I hate comparing my two precious boys. Only because I feel that by saying something good about one, it might imply something negative about the other. One of the exceptions to this is a non-judgmental statement that Hadrien is the performer, while Baz does not like to perform. It's not that Baz does not perform per se - he does, but mainly just in front of us. And when he feels that it's not a performance.
Hadrien, on the other hand, thrives on performing. When he's warmed up and in the mood, he will gladly perform his antics and may even do more than asked. He enjoys attention and when he notices that he has yours, will maximize it to the hilt. His cuteness does not disappoint either :) Sometimes, he'd overhear me narrating his latest quip and he would interrupt saying "who said that?" knowing full well that I was talking about him. Another time, shortly after being introduced to a group of nuns, he pointed out to Tita Ed "they're my friends" - as if showing off or laying claim on them. He's a real crowd pleaser and I'd have to say, having a crowd pleases him too!
So far, this is what we've managed to record.
Hadrien the Performer from malou.khan on Vimeo.
12.30.2007
Baz's Mega Structures
The funny thing is that his structures sometimes reflect current events. This video was taken less than 2 weeks after the foiled Manila Peninsula coup. Pay particular attention to the role he assigns to Hadrien ;)
Untitled from malou.khan on Vimeo.
12.28.2007
Our christmas holiday in pictures
(Baz drew the tree, which we sent to the rubber stamp maker so that we could make multiple copies. He also wrote "The Khans" on each card :) Hadrien helped with the pasting.)
12.17.2007
Crocodiles!
We were watching Discovery Channel tonight, and they had a show on "Super Croc" - a prehistoric crocodile that was twice the size of today's reptiles.
The boys were fascinated by it. The show also featured different types of crocodiles from around the world, and depicted them in action: stalking prey, remaining immobile, chomping down on various animals. One scene showed an African crocodile stealthily swimming up to a herd of wildebeests drinking water, then suddenly leaping out to grab one of them. Hadrien was so alarmed that he rushed to the TV screen and started spanking it, shouting: "Bad cwocodile!"
Baz mentioned that crocodiles were like alligators, which prompted a rendition of Sesame Street's "The Alligator King" from Hadrien: "Sed the Awigator King to his seven sons, I'm feeling ... mighty down!"
Later in bed I told them that I was the Daddy Crocodile and that it was time for the crocodile boys to sleep. Baz promptly identified himself as the "Adobo Crocodile" and Hadrien was the "Monster Crocodile" - complete with his low rumbling hrrmmmm sound.
The boys were fascinated by it. The show also featured different types of crocodiles from around the world, and depicted them in action: stalking prey, remaining immobile, chomping down on various animals. One scene showed an African crocodile stealthily swimming up to a herd of wildebeests drinking water, then suddenly leaping out to grab one of them. Hadrien was so alarmed that he rushed to the TV screen and started spanking it, shouting: "Bad cwocodile!" Baz mentioned that crocodiles were like alligators, which prompted a rendition of Sesame Street's "The Alligator King" from Hadrien: "Sed the Awigator King to his seven sons, I'm feeling ... mighty down!"
Later in bed I told them that I was the Daddy Crocodile and that it was time for the crocodile boys to sleep. Baz promptly identified himself as the "Adobo Crocodile" and Hadrien was the "Monster Crocodile" - complete with his low rumbling hrrmmmm sound.
On the 8th Day of Christmas
Baz's school held its annual christmas party. For someone who did not particularly like crowds and strangers, Baz was strangely looking forward to it. Truth be told, I was hesitant to go.
The Incredible Pups, Baz's class, was to perform the 12 Days of Christmas. I brought Baz to the room where the kids were practicing and asked if they were expected to perform the whole song.... Yes... I was worried but figured that Teachers Maiya, Julie and Erica had a game plan.
Surprise, surpise! Baz walked onto the makeshift stage - and stayed there! He even counted each day of christmas with his fingers, all the while moving his arm to the beat of the music.
I could not help the tears that welled in my eyes. Teachers Gabby, Maiya, Julie and Erica were also very proud and rushed to hug him - which made him cry but only for a short while. Baz does not like clapping or attention - and he got both - but he truly truly deserved it.
The Incredible Pups, Baz's class, was to perform the 12 Days of Christmas. I brought Baz to the room where the kids were practicing and asked if they were expected to perform the whole song.... Yes... I was worried but figured that Teachers Maiya, Julie and Erica had a game plan.
Surprise, surpise! Baz walked onto the makeshift stage - and stayed there! He even counted each day of christmas with his fingers, all the while moving his arm to the beat of the music.
I could not help the tears that welled in my eyes. Teachers Gabby, Maiya, Julie and Erica were also very proud and rushed to hug him - which made him cry but only for a short while. Baz does not like clapping or attention - and he got both - but he truly truly deserved it.
12.14.2007
Blast Off!
The 2 boys never run out of role-playing scenarios. They used to be Nemo and Boot the tark (Bruce the shark), then they moved on to being Wallace and Grommit. They also love to play with the pillows on our bed pretending to drive to Ayaya Awabang (Ayala Alabang), Toddlers Unimini (Unlimited), the penthouse and Gramma's condo. At Gramma's Condo yesterday, they were blasting off into space but didn't get too far.
Baz: Hadrien, you go to Pluto.
Hadrien: No, you go to Pluto!
Baz: I don't like to go to Pluto - you go to Pluto.
Hadrien: But Pluto's not a planet.
(fighting ensues)
(as narrated to me by Gramma)
He doesn't let on but a lot of things rub off on Hadrien. He just waits for the perfect witty opportunity to show us :)
Baz: Hadrien, you go to Pluto.
Hadrien: No, you go to Pluto!
Baz: I don't like to go to Pluto - you go to Pluto.
Hadrien: But Pluto's not a planet.
(fighting ensues)
(as narrated to me by Gramma)
He doesn't let on but a lot of things rub off on Hadrien. He just waits for the perfect witty opportunity to show us :)
12.13.2007
Baz's Coo-ah (Cool) List
As the kids develop their varied interests, I realize that some interests wane while others stay awhile longer. I don't want to forget the phases the boys go through so bear with me as I immortalize them here.
1. cooking - Early on, Baz developed a love for cooking shows (blame it on the thousands of hours I spent watching the Lifestyle Network while I was pregnant and even after Baz was born). He has a huge crush on Rachael Ray and her 30 Minute GET REAL Meals is one of the first few books he asked his Daddy to buy. To show his appreciation for good food, he would say "mmm.... perfect" with his eyes closed ala Ina Garten of The Barefoot Contessa. At age 4, he read the whole recipe of Swedish Meatballs with Noodles except for the fractions. He has a play-kitchen at home and would spend long stretches of time playing there. This interest has mellowed recently as he became interested in more things.
2. reading/spelling - Baz learned to read all letters at 18 months. He would constantly ask me how to spell Baz, baby, daddy, mommy, car, van, yaya, etc. He had memorized so many words at 18 months that out of curiousity, I asked him to spell "bed" and he did! We tried other 3-letter words and he was indeed able to spell them. When he was 2 years old, he liked playing with the typewriter in my office and would type his name. At 2.9, Yaya Andora found him reading 10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle to Hadrien. Now, at age 4, he is a sight reader and has no trouble reading "thousands", "mini-beasts", "dusk", "termites", "locusts". And it's not just reading, he understands most everything he reads and when he doesn't, he makes sure to ask us.
3. calendars - Baz remembers birthdays and certain events. He knows that I left for a trip to the US on May 7, 2007 and that Daddy followed on May 11. He even remembers what day of the week it was. Early this year, Auntie April gave Baz a cat calendar. For quite a long time, the first thing he would do in the morning is tear off a page from it. He doesn't do that anymore. He prefers to draw the calendar instead, which is good as he gets to practice writing as well as drawing lines. The perfectionist that he is, one time, Raffy found him sobbing as he made a mistake while drawing his calendar.
4. Cinderella - The very first play the boys got to watch was Cinderella. Since then, he would ask to read the book or watch the cartoon. He would also draw Cinderella's castle, complete with a washing machine with the letter "C". He even directs Hadrien and Gramma Cholly in role-playing. Gramma is Cinderella, he's Prince Charming, and guess who's the fairy godmother? Who else but Hadrien. Sometimes, we'd tease Hadrien that he's Gus to which he responds "no, I'm Lutifer (Lucifer)!".
5. the human body - Baz's curriculum included an introduction to the nervous system, digestive system, circulatory system. While at a book fair, I showed Baz a human torso model and he immediately jumped with a big smile on his face. For a couple of weeks after that, he would spent hours playing with it and reading a book on anatomy which his Gramma Cholly got for him in DC. He also enjoying surfing the net to read about neurons and explore the virtual body. Every now and then, he'd ask about whether his food is now in his intestines - whether it's in the small or large intestines!
7. music - When Baz was around 1 year old, he started to make up songs. Ok, maybe they were as simple as "mommy, mommy", "daddy, daddy", "tabo, tabo, tabo-bo-bo-bo, tabo, tabo, tabo-bobobo", "fly, fly, fly, the black hanger, come back soon, the black hanger". But they were consistent. He'd assign different tunes for each of his compositions and would not interchange them. Before he turned 2, we'd play the "Name That Tune" game and he'd usually guess the song in as little as 3-4 notes. He also learned to play the first 7 notes of "Do, Re, Mi" before he turned 2! If you read this blog regularly, you will also remember the many casual discussions we've had about which type of music to listen to on the way to school. Here's Baz performing his Tabo song (age: before he turned 2).
(video from Auntie Genni)
8. languages - Baz learned to count in 4 languages - English (up to 100), Chinese (up to 30), Spanish (up to 10) and Tagalog (up to 10). We didn't realize that Baz understood Tagalog until recently when we asked him "kumain ka na ba?" and he answered correctly. Since then, we'd occasionally talk to him in Tagalog and he'd answer in Tagalog. He likes to play what he calls the "Tagalog Game" and can sing "Lupang Hinirang" all the way up to "di ka pasi-siil".
Recent interests: seasons (questions include "is there day and night in spring, summer, autumn?"), rainbows, planets, weather, the globe and the countries, flags, making different structures with blocks and his pyramid.
I'm sure that in a couple of weeks' time, we'll be able to add to this cool list. For now though, I have to brush up on rainbows and seasons.
1. cooking - Early on, Baz developed a love for cooking shows (blame it on the thousands of hours I spent watching the Lifestyle Network while I was pregnant and even after Baz was born). He has a huge crush on Rachael Ray and her 30 Minute GET REAL Meals is one of the first few books he asked his Daddy to buy. To show his appreciation for good food, he would say "mmm.... perfect" with his eyes closed ala Ina Garten of The Barefoot Contessa. At age 4, he read the whole recipe of Swedish Meatballs with Noodles except for the fractions. He has a play-kitchen at home and would spend long stretches of time playing there. This interest has mellowed recently as he became interested in more things.
