My World… In My Own Words

It’s the first time I ever saw him gentle to a toy… This is Puppy, my Gio’s new love. I got it from ebay a few weeks back. The moment Gio saw him, they were a match made in heaven.

The monicker The Destroyer is not apt when I look at him playing with Puppy. He hugs him, gently plays with him, seats him down carefully and pats him to sleep. I don’t know what it is with this dog, but he got my son’s heart! I love it’s educational value. Gio learned to say the words foot and tummy because of this dog. He also learned new songs, but of course is his all time fave is still Itsy Bitsy Spider and he just can’t stop pressing Puppy’s nose to make it play the song over and over again!

Gio’s changing a lot now. WHile he is still very much a destroyer and so babyish, he has grown a lot. His speech has progressed, finally! I marvel at how easily he says words now. He now calls his brother KUYA, unlike before when he used to call him “to” only. When he’s mad at Enzo, he shouts “Aso!” his bulol form of Enzo. He calls me Tan or Tanya sometimes, much to my dismay.

What’s so amusing now about him is his cute ways. He performs on cue, not shy at all. He has a repertoire of animal sounds and actions. He dances at the first sound of music and sings too! Here’s a list of his animal repertoire:

The dog says… “aw!aw!
The cat says… “meow!”
Pig… “oin! Oin!”
Cow… “Moo! Moo!”
Sheep… “Baaaaaaaaaaa”
Goat…”meeeeeeeeeh”
Duck… “qua, qua!”
Chicken…”bobobo!” (it’s supposed to be Bokbokbokok!)
Monkey… “ooh ooh! aaah! aah!”
Lion… “roar!”
Bird… “peep! Peep! (tweet! tweet!)
Lizard… (palatak) tsk! tsk!
Fish… he sucks in his cheeks and looks like a guppy
Elephant…he places his hand on his nose and goes “uhr!” like an elephant
Frog… he jumps all over the house
Crab… he opens and closes his fingers to mimic the crab’s pinching moves

He can also mimic sounds of automobiles, his favorite now is “shoo! shoo!” for the train. Yesterday, he surprised me by saying “GOY” as he showed me one of their girl figures from the Little People collection. He also says “Maw” for mouse and “mouf” for mouth. It seems only yesterday that I was worried he had speech delay. Now he can’t stop talking!

Finally, here are the pics of Gio’s first birthday party!

After
months of preparing for this big event for our dear little Gio, the day
has finally come! Clad in their western outfits, friends and family
trekked over to the DPC Place Bldg. in Pasong Tamo extension to
celebrate our little Gio’s first birthday.

Geo and I are very
happy with the turnout. The mood was so festive! We are so glad we
finally decided on the Cowboy Elmo theme. Gio loves Elmo and the cowboy
theme gave us lots of gimmick options.

A few days before the
party, I made a WANTED photo booth using a big box. We figured that the
kids (and adults) would have a blast having their photos taken in the
booth. =) The kids enjoyed playing in the box, especially Enzo who
later on turned the photo booth into a puppet theater. One of our
younger guests, baby BJ, almost tore the box apart while having his
photo taken. The poor kid was probably wondering what the heck he was
doing in the box hehehe.

We set up an art corner to keep the
kids busy. We had them dress up a "naked" Elmo as a cowboy using
assorted art materials like art paper, sequins, beads, yarn, markers,
crayons. And at the end of the party, we awarded ARTIST OF THE DAY
certificates to the 4 best works made by Troy, Chloe, Raine and Hannah.
We chose 2 works from the 2-4 y/o age bracket and another 2 works from
the 5-8 y/o age bracket.

For our prize/loot centerpiece, we had
a big stuffed horse which made galloping sounds when tapped on the
rear. Elmo rode Mr. Horsey of course. I really intended to sew some
cowboy clothes for Elmo, but I ran out of time. Cowboy Elmo and his
trusty Horsey were surrounded with a gamut of kiddie stuff: coloring
books, activity books, cartoon drinking cups, and toys which Geo and I
carefully selected for the game prizes and balloon burst treats. We
gave away 5 small Elmo stuff toys to the lucky kids who got the RED
balloons in the balloon burst. Many kids (and adults too hehehe) had
their eye on the Elmo stuff toys. They were practically begging us to
give them one. But of course, we didn’t tell anyone the secret that
they’d have to get red balloons in the balloon burst in order to take
home Elmo. Funny thing—Gio got one red balloon with the help of his
yaya. So we took home one of the Elmo stuff toys hehehe. He didn’t want
to let go of it anymore. Who would want to let go of such a cuddly
little Elmo!

