My Girl

My Girl Goes to School

2011-02-25T17:25:00.000-08:00

June 8, 2011 - At barely 2 years and 5 days old, My Girl went to school for the first time. She was so excited. Mamita was so proud and happy to My Girl go to the school that she helped set-up - the Victoriano D. Tirol Advanced Learning Center.

My Girl easily fit in and felt so at ease with the crayons and blocks

She is the youngest and the smallest in the Toddlers' Class, with 14 other kids.

She didn't cry at school on her first day. And on the second day and on the succeeding days, when it's time for her to go to school, she is always excited.

She loves all the activities in her class. Amazingly at her very young age, she can hold the writing instruments well and properly already.

February 26, 2011 - Until now, My Girl still goes to school regularly and excitedly. Her teacher is also happy that My Girl didn't stop going to school considering that she is still very young. Teacher Nena is so impressed with My Girl's outstanding performances in the class. My Girl even gets perfect scores in test without much effort on her. Everytime she comes home from school, she has STARS.

We are so proud of you My Girl!

Turned Two

2011-02-25T14:29:00.000-08:00

Last June 3, 2010, My Girl turned two. It was a very busy day for us and everybody was excited specially My Girl.In the morning, she was already at the venue, as if she was inspecting the things going on. The party's theme was Mickey & Minnie Mouse.

Her Daddy was so busy driving to and from the house to the venue, hauling things for the party. Mommy was not around this time because she was at California, USA then.

While My Girl was at home napping to get ready for the afternoon's party, her Daddy, me, uncles, aunties, and staff were so busy finishing the decoration at the venue. Everybody was happy with the result of the efforts.

The Entrance

The Stage

It was already four o'clock in the afternoon and guests were starting to arrive. Mamita has to hurry and drive home to pick up My Girl at the house.

However, My Girl refused to wear the Minnie Mouse dress Mamita and the other dresses bought from the US for her to wear for the party. My Girl insisted on wearing her Minnie Mouse printed shirt and her red True Religion pants. Well, it was her day so, hew wish was our command.

Friends and family came to the party, which was prepared for 300 adults and 120 kids.

My Girl was looking lonely at the beginning for she might have felt the absence of her Mommy. But later on when the program started and the kids were up and jolly on the stage, My Girl also joined them and had fun.

Daddy was with her all the time though. So busy entertaining the guests and attending to My Girl's needs. Mamita was there too and of course everybody who loves My Girl was there to celebrate with her.

The kids had fun with the games and the many give-aways.

Gifts

The Cake

Everybody was teary-eyed when they saw the video presentation prepared (and sent through the Internet) by her Mommy. My Girl pointed at the screen and shouted "Mommy!"

We are so thankful to the Lord for My Girl. May the Lord bless her with good health, happiness and always be a blessing to everyone.

Happy 2nd Birthday My Girl! We love you so much!

My Girl loves bags

2010-09-25T08:30:00.000-07:00

I discovered that My Girl got interest in bags when one time we were in the mall and she would grab my purse and carry it like she's a lady already. She was then only 1 year. and 4 mons. old. I find it amusing.

Then, on January, 2010, at my father's farewell party, she was wearing this Hello Kitty bag (which was given to her by her Ninong Ian and Tita Candice) and she carries it with ease and doesn't part with it. She was then 1 year and 7 mons. old.

Since then, I started looking for cute bags in the Internet and found this very cute Louis Vuitton mini sac (the smallest of LV speedy line)and finally was able to purchase one from Japan. Had the bag shipped to Tagbilaran City, Bohol and it arrived on Feb. 17, 2010.

I let My Girl opened the box herself and when she saw what's inside, she said "wow! nice bag!" and since then, she enjoys wearing her LV almost everywhere she goes. A lot of people who sees her walking around wearing her LV bag really get amused of her.One time, My Girl was with me at Ayala Shopping Mall in Cebu and there was this group of ladies at Starbucks who were looking at My Girl from a distance and when My Girl was already near them, they were saying, "oh, how cute the little girl, carrying an real LV".

After her LV, I bought her a Dooney & Bourke, a Juicy Couture and a red Prada. Her favorites are the first two though.

