Update on the Praying Toddler

3 months ago, I shared a post on how we teach Yanna to pray and how proud we are of her. This is just an update on her growing knowledge on praying.

In addition to knowing that she has to pray before eating, this time she sees to it that everyone is participating in praying. Or else, your name gets called! LOL! If her lolo is not praying along (even if he already did pray before Yanna sits to eat) she expects him to pray again. To get his attention she calls out "Wowo!" How strict! LOL! She won't start praying unless everyone participates. That's why I'm guessing she'll be a nun someday hihi! 😄

During the mass 4 weeks ago, I whispered that she should raise her hands when singing The Lord's Prayer. To my surprise, she did! It was a proud moment for us. She held her hands up the entire song. But knowing Yanna, expect kulitness to her newfound skill. After that she wants me and hubby to always hold our hands up, along with her, for the rest of the mass songs! Over naman! 😄

Another milestone is that she's starting to memorize some prayers like The Lord's Prayer, Hail Mary & Angel of God. We always pray these before bedtime so she got used to the words. What I do is when we pray, I stop mid-sentence and see if she will say the next word. Sort of like fill in the blanks. To my amazement, she knows the missing words! I just had to hug her tight for that! Little did I expect that a 17-month old can do that.

I'm so happy that she likes praying so much. Whenever she sees the statue of Mama Mary in my in-laws' house, she waves at it and says Hi! Then tells me "Mommy? Pray?" and we pray.

I'm looking forward to see what new things she'll learn the next months. For tips on how to teach toddlers to pray, you may want to check out my post on that too.

Hope you all have a meaningful Holy Week! 😃

Letting Go

In my past posts, I've told everyone how clingy Yanna is to me. It was tough, draining at times, even made me lose weight (the best part of it!). I've been looking forward to the day when she will let other people hold her, carry her and play with her.

Lately, Yanna has been very sociable. Thanks to our long stay with my in-laws here in Bicol. She lets them carry her once in a while but she still clings to me oftentimes. When she sleeps beside me, she no longer needs to nurse all the time when she wakes up at night. She can now soothe herself back to sleep without my help. Such a big improvement!

I should be jumping with joy right? This means more sleep and bed space for me, less tired arms, a little more time to myself. But you know what, I feel a sudden pang in my heart whenever she prefers being carried by my sister-in-law or when she rolls away from me during sleep. This only happened a few times but I'm still bothered. I find myself thinking " Oh my. She's starting to need me less". And I try to hide my dismay over it.

I'm crazy right? This is what I want to happen and now I realize I'm the one having a hard time letting go of my baby. Oh, she's not a baby anymore.

I know I have to let go. She needs to learn independence as she grows older. This is good for her. I need to learn to be independent from her too. I know it will take time. Right now all I want to do is treasure our time together and when she starts clinging again, I will hold her like there's no tomorrow.

Kikay-ness!!!

It was so hot yesterday here in Bicol! As in scorching hot! I was about to whine again then I saw Yanna in her cute dress and her hair tied in a ponytail ( Yaya is really good at fixing Yanna's hair! I have no talent for that!) My bad mood faded fast!

When I told her that she is so pretty, she looked for her pink Victoria's Secret bag then carried it on her shoulder. Hmm, just like me! Then she made me and yaya wear our slippers then pulled me to the door saying "Go? Go?" That's her version of "Let's go". I don't know what she's thinking but I guess she wants to go to the mall 😄

Here's a photo dump of Yanna yesterday. Enjoy! 😊

My Little Genius

I am amazed at how Yanna learns so quickly! She has at least one surprise for me each day - One or two more words added to her vocabulary, new dance moves, new song... But what really amazes me is that she already knows how to count 1 to 20 and say her A to Z at exactly 16 months!

I have underestimated her intelligence! Just a short history - at 15 months, she only knows the number 10. Then 2 weeks after, she knows numbers 9 and 10. After 3 days, she started counting 1 to 10 but with some few misses here and there. Another 3 days and she can count backwards from 10 to 1! Then 2 days after, it was A to Z! Amazing!

Here's a video of her counting backwards :)

I thought that was already the best she's got. Hubby and I were joking her grandma that she can already count to 20. Oh my! Little did we know that she already can! One day after she turned 16 months, I was jumping with joy when she suddenly counted to 20 plus she recited A to Z with ease!

What have we done to help her learn these things at an early age?

1- Make learning fun! When Yanna was still a baby, we make it a point to let her listen to us counting. We count her toes, fingers repetitively. When she was starting to walk, we count her steps and the stairs. We count anything that we think fancies her interest. For the alphabet, we point at letters from posters, books, even the taxi's plate number painted at the taxi door.

