Chrismas Memories and Dancing Lights

We live in an urban jungle (as if i have not stressed that enough). Sadly, Manila does not have enough open spaces. Or it does not have parks which are similar to the ones I went to growing up.

I grew up in Baguio City, at a time when the cold air smelled like pine. I grew up spending my weekends in various parks and open spaces (Burnham! Mines View! John Hay!). At that time, pollution was a thing from first-world urban jungles. On the other hand, Hugo is growing up in a different time and city, and I sure as hell will make sure he won't be short-changed. 

This is the reason why we spend most of our time in our favorite park: Ayala Triangle Park.

Wee wee Hugo with his dad and our niece

Ayala Triangle Park is a 2-hectare open space in the middle of what can be (some of ) the Philippines' busiest avenues: Ayala, Makati and Paseo de Roxas. The Park itself is just a wide open space of grass and greenery: it does not have your usual swings and see-saws. It does have a jogging path (well, pedestrian lanes) and restaurants (some of the best in the city). We like bringing our picnic basket and blanket, some munchies, and entertainment for the kiddos (bubbles and balls).

This is where Hugo practiced his first steps.

While in the park, Hugo spends most of his time running around the greens and running after older kids and dogs. 

In fact, this is where we shot Hugo's birthday pictures.

The park also has big art installations that people can  touch and look at up close.

Independence day Month. Spot the baby.

This Christmas season, Ayala Triangle's trees were decorated with thousands and thousands of LED lights. From 6-9pm every night, Ayala Triangle features a sights and sounds show where the LED lights blink and dance with Christmas carols. We viewed the show a few nights ago and the whole time, I excitedly watched it with one eye on Hugo, waiting for his reaction. Expectedly, Hugo was amazed (overwhelmed?); he kept saying "lights!".

LED dancing lights

They change in color and blink to the beat of Christmas carols (Pop songs for Christmas, really, like "do they know it's Christmas?" by Band Aid)

This is just Hugo's second Christmas and now that he's already a little child who can appreciate things around him, I would like him to look back at this one day and think how happy the Christmas season is for him.  My friend, Ia, who was with us with her family, mentioned that she now understood why her parents brought her to the opening of the Christmas display of the COD Department Store when she was still a child. Now, it is our turn to create similar childhood Christmas memories with our young ones.

The lights and sounds show started last November 17 until will be until December 23. Definitely worth braving the Christmas traffic. :)

Through the Little Person's Eyes

Sometimes it's easy to forget that Hugo sees things for the first time, most of the time. (He is just a year old after all.) For example, the World Cup Museum (which is not frequented by tourists/ visitors) in Seoul held so many wonders for the little person. Usually, when he's not strapped in his stroller, he likes pushing it himself. When we were in the Museum, however, he literally looked at his stroller and then back at the row of balls on display, as if he was torn between the two. 

He chose the balls.

He stared at this for a good 10 seconds.

It was like that too when we went to N Seoul Tower. And no, he was not impressed with the tower. He went crazy over the Teddy Bear Store. You can just imagine how amazing it was for him to see rows upon rows of teddy bears. We gave him a little bear which he immediately hugged, and when his Dad handed him a bigger bear, he promptly dropped that for the upgrade. 

Here's the upgrade (the Panda). If he knows how to sigh, he must have sighed here.

We had to peel him off this bear.

Good thing too that he had yet to learn the powers of throwing a tantrum. When it was time to go, he just waved goodbye to the bears. Then again, stopped to wave goodbye to the store (while at the doorway). And then again, stopped to wave goodbye to the display.  

Even Haechi Seoul, the official mascot of the City's tourism office managed to impress him. 

This is Haechi Seoul. I wonder what Hugo was telling him/ her. (note how he is waving his finger at him/ her)

Going back to my original point, I suppose I need to rewire my brain a little and show the little person around this big world of ours with more care and effort. Older people take things for granted most of the time, but seeing a child's amazement over the smallest of things will really make you stop and look around. People laugh at me when I say I want to take Hugo to the Manila Zoo, saying that the animals there are close to dead and suggesting that Zoobic/ Singapore Zoo/ HK's Ocean Park would be infinitely better. But really,  why wait for months, possibly years before we can take the trip and see the wonder in my child's eyes?

On his bookshelf

Since Hugo was 6 months old, he has regularly watched the videos of Your Baby Can Read. These videos are supposed to teach a baby how to read through a multi-sensory approach, meaning babies see and hear the word, then see the corresponding concept. Countless parents swear their babies have learned to read  as early as 1 year old because of this program.

