Showing posts with label Baby Milestones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Baby Milestones. Show all posts

April 7, 2014

Thoughts on the Mommy Wars

I am not a fan of the so-called mommy wars. I must admit that I am passionate about the choices I make (i.e. breastfeeding, attachment parenting, and open-ended play) and I have a strong opinion about them, but I will never think of having an actual argument with another parent about these choices.

I am only human so there are times I catch myself judging other parents, but God made me realize I could be easily like them have my circumstances been different.

Now, I've been lucky that in the first two years of Yuri's life, I haven't encountered anyone who debated my beliefs. Sure, I received a couple of comments when Yuri still wasn't walking at 12 months old, but those were from family and family friends. They don't have the right to judge, yes, but I'd rather hear comments from them than from actual strangers. I considered myself lucky for never having them.
But I recently realized that as the child grows up, the "war" becomes less about you and your parenting style and more about the child and his milestones.

Unfortunately, I learned this in one weekend and in two different incidents.

None of these incidents were really harmful - in fact, they were bordering on petty - but it made me see how easy it is to judge other people.
First one is from a dad, an American neighbor, who just happened to pass along our house one Saturday afternoon. He had his son with him who was just a couple of months older than Yuri.

He asked me how old Yuri is and I asked him about his son, too. Then he asked me how many words Yuri can already speak.

You see, at that time, Yuri was just making random noises while playing with the other child.

I hesitated, frankly because I have already lost track. And also because I had to speak in English haha. I started, "Well..."

But he cut me off and said, "Oh he can't speak yet."

"What?"

"He can't speak yet? My son can already say many words. English, Filipino, even some Bisaya words. He (pointing to Yuri) can't speak yet?"

March 26, 2014

Yuri is 2: 24 Random Things About You

Dear Yuri,

You're 2 today! To mark the first hour of your birthday, uh, you fell from the bed. It's okay because, well, I placed a cushion on that side of that bed. You woke up alarmed with large eyes, and I said, "Okay lang, baby." You closed your eyes again but not before you replied, "Okay nan."

To say I'm absolutely in love with you is an understatement. I completely adore you and I thank God every day for giving you to me, to us. I cradled you back into my arms again (we cosleep), and as you settled down to nurse, I smiled and then I thought of all the random things that you, in all of your two years, have or have not done.

Since you are 24 months today (2 years!), I decided to write down 24 random things about you. I hope you enjoy reading them when you're older!

1. You never drooled. Ever. I remember seeing little babies with bibs which seemed to be permanent parts of their outfits, but not you. You never wore a bib when you were little. Even when you started eating solids, the only time you had to wear bibs were during mealtimes.

2. You were never fussy when teething. In fact, I didn't even notice when your first tooth erupted. Recently, I only noticed that four of your molars were already present. You didn't even make a peep, not a sound. Well, to be honest, you could have been clingier during those times, but I was none the wiser.

3. You were a colicky baby. To this day, I never found out the reason. All I know is that during the first three months of your life, you would cry straight for three hours each night. I did everything I could do, but nothing could stop your crying. You suddenly stopped after three months.

Really?

4. You started sleeping through the night when you were four months old. It was as sudden as when you stopped being colicky. One night, you just slept through the night, of course, while nursing a few times. By then, I stopped being fearful of being alone with you.

5. Yes, I was afraid of being alone with you the entire night. I was only 23 years old, living the life of a single mother, with a colicky baby to boot. This is why we slept in the living room for 3 months.

6. For the first three months of your life, I slept on the couch while you slept on your stroller. The crib was too big for you then, and I was afraid you would feel insecure in it.

7. You are 24 months now (2 years old!), but you have never been to the beach yet.

8. You had to spend the first six days of your life in the hospital because, er, you went out of momma's tummy late (I had to get cut up), and by the time you were out, you already ate meconium, your first poop. So cool, right? I bet you couldn't wait to tell this to your playmates. But remember that it could have caused different complications, and through the grace of God, you came out very very healthy. (Birth story here)

9. Even if I breastfed you for 2 years (and counting), you had S26 as your first food. Nobody taught me how to breastfeed in the hospital (as neither of your lolas were there, and your lolo doesn't know the first thing about breastfeeding).

