First Day of School

Dear Evie,

It's your first day of school. You were the most excited. I can tell by the look in your face, the way you smile, all of your body language. And of course, verbally. You've been asking for days when will you be going to school and finally it happened today. Dada and me were worried that the school won't accept you today because we have not gotten the consent form signed by your pediatrician for the administration of Epipen.Your doctor was not available. But thankfully, your school was happy to take you in with your Benadryl in hand.

There was no sign of separation anxiety from you at all. Right after you got into your classroom, you instantly fit yourself in. You are just the happiest being around with other kids. I am happy that you are such a sociable little person. This is your first step in the "big world." I just pray to God that He will keep you safe always. He is the only one who can do it.

I love you with all of me,
Mama

"Uh oh"

Dear Fi,

You started to say "uh oh" which sounds so cute to my ears. You say it specially at times you have some naughty plans in your mind. You started to say "come" too. You are learning how to verbalize things. I so love to hear them. I am looking forward for more words from you.

I love you with all of me,
Mama

Dear Evie,

You got to meet your teacher and new friends in school today. You were the most excited. You shared the cart that you were playing with to a new friend. That was so nice of you. You are a very sociable little person. I know that you are happy to be around other kids. I know that you will enjoy school. You are turning into a big girl. I pray that God will keep you safe all the time specially at times I am not with you. I am used to have you 24 hours a day. But as you are getting into school age, you will be apart from me for few hours. I surely will miss you very much.

I love you with all of me,
Mama

Sous Chef Evie

Dear Evie,

Kneading dough for siopao.

Today you helped me make siopao (steamed bun). It's a very popular snack in the Philippines. We made this one before. But I don't think you still remember. You were very young then.You enjoyed kneading the dough. And because of that, we over-knead it. The consistency of the bun turned a little dense instead of soft and fluffy. But it's okay. Dada suggested that next time if we are going to make siopao again, I should give you a small piece of dough just for you to knead. You can knead it as long as you want :) By the way, you liked what we made. You ate one big piece of it. Your favorite part is the bun. You kept stealing Dada's pure white bun. Thank you for helping me today. I know there was a time I got a little frustrated while making it and snapped at you. At least now I know how to take care of it next time.

arrrrrrr

I love you with all of me,
Mama

Dear Fi,

It's funny how you tried to snort everytime you watch the show "Peppa Pig" on Nick Jr. And everytime I sing the line "peppa pig" you try snorting. You still don't know how to snort, but you are brilliant to find a way to mimic the sound.

You are so expert in opening doors now. You started learning the trick a week ago. I guess we have to lock doors where you don't want you to go like the bathroom. You know why? Because you dip your hands in the toilet or throw something in it. You are my clever girl.

I love you with all of me,
Mama

Toys Get Timeout

Dear Evie,

Mama put all your toys in the garage. Well, except Snowbear (I know how much you love that toy). Dada and me had been telling you since Saturday to clean up your room. Monday came, and your playroom was still a big mess.  I do not know how many times we reminded you to tidy up. You cleaned a little bit, put the books and stuffed toys back on the shelf. And that's it. I was tired of reminding you, Dada was tired too. So Dada had to set the timer on and gave you a certain amount of time to finish up everything otherwise, all toys end in the garage. Sadly, they did. I didn't want to do it. But sometimes, parents do the things they have to do. Your playroom look so sad now. There's still books that you can read, easel and table where you can draw. You will only get your toys back when you do the things you need to do. And of course, listen to Mama and Dada and do what we tell you to do. We don't tell you things that will hurt you or bad for you. We love you very much. But for now, toys are getting time out.

I love you with all of me,
Mama

Sleepy Little Ones / UTI or Yeast Infection?

Dear Evie and Fi,

You both were so clingy to me when you woke up this morning. Fi was still so sleepy when Dada took her to the living room. I gave you your milk, but you wanted me more than your milk. You fell back to sleep in my arms while I sat on the couch. I think you're too tired after not having your regular naps yesterday. Your swollen gum from your teething is bothering you a lot. It's keeping you awake and cranky everytime we put you in your crib.

