Missing in action

It seemed like a few weeks since i last blogged. But it's because my friend Delina is visiting and we've actually been doing some stuff! And since i'm actually used to doing anything, i got quite tired! ha!

Anyways, I'll try to do some updates. Trips are hard to update coz they take sooo long! Will have to catch before our next guests arrive in 5 days!!!

So, till then..

Visit to Intramuros

After being in the Philippines for 5 months, we, the Millsers have finally made it to our first tourist spot! No, it's still in Manila, haven't actually gone out of the city yet (so lame, i know!!). But it's a start! We have a bunch of people coming to visit, so maybe they'll motivate us a little to get out of the house! :)

It's currently the rainy season here in Manila, so weather is a little unpredictable. That day was threatening to storm, but we persevered on(only detoured one time to the mall when the rain got REALLY bad). But we got there in the end and our first stop was the Manila Cathedral. I was pleasantly surprised that Tyler was quite interested and was looking around and asking, "What's this place". I gave him some explanation of church and pray and God. Not sure any of those words made any sense to him yet.

Manila Cathedral

Tyler looking at some information board

Tyler checking out the Governor's house guard

Due to the proximity to lunch time, we went for lunch after visiting the cathedral. After a rather disappointing lunch at Max's(yuck), we headed to Fort Santiago which I'm not sure is part of the Intramuros. But like all old forts, there were plenty of collapsed buildings and canons to interest the boys.

Inside an old room in

Standing on canons

Playing cut out figures

I always complain that Alan takes really crappy pictures. How else can you explain the picture below?

I look like a midget and Tyler looks like he is middle age with a pouch!

OK OK.. it was just a camera feature. Now.. who wants their picture to look like that??!!! Here is a real picture.

In front of the gardens at Fort Santiago

At the entrance of the Fort

The fort backs up to Pasig River which is a typical river you see in a third world country. DISGUSTING!!!

Back of the fort

Alan and the kids checking the guard posts of the fort

In Manila, when it rains, it just POURS!!! No warning, no signs. Just goes. So, right about the time after i took this picture, the sky opened up and poured buckets over us! Alan and the kids were lucky that they were actually inside the little room because i was stuck at the top of the fort hiding from the rain(yes, of course we all had umbrellas). When the rain subsided a little, i went down to check them out..

Their little hideout

And funnily enough, on our detour to this place, we bought Tyler a pair of rain boots. He was more than excited to try it out for real! Just to test that it works, he jumped in plenty of puddles!!

Tyler checking out his rain boots

The rain then cleared a little and then poured again and since it didn't look like it was going to let up and it was getting late, we called it a day.

Alan and the rain

Tyler in the rain..

Though it rained and poured that day, i totally enjoyed our day out. Tyler and I were laughing soooo much when the wind was so strong it was blowing our umbrellas away and making it turn inside out(cheap umbrellas!!). And Alan and I probably got nominated the world's most horrible parents for dragging our kids thru the rain. But i think they enjoyed it!! haha!!

Like i always say, they have to be tough to be our kids!!

And oh, i also found out that i didn't actually make it to Intramuros yet.. ha!!

A typical play time for the boys

During a "hippo" phase of my life, i bought this hippo on the track toy. It's actually quite cute. You can rearrange the tracks however you like and the speed that the hippo goes at is sorta hypnotizing. But my boys like it too. Only problem, the hippo itself is sorta flakey!



I like the look on Cody's face. It's like he's crazy for it!

Video to show Tyler's girlfriends

I was trying video some scenes where they boys were playing together and Tyler of course had to say something inappropriate yet funny. So, Alan said, we'll show this video when he brings his girlfriend home.

Things that Tyler said this week:

Conversation 1:
Tyler was playing with some marker pens
Daddy : Tyler, give me that pen, i'll give you a different one.
Alan gives him a color pencil. He looks at it..
Tyler : This is not an exciting one!
Daddy : Not exciting, you mean it's boring?
Tyler : Yes, it's boring one...

Conversation 2:
To get Tyler to help keep the house clean, i always tell him that cockcroaches like to be in dirty and messy places. And to prove the point, i always point out cockcroaches in dirty places!!(what?? it's true!!)
Me : Tyler, please clean up the mess with your toys, otherwise we're going to get cockcroaches in the house
Then i went to the kitchen.. and he came running in..
Tyler : Mommy, cockcroaches don't eat toys.
Me : You're right, they don't eat toys, but they like to hide and play in there when it's messy
Tyler : (looking defiant but not sure what to believe) you're making it up!!
Me : ???? (where did that come from and why does it sound like something daddy would say. Sure enough, he was coached by daddy to say it!)

