Mama dreaming...

Just as any parent, this Mama also often wonder what this Little One would be when she grows up.

A business woman? An actress? A professor (like her grandad)?

Or even a concert pianist?

The last, not quite due to some unfulfilled desire on Mama's behalf, but more thanks to a 'performance' Kecil gave at the park on our walkies.

A performance on the park bench, no less.

Complete with some practice at waving at the watching fans...

Clapping at her own performance ...

Even blushingly (and with perfect grace) accepting the audience's shower of attention...

I'd say, if nothing else, she's ready to hit the Oscar's,

Except for that pair of rubber slippers. Hmmm...

But for what it's worth, Kecil,

Let this Mama say it here, that whatever you want to be, what you are going to be,

We, your Mama & Daddy, are here to support you to the best of our abilities.

All we hope is that you'll find great happiness and joy

In whatever path that you chose,

whatever it may be.

Let me put this here just so you can hold me accountable,

Just in case as parents we revert to ... well... being mere humans,

Just so we can go back to the drawing table when we need to,

And figure out how we are moving forward.

Someday, Kecil, someday...

Be still my heart, for no matter what, 

I do know that it's a day that comes closer day by day,

A day when I no longer hold this Little One as merely my little one anymore

But as a full equal...

Someday...

Grey weather

Cloudy, grey skies is usually not Mama's real preferred weather to go out for walkies, lugging a camera to boot!

But when you have a bossy little girl who does not take no as an answer,

(plus that nagging feeling that a walk will do me a whole lot of good in my moody state)

Mamas around the world just grit their teeth and follow.

And it was a good thing too. 

Mood improved, Kecil got to play, and you all got some pics.

Everyone's happy.

Very HAPPY, I'd say!

There are only a few playgrounds near the house, so if you think you recognize the site from previous post, you are quite right.It was also a conveninet location, right across the nearest grocery store.

What's with the face, you might ask. Frankly, I have no idea myself.

Kecil then moved on and almost gave me a heart attack as she lost her footing and dangled from the slide's railing for a while.
Thank goodness nothing happened, because, as she proudly declared later, Kecil held on tight.
Oh, yes, you did, indeed, my little, strong one. You did. And Mama is so very proud of you.

We had a good time in the park, almost despite the grey skies, and Mama came home with a reminder of a forgotten lesson:
Whatever the situation, it would always work out better when you embrace it rather than lamenting the lack of the so-called perfection.

Today is another day with grey clouds and no sun, but rather than lamenting the weather, perhaps we'll go and grab the chance when the temperature is cooler to spend some time with friends outdoor, something that might not work on a very hot, sunny day.
We'll see, we'll see.

How's the weather on your side and how does your plans today embrace the situation?

To & Fro: Skool

We are very lucky, indeed, that, although the Skool is located at some distance away from home, the timing is such that most of the time Daddy can drive us to Skool. 

The ride itself, while sometimes quite uneventful, is usually long enough just in case Mama still need to feed/put on shoes/comb hair of Kecil's. Seriously.

(Then when Mama start driving, Kecil started appearing in Skool with uncombed hair. Ha!)

Going home from Skool, however, is totally another matter.

There are times when the car is not available, Daddy had to entertain clients, etc, that most of the time we just took public transport.

The ride is even longer, but I guess we have learnt to enjoy it.

We have, for example, made quite a few friends who took the same daily ride.

Lately, Kecil had developed some fascination for the door opening/closing mechanism, and she now likes to sit next to the door, to be put in charge for closing the door.

Oh yeah, that's my girl, all right.

And her pretty Mama, of course.

So for all the distance that we have to travel each day, going to and fro, me thinks it's been a great Mama Kecil bonding time, time for her to ask all her whats and whys, and tell her stories from Skool, time for Mama to tell her stuff, to show here stuff.

Here's for more opportunities like these, as well as an awareness, for the blessings that we have.