The hosts kept everyone happy with fun games,
balloon twisting and magic tricks. Geo and I even got victimized in
joining one of the games where we had to spell with our butts. We
gamely swished our tushies, of course, much to the audience’s
amusement. Oh, to be a parent! LOL

Food was courtesy of Alba
catering. I especially enjoyed the choco fountain mmmmmm!!!! I hardly
got to eat decently (we parents rarely get to do so at our kids’
parties, huh?). But I’m pretty sure everyone enjoyed the buffet, food
carts and choco fountain. =) In addition to the pasta, garlic fried
chicken, barbeque spare ribs, fish fillet and veggies served at the
buffet, we had pizza and squid balls carts set up at the veranda (no
cooking was allowed inside the party hall). Then, to beat the summer
heat, we asked Manong Sorbetes (hehehe that’s not his name, that’s just
what I call him) to set up an ice cream cart inside the party hall. His
ice cream was a hit, of course. =)

The kids each took home slim
water bottles with Elmo school kits and stickers inside. The water
bottles were Daddy Geo’s idea. We were thinking of putting together a
loot bag with sherrif badges and other western-themed toys and
trinkets. But alas, it was tough finding cowboy stuff so we had to
think of something else. Geo figured it would be nice to give the kids
water bottles since cowboys need to fuel up on drinks, right? And so we
found these cute water bottles with straws. The pink and blue colors
for girls and boys was unintentional. The supplier only had these two
colors. We wanted all blue ones, but they didn’t have enough. So we
ended up getting pink and blue ones.

Since they were too little
to appreciate the drinking bottles, the babies aged one and below each
received soft sesame street-themed balls for them to enjoy during play
time =). Meanwhile, the mommies, titas and grannies all got Cowboy
recipe booklets courtesy of moi. =) Now they can cook up cowboy pizzas,
salsa, cowboy beans and rice, and western style bbq sauce right in
their own homes!

And where was the birthday boy amidst all the
festivity? Gio was a very charming celebrant, smiling away throughout
the party. He mingled with guests, especially the kids. He table-hopped
with Daddy, Mommy and Ela. He ate lots of pasta and ice cream, and he
clocked in lots of time riding his red rocking Horsey which we brought
along to add to the Western ambiance.

We were all poofed by the
end of the 3 hour affair, but our hearts were happy. We had just thrown
another fun-filled party for our kids =) So, just how many of these do
I expect to plan for int he next few years? LOL If it were up to me and
if I had free reign on moolah, I’d throw throw theme parties every year
until they are 16! HEHEHEHE Do I hear Daddy Geo objecting? hahahah

It
was our first time in Fun Ranch and we are so glad we went to Eleana’s
first birthday party at Blue Whale Grill. The pretty celebrant was
glowing in pink, but she was crying because she was scared of the host.

It
was a fun party! And Daddy Geo and I had lots of fun seeing our little
boys enjoy themselves. A more mature Enzo graced this party. He now
joined some of the games, the Bring Me portion most especially. Gio of
course was ever game, but since he couldn’t run like the other bigger
kids, I had to carry him to the stage to win in the Bring Me game. So
when the host said "Bring me the sexiest Mommy!" I gamely brought
myself and my son onto the stage hehehe. And that’s how Gio won his
first ever party prize.

Enzo joined the pick-up straws game and
won 2 prizes, first for picking up the most number of blue straws and
then for picking up the least number of straws.

Enzo enjoyed the
magic show, except for the part when the magician showed the audience a
reptile. Sheesh! A reptile in a kiddie party? Meanwhile, my one year
old had a grand time watching the host and her puppet do their act. My
kids also had a grand time with Blue Whale’s play sets.

After the party, we went around Fun Ranch and enjoyed the sights and activities.

Daddy
Geo and Gio rode the carousel. Gio was so amused—at first. After a
while, Daddy noticed he was suddenly quiet. And then Gio leaned back
into Daddy’s arms. Uh-oh! Dizzy dizzy! Soon the carousel ride was over.
It was a good thing there was no barfing involved hehehe.

Enzo
and I had most fun at Active Fun. Enzo was so amazed with the big
indoor playground. My usually slow-to-warm up child warmed up right
away and revved his engine. In no time at all, he was climbing up steps
and sliding down slides. He was so brave, he wanted to slide down the
giant slide but it was only for kids above 4 years old. He had a grand
time jumping up and down on the trampoline. But the activity he loved
most was climbing up the maze. I, of course, had to follow him. My
demanding tot kept saying, "Mommy huwy (hurry)" and "Tara na Mommy,
dalian Mommy!" To which I replied, "Aba, masaya ka! Hindi po pwede
magmadali si Mommy dahil hindi ako maliit tulad mo no" Imagine my huge
butt squeezing through the tight spaces. I felt it was High School COCC
Bivouac all over again! I had to creep, crawl, climb, scurry, and slide
all over the giant maze as I kept an eye on my toddler who suddenly
forgot he was scared of closed spaces and heights. I forgot about
taking pics inside the maze because I needed both hands to be able to
maneuver myself through the challenging spots.

