Vintage weekend: Milestone

There was a time, not so very long ago, when this was a huge milestone, indeed.
Being able to 'stand' on her feet, even if it's not quite really standing standing.
And today she's already climbing walls and sofas and the steep slope behind the house.

Here's to cheer for even more milestones in the future.

{this moment}

via Soule Mama
A single photo ~ capturing a moment I want to pause, savor, remember.

Have a good weekend!

THE photo

Kecil's Skool conducted a school photo session a while back, the result of which we finally received this week.
It was a real cause for joy, around here, no little part due to Kecil's reaction to the Photo.

She, ah, recognize clearly herself, especially in the individual photo,
And had immediately staked a claim of ownership to the said article,
Much to the ... despair of Mama, who was already thinking of logistics of sharing the article with the rest of the family back home.
Kids, as you all know, are not the gentlest creatures when it comes to most inanimate object
A sheet of photo?
Oh... it can be torn, folded, drooled upon...
And all these can happen before I get to show it to the family?
Oh no, Kiddo, you're gonna get this Mama murdered.

So, the photos was instantly framed upon reaching home using some spare frames Mama happen to have. Voila!

Framed and placed at its own place of honor

The story did not end there, as Kecil re-staked her claim, and chose a place of honor for the said framed picture of herself!



So... if I move back a bit from the photo to give you a better view of the 'place of honor', here's what I get:

THIS is where it's going to be, Mama, and it's staying here

The frame is right next to the staircase, just about her height, all 94cm of her. Yup!

And next to it?
Apparently the installation also came with a little demon who would prevent pesky Mama's from trying to move the frame. Ahem.
She can think ahead, that kid.
I have to admit that.

Maybe this one below will give you a better perspective?
See the little Demon? She's so not budging anywhere, I tell you!

And this is after I took that first picture up there of the frame.
Mama got shoo-ed away. Hmmm....

Sunday is...

Checking out the flowers

... not really a day for regular posts, because Sunday is special.
... is a day when everybody is at home, from morning till night, no school, no work, no nothing

So... it is a day for play, for rest, for experimenting, for the odd job out
For things to do that can be shared during the week, like the following (yet another Sunday's) photoshoot:

And since Sunday is the day for the odd jobs around the house, Sunday was the day when we had the curtains on the drying line, perfect for some play with the Little One, and a photoshoot:

We do love our crazy hot, lazy Sundays around here. How about you? Do you have any special activities lined up for your Sundays?

Vintage weekend: Smiles

Just because there are just days when we need more smiles then other days...

June 09: crawling

Feb 09: drooling

Dec 08: peeping

Nov 08: laughing

It's been a pretty tough week around here.
So with all the smiles, wishing all of us a better week next week.
Have a good weekend!

during late afternoon walks...

We do get to see quite a few things on our daily walks,

We see long shadows...

Some treasure that Kecil insisted Mama pick up...

But most interestingly, Mama's been encountering a certain cute little man,

Who smiled, and said Hi, and really made Mama smile...

Wearing his traditional head gear....

Just one thing, though. His face is blue.

Have you spot him yet?

Boo!

(Thank you GramMa. This Mama sure loves that hat. Hahaha.....)

must be nice to be little....

Notice the sudden sleuth of sleeping baby lately?
Ahem.. yeah, thought so. There was this, this, this... oh... this one too, and of course, GrandMa's favorite.
And those are just from this month alone! Not inclusive of those older posts (trust me, you'll find many more)

But, well... she makes such a beautiful subject while sleeping, I simply can't resist
And therefore, just for the fun of it, we'll just go the whole lock, stock and barrel, just for today...
Then we will try to focus on other things for the rest of the month..
No promises, though.

In the mall

Oh, and before I forgot, this post is also inspired by a comment from Daddy.
The other day, after a long, tiring day, Kecil simply fell asleep in the car, on Mama's lap.
And Daddy said, isn't it nice to be little? You can sleep just almost anywhere.
Indeed, Daddy, indeed.
And it doesn't take a lot of things. Sometimes just a pram, a bottle of milk, Mama's arm... and she's good.

