Too-tay

And.... we're back!

2012-01-08T11:36:00.001+08:00

I've started a couple of posts explaining why we've been silent and with the intention of summarizing what we've been up to for the almost 2 years we've been away but it just got in the way of posting. So I'm just going to go ahead and record the mokongs' "hirits" while I can still remember them :)

Baz: Mommy, how did you know you were pregnant?

Me: I took a test.

Baz: But how did you know you had to take the test in the first place?

______________

Me: How many girlfriends are you going to have?

Baz: Zero.
Hadrien: 10,000

(Simultaneously)

Me: It's ok to have many girlfriends but once you get married you can't have girlfriends, ok?

Hadrien: (Shocked and with both eyes and mouth open side) Huh?! You mean I can't change?

_______________

This year I promise to try to write more. By the way, here are the top excuses for not writing in this blog more than I should have:

1. Facebook status updates are more convenient.
2. Busy with construction of the house
3. Busy with packing for the move
4. Busy with moving
5. Busy with unpacking
6. Busy with furnishing
7. Busy with entertaining (hehe... not really)

Hopefully, this is one resolution I keep, together with getting fit, watching less TV, spending more time with the family and being more patient and positive :) Happy new year!

By the way, here are some videos to make up for the laziness :)

Sow Fee Tell Weekend

2010-09-12T12:50:00.018+08:00

On the long weekend commemorating Araw ng Kagitingan, Raffy had the splendid idea of organizing a getaway. The weather forecast, being stormy or rainy, foreclosed any plane rides or long drives. So we cheated and checked into Sofitel, a good 20 minute car ride away :) Instead of a getaway, it was a staycation - which wasn't bad at all. In fact, with 2 rowdy boys, it's the perfect solution since this allowed us to use up all our energy on the boys instead of the trip to and fro. And we didn't need a vacation from the vacation after all was said and done.

Upon seeing pictures of Sofitel, you should have heard the chants of "sow-fee-tel! sow-fee-tel!" that erupted and the matching march around the condo. The river-like pool punctuated with bridges, waterfalls and boulder/rocks sealed the deal. And the kids were not disappointed.

After 2 -3 hours of swimming, it was date night - but with kids. The mokongs had a very adult dinner in Casa Armas ... yummy! Over dinner, I realized that 5 is the age where it gets tougher to make kids try something new. When Baz was around that age, he practically refused to touch red food or anything that looked new to him. Now, he was willing to try everything with the assurance that we won't force him to eat it if after trying he didn't like it. And now, it is Hadrien's turn.... oh well..... At least, there was 1 less person to fight with over chorizo.

It was a great great weekend and it lived up to the kids' excitement. Oh, and before I end this, just couldn't resist posting this photo of Hadrien brushing his teeth. Too funny! Thanks for capturing this, Raf!

Video Catch Up

2010-09-12T11:42:00.006+08:00

or should I say video-editing-galore-to-make-space-in-space-deprived-hard-drive? Not that I'm complaining. Better now than when its too unwieldy.

This video is a compilation of video and photos from Baz's first swimming culminating activity. We were worried about swimming classes at first specially since we knew it would be extremely difficult to be there to watch each week. Can you imagine how Baz would have felt if we made him sit out? He loves school work - math and all - but he LOVES football and swimming. Between the two, he loves swimming more! You can just feel how happy he was even by just watching this video.

This video was taken when we had to do a DIY pictorial at home for the mokongs' violin recital. True to form, Hadrien put on his thinking cap to show us that aside from his "violin skills", he could also be a drummer. Trust Hadrien to find multiple uses and "sowutions" for things around him and to make sure he puts on a good performance in front of the video camera!

And here's a video of the Golden Band's first performance. Mommy and Baz on the drums (designed by Hadrien) while Hadrien belted out Happy Together (even if he only knew ... let's see .... 1/5 of the words of the song!).

Elections 2010

2010-05-15T18:10:00.011+08:00

Election came and went. And much to everybody's relief, it went by in relative peace. Someone mentioned that the election automation was the first of its kind - considering that we were going from 0% to 100% automation. Despite glitches that led to predictions of election failure and implotion of the automation process, the PCOS machines and CF Cards did not disappoint. We are one with the majority who say (for now, at least) that the election was a success!

The Mokongs' interest in politics came about during the aftermath of President Cory's passing as you can see here and here. After that, they asked about government, laws, Marcos, Gloria, Ninoy AquinoY. It was only natural that come campaign season, they were well-prepped and had opinions of their own on who should lead our country.

H to his classmate: I want Noynoy to be President!

Teacher J: Why?

H: Because I went to his house.

Classmate: How about X (another candidate)?

H: No, I didn't go to his house!

Another classmate: Me, I like Villar!

H: Why?! You want the roads to be zigzag?!!

(Teacher J remarked that this conversation helped her understand the controversy about diversion of roads WAAAY much better!)

_______

H: Villar made the roads zigzag. Remember, Tagaytay and Ko-Asia (Croatia)?

_______

On the way to Calatagan where the road became winding and some roads were only partially cemented -

B: Villar, what did you do?!!! (in a whining and irritated voice)

_______

B: When did Gloria become president?

Mommy: In 2001.

B: What?! But the last elections were in 2004!

Mommy: You're right but in 2001, the people kicked Erap out. So since Gloria was the Vice-President, she became the President.

B: But you can only be President for 6 years!

Mommy: Yes, but that is only if you became President through elections. Gloria was not elected in 2001.

B: But 9 years is too long to be President!

(At his young age, he knew that occupying the highest position of the land for 9 LONG years is much too much.)

___________

They also did some campaigning of their own.

B: Please, Grandma, puh-lease, can you please vote for Noynoy?

___________

Hadrien was also adept at reading cues. He knew who his grandparents were voting for. But he had this to say about Gramps.

H: Gramps is voting for Noynoy. If he is talking to other people, he says he is voting for Gibo. But if he is talking to Grandma, he says he is voting for Villar.

___________

They were also hungry to learn about the election process.

B: Where are the elections going to be?

M: All over the country.

B: There will be many elections?!!

___________

On the day of the elections, a slightly feverish Baz could not be deterred from participating in the elections. As we were accompanying Raffy to vote in Las Pinas, I did not want the boys to go in blue and/or yellow. But it was pointless to try to get them to do otherwise. They've waited so long for "their" votes to be cast - and they wanted everyone to know who they were rooting for.

Here are some photos of the mokongs having their first taste of the electoral process:

(waiting patiently in more than 30 centigrade heat)

(making his Laban sign, just in case someone was in doubt as to who his candidate was. in korean kasi ang campaign material sa shirt niya!)

(posing with the friendly policemen who were making sure that everything was going smoothly)

(Mokongs: There, Aquino! Lacson! - The Mokongs making sure that their Daddy doesn't forget who to vote for. The future generation is taking the future into their hands. Their logic is simple - vote for someone who (at least for now) follows the rules. If you can't obey the laws, you can't be President)

(Waiting for the "congratulations" on the PCOS machine's screen.)

At dinner time, their election fever was still high -

H: Kuya, If I run for VP and Noynoy will run for president, who will you vote for?

B: There will be 3 presidents before Hadrien will be allowed to vote and 2 presidents before I can vote. (I thought I was good in math but it took me a while to digest this statement and verify its accuracy.)

It's not that I want my boys entering politics any time. But I think it's a good sign that they're concerned about their country and having an opinion about things like these.

One Very Hot Sunday Afternoon

2010-04-18T12:30:00.015+08:00

Raffy organized a trip to Pila, Laguna so that the kids can see Philippine ancestral houses. It's a pity that there are very few left of these houses for the kids of their generation to appreciate. Not even the blazing heat could take away from the rare sight of the plaza surrounded by well-preserved Filipino houses.

While there, Baz got to review what he learned during their theme investigation on Philippine houses such as callado, bangerahan and ventanillas. Sadly, we learned that some of these houses are uninhabited except for the token care-taker. Some are owned by corporations and therefore used as offices. And because it's election time, many of the houses were plastered with campaign materials. Obviously, the boys were happy to see the Noynoy/Mar campaign posters - and covered their eyes as they came upon Villar's.

It was quite a drive so the first order of the day was lunch at a local carenderia off the town plaza. And Raffy was actually okay with the kids eating carinderia food!!!! For the kids, we played it safe with sinigang (which they re-heated in the microwave as an extra precaution) and grilled fish. Don't worry, we did bring our own set of utensils for the kids. Hahaha!!!

As for us, we took a chance and tried the menudo. We were rewarded for our bravery :)

Sidebar: Look at the little mokong here. Ano ba, Hadrien? Were you bored, intrigued, shocked or captivated by the movie you were watching (while Mommy and Daddy were eating in relative peace)?

After lunch, we visited the St. Anthony de Padua church - beautiful both inside and out.

This is what the sun does to poor Hadrien ...

A quick stroll around the plaza and a first-ever tricycle ride followed, complete with lubak and all!

(Agra house in the background, Daddy and a wilted Hadrien in the foreground)

(in front of the Rivera house)

(in front of the Pila Municipal Hall)

(St. Anthony de Padua Church in the background)

(their first tricycle ride c/o Mang Jessie)

On the way back, it would be unforgiveable not to take a photo of the lush green ricefields. Thinking that we would actually go into the ricefields, Baz cautioned: We must be extra careful or we will ruin it!

Then another quick stop at UP Los Banos. but not without stopping to picky up milk from the Dairy Husbandry. YUMMM!!!

More Facebook Updates from Mommy

2010-04-11T20:33:00.004+08:00

M sees two kids clutching their ears. The reason: a truck playing the song of Villar passed by. H is now shouting: STOP, VILLAR!! OK?!!! (4/11/10)

B and H are so much into politics these days. They both refuse to eat, wear or even see anything orange. If anyone says they like "V", they immediately berate that person with "why?! do you like the roads to be zigzag?" (4/10/10)

Comments:

There goes their beta-carotene! Tsktsktsk! Hahaha! - T. Jojie
The roads to be zig zag... HIGHlarious! - Nikka
When when we were playing with the toy bowling....they refused to hit the yellow pins..but they put the orange ones up front so that it would be the first one to fall. LOL!! grabe na 'to!! - Aunti Ritchie

B: Daddy, I have to ask you something. What does a lawyer do? D: Lawyers help people understand the laws. They also help people when they appear before the courts, like the Supreme Court. B: What is a court? Like a basketball court? (Laughter) B: Is that part of the government? D: Yes, you remember there are ... (3/24/10)

Baz's reaction to chat not working: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is so so so Very BAD!!!!!!!!!!! x-(. (3/13/10)

Baz: I watched Noynoy (obviously a big fan) on the news. They called him "Senador", not "Senator"... Must speak Filipino to them more often. (3/13/10)

The kids were upset during yesterday's brownouts. H asked me if he could go to heaven and turn on the lights and come back to earth. At some point (10 minutes into the brownout) they both got cranky so I told them that they should learn to be still. B asked me what he could do in the dark (I figured they got bored talking to me), so I said why don't you talk to God. And he said "God, please fix the power plants!" (3/2/10)

M's 4 and 6 year old rushed to meet her and Raffy as they came home. B reported that H hit him on the head. The reason for the scuffle - they had an argument as to whether "infinity" was a number! Needless to say, the scolding for the physical fight was half-hearted. (3/1/10)

H's attempt to make her feel guilty with: "Mommy, when you go on trips without us, I want you to get this, this, and this... Make sure when you go that you get this, this and that. Ok? Promise?" (pointing to a Thomas the Train catalog) (2/14/10)

H: "Mommy, I love you to infinity!" But this is the same kid who made paper flowers for 3 of his favorite girl classmates - and none for me! (1/20/10)

M fooled B into thinking that she turned eggwhites and salt into icing and then chicken! (1/18/10)

Shoe-ssess

2010-03-07T10:23:00.010+08:00

Let me preface this with .... I SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS SOONER!!!!

The Kinder Koala's Shoes culminating activity was held October last year. And it took me more than 4 months to blog about it. Sorry, Hadrien! You'll see .... I'll make it up to you.

The theme on shoes came after "sari-sari" store. In keeping with the theme, instead of footprints, the path leading to the Kinder Koala's room was peppered with cut outs of various kinds of shoes, hand painted by Hadrien and his classmates. This set the stage for a month-filled activities involving shoes. Even if Hadrien skipped school for about 2 weeks to attend Tita Bel's wedding in Dubrovnik, he was on shoe-theme mode making sure he took pictures of the shoes he saw:

These were nifty additions to the kinds of shoes he learned in school - sneakers, ballet shoes, slippers, boots, ice skates, etc. His new-found expertise on shoes also added a good 5-minute to our routine everyday as he showed off his knowledge on the parts of a shoe - outsole, insole, heel, vamp and accessories (e.g., glitter, buckles, velcro, straps, etc). Or when he insisted on wearing black leather shoes and white sport socks on days when he was already dressed in shorts. (At this point, I might suggest adding to the lesson which shoes go with which outfit... sneakers do not need shoe polish or that black polish should not be applied to brown shoes.... but I digress...) On some days, he went through our shoe drawers to to point out that shoes could be made out different materials - such as rubber, leather and fabric.

They were supposed to go on a field trip to Marikina to see how shoes are manufactured. But because of Ondoy which inundated Marikina and other parts of the Metro, they decided to collect shoes and other donations for people who make shoes. This was a great lesson in itself.

During the culminating activity, the Koalas recited "There Was An Old Woman Who Lived In a Shoe" and another poem which they composed. They also sang and danced to a couple of shoe songs. They held an exhibit where they showed off their shoe designs (both sketches and actual finished products) and allowed us to see and touch a sampling of shoes. We were allowed and encouraged to ask the kids questions. And they were mostly NOT shy to answer our questions. It was an activity filled morning - with the parents and yayas getting the chance to play shoe relay and nibble on shoe-shaped cookies.

I must mention that T. Jojie even came dressed with a pretty-shoe-printed blouse. Talagang sticking to the theme!

Flowers, Flowers Everywhere!

2010-03-06T15:10:00.004+08:00

Baz's 5's and 6's (aka Prep) class had a culminating activity on flowers last week. For about a month or two, they learned about the different parts of the flower, what flowers are used for, what flowers need to survive. They also learned about 2 painters who were famous for their flower paintings - Vincent Van Gogh and Georgia O'Keeffe.

They had 3 field trips. The first to see different kinds of flowers at Greenbelt Park - a bit poetic since as we were growing up, the park near Shakeys that became Strumms, now Greenbelt 5, looked like a lush mini-forest. The second was to Flower Farm in Tagaytay where they saw greenhouses, learned that chrysanthemums are "tricked" into thinking that there was continuous sunlight by the use of light bulbs strung across the flowerbeds. The third was to Market! Market! where they interviewed people from a flower shop, learned about the flower trade, how to make flower arrangements and put some math into action by buying flowers and making sure they received the right amount of change.

In science, they dissected a flower and saw first-hand what the stamen, pistel, ovules, ovary - in addition to the run-of-the-mill stem, leaves, roots, petals and sepal. They witnessed capillary action at work when they put white flowers into 3 separate jars containing yellow, red and blue dyes - causing the flower petals to change colors. They learned how to measure flowers and chart the lengths.