Some would say I am an OA grandma, but I just enjoy watching My Girl appreciate fine things.

Shopping for My Girl

2010-02-06T07:17:00.000-08:00

I'm sure I am just a typical normal grandma, who loves to shop for her girl.And I am sure, every grandma will agree with me.

Lately, My Girl's mom has been warning me to slow-down on shopping for My Girl because her closet is already full. Sometimes, I heed to her warning, and sometimes I don't. My own mom and my sister keep on telling me that I am already spoiling My Girl. But I told them that I am not spoiling her because she is not asking for these, I am willingly and lovingly buying all these for her.

One of the latest items I bought for her is this very cute Ralph Lauren outfit which she first wore to the Honoring Party of my father, at the Panglao Island Nature Resort last January 22, 2010.

This brand new RL piece normally costs about more than $50 but I got this at a steal price thru eBay.

My favorite brands for My Girl's clothes are: Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Carter's , Old Navy, Baby Gap, Osh Kosh, Levi's, Baby Guess, Esprit, First Impressions, Ed Hardy, Izod,Roxy and Baby Phat. I buy almost all her clothes on-line through favorite shops online.

Again, my mom and my sister would remind me that I might be doing too much for My Girl for making her get used to wearing all-branded clothes. Well, to my defense, I think I am just teaching My Girl - good taste. haha!

How is shopping done?

I am fond of browsing for baby clothes and when I find a good deal, I pay them using a debit card or through PayPal. I am not afraid of spending too much for I set a budget like, I fund my debit card with the amount I only want to spend.

Once the item has already been paid, it is shipped to an assigned US address. Usually, an earlier arrangement with the person to whom the item will be shipped to has already been set. And this person (who then becomes the courier) is usually a close friend or relative who is coming home to Bohol sooner.

It's always exciting every time a "courier" arrives from the US because for sure there are stuffs for My Girl. One time, a friend from San Francisco, CA brought in 18 pieces of clothes for My Girl (wow exciting). Others came in with 10, 8, 5,3, and so on...

This is just another expression of mine as to how much I love My Girl. I love shopping for her.

I know that many other grandmas out there even shop and spend more than I do for their our girls too.

Happy shopping grandmas!

My Girl in green Izod outfit and in all-pink Ralph Lauren dress and shoes.

Updates

2010-02-06T06:21:00.000-08:00

I have noticed that it has been almost a year ago since I posted my last entry here. Perhaps I have been busy with so many things, but for sure, I was also having a busy but enjoyable times with My Girl.

How is she now? Well, she has become even more adorable. Last February 3, 2010, she turned 20 month old. Yes, it's 4 months away and she will be 2 years old already.

The picture above was taken during the family lunch-out at Mang Inasal here in Tagbilaran City to celebrate My Girl's 20th month. Later, her daddy brought a pretty cake for her.

What's up with My Girl?

Teeth - She got 20 of them now. Too early to have these much teeth eh?

Hair - We are so enjoying because we can already piggy-tail her hair and sometimes, I do little braids. This afternoon, I trimmed her bangs again. The color of her hair is getting lighter.

Appetite - I thought she was "small for her age" so I consulted my sister who is a pediatrician. She ordered for My Girl to take additional vitamins, and have another supplement formula: Nutren Junior, which she alternatively drinks with her NAN 3w.

She do eats more now. And still the same, she insists on feeding herself using fork. For her formula, she drinks them all up now.

Words spoken - We lost track of the number of words she can speak so clearly and consistently. She already has many expressions. Her favorites are "oh, uh" or " oh, no!" when she drops or something goes wrong. She sings "A,B,C,D...." spontaneously, clearly and at the right tunes. She sings a lot of songs too. She sings along with the TV ad of Villar and many other tv ads.

She invents names for us. She calls her granpa - "Papati" (before, she calls him plainly "papa"). She calls her mommy - "mamani" ; her daddy "dada"; her great-grandpa "wowo";her great-granma "lala".

She says the words "no, no" at the right time and when she really doesn't want something or anything.

