SUMMER LOOK

Anton was such a good boy at the barber shop today! For the first time ever there was not one cry from him while having his haircut. He even wore his kapote without resistance. This was his 3rd time here at this small barber shop in BF Paranaque and he seems to like it more compared to the ones in the mall. Or maybe he's just getting older. Look he can now even laugh while watching Backyardigans on TV :) This is really a big deal!

MOVING UP

Moving up day at Toddlers Unlimited was last Tuesday, March 24. Anton's class did not exactly have a 'graduation'. That was only for the 5 yr olds. They just had a dance number like the one they had last Christmas. They danced to a song by Hi-5. This time Anton was not in the mood. He was probably sleepy and it was too hot in the Santuario Forbes Social Hall. At first he was dancing a little then he couldn't take it anymore and went off the stage before the song ended. Oh well he was still cute though :)

Before the program. Anton was very clingy. Really not in the mood.

We left the celebration right after Anton danced. It was really too hot. We had lunch at Banana Leaf Rockwell. Anton as usual had his fave beef pho noodles at Pho 24 across BL.

FAMILY DAY

Anton's school had their family day last Sunday at Tagaytay Highlands. It was drizzling a little when we arrived but the sun came out just before we got out of the car. Talk about perfect timing. As expected it was a very exhausting day for me and Neal. But Anton enjoyed his first time in a farm and that's what matters. His favorites are the birds and the snake. He not only touched the python, he squeezed it! Oh and we were wearing green shirts cos we were part of the green team. We were not able to join any of the games since the crowd's clapping and the megaphone were making Anton cranky. But it was a fun day and hope we visit another zoo soon cos Anton loves the animals.

ABSENT

Anton was absent from school last Tuesday to Friday. That's 4 days for me taking care of a sick toddler and no alone time whatsoever. Anton was extra fussy and defiant and my patience was really tested. He didn't want his temperature taken (I hope I get my Exergen from my sister soon!), he didn't want to eat, didn't want to take his medicines and just wanted to nurse the whole day. For the first time we didn't go the the pedia. I just used his old homeopathic meds and I think I'm getting better at giving the right meds because Anton recovered fairly fast. He was well by Thursday afternoon but I still didn't send him to school Friday morning so that he can rest some more.

I swear I thought I would go crazy. Well this is the choice I made so I just have to accept it. Good thing everything will be normal again on Monday. Yipee!

A FIRST

After Anton's class yesterday he went back inside his classroom and closed the door on me. Then after school when I gave him the car keys to open the car he ran away with the keys and went back to school. I had to chase him pa.

Glad to know that Anton is loving school at sulit ang bayad namin. Now am I ready that my son is slowly getting to be independent? Hell yes! Up to now he still wants to hold my hand when I go to the other side of the room. I'm sure I'll miss this someday ... but for now I need a little bit of space sometimes. Just a few more years ...

MY SIT-IN

I was able to visit Toddlers Unlimited this week. Last Tuesday I sat in Anton's entire class and talked with his teachers. There were times he will go to me and sit on my lap. Teacher Maica told me that he will usually just sit on the mat with his other classmates.

Here's their art time. I expected worse. Anton just got a little bit of paint on his shirt.

This is romp time. Anton loves loves this part of the class. But the teachers really have to be on their toes. Last week Anton had a forehead bump with one of the boys in his class and the Aussie boy cried and his forehead got really red. Anton naman deadma lang. This time Anton fell on his classmate and landed on the poor girl's face. Nothing serious but the little girl really cried out loud. I warned them, Anton is pretty rough.

These are photos from yesterday's class. Yaya took all of these cos I was busy making chika with the other mommies as you can see.

I love going to Anton's school. If only I can every time ...

READY FOR SCHOOL

I am confident that Anton is really ready for school. He is now able to sit and play for about 20 minutes straight and he loves playing with the other kids in the playground. But I was not counting on naman of being overconfident that I missed his trial session last Tues and today being his first official and paid-for class.

We are closing a project in the office and I just couldn't miss it. Next week I'll make bawi. Hopefully they will still let me sit in the class pa.

Here are a few pics of Anton last Tues for his trial class. Thanks to yaya for these precious photos and video.

