Summer Look

Nissa took this shot two weeks ago. It’s Nate’s short, short hair cut for the summer days. I posted it as my profile photo and it earned a lot of comments and likes.  It’s the first time since he was a year old that he has his hair trimmed this short.  Nate is our little “binata” now.

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Early Summer

I think it is not officially summer yet but two weeks ago Nissa’s family went on another swimming trip. Nate loves the water. We were supposed to go with them but we could not leave mom alone in the house. My eldest brother was not available. Nissa took some photos of their trip.

I am sure those were enjoyable moments for our baby who is now four years old.  At the beach or in  a swimming pool, he loves it. Maybe it’s about time he officially learns how to swim.

 

 

 

 

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Enjoying The Butterflies

 

 

It’s our baby’s third birthday on Sunday, November 22. As they say, time flies and it does.  Every year since Nissa got married, she would plan of where to take their vacation as a family. This time, it is a celebration of both their 4th  wedding anniversary and Nate’s 3rd birthday all in the month of November. They went to Baguio city on a three-day trip and looking at the several photos that Nissa shared earlier, Nate enjoyed his vacation.  They visited the butterfly sanctuary at Camp John Hay.  It must be nice to be surrounded by these lovely creatures.

Last year, he enjoyed the beaches of Siquijor and the lovely places in Dumaguete City down south, this time, the lure of the cool climate of Baguio up north was just perfect.

He was more than a year old when he experienced his first pony ride. Look at him, he enjoyed horseback-riding at Wright Park. Nissa said he didn’t want to go down. A lot of kids would probably get scared, not Nate. He is a brave little man, not so little anymore, he is now a big boy.

He is the friendliest kid I know. He won’t hesitate to smile at strangers and befriend them.  He would say  “Hi” even to wait staff and sales assistants in department stores complete with a hand wave.

Have a blessed and happy birthday Nate. See you soon 🙂

 

 

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Nate At Play

 

I had a lovely bonding with Nate when they came over yesterday for a visit.  My daughter and son-in-law went to the dentist so I was left  with Nate with just the yaya. Unmindful of the camera, he played on his own with colorful blocks that he said he will make into an airplane, a house for me (haha), car and other objects that he could think of with matching sounds and shouts that a typical almost three-year old can do.

Watching  him with those playful and serious expressions on his face was a joy. My camera was set on a fast-moving mode but I was not able to catch up with how fast he moved and assembled his toys sometimes according to colors and sometimes according to size.

Kids are so creative nowadays. They learn fast and they learn much in a short time.  I haven’t seen him for about a month but I was amazed at how he has grown.  Our only contact  was occasionally talking over the phone during weekends.

There was this instance when I said “I love you Nate” over the phone and I was really surprised when he answered, “I love you too”.  Yesterday I told him I’ve missed him a lot and he said “miss you too”.  Hahaha, he is learning.  When he alighted from the car, that was followed  by a tight hug and a wet kiss.

We picked calamansi later, on his insistence and he smiled and clapped every time he picked one. Never mind that the ones he picked were still too small.  Just watching him smelling the lemony scent of the calamansi flowers was a joy too.

He kept asking where his mom and dad were and we reminded him that they went to the dentist. Then he said, “dentist din ako”  while showing his teeth to me. What he meant was, he would also like to go to the dentist and have his teeth cleaned. The wisdom of a child.

What will it be this time? Play ball with Nonna? The joys of being a grandma – precious moments indeed.

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Nate’s First Day In School

It’s another milestone in our baby Nate’s life, it is his first time to attend summer school. We are all excited. Nissa and I were exchanging jokes last night and I laughed when she said “I am a stage mom.” She filed a leave of absence from work so she could accompany Nate to the learning center where he is enrolled for the summer. It would not be complete of course without pictures, right?

Ready…set…go!

A little bit shy or he is just observing other kids…

He must be wondering what to do with the paper and pencil.

Go Nate, that is only for a few days but you will gain lots of friends.

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Nate Turned Two

This is a late post actually and it’s long overdue. Our baby turned two last November 22, 2014. Time flies! He is now a talkative two-year old. Sometimes  he speaks in straight English (two or three words in a sentence mostly)  but he also knows how to speak Tagalog.  Nissa and I took some shots when they spent lunch here and when they visited Avilon Zoo.

Where are the candles?

Yes, this is his favorite character and he was made to blow the candle several times before Nissa could get the shot right 🙂

Look how serious he is in opening his gifts while his Ninong looks on.

Wondering what’s in the box! And look at the smile on his face…

Wow! It’s a car, he shouted.

