to summer basketball leagues in our
neighborhood and although not everyone made the team,
those who didn't were able to learn to deal with disappointment. (Is it safe to say that depression wasn't much of an issue in the young peeps then?)

The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law
was unheard of. (Totally! Gracious!)

They actually sided with the law! (Amazing!)

These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever! (Ahem..)

The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and
new ideas. (**throat clearing**)

We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and
we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL! (**cough**cough**)

(So...)

If YOU are one of them,
CONGRATULATIONS!

(Congratulation to me too!)

(And..)

You might want to share this with others who have had the
luck to grow up as kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so
much of our lives for our own good. (But then the time calls for such measure.)

And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they
will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were. (Tadaaa! Here comes the powerful tool @ this time- the internet. Email!)

Upshot

I was trying to finish a macro today when my sister called. Dear tot got a fever.

I hope this is just an aftermath of yesterday's immunization.

Before I went to work, he did feel a little warm to the touch. But he was wailing furiously when I tried to get to him with a thermometer. Matt looked so upset that I just asked hubby to try to get the temp later in the day.

(Guess it's time to buy one of those doctor's kit toy set..to make him feel comfy with sight of the steth and the thermometer. With some luck, he won't be so distressed in our next pedia visit. **fingers crossed** )

Another Pedia Trip

Hubby came home with a copy of the Count of Monte Cristo flick, which I have not seen yet.

Late in the afternoon, we visited the pedia to have Matt's booster shot of the DPT vaccine.

These are some pics taken before the trip to the pedia.

Rock-A-Boy No more

What would you do when darling tot is all heavy-lidded but still wouldn't dive right into bed and sleep? You hum, sing him lullabyes and all the songs that come to mind and you gently rock him 'til he dozes off to Dreamland (and 'til you can no longer stand the aching in your backs and arms!). What else can you do!, my mother declared in mock-dismay.

And indeed, that's what my mother did. And naturally, my father followed suit. And before we knew it, we - me, hubby and sis AJ- were doing that too. That was what everybody in the family used to do. And if I may add (*taking a deep breath and bracing myself**), for hours. Yup, yup, yup. We would rock him and try to put him to sleep for hours! (Of course, it varies whether kiddo is tired or not and stuff. And also, by the time he's reached 8 months, the time we'd spend trying to put him to sleep is lesser than when he was still an infant.)

In the past, there were even times I'd hold a sleeping Matt all through the night, while I sit on this rattan chair, fighting off sleep (and failing at times!). I couldn't forget those days, and nights.**Sigh** I am reminiscing now**

But really, my mother, she started it all. Make no mistake, I am not blaming her. It's hardly her fault. She's just one doting Grandma who loves to mollycoddle his grandson and make his life more comfortable.

But alas! Dear Matt can now sleep by himself (I mean not alone but without a sitter to rock him to sleep) without a fuss, and just when I'm starting to wonder when he'd ever outgrow this habit. (I really do not mind one bit but come to think of it, dear son is getting heavier by the day. So when I say I'm tired to go to the gym, it's because I already have my weight lifting exercises in the comforts of my home! Ah let's see, go and try it yourself, carry and rock a 10 - 11kl load for, umm, 30mins or an hour or a couple. And then tell me what you think. *wink*wink* ).

Now, it's so easy. I can just shower him with kisses, murmur an it's-okay-Mama's-here-go close-your-eyes-now line, put some comforting arms around him, maybe hum a bit -or make a sound similar to singing, and then wait for some time til a familiar even breathing is heard. Haaayy, 'tis such a welcome change.

Speak aloud

Dear son will be 18-months old tomorrow. He's becoming bigger and bigger by the day. So active, yes. He runs around so fast that one would think somebody's trying to get to him, maybe kidnap him. And he climbs chairs, windows, chests (human and furniture alike!), and more.

Picky eater, no, not in the very least. He eats almost anything you hand to him: bread, pasta (like his Papa, spaghetti is his fave), fruits like mango, banana, papaya and watermelon, vegetables like carrots, squash, mango squash, cabbages and even bitter gourd!

Talkative, even noisy at times. Uhm, baby-talk. Some gibberish, some comprehensible. And because I'm a geeky mama, I have listed some words that he uses when speaking aloud and which I'm lucky to have figured out. Like this morning while I was about to change his diaper, he said something which I couldn't quite understand -and he must have seen the confusion in my blank , almost dumb look that he repeated it again, more loudly and clearly this time and I was surprised because what he really said was "wet." And when I instinctively echoed the word back to him, he smiled at me and the look in his eyes was one of agreement.

