11 Things Sophia Said

My firstborn is quite a chatter. I really wonder where she got it from! Haha, fine, my genes must have something to do with it. In fact, when she was a baby, not even turning a year old yet, she can copy whatever I or her father say. It was the cutest! But now that she's a pre-teen who actually has a reaction to anything that's happening around her, it can be pretty annoying. So yeah, cute isn't exactly a good word to describe it.

But of course, it also means that her responses can be funny just like when she started talking non-stop. And for her 11th birthday, here are 11 memorable things Sophia said.

A Decade of Wisdom

I called her from the bedroom where I was putting her baby sister to sleep. She was in her study table – drawing or might be writing songs and proses, her newly-found interest that keeps her occupied during her free time. She was quite in a hurry, her face was that of shock and worry. In short, exaggeratedly rushing. I told her to change that face and calm down. My tone was on gentle default when I called her since I was lulling the tiny one. So to see her theatrical reaction just made me want to shift to my inner green beast immediately. I did my best to pull out my Mary Poppins demeanor and told her to buy veggies for sinigang that I'd cook for lunch. After she listed it down and got the money, she took off her unicorn headband and got a simpler one (she said she doesn't want attention), a coin purse and her gray uggs. Do you see the irony? It appears in her every moment.

My firstborn, the child I delivered in the midst of personal crisis, has a rather odd combination of complex qualities. No thanks to her emotional, frank, inquisitive, logical, evasive and lazy genes. She did not come from a mediocre family, that is why. Both sides have each quality in its superlative. It's amusing to see a bit of me in her, though. Like, when someone pronounces a word wrongly, that's me right there with the sharp tone and poker face! But when she does it the way I do at her age and stage in life, I cringe. No way my gradeschooler would sound so disrespectful and obnoxious. When it happens, I quickly jump in. I don't want her to grow up thinking she knows better than everyone else. See the difficulty of trying to balance everything in parenting? If you think sleepless nights of having a newborn is exhausting, wait till you reach the double digits. May this serve as a warning, haha. 

Sophia Turns Seven: McDonald's Winx Club Party

I've been meaning to blog about this few days after the event but like what I said on my status on my page, I found no joy in doing so because of this sad cake story. No worries, I have moved on. I realized that what matters most was we made our birthday girl very happy.

R and I originally wished for an out of the country celebration for Sophia's 7th birthday - a trip to Hongkong Disneyland, specifically. Unfortunately, it all depended on my savings since all of R's salary goes to bills, everyday expenses and our girl's school fees. I only had Bebeng's Kitchen then that its earnings weren't enough for the celebration I hoped for. Good thing she chose to have a party with our families and her friends. I think it's the more practical choice that time.

Sophia Turns Six: Cupcake School Party

It's December 1st today - more than two months after this was held - I can finally share with you the photos of Sophia's simple party at school. You see, I am now breathing normally. I'm savoring the calm days left before the Christmas madness begins. Actually, not days but few hours left. It will be mompreneurhood at its finest. Christmas orders, Sophia's Christmas presentation and party, shopping, husband's holiday break, home decorating, and more. Whew.

Sophia Turns Five: My Little Pony School Party

When I was Googling for parties with My Little Pony themes, almost all of the girls who had it were five-year-olds or older. It's undeniably a little lady's favorite. My little girl breathes ponies day in and day out. Instead of saying everybody, she'd say "every pony". She'd sleep with her ponies, plays with them whenever she can and sometimes tags them along when she poops. Haha! Yes, she is that hooked to the colorful gallopin' cuties. So even without asking her, I decided to make it as her school party's theme. As you will see in the photos, the ponies weren't that evident 'cause it's not easy to look for MLP merchandise here in the Philippines, so I played with colors of the ponies instead. 

Warning: I'll be flooding this post with photos from the event. I enjoyed being the photographer that I didn't have a photo with the celebrant. You know, something for posterity. Well, we had one; a family selfie inside the car. That'll do. Hehe. Anyway, if I had the means and money, I could have just ordered party paraphernalia here. But because we're a single-income family, I went DIY. Momma, I had a blast up to the littlest of details!

Sophia Turns Four: Pink and Green Strawberry School Party

I knew from day one I planned Sophia's school party that she would enjoy. And sure, she did. But I never expected I'd get sick. I was constipated and bloated. I kept on releasing gas but no further follow-up, which was such a bad idea. I drank the last sachet of my then-slimming tea (because I have learned to love my womanly body) in the belief that I would have released all there was in me that made me so bloated. Yeah, I won't let you know the gory details 'cause you might be munching on some chocolate bar right now while reading this. And you might hate me forever. So what happened was, I released it! Ta-daah. But annoyingly, I had a fever and suffered from severe headache due to dehydration. Can I just prick myself with a dextrose? So, Sophia didn't go to school today because no one would prep her up. I think she somehow understood her sickly mother's sad situation. She didn't ask for too much of clingy motherhood that I usually offer. She looked like the girl I really wanted her to be -  an independent four-year-old.

My 4-year-old preschooler was to blame for all of these, eh? No, please, no. It did cross my mind though. But I loved what I did for my little girl and never regretted it. Oh well, I might avail a party pack from Jollibee next year. This party she had was all DIY - from the invites to the loot bags. I even used my own CO2 to inflate all 18 balloons I got from The Shoppe, owned by Misella Badua-Tagorda, my highschool classmate, who is now a proud mommy of a 3-year-old boy.