2- Read! Read! Read! We bought her books with numbers and the alphabet, and even flash cards. It is a good thing that she really loves reading so we had no problem in this area.

3- Try educational videos. I know there are lots of psychologists saying that letting your kids watch tv or videos is not good. I say it's okay as long as you keep it in moderation and you ensure that what they're watching has good content. Yanna has been watching Brainy Baby Left Brain under our supervision since she was 3 months old. It's important to watch it with them and talk to them about what you're watching to help them learn better. I repeat the words and numbers from the video and saw that Yanna liked watching me say it rather than look at the screen. Some Elmo videos of the alphabet wuth catchy tunes also worked for her.

Baby Yanna concentrating on Brainy Baby

4- Repetition is key! I sometimes find it boring to read the same books and watch the same videos over and over again but what the heck, Yanna loves it! Little did I know that she was actually learning from those repetitions.

So moms and dads, although you feel like punching yourselves for hearing the same songs or reading the same books for the nth time, resist the urge and do your kids a favor. I'm sure your kid will surprise you one of these days!

Now time to count with Yanna again :) Will upload a video of her counting 1 to 20 as soon as I get a good shot of it :)

Mommy May

How to Teach Your Toddler To Pray

90%, if not all, of parents hope that their kids grow up to be good Christians. I hear that wish every time from parents during their kids' birthday parties. So how do we do that and when to start?

In our case, I think we're doing a fine job with it. At 14 months, Yanna can somehow do the sign of the cross, knows that she needs to say a prayer before eating and sleeping, and knows how to pray at Sunday masses. She does the sign of the cross (which is tapping her chest 3x) and clasps her hands. She does this several times during mass. I am at awe everytime she does it.

Here are some tips from our experience:

1. Make it a habit to go to Sunday mass together as a family. As soon as Yanna was baptized, we made sure to always take her to the mass with us. To ensure good behavior from her, we attend mass schedules that are after her nap times. This avoids a cranky little church-goer. Of course there will be times that crying is inevitable. When this happens we take her outside the church first and return inside once she has calmed down. Since going to mass has become part of her Sunday schedule, amazingly, she no longer gets cranky inside the church and is now very well-behaved. She can now finish the mass without fuss. She's very behaved with her hands clasped together in praying position. She even sings! I'd take a photo if only we weren't in church! She's just so adorable!

Ready for mass. Baby Yanna at 3 months.

2. Eat together and say a prayer before meal. We started doing this when Yanna's 6 months old. It is important to eat together as a family to make mealtime fun for her and to teach her how important it is to share a meal with Mom and Dad. We also showed her that we need to pray before eating. At 12 months, we were surprised to see her clasping her hands together while praying. At 13 months, she started saying "Am" for Amen. And now at 14 months, once all three of us are at the table, she will remind us to pray by calling our attention, showing her clasped hands and saying "Am". Just recently, she started doing the sign of the cross (tapping her chest). Sigh, I'm such a proud mom!

3. Include your toddler when you say your bedtime prayers. Moms and Dads, I hope you are still saying your bedtime prayers together. With our fast-paced lives now, I know it's not easy. My hubby does not have a normal 8-5 work schedule so whenever he's still not home during Yanna's bedtime, I make sure that I say my bedtime prayer with Yanna. There are times when Yanna will wait for her dad to come home, and that's the time we pray together as a family. It is very important to make bedtime prayer a habit even at her very young age. Yanna really surprises me. Because she knows that prayer comes before sleeping, there are times when we forget and she reminds us! She would clasp her hands and hold it high up and show us. LOL! To prove to you that she's so into praying, whenever we finish our prayer and say goodnight, she cries! She wants to pray over and over again! LOL! I'll bet she will be able to memorize the prayers by age two at the rate we're going.

Yanna knows a lot of stuff already like trying to say the alphabet, numbers, but knowing the concept of prayer is by far the biggest milestone that she has achieved and we're so proud of being good role models to her.

How about you? What tips can you share? :)

Mommy May

Goodbye Fussy Eater!

I love food! I eat lots of food! I have a very good reason to eat a lot: Breastfeeding. My husband laughs whenever I use this excuse but really, breastfeeding moms get hungry (famished is the correct word!) fast!

I get so happy when I eat good food so imagine my frustration when Yanna refuses to eat the yummy meals we serve her. At 11 months, she still preferred the pureed baby food when she should be eating more textured food as advised by her pedia.

Well I am partly guilty. You see when I was still a working mom, I didn't have time to think of her meals. We relied too much on her organic baby food jar ( Earth's Best from Healthy Options). She loves those and it was always a happy mealtime back then.

I felt dumb when her pedia told me that Yanna should already be eating regular food like rice, fish, chicken, etc. So when we went home, we served her porridge. Just one taste and cue the waterworks. She hated it.