Evie, right after you got up, you curled yourself next to me while I was holding Fi. You too were tired. After you had your milk, you went back to sleep again and woke up at 9. You two were just too exhausted this morning and just wanted to be held by Mama.

Meanwhile, I like the fact that you both like to eat frozen grapes. We call them "candy grapes." Better snacks than animal crackers or oreos. Because of how much you like them, we ran out of frozen grapes. Among the frozen fruits I made, grapes were your favorite. :)

I love you with all of me,
Mama

Dear Evie,

We went to the doctor after office hours. You're in pain when you pee. You complained twice this afternoon.

I tried to make you pee in the sample container at the doctor's office, and you were screaming. Not because it was painful, but because you were scared it gets painful when you pee. We tried for like 5 minutes and nothing happened. Dada tried, and it was successful. I think I was pressuring you a lot, that's why you were not able to pee. Dada did a great job as he was able to make you pee.

They examined your pee and the nurse practitioner wouldn't say it it's UTI until your pee sample gets into a laboratory testing. He also thought that it could be yeast infection. He told us to avoid taking a bath. He said that soaking in the tub specially with bubble bath is not good for girls. You've been taking a bath almost everyday lately. What you have could be yeast infection. We will find it out in few days when the result gets back from the lab. For now, we will do the medication that was prescribed to you and everything will be alright. I am sorry this happened. When things like this happens, I feel like I am a failure. I do not want you to get sick or in any pain. This could have been avoided. So for the meantime, no more bath time for you and Fi. You can still take a bath but not sooner and not as much anymore. You will feel better. I will take care of you.

I love you with all of me,
Mama

Dreaming on the Couch

Dear Evie and Fi,

 Fi woke up so early this morning. It was around 3:30. You were crying non-stop in your crib, so Dada had to pick you up and move you to our bed. But then, you started to play, crawled all over us. Even trying to play with Ate Evie. We knew that you are still sleepy but you were fighting it. Dada finally decided to take you out in the living room.

When I got up at 6:30, I saw you and Dada on the couch. You were so asleep. Dada was awake and moved to the big bed. Few minutes later, Ate Evie followed me, asked and had her milk, lay on the couch and fell asleep.

You both look so comfortable sleeping on couch. Most probably dreaming beautiful dreams. I delight watching both of you sleeping in one place. Such a sweet sight to me.

I love you with all of me,
Mama

Character and Shoe Fashion Day

Dear Evie and Fi,

The doc and the superhero.

Fi's wearing a superhero cat costume today and Evie thinks she's a doctor. Ate Evie actually wanted me to wear the Superman cape, but I passed it on Fi instead. I am surprised that you (Fi) kept it for a good period of time. In fact, you liked it on you. Then you decided to wear Ate Evie's kitty cat winter hat. With the cheetah print onesie you are wearing, we called you the cat superhero!

Superhero cat!

On the other hand Fi, you did something today that tickled me inside, I couldn't help but laughing. I noticed you grumbling and made small frustrated cries while laying on the floor. I was wondering what was going on so I tried to find it out by observing the situation. You got up and tried to put on your Ate Evie's Cinderella shoes. Because you don't know how to put it on, you threw yourself on the floor (again) and made that grumbling sound again. You are so funny. I helped you put the shoes on and you were the happiest. You walked around with that one-inch heel, 9/10 size shoes (you wear size 5 by the way) with so much delight on your face. When Ate Evie tried to take it away from you, you were the maddest girl in the house. LOL. I tried to put on you a Minnie Mouse plush slippers but you didn't like them. You wanted Ate Evie's Cinderella shoes! Oh well dear, you have it your way :)

Big shoes on small feet

Evie, you ate spaghetti for breakfast. Not a typical breakfast I know. But, it was your consequence for not finishing your dinner last night. What you ate this morning was your leftover spaghetti. Thankfully, you cleaned the whole bowl, otherwise, it's what you will eat for lunch.

