A Holiday in Switzerland! (Part Deux)

On our last day in Zurich, we simply walked around Glattfelden.  The place was just purely magic! I was so happy that we made this walk because it's one of those relaxing activity that hubby and I haven't done for quite some time.   And since Mavi was with us, it was also the best time to show him everything that there is to see in Zurich: the clear streams, the farm animals, the ducks floating and swimming around, the forest and wonderful green frozen fields.

A Holiday in Switzerland! (Part Wan)

Please be warned that this post is flooded with photos!

We got invited to celebrate Christmas in Zurich by my husband's relatives.  Oh we were so happy to be there, to be able to spend Noche Buena with Filipino family and friends! At least we didn't miss home that much!  The best part of it was that we went to Milan first, then drive around 5 to 6 hours going to Switzerland.  There were so many sights to see if even if the roads were covered with snow   Mavi was in his best behavior during our trip. 

Once we crossed the border from Italy, we stopped by on this gasoline station in Switzerland and didn't miss to take a picture with the snowy alps on the background.

15 Months Old Mavi in Milan

Last 2009 we were invited to celebrate Christmas in Zurich  by my husband's cousin Kuya Toto.  I was ecstatic to hear the news because aside from the the fact that Switzerland is a dream destination for me, we will also be spending the holidays with our Filipino family and friends!

But we didn't fly from Belgrade to Zurich.  We first meet up with Kuya Toto's older brother in Milan.  We've been to Italy before, but I still got so excited over Milan since it will be a new experience and adventure for us. And I was also looking forward to meet my husband's relatives in Milan.

Anyhoo, since this blog is all about my little baby boy, I just want to share some fanta-fabulous moments that we had with him during our holiday trip in Milan and Zurich, and on his first winter experience.

Oktobar 2008

Because I was creating a copy of my son's photos on his Dad's portable drive, I came across this photo exactly shot a year ago. Maverick was still a month old here, looking like a smurf and Yannah, my precious niece was still a cutie Devojčica (little girl). The photo was taken at SM Bacolod, a local department store/mall in my province.


Maverick spend his first 8 months 'malling' here. It's a meeting place for him and his sestra Yannah. Oh I miss the crowd! Back then I would get easily annoyed seeing a lot of people in the mall, because I easily get dizzy with all the motions and the noise. But now, I am so totally missing all of it! Especially that Bacolod is celebrating it's 30th Masskara Festival. I love riding the jeepneys, the delicacies, the foods, and everything about Bacolod. I stayed there for more than a year before leaving for Belgrade and I'm attached to my birthplace again.

And above all, I miss everyone whom I loved and left. My parents, my extended my family, my relatives, my friends and my niece. Just a year ago.... time flies isn't it?

I'm in love.. again!

After weeks of practice, my husband finally knows how to put our little boy to sleep. This is such a success. Our boy is too picky. You should have the proper hold, the right songs to sing and that gentle rock so he can sleep. Else, he'll just fuss and won't stop crying.

So now, ever day, he's the one putting Mavi to sleep while he allows me to rest from a day of baby sitting. I love it when he puts Mavi to sleep. I'm seeing him differently.. and it's like falling in love again.

SMilestones of Mavi at 10 Months

Here’s Maverick at 10 months. Sorry if I don’t have a formal photo of him. I guess I should start dressing him up properly and take a formal photo of him.

Mavi still refuses to hold his bottle and is not successful with his sippy cup. I tried having him drink on a cup, but the transition would probably take a little longer since he would spit most of the liquids when drinking from the cup. He ended up playing with it, and the sippy ended up as teether.

I’m happy though that Mavi can utter “mama” and “papa”. Sometimes, he would say “tata” referring to his Dad. Then lately he would follow the words I’m trying to teach him, like sheep, cow, mooo, four, car etc. He also likes to make sounds or multiple syllables that would sound like a sentence. It would sometimes sound like a sentence that he alone could understand.

One thing that would amuse us is that, Mavi would start talking when my husband and I are in the middle of the conversation. Sometimes, he would also butt-in when his Dad is talking to someone, trying to talk to that someone in his own language. As parents we find it so funny and amusing.


