Chef Ryken's Pizza Bread

One afternoon, I requested my yaya to assist Ryken in making pizza bread so he can do an activity and have merienda at the same time.  The pictures were taken by my yaya's daughter.  Ryken was very proud of himself!

They used Del Monte Sweet Pizza Sauce, Del Monte Pineapple Tidbits, Purefoods Sweet Ham, and Eden Cheese.  Yummy!

putting the sauce

then the ham

the pineapple

then the cheese :)

the pizza bread are now in the oven, yey!

Ryken with his Yaya Angie

Funny that Ryken did not eat the pizza bread, so we ate them instead when we arrived home from work, hehe.. :)

Hello, Dubai! :)

I just love Ryken's expression here and how I wish this was really taken in Dubai. :)

But no, this is the La Paz Sand Dunes of Laoag, Ilocos Norte (famous setting of the movies, Panday ni FPJ and Temptation Island Remake).  Hubby and my in-laws went on a 4x4 ride here and they did the sandboarding, too.  We spent the Holy Week in Laoag and Batac, the hometown of my parents-in-law.  

Friends who've been to the Middle East say that this can easily pass as a Dubai picture.  Astig! :)

The Cranky Rosary Bearer

Shortly before he turned two, Ryken experienced being a rosary bearer in the wedding of his Tito Jowell and Tita Reah last August 6, 2011.  Jowell was my former officemate whom I also consider as my guy bestfriend.  Hubby and I were very excited!  I trained Ryken to walk using the pillow for our wedding rings with "Canon in D" as background music.

However, we did not make it in time for the wedding march. :(  It was all my fault.  I have poor time management so we left the house a few minutes before 2pm (the ceremony was at 2pm, I didn't know that they indicated the exact time of the ceremony in the invitation).  We did not anticipate the traffic at the Meycauayan tollgate and the wedding was at Divine Mercy Shrine in Marilao, Bulacan.  If there was no traffic near the tollgate, we might have made it to the march since our route was through NLEX (North Luzon Expressway).  Jowell even called me as we were a few meters away from the church to ask permission if they could start the processional without us.  Har! Of course I said yes.  I wouldn't want to be the reason for the delay of their wedding, hehe.. :)

Upon arrival at the church, Ryken just clung to me.  He didn't want to be put down.  I wanted to take a picture of him by the red carpet near the entrance door but he was scared of the door.  He might have felt overwhelmed with its gigantic size and the great amount of light that passes through from outside.  We chose a seat at the farthest right of the church as Ryken was already having tantrums.  He didn't want to stay inside the church!

Good thing my mom was with us so she brought Ryken outside.  Ryken's mood lightened up a bit when they went there.  He played with the monoblock chairs, inspected the steel gates of the side entrance, and looked at the lighting fixtures and the bystanders.


However, during the pictorial, Ryken didn't want to stand beside the other bearers.  He started crying and didn't want to be left alone so I was part of the picture.  He really wasn't in a good mood that day.

the cranky bearer

Ryken behaved better at the reception, probably since he's used to eating at celebrations.  I hope next time he'll be a better bearer. :)  And yes, I do promise to prepare early so we will arrive on time at the wedding venue.

My Friend, Jollibee

Ryken has really grown up. He's not scared of Jollibee anymore. We're proud parents! :)

Though I saw him turn a bit rigid when the mascot hugged him, hehehe.. :)  But he relaxed soon after.  At least now he appreciates birthday parties more than when he was younger.

Train, Train, Choo Choo!

Ryken loves trains.  I cannot recall when I introduced him to Thomas the Train but it was the time that I bought a 60pc-pack of Pampers Active Baby Large and there was a free Thomas DVD.  He was probably more than a year old then and he enjoyed the show so much.  I also remember a time when we were in the Toy Section of Landmark and he saw a Thomas train and never let it go.  His papa had no choice but to buy him that manually-operated toy train.  It's the type of toy where you push the driver down and the train zooms forward.  It's one of his favorite toys up to now. :)

Our little boy had the chance to ride the MRT for the first time when I had a reunion with college friends in Greenbelt last January 2011.  We rode the train from Quezon Avenue Station and alighted at Ayala Station.

The second time Ryken rode the MRT was when we attended a birthday party at KFC, SM Megamall last January 2012 (haha, such a coincidence that the occasions were a year apart).  He still enjoyed it, of course.

pogi pose

excitedly waiting for the train

The party finished at around past 7pm.  On the way back to Quezon Avenue from Ortigas Station, the train was jampacked and we had to wait for more than 30 minutes in line.  Good thing the MRT management has implemented a scheme where all passengers fall in line (in two's) by the entrance/exit door markers to ride the train.  I remembered to take Ryken's picture as a survivor of a jampacked MRT.

shocked! :D

'Til the next ride! :)

Pencil Doodles on the Study Table

Last Thursday night, I was preparing the table for dinner when I suddenly noticed some marks on Ryken's study table.

the-table-turned-paper

the left side, ang may pinakamatinding scribble

Nabinyagan na ni Ryken ang kanyang study table. What's amazing is, there are marks on all sides!

the center part (the one in front of you when you're seated)

the right side

and the back side (when you're seated)

It seems that Ryken did this while his Yaya Angie was busy preparing and cooking dinner. Kaya pala sabi ni Yaya, ang tahimik daw ng bata, hehe.

