It’s been quite a while since my last post. Nah, i haven’t gone into oblivion. I just got a new blog. I gave it a lot of thought if i’d tell you guys about it, coz i was afraid, i might be exposing myself a lot. But eventually i decided i would. I guess i’d still be updating this blog every now and then, especially the photo albums. We’ll see.
So here it is … welcome to my new home:
A New Beginning: A Filipino Mom’s Journal
I was in a dilemma if i should write this too soon. At lunch today, i was giving Thiel some finger food and i felt something sharp. I told Bong about it, saying it could be a tooth! He just shrugged it off and said it couldn’t be. I couldn’t blame him because we were expecting some signs like fever, tantrums, anything unusual. But this tooth showed up without any fanfare.
So … i jus wanna announce … Thiel’s first tooth came out! I don’t know when… lol! It’s kinda embarrassing coz i was jus talking about him being toothless in my previous blog.. and voila! it was already there pala. nyahaha… tsk tsk tsk … crazy mom.
Thiel’s halfway thru his 9th month and he’s still all gums. His cousin fiona who’s less than a month older than him already had 6 when they met last Christmas Day. I’ve been researching on the internet about late teethers and it seems there’s no cause for worry yet.
A few days ago, while Thiel and I were strolling along our neighboring streets, we bumped into a baby and his lola. Lola initiated a conversation and said that maybe the two babies are of the same age, and she was right. The baby already had 4 teeth. When i mentioned Thiel didn’t have any yet, she said that it’s alright because late teethers usually have strong teeth. That’s quite a consolation!
Well, i’m gonna have a grand announcement once the first tooth comes out. So, just watch out for it, hehehe.
So … what’s Baby Thiel able to do so far? He’s 8 months old and he can answer the following questions:
Where’s Papa?
Where’s Mama?
Where’s Bluecat? (that’s our pet cat)
Where’s the picture of Bluecat? (that’s our cat’s pic posted on the wall. I’m amazed that he
knows the difference between the picture and the real cat)
Where’s Whitey? (that’s our pet dog)
Where’s your milk?
Where’s your ABC? (that’s his flash cards I’ve posted on the bedroom wall)
Where’s the clock?
Where’s your car? (that’s his small toy car)
Where’s Winnie the Pooh (that’s a battery operated toy given by his Ninang Irene. He also
notices Winnie the Pooh’s pictures on the wallclock and on his pillows)
Where’s your book?
Where’s the ball?
Where’s the house? (that’s his small toy house)
Where’s the door?
Where’s the window?
Where’s your pillow?
Where’s the light? (he only points to lights that are turned on)
Where’s Lolo Porfs? (that’s a picture of my Dad)
Where’s Lola Ising (that’s a picture of my Mom)
Where’s Papa Jesus (he knows it’s the same Papa Jesus in the bedroom and at the sala)?
Where’s Mama Mary?
Where’s the coconut tree? (that’s in front of our house across the street, we can see it from our
terrace)
Where’s the mango tree? (it’s beside the coconut tree)
Where’s the Christmas tree? (it’s on display at the sala all year round, hehehe)
Where’s the calendar?
Did I forget anything? Hmmm… actually, something’s added to the list everyday. His memory’s like a sponge. He’s just starting to learn how to point to the objects. What he does is he glances at the particular object when we ask him where it is. You just have to follow where his head turns, and of course, where his cute chinky eyeballs glance.
He now always says Mmma-ma, especially when there’s something he desperately wants and we couldn’t understand him. He says dadada, bababa, wawawa, lalala, nanana and other consonant blends. Sorry, Papa, he still couldn’t say Pa-pa. But don’t worry, I’m sure he loves you coz he always looks for you when you’re not home, and you can see how happy he is when you’re back. Or maybe, I’m the “spoiler” one, so he equates me with S.O.S.
He could sit for a long time without support. From lying position, he can already sometimes get up to sit. When sitting, he gets down to pick an object, like he’s on a crawling position, then goes back to sitting position. He can easily stand, (with some help, of course). He enjoys standing while we hold him. Then he bounces, as if he’s dancing.
He now enjoys playing ball because he’s learning to throw the ball back to me. At first, he couldn’t release the ball. Now he’s getting to throw it at a longer distance.
Then, of course, there’s the usual “appear” or is it “up-here”, “give me five”, “align”, clap your hands. Papa taught him “sawsaw suka, mahuli taya” – actually that’s his favorite. (hahaha). It’s funny how he does his ba-bye. He does it with his hands facing him. Maybe because that’s how he sees our hands doing it – facing him, of course. Oo nga naman, (more laughter from me).