During the culminating activity, the 5's and 6's opened their very own flower shop - aptly named Flowers & Flowers. We were wisely instructed to prepare P10 and P1 coins and were given an order slip showing how much our order cost. Raffy had his film-tubes of coins and Baz counted out exactly how much he needed - P95 to be exact. The business part out of the way, Baz went into flower-arrangement-mode. His aesthetic was Ikebana-esque. And he snipped and cut away like an expert.

Then we got to see their paintings - all inspired by Van Gogh and O'Keeffe. I couldn't believe how artistic these kids are. There's something to be said about not requiring kids to do projects at home. Their skills are really harnessed and honed - no parents doing their kids' projects here! Still, it's a lot better than I would have expected from these 5 and 6 year olds.

To cap the activity - the kids sang "Starry, Starry Night" - a song inspired by Vincent Van Gogh's life and paintings.

Obviously, we're mighty pleased about what our kids are learning at Keys. And what's more, they are REALLY REALLY happy in school.

Next post: Hadrien's shoe culminating activity....

Daddy Is Not Independent

2010-03-02T21:40:00.002+08:00

For a long time now, we've been trying to get the kids to sleep on their own beds in their own (shared) room. But every now and then, we'd give in to pleas to allow them to sleep with us. Lately , I felt that I wasn't getting enough restful sleep with elbows and knees periodically nudging me so I began to put my foot down. Today, as Raffy was prepping them for bed, I overheard Baz say: "Daddy, you're already almost 40 and you're still sleeping with Mommy! So you should be more independent."

What did you say, Daddy?

How Do You Pee?!

2010-02-28T18:32:00.003+08:00

The hazards of having to take your son to the public bathroom when you have no choice but to have him stay in the stall while you do your business...

The following conversation is a variant of a similar conversation last week. This one took place at home as we were all getting ready to leave.

B: Mommy, can I see your penis?

M: I don’t have one.

B: What?!!! How do you pee?

M: Baz remember your lesson about flowers? There are boy parts and girl parts.

D: Mommy has A stamen. Ha ha ha ha ha ha…

Note: The last two lines were typed by Baz. So, for the record, he can say that he started blogging at age 6 :). He even wanted to be accurate in the number of "ha's" to type, asking Raffy how many times he laughed.

See Kwet

2010-02-27T11:14:00.006+08:00

The boys like secrets (or as Hadrien says it - See Kwets). I'd see them huddling in a corner, whispering into each others ears and I'd smell trouble. For the most part, Baz is able to keep secrets. But it's not the same from Hadrien, who, once you give him a pleading look, easily gives in and spills the beans.

Last Monday, as the kids were preparing to say their evening prayers, Hadrien says he has a secret. It didn't take long for him to share that it was his favorite girl's birthday the following day.

H: Mommy, it's B's birthday tomorrow and she llllllllliiiiiikes strawberry cupcakes (with matching gigil face).

M: Do you have something to give her tomorrow?

H: No, but I have a plan. Tomorrow, early morning, yaya must go and buy a strawberry cupcake.

Yaya interjects and asks me if Hadrien told me his secret.

H: Mommy, my secret is that B is still my girlfriend. But don't tell D as D might tell B and B might tell T (who apparently is B's original or real girlfriend).

The "konsitedor" that we are - the next day, Raffy and I were on hand to buy B some strawberry shortcake and personally deliver it to H's classroom, with a home-made crown fashioned from orange cartolina (according to Hadrien's specs).

There's more - he wanted to make sure B knew exactly how he felt. He actually sang 4 songs for her, 3 of which were christmas songs :0

A couple of days later, as I brought Hadrien to his classroom, I spied T walking behind us. I asked Hadrien if I could tell T his secret. He froze and furiously shook his head. I guess when it counts, Hadrien can really keep a secret :)

Update: B's yaya told us B liked the Strawberry Shortcake from the little mokong. Wagi!

Masterpieces - Part 1

2010-01-22T21:44:00.004+08:00

Just wanted to show off some of the mokongs' masterpieces. They've been having informal art classes with Papa and just started painting last week. The boys play art director by telling Papa what they want him to draw and where. They then put their paintbrushes and markers to work, and....voila!

By Hadrien

By Baz

By Baz

Christmas 2009

2010-01-03T17:18:00.005+08:00

'Tis the season that's so busy. Lalalalalalalalalala.... What with all the christmas parties, programs, get-togethers, reunions, shopping lists, wrapping and gift-tagging marathon on top of all the work that needed to get done before the end of the year. We have a lot to be grateful for during the past year. But as I look back, foremost of all the blessings showered on us is the presence and assurance of the constancy of family and friends.

During the holidays, we celebrated with:

1. Hadrien's class where the little mokong sang We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Silver Bells, Happy Birthday, Jesus, It's My Favorite Time of the Year (teachers J and N, correct me if I'm wrong:) ). While Hadrien LOVES performing and attention being lavished on him, he seemed to be a bit distracted while performing. Is it because B (who was in China attending a wedding?) was not there? Hmmm..... At the party, we picked up hand-made christmas cards by the little mokong to go with our christmas gifts to family. The cards were a big hit among our families.

2. Baz's school during the christmas concert held at Xavier School. Now performance is something that Baz does not particularly relish. Actually, that's an understatement. Baz detests having to perform and all the attention that goes with it. This has to a certain extent rubbed off on us as we anxiously looked forward to these occasions. But each opportunity gives us reason to hope. And again, we were not disappointed as he performed beautifully during the class numbers - never mind that he did not join in the Swahili song performed by all his school-mates.

3. students and sisters of the Padre Annibale School in Marikina. This was the Mokongs' Christmas Project as conceptualized and implemented by them. So moved were they by the effects of Typhoon Ondoy that they decided to break the piggy-bank to buy school supplies, food that don't need refrigeration, spam, popsicle sticks and other staples. In preparation for their sharing, they weighed and 50 3-kilo bags of rice and packed all 50 care packages. Family and friends were on hand to help out as well - Auntie Ricci helped us shop for school materials in Binondo and came with us during the sharing, Mama and Papa helped us pack and contributed to the Jollibee snack fund, and Raffy's office friends added art materials to the loot enjoyed by the children. It was a chance for the boys to meet other children, hear first-hand how the flood affected other children, share their blessings and serve in their own small way.

4. Office christmas parties and other yearly traditions. December 23 was jam-packed. The kids started off with lunch mommy, mama, papa, Tita Ed and Tito Mikel then attended the children's christmas party at SRMO then had a leisurely afternoon tea at the Peninsula where they posed for their annual picture by the gigantic tree (no fake Santa this time!) then attended the IUBI/mommy's law office christmas party. Phew!!!!

5. Christmas Eve in Alabang with mommy's family and Christmas day in Tahanan with Daddy's family. Needless to say, there was a LOT of gift-giving this year which the boys thoroughly enjoyed. Back at the Parc, as soon as each boy finished his dinner, Santa rang the doorbell to individually deliver the Little Amsterdam blocks for Baz and the Beams and Girders toy for Hadrien. The boys had to earn their christmas gifts though by practicing packing away, patience and participating more in school.

6. a Marian Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Lipa, Batangas and to the Mountain of Salvation where a lady named Emma de Guzman has been experiencing visions of Mama Mary. We helped ourselves to the spring water at the grotto and said a special prayer for our intentions. On the way between Lipa and Batulao, we drove by Taal lake for a wonderful view of the volcano. We were treated to traffic on our way back down to Manila which presented us with another opportunity for more eating!

7. geek lunch with Mai, Nonie, Jill, Miguel and Gabby at The Frazzled Cook, Hadrien's restaurant of choice which is conveniently located right by his school. The boys had fun with Nonie's boys while the DVD player served as nanny to the boys. Now, if only the DVD player could take them to the toilet....

8. Tita Ed and Ickyboy on December 29 at Dragon Gate. Mokong Hadrien chose to wear his superman costume to lunch that day, and earned his brother and him another opportunity to go to Raffy's office to show off.

9. Lunch with Tita Ed, Jolly and Kristine on December 30 at Bistro Filipino. This might be the only adult-only event during this break. We feasted on Filipino food with a twist and had way too much food for one meal!

10. New Year's Eve at Alabang. This is the first time the boys managed to stay awake until midnight and buena noche. Probably because this was the first time they really understood that new year's even marked the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010 (as as Gramps put it, the beginning of a new decade!). Like last year, we judiciously refrained from buying any paputok and enjoyed fireworks at, literally, our neighbors' expense!

11. New Year's Day at La Vista. The boys got to play with their cousins more this time and gave us a glimpse of christmas, birthday and new year parties to come!

Happy new year everyone. Thanks for sharing our journey in 2009!

Video Catch-Up

2010-01-03T13:56:00.007+08:00

My form of de-cluttering is organizing photos and uploading videos to somewhere safe just in case.... Enjoy!

Now if only I can figure out how to efficiently move videos and pictures to one computer (as we downloaded to 2 computers) so that I can finally print and make more photobooks and slideshows.

Not sure if I posted these videos here but just in case I haven't.....

"2" from malou.khan on Vimeo.

"Sabay-na-Sabay" from malou.khan on Vimeo.

Happiness is Hadrien from malou.khan on Vimeo.

The Baz Connection from malou.khan on Vimeo.

So Happy Together from malou.khan on Vimeo.

Patience

2009-12-07T13:12:00.002+08:00

"Finished na! Finished na, na, na!"

That is Hadrien shouting to all the world and sundry that he was done with No. 2 on the throne. His yaya calls back "wait!" as she was doing something then.

"No, I won't wait!"

Then he runs out butt-naked with a triumphant smile on his face.

This is why for the rest of his school year, he needs to work on "Patience, Patterns and Focus" - with much emphasis on "patience".

Conversations with Baz & Hadrien (Part 12)

2009-12-06T12:14:00.003+08:00

My boys are naturals at "panliligaw". They instinctively know how to butter you up which makes me think they're not off the mark when you compare their quips against those cliche pick-up lines.

Hadrien: Mommy, I love you up to the moon!

Baz: I love you higher than the moon. I love you all the way up to heaven and outer space.

Hadrien: I love you 1000 times!

Baz: I love you 1 billion times! I love you 1 trillion times!

Hadrien: I love you... uh.... 1 sillion hillion times!

____________

Last night, as I was about to go out to watch a movie with some friends, the boys tried to emotionally prevent me from leaving this way:

Baz: Mommy, don't leave.

Hadrien: Mommy, I need kisses until the morning.

I dread the day when the boys will stop showering us with the love, affection and almost-adoration we enjoy now. Argggh... I cannot bear to think of these lines being spoken to somebody else, no matter how pretty or smart or kind that girl might be. Right now, the boys proudly proclaim that they don't have any plans of marrying. But who could resist lines like these?

_______________

And then there are those times when Baz surprises me with his adult-like spiels. Like this one time, when he was scolding me about a trip -

Baz: Mommy, don't you want to stay married? Why did you go on a trip without Daddy? Married people don't do that! (with an accusatory pointing finger to match)

_______________

There are too many conversations that go unrecorded. Like the times I overhear the boys negotiating turns at a toy they each want to play with, or choosing their quota of 1 DVD per day (that rule gets bent more often now....). I need to do a better job at listening and remembering.

Envious

2009-11-21T20:01:00.005+08:00

of my friend Eleonor's photos with her kids, I tinkered with some fave pics of my 3 boys. Here are 2 pictures I jazzed up :) Need to invest in a good lens (hint, hint!) In the meantime, I know where I'll be channeling extra time and energy during the next few days. If only I didn't have to access the back up drive for this...

This was taken at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Budapest.

Near the St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna.

Hadrien at the Schonbrunn Playground, Vienna

Wait A Minute Mr. Postman

2009-11-19T21:00:00.003+08:00

Teacher Jojie sent me this hilarious video of the mokong during the class field trip to the post office. I just had to post immediately. Thanks, T. Jojie! Very much appreciated.

On the way home from the office, I was trying to get the kids to tell me what happened during the day.

M: Who went to Renaissance for swimming?

Baz raises his hand.

M: Who went to the post office?

Hadrien raises his hand.

M: Who sent Mommy a letter?

Hadrien raises his hand.

M: Aha! I know your secret!

Hadrien: But it's not a letter, it's a painting!

M: Aha!

Hadrien: But you don't know what it looks like! (with pride as if he won the argument)

1st Sem PTC's for SY 2009-2010

2009-11-17T21:06:00.002+08:00

Can't believe we're past the half-way mark for this school year! The boys are breezing through the year, enjoying every day they're in school. Whenever I ask them how school was, they would say without thinking "FUN!" I believe this as they come out smiling, bursting with the need to narrate their activities for the day.

We had Baz's PTC yesterday and am proud to say that he's doing very well. Cautious Baz is taking more risks, participates in group and teacher-directed activities. Mighty pleased to say that he did VERY well in his reading tests! Not that I was surprised as I've been harping about his ability to read at an early age. And it's not just reading, but actually understanding and asking questions about materials he reads. He needs to work on opening up and engaging with friends more though.

Dubbed as the "little binata" of the Kinder Koala class, Hadrien did Mommy and Daddy proud too! Teachers find his ability to retain and repeat information he absorbs from everyday conversations and experiences remarkable. He did well in the literacy aspect and shows his love for books. Needless to say, he knows his ABC's and 123's. He just needs to work on sticking to his task, opening up, being more interested in writing and drawing.

Video Updates

2009-10-25T12:03:00.004+08:00

Practicing for Tita Bel's Wedding March from malou.khan on Vimeo.

Cheers! from malou.khan on Vimeo.

Dubrovnik - Mokong Dancing from malou.khan on Vimeo.

And here's a blast from the past. Look at those cheeks! Classic Baz.

Crazy! from malou.khan on Vimeo.

Trick or Treatin' @ the Parc

2009-10-24T19:10:00.006+08:00

Trick-or-treating comes early at our condo - October 17, to be exact. Thanks to their titas, we didn't have to scrounge around for costumes even if we were not prepared for the early halloween celebrations. After a long argument, some pushing and crying, and the stern warning (ok, threat) that they would not go trick-or-treating altogether if they didn't agree between themselves, Baz graciously gave way to Hadrien.

Baz was so cute in his Sponge Bob costume (c/o Tita Bel) with matching brown shorts, white socks and black shoes and an oh-so-cute expression on his face here.

Not to be outdone, Hadrien was in character as Batman. Notice how he tries to hide behind Sponge Baz in the first picture - a true stealthy dark night! Until he flashes his gigil smile that is pure Hadrien :)

I love you so much, my little boys! You both are growing up right before my eyes - not too fast though....

Cousins! Cousins!

2009-09-21T10:04:00.004+08:00

For lack of "first cousins" on both sides, second cousins count! Just recently, the boys met some cousins from Papa's side for the very first time. It's sad that this get-together was brought on by the passing of Tita Marita (Papa's last surviving sister) but hopefully, this is the start of regular reunions.

Boys being boys, they enjoyed horsing around and zipping through the house in Little Tikes toys built for toddlers. Luckily, no person, toy or furniture was injured in the process. Just lots of laughter from the kids while adults worriedly watched.

