Sophie at 3. An irresistable, irrepressible, impish little beauty.

COMMUNITY BAZAAR AT CREATE

Create was transformed into a veritable market street as each of the classes plastered colorful signs on their doors to advertise their goods for sale. Sophie's class sold ice drops and judging from these pictures, I suppose Sophie is still EXTREMELY far from becoming the consummate business woman, as she ended up eating what she was selling!

ZOO VISIT CONTINUED!

Here are more pictures from our fun trip to the zoo: Sophie and Lolo by the zebra, which she kept on calling horse, the hippo, Sophie walking excitedly towards the playground, and Sophie on the swing. Of course, the trip wouldn't be complete without a mini-picnic of cupcakes, cookies, taho, and chicharon. Guess which food item she liked the best? You got it -- the chicharon!

SOPHIE AT THE ZOO!

Thanks to Lolo, it has become a ritual for Sophie to go to the zoo every Sunday morning. Her excursions have allowed her to become very well acquainted with animals such as turtles, crocodiles, zebras, and her favorite -- the elephant!

SCHOOL BUS, WHERE ARE YOU?

Well, the pink dress from Tita Bing finally fits - it was touching the floor more than a month ago. Just took these pictures this morning, while Sophie and Gabriel were waiting for the bus. Gab rises to the occasion with his toothy grin, while Sophie is her usual squirmy, I-don't-want-to-stay-put self. Oh well. I have a long time to teach her to be vain just like her momma is :P

WHERE WAS SOPHIE LAST SUNDAY?

At Festival mall celebrating her cousin Asia's 5th birthday! Her gimmick of course would not be complete without the requisite visit to Pixie Forest, where she rode the carousel, the flying dwarves, and the train. Her favorite was the carousel, which she rode about four times straight! She exclaimed "Arriba, arriba!" (Up, up!) as her horse went up and down. (Thanks to the cartoon Dora, she knows so many Spanish words!) We ended the day with a leisurely ride on the train, where she quietly rested her head on the panel and watched as we passed through the various sights -- a waterfall, pond, and kiddie race car tracks, among others. She dropped off to sleep shortly after we got home, happily tired and surely dreaming of carousels, bright lights, and colorful planes flying through the sky :)

KNACK FOR NOODLES

It's usually difficult to make the energetic little Sophie stay put for anything, including her meals. But put a bowl of noodle soup or pancit in front of her and she will stay glued to her chair until the very last bite has firmly settled into her heartily satisfied - and bulging - little tummy :)

Sophie and I see each other at Create every Friday, when I come over to teach music, movement, and drama to all the classes. Funny, because she already seems to understand the distinction between Mama and Teacher. When I enter her classroom, she is the first to greet me with a "Hello, Teacher Lesley," and refers to me as such throughout the whole session. As soon as I arrive home Friday afternoon, she breaks into the sweetest smile and says the words I've been longing to hear since teaching her in the morning -- "Hi MAMA."

:)

THE BABY LADY GOES TO SCHOOL (MY BABY IS A NERD)

Every morning for about four months now, Sophie saunters out of the door to go to the gazebo to wait for her school bus. If it is not there by the time she goes down, she will run from corner to corner of the gazebo saying, "School bus, where are you? Where are you, schoolbus?" in a poetic, very dramatic fashion. Once her beloved blue school bus comes into view, she will jump and clap her hands and squeal, "Yaaay, school bus!" Entering the school bus, she happily greets her busmates, then turns around and sits down in quiet anticipation. The bus breaks in front of Create Learning Center, and at this precise moment, she shrieks in delight, "SCHOOL!"

What can I say? She's a little nerd (and drama queen, YES!) in the making :)

Photos above include her birthday chart and a sample of her artwork in school.

It's been almost a year since I last wrote! Bad mommy? (Or I'm so busy and harrassed mommy, you decide!) So, what is up with the princess? She is in her beautiful, nerve-wracking, wondrous and terrible two's! She is a fireball of energy bubbly enthusiasm and runs, nay, bounces all over the place. She is convinced that she is Tigger; it was only fitting, then, that she had a Tigger party to celebrate her entry into Toddlerhood! She and her classmates (yes, she goes to play school now, at Create) bounced on the trampoline, blew bubbles, and giggled as they were rained with confetti. We ended the party by gathering around her Pooh and Tigger cake and singing Happy Birthday, then sitting down to eat all of her UNHEALTHY favorites: instant pancit canton, cocktail hotdogs, chicken nuggets, mini cupcakes, popcorn, and chocolate ice cream. We stayed in the classroom after her classmates had left and she busied herself, throwing up the loose confetti on the floor, as if they were stray leaves on a windy autumn day.

I'm only now beginning to understand why, when I was younger, my parents would oftentimes comment on the unstoppable and speedy passage of time. They sighed over how fast we had grown from mere babies to independent grown-ups (and oftentimes crabby grown-ups at that). I remember everything so clearly from the day she was born. So many moments I had spent with her had felt so beautiful, so perfect, that I wished that time would just stop, that we could stay that way forever. But I know that if having those wishes granted was a real possibility, I would miss the gift of watching her and her life unfold, of watching her become all the wonderful things that she was meant to be.

The wheels of time are in motion. She is two years old. Always in motion, and always causing joy - and much commotion, as two year olds were certainly meant to do :)

Hello! Haven't been able to update this blog in a long while - our computer at home is busted and it's difficult to find time to just sit down, relax, and write! But our little squirt is as adventurous, irrepressible, spirited, and as beautiful as ever!

