puzzles

Hubby bought a Lightning McQueen 12-piece jigsaw puzzle for Jove a few months ago. He bought it just because Jove liked the picture so much. One day, Jove tried the puzzle and got hooked. Now he have about 7 puzzles and one puzzle book (with 5 puzzles inside) that he regularly do. Like a hobby!


For the 12-piece puzzles, he does not need any help. But for the 30-piece and 48-piece puzzle, we need to help him sort out the side pieces to be done first. After a few tries, usually he would start to remember the places.


Being a firstborn, Jove always surprise us with his interest. I googled about puzzle and children development afterwards, it turned out that puzzles aid children hand-eye coordination and the development of memory. Jove plays with his puzzles daily and just in three or four days he can usually do his puzzle without any help in the initial sorting. He even can place the middle pieces at their correct places out of his memory. It's really fun to see him do the puzzles. :)

cycling

We have used this for a few months as a replacement for our morning walks.

The red plastic kid-seat was my youngest sister's. Mom used it to carry her around while doing errands (going to the wet market, picking my other sister from school, etc). Dad found it in the store room, cleaned it, repainted the rusty iron, and there! Jovan has a new hobby! Hehe...

When Jove sits on the red seat, his hair will touch my nose. I could smell his hair, kiss his head, and whisper to him the names of the objects that we see.

In the mornings, when the warm rays of the sun touch our backs, we would ride around the blocks. The cool breeze, the morning activities of the neighbors, the wet road, the swaying trees, and Jove's delight. I enjoy every second of our cycling together!

Nowadays, Jove always wants to wear his blue cap while cycling to shade his eyes from the sun (so I could no longer smell his hair). And now, it is he who says everything that we see. The black car that passes, the big dog, the butterfly, the location of our Sunday school, our new home, the trucks, and all other things.

He's changing and growing all the time. Sometimes it's difficult for me to keep up! :)

Caterpillar on the flower

We found this caterpillar two days ago. It was sitting on a leaf in my neighbor's pink flower plant when I took Jove out to breathe in some fresh air.


I took a picture of it this morning. We visited the caterpillar often during the two days. But this afternoon, it was missing. This evening, when we waited for daddy outside, Jove said that the caterpillar was sleeping being cradled by his mother. I was quite disappointed when I found it gone. I was hoping to see its metamorphosis into a beautiful butterfly.

Thanks to you, La, for The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Jove asked me to read the book to him after each visit to the caterpillar.

draw cars!

Jove is always asking us to draw cars and trucks and motorcycle and tractors (and the like) since he could talk. At first, we wasted lots of papers for the drawings and his scribblings. Then when the pen/marker/crayons started roaming to the sofa and the floor, grandpa bought him the magnetic doodle.

Jovan loves to spend a lot of time drawing. At first, just squiggly lines, wriggly circle, well... abstract drawing. Then one day, he started practicing to draw something, like a car. He would start with a horizontal line, then he would add two circles... like the base of the car drawn from the side. After a few days doing that, well, maybe a week or so, he dramatically changed!

One fine day, he surprised us all by really drawing a car!


He'll make a big squarish circle (most of the times in the shape of a van), add two wheels (or more), and a window. If he says it is a taxi, he will add something at the top (for the taxi sign), if it is a jeep, he'll add the extra wheel at the back. Trucks will be bigger with more wheels. Racing cars will be short and flat. It is amazing to watch him draw! :)

Children. Is. Amazing.

babble bubble

(u)dah, mama, papa, bapak, mbak, bu, mau, yuk, nggak, ya, hloo, no, car, truck, bus, tank, (ru)mah, (i)tu, (i)ni, (thank) you, ama, xie xie, (helicop)ter, (nya)muk, kena, enak, suka, (can)tik, (je)lek, star, bubble, (wa)ter, main, down, up, fly, sky, buah, nenen, (sam)pah, hiiii, idih, aduh, (sa)kit, (ko)dok, bebek, duck, cow, lucu, buka, pok pok (horse), mamam

I might have missed several words, but those words are roughly his vocabulary now. He learned to say 80% of them in the last two months. He really shows God's amazing work in him. I am constantly amazed at the rate he learned things, the way he mastered the language, remember songs, do new things... Whew. Being a parent is the greatest blessing ever... and with a great blessing comes a great responsibility.

After dinner tonight, Jove saw kueh ku (the red turtle-like Chinese snack, made of ketan, with green bean filling) on the table and said he wanted it. He took the package, gave it to me, asked me to open it, then he sat down politely on the floor. After he finished, he actually got up, took the plastic package (now empty), toddled to the rubbish bin, and put the thing nicely into the bin without any prompting from anyone. I just watched him doing that and filled with pride, joy, and gratitude.

