Like any parent, we struggle to be good parents every single day. We try to provide our children with a good home, a loving and caring environment. We discipline them. We want our kids to grow up with values and manners.

As a mom, I take pride in seeing my boys try help around the house. Kail's favorite lines these days are "Can I help?", "I want to help", "I'll do it". When he sees me preparing dinner, he would want to help out. He can drag loads of laundry down the stairs and even put them onto the washer. He helps me bring the folded laundry up to the rooms. He cleans up his mess (albeit with resistance at first).

Calix, on the other hand, is showing his type A personality this early. Whenever he sees dirt or food on the floor, he'd pick it up, hand it to me or daddy so we could throw it away. He loves to put things on their proper places. We were at a play area yesterday when he saw balls on the floor. He'd pick them up one by one, hand them to me so I can put them in proper places (and sometimes he does that himself). The moms who saw him cleaning up had smiles on their faces. I was a very proud mom!

I think that raising them up without help is a big plus in teaching them to do their part around the house. My mom taught us a very valuable lesson by not hiring help when we were growing up so we'll learn to do the chores. When I came to the US at 24 years old, I was very independent. I have no problems cooking, cleaning the house, doing the laundry, washing the dishes. I want to impart the same lesson to my children. I want them to be able to do things on their own and not rely on help to do things for them. After all, help is so out of reach for middle class families like us here in the US.

I brought Kail with me to the library yesterday. While there, he ran towards the children's section and picked a book, then handed it to me borrow. When we were at the counter, he told me "I'll be right back!" and ran back towards the children's section again. After a few minutes, he emerged carrying another book and said "this is for Calix!". I was so proud of Kail because he didn't forget to get one for his baby brother!

Despite their constant bickerings when Kail wouldn't share his toys with Calix, or he would push his little brother aside, or would pinch his little fingers or arms, I know that deep inside, he loves Calix so much.

When Kail goes to school, he would kiss Calix goodbye. As soon as he gets home, he'd ask Calix "did you miss kuya?". When it's Calix's bed time, Kail would kiss him on his cheek and say "goodnight". He'd also run a few errands for his baby brother like throw his dirty diaper away, or get him a fresh diaper or wipes, put his clothes to the laundry.

Calix on the other hand, adores his big brother. He follows him around like a puppy all day. When his kuya is in school, he would run from room to room as if looking for Kail. He probably thinks they're playing hide and seek again. Young as they are, they surely formed this bond with each other that every parent would be so proud of.

Project 365 - 02/19/09

This is why I love Project 365. It gives me a chance to record moments that may have gone unnoticed, or may have never been printed off of my digital camera. The photo is a bit blurry, but I had to run and take this in a hurry because I might miss this pure brotherly exchange of affection! I love my life!

Have you met my daughter?

A conversation between me and the nurse in ER last week:

Nurse: You have a beautiful daughter.
Me: Thank you... except he's my son!
Nurse: Oh, I'm so sorry (looking embarrased). He has lots of hair so I thought he's a girl. But regardless, he's a beautiful child!

Now, tell me please, why do they always mistake my little boy for a girl, even when he's got all blue clothes? I just don't understand! :)

Project 365, etc.

During the weekend, I have edited the photos, added the texts for the days of the week and the date, had them printed at Costco, and have started assembling them on the page protectors last night. Photos for January are now neatly stored in their respective 4x6 page protectors, and I'll work on the journalling next. I also ordered a 3-ring 12x12 KMA red album today. I initially ordered the We R Memory Keepers ring album but it's no longer available at Ritz Camera. I ordered it from there because of the deep discount that came with it. I have posted the digital photos down (minus the journalling) and I smile whenever I see them. It reminded me of how we spent our January. As soon as I'm done with the journalling, I'll post photos of the actual spread.

I'm still taking photos - lots of them in a day actually - I can probably swing a couple of photos a day even! It's very exciting and it's not too late to join me in this journey. You can start today and end on the same day next year. It doesn't necessarily have to start on January 1st.

Yesterday was Kail's first day in preschool and you guessed it right, that was my photo for the day. We enrolled him thrice a week for 2.5 hours each day. He always has an artwork on his hands, which I plan to compile in a binder. It'll showcase how the artist in him would evolve.

Calix has started crawling on Sunday, Feb. 1st. He's probably late at 8 months - some babies are already walking at this point, but I'm just as excited like when I first saw Kail crawling a couple of years back.

Calix just recuperrated from flu last week. We rushed him to the ER on Wednesday night because he was harboring a 105 degree fever, which only went down to 103.6 after a cold sponge bath. Good thing he has a very good pediatrician who sees him almost everyday after the ER scare to make sure he'll get over this. She even ordered a nebulizer for him when she noticed him wheezing - delivered right at our doorstep! She's truly a gem and I'm so thankful we found her. She's F. Shanee Martin, MD of North Bay Pediatrics. They have clinics in Vallejo, Benicia, and Fairfield. Thank God Kail was spared from the flu. He had the usual cough and colds, but I started feeding him with way too many oranges and strawberries for the Vitamin C.

This reminded him of how much I hate it when kids get sick, especially those that just cry a lot and couldn't say exactly what's bothering them!

I've been out of circulation yet again. Calix is almost 5 months now, and is growing up so fast - right before our very eyes. He started eating solids a week ago and like his kuya, he's proving to be a big eater. Kail on the other hand, currently has ear infection so he's been coughing and sneezing, and his nose is dripping.

Here is my boys' latest photo - my favorite one. It is not always often that they get together like this - for camera's sake, so the mamarazzi in me had to take advantage... :)




Kail is a very good kuya. We can now ask him to do things for Calix - like give us diapers, give him his bottle. And he also loves hugging and kissing his baby brother. Calix, however, seem to dislike being near is kuya. Even when these two boys came from the same parents, you can see, even this early, their differences in attitude. Kail is so friendly and malambing while Calix seemed a bit distant. Calix doesn't do well with strangers unlike Kail who flashes his beautiful grin to everyone. But, differences or not, we still love them so much!