He says, “ang bigat” (it’s heavy) while trying to lift the box.

Excited to see the animals Nate?

Look mommy!

I think that is the same cockatoo I saw before five years ago.

Feeding the rabbits…

What are you smiling at Daddy? Let’s go inside…

A week ago, they spent the night here and we had a good laugh while we watched him sing, shout and do some story-telling. As usual, he would start it with “one day……” then he smiles. The sweet smile is the end of the story,  ha-ha!

 

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Happy Birthday To Our Little Nate

Today, we celebrate the gift of life.It’s our little Nate’s 2nd birthday. If his first birthday was a blast, today we spent lunch together at home.  They came over for lunch before going to Avilon zoo.  He needs a hair trim and his daddy is planning to buy him a little car of his own.  He was so happy with his  remote control toy car which Josef has given him earlier. He kept saying “wow, galing” and “thank you” ninong.

They need to start him on potty training now that he is two so I gifted him with a trainer set that doubles as a sturdy chair with its own music that he can listen to.  We laughed out loud when we let him try it even with his disposable diaper on. How could one be happy potty-training a child you might ask, at least now he knows  what it’s meant for:) We have another simple celebration tomorrow with Nissa’s in-laws, just the family, Nissa’s and Obet’s. He has yet to blow the candles on his cake.

Time flies!  He is no longer a baby, he is a toddler now and sometimes I could see that he is starting to assert himself when it comes to wearing  shoes  (a Crocs pair that I gave him almost a year ago is his favorite footwear now), holding a spoon when he eats (is being left-handed normal to a two-year old?), to choosing shorts over pants.  Nissa says he can’t stay in one place, running all the time, imitating what he sees on TV. I told her yaya to limit TV viewing  and read books to him instead.  Terrible two, that’s what they say of this age. Where did those words come from?  It’s pretty normal for a child to be curious on everything.

Happy birthday Nate. We still have a lot to learn and discover together even if we only see each other once a month. Hearing your voice saying “lab you Nonna” over  the phone is enough for now.  God bless you baby, may you grow to be healthy, smart and a loving child.

Nate’s first scribbles using my Stabilo markers and scratch pad.

Nissa posted this on her wall and shared it with me.

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Define F-U-N

I have several pictures that Nissa shared, some of them taken here  at home when they had an overnight stay two weeks ago. Every weekend when they are free, they bring Nate to visit places where he can enjoy and where they could relax just watching him experience things that he hasn’t done before.

What a child does to make you smile.

We had fun, rather Nonna had more fun having Nate around.  Family Day over the weekend.

So curious…so happy!

Fun to the max…..

Sometimes you wish you have the energy, the same degree of curiosity, and the urge and desire to experience same things like a child does – without fear, just a bunch of laughter and smiles.

Define f-u-n 🙂

 

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Another Bookworm, What Do You Think?

I love these shots which I took of  Nate two weeks ago. Nissa brought along a story book when they came over for an overnight visit but when he saw my books at the night table, he smiled and said, “bok, bok” so I told him they are dusty. He immediately got one of his diapers and started wiping them while at the same time looking at the pictures on the cover pages. Another bookworm in the making. He is now careful in turning the pages, he finally learned that books are not toys. I can’t wait to see the day when he grows up and learns to read. I have this vision of  us going together to a bookstore and exploring more books  and buying  some favorites.

Now and then, we still talk through Viber, just shouting endless “I love you Nate” and “Nonna, Nonna”.

 

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Look, That’s A Teddy Bear

I know you would probably ignore this. What’s a pair of slippers doing in my blog? It’s for our little guy of course. I loved how he danced, skipped and smiled while looking at himself in the full length mirror in our bedroom.  He is appreciative of everything you give him, proof that he is really growing up fast.

It’s a little too big yet for his tiny feet but he keeps wearing my bedroom slippers so I let him wear this. He was shouting “bear, bear” when he saw the designs embroidered in the pair. I bought him a pair of Crocs slippers too but it was designed for a two to three-year old so maybe he could use it next year. I keep reminding Nissa to always check  the gifts Nate received on his first birthday, she might forget that there are still more than a dozen shirts he has not worn yet, toys still unopened, and books that are just waiting for him to discover.

I was craving for something sweet  this morning so I baked a carrot cake. I could imagine Nate shouting  “yummy” if he were here.  That’s the only word he describes food, it is always yummy. It’s really a joy to see him enjoying vegetables in his meals  as long as they are not cooked dry.

The joys of being a grandma, priceless moments  to treasure.

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