He was the first in class.

I guess this is their free play time.

Singing Mr. Sun.

They made jello :) Anton took home a cup and ate it the next day.

Snack time. Anton here checking out the feast hehe.

Ang bait o kinakain ang baon nyang grapes.

Pero hindi napigilan. Nang-agaw ng crackers ng classmate.

Romp time

Last but not least, walang pic nitong watermelon activity so here's a vid :)

1ST DAY HIGH

We visited 2 schools today and I really felt like a mommy :) We were on full force. Neal and yaya were there and if my mom was in town I'm sure she will go as well.

First stop was Happy Hearts Preschool at Rockwell Club. This is the nearest toddler school from our house and I really hoped they would be affordable. Well they were not which is to be expected since they're in one of the Rockwell towers. Majority of the class were foreigners and all of them live in Rockwell. Their monthly fee is P22k for a 3hr 5x a wk class. For the amenities and teacher-student ratio I don't think it's worth it. But Anton really enjoyed himself and refused to leave. But we have to go because since we have to find something else Mommy and Daddy can afford :)

Next stop and the winner is Toddlers Unlimited in Salcedo Village. I heard good feedback from this school and I really wanted to visit them for the longest time. I was just concerned about the distance from our house which isn't really bad come to think of it. Mas malayo pa nga his therapy class. We will try out the 2x a wk class, 2 hrs a day. Either me or Neal will drop yaya and Anton off then they will take a cab going home. I saw one of my classmates pa from college there. She was picking up her daughter at sabi nya sa Toddlers na daw ako. According to her Toddlers is the cheapest in the area. She will make bantay pa daw my son hehe. Gusto na nya i-partner ang daughter nya sa son ko. Sayang daw her daughter who just turned 2 is in a different class.

We're going on a trial next Tuesday and I can go inside the classroom. Even if there are more schools in Salcedo Village and the Fort area I want to stop looking already. I think it's pretty easy and safe to catch a cab in Salcedo Park. And from what I saw earlier, there were only 6 students and there were 2 teachers and 1 yaya in Anton's class. Tapos there's free snacks pa from Mon-Thurs. And there were more affordable than I imagined. I guess because its just 2x a wk. Verdict - what's not to like right? Sold to Mommy and Daddy, and yaya too kasi may Starbucks sa baba ng bldg hehe!

CLASS PIC

Anton's first class pic at Kindermusik with Dr. Liz. Mommies included for the kids who are malikot :)

KIDDIE PARTIES

Here's a couple of kiddie parties Anton went to.

This was Ianina's 1st bday in Active Fun Macapagal. My pics here are really bad. Nangangapa pa sa bagong camera.

Anton loved this floor piano.

Watching the magic show

Anton had a blast in Active Fun. Pawis na pawis dahil walang tigil sila ni Daddy sa giant slide show.

This naman is Kimi's 1st bday in Chili's Greenhills.

Anton at first was not in the mood since he took his nap at 3pm and I woke him up at 330 kasi we have to go to the party. Bad mommy!

Ayaw talaga magpababa

Ang sama tuloy ng tingin sa bday girl.

Chili's setup

But after some time he started to have fun and dance pa. Anton has shown big improvements na. Even though he was inis he never shouted which he would do before. Now he is able to cope better with different situations :)

SLEEPING ANTON

Neal took these the other night. Sorry for the bad photos these were taken on my phone.

These were taken by me last night.

Cuteness! When I see him sleep this peacefully I fall in love all over again.

MR. COUNT

Anton loves his numbers. He even recites them sometimes in his sleep. I'm not kidding. He associates everything with numbers. While he was playing with sandwich toys in his OT he took the pickles and showed them to me. 'Eight' daw yun. It looks something like the tomatoes in this pic.8 nga naman diba. Magkapatong na tomato e. Then last weekend while I was reading my Healthy Options membership brochure, he took the brochure and said 'Eight' again. Mukha nga naman 8 tong green apple. Putol na 8 nga lang.

Then last night he was playing with his new alphabet board, he took letters I and O and showed it to me.

