The Most Awaited Bonding Time With Mikaela:-)I

I was so excited when summer vacation (2015) began for it meant more time with family - bonding with my daughter and of course my husband. But I and my husband know that we need to make time and expose more our daughter.  I felt so short with that.  So I thought  of spending more time with the following :

1.  Heart to heart talks 

I have noticed that Mikaela can only speak few words.  I was in panic at first about it.  In my desperation, I researched on premature's ability to speak from where I learned that 30 percent or less speak late but does not really mean inferior intelligence.  So we had to double our effort with it.  I and my husband spent a great deal of time talking with her and discuss anything we see even during watching television time.  She positively responded with it.  At my end, I speak to her like she is one of the adults in the family.  I express how I feel and deeply look into her eyes.   

Truly intelligence is not a concern.  She is so smart with responding to instructions like getting things and giving it to me, turning "on" the switch, climbing up and down the bed as early as 1 year old, shaking hands, or "mano po",  her sensitivity with estimating possibility of falling, sensing emotion with tones of voices (I saw how she responded through her eyes) or putting her hands together during prayer time with giggles in between ( she knows full well that it's prayer time). 

2.  Socialize and Connect with Other kids

Since summer vacation started, I swore to bring my daughter out of the house everyday either for the regular walking or to just socialize with friends.  Now, she is enjoying playing with the neighbor kids running around or walking holding hands with them. It melts my heart seeing her value friendship at 2 years old and appreciating friends and giggling with them.  

Lately, these same friends  looked for her in the morning or afternoon checking if she's awake so they could play.  Then I would hurry to prepare her but I would not wake her up if she is so sound asleep.  So we will just have to do our regular walking without her group of friends but with her dad.

3.  Engage her with other activities 

There are other activities that we engage her such as allowing her to spend time to watch her learning videos - ABCD, music, art etc, explore her books where she points some letters and say them, throw and catch a beach ball (we prefer the softer one for her), dancing together as a family ( hmm Mikaela made my serious husband dance several times already), praying and going to Church together (the usual one), doing grocery together and allow her to explore the vast store running around, scribble the white board with a pen just to allow her to imagine and sketch and so many more.  

I have a very assertive girl.  One time when I tried to hold her pen and point it a certain direction, she held my hand and pushed it aside sending the message to let her be. There were times already that she insisted on her own that we realized to just have to give her that space.  

The other day, was one of the best bonding moments we had  when we just laid in bed and snuggled each other while talking about anything.  It then surprised me when she lifted her daddy's and my hand and put them together while she stayed in between us giggling.  And the best of all was when she held my face and looked straight at my eyes  while she devoured her milk.

Isn't amazing?