…and more. Those are just three of the money adjectives that could describe my little angel.

Brave. Why not? He’s not afraid of getting hurt just as long as he gets what he wanted. He wanted to reach for Mommy’s stuff at the top of that desk. He bumped his bottom on the floor thrice, still he stood up as if he wasn’t hurt and tried and tried again. He even posed to give me that smile. Oh no, no cowardly tears for my brave Nicholas.

Smart. Very smart. That’s my little boy. You just whistle at least three times and he’ll try to give a sound as if he’s whistling too. Just say a word and he’ll try to say the word too. Just ask him where his Mickey Mouse cuddly is or where his food are stored or where his milk and bottles are and he will show you where by going there himself or just look at it if he can’t reach it. Just tell him to put the phone on his ear and say hello to Mommy and he will gladly do so. Oh yes! My little angel’s very smart. Oh it runs in the blood, I never really doubt his intelligence. LOL!

Determined. Just like his Mommy. If he don’t get it in one try, he’s willing to try twice, or thrice, or nth time, until he gets it. Just like when he wanted to stand by himself. At first he’ll fall, then fall again, and again. But that didn’t stop him. Instead, it drove him to try some more. Until he was standing with all the big smile on his face. I just know it, my baby’s a natural winner — never a quitter. Way to go my darling!

So yes, I’m excited to find out more about my darling’s traits. I know I’m bound to see some negatives as well. But that’s why I am here to guide him and make the negatives more positive. I always wanted my son to grow up into an honest, generous, responsible, loving, respectful, courageous, fun-loving and God-fearing individual. It will be hard to mold him into one but I, together with my partner Mark (Nico’s loving Dad) will do our best to do just that.

Nicholas turned 11 months this morning. Just 30 more days and we will be celebrating his first birthday. Oh boy! I am excited but I’m also worried I may not be able to accomplish all my plans. It’s tough to be a single Mom huh!

Anyways, I am trying my best to give my little angel what he deserves — and he deserves the best. But I will post about my plans and what I’ve accomplished so far for my baby boy’s birthday on my next post. For now, I would like to discuss my angel’s milestones.

So after 11 months, Nicholas is already 28 inches (71.1 centimeters) tall, weighs 22.48 pounds (10.2 kilograms), has got 4 teeth, walking fast with one hand supported, walking 2-4 steps on his own, standing 5-10 seconds without support, saying “Mam” (mommy), “mal” (milk), “cat”, “tar” (car), “ber” (bird), “boh” (ball), “ter” (water) “baba” (Filipino for “going down”), “atyat” (akyat, Filipino for “going up”), knows (and loves!) “pasyal” (Filipino for strolling), knows and recognizes his toys by pointing at them when Mommy asks for each (there’s Mickey Mouse, Brownie, the musical toy given by Uncle Mark, and many more). He’s also remembering stuff he likes. One is the sound of the ice cream man. Well, my officemate once bought him ice cream from the ice cream man so everytime he hears the ice cream man’s music, he gets excited and points at the door with all smiles, hehehe.

Ahhh.. So much have happened in 11 months time. I never thought parenting can be both energy-consuming and energy-boosting I’m proud of my Nicholas’ milestones though other babies may have more teeth or more words or more growth, still, my little angel is one of the two best thing that ever happened to me.

My boys happily playing with each other, sgh... they look good together, a happy father and son :)

Hey! A month more and we will be celebrating his birthday! Oh boy! I’ll be busy as a bee! Oh gosh! I’m excited for my little darling!

It’s already too difficult to change Nico’s diaper, so it’s actually a riot when it comes to dressing up! This has been the case since Nico became a very prestigious member of the Creepy Crawlers Club hahaha!

Nowadays, it is but important to relax, and try some breathing exercises before giving Nico his bath. It would take a lot of patience to get him into his diaper and shorts and sigh… his shirt. It’s like joining a tug of war that you can’t win! Help!

Days before, it has been difficult to dress him up but at least I can still bribe him with toys and stuff that interests him. He can at least lay still on the bed for a minute or two, enough to dress him up, before he decided that he’s bored with the toys and roll and roll and roll.

But now, nothing and I mean, nothing, not a toy or plastic container could bribe him to lay still. It’s a struggle to dress him, it would take 5 minutes to get him into his nappy! Argggh! I want so much to instill discipline on him. I have been talking to him mildly and patiently, gently tugging him to lie still on the bed, to no avail. I certainly can’t be harsh on him! He’s still so delicate and it’s not right to spank him at this very early stage.

So what I do is follow him around, until he’s in the corner and try to tickle him, make it look like we’re playing tag and I’m it. He’ll then allow me a few seconds to apply some lotion all over his body and then powder him and slip and tape the nappy on him. There! Then he’ll struggle again, freeing himself from my grasp and crawl around, pull everything he can get his hands on, before I find another opportunity to give him his shirt, then his short. Oh gosh! And I still have to give him his vitamins, comb his hair, clean his ears and nose. Uh-uh!

It really is a challenge huh! I wonder what comes next?

Uhmmm… baby? Are you sure you can chew that? You don’t have your teeth yet!

My little darling loves to eat! Rice, fruits, biscuits, anything edible! He even ate durian the other day! (Ewww, i don’t like the smell and the taste of it!) He’s a happy eater don’t you think so?

I am actually happy about it since I don’t have to force him to eat at all. He’s now taking supplement milk, [not complete milk anymore] so he’s got to get nutrients from other food sources. I want to make sure my baby is healthy by giving him the right food. I know his tummy is still sooo little and so I make sure he’s only getting enough, I don’t want him to have an upset stomach.

Oh well, looking at that happy face, I’m sure that my little darling is never upset when it’s eating time!

So his lower body is strong enough to do that huh?

Yipee! My little angel can now sit down without support from Mommy! I’m so proud of my darling, he’s growing to be more independent each day huh! Ok, not yet. Hahaha!

He’s somewhat lazy though (ssshhh! that’s our secret, lol) because after a few minutes he decides he’s tired of sitting down and wants to lie down. Sheesh!

Oh well, I energize him with his favorite kangaroo jump (yeah, he loves to jump) and then he’s ok with sitting down again, playing with his toys or just spanking the colorful rubber mat

I wonder when he’ll start standing all by himself? Hmmm… it’ll come when it’ll come