Friday, October 29, 2010
Ahem!
While inside the jeep on our way to school, Rod turned to me and said - "Nanay, kulot-kulot na hair mo. Kailangan mo na magrejoice." Haha!
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Wa-wa-wa...What is the Meaning of This?
Lately, given my office's proximity to Kuya's school, it is usually I who takes him there in the mornings. The only exemptions are when I'm on travel or have a very early meeting or workshop to attend to.
A few days' back, I was busy trying not to spill the contents of my bag as I desperately look for my coin purse in order to pay for our fare, when Baby Kuya from out of the blue turned to me and said, "Nanay, enjoy talaga ako sa school! I really like going to school!" I almost forgot about the purse altogether. :) I felt my heart expand and felt a gratitude so great I was at a loss as to what to say. By the time I recovered from my shock (hehe), I hugged him tight and said, “Thank you Anak, you don’t know how happy you made me, hearing you say that.”
If there is one thing I noticed about myself, it’s that I have an insatiable appetite for learning. I could never recall ever coming to a point where I said to myself that I have learned all I have about a certain thing. When I was pregnant with Kuya, I devoured every reading material I could about pregnancy and about being a parent. I subscribe to parenthood-themed mailing lists. And I’m practically like that about most – if not all – aspects of my life. Seeing the same thing in Baby is like a balm to my soul. Like me, he also has a fondness for books. He borrows books from the library often, which reminds me a lot about myself when I was his age. Somehow, seeing him like that serves like a reassurance of sorts. As if I’m assured that he’d be somewhat “equipped” in taking his own life’s journey.
Speaking of reading, right now, we’re into helping him learning how to read. At present, at age 4, he could already identify a handful of words. He’s displaying a slight symptom of being dyslexic (heaven forbid), which is not a surprise really given that his Tatay is. He confuses his “b’s” from “d’s” and “p’s” among others. Thus, there are also certain words that confuses him. In order to help him along, Tatay and I read to him a lot. (Lately though, I’m guilty about having less reading time with him due to work. Sigh! Good thing Tatay takes over without my having to tell him to. I’m a bit concerned about how he pronounces some words though hehehe) Last weekend, urgent assessment reports notwithstanding, I took the time off to teach him to read.
I have quite a collection of Dr. Seuss and the Cat in the Hat Series. Among the collection, I have this one particular book, “Hop on Pop” which is really good as an “initiation”-reading-book for children. Even when he was still a baby, I was already able to read it to him so he’s pretty much familiar with the book. Wanting to test how well he could recall and recognize the words from the book, I let him read the words to me.
The first part reads, “Pup in Cup” with the second page reversing it to “Cup on Pup.” It’s pretty easy really but given his dyslexic tendencies, I did not know what to expect. And it had been a long time since I was able to read that book to him. Lately, we’re mostly into “Berenstain Bears” and “Smurfs” which are the books he loves to borrow from the pre-school library.
Anyway, I let him read the words to me. When he immediately said, “Cup!” I was delighted like crazy hehehe but then he pointed to the page and said, “Pup inside the Cup!” and without missing a beat, pointed at the adjoining page and exclaimed, “Pup under the Cup!” Hahahaha! Bright kid really. I forgot that ever since Level 1, they’re taught concepts about under and above already. And he’s pretty good at it too. Sigh!
I “half-reprimanded” him for being “smart-#$$ed” with me. Of course I merely used the words, “outsmart.” I chided him for “outsmarting” me. He only laughed out loud in response. He knew all along what he’s doing. His grin was like from ear to ear. I corrected him, pointing at the words and reading it to him. I then asked him to repeat them to me, which he did. Being satisfied, I turned to next page and repeated the process.
We came to the page bearing the words, “ALL,” “TALL,” “SMALL.” I could tell he’s banking from memory as he reads them to me without skipping a bit. I knew he wasn’t really looking at the words but merely looking at the pictures to cue him on what to say. I let it pass though. I didn’t want to be too stern least I could turn him off reading altogether.
Then here’s the funny part. We came to the page bearing, “ALL,” “FALL” and “WALL.” The sentences were a bit lengthy already so I wasn’t really expecting he’d get it. But he managed the “All” and “Fall” perfectly. When we came to the “Wall” part, he had difficulty recognizing the first letter. He confused it with the letter “V” and so I had to cue him. I told him that it’s the letter “W” and reminded him that it is pronounced as a split between “wa” and “wo.” And so I asked him to repeat the sound for me and he did comply saying, “wa-wa-wa,” repeating it over and over. I asked him then to read to me what was written on the page. He pointed on the word, “wall” and then started with “woa-woa-woa.” To help him along, I reminded him how to read “ALL” and asked him to connect that with “woa.” I thought he would do just fine because I could see his brow knitting as if in concentration. Then he said, “Woa-woa-woa…WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!” and curled in a ball beside me laughing. Waaaaah! Such a “smart-a$$d” kid really. :) I wonder to whom he took after in this regard. Tatay, most probably haha!
