Batang Thomas Atbp.

My recent computer drawings

2011-05-22T03:07:00.000-07:00

Drawings inspired by Mighty Pirates and Club Penguin and Inazuma eleven.

Heto na si Bunso!!! :)

2011-01-20T11:02:00.000-08:00

These photos show Bunso from birth until early January 2011. This means we already owe you a second batch because Bunso has happily changed a bit more since then! Suspense! (At lagi, opportunity po ulit para magpasalamat -- salamat sa inyo at ganito natin nakikita ngayon si Bunso!) :)

With doting Kuya --

-- and doting Ninang, Kuya Teddy Bear and Ate Friend --

This colorful gym from Auntie, Uncle and Tita really makes him smile as during this first time he was laid on it :)

First Christmas -- he was definitely interested in gazing at these colors by our door.

An earlier shot with doting Kuya -- during his first week if we remember right.

Shot during one of his check-ups with one of the many doctors we brought him to before the operation --

Day 1 photos:

Bilad sa araw --

The tiniest feet in the room --

-- more to come! :)

Ilan pang pahabol tungkol kay Kuya

2011-01-18T21:12:00.000-08:00

May ilan pang pahabol tungkol kay Kuya! -- mga lumang 'teamwork' na artwork...

Heto siya noong bagong panganak circa 2002 - may hawig sila ni Bunso (syempre!) :)

Ala-ala ng La Medalla, Iriga kasama si Ate Pinsan --

Tumutulong kay Tatay magpintura ng aming bughaw na aparador -- pansinin, naka-shades!

Nakahagilap din kami ng larawan niyang enjoy sa noise barrage gimmick ng pre-elections 2010

Jericho March!

Nitong Summer Bit 3

2010-11-23T18:20:00.000-08:00

Hanggang sa mga huling pahabol na ito sa "Si Kuya bago dumating si Bunso", marami pa rin kaming naaalalang moments na di pa nasasali.

Isa na yung pagsama niya sa Jericho March bago mag- Eleksyon 2010. With Pagbabago! People's Movement for Change as one of its main players, nagtipun-tipon sa Jericho March ang iba't ibang civil society groups. Tatlong beses inikutan ang Commission on Elections building para iparamdam ang vigilance ng mamamayan sa panahon ng eleksyong inaasahang dulo na ng Arroyo administration. Nag-enjoy si Kuya maki-march kasama si Loloheart, Auntie Sister at Tay -- laluna dahil nag-iingay gamit ang samutsaring gadget gaya ng mga kawayan, triangles, musical instruments, atbp.

Samantala, heto pa'ng photos ng mga nadescribe na sa Bit 2 -- ang kanyang swimming lessons,

office pals

at beloved cousins Tay side (minus the panganay na cousin na mailap sa camera, he he).

Isa pang precious -- yung lumang tren na pamana ni Loloheart sa kanya. Inumpisahan na nilang kabitan ng pangremedyong parts (floppy disk boxes, floppy disks, etc.) --

Nitong Summer Bit 2

2010-11-23T00:04:00.000-08:00

Last two bit-sets bago iintrodyus si Bunso. Wala namang napakalaking nagbago sa buhay ni Kuya hanggang bago lumabas si Bunso. Tuluy-tuloy lang lumawak ang mundo niya kaya nadagdagan ang mga dating interes.

He still loves to read (though kapag pinapadoble namin sa pagbabasa ng school notes niya ay may kaunting reaksyon -- which he transforms into fun so he ends up rapping his notes instead of plainly reading them aloud :)).

Still loves Thomas and 'setting-up' his years-old stuff and doing his good-old monologues. Only he has integrated into his train stories penguins and soccer players -- which form part of his current loves, we'll see.

Still loves to draw as inspired by his current favorites. We think Einstein Christensen's Faber Castell videos that came with cds which were gifts titos, titas and friends inspired him to be more playful with his work. The text might look familiar -- book titles, his options in attempting to describe his theme, which would also be inspired by what he reads or watches or plays online.

So with that he loves to write -- if you'd call making up his versions of his favorite characters' stories that -- along with scribblings like this one from time-to-time, "documenting" stuff.

Before we found out what Bunso's gender was, this Kuya decided he preferred Baby to be a boy because he already has lots of sisters at the office -- officemates' kiddos -- one of whom would be this very lovable little girl.

