Time flies. And as for growing children, time flies even faster. How could it have been five years already since we took home this sleeping jewel in our arms?
The day after Aya was born, Baggy and I just stared at this tiny breathing, wailing, demanding (don’t you dare take your eyes off me), red and toothless thing – you mean we really have to take this home with us? As first-time parents, we were fraught with anxiety and fear.
Sleepless, countless nights followed. We lost track of time; day and night blurred into each other. Food became something we just shoved into our mouths to keep ourselves going and going and going like the Energizer rabbit. We were pushed beyond the limits we previously thought we would never dare cross.
All because of her.
I almost couldn’t believe that it has been five years. Five challenging, but glorious years. Aya has become such an amazing, talented kid. Maybe I’m just saying that because she’s my daughter. But how else can you describe someone who:
- At age 1 can already speak comprehensible words
- At age 2 can sing Ang Bayan Ko
- At age 3 can speak Japanese and Filipino (Tagalog) fluently
- At age 4 can speak a third language, English (with slang pa hehe)
- Can now play the piano with both hands
- Can write her name, and all the letters of the alphabet
- Can play the game “Mahjong” on the computer – and finish it, too!
- Can read phonetically simple words such as “can,” “bat,” and “dog”
Perhaps some of those things are not out the ordinary, but are completely normal for someone her age. But for me those are amazing. Equally amazing is the opportunity to watch her develop and grow into a unique individual. Not like me, not like her Tatay. Different, and uniquely her own.
So on this day, I count the years, and I count the blessings. Happy birthday to you, my dear girl. May you grow up to be the best person you can be. Your Tatay, Titas, Titos and the rest of the family will be here to cheer you on.
Gifts? Oh, she got some lovely presents. Our gift for her would be a little later – I’ll blog about it when the time comes. But for now, special mention goes to Tita Karen and family for these wonderful things:
Aya’s first-ever t-shirt that has her picture on it! 🙂 The other one (with the bigger picture) is a mousepad (do you think I can make money selling mousepads with her face on it? Heh.). Anyway, thanks a lot to the Sacdalan family! Of course, thanks a lot, too, to Tito Ricky and Tita Jeanet, and Tita Lai and Lola Genny for their gifts. Lovely. Just lovely. You made this day special for her.
Happy Birthday Aya! kabirthday mo pala asawa ko.
indeed, she is talented! at age five, she knows three languages! galing!
when does she start kindergarten?
Happy Birthday to Aya!
Very smart at marunong na mag-mahjong on-line. Ako di marunong yan. Paturo naman.
Happy Birthday to your little Aya. What is it about this particular birth date that makes its celebrants so, umm… unique? Hehe. 😀
For mums every little accomplishment of their child deserves a standing ovation. And Aya deserves more applause because she’s truly very smart
🙂
mana sa ina? Siempre pa.
uuuiii, bday pala ni aya~! happy birthday aya! im sure she’s gonna grow up into a cool kid!
Thanks Belle! And belated happy birthday to your hubby.
You know, she’s quite “madaldal” when she’s just around us, but is usually tongue-tied when there are other people around.
I’m thinking of putting her in kindergarten by next year. 🙂
Thanks Leah. The mahjong game is just a matching game – I let her play it on the PC (not online) because it improves her pattern recognition skills. 🙂
I’m inclined to believe that it is a rather unique date – all in all, I already know of four persons who have the same birthday on June 22! 🙂
That’s true. Now I know why my parents would boast of our accomplishments as children, even sometimes to my embarrassment. It’s just a parent thing to do. 🙂
Mana sa ina? Oops, may taong nagpoprotesta rito…yung Tatay niya.
Thanks Herb! It was great seeing you and the rest of the FAST pipol kanina. 🙂
Happy Birthday to your lovely daughter, Aya. That’s a lovely personalized present.
si aya, nag-praktis mag-swimming sa basketball court kanina, hehe.. i agree, tahimik si aya pag may-ibang tao 🙂
Happy birthday to your sweet little daughter. Yes, I think she is quite unique and talented for her age. 🙂
hi. got here from PNM.
happy birthday to your little girl. they actually grow very fast so just savor every moment with her. 🙂
Hi! Bloghopped from PMN 🙂 Happy Birthday to Aya. She looks pretty so who knows, someone might be willing to buy that mousepad. Hehe!
