Ichi

That's Ichi the Little Green Bird Laila's holding in her hand. A little too tightly, I fear. But nothing to worry. Ichi survived Laila's loving grip with all feathers and bones in the right places.

We 'adopted' Ichi from the vendor at the back of the Antipolo Church last Sunday. He charged P20 for the frail-looking but feisty thing.

Of course Laila loved him! She loved Ichi so much she insisted on having him join us at the table--on the table rather--when we stopped at Padi's for lunch. I was willing to go along with it until Ichi pooped and left a mustardy drop on the surface where we'd be eating.

Ichi and his bamboo cage were relegated to hang from the back of an empty chair beside Daddy after that.

The plan was to set Ichi free the day after we got him. Laila wasn't too keen on letting Ichi go home to Mommy Bird (the red parrot from Manila Zoo) but was in the process of relenting. It was to be an elaborate Ichi Fly Away Home Ceremony. We were liberating Ichi at sunrise, or as soon as we woke up, from the garage and away from all the stray cats prowling the building.

But Daddy and I forgot. So what I did later that morning was take Ichi out of his cramped cage--it was just a little bigger that my palm--and transferred him to a shallow basket. He's too young to fly away, I told myself.

I was wrong. As soon as Ichi saw an opportunity, he flapped his teensy-weensy wings violently and soared away. Fortunately, the windows and doors were closed so he wasn't able fly outside.

Laila had a blast watching the Ates try to catch Ichi, who eventually perched on the living room light. That's when Ate Janet caught him and he ended up in Laila's loving hand.

I'd clipped open a hole in Ichi's original cage, which was impossible to repair, so I settled in keeping him in the basket with a mesh placemat as covering. We left Ichi's new home hanging in the kitchen.

A few hours later, Ichi was gone. The rascal!

Apparently, Ichi's new holding pen was just too easy to escape. I was at work when all this happened but learned that night that Laila blamed Ate Janet for the daring daylight jailbreak. My assertive burst of gunfire, ehem, sunshine tried to hit Ate with her hand--I can't recall is she was successful--while bawling about her lost pet.

Poor Laila. She was a proud and loving pet owner for only a little more than 24 hours. At least we have her and Ichi's photo to paste on her baby book under 'First Pet'.

But it was just as well that Ichi escaped. Laila would've been devastated had he gone to Bird Paradise while in our care. He's now either home in the wild or, heaven forbid, being digested by one of the neighborhood felines. As far as I know, Ichi lost only a feather--one Laila plucked--during his stay with us.

Laila has fond memories of Ichi. Up to now she gets a kick from telling stories about how Ichi flew around the house, the Ates giving chase, and Ichi sitting on the living room light. Asked where Ichi is, Laila says he's gone home to Mommy Bird.

Fearless

Laila really is a fearless girl.


We took her to Manila Zoo during the weekend where she took a ride on Erika the Ostrich's back, fed goats, crossed a hanging bridge, allowed a parrot to sit on her head.

She's so daring and full of life, I can't get over it. Things that scared other little chidlren--the bridge for instance--she took on with a broad smile, sparkling eyes and her good sense of humor.

I could tell she was scared of the 'Troll Bridge' a bit, because she gripped my hand tight--or was it me?--as we inched our way across the bridge. She was muttering: 'Oh my God, Oh my God, I'm scared.'

But she walked on from end to end, sometimes even jutting her head out beyond the ropes the held the bridge together to take a better look at what was floating in the water, sometimes jumping excitedly at whatever it was she saw.

Lails's more adventurous than me. I remember my Mom and Dad took me to watch a dolphin show when I was young. The host was asking kids to come over and pet the dolphin. I wanted to, but my feet wouldn't obey. I never got to pat the dolphin and up to now I'm wondering how it would've felt.

No doubt, Laila would ride one if she's given the opportunity. That's my little girl!

+++

I love these weekend sorties. It gives us the opportunity to really be together, just the three of us. And it's my chance to fully concentrate on Laila, take care of all her needs and be a fulltime Mom to her.

We had lunch at a Chinese place inside UST. Yup, it's a real Chinese restaurant, though not the high-end type, inside the old school. And there are other restaurants that opened right inside the campus also.

When I was in college, there was only a very limited number of cafeterias and carinderias available. Which is good since I never would have been able to afford those restaurants.

