One Fine Day

last sunday, the sun finally came out. that's after weeks of really shitty weather. you would think you're in manila during rainy season instead. anyways, the day started foggy but come lunch time, the sun made an appearance. so off we went.

original plan was just to go to a Pick Your Own Farm in the New Forest for strawberry picking then go home right away. but on our way to the farm, cayden suddenly said "mommy, daddy, beach". tantan and i exchanged looks, both of us thinking, where did he get that idea from! but really, we should stop being amazed - we know where he gets those ideas from lol! tantan suggested dropping the strawberry picking and go straight to the beach instead. i said we can do both. might as well take advantage of the perfect weather, right?

we arrived at the farm at about 2pm. of course, the kids were protected with spf 50 sunblock! cayden started running around, really excited with this new environment. he immediately started picking out strawberries, which by the way, he's already seen being done on tv! as he picked them out, he was eating them, which he shouldnt have bec the strawberries are paid by the pound lol! i think we should have paid doubled by the amount we've "tasted". sorry, we're bad like that! it was very tempting - they grow really yummy strawberries!

stuffing himself full with yummy strawberries!

anyways, i love the farm! the lone structure looks like a sari sari store. the farm has got a very homey feel to it (might just be me!). most importantly, the strawberries are very red, juicy and sweet! not to mention, very affordable! got to go back soon =D

after that, we headed to christchurch quay. we dropped the "beach" for the quay because we remembered that the quay has a playground in it, which we're sure cayden will enjoy more. plus the view is much much nicer. that quay is actually one of our favorite hangouts, been there countless of times before. on the way, cayden was saying, "hey, beach" over and over which actually sounded like "hey, bitch". it was so funny!

we were hoping the brass band's still there but we got there a little too late. as we were parking, they were leaving. but we werent that disappointed because there was a fair and a rock band was playing contemporary tunes. love!!

cayden didnt play in the playground as we hoped. but it's because he was already enjoying the swans, the pigeons, the yachts, the trees. i really love going there! even kian had fun. he was babbling and chuckling and really engaging.

this type of family bonding really tramps out all the gadgets money can buy! we want our kids to enjoy family time and nature and enjoy the childhood my generation enjoyed. so please, mr. sun, come out more often, wont you?

Love It

... when cayden ...

1) uses his please, thank yous and sorries
2) goes to our room in the morning, waking us up with his very sweet "Hello, mommy... hello, baby... g'morning" with matching kisses
3) holds kian's hands, making sure they wont get squished everytime he plays with kian's bouncer's movable side bits
4) kisses and hugs his brother
5) tells a fib, not because he's lying (which of course he still doesnt know the concept of) but because it shows how active and fast his brain works. and according to this, they even fare better when they're older if they fib
--> cayden will say he's stuck, when he's not...
--> he'll turn his pillow over to conceal the character (eg. lightning mcqueen) and either say no more or where?
6) says "yuck, de-ty (dirty)" or "ewe" when he sees me changing kian's nappy. he always assumes there's poop =D
7) insists he throws kian's nappy in the bin. he loves helping out
8) makes us do to kian what we're doing to him (if we're kissing or hugging him, he'll say and point to "baby")
9) burps, he'll point to his mouth, shaped like an O and say, "mommy, burp, skusi (excuse me)"
10) has hiccups. every single hiccup he'll say "skusi" (excuse me)
11) smells kian's bum when he hears his little brother fart. he'll then say "ewe, yuck!" - as if his isnt as bad!
12) asks me to tickle him. he loves being tickled. and his very hearty laugh is music to my ears
13) hugs me, with matching pat at the back, then kisses me when im hurt or pretend to be hurt (at the same time saying, "o mommy! hug...kiss")
14) kisses us before going to bed and saying "nyt, mommy.. nyt, baby"
15) gets his brother's bib/lampin and wipes kian's drool, without us telling him to do so
16) turns the bouncer's vibrator and sounds whenever kian is on it (kian loves them on. parang mina-massage)
17) babbles, complete with facial expression. shows how passionate he is about certain things.

