Charly's "25".

As originally posted in Facebook's ubiquitous '25'...here is Charly's version, for all her godparents, aunts, uncles and close friends of mom and dad as she turns 3 today:

1. I like music and always check to make sure mom has Hi-Five or Disney's Fresh in the car's CD player or Ipod.

2. I sleep with the scent of aromatherapy oils from Body Shop (preferably peppermint or grapefruit) and background music of Vivaldi, Bach, Tschaikowsky. Sometimes I request for Benny Goodman and Miles Davis. I also like John Mayer, the Beatles, Billy Joel, and old school rap music. I also love when dad puts on Elton John (Bennie & the Jets) during bathtime. My dad is the coolest, he downloads all sorts of music for me.

3. I'm a leftie.

4. I LOVE books and literally grew up in the kids section of Fully Booked. It's cool that the staff know me by name so my mommy knows where to find me if I run off on my own. Recent book favorites include all things Eric Carle, Dr Seuss books, Maisy (I love that the alligator's name is Charley), Madeleine (I can memorize "In an old house in Paris, covered in vines..."), and Billy Crystal's I Already Know I Love You.

5. My favorite shoes are my baby blue Crocs with Dora, Blue, and Mickey Mouse jibitz on them. Sometimes I'll wear my red Mary Jane Crocs or black Converse hi-tops but only if mom and dad ask really really nicely :)

6. Mom and Dad say I take pretty decent photos (hey, I'm three!) with my kids VTech digicam and our Olympus point and shoot.

7. I wear my baseball caps with their backside to the front.

8. I love pumpkin soup. Especially from Cibo, Press Cafe and Claw Daddy's.

9. I love munching on breadsticks. I like eating Nestle Strawberry yogurt and FIC Butterscotch ice cream!

10. I like bathing with Johnson's Baby Top to Toe Body Wash but prefer Nivea Baby Body Lotion after a bath.

11. My mommy is Filipina. My dad is South American. Although I'm a Philippine-born American citizen, I've got a smattering of Spanish, Portuguese, Indian, Japanese and Chinese blood running in me. Just like mom, dad, and Pepe - I'm a mongrel :) Riggs is the only one with a pure pedigree in our household!

12. I love going to the arcade after Gymboree art classes. I always ask teacher to give me a stamp because my mommy says it's what gets us into the arcade.

13. Pepe and Riggs are my brothers in arms.

14. I don't mind going to the dentist. I always ask Dr. Eric if he has free toys to give me at the end of check ups.

15. I love online shopping with mom, especially for books that we can browse through. The best thing about online shopping is that it all arrives in a balikbayan box with lots of other goodies from Gramma Resa that smells like the USA :)

16. I love watching Word World, Bunnytown, Strawberry Shortcake, Hi-Five, My Friends Tigger and Pooh, and of course Dora. I still can't relate to Barbie and the Disney Princesses and my dad thinks that's a good thing.

17. I'm slow to warm up to people, but talk a mile a minute once I do. I'll even share my cookies with you once we're cool.

18. I love love love my ninang Bev :) I think Ninong Mark has more tech stuff than Inspector Gadget. I think ninong Mario is tall as a giraffe. Tito Manolo is cool for liking Elton John and knowing sorts of music trivia. Ninong Raymond rocks for flying that paper airplane smack on that woman's lunch plate at Fely J's. I know one of these days Ninong Louie will change my nappies. I love when my godparents spend time to get to know me...I know I've got lots of others in the States that I haven't met...

19. I can't decide whether I want to be like Michael Phelps (without the drug suspension) or Dr Cheng when I grow up. Hmm. Sports star or doctor?

20. I get my hair trimmed at Kids Hair in Rustan's. Only Gio or Rustom will do.

21. I'm cheap with my kisses and hugs and only give them to people I really do know.

22. I like cupcakes!

23. I love the impressionists. I know Monet from Van Gogh and Matisse and Picasso. My mommy likes Cafe Terrace at Night, I like the Starry Night more. I want to go to the Musee D'Orsay for my 7th birthday.

24. I dearly love a bearwich (that's a group hug with mom and dad and me in the middle).

25. I love seeing babes and gramma resa shake their booty and dance! One day, I'll teach them to do the pretzel twist just like Jojo :)

Happy Birthday, Charly Bear! We love you for all these and so much more...