Thank you Father God for such a delightful, little soul You have entrusted in our care. May you always be with us to guide us in training him up in the way that he should be…
A few days' back, I was busy trying not to spill the contents of my bag as I desperately look for my coin purse in order to pay for our fare, when Baby Kuya from out of the blue turned to me and said, "Nanay, enjoy talaga ako sa school! I really like going to school!" I almost forgot about the purse altogether. :) I felt my heart expand and felt a gratitude so great I was at a loss as to what to say. By the time I recovered from my shock (hehe), I hugged him tight and said, “Thank you Anak, you don’t know how happy you made me, hearing you say that.”
If there is one thing I noticed about myself, it’s that I have an insatiable appetite for learning. I could never recall ever coming to a point where I said to myself that I have learned all I have about a certain thing. When I was pregnant with Kuya, I devoured every reading material I could about pregnancy and about being a parent. I subscribe to parenthood-themed mailing lists. And I’m practically like that about most – if not all – aspects of my life. Seeing the same thing in Baby is like a balm to my soul. Like me, he also has a fondness for books. He borrows books from the library often, which reminds me a lot about myself when I was his age. Somehow, seeing him like that serves like a reassurance of sorts. As if I’m assured that he’d be somewhat “equipped” in taking his own life’s journey.
Speaking of reading, right now, we’re into helping him learning how to read. At present, at age 4, he could already identify a handful of words. He’s displaying a slight symptom of being dyslexic (heaven forbid), which is not a surprise really given that his Tatay is. He confuses his “b’s” from “d’s” and “p’s” among others. Thus, there are also certain words that confuses him. In order to help him along, Tatay and I read to him a lot. (Lately though, I’m guilty about having less reading time with him due to work. Sigh! Good thing Tatay takes over without my having to tell him to. I’m a bit concerned about how he pronounces some words though hehehe) Last weekend, urgent assessment reports notwithstanding, I took the time off to teach him to read.
I have quite a collection of Dr. Seuss and the Cat in the Hat Series. Among the collection, I have this one particular book, “Hop on Pop” which is really good as an “initiation”-reading-book for children. Even when he was still a baby, I was already able to read it to him so he’s pretty much familiar with the book. Wanting to test how well he could recall and recognize the words from the book, I let him read the words to me. The first part reads, “Pup in Cup” with the second page reversing it to “Cup on Pup.” It’s pretty easy really but given his dyslexic tendencies, I did not know what to expect. And it had been a long time since I was able to read that book to him. Lately, we’re mostly into “Berenstain Bears” and “Smurfs” which are the books he loves to borrow from the pre-school library.
Anyway, I let him read the words to me. When he immediately said, “Cup!” I was delighted like crazy hehehe but then he pointed to the page and said, “Pup inside the Cup!” and without missing a beat, pointed at the adjoining page and exclaimed, “Pup under the Cup!” Hahahaha! Bright kid really. I forgot that ever since Level 1, they’re taught concepts about under and above already. And he’s pretty good at it too. Sigh!
I “half-reprimanded” him for being “smart-#$$ed” with me. Of course I merely used the words, “outsmart.” I chided him for “outsmarting” me. He only laughed out loud in response. He knew all along what he’s doing. His grin was like from ear to ear. I corrected him, pointing at the words and reading it to him. I then asked him to repeat them to me, which he did. Being satisfied, I turned to next page and repeated the process.
We came to the page bearing the words, “ALL,” “TALL,” “SMALL.” I could tell he’s banking from memory as he reads them to me without skipping a bit. I knew he wasn’t really looking at the words but merely looking at the pictures to cue him on what to say. I let it pass though. I didn’t want to be too stern least I could turn him off reading altogether.
Then here’s the funny part. We came to the page bearing, “ALL,” “FALL” and “WALL.” The sentences were a bit lengthy already so I wasn’t really expecting he’d get it. But he managed the “All” and “Fall” perfectly. When we came to the “Wall” part, he had difficulty recognizing the first letter. He confused it with the letter “V” and so I had to cue him. I told him that it’s the letter “W” and reminded him that it is pronounced as a split between “wa” and “wo.” And so I asked him to repeat the sound for me and he did comply saying, “wa-wa-wa,” repeating it over and over. I asked him then to read to me what was written on the page. He pointed on the word, “wall” and then started with “woa-woa-woa.” To help him along, I reminded him how to read “ALL” and asked him to connect that with “woa.” I thought he would do just fine because I could see his brow knitting as if in concentration. Then he said, “Woa-woa-woa…WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!” and curled in a ball beside me laughing. Waaaaah! Such a “smart-a$$d” kid really. :) I wonder to whom he took after in this regard. Tatay, most probably haha!
