Nutty Donuts | 2007

Go Nuts Donuts opened in a mall near our place. The first time we tasted the sweetness of these nutty donuts, we had to traverse Manila's treacherous traffic laden streets. It soon came nearer, and the travel time was cut in half. When it finally opened at a mall just a stone's throw away, we imagined stuffing ourselves with gooey chewy donuts all day! 

That never happened. Because for some reason, the excitement just isn't there anymore when you don't need to battle for your round piece of heaven. Still, Jakjak was as happy as ever munching his way through every sweet bite of black forest donuts. This gave mum and dad an excuse to get some cold frappuccinos (not in any way comparable to Starbucks) along with his pile of sweets.

Thankfully, donuts are not the only reason we go to the mall. After a handful of calories and a dollop of sugar coated flour, we stroll around the mall to burn some of the fats. Also, at the very least, the mall was a place for Jakjak to interact with other people (really, he's just so ... 'political' in nature). We also at least let him spend some time in play areas scattered within the mall. For the most part, it's where we cool off when it gets hot in our house. Think of it as an air conditioned playground. :)

Seek and Explore | 2007

When Jakjak learned to crawl, he rummaged through everything he can put his paws into. Which is why we had boxes and boxes of mix matched toys and books and what have you in his room. This room also held the TV and DVD player, which of course meant rummaging through the 'stuff' to find Barney and Blue's Clues when we want him to calm down and drink milk.

It's a wonder to watch him crawl and climb and wedge himself to things in order for him to reach something or to stand. It's like he's running on instinct instead of logic. But this trial and error is the thing that helped him grow up and understand the dangers of his surrounding. I never recalled having been so engrossed in watching anyone do the simplest things and be amazed that he can actually do it. Of course, there are bits and pieces that we help him out on, but on the whole, at just over one year old, Jakjak had been learning how to be a survivor in his own little world.

The things we learned from this is that educational toys with lights and sound and an assortment of action-reaction does a good job of getting the child's attention. A little help from mum and dad always adds an element of fun and involvement for little Jakjak, and I believe it will do the same for others out there. In order for Jakjak to feel like a child, dad had to be like a child and do the silliest things with him. So if you can imagine a grown man bark like a dog and wag his pretend tail, then you too can be a child yourself. It's fun actually, to be a child again. And having to share this childishness with your son makes it all the more fun.

Sweet Tooth | 2007

It's our fault to be honest.

I've had sweet teeth for as long as I can remember. And although she can't take the level of sweet that I can, Judy has sweet teeth as well. We've done all of them, milk, double chocolate, nuts, fruits, mixed, mints, orange and probably every chocolate combination (except for durian). And we love it!

Jakjak's first taste of the sweet life was some chocolate ice cream. That was back when he was still just sipping milk from a baby bottle. Judy had the crazy idea of letting Jakjak lick the ice cream from the cone. And he did more than that. He licked and savored the ice cream in his mouth. And I believe that's how it all began.

But he is not all sweets. He still has his own criteria. He never liked chocolate milk for one thing (that was a good waste of 400 grams). He does have a knack for good chocolate though (good and expensive). So he was practically in heaven when he saw these mini-bars of assorted chocolates. He also loves Ferrero Rochers. He can put one whole ball of Ferrero in his mouth, melt it like cheese, drip some chocolate colored saliva from his mouth to the floor and smile a chocolate-y smile all in under 5 minutes. But give him the local Choc-Nut (which happens to be my favorite) and he will just raise an eyebrow. The boy has taste. An epicurean no less. But that does not make my wallet very comfortable. Not at the least.

Christmas Real | 2006

Jakjak's very first Christmas was spent at the hospital's Neo Natal ICU. We celebrated it with only ourselves and the nurses that were on duty that night.

One year after and Jakjak has come home. Celebrating his first real Christmas with the whole family. Being too young to understand what the whole event was all about, he spent his happy moments ripping the wrappers off gifts and sticking them on himself using some left over tape.

Of course, for me and Judy, it meant more than just gifts and Noche Buena. It meant thanksgiving most of all, because we were given the best gift of all. And I believe that He did not just give Jakjak to us because we wanted him so much, but because we earned the right to be Jakjak's parents during the most difficult times of his life. A life that we now share at every moment, be it near or far from each other.

