Charley vs The Floor (and the wall, occasionally)

cuteness overload! nomnomnom!

I'm not gonna lie; I was one with the thousands of students (and some teachers) who rejoiced when classes were suspended in Makati - for three (oh my goodness!!) consecutive days. I even downloaded twitter and created an account so that I could follow Makati and await any suspension announcements. Yes, I was that desperate.

In fact, the day before classes were suspended, I was already looking forward to spending the glorious long weekend with my roommate (my husband, btw) and Baby Charley, who's not so baby anymore. *sniff* *sniff*

During the three days I was at home (I have a day time work as a teacher and as a tutor), I saw how Baby Charley has grown and battled the floor and the wall several times. You see, she has recently learnt to crawl, and it amazes her that she could go from point A to point B without her mommy and daddy. She could crawl safely on the bed, but she has just discovered that crawling on the floor is far more brilliant. And painful, too.

One thing my roommate and I have agreed on (he's still working hard on it) is not to shelter Charley from possible bukols and bruises. We DO keep an eagle eye on her, but as she crawls, we let her crawl and let her discover on her own that the floor won't take any prisoners and shall never be easy on her.

She did learn this the hard way.

Our little crawler, at least what seems like her

On the first day of suspension of classes and on my watch, she was peacefully crawling her way around the unit when BOOM! She hit her head on the floor. Hard. Pretending not to notice her, my roommate and I continued with our phones and coffee, and Charley, being totally "ignored", continued to crawl. Moments later, we casually picked her up to check on any damages and breathed a sigh of relief when there's none.

Later that day, after her afternoon nap, she was on a climbing spree. No pile of pillows was too high or too perilous for her. Climb she wanted, climb she went. Suddenly we heard a loud thud on the bed. Charley just hit the wall. Harder this time. I was expecting blood on her forehead and bills from Makati Med, but good Lord there's none again, and climb she went again.

The love-hate relationship between Baby Charley and the floor/wall is costing us our sanity and peace of mind. We're suddenly so praning that she might hit the wall or the floor or something else again that we wanted to confine her in her crib. However, that's not being fair to Charley who's so curious in discovering life (and the pain) and her childhood.

I'm pretty sure there'll be more near-heart attack situations for us as Charley grows. There'll be real bruises and bukols and blood *faints* and wounds and more fun and giggles and gigils and laughter and joy of childhood like what we had when we were younger.

My roommate and I promise ourselves that we're gonna let Charley have, not the best childhood ever, but the childhood she will be proud of.

But note to the wall, please be easy on her next time.

And to Charley, for crying out loud, you will never win against the wall and the floor. Ever.

As of this writing, Floor/Wall 5; Charley infinite fun time.

Curious little kitten 

One and Done. (We think)

We can't say that this is our final answer, but as of the moment, my room mate (my hubby, btw) and I are 99.9% certain that we're happy with just having Baby Charley.

Yup. that means having a sibling or siblings for her (as of the moment or any time soon) is totally out of the question.

We just want her. Just her.

Period.

Many (including my OB) have been surprised when we tell them that we just want to have an only child. One and done ika nga. This is a decision I am thankful that my room mate and I share.

Why give the river when she
can have the entire ocean? 

We wish to give Baby Charley the world.

Okay, so does this mean spoiling her and giving her her heart's desire? Absolutely not!

There is such a thing as responsible spoiling. It means you provide your child with almost everything, but not all the time. Only when she deserves it.

Okay, I kinda made this one up, but that's what I have in mind.

Give me good grades, and I will let you watch those hormonal boyband "sing" and "dance". Something to this effect.

Responsible spoiling. 

My roommate and I want Charley to experience the things we enjoy and also the things we weren't able to experience - traveling the world; not waiting for our birthdays to eat in a fancy restaurant that serves good food, really good food; being able to study in a really good school; going on a Disney Cruise (okay, maybe it's me who want it); watching Disney On Ice at Smart Araneta; and having her own car by her 18th birthday.

With just her, we'll be more financially stable. I hope.

Pregnancy is not a walk at the park. So is giving birth.

Since my roommate and I are both in our 30's already, we are really considering my health and our next baby's health since studies show that it is quite risky to give birth by the late 30s. This could be a case to case scenario though, but as much as possible, we don't want to take the risk.

Besides, we will have been 60 by the time Charley is 30! Gosh, I would have been so wrinklish by the time I will have gotten my first apo. Totally not cool.

Since we're seriously considering this "One and Done" option as of the moment, we have to make sure that we prepare Baby Charley to face the world with just her.

Bbbbbuuuuutttt, that's another topic for a different post. Right now, we're simply enjoying having just Charley and keeping up with her alien-ish antics.ü