In Case Of Emergency

Last night after eating:


Me: Ouch, my tummy is so sakit :(


Gabbie (grabs a toy and pretends to call daddy using that toy as her cellphone): Daddy! Hello! Mommy's tummy is sakit, we have to hurry! We have to bring her to the hospital!


After a while...


Gabbie (while rubbing my tummy): Are you ok now mommy?


Me: Yeah.


Gabbie (calls daddy again on her makeshift cellphone): Daddy! It's ok now. Good job for us daddy! Good job!


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And this morning, before getting up:


Me: Yaiks, my tummy is sakit again.


Gabbie: Oh why, is Baby Rafa kicking your tummy again?


Me: Maybe.


Gabbie: Wait, I will get some medicine. 


Then she handed me the yellow box containing my OB vitamins.


Gabbie: Here, which one do you need?




May maaasahan na ako in time of emergency. I just need to enable the speed dialing of our phones and teach her how to do it. Good job Ate Gabbie :)

Conversations with Gabbie

While eating:
Me: Eat your rice with sabaw na Abby.
Gabbie: Are you just going to eat the fish? Baby Rafa likes fish?
Me: Hmm maybe. Yes.
Gabbie: How can Baby Rafa eat it?
Me: Hmm I'll...
Gabbie: First you have to put the fish up in your mouth. Then it will go to your neck and then down to your tummy and then Baby Rafa can eat it.

Very good! :)

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Before brushing teeth:
Gabbie: Mommy, Axel talk like this (hides her teeth with her lips and speaks in a ngongo sound) "Hello Abby!"
Me: Why?
Gabbie: Because he has no more teeth.
Me: Why?
Gabbie: Because the germs eat his teeth.
Me: Why?
Gabbie: Because he's not brushing his teeth.

At least she knows and now we won't have to drag her to the CR before bedtime to brush her teeth.

This Used To Be My Playground

I'm sure if Gabbie knew that song, that would be her song of the day last Friday when we visited Gymboree (Eastwood) and spent an hour in the play/gym area. It was obvious that she missed it. Luckily, there were no other kids inside for the first 30 minutes, so the gym was all hers. She danced, jumped, rolled on the floor, and played to her heart's content.

Trip Lang

Yesterday after hearing the mass, it rained- hard. So instead of going to the supermarket and dining-in at Jollibee, we decided to just drive-thru and go home straight. Gabbie ordered Jolly hotdog, cheeseburger, mushroom and rice (Burger Steak) and french fries. I got peach mango pie for me. After getting and paying for our order, she asked, "Mommy, where are we going?" I said, "Home." She said, "No, mommy, I don't want to go home. Let's park there o! It's our space." She was pointing at a parking slot between the two cars in front of Marquinton. I told her its difficult to park there. But she insisted on not going home and just look for another parking space. When we finally found one, I asked her, "What do we do now?" She quickly answered, "We will just eat here, in the car!" "Here in the parking?" I asked. "Yes, here! We're not going home" she said.

So we ate the hotdog sandwich, french fries and peach mango pie in the car. When she was full and finished, I asked her if its ok to go home already, and without blinking, she said "Yes!"

Feeling ko nag-trip lang itong anak ko. :)

Dancing with the cow :)

This is the dancing toy cow that Ninong Klaus and Ninang Kharz gave Gabbie during their visit here in the Philippines. When Gabbie is in a 'disco' mood, she just presses the button on the left hand of the cow and it's party time!

Operation Timbang

I didn't know they also have it in preschools (kala ko elementary lang). Last Friday, the kids lined up to have their weight and height taken. Gabbie weighs 34 pounds and stands 41 inches now. The teachers did not tell us why they did that and what to do if the kids turned out to be underweight, overweight or small for their age.

As for Gabbie, as far as I know, she's in the lower threshold of the normal weight range for her age. But she's a happy and active kid and she eats well and she seldom gets sick. Her pedia said there's nothing to worry about but I might consider asking her about "pagpupurga" as someone suggested.

First Exam

Two weeks ago the nursery class had their first minor exam for the first quarter. I never imagined 3-yr olds doing exams without mommies or daddies by their side. The two-hour waiting time outside their classroom while they were answering 50 or so items in their test papers felt like forever. When I asked her at home what they did in the class she just said "I color, and put lines and put circle." I kept telling myself that it was no big deal and there's no pressure, after all she's just in Nursery but deep inside I couldn't help but feel a little anxious at the same time excited for the results.

