Arts-N-Crafts: A Card For Daddy (2014 Edition)

Maia takes credit for every single word on this card. Even for the design, I should say. The only help she needed from me to put this card together was to reglue the frame and cut the photo to fit it. Everything else was hers to take.

Every day she amazes us. I barely have time to guide her in her lessons anymore. And yet, she carries on like a pro. All grown up. Doesn't need mommy anymore. Sigh.



p.s. Oh I take credit though for introducing her to the art of making cards. If there is one tradition that I can claim I started with this kid, this is probably it -- birthday card making!

I always look forward to the weekend because...

OF THEM!

This is one of my favorite photos of my little family. This was taken when the little girl was around 6 months. And we were enjoying a quiet weekend at home. I literally closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I recalled how good Maia smelled then. And how soft her tiny chubby body was. 

Ahhhh, precious memories that I hope to remember till I'm old and gray. 

Daddy's Girl Forever

The week that I was away, I was worried how Tibs and the little miss will survive without me. They can only get along well for a good 10 minutes. After that, expect never ending bickerings and crying and shouting. Yes, one of the major roles I play in this family is being the referee.

So imagine how happy I was to hear that one night the bedtime conversation went like this:

Tibs: "Uuwi na sila Ate Ghab sa Angeles nyan. Wala ka na kalaro ulit dito sa bahay. Gusto mo sumama na lang muna sa kanila. Bakasyon ka muna doon?"

Little Miss Maia: "Ayaw ko Daddy. Hindi kita pwede iwanan dito, wala kang kasama eh".

Tears fell while I was listening to the husband retell this conversation over the phone. I'm sure he shed a tear or two too when he heard it. 

Dearest Maia,

You might not always get along with Daddy but you see, you will forever remain his princess and him your daddy king. 

Daddy never carried you during the first 3 months of your infancy not because he doesn't like it but because he was so scared he will hurt you. And even when you grew plumper after 3 months, he had to plop you up on a pillow till you were strong enough to lift your head because he was so afraid he will crush you. I think in his mind you will remain his fragile little baby. So everytime daddy raises his voice when speaking to you, remember that it's because you were probably putting yourself in harm's way and it upsets him so much.

Most days I am at the sidelines watching you two and I can very see how you adore each other. And one of these days, I will find time to collate all those pictures that I took of you and you will see what I am talking about.

Everyday I thank God he helped us raise you to be such a sweet, independent and very responsible kid. I hope you will always remember the basic things we thought you. LISTEN, OBEY and RESPECT. 

we love you to bits,

Mom and Dad

Climb A Tree And Make Some Memories

I never learned to climb a tree. But I grew up surrounded by different kinds of trees to climb on to. I guess when you're around something a lot, you really tend to take them for granted (and then maybe let your fear get the best of you). Then you grow up (I would like to mean the real growing up process and not the literal one but well it can be both) and you realize how much you've missed. You chide yourself for letting a great learning opportunity pass. Oh well. 

Maia is not as lucky as me. Trees are not as abundant at where we live now as compared to where I grew up in Antique. There are no fruit trees to climb. Trees are grown here mostly for shading purposes. And now that she's getting more physically active as days go, I start wishing she was growing up in the same place I did. 

Tibs and I agree, tree-climbing is one childhood experience that Maia shouldn't miss. I'm just glad we still get to go home to Antique even if just once every year. So today while waiting for Maia to wrap up her playground time in Legaspi Park, Tibs saw an opportunity to introduce Maia to tree-climbing.

At first, Maia was really scared. It was quite understandable given the fact that the little miss has recently developed a fear of heights plus of course, the idea is something really new and unfamiliar to her. She refused to be lifted. We almost gave up thinking it was a lost cause and that maybe we should just wait a bit. Then another light bulb moment hit us, we suggested she let Georgie climb instead because for sure he misses climbing trees.

And so she did.

you go first Georgie!

Just a little more Georgie --

Hindi na abot ni Georgie ang taas Mommy!

When she couldn't get Georgie up to a higher branch, Tibs got the stuffed monkey and placed him comfortably on a branch. Little miss found it really hilarious and the rest is history. She just got so excited to join her baby monkey up on one of the tree branches.

