Printing day

Taken last Sunday at Megamall

Val will be going to Jo Avila's printing day this Thursday. Above is his entry and below is his actual message when he sent this picture to my office email.

" Entry ko para kay Jo Avila bukas, pag nanalo ito, i-print nya sa canvass.
eto pinanglaban ko kasi DSLR gamit nila...para maiba..film ang gamit ko..

i-blog mo at mag luluto ako ng medyo masarap na adobo"

i love you hon!
i love you mommy! - neo

When you look at your child and see how they have grown, you want to hold time, savour it and store memories and feelings in your heart. And then you ask...

until when will they smile at you when they see you?

until when will they hug you when you are close?

until when will they snuggle next to you when they can't sleep or are cold?

I'm sure all mothers would wish never!

Somethings

Val sent the following pictures via e-mail today for posting:

He bought Neo (from Toy Kingdom, Galleria) a TAZ punching bag we called "punch"

and a family of rubber duckies

Newbie Nuby

We got these for Neo today ...

1. because the yaya is requesting for a new set of spoon, sobra maliit na daw yung luma, and
2. because the Barney set of straw tumbler we bought some months back didn't last long and Neo loves to sip on straws.

tumbler (Php 379)
set of spoons (Php 159)

Amici

After finishing my APE, Val, me and Neo had an early lunch at Amici's where we had :

Penne al Salmone Affumicato
Tutta Carne Panini
Blueberry gelato

We were satisfied with this first visit, even Neo loved the pasta. We are definitely coming back!

No pictures yet. Val brought his old film-camera. Had to wait til its printed and scanned.

APE

I had my Annual Physical Examination today.

New instruction

Neo heeds to a new instruction.

Whenever Val say "Neo, bite Mommy!" He charges!

Oatmeal

I have tried to give Neo oatmeal before but he wouldn't take it. A few days back Ner reported that Neo was sampling the oatmeal baon of one of the kids and actually almost finished half of the container.

This morning Tata Ruthie prepared a serving in banana and honey flavor and the boy loved it! Yehey, another addition in the food-he-likes list.

Cavite day

We were in Cavite last Sunday. After 2 months of not coming home, the lola and the lolo were ecstatic to see their little apo.

After hearing the 7:00 mass at San Sebastian, we headed to McDonald's for breakfast. See pictures:

Neo missed Banban...

It took me several tiring hours, not to mention skipping lunch, before we finally got Neo in this sleep. Hay, hirap! He only naps once in a day now.

D day, Departure day

Saturday, March 14, 2009 was the day Mama and Papa left the Philippines.

That morning, I asked Val if we (Neo and I) would go with him to Pandacan and see Mama and Papa for the final time. He said not anymore because he will be bringing them to the airport himself and there will be no room in the car. It turned out, everybody was there except us!

Anyway, we share the following captured moments that day.

Pandacan home, before leaving...

Goodbye to the bunso...
Hugs to the doggies Champagne, Alpo and Sandy...

all bags packed and ready to go....

final walk in the street trodden for so many years ...

PAL Airport, the final stretch...



A touching, tearful parting ...



And there they go, their plane calling ...



Sabi ni Val he's not sure if Aya already understands, but if you see this picture she sure looks sad.

I asked Val if he cried and he said "no". I didn't believe him.

Neo's mornings

Each morning, Neo will become uneasy if has not hit the road by around 7:30. He and the yaya has to head to the San Manuel pavilion to meet his friends Evo, Zoe, Motmot et al.

In the pavilion, the kids would play, have their snacks of biscuits and fruits and share toys. Neo enjoys this daily rituals and I believe it is good for him too. Aside from the fresh air and sunshine, he gets to interact with the other kids.

Above photo shows one of the kids as taken from Val's old- fashioned, manual-pointing, film driven Nikon camera.

Birthday party invitation # 5

This is party invitation number 5. Unfortunately, March 14 is a heavy day for us (for Val actually) so we cannot go. Val will be attending to Mama and Papa's pre -depature needs and he will be the one to bring them to the airport. On the night of the same day, Val will be going to a reunion with his long ago friends.

Sayang, swimming party pa naman.