10. You spoke your first word when you were around 16 months old, and it was "car."

11. You went on your first airplane flight when you just turned 7 months old. We went to Cebu to visit some relatives. I was anxious, but you were very behaved during the flight. In fact, you only cried because you already wanted to nurse, and after nursing, you were fine.

12. Your first tooth erupted when you were 11 months old. It was late compared to other children, but that's okay. Your teeth erupted one by one during the next months anyway.

13. You used to be so wary of strangers, but now, you're warming up. Whenever another baby or kid visits the house, you go out of your way to make him or her feel welcome. You even consider your ninangs as friends now!

With Ninang Teena (or Nina Tina)

14. During your first months, momma wasn't so style-savvy yet, and there was a month when you wore hand-me-down girls' shoes. Don't worry; you still looked so adorable. Of course, you also had boy shoes hihi.

15. You never tore a single page from any book, unlike a certain sister I know who tore almost all of my Clueless books. I still preferred giving you cloth books when you were very little, though, because I was afraid of the chemicals in the ink. After your first birthday, though, we began reading many books!

16. You became obsessed with cars after your first birthday and until now. You even recognize specific neighbors' cars now.

17. You are a carb-monster: You're a fickle eater but your love for carbs remains consistent. Your favorite foods are pasta (w/o red sauce), pancit, bread, crackers, cake... In fact, when we were at Vikings, all you ate were ramen and mantao.

18. Speaking of carbs, your latest favorite food is the humble but glorious suman.

19. You took your first step at 13 months, which is later than some children, but again, it's perfectly okay! You were running a few months after anyway.

20. You are always mistaken for a girl. No matter where we go, someone almost always mistakes you for a girl. Even when you were looking like this:
Seriously?

21. You had a very wide vocabulary even before you turned 2. I always say that you might have been a late walker but your talking skills compensated for it - not that we need compensation!

22. You were potty-trained a couple of weeks before turning 2. Save for a few days of regression, everything else went smoothly. Yay!

23. You currently love dancing and singing. You would dance to any tune you hear on the radio (using your signature rolling hands dance step), and you would try to sing whenever you hear a song you like!
Don't stare at my tongue.

24. You are turning out to be a very sweet and affectionate little boy. A few months back, I prayed that you would show affection more because, well, you're a bit rough like a little boy should be. Now, you're fond of giving kisses, hugs, and you even occasionally tell us "I love you." I love you, too.
___________________

There is more of you and more to you than these 24 random things, baby, and you should know that these are but a few of the things that I hold dear to my heart. I'm pretty sure I will spend a big part of my life telling you more about the things that make you so special to me. Happy birthday and I hope you have fun this day (unlike last year hee hee).
Photo: http://oldbarnrescue.com/
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
I pray you grow up to be a man after God's own heart. God be with you!

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March 21, 2014

Yuri's Second Birthday Wishlist!

It's Yuri's second birthday next Wednesday!

(Okay, you and I both know that this is my wishlist and not Yuri's. Let's just leave it at that.)

Wow. I have a 2-year old. I still could not believe it. Despite being thrust into motherhood unprepared, here we are, 2 years later, not just surviving but actually thriving!

Okay back to topic. Yuri's turning 2 in just less than a week. Unlike last year, when we held a small Mickey Mouse-themed party, this year, I have nothing planned. Seriously! I found out the hard way that Yuri wasn't into socialization especially if majority of the guests are adults. I still recall with guilt how he just stayed in one corner because he was anxious and afraid of all those people. I also recall how I was forced to let his yaya put him to sleep because I was still entertaining guests. I had a heavy heart the entire time because the night was supposed to be for him, but his mom wasn't even able to pay attention to him.

Other children might like big parties and company, but no, not my then 1-year old Yuri.

So this year, we'll stay at home and eat as a family. We'll also be eating out on the next day, which is my sister's graduation. Even if he's bigger now and already know how to socialize and make "friends," I wouldn't take a risk again. I want to make sure that he's really happy on his day and that I give my full attention to him.

But because we're not planning to do anything big this year, my focus turned toward - what else? - gifts!

I really, really like buying stuff for Yuri (what mother doesn't?), but lately, I've been more interested in buying food rather than things. But when I tried searching for gift ideas, my interest in toddler stuff got rekindled. Ayayay!

