Pinay Mom on Motherhood, Etc.

I love hearing the sound of Angel’s laughter.  It’s so crisp with innocence and it sounds so full of joy.  I wish I could freeze each frame as he rolls in glee — I might even make his laugh into a ringtone, just so I have it whenever I want to smile.  It’s one of those things that you wish you can save for posterity and hope to one day show him when he’s a grown man.

They grow up so fast, everyone tells me, and I’m beginning to see that happening to my little boy.  I love the way he wants to put his arms around my neck as we lie in bed face to face when he sleeps.  Sometimes he would even take my face by both hands and make sure I’m facing him and pull my face close to his.  I guess it’s his way of keeping warm, although he doesn’t like blankets even when it’s cold.

Such music to my ears!

We had lunch with our Swiss friend, Andrinna, and her Japanese-Chinese boyfriend, Jimmy, at a Filipino restaurant today.  We wanted to introduce them to Filipino food and what better place to bring them than to Dragonfly on 7th Avenue in Manhattan.  We took Angel along zsordered his favorite tinola.

He was as loquacious as ever!  He seems to want to talk about everything he sees and hears which is really encouraging.  Sometimes I can feel his frustration at not having all the words to communicate his thoughts to me, so I try to help him with the conversation.  It is just so refreshing to hear him trying to make conversation. 

Even as we went around the West and Greenwich Village proper, he kept mumbling and talking.. it was unbelievable!  I cannot imagine the things that go on in his tiny head, but I know that he is growing up appreciating everything around him in a very different way. 

Even if he’s doing babytalk, Angel is trying very hard to make conversation about everything he does, and the shows or movies he watches.  I try to keep the conversation going by pretending I can understand what he’s saying.  I can see he knows I am trying to ask him and he tries to tell me more each time.  I know that soon, I will actually start wishing he wouldn’t talk as much — or maybe I won’t.

Seeing him develop into a person all his own in front of my very own eyes is fascinating.  I’m not even bothering with whether or not he is at par with his peers.. I am just so happy to see him growing at his own pace.

Christmas has always been a favorite time for me.  It’s become more special with each year, more so since Angel came into my life.  He was all awed by the lights on the Christmas tree that he didn’t want us turning on any lights besides the christmas lights adorning the windows and the tree.  It was lovely, but we have to start preparing for dinner.

For some reason he’s decided he’s sleepy so he asked us to move to the bedroom.  I know he’s being extra malambing (affectionate) and sometimes I feel like indulging him might be spoiling him rotten, but then I can’t help it.  He loves to climb onto my lap and just have me carry him like he was a smaller baby.  It’s a little difficult considering how big he’s become, but he can now snuggle up to me and he curls into a small ball that’s just so irresistable to hug.

So I’ve started surfing online for the gifts we’re going to give him.  For the first time, I’m all for Christmas stockings that we will fill with stuffers by Christmas eve.  I’ve been scouting for some nice ones and I might settle for the ones currently selling at a drugstore nearby.  We didn’t use to have Christmas stockings but now that Angel is here, they somehow feel like something we just MUST have.  I can think of a dozen things I can put in his stockings so that makes it all the more imperative that we get them soon!

Crossposted on Pinay NewYorker and Pinay Francophile 

Before Angel was born in May 2008, Alan would send me postcards whenever he went on a business trip, and then we would send postcards home when we were together as part of a special way of chronicling our journeys so to speak.  When Angel arrived, we started sending the postcards to him.  It was because we missed him dearly when he wasn’t with us, and when he was with us, the trip took on a deeper meaning.

We want him to be inspired by the places we visited while at the same time providing him a journal of how much his Papa and Mama loved him.  During this special trip to Paris end-November, I sent him a postcard from every place of note we visited, and I sent home a total of 14 postcards. 

Rest your mouse on the thumbnail and you will be able to read the title on each postcard.  Click on the thumbnail and you will be taken to my PinayFrancophile Friendster account where you will see a bigger version of the thumbnail and a text of the dedication.

These are photos of the actual postcards and not scans.  If the frame seems skewed, it’s because it is.