2014

It's a new year, and along with it comes a lot of new for us.

First off, I have started work last January 6. If there is one thing that 2013 has taught me, it was about being patient and waiting for God's will to happen. He gave me a year to settle down in our new home, a year to be with the kids and just enjoy my family's company.

Being there while Ianna learned how to walk, talk, eat on her own; being there for Ethan to support him throughout his Kindergarten year, go with him to his therapy sessions; all these are precious moments that The Lord has enriched me (and Albert) with.

And He had always provided even if we didn't have work, we still had enough, and didn't feel deprived.

And now He has provided again and answered a prayer to help us find work. Now my year-long vacation has to end because we cannot depend on kuya forever hehe. Ang galing ni Lord, He truly provides and gives what you need in the best time. And I always thank Him for Papa A who is truly the best husband a girl can have because he is a partner in every sense of the word.

So now, I wake up early, go to work through a 1.5 hr train ride, and come home to hugs and kisses from the kids. Bliss! :)

Another new thing for us was our 5-day holiday in the Gold Coast courtesy of kuya Abet :) We all had a great time going to WB Movie World, Sea World, and Wet 'n Wild. I am really glad that we were given this opportunity. Thank you, kuya!

Now, updates...

We've enrolled Ethan in Kumon again, for his Math. He had his IQ test last December and he was classified as gifted. He had an IQ range of 122-132. He had Very Superior skills in reading, comprehension, pseudo word decoding and spelling. His math skills are average but mostly because according to the psychologist, he was hesitant when he saw the numbers and she didn't push him anymore because he was getting tired.

His classes will start on the 29th of January and he'll be in Year 1. His Kindy teacher informed us to bring his test results and discuss with his teacher on how we can help him in his classes. It is important to constantly challenge him otherwise, he'll just "muck around" because he'll get bored. That's one thing that's good with his school, they are aware of this and are extending children when needed to help them achieve as much as they can.

As for the little girl, she can now identify some colors:
Boo = blue
Peek= pink
Nani = yellow (because she calls bananas nani, which are yellow so...)

She can say Hi and Bye. She can do wacky shot now, mostly with her tongue out and arms spread out. She knows some of the Backyardigans:
Papo = Pablo
Tasha = Tasha :)
Me = Uniqua (because she likes Uniqua, she's pink)
Tico = Austin (because he's purple and has a tail, like Tico, Dora's squirrel friend)
She doesn't know Tyrone, though hehe.

Me: how old are you?
Ianna: two!
Me: how are you?
Ianna: two!

Hehehe

Cheechee= chichirya, pretzels
Choochoo= train

She' maarte, I know she didn't get that from me! She gets really excited when we ask her to choose her clothes (which is almost always the Dora one), and takes so long I choosing which shoes to wear. She does wacky shots now, mostly with her tongue out and arms spread wide.she loves posing with her hats, necklaces, bracelets, sunglasses. Maarte nga!

She now knows the concept of "mine!" So her toys are now "mine!" And sometimes even kuya Ethan's and that's when the kulitan begins. But kuya dotes on her, she's really the baby, and sometimes acts like a brat. But we don't let that slide. She gets time outs now for those really naughty time. And she knows, and hates it, and cries all throughout the 2 minutes. But she understands why.

We've also started toilet training, as she prompted it. Much like with Ethan, we just wait until e she's ready. For two days now, she's been doing the number 2 on the loo (using kuya Ethan's Thomas the Train booster seat)!

I guess that's it for now. Oh yeah, we reached our 1 year milestone last Monday (13th January). How time flies! Just looking at Ethan, sometimes I find it amazing that we have a 6-year old who's starting to really push his independence. But as I always tell them, no matter what their age, they will always always be our babies!