The Mystery of the Empty Baby Bottle

Hehe funny title. Reminds me of The Nancy Drew books which were staple reads for me and my barkadas way back in Grade School.

 

Anyway, what I really wanted to write about is Maia’s latest milestone! Yes, another one! Funny thing is – she’s gone through that milestone and we never noticed it. Not until last Sunday when I did some detective work myself..

 

It all started about two weeks ago actually. My Mom was visiting and it became a habit for her to take Maia out when she wakes up in the morning.

It was then that I started seeing an empty milk bottle lying underneath her pillow. I remember placing a bottle a few hours earlier but could not remember propping it up for her to drink.  My initial reaction was to check the bed space where Maia slept earlier. Funny it remained dry when 4 ounces of spilled milk would have soaked it wet. My mom told me Maia probably took the bottle herself and drank it while we were sleeping. But I can’t imagine how she’d be drinking all the milk from her bottle without me propping it up for her. So I told myself I was probably just too sleepy to remember but I did help her with it.

 

I would have put that mystery to rest already only that the same scene was repeated the following morning and the morning after that. So my mom was resolved that her grandchild has indeed learned to drink her milk on her own. But I wasn't convinced (hehe...ako ang Mommy ako pa ang nagdududa). If it were indeed true, “I would have to see it for myself”…

 

…so last Sunday…I stayed up to confirm Grandma’s theory and eventually put an end to my dilemma (as if naman it really worries me ano? Hehe). Guess what, Grandma was right! She knew where Mommy puts her bottle! She grabbed it and sucked at it. She did not find a need to cry for Mommy and Daddy's attention anymore! And when I put on the lights, guess what? She had this silly look plastered on her face. Parang sinasabi pa, patayin mo Mommy! Matutulog pa ako! Haha. Saya. 

 

Most days though she is still very lazy to hold her milk bottle. But that does not matter anymore. It just feels great witnessing her grab that milk bottle! My only regret was I only managed to take a picture. Di ko nakakuhanan ng video! Well, maybe next time…:wink:wink…

 

The Mystery of the Empty Baby Bottle

Hehe funny title. Reminds me of The Nancy Drew books which were staple reads for me and my barkadas way back in Grade School.

Anyway, what I really wanted to write about is Maia’s latest milestone! Yes, another one! Funny thing is – she’s gone through that milestone and we never noticed it. Not until last Sunday when I did some detective work myself..

It all started about two weeks ago actually. My Mom was visiting and it became a habit for her to take Maia out when she wakes up in the morning.

It was then that I started seeing an empty milk bottle lying underneath her pillow. I remember placing a bottle a few hours earlier but could not remember propping it up for her to drink. My initial reaction was to check the bed space where Maia slept earlier. Funny it remained dry when 4 ounces of spilled milk would have soaked it wet. My mom told me Maia probably took the bottle herself and drank it while we were sleeping. But I can’t imagine how she’d be drinking all the milk from her bottle without me propping it up for her. So I told myself I was probably just too sleepy to remember but I did help her with it.

I would have put that mystery to rest already only that the same scene was repeated the following morning and the morning after that. So my mom was resolved that her grandchild has indeed learned to drink her milk on her own. But I wasn't convinced (hehe...ako ang Mommy ako pa ang nagdududa). If it were indeed true, “I would have to see it for myself”…

…so last Sunday…I stayed up to confirm Grandma’s theory and eventually put an end to my dilemma (as if naman it really worries me ano? Hehe). Guess what, Grandma was right! She knew where Mommy puts her bottle! She grabbed it and sucked at it. She did not find a need to cry for Mommy and Daddy's attention anymore! And when I put on the lights, guess what? She had this silly look plastered on her face. Parang sinasabi pa, patayin mo Mommy! Matutulog pa ako! Haha. Saya.

Most days though she is still very lazy to hold her milk bottle. But that does not matter anymore. It just feels great witnessing her grab that milk bottle! My only regret was I only managed to take a picture. Di ko nakakuhanan ng video! Well, maybe next time…:wink:wink…

Shuttle ride musings

These days shuttle rides have become my power nap sessions. Sometimes, I'd be so tired I'd fall asleep as soon as my sweet little butt touches the bus seat. This particular morning however, I decided to take out my iPod and play some music. I wanted that moment to myself and I thought sticking a pair of earphones into my ears would transport me to isolation island and I was successful.

I decided to play Hale today. For some reason, I kept thinking of time spent in Arizona and was missing that feeling of independence that I had while I was there. Hale's Twilight album was our official album during our 6-week stay there. I know the lyrics to all the songs in this album by heart up until now.