I am happy that you ate the shrimps with rice I made for lunch. Thank you for the willingness to try something new. You have been a little picky eater lately. You ate all your portion of shrimps and asked for more rice :) I think I will buy more shrimps when we go shopping at the Asian store. I hope though you will eat fish too. You do eat fish, but they're fish sticks and not the one freshly prepared. But, I don't lose my hope that one day, you will eat fish.

I love you two with all of me,
Mama

Whatta Day

Dear Evie,

Saturday morning, doing a "music lesson" with your favorite stuffed toys.

I know. I have not written a letter as promised. We had a tough day yesterday. Rough. We actually started our day with excitement as Mama was trying to practice decorating a doll cake for your birthday. You helped me prepare the making the icing. As expected, you ended up licking-clean the beaters with icing. As soon as I was done you were demanding to eat the cake. But Mama said to wait until Dada comes home. I wanted to show Dada what I made so I can ask for his opinion and suggestion. Mama needs a lot of practice with this. You were so happy the way the doll looked. The cake was short in height. I underestimated the cake batter I put in the cake pan. At least now I know what to do next time.

Then came midday. You took a bath with Fi. I had to be there to watch you two. Fi is too young to be left unattended in the bathtub. I asked you to stop doing things that's not good for Fi. You kept repeating it and I was very disappointed. I yelled at you. I was mad. You started crying. I picked Fi u, dried her off and get her dressed. You were in bathroom still crying, then you threw up. I pacified you, and of course, it's Mama's job to clean the mess. Mama was very sad. She's not happy of what she did. She cried in front of you, apologized for what happened. You hugged me tight a lot of times and told me, "it's okay Mama." Then you said you will pray to Jesus. You held both of my hands and you prayed over me. You asked Jesus to take away my "cries," make me feel better, and other sweet requests came out from your mouth. I was so touched of what you did. You made me cry even more. And you had to remind me to stop crying. After all, you asked Jesus to stop my crying :)

Night time was also rough. You were so excited with your new paints. Fi was curious of what you did and started messing up. I took her away several times from you but Fi kept going back to disrupt you. Then I heard a loud, painful cry from your sister as I was preparing dinner. I asked what you did, and you won't tell me. But I did not give up asking you until you admitted what you did to your sister. You bit her arm. I couldn't help but notice a small red mark on Fi's right arm. It's your teeth! I was hurt. I cried, again (cried twice yesterday, huh). I cried because I felt bad for Fi and I felt bad for you. I did not scold you. But I reminded you of the consequence of your action. Dada was going to take away Snowbear from you. I remember that morning, you shoved Fi and Dada was not very happy at all. He said that if you will hurt again, he is going to take Snowbear away. We know how much you are attached to Snowbear. She's with you every night. You love her. Then you cried. Went to the playroom and later went out to go the bedroom. You fell asleep.

Dada came home and told him about what happened. He put away your LEGOs and Snowbear while you were asleep. You woke up later and we talked to you. Everything was settled last night before we all went to bed. You fell asleep in my arms.

Today, you and Fi had cake in the morning (right after your breakfast). I know that as long as there's cake in the house, you will not stop asking until it's gone. But as what we always say "too much is not good."

You made a version of your own books. You made three books. You folded the bond paper, drew and wrote something on each of them. You told me what they are. One book was entitled "Evie's Food is Not Good." It's a story about Dada making raw spaghetti and you were not happy about it. That is why the girl on the book has a sad face. The other book is entitled, "One Lost Turtle." A story about a baby turtle who got separated from his family, got hungry and ate Dada's flowers and oranges in his garden. Last one was, "Dada's Poor Tummy." It's a story about Dada who got a tummy ache because he ate a lot of plums. I love your creative imagination. They are remarkable! :)

 I love you with all of me,
Mama

Dear Fi,

I love you Fi-Fie! :) Sorry of what happened yesterday. I know you don't remember it. You don't even remember how paintful Ate Evie's bite was. But I just want you to know that Ate Evie loves and cares about you very much. Sometimes she forgets how to be nice to you specially when she's doing something she really likes and you try to mess them up. I also know how much you like to explore. As I said, you are into everything. I love how active you are. Sometimes it's a little exhausting. Yesterday morning, you dumped your electronic notepad in the toilet. You were too quick to do that. I was too late to get to you and prevent it from happening. I am not sure if the toy is still functional. I have not checked. But you know what? I prefer you to be this active. It's your personality. You are a very happy girl. You are very clever. You are very sweet. Mischievous at times. :)

You made this bucket as your stage. When you're up there, you sing and dance.

