Parenting Blog Award: The Positive Parental Participation Blog Award

The Positive Parental

Participation Blog Award

Ages ago (yes, that's exaggeration), lovely Vivian has tagged me with this parenting award she herself has started.  I've had been given some blogging awards but this one is yet to be the most important and most appreciated one for me.  Vivian has started this award to give recognition to bloggers who, she believes exemplifies the tenants of Positive Parental Participation (words borrowed from her).

See, being a parent is for me, above any other role that I have right now.  I am really dedicated (sometimes obsessed) to be not just a good parent to our daughter but also one that is gentle and one that provides positive participation.  I deeply believe on positive and gentle disciplining and being really there, present and fully participating with her, whenever given the opportunity.

Of course, there's always a struggle.  At the time that Vivian has told me she got this award for me, I was in that moment when I was feeling insufficient as a parent, as a mom.  We were in that phase that meltdowns and tantrums and less sleep is very common at home and so I'd often find myself always on the edge and snapping every minute.

So when Vivian told me about the award, it nearly broke me into tears. It was just so timely.  I felt guilty at first as I thought I didn't deserve this but then I took it as a challenge... a gentle reminder of what I have told myself the kind of parent I want to be.

Again, I'd like to really thank Vivian for thinkking of me!  You always continue to serve as an inspiration to me.

I've been meaning to write about this post but couldn't find time as usual. But finally, I was able to do it :) and of course I'm going to pass this award along to other parents who I believe exemplifies the tenants of Positive Parental Participation.

Please feel free visit Vivan's article about it.  You can also continue to browse her other articles as you will surely pick a lot of things about activities, picture books and other things you can share with your children to have some quality bonding for positive parental participation :)

In reality, I have a very long list of bloggers to pass this award but I will start off with a short list as otherwise, I'd be making the longest blog entry of my life  :)  I do know that these wonderful bloggers below will be passing this award to other deserving mom/dad bloggers.

1. Kristeta of Kalokang Pinay sa Ukay -  She's one sweet mama and girl friend.  We haven't met in person but I do feel like I've known her personally for a long time now.  We do have so much in common in terms of parenting views and life situation in general.  I can almost see myself in her as a mother for her cute Jace... not to mention that Jace is also very similar to our Little Spanish Pinay. Jace is one lucky little fellow for having this uber sweet-thoughtful-baking-goddess mom.  It's always a pleasure to viber with her :)

2. Em of Akira and Everything Nice - She's my idol in breastfeeding. More than 3yrs now and still breastfeeding! If that is not one of the tenants of positive parental participation, then I don't know what it is :)  It always make me smile when she talks about her lovely daughter as it would always picture how she adores her and that she's all for her. 

3. Annmarie of Mom to 8 Blog - She's a mom to 8 children! All raised so well.  She has such a positive and simple outlook in life that is simply an inspiration to me.  Her entries are most of the time short, funny and full of good insight.  It's always a pleasure to read her articles.  My favorites are about her conversations with her children!

4.  Mamas TodoTerreno - Behind this blog are two equally dashing mamas, Rebecca and Ava. This is one of the few blogs in spanish that I regularly check and read.  I love how they both create a positive and loving environment for their children.  I love the activities and the crafts they both do with their children. Many times, I'd steal their ideas ;-)

5. Madi of Entre Apuntes y Pañales - Another one of the few spanish blogs I read. What can I say, this young and dedicated mom is all giving.  She has a toddler just like me and I can always relate with her experiences on the terrible two phase.  I love the way she handles this difficult situation gently.  And now that she has been gifted with another adorable baby girl, I really don't know how she's doing all what she's doing now.  She's doing it so wonderfully... a total pro ;-)  Oh, let's not forget that she's a babywearer!

6.  Faye of Fighting For Maia and Turning Dreams to Reality - I have just recently met this mom through her blogs and I was already captured by her story.  As she puts it: I am alive because I became a mom. And for that I will fight to live so Maia can have a mother.  Those are such beautiful words.  She's a survivor, a doting mama who would overcome anything and everything for her little one... even cancer.

 7. Pepper of Days In aWagon - This artsy mom is also a heartsy.  Her gentleness and love for her little A is pasted all over her blog.  Her little family is adorable and her positive parenting participation is evident with how her little A is growing to be a really nice, sweet and well rounded little girl.  They have such a sweet, sweet bond and I'm looking forward to having the same kind of bond with my own daughter as she grows.

I could add more on this list but I'll keep it short and let the award roll from one mom/dad to another.

Behind the Scenes of Terrible Two

I wrote about us officially going through the terrible-two phase about three months ago.  When parents would say Oh, we are on the terrible phase now - the normal reaction is an empathetic with a sorry-feeling "uffff, let's hope she'll go past that soon..."
Terrible two phase has such a negative conotation like it's a hurricane one need to be prepared for.  The tantrums, the fits, the meltdowns are thought to be the protagonists of this phase but I'd say they are actually the antagonists.  These antagonists often overshadow the other milestones and wonderful changes in this phase.  When we normally here the phrase terrible-two, we hiss and grit our teeth and do the empathetic bending of head sideways followed by a non-verbal-poor-parents pout.

It seems that every emotion of a 2-yr old toddler is hightened to a ten-fold level - not only the anger and the frustrations but also the happiness, the excitement, the empathy, the sadness, the admiration, the surprise, the anticipation... every.single.emotion. And that is not exactly an unfortunate thing.

I, for one, have been wishing that this "terrible two" phase would be over soon... I was getting clouded by the frustrations and pressure of her meltdowns and for many parts, failed to see pass this behavior.  All I was seeing was her tantrums and meltdowns especially upon waking up from her naps and I just couldn't understand where are these coming from. I was feeling helpless and finding myself defeated.  I am really thankful that I have a husband who knows when to step in and help me see beyond what is just obvious.

At 2 yrs old (or maybe a little earlier), children are discovering tons of great new abilities, interests and a whole new exciting stimulants around them.  This is what is exactly happening to our Little Spanish Pinay.  She's been learning new abilities and independence that most often than not, she doesn't know where to start and at the same time she feels like she can even do more when she's still limited with some of her physical abilities.  She wants to explore everything and do everything at the same time because y'all? These are all new and in the eyes of a 2-yr old, eager to absorb everything the world can teach her, she.must.try.everything.because.she.can.  So, imagine the frustration and disappointment if met with sudden limitations... can be too much for a 2-yr old to handle.