well, there are a gazillion more reasons why we love you. but you're a very hyper toddler and most of the time, you test mommy and daddy's patience and limits. even so, we love you, no matter what anyways. but the things you do just make us fall even more deeply in love with you! and you show us how much you love us and your little brother very very much - proving that we're doing the right thing in raising you. hope you stay like this as you grow older. you'll always be our baby (aside from baby kian!)

tita painted your face. you were supposed to be spiderman but you got impatient lol

Best Child Actor

.... goes to my 2month old son (then), kian. hands down!

this video was taken when we were in cornwall (holy week). he faced the camera, tried to emote then stopped crying when we said cut! artistahin talaga. kanino kaya nagmana? nuninu.... =D

House - ✔!

of course, i want kian to have the same big 1st birthday his kuya had. para fair d b? but tantan dont want to go to the philippines, expensive daw. he convinced me to celebrate it in florida instead (as if that'll be any cheaper!). who would say no to that?! honestly, it would still be nice to celebrate it with family and friends. but the kid in me is excited already with just the thought! florida = disney!!!

been to orlando in 2008 (end of june) for 10 days and it was so bitin. plus the weather wasnt that good. personally, i think, that was the worst time to go (we didnt know, ok! =D)! a friend who frequents orlando also agreed on this. it was so humid and very hot - much hotter than manila. plus it rained every afternoon. june is in fact the start of the hurricane season. weather aside, we had fun though. we were like kids in a candy store! so when tantan suggested this, i immediately said yes! again, who would say no?!!

kian's birthday is in feb. i did my research and found out that it's one of the best times to go - weather wise and crowd-wise. coming from england in the middle of winter, a milder weather is a very welcoming reprieve. and since it's school term time, the crowd in theme parks is less.

first assignment was to find the right accomodation for us - affordable yet comfy. we stayed in a hotel previously but having young kids in tow, it's ideal and more practical to stay in a "home-type" environment. so it's either a villa or a townhouse. we're eyeing this particular property already but the dates that we're looking at weren't open yet. to my dismay, when i checked a few days after, it was booked already! i panicked, it's always never too early! fortunately, i found another property in the same block, a bit more expensive but at least it's in the same area! we didnt want to lose it anymore so when i saw that the dates we wanted are still open, i contacted the owner right away and paid the deposit. balance is due in november.

so what made us like the property?:

Luxuries:	Jacuzzi / Hot tub, Internet access
General:	Central heating, Air conditioning, TV, Telephone, Satellite TV, Wi-fi available (this is a must have!!)
Standard:	Kettle, Toaster, Iron, Hair dryer
Utilities:	Clothes dryer, Dishwasher, Cooker, Microwave, Fridge, Freezer, Washing machine
Rooms:	2 Bedrooms, 2 bathrooms of which 2 en suites
Furniture:	Sofabeds (1), Single beds (2), Double beds (1), Dining seating for 6, Lounge seating for 6, Sleeps maximum of 6
Other:	Linen and towels provided.
Outdoors:	Shared outdoor pool (heated)
Access:	Parking space

Further details indoors:
Both bedrooms include en-suite bathrooms and large walk in wardrobes.

Clean bed linen and towels are provided.

Brand new large flat screen HD Television with over 250 channels plus high speed fibre optic wireless internet. Televisions are also in both bedrooms.

Further details outdoors:
Property also includes an external porch area at the rear of the house, with outside seating which is perfect for relaxing after a long day exploring Florida.

The property is located within easy access of Florida's main attractions, including Disney, Sea World including Discovery Cove & Aquatica (Orlando's newest water park), Busch Gardens, and Universal Studios. Universal Studios also includes Island's of Adventures and City Walk, which has numerous bars and restaurants to choose from.

In addition to the many theme parks, there is also easy access to several shopping outlets, which include brand names such as Calvin Klein, Reebok, Gap, and Levi, with excellent discounts.

