School Days

It’s one of those days again. I am just happy and feel  so proud that our little Nate has maintained his grades this third grading period.

Nissa just forwarded to me photos of his report card and awards.  He needs though to exercise self-control. He is just so active and talkative in class.  He always initiates conversations Even when we are at the mall, he says hi to people he meets in the stores.

I read somewhere in a research that a child’s intelligence takes after the mom. Is this true? Nissa was a consistent honors student  from kindergarten to college. she graduated Magna Cum Laude.  

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Another Milestone

Yesterday was another milestone in Nate’s life and in ours too, his family.

It was a lovely celebration of Moving Up at the Manila Hotel, a two-hour program where they sang and danced.  They didn’t have this honors awards but Josef got two awards, Best in Reading and best In Science. So proud of you baby. I remember those days when your mom was like your age. I started her in kindergarten instead of nursery school but she got the first honors and a gold medal. Bank in high school and in college I was up the stage every recognition day and graduation. She graduated  Magna Cum Laude.  Hoping you will too when you grow up. I can’t help but post these lovely photos of yours.

how lovely getting those gold medals.

 

A close-up shot of our future pilot.

 

Ladies and gentlemen, we are now on our final approach into Manila. This is your Capt. Nate speaking….

 

Nissa, a proud mommy up the stage. Sarap ng feeling di ba?

 

meeting a real pilot in the hotel. Are you shy baby?

 

the proud parents with the new graduate.

I am so proud of you baby. So happy for you 🙂  Moving up soon to nursery school Make it good.

 

 

 

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Tell Your Kids Stories

Definitely, there are no dull moments when Nate is around. I had a great time bonding with him yesterday that it made  me miss him so much today. As soon as he saw the pictures displayed in our dining area, he said, “Ninong, Ninong”  while looking at the framed shot of Josef with him when he was just a month old. It took Josef quite sometime before he could confidently hold Nate when he was just a baby. The  word Ninong in the vernacular means a male godparent.  Then he would point his fingers to the other photos and identify each of  us. This is always what he does every time they come over for a visit – seeing his mommy and daddy, his Nonna (that’s me of course), his tito and the various studio shots of himself when he  was barely a year old.

He left this monkey toy yesterday and I had it on my bed for the night. It smells of Nate of course, that nice baby scent that clings to his toys and pillow.

The frustrations of a grandma! I was telling Nate stories from one of the children’s books that they brought with them. Nissa said that I was not a good story-teller because I cannot pronounce the sounds right. Vruummm….vruummm goes the car and it sounded like short pop of words that does not appeal to my listener then she demonstrated how it sounds. I got frustrated 😦  Never mind, I have to practice soon.It is important that we teach our kids by telling them stories.  I could scare him to death (and that means he laughs out loud and jumps atop the bed covering his eyes while I make faces). He really loves that. The things we do just to make the day a wondrous one for our baby.

He made his bag into a headgear, face serious to scare Nonna. Hahaha!

Children learn words, they learn sounds, they see objects in the story book that would add to their knowledge.  Body language is just as important. Think about what they see and feel when you open your arms wide in welcome.  Think about the sense of love and comfort they feel when you embrace them tight. Think about letting them show what they can do and you clap your hands in approval and say “ang galing”.

I was amazed that he already knows so many words and can speak three words in one sentence. He is only a year and eight months old but he can pronounce the words right and can identify the names of objects in his ABC book. I can’t fault Nissa for teaching him this early, she really spends time teaching Nate when she’s at home.  In between their monthly visits, I get to talk to him often thru Viber. Nissa tells me that he knows how to locate the app and when he  sees my picture there, he would always say, “Nonna, Nonna, Nonna”.  That probably means “Let’s call Nonna, mommy”.

Home or mall? And he says “mall”. Nissa told me that he usually imitates the last word when you ask  him to choose. We laughed when he said in his excited voice, “Daddy……buy robot”.  How did that come about, I asked Nissa and she told me that he kept repeating those words to his daddy when he saw a robot on TV.  Oh well, I just told them to look at the unopened boxes of toys that Nate got on his first birthday last year. They might be surprised if  there is something  there that would make Nate smile. He received a lot of clothes and toys on his birthday.

Blue is the color of the day.

Way to go baby, I miss you so much and did I say, I love you so much too?

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Together Forever

I copied this from Nissa’s timeline. I love the caption she put in the picture, Nate’s and her hand  linked  together. She said and I quote “Hawak kamay, di kita iiwan sa paglakbay dito sa mundong walang katiyakan.” It’a  line from a song  that loosely translated means, “I will always be here for you”. 

I did a similar shot when Nate was barely a month old and called it Touches  and posted it here earlier. Notice the difference in Nate’s grip, whereas before his tender grip just simply means he trusts  us that we would take care of him and love him the rest of our lives, this picture speaks of that unconditional love, his way of showing that he loves us back in his own little way.

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I Love Weekends

I guess the best weekends are always those times spent with the family, more precious moments to enjoy with  Nate especially. We had  three-hour rotating brownouts  this afternoon  but it was a blessing in disguise because instead of staying inside the house, we got to spend time at the garden where there was an occasional breeze blowing. Nate enjoyed watching the dogs roam around and picking kalamansi. We had a good laugh teaching him new words. He would always smile  and laugh when he can’t pronounce the words and we would laugh with him. Despite the heat of the afternoon, we enjoyed the family bonding.

A typical Nate smile. Love his eyes when he smiles.

