Out of Town

No. I haven't forgotten avout this blog. I just got tired of updating. But now I'm back.

I won't talk about what happened since my last post because that would be too long. I don't have time for that because I'll be packing.

The family will be going to Batangas for the weekend. We never do this. We have never been on a trip since I was around 11 years old. It's exciting. Obiwan will be going to the beach for the first time! Woot!

Patrick Perez's Birthday Party

Obiwan attended his first birthday party. It was my boss' son's 6th birthday in Blue Whale in Fun Ranch.

Obiwan wasn't used to seeing so many people he didn't know so he wouldn't let go of for practically the whole time we were there. We watched the magic show but a few tricks after, he was already asleep.

He did enjoy the loot bag because it had Mickey Mouse all over it. And he ate a lot of french fries and some chicken fingers.

After the party, we rode a train which went around the Fun Ranch. And we rode the airplane ride.

All in all, it was a great party. I hope next time Obiwan will be more at ease so he can play with some of the other children.

Happy 2nd Birthday Obiwan!

I last posted Oct 30?! With me moving to a different house and a different office, I forgot to update my blog/s.

So Obiwan had his 2nd birthday last Sunday. The plan was for the whole family to go to Manila Ocean Park. I've been there once and I had a great time. While I was there, all I thought about was how happy the place would make Obiwan feel. He loves fish. Well at least the ones on screensavers. He hasn't seen any fish swimming in aquariums but I know he'd love those. I'll also bring him to the other section in Manila Ocean Park where they have jellyfish. The light makes the jellyfish seem like they're glowing.

But alas, he was sick since Friday. Fever was on and off. I brought him to the pediatrician on Saturday and found out that his throat was inflamed which caused his temperature to change. Sometimes he would be his usual self, running all over the place, then the next minute he would be down and sweet and won't want to move.

Luckily on the day of his birthday, his temperature was normal. I decided that we'll just eat out at Trinoma. He loves Trinoma. He can even say it and he knows what it looks like. Well, he knows there's a merry-go-round there. Maybe we'll just go to Manila Ocean Park next time.

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I gave him a toy car for his birthday. He loves cars. He reads the newspaper just to look at pictures of cars.

Happy Halloween

Our company, Stream Global Services, had Trick or Treat for the employees children last Oct 29. Since Obiwan was old enough, I brought him along. Tita Maggie bought him a costume but it didn't fit so he just brought a hat shaped like a jack-o-lantern. But he didn't wear it because it irritated him.

What was supposed to happen was that my mom and sister would drop Obiwan at the office with my brother. We would go around the office trick or treating with the other children then we'll meet up again after.

It didn't go the way I thought it would. We rode the elevator from the 1st to the 12th floor and Obiwan was surprised. He must've been confused why he felt like he was moving up but when he looks around, everything stands still. Turns out that the registration was not at the 12th floor so we had to ride the elevator again to the 22nd floor. This time he was more stressed. I'm thinking his ears might've been popping and he might not have felt it before.

So we went with the group of children to go to my floor at the 17th. This time, Obiwan was crying loudly as we rode down then he'd promptly stop when we're off. We went around the floor to get some candies. He didn't want to walk so I carried him the whole way. We went around and when he felt like we were near the elevator, he started crying again and holding on to me tight. We stayed at the 17th floor instead. When he was a little bit more at ease, we went directly to the elevators and went down and left the building. The whole time, Obiwan was bawling and crying his eyes out. It's going to be some time before we start riding an elevator again.

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After that, we went to Starbucks with the family then we ate lunch. They then brought me home and Tita Xylee and Ninong Mogs' mother was there. We were supposed to stay a bit so Obiwan can socialize with them but then there were also dogs in the house, one of which was barking loudly. It scared Obiwan and he didn't want to enter the house. He'd been to the zoo and he's generally not scared of big animals let alone a small dog. So out visit was short lived.