There are many restaurants and bars within an easy drive of the house. There is also a large supermarket situated less than a mile away, whist Walmart is less than a five minute drive.

need i say more?! it's perfect! it's got really good reviews too =D. here's one comment that cracked me up:

Your townhouse was excellent! My wife's first reaction summed it up when she said "Love this place, I'm not going back home!" Nice, clean & cosy, with all the appliances one could need! The agents were ever so friendly and there is nothing to complain about!

i may not want to leave too if i get too comfortable!

i know the kids are still young to even remember this trip. but not me lol! we can always go back when they're older. hey, it's my treat too! i had to give up my birthday trip for this year so as not to add to tantan's expenses (see, im being considerate here) =D

next assignment: flights!

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read about our previous orlando trip here, here, here, here, here, here and here if you're still up for it! =D. looking back, i miss photography!

Kian's Christening

** click on pics for bigger view. and oh, long post!

banner

we decided to have kian baptised for when my siblings are here, which made it even more special! and since cayden's birthday was coming up, we opted to celebrate the 2 occasions in one go. i had a hard time booking kian's christening with our parish priest. he wasnt the one who baptised cayden (he was more approachable!!!). we didnt get the original date that we wanted because someone else has beaten us to it. at first i didnt understand why the priest couldnt accomodate both kids because cayden had his with another filipino baby. but truth be told, kian's christening was more special and intimate, with the way the priest celebrated it. so i guess he had his reasons after all!

all invites were sent digitally!

despite having no worries about the reception, we ended up in a bit of panic to the rundown to kian's baptism. we thought we'd be late going to the church. actually, we got there a bit late! i was so scared because i was intimidated with the priest. when we got there, our other guests, who decided to go straight there, were all outside. the church doors were closed. good thing i know where father priest lives, which is just beside the church, so i went there and knocked. the priest opened the door and asked who i was! i was taken aback bec i thought he forgot about the ceremony! i told him who i was and then he said, ok, i'll be with you in a moment - duh! he opened the doors of the church so we all went in and imagine, the priest only prepared then! seriously!!!

he ushered us all out again, to our surprise. but he immediately explained that the baby is still not a catholic so he cant go in (it's part of the ceremony, dont worry - nothing discriminating!). he did the prayer of exorcism and anointing before baptism outside the church.

then we went in and stayed at the back of the church where he did the anointing of oil, baptism of the holy water, clothing of the white garment and candle ceremony

anointing of oil

baptism of holy water

clothing of white garment

candle ceremony

after that, the priest brought us to the main altar where we did the renunciation of sin and profession of faith

the paparazzi =D

for the blessing of the parents and godparents and final words, we went to the side altar

after the baptism, i love him already! he wasnt that horrible pala =D. he just had a very special program planned to welcome kian to the house of God =D. and i finally understood then why he didnt want to have 2 babies baptised at the same time!

ok, pichur time!

the guests

with the godparents

photographers

family picture

we didnt have a proper family picture because cayden didnt cooperate! he'd rather run around and play with the other kids. eto na ang pinaka matino!:

kian - pictorial:

we opted to hold the reception in a restaurant. we considered having the event catered at home but i wasnt too keen on the idea as it would have been the most expensive option. with cayden's, my mom did most of the cooking and some friends were assigned specific dishes. when i did the math, the costs of holding the reception at home and having it in a restaurant are not that far off. there wont be the chaos in prep and clearing up, plus the fact we'd be doing a double celebration - these justified the costs.

but finding the right restaurant proved to be difficult. of course, we wanted somewhere affordable, with delicious food and good ambiance. not to mention the dilemma we had when the priest scheduled the christening at 2pm! so it's kinda late for lunch but too early for dinner. what i did was inform our guests not to eat heavy lunch because we'd be having a buffet meal at the reception. and if they were to go to our house early (before the christening) and meeting up there, i will be serving them light snacks (i served: a variety sandwich platter, antipasti platter, grilled chicken, crudites and dips platter, my mom cooked palitaw and made macaroni salad and my sister made gulaman - these also served as after-party food =D). i ended up booking the restaurant at the last minute - less than 2 weeks before the event - because we couldnt decide!