Hugo at 6 months. We plopped him down for almost an hour at a time everyday. Forced reading. Hehe.

Even Janine swears by YBCR. River, as early as 1 or 2, has already shown signs of reading. He's so advanced that at 4 years old, he has become a voracious reader. He reads everything he can, from signages to Janine's text messages. (Over her shoulder, aloud, as she types the message. Haha.)

Anyway, back to my point. I myself cannot remember how I learned to read. I remember how I learned to read time, but I do not know how I learned to read words. I always loved reading. One of my fondest childhood memories consists of borrowing books from my school library and spending the whole Saturday afternoon reading it. The same is true with my husband; he loves reading so much that he reads our assigned reading materials in college during his free time. Yep, to RELAX.

Here is my husband, at around age 3-4, reading Time Magazine (gasp!).

My point really is, Hugo will grow up in a family that loves reading. So, I should not worry that he won't learn how to read in time, right? Still. 

I want for Hugo to develop the same love of reading. I want him to get lost in the imaginary world created by books. This is why for the past few months, we read three books regularly before going to bed. We start off with a picture book of first words (Baby's First Words) which Hugo likes because it the words "car" and "ball" in it.

Our nighttime routine. Note that he uses his mom as a footrest.

"Hooper Humperdink.. Not Him!" from the Dr. Seuss' library of Beginner books comes next. I read this using a sing-songy voice and an upbeat rhythm which I hope keeps the little one tuned in. In between pages, I also ask him questions(Me: where's the bike?  Hugo: Thdeeeh!), and I'm glad to report that Hugo correctly points them out to me most of the time. :)

Our last book of the night is "Goodnight Moon," where a bunny goes through a nighttime ritual of saying goodnight to everything and everyone in his room. Aside from asking him about the pictures in the book, I also make him fill in the blanks once in a while. [Me: "Good night to the old lady whispering..." Hugo: "Shhhh" (hush)]

We plan to keep doing this until Hugo learns to read by himself. They say babies thrive in repetition and consistency. I agree. We have been reading these books regularly and already, I see Hugo scanning his other books by himself or giving me the books to read before sleeping. Maybe, in 1 more month, I will change or add to one of our nightly reads. In the meantime, I will read these three books aloud to him, every night. Yep, it doesn't matter that by doing so, I have memorized all three books by heart. :) (All together now: In the great, green room, there was a telephone...)

Hugo's Halloween

Guess who had fun with the older kiddos?

Last weekend, Hugo went trick or treating* around the neighborhood village with his ate Nique and her friends.  This is Hugo's first trick or treat trip (say this fast three times) and more than anything, I wanted him to enjoy it.

There were plenty of choices for the little one's costume but we decided on the timeliest (read: uso) and most comfortable. Hugo's dad wanted him to go as Steve Jobs (with us being big Apple fans) but black turtle neck shirts for babies are impossible to find in Manila. Plus, do we really want him to sweat the lines and the heat in all that adult get up? He also had the token superhero unitard(Spiderman) that he was so uncomfortable in.

Our final choice? He went as a football player.

This outfit is a no brainer: just grab sneakers, knee high socks, his jersey and shorts and he's ready to go!

He was very comfortable; he looked like he was just hanging out! He never cried or complained when we let him walk what could have been baby miles. As long as he saw his Ate Nique sweating it out, he probably thought why shouldn't he be sweating, too?

I spotted two other kids wearing football jerseys, too. One who was as small as Hugo, came as an Argentinian football player (Messi!). I also spotted some photographers taking pictures of Hugo. He was so cute, insisting on carrying his pail himself. (Haha. Biased.)

So people got the point, I also wore my favorite jersey (Azkals!). I got compliments on that, too. :)

*Yes, Halloween and trick or treating are not endemic to the Philippines. And yes, we do have that here now, but only in villages and malls and only before the more important Ph holiday, All Saints' Day.

Hugo Conquers Korea

And just like that, we're back.

Our 9-day trip passed by like a blur. Sorry for lack of a more creative comparison. (My mind's a blur. Haha.) Can I just say how much Hugo enjoyed our trip to Korea. Judging by how many pictures he had where he seemed truly happy, then I can safely say he was happy 70% of the time (the other 30% he spent sleeping).