Job wanted to buy Yuri a bike, but I complained that the boy already has two rides, and that's too many for me. We decided to get the bike when he's older.

With the bike idea scrapped, we were at a loss for ideas. What could we give Yuri? Well, the following are the products of my "research." Haha!

1. Salt Water Sandals
Photo: justbyliving.blogspot.com
I am borderline obsessed with the idea of little feet inside open leather sandals. Can you imagine? Aside from the fact that Yuri is about to outgrow his shoes, it's also already summer, and his kicks don't really fit in. Plus the sandals are just too gwapo for words.

I wanted to buy something affordable, but I could not find anything like these sandals in local malls. All they have are rubber/nylon/neopyrene sandals with velcro. Nope!
Photo: www.lesjeunespousses.blogspot.com
Should we buy Yuri Salt Water sandals? They're a bit pricey. Do we think we should take the plunge?

2. Toy Airplane
Photo: www.babble.com
This is what Job wants to give Yuri (aside from the bike). I thought he just wants to level-up from toy cars, but he reminded me that when Yuri was only a few months old, I told him on impulse how it would be nice if Yuri becomes a pilot. Thank you for remembering that! Yes, it would be really nice! I can also imagine Yuri zooming around with his "epeyn."

3. Indoor Basketball Hoop
Photo: http://www.toysrus.com/
Not the most creative gift idea, I admit, but aside from cars, Yuri is becoming very interested in balls. Who knows? I might have a little Lebron in my hands.

4. Aqua-Doodle Playmat
Photo: reliancehvg.co.in
Since Yuri is already turning 2, and since summer is approaching (which means a lighter workload for me), I knew it's time to give the boy serious homeschooling. I mean, we teach him all the time, but pretty soon, I need to be intentional about it.

Thus the desire for an Aqua-Doodle mat. Yuri's been showing interest in writing and drawing; unfortunately, he prefers markers over his magnetic board. And you know markers are never good news. I like how this mat only uses water. No accidents and stains!

Notable omissions:

1. Play-Doh set (I'm not sure about this since I'm planning to make our own!)

2. Books (Dami pa kaming di pa nababasa! Books are always on my list, though.)

3. Toddler Armchair - yung may cushion (I have yet to find an affordable but high-quality chair.)


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February 5, 2014

Yuri-isms: Funny and Sweet Anecdotes

The photo above has absolutely no connection to this post (nor do the other photos below). I just especially love that photo because I caught Yuri mid-fall. I was about to take his photo outside the house when he ran toward me, lost his balance, and I was able to capture it on camera! He looks like a break-dancer, no? Hahaha. I love it!

Anyway, here are the different "conversations" I've had with Yuri that I want to remember:
What does the utot say?
Me making large farty noises while Yuri laughs
Me: Pooooot!
Yuri: Hahaha!
Me: Brrrroooot!
Yuri: Hahaha!
Me: Ikaw naman. What does the utot say?
Yuri: (silent for a while, after 5 minutes)
Pft.
Naks! Demure! (More laughing ensues)
______________________________

Yuri takes book from me and intentionally turns it upside down:
Me: Baliktad baby
Yuri returns it to its right position. With a tiny voice, he says: Tama?
Me: Yes baby!
Yuri: Yeys! Ayus!
______________________________

One night, before sleeping, Yuri lined up all his stuffed toys to rub noses with them. In Pinoy-speak, nose to nose.
Yuri: Ader (Tigger), nose nose. *rubs noses*
Yuri: Pooh, nose nose. *rubs noses*
Yuri: Jawi (Jollibee), nose nose. *rubs noses*
Yuri: Opus (Octopus), nose nose.
Then, before he could rub noses with Octopus, he turned to me in shock.
Yuri: Opus uya (wala) nose!
This is the stuffed toy in question:

______________________________

We recently started selling load here in the neighborhood, and since I was home every day, I was in charge of the actual selling.

It is a good thing I have an assistant...
Me double-checking the customer's number before sending the load: 0922--
Yuri: Tama, tama!
______________________________

When Yuri was a little newborn baby, I used to sway him back and forth in my arms while humming the lullaby my dad sung to us when we were young (that's around 30 years since he started singing it to my older brother).