What else could I have missed? Hmmm, next time na lang. Baby Thiel might wake up soon. Writing these blogs are stolen moments while he’s sleeping, after his morning bath, hehehe.
January 13, 2006. After breakfast, Papa would usually take care of Thiel while Mama fixes things like his bathing paraphernalia, the bedroom, etc. Well, it seems the little guy’s so anxious to be held again by Mama because he’s already sleepy. But before I granted his request, I first played the piano to the tune of his favorite, Alphabet song. He turned to where I was and KABOOM, he slightly bumped his nape on the stroller, and started to cry. Naturally, I hurried towards him to hug and comfort him, and on my way, he said in a crisp loud and clear voice, “MAMA”! Haayyy.. sarap!
It could take a while before he says it again. But at least that’s a start. And i’m so proud.
January 12, 2006. Thiel said dadadadada! (The ever emotional Mama cries tears of joy as he congratulates Thiel) I was already starting to get worried if he’d say anything other than ah-goo, uh, ah, goo-goo, ah-coo and coo-coo. Well, he has said dadadadada a lot of times today. Af first i thought it was just chamba. But he, himself seems to be amazed that he was able to say it. So, he keeps on practicing. He has even tried bababa and lalala. Wow, he’s on his way to becoming a big boy. Sigh. I just wanna cherish and enjoy every minute of this stage of his life. Praise God for lovely moments.
January 3, 2006. Thiel attended his first children’s party. The celebrant was Bryzone, a neighbor who has turned 1 year old. He had clowns, balloons, pabitin, parlor games, spaghetti, fried chicken, candies, ice cream … the works. But of course, Baby Thiel couldn’t eat those food yet, so Mama and Papa had to give a hand (hehehe). The party was held on the street, which is usually the case with the neighbors. But it was a really enjoyable party, and was also a very nice experience. It seems all the kids in the neighborhood were there. And all moms/dads with babies were also there, rich or poor. It was a pretty good time to socialize and chit-chat with co-moms and dads. Thiel was excited to see all the kids. But he was more focused on the pabitin. However, it didn’t take long before he got bored, not because the party was boring. But because, he just simply couldn’t stay put on one place without doing anything. So I just took him for a stroll and he was satisfied.
December 25, 2005.
Christmas day!!! Wow … at last I’m spending Christmas with a son in tow. This is the beginning of many more happy Christmases in my life. I used to fret and hope that the holiday season would pass quickly. I don’t know why. But I guess the monotony of being married for 11 years without a purpose and inspiration has drained all the excitement from me. A typical Christmas for me meant spending the whole day in bed, not wanting to see anyone. I just let my husband hand over the gifts I’ve already wrapped several days before, to whoever comes to visit.
But today, it’s different. I’m so full of enthusiasm and joy. I made it a point to prepare for the celebration. My husband and I cooked our favorite dishes for Noche Buena and I woke up early on “D-day”. When before I just slept the whole day out, today, we managed to fill-up our schedule with some activities. Our small family went to hear mass then we went to Novaliches where Mariz, one of Thiel’s Ninangs, who is also Bong’s sister, lives. We spent the whole day there so that Thiel could socialize with his relatives.
Also living with Mariz in Novaliches is Polo, Bong’s younger brother and his family. His daughter, Fiona, is only a month older than Thiel. Ever since both of them were born, the cousins still haven’t seen each other. Neither have I seen Fiona yet, and I was really excited to see her. I only know her from Bong’s and other relatives’ stories and descriptions about her. I was also excited on how Thiel and Fiona are going to react when they see each other for the first time. So … this is the big day.
When we arrived at their house, I immediately had to change Thiel’s diaper because he’s got rashes so I make it a point to change it at least every four to five hours. Also, I had to change his clothes to a more comfortable sando and shorts. So we went upstairs to where the bedrooms are and in one of the rooms, there was Fiona. Everyone was watching, and waiting on what’s going to happen. When the cousins laid eyes on each other, they paused, stared and …. Dyarahhh!!! Both of them cried … we all had one good laugh. They are indeed cousins! It wasn’t hard to pacify Thiel. I just brought him to the other room and in a short while he’s back to his jolly self again.