I love you with all of me,
Mama

Tired Mama

Dear Evie and Fi,

Mama is a little tired now. I just realized that I get more caught up with things on weekends. Most probably because we go out on weekends and I am dead-tired when we get home. I have not written you a letter yesterday (even last weekend because we went to Strawberry).

I know you will understand. I also don't want to pressure myself so much. Otherwise, I won't be able to write something from the heart.

There are few things I want to write on what happened yesterday and today. I thought of sharing it with you tomorrow. Good night little ones. You are my forever love.

I love you with all of me,
Mama

Silly Faces, Monkey on the Move

Dear Evie,

Lalaloopsy Peanut look-a-like.

We had a great time taking pictures of you today. First, I took a picture of your Lalaloopsy look-a-like outfit. Actually it was not in the plan. I asked you to get socks so I could put petroleum jelly on your cracked sole and you grabbed the knee-high, stripes socks. They look like Peanut's tights, I said. Then you asked me to do your hair like Peanut's. I did. Then I took a picture of you,

Later this afternoon, I cannot remember how did the silly faces photo shoot idea came into being. We just found ourselves laughing at each other while I took pictures of your silly faces. We had fun. We even used the fan to blow your hair. You were very funny, and yes, silly. I love how we laughed together. Such a beautiful day I shared with you.

Sily faces of you.

I love you with all of me,

Mama


Dear Fi,

"Mama, your sister!" Your Ate Evie was yelling at me. No, I do not have my sister here with us. She still has not grasp the full concept of "sister" and "daughter." Anyhow, I was stunned when I saw you standing on the entertainment center while both of your hands were on the TV. The monkey in you is on the move again. You climbed up using the box that was sitting by the entertainment center. I picked you down and few minutes later, you were on the top of that thing again. This time, you opened the drawer, stepped on it to get your way up. You, you, you. The third time you climbed up, you used a stool. Yes, you are a tool user. You know how to get your way out. Now that this climbing up on the center to get near to the TV has started, I think it will continue for a while. I know you dear. Once you like something, you keep doing it. My, my, my. More work for Mama. :)

Do you know that one of the favorite things you do is sitting on Dada's legs? Well tonight, right after Dada knelt down on the floor to check his computer, you immediately jumped in and sat on his legs. It's your favorite place to sit onto. You looked so content and comfortable. I love such a sight!

Your favorite chair.

You look so content.

I love you with all of me,
Mama

Lalaloopsy Peanut

Dear Evie,

With your new friend, Peanut.

You went gaga with the Lalaloopsy Peanut doll today. You have been watching the Lalaloopsy show a few weeks now and you like it. Your favorite character is Jewel. That's what you keep telling me. Until this morning when Dada showed you the Peanut doll he found at Goodwill. Your eyes beamed and a big smile rose on your face. You wanted to play with it as soon as you can. But Mama had to wash her first.

As requested, I took a picture of your peanut.

I put Peanut outside so she will dry faster. Every 3 minutes you asked me if she's dry yet. Yup, that's how desperate you are to play with her. And finally she's ready to be played with. I remember I bought a Lalaloopsy dress (for sale) before. Thankfully, it's still here. You were so happy. I so love that look on your face. From then, you didn't stop playing her. I do not know how many times you changed her dress. You even took her to the bath with you. And right now as you are sleeping, Peanut is there with you. So, is Lalaloopsy the new Evie craze? Let's see. :)

Somebody wants to take a picture too!

I love you with all of me,
Mama

Dear Fi,

Banana!

Dada showed you the Minions banana mini movie this morning. Oh my, that gleeful face of yours, so heart-melting. Your laughter is the most contagious. I love every reaction you do. You like minions! I like 'em too! And Dada and Ate Evie!