At the end of
Enzo’s one hour play session in Active Fun, I was sweaty all over. Yup,
I and not him. My goodness! I haven’t been this active in years! I bet
I would have aching muscles come tomorrow morning. But it was all worth
it. I had fun with Enzo =) We’re definitely coming back to do this
again!

Afterwards, we went around to see the remaining places
inside Fun Ranch. We rode the train (which simply went around the 2nd
level three times). Then Enzo bravely announced that he’d like to ride
the bumper boat all by himself. I kept on clarifying with him that
Mommy and Daddy won’t be allowed to join him on the boat, but still he
insisted that he wanted to ride the bumper boat. ANd ride he did. By
himself. It seemed that Fun Ranch suddenly made my little boy grow up
right before our eyes. Before Fun Ranch, we would never be able to get
Enzo to ride any ride alone. Heck, he wouldn’t even go on those
crawling animal rides in SM, the ones which require two 5-peso coins to
move. But there was our son (no pics, though since our camera’s battery
conked out), driving his bumper car with glee =)

After a quick shopping trip at the stalls, we headed for home, with giant smiles plastered all over our faces =)

With
Enzo joining my play group class, I’ve decided to make some changes to
our art time bonding time. Instead of the usual work with crayons and
paint, we are now into making these uber cute paper models. I found
several books on paper models in National Bookstore. Each book has one
or two craft projects. They come in ready-to-punch-out pages so all I
have to do is prepare the pieces for Enzo to glue together. It’s so
much fun, especially since the figures are so colorful and come in cute
designs. Last week, we made this lion container for Daddy Geo. Daddy
brought it to his office where he places his business cards =)

Our next project will be a corocodile memo pad holder =)

Here
are some pics of our workshop kids during their stage make-up session
which I handled recently (my mom and I handle our workshops together,
excpet for the play shop which she gladly leaves all up to me hehehe
Her creaking bones can’t take any more of kids asking to be carried
LOL).

They learned all about basic make-up materials, make-up
application techniques, color and their meanings, and special make-up
effects. After our lecture and demo, I asked the kids to draw lots to
determine what kind of make-up they’d have to do for themselves. Here
are their works. So, what do you think of their looks? Pasado ba?

Yesterday, while shopping at Makro, Enzo saw this very cute doll house.

Enzo: Wow, Mommy! Ganda!
Mommy: Yes baby, it’s very nice.
Enzo: Look Mommy, dawa (dalawa). Taas, baba.
Mommy: Uhmm. Yes, it’s a 2-storey house darling.
Enzo: Wow, meyon kama. Meyon upuan, mesa. tv!
Mommy: Oo nga! Ganda ano?
Enzo: Bili Mommy ato?
Mommy:
(Cringing at the question because the tag price says P999.95) No baby,
it’s too expensive. Mommy doesn’t have money to buy that.
Enzo: Gawa Mommy house for Enzo?

And
that’s why I ended up making this 24-inch 2-storey doll house for my
darling little son. I used two boxes, some art paper, old wrapping
paper, masking tape and glue to come up with this modest house. I
covered the walls with old wrapping paper (a remnant from Gio’s
birthday).

The lower level is a sala and dining room. I used a
coffee box for the day bed, a tea box for the table and medicine
measuring cups for the dining stools. I used a small piece of a used
Backyardigans wrapping paper for the "rubber mat." I installed a
hanging light fixture on the ceiling for added design. I actually
wanted to make a lamp out of 2 yakult bottles and a Del Monte fruit
cup, but Enzo is not familiar with lamps so I ditched the idea.

The
second level is the bedroom.There’s a king-size red bed (a pancake box)
and a TV (a tea box) showing Backyardigans and a dark blue carpet. I
still had some excess cardboard so I made a triangular loft on top.

I
wanted to surprise Enzo after his nap so I covered the house with a big
Makro plastic bag and waited for him to wake up. As soon as he woke up,
I told him i had a surprise for him so he should go with me to the
room. I told him to close his eyes when we reached the door. He was
excited and gamely did as I told. Ta-da!

The first words out
of his mouth were: "Wow, Mommy! Ganda! House! Enzo ato (ito)?" And I
told him, "Yes it’s yours." And ran up to me and said "Thank you,
Mommy."

I wasn’t able to catch his initial reaction on cam, but
later on, when he was calmer already, I took a video of him playing
with his new house. He likes it very much—but he just had to ask
me—"Mommy, wala garahe?" LOL Oh well, that can be arranged. I think I
still have some boxes left in the stock room. =)