Greener Grass

Most of the baby books I've read say that this time, at 11 months, Baby 2's capable of parallel play. That means he can contentedly play alongside his Ate Lois, though not interacting, just playing separately but beside each other.

My observation is that Baby 2, at this stage, is already envious. Whatever his Ate Lois is holding, he wants to grab for himself. The grass is always greener on Ate Lois' side. Unfortunately, Lois already has preferences and she holds onto them STRONGLY. I've hammered into Lois that as the big sister, she should take care of Baby 2. No hitting in any part of the body. I've been greatly impressed at how she sticks to this. I see her kissing and embracing Baby 2, insisting with the nannies which are Baby 2's, very much the big sister. There are times though when she's overwhelmed herself and these are when the nimble strikes get through. The nannies would quickly reprimand her, this is when I would come into the picture, and offer her a new bottle of milk or some finger food. Then when she's away from Baby 2, I would remind her of her big sister role again. I get irritated sometimes too, same way with Lois. She need not be scolded immediately, but appreciated more when she does what is right, especially towards her baby brother.


Playgroups and Baby activity classes

There is no exaggerating how much Lois appreciated Gymboree. She is not enrolled there, but she once attended a party held there and she was so HAPPY. Almost everything around her instantly had a Gymboree flavor. So we would take her to playgrounds as much as we can. Oh how she loves them, especially the slides.

Last Saturday, they went to Snow World at the Star City in Manila. Entrance fee was P160 for all age groups, but that is exclusive of the Star City rides. Since they were just after the snow experience, Ma Dahls, who made this a treat for Daddy Paul's 30th birthday, didn't allow for the rides anymore. I could tell Lois loved it equally. Everything that had snow is Snow World.

They all seemed to enjoy the treat, except for Daddy Paul who caught some tummy aches for no apparent reason. (He says it must be the shellfish I served him.) He also thinks Star City should provide a in-between room that's just cold enough before the entrance to freezer cold Star World. The winter jackets provided free are still not enough, he thinks.

Playgroups and classes do not fit into our budget yet, so occasional trips like these would do for now. The Sunday school sessions she has would be enough to prepare her for pre-school. It's all educational videos also, so she's learning her alphabet, numbers and shapes. Hopefully, the happy, unstressed home we provide for them both will prepare her for 2010, when she starts attending Meridian International Learning Experience.



Growth Spurt
It seems that Lois is in a growth spurt stage. Yes, she's still a baby so growth is really normal. But this phase happens so fast, that's why it's tagged the name. Her clothes and shoes do not fit the way they do last week. Aside from that, the 2 out of 3 signs are clear:

1.She feeds more often now, asking for two bottles of milk in a row.
2.She sleeps longer. No more trouble sending her to bed, she will just lie on the bed and sleep. Morning times, we are all up, Baby 2 always being the first to wake, and she's left hugging the pillows.
3.Crankier or clingier than usual even if not ill. Thankfully, she's not like this.

Baby 2's first words:

dedede
mama

Baby 2's pearly whites: 3