He laughs when either his Dad or I laugh, or even strangers. He coughs when we do, he sticks out his tongue when he sees his Dad and I eat. He likes to greet strangers (foreigners) with his smile, showing his 8 teeth.

Maverick definitely loves interaction. That’s why I can’t leave him alone in front of a TV with a children’s television on. He would cry whenever he sees me or his Dad walking away from him even though he is happily playing by himself.

He loves his book. He would make me read it over and over again, pointing to pictures a hundred times. When we come to the end of the book, he would scream or give a gesture of disapproval, and that would mean, Mommy has to read the book again.

He stands alone for about 30seconds without support, doing his “clap clap”, he cruises on his playpen and can take 2 steps without falling. He’s able to walk fast if we hold him by his two hands but couldn’t walk by himself yet.

He is such a biter at 10 months. He loves carrots mixed with rice, potato or broccoli. He eats cookies. Just a few days ago, his Daddy gave him a taste of ice cream, because he looks so pitiful looking at us having some sweets on a hot Sunday afternoon. I still take caution when it comes to solids, since he’s prone to allergies. No white meat yet, no chocolates, citrus fruits and eggs till 2 yrs old.

I’m totally scared when he bangs his head on the surfaces, the sofa and on my head too and on his Dad’s chest.

I can now put him to bed without rocking. That was such a milestone for me! As long as I’m just beside him, cuddling him, caressing his head, back or hands, giving him a mild massage on his legs with of course, background of Mommy’s beautiful singing voice hehehe. He loves to listen to my own version of Sound of Music, Edelweiss and My Favorite Things.

He’s interest in his toys like for 5 minutes only hahaha, but he’s very much interested on our remote control, and the tags of his teddies, pillows, our clothes.. practically of anything else. He would examine that, then start pulling, rolling and biting. What’s with tags anyway?

He knows how to clap his hands, give a flying kiss or just a kiss, pointing his nose and mouth, bye bye gesture and would bounce with happiness when he’s too happy. During our music time, he loves to dance with me with the tune of “When You’re Happy and You Know” (he would clap his hands too), he knows how to do “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” and now, his new favorite song “I’ve Been On The Railroad”.Okay, I think that would be enough. It pretty sums up what Maverick is like at 10 months.

Happy 10 Months

Cafe Forma

Last June 27, 2009, my little family celebrated the 10th monthly birthday of Maverick. This was a different celebration since we used to have his birthday with my parents at home in Bacolod, and there would be candles and a cake, pasta and chichiriya. This time, wala at kami lang tatlo. So the husband brought us to this nice little restaurant. Cafe Forma, a 15-min walk from our apartment. It wasn't hot that day, it's really nice to walk around the neighborhood.

View from our seat

I love the interiors inside the restaurant. There's this red wall that has picture frames on it that I so love! The interiors are mostly in red.. the bricks makes me feel like I'm in a cozy house in the middle of the woods. So nice to be here... feel na feel kung baga hehehe (walang sinabi ang Gourmand! harharhar)

Menu

When the waiter gave us the menu, lo and behold! I couldn't understand a single word hahaha. So I just asked the husband to order something for me.

Our foods

The food was also a surprise. I love it! Makes me wanna go back again, that would be next month maybe. Can't afford to eat here all the time hahaha. I don't usually like eating bread, pero kakaiba ang bread nila dito. Crispy outside and so soft naman sa loob. Ang sarap talaga kainin. The Beer.. well, di uso kasi softdrinks dito. They either have beer (most of the time) or wine. Sossy no? Pero mas masarap parin ang tubig! Tikim tikim lang. We're not here naman to eat and indulge ourselves sa lahat ng luxuries dito coz we're just poor. We're here to save! Harhar.. thus, occasional lang :-)

My boys

Anyway, here's happiness.. my boys of course. Haaay.

To my boy.. happy 10th months old. Many people loves you.. and your grandparents at home misses you the most. So be good ha. :-)

Hello, Honey!