You like a lot of shows. But we know what your favorites are. Everytime you watch them, you can't stop smiling or laughing or clapping. Just looking at you already makes Mama's day. You are such a joy.

Lazy bug watching Bubble Guppies.

I love you with all of me,
Mama

Drawing Nana's Cottage

Dear Evie,

This is how Nana's cottage in the mountains look like--according to Evie.

This morning, you called out Dada and Mama into your room to show us your drawing-- Nana's cottage! You named each one that you drew: Nana's cottage, windmill, grass with the elks' poop, mountains, apple tree, sun, and clouds. Do you know how active your imagination is? And do you know how good of an artist you are? I am amazed how what your imagination and hands work together. They make wonders. I believe you are an artist. It's innate in you. I see it in all your drawings. I hope that you will continue to hone the talent as you grow up. Dada and Mama will always support and encourage you.

By the way. you didn't get any snack today. Dada was not happy with how you ate your dinner last night and your breakfast this morning. Dada said you can only have a snack or treats when you eat your meals well. Sorry about that. We'll see how this works.

Another illustration of yours.

I love you with all of me,
Mama

Dear Fi,

Big, happy girl on the toy box.

  Hello my little, "big" girl! You climbed and sat on the toy box today. It;s the first time I saw you do it (though you already climb on a lot of things).  It reminded me when Ate Evie spent her time there when she was younger -- probably a little older than you are right now. You doing it brought me back beautiful memories. And here you are. I am sure that whenever I look at that toy box years from now, it will always bring a smile on my face. Makes me wonder now if we should keep that toy box for life. Ha! The lid is actually falling apart. Dada should fix it. We got the toy box from your Nana and grampa before Ate Evie was born. I think they got it from a garage sale. I know some people will say it is "just" a toy box. But it is no ordinary toy box. It is a very special toy box. It creates a lot of wonderful memories with you two. That made the difference.

You're wearing your Minnie Mouse outfit today. I love that outfit on you. So cute. Dada got it for you months ago. Sometimes, Dada has "good taste" for girl's clothes. :)

So amused watching Dora the Explorer.

I love you with all of me,
Mama

Cookie Faces, No afternoon Nap

Dear Evie,

 Today you made play-doh cookies with faces on them. How creative you are! You love playing with your play-dohs. It's one of your regular daily activities. You love the feel of it in your hand and most of all making various shapes. Yesterday, I gave you a new one because the one that you had been playing with was already dry. You were very happy. :)

I am quite happy that you cleaned the playroom this morning. You were very good with following instructions. I know I helped you, but you did a big part of the cleaning. Thank you bebe. :)

I love you with all of me,
Mama


Dear Fi,

You didn't want to take an afternoon nap. Your schedule is kind of off. Makes me wonder if it's because you are teething. You have a new tooth on the lower front. You now have 4 teeth o both lower and upper gums. Dada said that he felt something on the side gum too.

You are taking out the DVDs from the entertainment center again. You do this everyday. Yup, you do! Mama has no choice but to put them back in the drawer after you make a big mess. I noticed that once you found something you like, you stop digging. I just wish though that you find it at the early stage of your treasure hunt.

I love you with all of me,
Mama

Big Girl in the Shower

Dear Evie

You're showing me the castle that you made w/ Ariel & a farmer inside :)

This morning you took a shower without Mama or Dada. You did it all by yourself (except when Fi wanted to join you)! You said you can take a shower all by yourself because you're a big girl now. Dada's a little sad to think that her little girl is turning into a big girl. You did a great job taking a shower today. You brushed your teeth, washed and rinsed yourself, and you even washed Fi! :)

You are taking a nap now on the big bed. Fi is on her crib. I was there with you for several minutes. I was able to take a very short nap. I woke up with you laying on top of me, your head on my chest. I actually grabbed you to be in that position because I missed the time when you were a baby. A lot of times you fell asleep on me. You love being held. You fall asleep so quickly when Mama or Dada is holding you. And we love doing that. When you're a big girl, things will change. You will have your own life. I will definitely miss you sleeping with us.