It was the same drama for a month. I've exhausted all techniques - sweet talking her into eating...pretending to be a baby who eats her food...playing the old airplane style, etc. It's frustrating but how can I get mad with this silly little girl?

She made her toys "eat" her food then grinned at me!

She'll get used to it. I often remind myself. Then one day, it just happened!

Yanna started eating without a fuss :)

Now she eats anything we serve her and I'm so happy that she's a healthy eater. She loves her veggies, my broccoli & cheese soup, my own version of cheesy tilapia & pasta. I love modifying dishes that will suit her!

Eating pancit and mangoes on her 14th month birthday :)

If our problem before is how to make her eat, now it's how to stop her. She imitates us. She eats what she sees that we eat. So goodbye unhealthy food! Or maybe just eat in secrecy. Lol!

My lesson learned here is to be patient. Little kids will learn everything at their own pace. I'm such a worrier so I need to constantly remind myself that Yanna will grow up just fine :)

Mommy May

My Short Vacation Trip with Yanna (Part 2)

Day 2 of our trip -- We strolled along the beach early in the morning to catch Mr. Sun. This was the beach we regularly went to when we were still kids. When I was still young, I really enjoyed swimming here, until I discovered Boracay haha! I never thought I'll enjoy this beach again but this time with Yanna, I learned to appreciate it again. This beach was full of childhood memories and now I'm back with my own daughter. Sniff!

Yanna was having some colds then and my mom said that sea water can cure it. You know how grandmothers are. I don't know where they get those ideas! Well, moms know best so I took a handful of sea water and wiped it on Yanna's face. I think I did that 5 times. (Result --- effective!!!)

Before heading home, Yanna had a crying fit again when I left her to take a bath. Her cry was so scary! It's as if she's going to lose her breath! I had to quickly finish my bath. That was not a good bath! Eeww! But a Mom's gotta do what a Mom's gotta do!

At around 10am, we were back in the car to head home but of course, a trip isn't complete without stopping by Tagaytay. We went to Bag of Beans and we were surprised that it's now bigger! The last time I went there was 8 years ago. They now serve buffets and everything in the brunch buffet menu was absolutely delicious! If I remember it correctly, it costs PhP 385/person.

 Lots of saffron rice for me! Breastfeeding eh! 

Chloe shows some love. They're so sweet together!

Yanna's really happy :)

 With my sister and her Chloe. I think Yanna adores her Ate Chloe. 

We stayed at Bag of Beans for close to 2 hours! The place is so relaxing and we kept on getting food! Yanna was very cooperative this time so I got to eat a lot! Breastfeeding really makes me hungry!

The drive home went smoothly. Yanna dozed off by herself again while watching her fave video in the car. As I looked outside the window, I can't help but smile. I knew that I did really well. I was glad that I had this yaya-less experience. I have proven myself worthy to be a mom. 

Yanna can be a challenge sometimes but my love for her makes me stronger, wiser and happier. In my quest to mold Yanna into a good person that I want her to be, I realized that she also molds me into a better mom that I can be.

Cheers to more future trips with Yanna! I am so ready!!! :)

Mommy May

The Newbie Homemaker

In my previous post, I mentioned that I'm having difficulty being a homemaker because I grew up having helpers do things for me. I have been disappointing my husband several times now in this department. I hate it when I disappoint people so I decided it was time to work on my homemaker skills!

I didn't blog last week since I want to focus on improving myself as a homemaker. At first, I didn't know where to start! I kept on walking around our humble condo unit to check on things that I can improve on. Finally I came up with 3 projects.

1- Fix that messy living room corner

With all of Yanna's toys and stuff, it's really hard to organize our home. We lack storage space and so some of Yanna's stuff (toys, mats, balloons, etc.) have been sitting in the corner of our living room for quite some time now. I cringe whenever I see that corner! I didn't like it but I was too lazy to think of a solution. Now it's a different story. Take a look! :)

Before: See that messy little corner?

After: Now our family photo is on the wall. This lamp was a wedding gift from my sister & brother-in-law but was only used now.

2- Change but be resourceful

Again, due to limited space, we had to place our little altar on top of a small bookshelf. Hubby had this bookshelf in his apartment before we were married. It serves its purpose but it doesn't match our home's color scheme (the rest of the cabinets are dark brown). I didn't want to buy a new one just because I don't like its color. Good thing my sister sold their furniture (they're moving to the States) and I immediately bought their dark brown shelf for only 250!!! What a bargain!!!

I transferred the altar and the books to the (almost) new shelf and placed the old one in the other room for extra storage for Yanna's stuff (originally from the living room corner in Project #1). I'm so happy with this! Hitting two birds with one stone!