January 28, 2014

My Mothering Regrets (Shoulda Woulda Coulda)

Let me get this straight: I do not regret being a mom to Yuri. Sure, things have gone unplanned, but thanks to the Grace of God, I do not only manage parenting but also enjoy it! Yes, it is hard to believe, but I'm really enjoying mothering a toddler in my early 20s. Just to set things straight hehe.

However, if I can turn back time and do it all over again, there are several things that I would do differently. Looking back, I can think of several things I regret doing and not doing. Back then, I felt as if I was doing okay, but sometimes, I can't help but cringe when I think how ignorant and incapable I was!

Honestly, when I look at Yuri and how he turned out, I realize I must have done an acceptable job, but if I had a chance, there are several things that I would have done when he was born or before he was born. Here are those things:

5-day old Yuri
1. Feeding formula to a newborn Yuri

What? An exclusively breastfeeding mom for almost 2 years fed her baby with formula? Before I go on, let me clarify that I have nothing against moms who formula-feed. After all, I was formula-fed. I am thankful that I am able to breastfeed so easily. However, many of you don't know that Yuri's first food wasn't from my breasts; it was from a can of S26.

You see, I gave birth with complications. I don't have time to tell the whole story, but here's a blog post you might want to read. While I was confined in the room, Yuri was confined for 6 days in the NICU. When the doctor finally gave me the go-signal to feed him, despite the pain, I carried myself to the NICU to breastfeed. However, my mother was not with me. The hospital (I only knew later) wasn't a BF advocate, so the nurses were not equipped to teach me how. The midwife told me to just point my nipple at my son's mouth, but surprisingly, he wouldn't take it. By then, I didn't know that I had to latch my baby. I didn't know how. I thought we could just let nature take its course, but, as expected, it didn't. The impatient midwife took the baby from me and told me to just buy formula. In the end, for the first days of his life, Yuri fed on formula and not on my breast milk.

It might not be a big deal to you, but for an EBF mom like me, I regret that so much. Until now, I still have the sneaking suspicion that Yuri wasn't able to take colostrum at all, which my mom would always negate. I hope she is right. It doesn't really matter now, but I feel as if my newborn child was deprived of something he deserved just because I wasn't informed. (Which explains why I over-inform myself now!)

The average number of cloth diapers I wash daily
2. Not using cloth diapers from the beginning

Many of you might know that I only bought cloth diapers for the first time recently. Yuri was already 20 months old by then. This is because I had a lot of misconceptions about CDs. I read a lot about it, and I know its benefits, but somehow, I wasn't convinced. All I could think about was the pile of laundry!

Fast forward to now and I regret not taking the plunge to cloth-diaper when Yuri was still a newborn. Now, I don't have to rush to the store whenever Yuri's diaper supply is running out. Also, I don't have to look at money going down the drain (Yuri is notorious for pooping just when his diaper is freshly changed). I do have to launder his CDs (yes, I wash his diapers!) everyday - even twice a day - and I'm working full-time. Surprisingly, it's not as heavy a chore as I originally thought! I find it easy and even fun because they're cute.

While it's not too late to begin cloth-diapering a child, I would've maximized the benefits if we started early!


We should have had more of these high-quality shots!
3. Not investing on good photos (and a good camera)

January 27, 2014

Yuri Speaks Phrases and Other Stories

Good morning! Monday na naman ulit. Thankfully, I had a good weekend. This past weekend was a double whammy because Saturday was my parents' anniversary (31st?) while Sunday was Yuri's 22nd month.

Did I just say Yuri was already 22 months old? Oh wow how fast does time fly?
Like what I mentioned a few weeks ago, I already stopped tracking words. He's learning in a steady stream and I'm pretty sure he know around 200 words already. Nice one, late walker! Hee hee #justkiddingaround

But what he did lately is speak in phrases. Actually, here's a piece of advice to new moms: they won't be recognizable phrases at first. They're just a string of two words spoken separately. They're not spoken in a flowing manner like how we adults do it - at least in my experience. I didn't think Yuri was speaking in phrases at first, but as he repeated them, I realized the words made sense and were used as a pair. Eureka!

