reminiscing Tokyo

(Click on the image for a larger view)
I was browsing some old photos for my scrapbooking project (yup, mami is into it lately! oh, digital that is...) when I stumbled upon these cute photos of Luke while playing with a stray feather he found on the wide grounds of Shinjuku Gyoen in Tokyo, Japan.

Taken last December 2006, these photos make me want to go back to this nice place and feel the cool breeze all over. Oh, how I wish there's a winter in the Philippines, even just for one whole day...

How's life in Pinas?

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

Wrestling with Pooh-san

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

Visiting Dadi's campus

Sometime in January, Dadi brought Luke with him when he needed to attend a meeting. After the official work, Luke enjoyed strolling around the big campus, with no disturbances from other people, which is common on a regular school day.

Enjoy his photos:




The University of Tokyo
Yayoi, Bunkyu-ku, Japan
January 2007

Hokkaido spree: snowman

Unlike in Wakkanai, it was fine (=sun is up and bright, no snowfall) in almost all days of our stay in Fukagawa. On days when we're not busy going here and there, we played on the meter-high snow just beside our friends' house.

Who is scarier -- Luke with big red hands or the snowman, aka snowdevil? Surely, we didn't want to be on a Halloween mood on a white Christmas season, eh. ;)

Do you think Luke is taller than the entrance to the snowhouse? Or he is just scared to go inside? ;)

Luke didn't have any water-proof gloves, but despite his already wet and cold cloth gloves, he went on playing trying to make a snowball, to no avail.



Fukagawa, Hokkaido
December 2006

Hokkaido spree: toboganning

Our first try was a bit short because I was complaining of freezing hands and feet (yup, it's true), so we had our second chance (the place is very near our friend's house) with Dadi enjoying most of it. Of course, it was still freezing cold but we managed to stay a little longer than the first one. However, Luke didn't want to try again and he was crying all the time so we just watched Dadi had the time of his life (pardon the not-so-clear photo). And there were skiers in the area that made me a bit hesitant to try again. Nonetheless, we had fun and enjoyed having our pictures taken, too.

Let's toboggan!




Fukagawa, Hokkaido
December 2006

Hokkaido spree: snowboarding

This is our own version of the sport, k? I recently learned (oh, my innocence) that this is called toboganning (also tobogganing) made for those who are not brave enough to go into the real snowboarding or skiing feat flying high up. We just wanted to get a feel of the excitement of freely gliding down the snowy slope. Screaming, laughing, perspiring. Picture-taking, then freezing to death. ;)




Fukagawa, Hokkaido
December 2006

As light as a feather

Shinjuku Gyoen National Park
Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
December-Autumn 2006

Luke's cooking?

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

Who's behind the camera?

Look who's doin' the shots this time? I guess he doesn't mind the heftiness of the camera, as long as he gets to press the shutter and take a shot at anything. Oh boy, he just loves to press the shutter, that's all. Imitating from how we do it, he tries to near his eyes towards the eyepiece, and gestures to make a shot as if he's a pro.

Mami and Dadi are of course extra careful (and scared) with this new little hobby of Luke towards the precious camera. So, we try our best to keep it from him.

Honestly speaking, taking a candid shot of Luke is getting harder each day. Gone are the easy days of just waiting for him to show his best smile, and presto, I've got a nice shot. Nowadays, it is rather tedious to have a good shot because everytime he sees the camera, he grabs it and enjoys pressing the shutter. So, don't wonder if photos will seldom be displayed in future posts. Ahhh....

Smile...paparazzi has got you! ;)

Bang no more

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!

Spin a win!

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. ;)

Is that ... uhuh

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

Free toys

Surely, my son has enough collection of all sorts of toys -- to play with, scatter around, chipchop, cuddle and bang here and there. But I guess, enough is never enough.