Of course he also has a favorite Kuya at the office; in the meantime allow us to locate a photo of theirs :)

When in good health -- meaning when he's not coughing and sneezing with asthma or allergic rhinitis -- which unfortunately wasn't so often during this year's earlier half -- Kuya gets to visit Loloheart and Lolaheart. It's always a treat despite the relatively long travel to the province at the outskirts of Manila -- fresher air, a semblance of peace and quiet.

Itong park na ito ay isa sa (samutsari at napakaraming) simpleng joys nina Loloheart at Lolaheart. Madalas kasama nila si Trick, ang canine Tito ni Batangthomas, sa pamamasyal :)

Isa pa sa simple joys nila ang mapasadahan ng masahe ng maliliit na kamay ni little Kuya with a pangpmasaheng gadget :)

And before Grade 2 ends Grade 1. He sat among these kids on Recognition day -- artsy photos courtesy of Batangthomas' Tay by the way -- and there go our little Kuya with happy grandparents Ma and Pa.

Finally here are among his most recent loves -- Animator vs. Animation which he and Kuya Ots pursued reading on after officemate Tito Edong introduced the interesting presentation to Tay which Tay presented to us. This is his version done on Paint.

Another would be cool Club Penguin which Nay also appreciates for the cool soundtrack -- this would be Batangthomas' version too, on Paint.

Last but not the least, Inazuma 11. The cartoon soccer drama that led our little Kuya to love soccer and... sing Japanese. Nay and Tay appreciate the drama and values, too -- but we had to decide cutting his daily viewing to strictly once a week only because we realized that we have to continuously modify the balancing act as his interests--and focus--may be affected if we parents don't watch it.

This simply deserves special mention when talking about things that make Kuya beam, all excited and laughing boisterously despite the usual little fights, harutan, tampuhan and occasional long-time-no-sees -- Kuya's cousins, beefed up by the presence of Tay's Ma & Pa, siblings, in-laws. The latter photo would be that of an afternoon they spent together while waiting for the new Bunso to be taken out of Nay's belly :)

Finally, the other major major bit nitong summer until before Kuya was struck with chicken pox would be his swimming lessons with Coach Herman. It's significant in that he'd finally overcome his apparent fear of water -- at least to a certain extent. Coach Herman, a Lozada instructor, happens to also be a psychologist, counselling highschool students on weekdays. So somewhat he knew how to psyche little Kuya up to come into the water -- they trained in the 6-feet deep portion of either the olympic-size Philippine Army or Marines training pool. We hope to be able to see Kuya hurdle it through to ultimately overcome his anxiety with regard to going into the deeper pools when at play.

Nitong Summer Bit 1

2010-07-09T19:11:00.001-07:00

Nitong Summer, nadiskubre ng magpinsan ni Batangthomas at pinsang Kuya niya ang MTV ng 21 Guns ng Greenday sa Youtube. Akala nya si Adam Lambert si Billy Joe Armstrong kaya lalo siyang naging interesado. Di nagtagal kabisado na niya yung kanta, at nitong birthday nina Loloheart at Lolaheart ay kinantahan niya nito sila. Kinakanta-kanta rin niya ang "Know Your Enemy" na parang "Ikaw na May Baril" ni Joey Ayala. Nakakatuwa ang mga kanta ng Greenday dahil ang ilan ay social commentaries -- at dahil interesado si Batangthomas, nakakatulong sa pagpapaliwanag sa kanya sa mga lagim at kaganidang nagsasapanganib sa ating mundo.

Salamat Anak, itong American Idiot version ay isa sa mga paborito ngayon ni Nanay. Naiiyak ako sa ganda ng mga boses ng mga umawit.

Itong "Nitong Summer" bits ay tangka namin ni Tatay na ireconstruct ang highlights ng summer ni Batangthomas bago magkuwento tungkol sa kanyang nakakaaliw (kahit pa anong nakakapagod sa Nay at Tay, haaaaay) na buhay Grade 2. Sana nga ma-keep-up namin ito, kasabay ng pagsusulat ng 'bits' sa development ng munting anghel na tatawag ng "Kuya" kay Batangthomas. :)

