Journal 2001

Here's what happened in 2001.

January 1: Sits with support.

January 5: Sits unsupported. Sat up in the stroller.

January 7: Sat up from crawling position! 3:27 PM at Lolo Benny and Lola Perla's house. All the cousins were there to witness it!

January 13: "Ma ma!" Can pull up on his own from crawling position. Also, baby kisses mommy! More like sliming me with saliva but mommy loves it!

January 14: More pulling up and kissing.

January 15: More pulling up and kissing. Miguel is one very healthy, very happy baby.

January 16: Waves bye-bye.

January 23: Can see second set of incisors.

January 24: Upper incisors coming out.

January 31: Definitely getting his balance while standing with support. Will stand alone soon.

February 3: Baby stands for 3 seconds!

February 7: Baby stands for 5 seconds!

February 10: Photography session at home with Tita Gai and Tita Lisa. Finished 4 rolls of film or 142 shots in 1 1/2 hours.

February 11: Miguel went out with Mommy and Lola to buy first pair of shoes: Chicco size 5 (for 1-year-old)

February 12: A typical day

6:30 Wake up, play
7:15 Cook
7:45 Morning pages
8:30 Breakfast
9:00 Play with Gueli
10:00 Bath - Gueli
10:30 Bath, then computer/internet - Tirbune article
11:30 Lunch
12:00 Go to SFI
1:00 Meeting with writers. Check plugs, scripts, etc.
6:30 Leave for home
7:00 Home, dress up, dinner
7:30 Gueli's bath, dinner
8:00 Sleep

February 13: Stands for 10 seconds!

February 14: Stands for 16 seconds!

February 15: Doesn't like eating cereal. Drank milk instead.

February 22: Stands for 21 seconds.

February 24: Stands for 26 seconds.

February 25: Stands for 36 seconds.

March 1: Stands for 40 seconds.

March 3: First real cold. Runny nose.

March 5: Gets better.

March 7: Still a little runny. 7th tooth out.

March 8: Daldal (talkative) morning. Go to doctor - start of an ear infection; buy 3 more medicines.

March 9: Kisses mommy upon waking up! Twice! Sweet boy!

March 10: "Clap your hands!"

March 19: First lunch out with Mommy, Ninang, Ninang and Yaya at Katre in Quezon City. Had blueberry cheesecake crust (and milk).

March 23: Photo session at Babysitter Studio with Remy Bautista. Accompanied by Mommy and Ninang and Yaya.








First swim in the pool! Swim mates are Ninang Aly, Dino, Mara, Gian, Selene, Mommy and Ninang Leslie.

March 24: Ninong Dennis's birthday party. All the cousins are playing with Miguel's toys.

March 28: 8th tooth out - lower left incisor.

April 4: 9th tooth out - upper left cuspid. Second swim in pool.

April 9: Swimming with 2 ninangs and cousins. Dinner at Lolo Benny's - happy anniversary!

April 10: Mommy can see 9th tooth now.

April 11: New vocal: "ju ju ju ju ju" Baby takes one step (right foot only) recorded on video! Swimming with cousins and Ninang and Mommy.

April 22: Landmark day. Walked 2 steps. Also learned give-and-take. Removes blocks from box one at a time.

May 22: Says "bye."

May 24: Walks unassisted. Puts blocks back in box. Says "ba-bye" while waving. Hugs a lot!

June 2: HAPPY 1ST BIRTHDAY!

June 22: First haircut

June 28: Picks up ruler, points at letters

July 4: Pushes stroller around

July 23: A new word a day - July was the month of talking

July 26: The diarrhea but happy and active month. Fish and lugaw forever. Bananas and cereal. 2 stool tests. Words are "bite, wala na, ABC, durian." Laughs at "bite." This is the one nap a day month, asleep by 6:30pm month. Still adorable, never tired.

July 27: Visits Cradle of Joy, sees Ninang Leslie and Ate Selene.

July 29: Playtime with Sarina and Keiko at home.

July 31: Pushing furniture around.

August 1: Got toys from Ninang Aly! Miguel falls asleep on the bed on his own after drinking milk.

August 2: Eats durian after lunch :)

August 16: Took down the crib.

August 28: First sentence: "Meme na na" when I left the room.

September 1: Four new teeth!

September 5: Triangle! He gives me the cutout triangle of the foam "A" and gives a triangle block saying "triangle!"

September 12: Word for the day: "cricket"

September 15: Trina Velilla: "When I have a baby I want it to be just like him."

September 16: Word for the day: "women"

Journal 2000

For lack of a baby book, here's what happened in 2000. This isn't everything that happened, but what I happened to write down at the time, verbatim. Am doing this so that my records can be paperless.

August 22, 2000: Baby falls asleep on his own while looking at mobile. A first!

August 24: Picture-taking with Chloe. 9 hours sleep at night.

August 25: 10 hours sleep at night.

August 26: Almost 11 hours sleep. I actually worried because I wasn't used to it and woke him up.