After a week, they were given. The first page of the exam showed her score of 20 out of 20. It was for the subject they call Reading which included the letters (circle the pictures that begin with letters ABC) and picture association and matching I couldn't contain my happiness when we got in the car. I kissed my baby and told her that she was very very very good.

The next page was about Math where she got perfect score again (15/15). It was about coloring the objects with their natural colors.

And then there's the exam for Writing. She didn't get a perfect score because she still couldn't write straight lines and follow the dots and trace broken lines properly. But it was perfectly OK for me. We're still practicing with her coloring and writing skills.

There was also the exam for the Language subject which was about polite expressions and actions. She got them all correct except that part about greetings where I think she got confused with the positions of the sun in 'good morning' and 'good afternoon'

Overall, her score was, for me, EXCELLENT. 90 out of 105 is no joke for a 3-yr old.

To our dear Gabbie, you did a really good job and mommy and daddy are so proud of you. And we love you and we will always be here to guide you and help you and... to us, you are the best, Anak.

Bib :)

For the days that she had runny nose, Gabbie had to wear bib to wipe her sipon off even if she's attending the class. She said she looked like a baby going to school. :)

Rainy Day Outfit

I have noticed that despite the flu shots and daily vitamins, kids are still prone to catching viruses especially during rainy season (just kidding when I said that she gets sick when daddy leaves, it's just a coincidence of course). One time it was really raining when we went to school. My inlaws dropped us just a few feet away from the school. Gabbie had her own umbrella but still she got wet. The next day she already had colds.

Last Friday, it was also raining when the class was dismissed. But we had to go to SM Marikina to do some errands. I think she got wet again from the rainshower because the following morning, she was coughing and there was already some signs of colds, and fever.

So we decided to get her a raincoat that she can use during rainy school days instead of umbrella. I'm thinking also of getting her a pair of rain boots to complete her rainy season outfit.

Sick Again

Seems that Gabbie is having separation something whenever daddy leaves for a business trip. Last time she was hospitalized when daddy was in Germany. Now that daddy is leaving again, she's starting to have colds, cough and slight fever. I'm hoping this is just 'lambing' and not a trend.

Just lying down watching Barbie while waiting for review and school time. She usually spends this free time to bike or play with toys in her room.

Eating hot sopas for lunch

The Elusive Star

Once or twice during her summer class, Gabbie went out of the classroom with no star stamp on her hand. On one of those occasions, she went back to the teacher and asked why she didn't have a star. The teacher said "Oh sorry, because the 'stamping' session was over when you finished eating." And then she got stamped and went home happy.

Now in her nursery class, she got star stamps only during the first few days. One parent said it was for "pa-kunswelo" or "pang-uto lang sa mga bata".

On the following week, she didn't get one, and when I asked her why, she said the teacher did not give her. She went back to the classroom and asked for a stamp. But the teacher said "Ay Abby, tomorrow you behave ha so I will give you stamp."

I felt sad for my baby. But I didn't talk to her about, because I didn't think that she was not behaving in the class. She has other classmates who (even until now) cry when the parents leave the room, who (believe it or not) bully other kids and who just walk around and don't listen to teachers at all even during lecture. She wasn't like them, but she's the one who cannot sit still on her seat for longer than a few minutes without doing anything (writing, reading or playing with blocks).

Still no stamps on the following days. And when I asked her at home, she said "I don't like stamps mommy." But she looked sad. So the next day I talked to the teacher. I asked her if Gabbie was not behaving properly that's why she wouldn't get any star so we can talk to her and help. She said no. It's just that Gabbie was just too slow in doing her seatwork (read: coloring) so she was always late for the 'stamping'.

We didn't require her to bring home a star everyday, in fact I was already getting used to not seeing her hand stamped at all, because she was doing really well in her seatwork anyways.

But last week she had a star. I told her I was happy she got one. She was happy with it too.

Everyday (even if I already sound like a 'sirang plaka') I remind her to just stay on her seat and stand up only when the teacher ask them to.

Yesterday, she got out of the classroom and showed me her hand. "Mommy, I got a star- with a crown!" It was a king star, given to students who did their work and behave excellently inside the class.

The teacher said she no longer roam around the room when they're not doing anything.

I'm so proud. And I thank God for the guidance and patience. :)