Little Dude's Milestones Post # 2

I initially thought I'd make a milestone post every month but being the lazy blogger that I am and having a crazy workload in the office (hence the tired, tired body when I get home), looks like that's not a possibility.  Tsk tsk...

Anyway, here's another "review".  Marcus is two years and ten months as of today.

Feeding

• We're now (finally) on purely Nido 1+!  Average intake is 2-3 220-ml bottles per day (yes, still have not weaned him)
• Favorite baons to school -  Koko Krunch and Animal Bites
• Likes spaghetti, fried chicken, and french fries from McDo (ask him and this is what he's gonna say)
• Loves taho

Bath

• Can wash and rinse his face on his own in the sink
• Brushing his teeth isn't as difficult as it used to be that sometimes he insists on doing it on his own
• Using Johnson's milk bath and orange shampoo    

Sleeping

• Still takes one to two-hour afternoon naps after school
• Dreams more often - sometimes calling out "mommy!" or laughing in his sleep

 Attitude/Habits

• Kisses me and says "good moning!" (isn't he the sweetest?!) when he wakes up before I am, which is usually on weekends
• Fond of screaming when he doesn't get what he wants
• Always wants mommy or daddy to "watch" and "come here" (with him)
• Starting to learn that yes is opo

 Abilities/Development

• Can spell his name M-A-R-C-U-S or recognize it when it's written
• Holds pencils and crayons properly
• Counts until 13 perfectly (14 to 20 still gets mixed up)
• Plays bowling, basketball, golf, swordfight, table tennis, and frisbee on Wii
• Finally makes the peace sign to mean that he's two years old
• Identifies all the letters of the alphabet, basic colors, and shapes (I love how he knows pentagon and trapezoid! hihi)
• Goes to the bathroom, puts his pants down, and pees without assistance
• Can take of his clothes on his own  
• Finally says "mommy" instead of "mani"
• Points out to traffic lights - green means go, red means stop

Favorites/Pet peeves

• Reading books with mommy before bedtime
• His number puzzles
• Lightning McQueen and High Five
• Wii and golf

Measurements

• Height - 91.4cm
• Weight - about 14+ kg (same)
• Shoe size - 6 to 7 (same)
• Shirt size - usually S or 2T, depends on brand (same)

Come to think of it, his terrible two's stage isn't so terrible at all! :)

Marcus' First "Exam"

When I got home from work last Tuesday, yaya told me to check the little dude's diary.  He's going to have an exam daw, so I did check it out and here's what I found:

Oooooh.. so a graded recitation, as we call it during my time (what's it called nowadays anyway? just recitation?).  It was the first time that Marcus' school actually gave "us" something to do so I got kinda excited.  And panicky.  Haha!  The stage mother in me of course wanted nothing less than a perfect score for my boy.  I was confident with the alphabet, no problem with that.  But for the numbers, I was a bit hesitant.

The following day, I dropped by National Bookstore on my way home and bought puzzles and books.  Puzzles interest my little dude so I bought a number puzzle where he has to slot in the numbers in the right spaces.  I was hoping that would do the trick.  That and the practice we did before going to bed, that is.

Come Friday, we got Marcus' diary back and this is what Teacher Riza had to say - "He read all the letters and numbers but can't pronounce them properly."  Haha! Well, he's a little bulol but still, he was able to express how his brain interprets those figures.  So proud of you, my Marcus!

Next up - "Familiarize the numbers 11-20.  Recitation on Wednesday."  Yikes!  The long weekend is almost over and we haven't practiced yet.  Hihi.

Schoolboy Mode

Check out this little guy looking so sleek haggard  in his uniform! Haha!

Taken during his "dressed rehearsal", a few days before school started.

Looking at him I can't help but feel sentimental.  He used to just lay in my arms and cry all the time and now.. and now... *tear* Ok, that's too OA.. So proud of my little dude. 

Little Dude's Milestone Post # 1

If there's one thing I regret not doing since Marcus was born, it is to properly document my little dude's milestones.  Of course there will always be the photos (which I have not organized as well - bad mommy!) but I still feel that it could've been better to have a journal to match the pictures with.  Ooooh.. the trade-offs of being a working mom!  I still blame my laziness and inefficiencies as a kick-ass mom to my job.  Anyhoot...

