A New Beginning: A Filipino Mom's Journal: August 2008

Saturday, August 30, 2008

The Potty

There was no problem with Thiel telling us when he feels the call of nature ... when he is awake. It has been a long time now that he doesn't need to wear diapers during the day. However, when he's asleep, it seems he couldn't get up to relieve himself, thus, he wets his pants, and our bed. So, we decided to continue using diapers at night until he's really ready.

When he was just 1 year old, we bought him a yellow potty trainer which he easily outgrew. He complained that he wouldn't fit anymore and therefore no longer wanted to use it. He enjoyed using the adult toilet bowl cause he said, he's now like Papa.

The problem was, he didn't want to use it for his poo-poo for fear that he'll fall. I promised to hold him while I wait for him to finish but he prefers to do it on the diaper. Since he's not using diapers anymore, when he feels that it's coming, he would ask for a new diaper to put on for the poo-poo.

Just recently, I felt he was ready but just needs a little more training. So, I convinced Bong to buy a new potty trainer, a bigger one. Actually, we let Thiel be the one to choose. In that way, we're sure that he's gonna use it. He chose a blue one and he promised the pretty saleslady that he'd use it.

Despite all these conditioning, he was still looking for his diaper when he felt the urge! I had to tell a 'white lie' that there are no more diapers in the house. I brought out the blue bowl (that's what we call his new potty) and positioned it against the wall inside the room, just so he would feel safe and comfortable. It still took a lot of persuading on my part before he finally sat down. I patiently waited. He talked. I reassured him everything will be okay. Several minutes later, I heard the sound. He heard the sound. Something dropped on the blue bowl! We both laughed. He said there are still more coming. So we waited. After he's done, he felt good... and proud.

I made one brave move 5 nights ago. I didn't put the diaper for consistency that 'there are no more diapers in the house'. So far, so good. He's very responsible and gets up to go to the john. But he has to wake me up to accompany him so even if I had just barely slept, I push myself to get up to give him support for this wonderful accomplishment.

Bravo Thiel!

Labels: Milestones

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Thiel's Got A New Pet

Last Monday morning, Thiel was starting to become fussy, a sign that he’s getting bored. My PC got hit by the AntiVirus XP08 (more of this on a later post) and I begged Bong for some time to fix the problem while he looks after Thiel.

So, Bong took Thiel outside and when they came back, Thiel was carrying a new friend. I got confused at first whether it was a bird or a chick, because the feathers were dyed with yellow, green and pink. Bong confirmed it was indeed a chick, so Thiel named her (not sure of the gender) “Chickee”.

I’m a pet lover so it wasn’t really a problem for me to adopt a new one. Before Chickee, we already have an 8-year-old male cat named “Bluecat”. He’s 5 years older than Thiel so he was practically our baby before Thiel came. It’s amazing how Bluecat treats Thiel. No matter what he does with this old cat, he doesn’t seem to mind. Thiel pulls his tail, plucks his whiskers, twists his ears, holds his nails, and the most that he could do was to cry with a ‘hurt meow’. I remember Bluecat to be so sensitive that there were only certain parts of his body that I could touch, because for example, I touch his tail, he would stretch out his arms, aiming to scratch me. I don’t know what’s with him and Thiel that he never seems to hurt my dear baby.

Anyway, I was just concerned with this little Chickee because she seems so small and fragile. I also don’t favor birds not being able to fly or go around freely (like birds in a cage for display). Well of course, she’s a chick and I’m not really familiar with how chicks behave, but that poor one has to be dyed and sold and bought and played by some rough kid. That must have been traumatic! Sometimes Thiel could not control himself and holds her tight, squeezes her and hurts her. I could only remind him and scold him and sigh.

It’s now three days since Chickee’s been with us. She seems to like it here. I’m surprised that a chick could be a nice pet. I thought they’re only grown to be chickens that lay eggs and sold at the supermarket to be cooked. I don’t know if it’s a general behavior of chicks not wanting to be alone, but Chickee cries loudly when left alone. She always wants to follow anyone of us wherever we go. I also found out that chicks eat very little but frequently at very short intervals. Chickee has also given me an additional task ... cleaning up her poop! That’s ok as long as my Thiel is happy. He’s very fond of her and is now learning to be more gentle. He immediately looks for her when he wakes up and brings her to the room, only to put her back to her place at the garage when he’s about to go to bed.