Here, Baz is getting the royal treatment from his cousins. I love that smile!

And look at my little sanguine, Hadrien!

____

Just before that, we went by Southvale to check up on things. Looks like Baz found the lot too small. He surveyed the lot, which had been fenced off temporarily and pointedly asked, "where's the garden going to be?" I think we managed to take his picture as he pointed to the lot (not ours) where the garden should be. Patay!

Baz's Family Tree

2009-09-10T17:03:00.003+08:00

Baz's class activity over the past month has been learning about family, and one of the exercises was to make a family tree. Here's the one Baz made:

Baz pretty much did all this by himself, including identification of "paternal" and "maternal" sides. My only contribution here was to glue the labels, oh -and yes- draw a hideous tree outline using a gold lame' pen that I hope comes across as brown (it's a tree, after all). Sorry Baz!

Apparently LMH (Little Mokong Hadrien) wasn't impressed:

Tomorrow is the class' culminating activity. Baz has recorded a video explaining his family tree, which I'll leave for viewing to Vimeo.

Social Science 101

2009-08-30T22:23:00.005+08:00

For days after Cory's death, I was glued to the TV watching the wake, interviews and news stories that came out on GMA's unconscionably extravagant dinner shortly after Cory's passing. It felt like the end of an era and it affected me more than I thought it would.

Little did I know that it would also present an opportunity to teach the kids about our country's not too distant past. I started with who Cory was, explaining that she once was the President of the Philippines. And because the documentaries showed pictures of Ninoy and his funeral procession, I also had to explain to the kids that Cory was Ninoy's wife, that Ninoy was killed by Marcos' soldiers, and that Marcos tried to cheat in the elections that led to people marching in the streets to protest giving rise to People Power.

It also led to these amusing exchanges -

B: What happened to Ninoy?

M: He was killed by Marcos' soldiers.

B: How?

M: He was shot.

B: Where?

M: In the airport where his airplane landed.

B: In Ninoy Aquino International Airport?!

_______

H: Is Marcos bad?

M: Yes... but he wasn't always bad. He was good, but he did not follow the rules (hoping that this could be a "teaching moment" for obedience which we are working on these days), until he forgot the rules, and then he did not know right from wrong.

H: Don't call him Marcos - call him "Bad"

B: Call him "Baddie"!

Weeks later, the boys were excitedly telling us how they would fight and punish the bad people. Until they turned to us and asked -

B: How are bad people made?

H: They also come from heaven (perhaps remembering my comment from a few weeks ago that bad people, even Marcos were born good).

B: No, the devil makes them in hell.

H: Is there snow in hell?

M: I don't know.

B: Marcos would know!

__________

And then when we were watching clips of Cory's speech before the US Congress, Baz noticed the US flag and asked me if she was the President of the Philippines or of the US. When I answered that she was the President of the Philippines, he asked "but why is there an American flag behind her?" I then told him that she delivered a speech before the US Congress. Of course, a flood of questions came:

B: What is Congress?

M: It's the body that makes laws.

B: What are laws?

M: Laws are rules made by the government.

B: What is the government?

I don't recall exactly how I answered or how this exchange ended. I distinctly remember thinking that his questions are not normally asked by 6-year olds, but Baz is not quite the ordinary 6-year old, and these weren't ordinary times.

Cory! Ko-wee! Kowee!

2009-08-09T18:49:00.014+08:00

Cory Aquino's death on August 1 gave us the opportunity for a little history lesson with the boys. As we watched the news coverage of her funeral arrangements and the tributes to this great woman, we were able to explain to the boys that, when their Mommy and Daddy were teenagers in 1986, Cory Aquino became President after "People Power." We told them that Cory's husband was Ninoy Aquino, and that the bad people killed him when he arrived at the airport because they didn't want him to be President. Baz immediately made the name connection, and asked, "Did that happen in NAIA?" Apparently, he remembers that the "NA" in "NAIA" stands for "Ninoy Aquino."

I saw Cory's cortege when it passed through Makati, and Malou went to stand on South Superhighway on the day of the funeral procession. Today it was the boys' turn.

First they made their own expressions of tribute, on paper. Hadrien made a "yellow flag," with the note "Hadrien loves Cory."

Baz made a Philippine flag, on the reverse of which he wrote a note saying,

"Dear President Cory,
Thank you for being a good President.
Love,Baz."

Then we taped them to chopstick "flagpoles."

Off we went to 25 Times St., the Aquino residence in Quezon City which has apparently become a historical site (it has an NHI marker). Ten minutes after we got there, a white SUV pulls up, and Noynoy Aquino comes out and mingles with the crowd on the way into the house - I guess he still lives there. Nice guy - he posed with the kids and Malou, took the time to shake a lot of hands, accept words of condolence, and - when Hadrien offered it - even read Hadrien's flag/note.

There was a nice lady there who gave packs of Hershey's Kisses to Noynoy, and afterwards she explained that she works for Hershey's, that Kisses were Cory's favorite, and that she'd deliver them to the Times St. residence. Touching story indeed, but the nice twist to the tale was that, finding the two mokongs so cute, she gave them a pack of Kisses each. Of course I'll have to scrutinize the chocolates since they came from a stranger, and taste test most of the pack.

We stuck the boys' flags to the gate with the permission of one of the bantay, all of whom were very nice and genuinely pleased to see this outpouring for Cory.

Baz took pictures of his own, and the results were pretty interesting. Good eye Baz!

Mabuhay si Cory! Or, as Hadrien says, "Kowee! Kowee!" Yes, the two boys know how to flash the "Laban" sign!

Conversations with Baz & Hadrien (Part 11)

2009-07-12T16:09:00.002+08:00

H: Are we going weft oh wight? (left or right, with matching hand movements)

Mommy: What?

H: East oh West?

_________

I was quizzing Hadrien on the animals on his book. It was the first time I was actually using this particular book with him so I didn't really expect him to know the animals except for the usual dog, cat, bear, snake, elephant, etc. But my little boy surprised me, in more than one way! On the "A" and "B" page, he was able to identify the anaconda, ant, armadillo, bear, beaver, badger. I flip the page and pointed to a camel and enjoyed a hearty laugh. His response: "ahmm..... hump, hump!"

__________

Hadrien's first day of classes for this year was postponed 4 times! His first day should have been on June 15, but it was moved to June 22, then June 24, then classes on June 24 and 25 were cancelled due to the typhoons that never came to pass. He's not one to flaunt or express his frustrations, preferring instead to grunt and look away. But today, on the 4th aborted 1st school day of the year, he says:

Mommy, it's not raining anymore. So can I now go to school?

___________

I've learned to use Facebook to capture the boys' quips. Here are some of my status updates out of the mouth of babes:

Baz: How old was Michael Jackson when he died? Raffy: 50. Baz: He was a middle adult! He was still young, right? (6 July 2009)

Baz: Why did Michael Jackson die? Raffy: He had a heart attack. Baz: No, because he changed his face! Hadrien: And he also changed his skin! He dies when he every time he changes his face! (5 July 2009)

Baz said: Mommy, it takes 3 days to go to the moon. That's 3 24 hours!(2 July 2009)

Baz just said: "When I become a man, I will blast off to America." While Hadrien said: "she's not my girlfriend" when I asked him to say "bye" to his classmate. (30 June 2009)

And from Raffy's Facebook status:

Told the mokongs that, before they were born, they were angels in heaven. Baz: "Were with angels with wings? Did we have stingers?" Hadrien: "How did we get to earth? Did we parachute?" B: "Did God throw us to earth?" H: "Is heaven above outer space?" B: "Did I pass outer space on the way to earth?" My answers: Yes. Angels, not bees. God sent you. No. No. Neither above nor below, but all around. No. (5 July 2009)

Hadrien: I'm a 'skeezah.' Baz: What's that?! H: Something you do to wubber ducks. B: You mean 'squeezer.' H: That's wight." And that is how Hadrien gets around pronunciation issues. (28 June 2009)

Hadrien: "I will NOT talk to you, Kuya!" Baz: "You're talking to me Hadrien. When you said you will not talk to me, you were talking to me." And that is how a four and a six year old brother argue. (20 June 2009)

Sweet Hadrien

2009-07-07T22:24:00.002+08:00

The brothers are best of friends. They talk incessantly that we need to make sure that the lights are out in their bedroom by 8 pm, if we expect them to be asleep by 9. While we sometimes get impatient that it takes them so long to fall asleep, Raffy and I find it extremely amusing to hear them make up stories, finish each others' sentences and giggle at each others' quips.

They also look out for each other. Hadrien being the "maton" takes special care of his kuya when they're out in public. One time, a 3 year old playfully threw her shoes at Baz, and Hadrien didn't hesitate to retaliate (I won't say how as I don't want to incriminate my own son!).

The day after the fire in our building, the boys had to wear the same pair of pants since we didn't have spare clothes for our impromptu sleep-over in Alabang. Perhaps because Hadrien was wearing hand-me-downs which had been passed on to him only weeks before, Baz insisted on wearing the pair that Hadrien already had on. Hadrien was bothered that Baz was upset but naturally, wasn't prepared to give up his own pants for his kuya who had his own pair anyway. After 30 minutes or so, he checked up on his kuya saying "I love you, Kuya!" to which Baz responded: "Can I have your pants now?"

Two days ago, over lunch, there were just 4 tiny pieces of crispy fish which the boys love. Baz was busy with his Lego blocks and Hadrien scrambled to get what we thought was for him. But instead, he took 2 pieces and put them on Baz's plate before getting his own share!

The bond does not go unnoticed. Someone from Baz's school remarked at how the boys would be so pleased to see each other after school.

For Teachers Joy, Mandy and Timmy

2009-07-07T22:06:00.001+08:00

Here's the video of pp. 3 and 4. The last part took sooo long. This process validates that it takes A LOT of patience to be a teacher. :)

Reading Assessment PArt 2 from malou.khan on Vimeo.

For Teachers Joy, Mandy and Timmy

2009-07-06T23:48:00.000+08:00

Reading Assessment (pp. 1 and 2) from malou.khan on Vimeo.

Conversations with Baz & Hadrien (Part 10)

2009-06-20T10:28:00.005+08:00

I came upon a crying Baz. Apparently, Hadrien had pinched him. After first trying to make it appear that Baz had pinched him first, Hadrien offered this explanation for his deed:

"It's bad to drink other people's responsibility!" Baz's offense: taking a sip of Hadrien's milk!

_______

B: Papa, Gramps wants to be an astronaut! Can he be an astronaut?

Papa: Yes, he can be one.

B: Gramps is already 74, he will be 93 when I'm 25! He'll be too old!

H: He will have to wear a toupee!
________

The kids, who think that spicy food is bad even if they eat spicy food unknowingly, threatened to throw all the Tabasco sauce away one day.

H: Mommy, when I'm an adult, I'm going to throw away all the Tabasco sauce!

M: You know, even when you're an adult, I'll still be your mommy, and I'll get mad if you throw my Tabasco sauce away.

H: Mommy, when you're dead!

My take on this is that he implicitly assured me obedience for as long as I'm alive :)

_____________

B: How many people are there in Parc?

Papa: How many floors are there in Parc?

B: 27 floors, and there are 2 units in front, 2 units in the back and 4 units on the side of each floor, so how many people will there be?

Papa: (pauses for a moment) 200! (nanghula nalang!)

Hadrienisms Part 2

2009-06-20T10:21:00.003+08:00

The boys have an accent. For Hadrien specially, it's because he can't, or refuses to, enunciate some letters preferring instead to emphasize the vowels in the syllables with consonants "r" and "l". His teachers told us once that Hadrien gets upset they can't decipher what he's trying to say. But instead of saying the word more slowly, he just repeats himself but with a louder voice, and a frustrated look to match.

Lately though, he's trying to figure out different ways to help us understand what he's saying.

H: Yaya, can I have kwa-kes? (crackers)

Yaya: What?! Cockroach?!@#$%

H: No, sky-fakes!

____________

H: Look at that tuck!

Mommy: What tuck?

Y: The big car behind us!

_____________

H: Is Venice on "Ot" (earth)

M: What's "ot"?

H: The pa-net (planet) , hee (here), where we ah!

Football, football!

2009-06-14T14:41:00.015+08:00

I guess the couple of sessions we attended at Futbol Funatics did pay off. Baz and Hadrien are naturals in running with the ball as you can see when they played football with Daddy and Papa!

Once or twice, Baz managed to kick the ball in between Papa's legs and score a goal. It's a pity I missed that shot :( Unfortunately, what I got is this where it was Papa who pulled one over Baz, who scratched his head in exasperation - or bewilderment - you choose!

I didn't play much as I was the designated photographer but I was able to steal the ball from Raffy and score myself! The competition got so fierce that Papa lost his balance when he tried to prevent Baz from scoring a goal! Here is Papa after his spill.

And here's the mokong playing monkey when he felt he had had enough!

By the way, did you notice that all of the boys were in stripes?

___

It was Nanay's 97th birthday that day. Happy birthday, Nanay!

Another Joint Birthday Party

2009-05-25T21:50:00.007+08:00

The great thing with having their birthdays a month apart is that we only have to go through the party planning/preparation just once - but with twice the fun! This year, we decided to hold the kids' birthday party at Jolly's condo again. As expected, the boys and their friends had a blast at the pool - sans the fountains this time :(

Notice that the daddies were the swimming chaperons :)

Sssshhh.... they don't know it's their birthday party!

With adult guests, Anastasia, Clarisse, TJ, Marnie, Jose (partially covered).

Girls vs. boys - what happened to chivalry?

Thanks to Marnie, TJ, Clarisse, Jose, Nonie, Jill, Carol, Anastasia, Patricia, Josh. Thanks too to Mama, Papa, Grandma, Gramps, Aunti Neny, Uncle Sader, Auntie Bebs! Last but not least, a big big thank you to Yaya Dora, who with help from Yaya Marvie and Yaya Charina catered the event :)

Things the Kids Say

2009-05-18T21:56:00.004+08:00

When I told Hadrien he couldn't watch DVDs and that I would throw them away if he insisted on watching them, he said, "God made DVDs. He will get mad if you throw them away."

I asked him to practice spelling and reading, and spelled out the word CAT with his letters. He then turned that around into C-T-D-A. When I asked him what that read, he said, "Legaspi Market."

(From Raffy's notes)
___

Baz was scolding Hadrien tonight for wasting food at dinner i.e. he didn't finish his dinner.
Baz: "I don't like you Hadrien, you were wasteful." "You were praying for the baby in Ethiopia but you were wasteful with food Hadrien. You weren't working for it Hadrien even if you were praying for it."
Daddy: "That's a good message for Hadrien Baz."
Hadrien: "NO! That's not a good message. I"ll crumple it."

(From Raffy's notes)
___

At Christmas mass Hadrien was the coin bearer, and was sitting in the front row with a full view of the proceedings. When I explained to Hadrien that Jesus was with us during communion, but then he saw the priest putting the Monstrance into the tabernacle, he asked, "Are they baking Him?"