Okay, so Mavi, Mama and I went to Manila again to meet my in-laws and at the same time, welcome the husband back in the Philippines. He's been planning to go home since December, but he thought that it would be too early to have a vacation since he's just new in the company.

So here comes June, the long awaited vacation.. and the "meet and greet" of his little boy.

Was I excited? Definitely! 16 months of physical separation, what would you expect? This is Maverick's 2nd time to go to Manila. And of course, chaperone parin si Mother.

Mama, Jeff, Mavi and Me

While waiting for the husband to arrive, we stopped by at MOA to meet my high school bestfriends Tina and Chai. The last time I saw them was also at MOA, 2008. I was 6months pregnant at that time, and was moving back to Bacolod. I miss my friends so much! So many things has happened since we parted. Tina now has 2 kids, both girls, and Chai, single again. And as for me, I now have Maverick.

Maverick's new ride

Everyone, please welcome Mavi's new ride, the Maclaren Triumph.

Since, my boy and I travel a lot, travelling with a bulky Graco stroller is such a pain. It's so huge and too heavy! Aside from that, it seems that Mavi doesn't like the Graco stroller. He complains most of the time when I put him on it.

So I was really happy that my little boy likes his new ride. Why? He falls asleep in it!

Had I known that he likes Maclaren better, I should have bought this one ealier instead of Graco. It's really a miss or hit when you have a baby, since they can't actually let you know if they like a certain thing unless you bought and try it.

But of course, we kept our Graco, for future use :-)



Husband (the benefactor) is very happy of his purchase. It's quite expensive for a stroller, but with Mavi behaving in it is just too good to be true for me. I don't have to carry him around the mall all the time, plus, he can sleep on it.

Other plus factors include:

• Removable washable seat
• Compact umbrella fold (easy on the airport)
  
• Water resistant hood
• High-performance aluminium frame
• Handy mesh shopping basket
• Carry strap or handle for easy portability
• 5 second one-hand fold
• Lockable, front swivel wheels

Browse their site for more designs!

Birthday ni Liit at ni Laki

Last May 27, Maverick turned 9months.

Seems like yesterday when I was carry this little prince in one arm, ngayon, super malikot na! But I have to say that Mavi is such a good and happy boy. Despite the fact that he wakes up at dawn just to be cuddled or nakatulala lang, I'm fine with it as long as he's a no fuss baby.

Gone are the days na araw araw fussy sya because of his teething. Ngayon feeling ko he wakes up on that time of the night kasi his Daddy is thinking of him. That's why I was telling my hubby to please stop thinking about his beloved son kasi di nakakatulog at ako ang napapagod hehehe. God is so good, till now, never pa akong nagkakasakit despite of my lack of sleep ang fatigue. I think He understands my situation naman, once the little prince is asleep, the princess has to make time for the prince charming naman. Ping-pong nga lagi ako, between my two boys.


So look at my boy, growing up to be a mestizo. Feeling insecure ako tuloy. Hmph. Kelangan high maintenance rin ako, masyadong maputi at flawless si baby so dapat si Mommy Princess has to cope up rin. Don't want to end up looking like a Yaya.

Speaking of Yaya, remember my rants about our helper? Well, she's still with us. Luckily, napagtyagaan ko sya. I need her, to keep the house clean, to wash our laundry, to cook me a nice meal when I needed it and to do the rest of the stuff around the house. I need her so I won't end up looking so losyang. So I can still have time for myself when I needed to.

Aside from that, May 27 is also the birthday of my Papa Nonong. So here we are, one big happy family. Even though mahirap ang buhay, we still managed to celebrate. I made sure Papa is happy. He's sick you know.


I was still wishing that hubby was here, without my him, life is really difficult and sad.. as you all know, I've been through depression. But thank God, He's been giving me means to forget about the sad part of my life. He made my brother and his family live with us. So with 3 families in one roof, and 2 chikkitings, you have no time to be sad. It's a crazy house, magulo, maingay.

You need proof?

Mga wacky photos namin sa bahay. Kakulitan blues. Sa sobrang kulit ng dalawa nilagay sila namin sa laundry basket.

