Purple Hearts On A Cloud

My boyfriend recently returned from overseas and to be honest.. I couldn't be happier because I really missed him. His mum also returned from NYC a while ago, also bringing with her some ADORABLE outfits for Ximena. Thank You! <3 :).

 Ximena absolutely loves them and I'm pretty sure she can't wait to wear them all. The little dolly adores dressing up and I like dressing her as well. She can't help but to run her fingers through her hair as soon as I've finished styling it. Its as though she's feeling it and making a mental note of the style in her tiny mind and to confirm my theory... she smiles, turns around, gives me a big hug and slides off the bed so that she could show off her new hair style to her Grandmother and Aunty. Its those moments that make me feel warm inside... I can't imagine life without her. On this particular day, she was watching her daily half hour (only!) of Dora the Explorer. I try to limit her use of the television, I don't want to encourage her in being a couch potato so I incorporated a routine which involves a healthy amount of stimulation. I take her for a walk as well as take her for a push in her stroller on the boardwalk. Ximena doesn't find this to mundane as she is fascinated with nature. She could sit  for an hour just watching the trees and flowers, feeling the wind against her face and not to mention, watching the ocean. She gets so excited when she sees them, sometimes she can't contain her excitement. Her eyes light up, she claps while stamping and squeals! :) Its so wonderful to watch. Anyways, so on this day, we went for a drive which Xixi thoroughly enjoyed.

 She pointed to people and cars on the other side of the window, occasionally waved back at those who tried to engage her in baby talk and as all mobile babies get... she got restless from being stuck in traffic so she began to cry. I tried to explain to her that its against the law to take a baby out of its carseat as it is a precautionary device but she just rolled her eyes and blew a raspberry at me. -_____- Knowing that she wouldn't understand and using my maternal instinct; I retrieved the container of finger food that I usually pack for Ximena as a way to prevent her from getting hungry before her second meal of the day. Often Ximena makes herself hungry by running around constantly thus working up an appetite, in the event of that happening, 1 give her 10 pieces and some juice. However, she fell asleep while we were on our way to Lantern's Mall. I took out the stroller as Ximena no longer weighs as much as a feather, (and that's the nice way to put it :P). She wasn't too thrilled to be in it but she didn't make a fuss either. As we pushed her around the mall, she marveled at the strange faces staring back at her but I believe what excited her the most was the ride we took on the transparent elevator. Its not the first time she's been on it but it still grabs her attention.

We immediately strolled (no pun intended!) to KrackerJack Kidz, where we were flooded with hundreds of gift ideas to purchase for Ximena's First Christmas. On the topic of Xi's First Christmas, her godmother bought a bib that is delightfully GORGEOUS! Thank you! <3 :) I'm positive that Ximena will be ecstatic when she receives it, Kiira. We're sending lots of love your way, XOXOXOXO!!!!!

 Afterwards, we got something to eat before returning to the elevator to make our way downstairs. In the corner, I spotted a new 'joy-ride' that I thought Ximena would be interested in. At first, she kept clinging on to me and refused to let go, so I had to distract her with the steering wheel. When she focused her attention on 'driving' the plane, I reached over and placed a dollar into the slot. You should have seen her face when the plane began to move, priceless! I switched with my sister to record her first time riding it but its only when I got home that I realised that my phone was on idle all of that time so I had zip, nada, zero... NOTHING. :( Luckily, we returned two days later on Roshana's last day of school (as you can see she's wearing a school uniform in the video), where I was able to record it for keepsake. However, before we  took Ximena 'joy-riding' again, we went for walk on the boardwalk where I watched a man catch 'Sprats' and if that wasn't bad enough, my mom stood there long enough for me to watch them all flop to death. -___- I am now mentally scarred because of it, those poor little fishies. Sigh!

Fast forwarding a bit, Ximena is saying a few words and phrases, besides her normal rant of "baba", "nana, "gam-gam", "dada" and "mama"; she has added, "Where dada?", "Xixi" and "Yes", along with others to her repertoire. She makes me so proud! I mean, she's not perfect but she's not the worst... she does have her moments like any normal child. My biggest challenge is weaning her and stopping her from throwing tantrums. The more I try to wean her, the more she breastfeeds. Sometimes I believe it pointless because she doesn't drink formula and I've tried practically everything. I have yet to try soy milk or Similac Go & Grow Toddler Formula but I don't have much hope for that knowing Xi. Next on the milestone list, Xi is growing 4 more teeth! One is about to burst but the other three are getting there.... ahhh, I'm so psyched! She's biting everything... well, I mean her fingers, teether, bottles, etc. She's also climbing, which has made me very paranoid because she has a preference whereas her climbing is concerned.... Tables. Yeah, I said it, Tables! Of all the things... tables. Sigh! Anyways, time to wrap this up as I am very exhausted.

(Watching Dora)

(Refusing to let go)

(Putting dollar into slot)

(She realised what I did, darn!)