(From Raffy's notes)
---

Hadrien has a knack for identifying flags. At age 3, he could tell you the flags for the Philippines, US, Canada, Morocco, Canada, Cambodia, Somalia, Libya, Palau, Israel, Greece, India, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland, Italy, UK, Australia, Vietnam, Czech Republic, France and many more I can't remember. His fascination started after Papa bought them shirts and caps with the Vietnamese flags.

One night, I was testing them on what they remembered and was surprised to find out that he had anecdotes for some countries:

Canada: That's where Barack Obama is! (Just that week, Obama made his first state visit to Canada).

Cambodia: That's where the bad people are (Since trial started that week against Pol Pot)

Spain: That's where the rain is (The rain in Spain falls mainly in the plains?)

_______

It's not just because I'm a proud momma - but I do think that Baz is able to handle algebra at such an early age. Every now and then, he'd say things like, "11 more days till Hadrien's birthday!" Or "10 more minutes and it will be 11:41". But the past few days, he expressed algebraic equations which I never thought my precious 6 year old, smart as he is, was capable of.

1. Hadrien, you know, your age was my age two years ago. (Hadrien just turned 4, while Baz had turned 6 the month before.)

2. Baz: Mommy, is the Subaru older than Hadrien?

Mommy: No.

Baz: Hadrien, we bought the Subaru when you were 2! (It took me a while to put everything together. We bought the car in 2007. Hadrien was born in 2005. So yes, he was 2 then!)

3. Ariana is 4 years older than me because in July, she turns 10!

Hadrien's 4th!

2009-05-02T17:04:00.017+08:00

The Little Mokong turns four years old today! This year, Kuya Baz and Daddy are with him, but sadly Mommy is abroad (this time last year, Mommy and Kuya Baz had gone ahead to the States, and Daddy and Hadrien followed two weeks later).

So we started out the day with the usual greeting sign on the wall -

- and opening the birthday gifts.

Kuya Baz and Daddy went to get these gifts (Buzz Lightyear on a scooter, and Emperor Zurg, both chosen by Baz) in secret yesterday, separating from Hadrien, Gramma, Gramps and Yaya in Rockwell mall to go to the toy store. Earlier, when he had been asked what he wanted for his birthday, the Little Mokong had specified, "Something we don't have ... but it has to be for '4 and up.'"

Then a video call with Mommy, followed by a little jumping around.

Instead of dinner this year, since it was a Saturday we went out to lunch at Milky Way.

Auntie Na-a made a gorgeous theme cake, with Baloo and Kaa from "The Jungle Book," as requested by Hadrien.

Hadrien blew out the "4" candle, but seems to have caught Kuya's bias against singing the Happy Birthday song, which we had to recite instead of sing.

With Ninang Genni:

Hadrien even brought Tito Jolly's birthday gift, a combination bag/pillow/blanket stuffed toy monkey that Hadrien dubbed "Matoy."

You're a Big Boy now, our Little Mokong! As Kuya Baz said, "time to be more independent!"

Subaru vs. BMW

2009-05-01T19:32:00.002+08:00

The boys are such opinionated beings! Even if sometimes, those opinions are formed by things they see and hear. For instance, they call the Grandis the "dizzy car" and clamor to be driven in the Subaru every chance they get. And because their Daddy can't stop himself from pointing out each Subaru car or sign we see along the way, the boys can readily spot the cars and signs even at a distance. Baz has even asked his Daddy to give the Subaru to him when he's an adult - I'm not sure we will still have the car by that time, but we'll see! Right now, I can't bear of thinking of them as adults and/or teenagers old enough to get behind the wheel :(

Such is their love for the Subaru that every car pales in comparison. In this video, Baz and Hadrien join Daddy to test-drive Tito Ickyboy's BMW. Thinking that their Daddy took the wrong car or exchanged the Subaru for the BMW, they started wailing!

Untitled from malou.khan on Vimeo.

Tootay supports Earth Hour!

2009-03-28T22:45:00.007+08:00

Earlier today we watched a play at the RCBC Theater, "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee." Enjoyable! And after the play we saw the actors come out in their street clothes, and all of them were nice enough to talk to the two Mokongs for awhile to ask them how they liked the play.

The other "event" today for the two Mokongs was participating wholeheartedly in Earth Hour, the World Wildlife Fund supported initiative in which you cut off electric consumption for one hour. This year's event started at 8:30pm. We talked to the two boys about Earth Hour, and they've been seeing the logo all over lately so they're pretty familiar with it. Leading up to it, Baz kept asking, "Is it 8:30 already?"

We turned everything off at the appointed hour, and from the condo balcony started shouting, "Earth Hour! Earth Hour!" There was a Jollibee in the ground floor of the building across from us, so when the boys saw that it still had its lights on, they began shouting, "Jollibee! Earth Hour!" A couple of minutes later the branch shut off its lights. I don't think they heard us, but then again it was a pretty quiet night, and our voices may have carried from the 9th floor.

It was also a pretty hot night, so with everything off initin boy Hadrien started to complain. But we reminded him about the importance of Earth Hour so he bided his time until we could turn on the air-conditioning again an hour later.

Anyway the plan was to get them to sleep by the end of Earth Hour - we have an early day tomorrow - but between the heat and their excitement about the event, no go. With the aircon on, though, the two little ones have drifted off to sleep comfortably. Maybe next year's Earth Hour can be done sometime in January instead of March!

Moving Up!

2009-03-21T23:12:00.016+08:00

It's moving-up (aka graduation) season and we've been to 2 in 2 days. Next week, 2 PTC's in 2 days! Baz's pups class had a sports-themed moving up celebration. Hadrien's class was all about feelings.

I was excited to see Hadrien perform with his classmates. I shouldn't have allowed him to tote his new wrist band though as he was a bit distracted with it, choosing to sing "ka-ietly" during the first song - grr....

It was interesting to find out what Hadrien's classmates were happy, sad, scared or angry about. For those with older siblings, their feelings - whether positive or negative - had something to do with them. One was sad when his brother fought with him, one was angry when his brother chased him, my little mokong was scared whenever his Kuya refused to sleep beside him. Kudos to the seals' teachers for putting these sometimes rowdy 3-4 year olds in touch with their feelings. And who can forget the sight of these little ones singing their version of Feelings by Morris Albert.

Some pictures to remember those days by.

Baz's moving up day -

Hadrien's moving up day:

Baz is moving up!

2009-03-19T09:22:00.002+08:00

It's been a long time since we last posted. Needless to say, there's a lot that is left undocumented which I will surely regret.

Just this week, we had 2 moving up days. One for Baz and one for Hadrien. As part of the program, Baz had to throw a hoop into the air and catch it. Since Baz abhors any kind of public performance, I was hopeful - but did not expect him to do the usual dance moves which his classmates so effortlessly did. But perform he did - at least in the hoops part - and we were so proud of him, knowing that it did not come easy to him.

Baz is moving up from Explorations! from malou.khan on Vimeo.

Congratulations, Baz, aka Lucas! You made Mommy, Daddy, Hadrien, Mama, Papa and yaya proud watching you.

Baby teeth, going, going .....

2009-02-02T21:34:00.012+08:00

When Yaya Dora first noticed that Baz was fiddling with two of his lower front teeth and that his "big boy teeth" were starting to show, I was again reminded that my boys are growing up much faster than I'd like.

So here I am looking back at how much my babies have grown. Yes, I've started calling them babies again, pleading with them not to grow up too fast, and making them promise that they would always be my babies even when they have their own babies! By the way, for the record, they both agreed!

I digress....

Wasn't it only yesterday when Baz hopelessly tried to crawl across the bed? How much time had passed since he would consistently poop just as we were stuck in traffic in front of Pioneer center - and grip Yaya's arms as he made funny you-kn0w-what sounds? And how about the time we fed him loads of carrots, mangoes and squash to a point that Dra. Garces could see that he was turning orange as soon as he stepped though her clinic doors? Oh - now that topic calls for another post - but I clearly remember how he cried and cried and cried whenever we were in - or even just 2 blocks away from - the doctor's clinic. He would hang on to the door jambs and would scare the wits out of 8 and 9 year olds waiting for their turn to see the good doctor!

How about the time when he refused to say "papaya"?

Mommy: Say, papaya.

Baz: Bibida

Mommy: No, papaya. Pa-pa-ya

Baz: Bibida!

Mommy: Say papa.

Baz: Papa

Mommy: Ya!

Baz: ya!

Mommy: Papaya!

Baz: Bibida!!!

And then that time he didn't want to cooperate with mama who wanted him to say "chocolate".

Mama: Chocolate - not - coco-late.

Baz: coco-late.

Mama: How about Ate Chona? Say Ate Chona

Baz: Ate Chona

Mama: Say Champaca

Baz: Champaca

Mama: Now saw chocolate (perhaps thinking that she had pushed Baz into a corner)

Baz: Coco-late

Mama: Ate Chona

Baz: Ate Co-na!

Two weeks have passed since I started this post and I am now overtaken by events. Yesterday, my precocious boys got into one of their usual fights, but this time, with a weapon. Soon enough there was wailing and when I asked Hadrien what happened, my ever quick to the draw boy said that his kuya had started the fight. As I turned to ask Baz his version of events, he held a white thing in front of me and asked me what it was. It took me a second or two - and a quick look at his slightly bloodied lips and shirt - to figure out that Hadrien knocked his brother's tooth off!

Here are the last photos of Baz with a complete set of baby teeth (gaps and all!).

Obviously, the wobbly teeth don't bother him. I guess, for now, it's just me who's bothered by the fact that he is slowly losing his baby teeth. Much too soon, he becoming less and less of a baby.

My Empathetic Hadrien

2009-01-31T22:10:00.007+08:00

Sometime June of this year, I read "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" to Hadrien. In the story, the bus driver asks the audience to make sure the determined little pigeon doesn't drive the bus. I'd read each line to him and ask him if he would let the pigeon drive the bus. At first, Hadrien decidedly said "no"! Until the clever little pigeon promised to be his best friend or give him 5 bucks and complained that he never got to do anything. I guess the pigeon pushed the right buttons it didn't take long until Hadrien's lips quivered, his eyes swelled with tears and he asked me "But why mommy? Why can't he drive the bus?" Needless to say, by the end of the story, my sweet compassionate 3 year old cried and was inconsolable - even if by then, the crafty little pigeon had his eyes set on driving a truck!

As we read the book over and over and over in the days, weeks and months that followed, Hadrien memorized each page and could read the book by himself. But instead of saying "don't let the pigeon drive the bus", he'd say "yes, let the pigeon drive the bus!"

Last night, I read the sequel "Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!" to Baz and Hadrien. Anticipating that Hadrien would take the side of the pigeon, I solicited Baz's help. As expected, Hadrien quickly succumbed to the pigeon's attempts at conversation so that he could stay up late. Even as Baz warned Hadrien not to answer the pigeon's questions, there was no stopping Hadrien :)

______

Here's a picture of my little mokong. I was working on the computer yesterday when he came up to me excitedly - and .... lo and behold!!!!

Kung Hei Fat Choi!

2009-01-31T16:08:00.003+08:00

It was Chinese New Year last Monday, which was celebrated in most parts of the cities with the usual dragon dance and fire works. When we told the kids that it was Chinese New Year, Baz took the information in, pondered for a few seconds and asked - "why, what date is it in China today?"

Two New Prayers Tonight

2009-01-16T22:58:00.003+08:00

Hmmmm, maybe I shouldn't have let them watch "Transformers," because during prayer time Hadrien the Mokong goes,

"And please don't watch over Megatron."

Then after we finished:

"Now it's time for a Pajama Party!!!!!"

Baz, of course, never forgets to pray for "the baby in Ethiopia," and that the Good Lord "give Ethiopia clean water."

Sunrise, Sunset

2009-01-03T20:27:00.009+08:00

Looking at the kids' pictures over the years always makes me nostalgic. But there's something about barongs, weddings, and watching your kids walk down the aisle (even if they're only ring or coin or bible bearers) that just brings tears to my eyes.

This song now seems so real --

Is this the little girl I carried?
Is this the little boy at play?

I don't remember growing older
When did they?

When did she get to be a beauty?
When did he grow to be so tall?

Wasn't it yesterday
When they were small?

Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly flow the days
Seedlings turn overnight to sunflowers
Blossoming even as we gaze

Sunrise, sunset
Sunrise, sunset
Swiftly fly the years
One season following another
Laden with happiness and tears

What words of wisdom can I give them?
How can I help to ease their way?

What the ?!&%$#@

2009-01-02T20:12:00.003+08:00

What makes them think they have the right to tell you how to wipe their asses? Ok, I guess it's because it's their butts in the first place :)

Several times now, Hadrien warns me not to smear his poop around his precious bottom. "This is how you should wipe me. Wait! I'll show you - don't wipe upwards, ok?" Not satisfied, he seriously tells me, "you know, the creatures in the Pasig River will die if you use too much toilet paper!"

From Auntie Genni, Hadrien is such a dear!

2008-12-14T20:57:00.005+08:00

I was watching Buzz Lightyear of Star Command with Baz and Hadrien at their place. I wanted to nibble on something so I asked Baz what could I eat because I was hungry. I forgot what Baz said but little did I know, Hadrien was listening in on the conversation even as his eyes were directed at the TV. Hadrien got up without a word and went towards the kitchen. When he came back he told me that he already told his yaya to make merienda for me. Isn't that sweet? So, on his prompting, his Yaya Dora prepared thin pancakes with butter and powdered sugar for all of us.

Conversations with Baz and Hadrien (Part 8)

2008-12-10T00:22:00.004+08:00

On the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, we decided to attend mass at Greenbelt. One of the readings was the story of Adam and Eve, which the kids were familiar with. Every now and then, Hadrien would ask, "did they get the apple", "why did they eat the apple", "did God get mad", etc. I was quite happy that he was listening and that he understood. When the reader got to the part where God was admonishing Adam and Eve - and I think the passage went, "why did you eat from the tree which bore the forbidden fruit" - Hadrien's eyes widened "Why is there a witch?" Of course, I found it impossible to explain that the reader said "which" and not "witch" :)

_________

Shortly after the reading, Hadrien fell asleep. The next day, Baz scolded Hadrien for falling asleep.

B: You know Hadrien, you missed out on the story and the songs when you fell asleep during the mass. You know that, Hadrien? That's why you should not sleep during mass.

H: Why? (Looking worried and biting his nails) Did he (referring to the priest, I guess) say I can't sleep?

__________

The kids have gotten used to calling our driver "Kuya Oca". Curious Hadrien decided to question this one day.

H: Why "kuya"?

Mommy: Because he's older. You call him "kuya" as a sign of respect.

H: But Papa ....

(his way of saying but I don't call Papa (his lolo) "kuya" even if he's older!)

___________

Raffy: Mommy should obey Daddy.

H: But Daddy, she's not a children!

___________

B: Mommy, do you obey Daddy?

Mommy: hmm..... only if he's right.

B: Do you obey your mommy and daddy?

Mommy: (while thinking uh-oh, how do I respond to this?) .y-yeah...

B: And we have to obey Mommy and Daddy.

Mommy: Yes!

B: Do we have to obey Mama and Papa (my parents)?

________________

Finally, on the way home, Baz turned teenager on us and was acting sullen.

Daddy: Baz, what's wrong?

