Will Learn To Bike With Maia

I was so frail when I was a kid and always begged myself off anything that required me to be physically active. I had weak lungs and suffered asthma for most of my childhood that my parents almost always never hesitated to send excuse letters to my teachers each time I asked to be excused during PE activities in school. When my dad was teaching my siblings how to ride a bike I just watched them from the sidelines. As a kid, I thought I was lucky I had the perfect excuse to escape my dad's unconventional teaching method. My dad had this way of teaching you to be brave but he (that was how I interpreted it then as a kid) taught you that by directly putting you in harm's way. Well he's paying his dues now (by deciding to raise strong-willed/opinionated kids), but that's another story for me to tell.

When I got older however, I realized I missed a lot by choosing to be handicapped by my frailness.  Had I been more physically active as a child, I would probably have grown to love sports and might not be as shy as I was in high school. I was lucky I found supportive friends who cheered on me in college so I was able to get out of my shell but still had I been athletic I wouldn't have had so much difficulty 'blending' in and finding my 'crowd' because sports always had a captured audience and they're pretty easy to find because you know where they usually hang out.

I eventually learned that I could gain more if I get physically active. So I welcomed some 'sports' into my life. I learned to play badminton (which in  a way paved the way to my becoming a wife) and started running regularly. Although I couldn't claim I'm now athletic, I have acknowledged that by being physically active I could add extra years to lifetime and I've somehow established a regular exercise regimen. But no, I never pooled the the guts to try and learn how to bike.

When I got married, my husband would taunt me how unfortunate I was that I never learned to ride a bike. So when Maia showed interest to learn it, he didn't hesitate a bit. He immediately jumped into the idea of teaching his kid how to bike. Poor Mommy, she couldn't join us when we bike together no Maia? he'd say. I know he's just teasing and is secretly wishing could bike together as a family.

I really wanted to learn how actually. Only that I still cannot get the courage to ride it. And the fact that I've always had issues with finding my balance, it scares me even more to learn it now that I'm in my 30's already. I also hate the thought of the injury that goes with it. Scrapes and scratches and bruises from falling off a bike at my 30s? I'd really rather make a pass on that. So imagine my happiness when I stumbled upon this video in You Tube. There's hope for people like me after all! Hehe.

We shall be testing this trick really soon. I hope it works!

Maia Testing Her Biking Skills For The First Time, Jan 2011

One day soon Maia...we will ride together! 

Daddy's Corner: A Doll House For Maia

It all started with an empty box, a kid who loves to play make-believe with her stuffed toys, a mom who just loves to keep trash and a dad who had a sudden jolt of inspiration. Then voila! The daddy of the house ends up with a doll house for the little miss.

He promised her they'll paint it next weekend. I hope it's still standing by then. What with the little girl fussing over making sure the 'doors' locked and yet keeps getting her dolls in and out of it. Who can blame her though, even with this doll house still looking every bit like a used box, with that triangular thing sticking out like an actual roof the box was instantly transformed into a doll house the minute she figured out what her dad was building.

Father and Daughter Tandem (now he's probably wishing he has a son lolz)

Tibs rarely participates in our arts and crafts sessions. His bonding activity with Maia involves roughhousing most days and well, gardening on some days (and no it doesn't matter that she is in fact a daughter, pare-pareho lang yan! But I like/love that he values gender equality hehe). So this stuff was a totally new adventure for them both.

Yes, she is a girl. But she just loves HANDY MANNY!
(and here she proudly holds 'Beamer')

Hold with both hands, Maia! Steady...steady...

Daddy, with her beaming like this brace yourself for a part two! Now, I have a valid reason not to throw those boxes and empty cans now. (hehehe)

Daddy, you're the best!

Now you have to work on getting some furniture for this house, Daddy! :)

Maia Travels: Davao City's People's Park

One of the highlights of our recent trip to Davao City was the morning we spent at People's Park.

The park was just a few blocks from where we were staying in downtown Davao so we decided to just stroll over after breakfast. It was the same day that we were scheduled to go to Eden Nature Park but we thought we still had enough time to linger so we went for that walk.

We didn't have any expectations besides the thought that we would love for Maia to spend sometime running around since we know she always long for a wide space to waste her limitless energy on.