(Getting accustomed)

(Bleh! It's blurry)

(Concentrating) 

(The beautiful bib her Godmother bought)

(Ximena having the time of her life)

Inspirational Quote: "Growing up is losing some illusions, in order to acquire others." - Virginia Woolf 

Signing Out,

<3

Baby And Killing It

A while ago, I carried Ximena by her dad to spend time with him and his family. I dressed her up in a Disney princess dress that her father bought her, pink slippers and used an old head band from an outfit she outgrew in order to create her 'afro'. It was really a task to take these photos, Ximena refused to keep quiet. She spent most of the time running into the gallery to play with books and pulling at my mother's portable whiteboard.
Here are the photos:

When she got home, she headed straight for grandma's portable board and began pretending to be a teacher, ha ha.

I really marvel at how much she has grown, in 16 days my baby will be 11 months *sniff* :').
This post was really for her god-mother, Kiira. Ximena is waving good-bye and saying hello now, by the way. YAYYY!!!! :)

Inspirational quote: "If your children look up to you, you've made a success of life's biggest job." - Unknown


Signing Out,
Muah! <3

Dancing Along The Dotted Line

Yet again I have been too caught up with my daily life to update my blog, but there's no need to fear for I shall update you.

My daughter, Ximena, turned 10 months approximately sixteen days ago and covered a lot of milestones in her 9th month. Just a fews days after she turned 9 months, Xixi began to walk. Yes I said it, WALK! I'm so proud of her... Little did I know the little bundle of energy was going to keep me on my feet all of the time. Nevertheless, I am grateful that she was given the gift of mobility, there are many adults, children and animals who are immobile for whatever reason and would give anything to be able to take two baby steps.

Sometime ago after my Film class was finished, I stopped by "over-priced" Jordan's Supermarket to purchase a sippy cup and some finger food for Ximena. I swear, it broke my heart to buy those few items because I knew I could get them at a more reasonable price but it was late and I had to get home as soon as possible.

When I arrived home, I washed and sterilized her sippy cup before pouring Gerber - White Grape Juice into it, then I showed her how to use it several times before she got the 'hang' of it. She was so 'fussy'! She could hardly contain her excitement; running up and down the house like a horse that was in the middle of a race at the Garrison Savannah.



She took her 'new' cup and showed it off to everyone who stopped to pay her attention. Which reminds me, I also had purchased Gerber Graduates Puffs - Strawberry Apple (for crawlers), I found that these were too small to be used as a finger food.

This can easily be stuck in the child's throat if swallowed too fast despite the fact they dissolve in the child's mouth. My mom told me to break them up into small pieces (not like powder or grounded chalk) when feeding her thus to make them dissolve faster, I found that I was comfortable with this method. I fed her them and she absolutely loves them! I give her ten pieces every day at 12:30 along with some juice/water.

Oh, oh, oh! Guess what I found? Ximena's infant tag 'bracelet' the nurse put on after I had given birth to her. Its so tiny... :) It really makes me think back to how petite Ximena was.... and to encourage my nostalgia, I reminisced by watching Newborn home videos I made with my blackberry along with browsing through her Newborn photographs I also took with my phone. Sometimes I can't believe I helped create such a beautiful person inside and out, even though Ximena is still a baby has such a vibrant and pleasant personality. She's always laughing, ready to explore and just an overall joy to be around. She's even happier when her stomach is full, her pamper is clean and she has had a bath. :P

 On the topic of growing, Ximena, has out grown yet another pair of shoes. So therefore, when I get paid and I have purchased any pending items on my shopping list.. I shall purchase two or three new shoes for her. She has also outgrown many of her 6-9 month clothing and is currently wearing 9-12 month clothing. My mom bought her a House of Dereon Jeans, which is a tad big, it has no age range on it but I assume its for toddlers 12- 15 months. Despite pants can literally be taken off without being unbutton (that is how big it is), my mom insists that she wears it. She has already worn it three times, I swear my mom is spoiling her rotten.

I've added a couple photos of Ximena wearing the pants along with a spaghetti strap shirt and a pair of slippers for her godmother, Kiira, because if I don't she'll probably murder me in my sleep -ha ha-. I plait her hair in singles, not too tiny and not too big, pretty much average so I could be more versatile whereas styling her hair on a daily basis was concerned. I tried to give Ximena a different hair style that would last longer than the ones I normally give her and it worked! It lasted a WHOLE week -______-, ha ha. Not only did she sleep it out, that little pile of hard-work wrapped up in cuteness undid some of her hair herself by constantly taking her fingers and pulling at her hair. When she was finished, she had a a set of fuzzy, half done curls on her delicate head and a smile on her face. In these photos, my mom was going to visit my grandmother and she wanted to take Ximena along. I opted to stay home and rest, unfortunately I had chores to do and spent the entire day cleaning, washing, cooking and studying.

I'd like to say I'm very proud of my daughter and she makes me very happy. I wouldn't change her for the world and I have no regrets. If i were given the option to do my life over... I wouldnt change my decision to be a mother.

 Being a mother is one of the most important and prestigious roles I have ever played in my life. When I look back at my life a few decades from now, I want to be proud of who I've become and the person I have raised along the way.

(back of Ximena's outfit)

(Ximena's sippy cup)

(Gerber Graduates Fruit Puffs)

Inspirational quote: "If we do not plant knowledge when young it will give us no shade when we are old - Lord Chesterfield"


Signing out,
<3