Don't Know Who's Prouder

Us parents or our child :)





The're well-deserved stars too. He got a little upset about his ears filling with water but in both Baby and Me classes, he was the only one who could do the 5-second dunk without crying after.

Great Way to End The Week

Last Thursday, Pappie arrived home early to cook for yours truly. He bought two huge live crabs that Yakee played with for a while. I was anxious that he'd think of them as pets and playmates, to be honest. Pappie also had shrimps, veggies and a tempura sauce to balance out all the cholesterol.

Pappie slaved over the kitchen and managed to really make me feel super happy and blessed. And everyone made sure I had all the time in the world to enjoy the food.


sweet chili crabs and shrimps


veggie tempura which Yakee enjoyed

*~*

Friday, I went to meet up with LATCH moms and after that, hubs and I met at Mega Mall and had a dinner date.

Saturday, Pappie watched with my sister and cousin Yakee's progress at the pool. Poor Mommy, Yakee was bent on impressing Pappie that the little tyke refused to pay attention to the instructor! He's still a tropper though :) Then we went to Tagaytay eventhough it was raining half the time to shop at Ilog Maria and the marketplace, and also eat bulalo and buy Mushroom burger.


see Yakee kicking while trying to copy
Mommy blowing bubbles in the water


for once, we're all smiling in the same pic!

Then we spent the rest of the weekend with my in laws... who fed us much and enjoyed Yakee more :) We also started planning our Marinduque trip.

*~*

I don't know if it's his cousins or Yakee himself who slid a 5-centavo coin in his diapers. I knew it wasn't passed along with his poop when I changed him and I really laughed when I saw it.

He learned to say "paper" today.

Sink or Swim

I was asking a friend if they've already enrolled their son in swimming lessons and he told me that he's still thinking twice about it. When asked why, he reasoned that he's wondering if being taught to swim would do his son good. He further said that not knowing how would mean his son will be more cautious and he need not worry about his son drowning. He also said that it's those who know how to swim who often get into accidents and die because they were confident to go where the water is deep.

I was bothered by this exchange. And I told hubs about it. It isn't that I wanted to pull Yakee out of his swimming lessons, but I wondered if our decision is really putting him at risk. I wondered if empowering my son in general would put him at more risks in general.

Great thing hubs helped me put things in perspective. First, he said he doubts that those who know how to swim are in greater risk of drowning. It's just that the fact that they do know how to swim but they drowned nonetheless makes their death more tragic, and thus, more remembered. Hubs says he still believes that people who know how to swim are more likely to survive plane crashes and sinking ships and if they still die, then it's just really their time.

So we rekindled our commitment to being the kind of parents who will empower our kids. We cannot guarantee successes and we cannot foresee any mishap, but we really hope we can give them all the tools and skills they need to make good decisions.

Plus, Yakee loves the water and loves 'swimming'. We enrolled him in BLSS classes to see if it's something he really likes doing (aside from provide an outlet for all his nervous energy). We superficially dream he'd be another Michael Phelps but really, we just want him to be a happier child.

The Gratifying Yesterday

Yesterday was pure bliss and blessing.

It was the first time Pappie could attend Yakee's swimming class and see for himself what a trooper his son is. With videocam in hand, he watched as his son kept paddling and kicking as well as laughing and smiling. The class is only 30 minutes long but for a toddler, it could be quite exhausting (exhausting for Mommy too!). But Yakee kept making Mommy and Pappie proud. His other classmate for that batch kept crying, and a new classmate who was a year older only howled the entire time.

I think it helped that I was there with Yakee from Day 1, while the other boy had different caregivers accompanying him in the water. We both knew what to expect and we both progressed with the lessons. Yakee trusted me and I knew his limits. So when he was being dunked in the water, he was still alright.

And really, Mommy was so proud. And I hoped Pappie will be too, and he'd realize that his son is indeed worth the classes. See, we wondered before if Yakee was ready for such or if it would just traumatize him. In fairness to BLSS, the classes are really systematic. I love Teacher Berna and Charisse! And i'm happy that hubs acknowledged my efforts because its really not easy handling a tot in water.

After the swimming class, we headed to the pedia for Yakee's booster shot. Other parents waiting in the clinic with us couldn't help but smile at Yakee's antics and marvel at what he can do (and yes, they also kept commenting on how high-spirited he was). He also couldn't help but impress, even his pedia, with his signing vocabulary. It's probably wrong to be tickled pink but when I engage Yakee with the picture charts in the clinic, it was really gratifying to have him point out what I was asking for, do the sound for that (if any) and also do the sign. I'm not sure if that's advanced and I don't really care about that, it was just a validation of our parenting.