2. reading/spelling - Baz learned to read all letters at 18 months. He would constantly ask me how to spell Baz, baby, daddy, mommy, car, van, yaya, etc. He had memorized so many words at 18 months that out of curiousity, I asked him to spell "bed" and he did! We tried other 3-letter words and he was indeed able to spell them. When he was 2 years old, he liked playing with the typewriter in my office and would type his name. At 2.9, Yaya Andora found him reading 10 Little Rubber Ducks by Eric Carle to Hadrien. Now, at age 4, he is a sight reader and has no trouble reading "thousands", "mini-beasts", "dusk", "termites", "locusts". And it's not just reading, he understands most everything he reads and when he doesn't, he makes sure to ask us.
3. calendars - Baz remembers birthdays and certain events. He knows that I left for a trip to the US on May 7, 2007 and that Daddy followed on May 11. He even remembers what day of the week it was. Early this year, Auntie April gave Baz a cat calendar. For quite a long time, the first thing he would do in the morning is tear off a page from it. He doesn't do that anymore. He prefers to draw the calendar instead, which is good as he gets to practice writing as well as drawing lines. The perfectionist that he is, one time, Raffy found him sobbing as he made a mistake while drawing his calendar.
4. Cinderella - The very first play the boys got to watch was Cinderella. Since then, he would ask to read the book or watch the cartoon. He would also draw Cinderella's castle, complete with a washing machine with the letter "C". He even directs Hadrien and Gramma Cholly in role-playing. Gramma is Cinderella, he's Prince Charming, and guess who's the fairy godmother? Who else but Hadrien. Sometimes, we'd tease Hadrien that he's Gus to which he responds "no, I'm Lutifer (Lucifer)!".
5. the human body - Baz's curriculum included an introduction to the nervous system, digestive system, circulatory system. While at a book fair, I showed Baz a human torso model and he immediately jumped with a big smile on his face. For a couple of weeks after that, he would spent hours playing with it and reading a book on anatomy which his Gramma Cholly got for him in DC. He also enjoying surfing the net to read about neurons and explore the virtual body. Every now and then, he'd ask about whether his food is now in his intestines - whether it's in the small or large intestines!
7. music - When Baz was around 1 year old, he started to make up songs. Ok, maybe they were as simple as "mommy, mommy", "daddy, daddy", "tabo, tabo, tabo-bo-bo-bo, tabo, tabo, tabo-bobobo", "fly, fly, fly, the black hanger, come back soon, the black hanger". But they were consistent. He'd assign different tunes for each of his compositions and would not interchange them. Before he turned 2, we'd play the "Name That Tune" game and he'd usually guess the song in as little as 3-4 notes. He also learned to play the first 7 notes of "Do, Re, Mi" before he turned 2! If you read this blog regularly, you will also remember the many casual discussions we've had about which type of music to listen to on the way to school. Here's Baz performing his Tabo song (age: before he turned 2).
(video from Auntie Genni)
8. languages - Baz learned to count in 4 languages - English (up to 100), Chinese (up to 30), Spanish (up to 10) and Tagalog (up to 10). We didn't realize that Baz understood Tagalog until recently when we asked him "kumain ka na ba?" and he answered correctly. Since then, we'd occasionally talk to him in Tagalog and he'd answer in Tagalog. He likes to play what he calls the "Tagalog Game" and can sing "Lupang Hinirang" all the way up to "di ka pasi-siil".
Recent interests: seasons (questions include "is there day and night in spring, summer, autumn?"), rainbows, planets, weather, the globe and the countries, flags, making different structures with blocks and his pyramid.
I'm sure that in a couple of weeks' time, we'll be able to add to this cool list. For now though, I have to brush up on rainbows and seasons.
12.12.2007
From Auntie Genni
When I was with Baz in Gramma's condo, he was talking about death. He said, "When you reach 100, you will die." Wondering where he got this number, I told him that there were people in Greece who lived past a hundred, that there are people who live up to 110, 115. He asked, "What's Greece?" so I told him that Greece is a country in Europe and that he should look for it in his globe. Then I told him that you don't have to die when you reach 100 and that you don't die if you don't want to die. He said, "I don't want to die yet" so I said, "That's why you won't die." Baz then went on to explain his concept of death. He said, "When you die you will become nothing, you will become ZERO, you will become nothing, you will become zero." Hearing this from him, I thought, oh my gosh, this boy is a genius, that's a buddhist concept! While I was still marveling at his idea of death, he continued, "You will become MANY ZEROS, you will become nothing!" Amazing! He equated infinity with nothing. So I posed a question and said, " If there are many zeros, then that's not nothing, that's many things, it's everything." He thought about it and seemed to absorb the concept but probably couldn't make sense of it yet so he just said, "Okay, there will be only one zero."
12.09.2007
Conversations with Baz & Hadrien (Part 5)
For the nth time, music becomes the topic of a funny exchange in the car. I don't know when but Baz has figured out that Daddy has pre-set radio stations, each corresponding to a type of music. He also has conjured up his own family, mirroring ours. He has two sons - Dogboy and Catboy. He also has a wife. Dogboy's birthday is on November 22 and Catboy's is on November 24. So, it's no wonder he also has his own car with its own pre-set radio stations.
Baz: Daddy, in my car, 1 is for classical (music), 2 is for pop, 3 is for rock, 4 is for christmas songs, 5 is for dance music, 6 is for light rock and 7 is for dark rock. Makes sense!
______
The boys are starting to play basketball. Hadrien, being more athletic than Baz, took to basketball earlier. Many times, he'd grab the ball from Baz (who does not mind) and shoots it . Hadrien prefers pushing the ball into the ring instead of tossing it.
Grandma Myrna: You should shoot, not push.
Hadrien: Grandma, you know, I did not put (push). I toot (shoot).
_______
Last night, Hadrien woke up crying and for some reason, upset at Raffy. This exchange took place even while he had both eyes closed the whole time.
Hadrien: Daddy's mad at me..
Me: No, he's not.
Hadrien: Yes, he is. He's bwead (bread, which evolved from a very slang "bad"). Spank Daddy.
Me: mmm... ok..... (yes, I know I shouldn't have said "ok", but I just wanted him to fall asleep again)
Hadrien: NOOOOOWWWW.....
______
Hadrien: Mommy, spank Baz, he got the green toy. I want the green toy. I never get the green toy. Spank Kuya!
Baz: Daddy, in my car, 1 is for classical (music), 2 is for pop, 3 is for rock, 4 is for christmas songs, 5 is for dance music, 6 is for light rock and 7 is for dark rock. Makes sense!
______
The boys are starting to play basketball. Hadrien, being more athletic than Baz, took to basketball earlier. Many times, he'd grab the ball from Baz (who does not mind) and shoots it . Hadrien prefers pushing the ball into the ring instead of tossing it.
Grandma Myrna: You should shoot, not push.
Hadrien: Grandma, you know, I did not put (push). I toot (shoot).
_______
Last night, Hadrien woke up crying and for some reason, upset at Raffy. This exchange took place even while he had both eyes closed the whole time.
Hadrien: Daddy's mad at me..
Me: No, he's not.
Hadrien: Yes, he is. He's bwead (bread, which evolved from a very slang "bad"). Spank Daddy.
Me: mmm... ok..... (yes, I know I shouldn't have said "ok", but I just wanted him to fall asleep again)
Hadrien: NOOOOOWWWW.....
______
Hadrien: Mommy, spank Baz, he got the green toy. I want the green toy. I never get the green toy. Spank Kuya!
12.02.2007
He Talks!
Baz has decided that he won't talk in school. And he's sticking to it. He actually didn't start out that way. In fact, narratives from his first 3 months in school document that he talked about his Daddy and Hadrien a lot (nope, not me) and that he is a curious boy - always asking questions. Somewhere along the way, and for reasons still unknown to us, he decided to literally keep his mouth shut. Not even a good tickling will get him to open his mouth, not a wee bit!
So imagine his classmates' surprise when he would talk in the elevator. One of his classmates, Sebastian, couldn't help himself and actually exclaimed "yaya, he talks!" He then approaches Baz and asks "you only talk in the elevator?" Of course, Baz chose not to respond. Whenever I would pick him up, he is in a rush to run to the elevator or to the hallway when no one is there so that he could let out a loud and taunting "HA!"... grrr.....
I'm not a child expert (I'd like to think more a Baz-expert) but I really think that this is plainly matter of choice. I still agonize over it tho hoping that this phase ends sooner rather than later. But Baz has always been resolute in his decision-making. A trait which can be inconvenient to us as parents. The good thing is that he generally makes good choices so I trust he has a "higher" purpose to this self-imposed silence.
At home, Baz is a prolific talker, always speaking in grammatically correct and complete sentences and ever ready with an intelligent retort when he knows you're trying to put one over him.
In this video, Baz has decided "C" is for Cinderella and to complete his jigsaw minibeasts puzzle. Watch.
Drawing and Puzzle Time from malou.khan on Vimeo.
So imagine his classmates' surprise when he would talk in the elevator. One of his classmates, Sebastian, couldn't help himself and actually exclaimed "yaya, he talks!" He then approaches Baz and asks "you only talk in the elevator?" Of course, Baz chose not to respond. Whenever I would pick him up, he is in a rush to run to the elevator or to the hallway when no one is there so that he could let out a loud and taunting "HA!"... grrr.....
I'm not a child expert (I'd like to think more a Baz-expert) but I really think that this is plainly matter of choice. I still agonize over it tho hoping that this phase ends sooner rather than later. But Baz has always been resolute in his decision-making. A trait which can be inconvenient to us as parents. The good thing is that he generally makes good choices so I trust he has a "higher" purpose to this self-imposed silence.
At home, Baz is a prolific talker, always speaking in grammatically correct and complete sentences and ever ready with an intelligent retort when he knows you're trying to put one over him.
In this video, Baz has decided "C" is for Cinderella and to complete his jigsaw minibeasts puzzle. Watch.
Drawing and Puzzle Time from malou.khan on Vimeo.
Conversations with Baz and Hadrien (Part 4)
In the car, on the way to Alabang... again, the choice of music genre was the subject of hot debate
Hadrien: Daddy, I want rock.
Daddy: There's no rock today, it's Sunday (yeah, right!)
Baz: Is there classical?
Hadrien: How about heavy metal? Daddy, is that heavy metal?
Daddy: Look at that man in a barong, he's going to a wedding.
Hadrien: Daddy, I'm going to a wedding oto (also). But it's far away toh (so) you cannot tee (see) me.