Researches show that pets provide psychological benefits to children. In a research with preschool children, psychologists at Oregon State University found that teaching children to care for a puppy enhanced their social skills. Dr. Sue Doescher, a psychologist involved in the study said, ''... It made the children more cooperative and sharing.'' A New York Times article discusses this further. That, for me is good news. Since Thiel is an ‘only child’, I’m just glad there are other ways by which he can improve his social skills, thanks to Bluecat and Chickee.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Seeing Old Friends

Last Thursday, Thiel and I took a walk along our street, going to the nearby parish church where I practically spent half of my life serving in the Music Ministry. I didn't have any plans of going inside the church itself. I just wanted to entertain Thiel with the surroundings so he wouldn't be bored inside the house. I bumped into one of Thiel's Ninangs who urged us to go with her to the seminar hall adjacent to the church.

I didn't know they were scheduled to hold a PREX (Parish Renewal Experience) seminar the following day. (The PREX seminar was where I first met my husband, Bong.) My kumare was there to make some last minute preparations along with the other PREX staff.

It was such a nice experience, seeing old friends again. I felt a little sentimental and sad noticing that what was once black hair had now turned to silver-gray and what were once young vibrant faces now show wrinkles and haggard looks. I wonder if they were thinking of the same thing about me. Nevertheless, I know each and everyone had grown older but wiser and richer in spirit.

The one who really got excited was my Thiel. My initial plan was to entertain him that's why we went out but it seems he was the one who entertained my old friends. He never stopped talking, asking questions and answering everyone's questions from 'where is your papa' to 'what color is this', etc. When snacks were served, he wasn't shy at all about asking for the food and drinks. I thought to myself, this kid takes after his Papa, because when I was young, I used to be really, really shy. I guess, that's good because it looks like he's not prone to having inferiority complex. The first impression that one usually has of him is that he's a smart kid and very 'vivo'.

I'm very much aware of this complex that I had before and it took me a long time to overcome it. That is why, I am now doing my best to build Thiel's self-confidence even at this very young age. I shower him with all the love and attention that he needs and always give him the affirmation and praise whenever applicable. His Papa never fails to do the same.

When it was time to go home, Thiel was hesitant at first to leave, I had to do some cajoling and sweet talk to persuade him. He went home happy and still excited he couldn't sleep... hehe.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

What's Up With Thiel?

He's now 3 years, 3 months and 4 days old!