When she asks for her milk-formula, she tells her yaya "yaya, ava!". Ava is how she calls her milk-bottle Avent. When she was younger, I playfully teach her to read the print of her bottle "Avent" and she would follow me "Ava". And since then, she says "Ava" when she asks for her milk.

She has names for her toys - "mini" for Minnie Mouse; "miki" for Mickey Mouse; "mimi" for our pet goat; "meow-meow" for the cat; "Fee" for the fish; "lisa" for the lizard; "kakots" for cockroach; "sta" for star; "popol" for the color purple; "apol" for apple; "awaw" for dog; and can't remember the other words.. there are just so many.

Motor skills - She started walking very early, at the age 10 mon. old. Now, she runs around; climbs up the stairs at one step each; so good in climbing up chairs and beds; she loves to jump; dance; and chase and poke bubbles.

As early as 18 months old, she already loves to play with her crayons. The walls at her bedroom now has many writing and coloring (all done by her). She loves to color on her coloring books and she loves to draw circles and just scribble anything. She also loves to play "read the book" as if she is actually reading. She plays a lot too.

Recognition - We are so amazed of her skills in recognition. At an earlier age, she can already recognize as to whom does this certain thing belong to. Like, if I am wearing her mommy's slippers, she will tell me " mama, mamani na" (mama, that is mommy's). And she just does this to anybody who is holding or using anything which doesn't belong to him/her. When she finds something that belongs to someone (here in the household), she would get it and bring it to whoever owns it.

Whatever she can do and what she is right now is all God's creation and we thank God for our very sweet Girl. She really brings so much joy to the family.

I love you My Girl.

Milestones

2009-03-28T09:33:00.000-07:00

My Girl's milestones are quite amazing (at least for us). I think it is just verynormal for a first-time grandmother like me to be amazed with whatever milestone a baby would achieve.

I already forgot how early or how late my own three kids had their own baby milestones, compared to My Girl's. However, many (specially her pediatrician) would say that My Girl's developments mostly came early. Much too early than what other babies of her own age would normally have.

Pincer Grasp

According to FreeDictionary.com it is the grasping an object between the thumb and forefinger. The ability to perform this task is a milestone of fine motor development in infants, usually occurring from 9 to 12 months of age.

However, for My Girl, it was noticed by her pediatrician that she can already do this at the age of 3 months. One time, her pediatrician, gave her a small card and My Girl accepted the card with a Pincer Grasp. After she took the card, she transferred the it to her other hand, in the same manner.

I don't know anything about Pincer Grasp. My Girl's pediatrician told me that this action is usually done by most babies at 9 months already but My Girl is already doing this much earlier.

Teething

According to About.com, the average age for getting their first baby tooth is 6 months, some infants don't get their first tooth until they are 14 or 15 months old. Others can begin teething and get an early baby tooth at 3 months.

In My Girl's case, her first tooth came out when she was 5 months old. We never noticed that she was already teething until her nanny was surprised when My Girl suddenly grabbed her hand and bit it. Her nanny felt something hard in the bite so she checked My Girl's mouth and there it was.. the little white thing showing! Her middle lower front tooth first came out. The second one followed a week or two later. Her uppper teeth came out when she was around 8 months old. Now that she is 9 months old, she already got 6 teeth!

Walking

In ParentReport.com, "On average a child will begin walking at age of 12 or 14 months but considerable differences are likely. Some children begin walking much earlier and some as late as 21 months."

One time when My Girl was 7 months and 6 days old, we were at clinic of her pediatrician for one of her shots. I told her that My Girl can already stand straight and lean on a wall. So, her doctor let her stand on the examination bed, leaning on the wall. Indeed My Girl was standing up. Then, her doctor extended her arms and we were all surprised because My Girl moved from her standing position and stepped forward! Her pediatrician declared that it was her "official first step".

Since that incident, My Girl has been confidently leaning on a wall or anything that can support her and do sort of jumping motion.

One day, when we all came home from work, My Girl's nanny revealed a surprising news - My Girl made 3 steps by herself! The nanny was surprised when she put My Girl on leaning mode and suddenly, she made three steps by herself. This milestone happened when My Girl was only 9 months and 10 days old.

