It's true what they say in the toddller's book I am reading...or at least in Benedict's case. Most daw upon reaching 18 months or near that age, toddlers would be reduced to ONE naptime a day. It's so true with Benedict. He started dropping his morning nap last month. It could be because he wakes up a bit late also in the morning. Instead of waking up at the crack of dawn, what he does now is just whimper...and if we're quick enough to just give him a bottle of milk and a soft pat on the back or his tush, he's off to dreamland again as soon as he finish his bottle (which takes about 3 minutes anyway, hehe..) I just love the early morning feed because I always get a hug from my little boy. He seems so grateful that we're awake to give him his bottle. He should thank his Dad actually, because he is the one to always get up & mix his formula while i snuggle close to Benedict in an effort not to rouse him from sleep too much.
His next wake-up time would now be around 8am, whereas before it's 6am...sometimes as early as 5am pa. He is disturbed with the crowing of the cocks. Our neighbors recently made a pet out of fighting cocks :-( Good thing they have it relocated somewhere now. We can barely hear the crowing...Haay, some of the downside of living in a subdivision where houses are so close to each other.
The moment the little boy is up, he would wake Daddy up too...or if Marlon is already in the bathroom, Mommy has to get up. And who would not be up and about? There are sloppy, little wet kisses smooching your face...its Benedict's "good morning" greeting...think doggy kisses. eow! except that my little munchkin is sweeter...hehe. If Daddy is still sleeping in, his horseback rides on Daddy's back (take note: Daddy is he horse!) would surely rouse his sleepy-eyed father...it's plainly sweet torture, i tell you! But who can resist that innocent, little face who would poke into your sheets? He would chant "Dada...Daddddd...Daddda" so loud you just have to be deaf to be able to ignore it...hehe. To make it all stop, simply rise from bed and the little munchkins face would light up like a bulb...you make his day! Isn't that the sweetest way to get up each & every morning? It's worth the eyebags sweetie!
Now it's play, play, play...after a bottle of his milk (his second). A dvd of Mickey Mouse, Barney, Dora or Hi-5 is sure to follow...while groggy Mommy gets a cup of coffee and opens the laptop to check for the first few emails of the day. No more than 20 mins. will pass and the little tike would come marchin' to my computer nook and would raise his hand "Mmama...up, up!" meaning: he wants to cuddle on my lap and type his way into my laptop too. Oh men! you can't just ignore him too. He's ever so persitent!
I'd have to indulge his hunger for Mommy's presence just so he would stop pestering (oppps, sorry for lack of a better term) me. I have to go sit with him and watch his fave videos for a moment before I can sneak back into my work station again. This time to answer emails & queries and do a little blog-hoppin'...until the little boy would realize again that mommy's gone and will barge into my area once again. This time, to ask for "chaa-roos" (cheerios)...and so we feed him with cereal and milk for breakfast. So the happy little by goes off to play on his Quattro, or tinker with his cars...or browse through his books. And I get a few more moments to go back to checking my emails.
Then, it's lunch time...off we both go to the dining room. We sit beside each other (me & Benedict) and we are sometimes joined by his Dad, if he has the time to come home for lunch. His Yaya usually is the one who feeds him but I would sometimes give-in to his request of being fed by moi! He would sometimes point to me and say "mama...mama" man gud. But most of the time, he is ok with Yaya feeding him as long as I am there beside him. He eats everything now...oh well, he stil gets occassional rashes from highly allergy triggering food (such is the case of the boiled turkey egg he wolfed in one sitting two dinners ago). I had to make a call to his pedia at 9pm coz the rash is all over his body na and he is starting to scratch all over. Good thing I have "Virlix drops" in my medicine rack. 5 drops twice a day for 3 days made the itch go away, and I also rubbed "Elica" ointment all over every after bath.
After his lunch, its toothbrush time, where he lets me brush his pearls for like 1 minute, tops...geez, and I have to chase him all around just to be able to give his pearlies the thorough gauze-wiping it deserves. My tiny tike knows how to try & wear out mama. 
It's bath time now! He would be standing on the tub na (we have kept his bath tub in it's box for a while now). He is familiar with shampoo & soap though I don't let him hold the soap as he tends to poke his tiny fingers into 'em...He would sometimes help me lather up (with a liquid soap in a sponge). He would be busy with sticking the "-ish" (fish) and "tuh-tuh" (turtle) on the bathroom tiles. hehe...I can't help but smile when I hear him chanting those two fave words of his. When it's towel-dry time, he would cry na. He knows it's the end of bath time...but I would distract him by asking "Where is...?" When I started it I didn't expect that he would immediately learn but by the end of the week, I was ecstatic to know that he can accurately point to the "pha-si" (faucet), "ayt" (light), shower & window. The week after, I added potty & bath tub..He had trouble with the shower & window at first but eventually, got everything right na. Now, he can even point to all the bathroom "ayt" (lights) when prodded "where are the lights?...1,2.3..4" Such is an example of the joy motherhood can bring!!!
When we go out of the bathroom, I would put on a baby video with classical music...and the little boy & I would wrestle a bit before he would be coerced to lie down and have a massage while I put on Nivea cream all over his body...Before the video comes to an encore, my little boy is off to his dreamland na...all naked without even a diaper 
... I am still thinking of I should be taking some nude pictures of him which I might find useful when he's all grown-up and a little bribery is needed...evil thoughts of a mommy!!
This time it's more cyber moments for me...it's the "me" time this time, where I get to post a long blog like this, while waiting for all the backlog pictures I have saved on the hard disk to be uploaded...all of Benedict's baby pictures from the day he was born. It's also the time when I reconnect to some other mommies in the newlyweds@work community and swap mommy stories of our precious, bundles-of-joy!
Before the little one would wake up I am expected to accomplish having taken a shower and done with all the other mundane tasks of the day. So that when the tiny tike would wake up at 2 pm earliest & 4pm latest, I am ready to keep up with his energetic "play" time of running here & there, bouncing all around...The Energizer bunny is always on the go, and mommy has no choice but to match that enthusiasm too.. It's more time for cars, blocks, books and Leap Frog moments. Til his Daddy arrives home from work, and my little one temporarily forgets that Mommy his besf friend, coz Daddy "The Hero" is home!!!
While I go about checking what's cooking in the kitchen, Marlon & Benedict goes about the business only boys can understand. Standing on Daddy's back, bouncing up and down the bed...haaay! exhausting to see them at play..hehe
We all have dinner together...and it's bath time again for Benedict after that. If we are at home lang, which we are most of the time, uness we go malling or spend some time at Marlon's sister's place, we do quiet playtime...a bit dimming of the light, some soft classical or baby music playing in the background, and some books to browse. And before we know it the little one is yawning and scratching his eyes na. (sure signs that he is ready for bed time). It only takes a bottle of his fave "nene" to send him off to dreamland. Good night, sweet little boy!
If we are lucky enough, its still too early to snooze ourselves, so we get to watch a bit of teleseryes or me surfing again. But most of the time it's past 10pm also that we are ready for bedtime ourselves.
And so there goes a day in the life of me, a certified stay-at-home Mommy!!!
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