Day out with Cody

While Tyler was riding kalesa in Tiendesitas, i went out with Cody to explore some new play areas that's right next door to us. And with Tyler gone, i get to spend 100% of my attention on my attention deprived child! ha!

I also just realized that when Tyler younger, he used to go to daycare and spent most of his time there. So, he barely needed toys at home. But Cody is home most of the time and our toy collection hasn't grown much. So, the poor kid is probably bored with his 2 toys!

Anyways, i took him over to Imagine That! and they had a bunch of pretend play things. Cody was quite taken by the walking push thingies and walked all over the place. I also put him on a few riding toys but he was like "huh?".. I plan to get a monthly membership to this place and bring him there more often so he gets to play with more toys and hang out with Mommy(and that place is air conditioned)!

I know he looks grumpy to bored at best, but i think he really liked it!!

And here's a video of him with the walk-thingie..

Riding Kalesa with friends

Tyler's class made another trip to Tiendesita's today to learn more about shoes. I thought maybe they were visiting a shoe factory or something. Since Alan was available, he went with him while i was home with Cody.

When they got back, all i got were pictures of them riding in the Kalesa.

See, what did i tell you.. all the kids seated, my kid climbing

Tyler and his friends on kalesa

Ha! Cheesers!! That's how Daddy gets him to smile for the camera!

I like this pic! Maybe we can send it to Philippines Tourism Bureau!!

So, of course i asked the stupid question. "What does riding the kalesa have anything to do with shoes?"

Then i saw this pic..

Ahhh.. horseshoe!!!!

When mommy needs some time alone..

Having 2 mobile kids who just can't sit still is a problem when you need to have a few minutes to yourself. So, for me, the crib is the safest place i can put Cody. But if Tyler sees Cody in it, he thinks he wants to be in there too!

This is what they do when they are both in there.

Shoe Salon

You've guessed it! Another one of Tyler's school activities. I'm not actually sure how much learning takes place in his school. It's no wonder my kid can't count or recite his ABC's!! Just a note - I'm only joking when i make such comments. I don't really care about his 123 or ABC. I just want him to be a kid! He's got the rest of his life to go learn them.

Anyways, Tyler's class was doing a shoe salon as part of a fundraiser. Though I thought it was a really cute idea, my main interest was to see Tyler work! ha! So, Alan, Cody and I all went to get our shoes cleaned to show our support.

They teacher's had set up their shoe cleaning station on the hallway to the school. It was quite adorable i must say to see all the kids sitting on their little bench waiting to do some shoe polishing!!

Cody showed his support by getting his foot cleaned

Soon, it was Tyler's shift to get on the floor. Take a guess, of all the little kids, whose kid had to get all suited up like he's doing a brain surgery to polish shoe?? Yeap, our kid!

I need my gloves and mask, please

Dr Tyler to the floor, please

Tyler getting started on my shoes

Then it was Daddy's shoes

What do you mean you're paying us peanuts? We're not monkeys, u know!!

Anyways, there wasn't really a lot of cleaning but more kids monkeying around. But apparently Tyler was one of the good cleaners and cleaned lots of shoes. But he had to have gloves on!!

Tyler is 1000 days old!

Alan was particularly excited about Tyler turning 1000 days old, so i thought i'd take the opportunity to do an update on that little tinker!

And i think this photo best describes him. Cheeky and full of mischief all of the time!!!!

1) He pretty much fully speaks now. He is using prepositions but still gets "I, my, he, she, him" a little mixed up. But at least he's starting to use them. He'll say things like "Where is him?"

2) And like all kids who started talking, he babbles non-stop all day and all night. Most of the time really loudly! He also likes to sing though he can't actually carry a tune or sing a full song. Most of them time, he sings part of a song or just makes it up about what's he doing at that moment, like "I'm at Aarav's house.. Aarav's house..".  I practice singing a few songs with him each night before he sleeps.

3) He is FINALLY sleeping in his own room and even goes to sleep on his own!! Woo hoo!!! I went thru intense sleep training with both kids after we got back from England but only managed to train Tyler. His sleep routinely currently is bathe, put on jammies, brush teeth, read books, lights out, sing songs, (if i'm lucky, he tells me he loves me more more more!!) and then i leave the room and he tells me not to lock the doors(which i don't).

4) His weight, of course, needs an update. During our last visit to his doctor, he was at a healthy 20th percentile and the doctor told me to stop obsessing! ha! Well, what he doesn't realize is Tyler didn't get there on his own!!! Currently he hovers around 30 lbs.

5) His eating although is still a slight struggle daily is a lot better where he usually willingly climbs on his chair during meals and most of the time finishes whatever that's on his plate with TV on and me feeding him. It's not ideal but it works. I've been working on giving him whatever i'm eating for that meal to help accept more food, so that eventually, he will just eat whatever i'm eating, which is EVERYTHING! :) It still takes about an hour for the major meals like lunch and dinner but breakfast and snacks are much faster!