Sunday Balloons

It was still cold and dark on an early Sunday morning when Mama and Daddy took Kecil from her comfortable, warm bed to travel the hour's drive required to get to the next civilization center. But as you can see from Kecil's expression, she did not seem to mind, despite her preference for waking up somewhat later in the day. Wonder what was going on?

Well... actually last weekend was the annual Hot Air Balloon Festival here in the Philippines. The venue was in the city of Clark, and having heard some good things about it, we decided to go and see what the hullaballoo was all about.
Obviously, there were plenty of hot air balloons involved,

And hand-gliders

And fires on top of gondolas!

Even cute feet on dried grass!

But basically it was all about hot air balloons (birthday cake shaped! Can you see the birthday cake one?)

And more balloons (ice cream shaped!)

And even more balloons 

Due to the long queues, we actually did not go into the carnival grounds itself.

Which is why most of the photos feature the wire fence, haha....

Many people are pretty much settled for the day watching all the flying stuff, bringing their tents, food and all kinds of stuff,

Too bad we were not so prepared,

But still we managed to take some good pics..

Ahem, correction, of course. KECIL did managed to take quite a few good pics.

Here she was, patiently waiting for the perfect moment for the shot...

Shouting encouragements in the hope that the balloons would finally take their position for THE shot...

Even giggled beatifically when she finally got THE shot.

Oh, she's going to be a good photographer all right.

We really have to thank the ever-so-patient Daddy who had carried the not-so-light-anymore would be photographer.

On a more adult's perspective, the whole thing was pretty close to a fiasco. Just for starter, we ended up spending 2 hours (!) lining up for toilet at the nearby petrol station. And to think that we only spent about an hour looking at the balloons!

Not to mention the fact that we did not even get into the grounds due to the long lines.

Am still not sure if we are coming back again next year, but after looking through the photos....

Yes... I guess we did have a good time. Especially Kecil.

So here's hoping that you had a similarly fun weekend last Sunday....

And wishing you a Happy Valentine's Day as well!

As usual, this ended up being the only photo with Mama's face. Will check the other camera later and see if there is more of Mama's face there. Until then!

More cycling news

Just because this Little One is very much into her bicycle, and through daily practice, she has now become quite the expert on cycling! (so the proud Mama enthused).
Here's a video that I think turned out quite well. I hope you enjoyed it.

And right after the video, we of course moved on to our daily walkies, to enjoy the lovely evening sunlight. Photography, after all, is all about light, remember? And cute subjects.

(I think I am really overdue with the rest of the holiday coverage, but seriously, we are accumulating a serious stack of beautiful pics of Kecil and her new bike, so I had to just get this one out of the way. Again, we'll try to finish the hols coverage soon. Sometime before Valentine's day? haha)

Epic Holiday: The Epic Loot

The biggest, most epic loot from the epic holiday came in a heavy cardboard box with a pink Hello Kitty stamp. 

And just in case you are wondering, yes, this particular loot is also Mama's biggest justification for calling the holiday Epic. 

Especially since  we had to drag this particular piece of loot through 3 airports (with 1  night stopover in between) before we finally arrived home safely with the said item. 

Thank God for the availability of cars, taxis, trolleys as well as luggage deposit service through out the journey!

And if you are wondering about the loot.... let's first start with a story.

About a year back, Ami arrived back from her holidays with a small, pink bicycle. 

Well.. in her case, actually the bike arrived slightly later in a delivery box. 

But the point is that the bike became an instant hit. 

Do remember, however, that Ami is older than Kecil, so at the point when Kecil is still content about being pushed on her old, small tricycle, Ami was quickly picking up proper cycling.

Kecil, on the various occasions when she got to borrow the bike, usually only manage to move small distances on the smoothest surfaces. 

Most of time, she prefers to pedal backward. 

Me thinks because it's the path of least resistance, or something. 

In any case, Kecil's trike broke one day, sometime before we embarked on our Epic trip. 

I think it was a combination of a heavier load, general wear and tear as well as some abuse through the ups and downs of the road. 

But it broke, and we couldn't fix it. 