Andito na ako, Mommy!

When Maia comes home to Antique this summer, I can already tell how different this year is going to be from the past year's she been vacationing there. And now I'm the one who's overly excited about it.

Success, Mommy! Sali ka?

Daddy's Corner: Truckie from Trash

Yes, Maia is a girl. But we would like to teach our kid gender equality even at this early age, so we let her play with whatever kid-friendly toy she pleases. 

I guess my being a pack rat (and a lover for trash - no pun intended) has somehow rubbed on my husband that nowadays when he sees unused boxes he immediately thinks of making a toy out of it for Maia.

So today, as we were packing away Christmas decors and making some space to store our Christmas tree in our bedroom he found a small box that he thought would be great to make a truck out of. Maia is of course excited. Despite her being a girl, yes she's a big fan of Cars too. And there was a point in her babyhood when she loved watching all types of vehicles pass by. When we were having a hard time putting her to sleep, her dad would take her out to see the truckies and cars and come home with a baby quietly sleeping in his arms.

So anyways, from that 2 small boxes, 3 tissue paper rolls and a couple of metal fasteners he was able to come up with this:

Hey there, Mr. Truckie. You need a paint job!

Fasteners from my craft box. I knew they would come in handy!

The little girl is now busy playing with her truckie. She's so far transported some animals for her mini-zoo. And drove Hetty, Woody, her toy blocks around for (probably) some sight-seeing. She's refused to nap because she's just too busy playing tour guide to her 'friends'. 

can you see ms. elephant in there?

taking Hetty on a spin

Oh well, she does deserve more play time after recovering from her tummy flu so I just let her be. No nap equates to an early bedtime for us anyways so it's a win-win for me. 

How's your weekend going so far?

Happy Birthday to our Daddy Prince!

Yes Maia calls her dad her Prince. And of course, the daddy couldn't be any happier. His wish is actually to remain as her prince till she's 35. Is that strict or is that strict??? 

Well, before the two of them reach that stage where arguments already revolved around curfews and boys I'd like for both of them to enjoy each other's company to its fullest. So I try to make it a point to keep one day of the weekend sacred for family time and celebrate events like birthdays in a big way. Well big doesn't really have to mean spending so much in my vocabulary. I think it's more of the effort that was put into it that makes a celebration BIG. 

we labored on this birthday card Friday morning
we couldn't find time to do it without arousing suspicion from the bday boy

So for our daddy's birthday yesterday, we woke up extra early to sing happy birthday to him. Maia was still groggy but I managed to get her to help me set up the cake and the candles. I'm happy that despite having woken her up from a really good, snore-worthy sleep, she was so cheery. Her excitement over surprising her dad with a cake and her handmade card truly erased her sleepiness away. So we lighted the candles and went to wake the birthday boy up to make a wish and blow his birthday candles. I tried to create two 3's using the leftover candles from Maia's 3rd birthday but I didn't think I succeeded in doing that. I left it anyways afraid I'd just ruin the cake even more.

candles were supposed to be two 3's but i didn't have the skills for that. lolz

Too bad I wasn't able to take anymore pictures but I was able to capture that on video. This is the 2nd year that we've done this since Maia learned to sing happy birthday. I'm hoping we could keep doing this till she gets tired of it. (and yes, till I am able to sneak in and hide the cake from the birthday boy). 

here's a big kiss for my Daddy Prince!

Happy, happy birthday Daddy Prince! Thank you for trying to be patient with me. Thank you for your guidance. Thank you for taking time to make me toys from scratch (I'm still waiting for the replacement of that doll house you made before). Thank you for teaching me to be brave. Thank you for always saying I love you to me because that taught me say I love you back. Thank you for everything. Mommy and I love you very, very much!

Birthday boy hates being photographed

A Project For Her Prince

I had a really grand plan (this crafting thing has really bitten me big-time) for this little surprise of ours but tummy flu got in the way so we had to settle for this. At least in was still handmade. I hope Maia's prince will like it because the little miss really did make the effort to prettify it. 

She's really excited to hand this over to our birthday boy tomorrow. (times like this I'm happy my husband never reads this blog. lolz)

She sealed it with a kiss, Daddy Prince!