Tantrums Central

Last night Raine had a major tantrum attack that lasted for almost an hour. I hadn't realized that it was getting late and the little girl's eyes were still fixated on the TV. It was on Disney Channel and she was watching a rerun of one of her favorites, "Handy Manny". I told her that it was time for bed and I turned off the TV. She immediately went into hysterics and started crying. She asked for me to turn off the TV, wailing, "TV, Mandy!" (which is what she calls the lead character of the cartoon). Despite all her pleas, I turned a deaf ear. She lay down on the carpet and kicked her legs. When her Lolo came into the room she stood up and hid in a corner of the bed, still crying and asking for the TV to be turned on.

We tried everything. Offered her other toys to distract her, told her that the TV wasn't working by pretending to turn it on, suggested that she drink milk or have some of her favorite fruit; grapes. But she was insistent. She would get the remote control, give it to me and ask me to turn on the TV. Hubby relented after 20 minutes of Raine's wailing, we turned on the TV for a few seconds but I said this wasn't the way for her to learn discipline so we turned it off again. Sure enough, the cries started again. My mom said we shouldn't give in and just let her cry it out. She had earlier told us about a time that my brother used to cry and throw tantrums just like Raine when he didn't get his way and she just let him be. Now she says he's the calmest among us siblings. But Raine was at her element. I went to the kitchen to fill up her bottles and she wailed even more. She followed me and kept on her plea. Tears were rolling down her eyes and she looked really "kawawa". My dad even told her finally that she could watch TV in their room instead but nothing seemed to get through.

Finally, after almost an hour, her Dad got through to her. They played with a golf ball with shiny streamers attached to it and soon Raine was smiling again through her tear-streaked face. Whew! Our ears finally got to rest from her cries. We were all surprised by Raine's reaction, it was a first for all of us. I really hope it will be the last. Wishful thinking of a toddler's mommy? At least it happened at home and not in public where it would be harder to control the situation.

Halloween Overload

This past week Raine went to not one but three Halloween trick or treat events. Growing up, I didn't get to experience this holiday. It was only something I saw on American TV. Although I do remember going to a Halloween costume party in high school. I dressed up as a punk fairy and even had a wand made. Haha! These past few years, most upper-middle class subdivisions have come up with their own Halloween activities for kids to enjoy, so now trick or treating has become an "in" thing. Raine's 3-year old cousin, a Halloween "veteran", had lots of costumes from her early trick or treating days so I didn't have to buy . For her first outing, Raine was a purple fairy. By the afternoon, she was getting all itchy so we switched to a penguin costume. The penguin look was a hit with the neighbors. Her chubby-ness complemented the costume. I decided to use this costume for her next two Halloween events.

Her second "T or T" was at my former office. It was different from going house to house in a village. This time we went from floor to floor, visiting the different departments which were decorated with themes ranging from "Blues Clues", to "Care Bears", to "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "Nightmare Before Christmas". My officemates loved Raine's getup. They kept calling her "Happy Feet" after the penguin cartoon. I think this overwhelmed the tot a bit because it was difficult to coax a smile out of her when my friends took pictures of her. She only warmed up when we stopped by the training room and she got to play with other kids who had taken a break from all the Halloween madness.

For her third and last Halloween activity, we mostly watched the shows in the village clubhouse. Raine and cousin Annika happily sat on their little monoblock chairs while munching on popcorn and cotton candy as they watched animal and magic shows on the stage. After the programme, we had some time to do the traditional door-to-door visits. It was drizzling a little so we had a car with us to drive the kids around the neighborhood. Penguin Raine and Peacock Annika had a blast going from house to house asking for candy. Annika's costume was an eyecatcher and she even won as one of the top ten best costumes.

Next year I think I will buy Raine her own costume, something comfortable yet still adorable. As for me, I'll make sure I'll be wearing comfortable shoes and charge my video camera to capture all those cute little moments.

Terrible but Terrific Twos

My little one has been acting up a lot these past couple of months. She loves to say "no" and "stop it", even when she means "yes". It has become quite annoying, especially around strangers or even relatives she is shy towards. I feel an early preview of the so-called "terrible twos".