I love you with all of me,
Mama


Dear Fi,

Last night I saw your feet suspended from the floor. You were working so hard to get ice in the cooler. It was a very amusing sight. You, you, you. You do whatever it takes to get what you want. I don't understand why you and Ate Evie like to munch ice. What's with ice?  Whenever you see a cooler in the living room, you always open it to look for ice or take out the things in it. It's one of your favorite things to do. :)


I always love it when you and Ate Evie play together. Your laughter is so precious everytime Ate Evie does something that amuses you. It's music to Mama's ears. This afternoon, you didn't want Ate Evie hold your Eeyore pillow. You scream everytime she takes it away from you. Do you know that you love pillows a lot? Whenever you see one, you'd always throw your whole body on it with delight in your face. Right now you have three pillow pets and one regular pillow in your crib. I know for sure that there will be more pillow collection coming.

Ate Evie is dragging the laundry basket with you in it.

I love you with all of me,
Mama

Back at Home Sweet Home

Dear Evie and Fi,

We're back home after spending the weekend at your Nana's cottage. We had a great time up there. The temperature was 30 degrees lower than what we have here in the city. I believe your Nana had a wonderful time spending time with us (most specially with you two).

On our way up there Friday night, we were greeted by a big storm. It was dark and the rain was pouring hard. I can tell that your Dada was a little worried driving because of how small the road is in a bad weather. We saw a lot of beautiful lightnings. Evie didn't like the sound of thunder at all. You covered your ears everytime there's thunder. Even with the harsh weather, God delivered us safely to your Nana's cottage. We got there a little late than expected.

Fifi, you were into everything in your Nana's cottage. Your curiosity was a little anoying but at the same time amusing. Last night, you knocked down the trash can. Whooaa!!! Dada had to clean up the mess. Thankfully it was not a big mess.

You two were very good sitting still in your car seats with the long travel. We couldn't be more happier than that. Thank you both for being such great kids.

I love you with all of me,
Mama

Cranky Baby

Dear Fi,

You were not happy this morning when you got up. Dada gave you your milk in the "wrong" sippy cup. You were crying to protest. How could Dada give you the wrong sippy cup? You didn't stop crying. So Dada had to move the milk in the "right" sippy cup. While he was washing the cup, you were sitting by his feet, wailing. It's amusing to look at. It's funny how you have preferences in a lot of things. When you don't get it, you grumble. But always remember, you can't have everything you want.

I love you with all of me,
Mama

Dear Evie,

Whistling using LEGOs

You got mad because your LEGOs were not staying together. You ran into the room and slammed the door. Mama was not happy about it. I was very mad too. I felt like my blood was boiling inside of me. I wanted to yell at you for doing it. In fact, I stormed on my way to the door, nose and ears smoking. Thankfully, I said a very simple prayer in my mind and my raging emotions subsided. I calmly knocked the door and you opened it. We talked about what happened and your feelings. We prayed about them and everything was okay.

P.S. We are going up to Nana's cottage today and spend our weekend there.

I love you with all of me,
Mama

You asked me to ride in the choo choo train.

Thursday is Ice Cream Day

Dear Evie

 

Today we both agreed that "Thursday" is going to be ice cream day! Meaning, you can have ice cream everyday. Well. if we have available dairy-free ice cream in the fridge :) You asked for ice cream so early in the morning. You love ice cream, obviously. But you can't have ice cream at any time you want it. So, Mama thought of creating "ice cream day." I asked which day of the week you want to be the "ice cream day." Since you want ice cream today, you chose "Thursday!" Silly you! As promised, you got your ice cream in a cone.

This morning after I got up, you wanted us two to draw something. You drew flowers and I drew my favorite scene ever since I was a kid -- mountains, house, flowers, clouds, sun, palm tree. Later, you wanted to draw a ballerina. But you got so frustrated because you didn't draw the ballerina the way you wanted it to look. Dada informed that you crumpled the paper and threw it in the recycle. I wanted to take a picture of us with our drawing but you were too upset, you didn't want to take pictures.  I had to talk to you about your boiling emotion. Keep trying. Practice, practice, practice. When you feel too frustrated and you cannot get anything right, take a break, take a deep breath, or do something else. When you feel better, you can come back and do it again. We were finally able to take a picture of our drawings this afternoon. Thank you bebe :)

Your humor of the day: "I love Mama and Dada." Mama asked how about Fi? "I love Fi a little bit." Mama asked, why just a little bit? "Because she is little!" I love you funny girl!