1. She has two new teeth growing in her lower gums, which is why she's been irritable lately.
2. Her hair is now long enough to be tied up into a bun or ponytail. So cute!
3. When you say "Sophie! Beautiful eyes!" she will promptly and repeatedly blink her eyes. She will do this to any stranger who meets her gaze as well. What can I say? The little lady is a charmer.
4. We toothbrush after every meal already. She gets angry each time because she wants to hold the toothbrush herself. When allowed to do so, she will not brush her teeth, but her tongue.
5. She says "Wow!" every time we pass by a house with Christmas lights.
6. There are times when she will hold her arms above her head and shout, "Darna!"
7. She has so many new words! Star, moon, banana, angel, bread, butter, flower, butterfly, book, etc!
8. When she likes her food, she will bob her head up and down and say "More." If not, she will allow you to put the food in her mouth, but a few seconds after, will stick out her tongue and let the food spill out. Gross!
9. She is a veritable drama queen. When she doesn't get what she wants, she will roll all over the floor in despair, her face all scrunched up like a sour lemon.

That's it for now! Will be back (soon, I hope) with more updates and Sophie anecdotes :)

This is just a funny picture Sophie's ninong Jace took when he came over to visit us. Sophie had only seen him two other times in the past, so was a bit shy and wary of him at the beginning. She also was afraid of the huge black apparatus (read: camera) that her ninong was pointing at her. But she soon warmed up, especially after ninong handed her a pretty pair of earrings as a present :)

ENJOYING THE POOP

Being a mom isn't all a dreamy haze of baby kisses, cuddling, and giggles...there are sleepness nights, bouts with the cold and fever, crying spells and yes, poop. Lots of it. Stinky, smelly, drippy, with colors ranging from bright yellow to mustard to dark green. Sometimes watery, sometimes the consistency of mashed potato (think green mashed potato), sometimes solid and just like an adult's. (Gross huh?) All spread out on your baby's bottom. And there's no one else to - or who should - clean it up but you.

I was seven years old when my baby brother Regis was born. I remember watching in disgust as my mother would clean my brother's bottom. At that time it seemed unfathomable to me how she could stand it. And when she would ask me to throw away the soiled diaper, I would hold my breath and hold the diaper as far from my face as possible, rush to the trash can, drop the diaper, and evacuate the stinky site as fast as I could while finally gasping for breath. I thought to myself that I would love to be a mom someday, but cringed and went faint at the thought of cleaning the poop. Oh God. Sure, I wanted to be a mom someday. But spare me the poop.

Amazingly, changing Sophie's diaper and washing her up is one of my favorite things to do. I laugh whenever I see her go completely still and wear her "pooping face" - a face where she looks extremely serious and very, very queasy. It makes my heart melt when I lie her down on the changing mat and she looks at me with eyes that are both grateful and beseeching, as if she wanted to say "Mom, please get that strange icky stuff off of me!" I find it hilarious that when I take off the adhesives of her diaper, she wrinkles her nose and lets out a disgusted yelp, oblivious to the fact that she was the source of the foul stench. And then she starts singing and waving while I wash her bottom. And when I'd change her back into a brand new diaper, she's be back to her sparkling personality, with a new lease on life, free from all the poop that bogged her down.

And perhaps that is my job as her parent. To take away the all the ugly and bad things that may bog her down. To do my best to dispel her gloom, to wipe away her tears, to help her get over the things she is afraid of. Parenting won't be charmed all the time and there are other things that I'm queasy about, such as disciplining her and going through her adolescence (the thought already sends chills down my spine), but the hardships are part and parcel of the great joy I possess for being her parent. I will face and tackle the hard part with strength, resolve, and joy. Because without the hard part, I wouldn't fully and truly be her mother.

So right now, I'm enjoying the poop.

SOPHIE UPDATE

It's been a while since I've been able to update this blog...it's been a crazy month and half. Joined a reality show (something I thought I'd NEVER do. Oh well. Never say never!), got casted in two independent films, started rehearsing Alice in Wonderland and The Grouchy Ladybug, and watched my little wonder girl grow by leaps and bounds. She is a person now and not just my baby girl anymore, with an emerging personality and a growing intelligence. Here are some updates in her exciting development!

1. She can say several words already. Mama and Papa, hi, bye, cat, car, apple, carpet, fish (She says peesh. Haha. We'll work on diction when she gets older), bird, whale, up, baby, bear. Two new words she learned this Halloween season are pumpkin and spider.

2. The other day she got hold of my powder compact and said, "Opie." (Open) As soon as her request was granted, she dabbed the puff on the powder and patted the puff against her cheek. She then looked at herself in the mirror and smiled in satisfaction.

3. While playing in her playpen, she grabbed hold of a shiny red ball, said "apple" then proceeded to take a bite.

4. As soon as she hears the sound of an airplane, she whispers "airplay" and edges toward the window. Once the airplane is in sight she will wave her hand and say "Bye airplay!"

5. Can dance ballet. Upon hearing the words "Sophie, ballet!" will then raise her hands above her head and twirl around.

6. Can dance hiphop as well. Upon hearing the words "Sophie, dance!" will shake her bottom up and down and side to side, then bob her head up and down.

7. Can feed herself finger food.

8. Sophie loves her warm bottle of milk. When shown her bottle, her entire face will light up and she will reverently whisper "dede...dede...dede" while making a beeline for the blessed bottle.

9. Can start her own peek-a-boo game. When she wants to do this, she will suddenly retreat to a corner where she can't be seen. After a few seconds she will take a peek and with a big happy smile on her face, will then say "Ba!"

10. Is so friendly and sociable! When eating out, she never fails to charm waiters and the people seated next to us by waving her hands and making her funny face: she will scrunch up her nose, squint her eyes, and breathe in repeatedly and noisily through her nostrils. It's a veritable crowd pleaser.

What can I say? I've got a precious, amazing, incredibly special little squirt :) I'm the world's luckiest mom.