Time really does fly so fast. I still vividly remember the days when I can hold Yuri in the crook of one arm. And while newborn babies are completely adorable, I don't think I miss that stage because, seriously, I think I only got around 40-50 hours of sleep during Yuri's first three months. No wonder I lost weight so easily! Haha!
This time, though, I have a little boy who's completely different from that colicky newborn (who cried 3 hours a night, every night, for 3 months straight - no kidding). I have a little boy whose personality begins to emerge.
During his early toddler age, I used to think Yuri was only a rough boy. Well, I think all boys are rough. Hehe. Today, however, I can see the other facets of his personality:
1. I can see his being malambing (to me).
Despite his aversion to hugs from other people, he does welcome kisses hehe. However, as of this date, I'm the only one he kisses without prompting. When we're reading books, he would scootch into my arm and say, "Tabi mama." Awww!
Okay, so you moms of older toddlers may see this will change in the (near?) future, but allow me to revel in this stage of generosity. When another child or baby comes over, as in he's the one who will go back and forth from his toy shelves to the said visitor just to know what he/she would like to play with.
For example, last Sunday, when Niña was here, he kept offering her toys and books. When she finally found one she liked, she actually snatched it from Yuri's hands. I expected Yuri to get mad but he didn't. He laughed and sat beside Niña as she played with the toy. Being the intervening mom that I am, I offered Yuri another toy, but even without it, I can see he's happy seeing another baby play with his toys. Awww.
EDIT: His Ninang George insisted I include her experience with Yuri. Haha ang dami nating testimonials, baby! During her most recent visit here, Yuri ate crackers for snacks. She jokingly asked Yuri to give her a cracker, and knowing Yuri, I expected Yuri not to give her any. He was holding two in his hand: one had a bite, one was whole... Surprisingly, he gave his Ninang a cracker. Even more surprisingly, he gave her the cracker without the bite! :D
3. I can see his friendliness (and cautiousness).
If you know Yuri or have ever met him before, you would know he's deathly afraid of strangers. Not anymore! When someone comes to visit, he doesn't cry like a baby anymore. He's still very cautious, though, and would take forever to warm. Once the visitor would take time to break him out of his shell, though, he would really act friendly to him or her. Expect to be said "Hi!" to 10 times or so!
He also likes enumerating his friends now. Just last night, we had this conversation:
Yuri: Yuri dami friends.Wow, thank you. Nasali pa boobs ko.
Me: Talaga? Sino friends mo?
Yuri: Joy, Tiya (Thea), Abon (Yvonne)
Jabi (Jollibee)
Dinda (Tita)
Opus (Octopus)
Seth (neighbor kid)
Mimi (yaya of said neighbor kid)
Atahani (Ate Honey)
Deb (Gabe)
Mama
Yayu (Lolo)
Iya (Lola)
Tatu (Tito)
Ninan Joj (Ninang George)
Sassy (Rabbit)
Piña (Niña)
Toys
Books
Dede
He truly can converse now, and sometimes, his
One afternoon, upon waking up from his nap, he saw a lot of fly-catcher papers around a cabinet. You see, we were being attacked by mice during that time, and I saw one go behind the cabinet. So I got all the trapping papers and surrounded the cabinet with it.
Yuri: Yan? (Ano yan?)(Next anecdote is TMI hehe)
Me: Pang-trap ng mouse. Bubwit.
Yuri: Bubit?
Me: Oo baby, bubwit.
(Seeing that there were so many traps around the cabinet)
Yuri: Adami bubit!
The other night din, when he was nursing before sleeping, he said: Dawa dede? (Dalawang dede?)
Me: Yes baby. Dalawa.Okay, thank you, Yuri, for raising my self-esteem!
He grabbed my boobs and squeezed them together and said:
Tabiii dede, tabiii!!!
Yuri has been very protective of me since he was younger so this isn't really a new observation. However, I did notice that he becomes keener of his surroundings. Before, it takes a false hit from my sister before he gets mad. Now, if my mom jokingly gets my food from me, he gets really really mad. He already perceives bad things (although we are only kidding) more than the physical.
I also find it funny how he's trying to be a big boy now. Before, he's a crybaby and would cry for "dede" every time he stumbles. Now, when he falls, he would stand up and say, "okay nan, okay nan (okay lang." Awww!
1. Identify a handful of letters. I don't care if he doesn't know them all haha. I don't even make attempts to make him memorize the darned alphabet!
2. Identify numbers from 1 to 10. (Thanks to his yaya's persistence.)
3. Identify a few colors (orange, yellow, green).
4. Hold conversations, most of which are silly haha.
5. Identify sizes (liit and laki, small and big, baby and mama).
6. Identify people by names and identify cars by their owners!
7. Dance and sing. This boy just loooves dancing. There was one time he awoke from sleep because the neighbor played music loudly and he immediately sat up and danced!
8. Play pretend and imagine things from books (and, okay, TV) as real. He grabs cookies from books and pretends to eat them. He knows they're not real ha; he just pretends. :-)
9. Blow his nose. Can anything get more mundane? Haha! But it's a big deal for me because my sister only learned how to do it when he was already 9!
10. He's very ready for the potty, which we will tackle this week! Gora! He hates wearing the diaper and can already say he's poopoo'ed or ihi'd. Watch out for a future post about this!
11. And on a completely unrelated note, he already has 4 molars!
12. I completely lost track of the number of his words now because I simply got tired of recording. Just imagine that he can hold complete conversations now albeit still bulol!
I am completely in love with this toddler of mine, tantrums and all! I bet you didn't notice that, did you? Haha!
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