Playing outside this past Saturday

How we spent our Saturday afternoon. Travis was getting a bit bored in the house so I put his little exersaucer out in the backyard to enjoy the nice, cool wind, and sunny California weather. He was lovin' it!

JJ & Travis will be the best of friends someday.

Haven't been on here

Only because I've been busy blogging over at Tumblr!

Anyway, here's an update of all the silly things that my little prince has been doing:

• Become fascinated with the carpet. He kept running his hands through it the whole time we were at my uncle's house in San Diego
• Managed to crawl his way to his diaper bag from the blanket
• Threw his snail toy at my mom while she was lying down in the blanket with him
• Slammed his hand held music toy in my arm while I was dozing off next to him.
• Kept pressing his face up against the netting on his playpen. It kind of contorted his face and he looked funny doing it.
• Attempt to eat the dog's foot when I wasn't looking.

He is getting very very mobile now. I think it's time to invest in one of those baby gates that enclose the whole living room.


Oh and if any of your dear ladies have a Tumblr, follow me on there (only because I've had that Tumblr since 2009 & I tend to write more there). Here's the link: http://theejillz.tumblr.com

Crawling!

My baby Travis is crawling! I can’t believe it! I was on the laptop deleting email messages and then he started crawling right towards the laptop! The laptop seems to be his motivation because for the past month, he’s been trying to eat it and he’s fascinated with pressing the keys and what not.

Looks like I’m going to have a busy bee in my hands! I can’t believe he is so mobile now. Time to start baby proofing! 

Time to start planning!

Only 4 more months till my baby Travis turns 1! This means it’s time to start buying and planning all the things needed for his birthday party. As I’ve mentioned before, he’s having a carnival themed birthday party. I’ve set aside a budget and I’m HOPING that we stay within the budget and under budget if we can! So far I’ve bought the following:

• Customized banner and customized magnets (for party favors) - $50 (Yay for it being cheaper here in Philippines)
• Loot bags, party hats, and little toys that are going inside - $30
• Toys for the pabitin (a traditional Filipino game often played in children’s parties) - $30 (I still need to purchase more actually)

My estimates for the following: 

• Venue - $0 since my parents graciously offered to let us use their house. It’s perfect since they have a huge backyard. I’m thinking of giving them compensation though since we will be using electricity (a lot of it actually).
• Food - $300 to $500. It’s a mixture of us cooking and some of it being catered. I have yet to sit down to make an actual menu, but I’m safely assuming that it’ll be around this range. 
• Cake - $50 to $100
• Decor - $50 to $100 
• Invitations - $20 
• Bounce house - $100 to $150
• Concession stands such as a cotton candy station, snow cone station, or popcorn station (I plan to do 2) - $100 to $150
• Prizes for games - $20 to $50
• Games - $50 to $100 (Hoping I can find a place to rent these from)
• Clown - need to call
• Face painting - need to call

Did I leave anything out?!

I’m super super excited!

Now this is happiness

Earlier today I had gone to the mall with my mom and cousin to inquire at the photo place since I’m planning to get Travis some photos. As soon as I got home, I went to the play den to hang out with Travis and the minute he saw me he said, “mamama!!!” I leaned forward to give him a kiss and to my surprise he held up his hands and pulled my face and gave me a kiss right smack in the middle of my face! 

I love him :) 

Being a mom

Last night I overheard a group of girls talking about the "cons" of motherhood such as, "It'll make your body ugly," to "You won't have a life," and all the way to, "It'll ruin your life." Of course, that is their opinion and that's totally fine, but in all honesty I don't think I can ever fully comprehend how someone can think that motherhood will "ruin your life" or how motherhood will make it so that "you won't have a life," or how "it'll make your body ugly."
For me and (assuming) for a majority of moms, motherhood has brought a profound positive change in their lives. For myself, becoming a mom brought along a whole new set of challenges, new emotions, a whole new level of happiness, and an intense love for my son. Never once in my life have I felt such a joy till I had my baby Travis. The joy and love that comes with having a child is much more intense than the happiness and love that comes from finding that right person for you.

Being a mother did come with a lot of sleep deprived days and nights, frantic worrying, stress, a body that just doesn't seem right, and at times frustration, but it is a beautiful experience and the most wonderful role to be in. The happiness that comes from seeing your baby after giving birth, to seeing him/her smile for the first time, and to hearing him/her say "mama" is indescribable.

So I may not be be able to go out all the time or have a booming career at the moment because I opt to not work as much. I may have stretch marks, bags under my eyes, a flabby stomach, and not be able to sleep in as I used too, but I am the happiest person in the world because of my little prince (and of course my wonderful husband and family)! 

First birthday party

Travis attended his very first birthday party last Sunday! He had a great time at the party to the point where he only took a 20 minute afternoon nap as oppose to his usual 1-2 hour naps! He was amazed at the clowns, all the kids running around, the bubbles, and all the balloons! 

Travis sitting by some balloons

Travis getting his arm painted

Keeping Travis's arm steady.

All done!

After an hour or so he was tired and napped for about 20 minutes.

After he woke up, it was about time to sing Happy Birthday. We got up on stage with the rest of the kids and sang. The whole time he was going “babababa” We didn’t participate in any of the games since he’s obviously too young, but he had a lot of fun observing and playing peek-a-boo with some of my cousins. After all the festivities, we got our loot bag for him and went home. He had so much fun! I hope he will have just as much fun on his birthday party. 

Happy 8 Months! (6.7.2011)

Happy 8 months my sweet little angel :) We’re almost to the double digits and I can’t believe it. This past month you seemed to have learned plenty of new skills and had new experiences.

• Two front teeth has finally emerged. Half of it is out already and your two front upper teeth are about to come out as well.
• You can sit by yourself now, but still need to be supervised because you topple over at times. 
• Attempting to crawl by pushing up your upper and lower extremities. You even do little push ups!
• You know how to give kisses even if you do it with your mouth wide open. 
• Saying “babababa” “dadadada” and “mamamama”
• Holding your bottle when you aren’t feeling lazy!
• First time swimming at the pool and beach and you enjoyed it!
• Christening
• Always starting conversations.
• Very curious about the laptop.
• You actually use your teething rings now.
• You put yourself into a standing position when you hold on to my hands.
• Brushing your teeth now.

I love and cherish every single moment with you. Can’t wait to see what new things you will learn this month! Me and your daddy love you very very much :)

What's your baby's feeding schedule?

Travis is 7 months old soon to be 8 months old on June 7th. His schedule for now is:

Breakfast (around 0730-0800): 6 ounce bottle + oatmeal cereal + half a jar of fruit

Midmorning snack: 4 ounce bottle

Lunch (1130-1230): Rice cereal + half a jar of veggies + water

Snack: 4 ounce bottle + half a jar of fruit 

Dinner: Rice cereal + half a jar of veggies (different vegetable) OR pureed meat + vegetables + water 

Snack: 6 ounce bottle before going to bed

He sleeps through the night and doesn’t wake up till it’s time for breakfast. 

He gets 20 oz of milk a day, but there are days where he gets 24 oz if I eliminate the half a jar of fruit from his snack and give him a 6 ounce bottle instead. 

Does he seem to be eating too much or too little? Do you guys think that’s enough milk for the day?