becoming my mother.

after many years of trying to avoid it, there comes a time when a woman is finally proud to say, "i'm becoming my mother." my mom is strong, resourceful, beautiful, intelligent and kind. i can only hope that one day, people might think the same about me.

happy mother's day to my mommy! you're the greatest!!

a meeting with the easter bunny

i had a meeting with the easter bunny today. i think my son will be very happy with all his goodies: books, fridge magnets (he's nuts for fridge magnets these days!), an elmo easter basket, plastic toy animals, yummy baby snacks and some cool thomas the train lunchbox containers.

last easter he was about 3 months old so he wasn't able to participate in any egg hunting. he's 15 months now and walking, climbing and running us ragged. i don't think he'll understand the concept of getting the most eggs but he's mobile enough to find a few. and with the 3 (at least) egg hunts that we're scheduled to go to, he'll have lots of opportunities to practice.

hoppy hunting!!

:)

our little music man

(one of the drafts i wrote a couple of months ago.)

we're so amused and amazed with anything that our son does but his musical talent is becoming more apparent. he loves to drum, and i swear he can keep time. last month he started mimicking short phrases that we would sing to him and now we catch him singing to himself even when there's no music playing.

mommy and daddy have been in choirs and bands since they were kids. so, rock on son...rock on! no pressure but you might not have a choice...i think it's in your genes :)

sick...schmick!

he's had a fever as high as 102 in the past couple of days which we're keeping under control at present with some infant ibuprofen. but you wouldn't guess it with all the playing, marching, raspberry blowing, laughing and smiling going on. ain't nothin' gonna break his stride!

a happy distraction

     when i started this blog, my mind was spinning with ideas. i thought i'd be writing every day, twenty times a day. who was i kidding? not for a lack of material though...everything my son does is either amusing or amazing. but i've realized that there just isn't enough hours in the day for me to translate all that amusing amazingness into blog entries. i have a dozen drafts just waiting to be completed and thousand more in my head. as a teacher, i have the next week off. i hope to post some entries but if i don't get around to it it's because i'm distracted by the most adorable little boy i've ever known.

:)

first haircut

13 months old. i felt it was time for a haircut. it wasn't completely out of control but it had its moments...

here's a moment. haha.

at first he was a little apprehensive...

 such a good boy!!

 cool chair!

after the cut:

 



thirteen months old...but who's counting?

yesterday marked my son's thirteen month old birthday and also the first month where i'm supposed to stop counting his age in months. you just get so used to it but i guess i'll stop now. besides, now that he's going to be "one" for a whole year, maybe it'll help obscure the fact that he's growing up at light speed....maybe not. we just changed his crib into a toddler bed. he's only one!! but, he doesn't have any trouble sleeping through that night and has become an expert at climbing on and off our bed and the furniture. so we thought we'd give it a try.

he likes it.

we like that he likes it.

happy thirteen month birthday son!! oops...i guess the next eleven months are going to fly by after all.

cutie-patootie

i know everyone thinks their babies are the cutest babies in the world, and to be quite honest, i don't think i've ever seen an unattractive baby. but i have to say...my son is SUPER-DUPER CUTE!!

walking through a grocery store or the malls, it's so cute when random little kids come right up to him and jump, make faces or try to find  his ticklish spot to make him laugh. if my husband is carrying him around and i can't find them, chances are they're in the middle of a gaggle of girls oohing and ahhing over his "bright eyes" "big smile" and  "cute laugh!"

he's known among our friends and family as "facebook famous" because  i tend to post a lot of updates and pictures of him on my account. i actually think people follow my profile to see and comment on his pictures and not as a means to communicate with me. haha. that's okay though we don't mind all the attention he gets. i just worry that he's going to grow up thinking his name is, "handsome." lol.

son, meet blog. blog, met son.                                                                                                                      

smiles and a frown.

i got up a little extra early so i could get his bag ready because i was in charge of dropping the little man to the babysitter this morning. i decided to sneak a moment to make some toast for myself when i heard a cough coming from the bedroom. he's been a bit clingy lately and i figure it's because he's teething and dealing with an ear infection. i dropped the bread and knife and ran to the room. he hates waking up alone and i was trying to make my presence known before he started crying. as i walked in the room he looked up, saw me and gave me the biggest, most lovable, most dazzling three-toothed smile. he reached out for a hug and i melted into a puddle of blissful goo. i almost didn't make it to work this morning.

if i had the choice we'd still be in our jammies watching sesame street and cuddling right now.

: (

recuperating after party and a message from a one-year-old.

i did it! i threw my first "kid's party!"

we had a star wars themed party for my son's 1st birthday. it was frustrating at times but it ended up being a blast! pictures to come...i'm still recuperating.

(typed by my one-year-old son)

              hjklkdfmdfjcjmdnf fc cn vnfrff vb jfjjfjglgfvnnbbklbhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhjjjjjjjbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb    

i guess my son wanted to put his two cents in about the party too. haha...i think it says that he had a great time and thank you to everyone who came.

a year ago today...

a year ago today, i held my son in my hands for the very first time. my first child, and to be quite honest, the first newborn baby i'd ever held in all my thirty-two years. now he's one and i'm thirty-three, yet it feels like only days have passed. i know it's horribly cliche' but, it's going by so fast!  i was sifting through his pictures while i was working on a project for his birthday party and i started tearing up.

so am i going to get this wishy washy every year? will i be sifting through pictures and videos on the eve of his ninth birthday, crying over performances and missing teeth? will i still weep when he's a fifteen year old who's too cool to kiss me goodbye in public? twenty-two? thirty? is this the start of a teary-eyed tradition?