But on the other side of the coin, where her needs to discover, to explore and to express herself are met, it's a whole new world ala Jasmin and Aladin in their flying carpet.  Even for us parents.  Seeing her squeal and open her mouth in such awe and excitement upon arriving at her favorite park is beyond joy.  Receiving an unexpected hug and brute kiss from her (even if it means she'd step on my foot and head-butt on my nose) is a reward to keep for life.  When she tells different stories on her words with ultra cute and funny expressions, our hearts are filled with laughter filled with admiration.  These moments would then make me wish she'd be in this phase forever or she'd carry over this characteristics on to different phases of her development.

One time, she was eating her sandwich and suddenly she wrapped it around her dress smudging it with tuna and cheese. With my hand on my head, first in my brewing tempter was the dress! the stain! the work needed to remove the stain! As I tell her that this is not right to do, she defensively tried to tell me El tawiks tiene frio! (The sandwich is feeling cold!)  She was definitely playing one of her make-believes games.  She then told me that it's a baby tawiks (sandwish) and therefore it's cold.

I couldn't get mad with this 2-yr old just trying to explore on her imagination (tender andcompassionate if I may add).  The ruined dress? I can just exhale a big sigh.  I told her that the baby sandwich is now fine and prefers to be eaten by her because it will never feel cold inside her tummy.  It took her a few seconds to digest what I just said and told me no and a a lot of thumping and crying.  Yeah, I know another sigh.  I figured she's not hungry anymore so I took the sandwich and told her that the baby sandwich needs her mommy sandwich so we have to bring her to the mommy.  It took a bit while to convince her but in the end, she agreed. I gave her her doll so she can continue to play-mommy.  This hasn´t been the first time this happened and by the looks of it, it wouldn't be the last.  Yesterday, she wrapped a lollipop with her trench coat.... with the same story.

It wouldn't be easy and I am sure that there will be times(many) that I will lose my composure and just see the mess that's been made but knowing and understanding what's behind her different behaviors, it'll help me see passed the tantrums and the meltdowns and the messing around the house.  It's not that she misbehaves rather, she's just a 2-yr old filled with life and emotions and hunger to learn and explore her environments, her abilities and her own limitations. And my role? Participate and help foment his development through discovering, experimenting and playing.

Quest Post re Attachment Parenting

It's been a difficult week for all of us three mainly because we were sick.  This crazy weather has been really a pain in the bottom.  The day after Little Spanish Pinay's 2nd year birthday celebration, she got sick with colds and fever and then the next day, both hubby and I fell for the same virus.  Thankfully, the little one was able to recover fast... not hubby and I though.  It's been more than a week and hubby and I are still as bad (or worse) as the first day we got the colds.  So that explains the scarcity of my posts and blog visits.

But if you do miss me, I have a guest post on Anne's blogsite at Green Eggs and Mom's regarding Attachment Parenting.  It's currently getting interesting comments so if you'd like to join in, please hop on over to Anne's site.  While there, you can also browse around her other articles.  They are all very informative and give a lot of take-aways especially for moms.

I'll see you there!

Parenting Boo Boo

All parents intend to do what is best for their children and that's a fact. Whatever decision made, the best intention is for sure behind it. But being parents, we are just human and we commit mistakes, we do parenting mishaps and sometimes we even forget we are parents.

That's what I like about watching Modern family - especially the part about Mitchel and Cam being first time parents. I may not agree with some of their decisions about parenting but I like the way their characters as parents are shown in a realistic way. I particularly like the scene from the episode "Run for You Wife" wherein Cam and Mitchel ran to the pedia when Mitchel accidentally hit Lily's head on the ceiling while they were dancing. The doctor told them that babies are designed to withstand new parents. I know that that was meant to be funny but I believe there is truth in it. Doesn't mean either that we can just do whatever with our babies "thinking they are sturdy" but just for us not to become too obsessed and worry about everything and anything.

Isn't Lily too cute? 

source

Reminds me of my own (many) dumb-dumb moments while taking care of our little one. I've wet her umbilical chord while bathing her realizing later on that that is not advisable, She almost fell from my arms one time when I fell asleep while nursing her, she almost touched a hot pot (the one from the rice cooker) while she was with me on a baby-sling while I prepare dinner (I yelled out of fear she had touched it and she got scared and cried), she accidentally slammed her lip on the center table while we were dancing because she immitated me slamming my head in the air, she fell from the sofa while I was changing her diaper... Etc, etc. Thankfully nothing of this accidents has really hurt her. Each time each of these incidents happened, the more I believe about guardian angels that protects babies.  Because falling from sofa on a hard-wood floor and she was only maybe 6 months and no bruises or anything? I don't know how else  to call that.

Anyways, one of the super hilarious episode from modern family is when Cam and Mitchel accidentally locked Lily inside the car. Cam ran around the parking lot in panic while Mitchel called some sort of car insurance and got them unlock the car via some signal sent remotely. Good thing the car was unlocked before a super-sized Rambo Cam smashed the car window with a garbage can. It was a super hilarious OH.MY.GOD situation. Super funny - not until it happens in real life.

In real life. In our lives.  It did happen.  One weekend, as every weekend, as we were about to go my in-law's house for lunch, it happened. In our garage.  I didn't realize LSP was holding the car key.  We were quite in a hurry so everything was snappy.  Open the car door, put the things inside the car, take LSP and fasten her on her car seat and close her car door.  The moment I closed the car door, we heard a very familiar click and hubby and I exchanged scared looks.   Hubby just blurted out in his low but worried voice ...what have you done....  and I was like "I didn't know she has the car key!" in a nervous voice.

I looked at LSP and she was looking at us, car key on her two hands.  Hubby and I froze for 2 seconds... then we started to talk and gesture to LSP to press the button in the car key.  She thought we were playing with her and she smiled soooo sweetly totally oblivious with what's going on. Ahhh innocence is such a bliss.  That sweet, sweet smile will forever be stored in my memory.  She started waving the car key out of excitement with "the game" she's playing with mami and papi.  Hubby and I panicked that she'd drop the key.  I tried to dance and sing.  Why? I don't know.  Then I told her to press the button pointing to the car key.  I don't know how many times I told her that with a fake oversized smile and voice tone overyly high-pitched.  To our relief, she did it! She was able to press the right button!

Hubby and I were speecheless for a while but later on had a good laugh about it.  We don't have that sort of thing calling some sort of insurance and then will be sending us some sort of signal to unlock the car.... at least I don't know if we have it :-S AND we were in the garage of the building where we live... we don't even have a phone signal down there soooooo the only option we had that time was for one of us to go to my inlaw's as they have our extra car key.  But that may take 30mins at the minimum.  We were just sooo thankful for LSP's skill and love for pressing buttons and that she didn't let the car key fall inside the car.  That was God and the guardian angel He assigned for LSP.

And you think those that happen on TV only happen on TV.

This happened about 2 months ago and now is the only time I had the guts to blog about it.  I still couldn't believe it happened!  I can be really such a disaster I have to admit. 