She is like two different personas in one little body. Most of the time she likes to assert her independence by trying to do things her own way. She likes to feed herself and when I get the spoon from her, she would hold it really tight and wrestle it away from me. She tries to put on her slippers by herself even though sometimes they're on the wrong feet. She puts on a pair of shorts or pants or a t-shirt through her legs. But she bawls out, "I can't, I can't!" when she realizes she's put both legs in just one hole of the shorts and is unable to get out by herself.

Raine seems to have a fascination with lotions, creams and other beauty products. She has now mastered how to open most bottles and jars, much to my dismay. She's very fast too. Before I know it, she has smeared lotion all over her legs and her cheeks. I once caught her putting baby oil on her thighs. Another time she opened her grandmother's lipstick and started poking it with her finger and then applying it to her chin. I spend half the time taking her to the bathroom to wash her face and wipe her legs, then clean up the mess she left behind. An aunt advised me to be "lovingly tough" during times when she is naughty or misbehaves.

The little girl is indeed a curious soul She likes to open cabinets and drawers, rummage through what's inside until she finds something that catches her fancy. I think for my next baby I'll baby-proof our home a whole lot more.

The other night she was just one big ball of energy. She didn't want to go to sleep despite my stern warnings. She just lay in bed babbling away. I was typing on my laptop with my back to her when I heard her reach for a toy on the headboard behind the bed. When she saw me look at her she immediately closed her eyes while still clutching the toy. I put the toy back in its place and went back to the computer. But then I heard her get up again and reach for her Dora doll. I looked at her and she promptly closed her eyes, still holding Dora on top of her tummy. I wanted to laugh because she looked so funny, pretending to be asleep despite her awkward position. I firmly told her it was time to go to sleep and pried Dora from her hands. All was quiet after that but after awhile I sneaked a peek and there she was again, now with a book in her hands. She shut her eyes once again as I whirled around to look at her. It was the last straw, I let out a laugh. Raine is turning into a little comedienne with her antics.

Raine will be two years old soon. How time flies by! She can get on my nerves more quickly these days but just as suddenly, she gives me an "awwww" moment to treasure. I've been coughing a lot lately and when she sees this she will rub her hand on my back as if to soothe me and say, "it's okay mom." She sounded so grown up then! A few days ago she woke up saying "I love you" to me, although it sounded more like, "I loveoo." It made me smile from ear-to-ear.

Terrible twos you say? Bring it on!

Dora and Barney Overload

The past two weeks Raine has been going loco over Dora the Explorer and Barney. At first it was just Dora. Even if she's watched all 4 episodes on the DVD, she would still come up to me and say, "Dowa, Dowa, please!" then she puts her hands together as if begging. She's so cute when she does it that I just have to give in. Well, I like Dora and think she's a great influence for Raine who has learned new words just by watching it, but I can only take so much of the spunky senorita. So I thought of letting her watch Barney too. Now Raine switches between Dora and the purple dinosaur on a daily basis. I let her watch Baby Einstein and Baby Bumblebee educational videos as well but after either is done, she always asks for "Dowa" or "Marney".

I know toddlers love repetition and take comfort in its familiarity. My sister's daughter Annika watches High School Musical every single day. Once during lunch, Raine had just watched an episode of Barney and I switched to cable so I could watch re-runs of Friends. She let out a wail and wouldn't stop crying. Her Dad asked her if she wanted to watch Dora or Friends. Guess what she chose?

Raine's Dictionary

One of the first major milestones of a baby is when she utters her first real word. I say real because most babies babble and gurgle unintelligible sounds at the beginning. I remember when Raine said her first syllable, "Bah!", it was so loud and forceful it took me by surprise. She was only about 3 months at the time and I thought it was just a matter of time before she started spouting words. My mom once commented that Raine would probably be talkative because she always seemed to be "talking". It was as if she wanted to join in the conversation even if we didn't understand her contributions.

At 10 months she said her first real word, "Baby!". And after that she would say it as much as she can. Now that she is 20 months old she can say over 75 words. She loves to "talk" to hubby and me and although we still don't understand half of what she says we pretend that we do to encourage her speech.

Like most toddlers learning to talk she has difficulty saying some words and oftentimes invents her own versions of certain words too. These are Raine's top 10:

1. Boomboom - This means pillow. For the life of me, I don't know why she calls her pillows boombooms. We never talk to her using cutesy words or phrases so she must have thought this up all on her own.