Favorite Body Parts

No, it's not what you think.

Charly's latest comfort thing, after having outgrown her beloved 'wubbie', is drinking her bedtime milk and either running her hand along my arm or David's beard (well, he doesn't really have one, but she seems to like his stubble or five o'clock shadow).

In her words, it's either "Mom's arm" or "Dad's beard". She looked indignant one time when she rubbed a hand against David's chin only to discover it smooth and stubble-free.

Last night, she actually said "Good night, Dad's beard. Good night, Mom's arm".

It's a good excuse for David and I to snuggle up next to her. She drinks her milk, while scooting up close and rubbing a hand on my arm or David's cheek.

I hope she doesn't outgrow her favorite body parts too soon.

Hopefully Not A Sign of Things To Come

Earlier this evening, I was on the phone with my mom while the hubby was reading Charly a bedtime story.

15 minutes later, Charly comes out of the room looking for me.

Charly (plaintively): "Mom, Dad is asleep."

Me: "What do you mean? He fell asleep while reading to you?"

Charly: "Yeah. He's asleep. Mom, please come inside with me."

I quickly got off the phone, just as the hubby comes out shaking his head at Charly and - come to think of it, at me too for having fallen for Charly's latest scam.

David: "Charly, you said you were just going to give mom a goodnight kiss."

Charly (looking caught): "Oh. haha. I want mom to go inside the room too."

Did she just do what I think she did? She actually conned both parents to get them to do what she wanted.

She knew David would not let her go out of the room just to bug me to come in. And she knew I would not go in without a good reason because she was already supposed to be in bed.

It was cute. We had a good laugh at her sneaky mind and tactics.

A sense of foreboding however tells me that a few years from now we will not be laughing if she pulls something like this on us as a teenager.

A Fish By Any Other Name

Going through a picture book, Charly spots a picture of a fish.

She points to it and says "Fish".

"Pescado".

And for good measure, "Isda".

Our multi-lingual baby. 

Tits

Charly was tucked in for the night and ready for her bedtime story (did I say story? More like stories as we usually have at least half a dozen runs).

"Tits, mom" she says "I want tits".

Flabbergasted, I said "What did you say?"

Charly giggles and pushes a big book of stories at me. "Tits" she repeated clearly as if I was a bit weak in the head. 

I played along, "Well, bear, seeing as how I'm not short in that department, you'll get yours soon enough." Ok, now I was just talking to myself and just tripping out over the funny things kids can sometimes say. But then most new moms have these moments in abundance.

"Dad dad reads tits" she calmly explained to me, making me wonder what they read when I'm away.

I flipped through the big children's stories collection book as she was eagerly grabbing at it. She finally zeroed in on a short story entitled "TITCH". She always did have trouble with her s and tch's. Laughing again, she looked relieved and said "Please read Titch".

Oh. 

Bad mom.

My Baby Can Read

Charly has a number of bedtime stories that she likes us to read to her over and over again. Among her all-time favorites are her Mini Masters board books. 

There are times that David and I read them to her over and over that we can practically memorize them.

However, I was still surprised when she actually started "reading" aloud a "A Magical Day with Matisse" to me. Word for word. The entire small book.

David has been teaching her how to read and I know that babies have a tendency to remember what they hear. Still nothing had prepared me to actually have Charly reading - mostly from memory, some from remembering how certain words look like - an entire book to me.

It was like role reversal. My baby reading to me, instead of me reading to her, as we snuggled up in bed.

Very P.C.

Me:  "Who's mom's baby?"

Charly:  "Toddler, mom. I'm a toddler."

Sniff. She's no longer a baby, and she knows it. 

She's now officially a toddler. And a very politically correct one at that.

Fries by Association

For the first two and a half years of her life, Charly's taste buds were never tainted with junk food. No candy, no chocolates, no cakes and no soda. Certainly nothing from McDonald's.

Until a couple months ago when, out of desperation over her not eating, my mom had given her a french fry.

David and I told ourselves that a fry now and then never killed anyone. 

We never realized just how much she had enjoyed her french fry experience when, just this weekend, while driving to my mom's Charly suddenly said "french fries, french fries".