Thiel is particularly fascinated with cars. It also seems he’s got good taste and he could differentiate a classy one from an old one. The color is also an additional factor. But aside from cars, he simply likes any vehicle, even a tricycle which he enjoys riding so much. This is probably because we don’t have a car, which is, I think an advantage. In this way, his joys are much simpler and he appreciates little things. His Ninang Mariz owns a red Toyota revo. Bong borrowed it and took Thiel and me for a short joyride. That was Bong’s mistake because Thiel never wanted to get off the car and maybe thought the joyride would last forever. From that time on he became very restless and simply wanted to get back to the car.
Well, it was finally time to go. Thiel was sleepy and exhausted but wouldn’t want to sleep so you could imagine what his mood was. Polo volunteered to give us a ride home. So I’m sure you know who was the happiest about this. He enjoyed the ride for only a short while, though, because he easily dozed off.
December 12, 2005
At 6 months, it is already very noticeable that Thiel has a good sense of direction. When you carry him, he will direct you to where he wants to go. For example, if he wants to go outside, he knows that you need to take the stairs to go down, which is the way to go out. So, from the bedroom, he moves his body going left towards the stairs, then from the stairs, he’s gonna direct you towards the door in the living room, which will lead you to the garage. From there, he will lead you to the main gate. I’m amazed at how he remembers all these. It also seems he knows that you couldn’t just jump from the terrace to go to the street.
He likes looking at letters. He’s so excited when I sing to him the alphabet song while pointing to the letters I’ve pasted on the wall. He also likes books and newspapers. He responds by making a sound when I read to him.
When I teach him new stuff, like clapping his hands, counting with his hands, or making rhythm with his rattle, he practices it all by himself until he’s able to do it.
He continues to show interest in singing. He never fails to hum when he hears a familiar tune, or sings duet with Mama or Papa, sometimes even singing on top of his voice. Although he doesn’t have a tone yet, you will know that his pitch sometimes go up and sometimes go down.
He also has a particular liking for lights – bright lights, colored lights, Christmas lights, candlelight.
He enjoys looking at trees being swayed by the wind.
And oh, before I forget, he also likes all kinds of vehicles, moving or not … tricycles, bicycles, motorcycles, cars, vans … He looks funny when I carry him on the street and there’s a tricycle coming .. and he waves his hand as if trying to stop the tricycle … just like we do when we say, “para, sasakay ako” …
Have you ever watched “Pilipinas, Game Ka Na Ba”? It’s a noontime game show on Channel 2 hosted by Kris Aquino. Every time she interviews the remaining four contestants for the Pyramid Round, she never fails to ask the reason behind everyone’s name. For example, if the contestant’s name is Ronvic, she would ask, “is that a combination of your parents’ names? Ronnie and Marivic?”
When I was pregnant with Thiel, Bong and I really thought hard, searched baby books and the Internet for an appropriate name for our child-to-be. I was thinking, if ever someone would ask him for an explanation about his name, I wanted him to be able to answer the question sensibly.
So, to my dearest Baby Thiel, here’s how we came up with your name:
If you were a girl, you would have been named “Mariel”, which is, guess what! … a combination of papa’s name and my name. Don’t get offended, my dear, but to tell you the truth, at first, your Papa and I actually expected for a girl. But when we learned that you were gonna be a boy, we were happy just the same. Well later on, we realized we were indeed so blessed that you were a boy. Did you know that you’re the first one who’s gonna carry your Papa’s surname? That’s because all your cousins who are children of your Papa’s brothers happened to be girls. All your boy-cousins are children of your Papa’s sisters who, of course now carry their husbands’ surnames since they got married.
Anyways … going back to your name … since you turned out to be a boy, we could no longer name you “Mariel” (hehehe). I wanted you to take after your father’s name, but didn’t want you to be a junior. So it’s either you have Joseph or Ariel in your name. But Papa didn’t like Joseph. So, it has to be Ariel. Then, there should be another name. I wanted that name to be something which means “God’s gift” because you are indeed God’s gift to us. So I searched for baby names. I found several names which also mean God’s gift like Benedict, Matthew and others which I have now already forgotten. The only name that Papa chose was Theo. So … here’s the complete meaning of your name.
Theo – meaning God’s gift
Ariel – from Papa’s name – meaning Lion of God (an alternate name for Jerusalem)
Your nickname is a combination of TH-eo and ar-IEL = THIEL – meaning people ruler.
When my baby Thiel grows older, and he happens to meet Kris Aquino, he’s not gonna have a hard time explaining his name. And I hope Kris will be satisfied with his explanation.