What about you? Any parenting boo boo so far? :)

By the way, you might want to visit my ongoing giveaway if you love getting and sending something via snail-mail.  It's just for fun! :)

When different languages conflict

Just one funny language dilemma we have in our household…

Ok… to Filipinos, I know you are all familiar with the word that spells P – as in Philippines, U – as in umbrella, T – as in tango, and A – as in apple. To non-Filipinos and non-Spanish, this word means W – as in water, H – as in house, O - as in octopus, R - as in ribbon and E – as in elephant. In Spain and in the Philippines, it’s a curse word… a strong one at that.

Then here in Spain of course, it has male equivalent… which is formed by just changing that last word A to O – so it becomes puto. Quite vulgar. I wrote this word without batting my eyes because for me, it‘s not a foul word at all. Here’s the dilemma… in the Philippines, the male equivalent is not a curse word at all. On the contrary… it pertains to something really sweet and yummy delicacy. It’s rice cake basically. So in the Philippines, we say the male version of THE word all the time – without malice or malevolence or insult or anything negative.

So why is this Filipino delicacy named like that? Beats me.

The thing is, we brought this puto mix from the Philippines. I love this Filipino delicacy and have been trying to make one here from scratch using normal flour – because we don’t have glutinous rice flour here… but I haven’t been successful at all. So I took advantage of our Philippine vacation and brought home some of these babies.

Spanish speaking people, you are free to laugh and gasp and gawk ;-)

You know how everyone knows how I love to share my culture with our Little Spanish Pinay. My culture is her culture and I like her to know that she is not just Spanish but also Filipina – and most of all, I’d like to be proud about that. I talk to her in my native language, I tell her Filipiino stories, I teach her Filipino nursery rhymes and games and of course, I introduce her to Filipino cuisine. Puto is not going to be an exception of course.

beautiful, aren't they?

But I have to admit that she can’t just learn this word… not right now. She’s very young and she doesn’t know how to choose the words to use in front of certain people. She doesn’t differentiate yet her Filipino and Spanish words and I can’t just imagine her saying “Mami, quiero puto!” (like as if saying mami, I want male-wh**re!”) – That is just NOT going to be funny in front of non-Filipino speakers and would be hard to explain to judging looks of people who would hear this.

I didn’t realize this until few minutes of mentioning the word when I suggested hubby for us to have this for merienda/dinner. Hubby didn’t realize either. He’s already used to many Filipino terminologies – he’s already half Filipino, I tell you. When I realized this, I suddenly gasped and told hubby we can’t use this word in front of LSP because she’s too quick on picking up words. I told her, she might use the word in front of other people and it is going to be a disaster. He totally agreed.

Hubby also agrees that these are delectables. I made puto-pao for dinner one day.  He absolutely loved them especially that he also adores Filipino corned beef!

We agreed on using the word rice cake but then both of us kept on slipping on the word puto a lot of times so it’s a lot of ooops-cover-the-mouth-eyes-wide moments.

I really do hope though that LSP won’t pick this word.

Language differences can be very interesting.

21 Months

21 months - just 3 more months and she's gonna be 2.  I know this phrase is already overused but really, how time flies.   The last time I have updated about Little Spanish Pinay's development was when she was 15months.  Half a year passed and I haven't written anything about her growth progress?  I do have to remind myself of the very reason why this blog was born...

Anyways, I better start working on this because 6 months is a lot of time for a flashback. 

Motor skills

She's a bottomless fountain of energy.  She runs... she climbs... oh dear, does she climb? She clilmbs anywhere! And gets mami's heart skip a beat but at the same time swell with pride everytime I see her able to climb to the top of whatever.  She gets really, really happy about that achievement so mami is there to support and be happy for her too. Around 18 months, she develop the guts to launch herself on a slide too.  She loves slides every since but mami normally holds her from the top to the bottom of the slide (mami is a bit of a helicopter mom, I tell you) but now she'd excitedly throw herself down the slide and we all get shrieks and claps and muy biens!! (very good!!).

She's algo getting better and better with her lego.  I get fascinated with how those little hands put each pieces together.  Sometimes when she can't fit two pieces together at once, she'd apply a tremendous force that you'd see her hands tremble.  She thinks that by applying pressure, the pieces would fit better. It's hilarious.

She loves writing too.  She loves drawing.  She'd ask you what would you like for her to draw.  Tell her anything your heart desires as she would willingly and excitedly do it.  You want a drawing of a house? you got it.  You want a picasso? You got it.  Just be ready to take out your most vivid imagination because I tell you, she draws in abstract form ;-)

one of her work of art

Little Ms. Busy on her writing 

She has also started showing interest on doing a lot of things on his own.  "Tala sola! Tala sola!" (Tala on her own! Tala on her own!) is frequently heard in our household.  She wants to do things on her own, her way.  She loves to take off her clothes alone but hasn't showed interest yet on putting her clothes on her own.  Because she simple prefers to be naked. But then once she's all dressed up and looking pretty, she loves to admire herself in the mirror.

Have I mentioned that she loves to dance?  Oh boy, this little girl has good rythm and a beat of her own!  I am leaving a few videos of her and be the judge :)

Reading Habit

Does she love reading? Oh, she's passionate about it! She loves to read anything from books to magazines to uhm, brochures. Yeah, brochures with tons and tons of pictures in it. It's also really funny how she'd pretend reading the words - she reads in her own language.

Go ahead and interpret what she says

Language

She talks a lot! This part is really my favorite as this is beyond what I have expected. I have readied myself for a little bit of speech delay because she's learning 2 languages at the same time but she has actually started showing confidence about talking as early as I can't remember. She doesn't hesitate about expressing herself verbally even if she hasn't mastered the word yet or even if they come out like garbled words. She doesn't hesitate to tell us the whole story either even if what she can only say is btthhhh bzzzzz thhhh. At 18months (yeah, this month is where most of the her bigger milestones started), she has started constructing 2-word phrases and by the time we were in the Philippines, she started talking in real phrases. She has this favorite hello kitty candy lipstick and one day, while at my parent's house she started calling me frantically. I was talking to my sisters and my mom at that time so I'd just glance at her from time to time acknowledging her call. But she kept on calling me and started saying mami, kitty, muffy, come (ko-me). The series of words she just said caught my attention and when I tried to check what's going on, I realized what she was trying to tell me. Her hello kitty candy lipstick fell on the floor and muffy (my parent's dog) was eating it! Everybody realized what has just happened and started laughing and of course blaming me for not paying attention to Little Spanish Pinay before.