I thought of starting now anyway.  Better late than never, right?

Presenting my little dude's milestones at 2 years and 6 months... *insert drum roll*

Feeding

• Milk intake is about 4 bottles of 200ml each per day - Enfagrow and this week tried Nido Junior (must seriously start weaning soon!)
• Rice and meats. No veggies (trying my best to make him to!)
• Aside from milk, tries Dutchmill yogurt drink (different variants) and the classic Zest-o tetra pack juices but the winner is Nestle Chuckie!   
• Holds his spoon and fork (calls out to yaya if either one is missing) to feed himself
• Drinks only distilled water

Bath

• Has overcome the fear of the shower as long as the water volume flow is right
• Insists on washing his face on his own (the drill is cheeks first, then forehead, then nose, then chin)
• Wants to "swim-swim" (get into the pail of water) with his rubber duckie buddies after he has been rinsed off of soap
• Usually uses warm water but can tolerate cold water a little better now with the help of some oil spread over his chest and back before hitting the bathroom
• Products used - J&J's milk bath, milk lotion, and shampoo, Human Nature's Tangerine Tarsier body wash and Citronella oil, Cetaphil liquid soap (for the face), and Avon Baby lotion & oil    

Sleeping

• About 8 hours straight at night, average of 2-hour nap in the afternoon
• Wakes up before 6am and turns in around 9pm (I'm trying to think of ways to make him sleep earlier but not yet successful)
• Cannot sleep (and even drink from his bottle) without his favorite "doo-doo", the Lightning McQueen pillow his Tito Berto gave him on his dedication day
• Refuses to sleep beside daddy.  If he wakes up at the middle of the night and realizes it's daddy who's hugging him or is beside him, he'd wail and call out to mommy.  I pity Jax sometimes. :( 

 Attitude/Habits

• Knows how to say good morning first thing when he wakes up
• Says "A soyi" (I'm sorry - with matching hug) when given the evil eye and "Please" (with clasped hands) when asked to
• Throws tantrums by banging his hands on the floor/wall/table/bed whenever he doesn't get what he wants
• Learned the "No!" word and says it with much gusto whenever applicable (to him, at least.  Not to mommy!)
• Says "Lovuuu" (Love you) and "Take Care" and waves with a "flying kiss" when sending us off to work (but have to make him ride the car and go round one block first before he agrees to let us leave)

 Abilities/Development

• Can do simple chores - close the door, throw trash, bring to the sink, get stuff (pillow, milk, diaper, etc.)
• Knows his family - mommy, daddy, momsy, papsy, papa Don, mama Jo, Jaela, nanay, tatay, papa Jim, ma Hana, ta Ava
• Washes his hands with soap and water (uses the chair to reach the sink) on his own
• Goes to toddler school and according to teacher, his attention span has improved
• Can say mommy's, daddy's, and yaya's first names
• Identifies most of the alphabet letters and some colors & shapes
• Able to name some animals and their sounds - dog, cat, monkey, bird, snake, elephant, tiger, lion, dinosaur, horse, etc.
• Recognizes rain, thunder, and lightning
• Draws lines and circles
• Can pee inside the bathroom on his own after he says "weewee!" (though sometimes still pees sitting down - tsk! tsk!) but insists on putting on a nappy when he feels he's about to poop

Favorites/Pet peeves

• Loves to watch "Po" (Kung Fu Panda)
• Biking (Finally!  I teared up when I saw him pedal, not walk, with his bicycle for the very first time.  So thankful I was able to witness it!)
• Finger puppets and his turtle puzzle before bed time
• Playing with phone cameras  
• His "Mater shoes" - red crocs with Cars movie characters design 

Measurements

• Height - 89.5cm
• Weight - about 13+ kg
• Shoe size - 6 to 7
• Shirt size - usually S or 2T (depends on brand)

Sometimes I am still left in awe of the things he is now able to do, of how much he has actually grown, of the million silly things he is capable of, of how he makes all my stress instantly melt away just by looking at him strut his stuff (unknowingly).

I love you so much, Alonso Marcus!

Hey, I had fun writing this post (felt nice to reflect on how my little dude is now) so I will try am going to make this a regular thing.  Let's call this the Marcus Milestones portion from now on. :)