Eto naman, pinaglalaruan si Little Prince. Nakakatawa talaga si Maverick dito sa pictures. Poor little prince, pinagtritripan :-)

So there you go, updates of my boy at 9 months.

Disturbing behavior

I can't sleep when does this.

Updates on Mavi

I feel so happy to share these.

Mavi knows how to gesture the following all in one day:

• bye bye
• clap clap clap
• point at lizards inside the house
• point at objects he's happy about on a book
  
• can follow the words I utter like: book, apple, align
• sings when I sing... and the best part
  
• the little guy can actually DANCE!

Up until now, it amazes me how kids nowadays can learn so fast. One factor that enhances Mavi and speed up his learning process is that there are 5 adults living in the house and I've instructed all of them not to baby talk Mavi and as much as possible, describe to him what they are doing, and allow him to follow it.

Take for example the clapping of hands. I would do it everytime I sing him ABC or Are You Sleeping Brother John. So over and over, he sees and heard it.. kaya ngayon, when I say clap your hands... he's really clapping his hands! Funny lang, kasi itong si Lolo nya, sabi nya "Mavi palakpak." I told Papa, "He won't do it, he doesn't understand palakpak. Be consistent, say clap your hands Mavi.. and be sure to mention his name". Hehehe. He was able to show his Dad of his new talent a while ago, and proud na proud naman sympre ang Amay. I captured a moment in video, I haven't uploaded it yet.

The singing part naman, well he got that from me. Till now kasi, I still rock Mavi to sleep. So I do it kasabay ng pagkanta. Trust me, I've been doing it for 8months na, so much for a voice lesson, I think I sing better now than before hahaha.

And of course, the dancing. It's all in the genes. His Ate Yan can dance, and so is his Greatgrand Lola, and of course Mommy is a good dancer too. So ano pa ba ang kalalabasan ng batang ito? Sympre good dancer rin di ba? Forget about Daddy. So when I grow old, alam ko na kung sino partner ko sa Ballroom Dancing.

Last but not the least, my boy is showing signs of independence. Haaay. Like when I feed him, he grabs the spoon away from me and put it in his mouth na. Ayaw nyang ako nagsusubo sa kanya, gusto nya sya. Then this afternoon, he doesn't want to be carried. Gusto nyang bumama and lumakad while reaching for a leaf on the ground.

Nagwawala if i took away his books. He really likes his books. As in talaga! Dami nyang toys, but he prefers those huge picture books that we borrowed from his Ate Yan. Might be because of pictures? Mavi has only 2 books, those hard bound books. I bought them at Booksale. Commercial lang, you can't find these baby books on National Bookstore, meron siguro, pero konti lang and they're super duper expensive. Like 400-800PHP per book. While at Booksale, I only got Mavi's books for 45PHP each: Teddy Bear Teady Bear and Who is Jesus. He loves them, and I would read it to him over and over again. Sasakit lang lalamunan sa kakabas kasi ayaw ka nyang patigilin.

My once little boy is growing up na. I can't help but falling in love with him every day. (Ay! I also notice na pareho kami magsmile sa camera. Will post about it soon!)

Can you count my teeth??

People are fascinated of how fast my little boy's teeth are popping up. As you can see in the picture, Mavi lose some weight. Aside from difficulty in feeding due to pains in the gum area, my son's length has also increased (tumangkad). Kaya slender syang tignan.

Thank God, he currently feeds well na. I hope that the molars won't give me those "feeding issues" again. I'm just thankful that despite his lack of appetite before, he's still a super duper mega over to the 100th power hyperactive. Trust me... kahit sino sa amin dito, surrender sa kalikotan ng anak ko. But I am not complaining, it's better that's he's like that kesa sa unhealthy.

Happy 8 Months!!

My little boy celebrated his 8 months birthday last week. We have a simple celebration at home, with his favorite cousin and playmate Ate Yanyan. What's a birthday without a cake right?

To my boy, who's growing up to be so smart and so madaldal like Mama, we love you so much. You mean the world to us.