I don't think she knows yet that she is talking in two different languages. She cannot differentiate the words just yet which ones are Filipino and which ones are Spanish. She understands Filipino perfectly but before, I notice that she prefer to speak more in Spanish than in Filipino but lately, she's talking and learning more Filipino words. Our one month Philippine vacation really helped a lot too. It hilarious when we were in the Philippine airport (NAIA) and she saw a baby boy sleeping in his stroller. She suddenly said "GISING!!" (wake up!!) in her loudest voice. She totally cracks me up.

She loves to sing in both Filipino and Spanish (and a little bit of English songs from Mama Mia the movie). Her love for singing is so apparent that sometimes even if it's her first time to hear my invented song, she'd sing a long with me and would repeat whatever word (or word ending) she catches. About 3 2-3 months ago, she'd normally just sing the last word of every line of the song but it's totally different now. Depending on the song, sometimes she is able to sing all the main words within a line - i.e without the articles. For instance she'd say "... colores... bonitos... colores... alegres" instead of "los colores son bonitos, los colores son alegres"

We sing from the beginning of our day to practically the end of our day.  Below are some of her videos singing.  Just don't mind me singing in the background please... and don't make fun of me.

Singing Bahay Kubo

Makulay ang buhay sa sinabawang gulay featuring Little Spanish Pinay's falceto voice

side note: Never mind the place where the video is taken.

Food

She's not a big eater. She has never been. Although she has days when she has more appetite to eat than any other day. She loves rice, meat (including that of rabbit! yes, ladies and gentlemen, she eats rabbit), vegetables (especially leafy vegetables), potatoes, oatmeal, select fruits (she's recently learned she is crazy for strawberries), bread, cookies, chocolates, ice cream and a lot of junk fun foods. She loves coffee (ooops) and tea. We don't give her a cup of coffee to drink of course so lower those eyebrows and take it easy on me, k? I got her this cereal drink that tastes like coffee but is far from coffee. This cereal drink is used by people who for any health reasons, can't drink coffee but still want to enjoy something that is coffee-like in taste. Also, from time to time I let her sip from my cup of decaf coffee... that is when she begs for it. You know, I don't exactly offer it to her. Am I sounding like a guilty mama explaining herself now?

We still breastfeed and it shows how attached she is to it up to now. But within the day, she's asking for it less and less already. Most of the days, she wouldn't even ask for it from the moment she wakes up, till her nap time in the afternoon. So that's really a big change (or improvement). When she gets really tired though, or gets hurt or upset about something, she'd run for mami and boobies to the rescue!

Sleeping Habit

She's a late sleeper - what else to expect from parents who took after owls. She does get her daily dose of enough sleep though as she sleeps from 10-12hours during the night and another 1-2 hours nap in the afternoon.

She still wakes up at night 2-3 times to nurse or to just cuddle. So, co-sleeping is still helping us on this area but this little girl is growing up so fast and moving tons on her sleep that it gets complicated to sleep at times. If I don't have her feet on my head, her papi has them. Her favorite position is to get horizontal on the bed so we form a letter H. It's a comedy, I tell you.

One of her crazy sleeping positions

Social Skills

She's gets shy at the beginning in front of the strangers especially adults. But with kids, she's the first one to get closer and say hello. She would introduce herself which I find really, really adorable. The other day, we went to McDonalds and sat on the play area. She was the only kid there at the beginning but later on, a girl about 10yrs old or so came in and started playing too. Little Spanish Pinay's eyes lit up with happiness (she loves seeing kids) and started telling me there's a little girl. Then she started calling the girl on top of her lungs Neeena!!! Neeeena!!!. The two crews who were cleaning the area and us had a good laugh. At the beginning the girl was kind of shy to go near her but LSP followed here everywhere and kept saying hello to her. Finally, the girl gave in and they played together. LSP is to be a social butterfly.

Potty

Still a long way to go I must say.  She's doing good on the poo department.  She tells us whenever she needs to poo and then we sit her on the toilet bowl so she can do her business.  But on the pee department, she's kind of lazy to tell us before she goes.  I would normally catch her with some gestures that tells me she needs to go but she hasn't really tried to tell us if she's going.  Most of the times, she'd tell me after the accident already happened.  There was a period that she can already control her pee at night until the following morning when she wakes up but it looks like we're back to step 1 again on that.  I am really hoping that in the next months, we'll improve more on that.  The best part is that we already know that she's very comfortable seated on the toilet bowl or on the potty - that's a big step right there already.  

This is how you do potty with style

Temperament

She's quite a strong character but with a big heart.  She's shy at the beginning and very very observant.  Once she's all comfortable, she becomes one big clown.  She is very compassionate and affectionate.  But when she gets mad, she can throw even her most loved and cared dolls named Paola and Georgie.   She has learned to say thank you and please and I swear, I melt everytime I hear her say that especially those moments without us prompting her to say so.  She has also recently leaned to say sorry with so much emotion.  There's really no way one won't forgive her with her sweet little voice and eyes half closed saying sorry. 

be scared, be very scared...

big hug for her favorite cat

One of the many animals she likes... she calls them tupa.

I so love the tenderness of this picture. 

She told me she'll hold Paola's hand so she won't be scared.

This is exactly what I do for her whenever she cries on her carseat. 

I tell her I'll hold her hand and things should be ok.  I was so moved when she did the same to her doll knowing that the same gesture gives her comfort.

Others

She loves animals and she knows many of their names in both Filipino and Spanish.  She loves to immitate the sounds of each animals and she's quite good at it ;-).  She loves to play hide and seek.  She would hide and tell me "Mami, Tala no esta..." (Mami, Tala is not here...).  It's funny.  She would also try to hide but you'd hear her squeal before you even try to find her.  She loves cartoons and some of her faves are Caillou, Peppa Pig, Dora (not so much lately), Mickey, Noddy, Postman Pat, Arthur and a looot more.  Her most favorite though is Caillou and Peppa Pig. 

Happy 21st month, mi vida! You are so beautiful inside and out.

She's ready...

Ok, I was writing a different post but I just had to stop and start on this one.  Right at this moment, our Little Spanish Pinay is inside a daycare (sort of) in the country club near our place.  The have this facility where we can leave kids from 2 yrs to 6 yrs for an hour and a half while parents do their thing - like going to the gym, swimming, etc.  We thought it's really a good idea but we were kind of hesitant about because she has never been to a daycare and is practically always with one of us and we aren't sure how she'd react in a place totally new to her with kids and an adult totally strangers to her. 

But we thought we'll give it a try.  In any case, she's still 3 months away from 2yrs old so most probably they'd just ask us to wait till then.  We dropped by the area and we showed LSP the little kids playing inside the daycare.  She immediately wanted to go in.  The lady noticed us so she opened the door and asked us what she can do for us.  We told her that we were just checking out the place and that we'd love for our little one to try out the place but she's still 3 months away from 2 yrs old.  The lady told us we can try and see how she'll do since we can pull her out anytime if we see that she's having a hard time adopting.

