gymboree play & learn

when nikko hit 12 months, i knew i wanted him enrolled in a play class.

he's been an expert crawler for the past 2 months but i want to push him further. he also "walks" when you hold him but never on his own. when we encourage him to take small steps alone, he tries but he "rushes over" to hold on to something. there are times when he just stands still and sits down instead of even taking a step. he'd much rather crawl than walk.

but, we did notice that when you don't mind him, he does try to take little steps. and he seems more confident when he's doing it alone.

since i wanted to "push" him a little more, i convinced nelo that we enroll nikko at gymboree's level 3 class. there, he'll be in a different set-up away from home. and i'm sure he'll have "classmates" in the class as well. i am hoping that this will encourage him when he sees other kids around his age.

when we went for a gym play session the week before his class, he was taking more baby steps already. i knew it was a good sign. we'll just see if he'll take it a step further.

on our first week of class, there were around five of them and mostly girls. there were just two boys including nikko. the session started with singing a song and clapping. he was a little shy as teacher mica started the class. it also made me realize that nikko needs to catch up on learning stuff. he's the type of kid who wants to do things in his own time and it makes me worried sometimes.

anyway, after the singing, they had to go through some of the play activities. nikko was participating very well! he was crawling up the slide, keeps pushing the foam roller and totally enjoying the bubble play. there was less walking for him that day but you can see that he's trying and he's enjoying the activities.

on his second week, i saw a different nikko! he was now more confident and interacting with the other kids. and he was standing on his own, less wobbly, and taking a lot more step than usual. he was also clappping now unlike the previous week. this week though, he wanted to be with his daddy more. so they were the ones doing most of the activities together.

we were so happy after this week's class. nikko had more confidence and was exploring more. we hope the next two weeks' classes will continue to improve his disposition and his learning skills.

father's day celebration

it was a simple father's day celebration for us. just our usual sunday mass and lunch out. what made it special though was, nikko is much bigger now and we totally enjoy every minute with him.

 we wanted nikko to have a gym play session at gymboree after lunch so we decided to have lunch at friday's in bonifacio high street. we let nikko explore a bit as we headed off to friday's.

at friday's we ordered french onion soup for nikko. we also gave him some fries. for us, we got a caesar salad, mushroom chicken and mushroom, friday's pork adobo and chicken fingers.

caesar salad. the perfect way to start the meal. it was light and tasted just right.

french onion soup. nikko liked it. it had this big crouton inside soaked by the soup. the cheese coating was yummy.

mushroom chicken mushroom. it was just okay. nothing really fancy.

friday's pork adobo. the meat was tender and savory. but the dip was too salty for me.

chicken fingers. a simple dish and yet the best for me that afternoon.

 after lunch, as we headed off to gymboree, we stopped by the musical pipes at high street. nikko liked the sound it makes. i'm sure he'll be able to explore it even more as he gets bigger.

 

then it was off to gymboree for his gym play!

shopping cart ride

whenever we go for grocery shopping, nikko loves riding in the grocery cart. he likes that he sees a lot of things around the supermarket. and he probably likes the "freedom" of just sitting there instead of being carried by mommy.

nikko @ 9 months. look at the way he sits there. parang si don quixote! :)

at parang naka-akbay pa ang arms. notice may hawak syang biscuit. senorito!

and he also likes looking up at those grocery boys who goes up the ladder and pulls down their supplies. he has this big smile whenever he sees them and even giggles when he sees them going up and down.

one thing nikko likes to do lately is to stand up in the cart as we push the stuff towards the parking area. he probably thinks he's in control. we do tell him to hold tightly and we push it at just the right speed.

nikko @ 1 yr. old. he's more confident now standing inside the cart.

 

i'm sure when het gets bigger, he'll soon start getting things off the rack and put it in the basket. lol! i'll have to take a photo when that happens. for now, we love that he enjoys these little grocery moments. a little way to explore new things for him.