After that, I went around the house announcing the great deed he just did to everyone. Haha.

on his own

Jovan stopped walking on his own after he fell down a few weeks ago. Before that, he managed to walk a few steps forward for two days. He finally had the courage to walk on his own again on August 21st, in the afternoon. That day, he walked in straight lines for a few metres. The next day, he managed to turn right and left and even turn around without toppling down. I guess he really waited until he was sure he could walk before trying walking on his own.

Today he has covered the whole house and the front yard. He loves to walk to the water dispenser when he thinks that nobody notice (of course somebody is always keeping an eye on him). He likes to stand on the base of the standing fan, holding on the pole, and switching the fan on and off. He has tried to open almost every cupboard that he could get his hand into, climbing up and down the chair, and running out from the house when the front door was open. We got busier with him around now.

Last Friday, Jove asked for 'more' when he has finished his bowl of rice. And today is the first time he asked for his dinner! Maybe he was hungry and he asked me to feed him. Usually he asked for breastmilk, so it was a nice surprise that he could do that.

Goodness, I'm not really prepared for all these new developments of him. They happened in such a short time. Every single day he learned some new things or some new words and most of the times that happened my heart bursts with joy. :)

The picture above was taken this afternoon when we let him play on the grass again. Grandma put the flowers and asked him to pray, my sister took the picture. Parents should be thankful for digital cameras. I could not imagine how much money we would spent on films to take perfect (not blurred) pictures of the constantly-moving kid.

boys will be boys

Jove's pose when watching soccer or car race on TV. He can sit still and watch quietly for several minutes longer than if he watches or does anything else.

His favorite toys are cars, trucks, buldozers, helicopters, airplanes, ... you get the idea. And he has shown this keen interest on those things since he was about six months old! By twelve months, before he could walk, he could differentiate car, truck, and bus on the road. He'll say tar, tak, and bas (all rhymes with car) while pointing at correctly said vehicle.

I've read in some books that a child liked his/her gender related toys (boys like cars, and girls like dolls) just because the parents exposed him/her to those toys more. But I don't agree. I did gave Jovan some of my old dolls to play, showed him flowers and other girly things, but he didn't seem to be interested.

as he walks

Jovan started to walk on his own yesterday. He is pretty careful in his learning to walk. Mom said that all of her four daughters (me and my sisters) were daring enough to walk/run from one point to another when we were still unable to walk properly. Jove actually took his sweet time to master his steps and refused to practice walking on his own previously.

Yesterday night, at my in-law's, I witnessed my little cherub walking into the room, all on his own, from the door where his father was standing. With a wide, big, cheerful smile on his face, he toddled into my embrace, on his own, not holding on anything or anyone.

Boy, I couldn't even describe how my feelings were at that point. Happy, excited, proud, yet I felt some sort of fleeting sadness. Soon, he will let go of my hand (and refused to be held) when he walks and runs in this big big world.

Do you, mothers, feel the same?

nine month development

Jove changed so fast these past two weeks. He managed to sit by himself one or two days before he turned nine months, now he's already an expert. Pulling himself up to standing position and crawling are also his expertise now. I can not let him out of sight in his awake moments. He wants to go everywhere and touch everything.

Now he looks and pays more attention to the direction or object I point at. He is fascinated by animals, especially fish. He can tell us if he want something by moving his whole body towards the thing and saying uh-uh-uh... and crying loudly if we move away from the wanted thing. He loves to open the freezer and touch the cold ice inside it. He likes to walk in the baby walker and play with the tricycle. The only time he wants to stay still in his stroller is when we walk him outdoor.

He has three teeth now. Two front lower teeth and one front upper tooth. The other one of the front upper teeth is coming out, two weeks after its twin. My mom said the two usually came out together. I've noticed that the upper gum at the sides of the front teeth is swollen, maybe some major teething is coming. The lil guy is usually cranky in his teething period, my cousin said it could be due to the size of his teeth, which is big.

Umm, what else? Oh, it's somehow difficult for him to fall asleep nowadays. A few months ago, I could plop him on the bed with a bolster and a pacifier and he would sleep. As easy as that. Now, he wants to be breastfed or rocked in the sling to sleep. It takes hours too to make him sleep at night. *sigh*

About two weeks ago, I noticed that he covered his face with a blanket. I said peek-a-BOO! He pulled the blanket off his face and smiled. Since then, he enjoys playing peek-a-boo with anyone. Nice surprise for all of us. :)

toddle toddle toddle

Aaah, finally finding time to write again! This last week has been hectic. Jove and the parents are entering a new phase as he manages to scoot around the bed easily, grab things, and stand up on his own (while holding on something). I have to watch him really close now. Within the week he has bumped his head hard against the furniture twice, cried hard, and had a swollen bump near his left eyebrow for two days. I, of course, got a long scolding from his grandmother.


