Kuliling

Alas, another milestone in my parenting journey (at least with this kid) has been met.  My girl is now potty-trained.  Whoohoo!!
I’ve been paranoid about potty-training from the get go…books didn’t really tell you how to start doing it.  That was until I cam across the website for potty training in one day.  It was very encouraging and looks easy…so I bought the DVD and the $50 doll that supposed to know how to pee after drinking from the bottle.
I chose one  date where we had the time to hang out just the two of us…no daddy around who wanted to speak his own mind all the time.  Followed the process…removed her diapers and changed to undies…had a couple or so accidents…let her clean up after he mess…then was actually successful in letting her pee and poop in the potty.

After that day, I went…”Now what?”

We go out, she’s still in pull-ups.  In school she’s still in pull-ups.  My one-day effort was a waste.  Then I figure… she knew how to hold it in whenever she doesn’t have nappies.  So she must know how, I just wont let her have that chance to practice her new-found skill.  After a couple of months, we had a refresher…I then took a bold step to remove her nappies at home every day.  At first she still had the accidents, then after figuring out, she became more and more consistent.

At school I told teachers that she can hold it in and will bring her in without diapers but will bring extra underpants (just in case).  July 1, 2008 was her first day at school without diapers and it turned out...I'm proud to say... surprisingly accident free!  Teachers were surprised themselves because it was like an overnight process.  Now, she just needs me when she wanted to open the lights to the bathroom…other than that…”Go back and watch TV Mom.  Don’t watch me go pee”

Kids…they grow up so fast!

1. Bookworm  --  she loves books! She likes pretending that she’s reading by trying to remember the contents of the book and say it out loud while looking at pictures.  I personally think that’s a tougher challenge than reading the book alone.
2. Learning new games  -- when she cannot make of anything out of a toy (ex. Flashcards, blocks, etc), I teach her to sort like things together (same color, same-looking pictures) and align it all together. 
3. Showbiz  -- Ever since, she’s been the dancer before she became the singer.  She is, however, a quick study for both song and dance.  One day while watching idol (American Idol), I was watching her striding on one foot.  So I observed and realized that she was actually doing the Hokey Pokey (which she probably learned from school).  And, like everybody else, she’s also a Hannah Montana fan.
4. Little Teacher – Believe it or not, sometimes she scolds us. “Nanay, listen to me…look at my face…that’s not OK”…..or….”Come here…one…two…three”.  I once saw her playing with another friend where they were fighting over a ball.  What my little teacher did was to throw the ball away and told her friend, “There…no more ball. Bye-bye ball!!”  (something a teacher would normally do).
5. Observer – She notices the smallest of things, sometimes things we don’t even notice.  One time we were at KFC and she was holding her milk in a KFC cup.  I noticed her twisting to look at the Col Sanders poster at the back and asked her, “What are you doing?”.  She said, “Look Nanay, same…(pointing at  Col Sanders at the poster and the one in her cup)”.  She notices too that we have the same color of shirt or that I have a new pair of shoes.
6. Control Freak --  I sometimes can’t believe that my life is being controlled by a tiny person.  Not “control” where all the decisions we make all consider her. ..but “control” as in “No, stay there”…or “No, it’s Tatay’s turn to change my diapers”… or “No, not diapers…PULL-UPS”…
7. Conversationalist – Sometimes we just hang-out and sit together and talk. “Who’s your friend at school?  What did you do today?  What did you eat today?  Did you like it?”.  It’s so cool to be able to get answers from her and elaborate her story.  Like one time when I asked her what she did that day, she answered, “Play outside Nanay…muddy pants Madelaine”  (We played outside and Madelaine had muddy pants).
8. Daddy’s Girl --  She has always been a Daddy’s girl.  Conrad could spoil her to death for as long as he can.  I had to be the only objective voice in our little family because the other adult doesn’t want to budge.  He will give her everything that he could give her, even if it’s cookies before bedtime.  That’s why I had to be the bad guy and they’ll gang up on me.
9. Joker --  She must have gotten her sense of humor somewhere.  One weekend I was cooking breakfast and she asked “Nanay, what are you doin?”.  Her dad said, “Nanay is cooking breakfast”.  She went, “No, Tatay turn!”…(like it’s Tatay’s turn to cook)…then she broke out to a grin and said, “No….”  Kid knows how to tease.
10. Empathy – Although she’s a bundle of fun, she has a deeply rooted compassionate soul.  She knows when I’m happy or if I’m hurt or sick.  She actually asks, “What’s wrong?”, then would kiss and embrace me.  I can’t even remember teaching her to be such.  I guess she’s just naturally sweet and caring.

 I could go on and on and tell all sorts of stories about her, and you’ll probably get tired of it…and I probably won’t care.  What I do know is that she’s an awesome creature who happens to come from my womb and I could never be more proud of it.