Here are some of the phrases I remember Yuri saying:

- kuwin apay (kunin tinapay)
- abas tayo (labas tayo)
- kuwin tubig (kunin tubig)
- ebe tayo (Time for bed - the book - tayo)
- tati pis (cookie please)
- dede tayo (dede tayo!)

If you think toddlers saying words are cute, wait until they speak in phrases. Absolutely adorbs!

Last Saturday, I read Abreeza's Instagram post about Gonuts Donuts' buy 6 take 6 promo for only P216. Of course, the kuripot in me couldn't resist. So that afternoon, we had a variety of sinful donuts! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take a photo of all the donuts. Here's a poor shot I managed to take:
My mom also made spaghetti. Yum! No photos, though. So much for dieting!

(The kids - my sister and my son - and I were at home the whole Saturday. Mama and Papa were in Cafe Laguna in Abreeza. Did they have an anniversary date? Hmm)

Then on Sunday, we heard mass (we regularly go to SM's mass now). Although belief-wise I consider myself a Born Again Christian, because I'm still living under my parents' roof, I wholeheartedly adopted some Catholic practices like going to mass and doing the sign of the cross during mealtime prayers. Remember: Honor your mother and father. But that's beside the point.

Anyway, last Sunday, I genuinely enjoyed the service because the priest's homily was very Biblical and Gospel-focused. I like how he preached about Jesus as "the one" and how we only need to accept that the Work was already done at the Cross for salvation. He also called for repentance not to make way for the Lord as in the time of John the Baptist but repentance because the Kingdom is already at hand. Finally, he called for us to be "Credible Christians." He clarified that he did not mean "credible Catholics" but "credible Christians" as in "credible believers of Jesus."

And I was like, wow, this is my kind of priest!

January 9, 2014

Yuri is 21!

Wow, what a late post! Yuri has actually turned 21 months last December 26, but all the hustle and bustle of the Christmas Season has led me to delay writing about it. This is perhaps the last monthly update post that I will be writing because I can't keep track of Yuri's developments anymore!

Can't keep up with me, huh?

Honestly, I couldn't even keep track of his new words anymore. He doesn't form phrases yet (2-3 related words), but I'm glad enough that he has a wide vocabulary. Here are his new words at 21 months:
  1. mango - apay (don't even bother trying to find the logic here hehe)
  2. piaya - yaya
  3. cream - kuwim
  4. init - ini
  5. lamok - amo
  6. tricycle - ati
  7. bread - apay (the same as "mango")
  8. sit - si or upo
  9. laptop - apa
  10. paa - paa
  11. frog - fa
  12. santa - asa
  13. toothbrush - bash
  14. toothpaste - pes
  15. hands - has
  16. pupu - pupu
  17. good morning - moying!
  18. good night - anay!
  19. monkey - ati
  20. house - has
  21. grapes - bis
  22. labas - abas
  23. pasok - asok
  24. shirt - sha
  25. excuse me - sissy
  26. shorts - sho
  27. pwet - fet
  28. eight - ey
  29. please - pis!
  30. open - apen
  31. hanger - ange
  32. ayaw - ayaw
  33. amen - eme!
  34. ihi - i-i
  35. Jesus - ah-sus
  36. butterfly - afay
  37. snowman - aman
  38. penguin - ingi
  39. hulog - uyo
  40. paper - epe
  41. ketchup - asi
  42. pusod - uso
  43. sabaw - abaw
  44. sitaw - sitaw
  45. utot - utot
  46. neck - neck
  47. asim - sim!
  48. cookie - tati
  49. salad - sad
  50. pajama - asama
  51. burp - bi
  52. robot - oyo
  53. tingin - tingi
  54. paypay - papay
  55. camera - kawa
  56. ingay - ingay!
  57. cow - taw
  58. inom - inom
  59. kain na - tayna
  60. "Time for Bed" (a bedtime book) - ebe
  61. kiss - kiss
  62. tree - tee
  63. angel- edel
  64. antok - atu
  65. tigas - gas
  66. high five - apa (I wrote this word before but was referring to the show and not the actual action)
I didn't bother to categorize them anymore like I did in my previous posts because it takes up too much time heehee. These are 66 words, which makes his vocabulary composed of almost 170 words all in all. That's a lot for a baby boy, and I give credit to reading books daily and never using baby talk. Good job, babe!