Baz (in a "don't-trifle-with-me" voice): I'm tired!

Daddy: Why are you tired?

Baz: I've had a long day!

Daddy: Why? Why did you say you've had a long day?

Baz: Because I've been to four places already! (Apparently he counted the afternoon activities only: church for mass, dinner at a restaurant in Greenbelt 5, then Grandma's condo, then Malou's office to pick up some files, in addition to spending all morning in school!)

He spent the rest of the drive home staring fixedly out the window.

Conversations with Baz and Hadrien (Part 7)

2008-12-01T11:30:00.005+08:00

Mommy: Yaya, was Hadrien naughty today?

Yaya looks at Hadrien, smiles and is silent.

Hadrien: Yaya didn't say anything. (Truly a lawyer-in-the-making - it's his way of saying, let the record reflect that the witness declined to say that the accused was naughty!)

_____

Baz: Daddy, you know Ortigas Center said that "you can do whatever you like - you don't have to obey!"

Mommy: That's not good!

Baz: But I didn't believe it, Daddy. I didn't believe it.

______

Baz has been on the hunt for CAT Company's frontloader by Megabloks. He had asked me to get it for him in the US but Toys R'Us didn't carry it. Neither did Amazon. It doesn't seem to be available online either. He's made 2 trips to the local Toys R'Us - still no luck. He didn't let the long weekend pass without giving it another try reasoning that "it's already the first week of December! They should have it by now. They said the last week of November!" Since we had given Toys R'Us 2 tries, Raffy thought we'd go to Toy Kingdom instead. Still no frontloader in sight. Here are some of Baz's one-liners which gives you a clue just how frustrated he was.

Baz: Maybe we didn't try hard enough, Daddy.

Baz: That's why I wanted to go to the US!

Baz: Maybe they (the toy store staff) don't know what a frontloader looks like - maybe it's really there!

Haay!!! I feel bad for him.

Irony

2008-11-27T22:38:00.002+08:00

We had our PTC with Baz's teachers and were very happy to know that he's become more relaxed in school and now participates in more activities. Instead of opting out of activities which were new to him, he now takes advantage of the options offered to him. So instead of using glue or paste, he happily uses tape. He's also taken the role of teacher's assistant - a role that he's proud of. In fact, just a couple of days ago, he came home with smores shaped as a christmas wreath. He told us that they used 4 cups of rice crispies, 2 (he was not sure about the unit of measurement for this one) butter, 2 cups of marshmallows, green food coloring and red sprikles. Curious as to whether he remembered correctly, I asked his teachers if what he narrated was accurate - and it was!

Immediately upon entering the car, he boasts that he labels the work of his classmates or that he tapes pictures that his teachers print out from the computer. He's always eager to tell us what he did in school - complete with all the details (i.e., what materials he used, which teacher he worked with, what he did not want to do, etc.)

Ironically, Mr. Eager-to-do-anything-in-school-aka-sipsip-boy rarely tells us (in fact, evades our questions) what he did in school. I guess he's the type to live in the moment and I can imagine him saying "I did all that I had to do, all that I wanted to do so there's no point in talking about it."

Tonight's Prayer

2008-11-24T21:40:00.003+08:00

"Dear Jesus,

Thank you for our blessings today. Please always watch over us and help us to be good boys and girls. We love you. Thank you."

Baz: Please give us a sister.

Hadrien: Please take care of Daddy's backache.

Baz: Please bless the girl in Ethiopia.

Hadrien: And please give her clean water.

They're supposed to be sleeping right now but I hear them squealing, giggling and whispering "porkchop" and "spareribs" (their food pet names) to each other.

BAZaar

2008-11-16T19:34:00.006+08:00

Baz and I went to the Karl Edward bazaar at The Tent in The Fort this morning. The theme in school this coming week apparently has to do with setting up your own bazaar (it's a lesson in entrepreneurship), so the teachers asked the kids to visit a bazaar this weekend and note five things that caught their attention.

Here are Baz's five things:

1. A bucket of fish (smoked tinapa)

2. A blue Christmas tree (it's behind this one. OK already, I messed up, I didn't get it in the shot!)

3. Small dresses (a display for uniforms made-to-order)

4. An air freshener that uses water

5. Bells with a cow, cat and fire truck

Crafty Halloween

2008-10-27T07:11:00.003+08:00

Since I'm off again - I thought I'd leave something for both my 3 boys and me to look back to.

Halloween started pretty early this year with a play by Baz's class and trick-or-treating at school. Baz played a "tree" (other kids came as the ocean, grass and there were other trees as well). Ok, other kids played a whale, a shark, an eagle, a bat, a maya bird...) Since Hadrien wanted to wear a jumper to school, we thought he'd go as Bob the Builder, complete with a hard hat and tools!

There was also a (not so great) halloween party here at the condo. The host had this annoying accent and voice to match. I mean, aren't there enough Sophies these days that he counldn't pronounce it right saying "Soupy" instead!At least the kids had a grand time trick-or-treating - alternating between giving treats and making their rounds! This time, they went as an Afgan/Turk and Superman.

Thanks to Raffy who made sure we had a full weekend with the kids! We did several projects this weekend - making the halloween decors for the door (hand-painted bats and giant spider), a house model made from scratch based on Baz's very own floor plans and a halloween sign.

Here's a little something to remember this halloween weekend by.

Untitled from malou.khan on Vimeo.

Conscientious Baz

2008-10-25T14:00:00.004+08:00

I've heard from someone that with children, you plant the seeds from age 0-7 and form values between 7 & 12. We TRY to do what we can. We've talked about patience, sharing and love for family. Lately though, Baz (and sometimes Hadrien) has been really keen on "not wasting" - be it water, food and even energy! This translates to them playing with water less, eating the food they have on their plates, and shutting the TV and the lights when they don't need it. Pretty cool, right?!

Come to think of it, even as a toddler, Baz hated it when we told him that we would be throwing the food he didn't eat...

It's funny to hear Baz holler "Mommy, Hadrien is wasting water!" He understands now that what goes to waste now is gone forever. He also knows not to take too much of things he doesn't need as it would only be wasteful and that he may need it at some future time. I see a genuine concern in him about these things - and it makes me hopeful that his generation, if not ours, will take better care of nature and many other things we take for granted.

Artwork and Floor Plans

2008-10-19T22:05:00.008+08:00

Seeing my friend's 5 year old triplets confidently scribble away turtles, dinosaurs, fruits, etc, I am reminded that each kid is different. Not only do they have varied interests and talents, but they also develop the same talents and interests at different paces. I put it down not only to genetics but, perhaps more importantly, also conditioning. On both sides, the kids have aunts and uncles and grandfathers who can draw and/or paint quite well. So they must have it in them to churn out awe-inspiring artwork from time to time. But since Raffy and I don't really draw, or paint, or sculpt... I can't really expect a masterpiece, can I?

Here are the kids drawings:

Hadrien actually had several of these lined up to form a mat (so he says!). When I asked him to choose only 1 that I would post on Tootay, he said "There's many artwork. Choose as many as you want!" It's hard to believe how much air of authority he can muster - and he's only 3!

As for Baz, he's not into drawings and artwork. For a while, he was quite fascinated with calendars. Lately, he's been pouring over floor plans and renderings so I wasn't surprised to find him drawing his versions of our hopefully future house :)

Impromptu Concert

2008-10-19T19:42:00.003+08:00

It isn't too hard to get Hadrien singing. In fact, we've often heard him burst into song while walking, playing or even mid-sentence. Without a doubt, their Music & Movement class ranks as one of his favorite "subjects" in school.

Baz enjoys jamming with Hadrien too - as long as it's not in a "performance setting". Sometimes, I am able to get him to do his entire repertoire by simply asking him to help me with the lyrics and before long, he has unconsciouly sang a string of songs.

I've been meaning to record their uber-cute performances. Alas, the video camera is rarely charged when I need it. Thank goodness for i-sight and the willingness of one boy to perform in front of the camera/computer :)

Hadrien Sings from malou.khan on Vimeo.

God and Heaven

2008-10-17T07:18:00.003+08:00

Thankfully, the boys make sure we pray before meals and before they go to bed. Countless of times, Hadrien would shout "hey, we forgot to pray!" as Raffy and I were on our fourth or so mouthful :) Hands clasped together with eyes closed, our 2 little angels would sing "God is great and God is good. Thank you God for our food. Amen."

At bedtime too, the routine starts with "it's prayer time!" :) The boys would always make sure that both Raffy and I were there with them. Their usual prayer goes "Dear Jesus, thank you for our blessings today. Please always watch over us and help us to be good boys. Thank you Jesus. We love you. Good night." After the typhoon which caused the sinking of the Princess of the Seas, they'd always add "please help the people in the typhoon". Obviously, the kids now understand that they are in a conversation with Jesus and have from time to time added a prayer to address their special needs like "please help us go to UPB tomorrow", "please help Hadrien's asthma go away"...

One time, I started the prayer saying "Dear God" instead of "Dear Jesus" and then corrected myself (since they were used to saying "Dear Jesus"). Hadrien being Hadrien, picked up on that right away.

H: Is Jesus God?

M: Yes, Jesus is God.

H: Is God Jesus?

M: Yes. (Thinking of introducing the concept of the Holy Trinity)

H: Is Jesus different from God?

M: There are 3 persons in one God (not even sure if I explained it correctly, besides whether he would get it). There's God the Father and Jesus.

H: Who's the third one - Amen?

_______

I should have known. Raffy's wisdom tooth is coming out only now at age _8 :) Anyway, he had to have it extracted as it was growing sideways and showed it to the kids. Yuck! After explaining what happened, Hadrien ran to the bathroom "I want to brush my teeth, Daddy!"

Baz, concerned about his dad's missing tooth, goes "I know! You can go to heaven and buy another tooth!" At 5, he now has a concept of everything originating from heaven. Don't ask me though why he thinks he can buy tooth in heaven!

A sister?

2008-10-10T21:09:00.002+08:00

Lately we've been kidding Baz and Hadrien about having a sister, since the house we're planning will have three kids' rooms. Initially Baz was against having a sister, insisting that two of the rooms should be his. Lately, though, he's coming around, asking, "What will a sister do to me?" (Subtext: Will she be another kind of Hadrien?), or, "Will a sister obey me?" (Subtext: Hadrien doesn't, so will she?) He's also been asking, "Where will a sister come from?" (From God, we said, hence the prayer the other night for God to give him a sister.)

Tonight he asked me, given that there were six billion people, how many would it make if we had a sister. The only logical answer I could give, of course, was "Six billion and one."

Tractors, tractors!

2008-10-07T17:34:00.007+08:00

On my way home Friday night, I saw they were digging up the lower lane of the Meralco flyover yet again. Normally a cause for consternation because of the associated traffic, tonight it was an opportunity to make a toy become real.

Because lo and behold, in full and glorious operation underneath the klieg lights was a "CAT company payloader" - one of Baz's favorite construction toys. I got the boys dressed as soon as I got home, and after making a 20 minute detour to get back to the same place (toldja it caused bad traffic), we were on the street just a few feet away from this plaything writ large.

Officially, it's the Caterpillar 428E Center Pivot Backhoe Loader. But Baz and I have taken to calling it a payloader (which is a front loading vehicle). It looked exactly like the Megablok-CAT Company toy (which Baz is holding in the picture below). Coincidentally, Baz had pleaded on going to Toys R' Us last weekend after noticing in the catalog that this was a new kind of loader that he didn't have yet (they already have have the "Articulated Dump Truck").

The toy was accurate right down to the support struts that extend out when the backhoe is in operation. I wanted to ask the driver's permission to take a look inside the cab, but he was, of course, busy, and I know better than to come up close to someone operating heavy equipment.

The upside was that the boys saw the machine in operation: it was scooping out a trench, probably to lay pipe in. It would use the bucket to crack the asphalt road surface, then scoop out this fine grey sand and dump it on the side of the road. The team of workers doing the job seemed amused by our interest in their contraption.

If ever they open a theme park dedicated to construction, the two boys and I will be there. But only if they allow guests to operate the equipment.

It was a busy weekend...

2008-09-21T20:59:00.007+08:00

We started with lunch at Antipolo with Clarisse, Jose and Tomas at Crescent Moon Cafe. The kids had fun feeding the fish and walking around the water lily pond.

Since we planned a late lunch, we were "smart" enough to make sure the kids had eaten before setting off. This allowed us to more or less concentrate on lunch while the kids watched Thomas the Train with - who else - Tomas! For some reason, the 2 boys wanted to make sure that Tomas was acquainted with their train identities. Tomas was Thomas (for obvious reasons), Hadrien was Henry (because Henry is marked #3 and Hadrien is 3) and Baz was Gordon (marked #5, for the same reason). After getting that part settled - there was less shouting :)

After we got home, Mama and Papa stopped by and had dinner with us. The kids wasted no time in showing off new books, their latest building structures and of course, the house models! They even led the prayer before meals and performed their "Down in the Jungle" and "10 Little Indians" songs :)

Yaya Dora was out for the day today (Sunday) so it was just the 4 of us for the most part. I thought it would be a good idea to make the kids help me set the table and clean up after. Hadrien volunteered to place the spoons and forks on the table. Baz on the other hand picked up all the debris. Both boys got checks in their notebooks for eating independently. They would have gotten 2 checks had they finished their food quicker :(

We bought some towels which were on sale in SM, devoured 2 orders of churros at Dulcinea for merienda then feasted on lechon kawali and pansit for Yaya's birthday dinner. Happy Birthday Yaya Dora!

Teacher's T's remarks on Hadrien

2008-09-16T22:28:00.002+08:00

I was hanging out in school today since Hadrien didn't want me to leave right away. Teacher T. approached me and told me how pleased she is with Hadrien and that sometimes she cannot believe he's only 3!

She recounted that Hadrien loves to compare and contrast and always asks cause and effect questions. Apparently, yesterday, when they were doing art with colored sand, he did not only call out the colors he was using, he would also shout what happened when he combined 2 colors! I smiled upon hearing this and remembered the many times he'd ask me "mommy, what will happen if ...." or how he would comment "but me...." whenever we would say something about Baz, whether bad or good.

Baz the Builder

2008-09-14T15:11:00.011+08:00

Gramma and Gramps found my old Tonka tractors. I got these when I was about 7 years old and enjoyed them for years! I was happy to see they're still around, and apparently so was Baz. He was amazed that he'd be playing with "Daddy's toys," as if he couldn't believe that I, too, was once a kid like him.

Having the old Tonka toys next to Baz's MegaBlok "CAT Company" construction vehicles also highlights the difference thirty years makes in toy technology, consumer sensibilities, and child safety. Tonka's use of metal seems inconceivable these days, and I'm sure they didn't come with the long list of warnings about their use. Even now, watching the boys play with them, I wonder if Tonka used lead-free paint (I turned out relatively OK and lead-free, I guess).

But Tonka also strove for realism, and their toys look less like approximations of construction equipment than miniature versions of the real thing.

Maybe I'm just biased. But it was great seeing my old stuff again, still in working condition and bringing happiness to yet other children, this time my sons. Maybe we can keep both sets intact, so that when Baz and Hadrien have kids, they'll have something to pass on as well.