Daddy: Is that your wedding?
Hadrien: Yet (yes).
Daddy: You delay getting married as much as you can, Hadrien. Maybe when you're 30.
Hadrien: But I'm pwetending I'm 30.
Daddy: You can't pretend, Hadrien. You really have to be at least 30 before you get married.
Hadrien: I can!
Hadrien: Daddy, I want rock.
Daddy: There's no rock today, it's Sunday (yeah, right!)
Baz: Is there classical?
Hadrien: How about heavy metal? Daddy, is that heavy metal?
Daddy: Look at that man in a barong, he's going to a wedding.
Hadrien: Daddy, I'm going to a wedding oto (also). But it's far away toh (so) you cannot tee (see) me.
Daddy: Is that your wedding?
Hadrien: Yet (yes).
Daddy: You delay getting married as much as you can, Hadrien. Maybe when you're 30.
Hadrien: But I'm pwetending I'm 30.
Daddy: You can't pretend, Hadrien. You really have to be at least 30 before you get married.
Hadrien: I can!
11.20.2007
(Don't) pick up (those) sticks!
Here's what Baz did with a few popsicle sticks.
He sure looks proud of his masterpiece :) I checked - no one helped him :)
He sure looks proud of his masterpiece :) I checked - no one helped him :)
11.19.2007
It's typical
for the boys to go from best friends to the worst enemies in a matter of seconds. What more when there's something yummy, or what appears to be yummy, at stake.
Note: The boys love the story of the gingerbread man. It took awhile for Hadrien though as the first time the story was read to him, he literally shed a tear when he found out that gingerbread man was eaten by the fox in the end.
Note: The boys love the story of the gingerbread man. It took awhile for Hadrien though as the first time the story was read to him, he literally shed a tear when he found out that gingerbread man was eaten by the fox in the end.
11.14.2007
Ouch!
Crying, shouting and chasing around the condo...
Yaya: Kinurot ni Baz yung bird ni Hadrien. (Baz pinched Hadrien's penis.)
Me: Baz! Never, never do that. Stand in the corner.
Baz: I don't want to!
Me: Did Hadrien like it when you pinched him?
Baz: crying and wailing - but louder this time.
Hadrien: Hi, mommy!
Me: Hadrien, what did you do? Why did Kuya pinch you?
Hadrien: Because I put sipon (mucus) on him. Because he's bad!
Me: Ok, that's not good also. You stay in the other corner.
More crying and wailing....
5 minutes later, all was forgotten :)
Another 10 minutes later, the two boys were sharing a bowl of strawberry pretzels, waving them around (pretending they were magic wands) while singing "salagadoola mechika boola bibbidi bobbidi boo, put 'em together and what have you got bippity boppity boo".
Yaya: Kinurot ni Baz yung bird ni Hadrien. (Baz pinched Hadrien's penis.)
Me: Baz! Never, never do that. Stand in the corner.
Baz: I don't want to!
Me: Did Hadrien like it when you pinched him?
Baz: crying and wailing - but louder this time.
Hadrien: Hi, mommy!
Me: Hadrien, what did you do? Why did Kuya pinch you?
Hadrien: Because I put sipon (mucus) on him. Because he's bad!
Me: Ok, that's not good also. You stay in the other corner.
More crying and wailing....
5 minutes later, all was forgotten :)
Another 10 minutes later, the two boys were sharing a bowl of strawberry pretzels, waving them around (pretending they were magic wands) while singing "salagadoola mechika boola bibbidi bobbidi boo, put 'em together and what have you got bippity boppity boo".
11.13.2007
No stage fright here.
The boys marvelled at the idea that their Daddy was also a teacher. So, given the opportunity to take the stage, the boys did not hesitate. All weekend, and up to now, Baz would repeatedly brag that he had to meet with his ex-students to discuss Media Law - his Daddy's assigned topic. On the other hand, Hadrien took to the stage pretending to actually give a lecture, and not to mention, regaled his audience (by then only Mommy, Daddy, Grandma, Gramps, Auntie/Dean Neny, Auntie/Professor Ritchie and the UP staff) with his rendition of the Lupang Hinirang (the Philippine National Anthem) which goes like this - "Bawang magiwiw, buto naman dagiwiw..."
Auntie Ritchie's comic art says it all -
Auntie Ritchie's comic art says it all -
11.12.2007
What's the deal?
Given that we don't have good TV reception at the office where my boys hang out on MWF's and that we have had a fairly good amount of control over what the boys get to watch.... the boys, or might I say, Hadrien in particular, has become quite a fan of "Deal or No Deal". I should have known when I heard him say "D oh D" how bad it was. I just hoped it was not because of Kris Aquino, the host of the Philippine version of the hit US TV show.
Tonight however, my hopes were dashed. While driving along EDSA, packed with giant billboards, many of which have Kris Aquino's right profile and raised eyebrows smiling right at you, Hadrien pointed out McDonald's golden arches to hi Kuwa-Ba. "Look, Kuwa Ba! It's McDonald's o - on top of Deal or No Deal!". True enough, the big yellow M was on top of a picture of Kris Aquino! Arggghh!!!!
Tonight however, my hopes were dashed. While driving along EDSA, packed with giant billboards, many of which have Kris Aquino's right profile and raised eyebrows smiling right at you, Hadrien pointed out McDonald's golden arches to hi Kuwa-Ba. "Look, Kuwa Ba! It's McDonald's o - on top of Deal or No Deal!". True enough, the big yellow M was on top of a picture of Kris Aquino! Arggghh!!!!
Tagaytay Photos
I'll leave it up to Raffy to write about our recent road trip. For those who prefer photos to words, click here. Drop me a line if the link doesn't work!
11.11.2007
Seeing Double
Early Friday morning, Raffy gave a lecture on Media Law in a seminar for Batangas and Mindoro journalists sponsored by the UP College of Mass Communication and Shell Exploration so we decided to make a trip out of it. After Baz's class which ended at 2 pm, we all drove to Tagaytay. Grandma and Gramps, as well as Auntie Ritchie and Grauntie Neny were there too.
For dinner, we went to The Boutique Bed & Breakfast along Aguinaldo Hi-way. It was a refreshing change from the usual hotel look and feel and lived up to its name. It felt like a smaller W. Hadrien loved the lounge/beds in the lobby and couldn't be dissuaded from lying on it (not even the mention of how many b_tts did you know what on it managed to gross him out of the bed).
Baz, on the other hand, discovered what it was like to have a twin. Auntie Ritchie captured those moments as well as what were probably Baz's thought bubbles here -
Actually, Baz had a twin! A dermoid cyst which had to be taken out when Baz was about 19 weeks in utero. An unsightly mass of muscle tissue, hair, teeth and bone which was all of 10", roughly the size of a large avocado. (Or was it my twin? Remember that line in the My Big Fat Greek Wedding?) Sorry, Baz, your twin is nowhere as cute as you.
For dinner, we went to The Boutique Bed & Breakfast along Aguinaldo Hi-way. It was a refreshing change from the usual hotel look and feel and lived up to its name. It felt like a smaller W. Hadrien loved the lounge/beds in the lobby and couldn't be dissuaded from lying on it (not even the mention of how many b_tts did you know what on it managed to gross him out of the bed).
Baz, on the other hand, discovered what it was like to have a twin. Auntie Ritchie captured those moments as well as what were probably Baz's thought bubbles here -
Actually, Baz had a twin! A dermoid cyst which had to be taken out when Baz was about 19 weeks in utero. An unsightly mass of muscle tissue, hair, teeth and bone which was all of 10", roughly the size of a large avocado. (Or was it my twin? Remember that line in the My Big Fat Greek Wedding?) Sorry, Baz, your twin is nowhere as cute as you.
11.04.2007
Just chillin'
With Malou out of the country, and Yaya Cyril having left to resume college, me and Yaya Dora are 1:1 with the two boys right now. Since they're such bundles of energy, keeping up with them when we're out is a challenge indeed.
So yesterday the four of us trooped to Anson's Ortigas to buy a new microwave oven (the old one's kaput). The two boys had a blast peering at, around, over and into the refs, ovens, toasters, washers, dryers, TVs and various other appliances. After a little running around, we got what we wanted and were back home. Baz brought his "checkbook" and his "passbook" and helped me out with the payment :)
Today I decided to divide my time with each boy, so after lunch I took Hadrien out to The Podium where we bought a few books at Ink & Stone, and then had some crepes at Cafe Breton. He still calls them pancakes, though. He started off with the cream off my hot chocolate, then ate his half of a butter and sugar crepe, which was prepared in view of him (we took a table next to the griddle).
From Podium to the condo - a 5 minute drive - Hadrien fell asleep in the car seat.
After dropping off Hadrien, Baz and I went to get the car cleaned. Since there was a customer ahead of us, we stopped for some fries at the McDonald's on 32nd Street in the Fort. There was a children's party about to start, and since it was Disney-princess themed, he noticed the Cinderella posters. He's excited to go to Disneyland, and apparently he knows - likely thanks to Gramma and Gramps - that there's one in Hong Kong in addition to the one in "North America." I explained to him that, if we go visit Auntie Na-ah for her graduation, that we'll visit Disneyworld in Florida. No problem with him, as long as there's a castle. Ah yes, there's that Disney branding magic again.
Baz liked watching the car get washed and kept saying, "Good job!" to the fellow doing it.
The boys have been taking too much time at dinner (sometimes over an hour), at times leaving the table and, thus distracted, eventually losing their appetite. So we've decided to rein that in and keep them to a 35 minute time limit, beyond which they lose dessert. Tonight Baz equated that time limit with "background music" I had joked with them about two months ago: I had said that, because I was fast, my background music was "tarang teering, tarangteeringteeringteering...," while Mommy was slow, so hers was "wekwekwekwek...".
So at dinner this evening, when Hadrien was trying to leave the table, Baz said that Hadrien's background music was "wekwekwekwek," and his was "tarangteering." Hadrien didn't take kindly to that, and said, "I throw away the wekwekwekwek." Since Hadrien wasn't at the table, I joined in and said, "I put wekwekwekwek back on you." Hadrien: "I take wekwekwek, and cook it in the pan, and I eat it!" After a couple more minutes of this, both of them were back at the table, eating their food to the tune of "tarangteering...".
We had a one hour blackout tonight, and I realized this is the first time the kids have experienced it. They were all, "Ooohh, it's dark!" and "Where's the electricity?" They loved playing with the flashlight but mostly we spent the time just doing our individual kulit routines in the dark while seated on the red sofa. When the lights came back on, they took turns blowing out the candles, Hadrien, of course, claiming that it was his birthday.
We miss you Mommy! Oh, and don't forget our vacuum cleaner, IKEA work table and IKEA triangular steel bathroom shelves!