Back on track

2010-03-12T21:42:00.000-08:00

Batangthomas is back on track, although we haven't seen his bone doctor yet six months after he was last checked on. Today we're on rigorous reviewing for his final exams (well... mostly because we aren't able to to do it on a daily basis because of our work schedule -- we are really all spent usually when we get home). We now send him to school where he walks by himself from the gate through the school grounds up to the 2nd floor where his section holds classes. He dances wackily and runs like crazy although there are times when he'd complain of leg fatigue. He's consistently been on the honor roll :) Here are some of his recent 'works'-- :)

Other than his 7th birthday celebration, he went out on three rather memorable events with family as soon as his broken thighbone was broken no more: One is a family trip, his Tatay's side, with grandparents Papa and Mama, his cousins and Tiyo and Tiyas to Bicol, where he first learned to appreciate the farm and the countryside's crisp cool air (although for some reason it didn't help in preventing a major asthma attack). His favorite thing to do was ask permission "Pwede po ba kaming maglakbay?", request to wear Mama's boots, and leisurely trek the surroundings of Papa and Mama's hut looking for dragonflies with his cousins.

Second would be his mid-November field trip with teachers, classmates and prep-school friends. The kids were taken to the Crocodile Farm in Paranaque, Kids Power and Manila's Museong Pambata, and shown Lights and Sounds on Rizal at the Luneta Park. I think the school did a good job in planning a mix of the biological and social sciences exposure for the kids. In particular the Museong Pambata is a both a fun, educational and historical treat for kids.

The other would be his December 31 date with Loloheart and Lolaheart (who rarely goes out on trips due to the condition of her pelvis/right thigh) , where we were treated to Ongpin's MXT's (formerly Maxim's Tea House) super-generous combo meals (P75-P95 for a quarter leg of chicken, rice, pancit canton, iced tea plus) . The afternoon was wonderfully concluded when we chanced upon an old Davenport train displayed along unused rails just outside Star City along Roxas Boulevard on the way home. I'm a bit frustrated that we cannot find Batangthomas' photos pretend-driving the train or standing by its door as if he were the conductor. He really enjoyed that moment and the silver-lined clouds behind the pictures we took made that afternoon even more symbolic and memorable. (Photos from the internet -- the train in Star City looks close to the one below, only it was painted red and had black wheels.)

Batangthomas@7: Thanksgiving mode

2010-02-25T06:40:00.000-08:00

5 & 6 December, 2009. Batangthomas not only celebrated his birthday that weekend. It was also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be with family and closest friends' in Thanksgiving mode. It was also an opportunity to thank his classmates (we wrote a letter thanking the teachers, too) for the warmth, support and encouragement they gave Batangthomas. From the days when we brought a wheelchair (lent by one of Loloheart's closest friends) and carried him all the way up the stairs, to his saklay (crutches ) week to the following week when he insisted walking to his classroom without us supporting him by the hand left and right, his adviser and classmates cheered him on from time to time. They welcomed him with applause the first day he entered the classroom and walked to his seat all by himself and that really gave him a moral boost that his ear-to-ear smile and twinkling eyes gave away that very moment. Thank you Lolos and Lolas, Ninongs and Ninangs for making that weekend possible!

A number of things about that weekend were for us extraordinary: having been able to gather Batangthomas' cousins, workmates' kids, Batangthomas' classmates & our closest friends' kids in a bunch; the treat those two afternoons were and how we were even able to extend Jollibee goodies to neighbors and friends and how that became extended greetings to other bday celebrants on Tay's side namely (Lolo) Pa, Ate A, and Ninong Padhem; the beautiful Thomas cake which Red Ribbon printed on using a design we sent; the wonderful cakes baked by La Gelay na pinag-tig-isa-isa ng December celebrants Ninong Doosch, Ninang Abs, Tay & Batangthomas...

Batangthomas and his cousins are already fortunate to have such loving, doting Lolos and Lolas. So it was an even more pleasant plus when his Saturday Thanksgiving treat was graced by his friends' and classmates' Lolos and Lolas also!

For sure Batangthomas had lots of fun, and the cards and greetings and gifts that followed -- PLUS the precious photos so diligently taken by Ninang Doc, other Titos and Nay/ Tay-- serve as valuable reminders of that weekend...