He sings Incy Wincy Spider and Pen-pen De Sarapen with perfect lyrics. As for the tone, well, let's just say he's still too young and maybe he didn't take after me (smile), but he's still cute and adorable. Oh, and he's fond of changing some of the lyrics. For example, it's supposed to be "... how how the carabao batu-ten", he likes to change that to "... how how the carabao batu-four". We always tell him he jokes just like Lolo Porfs and he'll say "no, Lola Ising only.
He loves to read books about the Solar System, the stars, the moon, etc. He can already name the 9 planets. One time he made his papa stand and keep still, then he ran around his papa while saying, "Papa's the sun and I'm the earth. I'm going around the suuuuunnnnn!" Amazing!
When Bong and I are talking in Tagalog, he would never let an unfamiliar word pass without him asking what its meaning is in English. That's why he can understand both - Tagalog and English, although he's more comfortable speaking in English. But he tries his best to speak in Tagalog when there are other people around, to the point of sounding as if he's just learning how to speak. He speaks English as if he's a 5 or 6 year old who already goes to school. Some might think that I'm being 'un-patriotic' or 'pasosyal' by talking to him in English rather than Tagalog. I don't care. Cause I know, it's an advantage for him if he learns both, whether at school, office, business or whatever field he'll choose when he grows up.
He weighs 11.7 kilos. Just normal, but more on the lighter side. He needs to get it up to at least 12.5. His appetite has improved since we stopped giving him Ceelin (Vitamin C for kids). Now he's only taking Cherifer and VCO (Virgin Coconut Oil).
He can operate the PC all by himself. He turns on the power, presses a function key to proceed to boot, types my password, connects to the internet, and navigates to find his favorite computer game, Bloxorz or his favorite accessory, Paint. He can already type all the letters of the alphabet. After he's done, he shuts down the PC and turns off the power. Just your ordinary 3-year-old, right?
He can already read and spell some words, both written in upper and lower case. His favorite word is CAT! Let me see ... he knows car, bat, hat, fat, blue, moon, stars, sky, the, is, he, I, all the 9 planets, cow, dog, mama, papa, his full name, red, eat, feet ... actually a lot already because he can make out words by the sound of the letters. Writing? He's a little lazy when it comes to that, but he can write A, B, C, E, F, H, I, L, O, P, T, V, W, X.
He was barely a year old when I started to play this game with him wherein I would sing a song then I would stop in the middle of a line. For example, the song 'Tomorrow'. "... the sun will come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there'll be (stop) ". Thiel would say "sun!". It's like fill-in-the-blanks. I'd get surprised that he can already supply all the missing words from songs that I usually sing to him when I was putting him to sleep. These days, I still play that game with him and he still enjoys it, but sometimes he already makes jokes and changes the lyrics.
One time, he asked me, "Mama, what's your favorite food?" I told him I like crabs and shrimps, then asked the question back to him. And he said, "I like ice cream and chicken." I thought, that was such a lovely conversation to have with a 3-year-old and it's simply amazing to watch your son grow.
He spends more time inside the house, but we make it a point to bring him out at least once a day and when he does, it shouldn't be too long. We try to get him to socialize with kids his age among some of the neighbors. We're happy that he's not selfish with his toys. He always wants to share and let others borrow. Even with food, he would always wants to give whatever he's eating.
He enjoys watching fishes and mice in the pet shop. He likes riding boats, but when he saw the Princess of the Stars turned upside down because of the storm, he agreed not to ride boats anymore. (We used to ride the Metro Ferry that tours along Manila Bay and Cavite for a very reasonable fee. We also had a fun ride on the boat at Eco Park one time.)
He's not fond of watching TV. He prefers to play with his toy cars, start a conversation with me or his papa, read books, play Bloxorz or go outside. Good. Most research would say that watching TV may lead to ADHD. So I'm glad. I guess it's because for 2 years, we purposely didn't expose him to TV. We totally removed the TV from the bedroom. Even if we sometimes miss watching our favorite shows, it's ok for the sake of our Thiel.
He's a sweet child. One time he sang "I love you Papa, I love you Mama, I love you, I love you, I love you Papa and Mama" to the tune of "Happy Birthday to you". Hayyy, sarap.

Well, does that sound like one proud and boastful momma? I guess all of us moms are like that when it comes to our children.

I know, there are still a lot to write about. I gotta do a lot of catching up since I haven't updated for almost 2 years! But to sum it all up, having Thiel is simply heaven and I thank God for him. Of course he has his 'bad hair' days and moments too, but all that is nothing compared to the joys of having him.

Labels: Milestones

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Thiel

According to my files, this video was taken last year, August 17, 2007! He was 2 years and 3 months old at that time.

Labels: Milestones

I'm On Vacation!

Well, it's actually an accidental vacation. I'm supposed to be on training now because I am being transferred to a new department. For a background on what actually happened - the transfer, the training, and all - please go to the ff. links:

Yes, Trabaho.Ba.Kamo is my blog too. It's where I try to share my experiences as a worker and give helpful tips to job seekers and struggling Filipinos who want to earn, just like me. Aside from sharing some knowledge and information, it's also one way for me to earn on the internet through Google Adsense.

So, yeah I've been blogging all along, and it wasn't easy. For more than a year, my work schedule had been from 6AM to 3:30PM. Normally, I had to wake up at 3:30AM to prepare and get to the office in time. To be able to post to my blog, I must wake up an hour earlier, so that's 2:3oAM. I usually retire at night between 10 and 11 PM, so that's barely 3 to 4 hours of sleep. Why was I doing this? Because I am hoping that eventually, I can just work at home! Because I know this is what I enjoy doing (writing and programming). Because somehow this is what I'm good at and I want to take advantage of it. Because I want to be with my Thiel all the time. It doesn't matter if I stay up all night and work while he's asleep, just as long as I'm here with him.

I didn't plan this vacation. But I am so glad that I decided to postpone my training. It clearly shows in Bong's and Thiel's faces how relieved they are that I'll be staying at home for almost a month. I used to cry almost everyday when I was working because my heart belongs here. Now, I'm making the most of it and taking real good care of the 2 men in my life. I am also exploring more ways by which I could earn at home, hoping that I'd never have to go back for training next month because that means another season of full-time employment, away from my Thiel. Either way, I would have to make another decision in a couple of weeks from now. God-willing, I will be able to choose what my heart so ardently desires.