The rest happened so fast and so emotional for me.  LSP entered the room without looking back.  She walked in slowly, looking around carefully studying the area and the kids then looking at the care giver.  She has a serious face but very keen and curious.  She looked back by the door as if looking for me but I quickly hide then I already expected a loud squeal of mami!!!.  It didn't happen.  Everything was really emotional for me, I couldn't help but choke on a few tears.  She's there spreading her wings on her own... she doesn't need me anymore!

she's very attentive to her seño (short for señorita - the way kids call their care give or lady professors)

Started to move around the room and observe what's going on

 

Parents are actually asked to leave the area but since it is LSP's first time here, we were allowed to stay.  I tried not to peek too much but I can't really help it.  While I have been composing this post, I have glanced at the window and checked for LSP a hundred times.  My neck is already strained.  And every time, every time I see her, she's attentively listening to the care giver or looking at the kid on her side.  She's seated on a chair within a table with the rest of the kids. After a while, I saw her walk toward the end of the room and sat herself on the floor beside a boy about her age too.  She's making friends.  They're chatting.  She's playing with them.  She's sharing toys.  She's a real trooper. 

She has totally mingled and found some good buddies

After an hour so, the kids started to be picked up by their parents... it was almost 8pm.  We came in a little earlier than 7pm so LSP has been inside the daycare around an hour or so.  When the door opened, LSP caught a glimpse of her papi and immediately ran towards him to tell all the fascinating stories.  She was so happy she didn't know where to start.  The care giver told us she did really well and seeing how she behaved and liked the place, we can be rest assured that she'll be just fine.  She also told us that if we didn't tell her that she has never been to any day care, she would imagine that she's been in a daycare for at least 6 months already with the way LSP assimilated everything. 

I can't just be any more proud of her right now.  We haven't considered sending her to daycare anytime soon just yet although we are getting some pressures from the family already as everybody thinks that sending a 2yr old to daycare is the best and is the ONLY way for them to be able to learn how to socialize.  I disagree.  That's not the topic of this post though... Anyways, I still prefer our current arrangement right now... me being able to see her everyday the whole day while I work.  But when the time comes that we do see the need for her to go to preschool, I think she'll be ready.  Mami is not.  Sob.

Your toddler is not a liar.

How many times have I seen and hear this, in movies and in real life.  Parents telling their toddlers: Don't lie to me. I know you broke that vase!   Stop lying, and tell me where you hid Mr. Teddy we need to wash him!  Why are you being such a liar at a very young age? 

Isn't it frustrating and disappointing whey they lie? 

How can they learn to lie at such a young age?  If I catch my toddler lying this early, does that mean he's going to be a professional liar when he grows up?  Help!

Stop.

It doesn't really mean they're lying and that they are masking the truth because they want to avoid being punished or simply because they didn't want to upset us.  Don't we do this adults?  Don't we lie because we want to avoid hurting people we love? Don't we lie to avoid getting fined or punished?  I am not saying it is OK to lie but I am just saying that in reality, lying is part of life and if we adults can't avoid this many times, why expect for toddlers to become stronger than us and not lie at all?

I read a blog article of a mom (who shall not be mentioned) about her 2yr old girl playing with other children in a park.  One playmate (a boy slightly older than her) approach the girl and asked for one of her favorite doll.  The 2yr old girl quickly hid the doll behind her and said she doesn't have it. Seeing this, the mom hurried to her girl and said "What did I tell you about lying? I told you not to lie.  Your hiding your doll behind your back.  We can all see her legs coming out from your back.  Let your friend play with it for a while.  You're not just becoming a liar but also a selfish one".  Embarrassed about her 2yr old girl's behavior,  she proceeded on commenting to the parents who were also watching the kids play; "She's terrible. I don't know where she learns how to lie. I kept on telling her that lying is bad.  I guess she's in that age.  But I really have to put a stop to this".

I don't know if I am the only one seeing something wrong with this. But I didn't agree on how the situation was dealt.  The 2yr old girl loves her doll very much.  She might have known how this boy treats toys.  She might have seen him play with his action figures being thrown up in the air and letting it fall - which is how boys would normally play with them.  But for her, this is no way how to treat a beautiful doll... much less her doll.  And it terrorizes her to see her much loved doll to be thrown up and in the air and fall flat in her face.  So to protect her doll from this rowdy little boy,  she said she doesn't have it.  Not telling the truth is her only way to save her doll!  In her small mind, it was her only escape.  Won't adults do the same given a similar situation?  Of course with something more valuable than a doll. But for a 2yr old, her doll is more valuable than an iPhone or than a Prada dress.  She's not being a liar.  She's protecting something precious for her.  

Sometimes we do need to stop and try to see the world the way our little ones see it, to understand their behavior.  Why they acted one way and not the way we'd want them to.

Another classic example is when a child breaks the mom's favorite vase.  The mom would see the broken vase in horror and would ask her child if he broke it and the child would say no with the flower still in his hand.  What could really have happened is that the child was admiring the flower and wanted to touch it but was too clumsy and pushed the vase accidentally.  Obviously, it fell on the floor and broke. The mom normally ask the child "Did you break the vase?" and the child would adamantly say no.  So what happens next?  Mommy says "Don't lie to me, I know you did it! Stop lying because I know you did it".

Why does the child can't just say he did it?  Naturally, he's scared of getting punished and most of all, he's scared of upsetting his mom with his own doing.  He didn't want to be "the cause" of mom getting upset.  For obvious reasons, he loves his mom.  And children more than anything else, loves to see us happy. They love to make us smile.  And so realizing that being the probable cause of mommy becoming sad is not acceptable to the child so he tries to cover up what happened.  This is all his small mind can do best to protect his mom from being sad.  And most probably to avoid getting punished.  Who wants to be punished anyways? Wouldn't we do something as well to avoid punishment?

I am not trying to justify thy lying per se but I am just trying to know where the lying is coming from and how and why these little minds resort to this.  And this way we can better deal with the situation and not just attack the kids with the words lying and liar and other not so nice words.  They don't even know what's lying and a liar and we are already making them believe that they are those words.  Much more, they don't even understand their own emotions.  When a 3yr old boy broke mommy's vase, he could be feeling sadness or disappointment with himself or fear of mommy's punishment but he doesn't even know what are those. 

I just don't like name calling on kids.  Kids believe in what their parents tell them.  So if we constantly tell them they are liars or they are being bad, they'd believe that and they'd think they ARE these things.

