Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Nitong Summer Bit 3

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

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.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Nitong Summer Bit 1



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. :)

Friday, March 12, 2010

Back on track

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.)