In the airplane, half standing up

On the sofa, half sitting up

On the bear

And some other older photos, maybe previously never shared....

On the bed, a once-upon-a-time favorite position

In Mama's arm, just recently bald

In the car, in Mama's arm

And a side note, just for all of you doubting Thomas out there, these are all photos of the same baby, the baby that I have always talked about here. She did look THAT adorable back then, as she still does right now.

learning from the Little One

Some days might feel like it is totally not your day,
Things do not go well, refuse to be fixed no matter how hard you try,
Uncomfortable, sad, hazy, sleepy.... Ugh!

And you feel like crying...
Turn back in time to that moment in childhood,
When a kiss and a hug can make everything well and good once again

Instead, because you are no longer a kiddo,
You just have to slog on, carry on, persevere, be strong
Although secretly, all you want to do is SCREAM!!!

(ahem, like this...)

(Oh, dear)

Well... just take it slow. Take a deep breath. Focus on one thing at a time.
Just remember.... THIS, too, will pass.
Just be patient, turn to that deep well of peace within you, and  you know you can do it.
And if you really can't, a good rest might be in order, just so you can recharge
Regain your energy, your focus...
and maybe, just maybe, the world would look somewhat better at the other side of the tunnel.

Good luck!

This is dedicated to all of you who are maybe having some hardship, crazy working hours, crazy people at work. Whatever crazyness the world throw at you, do remember that somewhere out there, this Little Girl is also learning, to cope, to persevere, to live....

We all have these days once in a while. Go on. It's OK to scream. And don't forget not to ignore yourself. Take care. We hope that we've managed to bring a smile in the midst of crazy days. Love.

afterwards....

Sometimes it's not really what you got on the V-day itself,
But rather, what you are left with the day after....

We do hope you had a great day yesterday. Looke what I got the day after:

Mama dreaming...

This Mama is lost for words
I think the pictures say it all, about the future lying ahead, the path in front of you, the shadows to fill,
These are indeed the stuff that any Mama's dreams are made of
What you are going to be, how we are going to achieve that, the things that you are going to do...

Just know this for sure, my Little One
I'll be right behind you, watching you, dreaming for you
Knowing that it will all be all right, and you'll be safe and sound, and happy and content
Because those are the things that I would wish for you
Whatever you do, wherever you are, no matter how big or how small you are

Follow your dreams, follow your heart, because one day, these are the things that will bring you home

Inspired by a sentiment

Because friendship too, is a special kind of love....

Thinking of all our loved ones today, and moments that make them so special...

the best camera is....

The next Taylor Swift?

... the one that you have with you.

Because moments happen as and when they happen,
And there are times when you are already bogged down with a dog and two screaming little girls,
All running in different directions,
And you know, as fantastic your big camera is,
There is no way on earth you are going to carry it around with you while dealing with the said objects

And so you settle with whatever you have, the ugly camera phone,
or the slow camera phone,
or the off kilter smaller camera,
Just so you don't miss "the moment"
The smile, the connection, the gesture...

And pray that the photoshop God (or Picnik for the less capable mortals) would be able to do its wonders,
an transform the mediocre image into something worth remembering, something worth keeping

 

Vintage weekend: Sentiment

Mama....

Even before Mama got serious with this blog...
Even before Kecil learned how to speak...

I guess Kecil thought Mama spent too much time in front of the computer,
And she so let Mama know about how she felt.

As for now? Well... that's why she goes to school, right? So Mama can spent time in front of the computer without her Hmm Hmm-ing behind. Hehehhe...

new wall art & other knicks knacks

Have I mentioned that we've got some sort of a new wall art?
Well, we do, and we are loving it to pieces. Just take a look at it:

Our New Wall Art

Why it's Kecil's art's and craft results from Skool, of course! Isn't it exciting?
Kecil has been coming home with the occasional pieces of art that she did in Skool.
And we love it!

