Our darling Louiji turned 2 last January 14! We had a mini-party here at home with his grandparents and his cousins (my side of the family). More about this house party on a separate post.

As always, I have documented my son’s milestones and antics 🙂 Here are reasons to celebrate the days leading to his 24th month:

• Louiji was babbling and making upward gestures. Daddy said that he was doing a praise and worship just like what we do in church.
• Uh oh! He now knows how to unplug the fan from the socket! I have tried to cover the socket with plastic cover and duct tape but his little hands were so strong that he was able to remove it.
• He has just finished having his milkmilk and decided that instead of going back to sleep, he will get up and play. Though it’s a bit dark, he stood up on the bed and looked around. I used the light from my phone to serve as his light. He saw a shadow on the wall so he babbled and gestured with his hands to tell his Dad, who was just beside him, that they do the shadow show.
• He was having milkmilk for bedtime and I was humming a lullaby. He babbled and took my hand to tell me that he wants me to pat his thigh so he can sleep.
• Our little one said “car” when he was showing Dad his toy car.
• Louiji is getting good at sorting. He took all his train stickers and stuck them together on the door. He did the same thing with the traffic light stickees.
• Louiji was able to follow the instructions on Barney May I.
• We were doing a videoke at home when Louiji got hold of the mic. He was babbling while looking at the screen as if he is singing 🙂 He kept doing it for almost half an hour.
• We were settling in for the night when Louiji caught sight of the iPad lying on my desk beside our bed. He was reaching for it but I said, “Tomorrow na lang baby. Bedtime na e. ” He did not object and sat back on the bed. What a good and obedient boy! 🙂
• We were saying our bedtime prayers and Louiji kept his hands together til the prayer ends.
• Louiji was taking out his stuffed toys out of the big box one at a time. As he does it, I tossed the toys back. After a while, he noticed what I was doing so he took all three toys at the same time and moaned 😀
• Our little one enjoys eating fruit salad and embutido and it was the first time he had a taste of these.
• Louiji was able to identify the fireman in his set of Mega Blocks after teaching him about it for 4 consecutive repetitions.
• Louiji used to rub the roll-on analgesic on his armpit because he would see us do it with our deo. Now, whenever he sees it, he would take it and rub it on my back. I hope that he will soon learn how to massage my back 🙂
• Our little explorer was being creative when he took the broken strap of his diaper bag, draped it over his shoulder and was putting it together as if he is tying a sash.
• Louiji just discovered how to do a frog hop. He just love to do this during the night when the floor gets a bit cold.
• Louiji knew that the cover hanging on top of the microwave oven is meant for that appliance because he pulled it and was trying to cover the oven.
• While I was mixing the ingredients of the macaroni salad, Louiji would come up to me to see what I was doing. I tried to give him a cashew nut and he liked it that he came back for more. Same thing with the cheese, potato and macaroni.
• Louiji started eating grapes and ponkan! But would spit the skin.
• Louiji loves dancing to the song “The Ants Go Marching.” He eapecially likes the last part and would act it out by bending his knees and springing up.
• Louiji strummed on his side after pointing at the picture of a guitar on his toy.
• Louiji saw a candle at Vikings and started clapping, which is actually a prompt for me to sing Happy Birthday. I did as requested. After that, Louiji tried to blow the candle.
• Louiji dragged my lumbar pillow from our bed and rode on it. He likes riding on everything these days.
• Most of the time, Louiji would look away when he knows that his photo is being taken. But, if he is going to be with Mommy or Daddy, he would tilt his head towards either of us. It has now become his favorite pose 🙂
• Louiji can remove his own socks.
• When I asked him to share the ball with another toddler in church, our boy gladly did so.
• Louiji now plays peek-a-boo using both hands.
• Louiji  did something amusing by bading bye-bye to Granny with his hand behind him, head bowed down while smiling. Silly baby!
• After seeing my sister holding a cup, Louiji ate binatog for the first time.
• After lots of practice, Louiji was finally able to pull the pieces of his Mega Blocks apart.
• Learning from his Dad, Louiji knew how to use his Daddy’s phone to search Youtube for his favorite toy demo videos.
• At night, whenever Louiji would hear a pedicab pass by, he would knock on the table or door and say, “Dada.” It’s as if he’s expecting that his Dad would get off the ped and knock on our gate.
• Whenever Louiji would see a photo of a bee, he would point at it and buzz.
• Louiji saw a younger baby when we entered the nursing station at Rustan’s. He waved at the baby to say hello. He is becoming more sociable 🙂
• I was looking at my FB feed when I scrolled on a photo posted by my sister. Louiji quickly pointed at his Lolo in the group photo and pointed at my sister’s tiny profile image.
• The little explorer was rummaging through his grooming box and got a hold of his moisturizer. He began squeezing it the way I would. He would pretend to get some and slather on his neck.
• The little one saw a scrap of crepe paper on the floor and started tearing it to pieces. He placed them on the mat and started blowing a piece until it moves forward.
• Louiji took off his long sleeve shirt on his own without any difficulty.
• Louiji ate two small servings of tuna sandwich for merienda. First time!
• Our little boy can now put back the screws of the wheels of his rocking horse.
• We are proud to have been breastfeeding up to this time! Hooray! My husband has been persuading me to wean our baby from the breast. I am having mixed feelings about it which makes me reluctant to go through the process. Well, everything in it’s proper time 😉