...he's my baby. i'm pretty sure it is.

happy birthday baby boy. mommy loves you, forever and ever.

(sniffle)

clean up on aisle one!

it wasn't that long ago that i was one of those people who'd get grossed out watching parents clean boogers and vomit with their bare hands. i was amazed at those unfazed by spit up and poop. i couldn't understand it...tissue? napkin? rag? mop? barf bag? come on! wasn't there something other than their own shirts and hands available to clean these kids up??!!

yeah...all that went out the window REEEAL fast!

it's hard to say if i'm bringing this up because my son's nose has been especially snotty/boogery since he started teething or because i just caught two handfuls of vomit after he (remember the 80's?) "gagged" himself with a spoon...probably the vomit thing. either way, i'm over it...at least for my kid. i'm not cleaning up your kid's mess. it's "snot" going to happen. (sorry. couldn't help it.)

the cutest smile i've ever seen!

he's just starting to get teeth at 11 months old, everyone says that it's better that they surface later than earlier because there's less of a chance that they'll get cavities. my husband seems a little worried that only one of the top teeth is coming out right now. he figures that they're supposed to come out in pairs. it hadn't occurred to me but i'm sure they just come in when and however they want to.

i'm going to miss that gummy smile but this one is cute too! i have a feeling they'll all be.

birthday blues.

my son's 1st birthday is coming up. we plan on having a party for him. we haven't been able to commit to any of our ideas because everyone wants to be involved and everyone has different ideas: indoor, outdoor, catered, hot dogs and burgers, day, evening, intimate, invite the entire island...classic case of too many chefs in the kitchen! what do i do? i don't want to leave people out. people keep offering help and/or suggestions. and considering the fact that this is the first time i've had to organize and children's birthday party, part of me wants to take everyone's advice. most of me is frustrated that i've allowed the planning to get this far away from us.

his party is in two weeks!

it's a 1st birthday...but here on guam...1st birthdays are among the biggest parties in a child's life. as of a couple of days ago we've agreed on a theme (star wars), venue, reserved canopies and chairs and purchased misc. decorations. the rest is still in the "concept" stage. and i'm rapidly moving into the "panic" stage. still on the list: food, decorations, desserts, birthday cake, goody bags and, i hate to admit it, invitations haven't gone out yet!

(pause for a mini meltdown)

AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHH!!!! GRRRRRR!!!!!!!!! AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(resume blog)

one of the only thing comforting me right now is the fact that he's too young to remember seeing his mommy and daddy scrambling like crazy people trying to throw his party together. it's another is the fact that this is the first birthday party of many, and at this point...it can only get better.

sigh.

hello. my name is mommy.

here’s a little background information on me.

up until about a year and a half ago i was a daughter, friend, teacher and wife. i spent my days at work, shaping young minds, hopefully, into the responsible citizens of tomorrow. i spent my evenings supporting my musician of a husband by singing along with him at the top of my lungs from the front row. night owl by nature, early bird by occupation, being a walking contradiction is challenging but that was nothing compared to what was about to happen.

i was scheduled for a minor surgical procedure in may of 2009. i was being prepped.  i already had the paper cap and booties on. i had completed the walk of shame clutching the ends of my embarrassingly backless gown. they were just short of rolling me into the operating room when the results from my blood test were brought in. a nurse walks over and says, “we can’t perform this procedure on you.” more than a dozen reasons crossed my mind. was the surgeon sick? had i miraculously healed? did it have anything to do with those overdue library books? “what? why not?” i asked. “because you’re pregnant.” she said.

that was not one of the reasons that had crossed my mind.

instantly a new title was added to my list-MOMMY. and so the journey began. we had been hoping to start our family years ago. everyone told us to “stop trying” and that “it would happen when we least expected it to.” boy, they weren’t kidding! so there i was, unprepared and unqualified but as the news started to sink in i started smiling and i haven’t stopped since.

i think there are different “mom clubs” that women become members of as their children reach different levels of development. but toddler moms, moms with multiples, moms of the dreaded teenagers, empty nest moms, etc. were all initially inducted into the new mom club, of which i am now a member. it might sound strange or cliché to some people but other moms will probably understand me when i say that i immediately felt different. i was my old self not a moment ago, but now i felt smarter, stronger.

there were moments during my pregnancy when my confidence wavered and i felt deflated (in spirit, not in size) and defeated. i was surprised at how many rude comments, inappropriate jokes, pieces of unsolicited advice and negative remarks some people were comfortable sharing with a woman pregnant with her first child. luckily supportive mommy friends and family and my new mommy instincts stepped in and suddenly i was smart enough to know that i was strong enough to push past whatever or whoever was in my way.

there are parts of my life that have certainly changed and others that haven’t changed at all. i still spend my days teaching, but maybe with a little more patience and understanding than before. and i still sing at the top of my lungs with my husband but in the car now, and to nursery rhymes. for the most part i’m still unprepared and unqualified but, with the help of both instincts and fellow mommies, i’m learning, and i still haven’t stopped smiling.

getting started.

it's a new year so i thought i'd try something "new."

welcome to my little blog.  

i hope to provide interesting, or at the very least, amusing, stories from the perspective of a new mommy making things up as she goes along. i’m not sure what direction it will take me but here i go. thanks for getting this far.