6) He's very active and is constantly on the move. He enjoys going to the park and is quite good at kicking a foot ball. He has also gotten quite good with T-ball!

7) He's usually very shy with strangers and is usually at his quietest moment. But apparently he has a few friends that he plays with in school and they are mainly boys. Aarav is probably the closest friend he's got.

8) Although he seems bright in other ways, he doesn't seem to want to learn his 123s or ABCs. Either that or he's just trying to wind me up coz this is how he counts. 1, 2, 3, 9, 10!! And if you ask him how many things are there, his answer is either 1(when there is 1) or 2(when there is more than 1)!!! He also apparently very good at tracing, but writing on his own is another story!

9) He seems to have developed a healthy dose of affection for his little brother though sometimes he's still rough with him. He often thinks of Cody and often gives him hugs and kisses. He seems to think he's got authority over him and often tells Cody off! It's so funny coz he sounds just like us!! These are things he says to Cody.
a) Stop it, Cody. Stop it please!
b) Don't touch it please, thank you!!!
c) Come on, Cody.. come on, Codester!! (clapping his hand to encourage his little brother)

10) He mimics a lot of our speech and it's hilarious! He has picked up "Omigod" from me and "Oopsie-daisies" from Grandad!! And he seems to remember who said it first like if i say to him "it's not a toy!" he will tell me "Grandad says it!!!"

11) And yes, he is potty trained. He finally got it after the 1st two weeks at school which was back in April!

Cody's 9 months update

And here he is! 9 months old! Can't believe he's going to be 1 year old soon!

Anyways, here are some of the things my lovely Cody is doing.

Cody seemed to show less walking instinct than his brother. However, since he started crawling, he began to figure out the whole 1 foot forward and the other foot forward thing. :) and is now quite happily cruising anywhere he can hold on to.

Doing his daily cruise laps around our coffee table

He is an expert in his walker now and has direction control. When he sees me at the end of a hall way, he almost runs in it and looks like he's flying!! ha!

When he's not in his walker, he crawls anywhere he wants to go and pulls himself up and cruise around if he wants to. But then, because he hasn't learned how to sit down or bend over, once he's up, he's stuck! Every now and then when he's dropped something on the floor, he looks down all forlornly and has this look that says "Now, why in the world did i have to go do that for?"

Help??

And if he's not too excited, he can actually stand on his own without holding on to anything for about 10 - 15 seconds. Next step.. taking steps on his own.

Standing!!

And to help him with his walking, Daddy has taped up a box for him to practice walking. He's initially freaked out when it moves but soon realize that he can push it around and walk, so he's slowly coming around the idea. He probably thinks "I can crawl faster, why do i have to use this stupid box!!"

Practicing walking with box

And if you were a close friend of ours, the question you'd be asking is, "How is his eating?"

He's eating alright. Could be better but hey, it could be worse!!! Apart from the few weeks that he had a cold, he pretty much eats without too much hassle. You should have seen the fear on my face when he pushed food away and pursed his lips. But my maid and I are hoping that phase is over. He's currenly on cereal, veg, fruits, rice, meat and yogurt and hovering around 18.5 lbs.

He drinks water/milk during his meal times

But he is a VERY messy eater. Look at him!! Yikes!! He likes to grab the food and get it all over his clothes and face and everything. So, now when he eats, we take off his shirt!!!

Our messy eater

To help with eating, he's been giving biscuits and little snack melts. Just to help him use his little fingers. He loved biscuits the first few times, now, he's eehhh about it..

The concentration!!!

He is a complete Mama's boy that can't stand being away from me(if i'm around). He's saying "mammmaa.." whenever he gets a little desperate for me. He loves giving me really sloppy kisses and responds when somebody says "Clap clap" by clapping his hands gleefully!

Apart from me, he's usually quite comfortable with Rose(our helper) and Daddy. He's also starting to want to play with Tyler. I often find them smiling and giggling at each other when they wake up from their naps together. And if he wakes up, he will usually try to crawl to Tyler and wake him up!!

He rides on Daddy's shoulders

He puts on a what i call "serious face" most of them time unless he's playing or taking a bath. Then he usually shrieks in excitement and smiles!

His grumpy face

Enjoys the park

One of my personal failure is still getting him to sleep on his own in his own crib despite recent big effort! But i have a few excuses:
a) he CAN'T sit down once he stands up, so i always have to go in and help him lie down which starts the crying all over again!
b) i was also sleep training Tyler
c) he had a cold

Anyways, he doesn't know it yet, but once he's cracked the sitting down thing, he'll be on sleep training again!

Cheezers!!!

This is what Tyler does when we say Cheezers!!