Phineas & Ferb theme song written down

2009-09-03T23:58:00.000-07:00

While I was scanning these I finally got the story out of Batang Thomas. He wrote the lyrics of "Today's gonna be a great day", theme song of one of his current Disney faves "Phineas & Ferb" in between his Science, Filipino & Math subjects in class. Here it is, unedited (so Tay had to point out the correct way to spell mispelled words). More or less we can use them to sing-along now :)

Writing down the lyrics of his favorite songs has been one of his favorite things-to-do; he also did this during our long stay in the hospital. He also likes creating 'booklets' -- 4-pages of drawings accompanied by text. Here's another from the 'regular menu', ehehe:

We were amused by the 'front and back' concept, which includes 'The Fat Controller' waving hello. :)

It's been quite a wait.

2009-08-20T02:06:00.000-07:00

We even counted down to two weeks too early.

But just this morning, our little one made it to their Linggo ng Wika parade. Today's exactly a week after he made it to school on time for the first periodical exams. Uncast.

(The fiberglass-cast was finally removed Wednesday of last week.)

Weren't we all excited for him to go back to school! It wasn't difficult getting used to an earlier start-the-day routine (preparing stuff from 3:50am, waking him up at 4:30am and carrying him to school at 5:30am).

He'd appear all that dependent and clingy from home all the way up to his classroom on the second floor. But once on his seat, he'd nod repeatedly and reassuringly at us as if saying, "Sige na po, makakaalis na po kayo." We continue to be touched by the simple ways his classmates and teachers welcome him, and especially by some of his classmates' constant gestures of warmth and concern towards him.

And so mornings end with his all-excited high-pitched rundown of how school was (competing with the noise of mostly tricycles bringing pupils home), eyes twinkling with his stories about his new classmates and their subjects and teachers. Bawat tanghali nitong nakaraang linggo, nakakatuwang nakakaiyak na finally, he's back to school!

At home, his 'creations' continue--

"Harold's spinning blade"

"Neil the new engine"

"Decker gets in trouble"

"Tracks of Sodor"

"Harold's helipad"

However, we realize that even if his thighbone has regrown and healed, he wouldn't, couldn't readily walk because the cast had apparently stiffened the flesh surrounding his knee. He's still apprehensive about using the healed leg.

But with constant attempts to practice stepping with that leg's foot, gradually increasing pressure on each step (doctor's instruction), lots of loving advice and encouragement coming from all directions, Tatay's supervision of regular exercises and massage as well as treating him as an uncast child (no more trays, no more special eating corners, no more bedpan and urinal, etc.), we hope that indeed he will be walking again in no time.

Again, thank you all for everything. :)

Stuff@6: Detailed line drawings

2009-08-08T01:13:00.001-07:00

Batangthomas hasn't outgrown Thomas and Friends. But at 6 and 1/2, his interest in it has developed from merely watching the show, fancying sets and using his own sets out of Thomas & Friends & non-Thomas & Friends toys in his 'monologues'.

On Fathers' Day he wrote on his card for Loloheart "Thomas Learns a Lesson" -- his first very own written short story. Also at this stage, we noticed that he's been paying much attention to each engine's details. No, not just how many wheels and how short or what color their funnels and boilers are -- but how different each engine's coupling rod, dome, what type of engine they are (Doncaster? tender engine?), etc. He also tries to show the facial expressions on the engine characters' profiles. He expresses this evolving interest in engines' external details thru his line drawings:

He's begun making Thomas & Friends line-drawing comics too:

According to him, that's how Gordon 'the mightiest engine's' coupling rod should be.

Ya, he hasn't outgrown Thomas. He just tends to mix it up with his other recent favorites. For example --

On another note, he says:

Paborito rin niyang idrowing sina Sponge Bob. Maihahambing na sa dati niyang versions :)

Isa pa nga pala sa mga aklat na gustung-gusto niya ang 'The Spectacular Tree', kwento tungkol sa isang puno ng acacia sa University Avenue:

His Grade 1 Teachers saw his drawings for the first time when they came to our residence to facilitate our son's preliminary exams. They remarked that he's very much suited for the Art Club. Kaya lang kahit ilang beses tanungin, sa Math Club pa rin niya gustong sumali. :)

@6: Silver lining

2009-07-14T08:18:00.000-07:00

While we were finalizing this entry, Batang Thomas himself insisted that a glimpse of his cast must be offered here. So here they are, showing him drawing and writing on his last day at the hospital, two days after being cast.

In sharing these we are focusing on his recovery -- which is as well ours -- which he fills with grins and laughter while creating and imagining, scribbling and reading, learning words, asking questions, watching his favorites and so on (and of course not to mention the various levels of 'kakulitan' that make us reach stress points, ehehe) all within and after his school-at-home mornings. In other words, very much being his normal self, except for his temporary, limited physical ability.