So here goes the list of the very Bisaya terms he knows, the term on the right was his way of enunciating these words:

Baho - abu
Balut - tabu
Katkat - katkat
Isda - da
Sakay - takay
Siga – diga
Run, many - dagan
Paypay - papay
Pan - pan


And some English words:

Ant - an
Baby - baby
Ball - boy
Banana - bana
Battery - tah-wee
Bird - bid
Bike - buy(k)
Butterfly - buy
Cat - cat
Cap - cap
Car - broom2 or ka
Carry - kah-wee
Clean - kin
Cow - cow
Cry - cry
Darling - dah-nee
Dead - ded
Dickory – dikowee
Dirty - di-ti
Dizzy - diddy
Eat - eat
Feet, fish - p/fit
Good boy - go-boy
Guava - vava
Head - ed
Hand - and
Hanger and Honey – honey
Hi - hi
Hot - hot
Hug - at
Hurt - yayay
Jeep - dip
Kid - kid
Lamp - wam
Light - gigi
Lizard - dee-ah
Mama - Mama
Milk - Mimi
Nanay - Nanay
No - na
Papa – Papa
Rabbit - dabbit
Rain - wen
Tatay - Tatay
Teeth - teet
Ten - ten
Three - tee
Tita – dee-dah
TV - TV
Tummy - tummy
Umbrella - a-bi-bah
Wet - wet
Yummy - yummy

A noun:
Ketkai - kikay, referring to a mall in the city


Some phrases:

Get in - getin
Go away - go-wee

And some even more wonderful phrases:

I love you - Bah-bu
Thank you - de-kah


Noticeably, my son has learned a lot of the English language. Must be because we try to communicate with him this way (in our super 'naning' way), and I read him books even before he was born. Also, he watches English shows like Barney, Sesame Street almost everyday. As Papa put it, better to learn English early on so he'll only have to worry about the Math later. Funny, but I think it makes sense too.

With Tito Mike

Ma, is it right to take a peek at Tito's phone? Uh-oh.

So what was that all about?

Oh, it's one silly SMS joke alright.

I got it right, didn't I?

Grocery Boy

Getting supplies from the grocery is one of our bonding moments with my son, who loves the sound and the sight of every grocery trip.

Here's to our constant companion, Matt who cannot seem to get enough of the grocery store.



Chilling in a grocery cart.


Even oblige to pose before Mama's cam-phone.


One happy baby inside his favorite transportation.


With Nanay, while waiting for Tatay to fetch us.


Entertaining himself by counting cars.


'Til the familiar white frame finally came to a halt.

All about Matt

I have a black roundish mark on my arm again because Matt bit me on the arm the other day. He rarely bites for quite sometime. But I have tried to be more than patient with him.

Teething? Maybe. I carefully examined his gums and felt with my forefinger the molars emerging from his upper gum. Yes, he is teething. Just as nature would have it. The book said to expect molars to appear when baby is 12 to 15 months. It's time.

And maybe this explains his sudden dislike to brushing, a not-so-Matt thing. Strange. And for a time, I wondered what caused his resistance to brushing.

I have tried giving him a gum massage though, which he undoubtedly loves. He is more than willing to open his mouth for a long time and let me do the rythmic forward-backward stroke on his gums without attempting to nip at my finger. He would even smile and move his head froward and backward and look at me for approval. Cute.

But more than that, Matt is his usual playful, energetic self. Thanks GOD.

New Car

This is one of the goodies Papa bought for me last Saturday.


Camera, huh?

Lemme show you my new car..

This is the hood. If we lift it..

..we'll find a bunny inside the compartment..

But I don't want the bunny..C'mon let's get going now..

Tooth brushing

My son loooves brushing his teeth.

And I have been brushing his teeth long before he reached 1 year. Must have been the time he got 4 teeth already. His first brush is a yellow thing with soft rubber bristles specially designed for less-than-a-year old babies. After his first birthday, I bought him the next-stage brush with very real bristles (but still soft).

But brushing his teeth those days had been easier because he was just contented to stay still and to let me do all the brushing. I couldn't say this now.

'Course, he still loves brushing his teeth. But the thing is, he wants to do it all by himself! And he always wants me to give him a free grasp of the brush to do his thing! Fine, he knows how to hold his brush and he has somehow learned to make the brushing motions but I am just not sure if he can really clean his teeth (I do not trust him this, not yet).

I have tried getting him another brush (with real bristles too) just so he will have something to hold while I brush his teeth. But few days ago, he refused to be contented with that too. He wants the brush. That green brush that I use to brush his teeth. And it gets me oh-so frustrated (with me wanting to finish the task as fast as I can). And even more frustrated because I know it gets him frustrated, too (wanting to do it on his own).