we had the reception at pilgrim house chinese restaurant. as i've said, it was a buffet reception. but it was served differently - you have to order the food from their menu, they will prepare it and serve it when ready, unlike the usual buffet where the food is all out and you just have to stand up and pick from what's served. so it's kinda like a mix between a buffet and a sit-down meal. price is reasonable and food is delicious (although tantan said everything was a tad sweet for him). we stayed at the restaurant for almost 3 hours. there was quite a gap between the main meal and dessert! everyone seemed happy with the food. i definitely was!

the aftermath!

kian's outfit:

the gray vest was tita aiza's gift =D

these are kian's souvenirs, which my sister lovingly wrapped (she also decorated the candles, which we forgot to take pictures of. tsk tsk! - will try to find the used one and post it here later). i ordered them online:

bath salt, bath confetti, pram keyring

and here are kian's gifts (his titos and titas are oh so generous!!!):

thank you, po!

after the reception, most of our guests went back to our house for a little bonding. they did videoke as the priest suspected! yes, he knows that filipinos love to sing to videokes =D

my nephew, adam

ninang twinkie

my cousin, ate anne

it was a really special day for the family, made even more special by all those who joined and celebrated with us in welcoming kian into the christian community. thank you, everyone, again!!

Father's Day

finally, no more weekend OT for tantan! hurray! just as well as it's father's day and you gotta spend it with family, right? that's after 3 weekends (both saturday and sunday!!) of OT work and countless of late night weekdays, even bringing work home. he's trying to save for kian's birthday treat to disneyworld, florida (ok, keeping my fingers crossed that tantan doesnt change his mind lol). 55 hours more and the trip will be covered! bring it on hehe!

ok, im digressing. if you ask tantan what he wants as a gift (be it his birthday, christmas for that matter), he'd say he doesnt need anything as he's got us (naks! pogi points =D). i dont insist on buying him at that point because he really has everything - US! lol. kidding aside, it's difficult to buy him a gift because he's not into clothes (he's still wearing his shirts from 10 years ago! if you look at his pictures, his shirts are all repeats!!!) - he specifically instructed me not to buy him clothes. he's into gadgets but he already has most of it. and he'd kill me if i buy something very expensive. what i usually do is let him WANT something and then buy it for him (if he ever wants anything!). oh wait, for father's day, i bought him a pair of hi-cut chuck taylor's so the whole family has one (sya na lang wala =D). sana lang kasya!

anyhoo, to celebrate, we ate out. since im craving for japanese food again, we had japanese! to our amazement, cayden saw the chopsticks and said, "chop-tik" excitedly. we dont use chopsticks at home and he's never heard us say that. but of course, he saw it on disney's special agent oso once or twice - the tv is really doing him good! lol - and picked it up! he even knew how to hold it!!! of course he still doesnt know how to properly use it so he ended up putting food in between the "sticks". aint he cute? =D. he didnt wanna eat with either spoon or fork, chop-tik only!

kian, on the other hand, got bored in his buggy so he had to be carried. he would try to reach thingies on the table. we think he's ready to eat! he wants to eat!!! of course, he's still too young for solid food. im thinking of starting him next month, when he's 5m/o (same age cayden started his solids). but tantan said to leave it till his 6th month. we'll see....

after the meal, we stopped by the mall to do some shopping (and you'd think it's mother's day instead lol!). it's a happy happy day, indeed!!!

to daddy tantan, happy happy father's day!!! you're the best husband, father and provider for us! i know you'll move heaven and earth just to give us what we need (and a little of what we want lol)! we love you very very very very much!!!

entertaining cayden when he got bored

ok, this is just you (we didnt make you wear that!!)!
he left his sunnies in the car bec it was cloudy when we got to the parking area. but when we got out of the restaurant, it was sunny and he said he's sensitive to light (*rolls eyes*). since my mom's the only one who brought sunglasses, he borrowed hers. he didnt care that he looked ludicrous!!