Making a go at a close-up shot.

Kalamansi picking and counting airplanes.

Our place is on the eastern side of Metro Manila so we get to see every airplane that passes  going to and from the airport. Nate had a good time watching those airplanes gliding like big birds in the sky. Nissa is counting the days when they could bring Nate on a trip to celebrate their wedding anniversary and Nate’s birthday. She told Nate that he would ride in one of those big birds soon.  I think he also enjoyed picking kalamansi with his yaya. Never mind that he can’t distinguish which is ready for picking or not, it’s the experience that counts.

Are you trying to call me baby?

Just happy being with Mommy!

And looking at his pictures on Nissa’s phone.

And he is serious about it or just being happy sitting on mommy’s lap.

Precious moments with Mommy at the garden.

The joys of motherhood.

You are growing so fast baby, I just love this stage in your life discovering so much of what you can do now. I love how you smile and laugh and  how you enjoy playing hide and seek with me. I love  to hear your shouts and your way of saying “Nonna, Nonna”.

 

 

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Time Flies Too Soon

Nate’s latest pics.

Nissa sent these pictures to me through Viber last night. Wow, he is no longer a baby. Time flies…so fast. See you in a few days Nate. I miss you so much.

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Spending Precious Moments With The Family

I am back, after a long, long absence from this blog. Our baby has grown, he will be turning one year and seven months in a week’s time. The days are definitely moving so fast.

Yesterday, we had lunch at Gumbo, an American style restaurant much like our favorite Burgoo. I had a grand time bonding with my super, super “kulit apo”. Take that to lovingly mean, he was curious about everything, repeating words that he hears even to the point of calling his dad “honey” after hearing his mom call him that way.  I say, he is a great explorer now. I took pictures and some of them made me laugh.

Tender moments between father and child.

The favorite ninong, there is never a dull moment when the two of them are together.

Camera shy? No, he is not. He is just being playful . That’s a typical Nate smile.

We were having fun, trying to make those socks and shoes stay in place. Poor Ninong!

Look at the two of them. He was persuading his Ninong to go and explore. Don’t you ever get tired baby?

My knees tremble at the thought of running after Nate. His typical walk is running around, left, right, straight up. Looks like he is practicing for the marathon 🙂

And this completes the day, time spent with the family.

Thank You Lord for all the blessings.

Nate is now at that stage where he imitates every word he hears.  Most of the time, he calls his Ninong Josef “kuya”.  I laughed out load when I heard him say honey/daddy to his Dad because he also heard Nissa call his dad honey.  You also discover something precious from the wisdom of a child. And you feel happy when you see his smiles.

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Let The Pictures Speak

Our baby is exactly seventeen months old today, a bubbly, talkative (most of the time though, he has his own language and vocabulary) and smart kid. He is now at that age where imitating words is a regular exercise and absorbing new ones are truly priceless. I stopped taking pictures the last three months or so since when they are here on regular visits, I prefer to play with him, show him the garden (which he always enjoys) and watch Brainy Baby DVDs together. Nissa always sends me pictures though and sometimes I just laugh and miss him even more.

It’s been a while since I blogged about him and Nissa’s accounts of Nate’s adventures will probably make a long, long blog. I treasure all those in my heart though and when I am alone and lonely, I look at his pictures and imagine he is around.

Fun time with Nonna.

Look at his rapt attention while watching Brainy Baby. He always give a shout every time he sees a picture of a baby.

He could really be funny at times. Every facial expression has its own story 🙂

He is always thrilled every time he sees his Ninong.

Josef is his favorite Ninong and every time he seems him, they bond together. He would not think twice letting Josef carry him around when they see each other.

Every Saturday is family day for the three of them.

I must admit, he has gone to more places the last four months than I did.  He seems to enjoy grocery-shopping. They go out every Saturday if time permits and he enjoys kiddie rides and the carousel. Nissa says he is fond of horses, real or not. Last January, they brought him to Tagaytay to celebrate my son-in-law’s birthday and he enjoyed horseback-riding.

I think this is his third hair trim since he turned a year old. Nissa says it is harder now to make him sit quietly so they give him toys to play with while having a hair cut.

the bookworm?

I hope and wish he would really learn to appreciate books and be a little bookworm like his mom. I started Nissa on reading early and it helped her a lot  when she started school. It’s a habit that we wish Nate would enjoy too.

Happy 17th month Nate, I really miss you so much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Cooking With Chef Nate

I was trying to look for something different to prepare for Noche Buena,  a simple menu that the kids would enjoy including Nate of course since he is now eating solid food. Then I saw one of Nate’s pictures which is part of the studio shots they had earlier at Picture Company. Can’t resist  posting it here.

So what’s it to be Chef Nate? I know banana and porridge are your favorites but we have to cook something substantial and yummy.  Will you help me?

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Our Baby’s First Haircut

I’ve meant to post these pictures yesterday but I was a little busy. It’s another milestone in our baby’s life, having his first haircut, that is. They brought him to Cuts 4 Tots Hair  Salon at Robinsons Ermita before his first birthday and Nissa took some shots. Someday, when he is old enough to read and see his pictures, he would surely appreciate them all.

Look at how long his hair is.

Good boy Nate, love that barber’s chair…….

Looking good baby, gone are the long bangs.

And it comes with  a cute certificate with his lock of hair inside.

And here’s a closer shot of “before” and “after”.

See you soon baby. Love you so much. Nonna could not get enough, right?

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