August 27: Baby falls asleep in crib after bath for the 3rd time.

August 28: Baby eats a lot of strained papaya. Practices grasping objects in crib.

September 9: Grasps rattle for the first time.

September 10: Puts rattle to mouth.

September 11: Reacts to "Butterfly!" "Ladybug!" "Swimmer"

September 18: Crawls on tummy.

September 25: Baby is very talkative in the evening.

September 28: Stick-out-your-tongue day.

September 29: Baby flips onto belly.

September 30: First costume party: Isabella Artuz's birthday. Wears Bam-bam costume while Chloe arrives as Pebbles. What a coincidence!


October 3: Start Cerelac with papaya in the afternoon. Crawls backwards.

October 6: Foesn't like potato with cereal in the morning. Would rather sleep some more.

October 7: 6 ozs. of milk in the evening before breastfeeding. Super active evening, crawling all over mommy. Holds out teether with 2 hands.

October 8: Staring at hands.

October 9: Very good mood. Turned over from tummy to back when mommy wasn't looking! Enjoyed "stomping" his feet while sitting on the table.

October 11: "Itik-itik sa Manila Zoo..."

October 14: "Walking" backwards.

October 15: Sitting with support of hands.

October 16: Blows raspberries!

October 22: Rolls over front to back.

October 25: Rolls over continuously.

October 26: First mall outing at Shangri-la. Tita Grace buys a stroller for Miguel.

November 7: Strolling and got caught in the rain!

November 8: Vocalizing at night.

November 22: "Ta ta ta ta" and "a-te"

November 24: Hooray! He activates the "itsy-bitsy spider" crib toy with his hands! "Da da da da" and "ga ga ga ga"

November 25: "Ya ya." Picking up and dropping objects (his teether). Start stage 2 milk (Enfagrow Lactofeee).

December 3: Splashes around in bath. Wears first pair of shorts. Attends party of Alyssa and Nicole de Jesus, daughters of Agnes.

December 13: First naughty trick! Pulling out tissues from box.

December 15: Second naughty trick: "eating" rubber mat.

December 21: Baby crawls on bed to get blocks! Later he crawls faster on dining table.

December 24: Diaper rash. Miguel looks so cute in his blue polo! Noche Buena and Christmas gifts! Santa gave a stuffed toy alligator.

December 29: First teeth!

Was suckered by Animal Planet's Lost Tapes series entitled "Night of the Devil Dragon" last night.

Of course, having been suckered, I was a bit upset. And since I was worried that my son might think of going alone into the rainforest to hunt for wild animals one day, I try to make a point:

Me: Never go into the rainforest alone, okay?! Or the desert, or the ocean, or on any mountain or hiking trail.
Miguel: Uh-huh.
Me: Always have a buddy. Do you have a buddy system in the Boy Scouts?
Miguel: Uh-huh.
Me: Why do you need a buddy?
(Pause as Miguel thinks.)
Miguel: So that you can both be eaten alive?
(I supress my laughter - this is a serious lesson after all, right?)
Me: No, try again.
Miguel: So that you can have someone to share your misery with?
Me: (Not so serious anymore) That's good, but try again.
Miguel: So that you can help one another?
Me: That's good!

When he leaves, I start laughing.

In his daddy's shoes

Jyo as discovered by Miguel

And now we present...Chowder!

This is what we've been singing lately.

I believe you can cook! You should believe, cause I believe in you! You just have to try and trust your gut that you can put food on a plate! 'Cause you're the best chef in the world! And everything I learned, I learned from you! Even if I didn't understand a word! On the wings of an eagle.

Baker Boy

Admittedly, this is a late post, but I have to note this milestone: Miguel's first venture in baking!

So it was Mother's Day, and everybody has to contribute to the potluck lunch (yes, even the moms!) Not one to be left out, Miguel decided to bake apple brownies as his gift to all the moms.

Of course I had to buy all the ingredients, but yaya swears that he actually did the preparation, from the peeling of the apples to the slicing to the mixing - with her supervision, of course.

The oven was on the blink so we had to use a turbo broiler for the first time, hence the slightly burned top. But we overlooked that of course, and the brownies tasted heavenly!

I had to ask

Although I thought that the Silmarillion would be too boring for Miguel, it actually reads like several Shakespearean plays - full of love, war, death, and drama.

Last night we finished the tale of Turin Turambar, who through fate and doom and a dragon's malice (amnesia included) was destined to be a curse to his family:

The next spring, Turin proposed to Niniel again, promising that if she married him he would not go into battle except to defend her or their home. Niniel agreed and they were married at midsummer. The woodmen celebrated with a feast and gave them a house in Ephel Brandir.

Unknown to the bride and groom, Niniel is actually Nienor, Turin's sister. Fortunately or unfortunately for me, when presented with such clear moral issues, as a parent I'm tempted to comment and ask questions just to make a point.

Me: Oh my gosh! Do you know what that means?

Miguel: What?

Me: Who did Turin Turambar marry?

Miguel: Niniel?