Along with these words are the new Yuri-isms that my little boy has adopted. Here they are:

Question: What does the lion say?
Yuri (with feelings): Yow!

Question: What does the wolf say?
Yuri (with feelings): Awoo!

Question: What does the bird say?
Yuri: Tuy tuy!

Question: What does the owl say?
Yuri: Too too!

Question: What does the monkey say?
Yuri: Hee hee ha ha!

Prompt (quoting from one of his bedtime books): Sweet dreams little puppy, love and kisses...
Yuri: Good night!

Prompt: Yuri, let's pray.
Yuri: sits up, kneels, and folds hands together

Situation: Yuri wants someone to open his toy buckets or snacks for him.
Prompt: Anong sasabihin?
Yuri: Pis!

Situation: While trying to initiate breastfeeding
Me: Ayaw ko magpadede!
Yuri (laughs pleadingly): Piiiis!

Situation: Prayer before bedtime
Me: In Jesus' name we pray...
Yuri: Eme!

Situation: Prayer before bedtime (I forgot to say thank you for the "toys")
Me: In Jesus' name we pray...
Yuri: Toys, toys!

Situation: Christmas carolling:
Prompt: We wish you a merry...
Yuri: hamas!

Situation: Reading a picture book from Ninang Rona's gift
Prompt: Look Yuri oh! It's a clown!
Yuri (waves): Hello!

December 31, 2013

Looking Back: My Favorite Blog Posts from 2013

It's finally the last day of the year! I can't believe it! (If you're concerned that I'm spending the day blogging on my computer instead of cooking and helping in the kitchen, don't worry - this is a scheduled post. This means the feelings I mustered about the end of the year are just simulated hahaha.)

Anyway, I really could not believe how this year flew so fast. It has never happened to me when I was not a mom yet! I mean, seriously! Didn't my little boy just turned 1 early this year? Now, he's about to turn 2! Oh no! Also, I still remember very vividly the feelings of anticipation and apprehension waiting for Yuri to take his first steps. Now, I have to worry about him not climbing upstairs. Time doesn't fly when you're having fun; time flies when you're watching a little person's life unfold in front of your eyes!

I need to steady myself, and I think remembering this year will help. To recap what happened this year, as well as the highlights of my blogging, here are my favorite posts from 2013:

January

I remember that it was early last year, when Yuri was just around 9 months old, when he first fell down from our bed. That single accident led me to rearrange the bedroom's furniture (single-handedly) to find an arrangement that is safer and would work for us. After consulting Google and some mom blogs, I decided to have a side-car crib arrangement, and we still have the same arrangement now!

February

By the end of February, when Yuri was already 11 months, he still did not have any teeth. I didn't really fret about it because I was scared he would bite me while breastfeeding. I was really surprised when a small tooth erupted on the 28th! I didn't think he would have teeth soon because he didn't demonstrate the signs of teething. He did not fret at all, but he did keep chewing on stuff.

March

Of course, the highlight of this month was Yuri's first birthday! I only got to spend weeks preparing for his birthday, and while it wasn't perfect, the real essence of it was how people around us care for Yuri and how extremely blessed we are to have him in our lives.

April

April this year, I did the unthinkable and decided to pursue a little online business. By that time, students from the US were about to go on summer vacation, so the number of essays I review grew considerably less. I needed to augment my income, so I cleaned up my closet and sold some of my clothes. The clothes were quickly sold, but I stopped selling immediately because of a certain problem.

May

Unlike me and my siblings and Job, Yuri didn't walk before his first birthday. I was eagerly awaiting his first steps, and I didn't worry (at all) because I knew they would come soon. Other people were commenting (some with accusatory tones) why a 1-year old wouldn't walk yet, but I know different children had different timelines. Alas, on May 15, it happened! He stood up on his own and took his first steps!

June

June is my birth month, and I would always anticipate the coming of June no matter how old I get. Hey, I have an old soul but I have a young heart! For my birthday, I did a lot of "special" birthday posts - heehee - but this gratitude post is my favorite:

June was not all fun and lightheartedness, though, as by the end of the month, I encountered news of a premature child whose mother died in childbirth. She needed breastmilk and a lot of help, and while moms in the city did their best to help, God took her back to heaven, too, to be together with her mother.