We’re believing for more milestones for our little one. We are truly blessed to have an adorable and healthy boy. We love you sooo much, Sweetie Pie!!!

Our darling Louiji is 23 months old today!!! He will be two years old very soon and we are happily anticipating more growth and development milestones for him.

I am more than happy and excited to have witnessed and noted his progress from the previous weeks. Here’s my list:

• Louiji was playing with the iPad and he was able to group the same animals together.

• He is able to identify his eyes, nose, mouth, ears, tummy, hair and hands immediately and correctly.

• Louiji is fascinated more than ever on his shape-o-toy. He is now familiar with more shapes and works better, meaning he is patient in finding the right hole for the shape, when we just observe and allow him to work on his own.

• Louiji is making a steady progress on the shape sorter app on the iPad that includes the circle, square, triangle and pentagon. He was also able to do it according to size.

• Louiji now climbs the stairs faster.

• He has discovered a new way of riding his Happy Horse. He would get into it, stand up and drag it as he walks. One time, he got more adventurous by hoisting himself up as it rocks.

• Louiji disassembled his cousin’s beaded bracelet then sorted the wooden beads according to color.

• While going through his cousin’s toys, Louiji separated the pink and girly toys from the gender neutral ones.

• Louiji used to get frustrated whenever he wants to use the animals app because he doesn’t know how to begin. Now, he always remembers to tap on the yellow Start button so he can begin playing with the app.

• Louiji likes riding. He once rode on the football section of his Little Gym as if he’s riding on a horse. He also dumped the entire contents of his toy box, stepped inside and pretended that he is driving a car.

• Louiji picked up all the cars and put them back on top of the box drum.

• Louiji knows which part of the book we are reading. He will take the book from my hand, fold it to where the text is, then give it back to me.

• Louiji removed his pajama without Mommy’s help.

• Louiji is sweeter than ever. Whenever he sees Mommy crouching to pick up his toys, he would get behind me and hug me tight.

• Louiji has become so active that he loves playing rough, climbing over Mommy and Daddy and bouncing on our tummies.

• Before, he finds it hard to wait and would like to have something he wants before he does something that Mommy tells him to do. Now, he would do as Mommy says even before I give him what he wants.

• Whenever he wants to eat or play with something that he doesn’t see often (junk food, chocolates, his older cousins’ toys), he would put his hands together as if to say “Please!”

• Louiji is gaining more control over his hand and arm muscles as he now holds crayons and pens using the Palmar grasp.
• Reads from the app Three Little Pigs by making sounds. He would shake his head on the part where the pug says “No! Not by the hair of my chiny chin chin.” He would also point a finger on pages where the big bad wolf would huff and puff.

• He loves to do head stand, hand stand then he would roll over.

