Andi's Baptism

Tomorrow will be Andi's baptism. I am very excited, right now I am preparing all the stuff she will be needing tomorrow. Clothes, candles, white cloth, etc. I will post some picture after a week, as we will be in a family vacation the day after the baptism. So I will not be able to update and blog hop on those days.

I would like to greet everyone a HAPPY HAPPY NEW YEAR !!!!

Do you have life insurance?

Life insurance is essential for every individual. If you have an extra money why not invest to term life insurance ? But before you invest, make sure to get various term life insurance quote from different companies for comparison. It is better to compare and make sure that you get the best deal there is.

Andi @ 3 months

This is Andi at three months. Her Dad took her pictures this morning while changing her clothes. Of course some pictures are censored, hehehe...I cannot post it, Andi might see it when she gets older.
Because of the weather, she has an on and off rush in her face. A little petroleum or Cetaphil will do the trick. She loves it when someone talks to her all the time. She talks back as if she knows what you are talking about. She can grab the toys in her swing and spends a lot of time playing too. She is trying to roll on her side but half of her body is still not moving, only her head is turning....soon...soon she will be rolling on her tummy.

For now, she loves it when people talk to her.

Andi's First Snow Fall

This was our first snow fall this year. Gabz was so excited that she tried to catch the falling snow flakes in the backyard. The temperature has dropped drastically and we were expecting more snow the following day, unfortunately the weather has changed. The next day we had sunshine instead ! Ins't that ironic? Weather right now is very unpredictable :-)

She doesn't even have a shoes on! Walking on the ground barefoot? Kids tolerance in cold is really amazing.

Look at Andi all bundled up while her big sister was having fun outside.

Andi's first Christmas Party

Last night together with our Filipino friends we had our Christmas Party! It was so much fun:-), so much food and drinks. We had played white elephant, sort of exchange gift but with an exciting twist. It was Andi and the rest of the baby's first Christmas party. The baby's had pictures together. Andi was all smile and was sitting steadily in the couch. I was telling them, Andi had a photo shoot because they were taking her pictures for five minutes. She did not complain at all, as if she was enjoying it.

I will post pictures next time.

What is your baby's sleeping habit?

Andi is two months old now and starting to find her sleeping pattern. There are times when she slept through the night, there are times five to six hours continuously, but sometimes she still woke up every three hours.

Each baby has different sleeping habit. Some are light sleeper others doesn't care the noise around them. Some baby do take a nap the moment you put them down to their crib while others needs to be cradled and be put to sleep. Sometimes Andi loved to be cradled and be put to sleep especially if it is quite chilly. Other times you can just put her in her crib give her pacifier and she just closes her eyes. But no matter, I always love to cradle Andi and put her to sleep, because I love holding her and hugging her. Sometimes, I hug her in bed while both of us are taking a nap. I am a light sleeper, so I woke in every single movement she made. Love that feeling a lot !

Give a hug, cradle and indulge your baby as much as you can. Every moment and opportunity is precious!

Two months check up

Today, Andi will have her two months check up and immunization. She will have four vaccines I guess. Oh my poor baby :-) Sometimes it is quite difficult to have the kids vaccinated because you could see how painful it is! And to think that they are too small! Ugh, I myself hate needles. But what can I do, this is for her own good. I just hope that everything will go well.

The other night, I woke in a panic mode because I realized that I was not able to fed Andi throughout the night! But when I take a look at her crib, there she was sound asleep. It means that she slept through the night! Hooray :-) Hopefully she will be able to find her sleeping pattern. Making my fingers cross hehehe.

Teach your kids how to read

Gabz is only three years old, but I am already teaching her how to read and write. She can write her full name without any coaching from me. When it comes to reading, she can associate the sound of the beginning letter of the word. This became a game for us, she would tell me, "Mommy, B (saying the sound of B) Book, P - Pen, P - Pillow and so on and so forth. At first, I have no clue how to teach her how to read. Then she was beginning to memorize what was written on her book and pretended to read it by her. It was amazing because it looks like she knows how to read by herself. Then I bought some books that teach word familiarization. It was quite tough for her because she tends to forget the words and has the tendency to mix it up. I am trying to do some trial and error which method will work for her but has little progress at the moment.

Another approach that I have recently discovered is Words in Color. Words in Color is an approach develops by Caleb Gattegno to teach students how to read, write and spell. This approach has been used in classrooms, home schools and after school study for over 40 years in 40 countries. Words in color trigger the natural capacities to learn and do not hide from the difficulties and ambiguities of written English. But this approach is not intended for use with those who does not speak English or speak just a little of it. According to United State's National Reading Panel, there are essential sub-skills required to master the skill of reading. And these includes; decoding, fluency, comprehension, vocabulary and phonological awareness. These sub-skills are what Words in color was trying to address or develop in every student. Words in color offers the student to take responsibility for their own learning, use their mental faculties, be creative, construct strategies and work on the skills they already have.

How do you choose your childs Godparents?

We have been planning Andi's baptism on December. Yesterday, I received a letter from our parish about the guidelines on how to choose a godparents for our child.

Sometimes parents tend to overlooked the importance of godparents or rather the real role of these people in our child life. Some people choose based on social standing of the person, how close these people to the family, how these people influenced their lives, or how these people could help their child grow spiritually.

The last one are usually overlooked by us. Godparents are supposed to serve as model or guide to our child to grow in faith. How to live a Catholic life, learn and practice catholic traditions. These people has very important roles to play in our child's life.

So, how do you usually choose your child's godparents?