July

In line with PNoy's State of the Nation Address (SONA) last July, I did a fun twist to it: a State of the Baby Address (SOBA)! While political commentators might not be impressed, I surely enjoyed putting together bits and pieces of Yuri's life in a tongue-in-cheek blogpost. Yuri turned 16 months then. :-)

I also got (unexpectedly) invited by Jollibee to take part in their blogger contest. If I remember it correctly, there were only 6 of us mom bloggers who were invited to join: 2 from Luzon, 2 from Visayas, and 2 from Mindanao. Jollibee sent me a cool Instax camera, and my family and I had fun going to different places in the city to take snapshots (my favorite thing to do)! I didn't know who won the contest, but I am forever grateful to the experience.

August

I also received another blessing in August this year. I was one of the winners of Rinadesign's giveaway! Though I didn't win first prize (a fellow blogger did!), I was sooo happy I got the chance to have Rinadesign's beautiful creations for free. While I chose some for my mom and sister, the rest was for Yuri. Hence, at just 17 months, we already have a complete study table! Haha!


September

The first highlight of September was my mad baking skillz! Haha, I'm kidding. I don't know how to bake in the oven, but I did try baking using the microwave. Here's what I was able to do:

Noob Baker: 5-Minute Peanut Butter Chocolate-Chip Cake


Another blog milestone also happened last September. Davao Mommy got featured in an international website, Mommy Hotspot! I didn't expect it at all, and when I read the email in the morning, I jolted up from bed! I try not to bask in self-centeredness, but I still feel honored.

Finally, Yuri turned 18 months during this month, which marked the beginning of his "toddler-hood." I was very excited and a bit apprehensive at the same time! However, I could not deny that I enjoy his company more and more as he grows older. I would forever treasure my memories of Yuri as a newborn, but I prefer his toddler self! Haha!
October

I wrote a post on October about getting rich, which might have garnered mixed reactions. I couldn't blame some because like them, I was raised to think of "poverty" as a "noble sacrifice." However, when I became a Christian and started reading the Bible daily, I really could not see anything biblical about the mindset. On the contrary, God promises prosperity for us (Jeremiah 29:11). Please keep in mind, though, that prosperity doesn't mean amassing riches but acting as stewards to bless others.

On a lighter note, October also marked the anniversary of my blog! Yay! (Okay, the actual anniversary of my blog actually falls on September 22, but I didn't have time to write a blog-versary post until October.) Until now, I still couldn't believe I was able to blog regularly for a long time. I didn't think I would be able to achieve it. For my blog-versary post, I wrote about the reasons why I blog, which are also the reasons why I persevere doing it without any concrete returns.

November 

November saw me unleashing my inner photographer. Haha! Okay, so before you get the wrong idea, while I took a photography class back in college, I never had the "talent" to make pictures. I was just an avid "picture-taker." However, when Yuri began walking more and more independently, I suddenly had the desire to take beautiful photos of him. It is hard to do this, since I only have a cheap Samsung camera and my toddler never stays still, but I do try!

December

December of 2013 is special to me because I truly opened up to God for the first time in 2 years. I rekindled my relationship with him, which faded for some reasons. In return, God sent me beautiful messages, helpful warnings, and delightful promises. I pray to obey him always and trust in his plan.

Job and I also made the choice to follow God's order and create a major change in our current lives. I haven't blogged about it yet, but this also happened in December.

Lastly, we took the first step to investing. Finally! After a year of studying about it and preparing for it, the time has finally come to concretely commit to creating a financially independent life.

Whew, that's a lot of posts! I didn't realize I wrote so much this year! Well, I actually realized that when I was browsing through my 2013 posts and choosing which were my favorite. Haha! Writing this post made me realize that God truly and faithfully blessed me this year despite my sinful ways. It also made me realize that while I encounter problems, they were very few in comparison to the blessings. I shouldn't have worried so much about these problems when they were just minor bumps in the road!

The good thing about looking back is being able to thank God for the year he has given us. Thank you, God, for everything. I'm seriously looking forward to a rocking new year!

Happy new year to all of you!!!

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