They also transformed the area in front of the Main building into a park--it had a Tiananmen Square feel to it--and installed a modern fountain at Colayco Park, which they renamed the Quadricentennial Square or something. They also dismantled the unsightly tin roofing over the walkway that cut through the garden leading to the heart of the university.

Amazing! It reminded me of the universities I visited in Beijing.

I doubt if my parents would be able to afford to send me to UST if I had to enroll today. It's a reminder to seriously start prearing for Laila's college education. I bet it'll cost somewhere around a million pesos to put Laila to college when her time comes.

Bye-Bye Cuz'

Kuya Utoy and Ate Anne have gone back home to Nasugbu after six weeks of staying with us. Laila seemed to have taken it well, going back to our regular routine.

Although, the morning they left, she woke up, bolted from the bed and screamed out: 'Wag uwi!' She cried a little, calling out 'Kuya Utoy ko, Ate Anne ko....Waaaah!'

She perked up a little after we spoke to them on the phone, but was still pleading for them not to go home to Lola's house.

Poor Laila. Company's limited again to the two Ates, who, I learned recently, have made it a habit to carry her everywhere. Now I know why she refuses to walk on her own at the mall. Note to self: Get her used to walking around.

It's good that school will start soon. That'll give her something to do in the mornings.

+++

Laila's about as tactless as innocent kids could be.

I was getting ready for bed the other night and was inspecting my Mommy flabs in front of the mirror when she came to me, held the hips that carried her for the first nine months of her life in between her little hands, and quipped: 'Ang taba taba mo.'

It felt like being run over by a train and carried to heaven at the same time. It was a proud moment for me because she obviously knows the difference of big and small. But I wished she hadn't pointed out that my hips arent exactly on the small side.

Laila's Boat

Laila and I went with Daddy Alvin to the polling precinct this morning. It's the midterm election and I thought it would be helpful for Laila to get to see ordinary people helping shape the direction of the country.

She was quite excited to see 'the boht'. But when we got there, she looked confused. Looking around the fenced compound, she asked me: 'Where's the boht?'

Then I realized she thought we'd be taking a look at a 'boat' not 'vote'. So funny! I tried to explain to her that voting is where orinary people helped choose the leaders of the country but she looked distracted and uninterested. But she seemed more receptive to Daddy's explanation that the boat already left.

So when you ask her, how the vote was, she'd say 'Alis na daw.'

+++

Mother's Day yesterday went better than I thought.

I'd been expecting it to be crappy since I have to work that afternoon--a last minute briefing by Namfrel (election day happens to fall on the Monday after Mother's Day). Crap. But Namfrel rescheduled an hour later so I had more time to spend at home. An extra hour was good eniugh for me.

We set up Laila's kiddie pool at the back and spent the entire morning submerged in the cool water. Just me, Laila and Daddy Alvin. Good bonding time for the three of us. Laila splashed around, we tickled each other (Daddy Alvin did most of the tickling), we told and acted out stories about the crocodile eating Capt. Hook (which eventually became the shark eating Spiderman, Superman etc).

After lunch of my scrumptious menudo, Laila and I took a nap entangled in each other's arms.

Is there any better way of spending Mother's Day than that?

Confronting Change

It's strange that Laila can be so talkative one minute and so quiet the next. She's practically as quiet as a drugged mouse when she's in an strange environment and in front of unfamiliar faces.

I understand that it's a normal reaction. I'm rather aloof myself when with an unfamiliar group. Laila actually adjusts to new situations faster than I do.

This morning we went to her new preschool, Mayfield Academy, for an assessment exam. She knows she'd be going to a 'new school', but it was only her second time to be there. And she was uncharacteristically quiet. Note that I didn't say behaved. Well, she was. She wasn't running around screaming but she didn't exactly sit motionless by my side. Instead, she moved around the room quietly inspecting every corner and what's around the corner.

My little myna bird kept her speaking prowess well under wraps for most of the assessment, giving the teacher the impression that either she's still not speaking well, she doesn't understand instructions or she refuses to follow them.

It's good that I had a chance to explain to Teacher Liway that Laila needs a while to get used to a new environment before she fully relaxes. Not that I needed to justify Laila's actions. But I felt I had to. I guess I was was overly defensive.