So yesterday the four of us trooped to Anson's Ortigas to buy a new microwave oven (the old one's kaput). The two boys had a blast peering at, around, over and into the refs, ovens, toasters, washers, dryers, TVs and various other appliances. After a little running around, we got what we wanted and were back home. Baz brought his "checkbook" and his "passbook" and helped me out with the payment :)
Today I decided to divide my time with each boy, so after lunch I took Hadrien out to The Podium where we bought a few books at Ink & Stone, and then had some crepes at Cafe Breton. He still calls them pancakes, though. He started off with the cream off my hot chocolate, then ate his half of a butter and sugar crepe, which was prepared in view of him (we took a table next to the griddle).
From Podium to the condo - a 5 minute drive - Hadrien fell asleep in the car seat.
After dropping off Hadrien, Baz and I went to get the car cleaned. Since there was a customer ahead of us, we stopped for some fries at the McDonald's on 32nd Street in the Fort. There was a children's party about to start, and since it was Disney-princess themed, he noticed the Cinderella posters. He's excited to go to Disneyland, and apparently he knows - likely thanks to Gramma and Gramps - that there's one in Hong Kong in addition to the one in "North America." I explained to him that, if we go visit Auntie Na-ah for her graduation, that we'll visit Disneyworld in Florida. No problem with him, as long as there's a castle. Ah yes, there's that Disney branding magic again.
Baz liked watching the car get washed and kept saying, "Good job!" to the fellow doing it.
The boys have been taking too much time at dinner (sometimes over an hour), at times leaving the table and, thus distracted, eventually losing their appetite. So we've decided to rein that in and keep them to a 35 minute time limit, beyond which they lose dessert. Tonight Baz equated that time limit with "background music" I had joked with them about two months ago: I had said that, because I was fast, my background music was "tarang teering, tarangteeringteeringteering...," while Mommy was slow, so hers was "wekwekwekwek...".
So at dinner this evening, when Hadrien was trying to leave the table, Baz said that Hadrien's background music was "wekwekwekwek," and his was "tarangteering." Hadrien didn't take kindly to that, and said, "I throw away the wekwekwekwek
We had a one hour blackout tonight, and I realized this is the first time the kids have experienced it. They were all, "Ooohh, it's dark!" and "Where's the electricity?" They loved playing with the flashlight but mostly we spent the time just doing our individual kulit routines in the dark while seated on the red sofa. When the lights came back on, they took turns blowing out the candles, Hadrien, of course, claiming that it was his birthday.
We miss you Mommy! Oh, and don't forget our vacuum cleaner, IKEA work table and IKEA triangular steel bathroom shelves!
11.03.2007
UN Day
October 25 was UN Day in Toddler's Unlimited. They had a short program scheduled, to be followed by "trick or treating" at the building's ground floor. Pretty good idea actually, since the kids were already in costumes and all. We decided to bring Hadrien along, also in costume, because he likes imitating his Kuya Baz.
So they're Khans, we've got an authentic Afghan hat and a Turkish fez ... let's see, how hard could it be to think up a costume? Malou had dishdashahs tailored for the two boys, over which they put on some 20-year old Igorot vests Malou used during field demonstration in elementary school, and the result was pretty Arabic:
Naturally, Mommy and Daddy had to get their pictures taken with Bazworth.
All of Baz's classmates and teachers know Hadrien, and I must say he's pretty smooth with the girls:
Baz's classmates are all nice kids (Enzo, Luigi, Anton, Mateo, Milena, Sebastian); smart, alert and considerate too.
This year's UN Day theme was, "Hello To All The Children."
The school had made arrangements with the ground floor tenants of the building, Metrobank and Starbucks, to host the kids while they did "trick or treat." No tricks, actually, since everybody got pre-packed paper bags of goodies and some Starbucks frappucinos (without the coffee).
So they're Khans, we've got an authentic Afghan hat and a Turkish fez ... let's see, how hard could it be to think up a costume? Malou had dishdashahs tailored for the two boys, over which they put on some 20-year old Igorot vests Malou used during field demonstration in elementary school, and the result was pretty Arabic:
Naturally, Mommy and Daddy had to get their pictures taken with Bazworth.
All of Baz's classmates and teachers know Hadrien, and I must say he's pretty smooth with the girls:
Baz's classmates are all nice kids (Enzo, Luigi, Anton, Mateo, Milena, Sebastian); smart, alert and considerate too.
This year's UN Day theme was, "Hello To All The Children."
The school had made arrangements with the ground floor tenants of the building, Metrobank and Starbucks, to host the kids while they did "trick or treat." No tricks, actually, since everybody got pre-packed paper bags of goodies and some Starbucks frappucinos (without the coffee).
10.27.2007
Leaving and Missing the Boys
I've been at the airport lounge for over an hour now - tired, sleepy and annoyed that I have another 1 and 3/4 hours of wait left. Now I wish I didn't follow the "3 hours before scheduled departure" rule. That would have bought me more time, hugs and kisses with/from the boys who understand that I'm leaving - but weren't told how long I would be away.
Instead, I'm stuck here with a guy who's been on his phone incessantly repeating himself - "we may lose this battle, but not the war"; "we are prepared to lose $2M than risk an event of default"; "this case is only worth $2M; but we stand to lose the technology worth tens of millions of dollars"; "the amount is mind-boggling!; "but what about our reputation?". The weird part was that he was very calm the whole time. Almost talking in a sing-song manner. Oh... he finally ended his call.
So, back to the boys. The plan was for the boys to come with us to the airport. Last night, Baz said he wanted to. But he was asleep when I left. Hadrien, on the other hand, woke up at around 6 am - ran out of the room and asked for assistance to pee. He then went to Yaya Andora and asked for milk. "Yaya, I want milka milka. I'm till teeping. Wuk at my eyes, they're till cosed oh" Priceless! I will really miss those two, ok, three!
I wish I didn't have to finish up with work before I left so that I could have played with the kids more. I wish I had more time to attend to Raffy whose cough got progressively worse - probably due to the construction in our hallway. Oh well...
At least I got to see the boys in their costumes last Thursday. I promised to allow Raffy to blog about it. But at least you can see the pictures here. Thanks to Yaya Andora who managed to make sure their "gowns" were completed in 2 days! Thanks to my parents for getting us those igorot vests more than 30 years ago - they're still alive and have been used at least twice already. Thanks to Dad for getting the head cover from Pakistan that Hadrien is wearing. And me - for the Fez that I got Baz in Turkey. Oh, and thanks to Raffy for not doubting that the costumes will come out as nice as they did :)
Instead, I'm stuck here with a guy who's been on his phone incessantly repeating himself - "we may lose this battle, but not the war"; "we are prepared to lose $2M than risk an event of default"; "this case is only worth $2M; but we stand to lose the technology worth tens of millions of dollars"; "the amount is mind-boggling!; "but what about our reputation?". The weird part was that he was very calm the whole time. Almost talking in a sing-song manner. Oh... he finally ended his call.
So, back to the boys. The plan was for the boys to come with us to the airport. Last night, Baz said he wanted to. But he was asleep when I left. Hadrien, on the other hand, woke up at around 6 am - ran out of the room and asked for assistance to pee. He then went to Yaya Andora and asked for milk. "Yaya, I want milka milka. I'm till teeping. Wuk at my eyes, they're till cosed oh" Priceless! I will really miss those two, ok, three!
I wish I didn't have to finish up with work before I left so that I could have played with the kids more. I wish I had more time to attend to Raffy whose cough got progressively worse - probably due to the construction in our hallway. Oh well...
At least I got to see the boys in their costumes last Thursday. I promised to allow Raffy to blog about it. But at least you can see the pictures here. Thanks to Yaya Andora who managed to make sure their "gowns" were completed in 2 days! Thanks to my parents for getting us those igorot vests more than 30 years ago - they're still alive and have been used at least twice already. Thanks to Dad for getting the head cover from Pakistan that Hadrien is wearing. And me - for the Fez that I got Baz in Turkey. Oh, and thanks to Raffy for not doubting that the costumes will come out as nice as they did :)
10.14.2007
Sesame Street Rules!
We grew up on Sesame Street and would love for the kids to receive the same exposure to it, but for some reason it's hard to find on cable. We've had to make do with some Elmo and Bert & Ernie DVDs. Thank goodness for the internet, where you can find the classic segments and some incredible new ones.
Right now the kids' favorite (and mine too) is one where Andrea Bocelli sings Elmo to sleep. They adapted "Con Te Partiro" and changed the lyrics to make it a lullabye. By way of sample, the first stanza goes, "Time to say goodnight/Lie down/Here is your bear/ You've had such a wonderful day/Playing and counting to 20/And going to the park/with your friends.../. The link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgUnYzXU-Fo
Andrea Bocelli doesn't shade his performance one bit just because he's appearing on a children's show, no sir. What a performer! And he's riffing off of Elmo not like he's talking to a puppet, but as if Elmo is really a child - watch his expression at 3:08. The boys know who he is and call him Andwea Botchewi, and when the three of us watch it we sing along to the parts we know.
The boys also like Cookie Monster's "C is for Cookie" (no need to explain to your Gen Xers) as well as "The Alligator King." But not all the ones I've found are great, or are as great as I remember them. For instance, the boys didn't like "Eleven Morning" ("It's a lovely 11 morning ...") too much, and I can't say I blame them; while it's one of those Sesame Street songs that get stuck in your head, it kinda looks cheesy watching it 30 years later.
I'm hunting for other classic segments - "Loaf of Bread ..." is an obvious choice, but it's not too catchy, musically. Any suggestions?
Right now the kids' favorite (and mine too) is one where Andrea Bocelli sings Elmo to sleep. They adapted "Con Te Partiro" and changed the lyrics to make it a lullabye. By way of sample, the first stanza goes, "Time to say goodnight/Lie down/Here is your bear/ You've had such a wonderful day/Playing and counting to 20/And going to the park/with your friends.../. The link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgUnYzXU-Fo
Andrea Bocelli doesn't shade his performance one bit just because he's appearing on a children's show, no sir. What a performer! And he's riffing off of Elmo not like he's talking to a puppet, but as if Elmo is really a child - watch his expression at 3:08. The boys know who he is and call him Andwea Botchewi, and when the three of us watch it we sing along to the parts we know.
The boys also like Cookie Monster's "C is for Cookie" (no need to explain to your Gen Xers) as well as "The Alligator King." But not all the ones I've found are great, or are as great as I remember them. For instance, the boys didn't like "Eleven Morning" ("It's a lovely 11 morning ...") too much, and I can't say I blame them; while it's one of those Sesame Street songs that get stuck in your head, it kinda looks cheesy watching it 30 years later.