2. Nus - She already knows the basic parts of the face and body and loves to name them all while pointing to them. Her favorite part of the face are her eyes and then her nus (nose).

3. Slimping - This is easy, since she can't enunciate yet this is her version of sleeping.

4. Gib - I taught her the word "behave" and everytime she acts up I just say this word and she crosses her arms and stays still. Okay, it only works for a few seconds, but still.

5. Sin - She loves raisins so I always mix it up with her cereal or oatmeal.

6. Pip - Another part of the face she loves are the lips

7. Tum - Here Raine is referring to her tummy. She loves to pull up her shirt and point to her tummy.

8. Suds - Hubby and I love massages and right before bedtime is time for a soothing rubdown. The little girl points to the lotion and says "Suds!", short for "mas-SUDS".

9. Bahd - Raine loves them all; whole wheat, white, dinner rolls. She eats them plain.

10. Soh - She likes all kinds of animals and after the dog and the cow, comes the "horse". I don't really know why she calls it "soh" but she knows how to imitate its neighing sound.

Raine used to call me either Mimi or Maymie, while her Dad is Didi or Daydie. Now she calls us Mommy and Daddy and it's music to our ears. Pretty soon, our little bunny will be carrying real conversations with us. We can't wait!

Always Be My Baby

Everyday Raine becomes less of a baby and more of a little girl; showing her independence by trying to do things by herself.

I’m always trying to make her drink water and juice so that she’s not too dependent on milk. One time, after drinking her cough medicine, I offered her water but she refused it so I let her be. Later, we brushed her teeth using baby toothpaste (the kind you don’t need to spit out) and I offered her water again. Still, she shook her head no. During lunch she finally took some liquids.
Lesson learned: just because I think she’s thirsty doesn’t mean she really is. I kept offering her water when she didn’t want any after all. When she finally wanted some she told me herself, tiptoeing and reaching for her cup on the kitchen counter. She also likes to feed herself now, oblivious to the mess she makes as she takes in spoonfuls of oatmeal, pasta or a rice meal.

Another time, I was laying out Raine’s clothes and diaper, getting ready to give her a bath. The next thing I know she is already inside the shower stall, pouring water on herself, while still wearing her pajamas!

Raine already knows how to remove her clothes so sometimes she likes to take them off and walk around the house butt naked! I usually have to put on her clothes for her two to three times before she gets tired of this “game”.

For her afternoon nap, I lie down beside her and she usually falls asleep in a few minutes. Once, she started crying and kept pushing me away. It turns out that she wanted to sleep by herself. Wow, that was a first! Now, even at night she no longer needs to have my arm wrapped around her while she sleeps. She takes my arm for awhile but when she’s really drowsy, she removes it from around her waist and buries herself in her pillows until she’s in deep sleep.

Usually at night hubby asks for a foot massage. Lately, whenever Raine sees me putting on the lotion, she excitedly positions herself near her Daddy’s feet and swats my hands away, as if to stay, “No, I want to do it.”

I have to admit I miss the days when she was totally dependent on us; for eating, bathing, clothing and everything else in between. In a few months, Raine will be two and show even more independence. Sometimes I wish she would stay a baby a little bit longer but she seems to be rapidly changing everyday. As she leaves babyhood behind and moves on to being a full-fledged toddler, I shall be in the wings guiding her and cheering her on.

A Flight Like No Other

I’m back with tons of stories to blog about! I haven’t been able to post anything for almost a month since we were busy preparing for our semi-impromptu trip back to the Philippines. We weren’t planning to take a vacation until December but due to hubby’s business requirements we decided to take a break from the island life and re-join the hustle and bustle of our native land.

Unfortunately, only hubby’s plane fare was covered by his company so for a while I wasn’t sure I would be able to join him and Raine (since Raine is below 2 her fare is only 10% of the adult rate). The plane fare from Marshall Islands is even more expensive than the fare from the Philippines to the U.S., would you believe?! Luckily, we were able to find someone who was selling his “miles” credits for half the price. The only catch was that the flight was not a direct one to Manila (i.e., Majuro-Guam-Manila), like the one Raine and I took last December coming to MI. It was a “hop-on” flight, which meant it would stopover on 4 other islands before landing in Guam and then Manila. Due to this, we were apprehensive that the flight would be too tiring for the little one. Hubby was familiar with the route and said it was pretty tiring and painful to the ears, what with the constant landing and taking off, every couple of hours. We prayed hard that Raine’s little ears would be able to take it.

