The Pursuit of Happiness: 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.