I've still got my Star Wars character and playset collection to share, but that's something the kids aren't into yet, so we'll save that for later on.

This continues Baz's fascination with building and construction, which is truly in evidence now as we prepare to construct a house. We've got a really great architect, Denise De Castro, working with us. Denise has translated our two preliminary floor plans into working models, to help us appreciate the flow and layout better.

Needless to say, Baz was fascinated when he saw the models. He's been interested since we showed him and Hadrien the floor plans, pointing out where their rooms are going to be and asking them if the locations are all right. But he had trouble understanding the 2D drawings: they didn't match, after all, with the mental picture of a house.

What's great though is that he understood how the floor plans worked as soon as he saw the models. With hardly any prompting, he put floor plans and models side-by-side, and matched the room layout of the 2D plan to the 3D model.

I think that means he's really spatial!

M is for

2008-09-10T23:23:00.003+08:00

Momoy aka Mommy
Mooger aka Baz
Mokong aka Hadrien
Master aka Daddy (says Daddy)

B is for Bridens Gabong Gabong, another code name for Daddy which the kids whipped up. Don't ask us why or where it came from. Got no clue!

Toddler or Teenager?

2008-09-06T22:45:00.004+08:00

Hadrien has been testing us with his wit and persistence lately.

Tonight at the dining table, after scoring 2 x's, Daddy spanked the hand which hit Baz. He acted as if he wasn't bothered or hurt and after seeing that his Daddy was done, looked up and said, "he's bad no?" - referring not to his Daddy or to Baz, but to his hand!

Not a long time after, Daddy was sort of giving him a lecture -

Daddy: Hadrien, you obey.

Hadrien: (perhaps seeing that his Daddy was walking away, muttered under his breath) No, you obey!

Daddy: What did you say?

Hadrien: Nothing! (in that trademark sing-song tone)

It's so hard to stay mad at him though. He knows how to wiggle himself out of these situations by smiling or hugging or kissing or immediately apologizing.

Architect or Astronaut?

2008-09-06T22:07:00.014+08:00

He hasn't changed his mind about being an astronaut yet but Baz is sure into building. Whenever he sees models of buildings/condos on display in malls, he doesn't miss running towards it to ask what the different parts are made of.

Yesterday, "Architect Denise" lent us a model based on a preliminary schematic design we were exploring. Baz called it "very well made" and went about looking at each room of the house. He wanted to learn how to make one. He chose his bedroom, put the model next to the floor plans and I think began to understand how to read the plans.

A couple of pictures of mostly Baz's structures -

Baz usually works with the natural-colored wood blocks while Hadrien prefers the plastic and colored blocks. They both know to respect each other's creations :) Although countless fights and building toppling have erupted if one was not careful.

Kinareer na Homework

2008-09-01T00:52:00.004+08:00

Some would say I'm taking homework too seriously. Maybe I am. But let me explain.

We've asked Baz's teachers to allow him to submit homework as videos which he can show his class only because he still has trouble verbalizing (ok, talking) in school. We hope that these videos will help him feel at ease with the thought of his friends hearing his voice and will also remind his friends that he does talk.

The good news is that he is much more communicative in school, even to the point of hugging and kissing his teachers when asked, initiating communication (albeit by hand movements) and now reacts with a smile when convenient - to avoid doing something he doesn't want to do. His teachers do admit that once he flashes that smile, he sometimes gets his way. He's also started to make sounds in class - perhaps in an attempt to finally break the silence.

His homework had 2 parts. The first part was for him to portray his favorite animal - and lucky us, he chose the rhino! The second part was for him to investigate certain characteristics of an assigned animal - the tortoise.

Baz Reports on Tortoises from malou.khan on Vimeo.

It wasn't hard to get Baz to do his homework or talk in front of a camera. Except that time when Hadrien was making side comments to which an annoyed Baz said "I'm not making this video for you!"

Asthma

2008-09-01T00:43:00.002+08:00

August hasn't been a good month as far as asthma episodes are concerned. One of the boys gets a cold from someone in school and then passes it on to the other either immediately or just as he is easing himself out of it. Either way, that means that both of them develop a bad cough that keeps them awake or coughing throughout the night. Last Saturday, Hadrien probably over-exerted himself on a particularly sunny and humid day. This resulted in two nights of waking up to let out most of what he had eaten a few hours before. The funny thing is that when I try to give him cough medicine, he tells me he'd rather have oregano - yuck!

I will probably be bringing Hadrien to the doctor tomorrow. His cough is accompanied by a low-grade fever and his breathing appears quick and shallow. Why am I still blogging? Well, I had to compile a video for Baz's homework.

Conversations with Baz & Hadrien (Part 6)

2008-08-25T20:42:00.002+08:00

We started "piano classes" with Tito Teacher Ickyboy. Baz & Hadrien had a swell time banging away at the keyboard which produced different instrument sounds. After 30 minutes or so however, Hadrien went looking for some - what else - milk!

Hadrien: I want MELK!

Yaya: No more milk.

Hadrien: Let's go down to look for a cow.

Mommy: How do you get milk from the cow?

Hadrien: The cow will give you Cowhead! (a brand of milk)

_____________

Hadrien used to be in the Panda class with Jack, who also happens to be the son of my law school classmates Karen and Larry.

Baz: Is Jack good?

Hadrien: Is Jack Sparrow?

_____________

Hadrien saw me compiling Baz's pictures. Obviously he noticed he wasn't in any of them :)

Hadrien: What's that?

Mommy: I'm fixing Kuya's pictures.

Hadrien: How about me?

Mommy: I'll get to your pictures in a while. You weren't in the US yet when these pictures were taken.

Hadrien: That's not good!

Futbol Funatics

2008-08-23T19:29:00.012+08:00

This is the football camp which the kids attended this July-August. And indeed, the kids turned out to be fanatics of football.

Some of you may remember Baz's try out session which we also posted about here. What we didn't get to write about is that he later refused to join the group for practically the whole course. After 6 or more sessions of him refusing to kick the ball, unless it was just towards us, and we hanging around the field getting him to participate in any way, we decided to leave it at that.

This July, we decided to bring Hadrien to football camp. He was a natural! He quickly joined the group and the warm up exercises. See how he handles the ball - and without any need for coaching!

This is Hadrien exhausted and parched after his first day. Then here's Baz leading his brother into the field and a great candid shot of the 3 boys :)

Too bad that it was bright and sunny the following weekends. See, Hadrien, like me, hates the sun. So he only joined the class twice! That first time and then one other session which was held indoors. His complaint - "It's sunny, I need some shade." He promised to play on a cloudy day though :)

We had hoped that seeing Hadrien play would make Baz want to join in. But we didn't want to get our hopes up. We allowed him to linger but since we didn't formally enroll him, we told him that there wasn't enough balls. He asked us to let him join many times but we told him that he had his chance last year. Just to be clear, we did feel bad letting him down. But at that time, we thought that it was the right thing to do. He promised to kick this ball this time. IT WORKED!!!! The next session, he needed no prodding and joined in without any hesitation. He even bragged to yaya later that day - "You know, I talked in football. I didn't just nod, I talked!"

So, this is Baz's first real "go" at football. Me thinks he did a good job!

Baz's First Go at Futbol from malou.khan on Vimeo.

And he hasn't looked back since :)

Blessed

2008-08-20T11:41:00.003+08:00

We're blessed to have kids like Baz and Hadrien. When praying for my kids, I'd have to confess that first few things I ask for is that they grow up smart, healthy and happy (not necessarily in that order) - forgetting to ask that they also grow up to be kind, generous, patient, loving, etc. At this age however, they have learned to sympathize (or is it empathize?) and look out for others.

One time, when Papa and Mama were visiting, Papa remarked how many toys they had, which he didn't enjoy when he was growing up. Baz immediately asked why this was so and Papa answered that they didn't have money to spend on toys. Without saying a word, Baz got his checkbook and wrote out a check for "PAPA" to the tune of $100 and signed "Lucas Khan".

A few days after, when Raffy said that he was going to buy a cake for himself, Baz and Hadrien "but not mommy", Hadrien reminded him to get one for me too. Raffy told him that he only had money to buy 3 cakes so the ingenious Hadrien said "I know! I'm going to get money from Kuya's bank." Not knowing what was happening, but hearing that Hadrien was going to take money out of his piggy bank, Baz rushed over to stop Hadrien. At a loss as to what to do, Hadrien tearfully and with a quivering voice looked up to Raffy who was watching all this unfold and said "but mom...." Raffy ended up assuring him that he would buy a cake for mommy, too!

Baz's Field Trip Report

2008-07-20T15:13:00.006+08:00

The Pups class went on the 2nd field trip last Friday. They visited the local post office, police station, fire station, the Archibishop's Palace and .... Krispy Kreme. Baz came home and explained in detail what he saw. At the post office, he learned about the use of stamps and saw "flat rectangle holes" for Metro Manila, US, Visayas and Mindanao (he's editing me as I write and asked me to erase "Luzon" which I placed before Visayas). He also learned how letters are sorted into "boxes of different countries" and how letters are "placed inside square boxes inside the room" and how they are "given out outside the window".

At the police station, he saw saw "a cage with many round bottles" and the pictures of "bad people near the door".

At the fire station, he saw a fireman with "a blue and yellow suit with the hooks and holes and a helmet with a glass here (visor)." He also saw the "fireman with a firetruck, which has a hose connected to the rooftop of the firetruck. He described the hose as having a "snoozer with a shower at the end to spray the water".

At the Archbishop's Palace, he saw many seats near the "altar table where the priests celebrates the heavens and there was a big entrance, like that, like that (moving his arms to show an arch), and there was a tall tower and then there was Mama Mary on the balcony on top of the tower". Since he's very much into architecture and structures, he gave me more details on the church's structure which I am not able to capture here.

Here is a video of Baz relating what he saw at Krispy Kreme. See how descriptive he is and how much detail he is able to retain and communicate, even days after his trip.

The Krispy Kreme Report from malou.khan on Vimeo.

Chick-Boy

2008-07-20T14:56:00.003+08:00

Hadrien LIKES girls. Once, he asked his classmate Sophie to be his girlfriend right in front of her mother - then realizing what he had done, ran to hide behind me.

Now in his new school, he talks about the other girls in his class - Cathy, Paige and Carmen. Although he's consistently said that Joaquin is his bestfriend. He enjoys holding Carmen's hand when they sing "The More We Get Together". He even named a comb (of all things!) "Carmen" and pushed the comb around the house as if it were a car while saying that the comb was the "Carmen Comb Car--- but don't tell Carmen".... Don't ask me where he got the idea - but it sure is funny!

"Don't Tell Carmen" from malou.khan on Vimeo.

Hadrien the Artiste

2008-07-09T08:29:00.005+08:00

The first time Hadrien asked me to post his work on this blog, I was amazed and guilty. Amazed that he had a concept of bragging about his work online. Guilty that he may have felt that we weren't giving him enough credit for his work.

Here are a couple of his works:

I can hear him say "that's a check" when I look at this. See, the boys now receive checkmarks when they finish their meal without getting up from their place or if they pack away their toys and get x's when they disobey, don't finish their food, etc. It works for the most part and is generally a great way to discipline them (emphasis on the "generally"). I guess Hadrien thought to himself, "hey, I deserve a check for this" and gave himself one without forgetting to explain to his teachers what he just did.

School Time

2008-07-06T13:37:00.002+08:00

Baz and Hadrien started school mid- June. Baz is in the Kinder Pups class while Hadrien is in the Nursery Panda class. Hadrien easily settled into school and the routine and is always eager to be in school much earlier than he needs to be. Not that Baz doesn't like school, he just hasn't chosen to participate yet. The good thing though is that he has started talking in the hallways and grounds.

Having been briefed on and after experiencing Baz's "silent treatment" quirk, teachers Rosana, Karen and Aiza suggested that we make a video of Baz introducing his family and home to coincide with their community theme. This would show his curious friends that he actually talks! True enough, little faces lit up and went from video screen to Baz upon hearing his voice.

Baz's Family and Home Video from malou.khan on Vimeo.

As for Hadrien, he is turning out to be the ultimate "sipsip". When I ask him how school went, he would brag "I shared my cookie with teacher Ingrid and teacher Nika!" Ingrid also told me how one time, thinking that the class was becoming too noisy, got the "quiet" sign for teacher to hold up. To think that Yaya Andora reports to me that his voice usually stands out whenever his class is in the playground!

We've also started doing homework (not assigned homework from school). I figure they need to get into the habit of working even before the real homework comes pouring in :) So far, they enjoy it a lot. Baz does english and math exercises while Hadrien is practicing writing and is learning the sounds of the letters (M says "mmmm", W says "daba"!)

Hiatus

2008-07-02T20:30:00.003+08:00

I've just realized that we haven't posted anything in nearly two months. Yet a lot has happened: we were in the States for most of May to attend Na-a's graduation and then we drove down to Disneyworld; then in June the boys started school in Ex-. We'll update the posts as soon as possible, but right now let me start off with a list of ten fun things from the boys' summer vacation, in no particular order:

1. Enjoying every bit of Disneyworld, particularly the log ride
2. Playing in Madison Square Park
3. Seeing astronauts at the Kennedy Space Center
4. Avoiding getting drenched by Shamu
5. Visiting with the "good" and "bad" dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History
6. The company of cousins Ian, Arianna, Alex and Gabrielle, and friend Teo
7. The big blocks at the National Building Museum
8. Denny's, Friendly's and Perkins, and Holiday Inn, Best Western, Hampton Inn and Comfort Suites, with Daddy, Mommy, Gramps, Gramma and Auntie Genni
9. All the stuff at the Baltimore Children's Museum
10. The cannons and other forms of "gunning" in Charleston, Savannah and Richmond

We'll be posting about these places and events soon!

Hadrien's 3rd Birthday (Cont.)

2008-05-04T15:33:00.014+08:00

Hadrien hosted an intimate dinner with family on his birthday. He chose Fely J's - a "comfort food" place in Greenbelt 5 run by the same people who own Abe's in Serendra and Cafe Adriatico in Malate. Gramps, Gramma, Papa, Mama, Aunties Genni and Ritchie, Uncle Jolly and Tita Kristine, Graunties Enya and Neny, Granuncle Ernie and Uncle Japes, and Yaya Dora and Lita were all there!

Hadrien was early, and entertained himself by drawing with his pastel crayons:

He's in his Jackson Pollock phase, apparently. Here he explains to Auntie Genni that the black part of the painting represents "darkness" (his word - he didn't say, "night").

The "darkness" is riven by flashes of red ("fire") and yellow ("lightning"). But apparently there's a double meaning: the red and yellow also represent the "sun" - it's rising because it's almost morning. The Grandparents' Committee was impressed and congratulated him on his latest work:

It was a good meal, and later the waiters and waitresses came out with a birthday cake (actually, three slices of cake with candles on top) singing "Happy Birthday!" loudly, startling Hadrien who, nonetheless, responded with equanimity and his "nguso" style of candle blowing.

He was so excited to be the center of attention that he wouldn't eat at first, until Daddy (pretended) to call Teachers Maica and Weng to tell them that Hadrien wasn't eating his meal. With his "No, no, no!" he immediately began eating prompting Auntie Ritchie to remark that I was playing off his desire to maintain his "good boy" public image in school!