We don't have to buy him new toys everyday, or so often. I've found a clever way of surprising him with ones that are new to him. In the same place that we love to hangout, there are sample toys that children can play with (or even destroy it) anytime of the day. Luke likes it here, no doubt about that. The moment we get out of the elevator, he knew instantly where we are headed to. He would ramble in his stroller wanting to get free of me, and run for his beloved free toys. We can even stay here for the whole day if we want. Luke has the entire section for his playground, and no doubt he's enjoying it a lot. ;)

I know for a fact that this is just a marketing strategy to entice moms like me to buy such toys if their kids like them so much they wanted to bring home. But I'm not gonna give in to that, not for now. My instinct tells me that Luke is pretty happy and satisfied with his free toys for the day, just as much as he enjoys those "regulars" waiting for him at home. ;)

Alin ang naiba?

Alin, alin?
Alin ang naiba?
Sabihin kung alin ...
ang naiba?
******************************************
One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things is not just the same
Can you tell me which thing is not like the others?
Now, it's time to play a game!
Among other things, Luke is fond of playing with our cookingwares, particularly the covered pans/casseroles. He specially likes the sound of the bang when he smashes the cover in one of those. For the aluminums, it's just fine; but for my precious Japanese pot, I am just as scary as I watch him hold the cover up and down with his mighty bang. Oooh, really scary! Luckily, as of this time, my pot is still intact, thanks to Jap's ingenuity for making durable pots. ;)

But he just couldn't get enough of the casseroles. One time, he included in his "bang list" the skillet (with cover). He tried to put the cover on it, but thought that something ain't right, and he started crying and screaming. I just didn't know what to do, till Dadi came in, carried him away to play with other toys.

Oh, boy! Guess that's part of growing up. ;)

A whisper ...

Here's an interesting conversation between Luke and the empty can of milk.

Luke: Hey, there.. come on let's play!
Can: Oh boy! Why me? I'm supposed to be at the trash bin. Don't you want to play with your toys anymore?
Luke: Ssshh... yeah, I know I have lots, but I'm not in the mood to play with them today, so I just stuck them all over there (behind him). C'mon, let's play hide and seek.
Can: Okay, okay. You're the boss! Do I get to hide first?
Luke: Hmm, okay. One...two...three...
Can: (thinking) Oh, if I hide in the trash bin, will he find me there?

You bet! :)

I know what you did in the fridge ;)

Hey, did I just say his fave corner in the house is his closet? Well, that is very true, but only when he is in the room. But whenever he gets into the kitchen or dining area, he never misses to play with the stuffs inside the refrigerator. He can't open (yet) the fridge by himself, so he grabs my hand and motion for me to open it for him. Which, I patiently do so. I justify it as part of his exploration of things around him. Besides, he always sees us opening/closing the fridge so he wants to do it by himself too.

Before I give the fridge to him as his toy, I turned it off first and put out the things that will somehow make the most mess. I should not limit what this little boy can do. One time, I thought he could not open the pack of butter, but he did. And it was too late for me to realise that almost all of the kitchen floor had become a bunch of pancakes with the butter all over. Even in his legs! It was messy, slimy, slippery, oily ... ahh, I had a hard time cleaning!

I just think of the good side of this, that is, it's all part of his development and knowing what things are and how they work.

My corner in the haus

This is Luke's favorite spot in our apartment (or should I say, one of his favorites). This is where his things are stored, carefully arranged, but most of the time, jumbled in its near-worst shape. Just before I could put his clothes in their respective containers, Luke would race against me in trying to get inside the cabinet and mess everything up. He would even stay there for a few minutes, mesmerizing at the calm feeling inside that small space in the house. One time, I tried to close the doors behind him, and he did not even scream or anything of that sort. When I slowly opened it again, I saw him peeking while grinning. Oh, this boy is NOT afraid of the dark. ;)

To make things a little easier for me, I always make sure that the cabinet is closed (he could not open it by himself). So, he just comforts himself by sitting beside it. Just like what he did in this picture, resting on his large unopened pack of diapers.

When not in the room, his other favorites are the washroom and front door where he loves to sit beside the dirty shoes and garbage. Eeeeeiiiooo! ;)

Best buddies