Anyway, we went for his measles vaccination last week. The pediatrician announced him to be healthy. Thank God, that's what matter the most. :) He is 9.9kg now. Actually we expected him to exceed 10kg as he was 9.5kg three months ago on his six-month check up. But the pediatrician said that the increase was normal at this age, we would not want him to be a giant, would we?

Jove's nap schedule is also changing now. He is able to stay awake longer and requires only two naps a day, usually he needed three. Still very difficult to fall asleep at night, though. The father has tried to tire him phisically when he came home from work and I've tried to do boring things nearing his bedtime to no avail. After a few minutes latching sleepily on the breast, he would wake up and roam the bed, play with this and that, stand up, then get cranky. I would latch him to the breast again, pat him, and hoping for him to sleep, only to have him wake up and repeat the routine for two or three more times before finally fall asleep.

I could not believe only nine months have passed since I gave birth, Jovan seemed to grow so fast from tiny newborn to chubby baby to active roaming child. Yet I feel that this nine months have passed so swiftly I haven't had time to really sit down and enjoy all the moments.

I'm full of excitement right now, thinking that in a few months time my baby will start walking and talking and I would spend my waking moments chasing him and answering his questions... uh oh... will I have the energy to do all that?

Being a mom is opening your life to paradoxical milestones. Something that excites you can also be something that you dread. You can be happy and sad at the same time. Every milestone that your child achieves will feel your heart with pride and anguish. You're getting nearer to your goal of raising your child to be a person, yet that would mean you're getting nearer to the time your child moves out from your home.

...

Oops, I think I've been too sentimental writing all this. Ha ha. Come on, Jovan is only 9 months old and I'm thinking of him moving out of the house?

Blame it on the mommy hormones.

jovan - 9 months

Jove grew so much hair in the last month.


I can even style his hair.


Afro. :)


Okay, this was my attempt to see Jove with hair. Ha ha.


Anyway, hubby smsed me in the morning, "Today Jove is 1.5 years old." I replied that he made a mistake in typing.

Hubby said that Jove has been with us for 1.5 years. 9 months in the womb, 9 months outside.



Definitely the best 1.5 years in our life.

mama, mama, mama

He had said it pretty often in these three days as an attempt to call for help.

:D

another teething

Jove has been restless for two days now. Very difficult to get him to sleep and he started biting me while feeding again. I suspect that the upper front teeth are coming out. Poor baby.

eight months

I did not realized that two days ago, Jove turned 8 months old. Only eight months have passed since he came out, yet I feel I've loved him forever.

He has two lower teeth, a sweet sweet smile, and super loud cry the instant he wants something. He is more of a toddler than a baby now.

His crib has been turned into a playpen now. Looking at him sitting inside it, playing by himself, made me feel somewhat happy and also sad. Hmm, must get used to this mommy feeling and just be grateful for this wonderful miracle God has planted in my care.

where's the baby?

Jove loves to stand up (with support) nowadays.

the way he sleeps

the little swimmer

Little Jove loves swimming. He just got the swimming suit from my beloved cousin and we had a blast at the pool.

Fifth time swimming, he smiled for the second time in the pool. We even tried sliding down the slide in the kiddy pool, Jove cried two seconds after we splashed into the pool. But after a hug with a pat-pat on the back, he quickly stopped and continued to enjoy the water.

Planning to swim weekly now.

visit to the pediatrician

Third Hepatitis B vaccination today. Jove is 9.5 kg, 69 cm, no lag in physical development, and healthy. The pediatrician commented that people could break their back just by carrying my baby. He also wondered if his needle could enter the chubby thigh.

As always, Jove is the only baby exclusively breastfed among the babies in the waiting room. This far, after about seven visits to the pediatrician, several meetings with mothers at the shopping malls, parks, or restaurants, I've only met two other mother who gave exclusive breastmilk to their babies.

another first

Jove pooed succesfully in the toilet today. I hold him while he sat on the kiddy seat that grandma bought him.

Yay!

learn to reach

Jove is learning to reach things. He is quite a big baby for his age (9kg, 5mos) and it is quite difficult for him to shift his body forward. He took quite sometime to learn rolling to his tummy and back, slower than other babies his age.

I just hope that he will never forget this intense determination in reaching things outside his hand-reach when he tries to reach his dreams someday.