She is now 9 months and 25 days, and My Girl can already stand up straight (without any support) for almost a minute, she loves cruising, leaning on furnitures, beds, cabinets, etc.. and she loves to make independent unsupported steps. She made 6 steps tonight.

more milestones update coming up soon.....

Monthly Pictorials

2009-02-05T10:27:00.000-08:00

From the first "ma-arte pose" photo which I took when she came out from her mommy's tummy, My Girl has been posing comfortably for pictures. She is just like her mom, who herself loved to pose for pictures when she was a little girl.

My Girl is very lucky to have a Ninong who loves to take pictures of her. Her Ninong Bim owns a photography studio - Exquisite Photography, which is the fast becoming popular choice for weddings and events photo/video coverage service provider here in Tagbilaran City, Bohol.

Bim also took the studio pictures of My Girl's mom when she was 8 months pregnant. The pictures are very pretty too..but they are only for private consumption and not be be shown to others.

Here are My Girl's monthly studio pictorial pictures taken at Exquisite Photography studio....

1st month. My Girl is still a little baby here. Her mommy can still carry her with one arm only.

2nd month. Look at her eyes! At 2 months, My Girl can already lie on her tummy and lift her head very well. Here, she is wearing a Ralph Lauren dress, a gift from her mom's friend. The dress was brought in from the US by ninong Baba Yap.

3rd month. I love this picture. My Girl's eyes are so pretty here. She looks like her mom here.In this picture, My Girl is wearing a Baby Guess top bought by Papa Art.

4th month. My Girl is wearing a GAP onesie here. Look at how expressive her eyes are.

5th month.My Girl at this age can already stand, holding on something. Her first tooth appeared on her 5th month. In here, she is wearing a GAP blouse and a Carter's denim jumper.

6th month. It was almost Christmas day when My Girl had her 6th month pictorials. She is wearing a Just One Year - Carter's santa dress here.

More pictorial photos soon......

My Girl's first 8 months

2009-02-05T06:48:00.000-08:00

Time flies so fast.. My Girl just turned 8 months last Feb. 3, 2009. She has changed a lot since birth of course and she can almost walk now. Everyday is a blessing with her around. She makes our world even more wonderful.
At 1 month, she can even barely appreciate her cake.

Her 2nd month cake is too big for her...

Her 3rd month cake is even bigger!

Her Auntie Inkee bought this cake for her for her 4th month..

My Girl wants to have a dip of her 5th month cake!

Maybe she didn't like her 6th month heart-shaped cake.... It's not Goldilocks Mama!

Hmmm. I love this chocolate 7th month cake Mama...

My Girl's daddy sent this very big chocolate cake for her 8th month anniversary.

The Christenings

2008-11-07T05:15:00.000-08:00

The preparations for Babam's Christenings made us busy. A lot of things need to be prepared. There were actually two Christening sessions, but done on the same day of July 5, 2008.

The Invites
My daughter designed the invites herself. She knows how to use Photoshop so it was just easy for her to do it.There were two sets of invites made for the two Christening sessions.

After my daughter designed the invites, she just stored the file in a USB flash drive and brought it to the Fuji Film developing center at BQ Mall. The invites were printed on photopaper.

I didn't want to send off the invites in a regular envelope so I took pains in looking for appropriate materials to make the invite packaging look cute. I chose a bright pink card paper to wrap each invite and tied each one with dainty pink ribbons. The name of the invitee was hand-written using a gold pen. Details were really considered.

The Dresses
Finding the appropriate dresses for my daughter and for Babam was so difficult. I wanted them to wear matching clothes in the motiff of white and pink. So, to solve the dilemma, we decided to have the dresses custom-made by a local designer EJ Relampagos, who made the beautiful dresses.

Babam's dress was made of white satin and lace embedded with clear beads and sequences. Am-am's dress was made in similar materials and the design was carefully considered that would make the dress elegant looking and easy enough for her to breastfeed Babam if she needs to feed her.