Since there were no fries around, I asked her where they were.

She pointed across the street to the Golden Arches and said "'donalds...fries...I want some fries".

I'm pretty sure I could hear Ronald McDonald chuckling in the background.

An Impromptu Love Letter

Charly has a habit of knocking on the door to our room, closing it behind her, saying "oh, hi guys". Most times, she does this just to make sure that mom and dad are safely home, then she goes back to her room or goes about her own business playing elsewhere in the apartment.

Sometime last week, David and I left to do some food shopping and left our place while Charly was asleep. When she woke up, she tried to check up on us and was incredibly distraught to discover that the door to our room had been locked.

My mom, who stayed behind with her, sent me frantic SMS messages that Charly was hysterically banging on the door. For some reason, she was convinced that we were in there and were sick or something. Ever the quick-thinking and improvisational grandma, my mom quickly scribbled a short note that read:

Dear CHARLY (her name in bold letters since she can recognize how it's spelled),

We went to the bookstore to pick up some books for you. We will be back in awhile.

Love, Mom and Dad

She read the letter to Charly, who promptly brightened up and kissed the letter. She clutched it in her hand and when we came back home, she had fallen asleep and was still holding the letter some 2-3 hours later.

Something about seeing her asleep with the letter clutched in her chubby fist just made a little 'ping' at my heart.

Coming from a week where David and I were frazzled with errands, chores, and keeping up with the baby, this took all the fatigue away.

The universe is a wonderful thing. Just when you feel rundown, it sends you a little chuck to the chin. Almost like a yo, mama, chin up.

Take my word on this, parenthood may have its trials and tears, but nothing beats being a mommy or daddy when it comes to having surprisingly little feel-good blessings come beaming down your way, uncalled for.

My Entourage

When I was single and used to wake up in the middle of the night - sometimes peckish for a midnight snack, other times just because I couldn't go back to sleep - I would often feel spooked at being alone in the dark.

These days, it doesn't happen anymore.

When I stand up and head for the bathroom or kitchen in the middle of the night, I usually hear Pepe and Riggs shuffling and shifting. Pepe follows me wherever I am headed. Riggs keeps an eye open so he doesn't miss anything. Most times, I have not even finished making the midnight peanut butter and jelly sandwich and I see Charly's little head pop out of the room, calling me "Mom, please come back".

I settle back into bed and sometimes find my whole troop awake, including the hubby.

Sometimes, we all fall back to sleep right away. And sometimes, it turns into an impromptu little family gathering.

Come to think of it, I haven't felt spooked in a long time.

Aah. The little blessings of having your own family.

Olympic Dreams

Charly is at that age where she likes to mimick grown up things. Sometimes she plays 'doctor' to Pepe and Riggs with a plastic stethoscope or plays pretend 'chef' while I cook.

But she has never actually said "I want to be just like that".

Today, David noticed her glued to the TV watching the Olympic games. She was avidly observing Michael Phelps. After seeing him swim, she turned to say "I want to learn to swim just like that, dad".

"I'm going to swim just like that".

And we had never even told her who Michael Phelps was.

The kid sure has an eye for talent.

'Our Song'

I still remember those first few nights when we first brought Charly home from the hospital as a newborn. David took over the night shift like a pro, rocking Charly to sleep and changing her. His song repertoire (an interesting choice ranging from" The Theme from the Greatest American Hero" to the "Mighty Quinn" to "Maniac" from Flashdance which he would sing while changing Charly's nappies and moving her chubby legs up and down in an imitation of Jennifer Beals' leg-warmer clad legs dancing) was definitely more interesting than mine. I mostly drew a blank.

One night, when David was too exhausted to get up and Charly woke up, I couldn't call to mind the lyrics of any infant-appropriate songs. So I winged it. I made up a song that began "You are my bear, my baby bear, my little little baby bear...".

For some reason, it stuck. Everytime I was sleep-deprived and Charly was inconsolable, out popped that song.

These days, thanks to watching Barney and Hi-Five, I have a much wider repertoire of children's songs. But for some reason, whenever Charly is sick or having a nightmare, out pops that little song.

Earlier today when I was sick in bed, Charly woke me up "my baby bear, my little little baby bear..."