The ebullient host, in his favorite Doraemon shirt, shown here with his entourage:

He rolls 15 deep!

Bad Bear!!!

2008-05-04T14:06:00.006+08:00

Hadrien and I are just chillin' this weekend at home, principally because I threw my back out and can't stand. We've both been reading our respective books (me, Michael Chabon's Yiddish Policeman's Union; Hadrien, his Shark Pop-Up Book) and last night, watched Auntie Ritchie as she guested on an ABS-CBN news show to speak about World Press Freedom Day:

For the past couple of weeks Hadrien's play has involved getting away from the "Bad Bear." This started with Baz and him pretending to ride a boat surrounded by "bad crocodiles" or the "bad shark" - the only times they're allowed to do "gunning" i.e. pretending to shoot these bad creatures with a gun, as other times gun play is forbidden. (Hadrien gets around that by saying that he's "spraying," not "gunning.") Then it became "bad bear" - think black grizzly bear.

Hadrien's first reaction is to run away from the bad bear, so he gets me, Mommy or whoever else is visiting (yesterday it was Gramps and Gramma) to get on his bus, which he then drives away with the bad bear chasing:

Notice the passenger seats behind Hadrien's driver's seat. Once, seated on the third seat, I pretended the bad bear had run fast enough to grab me. Hadrien stopped his bus, got off, pulled me back into my seat, then ran back to his seat to drive away.

Looking out for the bad bear was also a theme of this Diego playset installation he made:

The 'propeller' is actually a wind machine that you turn on when you see the bad bear, blowing the bad bear away. Diego stands by the rail, looking out for the bad bear, who might come through the forest at the base of Jaguar Mountain.

But lest you overanalyze this play theme and think that "bad bear" is some deep, disturbing fear that Hadrien's trying to confront, bear in mind that "bad bear" isn't all bad. After all, Hadrien takes the time to talk to him on his walkie-talkie, saying among other things, "Hello? Bad Bear? Stop fighting me! OK, bye bye."

And, "Hello? Bad Bear? I know the flags and you don't, hahahaha!" (That is, his flash card Flags of the World, in which he's mastered recognition of the flags of countries as diverse Vietnam, Somalia and the Czech Republic.) OK, so it's not exactly a friendly conversation with 'bad bear," but at the same time, it shows that he isn't scared enough to not taunt him.

Day 2, (US, April/May 2008)

2008-05-03T08:27:00.001+08:00

I decided to hit the ground running and met up with my college friends on our first full day in NYC. Since Baz had slept from 5 to 11 pm, and then again from 3 am to 9 am, I thought that he was read for some action. And ready he was!

First stop was Whole Foods where we picked up some apples, oranges, bananas, blackberries, milk, veggies and some cookies. As I had to walk back in the rain with a child and groceries in tow, I stuck to the bare necessities.

Then it was off to meet with my college friends - Carol, Eleonor and Rowena. We took the PATH train. Baz likes navigating so I asked him to look out for our stops. On the way, he kept asking, "what city are we in". Much as we were moving and that I didn't know exactly which city we were heading to, I answered "We are now going to the state of NJ , we came from the state of NY. Remember, there are 52 states in the United States of America?" To which he replied readily, "no, 50 states". I wonder where I got 52 as he turned out to be right!

Eleonor has a 3.5 year old son, Dylan, who Baz didn't want to talk to at first. After 20 minutes or so (and with me falling asleep leaving him no one to talk to), they had become fast friends. Dylan reminded both Baz and me of Hadrien because of his mischievousness, height and voice. Soon, Baz played with Dylan and his toys, and was specially fond of his train set. Here are a couple pictures of the 2 -

And here are the two gamely "posing" for the camera - guess who's idea this was:

Kate, Rowena's daughter who turns 2 in June, and Riley, Eleonor's second son, joined in on the fun.

After play time, it was off to dinner at Legal Seafoods.

It's been a long time since my friends and I got together. Hope we find a way to do that soon :)

Happy 3rd Birthday Hadrien!

2008-05-02T08:09:00.008+08:00

It's Hadrien's 3rd birthday today. We had a 'videoconference' with Baz and Mommy in New York last night, who got to greet him. Plus Baz, who kept saying "I miss you" to Hadrien last night, made sure to post his greeting cards to Hadrien:

I took Hadrien to Toys R' Us last Tuesday (ironically, that same day Baz and Malou had gone to the big Toys R' Us in Times Square), and asked him to look around and pick something that he liked. Still interested in construction, he selected the 'CAT Company' dump truck - but this time, big enough to ride on. I didn't purchase it then, but surprised him this morning when he woke up.

It's a cool toy; it makes sounds for when you're backing up, raising the dumpster, and has a horn. Thankfully, it also has two volume settings.

Hadrien compared it to his old dump truck:

We've got a dinner with family later. I'll post about that later. (Malou, call us when you read this so you can videochat!)

Leaping Monkey

2008-05-01T15:56:00.005+08:00

Hadrien likes to describe himself as a monkey, particularly when he climbs up chairs, tables, or me (at which point he clamps both his legs around my torso, and becomes a panda). In fact there was this T-shirt in Japan I so wanted to get: it had a drawing of a monkey, with the words, "DO NOT BE A MONKEY!" Too bad they didn't have it in yellow.

Here's today's proof of Hadrien's monkey antics:

Notice the look of concentration as he makes buelo (top picture), then leaps high into an arc (middle) and lands with both feet together, steadying himself with his arms (bottom).

Day 1 of Baz and Mommy's Trip

2008-04-28T05:08:00.004+08:00

Baz travelled superbly. He buckled his seatbelt instantly while saying that the seatbelts in the plane are much better than that of his carseat. He ate most of what I required him to eat on the plane (fish sticks, apple slices, an oatmeal bar). No luck though with the potato salad and spaghetti with meat sauce which I decided not to push. He said "thank you" when helped. He carried his backpack (he tried to get out of it though by saying he can't wear his jacket AND carry his backpack). There was no crying or tantrums. I called him my little traveller, which he liked a lot.

His excitement shone through when he would repeatedly ask me while we were at the CX lounge whether we were already on the plane. And then when we were on the plane, he would repeatedly ask "Are we in America". He got to watch Jungle Book 2 and squealed loudly several times. The "ST" word must have been spoken, as I heard him exclaim "gotcha!" a couple of times (he watched the movie 3 times). He fell asleep twice - thank goodness! After the first round which allowed me to snooze at the same time, I promised him that if he sleeps, we would land soon after he wakes up. True enough, I had to wake him so that I could fasten his seatbelt.

No, he did not shout at strangers but was very wary of other people. He did say "hi" to the immigration officer and a 3 year old running out of the elevators at Maribel's apartment though.

Baz is now soundly asleep. He's tired and misses his brother a lot. I think he said "I miss Hadrieni" at least 5 times during the last 21 hours. To emphasize how much he misses Hadrien, he said "I miss him so very so very very so very very many much!" And I'm 100% sure he means it.

This Weekend

2008-04-27T20:19:00.007+08:00

Here are a few pictures of Hadrien's latest antics. I think he's into yoga this weekend.

Then on Sunday Baz and Mommy left ahead for the States, leaving Hadrien and Daddy to follow on May 10. We'll be attending Auntie Na-a's graduation on May 18 in Washington D.C., then driving down to Orlando to do Disneyworld with Gramma, Gramps, and Aunties Genni and Na-a.

Baz was so excited this morning as he was leaving, insisting on waking up his brother so he could say goodbye (as well as rub it in that he was going ahead). Here's Baz looking smug:

But he'll miss his best buddy Hadrien, of course. Notice how he's kissing Hadrien's foot:

Travel safe and well, Baz and Mommy! (Malou! Call me when you get in!)

How they've grown

2008-04-21T23:05:00.002+08:00

I went through the boys' pictures (scouring the computers and hard-drives we used for the past 5 years) to assemble a collage of photos. They've grown much too quickly for me. Even if I enjoy every minute that passes with them, and marvel at the new things they pick up each day, I so desperately want to freeze time and stop them from growing up!

Here are videos that will surely bring tears to my eyes in the next few months and years to come.

The Baz Connection from malou.khan on Vimeo.

Happiness is Hadrien from malou.khan on Vimeo.

So Happy Together from malou.khan on Vimeo.

If I could only stop time...

Nguso Boy

2008-04-16T23:21:00.011+08:00

If a picture paints a thousand words ...

Subawoo!

2008-04-09T18:50:00.013+08:00

The boys like cars. They've got a bunch of toy cars that they play with, and a couple of steering wheel toys that they can pretend to drive with. One time when Baz visited his classmate Sebastian's residence, Sebastian - who's also into cars - points to their cars and says, "That's our Miata and that's our BMW!" Without missing a beat, Baz replies, "We've got a Grandis and a Subaru!"

So last weekend, to indulge this interest and have something new to do, we visited the Manila International Car Show at the World Trade Center on Roxas Blvd. There was a big Subaru display and the highlight of our visit was a Precision Driving Show by Subaru stunt driver Russ Swift.

But before that Baz wanted to visit the Suzuki display, and ride the cute, Mini-like Swift.

Then on the way to the large Subaru display, we came across a tractor. The boys like playing with their MegaBloks "Cat Company" construction playsets, so this appealed to them.

The Subaru display had all of the brand's models, with both old and new Imprezas decked out in racing livery.

Hadrien apparently likes rallye cars:

So anyway time for the stunt driving show. Russ Swift (what a great name for a stunt driver) has a got a signature move, in which he parallel parks the car at high speed. Baz appears to have been impressed because he was clapping the whole time:

Bravo Russ Swift!

But apparently Hadrien didn't like all that fast driving. His reaction: "Stop it!"

Which may explain why Hadrien wasn't around when we went to get Russ Swift's autograph after the show.

Conversations with Baz & Hadrien (Part 6)

2008-04-09T16:16:00.002+08:00

We haven't had this argument in a long time. Each time this exchange takes place, there's a variation that will surely make you smile, if not burst into laughter!

Baz: I want classical!
Hadrien: I want rock!
Baz (covering ears): I throw away rock to outerspace, you'll never find rock now! hahaha!

___

Hadrien: I'm driving the van now cuz I'm Jerome (Gramps' former driver)

____

Daddy: What are you building? (referring to a new structure which Hadrien was building with their fave toy of the moment - lego blocks)
Hadrien: A factory!
Daddy: Oh a factory?! What is the factory for?
Hadrien: To fac you!

We were shocked but tried our best not to react as we were positive that they didn't mean f___k. We'd sometimes ask them about the factory and what it produces and our questioning would always lead to "for facking you", "for facking"

From Ninang/Auntie Ritchie, The Bubble Gang

2008-04-09T01:44:00.009+08:00

6 April 2008, Las Pinas

After a few tries Baz got the hang of blowing bubbles. His bubbles
even came out in pairs or in triplets stuck together. After several
very successful bubble making, he says cheerfully, "I'm becoming an
expert!!!" Gramma assures him, "you already are an expert!" Then
after about 45 minutes of bubble blowing, he asks, "do you think I've
made 100 bubbles yet?" And I answer him, "I think you've made 200!!"

Meanwhile, Ham has only been successful once...chamba pa...he realizes
that and after several more attempts, hands me the bubble
bottle...choosing to entertain himself by chasing the bubbles his kuya
and I blow for him instead.

Birthdays Galore

2008-04-07T14:22:00.008+08:00

Birthday season opened on March 25 with Raffy's birthday. Baz and Hadrien have been preparing for it bursting into the occasional "happy bot-day, daddy, happy bot-day daddy, happy bot-day, happy bot-day, happy bot-day, daddy!" days before. On the eve of Raffy's birthday, Baz artfully made this for him and posted it on their easel.

The next day Baz woke up with a smile eager to sing to Daddy, this time on his actual birthday. Hadrien joined him and the duo rendered a "happy bot-day" duet - with matching clapping and skipping! We had dinner at Apartment One B which the boys thoroughly enjoyed. Baz loudly entered the restaurant belting out his "happy bot-day" song causing not a few diners to smile and chuckle. He held his tears when the waiters brought out his daddy's birthday cake (for those who don't know, Baz has this thing about someone else singing "happy birthday" - he doesn't like it and actually cries or tries his darnest best not to). To Baz, what was most important was hearing his daddy say that Baz's card was the best gift he received!

Then came April (not Na-A) and Baz couldn't wait for his and Auntie Genni's birthday. He actually said a prayer for Auntie Genni - again, on the eve of her birthday. We celebrated with a BBQ lunch at Las Pinas.

Not surprisingly, Baz has been looking forward to his birthday. Ever since he became fascinated with calendars, he would occasionally remind us that his birthday was coming up in April (as if I could ever forget the day we became parents!). Lest you think that I'm exaggerating - here's the best evidence of his excitement.

(Bazs birthday gift is coming soon)

We were planning to hold a joint party for the boys but seeing how excited he was about his birthday, we coudn't let the day pass without some celebration so we invited his usual playmates to a play date at home. In fact, Baz personally chose who to invite and the design of his invitation - all the while making sure that we invite Hadrien as well.

Tomorrow is Baz's birthday. Since he says he won't actually turn 5 until he blows a candle, we'll have some cake and ice cream with his friends. Perhaps tomorrow will be the first time he'll allow us to sing "happy birthday" to him.

Next comes Hadrien's birthday on May 2 - he'll be turning 3.

From Auntie Genni, Baz, the imaginative boy

2008-03-23T17:55:00.002+08:00

Last night, Baz was playing with his magnetic shapes and decided to make a sailboat. When it was time to put the flag on the boat, he picked an orange triangle and asked me what country had an orange flag. I said I don't know, I don't think there's a country with an orange flag so Baz just made up a country, he called it Gabiday. I know the spelling because I asked Baz to spell it. Then he continued to tell me all about Gabiday. It was a pretty detailed description. He continued imagining about Gabiday this morning. I can't remember all the details but here goes --

- it has tall, tall buildings with four basements: B4, B3, B2, B1, G, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, LowerPenthouse then the roofdeck (note, he didn't include the number 13 in the floor count)

- the buildings have bubble elevators, which are also rocket elevators that go z-z-z-z-z-z-zoom because the buildings are very tall; "it's a fast rocket ship bubble elevator"

- the elevators do not have walls, they have windows and doors and there are bubbles in them

- right outside the buildings is the ocean

- the CAT company is responsible for building everything in Gabiday

- Gabiday has big, big, big roads; there are 100 roads

- all the cars in Gabiday are fast race cars, some cars have donut wheels

- Gabiday has a big, big planetarium

- Gabiday also has pyramids

- apparently, Gabiday is somewhere in the Pacific Ocean because to get to Gabiday, "From the Philippines, you go south, then you go to Japan, then Hawaii, then Gabiday"

- the people in Gabiday are called Oreia (again, I asked Baz to spell this); the language spoken is also called Oreia

- the language sounds something like this: "kapawipa kapawipa wapawapa wapawapa wapi wapa wapa wapa wa"

- the planetarium is a really tall building and to get out of it, you get on a log ride, a roller coaster slide that has water

- it always rains in Gabiday but there rainbows all the time, really big rainbows

- there are good fountains in Gabiday and you can walk around them without falling into them and as you walk around them, you sing "walk around the fountain, walk around the fountain"

- there is one hotel in Gabiday, Mandarin Oriental; to get to the hotel -- from the Planetarium, go to the overpass, turn straight to 81 Manila High Street

- Gabiday "celebrates Costume Day on April 19, not like in the Philippines where Costume Day is April 18"

hmmm, i'm sure i'm forgetting some other stuff, Baz has such an active imagination...and so detailed

BTW, Baz supplied all the information and details about Gabiday. I did not ask any questions or offer anything that added to his details. (Like, it was he who thought of naming the people and the language of Gabiday, with no prompting from me.) I basically just repeated what he said or reacted with a "wow" and "really?" and "Gabiday sounds like a fun country." At one point, I slipped and said "Gabiday sounds like a fun city" and he corrected me saying, "Gabiday is a country."