Traveling with a toddler is not as tough as I imagined. I'd like to think I mentally prepared myself for it; I had to run through the whole process of departure and arrival just to anticipate what Hugo might need. And because I now consider myself an experienced mom-traveler (one experience makes one 'experienced'), let me impart some of my new found knowledge to all of you (meaning you, Janine).

1. Nasal decongestant for a traveling baby works. Haha. Apparently, nasal decongestant helps relieve the pressure on tiny ears and gets babies to sleep easier, too.Clear it with your pedia and do it quick. I gave Hugo his Disudrin dosage 1 hour before the flight and he was comfortable throughout the trip. He fell asleep as soon as the plan taxied the runway. I didn't need to make him drink milk on take-off or landing, too (although I wanted to give him that, so he'd be forced to swallow). Success!

2.A lightweight stroller is very important. Our Inglesina Swift lasted us many, many kilometers, inclines, stairs and elevators. When traveling, check out the city's subway system first, if you plan to travel by mass transit as some old train lines might not actually accommodate strollers. The subway system of Seoul was not too stroller friendly and we had to carry the whole stroller up and down the stairs all the time. If your baby is small enough, just use a carrier or sling.

3. If you come from the tropics (like us) and will go somewhere with a colder climate, your baby should be well-bundled up. This means, his head, neck and ears should be covered by a hat/ hood/buff and his feet and legs should be fully protected from the cold. In our case, the temperature dropped to as low as 8 Celcius (without the wind chill) and we had to wrap Hugo with a fleece blanket to add more warmth. Using a weather shield for the stroller may also help in keeping out the wind and some of the cold.

The night before we left for home, I discovered disposable hand warmers. Had I known about these, I would have bought a lot for the little person.

4. A baby's toys matter a lot. I was lucky that I did not have to bring his favorite playthings to Seoul as Hugo's dad bought some stacking cups and balls before we even got there. I just took with me one toy car, his crayons, one book and one stuffed animal. We taped the free city maps on the floor too, so the little one can spend his time writing on it.

5. I learned early to travel as lightly as possible and to make bags do double duty. I packed everything (toys, clothes, food, bottles, etc.) into one big suitcase. My own handbag doubled as a baby bag. The first day we went out, I had Hugo's big backpack and my own big bag.Never again. The next day, I left half of my things at the hotel, and used that other half of the bag for Hugo's food supply. The stroller's storage pocket can accommodate his nappies and wipes, and even his sippy cup. :)

6.  I am happy to report that Hugo's eating habits were not affected by our trip. Hehe. He liked Korean rice so much, probably because it was stickier than our white rice here and it allowed him to use a  fork (tinitinidor) to bring it to his mouth. In fact, he ate more solids there than he did here. The tip here is: make sure you know where to get familiar food for the little one.

7. On departure and arrival, dress your baby comfortably. I had Hugo wear layers that I stripped off and added on depending on the temperature. I also made him wear shoes that I can afford to lose in he decides to kick it off somewhere between gate 117 and the immigration area.

8. When eating out, make sure the little one is preoccupied enough not to ruin the meal for you. For every restaurant we went to, I made sure Hugo would have his own spoon, fork and fingerfood which he can spoon to his mouth easily. This keeps him busy during OUR meals.

9.Upon check-in and the ground crew asks your preferred seat, ask one that will have the most legroom (front middle aisle seats). Or, have the ground crew choose the best seat for you. When we checked-in, the ground crew offered to block-off the seat next to us, to give Hugo and myself more room. On our return trip, I asked the same thing from the airline and they gave us the whole row! :)

10. Take your time. Traveling is not about seeing sites; it's about being there and remembering how that feels like. I kept this in mind as soon as we arrived: our gate was at the other end of huge Incheon airport and Hugo and I had to walk all the way to the arrival gate without our stroller. Since I was holding our two hand carried bags, I really had to let Hugo walk the whole stretch of the airport, until the we got his stroller at the baggage claim area. This took us around an hour but it was a stress-free one hour.

Lastly, be prepared to change, change, change your schedule. The husband and I planned to watch Seoul Philharmonic and arranged for friends to watch Hugo. However, we left the hotel only after Hugo was engrossed with his toys enough not to notice our absence (he noticed after half an hour). This made all the difference as we were late for the concert (which did not have any intermission) and were not able to get in.

So there. I got over the fear of traveling alone with a baby. I am sure I want to do this again, especially since Hugo seemed closer to me after that trip. The stress and body pain were truly worth it.