Anyways (I do love to digress, dont I), one particular Saturday we gathered all our guts and made the 247 mile drive to Grand Canyon.  We were pretty brave. Even if there were 5 of us...if we stopped and took sometime to rethink the impulsive decision that we made that morning we would have stopped and gone back. We were 5 but then 4 were mere navigators...ONLY 1 really knew how to drive. Nobody knew how to trouble shoot a car on the incidence that it breaks down along the road...haha.

But I'm glad we took the chance. If we did not...I don't think I will ever get to witness the authenticity of nature's magnificence...

This photo below was shot inside the car while we were moving (using an olympus point and shoot camera)...but look at how great it turned out.

More of our Grand Canyon and Sedona adventures here.

Maia becomes a Christian

So it came and went. I learned a couple (and even more) lessons on this experience.

- To always remember that in events like this many hands are better than mine.
- To always make sure that all grounds are covered before saying we're all set.
- To make sure that documentation has been taken cared of. It's the most important part of planning. The end will always

Met a Friend

 

Good Morning Maia,

Today we made friends with a neighbor. Every morning becomes more exciting because you can now share it with a baby almost your age. :) It's just so fascinating to watch you talk to Yana even if she still can't respond to your baby talk. It's almost like you are already learning how to socialize on your own. Babies are such amazing creatures aren't they?

Now Mommy gets giddy thinking of the time when you start talking. I bet we'll go down laughing at your antics. Mommy and Daddy will forever remain your super fans.

Five!

Hello Maia!

You turned 5 months today. Mommy couldn't be more happier than seeing you interact more with her and Daddy. You're turning out to be like a mini-Daddy though. Mommy's not too happy with that because that gives Daddy a lot of bragging rights. And Mommy just hates it when Daddy makes her feel he's ahead of her...esp when it comes to you. :( This is how lambing is for Mom and Dad. You'll know when you're old enough to understand Mommy and Daddy's conversations. You might even laugh a bit yourself.

What made Mommy happy today though was that Daddy bought you a mini-cake! Daddy's slowly starting to be thoughtful and sweet. That's really something! Seems like it's not only Mommy whose undergoing a life-changing experience with your coming...Daddy's going through the same as well!



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Here's how far you've developed based on Baby center:

Homing in on sounds

Your baby now realizes where sounds come from, and he'll turn quickly toward a new one. One of the easiest ways to engage him is to jingle a set of keys. Wind chimes are great attention-getters, too.

Your baby may now be able to recognize his own name and understand that you're speaking to him when you say it. You may notice that your little one turns his head when you call him or talk about him with others.

If you want to engage and entertain your baby, all you need to do is talk to him. At this age, babies don't learn language from the television or radio, so turn them off and use real dialogue instead.
A growing range of emotions

Your baby can't express his emotions in the same complex way that you can. Although he can let you know in clear ways when he's angry, bored, or happy, his ability to show love and humor are just developing.

Your baby also shows a strong attachment to you by raising his arms when he wants to be picked up and by crying when you leave the room. He may also give you hugs and kisses.

And he's beginning to get the joke — he'll laugh at funny expressions and try to make you laugh, too. Keep the laughter flowing with your silly faces!

Checklist - Maia's Baptism

We have 11 more days to go before we welcome Maia to the Christian World. To date, here's how far we've gone on the preparations:

Restaurant :: Booked/paid DP
Aling Tonya's Seafood Palutuan
This was really difficult and sort of tiring. I was already bent on booking Congo Grille at MoA but Tibs decided to change venue the last minute. So much for me being the stage mom. Tibs is a lot worse when he gets really inspired on playing the Daddy role. I just hope we did make the right decision to switch.

Church :: Booked/paid in Full
This was the most difficult part of the preparation. I did not realize that this Church is a popular one. When we inquired around the first week of Feb we were so shocked to find out that all of March is already booked. It was a bit frustrating. I got really stressed out just trying to nail a date with this Church. But I was glad all our efforts paid off.

Priest :: c/o Wowa Joyce
Booked and relayed to the Church. Mommy's taking care of this.

Baptismal Dress :: Still a work in progress.

I'll try to look for one on Friday.

Souvenirs :: Work In Progress
Guests - We're going shopping this Saturday. Hopefully we get everything done in One Day

Ninongs/Ninangs - c/o Wowa Joyce. It's the first time that Mommy volunteered to do something for an occasion like this. I was really touched by this gesture.

Invites :: c/o Kika Mao
This is finally done and sent. We're just waiting for the RSVPs to come in. About 30% has already confirmed their attendance.

Guestbook :: c/o Kika Mao and Tito Ramboy
Still a work in progress. But I am really hoping to get this done by this weekend so I can have it printed by Tuesday or Wednesday and done by Friday.

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So far, so good. I get a little nervous but I'm hoping everything will go as planned. Fact is, I am more excited for this than for my wedding. I'm really hoping this will turn out well for Maia to look back to in the future.