The old bookshelf behind Yanna

The new bookshelf (I forgot to take a photo w/ the altar!)

3- Add a Christmas touch!

I wonder why putting up a Christmas Tree is a woman's task. My mom did it every year. I did it every year since we were married but I'm not complaining :) I love doing it! I want to make Yanna's Christmas a happy one. We didn't buy new tree ornaments but I feel as if the tree is prettier this year! We only bought a stocking for Yanna and a Christmas tree skirt. Yanna's face lit up when she saw the Christmas tree with the lights on :)

I'm still looking for the perfect star or angel for the tree's top...

I think I did a good job! I know these are small projects compared to some of the expert homemakers but it is a good start. I need to practice and get ready before we get our dream house. Soon? I hope so!

I'll do everything to make my husband and little Yanna happy :)

Happy Yanna :)

Watch out for more newbie homemaker posts! :)

Mommy May

My Sleeping Beauty

I love looking at Yanna while she sleeps. So peaceful. So innocent.

I hope these photos will make you feel serene too! Happy Wednesday!

Mommy May

My Short Vacation Trip with Yanna (Part 1)

The last time I visited the cemetery was 2008. Working for a BPO and shared services companies, I had to work even during All Saints Day. Pathetic, right? Now that I'm a full-time mom, it's just right that I give time to pay my respect to my departed grandparents. Well, actually, there's more to that!

My mom and sister were asking if I will join them to visit the cemetery. At first, I declined because the cemetery is in Nasugbu, Batangas. Hubby cannot join because he has work. I have no transportation. If  I'm going to travel with Yanna's yaya, we won't fit in my sister's car. So I decided not to join them again this year. Maybe next year, when Yanna's already two.

That same day at home, Yanna and I were watching her favorite DVD "Things That Go Counting" while Yaya was in her room ironing some clothes. We were happily singing and dancing along the songs. Yanna loves fidgeting with the remote so I hid it under a blanket behind me. Two minutes after that, the DVD ended so Yanna was looking for the remote. Knowing that I hid it well, I was so confident that she won't find it until I saw her face lit up. I followed her gaze and lo and behold! The remote was sitting on top of the blanket!!! I was so stunned for a minute! How did this happen? What's going on??? I swear I hid it under the blanket! I double checked when I did that!!!

Then I remembered my mom's text after I said I won't be joining them: "Okay. Just light a candle para di sila magtampo". Uh-oh! Okay, okay, I'm going!!!

I immediately texted my sister that I will be joining them overnight. But how about Yanna? I don't want to leave her especially since we're still breastfeeding. Oh well, I decided to take Yanna with me --- without hubby (He has work!) and without yaya (No space for her in the car.). Uh-oh! First time to go on a trip without yaya or hubby. Well good luck to me!

In my past post, I wrote about Yanna being very shy/clingy. She only wants ME all the time. So before the trip, I have prepared myself for the tiring tasks. I'm sure even with her grandparents, tito and ninang around, she'll only want to go with me. I keep telling myself: You can do this May! This is a test of how good a mom you are! Well, I was up to the challenge. Bring it on!!!

The day of the trip came. The travel by car was fine since my sister's car has "Things That Go Counting" DVD playing on the car TV. Yanna was well-behaved. She even dozed off by herself. Aaahhh so far so good, Mommy May!

 Before the trip

We had lunch at Kainan Sa Dalampasigan, owned by one of our wedding ninangs. The place is so beautiful!!! If ever you're in Nasugbu, do try their delicious food especially their halo-halo!

Yanna and Chloe had fun running (walking in Yanna's case) around the place. It's so nice to see Yanna having fun with her cousin.

Yanna bonding with her cousin Chloe

As predicted, Yanna won't let me out of her sight. She cried when she realized that I'm gone (I need to eat for heaven's sake!) and realized that it's grandma holding her hand. I wasn't able to eat well. Poor me! Just when the shrimps are so good!!!

Here's a photo of a tired mommy :p

The good thing about this whole situation is that I had the chance to be babied again by my mom. Hihi! She had to feed me while I carry Yanna. It was so funny! Three generations... motherly love being passed on.

What a sight! LOL!

We visited the cemetery late afternoon. We forgot that the sun sets earlier nowadays and before we knew it, it was pitch black! We went there Oct 31 so there were only a few people there and very few lamp posts. Kinda spooky! After saying our prayers, we went back to the resort and rested.

For Day 1, it was a good day overall. Bedtime went well except for her crying fit while I took a shower. She even threw up because she was crying so hard. No one was able to console her, until she saw me got out of the bathroom. Sigh!

But this day was fun! A little tiring but nothing I can't handle.

Not bad, Mommy May! Not bad at all! :)


Mommy May