SMilestones of Mavi at 7 Months

This month, M have a tremendous change in his behaviour and most importantly showed a lot of Milestones for this month. 

M’s daily scheduled is starting to be consistent. He’ll wake up at the same time every day, nap at the same time at noon but still unpredictable at night. When awake, we spend most of our time playing and doing some educational activities like pointing at pictures in a book, pointing his Dad’s picture, tracking objects/pictures in a card, and teaching him some words. During our face time wherein I sing him songs and trying to elaborate the sounds by making faces. He loves it when I make faces, he would look at me intently, and sometimes, touching, grabbing my mouth when I sing, or patting my face with his hands while laughing.

He eats more solids now but I have observed that he feeds on milk less, less than 4 oz. I’m kind of thinking that teething is the primary cause because he now has 6 teeth (3 upper, 3 lower) and more to come. He has 4 vitamins (multivitamins, protein, iron and flouride for his teeth). I feed him with brown-rice with soya beans (I have them powderized), rice with potato and carrots or squash, during snack time I gave him bread to munch. M doesn’t like Cerelac or prepared baby foods, so I might probably eliminate those. I tried giving him pureed apple, but he doesn’t like it. I feed him once, but he ended up vomiting and coughing.

And above all, what makes me happy is that M is a very sociable baby boy. He loves to play, he loves attention not only from me but from everyone else. He’s not emotional, he only cries when he’s sleepy or can’t sleep, or when he doesn’t have my attention, or when I got angry at him. Yes! The little boy understands now everytime I get angry at him when he misbehaves. I don’t shout, but I would raise my voice in such a way that he knows that I am not happy about a certain thing like when he would bite me!

Despite the fact that I am a super depressed Mom, my little boy is a happy baby. I am doing a double role here, a Mom and a Dad at the same time. I think I’m doing good with what I do because M is growing up happy, always smiling and smart.

Physical and Motor Development

His crowning glory is starting to show and they’re curly!

He can sit by himself for about 10minutes unsupported. I would let him sit by himself while he reads or scan a book.

ble to stand on his own while holding on to something for support. We just have to keep an eye on him because it can be dangerous.

Can walk back and forth on his Baby walker. He knows how to go about the things that he could reach when he is in his walker. He scatters them around, especially the plastics.

Got 6 teeth and still more to come.

Can bend side to side and backward most of the time knocking my head (ouchie!). If he disapproves something, he would arched his body and cry. Sometimes banging his head onto me.

Pass objects from one hand to another. He’s so good at this. When he holds his toy, he rattles them too. But every time I took those toys away, he would really cry hard showing his disapproval.

Likes to play peek-a-boo with anytime, and when I cover my face so he can find me, he knows how to remove the cover so he can see my face once again. He laughs so hard every time I do this.

He knows how to make faces. If I get angry at him for misbehaving, he would cry a little or sob a little, then hug me as if he knew I got angry at him or that I Mama is angry. That’s good because he can differentiate an angry Mommy to a happy Mommy.

He loves to bounce whenever he’s on a standing position.

Language and Vocal development

He’s able to follow sounds. Like when I teach him how to say “Apple” he’ll say “appooh”, “Ball” he’ll say “booh”.

He babbles a lot not. He’s articulate with the word “Mama” and “broom broom”. When somebody talks or is in a discussion with me, he listens for a while then babbles too as if he knows what’s he’s talking about.

When I sing songs to him, he would hymn a different of his song too. Yes, the little guy is able to sing.

He's able to point at objects when I ask him to locate it in a book.

Likeable

He laughs a lot

Very playful and hyperactive

Observer

Not afraid of the water

Very sweet, he knows how to win a person’s attention by doing funny faces and sometimes just by smiling.

Not Likeable

Biting. He bit me twice already and it hurts a lot.

Banging his head onto me.

Pinching, scratching, kicking me while he plays.

Happy 7 Months!

We celebrated Maverick's 7month birthday last friday at Shakey's. Lolo, Lola and my brother's family was there to celebrate my Mavilicious birthday. Oh, did I mention that my little boy now got his 4 front teeth!! Yup, they emerged a few weeks ago, and I hope that his feeding will be back to normal. He doesn't drink milk that much, but boy oh boy, he has this huge appetite for solids.