Awww…happy birthday to Aya! Raising a child is never easy–and in foreign soil!! Kudos to you and Baggy. 🙂
ops, belated happy bday to your pretty aya!you guys are doing a fantastic job 😉 ps. the 3 day thingy is in my multiply.got so busy i couldnt move my phlog to another more “open” site eh.hope to see you guys one of these days.
happy bday to your daughter 🙂 Looks like mana sya sa talino ng mommy 🙂 My daughter is about a year older than yours. They make our lives worth living – don’y they 🙂
hi kathy! katokayo! 🙂
just bloghop from andrea…anyways, happy birthday to your daughter…actually,today naman is my baby’s 5th month birthday… 🙂
will it be ok if i link u up?
thanks!
happy birthday to your dear Aya. she’s very talented for age. i read somewhere that children inherit the “intelligence” genes from their mothers.
happy birthday to you aya!
indeed, very talented and very intelligent! she’s growing very pretty, too!
One more wish for little Aya — may she continue to be a joy and inspiration and pride to her mom and dad and may there be more ayas and ayos to come but only when mom and dad are ready for them. 🙂
Happy Birthday to Aya (though this might be abit late) 🙂
Another child prodigy in the making!
Finally, I made it here… doesn’t seem to like my url 🙁
anyway, I tagged you 🙂
Thank you Rach, and thanks for dropping by. 🙂
Huh? Di ko ata nakita yun? Yes, it does take some time before Aya warms up to other people, especially Pinoys.
Thanks a lot for the greeting, niceheart. Aya is such a sweet, sweet girl, sometimes I wish she never grows up. 🙂
Thanks for the greeting.
They do grow up fast. Sometimes I complain about my kid being too clingy and demanding, but I do know that this too will pass.
Thanks for dropping by Chi!
She’s a cute kid. Happy birthday! 🙂
She is so cute. She looks like your younger version. Just continue to encourage her with her interests. Re reading, there are lots of free downloadable worksheets available so just print these out for her.
Have fun with your girl. You won’t notice it but time will fly by fast after she reaches the age of 6.
Belated happy birthday to your princess.
Belated Happy Birthday to Aya!
Wishing her God’s wondrous blessings!
Hi Andrea, thanks for visiting my blog. Thanks for the greeting! Hmm, you just gave me an idea there. 🙂
Thanks Gypsy! As Filipino parents, we try to strike a balance in raising our daughter here in Japan – we want her to have the best of both worlds. 🙂
Thanks D! I’ll check out your multiply account for the diet thingy. Hey, we missed you last Sunday.
Thanks bw. You made me blush. 😉 Pareho pala tayo. So how often do you get asked this question:
“Kelan nyo susundan?” 😛
Hi Kathycot! Thanks for dropping by. I’ve added you to my blogroll.
Thanks, SexyMom! Intelligence genes are inherited from the “mother”? Ehem! 🙂 Any violent reactions, Baggy?
Thanks Zherwin! Oh boy, comments like that make me want to have another baby ASAP. 🙂
Awwww…that is such a wonderful wish for Aya. Indeed, more ayas and ayos (ayos!) to come, hopefully sooner than later. Aya wants to be an “oneesan” (big sister) already.
Thanks for the greeting, pining! 🙂
Pining! Thanks talaga for your patience.
Will post my response to your tag in one of my future posts. 🙂
Thanks, Prudence! And thanks for dropping by. 🙂
Thanks so much for the advice, Julie. I already bought her a set of “Clifford” books for reading, di naman masyadong mahal. But I would definitely look into the free worksheets available online. This is such an exciting stage!
Indeed, we should spend as much time as possible with our chidren while they’re young.
Hi Gina!
Thanks so much for the greetings. 🙂
hi kath,
…been a long time since we last connected…am so happy for your Aya, she’s such a beautiful girl! very talented…am not surprised really.
all the best to you, you’re the best example of how a woman balances being wife, mother, scientist, etc… not necessarily in that order…
you & AYA truly impress me to the max! PTL and G2G!! God bless you all..
Ate Naomi! Glad to hear from you again. It is truly wonderful of you to drop by my blog. 🙂
Thank you so much for your kind words…I truly hope that someday we’d be able to meet in person. God bless you too! I hope everything is going well for you.