I'm hunting for other classic segments - "Loaf of Bread ..." is an obvious choice, but it's not too catchy, musically. Any suggestions?
10.13.2007
Jean-Michel BAZquiat
Again, blame it on over-protectiveness, we allowed Baz to use pencils, pens and even markers only when we saw how adept his classmates were with them. We were afraid that he would stumble and stab himself while holding a sharp pen/pencil the right side up. So, it was just crayons for Baz for quite a long time.
This didn't stunt Baz's creative side though as you can see here. Look closely and you'll see that he actually scrawled "Lucas Sebastian Khan" rendered ala Jean-Michel Basquiat. That's my boy!
By the way, to see more of our pictures taken during our Antipolo road trip, click here.
10.12.2007
Tayo Na, Sa Antipolo
We drove up today to Antipolo with the new car to the Cathedral of Nuestra Senora de Paz y Buenviaje. The boys have taken to calling the car the "Subawu," as opposed to the "Gwandis" (or sometimes, the "black Gwandis") and the Accord, which they identify by the first two letters of its license plate, "WD." After our church visit, ravenous for lunch we drove up the Sumulong highway looking for Lanelle Abueva's Crescent Moon Cafe, which we read about in a magazine - or it may have been on Anton Diaz's excellent Our Awesome Planet blog.
A few minutes of asking around got us directions to the place, which is set back from the main road in a space that appears to be enclosed entirely by greenery. They've got a beautiful koi pond, a circular lotus pool, and a couple of rock waterfalls. Very tranquil setting - the only noise we heard was rippling water and, naturally, the boys' enthusiastic voices as they got excited about "feeding the fish!" Abueva is also a potter, and on display (and for sale) were various kinds of plates, bowls, sinks, and sundry kitchen and home items rendered in ceramic. The restaurant is apparently by reservation, and consists of a prix fixe menu, but the kitchen was kind enough to accommodate us walk-ins.
While waiting for the food there was enough to see on the grounds to entertain the boys. There was a small turtle pond at the back of the property, and since the boys love fountains the water features got their complete attention. Seeing the boys roving round the koi pond, the nice waiter brought out a container-full of fish feed for the boys to scatter on the water.
We shared a lunch of fish, in a nice teriyaki glaze; chicken curry, and some wonderfully fresh kangkong in peanuts and garlic. The appetizer, which preceded a pumpkin soup with toasted bits of garlic, was novel: alagao leaves you were supposed to wrap, lumpia style, over a selection of dried shrimp, dessicated coconut, kamias, chili, onions, ginger, and a toyo/peanut sauce. Baz enjoyed the fish, and Hadrien liked the chicken - sorry, no gulay because of the peanuts.
The boys skipped the dessert of suman, but Baz had the accompanying mango. Meanwhile, Hadrien - with a moist towelette- was busy cleaning each reachable glass pane of an old wood frame divider.
There was traffic on Ortigas en route home. The boys got a little restless but passed the time taking turns with the dome light, Baz being the "on-er" and Hadrien, the "off-er." The only thing we didn't do was teach the boys the words to "Tayo Na Sa Antipolo," but I can already guess which will be their very favorite part - the line about "Hinulugang Taktak ... tak tak tak."
10.07.2007
Futbol!
Baz went to football camp today for a tryout session (i.e. he's the one trying it out). Baz being Baz, he took time warming up to the new environment and basically refused to do the one thing that most people do at football camp, which is kick the ball.
But that doesn't mean he didn't have a good time, because he did. He'd listen intently when Coach Maricar or Coach Babbit would explain an exercise; he'd run with the other kids when they went to get water or out onto the field, and he'd hover in the vicinity of the ball whenever it was in play. Nor was he silent; he'd talk to Malou and I in between plays.
It was a wet afternoon, so Baz got to play in the rain and get a little muddy for a change. All the kids looked like they were really having fun, and with age ranges from what appeared to be a three year old girl, to a seven year old boy, it was a good mix.
Reminds me of when we watched the World Cup on TV last year: there was this one game where French team captain Zidane's teammates mobbed him after he had scored a major goal, and they were pointing to him excitedly, mouthing what appeared to be the exclamation, "You the man! You the man!" Baz enjoyed doing an impression of that, so today - and hopefully more so next week, when we play football again - my message to Baz is, "You the boy! You the boy!"
But that doesn't mean he didn't have a good time, because he did. He'd listen intently when Coach Maricar or Coach Babbit would explain an exercise; he'd run with the other kids when they went to get water or out onto the field, and he'd hover in the vicinity of the ball whenever it was in play. Nor was he silent; he'd talk to Malou and I in between plays.
It was a wet afternoon, so Baz got to play in the rain and get a little muddy for a change. All the kids looked like they were really having fun, and with age ranges from what appeared to be a three year old girl, to a seven year old boy, it was a good mix.
Reminds me of when we watched the World Cup on TV last year: there was this one game where French team captain Zidane's teammates mobbed him after he had scored a major goal, and they were pointing to him excitedly, mouthing what appeared to be the exclamation, "You the man! You the man!" Baz enjoyed doing an impression of that, so today - and hopefully more so next week, when we play football again - my message to Baz is, "You the boy! You the boy!"
10.04.2007
Prayers
The boys have made a habit of reciting their prayers with us before going to sleep at night. Right now, their prayer goes like this -
"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit Amen!
Dear Jesus, Thank You for watching over-ring us. Thank You for Your blessings today. Please always watch over us, and help us to be good boys. Thank You. We love You. Goodnight.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit Amen!"
Baz has actually memorized it, and lately has been leading the prayer. Of course, Hadrien (who's memorized the first line) tries to fool around, saying "Near" Jesus (instead of "Dear"), and he replaces the second "A-men" with "D-men."
Last night, Baz asked me why we say, "Amen." I didn't have an answer, other than to say that that's what it says in the Bible. Is "Amen" a Hebrew word?
"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit Amen!
Dear Jesus, Thank You for watching over-ring us. Thank You for Your blessings today. Please always watch over us, and help us to be good boys. Thank You. We love You. Goodnight.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit Amen!"
Baz has actually memorized it, and lately has been leading the prayer. Of course, Hadrien (who's memorized the first line) tries to fool around, saying "Near" Jesus (instead of "Dear"), and he replaces the second "A-men" with "D-men."
Last night, Baz asked me why we say, "Amen." I didn't have an answer, other than to say that that's what it says in the Bible. Is "Amen" a Hebrew word?
9.10.2007
Conversations with Baz and Hadrien (Part 3)
I dread the day when they boys would rather converse with their peers than with Raffy and me. At 2 and 4, the boys look to us to answer their questions, read them books (with matching sound effects), etc. The advantage of bringing the kids with us everyday is that we are able to talk with them on the ride to and from the house. Thus, most of the funny conversations happen in the car.
Hadrien: I have to pee!
Yaya Andora then patiently frees him from the carseat and helps him relieve himself in a bottle - Hadrien has taken to refusing the diaper :) After half a minute, nothing happens and Yaya proceeds to put him back.
Hadrien: I better pee, I better pee! The green bottle - I'm going to make apple jut (juice)!
This exchange continues for a good 3 minutes. I guess the anticipation of seeing apple juice got the better of him :) .... When indeed, he managed to pee -
Hadrien: Look kuya, look!!! It's apple juice o!
The Pasig River is one of the boys' favorite topics en route to Makati. When Baz was afraid of a particular toy, Raffy told him that he threw it in the Pasig River. After that, Baz seemed plagued with guilt as he constantly asked about the toy. Thankfully, he forgot about the toy. So, whenever we'd go over the river, Baz's questions would revolve around whether the river was clean or dirty. He also asks when he would be able to swim in it (ah... never?!) I guess all rivers are "Pasig River" to the boys as this clip will show you.
Untitled from malou.khan and Vimeo.
Two weeks ago, Raffy decided to bring the boys to Luneta. He pointed out the statue of Jose Rizal, explaining that he is our national hero and that he was killed by the Spaniards. Baz did not seem too interested in this bit of information preferring to run past the guards just as the 10-second changing of the guards show was proceeding. We then went to the wall where Rizal's Mi Ultimo Adios was etched -
Raffy: This is the last poem that Jose Rizal wrote.
Baz: Can you read it?
(Raffy reads a couple of lines.)
Baz: What happened after he wrote that poem?
Raffy: He died.
Baz: And then he became a statue?
Hadrien: I have to pee!
Yaya Andora then patiently frees him from the carseat and helps him relieve himself in a bottle - Hadrien has taken to refusing the diaper :) After half a minute, nothing happens and Yaya proceeds to put him back.
Hadrien: I better pee, I better pee! The green bottle - I'm going to make apple jut (juice)!
This exchange continues for a good 3 minutes. I guess the anticipation of seeing apple juice got the better of him :) .... When indeed, he managed to pee -
Hadrien: Look kuya, look!!! It's apple juice o!
The Pasig River is one of the boys' favorite topics en route to Makati. When Baz was afraid of a particular toy, Raffy told him that he threw it in the Pasig River. After that, Baz seemed plagued with guilt as he constantly asked about the toy. Thankfully, he forgot about the toy. So, whenever we'd go over the river, Baz's questions would revolve around whether the river was clean or dirty. He also asks when he would be able to swim in it (ah... never?!) I guess all rivers are "Pasig River" to the boys as this clip will show you.
Untitled from malou.khan and Vimeo.
Two weeks ago, Raffy decided to bring the boys to Luneta. He pointed out the statue of Jose Rizal, explaining that he is our national hero and that he was killed by the Spaniards. Baz did not seem too interested in this bit of information preferring to run past the guards just as the 10-second changing of the guards show was proceeding. We then went to the wall where Rizal's Mi Ultimo Adios was etched -
Raffy: This is the last poem that Jose Rizal wrote.
Baz: Can you read it?
(Raffy reads a couple of lines.)
Baz: What happened after he wrote that poem?
Raffy: He died.
Baz: And then he became a statue?
9.06.2007
"I'm sleeping!"
Bedtime for the boys is at 9pm on weekdays (10pm on weekends). With that bedtime, Hadrien wakes at around 7am, and Baz, an hour later. It doesn't mean they actually fall asleep at nine o'clock, though. If they can help it, they'll play or read or draw until fatigue, which if unregulated can extend to midnight. So it's lights out by bedtime, no arguments.
They'll usually spend a few more minutes talking - to me, their Mommy, Yaya Dora or to each other - and they'll come up with all sorts of excuses just to get up and walk about. Baz'll say that he wants to pee, which Hadrien will second, and since you can't second guess them on that, they both get to go to the toilet and stand there looking around but not actually peeing. Then Hadrien will ask for water, and attempt to walk out to the kitchen with you to get it.