Catholic Christening

The first Christening was done at the Our Lady of Lourdes Parish at the City of Tagbilaran at 4PM. To help us guide Babam in God’s love and grace, the following were chosen as Godfathers: Jose Antonio Borres, Rejhie Austin Pimentel, Agustin Jereza, Daniel Po, Mayor Jose Jono Jumamoy, Flor Aurel Trabajo, Angelo Carlo Lim, Tito Unajan, John Vincent Mercado, Ian Aldelmeon Uy, Erwin Mondragon, John Geesnell Yap II. Godmothers were: Twinkle Besas, Desiree Mae Roxas, Caron Anne Gonzales, Kirie Whitney Sanchez, Honey Lou Java, June Razel Anne Teh, Jennifer Leslie Lim, Karen Faith Witte, Kristine Rara, and Aleli Yap. Also in the picture is Tagbilaran City Mayor Dan N. Lim, who was one of the godfathers for the 2nd Christening session but he decided to come earlier.

The Christian Dedication & Reception

The second Christening was conducted at 6PM at the Jj's Seafood Village main reception hall. The ceremony was conducted by Pastors Rey Rodriguez and Adore Sabido. The godparents were: Mayor Dan N. Lim, Dr. Mutya Kismet T. Macuno, Dr. Golda T. Olaivar, Anne Montes, Bim Canuto, Cindy Tirol, Jucil Tirol, Maricel Tirol, Victor Tirol III, Janice Aurora Tirol, Tim Callahan, & Vellie Dietrich Hall.

Right after the Dedication Ceremony was the dinner reception. There were two buffet tables with one lechon each. Dinner was prepared for more than 150 persons. Immediate family members, relatives and friends of both Babam's mommy and daddy were there. It was a happy reunion for both clans and mutual friends. Picture shows Babam with her daddy and her grandma (daddy's side).

Next picture is of Babam with SuperLola(greatgrandma) Maly. SuperLola Maly is amazed to hold her first (and only so far) great grand daughter.

The Gifts

Babam received so many gifts during her Christening. Counted the day after, there were 43 gifts, but more gifts still came days after. Among the gifts was a Graco stroller given by Babam's aunt Inkee. My sister who came home from the US also gave Babam Carter's clothes, socks, head bands and an Avent electric bottle warmer.

My Girl's name

2008-09-05T09:22:00.000-07:00

ATHALIA JEZKA KARIELLE

Yes, My Girl has three first names. Many would say her name is too long and she might hava a hard time writting her name when she goes to school. Well, we don't see any problem with that.

Her mommy got three first names too. I choose that names for her, a combination of my mother's, my husband's and my mother-in-law's names. Afterall, my daughter is the first granddaughter of the family.

Many also told me why I gave my daughter a very long name, that she might have a hard time writtting her name. I never get worried about that because I believed that my daughter would grow up to be a smart girl and she would not have any problem writing her long name. And I am sure, this will be the same with My Girl too.

How did we we get her name?
ATHALIA - a name taken from the Bible. She was a queen of Judah. Her life story is interesting though.

JEZKA - this is a combination of the names of My Girl's daddy and mommy.

KARIELLE - taken from My Girl's mommy's third first name. It means, little
Karla.

Her Nickname

My Girl's nickname - BABAM - was given to her by my sister (who is also My Girl's pediatrician). She composed that name - short for Baby Amam (nickname of My Girl's mommy)

Breastfeeding

2008-08-31T08:32:00.000-07:00

According to Wikipedia, Breastfeeding is the feeding of an infant or young child with breast milk directly from a woman's breasts, not from a baby bottle or other container. Babies have a sucking reflex that enables them to suck and swallow milk. It is possible for most mothers to nourish their infant (or infants in the case of twins and multiple births) by breastfeeding for the first six months, if not longer, without the supplement of infant formula milk or solid food.

My mother breastfed me until I was three years old. I also breastfed my own children - the three of them. I also encouraged my daughter to breastfeed her daughter.

When I had my girl, I never had second thoughts on deciding to breastfeed her. Afterall, breastfeeding is the best for my baby. I am lucky to have a mother who guided and inspired me how to properly breastfeed my baby. I also have an aunt, who is a doctor and advocate of breastfeeding. She also taught me how to breatfeed my baby and how to keep myself healthy to be able to keep on breastfeeding my baby for the longest time as possible.