_______

From Auntie April: BAZ IS A GENIUS!!!

From Ninang Ritchie: YesP, Baz is a genius but it is really better for him not to know
that....in the condo, I asked him if I could be a citizen of Gabiday
and he said "nope"
:-(

Wading

2008-03-09T17:51:00.002+08:00

We went to Grauntie Neny's and Grandncle Ernie's house this afternoon to do a little "swimming." Since the boys don't actually swim yet, it's more like wading, actually. For that reason Auntie Neny's pool is perfect - there's a stepped area at one end where the boys can go waist deep and play with water toys.

Of course they brought their Lego fireboat, which has a little motor that attaches to the hull. It's not remote control, but because the pool is oval, the boat makes a full circuit and ends up right back with the boys. They also brought their magnetic fishing rod, which "catches" on the magnets on the fishes' snout.

Auntie Neny mentions something about color blindness on the Enriquez side, so just to get immediate feedback I take the different colored fish and have Baz identify their color. He identifies the basic shades without difficulty. But what if it's a differentiation-of-shade kind of thing (Malou says I have this problem with green)? So I ask him what kind of blue the blue fish is, and after doing nothing more than just a double take, he says, "Fish blue!" Oo nga naman!

The boys are cautious in the water and know they can't swim, so what I'll do is stand on the edge of the stepped area and have them walk out to me. Despite precautions, though, Hadrien still took a dunking. While seated on the pool's edge he leaned forward and went a little too far, going into the water. I fish him out immediately and he's none the worse for wear, if a little surprised. "I drowned!," he says, but I reassure him that he's all right and that there's nothing to worry about. For good measure we get mad at the pool, which according to Hadrien was the reason he fell.

A little later though I see him all contemplative and quiet, so we're wondering if the dunking made him afraid. Turns out, though, that he's looking at the wrinkles on his hands - he's worried they won't come off! Auntie Neny tells him not to worry about his "old man hands" because they'll become young again as soon as they dry off, but he's unconvinced and up to the time he asks to leave the pool 10 minutes later, keeps his hands out of the water. Vain din pala!

How Time Flies

2008-03-04T20:32:00.007+08:00

Sniff... sniff.... Even if Baz is just moving up from Toddlers Unlimited (his first pre-school ever!), I felt what most parents (including parents in TV commercials) feel upon seeing their son/daughter in a toga. I wondered where all those weeks/months/years went and why they flew by so fast!

It wasn't entirely sentimental though. I first saw him in a toga in school - where he refused to have his picture taken. And me being me, I persisted in trying to convince him until I gave up in frustration (rather, Teacher Gabby wisely told me in a knowing voice "you can take home the toga and just give us the pictures - good save there!)

The good thing though is that we got to take more pictures with the toga at home. Also, I'd like to think we got better pictures this way :)

Update on Play Dates

2008-02-24T10:53:00.008+08:00

It's been 2 weeks from their first play date and so far, we've been having them about 2 times a week. I'm trying to invite other kids as well so that Baz will get used to the notion of other friends too.

Here are some pictures from their playdates.

And this one is of Hadrien interrupting my DIY photoshoots for BC :)

Check out and compare his expressions in the first and last pictures :)

Update on Dona

2008-02-24T10:35:00.003+08:00

We should have listened to T. Gabby. That you should only feed caterpillars the kind of leaf that the caterpillar was feeding on. We did at first giving Dona almost the whole bunch of kangkong in which we found her. After running out of kangkong, Yaya Dora gave Dona some leaves from the ipil-ipil tree they pass on their way to church. Dona didn't like it and after just a week with us, she died... The kids look for Dona every now and then. But they understood that Dona is dead and that she's "no more". I felt sad coming home to learn Dona was dead. For about a week, that was the first thing we'd check upon entering the door.

PS: In case you were wondering about the glasses of water with a hanky inside - that was our lesson on capillary action.

Conversations with Baz and Hadrien (Part 5)

2008-02-24T10:16:00.005+08:00

Baz is almost 5 years old -- and is still thumb-sucking. We've resorted to "threats" lately (we'll put tabasco sauce on your thumb, you might swallow your thumb, etc.), which haven't worked. One day, he noticed us looking at him with his thumb against his mouth.

Baz: You know what, Daddy? This is not thumb-sucking. This is nail-sucking!

_______

On another occasion,

Baz: Daddy, I know what you can do when you catch me thumb-sucking. You can just tootay my thumb!

________

Then one time, as we caught him picking his nose:

Baz: I'm picking my nose. I like my booger. I think about my booger all the time.

_______

Hadrien loves coming over when I sit in front of the computer. This time, he was holding the carton inside the toiletpaper roll and was peering at me through it.

Hadrien: I see you!

Mommy: (after taking the carton from him) I see a little boy in front of me. I think he'll be 3 years old soon. And he seems to be growing taller and taller and getting bigger and bigger.

Hadrien: (stretching himself) And I'll be big and tall like Goliath and I will put (push) him!

Toilet Humor

2008-02-17T00:46:00.002+08:00

Warning: This post is not for the faint-hearted - or those who get grossed out easily.

On the way to a get together with friends from SyCip, the boys and I were stuck in traffic. For an hour and a half, we were stuck on the Alabang - Bicutan portion of the SLEX. Since Hadrien is toilet-trained, we didn't have any diapers with us. For Hadrien, it's bad enough that he has to be strapped into his carseat - but for more than 30 minutes - that's way too much! So, after repeated (and this means more than at least 30) cries of "I want to pee!"; "I got to pee"; "I want to pee in the white/black/white and blue bottle", I finally relented. I let him out of his carseat and allowed him to pee. As the pee was nearing the rim of the cup, I pleaded with him to stop so that I can empty the cup (not the wisest move as you will see). Sure enough, less than an hour later, he again asked to pee. We pull out our trusted cup, he pulls down his pants and briefs, and into the cup his pee goes. It went pretty smoothly this time. I got distracted by a phone call and somehow, Hadrien got hold of the cup and emptied its contents on my lap! Obviously, I had to cancel my plans for the night. I didn't want to show up with pee-stained pants and shoes!

_________

Since the boys are 4 and 2, we are able to leave them to take a shower. We'd leave the door open so that we can hear them and check in every 2-3 minutes. One time, we heard Baz screaming and laughing "gross! that's gross! poop!" Raffy walks in and lets out a loud "aaahhh!!! who did this?" I don't remember who actually owned up. But I recall Raffy flushing something down the toilet and coming out with a "tabo" that had to be washed thoroughly.

__________

The boys like doing things together. Sometimes, they'd pee at the same time. When this happens, they'd make their "pee streams" cross and shout out "I pee on your pee!". They won't stop until they run out of ammunition :)

___________

Last night, during bathtime, Baz and Hadrien burst out laughing. It turns out that this time, someone decided to pee in the trash bin. Baz said it was "Hadrieni". When I asked Hadrien if it was him, he looked at me nonchalantly and said "nothing!" Tonight, we told Gramma and Gramps about the incident, and Baz broke out into a wide smile and giggled. Yaya Andora thinks it could be Baz. It definitely have been either of them - or both!

Bad!

2008-02-17T00:37:00.003+08:00

Hadrien hates traffic jams. Sometimes, when the car is stalled, he would order me "drive, go, drive now, mommy!" Here's a particularly cute exchange...

Hadrien: Red is bad no, mommy?

Mommy: No, it's just that it's the other side's turn to "go".

Hadrien: Red is bad. I eat you, red! Yum, yum, yum!!!

___

After getting a scolding from Daddy, Hadrien turns and leans into me and in a hushed voice -

Hadrien: Daddy's bad no, mommy?

Mommy: Daddy, o! Did you hear what Hadrien said?

Hadrien: Nothing!!

Another thing in common

2008-02-10T18:59:00.000+08:00

with the boys is their allergy to peanuts.

We discovered Baz's allergy to peanuts 1 week short of his 3rd birthday (when they say it is say for you to try peanuts with young children). I didn't intentionally give him peanuts - he "stole" from my stash of peanut-butter sandwiches I prepared for our day trip to Tagaytay to celebrate his birthday since Raffy was going to Switzerland and wouldn't be in the country for his birthday. Almost immediately, Baz developed something that looked like welts on his face, his eyes began to swell and his tongue looked like it had blisters. Credit mother's instincts for telling me what I needed to buy. We were lucky we found a drugstore a good 5 minutes after we discovered Baz's allergic reaction. Raffy and I debated whether we should bring him to a local (provincial) hospital or to go back to Alabang for Asian Hospital. I was so scared that I wanted to run to the closest hospital. But Raffy preferred to rush back to Alabang. Thankfully, his allergic reaction subsided by the time we got to the hospital (after around 20 minutes) and I don't even remember what they did except to observe him.

So, you'd think we'd be careful with Hadrien, right? We were! Since he hasn't turned 3 yet, we don't give him peanuts and check carefully before giving him food which usually contain peanuts. This weekend though, we had a box of donuts, a few of which were glazed with peanut-butter. Even if we were careful not to give either of the boys those donuts, on hindsight, we think they picked out donuts which were set next to the peanut-butter glazed ones. Just like Baz, Hadrien had an immediate reaction - his chin turned red. This time, we didn't have to drive to the pharmacy to get antihistamine. In 10 minutes, the rashes began to subside. I hope they outgrow their peanut allergy - and soon! I'm scared at the thought of not being there when they make the mistake of eating peanuts or not having medication on hand.

Playdate Breakthrough

2008-02-09T23:39:00.000+08:00

Among Baz's quirks are that he's slow to warm up and his refusal to talk in school. This has caused quite a concern for us. Starting christmas though, he began to show remarkable improvement - by "performing" with his classmates during their christmas program, engaging in conversations with even his Tita Bel, whom he sees only when she visits the Philippines, working with his teachers, specially Teacher Gabby.

But the thing that surprised us most was how he and his favorite classmate, Anton, made plans for a playdate. It happened Wednesday of this week and they planned for Anton to come home with him and Hadrien the following day. So even if the boys had a pre-planned doctor's appointment, we decided to forgo it in favor of the playdate. It isn't everyday that Baz invites a friend over. And we wanted to see if he would talk to someone from school.

The playdate was a huge success! Baz started talking the minute they got on the elevator and didn't seem to stop talking to Anton since. In fact, Anton had to ask "will you talk in school now?" The boys had a great time playing at our condo and then at the playground in UPB. They even collectively got into a "fight" with a boy who said the word "stupid". When Anton's mom picked him up close to 9 pm, Baz was sad to see Anton go (and I'm glad to say Anton didn't want to leave either) - so much so that the following day, Baz wanted to go to Anton's house. Raffy and I gladly obliged and sent the boys over.

I think we will be having more playdates now. On one hand, I'm very happy to see him open up and let go some of his self-imposed restraint. On the other, I felt a tug at the thought that it won't be long before the boys prefer their friends' company to ours. It reminded me to devote more time with the kids. Now, before they outgrow their wanting to be with mommy and daddy all the time :)

___

From Ninang Ritchie

Went to pick up mom from pasig and saw the boys playing with Anton..Baz is finally making his own friends and he was the one who invited Anton and set the playdate.

Meanwhile, the kid brother is busy making enemies....when I went up to the Roof Deck to look for the boys.....Ham was the first to greet me when I arrived..then another little boy, not Anton, went up to me and said "Are you his mother?"... I said "No, I'm his aunt, why?"
boy said, "He is annoying me?" I said, "really, what did he do?" boy said, "He keeps saying "stop that stop that....."

Apparently, the boy slipped out the word "stupid" and Ham being a consciencious little fellow said "Stop That!" ...but being a naughty little fellow...Ham chased the boy (who was about Baz's age) and kept repeating "stop that!!" until the boy got pikon!!!!

then, when the boy tried to get back at him..Ham hid behind his yaya.

From Auntie Gennie, Baz, the take-charge boy

2008-02-08T09:54:00.000+08:00

Baz is such a responsible little boy. He called me up on Tuesday asking me to buy him play-doh because his stock in Gramma's condo had turned hard already. He wanted me to go there that day but I told him I had work to do so I said I'd get him more play-doh the next time he was in Gramma's condo. I asked him when that would be and he said Thursday. Yesterday, Wednesday, he called me up again to remind me to get him the play-doh because he'd be in Gramma's condo the next day. I assured him I would get him the play-doh and see him Thursday. Last night, Gramma called Baz and told him that she'd fetch him from school on Thursday and bring him straight to Pasig, meaning he wouldn't be going to Gramma's condo. He immediately told his Gramma to tell me to go to Pasig instead of Gramma's condo. But Gramma explained to him that, because he would be playing with his friend Anton, he could do away with the play-doh for the meantime. He agreed and told his Gramma to tell me to bring the play-doh next time. Maybe he didn't quite trust that his message would get to me so early this morning (today is Thursday), he called me and said he wouldn't be going to Gramma's condo today so I needn't get him the play-doh. I asked him when he would be in Gramma's condo again and he said Tuesday and we agreed that I would see him on Tuesday with his play-doh. Ah, Baz, the take-charge boy who's courteous enough to call when he has to cancel prior engagements.

Who's Sneakier?

2008-02-02T16:53:00.000+08:00

The results are in! Raffy and I purposely didn't cast our votes so that we wouldn't cloud anyone's judgment. Perhaps there was no need to worry about that. By a vote of 15:1, Hadrien got the sneakier vote.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

2008-01-27T18:32:00.000+08:00

We went to UP Diliman and walked around with the kids this afternoon. I wish there were more park-like areas in the city, but UP's a good option. They've cleaned up the area between the lagoon at the back of Quezon Hall, trimmed the high grass in and around Beta Way and the Sunken Garden, and on weekends the academic oval is car-less, opening up the road to pedestrians, joggers, cyclists and skateboarders.

But first Baz took a ride with Mommy on a UP Ikot jeep, while Hadrien and I followed in the car:

Then we parked between Law and NEC, walked up to Eng and cut across to AS via the Beta Way. A lot of the old growth trees are still there, and with some new ones.

Naturally our curious two boys were all over the place, clambering up trees and fallen logs.

Baz the Monkey (and he actually said, "Monkey See, Monkey Do")

Hadrien the Koala Bear

In the field

Happy Centennial, U.P.!