So what am I suggesting to be done when faced with a toddler that is not telling the truth in a given situation?  Talk to the child and help them identify what they feel and then recognize it.  Cryptic? Taking the first example above, the mom could have asked her child why she doesn't want to let the boy play with her doll.  The girl might not even able to express her fear of how the boy would treat her doll but the mom can tell her child something like "I know you don't want Lani (supposed name of the doll) to get hurt.  But you can still let your friend play with her while you supervise her.  We'll tell Carl (supposed name of the boy) to take care of her and treat her well, otherwise, we'll tell him he cannot play with Lani.".

Just omit the word lying and the phrase your're being a liar.

On the second example, the conversation can probably go like this:  Mommy:  Mommy is really sad about the vase.  It's my favorite vase.  It was a gift given to me by your grandma.  I know you're sad too.  You didn't mean to break it, did you?  Child: (would most likely nod in silence with a worried face)  Mommy:  Let's see how we can fix this. (Offer something that the child can help mend what has broken or if it's beyond repair let the child help in cleaning up by holding the plastic bag or the garbage can while mommy collects the pieces)

This way, we are teaching the child to do something about what has been done incorrrectly and be able to feel adequate on correcting his clumsiness.  And most importantly, we can show them that it is better to tell the truth and that by telling the truth, they don't get punished (and then we have to be true to our words - we should set a good example, yes?).

Preachy me?  No, I'm not trying to preach, just offering some alternative avenue on dealing with this kind of situations.  I believe toddlerhood is a sensitive period of child development.  In this period, they are very maliable and their brains absorbs just about anyting we teach directly or indrectly.  And we'd want to be really careful about what we tell them (or say when they are around) and show them. 

I've heard a 3yr old say "I don't want to sing because I don't sing well."  Do you really think a 3yr old would already know the standard of good singing or not?  Children at this age, should just be enjoying singing on their own way, their own style.  Oblivious to judgement.  Because they too, don't judge.  Children loooves the way their parents sing to them no matter how bad their parents sing.  Simple because what they appreciate is the attention, the fun spending time with the people most important to them at that point and most of all, the love behind those tunes or mistunes.  So how can 3yr old say he doesn't sing well?  He's heard of it from someone he trusts and thus, believed it.  And that is sad.

 redhanded on munching those sweet yummy cookies

So mommies, I know it's tough to control our nerves when after a long day of hard work, we'd be greeted with a broken vase or empty cookie jar just before dinner and our toddler would vehemently shake their head to deny they weren't the culprit inspite of the flower from the vase is in their hand being hidden at their back or the cookie crumbles on the side of their mouth and on their shirt. But we do need to try and control ourselves not to utter words that may be harmful to their crucial development.  Let's try to remember that the next time this kind of situation occurs, our toddler is not lying because they are little devil liars at such a young age but because they are trying to tell us something in their own clumsy way.  Remember, their vocabulary and perception about their feelings are still very limited thus, they can't just explain things to you and would resort to pretending that the misfortune that happened didn't happen at all or hide the obvious in order to save something or someone very important to them.

Your toddler is not a liar. 

Ghost Town

.... is what my blog has been for a week now!  I've been busy yes, but more than busy, I was lazy.   I've a number of blog drafts already and I just can't find time ::and enough words:: to conclude them worthy of posting.   How many times would I compose a whole blog entry in my mind while having a shower but then once already in front of the laptop, I am left blank.  And then I'd hear Little Spanish Pinay yell meeeeemmmiiiii - yeah, sometimes she calls me that like she's some type of slang.  Really, everytime I hear her call me in her usual enthusiastic yet very affectionate tone, I drop everything and just roll with her on the floor and make her giggle and my heart bloat with love.

I am addicted to her. 

But going to a supermarket or a store with her? Stress level to the highest power!  She. Is. Unstoppable.  She loves the shopping cart and would squeal upon seeing one and couldn't wait till she gets on it.  Only for 10 minutes though.  Then she'd want to go down and start running around and squeal with excitement with all the colors and shapes and people and kids she's seeing around.  She'd carry heavy big bottles of water, or pick up cans of tuna and put then on the floor and admire what she just did and then go on to the next item.  She'd try to squeeze instant noodles and open yogurts.  Curiosity and exploration intensity level?  Full bars.

And so, everytime we can do shopping and leave her with her grannies, it's equivalent to peace.  And uneasiness.  See, I would miss her a lot in the grocery.  She's just full of life and I love the she would greet people and then suddenly shy away when someone responds or try to talk to her but then would go back to the person to get the attention back.  Then I like the way people look at her and exclaim how cute and adorable she is and then she'd tilt her head smiling with giddiness as if she understands that people are admiring her.  Mami is just a proud mom.  Too much.  I'm not really vain and compliments about me is something that makes me feel uncomfortable.  I can't handle compliments.  I become clumsy over compliments and would always end up looking stupid with my shy smile and non-verbal responses over compliments.  But with my daughter, I've become vain over her.  Is there such a thing?  Like I continuously seek compliments about her and people's attention on her, etc.  As if she's me or part of me and I just want to hear all those compliments and raves about her.  This is bad, isn't it?

She wants to go up and down the escalator on her own.  She won't settle being carried.

Anyways, like what Katy Perry says, I'm hot and I'm cold over grocery shopping ::and shopping in general:: without LSP.  When I finally get the chance to have some time just with hubby, there's peace and calmness and it's really a breather but then we'd start to talk about her silliness and antics and then I would terribly miss her.  My body literally aches for her presence.  Then my mind would just wander where she is.  The whole time.  

It's addiction definitely.

See, the post is supposedly about my blog being a ghost town for a week now and that I am super busy and than I miss blogging and that I miss reading my favorite bloggers but I just ended up talking about her.  I know, I'm annoying already.  But bear with me, please? *bats eyes*

Whoa, Friday! ... slow down, will ya?

Breath.  I need to breath!!!   Friday has just been crazy and from the moment my alarm went off,  I've been running around the house like a headless chicken! CRAZY.  Not to mention Little Spanish Pinay had a bit of a hard night - 3 times she woke up asking to be nursed.  Not only to be nursed while we are on the bed side by side but to be nursed AND be on top of me.  Such an addicted-to-mami-and-boobie little human being!

10 to 7am I was awaken by the alarm on my phone.  I dragged myself to my laptop and there it was restarting due to an automatic update.  Nothing to worry, I still have 10 minutes.  After the laptop has restarted, off it went for another automatic update and then restarted and then another update! Oh my good Lord, it restarted no less than 4 times.  I'm beginning to get stressed out.  30 minutes it took to finally finish with all the updates and be ready for me to log in. 