I am very happy that my daughter is breastfeeding her daughter (my granddaughter). And she can produce a good supply of breastmilk, more than what my granddaughter could feed on.

My Girl is now almost three months old. Even if now that her mommy goes out often to attend her review classes, My Girl doesn't miss any breastmilk she needs. Thanks to the breastfeeding techniques we learned from my mom, my auntie, my sister (who is a pediatrician).

How?

My daughter 'saves' her breastmilk and store them in a plastic container and store them in the freezer. She expresses the extra breastmilk (using a breast pump) after breastfeeding My Girl. As of now, we have frozen breastmilk stored, enought to feed My Girl for one week!

When my daughter is not around, a container or two of frozen breastmilk are taken out of the freezer and thawed. When the frozen breastmilk has been thawed, the breastmilk is transferred to My Girl's Avent feeding bottle, and kept in the refrigerator until its needed.

Once My Girl gets hungry, it only take a few minutes to heat-up the breastmilk. The Avent bottle is placed in the Avent bottle warmer for a few minutes and the breastmilk is now ready for My Girl to consume.

Preparation

Not every mother could have the capability to breastfeed. For a mother to have this capability, she has to prepare herself mentally and physically. Mentally, to think positive always that she can do it and she will have much breastmilk, more than enough that her baby would need. And preparing herself physically by eating the right foods and keeping herself healthy.
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Helpful websites about breastfeeding : www.breastfeeding.com

Pink Balloons

2008-08-24T07:38:00.000-07:00

Even when Babam was still inside her mummy's tummy, we already knew that she is a girl. Thanks to the wonders of ultra sound technology. Talking about ultra sound, we had it done four times during the entire pregnancy period of my daughter because we were so excited about Babam that we want to 'peep' inside as to who she is doing.

Without my daughter's knowledge, I ordered pink 'flying balloons' printed with "Welcome Babam! We Love You!". I had the balloons delivered to my daughter's hospital room and she was delighted to see them. The balloons brightened her room. Even the hospital staff were delighted to see a lot of balloons inside a patient's room.

I am thankful to the Ramiro Community Hospital for allowing us to bring in the flying balloons.

The Birth Labor Pains

2008-06-12T21:03:00.000-07:00

June 2, 2008 in the morning, my full-term pregnant daughter Am-am, went out to do her walking exercise with my husband Arthur. When they came home, I noticed a stain on my daughter's clothes and I told her that I think she is starting to have her labor. When she checked herself in the comfortroom, indeed, she is already having slight discharges. Yepey! our baby is coming out anytime soon!

At around eleven thirty in the morning, my daughter went to see her OB and she was informed that she will have her full labor anytime sooner or later. After the doctor's visit, we lunched-out together and went home.

When I came back from work at around 6 o'clock that evening, my daughter informed me that she is starting to feel labor pains. After dinner, we went to the Ramiro Community Hospital to check in. We already reserved a room earlier.

My daughter went in to the labor room and the resident doctor conducted an IE on her and its only "2 cm" yet. Hours later, Am-am continued to feel the labor pains, with its interval getting closer. She continued feeling this way until 5 o'clock in the morning of June 3, 2008. The resident doctor did an IE on her again, but the opening did not improve much, which was only 3 cm. My mother-in-law, my sister and me, took turns in keeping watch of Am-am in the pre-labor room. I took over watching her starting at 2:30 in the morning.

At 5:30 that morning, her OB decided to do the Ceasarian Section on her instead. Am-am has been in labor for twelve hours already and it will not be good for her and Babam (the baby) anymore if the labor will be prolonged. Am-am was then being prepared for the operation a few minutes later.

I was all the time with Am-am during the last 3 hours of her labor and I was also fortunate to be allowed by her OB to go inside the operating room to witness the actual arrival of my girl - Babam.

The OR nurse let me wear those green scrubs and let me in the theater. I wasn't scared. I was excited. My sister, as Babam's pediatrician was also inside. We we're equally excited for the coming out of Babam.