But, the truth is, Laila knew everything Teacher Liway asked her to do. She's just so distracted by all the new 'toys'--materials like pegs, block, rings, beads--that she wanted to try all of them at once. She'd start one activity and then move on to the next after a few minutes. Well, at least Teacher Liway recognized one trait Laila has: she's very very curious.

Laila's going to junior toddler class, most probably. Wow, my baby's growing up.

+++

Summer really is coming to an end. The first rains came yesterday. Pagasa says summer isn't officially over until maybe in the last week or so of May. But I can smell it in the air. School's about to start. Summer of 07 is drawing to a close.

I feel a little sad, about the end of summer and the start of classes. This is a familiar feeling, much the same way when I was younger and school's about to start again. It's strange I feel this way when I haven't attended school in 10 years.

Despedida

I had dinner with the girls last night. It was for girlfriend Cha who's leaving tomorrow to settle down with her beau, Mark, in The Netherlands (soooo far way).

Everyone--Bev. Aries, Mav and auxiliary girls Denver and Daddy Alvin--was there except for Glen, who's at her boss' miting de avance in a galaxy far, far away. Listen in on the conversation and you'd know we aren't a bunch of carefree singles having a glorious night out.

The dominant topic was child rearing, settling down, office politics, child rearing and child rearing. The party broke off aorund 10:30, with Bev and me anxious to get home (her to the waiting pilot-hubby and me to slumbering Laila). The others went for coffee.

I felt nostalgic, looking aroud the table at these women. Mav, Bev and I are married with kids. Cha will too, soon. Glen as well. Aries, well, he's shy about discussing these things.

We started as girls partying together. Now we're women swapping battle stories of a newborn who refuses to sleep at night, the scandalous price of preschool education, the constant tug-of-war between family and career.

That dinner was supposed to be a despedida for Cha. Somehow, I felt it was a despedida for something else too. It's a despedida for a youthful, carefree past that, in all honesty, I don't regret getting past.

After a night of heavy partying years ago, I remember going home to an unlit and empty apartment and plopping down on a plain queen-sized bed. When I eased myself on the bed last night, I was careful not to wake Laila who, as usual, was hogging my pillow.

Laila's head was musty sweet and burrowed in the palm of her teensy-weensy hands, her rear protruding a little. She stirred a bit when I planted several pecks on her marshmallow soft cheeks but didn't wake.

This is my life now. And it fills me with warmth thinking about it.

Return Of Investments

Laila just 'read' a whole book last night.

It was one of her favorites--The Foot Book by Dr. Seuss--and she read it from cover to cover, from the title to the 'The End'.

'Left foot, right foot, left foot, rght...Feet in the morning, feet at night...left foot right foot left foot right...' It was amazing!

I suppose she was relying on the pictures to 'read' the book, but what she 'read' really was what was written for the particular page. She memorized the entire thing. And she was also underlining the words with her fingers the way I do while I read to her.

I had to force myself to wait for Laila to finish before I praised her for reading so well. And when I did--complete with the customary clapping and kisses--Laila put her right hand to her stomach and bowed repeatedly all the while grinning like she did something naughty.

See, I have a genius and a comedian in one daughter! She likes books and she has a sense of humor.

This isn't the first time I've noticed that Laila really is interested when I read to her. She's also practically memorized 'Put Me In The Zoo' by Robert Lopshire--who, for Laila, is still Dr. Seuss. I'd read to her and deliberately stop before the last word so she can fill it in for me. She gets it right every time.

I'd be saying 'I want to go to the zoo, I want to see it yees I...' and Laila would pipe in 'do'.

Then I'd continue to the next page. 'I would like to live this way. This is where I want to...' and she'd say 'stay'. And on and on until the last page. She knows it. When I miss a page, either accidentally or because I want to hurry things along, she'd point it out to me and insist we read the page we missed.

I feel that all the previous nights I spent reading to her are beginning to pay off. She's beginning a love affair with books!

+++

There are people who don't value reading as much as others. I don't want Laila to love reading for the sake of reading or so people will admire her for loving to read so much.

I want her to read because there are so many things I cannot teach her and there are so many places I can't take her to. Books would be her ticket to those bits of knowledge and to places I have no access to.

My parents never had the patience to take me anywhere when I was little. But I traveled a lot on my own through the books I read. I want Laila to enjoy these same 'adventures'.

Daddy & Daddy

Daddy Alvin is now officially an attorney-at-law.