Me: And who is Niniel?

Miguel: His sister?

Me: Yeah. And why shouldn't he marry his sister?

Miguel, smiling: Because they're going to have a baby with three eyes.

:-o

Or should I say .:-o

Am loving the book, by the way! Tolkien writes so lyrically, like a grand old version of the Old Testament. It must have been more than 20 years since I last read this book!

What is adoption?

One time I picked up Miguel from his cousin's house, and my Tito Diego pulled me aside to ask "Why it is that you're the only one (among the siblings) who's thin?" My answer: "Because I'm adopted! Hahahahaha!" What else could I say?

So on the way home Miguel wanted to know what was so funny about my being adopted.

That was when I had to explain that it was just a joke, and that I really wasn't adopted, and that adoption isn't a bad thing but a good thing, yadda yadda yadda.

But wait! Does he even understand what adoption is?

"What is adoption?," I ask.

"It's when somebody gets adopted," he says.

"No," I say. "I mean, um, what is the opposite of adopted?"

"Unadopted?" he replies. His smile is audible.

"No, no. Give me a definition of adoption, like, Adoption is...what?"

"Adoption is when some phoneybaloney people pretend to be your parents so that they can make you do household chores."

Wahahahaa! He understands.

What he's reading now

The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. A gift from the tooth fairy. In fact, the tooth fairy brought him to Fully Booked last April 18 so he could buy the book himself.

The tooth fairy even treated him out to fries and a strawberry slushie...what a tooth fairy!

Hmm. It shouldn't be a coincidence then that this picture was taken in his dentist's office.

Favorite summer images

"You are the bomb!"

I've never seen Miguel so thankful and excited. He's been waiting for this game since late last year, and has been viewing videos of the Japanese version on YouTube.

Yesterday the Pokénerd texted me to say that the new game was now available in Greenbelt and that I can have his reserved copy. In 15 minutes I was in Data Blitz to claim it.

When I got home for dinner and showed Miguel what I had, he did a dance in the living room. This gesture of mine merited me lots of voluntary hugs and kisses all through the night.

Yes, I am the bomb.

Waiting game

Me: Do you want to go to Chloe's today?
Him, not looking up from his Nintendo DS: Yes.

(Pause.)

Me: Don't you think you should call her up to see if you could go?
Him, still playing: Nah. I'll just wait for her to call me.

Problem of the week

Math: Arrange 8 chairs in a square room such that there is the same number of chairs along each wall.

"Mommy, I want to make a square room with walls with two chairs on each wall."

Who am I to say that it can't be done?

"Superman"

See that smile? He's just looking for an excuse to wear his briefs on the outside and look silly.

Disclaimer: It was totally his idea.

Astig!

I didn't know that they allowed cigarettes in the cardiac cath lab of Massachusetts General Hospital.

That's my dad, btw, in 1966.

No, I don't smoke.

Pet lovers, please keep in mind that you may need a cardiologist one day.

Science quiz

Topic: Plants

Essay question: You see your classmate taking the leaves and flowers off a plant. What will you do?

Answer: I will tell him to stop so that the plant will survive. And I will tape the leaves and flowers back on the plant.

Me, surprised: Miguel, why did you write this? You got minus one on the quiz!

Miguel, angrily: That's because my teacher doesn't have a sense of humor!

c70s

So here's what I found while sorting through my mom's photos. Photoshopping was my "therapy" after scanning so many of her pics!

Will look for a look-alike photo of Miguel :)

Saying goodbye

Last Sunday, Miguel and I passed by Lola Perla's house.

She had sold it, bought a beautiful new home, and was in the process of transferring her furniture. I thought that maybe I might be of help - or support - somehow. But when I got to Purdue, everyone, even the grandkids, were already gone.

So Miguel and I hung around. He was content to just play his DS, but I was saying goodbye to all the nooks and crannies.

Don't get me wrong; I don't mean to bring anybody's mood down. I'm totally excited about the new house, but of course I'm sad about saying goodbye to 30-plus years of memories: the rumpus room where we spent countless Christmas, Thanksgiving and birthday celebrations; the beautiful pond with koi that were fed by 3 generations of Sulits (4 if you include Lola Ceriang); the long bench where Lolo Benny loved to sit; the master's bedroom where everybody hung around to cool off, sleep, or watch TV (Cartoon Network, The Buzz, or La Salle-Ateneo basketball games); the second floor bedroom-cum-storage room which used to house Beau's train set while he was growing up; even the bonsais and the staghorn fern in the driveway: I said goodbye to them all.

As we walked around the empty house I was telling Miguel about the things we used to do there. (He has his bit of history in Purdue too, like when he fell in the pond.) I don't know if he understood the poignancy of that moment, but I sure do, and I know that there are others there who do. I think he does, because on the way home we were talking about Lolo Benny, as we do from time to time, remembering what he was like - not that I'd ever forget.

One day he will have to say his own goodbyes and will feel this same sadness too. Maybe he will read this post and understand me then, and know he is not alone.