Maverick at 7 months

Our little boy is not so little already. Maybe I should stop calling him "my little boy", he is such a big boy na! He's way too big for his age and he is getting so gwapito day by day. Sometimes I feel like I look like his Yaya. That's why I make sure na high maintenance ang beauty ko.

Yannah and Maverick

Take a look at them both, Maverick at 2 months. He looks like a smurf isn't he? I would often wonder how he would look like when he grows, when all the features matured. Thank goodness, my boy turns out to be as cute as his Mama and as handsome as his Papa, in short, Maverick is turning out to be a handsome young lad.

Maviboy in his tie

Maviboy enjoying his squash

Maviboy is a happy baby!

Take a look at him now, still with his Ate Yanna. Aren't they the cutest?? They always celebrate birthdays together.

With Ate Yannah again

The two kids will be the best of friends. Yanna loves Mavi so much. Every time she sees Mavi, she calls him by name and gives him a kiss and a hug. While Mavi is always perked by Yannah. Marinig nya lang bosses ng Ate Yan nya, kinikilig na sya at gusto nang makipaglaro. Dyahe lang when he is asleep and Yanna would call him, kasi gigising talaga sya.

We love the pool!

Here's a picture of Maverick and Yannah taking a bath outside the house. Haaay, buti pa sila, walang problema sa buhay. Ang sarap maging bata.

Happy happy birthday Mavi! Mama and Papa loves you to the 100th power.

SMilestones of Mavi at 6 Months

Mastered Skills (most kids can do)

• Turns toward sounds and voices (CHECK!)
  
• Imitates sounds (CHECK!) I tried to teach him how to say "Papa" or other simple words and he does follow.
  
• Rolls over in both directions (CHECK!)
  
  

Emerging Skills (half of kids can do)

• Is ready for solid foods (CHECK!) He's been eating solids since 5months old. Now he eats carrots, squash, bread and brown rice.
  
• Sits without support (NOT YET) He doesn't sit that much, he loves to stand more.
  
• Mouths objects (CHECK) Whatever he can grab
  
• Passes objects from hand to hand
  
  

Advanced Skills (a few kids can do)

• Lunges forward or starts crawling (CHECK!)
  
• Jabbers or combines syllables (CHECK!) He knows how to say "broom broom"
  
• Drags objects toward himself (CHECK!) And if he can't have what he wants, berat baby na sya.
  

Busy With Family Reunions

Lola Sefa and Tita Army were in Bacolod from New Jersey for a short vacation. We were invited to have a little salo salo at Mambucal Resort with the rest of our relatives from Valladolid. Mambucal is a mountain resort in Negros, located at the foot of Mt. Kanlaon. It's an hour drive away from Bacolod City.

We're almost complete, except for Mavi's daddy who's working abroad. This is the second time my little boy went to Mambucal, the first one was last December when his Mamita Arlene was also in town.


Look at my boy, eating lechon for the first time! He reall enjoyed his lechon, umiiyak sya pag kinukuha na sa kanya. The boy knows exactly what he wants, and would arch crying when he can't have what he wants.


And of course, what's the purpose of going to Mambucak without having a dip in the pool? Mavi has to wear his surfer clothes kasi napakalamig dito sa Mambucal.

Then before my Lola and Tita went back to NJ, we have a litte farewell lunch at Valladolid. The last time I was here was 2 years ago. My Lola's house is far more different than the old one. It looked like an ancestral house before, ngayon modernized na. they renovated the place, especially their huge kitchen.

I will surely miss them, haaay, kelan naman ang balik kaya nila?? Valladolid always reminds me of a good and fun childhood, dito kami nagspend ng summer vacation ng brother ko so super close talaga ako dito sa mga Aunts/Uncles ko. This made my vacation in Bacolod worth-it, seeing my relatives in Valladolid again.

Till then!

Kelan Kaya Namin Makakasama Daddy Ko??

First time ng little boy mag swimming. Nag emote kaagad :-)