Dylan's Photo Shoot

March 12, 2010

Today is a milestone in Dylan's life :)  This is the first time he'll be participating in a professional photo shoot for Smart Parenting magazine (online version).  How did this happen, you ask?  Well, during the week, Patrick was, of course, working at the office when Steph from Smart Parenting came over to the Top Gear digital cubicle and was asking co-workers if they had kids, specifically boys ranging between 4-6 years old.  Patrick told me he had to compute for Dylan's age considering he was having his 5th birthday this coming 18th :)  When he said he had a boy fitting the description, they both looked at pictures of Dylan on Facebook and Steph liked what she saw and she told Patrick that details for the photo shoot will be emailed as soon as they were finalized.  Then, we found out that the photo shoot will be for Saturday and we got so excited! :)

So now, it's Saturday and we all woke up early so we won't be late :) First impressions last and all that :)  It's good that we know where the photo shoot will be held (Somerset Millenium Makati) so we know we won't get lost on the way.  When we got there, we had a little time for Dylan to get accustomed to the place.  He usually isn't fussy when encountering some place new but it's good that he immediately became comfortable so easily.  He was actually the first person/model to be photographed because he didn't have to put make up on LOL

It was fun watching Dylan hamming it up in front of the camera.  To him, it was just like playtime :)  We do a lot of the same stuff at home - making funny faces, pretending to take pictures and generally just really goofing about :)  It worked well during the photo shoot because all his shots look really natural and he was able to take direction really well.  He also didn't complain at all which was a huge plus factor! :)  He was just a little confused why he has to change clothes a number of times but other than that things proceeded as scheduled :))

The whole photo shoot took about 4 hours because of setting up, changing clothes, taking a break for lunch and getting the kids ready.  It was a relief that Dylan didn't get tired! LOL

Here's a preview of some of Dylan's pictures courtesy of Smart Parenting.  The article came out on March 14th and here's a link to it.

Happy 7th Birthday, Dana! :)

Happy Birthday to our beautiful daughter, Dana Catherine! :)

You can't imagine how fast time flies.  Here's one way to think about Dana's 7th birthday:  It's been seven years since she came out of the hotel, yes, the one I call, The Womb! LOL  It's truly incredible how such a small person can blossom into this lovely little girl that's obviously a product of Patrick and me :)  I may look like her, but her mood swings are definitely Patrick's LOL

I've often heard that the 7th birthday is a real milestone in a child's life.  I haven't really guessed why.  For me, every day that your child is alive is a milestone and should be celebrated not with parties (they help) but with love and affection.  And though Patrick and I really wanted to celebrate Dana's birthday with a huge bash, unfortunately, this year, we are kind of painfully stripped off a budget for it.  It's tough, when you think about it.  I feel guilty not being able to give her THE Party which her classmates in school obviously had.   I'm just glad that she accepts the reality and am proud of her for understanding it.

Though she didn't have a grand celebration, I did surprise her with a gift when she woke up that morning.  I asked her Ate Den to have a huge tarpaulin made of her favorite character, Willy Wonka, played by Johnny Depp.  See, Dana really likes Willy Wonka/Johnny Depp.  She brings the DVD everywhere she goes.  When she's watching TV, the DVD is right beside her watching with her ;) So, she was really surprised and her eyes glowed with delight when I presented that rolled-up tarpaulin for her :)  Her smile was priceless!!

After her school, we surprised her with a trip to SM Centerpoint for lunch :)  We all ate at Savory (Patrick was still at the office) and her Ate Den presented her with their gift - a Spongebob wallet :)  We also bought her a cake and bought ingredients for carbonara (her favorite) for dinner :)

Hot and Sour Soup

Kikiam

Chevy Motorama and Pyromusical Competition at the MOA

February 19, 2011


After Dana's Family School day that morning, we just bought take-out from Wendy's for lunch and headed home to rest.  Patrick mentioned that we still had one event to go to and that was to be in Mall of Asia.  I didn't really know what the event was except that there's a robot that looks like a Transformer which Patrick said Dylan will be amazed to see.  Ok, so that was enough for me. :)

Upon arriving in MOA, we headed straight to the Music Hall where the event was taking place.  By this time, I found out that the event we're attending was the Chevy Motorama where Chevrolet Philippines will be launching their all-new city car, called the Spark.  In the center of the venue was this tall Spark robot next to its car form :) Naturally, the kids wanted to have their picture taken and we, as indulgent parents, couldn't say no hehehehe

Other Chevrolet cars were also on display and very helpful sales associates were on hand to answer customer queries about the cars.  If you want to know more about the All-New Spark, you can read more about it from  Patrick's article on Top Gear.

While Patrick was going about his business for Top Gear Philippines, the kids and I spent time ogling Bumbleebee (Transformers) and the Camaro :) Another photo op! :)  The kids weren't too fussy because soon after the program started with a smashing performance from Mr. Beatbox (OMG, I forgot his real name!) and Karylle who entertained the audience with a number of songs.  Ryan Agoncillo, the celebrity endorser for Chevrolet was of course, present too.

After the program, we all trooped to the 2nd floor and partook of the special buffet hosted by Abe restaurant for the event.  This was also a good time for the media attendees and the organizers to simply catch up, network and share a few laughs :)  We were all excited to watch the Fireworks display from the Pyromusical Competition of which Chevrolet was also a major sponsor.  That night, we were amazed by entries from Portugal and the UK.