The day of our departure we were up and ready before lunch for the 12:55pm flight. However, we found out that the plane was delayed and we would be leaving later in the afternoon. Continental had arranged for us and the other passengers to stay overnight in Guam due to the delay. We waited in the airport for about 4 hours as the time of departure kept getting pushed back further and further. It wasn’t a very comfortable wait since the airport didn’t have air conditioning or any form of entertainment to keep us occupied. But like most kids, Raine still found ways to amuse herself. I brought her two favorite stuffed toys and a few books to keep her entertained.

We finally took off at 5:30 pm. It was indeed a flight like no other, we felt like we were in a school bus with wings because every stop passengers would get off and new ones would take their place. From Majuro, we went to Kwajalein, then Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuk and finally Guam. At every stop, airport security checked the plane’s interiors and made sure all the carry-on baggage were accounted for.

Surprisingly, Raine was a good baby through all those stops. She slept most of the time, even during the landings while me and hubby were busy yawning and chewing gum to relieve our ears from the pressure. She was her usual inquisitive self, leafing thru the magazines, pulling on the tray table and giving our seatmate high-fives. She was a very happy baby, thank goodness. We arrived in Guam at 3 am and were billeted at the Hilton for the night.

Since our flight to Manila was at 6 pm we had time to rest and get our strength back from the looooong flight the previous day. We enjoyed the overflowing breakfast and lunch buffets at the Hilton and were even able to take in a little bit of pasalubong shopping thanks to a friend who drove us to the outlet stores.

The delayed flight turned out to be a blessing in disguise as we were able to recharge our weary bodies from the tedious "hop-on" flight in a 5-star hotel no less! Although I hope our return flight to MI won't be delayed, another free stay at the Hilton wouldn't be so bad either.

Our Little Energizer Bunny

Raine is turning into a very precocious toddler. Just recently, she was able to push a chair all the way to the front of the fridge all by herself. She then climbed the chair so she could reach the colorful magnets on the top half of the fridge! Good thing hubby and I saw her just in time.

Raine is such a bundle of energy, she’s our very own energizer bunny. She was up until 3 a.m. Saturday and Sunday night as well. Hubby and I were both so sleepy already but she was still wound up. I thought for sure she would sleep early Sunday because she slept so little the previous night and only napped for an hour in the afternoon, but there was just no stopping her.

Although the apartment has 2 rooms, the 3 of us sleep in the same room. We moved the other mattress to our room for Raine to have her own bed. To keep her from rolling off, we placed it against the corner wall. Her bed is flanked by our bigger bed and a long chest of drawers. Raine loves to go up and down both beds, hide under the covers until we “find” her and play with her stuffed toys. Unlike when she was a baby when I would rock and sing her to sleep, now she falls asleep on her own. The only problem is she’ll go to sleep only when she wants to, despite our bedtime rituals. Lately, I’ve noticed that she plays with her dolls more animatedly. She would get a couple at a time and pretend they were talking to each other then they would end their “conversation” by giving each other a kiss. It’s really hilarious watching her do this.

Sometimes despite her colorful toys and books, she prefers going thru all the cabinets and drawers she can open. I’m actually running out of kitchen storage space because the ones she can open are now empty. She used to take out all the pots and pans and pretend to cook her books or toys in them. Sometimes she would get the canned goods and other food items inside the lower cabinets and line them up on the sofa.

When she does something naughty or misbehaves (throw food on the floor, bang her sippy cup on the coffee table, chew on her books, etc.) I scold her and let her know that what she has done is not good. Sometimes she seems to understand and becomes quiet, but more often than not she would look at me with her big, round eyes and act like so sweet and innocent that I just have to stop and smile.

Everyday my little energizer bunny displays more independence and I see the baby rapidly turning into a little girl. It is only when she sleeps that the baby in her sometimes returns. She loves to sleep with her back against me or her Daddy’s. I know she’s tired and sleepy once she lies down, rolls around until her back touches my chest and snuggles up until she’s comfortable. Sometimes she takes my arm and wraps it around herself like a warm blanket. Within minutes she’s fast asleep.