This morning, he signed his name on the Supreme Court's official roll of attorneys. That's the final step in marking the first of his days as a lawyer. Of course, the entire process is recorded through stills taken by, ehem, his official photographer.

The event would have been more memorable, not that it wasn't, had we not ended yesterday with a spat that spilled over to this morning. Actually, I think it was just me fuming. He's been reconciliatory since bedtime.

And what, you might ask, was the reason behind World War 3?

He didn't want to drive to his signing date with the Supreme Court while I didn't want to commute. It sounds petty, but with my ability to make Mt. Everest from a mound of dirt, that was exactly what happened. I even lost sleep over it.

I was angry until the point when we were waiting at the Supreme Court's third floor corridor, sitting on filthy plastic chairs that should have no place in such an august insitution. Then came the time to start taking photos.

Daddy Alvin looked strangely dashing in the Onesimus barong he wore on our wedding day. He smiled, made faces and was funny and I, like the wuss that I am, just caved. And we were OK after that.

Where was Laila during all the action?

Last night as we were settling down to bed, Daddy Alvin told her 'Galit Mommy ke Daddy.' Instead of showing concern, I saw her eyebrows perk up in the dark. She egged me on: 'Mummy, galitan mo Daddy.' Heehee my personal cheering squad.

+++

I wished Laila was with us at the Supreme Court. Some other lawyers brought their own kids to the signing ceremony. One boy was just as old as Laila. She should be part of this important part of her Daddy's life.

We couldn't bring her along because Daddy Alvin and I still had to go to work afterward. Such a shame. Would she mind, when she's older and understands better, that we left her home on such an important day?

Laila, don't take it against us. Mommy's just gone on too many leaves recently and taking another unscheduled day off today feels wrong. And Daddy has to go to the office too. Sorry for tonight as well. We'll be coming home late. Daddy Alvin and I are going on a date.

+++

The doctor diagnosed Lolo Intoy as having kidney complications from his diabetes. They caught it early so it's easily manageable through medication. Lolo just has to strictly take his meds. I hope he follows doctor's orders.

Ate said he got into a mild argument with the doctor that ended with the doc advising him to stop getting checked up totally if he isn't prepared to fully comply with the doctor's orders. Once outside the clinic, Daddy said the doctor--a specialist in diabetes--was masungit.

Daddy's so stubburn. I think I get it from him.

Scares

I've finally gotten that electrocautery treatment my OB recommended for my cervicitis.

It wasn't as traumatic as I believed it would be. But neither was it painless as my doctor and most other people say. It felt like I was being jabbed from the inside. And by the time the procedure was done, my knees felt weak under me.

But it's something I have to undergo. Either that or let the cervicitis get worse and eliminate my ability to have more children in the future.

It's a humblng experience, having to submit your whole body to someone else's care. I'd been convinced that my OB was not telling me the entire picture. I believed there was something truly damning about my condition she wasn't telling me. I was wrong.

Only after I surfed the Net for more information on cervicitis--and this was after the procedure--was I convinced that there shouldn't be cause for alarm. Apparently, cervicitis really is a common condition half of the planet's woman population experience at some time in their life. Which was exactly what the OB told me.

Of course, there's still the result of the biopsy to wait for. But I'd rather not dwell on that. No use thinking about what scares me when there's two weeks between now and getting my fears confirmed or dismissed.

+++

And speaking of what's scary...

The White Lady is no more. Laila has stopped being scared of her. But we haven't sent her a-packing yet. Daddy Alvin tweaked her a little, making her The One-Eyed White Lady.

Daddy Alvin added that 'one-eye' feature after realizing Laila was scared of a DVD cover that showed the close-up of an eye peeking from behind something. Hence, the improvement on our discipline tool. It's called recycling fellas. Why throw out a perfectly good discipline tool when you can improve it so it works like new?

It's so funny seeing Laila covering her own eyes whenever she's reminded of the One-Eyed White Lady. She quiets down and becomes more cooperative everytime. I just want to hold her and bury my nose in her hair. Oh her sweet smelling hair! She's the perfect angel during these times.

We're terrible for scaring her like this, but if it keeps her in line, so be it. We don't use these scare tactics often. Well, maybe more frequent than Laila likes it. But hey, my little girl has to learn to be cooperate at certain times. Or it's a visit from the One-Eyed White Lady for her.