On Christmas morning, we opened our gifts, we visited our relatives and we greeted each other with warm Christmas wishes. Jakjak showed his appreciation for his gifts by giving everyone his bestest smile and his infectious laughter. And so it was that Jakjak's first real Christmas was a simple and heartfelt moment of thanks.

Outta' Gas | 2006

It's amazing how when you think about it, little squirts seem to have an infinite amount of energy.

I saw this first hand as Jakjak was spending more time awake than he was sleeping. And when he learned how to glide in his walker, he spent even more time awake exploring the places where he can bring his walker to. And as much as we try to get him all tired and exhausted (so that Mum and Dad can rest), he just does not want to run out of gas! 

Of course, he did take short breaks (eventually) during the day. Particularly in the afternoon. The thing though, is that when his body clock recognizes that time of the day, his body automatically shuts down and goes on stand by mode. This happens no matter what he is doing. Case in point, the attached picture when I gave him some cookies while playing in his bumper jumper, I went in the house to get some juice and when I came back out, he was just there. Sleeping! In his jumper! With cookie crumbs all over!

When we finally got the hang of his timing, Judy and I decided it was best to take turns wearing him out until he falls asleep. This worked for about a month when Jakjak's sleeping habits changed constantly. His nap time was getting shorter and later everyday. And he is usually grumpy when he knows he is nearing that time because he knows he cannot do anything about it but sleep it off. Until now he does this. The thing is, we had hoped his sleeping habits would match ours, because honestly, it's plenty boring when he's asleep and we're awake.

Jakjak, Year One | 2006

Time flew by so fast that suddenly Jakjak was one year old. Who would have imagined that the 811 gram boy, born two months ahead of schedule would be this gorgeous, hyper-active, super-happy mighty mite!

Well, we certainly had high hopes and we had been praying for his recovery and catching up from day one. And God answered our prayers. And the prayers of all those who had prayed for Jakjak (and I know there are too many of you guys to thank in one simple blog - so Thank You!). All throughout the year, Jakjak had been going back to the doctors to check for any abnormality that may have come about due to his being pre-mature. His eyes in particular, had been checked more times than we would have liked. Believe me, the way it's been done, even if you know it's safe because of the clinic and the specialization of the doctor, if you were there while a little boy protested, you would have asked them to stop. But we knew it had to be done, and it's all for Jakjak's sake.

365 days later and he is up and about as normal as any boy half his age would be. Normal would be an understatement though. Because Jakjak had begun to speak in audible words, Jakjak had started walking and climbing up and down the stairs (to the worry of mum and dad of course), Jakjak had started to increase his attention span to listening and quite a bit more stuff that children older than him would have just started doing. 

And we knew all this to be gifts from God. And to thank Him for all his blessings, we celebrated Jakjak's first birthday with the less fortunate children of Little Angels Home, in Tagaytay City. Children who we had been caring for (in our own little way) since we found their little house tucked away in the hills, oblivious from the public eye. It was so low key (back then, anyway), that we had to slow down every time we went to visit as the turning point was hardly visible from the hi-way. One year of happiness for us, one day of happiness for these children. We want to even the odds some more one day.

This is the orphanage we have pledged to sponsor way back in 2001. We would have celebrated with family and friends, but these kids needed more of Jakjak's love. It was a small salo-salo (feast) with cake and balloons. A loot bag for the kids came with cookies, candies, juice and then some. We had lots of fun! And sharing the fun with these kids was worth all the effort (would you believe I was suffering from diarrhea the whole time). We thank everyone who was there and shared our blessings.

Chocolate Pudding | 2006

I honestly believe that I have graduated from being a beginner to a full-fledged father two nights ago.

 We were about to give Jakjak a shower (we take him with us for showers now). So I take off his shirt and diapers. Holding him with his arms locked to mine, and my other hand supporting his butt. At first there was this noise, "prrrrt-prrt", and I said "Jakjak, did you fart?". He gave me this oddball look and I thought to myself "Oh - sh!". Sure enough, poop comes rushing out of his butt and directly onto my palm. Surely, I was not about to drop him, so I make my way to the toilet and aim his butt-hole at the bowl. Apparently, he doesn't like toilets and begins to cry! Lo and behold, all his poop ends up in the palm of my hand!

I swear. That was a riveting experience that all fathers should be subject to.