First-time Mommy wonders

MANILA, Philippines – The saying “kids will be kids” never came to my senses until I became a mother, for the first time to my now one-year-old son Julian Alfonso whom we fondly call July. My growing son never runs out of things to do and small items to tinker with.

July’s humble activities require the most energy out of his small physique. So we make it a point that July gets the important food and drinks that he needs, such as milk, health drinks, yogurt and cheese. Our creativity gets a test when it comes to enticing him to take his food and drinks on time. Allowing him to pour his own cup of milk, or dip his own bread into cheese are some ways to get him interested on healthy food and drinks. We sometimes leave him on his own to enjoy his food as he wishes. It is common for people to notice to whom a kid got his eyes, nose or the entire looks. And I admit that that my son seems to have inherited most of his physical traits from his Dad Paolo.

“WOW!!!” is what I would often hear him say with beaming eyes whenever he sees something new or beautiful. He uttered his favorite expression during the recent Philippine Hot Air Balloon Festival in Clark Field, Pampanga. His young mind was amazed by the giant colorful balloons floating on air, plus the army trucks and fighter planes on display. He exclaimed the same appreciation when we visited our place in Batangas. My father was feeding the pigs and the chicken when we arrived. July ran towards the barn delighted by the sound of squealing pigs and crowing chicken. His lolo gave him a can of feeds and he walked his way to the barn past a herd of goat unmindful of this animal. It was a lovely picture of him beaming while feeding the chicken until we saw him put some feeds inside his mouth. July becomes a naughty kid sometimes. July proves that toddlers love to feel that they are making an important contribution to any activity. I was amazed by my boy when he learned how to throw his used diapers by stepping on the foot pedal of the trash bin. July can now help cleaning the house in his own little ways – he would wipe the table tops, chairs, his toy cars, or anything he sees with a little rag. Sometimes with his own dirty clothes from the hamper, he would scrub the bathroom tiles while taking a bath. He does these things maybe out of curiosity or simply because he loves it when he’s being useful in the house.

Julian’s natural curiosity at just about everything is very evident. He loves to explore the things around him. He would sometimes open our bags and spill everything out in search of a candy maybe or something to play with. At first, this seemed messy but over time, I was able to discipline him and taught him to put everything back where he got it. Collecting and hiding stuff is his another peculiar yet funny habit. One time, we saw a loot of knick knacks in the trunk of his toy car, and inside was an opened

Jelly-Ace, a can of liver spread, the duplicate key missing for a long time, a pen, calling cards, and some coins to name a few. From thereon, every time we miss an item, the first place we look for is July’s’toy car. I was nearly in tears when my Julian first figured out how to fit the pieces of a puzzle together. Simple puzzles, nesting blocks, and stacking toys not only serve as my child’s mental resources, these also help refine his fine motor skills. July is very much into cars, and he can actually spend the whole day playing with his toy cars alone. Being a mom to a wonderful toddler like Julian is really priceless. Each time spent with him – naughty or nice is just like enjoying a roller-coaster ride.