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The whole experience must've been stressful for him but his family was always with him so at least he knows that we will always be there whenever he feels scared. Though it's just fitting that he be a little bit scared because it's halloween except that I didn't foresee that it would be caused by an elevator and a small Maltese dog.

Obiwan's First Haircut

Obiwan's hair is really thin and it's only yesterday that he got his first haircut. He had his haircut at Cuts 4 Tots in Trinoma. He was very brave. The only reason he was complaining so much was because he was itchy from all the hair around his neck and face. Now he's semi-bald. Hopefully his hair grows even and hopefully it grows thicker.

Pictures to follow... As always...

Obiwan Vocabulary

Obiwan has been speaking for a few months now but is still unable to say sentences. He understands people around him but he can't articulate what he wants to well. Sometimes he tells stories about what happened or what he saw but it's mostly all vowels and him pointing to things.

These are a few words he can actually say and what he means:

People
Daddy = Daddy
Mommy/Mama/Ma = Mommy (He calls my mother Mommy)
Papa = Papa (He used to call my father lolo but everyone else calls him Papa so he just did the same)
Toto = Tito
Shasha = Tita Sasha
Tota = Tita
Dada = Ate Marie
Berly = Yaya Jonalyn
Tis = Tess
Pidi = Freddy

Food
Kukay = Cereal (It was originally for Coco Crunch but he calls any cereal kukay)
Pantit = Pancit (He loves pancit)
Didi = Milk

Others
Meng/Memeng = Cat
Pati = Dove
Pis = Cockroach
Pis Ptay = Dead cockroach
Shus/Patos = Shoes
Vroom vroom = Car
Bus = Bus

Zoo pictures

Zoo pictures are here.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2061155&id=1054624827&l=5c44dc21a3

Obiwan goes to the Zoo

I wanted to bring Obiwan to the zoo but it was raining so we had to settle for Ark Avilon at Tiendesitas. It's an indoor zoo so need not worry about the rain. Obiwan enjoyed it a lot. It was the first time he saw lions, tigers, snakes, rabbits, etc. At first he wouldn't let go of me because he was scared, but after a while, he got used to it. It was also the first time he got to ride a merry-go-round in Trinoma. Anyway, the pictures should tell the story better. (Which I'll upload soon.)

Ecopark Pictures

It's been while since I've posted pictures. Here are a few from our recent family day.

Fathers' Day 2010

Fathers' Day 2010 is uneventful. It was the same as any other Sunday. Probably because Obiwan can't greet me yet.

La Mesa EcoPark

The family went to the La Mesa EcoPark last Sunday. Since Obiwan started walking, the family has been going to these family trips and this is one of them. I guess Obiwan made us a family again. We were a family before but our bonding then consisted of watching a movie in HBO together with a bowl of popcorn.

Anyway, EcoPark was really crowded. It was Sunday after all. We ran out of huts or tables to rent and we ended up settling on the grass. It really was a picnic. Then we rented a bike with a sidecar. Then my sisters and brother went over to the zip line and wall climbing area. Obiwan and I didn't go since we can't do that anyway. We just strolled around the grounds. Then I was tired and I gave Obiwan to my mother. As I lay on the ground under the trees, I fell asleep. When I woke up, we were about to leave.

For what it's worth, it was fun. But we don't have any plans of doing it again.

Gymboree

Ninang Mady gave us some coupons for Gymboree a few months ago and we were able to use it for the first time last weekend. It was great! He loved the slide. And he kept going up and down it.

Obiwan and I both were dead tired after one hour of playing. An earthquake couldn't have waken him up when he arrived home. I on the other hand, had soar muscles for a couple of days after. It really was a gym.

I don't have any pictures though. Again, since he learned to crawl, it's impossible to leave him alone and feel safe that he won't hit his head somewhere. Let alone now when he's already running.

Endorsement

I'm concerned about Obiwan's future. I want Obiwan to be a proud Filipino and to have opportunities available to him.

Which is why Obiwan and I endorse Dick Gordon for president for the coming May 10, 2010 Philippine presidential elections.