I connected to vpn quickly crossing my fingers that no database alerts have already come in my email.  Alerts does not happen too often so I was trying to be positive.  Then again seems like today is not my day.  There they were 2 database space alerts, each were sent 3 times!  Drat.  My clients would think that I didn't start on time and thus, the space alerts were not attended to at once.  ::Ok. Let's not worry just yet, Spanish Pinay... you can very well explain this and you have a valid reason::

Before I even fix the database space alerts, I got a page.  Production failure.  I am beginning to get really tensed.  But I tried to keep my cool as hard as I can coz this is production environment and I just can't go wrong.   I nervously looked at Little Spanish Pinay while she sleeps soundly. I quickly uttered a prayer.  Please, please don't wake up just yet.  So I dealt with the production failure while discussing things with the client.  I swear, I hate that Murphy's law exists.  This Murphy guy invented this thing and now it hunts many people ever so often!  And today, the index finger of this vicious law is pointing angrily at me.  While talking to the user, there goes the call of nature louder than the siren of an ambulance in a quiet street.  My heart was already pounding and I was breathing heavily.  Of all the time that this kind of emergency would hit me, WHY NOW.   I twisted and I twitched like an earthworm caught between a naughty boy's fingers.  I may have even let out some *noisy air* in the room.  Too much detail? Oops.

Mind over matter, mind over matter.  Between my bead-like sweat and pounding heart,  things weren't bad at all as I was able to resolve the production failure ::and I would add to that - gracefully:: so I was like YEAH, BRING IT ON! 

But I shouldn't have dared fate that way.

More work came in though minor, they still needed time and attention.  Looks like my lunch time will even be taken by these tasks. AND I am supposed to bake a cake!

My loving mother-in-law requested the last minute for me to bake a cake for my sister-in-law as she will be celebrating her birthday tomorrow.  Without batting an eye I said yes.  She asked me if it will be a big deal and I said not at all.  I'm such a show-off like that sometimes.  It kind of thrilled me too because that means they liked the fondant cake I did for LSP's first birthday.  Now, everything's coming right back at me like a boomerang.  I don't have much time to do this and I'm getting stressed at work and man alive, I still need to prepare LUNCH!  Hubby was working at home today and he needs to eat.  LSP needs to eat.  The only one who doesn't need to eat is me because with all the knots forming inside my tummy, there's no room for food anymore.

4:55pm right now and I am taking a breather.  THANK YOU blog!  Thank you for being my outlet and thank you for letting me rant and thank you for listening.  I don't know how I did it but all my tasks for work is done (except for my timesheet which I can do much later), we ATE lunch and I have a beautiful cake for sister-in-law!

Sister in law loves owls.  She has a collection of owl figurines so that inspired me for the cake decoration.

Some additional detail.  The name was especially requested by my mother-in-law and I just printed the Feliz Cumpleaños (happy birthday) card.  This is not a total fondant cake as I just don't have more time to roll a big fondant and cover this cake with it.  So I just made a chocolate ganache to cover the cake. 

So that's my Friday so far.  I so badly need a mint tea and a nap afterwards.  But no, my kitchen is a total wreck so I'm just gonna hang out a bit with LSP and then send her to nap.  Plus I still need to prepare our things for the weekend.  We'll be bumming out on my in-law's house .  It's gonna be beach, baby! That is, IF the sun will not shy away as what it has been doing all these summer period!  

And that call of nature earlier this morning? It hasn't called me back since the last time I hung up on it.  Ack I feel so bloated!  The aftermath of Murphy's law.  Ugh, I so hate Murphy!  Am I grossing out anyone? Shoulda put a warning at the beginning of the post? Yeah, too late for that now.

Barking on the wrong tree

4 canine teeth cutting through all at the same time. The 2 upper canine teeth have finally cut through a bit after about a month and the other 2 lower canine teeth are still trying to cut through.  The gums have started to look transparent but I don't know how much more it'll take to cut through completely.  She's been with her fists in her mouth all the time but apparently this teething by a number is not the culprit why she's with fever since Thursday till Sunday morning.

Sunday night, red rashes started appearing on her forehead, down to the back of the ear, on to the face then down to her neck and chest and stomach area.  It also extends through her back and the diaper area.  Some are also a bit visible in the arms.  

Could this be bungang-araw (prickly heat)? Or perhaps measles?  Or chicken pox? No way, it doesn't look like chicken pox at all.  I was starting to think of the worst.

So Monday, we didn't let the day pass without consulting the doctor.  As soon as we were done with work, we went to the doctor.  The verdict? Exantema Subito.  Say, waaat? In English it is called roseola or sixth disease. Say,  waaat? This was the first time I've heard these names and I was like where the heck did my child get this.  I asked her pedia and we were told that there's really no known source of this disease and though it is highly contagious, it's almost benign apart from the fever that the child can get at the onset of the disease.

When I tried to search more about it, I was surprised to find out that this was something I am very familiar with after all.  Tigdas hangin!! That is how it is called in my language and it is a common disease  in the Philippines and is usually not of concern.  I can't remember having afflicted with one when I was young though.  I've never had this, not even bulutong (chicken pox) nor tigdas (measles) nor beke (mumps).

Today, she's doing really well. Rashes were almost gone and she's back to her normal self.  Although she's got a big bukol (bump) on her forehead.  Argh, don't ask why and how.  Sometimes she's too fast I can hardly keep up with her even though  I have my eyes on her like a hawk.

I'd often feel really, really bad ::as if the world is on my shoulder:: and feel like the worst mom on earth every time she gets small accidents like this.  And the tears I'd shed?  Drama anthology.  But then I started to accept that these will be inevitable.  And there are things that are just out of my hand no matter what I do to protect her from these things.  Of course it doesn't make me *not* feel bad everytime she gets hurt and it doesn't mean I'll be more lax on protecting her but accepting the fact that there are things that are just out of my control would help me tone down a bit about *always* blaming myself with any misfortune that happens.  I think this is some sort of *sickness* of moms... they always blame themselves for things.  Don't we just have such a high expectations of ourselves, especially when it comes to mothering our children?

Ok back to the  topic at hand. I always let myself get sidetracked.  I don't have a cure.

So I guess I was barking on the wrong tree and it wasn't really the teething that caused the fever.  And about that amber teething necklace... I'll hold off on that since it's not something very affodable especially in this side of the world ::add the fact that I still sometimes convert euros to php so things would even look very expensive to me, then add another fact that the idea I have of the value of products in the Philippines is still way back 2005... so just imagine - I'm sick like that::

See the bump on her forehead? This was taken on the same day of the accident.  This is her usual messy look while having dinner.  Her face looks so kawawa (pitiful).

