Fritz is going to have his home education on this July. I hope I can be responsible with my decision and I hope I can be so consistent with it. Most of all, I just need some supports from the environment I'm going to face. It's a hard decision but I have to do it for my boy. Hopefully it can go well, though I believe there will be up and downs problems later. Ciayo!!

I'm writing the days on Zillion Marvelous Journey's Blog. A new blog of Fritz's home education.

You should prepare balanced meals and healthy snacks for your toddler. Well balanced offerings, especially during snack time, will help you to overcome the inevitable lack of food intake during a meal.

For example, if your toddler does not drink all of his milk at breakfast, give him cheese for a snack. If your toddler refuses to eat his meat at lunch, give him tofu bites dusted with Cheerio or Granola crumbs for a snack.

In these examples, while you may lament at the lack of calcium and protein intake during breakfast and lunch, you have taken the opportunity to "make up for it" during snack time!

Toss out the idea that your Toddler will suddenly be eating "like the family" does! Remember, your Toddler is still in a stage of slow-then-rapid-then-slow growth and is going through many changes!

How Much Should I Try to Have my Toddler Eat per Day?

When planning and serving meals to your toddler, try to have him/or her consume the following on a daily basis:

• 2 to 3 cups of calcium - milk (or yogurt, cheese or other calcium rich foods)

• 4 servings of fruits and vegetables. (Serving size: one tablespoon per year of age.) One serving should be high in vitamin C and another in vitamin A.

• 4 servings of grains - bread and cereal. One should be an iron-fortified baby cereal. A serving is about 1/4 to 1/3 an adult portion (1/4 slice toast, 1/4 cup pasta)

• 2 servings of proteins - meat, beans, eggs, tofu, or peanut butter. A good serving of protein should be served at every meal. One serving equals 1/2 ounce.

What is Considered a Serving Size for a Toddler?

We find that feeding your Toddler becomes less complicated and frustrating when parents realize what a serving size for a Toddler really is. A good rule for serving sizes for toddlers is the following::

1 tablespoon per year of age or 1/4 of an adult serving per year of age

At the next meal, use these measurements exactly and see for yourself how little food a Toddler should actually be eating. We bet you will be quite surprised!

Taken from wholesometoddlerfood.com/Toddlers.htm

Milk/Dairy: Servings: 16-20 ounces of milk per day. Whole milk, soy or rice milk are recommended. Other equivalents: 1/2-3/4 ounce of cheese = 4 ounces of milk. 1/4 cup of yogurt = 2 ounces of milk.

Fruits and veggies: Servings: 5 or more per day. Serving size: 1-2 tablespoons - Pureed, mashed, or cubed.

Grains: Servings: 3-4 per day. Serving sizes: 1/2 slice of bread, 1/4 cup of cooked cereal, 1/4 cup of dry cereal. 1/4 cup of pasta, 2-3 saltine crackers, or 1/2 tortilla.

Non-dairy Proteins (meat, fish, beans, eggs): Servings: 2 per day. Serving sizes: 1/2 egg, 2-3 tablespoons beans (i.e. black, pinto, edamame, etc...), 1 tablespoon peanut butter, or 1 ounce of fish, lean beef, pork or chicken.

Taken from keepkidshealthy.com/experts/fb/toddler_serving_sizes.html

Note: 1 ounce = 28.3495231 grams, 1 ounce = 29.5735296 ml

Here are some his abilities in this month:

- He starts to walk steadily. He slowly doesn't raise his two hands up anymore while he is walking. He's also able to stand up easily using his both little legs without falling down anymore. His walking is improving in a month. Every day, he practices his walking by going here and there, going to Uncle's room, bathroom, bedroom, Opa's room, to the kitchen and playing with the things around there. So I don't need to guide him again...Yay....I'm free now, I just let him exploring all the things around him. If he felt down, I always say to stand up again and that's ok...I really can't wait to see him running!!

- His vocabularies are also improving this month. Though he's not yet producing some clear words, I still teach him everyday with new words.
Here the lists:
* butterfly ( he still keeps on trying to make a butterfly symbol by using his hand as I did to him)
* chicken ( he does it like a duck. He's also recognizing the picture of chicken in the Pecel Lele's hawkers in the street he passed, then he showed to me the movement of duck)
* frog ( then he looks at the big froggy's bank in the top of the big cupboard in home)
* cow ( he can recognize any kind of cows wherever he sees)
* airplane ( he knows finally the things in the sky that can fly like a bird)
* turtle, rabbit and bird ( he is still learning on this vocab)
* horse (knows the pictures and like to ride a horse toy)

- play pretending things such as driving a car, a motorcycle and riding a horse with the bolster

- able to kick the ball

- prefer hip hop song to sentimental songs. He can cry when hearing those songs....really cry with falling down tears. So sad!

- when he wakes up and there is a remote control on the bed, he will get it and turn the TV on. Ohhh gosh, he copies what I did!!