Again, these lines from one of Batang Thomas' earlier song-favorites:

"Every cloud is silver-lined even when it rains
So don't be too downhearted as things are bound to change
All you have to do is wear a smile and you will find
The sun will shine..."

We turned Batang Thomas' hospital bed around to face the window so he could see the beauty of the sky.

Light fell softly into the room and provided subtle spotlight on these: (1) clay pendants Batang Thomas created, inspired by an entry in a Tita's book-gift, "World Art"; and (2) paper cranes, which Batang Thomas' Titas and Aunts began to make (a target of 1,000) to have a beloved one's One wish granted. Making the paper cranes was infectious as we, Batang Thomas, and his cousins began habitually folding them, too, as well as some of the hospital's nurses. We were happy to give some away as Thank You tokens (whenever we remembered to :)).

Batang Thomas delighted in the many books he received while in the hospital! Only among his favorites were (of course) thinner versions of his Thomas Collection of Stories (from his Ninang Tita and Auntie) and "How the birds got their colors (an Aboriginal story from another Ninang Tita)". He took these pictures himself with the camera phone (with which all other pics here were taken) passed on to his Tatay by Tito Daddy (maraming salamat po!):

Towards our third week in the hospital, we knew Batang Thomas was feeling less pain and more normal than ever because he went back to creating and drawing fun stuff like these (some with magnastix, pontiki, clay, magic snake and crayons and a magic slate from Lolo, Auntie Lola, Titas & Titos, Ninangs & Ninongs).

He made this thank you card for an Uncle. He thought the text up -- following his fathers' day cards style where he gave the recepients titles. He dubbed his Tatay "Mr. Infinite Work" for the ability to do an endless list of things, Papa "Mr. Sarap-Luto" for making for him the most sumptuous tortang talong, and Loloheart "Mr. Scientist" for being a physicist and showing him scientific stuff. More on these thank you cards later, hopefully. :)

His idea: the first image is how he originally made it. Then he asked us to bring it in front of the mirror so we could read the label properly.

This is a 'family portrait' by him of Nanay and Nanay's Tatay and Nanay. His Lolo mounted it on a frame beneath a clock and put it beside Lola's bedside.

He loooooooves the Eraserheads! He is a big fan of Ely Buendia (whom he first idolized liking Pupil's 'Disconnection Notice') and of Raymund Marasigan, especially the latter's drumming prowess which he aims to imitate, pati facial expression minsan! The following is his image of 'The Final Set'.

The following are more clay creations by his Kuya and Ate cousins who were his most frequent visitors and really brightened up his days. Like theirs, your visits, thoughts, greetings, gifts and notes all pave our loved ones' roads to complete healing. Again, thank you very, very much!

@6: Summer artworks

2009-07-14T08:05:00.000-07:00

This was supposed to be the 1st assignment in Batang Thomas' summer arts workshop. But we desisted from continuing because the class was simply too big, and the ventilation wasn't so great. So we urged him to push through with it at home. He drew most of the fruits and took coloring advice from Nay and Tay.

But this underwater picture was totally his idea (although he still did ask questions for it from time to time...)

Stuff@6: More from school

2009-05-10T09:13:00.000-07:00

A bit more of schoolwork from his Preparatory days: A piece of good news for Batang Thomas' Ninongs and Ninangs -- he loved doing these artworks, declared that his favorite subject is Math, and ended up getting the "Best in Observation (Language & Science, from what the curriculum contained)" award, which we didn't know about until Prep graduation day.

Stuff@6: Clay

2009-05-10T08:14:00.000-07:00

We used the first photo for Mothers Day bookmarks this year.

Batang Thomas put 'eyelets' on some of our Christmas 2008 gifts to him -- two P12 ea wooden train parts. He put some on Thomas, too, for perfect wooden trains' bonding. :)

This one is his clay version of a (Divisoria) Bakugan (Python?):

Stuff@6

2009-05-09T09:46:00.000-07:00

Before graduating from Preparatory, Batang Thomas began having some of his bad teeth extracted by a dentist Tita. Teeth ARE an interesting bunch, with baby teeth roots spreading out to make way for the new ones, the portion of permanent molars under the gums growing as the child grows, while the outer portion's size is final. Look at all those Batang Thomas teeth care of a recent panoramic xray!