Go The F**k To Sleep

Many might have already heard about this new children's story book for adults as it is one of the most controversial these days. It's also one of the best selling in Amazon both in US and UK. It is currently the 4th top bestseller in Amazon US and the 39th best selling book in Amazon UK. The author - Adam Mansbach is an American author and professor of fiction. This birth of this controversial children's book for adults started when one night, as a frustrated and exhausted parent of a toddler that was waking up every 2 hour, Mansbach posted "Look out for my forthcoming children’s book, Go the — to Sleep" as his status in facebook. Many found this hilarious and enthusiastically supported the idea.


The book was even more popularized by the ebook version of it which was narrated by Samuel Jackson and hello! we all know Samuel Jackson is a brillian actor. I love his voice.

Controversial I say? The title says it all. There are tons of people who find this really hilarious and cathartic but this is matched by the number of people that thinks otherwise.

If you haven't heard of this book yet, here's the whole text/story that can be read from the book and then be the judge:

The cats nestle close to their kittens now.
The lambs have laid down with the sheep.
You’re cozy and warm in your bed, my dear.
Please go the fuck to sleep.

The windows are dark in the town, child.
The whales huddle down in the deep.
I’ll read you one very last book if you swear
You’ll go the fuck to sleep.

The eagles who soar through the sky are at rest
And the creatures who crawl, run, and creep.
I know you’re not thirsty. That’s bullshit. Stop lying.
Lie the fuck down, my darling, and sleep.

The wind whispers soft through the grass, hon.
The field mice, they make not a peep.
It’s been thirty-eight minutes already.
Jesus Christ, what the fuck? Go to sleep.

All the kids from day care are in dreamland.
The froggie has made his last leap.
Hell no, you can’t go to the bathroom.
You know where you can go? The fuck to sleep.

The owls fly forth from the treetops.
Through the air, they soar and they sweep.
A hot crimson rage fills my heart, love.
For real, shut the fuck up and sleep.

The cubs and the lions are snoring,
Wrapped in a big snuggly heap.
How is it you can do all this other great shit
But you can’t lie the fuck down and sleep?

The seeds slumber beneath the earth now
And the crops that the farmers will reap.
No more questions. This interview’s over.
I’ve got two words for you, kid: fucking sleep.

The tiger reclines in the simmering jungle.
The sparrow has silenced her cheep.
Fuck your stuffed bear, I’m not getting you shit.
Close your eyes. Cut the crap. Sleep.

The flowers doze low in the meadows
And high on the mountains so steep.
My life is a failure, I’m a shitty-ass parent.
Stop fucking with me, please, and sleep.

The giant pangolins of Madagascar are snoozing.
As I lie here and openly weep.
Sure, fine, whatever, I’ll bring you some milk.
Who the fuck cares? You’re not gonna sleep.

This room is all I can remember.
The furniture crappy and cheap.
You win. You escape. You run down the hall.
As I nod the fuck off, and sleep.

Bleary and dazed I awaken
To find your eyes shut, so I keep
My fingers crossed tight as I tiptoe away
And pray that you’re fucking asleep.

We’re finally watching our movie.
Popcorn’s in the microwave. Beep.
Oh shit. Goddamn it. You’ve gotta be kidding.
Come on, go the fuck back to sleep.

Want to see the actual book with complete illustration? Here's a pdf copy - that is if it is still available. You know how these things in the internet sometimes are. If you want to hear Samuel Jackson's narration, here's a link (that's hopfeully still working).

Here's my personal take about the book:

I liked it and it's funny but it is not something I'd buy and I for one, am not a fan of vulgarity. Then another note is that I don't want to keep something at home that later on my little one would find and read and then I'd have to explain a lot why mami is keeping this kind of book when mami always says that foul words are bad and shouldn't said or told to anyone. It is funny for me in the sense that I can relate to the frustration and exhaustion of the parent trying to put to sleep a child that doesn't want to sleep and I know how it feels when sometimes you just want to growl like a mad lion in frustration. We all have these frustrations and we all sometimes would like to just let out a big, crisp-sounding F-word but in front of our children, they just remain as a silent voice ringing inside our heads and are just converted to deep sighs. And knowing that other parents also experience these kinds of frustrations, gives us some air to breathe, thinking that we're not alone. And then we just laugh about these frustrations.

I guess it can be a bit too much on the vulgarity especially on the part that says (I know you're not thirsty, that's bullshit, stop lying) but again, this book is not really children's story book. It is just for the adults. And since it's a form of comedy, it doesn't necessary mean that this is a real conversation between a parent and a child being put to sleep. I just hope that no parents would mistaken it as a real children's book and read it to them.. carried away by the very sweet illustrations of the book.

Side Note:  In all fairness to the book, the parent attended to the child everytime and never let the child cry it out :-D

So what do you think about that book? Funny? Fail? Brilliant? Too much? Would you buy one?

After searching east and west, high and low...

...we finally found the perfect car seat for Little Spanish Pinay.  Until a coupld of days, LSP was still using the rear-facing car seat and it was already too small for her.  She wasn't comfortable with it anymore (she never was actually) plus it's not safe anymore.  She's already beyond the weight limit for a rear-facing car seat.  It took as a while to finally decide on the front-facing car seat because there's such a wide range to choose from, too many points to consider and seriously? one has to take a complete course to understand all those things that needs to be considered gah!

Here are the most important points that we considered choosing LSP's car seat:

1.  Good review about safety from different authorities in car seat safety.  SAFETY, SAFETY is the priority. We've been playing between getting a car seat with latch system ::also known as isofix here in Europe and LUA (Lower Universal Anchorage System):: and the one that just uses the car seatbelt.  The latch system is said to be the safest out there in the market.  But with the big difference in price, we just opted for the car seat that uses a the car seatbelt.  Each brand though, uses the car seatbelt in different ways so we carefully chose the one that easy to set up and most of all, gives the highest safety.  We made sure that after setting up the car seat, it is snug fit in the car and doesn't move an inch.

2.  Comfortable for her.  Properly padded and smooth and breathable fabric.  Little Spanish Pinay sweats a lot especially in the head area so she fabric is better be breathable.

3.  Reclines well.  It should properly hold her head not to bounce forward when she falls asleep in the car seat.  No whipping of hair back and forth.

4.  Washable cover.  We don't want additional spenditure for dry cleaning a car seat, no, no.

5.  And one that won't ruin our life's savings.

So after trying a LOT of car seats, we took home one that fits from all the above points.  LSP was cried at the beginning.  She must have thought this is just the same as her previous car seat so she fussed and then slowly realizing this is different and yeah, comfortable.  She stopped then cried again.  I guess she got tired from all the playing in the baby store while mami and papi were sorting out the best car seat for her. 

Look at this poor, poor baby

But then papi started to sing her favorite songs..

and she calmed down.  She's a music lover!