She was singing me 'our song' to make me feel better.

Improv Lessons

Scene One

Me (in a singsong voice): It's time to eat!

Charly (predictably): NO!

Me (dangling some noodles from a fork and singing and talking to the noodles): Hi, hello, my name is noodle, would you like to sit and talk today?

Charly (moving forward with a smile and singing too): Hewooo, noodle! Me want some noodles! Hi, hewoo, my name is Charly, would you like to be my friend?

Me (bringing the noodles close to Charly's mouth): Hello, Charly!

Charly (opens mouth wide and munches on noodles): Thank you mom, more noodles pleeeaaaasssseee!

Scene Two

David: It's time for bathie!

Charly: NO!

David: Look, look, the Duckie is swimming in bubbles with Froggie.

Charly: Want to see the duck, the duck...old macdonald had a farm ei-ei-yooowww and on his farm he had a duck!

And in she goes to the tub. The splashing sound of success.

In the immortal words of the Little Einsteins: "mission completion". The hubby and I resist giving each other a high five.

Now who says only actors are good at improvisation?

Channeling My Inner Groupie

David: Did you know that Kathleen got married to that guy from Savage Garden and left in 2006?

Me: She did? No wonder I saw a new girl, Sun, the other day. I didn't like her too much.

David: Oh, and apparently Tim got in a motorcycle accident

Me: Oh, what happened? Let me google it.

No, we weren't talking about cast members of our favorite soap (I think the last time David or I followed the soaps with any regularity was when John Stamos and Demi Moore were in General Hospital. Ok, that just gave away how old we are.).

We were talking about cast members of Charly's beloved show "Hi-5", the Australian children's pop group that had her singing and dancing even before she could walk.

As I googled what's happened with Charly's favorite Hi-5 members (hey, she even mentions Kathlene, Nathan, Kellie, Charli, and Tim in her evening prayer lineup!), I got another one of those OMG, I'm such a mommy moments.

I was googling celebrities.

While I admit to watching the occasional ET weekly and going through People magazine during mani-pedi sessions at Dashing Diva, the last time I actively sought out updates on celebrities was during my Tiger Beat years. Those were the days when Rob Lowe (before the sex scandal) and Andrew McCarthy updates were enough reason for me and my girlfriends to meet up. Common crushes were definitely reasons for girl bonding ( I actually hear that grown women these days still meet up to talk about their favorite Korean pop stars, what's up with that.) I just thought those years were gone.

However, now when we meet other parents who seem to know one Hi-Five video from another, it's like meeting someone who knows a common secret handshake. Almost like an I know you. And if they know the words to the songs in Hi-5 Hits, well then I REALLY want to bond with them and get the kids together for a playdate. Maybe even swap some CDs.

I'm learning that this parenthood thing is like a brotherhood (or sisterhood) in many, many ways.

I have this theory that the number of times a toddler says "NO" from 2-4 years of age will nowhere go near the amount of times she will utter that word for the remainder of her life.

Well, maybe if she lives to be 107 years old like my grandfather, but that's still debatable.

These days, Charly is asserting her independence so much that David and I have barely finished our questions and she's already shooting back a "NO".

On days when her sense of humor is up, she will even do a little dance, singing "No, no, no-no-no...." to the tune of Chaka Khan's "whoa, whoa, wo-wo-woah..." refrain from "I'm Every Woman" (yes, I plead guilty, I taught her that refrain while watching 'Bridget Jones' for the nth time).

We so want her to say "YES". Life would be so much easier. Maybe we would even get to places on time.

Ironically, I know the tables will be turned on us when she hits puberty. Then, David and I will be telling her it's alright to say "NO". No to drugs, no to alcohol, no to sex, no to playing hooky from classes...you get the picture.

Why can't kids just be cooperative and do what we want. OMG, I sound like my mother.

Excuse me while I check my head for graying hair.charl

Head, shoulders, knees and toes...

After a child learns to identify their head, shoulders, knees, and toes...what next?

Well of course their curiosity progresses to other body parts.

Charly now knows that girls have vaginas and boys have penises. Yes, we refused to succumb to calling it pee-pee or wee-wee or some other name that may lead to confusion.

