The Sweetest Thing

Just a day away from home and look what I got from my baby...

Baby Gaga

I'm afraid even my soon-to-be-five-year-old Indie was not insusceptible to this phenomenon called Lady Gaga. I know her outrageous music videos are far from kiddie fare but my baby caught sight of a couple of them while watching MTV with her two cousins, aged seven and ten, who did not exactly qualify as "parental guidance" providers.

And so, like most of the world, little Indie went Gaga as well. Poker Face, Paparazzi and Bad Romance became our daily ear companions which was fine with me. Until one afternoon when Indie showed me her Lady Gaga doodle and said proudly: "Look, mama, she's only wearing panties!"

It was my turn to go gaga.


Lady Gaga photo grabbed from here.

No to Death

Indie: Inay, I want to grow up fast.

Lola: Why?

Indie: Because if mama dies, I will be alone.

Awww.

Kids on PacMom

My ten-year old niece Yanna, whose TV viewing habit is limited to Disney Channel and MTV, caught sight of a dancing Dionesia Pacquiao on a magazine and blurted out: “Mama, she’s creepy!”

Of course, my sister Odie couldn’t help but burst out laughing at my niece’s innocent but somehow truthful observation. It was at that point when Yanna joined in the laughter when her brother Bubbi, aged 12, entered the room and demanded, “Hey, you two, what’s so funny?”

“Kuya, look, it’s Pacquiao’s mommy,” was Yanna’s way of explaining.

And Bubbi’s quick retort?

“Kayo talaga! It’s just Pacquiao pretending to be a girl!”

Straight from the Big Mouth of Babes

Last weekend over lunch...

INDIE : (On my sister's buffalo wings.)

           "Gert's cooking is sarap." 

ME : "How about mama's?"

INDIE : "Yeah..."

           (This said as if she was asked at gunpoint.)

ME : "How about my soup?"

INDIE : "The knorr pork cubes are sarap."

Uhmm, did you just spill the beans, darling? Or the cubes rather?

Cheap Shot, Baby

My youngest sister Gert's series of "who's older" questions must have finally got to Indie and—

GERT : Who's older me or Mama Dra?

INDIE : But you're fatter, right?

Where Did That Come From?

In the car on our way to lunch with my nephews who came all the way from Batangas...

ME (38): Where do you want to eat guys?

MOJO (7): McDonald’s—

BUBBI (11): Hey, we didn’t go this far just to eat at McDo!
                  (pregnant pause)
      I learned that from my fat ass dad!

Okay, so where did that come from?

Of Kids and Baby-Making

These days Indie has this new interest in the "production" of a sibling and...

INDIE: "Mommy, I will make a sister."

ME: "No, darling, it's papa and mommy who will make your sister."

INDIE: "Okay. So how do you make her?"

Uhmmm... Isn't it a bit too early for the birds and the bees?

Seasoned Traveler

Little Indie seems to think of herself as one. She's perfectly at ease at big airports. She appears to be no stranger to take offs and touchdowns. And shows every indication of familiarity with on-board routine.

During a flight from Bangkok to Manila, upon seeing the stewardesses with the food trolley, she immediately formed a megaphone-like circle over her mouth and dutifully announced to all passengers:

"Eating time, eating time!"

Littlest Bar Girl

When my cousin Charles was home for the holidays, drinking was a nightly staple among us everyday of that week he was with us. The few evenings we spent without going out were reserved for drinking still. As if automatically, it was "bar mode" as soon as dinner was over in our old apartment. That meant dimming all the lights to create an atmosphere conducive for beer and wine—my husband Nubs' idea actually.


One pre-"bar mode" night, Nubs was busy turning off the overhead lights and turning on the mood lamps when little Indie suddenly blurted out:

"Thanks for the drinks, Papa."

The Naked Truth

My husband Nubs was about to slip into his boxers when little Indie came bursting into the room and got the biggest shock of her young life — the sight of her father in his naked un-glory.

And —

"Papa has a tail! He's a monkey! A big monkey!"

A is for...

INDIE : Inay, A is for—

LOLA : Apple.

INDIE : Ant!

LOLA : Airplane.

INDIE : Alligator!

LOLA : Axe.

INDIE : Apricot!

LOLA : (Long pause to think of easy A-words for 3 year-old Indie's benefit.)

INDIE : Auroraaaaaa!!!!!!!

Aurora is her Lola's first name...

Project Run Away

One afternoon at home...

INDIE : Mommy, I want to go home—

ME : You're home baby.

INDIE : No, I want to go home to Balayan.

ME : Why?

INDIE : I want to go home to Inay's house. I want to sleep there. I don't like na here.

ME : Why? Are you not happy here?

INDIE : (Nods her head emphatically.)

ME : Why? Tell Mommy.

INDIE : Because Papa is mad at me.

Today's generation is far more advanced than ours it seems. When it occurred to me to run away from home, I was a teenager with angst in my heart. And here's my little girl, sans angst — I would like to believe — but already with big plans of leaving home. At the very young age of three.