Dipdip loves the beach!

This blog needs some serious update.

Being a parent, as most people often say, is not a walk in the park. In fact, even a walk in park with our kid nowadays needs to be planned especially since we are both working and we also have some chores to do on weekends. This is why we make it a point to really have time for our little girl so that she'll have a happy and memorable childhood. Good thing, there's a blog and some pictures to keep these memories all together.

We were glad to have taken the time off to be with my in-laws for a family summer outing. Quite a stress-reliever, indeed.

She didn't like the feel of the sand on her feet...

the crying episode with her cousin

At first, Dipdip wasn't quite pleased with her slippers and toes collecting sand. This was her second beach outing but I bet she didn't remember the first time she set her foot on the beach as she was just a few months old at that time.

Except for that first encounter with the sand, I must say that Dipdip loves and enjoys the beach. More importantly, she enjoys the time and attention we have for her.

guess how much we love our kid

A few days from now, she'll turn 3! It feels like it was only yesterday when we've raised a newborn. It feels like it was only yesterday when she can barely communicate with us. Now, she's one little conversationalist. Sometimes, she would also mimic the words that are spoken by adult people around her and this is one reason why we would need to be careful when we converse in front of her. She's also now at this stage where she would want to keep wearing her favorite dress, sometimes to the point that people would probably wonder if we ever thought of buying her a new one. :-)

Guess how much we love our kid? I think most parents can relate to this feeling. Definitely, our love cannot be measured by the toys and the birthday parties we are able to afford them. So, dear daughter, if you are able to read this blog when you grow up, please know that you are loved so much!

on being parents to a toddler

We're enjoying being parents to our toddler. She is 2+ years old now and she's at this stage where she tries to be an independent child in terms of deciding what she wants to wear, what to do, etc. She's also at this stage in her life, though, where she would almost always seek for parental attention. She hates it very much when both of us are in front of our computers. So, we make it a point that at least one of us should put off facing the computer until she's busy playing with her toys or until she falls asleep. Time management is indeed an important element in being parents, most especially to toddlers.



Overall, our daughter is generally a happy baby. She's only irritable when she's feeling sick. Just recently, she's had one of those toddler ear infections. Good thing she can already clearly express herself and would quickly tell us the source of her pain - her ears. Her pediatrician explained the usual reason why babies and toddlers commonly get ear infections. This usually happens when their Eustachian tubes are blocked due to common colds. Indeed, we can confirm that her episodes of ear aches came after she's had runny nose or bad cold. She's also had fever along with her painful ears. Thank God, she felt better after 7 days of prescribed antibiotics and 4 days of ibuprofen.

reunited and it felt so good

After keeping myself busy with something else more important for a couple of months, I thought I am now ready to be back blogging about our life as parents again. Somehow, I felt like I am a newbie blogger who can't seem to figure out what to write. :-)

Anyway, let me give you updates about our life as parents:


I got really sick some time last month which nearly cost my life if I wasn't rushed to the hospital after day 2 of severe diarrhea. It had something to do with eating contaminated food that hubby and I bought from the market. The home remedies, oral rehydration solution, Gatorade and over-the-counter medicines didn't help; and by the time we decided to go to the hospital, the doctor said I was already dehydrated. To be admitted in the hospital wasn't really something that we wanted to happen because we have our two-year-old plus daughter with us. Most of all, we were worried about the cost of the hospital bills. However, the doctor deemed it fit for me to stay and be monitored at the hospital. Since hubby had to attend to me at the hospital, we had no other recourse but to send her to the care of my in-laws.

We had to endure more than a week of being away from our little girl. I felt really depressed at that time. Separation anxiety, must be it. I kept blaming myself and held myself responsible for sending my daughter away from us,including the financial difficulties we were in due to setbacks of my health. Thankfully, my daughter seemed to have adjusted really well without us because she also had her two cousins playing with her at the in-laws' house.

When I already recovered, it was already time to fetch her. The first time she saw us back again, she said 'Hello' and then she was silent for awhile and kept staring at us. It was probably then that she realized that it was 'us' her parents. Oh, I wish I had quickly captured that moment when she ran towards me and hugged me so tight and won't let go after that. It was an emotional moment for the both of us. I guess it is really true that the mother and child really has that certain connection that you can't explain.



I really felt an unexplainable kind of joy when I finally got reunited with my daughter.

On another note, I've long been wanting to change the tone of my blog. I want to write more informative articles that have something to do with toddler, kids, and parenting. Perhaps in my subsequent blogs, you're going to see a couple of changes. On second thought, I think I would still want to write on a personal tone. Thus, expect to still read a mix of different writing styles.

is it really hard to be the best parent ever?

As parents, it is our dream to be regarded as the "best parents" in the world. Oftentimes, we would make every effort to be deserving of that citation but should we really sweat it out? Somehow, I believe we only need to do our part as parents. Anyway, for most of us, parenting skills often come out naturally. We don't need to impress our children with a lot of things that they don’t primarily need in the first place.

We must remember that we were and are our parents' children, too; and we didn't require them to do so much before we would think of them as the best parents for us. However, we did appreciate the time that our parents have spent for us while we were still young and needing attention.  So now that we are already parents ourselves, I believe we should also do the same. Although we do need money as well to keep the family going, we must never forget to find some quality time to be with our children. Oftentimes, it is quite tempting to be a workaholic; however, if it’s going to be at the expense of our time with our family, then we’re not actually doing them a favor.

So, is it really hard to be the best parent ever? As far as the popular quotation goes, our children often spell love as T-I-M-E.  Now, if the time we spend for our children should then be the basis for being hailed as a great parent, then I believe some (if not most) of us will fail. However, there are really circumstances when time is sometimes compromised for the family’s sake. Fortunately, as their wisdom and understanding grows, children will likely become forgiving of any situation or circumstance and that is how we would somehow still end up to be the best parents for them. As for us parents, and as much as possible, we should still try to give our children the T-I-M-E they deserve to be worthy of the part.

approaching the second year of our life as parents

Some time next month, my toddler will be two years old. Wow, I am really looking forward to year two of our life as parents even though they say that one of the hardest times in the life of parents is when the child turns two years old because it will be a time where the parents' patience and tolerance will be tested in terms of their ability in dealing with and managing toddler tantrums and other irritating to unpleasant behavior. In fact, I had mentioned in my previous post that we already started dealing with her occasional tantrums. I guess it came early, huh!

One thing I noticed about our toddler these days is that she's all prim and proper when we're outside the house. I mean she wouldn't show off any signs of being cranky except when we're at home. I guess she knows how to place herself. My analysis was that she's really just too comfortable in showing her crankiness only with us.  Her crankiness doesn't happen too often, though. Most of the time she's lovable, sweet and clingy (trying not to sound like a defensive parent here).

How about you guys, care to share your toddler's manifestation of unpleasant or irritating behavior? How do you deal with it?


Anyway, I've been meaning to share this video of my toddler when she first learned to love a Justin Bieber song. I just love the way she had obediently sang her part here. :-)