• Our little tot was able to point correctly at the apple, ball car, ice cream, egg, socks, toothbrush and parrot from the flashcards posted on the door.

• Louiji enjoyed playing with his sensory box which contains rice, shovel, plastic cups, spoon and candy sprinkles. I would put him inside our inflatable pool so the mess would be contained in one area. This plan didn’t work because after playing, my little boy would step out of the pool and turn it over!

• While using the picture book app, Louiji took Snoopy and showed the toy that there is another dog in the picture.

• Louiji took the paper clips from the sticky board one by one and put them together on one side of the bed. He is getting used to sorting things!

• Louiji obeyed Mommy when he pushed the Home and Power buttons of the iPad. He would also do the same for our iPhones.

• Louiji’s fine motor skills are improving. He was able to finish the task of picking up 10 ducks at the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse app. Thanks to our sensory play activities!

• Louiji made a barking sound when he saw a canine dog at the bazaar and when he saw one while watching Despicable Me 2. He now makes the same sound whenever he sees a dog.

• Louiji says either Jaja or Jeje while pointing at Jollibee.

• We are proud to be (still) breastfeeding at 23 months 🙂 Hooray for this wonderful blessing!

Our dear little Louiji turned 22 months last November 14 (and yes, this is a late post). As my monthly ritual, I have compiled my record of his milestones and some amusing anecdotes. I have noticed a progress on his motor skills, his craving for independence, expressing himself and developing social skills. Also, there is a significant decrease for the need for timeouts. 🙂

• Louiji loves sharing his food with Daddy and Mommy. He would use his fingers to pick a piece from his bowl and offer it to any of us.

• Proud Mommy Moment: Louiji was looking for a book in his pile one morning. He took out all of the books from the box until he found the one that he likes. I then watched him as he returned all his books one by one.

• Louiji eats a hotdog on a fork on his own. He did the same with longganisa. Don’t worry, I don’t always feed my tot with preservatives-laden food all the time 😉

• My little one said “Mama” and was reaching out for me while he was crying during one of his timeouts. He has been saying Mama more often especially when he wants to have milkmilk 🙂

• Whenever baby sees a picture of people eating, he would put his hands together as he would when we tell him to pray before meals.

• To pacify him during a long ride, I once taught Louiji how to drive a car. I held his arms in front of him, made his fists close and move as if he’s steering the wheel. Now, whenever we are riding on our car, he would see a picture of a car, or we are out on the streets with plenty of vehicles, he would stretch out his hands as if he is really steering the wheel 🙂

• While Mommy was busy in the kitchen, baby opened the ref, found the leftover bread, took it with him in the carpet and ate it.

• Louiji took the remaining piece of One One and the plastic pack fell from his hands. He picked it up, put the One One back carefully and ate from the pack.

• He took his Blankie book. Turned on the peek a boo page and did as shown. He then took my hands so I would do the same. Then on the page where the child does a super blankie, Louiji squealed as if to shout “Super Blankie!” and gave a big smile.

• My tot took his Gingerbread Man book then on the page where it says, “They gave him currants for his eyes, a cherry nose, an orange mouth, and raisins for buttons, ” he would point at his own eyes, nose, mouth and a button on his shirt.

• He would take out his book I Like It When and he would imitate the illustrations on every page. He would take my hand, hug me, dance, do a peek-a-boo, and kiss me to say “I love you” as shown in the book.

• Though it took a while before he did it, with perseverance, Louiji was able to climb on the chair next to my desk. He had a hard time at first because he was trying out different positions and was even asking Mommy to pull him up. I let him do it on his own for my baby to build on his perseverance and enhance his problem solving skills. I’m so glad that he succeeded!

• Louiji would stretch out his right hand and move it to show a flying plane.

• Our little one learned how to get on and off the bike.

• Louiji had a grand time at his first Trick or Treat! (More on this on a separate post!) He walked around and played with the little games stationed on the corners of the office. He didn’t cry when his Dad’s officemates asked him to kiss their hand, give a high five and a peck on their cheeks. He even danced on one of the floors!

