i really love to look at my son's pictures. i'd spend the whole day scanning the picture folders of my laptop in search for the best shots that i intend to share with you. then i chanced upon this photoshop-designed photo of Luke that makes me smile as i remember the time when this pic was taken. he was about 1yr 4mos in this pic -- more than a year ago -- but i could still feel the fantastic shivers of being behind the camera as my son brings out his irresistible smile.
smile with me, folks! ;)
Sometime in June 2006
Kameari, Katsushika-ku
Tokyo, Japan
He enjoys killing the time sitting anywhere around the house...
and on and in the car. ;)
At home in Laguna, Philippines
Sometime in July 2007
No nice and wide parks and playgrounds. No toys to freely play with inside the malls. No traces of fast-running trains. No yummy donuts.
But we have all day to stroll around wide but rough roads enjoying the afternoon wind. The sight of tall and dried grasses may not be as delightful as what we have seen in Japan, but this little boy is superbly happy with his simple life here. Well, isn't it obvious? ;)
At home in Laguna, Philippines
Sometime in April 2007
In this photo, Luke is telling everyone that he has found a new buddy. His name is Ratsky -- simply because he is a rat! ;)
Luke is somehow trying to scare you, probably saying proudly that you should be good to him, otherwise, his friend Ratsky will devour your stuff. ;)
PS: I would like to thank my good students for giving us Ratsky. ;)
At home in Kameari
March 31, 2007
Luke turned 2 last February 26th. Unlike his first birthday, which was rather grand, his 2nd birthday went by with a simple home party graced by a few of our friends. The party was kinda unplanned and we only invited some of our friends two days before the party.
More than the party, we are very happy for our son on his 2nd year. He is growing so fast that sometimes I miss his "younger" days. It was only as if yesterday when I gave birth to him, now he's already running and learning to talk. And he knows how to say NO.
Now that we are going back home, many things will be new to him. New adjustments, new things. He'll have meltdowns for sure, because of all these, but I promise myself to be there by his side to guide him through.
At home in Kameari
Luke's 2nd b-day party
February 2007
Luke is now 2 years old, and still hasn't ditched the bottle in drinking his milk. For some kids his age, the milk bottle has long been thrown away, but for Luke, it is still pretty much part of his daily routine, drinking milk for about 6-8 times in 24 hours -- including at night time.
When will he stop drinking from the bottle? That I can not tell. We will not force him to, rather, let him voluntarily shun away from it. He alone knows when he is ready, and we'll just wait for that time to come.
However, my ordeal of cleaning and sterilizing his bottles has been dragging me to death (note: take this as an overstatement). Yeah, I'm really tired of doing that for the last two years. Imagine -- 2 long years of patiently cleaning a dozen of bottles and keeping them microbe-free. Whew, that's quite a long journey eh!
At home in Kameari
Sometime in March 2007
It is a common knowledge (at least to most of our friends) that we love Pooh-san and his friends. Our love for him is so much that we have a vast collection of anything Pooh-ish. And that includes Pooh-san in varying sizes and in different attire.
In this photo, Luke is happily wrestling with the biggest Pooh-san we have here in Japan (you bet we have another big one back home), and the rest are scattered around our room.
This is a common sight in our house, so just imagine how I manage to put all things in order after every playtime. And please don't ask if I ever get tired of doing so... ya know my answer. ;)
At home in Kameari
Sometime in January 2007
Luke always sees me wearing my pair of red fleece gloves, and he wants to try it on too. And, here's his version -- funny, (a bit) scary, simply innocent. Most of all, he loves wearing it. ;)
One cold December day
At home, 2006
Luke here looks like suman, one of the famous native delicacies in the Philippines made of steamed glutinuous rice wrapped in either coconut or banana leaves.
It is brrrr-y cold nowadays so he is carefully wrapped in fleece blanket to keep himself warm, and thus, protecting him (I hope) from all kinds of cold-season illnesses.
And he likes his wrapping, doesn't he?