We wish Lucas a very happy day!

Francis

Today, we finally bade Francis M goodbye.

some are here and some may not...
we change phases in this world of kaleidoscope...

Bagsakan at the palengke

I have gone to the Pasig palengke three times and every time on a Saturday. I never went on a "bagsakan" day which is a Wednesday or a Friday. Tonight I went with office mates.

During Saturdays, you just snake yourself from one stall to another and if you can bear the heat, you'll be okay. Coming on a Wednesday as I have experienced tonight is a different/difficult endeavour. Apart from the thick crowd of buyers, you practically have to guard your every step against the unmindful kargadors carrying their loads and if you're not careful or alert (or kung mamalasin ka), you can be bounced down.

Wednesdays and Fridays are really the bagsakan time where the clothes are just laid down the tables and buyers scavenge from the pile. Prices are so cheap, you can get a decent top at 35 pesos! As an office mate would joke, "sa sobra mura, wag ka na tumawad baka sampalin ka na ng tindera!" Hahhaha!

Anyway, my shopping tonight resulted to 8 tops (t-shirts and blouses) for me. And a dozen assorted colored t-shirts for Neo for an unbelievable price of 80 pesos for one dozen. I'll post pictures later. Tulog na si Val.

Neo @ 16 months

Time really is in a hurry. Before we can even take a breather, Neo has passed his 16th month mark already! At this stage he...

is uncontrollable when left on the floor
loves music (i think) - dances when he plays his musical toys
still loves books - has to have some around when he wakes up
really, really loves to take a bath - gets to have two to three sessions a day
knows how to operate the dvd player
knows how to operate the electric fan
knows how to shut the TV
knows how to shut the computer cpu
pulls out everything he sees
has long hair na- gotta have it cut
has 8 teeth - others starting to come out
eats regular ulam
recently liked the lemon square cupcake
loves stick-o
likes mangga
socializes a lot - especially with the neighborhood kids
still executes: close - open, clap hands, beautiful eyes, show your tongue etc.
"tata" or "ta" means the titas
"mama" means mommy
"mamam" means drink
"wawaw" means dog
"bob" means bob (the builder)
"bob" means papa
"yaya" means yaya
and although he speaks not so many words yet, I know he knows and understands so many things

Water in any form

What is Neo reaching for?

Here's what ...

The water fountain at MOA!

We were inside the mall when he suddenly detached himself from my grasp and ran towards the glass walls. When I checked what interested him, it was the fountain outside the building. We brought him outside and he went excitedly towards the water which was of course out of reach because of the low fiberglass walls. He kept on bending forward trying to feel the splashes, kawawa naman!

Remind me to bring him to Market!Market! where they have the dancing fountain fronting the mall.

Or to bring him to the swimming pool asap.

Mama and Papa's despedida

Only seven days left and Mama and Papa will be leaving for Guam as immigrants. To spend their last weekend, the family rounded up to be together for an outing in the Mall of Asia.

Here's us posing while waiting to be completed...

The day was spent -

with cousins riding the carousel ...



(pati si Mama!)

together, strolling the mall ...

taking pictures ...



sharing lunch at Sbarro...

and some ice cream after...

Now here is the family, complete in attendance, in two versions:
Note Neo's moods and Aya's antics!

And who will be missed the most?


the apos, of course!

To Mama and Papa, we wish you a safe trip and a restful life in Guam.
You will be missed by everybody.

The cousins

Let me introduce Neo's first cousins. Four in all. All from Val's side of the family.

Angela

William

Aya

and the newest addition...

Oyo
(his hair won't go flat, hihihi)

All pictures taken last Sunday at the Mall of Asia

His 1st Levi's

Neo's first Levi's denim jeans was a pasalubong of his ninang Gladys. He had it last December but it was only last Sunday when he actually wore it. Its still a little bit loose and long pero pwede na din. See him walking with it along the shiny floors of MOA.

What Neo likes best

Neo loves to take a bath. He routinely takes it in the morning before I go to work. But now that its summer and humid, he takes a dip into his timba again the afternoon.

And look at what he does when I attempt to extract him from the water. He shoves my hand and soaks himself back down. Nyehehe.