Batang Thomas has taken into recording his favorite videos on the camerafone -- and even taking photos of them, which, we had to tell him, was redundant and unneccessary. Nevertheless, some of his concepts amuse -- such as this one, where he positioned a wooden Thomas seemingly watching a scene from "The Great Discovery."

This would be a better take of the clay artwork to be shown in future posts. He should've been asked earlier, before another photo of this was distributed and annotated, what it's supposed to be called. Sabi nya, it's a "spinning clay blade", an edition of "clay gear".

Pre-school bits

2009-01-28T01:25:00.000-08:00

Only three or so months from now and Batang Thomas' pre-school days will be over. It's been quite a colorful schoolyear! But let's reserve an elaboration of that for later. For now, here's a glance at Batang Thomas' school artworks which he along with his classmates made specifically for 'Preschool Month", where there were also oratorical contests and a kiddie literary parade.

The prep classrooms were turned into makeshift galleries of kiddie art projects --

This is a homework answering the question "what community helper would you like to be when you grow up?". It took Batang Thomas a while before finally deciding on one job.

A neat prep version of an Art Attack project (where the pasta was used for photoframes and artwork borders). The origami, 'animal jar' and clay art were also among their projects, while the last picture shows a collaborative artwork activity during their Kid Scout day.

Artworks at age 5

2009-01-01T18:47:00.000-08:00

Except for the first two, these artworks are part of some cards he made for relatives.

Artworks at age 4

2009-01-01T18:31:00.000-08:00

Artworks at ages 3 & 4

2008-12-18T01:08:00.000-08:00

This should've been part of the birthday post "Artworks until 6". But now that the attempt to finish uploading all pics in the folder 'earlier', mas angkla pala yata ang title na ito. Narito ang first drawings niya'ng may hugis, first word, etc. Ehehe halata rin pala sa part na ito na may panahong nahumaling siya sa windmills (may kinalaman pa rin sa Thomas and Friends!).

Collaborations II

2008-12-18T00:57:00.000-08:00

The following are drawings by Ate Violet on one of Batang Thomas' "Aklat". In the earlier post, Ate Violet's is the cartoon sketch of girls.

This is one of the boats he folded and water-colored with a creative Ate who helped us take care of him when he was in Kindergarten:

This is by Kuya D with whom he doodled in a restaurant. Drinowingan nila yung paper placemats kasi wala namang ibang papel, though may pentel. :)

Marami pa talagang kulang sa bahaging ito. Palagay rin namin, maraming pwedeng isali na hindi pa namin nakikita. Naiisip kasi naming posibleng may co-drawn sketches din sila ng classmates niya sa school where he spends about four hours daily. Siguro -- sana -- sa susunod madagdagan pa namin ito ng mga ganoon.

Builder II

2008-12-18T00:41:00.000-08:00

The following are the rest of the "Builder" portion we put up on Batang Thomas' birthday. He loves making various smiley faces -- this one is from Nanay's beadworks --

This noseless-- or mouthless (whichever way you see it :)) face is from the wooden tracks from a Thomas gift set by one of his Lolas.

I think this is some kind of train station he was trying to make - with those wet, torn pieces of paper meant to be hills of some sort --

See that arrow he wrote in pentelpen on the yellow lego piece? He's written signs and warnings and drawn roads and such on his rubbermats, tracks and other toys... nagawa na nya bago namin mapansin. In fairness though, after we've pointed out to him that writing on these things do less to preserve them, he's stopped. (Or is it because wala na syang masulatan, ehehehe.)

Trueblue Thomas and Friends Fan II

2008-12-18T00:22:00.000-08:00

Here's (hopefully, if the cafe's server's speed will allow it...) the rest of Batang Thomas' 'arrangements' and artwork with regard to his enthusiasm of Thomas and Friends (not that it will no longer be the subject in other parts of this blog, :)).

He drew the following when he was about 5:

This was how he drew Thomas when he was around 3 years old:

Dati fascinated lang kami sa fascination niya sa mga tren at engine na may mukha. Pero habang nagtagal personal na rin kaming natuwa sa Thomas and Friends dahil sa content ng mga kwento nito. Lahat ay may aral na pambata (at pang-matanda rin!) tungkol sa pagkakaibigan, pakikipag-kapwa, tulungan, pagpapakumbaba, mga pangarap, pagtityaga, kasipagan, katapatan, at marami pang ibang magagandang asal na gusto nating matutunan ng mga bata (at patuloy na pinag-aaralang gawin ng matatanda!)...