At home
Autumn 2006
And what is he cooking? Maybe, bits of his cookies. In a skillet? ;)
And, is that stove-top or floor-top? ;) You might be wondering at how Japan has gone way above and beyond high technology such that even floors are equipped with cooking powers. hahaha! :D
Just wanna make you laugh, guys! Though Luke is dead serious at his cooking. ;)
At home
Autumn 2006
Yeah, we are sorta sticker collector. Any kind will do -- from fancy and elaborate ones to the usual types. And gee, we ran out of albums to place our stickers on. (To be honest, our stickers are not that organized yet, but they are stored in one place, that's for sure.) So, Luke happily stuck a few on his forehead (only one in the pic though), also on his palm and feet. He put one on my forehead too. He also alternately put some on the wall, floor, mirror, practically almost anywhere in the house.
I just love this picture of him -- may not be a perfect shot, but it is a portrait of a young boy enraptured with his sticker forehead. ;)
What else does he collect? Wait and see. ;)
At home
Ordinary autumn day
It's not only the Haagen Dazs Mac Nut flavor that makes it sweet, but more than that is the rare sight of a dad-and-son tandem sharing in one ice cream, and both are eagerly scooping for a tasteful crunch. What more, Dadi's the one using Luke's baby spoon, and Luke's the ordinary one.
Isn't it lovely seeing them eat together, sharing...
But wait! How about Mami? Oh, no problem. She munched a whole cup after taking this shot. ;)
Gone are the days when this young man eagerly smashes the keyboard, where the harder the hit, the happier he was. He's now a grown up, and grown ups don't bang the computer keyboard. ;) Instead, he uses his finger to press a key at random, and pressing it endlessly till you could only see a single letter or two on the screen typed in infinity. ;)
I have this feeling that he's gonna learn how to type his name from the keyboard sooner than expected of his age. When that happens, which I am pretty sure it will, I'll throw a party. Ha! ha! ha!
No doubt a computer savvy in the making!
.jpg)
As a parent, it is just amazing to know that kids like mine are keen at imitating what adults do. Here's a classic example of how observant they are. On a few occasions, Dadi was playing with Luke and (unconsciously) showing him how to spin any rounded thing away. And, much to our surprise, Luke is able to do it by himself, after carefully observing how it is done. I think that started when Luke was about 11 months old. And until now, everytime he sees an object that is relatively new to him, he tries to spin it to his extreme delight, laughing all by himself as if saying, "Yipeey, I did it!".
Hence, the mood of the play nowadays is spinning here and there, even if the object is not spinnable. ;)
.jpg)
Has cleaning been easier with a little help from my enthusiastic toddler?
The moment he sees the mop, he instantly grabs it from me and starts mopping the floor just like a pro. ;) Yeah, you bet he is serious with his work, sportive if you may call it.
But this rush more often ends halfway. Upon seeing me doing other things (coz I can't clean anymore), he frantically drops the mop on the floor and grabs whatever I am holding. And the cycle goes on...
I don't mind not getting my chores done because of my son's "meddling". I am even thankful that he has the heart for doing things on his own, and this assures me that his development is fast on track. ;)
Happy cleaning! ;)
Hey, buddy boy! Is that your new room? How are you gonna sleep in there? Is that an example of what they call "capsule hotel" in Japan?
And why are you holding a laddle? Don't tell me you're cooking in there?
Luke replies, "Nope, mami! I'm just doing an ocular inspection of our bodega and hoping to see a snake in here. Besides, this is a lot better than kapuseru hoteru!" :-)
Ha! ha! ha! ;-)
Ooops, you'll never gonna find a snake inside the house. Only cockroaches! Yikes! But dadi already killed them all. :D
bodega = stockroom
kapuseru hoteru = capsule hotel
.jpg)
I'm sending some of our things home through a balikbayan box, and guess who wants to be in it. ;)
I wonder how much this heavy package would cost me? :)
.jpg)
.jpg)
Alin ang naiba?
Sabihin kung alin ...
ang naiba?