And Kecil demanded for a new one, a particular Hello Kitty one that Daddy once showed her on the computer.

And so it became one of the objective of our holiday to find the said item.

Thankfully, we succeeded.

A pink, super girly Hello Kitty bicycle, with hearts and Hello Kitty everywhere, complete with a matching pink helmet 

(Mama was so going to kiss that nice store employee for actually rummaging through the store and coming back with an adorable PINK helmet to go with the bike! That was some awesome service at Rodalink Store, Rungkut, Surabaya!)

Oh, and did I mention the cute Kid on top as accessory?

Yup, that Kid.

Anyway, unfortunately we do not really have smooth, flat roads around the house for Kecil to easily cycle on. Although somehow having her own bike managed to make her learn  how to pedal properly (in the right direction) within record time, climbing uphill is still  quite beyond her ability.

So Mama got a bit creative (more inspired by Ami's Mama, actually).

Oh, yup. We actually put a leash on the bike, so Mama can pull the bike whenever it gets too heavy for Kecil to pedal. It turned out pretty useful too, because we have to figure out the proper setting for the brakes. So now the leash can be used to pull the bike through steep inclines, or slow/stop the bike when going downhill. We really should be getting along with fixing the brakes, but in the meantime...we also have a bundle of energy ever so eager to 'test-drive' her loot.

Yeah, not a day passed without seeing this familiar sight near the front door these days. On the other hand, Mama also managed to get this pic:

Absolutely adorable! Hahaha.... I guess it was really Epic, the loot. Until next time!

Epic Holiday: The Cathedral

As part of the Christmas traditions, we flocked to attend Christmas mass on Christmas Day. Giving special consideration to Oma's health condition, however, we agreed to attend the quieter mass at the end of the day, already towards the end of Christmas day. Somehow the arrangement worked out beautifully, the sparse attendance lending the mass a much more solemn air, a wonderful atmosphere that we all enjoyed.

Kecil behaved very well throughout the mass, and at the end of the mass, we took a mass photo at the crypt. I do believe, however, that the biggest highlight for Kecil that day was lighting the candle at the statue of Mary.

Encouraged by the night's success, we came back the following morning for the children's mass.

It was quite good, and I believe Kecil did quite enjoy it. However, it was definitely longer, noisier, and less solemn that the night before. (Especially when you are taking pics and making paper airplane instead of listening to the sermon... hmm... not a very good sign)

Ah well, but at least we did attend Christmas mass at the Cathedral. Twice. Mama does love that church.

Anyway, we'll cover the rest of our Christmas celebration in another post. Here's hoping to finish the rest of our Epic Holidays coverage before Valentine's day!

Sunny Sunday

Do you notice that there are so many sunny Sundays here down in the Kecil's universe? 

Strange, isn't it? Still, all is well, since sunny means a chance to bring out the flip flops, the flowery sundress, the hat, and the pinky shades, and go out to enjoy the sun!

This Mama thinks that this Little One has all the makings of a super model, all right. I'd say she even 'purposely' forgot her green float at home, just so the float does not mess up her photoshoot with Mama.

See... all this 'summery ensemble' is for a short trip and swim at the nearby swimming pool!

Well, at least she still did her own walking to the pool instead of insisting to be carried.

And even let the photographer have her one frame of fame. I'd say!

Well, soon enough we were at the pool, with Daddy along as well.

And here's the thing. Some of you might remember Mama's new red camera? Well... OK. OUR relatively new camera. Among its many cool points, the camera is supposed to be water resistant as well. Which is why, on this beautiful sunny Sunday, we can get pictures such as these:

Cool close-ups that I wouldn't have dared taking using the big camera, for fear of dropping the camera into water. Fuh... what a nightmare.

Still, we haven't tried underwater photography yet, perhaps we'll wait for another sunny Sunday (on a fully charged battery next time, ha!).

In the meantime, here's hoping that you had a great weekend as well. As you can see from the pics, Kecil had an awesome one.