Sina Annie at Clarabel ay coaches ni Thomas na malalapit rin niyang kaibigan at madalas nagpapaalala sa kanya kapag hindi maganda ang ipinakikita nyang ugali. Kasunod naman si Toby, isang simple, responsable at mabait na tram engine. Sa kasimplehan nya, maaalala si Mater ng Cars ng Disney.

Happy 6th Birthday, Anak! :) [collection overview]

2008-12-06T04:03:00.000-08:00

Matagal na naming balak gawin ito para sayo. Sa wakas, at salamat sa push-button publishing tools tulad nito, natuloy rin... kahit parang laging gahol na gahol kami sa panahon.

Hindi lang namin sigurado kung hanggang paglaki mo, ok sa'yong "Batang Thomas" pa rin ang ipangalan rito. Pero hangga't buhay ang world wide web, pwede nating idagdag nang idagdag ang artworks mo rito para rin mabilis nating ma-share sa family at mga kaibigan, pati na rin sa mga mahilig sa mga gawa ng mga kamay-bulilit tulad ng sayo. :)

Para sa mga bumisita, MARAMING SALAMAT PO! Kulang man sa resources, espasyo at panahon, naisip namin itong paraan para i-celebrate ang 6th birthday ng ating little-big boy (siya raw si Little Boy Thomas -- si Thomas po ang lead character sa Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends, isang kagiliw-giliw na seryeng pambata na inintrodyus ng isang Lolala sa kanya noong 2 yrs old siya). Walang specific date, time & place, pwede kayong mag-attend anytime. :))

THANK YOU for allowing us to share Batang Thomas' works with you. It is an attempt to compile his sketches, artworks and 'arrangements' (for want of a more fitting term...) after many years of trying. These have been making us smile about Little Boy Thomas (among numerous other reasons) for the past years. Sana maski papaano, mapangiti rin kayo. :)

Trueblue Thomas and Friends fan

The enthusiasm with Thomas began when a Lolala sent him a cd compilation of some favorite kids' shows, among which was portion of "Percy's Predicament", one of the numerous Thomas series 5-minute stories.

The following are pictures of this enthusiasm, most colorful ones starting age 4 when he began receiving bits and sets (!) of 'the real thing' from Titos, Titas, Aunts and Uncles (salamat po!). Most shots are his!

Artworks til 6

These we picked from our folders-and- envelopes-thick collection of our little boy's doodles and sketches and artworks since he began naming them, which was about when he was 3 or so. Some were taken from his two "Aklats" -- two hardbound reams of bond paper gifted him by a friend of Lola's. Others were taken shots of before he gave them as gifts.

We hope now you'll no longer be surprised that his favorite subjects are his character trains. The range has (thankfully! -- though pansin ba? :)) diversified gradually, though...

Builder

Until this day, we are happy he's contented the good old way -- involving his non-Thomas toys (pseudo-lego blocks [the cheap ones of course!], wooden benches, extra boat [courtesy of Lolo], etc.) in his Thomas story monologues. We are amused that so many other young (and not so young?) Thomas enthusiasts play the same way he does on Youtube. Dropping by toystores and spending 10-15 minutes observing Thomas and other train sets is treat enough for him, too.

When we were preparing for a school project, he went through so many picks before finally settling that he wants to be an engineer when he grows up. Sabi nya gusto raw nyang maging fireman, carpenter, construction worker, rock star... Ang nakikita naming common sa lahat ng ito, he loves building and/ or creating stuff talaga, from artworks to sets to tunes.:)

Computer Art

These he drew with Pencil Pal last year pa. He tried to copy train models from "My Train Book" from Booksale.

Collaborations

"Castle na may wheels" he directed me to draw when he was 3. The finer artwork are by Tatay but you can tell which of the windmill's two blades are Batang Thomas'. The pink and purple inkwork we did together; Thomas and Dora he and his Tatay did together.

The rest of the colorful artworks are by Ate Violet, Ate N, his Cousin Kuya, and his kinakapatid na Kuya.

Then and Now

Again po, thank you for dropping by! More to come soon -- hopefully! :)