I miss the baby that Raine was but watching her grow into a lovable tyke is something I look forward to everyday.

Raine Moments

Baby Raine, as her almost 3-yr. old cousin Annika calls her, is now 16 ½ months old. Not much of a baby anymore. She’s about 27 lbs now, quite chubby for a little girl her age, and showing more of a personality everyday. She has just recently learned how to give Mom and Dad a kiss, complete with a “mwah” sound. For awhile she would only kiss her stuffed toys. She also knows how to do the flying kiss, although, since I taught it to her to say goodbye to her rubber ducky after her bath, she would only do it in the bathroom. Her Dad taught her how to remove his socks and put it in the hamper. It’s really funny how she excitedly removes them when Rynor comes home from the office and she goes to our room to find the hamper to put them away. When she opens her books she starts pointing at the drawings and babbles away, as if she’s reading the words or making up her own story. To help her fall asleep I would often rock her stuffed toys to sleep, hoping she would want to do the same but she just picks up her toys one by one and hands them to me again and tells me to “meme” her dolls. Sometimes she does it herself, she takes 2 toys at a time and sways from side to side while she says “baby, baby” to them softly.

Her first word like most babies was “Mama” and then when she learned to say “baby” at about 11 months, she loved to say it about 100 times a day. When we got to Marshall Islands one of her first words was “dirty”. She seems to have a fascination with dust and dirt as she likes to pick up things on the floor and put them in her mouth! Gross, right? I’m always telling her not to do this because it’s dirty and that’s how she must have picked it up. Haha! She loves all kinds of music. Whether it’s pop, jazz, classical or hip-hop the minute she hears music from the TV or radio she would start dancing. She would move her body up, down, side to side. She would bob her head and raise her arms with a big smile on her face. It’s really a site to behold.

Raine also loves animals, especially dogs. Whether she’s watching Baby Einstein or Animal Planet, she would get excited whenever she would see animals on the screen. She would point at the TV and say “Oh, oh!”.

Sometimes when we are sitting together either on her bed or on the sofa she would stand up, go behind me and wrap her arms around my neck to give me a hug. She also likes to put her face very near mine and pucker her lips slightly, meaning she would like a kiss. Our little girl has so many adorable little antics and you can already see her personality emerging, but these are my absolute favorite Raine moments.

Time's up already?

Don't you ever wish there were more than 24 hours in a day? Or that maybe you could be at 2 or even 3 places at once? Or how about if you could freeze time for a few hours while you're working on something so that you have more time to do other things?

I thought being a stay-at-home-mom would allow me a little more time to do the things that I couldn't do when I worked full time with, but I was seriously wrong. Just getting all the housework done and taking care of Raine takes up a lot of time so that "me-time" almost always takes a backseat.

I try to reserve Raine's afternoon nap for my internet time when I can answer emails, blog, surf the net and do some reading. But more often than not I make use of this quiet time to catch up on my chores. Actually, more like rush thru them. Raine is like my little shadow. She follows me around the house constantly. When I sweep the floor, she would walk behind me really closely and stare in awe at the broom. For some reason, she seems to be amazed by dirt and dust. She has a habit of touching it all the time, much to my dismay. As a result, I try not to clean when she's awake because we end up with more mess than when we started. I can't get any ironing done either for fear that she might yank on the iron's cord or something.

Hubby got pretty sick last Wednesday with fever and diarrhea so I had to take care of his needs too. It was a bit of a challenge to be both nurse and nanny especially when both hubby and Raine called for me at the same time. Thank goodness hubby got well after a full day of rest (Am I good nurse or what? Hehe).

We've been here in Marshall Islands for 2 months now and I still have so many things to learn as a new SAHM. I think the most important of all is time management.

Learning to cook well, keeping the house clean, teaching my growing toddler more than just the ABCs, these are just some of the many things on my plate. Let's not forget quality time with my hubby. And time for me too. Balancing everything is one big juggling act I have yet to master.

Kudos to the stay-at-home moms out there who seem to do it all effortlessly. Someday I hope I can be just as organized and put-together.