Hammie’s Way of Telling a Story

I was in the middle of writing some articles for a client when Hammie was getting some books from their cabinet. He was tossing them one by one on the foam and I was asking him what he will do with them. He said that he will read them so I just went on with my work. Then he sat on the foam and Louie followed.


Hammie then started reading his books. Oh, he wasn’t reading them literally but he was reading them from memory. I can catch words I can understand though some words are made up meaning baby talk. Louie also picked a book and mimicked his kuya and read along also on baby language. Hammie read about seven books in his own words including the alphabet book where he recognized almost all the pictures. 


As he was near me doing that, I have to stop writing and turned to listen to him read his books. I was simply fascinated at my son reading from memory and being creative about it. On the alphabet book, he would make sounds when the picture is of an animal. While reading a Thomas and friends book he would put in words like ‘run Percy run’ though it was not in the original story. I smiled and laughed at his creativity and he would also laugh along. 


He would go through every page of each book making up a story depending on the pictures that he sees. Louie stopped reading and was now listening to his kuya going through the pages. I was just delighted that Hammie is getting into reading and I hope Louie would too as he has a shorter attention span than Hammie. I pray that his copying his kuya is not just a phase. 


Every time Hammie finishes a book he would say ‘the end’ the way I say it when I finished reading a story to him and Louie. It was a sight to behold and I wanted to catch that on camera only to remember that the memory card was with my husband to get some pictures. Oh well, time to write it down so I can read this all over again and smile after reading.

Louie See Louie Do

One of the reasons that I wanted (badly!) to work at home is I want to be there when my children grows. In their growing up years, there are many new things that they learn almost everyday. You can never predict what that new thing will be even if you teach them along the way. They usually learn on their own time and you are just surprised with their progress. 


Like today, Louie usually tries to mimic what his Kuya Hammie does. It’s like a monkey copying someone on every move and facial expression. When Hammie is playing with some blocks building trains and arranging them, Louie also wants to get some blocks on his own. As Louie is one year old He does not know how to connect the blocks no matter how much he tries so he just removes one block after the other making his kuya cry. 


This morning was a little different. Yes, he still dislodges every block that is made into something like his kuya’s airplane but he can connect one block to another. I was watching him pick up about 6 blocks (that he just dropped on the floor) and connect one by one on top of the other. I was thinking, Wow! Louie is learning fast. 


Another thing that Louie is also doing after watching his kuya does many times is putting dirty clothes in their laundry basket. After removing his clothes he is asked to hold his clothes and place them in the basket. Smiling and naked, he would put the clothes in and we together with his kuya would cheer him on for doing good and he would walk on his way to the comfort room to take his morning or evening bath also clapping his hands. 


Then there was a time that Louie wanted to be with us while eating a meal. Before eating, we would pray slowly so Hammie can make the sign of the cross correctly before and after the prayer. Louie would watch his kuya while making the sign of the cross and some time after we could see him doing the amen gesture by himself. 


At one year old and one month Louie can now climb the stairs, climb chairs and get down by himself (of course somebody has to see him in everything he does), knows how to open a door wide enough for him to pass through (when he can see that it is ajar), walking a little fast almost like running, ask for water or food, clap his hands, touch his nose, smiles or make cute faces in front of the camera, kicks the ball, drinks his kuya’s milk from the bottle (as he is still breastfed), dances at the theme songs of cartoon shows, laughs when he sees someone who is also laughing and so on. There are many more things he already knows and continues on learning. It’s great to see him just enjoying his baby stage while learning. 


It’s really amazing how a baby learns. Louie learns fast with following a model than by telling him what to do. So as a parent it is important to be consistent with what I do so I as to impart on the babies what is right. I know I am never perfect but I hope in my own way together with their father they can learn what is good and right and be the best they can be.