Thank you Father God for such a delightful, little soul You have entrusted in our care. May you always be with us to guide us in training him up in the way that he should be…
Saturday, September 4, 2010
Brains!
I was preparing Kuya for bed when I remembered one of the things his teacher told me last Friday. Tatay and I went to Ateneo for the "Giving of Class Cards" session. By the way, he got an "O" (outstanding) mark for Math and a competency under "Reading Comprehension and Communication Skills." I'm so proud of these two big marks hehe and Math indeed! :)
Anyway, I was washing him up when I remembered his teacher commenting about the time he was supposedly "saving" a mouthful of saliva and then approaching her to say, "Teacher, may I spit?" We explained to the teacher that that was probably around the time he had started his medication for his "Primary Complex" problem (Really, it's such a problem and a concern to me these days given his liver condition). We noticed that about him at home, at around that time, as well. Back at home, we would constantly urge him to spit. We were glad that after a few days, he had finally gotten rid of the "habit."
I smiled remembering his nerve to approach his teacher in order to "spit." It is something new, alright. I mean, yeah, ask for permission to urinate and all that but spit?! :) And so I related to him what Teacher told us and I asked him, "Really anak, you asked for a permission to spit? How come it ever occurred to you?" And he answered, "Hmmm... naisip ko lang sa brain ko!" Hahaha! Really! This kid and what goes on in his head :)
And here's another one, while we were washing up he asked me to wash the soap for him before he uses it. I always let him wash his feet, p----, and buttocks on his own and then I follow through with cleaning the rest of his body, using a face towel. Anyhow, I told him to wash the soap on his own as he is going to be the one to use it anyway and also soon after. And then he answered, "Hahay, ako na lang palagi" Hahaha! Bah! at four years old he's complaining already! What more if he's "teen-aged" and all? I guess I'd better start bracing myself :)
Anyway, I was washing him up when I remembered his teacher commenting about the time he was supposedly "saving" a mouthful of saliva and then approaching her to say, "Teacher, may I spit?" We explained to the teacher that that was probably around the time he had started his medication for his "Primary Complex" problem (Really, it's such a problem and a concern to me these days given his liver condition). We noticed that about him at home, at around that time, as well. Back at home, we would constantly urge him to spit. We were glad that after a few days, he had finally gotten rid of the "habit."
I smiled remembering his nerve to approach his teacher in order to "spit." It is something new, alright. I mean, yeah, ask for permission to urinate and all that but spit?! :) And so I related to him what Teacher told us and I asked him, "Really anak, you asked for a permission to spit? How come it ever occurred to you?" And he answered, "Hmmm... naisip ko lang sa brain ko!" Hahaha! Really! This kid and what goes on in his head :)
And here's another one, while we were washing up he asked me to wash the soap for him before he uses it. I always let him wash his feet, p----, and buttocks on his own and then I follow through with cleaning the rest of his body, using a face towel. Anyhow, I told him to wash the soap on his own as he is going to be the one to use it anyway and also soon after. And then he answered, "Hahay, ako na lang palagi" Hahaha! Bah! at four years old he's complaining already! What more if he's "teen-aged" and all? I guess I'd better start bracing myself :)
Monday, July 26, 2010
Oh!
Last Wednesday on the way to Ateneo, Baby turned to me and asked what are the "black dots" on my face and I said, "They're moles, anak... di ba I told you about them already?" and he said, "Ako Nay marami rin moles, meron ako dalawa sa penis ko..." hahaha! And the taxi driver laughed!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
4 Year Old Logic
Tatay related to me the following incident:
Yesterday, we had to take separate taxis – me on my way to the engagement and them on the way to school -- in order to make sure we all make it on time. Having a hard time to get a taxi, Tatay opted to ride the jeep instead. Apparently, Rod Lauren did not like it one bit so he was kind of throwing a fit the whole stretch of the ride to school, much to Tatay’s consternation. He got irritated in the end and Kuya got spanked in the butt.
I got a text message soon after, Tatay telling me what happened. The workshop was ongoing, I could not sneak a text reply but I was really hoping Tatay had been more patient. Since he had not been, I was hoping he explained the reason for the spanking to Kuya. I did not want Rod Lauren to just get stuck with the spanking and not learn his lesson from the experience.
Tatay and I must have been so attuned to each other at that time. Either that or he remembered my insistence that we should always be mindful of our son’s feelings, he apparently “grew a conscience” hehehe so that when he fetched Kuya from school he explained to him on the way home why he got spanked. To “sweeten” things a bit, he bought Kuya ice cream with the condition that he eats it at home after having rice. Their conversation went this way:
Tatay: Nak, alam mo ba’t gispank kita kanina? Kasi nag-iiyak ka sa jeep. Hindi maganda yung gusto mo na lang lagi mag-taxi tayo. Wala man tayong money, kaya nagjeep lang tayo. (Son, do you know why I spanked you this morning? Because you were throwing a tantrum inside the jeep. It’s not good that you would prefer to take the taxi all the time. It is costly and we have no money now that is why we took the jeep instead.)