The night wouldn't be complete without our visit to our favorite bookstores and leaving with some great titles :)

Our thanks to Chevrolet Philippines, Sir Albert and Ma'am Lyn for inviting us and treating us so well! :)

Dana's Family Day in School

February 19, 2011

We usually look forward to Family Day celebrations in Dana's school because it's our chance to see her perform with her class during their Field Demonstration, just like last year when they were all wearing yellow and dancing to the tune of the Korean hit song, "Nobody".  Here's a video of their performance:

This year, the school made changes and we ended up being misinformed about the schedule and we missed Dana's performance.  Last Feb 14, Dana was absent because she got sick so the next day, we assumed it was just a normal school day because there was nothing special occurring if you take a look at the school's calendar. We did know though that it was the start of the Foundation Week but we didn't know that their Field Demonstration was rescheduled for the first day of the Foundation Week until Dana arrived in school that Tuesday.  I received a call from the mother of one of her classmates telling me that Dana was crying because she was the only one not wearing their field demo get-up, so we immediately rushed to bring her clothes to school.  Fortunately, we lived close and Ate Mel was there just in time to help her change and get her ready.  Dylan was also sick at that time so I couldn't leave and Patrick had work that day so he couldn't go as well.  I was really frustrated at not being able to see her perform.  The rest of the week passed with a lot of activities.  

That Saturday, we went to school not really expecting anything since we knew that Dana's class already performed that Tuesday.  Patrick was so bored because there were a lot of speeches in the middle of the raging sun which made the students a lot fussy and fidgety especially the younger ones.  We just passed the time patronizing the food stalls that were all over - siomai, siopao, french fries, nachos, Dunkin' Donuts, some pasta and the regular meals served in the canteen.  

The highlight of the morning came when  one of the guests turned out to be Jollibee.  The whole quadrangle became alive! hahaha Kids rushed to the stage to get a closer look at the favorite Jollibee mascot :)  He did a dance number for everyone which I gladly recorded hahahaha  See if you can spot Dana among the kids ;)

After Jollibee's dance number, the kids rushed backstage to have their photos taken with their favorite mascot :)

16th Philippines Hot Air Balloon Fiesta - Part 3 (Feb 13)

February 13, 2011

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PATRICK!!!

First, Happy Birthday Patrick! 

He celebrated his birthday with a dip in the pool with his kids :)  With his busy sked at the office, he rarely has time to spend with his babies so this was a perfect time!

We didn't make it to the 16th Hot Air Balloon Fiesta because the kids couldn't wake up.  It's too bad because we knew that the 501st Legion was going to be there and we would have liked to show our support.  

Anyway, while the kids and Patrick were swimming, I went and stayed in the Korean sauna, Jimjilbang, to detoxify.  :)  I had a bit of a mishap earlier when Dana aimed her water pump at me and when I tried to evade that spray of water, I ended up spinning, falling and rolling on the ground.  I have scratches on my knees, elbows and my wrists were jarred from the impact.  It's true that it seems that time slows down when you're in an accident.  It's like your brain is trying to prepare you and give you time to make a decision on how you want to protect yourself.  It doesn't however lessen the pain of embarrassment and humiliation hahahaha

Check out went smoothly and we headed straight to the duty free shops.  Didn't buy too much though.

We had lunch at the Kenny Rogers Restaurant along the NLEX on the way home.  Patrick and I were so tired by the time we arrived home.  We need another vacation hahahaha

16th Philippines Hot Air Balloon Fiesta - Part 2 (Feb 12)

February 12, 2011


The next day dawned bright and early for us.  We all headed straight to the buffet breakfast that was being served, excited to start the day.  Dana had toast and coffee.  Patrick and I had Spam, hotdogs and omelet with rice. I went back for some Korean veggies and Kimchi which Dylan and I shared.  For some reason, Dylan loves Kimchi! hahaha








After breakfast, We took some pictures around and along the corridor of the hotel.  That hallway was supposed to be empty since I asked Dana to go ahead.  I just liked the way the lights lit up the hallway, unfortunately, Patrick came out at the last moment looking for me haha He sorta looks like a ghost hahaha

After resting a while, we donned our swimming suits and went for an early morning dip.  Dana was progressing with her swimming skills and was able to swim farther than before.  She was already working on her arm movements this time.  Dylan was content floating in the water although he can maneuver himself quite well on his floatie :)

Around lunchtime, we headed back to SM Clark and had lunch at the Reyes Barbecue restaurant.  Patrick and I were laughing because even when we were out of town, we still ate Manila food hahaha We actually wanted to try other types of native dishes but we didn't really know where to go.   So, we went with the safe bets.

We bought our tickets to the Hot Air Balloon Fiesta from SM although it took some time to connect with the servers of TicketNet.  It was no bother since there were a lot of things to see around the mall.  Once we got the tickets, we headed straight to the site.







Apparently, there were a number of people headed the same way and we encountered quite a bit of traffic on the way.  We had to park a long way from the entrance due to the crowd.  But once inside, there was so much to see!




There were kites of all shapes and sizes everywhere!

 I don't know what this plane is called (Sorry!)

These gliders were fun to watch too!





Balloons getting inflated, and the green one was in flight!

At first, the balloons were having a hard time being inflated because of the strong cold winds.  Their owners were trying so hard to inflate them and it was actually Darth Vader who, through the Force, actually became the first balloon to get inflated!

 As you can see, it was already dark by the time the other balloons were fully inflated but they didn't get to fly anymore.  It was still fun to see them, especially in this light!

It was such an exciting thing to see this big pirate barrel balloon getting inflated right in front of us.  It was really huge and it made such a huge hissing sound, it was awesome!!

Because it was already late and it was rather dark, the balloons weren't allowed to take flight that night, which was a kind of disappointment.  So we were thinking of coming back again the next day.