From the artless, full to the brim enthusiasm to tell Daddy about her latest work,
To the careful effort to declare her work (me thinks Yellow is her current favorite color, currently pronounced as Lolo)
To the careless abandon with which she threw the said object all over the house once she was done showing off and declaring the piece. Ahem.
Which brought us, of course, to the point of the wall art, to save those precious pieces,
At least until we found better ways to keep them.

For those of you who might fret 'so little after so many weeks in skool?', fret not.
She has quite a few, just not all convenient pieces to be pasted as wall art.
Such as this one:

"Lolo" octopus made of kitchen towel roll

(You can see one of my favorite photo of the artist behind the "Lolo" octopus)

Then there are also these:

Alligator (?) and pasta necklace

Kecil actually came home that day wearing the pasta necklace. I love it!

We do realize that Kecil actually starts school earlier than both her parents, but I think she enjoys it, and we are happy with that.
And all these real, tangible result of her doings in school? Icing on the cake!
We are happy with the Skool, and we hope that Kecil will continue to grow and enjoy herself in the Skool.

We are very sure that she has already benefited from her schooling. Just look at the latest thing she did to her poor Minnie:

Drawing on Minnie's shoes?

Ahem, we are not blaming the Skool for this. We consider this as... ahem, positive influence. Ya?

close ups

 

 

Just because....

My muses, my entertainment, my inspiration...
Sources of my everyday hardships, sources of my everyday joy
Causes of my everyday exasperation, causes of my everyday laughter

I am keeping these firmly in my mind, as I sigh and jump again into the fray that is the everyday life

Oh, but such a beautiful life it is
And how could it not be, with such beautiful muses?

the aggrieved party

For all the grumblings and the yawning and the rushed morning routines related to Kecil Skool,
Apparently there is still one more who is unhappier still about the whole thing,
And boy, she was showing her grief big time!

Just the other day, we came home (right on one of Mama's slightly not well day, no less), to find these:

The Ami doll, just because her curly hair looks like Ami's

Not on the pretty white cloth, of course.. more like... scattered on the floor. Ahem.
And there was Mama, hoping that she could hide the pieces before Kecil took notice.
Yeah right. No such luck. Kecil noticed the pieces immediately.
In fact, she was the one who found the rest of the body, which I was vainly trying to find while cleaning the rest of the pieces.

Oh the tears, the quivering lips, and the frail wail that ensued....
So broke my heart I have no more heart to do anything to the culprit save for an if-look-can-kill kind of glare.
And since Mama was feeling slightly off that day (and therefore incapable of dealing with high street theatrics) she resorted to distraction, by way of opening the Barbie meant for Kecil's 3rd birthday there and then. Ahem.
Of course, proper precaution have been taken to prevent a similar fate to the Ami doll.
Barbie's current permanent home (at night and when the dog is alone in the house) is the upstairs cabinet, the one the Dog can't reach.

Yet another day, we came home and went upstairs to find the whole toilet paper roll in the bathroom unrolled messily on the bathroom floor.
And half eaten pampers in front of the bathroom door.
No picture of these, not because it was gross (it was not, really),
But with the Kid shouting on top of her lungs "Eann'y! BAD!" non stop, I have other priorities than going downstairs to take the camera and take photos.

The Dog, begging for snack

I suppose maybe we should shower the Dog with attention. Maybe she is jealous.
After all the morning rush she has to witness, all she got was a few hours left alone in the house, less time to play, less attention given.
Even with the daily walks, it sure seem paltry compared to the heaps of attention bestowed on the Little One. Especially when the said walk usually serve a dual purpose of exercising both the Kid and the Dog.
I suppose we are still figuring this out. In the meantime, the Dog continues to act.
Running away and getting dirty every chance she got.
Oo, she's getting LOTS of shower nowadays.

Waiting for shower. Can't you see the mud on her coat?

Her latest victim? Ha, my brush.

Half-chewed brush, courtesy of the Dog

Oh dear.
Well, wish us luck. In the meantime, Mama needs to repeat this mantra.
Close the bathroom door when you leave. Close the bathroom when you leave.