So after about 10 to 15 minutes of this I'll say that I'm just going to step out for five minutes but when I come back I will tickle whoever isn't sleeping. Five minutes later they're both still awake, but at least, are pretending to sleep. I'll ask, "Who's not sleeping?" And usually Baz will giggle but keep his eyes shut, consistent with the fiction that he's asleep. Sometimes he'll make "tow...tow" sounds (think Darth Vader breathing through his mask, but less forbidding), which to him is like snoring.
Hadrien, meantime, can't help but open his eyes,and when he sees me looking at him, will immediately shut them (really tight) and say, "I'm sleeping." Then he'll open his eyes a few seconds later, and say, "I love you Daddy. Can I kiss woo goodnight?" Kiss. "Can I hug woo?" Hug.
They're really asleep another 15 minutes after that.
They'll usually spend a few more minutes talking - to me, their Mommy, Yaya Dora or to each other - and they'll come up with all sorts of excuses just to get up and walk about. Baz'll say that he wants to pee, which Hadrien will second, and since you can't second guess them on that, they both get to go to the toilet and stand there looking around but not actually peeing. Then Hadrien will ask for water, and attempt to walk out to the kitchen with you to get it.
So after about 10 to 15 minutes of this I'll say that I'm just going to step out for five minutes but when I come back I will tickle whoever isn't sleeping. Five minutes later they're both still awake, but at least, are pretending to sleep. I'll ask, "Who's not sleeping?" And usually Baz will giggle but keep his eyes shut, consistent with the fiction that he's asleep. Sometimes he'll make "tow...tow" sounds (think Darth Vader breathing through his mask, but less forbidding), which to him is like snoring.
Hadrien, meantime, can't help but open his eyes,and when he sees me looking at him, will immediately shut them (really tight) and say, "I'm sleeping." Then he'll open his eyes a few seconds later, and say, "I love you Daddy. Can I kiss woo goodnight?" Kiss. "Can I hug woo?" Hug.
They're really asleep another 15 minutes after that.
Conversations with Baz and Hadrien (Part 2)
As we approached Tektite Towers, around 6 pm, the only time when the fountain is most likely to be "on" -
Baz: Fountain is off.
Hadrien: On!!!
(back and forth.... turns out the fountain was on....)
Baz: You're right, Hadrien, the fountain is on.
Hadrien: You're wrong Kuya! You're not right.. The fountain is on!
On the way to school, the perennial debate is what type of music we should be listening to -
Hadrien: I want wock (rock), Mommy!
Baz: Wock is not good.
Hadrien: Rock is good.
Baz: Classical nawang (na lang)
Hadrien: Classical is not good.
Remembering a discussion during circle time in school...
Baz: The egg will hatch!
Mommy: Do birds lay eggs?
Baz: Yes!!!
Mommy: Do fish lay eggs?
Baz: Yes!!!
Mommy: Do people come from eggs? (While wondering how advanced their study of the reproductive system these days are... Baz, after all, is only 4 years old)
Baz: No, they are born alive!
While inaccurately recounting the prior exchange to Raffy -
Mommy: Do birds have eggs?
Baz: Yes!
Mommy: Do fish have eggs?
Baz: Yes!
Mommy: Do people have eggs?
Baz: Yes, in the ref!
Baz: Fountain is off.
Hadrien: On!!!
(back and forth.... turns out the fountain was on....)
Baz: You're right, Hadrien, the fountain is on.
Hadrien: You're wrong Kuya! You're not right.. The fountain is on!
On the way to school, the perennial debate is what type of music we should be listening to -
Hadrien: I want wock (rock), Mommy!
Baz: Wock is not good.
Hadrien: Rock is good.
Baz: Classical nawang (na lang)
Hadrien: Classical is not good.
Remembering a discussion during circle time in school...
Baz: The egg will hatch!
Mommy: Do birds lay eggs?
Baz: Yes!!!
Mommy: Do fish lay eggs?
Baz: Yes!!!
Mommy: Do people come from eggs? (While wondering how advanced their study of the reproductive system these days are... Baz, after all, is only 4 years old)
Baz: No, they are born alive!
While inaccurately recounting the prior exchange to Raffy -
Mommy: Do birds have eggs?
Baz: Yes!
Mommy: Do fish have eggs?
Baz: Yes!
Mommy: Do people have eggs?
Baz: Yes, in the ref!
8.24.2007
Art Attack!
Baz likes school - a lot!! But he doesn't show it. He likes it so much that he begs us to play school at home, pretending to be the teacher. I play the "quiet Baz", which he hates to no end. I guess he doesn't like getting a dose of his own medicine.
So today, Baz came home with a brown paper bag with eyes and limbs pasted onto it and an envelope of paper sprinklers. This means that he did not do his artwork at school. Not wanting to put the materials to waste, we set out to do his artwork on his "office table" in my office. I apologize that the video clarity is not so good. I recorded this on my mobile phone.
So today, Baz came home with a brown paper bag with eyes and limbs pasted onto it and an envelope of paper sprinklers. This means that he did not do his artwork at school. Not wanting to put the materials to waste, we set out to do his artwork on his "office table" in my office. I apologize that the video clarity is not so good. I recorded this on my mobile phone.
8.20.2007
Palusot boy
TJ, Marnie and kids Amelie and Miguel were over yesterday for a playdate. It was hilarious to see Baz, Hadrien and Amelie playing Cooking School, body-slamming each other on the big bed, and running after each other with the robot hand from Baz's astronaut suit.
Miguel - at a year old - is still too young to participate in the roughhousing, but that hasn't stopped Hadrien from trying to include him. Hadrien's always been nanggigigil with Miguel, and there was more proof of that yesterday. I wish I could have caught it on video, but if it were a screenplay it would read like this:
SCENE: INTERIOR (Baz and Hadrien's room)
Hadrien and Miguel are standing next to each other. Hadrien turns to Miguel with his gigil face, and Hadrien's hand reaches up to pat Miguel on the head.
B&H DADDY: "Wait, wait, wait ... what are you about to do to Miguel?"
HADRIEN (turns to Daddy with a look of surprise, at the same time immediately pulling his hand back): "Nothing ... I just talking to him."
B&H DADDY: "Huh? Why were you using your hand? Do you use your hand to talk to Miguel?"
HADRIEN (while making talking motions with his left hand, and in a high pitched voice): "Hewwo Miguel...".
The last time this happened, I caught Hadrien about to tap Miguel on the head with his frying pan. When I asked him what he was doing, Hadrien goes, "Nothing ... I'm hugging him!" Then he hugs Miguel.
If Miguel could talk, I'm sure he'd say, "Yeah, right!" As it is, smart Miguel has taken to looking askance at Hadrien, probably making sure they're never in the same room alone with each other. No worries, Miguel! Hadrien just wants to show how much he loves you, and what better way than with a gigil move? But you're right to watch your back (and your head).
Miguel - at a year old - is still too young to participate in the roughhousing, but that hasn't stopped Hadrien from trying to include him. Hadrien's always been nanggigigil with Miguel, and there was more proof of that yesterday. I wish I could have caught it on video, but if it were a screenplay it would read like this:
SCENE: INTERIOR (Baz and Hadrien's room)
Hadrien and Miguel are standing next to each other. Hadrien turns to Miguel with his gigil face, and Hadrien's hand reaches up to pat Miguel on the head.
B&H DADDY: "Wait, wait, wait ... what are you about to do to Miguel?"
HADRIEN (turns to Daddy with a look of surprise, at the same time immediately pulling his hand back): "Nothing ... I just talking to him."
B&H DADDY: "Huh? Why were you using your hand? Do you use your hand to talk to Miguel?"
HADRIEN (while making talking motions with his left hand, and in a high pitched voice): "Hewwo Miguel...".
The last time this happened, I caught Hadrien about to tap Miguel on the head with his frying pan. When I asked him what he was doing, Hadrien goes, "Nothing ... I'm hugging him!" Then he hugs Miguel.
If Miguel could talk, I'm sure he'd say, "Yeah, right!" As it is, smart Miguel has taken to looking askance at Hadrien, probably making sure they're never in the same room alone with each other. No worries, Miguel! Hadrien just wants to show how much he loves you, and what better way than with a gigil move? But you're right to watch your back (and your head).
8.19.2007
More Video-editing Attempts
It's been awhile since I last posted. Sadly, many blog-worthy materials have slipped my memory. Perhaps these videos will make up for it.
The first video was taken around the time Hadrien turned 1, judging from the clips before and after this clip. Hadrien was such a mathematician then. He could add, subtract, multiply, divide and even extract square roots. Occasionally, we'd do this routine in the elevator or any other place where other people were within earshot and they'd be amazed.... Little did they know that all of the answers to the questions were answerable by 2. I guess Hadrien saw the humor in this routine and this is what happened.
"2" from malou.khan and Vimeo.
This next video reveals how much the two boys are alike. I mean, they not only like the same things, they even react in the same way and at the same time...
"Sabay-na-Sabay" from malou.khan and Vimeo.
Now on to the next projects... enjoy! I'm already anticipating Raffy's post on Hadrien's "talking hands" today.
The first video was taken around the time Hadrien turned 1, judging from the clips before and after this clip. Hadrien was such a mathematician then. He could add, subtract, multiply, divide and even extract square roots. Occasionally, we'd do this routine in the elevator or any other place where other people were within earshot and they'd be amazed.... Little did they know that all of the answers to the questions were answerable by 2. I guess Hadrien saw the humor in this routine and this is what happened.
"2" from malou.khan and Vimeo.
This next video reveals how much the two boys are alike. I mean, they not only like the same things, they even react in the same way and at the same time...
"Sabay-na-Sabay" from malou.khan and Vimeo.
Now on to the next projects... enjoy! I'm already anticipating Raffy's post on Hadrien's "talking hands" today.
8.12.2007
Baz the Eagle
I'm reading Stephen Pressfield's new book, The Afghan Campaign. It's about Alexander the Great's military expedition into Afghanistan, following his defeat of Darius in Persia and before his campaign into India. Apparently, the Macedonians nicknamed the Afghans "Baz," so that got me thinking about the etymology of Baz's nickname.
We've always thought of it simply as a derivative short form of Baz's second name, Sebastian, and not coincidentally the nickname also of a well-regarded French director, Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge, among others). Google searches of "Baz" always pulled up Afghan references - apparently there's an Afghan warlord of the same name. But I haven't given it much thought until Pressfield's excellent book.
