dearest,

many events happened to me during these months, events unexpected, challenging, ego-breaking, exhilarating. mommy's world turned topsy-turvy with all the things i concerned myself and, as you said, many of these i really didn't have to concern myself with.

even then, though mostly from some distance, i watched her grow each day.

yaya lolit left for a vacation to be with her family in bohol and, most importantly, to buy a carabao for their field. she was replaced by yaya madelyn who G did not like at first, most naturally. she's a lot younger than yaya lolit, more physically able to help the squirt develop her skills in walking during the first quarter of this year. everyday, she walked with her in a back-breaking way, so G grew confidently in moving around her room, the biggies' room, in the sala, and finally in the main driveway (much to my relief because i was always afraid she'd run, fall and bruise herself in this wide open, cemented space!). G enjoyed being mobile on her own--she walked through furnitures, run around the table (with yaya running after her), stopped and turned, squatted to pick up small bits of anything from the floor. she can already climb up the beds or jump on its soft mattresses to wake up the biggies in the morning or to rough-and-tumble play with them. wearing her sandals is a sure, welcome treat! and by now, she already knows its called "shoes".

in the heat of the summer months, i'm glad G didn't have those skin rashes as grave as those she had when she was a baby. of course, G had the usual heat rash and most recently, the keratis pilaris. during the latest visit to dr rowena, i had so much fun then because dr rowena was so funny! am happy she was a skin-asthmatic baby herself because i get less worried about G's condition whenever she tells me stories about being one. as she takes care of G's skin, i know she knows what she's doing! yaya madelyn has to be supervised about keeping squirt clean and fresh all the time. yaya lolit paid more attention to this. she must have been preoccupied with her own kids and their field to think of coming back to us again. anyway, am happy for her if indeed she used her savings to buy that carabao. it mattered much to her. someday, i'll read to G "yaya niya, nanay ko" written by ma. corazon remigio and illustrated by auri yambao. it's a wonderful, touching story. i like it so much!

mealtime is play time still! G loved pouring water from her cup to the bowl and drinking ice cold water and ice cold tea! lola brings out the domino set though am sure G doesn't know what it's for except that it's for looking at the two pictures on each wooden block, and stacking it (though we haven't done that together yet). anyhow, yaya has only to give G the first spoonful of food, then she's off to eating with gusto! the princess can now feed herself with a teaspoon. she looks particularly funny joining us for dinner with her bowlful of rice with sauce. each grain that stayed on her finger or cheek would surely find its way into her mouth. G made sure! i was only afraid one time that she might have pushed a grain into her nose because we suddenly saw her finger way inside it! she must have been fascinated with that!

G loved scribbling with the jumbo crayons, colored pencils or highliters. i think she enjoys taking off the pen's cap and putting it back on more than scribbling =). her strokes are light and she drew more lines than circles. the other day, yaya madelyn excitedly told me she knows how to write "3"...hmmm, i doubt! G's probably on her way to scribbling curves but definitely not "3"! her pincer greasp has improved so much--she'd pick up dirt and shred the cotton ball. that means improved perception and awareness for the finer things or the smallest details. you should've seen how G was so surprised by all the bubbles that stitch blew and flew around her! she stepped back, looked at those intently, came near and touched one or two. it must have felt funny that these wonderful, colorful (rainbow colors through the sun's light) things suddenly disappeared at her touch. she shrieked and giggled in delight!

toilet training has started: G usually moves her bowels at 8 a.m. at 5 p.m. during those times that i accompanied her to the comfort room, G didn't like sitting down on the toilet bowl. sometimes, it takes about 2-3 attempts before G finally moves. she prefers playing with water during bath time, or those oh-so-special-moments at the pool where she can play water with her feet.

her fave toys are the stuffed animals: pooh, tigger, gillian bear, all of the biggies' and the latest, nemo! she carries and hugs them, pats them to sleep, and feeds them her milk. one time at the edsa shangri-la hotel, G threw nemo while she was on the escalator. nemo's tail got caught in between the steps; G pulled but couldn't get nemo back. she cried! (isn't that cute?) a man called the security guard who stopped the escalator and pulled out nemo for G! well, she must've felt that something was wrong about nemo getting stuck there =)

G hasn't memorized all her colors yet. she's more familiar now with parts of her face and body. she can determine spaces in relation to her. when we went to crossings supermarket the other day, G pointed towards her left-back when i asked her where we went. that was because i was seated at her left and the supermarket was behind us. i asked her about 4 times and she pointed the same way 4 times! she looked so adorable. when the car finally moved and it passed in front of the supermarket's entrance (which was on her right), i asked her again and G pointed to her right then! i was so amused!

i am more concerned now with her language development. at this age, i expect her to be babbling or making more sounds with various inflections. she seemed more 'talkative' when she was infant. this talkativeness seemed to have ceased a bit. G points to a lot of objects that she wants or identifies though. she answers questions by nodding her head. few weeks ago, she surprised me when she said "Up!" we also heard her say "dar" (down), and lately, "Hi!" which she matches with a hand-wave. it seems that she's picking up one-syllable words than others. i hope that in time, G will be as talkative as the two biggies were.

G is very affectionate with ki; she wakes her up with a kiss on her face. she seems to be in a love-hate relationship with danz and ate amy. danz 'quarrels' with G and sometimes provokes her to 'fight against' her. i know that that is all play; danz takes care of G a lot when asked to. they'd watch cartoons together in lola's room. ate amy, on the other hand, assists yaya give the meds to a struggling, pinned-down G. that's the reason why G 'shouts' at her whenever she sees her. however, G hugs and 'loves' ate amy when asked to.

G enjoys being praised; we clap our hands when she does something good or raise our hands for "hurrah!" and "champeon!" she has become even more attached to me lately. but it's ok; we'll need each other so much in the coming months.