Kat in the Box

As working parents, Sherwin and I always look forward to weekends and holidays. We call it our "Daddy, Heinel and Mommy days!". These are days wherein we get to spend the entire day with our son; bring him to the park, play "boy games" with him (meaning physical and rough games such as wrestling. poor me! :), have DVD marathons (Harry Potter, Kung Fu Panda, Cars, etc..) and go everywhere with him. We make sure that he tags along with us wherever we go, and just the three of us, no yaya involved. As little time as we have with Heinel, we make sure that these are quality ones. Since I don't get to spend my entire weekdays with him, I also make sure that his time with Mommy and Daddy are not just fun but educational. I incorporate colors, numbers, words and shapes in our play. Hitting several birds in one stone, right? Then at night, when we go home and he's still awake, we read books. This is multi-tasking again. We get to spend time with him without stimulating much physically plus we get to have a little study time. Children nowadays are very intelligent. They absorb everything like a sponge that is why as parents, we should take this opportunity to teach them as much as we can. You will be surprised with how quick they learn! Having a career does not give me an excuse to miss out the tiny or seemingly insignificant aspects of Heinel's growth, that is my personal belief. I never want to miss my turn bathing him, washing him up when he poops, preparing his milk (and show him I'm shaking it well) nor calming him down when he throws a tantrum. I believe that more than my presence in major events, our establishment of a routine, even just weekly ones, provides Heinel the security that he needs from us. He knows that he will do everything with Mommy and Daddy when we are home. That is why he doesn't want anyone taking care of him other than us. He doesn't even want to lose sight of us! Now that we have Heinel, gone are the days when weekends meant waking up late and lazing around all day. Rather, it means walking up at 6:30AM to bring the little boy to the park and a more tiring day than weekday because of the endless running, chasing, playing, and cleaning. But despite all these, Sherwin and I always end the day happier than ever. Nothing compares to the joy that our cute toddler brings us. He can be vary naughty at times but he sure has cute ways of getting away with it. One day Heinel will have his own friends, his own schedule, his own life. That is why Sherwin and I will cherish every second spent with him. We will keep our "Daddy, Heinel and Mommy days" for as long as we can.

POSTED: JUNE 10, 2009 12:31PM After the Heinel was cured with his “pilay” last Friday, we were so relieved because the erratic fever finally stopped. It was a “hallelujah” moment for Win and me. but hey, not for long. Midmorning of Saturday, Heinel woke up several times crying and screaming like crazy. Normally, a bottle will soothe him but not this time. He will even throw the bottle at your face, talk about temper ha! the only way to soothe him is to carry him and tour him around the house until he tells you to go back inside the room. But mind you, this happened several times! We hardly had any sleep! Then during the day, he was so cranky and moody and he has this sudden dislike for walking. My 24 pounder son wants to be carried by me all the time. these unusual behaviors of his continued until Monday and it is then that we decided to bring him to his pedia. Turns out, he has colic! His tummy is full of gas which is why he was so cranky. Dra., gave him a medicine for colic and advised us to give him a Lactose free milk for the meantime. And also, the very reliable “manzanilla” proved to be very helpful. Hayyy.. he slept so soundly!! Thanks heavens!!!!! I do hope that this is the end of our sleepless nights… but wait, Shen, Nan, and Win has colds! Oh my, I do hope that Heinel won’t catch it…. Better get all the sleep I can get now, looks like the following days are going to be “challenging” once again…

POSTED: MAY 28, 2009

1. Knows where his nose is
2. When asked “How old are you”, he will show his pointer finger to signify “1”
3. Knows where his ears are
4. Waves to say Hi and Hello with a big smile on his face
5. Knows where his tongue is
6. Waves “bye bye”
7. Knows where his feet are
8. Knows where his hands are
9. When you say “Exercise 1,2,3…”, he will lift his arms up and down
10. When you say “Heinel, shower daddy”, it means a lot of bubbles and saliva from his mouth to your face
11. Throws “flying kisses”
12. Can do “Indian sound” (bah,bah, bah while covering and covering his mouth to produce a cute sound
13. Knows how to bless (mano)
14. Dances upon hearing any song, but more energetically when “Tell me baby” by Red Hot Chili Peppers is playing in Daddy’s ipod.
15. Ask him, “how does Daddy drive?”, and he will make a driving gesture with his hands
16. If told to sleep when he’s not sleepy, he will make a snoring sound
17. If asked how his toy bear drinks he will make a gulping sound
18. If asked how his toy bear eats, he will say “Yum,yum,yum”
19. Kisses his “friends” all time most especially Elmo and Tigger
20. When you say “Let’s count Heinel”, he will make a counting gesture with his hands
21. He can sing “Baa baa black ship”
22. Can identify a car, cat, banana, balloon and bird
23. When he wants to dance, he gets Daddy’s ipod, gives it to us, points at the ipod while dancing!
24. “Scolds” our dogs by pointing his finger at it, blabbers baby words with wrinkled eyebrows.
25. Dances whenever he sees Jollibee
26. Reminds you to give him his vitamins by handling you the bottle
27. Knows how to knock (very loudly) on the door
28. Lifts his arm up to let you know he wants his “kili-kili” to be kissed
29. Kisses with sound