Pilyo

Obiwan has known how to run for a few weeks now. And running after him is a full-time job. He has broken several flower pots and pails and whatever he can get his hands on. I guess aside from saving for his tuition, I'd also better start saving for bail.

A Walking Baby

It's been a few weeks since Obiwan has been walking. Before, you'd stand him up and he'd get back down and crawl. Now, you'd chase him every where because he's already walking fast enough to say that he's running. He chases cats on the street, not that he ever catches them, but he tries and it's cute. He probably would run away if a cat came too close but none ever do.

Bringing the blog back to life...

I just realized that it's been almost 2 months since I updated this blog. Readership went from around 20 per day down to just 1 per day. Well, I was really busy.

Rewind - Part II

On a lighter note, Obiwan turned 1 year old last December 5. I have a 1 year old boy. We celebrated his birthday last December 6, 2009 at Jay-J's Inasal in Metrowalk, Pasig City. It's far from a normal 1 year old birthday but I didn't want to have a children's party for Obiwan. For one thing, I didn't have the budget for it. Children's parties are unbelievable expensive. And the guest turn out would be like that of his baptism, it's not worth it. And my closest friends do not have children of their own or at least not that many that would constitute a children's party. And because Obiwan won't be able to join any of the games anyway.

So, I decided to have a lunch with family and the closest friends instead. Basically, it's my immediate family, my aunt from Bulacan, Obiwan's godparents, friends from high school who I'm still in touch with and their plus ones. Less than 20 people were there. But it's great. I seldom get to have everyone close to me in one place. These are the people I know will be part of Obiwan's life in the future.

Obiwan had a great time. He was happy with all the attention he got. He was his day and everyone made sure he knew it. He hasn't quite mastered opening gifts on his own but he's getting there. People sang to him and he had a cake. All in all, it was a very enjoyable time for everyone.

Pictures to follow...

Rewind - Part I

I owe this blog an update. A lot has happened at work and I've been preoccupied with the changes that although I haven't forgotten about Obiwan, blogging time hasn't been that much. It just so happened that I woke early today and I have some time. It was either blog or do laundry.

Around mid November Obiwan's mother asked to visit him. I haven't talked about Obiwan's mother in this blog on purpose. Frankly because I didn't know what to say. But this time I guess there's no getting around it. For the purpose of this blog and since I can't keep referring to her as Obiwan's mother, we'll call her J.

Now, J asked to visit Obiwan. This scared me. Before Obiwan was born, everyone who knew I was going to get custody was asking me if J was sure because she might change her mind when she saw him. It was like everyone was watching the same soap opera when the heroine would be separated from her child and would go through great lengths of getting back the child. I didn't want to give in to that thought but it really is a scary thought.

But I didn't want to be a jerk and if she wanted to see him, maybe nothing bad would come of it. So I said yes. If I'm not mistaken, it was a Monday when we decided that I was going to bring J to visit Obiwan. Both my parents were home and there was a little bit of tension and awkwardness in the whole house. It was the first time for J and my dad to meet. He was out of the country when we picked Obiwan up from the hospital. My dad can be a little intimidating when meeting him for the first time. He really wanted to give a good impression to J. My mom was also a little on edge. And I saw that J felt a little out of place being in someone else's house.

Basically it was hours of small talk and half-meant laughter and awkward smiling. They were strangers to each other but the situation called for people to be closer than they were comfortable with. And I was in the middle of it. But the day soon ended with Obiwan still in his playpen at home. And everyone breathed a sigh of relief that their worst fears were just figments of their imagination. But then everyone would realize that it was just 1 day and everything would relive itself the next time J visited.

This has been too long already. Part II next time.

Happy 1st Birthday Obiwan

Obiwan is 1 year old! How time flies.

Obiwan's Birthday Wishlist

Obiwan told me what he wanted for his birthday. So if anyone plans on giving him a gift, there are a few options available.

Nintendo Wii

Macbook

2-BR Condominium Unit

McDonald's Franchise

and

World Peace