So after a little more searching, we find that Baz, in Pashtu, means "Eagle" (or "falcon," depending on which source you're reading). Not bad symbology for a nickname. In Pashtu it's written like this: باز
Gramps Nas visited the Khyber Pass about a year ago (the high mountain pass between Afghanistan and Pakistan), and he got the the two boys hats while there, one of which Baz is wearing in the picture above. Another Afghan connection is Malou's cousin-in-law Habib, who's married to Lally and who live in New Jersey. Malou stayed with them before and after Hadrien was born, so a big hello to cousin Ariana and Alex - Ariana is the ancient name for Afghanistan, I recall Habib saying; and Alexandra is the feminine of Alexander.
We've always thought of it simply as a derivative short form of Baz's second name, Sebastian, and not coincidentally the nickname also of a well-regarded French director, Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge, among others). Google searches of "Baz" always pulled up Afghan references - apparently there's an Afghan warlord of the same name. But I haven't given it much thought until Pressfield's excellent book.
So after a little more searching, we find that Baz, in Pashtu, means "Eagle" (or "falcon," depending on which source you're reading). Not bad symbology for a nickname. In Pashtu it's written like this: بازGramps Nas visited the Khyber Pass about a year ago (the high mountain pass between Afghanistan and Pakistan), and he got the the two boys hats while there, one of which Baz is wearing in the picture above. Another Afghan connection is Malou's cousin-in-law Habib, who's married to Lally and who live in New Jersey. Malou stayed with them before and after Hadrien was born, so a big hello to cousin Ariana and Alex - Ariana is the ancient name for Afghanistan, I recall Habib saying; and Alexandra is the feminine of Alexander.
8.07.2007
"I'm loving it!"
Some people have done a study the conclusion of which is that food in a McDonald's wrapper tastes better to kids. Apparently, "even carrots, milk and apple juice tasted better to the kids when they were wrapped in the familiar packaging of the Golden Arches." The article is here:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/diet.fitness/08/06/mcdonalds.preschoolers.ap/index.html
Seems about right. The boys love McDonald's french fries and seem to enjoy it even more when they get to eat the fries in the original packaging. In fact when eating at home Baz requests that we not put the fries into a serving dish, preferring to pick them out of the cardboard sleeve. Hadrien prefers catsup with his fries, but once or twice he's insisted that we pour him the McDonald's catsup out of the little disposable pack, not from the bottle at home.
In Vicky's blog she talks about the "consumerization" of her son Teo, and that is certainly so true. There are so many advertising, trade and commercial messages bombarding the kids, and unless you blindfold and earmuff them, it's inevitable that at least some of it - by sheer repetition - is going to get through. I'm not even talking about TV - the kids are limited to an hour a day, and usually it's an educational DVD or Nick Jr.; I mean the everyday environment. Just on the road to and from home, for example, we pass God-knows-how-many billboards. They're colorful and catchy and because we see them everyday, the kids can't help but read them. Hence Hadrien's "Goodbye, dedduwyte" (for a Nivea anti-cellulite cream) and Baz's "Wucky Me!" (Lucky Me Instant Noodles) and "Come...See Us!" (a Suzuki advertisement).
It's cute to see them do it and I admit that we sometimes encourage them to verbalize the billboard advertisements they're reading. Hey, that's how I learned to read: Dad and Mom heard me say "Alaska" as I was looking at the billboard. I wonder how many kids learned to read on EDSA?
Anyway, back to McDonald's. The boys love fries and view it as treat, so it's a once-a-week thing, meant to reward being good and obedient and not throwing any tantrums. They read the "Love ko 'to" slogan on some of the McDonald's advertisements, so now I'll point to one of them, say "McDonald's ... in the Philippines" and they'll respond with the Philippine slogan. They can do Jollibee also ("Bida ang sarap"). Meantime, "McDonald's ... in America" is "I'm loving it!" (McDonald's has apparently regionalized its advertising), but of course Hadrien's got his own version: "McDonald's ... I"m eating it!"
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/diet.fitness/08/06/mcdonalds.preschoolers.ap/index.html
Seems about right. The boys love McDonald's french fries and seem to enjoy it even more when they get to eat the fries in the original packaging. In fact when eating at home Baz requests that we not put the fries into a serving dish, preferring to pick them out of the cardboard sleeve. Hadrien prefers catsup with his fries, but once or twice he's insisted that we pour him the McDonald's catsup out of the little disposable pack, not from the bottle at home.
In Vicky's blog she talks about the "consumerization" of her son Teo, and that is certainly so true. There are so many advertising, trade and commercial messages bombarding the kids, and unless you blindfold and earmuff them, it's inevitable that at least some of it - by sheer repetition - is going to get through. I'm not even talking about TV - the kids are limited to an hour a day, and usually it's an educational DVD or Nick Jr.; I mean the everyday environment. Just on the road to and from home, for example, we pass God-knows-how-many billboards. They're colorful and catchy and because we see them everyday, the kids can't help but read them. Hence Hadrien's "Goodbye, dedduwyte" (for a Nivea anti-cellulite cream) and Baz's "Wucky Me!" (Lucky Me Instant Noodles) and "Come...See Us!" (a Suzuki advertisement).
It's cute to see them do it and I admit that we sometimes encourage them to verbalize the billboard advertisements they're reading. Hey, that's how I learned to read: Dad and Mom heard me say "Alaska" as I was looking at the billboard. I wonder how many kids learned to read on EDSA?
Anyway, back to McDonald's. The boys love fries and view it as treat, so it's a once-a-week thing, meant to reward being good and obedient and not throwing any tantrums. They read the "Love ko 'to" slogan on some of the McDonald's advertisements, so now I'll point to one of them, say "McDonald's ... in the Philippines" and they'll respond with the Philippine slogan. They can do Jollibee also ("Bida ang sarap"). Meantime, "McDonald's ... in America" is "I'm loving it!" (McDonald's has apparently regionalized its advertising), but of course Hadrien's got his own version: "McDonald's ... I"m eating it!"
8.06.2007
Cain and Abel
The two boys and I were reading a children's bible story book tonight, and Hadrien focused on the Cain and Abel story. I think what caught his attention was the illustration: Cain as a bearded, large caveman-ish looking fellow, hitting Abel - pictured as a slight, gentle staff-wielding shepherd - with a club worthy of Cro-Magnon man.
He started out by pointing each to Cain and Abel, asking, "Who dat?" I then explained that Cain and Abel were fighting because Cain was jealous of Abel. Baz asked what happened to Cain after he struck Abel ("What happened after Cain hit him?"), and I said that God had gotten very mad at Cain, and had said, "Cain! That was very very bad! You must not do that!" This prompted a discussion about where God was when He was telling Cain off, so I said, "Heaven," which then led to another discussion about where Heaven was ("all around us..."). All this time Hadrien's pointing to the pictures, asking "Who dat?" or, "Is that Keym/Abel?," in his Inquiring-Minds-Want-To-Know! voice.
But ever inquisitive Baz did indeed want to know what happened after God got angry, so I told him that He had sent Cain away. Baz said, "No. He sent Cain to the corner!" Laughter all around.
What appeared to make an impact on Hadrien was when I said that Cain and Abel were brothers. He seemed intrigued by that concept as much as he found it funny (but also probably because he was focused on sound effects - as I was telling the story I made a 'toog' sound to indicate Cain's club hitting Abel).
To Baz, on the other hand, this meant role assignation: he immediately volunteered that he was Cain and that Hadrien was Abel. I shushed him, saying that the story wasn't meant to be made fun of that way, and asked him what the lesson from the story was. His very perceptive reply: "Don't fight."
Tomorrow: the boys deconstruct the Noah's Ark story.
He started out by pointing each to Cain and Abel, asking, "Who dat?" I then explained that Cain and Abel were fighting because Cain was jealous of Abel. Baz asked what happened to Cain after he struck Abel ("What happened after Cain hit him?"), and I said that God had gotten very mad at Cain, and had said, "Cain! That was very very bad! You must not do that!" This prompted a discussion about where God was when He was telling Cain off, so I said, "Heaven," which then led to another discussion about where Heaven was ("all around us..."). All this time Hadrien's pointing to the pictures, asking "Who dat?" or, "Is that Keym/Abel?," in his Inquiring-Minds-Want-To-Know! voice.
But ever inquisitive Baz did indeed want to know what happened after God got angry, so I told him that He had sent Cain away. Baz said, "No. He sent Cain to the corner!" Laughter all around.
What appeared to make an impact on Hadrien was when I said that Cain and Abel were brothers. He seemed intrigued by that concept as much as he found it funny (but also probably because he was focused on sound effects - as I was telling the story I made a 'toog' sound to indicate Cain's club hitting Abel).
To Baz, on the other hand, this meant role assignation: he immediately volunteered that he was Cain and that Hadrien was Abel. I shushed him, saying that the story wasn't meant to be made fun of that way, and asked him what the lesson from the story was. His very perceptive reply: "Don't fight."
Tomorrow: the boys deconstruct the Noah's Ark story.
8.05.2007
Hadrien's First Movie
We went to see the Disney-Pixar animation film Ratatouille today, at the EDSA Shangri-la cinema. It was Hadrien's first movie, and I'm happy to report that he sat through it (it runs 1:57) except for a 15-minute interval when he insisted on going to the bathroom. The bathroom break - which was despite the fact that he was in diapers - was probably attributable to Kuya Baz having just gone to the bathroom himself. Hadrien looked so cute sitting on the theater chair, barely keeping it from folding up. Baz, meantime, was busy with popcorn and gummi bears, although there was a part with an old lady and a shotgun (she was going after the rats) which he disliked, saying that it was "violent."
The boys are quite the Disney-Pixar fans. Baz's first movie was Cars, last year, followed by Charlotte's Web with Gramps and Gramma. At home the boys enjoy Finding Nemo and like listening to the audio versions of Monsters Inc. and Toy Story. In fact, when Baz was big on Finding Nemo, he'd refer to himself as Nemo; to Hadrien as Marlin (which came out as "Marine"); to me as Bruce the Shark, and to Mommy as Bloat. That was before his Wallace and Grommit phase, with him as Wallace and Hadrien as Grommit - Hadrien appears to have accepted that he's the sidekick.
Ratatouille is about a rat (Remy) who's inspired to become a chef. He arrives in Paris, ends up at the restaurant owned by his cooking idol, Gausteau, and meets Linguini, the restaurant's garbage boy. Remy helps Linguini pass himself off as a chef, thereby earning Linguini the ire of Skinner, Gausteau's former sous chef who now runs the place. The movie's various plot points resolve themselves with the revelation that Linguini is actually Gausteau's illegitimate and unknown son; and Remy's father forgives him for leaving the family to help a human, and with the colony works the kitchen to help Remy save the restaurant from a scathing review by the very same food critic who ruined Gausteau. The movie's title explains itself in that scene with the restaurant critic, an excellent piece of work which wouldn't be out of place in a live action film.
