Outdoors

Jason Mraz guest stars in this Sesame Street episode that Jacob absolutely loves.

In the past, going out for Jacob always meant a trip to the mall.  This video made me feel guilty about that every time we watched it.  Jacob would even say “go outdoors!” even if (I don’t think) he really understood what it meant.  It also inspired me to go out of my way to take Jacob to the park.

It’s out of the way because we live in a condo without any good parks within walking distance.  This is Manila after all.  So we drive to my parents’ neighborhood which is just a few minutes away.

See Jacob’s pure joy on the swing?  We also had fun running after each other, climbing up the playhouse and going on the slides, and watching airplanes fly by overhead.  This is my idea of a perfect afternoon. ❤

And here’s Jacob pushing Lexi’s stroller. 

Lexi is my cousin’s super smiley 8-month-old baby!

Lexi caught up with us just when we were leaving, so we stayed a bit longer so the babies could get to know each other.  A few minutes later, Sabrina showed up, and Jacob was able to play with her too!

I told John, “Jacob and I love this park.  We want to live here in (this village).”  And John replied, “Okay, great!  Mag ipon ka na.”

(All photos by Funfy Basa.  I left my camera at home.)

Jacob Meets Baby MFO

Last December, my friend Tin aka the famous Manila Fashion Observer was in Manila for a visit, and I was so excited for Jacob to meet Tin’s baby Berry! 

Tin and I met through our husbands, who became friends in law school, and we bonded over blogs after that.  Tin is just the kind of person that you instantly love and feel comfortable with.  She looked like a teenager when I met her, and now that she’s thritysomething with a toddler in tow, she finally looks twenty.

I could tell from reading Tin’s blog that Berry was a social butterfly who made friends everywhere!  Jacob’s personality is a lot more reserved, and he doesn’t warm up easily around new people.  I was hoping they would be instant friends, but Jacob was shy and sungit.

As expected, Berry was super friendly and bubbly, smiling at everybody and hamming it up for the camera!

After dinner, the babies hung out at the bar for a bit.  This is Torch along Connecticut, by the way.

The babies weren’t able to bond like I hoped they would, but I was glad to be able to catch up with Tin in person!  We usually communicate only through emails and blog comments since she moved away.  And when Tin & Berry’s sundo came, Jacob surprised us all by planting a big kiss right smack on Berry’s lips!  Huh?  After being sungit all night long, hahaha!

Tin, see you next month, if everything goes according to plan!

Bear vs Bear

Meet Bear, Jacob’s BFF 🙂

Bear was our first-ever pasalubong to Jacob when he was just a few months old, and he’s loved Bear ever since!  Bear stays by Jacob’s side throughout the day, and sleeps with him at night.  And although Jacob has almost every kind of stuffed animal you can think of (including a carabao!), Bear has always been the most special.

Bear was right there for Jacob even when he was a Bible bearer for John’s cousin’s wedding, when our stranger-shy baby had to join the group photo without Mama and Dada.

John and I were worried about what would happen if something were to happen to Bear.  What if he gets lost?  As it is, Jacob cries when he misplaces Bear, or if we sometimes forget to take him with us when we go out.  And it’s also hard to give Bear a good washing as Jacob is always looking for him!  So on our next trip to Hong Kong, we went back to the exact same store in Central where we bought Bear, and brought home another one!

We hid Bear, and when Jacob went looking for him, we presented him with the new one, which was exactly the same, only cleaner and whiter.  Jacob stared for a few seconds then cried and panicked, shoving away the new bear!  “Want other bear!” he wailed.  We were stunned that he could tell the difference!  Can you?

So anyway, we brought out Bear, and showed him that okay, all right, there are actually two bears! 

Now he refers to them as “Bear” and “New Bear,” but it’s still his original Bear who keeps him company all day and night, while New Bear lives in the toy box. 

It’s true love, what can I say.

Manila’s Best Xiao Long Bao

Shi Lin’s xiao long bao – the best I’ve tried in Manila!  Miles ahead of the local Crystal Jade.  Although I’m still hoping Crystal Jade Manila will step up and serve full-size dumplings with actual soup inside.  Try Crystal Jade in Hong Kong, and you’ll see there’s no comparison. 

Here are some other dimsum dishes we tried at Shi Lin:

I loved these hot dessert dumplings filled with red bean paste.  Don’t remember what they are called.

My steady date, trying to avoid the camera:

Shi Lin is located at The Podium, ADB Avenue, Ortigas Center.

Dinner at Chef Bambi’s

This post is over a month late, but I just wanted to share photos of a lovely dinner we had with friends, at Bambi Sy-Gobio’s home last December 2010.  The house is in Greenhills, near La Salle, but it kind of felt like we were out of town.

There was a cozy garden out front, good for setting a romantic mood.

A Christmassy waiting room where we sat while waiting for the food.

The dining room.

And here’s what we had for dinner:

Chef Bambi kept checking on us to make sure everything was okay, and she really made us feel welcome in her home!  There are many “private dining” chefs these days, but (I think) very few who would really go out of their way to make the dining experience a special one.

These boots are made for walking… on cobblestone streets!

Ordered Pour La Victoire black wedge knee-high boots online, and had them shipped to Manila via Johnny Air. They weren’t cheap, but they fit great, and they are sooooo comfortable! Can’t wait to wear them on the little vacation John and I are planning to take when we turn 5.

Sunny Days

Seasons Greetings

To my family and friends, Merry Christmas! I hope you enjoy this simple gift of song kahit mali-mali ang tono. It’s a cover of “No Christmas For Me” by Zee Avi.