April at Adela's

"And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ" (Philippians 1:9-10)



April was Naomi's third month at Adela's World of the Children Daycare and she is growing by leaps and bounds! Our princess baby is now a super cruiser. She just picks herself up and grabs a hold of whatever can keep her steady and inches along on her little feet. There have been a few times that I've seen her stand and balance without any support. At those times, Mimi hasn't stepped forward, but maybe she has at school. She sure seems brave enough to stand on top of this chair:



One of the funnest features that I would enjoy if I was a kid going to school at Adela's is the tub of bouncing balls =) I remember Naomi and I went to Adela's to let her know that we had chosen her home to bring Mimi. She was apprehensive about letting me put her down even though I wasn't going anywhere. She would start to cry and hold onto my neck. But then Adela put Max in the tub of balls and Mimi, looked intrigued. I placed her in there and she didn't cry. I wouldn't say she was excited or even happy, but she was silent. That was in January... Now look at her!

From April at Adela's

Richie is the one who always picks her up and he tells me that Friday is "Party Day!" That's usually when most (if not all) of the kids are there at Adela's. When he gets her at the end of the day, there are more toys... and more noise! Up until a few days ago, there were only 5 kids total, but there's a new boy named Troy who joined the club. I think Mimi is still the only full-timer.



I've been told that when Adela or her daughter/helper Leslie speaks to Naomi in Spanish, she responds accordingly. She probably knows a lot at school, but at home, we ask her to aplaude/clap and give a besito/little kiss. Now when Richie or I say goodbye, she waves and gives a flying kiss =) Also, if I'm on the phone and then say bye, she'll say "bye", too when I hang up.

Here's another funny story to show Ganda's smart and playful personality. Adela told me that one day, Naomi went up to Max and gestured to kiss him..this usually means opening her mouth and leaning forward. So Max moves his head closer to Mimi's. As Naomi leans in to kiss Max on the forehead, she also sneakily grabs the toy that Max is holding in his hand. SWOOPED!! Both Adela and Leslie looked at each other, "Did you see that?!" and started laughing! Then Naomi just smiles, too and crawls away... with her steal in hand! Max didn't know what hit him.... poor boy didn't have a chance against Ganda's slick move!



After that story, Richie suggested that I have a little talk with our daughter. With Daddy nearby, I told Naomi, quite seriously I might add, that she was NOT allowed to kiss boys. Even if he was just her friend. And especially NOT to get her way. She might be young, but she is very sharp and appeared to understand. As I held her in my lap, at first she wouldn't look me in the eye and tried to squirm away. I'm not in the mood for a lecture, Ma! As I gently persisted, she finally looked at me bashfully and then buried her head in my neck. She didn't shed a tear, but her actions spoke louder than words. Mommy, I didn't mean any harm, but now I know and I'm sorry. Oh my, what a Precious child!

Well, it won't be for a while, but when Naomi does become a big sister, she's going to be just a wonderful little helper and a second mommy to her sibling. Adela said that everyday, Mimi goes to this one section of the shelves and plays with the dolls. It's like her own little space where she gently touches the parts of their faces and even feeds them a bottle. TOO CUTE and SO SWEET!



I still can't believe that she's going to be one in a matter of days. If I could freeze her at this stage for a little while, I would. Alas, I just have to cherish each moment and tuck away the memories of each passing day. Luckily I have this blog to look back on and I know when Naomi is old enough to appreciate it, she'll be amazed at how much she's grown!

10 Months already?

We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. (1 John 4:16)

Time Flies! I can't believe that it's been a month since I last blogged. I've been so busy going back to work and just wanting to hang out with Mimi every chance that I get. Lots has happened in the last month including celebrating the first birthday of cousin Weslee and having her first Valentine's Day (which is also Grandma Lily and Grandpa Rally's anniversary).

From Happy Heart Day

Now that Naomi goes to "school" everyday, her development has come a long way. She is officially a crawler! There is a cool tunnel that Ms. Adela puts out every now and then and Mimi used to just scoot into the entrance. Now she can go all the way through and does it several times in a row =)





Now that she's super mobile, we set up some soft foam mats in the living room so that she can crawl around on top of the hardwood. Even though she crawls around, she still seems to prefer to stand up and hold onto her activity table. Now the only problem is that she doesn't like to sit in her high chair for very long. She used to eat a whole meal sitting down... now she'd much rather play while she dines. I can't really complain though because when she's in the chair she clamps her mouth shut but when she gets to move around, she opens her mouth wide and smiles while she eats. =) Looks like she still sits in the chair at school though... at least long enough for a picture:

From Daycare is Fun!

Speaking of which... she's kinda over the baby food. Now we mix her babyfood with our good eats and she's good to go. Also, she is definitely Richie's baby because little girl LOVES her crunchies! Richie loves chips and Naomi loves those little cheetos and recently has fell in love with Veggie Sticks. She chomps on those like there's no tomorrow!

Unfortunately, Naomi got another ear infection since Super Sick Sunday. Apparently it was her right ear at first. Then a couple of weeks ago, she was fussy again at night and had a low grade fever. When it was her turn to see the doctor, she began tugging on her left ear... sure enough, that was the side that was infected! More meds and ten days later, she's back to normal.

Well, yesterday Baby Ganda turned 10 months old and today, Daddy brought her to see Dr. Tracy. She now weighs a nice 16 lbs. The doctor said that she is kinda on the petite side, but as long as she's still gaining weight and is eating well, there isn't anything to be concerned about. This was the first time that Richie was taking Mimi to get her shots and as usual, Naomi was a champ!

We're going to LA this weekend to celebrate cousin Arabella's first birthday. It's gonna be lots of fun. But there's still one more day of school to play with her new best buddies!