Like any good fable, there's a moral: you can be anything you set out to be, as in this case when Remy pursues his calling to become a chef. You can also read it as, "Become the change you want to see" (Remy's father believes humans and rats will never get along); or "Give credit where credit is due" (when Linguini becomes famous, he has trouble admitting that Remy is behind his rise as a chef).
Good plot and excellent animation - Baz, Hadrien and I each give it a "thumbs up." Baz liked it because it had to do with cooking. Hadrien liked it because now he gets to call himself "Hadatouille"- I swear, he thought this name up himself.
The boys are quite the Disney-Pixar fans. Baz's first movie was Cars, last year, followed by Charlotte's Web with Gramps and Gramma. At home the boys enjoy Finding Nemo and like listening to the audio versions of Monsters Inc. and Toy Story. In fact, when Baz was big on Finding Nemo, he'd refer to himself as Nemo; to Hadrien as Marlin (which came out as "Marine"); to me as Bruce the Shark, and to Mommy as Bloat. That was before his Wallace and Grommit phase, with him as Wallace and Hadrien as Grommit - Hadrien appears to have accepted that he's the sidekick.
Ratatouille is about a rat (Remy) who's inspired to become a chef. He arrives in Paris, ends up at the restaurant owned by his cooking idol, Gausteau, and meets Linguini, the restaurant's garbage boy. Remy helps Linguini pass himself off as a chef, thereby earning Linguini the ire of Skinner, Gausteau's former sous chef who now runs the place. The movie's various plot points resolve themselves with the revelation that Linguini is actually Gausteau's illegitimate and unknown son; and Remy's father forgives him for leaving the family to help a human, and with the colony works the kitchen to help Remy save the restaurant from a scathing review by the very same food critic who ruined Gausteau. The movie's title explains itself in that scene with the restaurant critic, an excellent piece of work which wouldn't be out of place in a live action film.
Like any good fable, there's a moral: you can be anything you set out to be, as in this case when Remy pursues his calling to become a chef. You can also read it as, "Become the change you want to see" (Remy's father believes humans and rats will never get along); or "Give credit where credit is due" (when Linguini becomes famous, he has trouble admitting that Remy is behind his rise as a chef).
Good plot and excellent animation - Baz, Hadrien and I each give it a "thumbs up." Baz liked it because it had to do with cooking. Hadrien liked it because now he gets to call himself "Hadatouille"- I swear, he thought this name up himself.
8.02.2007
Et tu, Elmo?
Today we learned about a recall issued by Mattel for certain Fisher-Price toys, including Sesame Street and Dora The Explorer licensed toys. Apparently, one of Mattel's Chinese suppliers had applied decorative paint to the toys that "contained excessive amounts of lead."
A list of the toys affected by the recall, and a news article about it, is here: http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=78607
Unfortunately we had one of them: Silly Parts Talking Elmo. So this afternoon, he became Wrapped In A Bag And Thrown Away Elmo. I explained to the boys that I had to dispose of Elmo because he had bad paint on him, and they didn't seem to mind. Luckily, I don't recall them ever biting into the toy, as this thing's body is entirely plastic and covered by that leaded paint.
Doing an inventory of all the other plastic/painted toys, it struck me that almost all of them are "Made in China." The boys are big Sesame Street and Dora fans, so there were other toys to go through and compare to Mattel's list.
Ironically, I was reading an article in Fortune magazine a couple of weeks ago about how Mattel is the model for how to do manufacturing in China. By all accounts they're very careful about how they choose their suppliers, as well as their quality controls, so if something like this got past them, what about those less stringent toy manufacturers? Bearing that in mind, Singing Nemo joined Elmo in the disposal bag: this Nemo was by some Chinese-sounding company, hence my refusal to give its plastic orange and white painted body the benefit of lead-free doubt. I'm not being a Mattel apologist here, nor am I exercising a reflex prejudice against Chinese goods. But the litigation-happy environment in the United States has made American companies (rightly) paranoid about safety concerns, something that can't yet be said about those manufacturing on the cheap out there in Guanghzou.
Then again maybe I threw Singing Nemo away because it was just so damn annoying. That toy did one snippet of a song in a high pitched yet pinched, nasal voice, all the while rotating in circles on the floor (it had wheels).
Maybe all this is just an overreaction, and that 0.06% lead content in paint (the standard used by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission) isn't really harmful. Certainly those metal painted toys from our childhood was in the day before all this lead paint/sharp edges/small parts/Not Safe For Children Below 3 consciousness. But as a parent there's no way you take a chance on any of this; so God help Mattel and that Chinese paint supplier, if I ever get them in a room with me.
A list of the toys affected by the recall, and a news article about it, is here: http://www.smdailyjournal.com/article_preview.php?id=78607
Unfortunately we had one of them: Silly Parts Talking Elmo. So this afternoon, he became Wrapped In A Bag And Thrown Away Elmo. I explained to the boys that I had to dispose of Elmo because he had bad paint on him, and they didn't seem to mind. Luckily, I don't recall them ever biting into the toy, as this thing's body is entirely plastic and covered by that leaded paint. Doing an inventory of all the other plastic/painted toys, it struck me that almost all of them are "Made in China." The boys are big Sesame Street and Dora fans, so there were other toys to go through and compare to Mattel's list.
Ironically, I was reading an article in Fortune magazine a couple of weeks ago about how Mattel is the model for how to do manufacturing in China. By all accounts they're very careful about how they choose their suppliers, as well as their quality controls, so if something like this got past them, what about those less stringent toy manufacturers? Bearing that in mind, Singing Nemo joined Elmo in the disposal bag: this Nemo was by some Chinese-sounding company, hence my refusal to give its plastic orange and white painted body the benefit of lead-free doubt. I'm not being a Mattel apologist here, nor am I exercising a reflex prejudice against Chinese goods. But the litigation-happy environment in the United States has made American companies (rightly) paranoid about safety concerns, something that can't yet be said about those manufacturing on the cheap out there in Guanghzou.
Then again maybe I threw Singing Nemo away because it was just so damn annoying. That toy did one snippet of a song in a high pitched yet pinched, nasal voice, all the while rotating in circles on the floor (it had wheels).
Maybe all this is just an overreaction, and that 0.06% lead content in paint (the standard used by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission) isn't really harmful. Certainly those metal painted toys from our childhood was in the day before all this lead paint/sharp edges/small parts/Not Safe For Children Below 3 consciousness. But as a parent there's no way you take a chance on any of this; so God help Mattel and that Chinese paint supplier, if I ever get them in a room with me.
7.29.2007
Toddler Wrestling
Toddler Wrestling from malou.khan and Vimeo.
They say having two boys is a handful. But we're enjoying every minute of it. Just take a look at this video! More videos to come once I download and crop the videos we've taken.
This clip was taken during our trip to Singapore. But we see this scene on a regular basis. It's not just the macho-wrestling that they're into though. They scratch, pinch, pull each other's hair too. Until today, Hadrien is sporting a scar just below is lower lip. Baz got quite a scolding for that. The funny thing though is that when he was sent to the corner, Hadrien decided to join him there. I guess Hadrien realized that he must have done something to so annoy his Kuya!
7.24.2007
Fountain Fascination
I was in Rockwell mall today with the two boys, and of course we had to pay a visit to the jumping fountain on the first floor. The circular, colorfully-tiled Rockwell fountain sends out two to four bursts of water into the air, which then come back down with a splash. The kids love watching the water shoot into the air, and because they're Baz and Hadrien, particularly enjoy the anticipation of waiting for the water to burst from the nozzles.
Which reminds me about the boys' fountain fascination, which I attribute to Baz who passed it on to Hadrien. It was certainly encouraged by Gramps Nas and Gramma Cholly, who'd always take Baz to the cascading ring fountain in Greenbelt across from Baz's first favorite restaurant, Sentro 1771 (where he was enough of a regular that the waitresses recognized him and knew that he preferred the table with the banquette on the far end near the bathroom). Another favorite fountain is the circular one in Shangri-la mall, where Baz first coined his "walk around the fountain" song; and the walk-through ones at Greenbelt 3.
The boys make it a point to draw our attention to different fountains on our usual routes: there's the small single fount under the Buendia flyover as we make our right to Buendia; or if we're on the way to the Gramma's condo there are the Manila Pen fountains at the corner of Ayala and Makati Ave. and the black tiled fountains at the Ayala Museum, on Dela Rosa. On the way home it's the fountain in the driveway of Tektite Tower, which apparently never run for more than a few hours a day, hence sparking a usual debate among the brothers about whether it's "on!" or "off!"
We don't have pictures of these fountains unfortunately, but we should get around to capturing them despite the fact that they are everyday. So while we're doing that I've attached pictures from other places (from above: a fountain in Princeton University; with Daddy, at a fountain in a New Jersey mall; and the fountain in front of the National Archives in Washington DC).
So sure, kids love water, after all. Yet it's refreshing that B and H are fascinated by the manipulation of water - shape and form dictated by forces they can't see and perhaps can't yet explain. They enjoy just the watching, and they're willing to sit and observe how water flows and ebbs through the space, sometimes noisily, sometimes not. Very Zen of them.
Which reminds me about the boys' fountain fascination, which I attribute to Baz who passed it on to Hadrien. It was certainly encouraged by Gramps Nas and Gramma Cholly, who'd always take Baz to the cascading ring fountain in Greenbelt across from Baz's first favorite restaurant, Sentro 1771 (where he was enough of a regular that the waitresses recognized him and knew that he preferred the table with the banquette on the far end near the bathroom). Another favorite fountain is the circular one in Shangri-la mall, where Baz first coined his "walk around the fountain" song; and the walk-through ones at Greenbelt 3.
The boys make it a point to draw our attention to different fountains on our usual routes: there's the small single fount under the Buendia flyover as we make our right to Buendia; or if we're on the way to the Gramma's condo there are the Manila Pen fountains at the corner of Ayala and Makati Ave. and the black tiled fountains at the Ayala Museum, on Dela Rosa. On the way home it's the fountain in the driveway of Tektite Tower, which apparently never run for more than a few hours a day, hence sparking a usual debate among the brothers about whether it's "on!" or "off!"
We don't have pictures of these fountains unfortunately, but we should get around to capturing them despite the fact that they are everyday. So while we're doing that I've attached pictures from other places (from above: a fountain in Princeton University; with Daddy, at a fountain in a New Jersey mall; and the fountain in front of the National Archives in Washington DC).
So sure, kids love water, after all. Yet it's refreshing that B and H are fascinated by the manipulation of water - shape and form dictated by forces they can't see and perhaps can't yet explain. They enjoy just the watching, and they're willing to sit and observe how water flows and ebbs through the space, sometimes noisily, sometimes not. Very Zen of them.
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