• Louiji was watching an episode of Barney about counting. When the children on the show were counting with their fingers, he stretched out his hands and moved his fingers and made an uhmm sound as if he is counting.

• Louiji now sits, squats, and sometimes do a forward bend when he is going poopsie. I think he’s ready to be potty trained!

• While having dinner, Daddy was counting with his fingers and Louiji stares and smiles and makes an uhmm sound for every number as if he is saying the numbers.

• Louiji now likes eating in his own. While I was getting his face towel, he grabbed his bowl of baked zitti and ate on his own using a spoon. At snacktime, Louiji took the fork from me and used it to eat his pancake.

• After drinking from his sippy cup, he placed it on the right section in his food tray.

• Baby was able to climb on our bed, which is a bit high than a standard one, on his own!!!!

• Louiji knows how to hold an open tumbler properly and drinks from it. Though he needs to practice controlling the tilt.

• Louiji would shake his hand horizontally to denote “no more.”

• Louiji now enjoys running at an increasing speed. And it makes my heart race big time, especially when we’re out.

• Louiji was running and fell on his knees but he got up right away and dust off his knees and hands. What a brave boy! 🙂

• Louiji discovered the wonders of using a flashlight. He’s been holding and swaying it and gets fascinated at where it shines light.

• I was holding a flashcard and told louiji that it’s a toothbrush. He then gestured with a finger pointing towards his mouth as if brushing his teeth.

• Louiji rode his toy horse on his own.

• Louiji was upset with his older cousins about something so he was raising his right arm and kept pointing with his finger at them. My tot is beginning to express himself when he is angry. Whenever this happens, gently explain to him what had happened to pacify him.

• We are gradually starting on our homeschool program where we are studying about shapes. Louiji has just finished learning about circles where he colored, traced and made an artwork (with my assistance) about this shape.

• He used to cry at the sight of my two younger brothers. Though he still wouldn’t let them pick him up without Mommy, he would now kiss their hand, give a high five and sometimes a peck on the cheek.

Excited for more developments and special moments with our little one in the coming days! 🙂 Thank you LORD!

My dear baby Louiji,

You are now on your 9th month! God has blessed you with good health and strong immune system. You’ve had cough and colds but you never had fever. Praise God for that!

You have gained a bigger appetite. Whenever we’re together, you would eat your veggies and apples twice a day. Talk about being magana! Though, potatoes still don’t look appetizing to you. I know where you’re coming from, anak. Boiled potatoes really taste bland. Ewww. But, when you turn a year old, we can add a little spice to it. Ever notice that I say that a lot whenever you want to have a bite of something that is so flavorful? It’s a promise, baby! Mommy will make your diet as diverse but nutritious as possible starting on your birthday 😉

Another milestone of yours that Daddy and I are proud about is that you can now sit for as long as 15 minutes in the crib. You have yet to sit on your own but whenever we prop you up, you remain seated for so long. You were able to finish the Mickey Mouse show in one sitting. I was so happy the first time I saw you do that that I told Daddy about it over the phone right away. We’ll be excited all the more when we see you sit on your own!

At this time, you are also beginning to learn how to express yourself. Aside from crying, you have found ways to tell Daddy and me what you feel and what you want. We can tell right away when you’re hungry, sleepy, tired, want more food, need to be picked up and cuddled or you simply want to play with us.

I thank God that you still want Mommy’s milk milk. Everyday, we would ask God to give us an abundant supply of breastmilk. He is so faithful that at 9 months, I still have milk milk to give you each time we are together. I am also able to express milk at work and bring home two bottles for you that you can consume the following day. By third week next month, you wouldn’t need formula milk to augment your supply anymore. I will be staying at home with you and you will be exclusively breastfed again 🙂

Exciting times ahead! With the many milestones that you have achieved in the previous month, Daddy and I know that there are more to come. I pray that you will enjoy each stage that you will go through. Daddy and I will always be here motivate you and cheer on you as you go along.

We love you soooo much, our dear baby Louiji!!! May the Lord continue to bless you and keep you.

Hugs, kisses and overflowing love,
Mommy