Yaya Angie tried to remove the pencil marks by scrubbing the table with a wet rag but she wasn't successful. I thought of using a pencil eraser (the one on top of pencils) and thankfully, it worked! However, if you look closely at the table, there are still visible albeit lighter marks.

Mukhang nakakaintindi rin naman si Ryken dahil tumulong sa aking magbura ng mga sulat niya, hehe..

here I am busy erasing the pencil marks

I look forward to more surprises from you, dear Ryken! :)

Under The Table

Ryken has this habit of going under the table when he needs to poopoo.  His aunt (hubby's sister) used to do it, too, when she was little.  When he grew older, however, he seemed to enjoy doing it while playing "habulan" with his papa.

 
Maybe next time he'll fancy going on top of the table or the chair, hehe..

Breaking China (1st Casualty: Corelle Plate)

This is the first plate that Ryken broke.

We were eating dinner last night. He was standing on his chair and toying with his yaya's food and plate. Then.. the plate fell on the floor and broke.

It's a Corelle plate with a nice flower border design. It was a wedding gift from my Ninang Beng.

Well, the good thing was Ryken was not hurt.  I gave him a bit of scolding though.  But I think he didn't fully understand what happened. We will just be more careful next time.

Toddler Passport Application at DFA Aseana on a Saturday

Just wanted to share my experience in applying for my then 19-month-old son's passport last March 26, 2011 at DFA Aseana. Siya lang ang kinuhanan ko since yung passports naming mag-asawa will expire in 2013 pa.

I scheduled the appointment online last January. Since I usually wake up late on a Saturday, I got the latest schedule which is 11:30am. We almost did not make it, hehe. We arrived DFA at 11:50am and parked at the vacant lot just across the office. The guard allowed both me and hubby to enter even if si Ryken lang ang may appointment. We went first to the appointment verification counter then to the waiting area for document verification. Pagpasok nga namin sa loob, saktong sinarado na ang gate. :)

Wow, ang daming tao!! We were 2nd to the last in line. All the while I thought we can pay for the regular processing worth Php950.00. Yun pala, if your appointment is on a Saturday, you will pay Php1,200.00 dahil special schedule na raw yun at considered overtime for the employees. Ngek! Nalaman ko kasi yun nung malapit na kami sa unahan ng line. Kung nalaman ko lang agad, sana pala umakyat na kami sa 2nd floor since I am a government employee and I can use the courtesy lane. Hindi naman kasi kami nagmamadaling kumuha ng passport. Though mabilis namang gumalaw ang pila dahil maraming counters ang bukas.

The officer at the document verification window got Ryken's application and orig birth certificate, a xerox copy of our marriage certificate, and the photocopy of my passport. I signed the Affidavit of Consent to Travel sa application kasi so it was the copy of my passport that they attached to the form. I prepared all the supporting documents, orig with xerox copies, kaya kita agad ng officer and he just returned to me the copies na hindi na kailangan.

Love-Hate Relationship with Water

Ryken likes bathing in a pail or batya.

He's not fond of the beach or the swimming pool.

His first beach encounter was in Puerto Galera at 6 1/2 months old.

His next beach experience was in Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte at 7 1/2 months old.

He never liked it.

Bye-Bye, Ate Male (Marie)

Last May 14, Ryken's yaya, Ate Angie, and her daughter, Anamarie, left for their home in Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro.  It's just a vacation for our yaya but for Marie, she has decided to stay there again after spending a year with us. She was my mom's companion in Tandang Sora since we now live in Meycauayan.  My mom enrolled her in a public high school near our place and she went there as a 2nd year student for SY 2010-2011.  It proved difficult for her because she had to adjust to the teaching style here and the additional expenses, too, which were very different from her school in Mindoro.  I always assisted her with her assignments and projects.  She contributed a lot to the preparations for Ryken's 1st birthday celebration.  She was a big help to my mom, and she took good care of my pet dog, Batsing.

Ryken fondly calls her "Ate Male" and he considers her as his playmate.  Marie loves kids and I really saw how affectionate she was with Ryken.

We will surely miss you, Ate Male! Take care and see you again. :)

Floor Doodles

Ryken loves music and art.  He dances to any tune, sings a few songs (Twinkle, Twinkle, Happy Birthday, and the theme songs of the teleserye Mutya, Mara Clara, and Minsan Lang Kitang Iibigin), writes on his Tito Ninong Jolo's Kinder notebook with his jumbo pencil, and colors his coloring books with also jumbo crayons.  I probably influenced him into liking music since I love to sing.  He also knows the "I love you forever" song from the Love You Forever book by Robert Munsch, which I always sing to him at bedtime (I made my own tune).

One night, we colored his coloring books while watching a Kapamilya teleserye. I was glued to the TV screen and when I looked at Ryken again, here's what surprised us:



Oh no! Doodle on the living room tiles! (that's Ryken's yaya beside him, who was also glued to the TV that time, hehe..)

  

And it's bloody red!
Next time, I should pay more attention to my child than on the teleserye, hehe..