She now proudly tells my mom over the phone that Pepe and Riggs have penises. And, like most kids her age are wont to do, repeats it over and over just to make sure her listener got what she was saying the first time around.

Charly: Pepe has penis, penis, penis.

My mom: What?

Me: She's just saying her dog has a penis.

My mom: Why does she need to say that?

Me: I don't know. Why do kids say anything really? Maybe in case we didn't notice?

Is this listed as an official milestone in the baby books?

I Miss You

It still amazes me how fast toddlers develop. Every day, you get something new out of the little dynamos.

Charly's latest thing, when she sees my mom and dad, is to run to them with open arms and say "I missed you, I missed you".

I was very glad to be around when she first said this phrase, but even more glad that she was not saying it to me.

Because now, I am around her most of the time. And the few times that she does say "I missed you" is only when I have been away a couple of hours to work on some projects. I know that she says it then only out of affection, more than actually missing me a great deal.

I look back and think about how I would have felt if I was still working long hours at the office only to come home to Charly saying "I missed you". It would have poked a hole right through my heart.

More and more, every day, I know I made the right decision in choosing family over career at this point in Charly's life.

Mamma Mia!

Funny how the same movie, seen at different stages in your life, can affect you in two completely different ways.

When I saw Mamma Mia! on stage in London in 2002, I remember dancing in the aisle to 'Dancing Queen'. Great fun! I remember thinking I must book that ticket to the Greek islands that I had always planned with my girl friends.

Last night, I saw Mamma Mia, the movie, I still had fun, Pierce Brosnan's terrible singing voice notwithstanding. But more than wanting to get up and dance to 'Dancing Queen', much to my chagrin, I got teary-eyed when Meryll Streep sang 'slipping through my fingers' as she prepared her daughter for her wedding.

Damnit. I hate being 'such a woman'. I thought those teary-eyed moments ended when the baby was born and the pregnancy hormones let up.

I was wrong, though. Those moments were just the beginning. As my little baby has moved into toddlerhood and now looks more like a little kid than the toddler she still is, I really realize that motherhood is a series of celebrations and goodbyes. Of holding on tight, and letting go.

When she was a little baby, I used to dream of the day she would hold her head up. All too soon, she did. Just as I was enjoying having a little doll of a baby just bouncing on my lap, she started crawling and wanting to be free. Although her lower lip still quivers at times when I say goodbye, there are also just as many moments when she tucks her wubbie and favorite little pink bag under her arms and confidently waves, "bye mom!" as she goes off with other relatives. She runs head on into pet shops now, not even looking back to see if I am following behind. Her love, which used to be focused solely on David and me, is now getting spread around. It's not that she loves us less, it's that she has more and more to give.

Everyday is full of new milestones, and of saying goodbye to the stages gone past. Stages that she will never be at again. A little reminder that I had better enjoy what I have right here, right now, rather than worry about the future, for this moment will never come back again.

I can only take a deep breath, pray, and enjoy the ride, keeping in mind that this parenthood thing is all about the journey, not the destination.

An Unlisted Milestone

While running across the mall to meet my mom this afternoon, Charly stopped and pointed to an aqua blue t-shirt with KungFu Panda on it. She dragged me into the store, stopping only at the display rack.

"Mom, please pay. Please pay." This was said with big wide eyes, and the cutest smile.

"You want this?" I asked her.

"Please pay. Want to wear now" and she actually started taking off the t-shirt she was wearing.

Finding this very cute, the first time she has ever spotted an article of clothing and specifically asked me to buy it for her, I paid for the t-shirt and let her wear it.

A milestone, I thought to myself. Although not one officially listed in the baby books.

And then it hit me.

Just two years old, and she's already joined the ranks of female shoppers.

Best Friends

When I was single, I used to scoff at Barney. And when Charly was born, I told David that there was no way we would turn into parents who would sing along with a crazy purple dinosaur who looked like a lump of clay.

Then one day Charly grabbed my legs, and hugging me to her, sang "I love you, you love me. We're best friends like friends should be, with a great big hug and a kiss from me to you, won't you say you love me too?"

She placed an emphasis on the "We're best friends" part as she hugged my legs. Hit me straight in the heart.

From that day on, I've been a fan.

Barney, I love you.