- The other things:
* raise your hands...then he raise his hands and I'm going to tickle his armpit. He will do it more and more raising his hands without I'm asking...hahahhaa
* peace sign by showing two fingers...I taught him when we did mirroring and took a picture. He's trying to do it more and more...so funny...
* shocking...by putting his palm on the chest.
* powdering..get any kind of bottle and put in her belly and spread it like powdering...he's totally copying from me.

- he prefer to play the things around to his toys. He likes transferring the small red beans from one bowl to other bowl by using spoon.

- I teach him how to pray now and recognize his Jesus Christ. Then, I'm trying to sing some religious songs that he had heard on Sunday School.

I really can't memorize what he did one by one, but for me, he's a big boy now. He starts to copy all the things he sees. Then I really must be careful with what we do, what he see and what we say...and the most of all, he is a brilliant boy for me...

I dream for these:

Living in a small house, just three of us. Having own properties that I can manage it by myself.

I can put a sofa and a LCD plasma television in the living room. I can put 4 chairs and a simple dining table on the dining room with a fridge there. I can manage my own kitchen with all the utensils inside. Then I can put our toothbrushes, shampoos, liquid soap and my shower cap in our bathroom.

The most of all we have our private room and Fritz has his own room. In his room, I will put all his toys and things there. So he has his private area to play and do some things.

What a good house!

Next, I dream for having a small car that enough for three of us.

oh, I forget one thing, I don't think I need a maid at my simple house probably as I never satisfy with their works. Can I??

The other dream is my hubby gets a good work as an entepreneur. Hopefully he's gonna be a successful person in the future. Amien! So I just stay at home taking care of houswife's chores.

We can eat what we want to eat, we can go wherever we want to go, we can buy what we need to buy..

I just dream a simple life and enough money for daily needs.

God, may You grant my wishes...please.....

Last Saturday, three of us, da Lievell clan, had a pleasant day. We went to some places and met some people inward.

We had lunch at d'Cost. It is a cheap restaurant with their motto is five star's quality with hawkers' prices. When we arrived there, I saw some familiar faces and they're my teachers from high school. Firstly, I didn't wanna to greet them honestly.

In my thought at that moment, they're from my past and I didn't have any obligation to greet them, right...Then, I remembered, I was a teacher also and I was so delightful if there is one of my students still recognize me as their teacher.

So, with my big heart (^^), I greeted one of them, Ms Nana. She knew me but she forgot my name. That's ok, she is old already and I was not the only one students she has, right...Then I introduced my name and she said, "I still recognize your face but I'd forgotten your name. It was so pleasant that you still wanna recognize us as your teacher and greet us."

Ooooohhhh....I was so happy when she said that words.....after I and their had lunch, I asked them to take some pictures with me. Here they're: Mam Jenny (English Teacher), Ms Nana (a nicely and charmingly teacher), Ms Yulia (Anthropology Teacher) , Mr Arifin (Sociology Teacher), Mr Soemardiono (Biology Teacher), and Mr Totok (PE Teacher).

As some of those teachers will be resigned, I felt so sad with the dedication of teachers. They have big portions of some people's life but their life are so miserable. I just can say, only God will repay their tears and sweat for their dedication in enriching our brain with the knowledge they'd given.

Next destination was my college at Apple Tree Sunter Branch, Christine Endang. She has delivered her baby on May 26th at Hermina Podomoro. She didn't tell me that she had delivered already. So we decided to visit her house towards. After we lost our direction to her house, finally we arrived and saw a beautiful girl named Grace Amy.

We chatted each other for almost an hour. It was a nice chat. It's been along time ago, I think it's more than a year we didn't have any chat. Before, at school, we worked together and have a chit chat with others everyday. I really missed that moments so much....*gonna cry missing that moments*

Then the other destination was attending a 1st birthday party of Timothea Jesslyn Wijaya on GJKI church at Sunter. When we arrived, it's almost done. Fortunately, we had a chance to see a happy b'day song, a blowing candle and a cutting cake moments and the last was taking pictures together. Yay!!!

Most of the children were going down to get the meals and Fritz was staying there. Why? Because he saw his fave's ones...Mickey Mouse on the mat. He stood up and squatted to point Mickey and Friends. He also did dancing before he felt down with his back of head on the floor then crying aloud. Ughhhhh.......

We just took not more than an hour staying there. We went home with drizzled rain outside.

The last destination was Davina's house. Actually we just wanna give some krupuk to her mom before we saw Raphael on Oma's hands. We decided ask Fritz to play with him.

Raphael is so big now, he also can produce some words. He becomes so chatty. His mom and dad are going to Bandung for their bussiness trip. So he just stayed at home with his Oma. What a lovely child! I'm so jealous...^^

Both of them though couldn't play each other, they showed socialization. Boys! I'm so happy to teach Fritz to be socialized with others. He can play and behave so nicely with his friends..

It's really a beautiful day. Though it was so tired, everybody were tired, I know that Fritz learnt a lot from some situations and environment he had that day.

Cheers!!