To my dear Fi,

You were so mischievous today. You kept pushing the cable box's off button while Ate Evie was watching a show. It's funny to see of what a teaser you are. But Ate Evie was not really happy of you turning off the cable box every 20 seconds. I do not know what's on your mind when you do that. I wonder if you do it to tease us, or you do it to get attention. Sometimes I want to think it's more of a tease because you always have that mischievous smile in your face and you try to run away after you turn off the box. That look of yours tickles me inside.

I love you with all of me,
Mama

I Am Sorry, I Will Do Better

Dear Evie and Fi,

You are my prde. My joy.

Mama is not doing a good job with keeping this blog for you. When I look at the date on the last day I wrote a letter for you, it's been more than a year already! :( I am very sorry. I want to write you letters everyday. That is the desire of my heart. But most of the time, Mama gets caught up with so many things. Some important, some not so important, some not at all important.

I love you two so much. You are the blessings that give me joy everyday. You do not have any idea how much color you bring into my life.

Right now as I am writing this letter, you two are sitting in front of the TV watching Nickelodeon (Max & Ruby). And Evie, you just approached me asking for hot milk with oreos. Of course Mama will go and make you hot milk. Oh, so now you want chocolate chip cookie instead of an oreo? Now, you're letting me to choose between oreo and chocolate chip cookie. Well, excuse me for a little bit so I can make you hot milk and decide which cookie to give.

(3 minutes after)

So Evie, I decided to give you the oreo cookie. I thought, it's already opened, so better let you finish it. You mentioned chocolate chip cookie. Actually, those are not real chocolate chip cookies that your Dada baked last night. It's a "pretend" chocolate chip cookie. Two weeks ago, Dada found a "pretend chocolate chip cookies" to bake -- dairy-free. Until now, your allergic reaction to any food with dairy in it is still severe. I want you to eat the food we can eat and I am sorry that you can't eat a lot of those. I am also sorry that Mama is not religiously asking Jesus' help to heal your allergies. Mama needs to work on this. I need help on this. Can you help me? Maybe we should include this request when you pray before going to bed. Do you know that your prayer is very powerful? I believe that your prayer is the most special to God because it is asked with pure innocence, pure heart and without a doubt. Of course Mama will ask Jesus when she prays by herself.

For you Fi, I am very happy that finally you chose one of the three new sippy cups we got you for your milk. I started to get frustrated that you didn't want the change. You just wanted your precious, "soothing" bottle. Yesterday afternoon, you began to drink your milk in the sippy cup without a fuss. Hoorayyy!!!! That was a relief for Mama :) At the same time, I want you to know that there is a part of me that feels sad. I feel sad to accept the fact that you are no longer a baby. But you know what? You will always be my baby, you and Ate Evie. I am just sad that you are starting to be independent. I love taking care of you. I know I need breaks sometimes, but, I love attending to your needs more than taking a break. I am your Mom. I am wired by my Creator this way. Thank you for going a mile with me with your transition to a big girl's cup. It means a lot. This afternoon, I gave you juice in a different sippy cup and you chugged it down. You quenched your thirst from a different sippy cup!!! How awesome! :)

Finally, sippy cup that passes your standards.

My girls, I know that I am doing a bad job with writing you letters as much as I could. But it does not end there and I am not going let it continue. I commit to write you letters everyday. Yes, everyday. Even if it's just one sentence or a word, I will devote a part of my 24 hours a day to say or tell you something. If circumstance does not allow me to post it online, I will do it offline and will post it on this blog when I can access online. This is going to be a challenge. This is going to be tough. I cannot do this alone. I need a divine help. I need my Father in heaven. I need Jesus.

I love you with all of me,

Mama