Kuya got silent for a while and Tatay thought that the message had sunk it and that’s the end of it. Then Kuya retorted:
Rod Lauren: Kung wala tayo money Tay, bakit may pambili tayo ng ice cream ngayon?
Toinks! :) Yes, Tatay, explain please… hehehe
Yesterday, we had to take separate taxis – me on my way to the engagement and them on the way to school -- in order to make sure we all make it on time. Having a hard time to get a taxi, Tatay opted to ride the jeep instead. Apparently, Rod Lauren did not like it one bit so he was kind of throwing a fit the whole stretch of the ride to school, much to Tatay’s consternation. He got irritated in the end and Kuya got spanked in the butt.
I got a text message soon after, Tatay telling me what happened. The workshop was ongoing, I could not sneak a text reply but I was really hoping Tatay had been more patient. Since he had not been, I was hoping he explained the reason for the spanking to Kuya. I did not want Rod Lauren to just get stuck with the spanking and not learn his lesson from the experience.
Tatay and I must have been so attuned to each other at that time. Either that or he remembered my insistence that we should always be mindful of our son’s feelings, he apparently “grew a conscience” hehehe so that when he fetched Kuya from school he explained to him on the way home why he got spanked. To “sweeten” things a bit, he bought Kuya ice cream with the condition that he eats it at home after having rice. Their conversation went this way:
Tatay: Nak, alam mo ba’t gispank kita kanina? Kasi nag-iiyak ka sa jeep. Hindi maganda yung gusto mo na lang lagi mag-taxi tayo. Wala man tayong money, kaya nagjeep lang tayo. (Son, do you know why I spanked you this morning? Because you were throwing a tantrum inside the jeep. It’s not good that you would prefer to take the taxi all the time. It is costly and we have no money now that is why we took the jeep instead.)
Kuya got silent for a while and Tatay thought that the message had sunk it and that’s the end of it. Then Kuya retorted:
Rod Lauren: Kung wala tayo money Tay, bakit may pambili tayo ng ice cream ngayon?
Toinks! :) Yes, Tatay, explain please… hehehe
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Quaker Oats
As soon as I arrived home from work yesterday, Rod immediately followed me inside the bedroom and said:
Rod Lauren (Sounding very excited): Nanay, nanay, ang baon ko kanina sa school Quaker Oats! (The cookies)
Context: He loves Quaker oats. If he could have his way, he would want to have it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and meryenda. So when I saw the individual cookie packs, I bought it for his snack pack for school.
Me: Wow! Good for you!
Rod Lauren: Pero Nay, pagbukas ko (with matching action of opening the wrapper), hindi masarap! (said in a sing-song manner as if intending for greater effect, which certainly made me laugh)
Well, seems to me my son is such a showman and with a great sense of humor that is ;)
Rod Lauren (Sounding very excited): Nanay, nanay, ang baon ko kanina sa school Quaker Oats! (The cookies)
Context: He loves Quaker oats. If he could have his way, he would want to have it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and meryenda. So when I saw the individual cookie packs, I bought it for his snack pack for school.
Me: Wow! Good for you!
Rod Lauren: Pero Nay, pagbukas ko (with matching action of opening the wrapper), hindi masarap! (said in a sing-song manner as if intending for greater effect, which certainly made me laugh)
Well, seems to me my son is such a showman and with a great sense of humor that is ;)
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Why This Blog
Now that my first born can talk so well, there were days when we would all be greatly amused by some of the things he would say. He's quite expressive for a four-year-old boy and its pretty refreshing to hear about his opinion on things. And quite funny too! :)
And I am pretty much aware how time can fly so fast. As it is, every morning Tatay and I would do a double take as we look at our first born sleeping on the bed beside us. He had grown up so fast. He seemed so big now, compared to that little, tiny bundle of joy who came into our lives four years ago.
So, lest I'd wake up one day and be confronted by a teen-age boy so full of angst and I'd have trouble communicating with (God forbid!), I'd rather start documenting his cute little comments now while I still can :)
I love my son very dearly. And everyday I thank God for him...
And I am pretty much aware how time can fly so fast. As it is, every morning Tatay and I would do a double take as we look at our first born sleeping on the bed beside us. He had grown up so fast. He seemed so big now, compared to that little, tiny bundle of joy who came into our lives four years ago.
So, lest I'd wake up one day and be confronted by a teen-age boy so full of angst and I'd have trouble communicating with (God forbid!), I'd rather start documenting his cute little comments now while I still can :)
I love my son very dearly. And everyday I thank God for him...
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