'Ten!' Ano pa ba masasabi ko kundi 'Very good honey, that is number 10.' I'm so proud :)

IF LOOKS CAN KILL

As early as now Anton appreciates girls. Be it young or older he likes them. Basta sexy hehe. I think I already mentioned here that he stole a kiss from Teacher Shine from the Therapy Center. As in bigla nalang nya kiniss. Nagselos tuloy si Teacher Edessa. And when we were in Cebu nga there was a Korean couple walking on the beach. Sinundan talaga ng tingin ni Anton yung Korean girl who was wearing a bikini. And when the couple passed by us again the girl said "He's so cute" and Anton said "Hi". When they walked away gusto pang sundan ni Anton.

And just this morning while Anton and Yaya were riding the swing in the playground, my VJ neighbor passed by the area and he had a tall skinny girl with him. Syempre tingin si Anton. Akala ko nga mababali na ang leeg sa kakatitig.

At least alam namin ni Neal na di bading ang anak namin :) Pero nafe-feel ko na ang sakit sa ulo that my hunky son will bring us soon.

THE SWEETEST THING

I just got off the phone and I just heard the sweetest words. Anton is still talking in Chinese/Japanese (read cannot be understood) but when I was saying my I love you's and bye bye's I swear I heard him say 'I love you'. Gosh I'm teary eyed I swear. This is the best part of being a mommy :)

TV DANCING

Before I upload the main photos of our Cebu trip, I believe these photos and videos of Anton watching TV deserve its own post.

I think I mentioned before that Anton is passionate about everything he does. Whether he sings, dances or whines he does it to the maximum level.

So here he is in our hotel room in Marco Polo. First thing Neal does is of course turn on the TV. Here's Anton watching Nick Jr. with feelings. I'm glad Neal captured this while I was busy hanging my clothes (take note mine only hehehe).

Ang kulit diba? Ganyan talaga yan manood ng TV parang kinikilig. Di pa ako tapos. May videos pa. They're both really good. Enjoy :)

FIRST HOUR

We're back from our Cebu trip and I'd like to share our photos during the first hour of our getaway. Here are photos at the departure area and inside the plane before take-off.

Inside the kiddie area of the Domestic Airport

Peekaboo

Ginawang runway ang plane. I think they went back and forth twice.

Look how I look at 6 am hahaha!

We were on the 6:30 am Cebu Pacific flight. Hindi pa kami nag take off mukha na akong mega harrassed hehe. This is just the start of our very exciting trip. It's our first trip without yaya and it was super sakit sa katawan. But the most important thing is Anton enjoyed the trip and I couldn't be happier. More pics and kwento to follow.

ANTON'S 2ND BDAY

We had a very simple birthday celebration for Anton's 2nd birthday. We just decided to celebrate at home since we will be going to Cebu next week. It turned out to be a good move since typhoon Frank hit last weekend.


We started the day by hearing the 7:30 am mass in SSA. Anton was shouting (his new bad habit when he's inis) so we had him eat crackers during mass.



Then we went to Jollibee for some breakfast. As usual Anton had macaroni soup, some fried chicken and pancake.

We went home and Yaya made Anton sleep while Daddy and I picked up the cake from Kitchen Kraft (which was a big disappointment. The cake was nowhere near as good as his cake last year).

The Anton Smirk

Anton with my mom and sisters.

Spongebob Cake

When we got home Anton was sleeping already. I asked our helpers to cook the spaghetti and fried chicken while I called Amber to have some pancit malabon, barbecue and pichi-pichi delivered.

Anton woke up at 11 am and the food hasn't arrived yet. Daddy played with Anton in our room while I set up downstairs. The food arrived at 12 nn (1 hour late) and it was time to sing to the birthday boy.

Happy Birthday Boy

Anton got overwhelmed while we sang happy birthday to him

Next year Anton ikaw na ang mag-blow ng cake mo ha

Inspecting the gifts

Tamad mag-open ng gifts

He loved the drum and egg shakers

Then Neal's whole family came and Anton had a blast.

With Ate Maxine and Baby Sean.

Playstation with Kuya Matthew

With Mama and cousins.

And his favorite part of the day, chasing bubbles with Ate Maxine.