Oh boy, the park was indeed wide. Wide that we think the one hour we had was just not enough for the little girl. She wanted to stop by each of the gigantic statues and shake hands with them.

Colorful giant statues all over the park makes the visit even more interesting.

There was this corner in the park that is dedicated for kids called FUN PARK. Maia spent the first 30 mins here running from one slide to another and climbing from one structure (for the lack of a better term) to another. It was also Maia's first time to ride on a see-saw and she was shrieking in delight! I wish our village park had the same amenities. I'm sure when that happens Maia will become a regular 'fixture' you'd think she helps maintain it and would probably even ask to live there (yes, she has outrageous requests sometimes).

Fun Park Entrance

Look Mommy! Sliding! (that's what she calls slides)

She just went with her business when we got inside this section of the park.
She didn't even ask for our help when she was climbing the stairs and the slides.

Waiting Area and Restrooms right outside of the Fun Park entrance.

If you are going to Davao City as a family, this place is worth wasting your time. This was probably where we had most fun because we never spent a single peso and yet could really say we enjoyed it. We were even able to burn some calories walking around. Only thing we regret is we arrived when the park was already closing for morning clean up so we had limited time inside. We should have come earlier had we known it was closing at 8am. There was a lot to see apart from the fun park and the gigantic statues that adorned the park. There is a fish pond, some caged monkeys, a sunken garden (we saw a flock of pigeons being fed when we peaked into it). We also loved the center of the park where most of the trees are located. At 9am, the sun's heat is already approaching it's peak but you won't feel the heat coming in because of the abundance of trees. It was all fresh cold air we felt while we rested on the benches to catch our breath.

Cool Breeze!

Maia and Tibs having their own moment. Trees are all over!

I love this part! We found her collecting twigs, dried grass and leaves and arranging them on to the pavement.
It turns out she was assembling a food tray for the birds to enjoy. 

I felt really bad I couldn't share more photos from the park. The day after we got back from vacation, I accidentally deleted 80% of the photos from the SD card. We were able to recover most of them but still we lost many of the better looking photos most of which were taken from the People's Park. Oh well, I guess that gives us a reason to come back. :)

***The park is located in J. Palma Gil and Jose Camus streets just right beside Apo View Hotel. It opens early am and closes at 8am so the maintenance crew can clean up. It opens at 1pm again till nighttime.***

Thank You Just Made My Day

I was rushing to work this morning when I heard a muffled sound of plastic crashing and Maia suddenly shouted, "Sorry Mommy. Di ko sinasadya magkalat toys Mommy. Nalaglag mga pangluto ko! Ligpit mo na lang ha?"

That brought a smile to my face. Maia has become so verbal lately that there are days we'd wonder who put those words into her mouth.

Well I know the statement above doesn't sound all too positive and happy and charming. They do resonate a certain tone of fear, don't they? But don't worry, she wasn't trembling in fear when she said that. And we were never the punishing kind. She knew that scattered toys doesn't bother us. We got used to them already over the years. That was why I wondered where she got that statement - Di ko sinasadya magkalat ng toys Mommy. But well, I am out of the house for almost 12 hours 5 times in a week so I can only guess where she heard that. When these things come up, I just reinforce by telling her "hindi naman bawal magkalat, anak". Toys are made for playing so it's natural to see them out in the open . BUT she knows she has to pack them away when she's done because the toys need to rest too. And this simple rule usually works for us.

But I am digressing yet again. What I really wanted to document today was what followed after she said that statement. As I was dressing up she came up to me and told me again, "ikaw na ligpit ha?" I was running late already so I tried again -- "Ikaw na baby please, papasok na si Mommy eh." But sorry me, she really knows how to use her charm already: "Ikaw na lang Mommy, sige na".

I knew she was only gunning for my last minute attention before I leave her for the day so I gave in. I got down on my knees and started collecting the scattered toys. Guess what she did: she went down too and started helping me out. She said: "Tulungan na kita Mommy. Thank you Mommy ligpit mo pangluto ko. Mamaya ikakalat ulit ito ni Tito JR at ni Georgie". Hahaha that last statement just made me laugh hard (she was referring to my baby cousin and her toy monkey) but hearing her say THANK YOU was music to my ears. Ahhhhh the joys of parenting yet again.

Happy Friday Everyone!

Maia and her pangluto