One mother there, whose daughter is suffering from some congenital anomaly that has resulted in hemorrhoids (she's not yet 3) and is requiring surgery, was also vocal about how much of a jerk her police husband is. She regaled us with stories of how she's caught him cheating and all the other selfish things he does and laments about how karma is taking it out on her and their daughter instead of him. Of course, that made me feel grateful all over again. The worst Yakee had to contend with is that gastroenteritis thingie last January, but though that was bad, it wasn't as bad as that poor girl who really had something wrong with her. Or that wee boy who needs oxygen and is being fed through a tube up his nose.

And my husband is an involved father and a committed husband. And we can afford health care. Really, everything else is just icing.

After the pedia visit, we decided to catch the christening reception of hubs' former colleague. We were very late (as pedia visits tend to drag on and on) but we wanted to just hand our gift (hubs is Ninong) and make that effort. And we knew that it was appreciated. And Yakee ended up getting a little traumatized from an overzealous Zoe who kept on kissing him. Hehe.

Then we went home. SIL was upset because she wanted to bring my nephew to the doctor but she didn't have money and my brother is late coming home. And distant relatives came to ask if they can stay the night because a child is already turning blue/black because of a hole in her heart. Poor girl cried half the night because she ate a cookie I gave them, and her heart couldn't stand the pumping required to digest it.

Again, I had to hug my darling husband and thank him for not putting me in a position where I can't bring my son to the doctor should he need immediate care. I thank him for working hard, for loving us, for the knowledge that we're the only ones that truly matter to him. It's sad that others aren't so lucky.

So yesterday was filled with bliss and blessings indeed.

Holy Week in Marinduque

Suffice it to say, we were spoiled rotten with MIL's nurturing, the flowing food and the fresh air of sea. Going back to Manila was literally painful, especially for Yakee who got so used to roaming around.

We had great fun! And it was great to share the Moriones Festival with hubs' family. Yakee wasn't scared of the Morions, mascots and all the raging din at all. He even danced to the beat :)

Our Holy Week in pictures:


our flight with Zest Airways was okay, and
Yakee slept during both flights


my babies slept and swam a lot


while I ate a lot (there were at least three
gallons of ice cream, fruits (mangoes, watermelon,
bananas, grapes), seafood (fish, crabs, shrimp),
snacks (from fried Kropek to Toblerone)


we enjoyed the scenery


we joined in on the Moriones festivities


Yakee had great fun


as in super fun!

For more pics, check out our Smugmug galleries:
Holy Week 2009
Moriones Festival 2009
Yakee: Marinduque Fun

*~*

Too bad we can't get cheap tickets anymore for May. (But I did buy tickets for our July Boracay trip already)

Yikes!

The family just came from spending Holy Week in Marinduque. Needless to say, we were pampered like crazy. Mom-in-law must have bought at least five kilos of local crabs and two gallons of ice cream as my welcome treat. I only ate about two kilos of the crabs (or three) because there were shrimps and fish and more ice cream the following days.

We just basically ate, lounged, ate, lounged. Sure, we sometimes went to the towns to enjoy the Moriones Festival and we made sure to go swimming every afternoon but still, we basically just ate and lounged. Yakee had more exercise because he kept surveying the place.

Hubs and I talked about becoming healthier people after this binge. So now I am checking out a health blog while also editing pictures of our trip and catching up on mails. Can you believe it, I didn't go online for five days!!!

And hubs and I better shape up a little because we intend to go back to that wnderful haven of theirs in May. The family will be complete then so food and drinks would be flooding, not just flowing! Plus, I had a hard time finding a new bathing suit that flatters my blah shape.

Yakee's swimming lessons with Lozada starts tom!

Wet and Full

SIL brought her daughter's big pool which we set up in MIL's garage. So while stuffing ourselves with all the food at MIL's, we let the kids catch colds playing in their pool.





Half of the Arevalo clan will be in marinduque this Holy Week, while the other half is going there in May. They're trying to convince us to go again in May but we're really not sure if we can afford another trip there.

Marinduque in itself is a cheap place, plus, given that they have a home there, we can really save lots in accommodations. But it can be an exhausting land trip or expensive plane ride for a weekend getaway.

*~*

We have so many last-minute things to buy and prepare for this trip. But Yakee already has three swimming trunks packed, hehe.

Starting April with a Date

My PMS was such that my relationship with hubs got a little strained. Not strained enough to threaten our marriage, but strained enough to make us both feel bad.

And so, we went on a date. A date wherein we mostly just held hands and talked about our son. Sometimes, there'd slip a memory of something we used to do in our conversations (like that phase of frying Kropek thingies at home) but we mostly talked about our son.

Hubs even bought a height chart and kite for him. And we bought sunblock. And books.

But it was nice, being out and just with him. It definitely cleared the air. We also have that massage date on Monday so we'd have a headway on R&R before Holy Week vacation really starts. Then Wednesday, we fly to Marinduque to bask in the sun and sea.

*~*

I love you Baby. And true, we are both really lazy. Hehe.