Checklist - Maia's Baptism

Hello Maia,

We have 11 more days to go before we welcome you to the Christian World. To date, here's how far we've gone on the preparations:

Restaurant :: Booked/paid DP
Aling Tonya's Seafood Palutuan
This was really difficult and sort of tiring. I was already bent on booking Congo Grille at MoA but Daddy decided to change venue the last minute. So much for me being the stage mom. I realized Daddy is a lot worse when he gets really inspired on taking his role to heart. I just hope we did make the right decision to switch.

Church :: Booked/paid in Full
This was the most difficult part of the preparation. I did not realize that this Church is a popular one. When we inquired around the first week of Feb we were so shocked to find out that all of March is already booked. It was a bit frustrating. I got really stressed out just trying to nail a date with this Church. But I was glad all our efforts paid off.

Priest :: c/o Wowa Joyce
Booked and relayed to the Church. Grandma's taking care of this.

Baptismal Dress :: Still a work in progress.

I'll try to look for one on Friday.

Souvenirs :: Work In Progress
Guests - We're going shopping this Saturday. Hopefully we get everything done in One Day

Ninongs/Ninangs - c/o Wowa Joyce. It's the first time that Wowa volunteered to do something for an occasion like this. I was really touched by this gesture.

Invites :: c/o Kika Mao
This is finally done and sent. We're just waiting for the RSVPs to come in. About 30% has already confirmed their attendance.

Guestbook :: c/o Kika Mao and Tito Ramboy
Still a work in progress. But I am really hoping to get this done by this weekend so I can have it printed by Tuesday or Wednesday and done by Friday.

-------------------

So far, so good. I get a little nervous but I'm hoping everything will go as planned. Fact is, I am more excited for this than for my wedding. I'm really hoping this will turn out well for you to look back to in the future.

Maia's Invitation

Finally. Kika Mao was able to finish Maia's invitation. Now, it's time to send them out. We're hoping for a good turn out...despite the fact that most of the god parents from my side are based abroad.

I'm betting this is going to be a get-together again for the Chavez clan. It always ends up that way. But for Tibs' sake, I am also hoping that all his friends could come. That would be really, really great if they all could show up and share this day with us.

Anyways, the invitation looked pretty nice...after all, my sister did put all her efforts into it.

Maia's Invitation

Finally. Kika Mao was able to finish Maia's invitation. Now, it's time to send them out. We're hoping for a good turn out...despite the fact that most of the god parents from my side are based abroad.

I'm betting this is going to be a get-together again for the Chavez clan. It always ends up that way. But for Tibs' sake, I am also hoping that all his friends could come. That would be really, really great if they all could show up and share this day with us.

Anyways, the invitation looked pretty nice...after all, my sister did put all her efforts into it.

Revisiting Forgotten Memories

I was re-reading my journal this morning and found this entry. I wrote this last year when we still did not have internet connection at home. I kept a journal then - I needed some place to store my thoughts in. And some place to practice my writing each time the inspiration hits me. Anyways, before I digress any further here's a snippet of that journal entry I made on July 17th last year. I was about 24 weeks pregnant then. And the Hubby and I had that weekend ritual of starting our day with a round of music from the past. That day, sort of blasted me off to my last few years in college. I immediately got my journal and started writing.

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While enjoying breakfast today, the Hubby played an old CD that brought torrential flashes of memories back. Memories of time spent in UP. Those were pretty good ones. I hope someday my daughter will have something as good as those to go back to from time to time.

I recall Friday nights spent at our apartment with the girls. We'd sit at our bare living room and giddily await Dawson's Creek on TV. Yes. You read it right. We were crazy over Pacey and Joey back then. But I guess looking back now, it was not the memory of the TV show that brings a smile to my face but the memories of quality time spent with great friends.

These girls were witnesses to a lot of things going on then. Going home past curfew time, they would stay up and help me get in. Coming home from 48-hour vigils over numerous case studies and feeling really depressed and really exhausted, somebody's always there to listen to my ranting or just keep me company.

Now, we all live all over the world but I guess that foundation that we had before kept us really bonded that even till now we always try to reach out and remain updated with each other's lives. But today, I just miss the company of the girls. I wish everybody's just a call away.

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Fast forward to year 2009, there's still the three of us who made Luzon as our homebase but since all of us are now living busy lives, a get together is extremely difficult to organize. But then one of our housemates came home from the US, we eventually ran of excuses and finally found time to meet up for lunch. I almost forgot how much fun I shared with these girls. Fact is, it was mostly them who kept me sane. Thanks girls for making me feel young and vibrant again! haha...I wish we can do this again. I can barely recall the last time I laughed this hard.