The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. A gift from the tooth fairy. In fact, the tooth fairy brought him to Fully Booked last April 18 so he could buy the book himself.
The tooth fairy even treated him out to fries and a strawberry slushie...what a tooth fairy!
Hmm. It shouldn't be a coincidence then that this picture was taken in his dentist's office.
I didn't know that they allowed cigarettes in the cardiac cath lab of Massachusetts General Hospital.
That's my dad, btw, in 1966.
No, I don't smoke.
Pet lovers, please keep in mind that you may need a cardiologist one day.
So here's what I found while sorting through my mom's photos. Photoshopping was my "therapy" after scanning so many of her pics!
Will look for a look-alike photo of Miguel :)
A trip to Batangas with Butch, Jean, Chloe and Chino! Miguel was afraid to ride at first, but quickly got jealous when he saw Chloe and Chino trot off. After his first ride, he was all smiles and asking for more! He rode on Dip Tank, a very friendly quarterhorse who got his name because he fell into a...dip tank!
Thanks to Butch and Jean for bringing us, and Chloe for inviting us!
The snake is an albino python, a pet of our host.
You just have to see this costume!
Since I needed more time to make his Deoxys (Pokemon) costume for the Sunday party, Miguel decided to make his own costume for Lola Perla's trick or treat party on Saturday. As he explained to ninang beforehand:
"I'm going to wear my magician costume, plus my Cable costume, plus my Superman costume. And then I'm going to hold my light saber."
Ninang: "Okay."
Miguel: "And then I'm gonna hold a sign that says Don't ask!"
It was a hit at the subdivision party! The emcee described it as "three years' worth of costumes" - so right he was - and kept on saying it was his favorite. Needless to say, Miguel won again for best costume!
The best part was, it was all his idea.
Defined as "smiling without showing teeth," this was taught by none other than Ate Mara during our Christmas eve celebration. Miguel picked it up right away and put it to good use the entire night. 
I think, though, that the best smurf smile belongs to Ninang Aly :)
As you may or may not know, parents are not allowed into the grade school during classes. But on the pretext of being head of the decorations committee for Miguel's class salu-salo, I got to go in for an ocular visit.
Rare photo opportunity like this must not be wasted.
Late post I know. Eight days late to be exact. But it was a really great day for me - didn't go to work, then surprised Miguel by picking him up from school.
The pic was taken at Dulcinea, which is Miguel's favorite restaurant because of the churros. Mom and Les joined us there for lunch.
Afterward, we went to Timezone to play his latest obssession, Soulcalibur. Little tyke ended up going home with a few prizes. Seemed like it was his birthday.
Had to do a quick change after that and get ready for my dinner date. All in all a good day :)
Lazy post I know it is, but considering that I had to get up at 4AM today I make no apologies.
Yes, you can add this to my "magpakatotoo ka" list of photos. I look really harrassed here. (These days, I always look harrassed.) But guess who felt like a million bucks?
Totally worth it.
Would I do it again? Hmm. Let me think about it.
43/100
(For Saturday, June 3, 2006)
Another photo with Teacher Ems! Isn't she preeetty? When I finally met her during the first recital I understood why my son likes taking piano lessons.
But kidding aside, Miguel really enjoys studying with Teacher Ems. She's very good with children and I can see that she really has passion about what she does. There was a time last year when she missed several sessions due to stress, but I'm so glad that my mom convinced me to keep Miguel in the program.
The summer recital was a cozier one, with less participants and a smaller venue. Miguel played 2 pieces, the same ones that he performed at his lolo's (grandfather's) 75th birthday.
The first thing that he asked me at the end of the recital, after he got his medal, was "can I continue taking piano lessons?" Yes, my son...absolutely! :)
33/100
(For Friday, June 2, 2006)
Thank God for photos! I'll do a post a day for a hundred days, no matter if I'm late.
We had a nice party with the cousins, Chloe and Chino, Chasey, and Arianna and Roque. So I guess that all my kiddie guests could be considered Miguel's cousins. We had swimming, balloons, cake, games, and lots and lots of chips. And oh yeah, the food. We were constantly grazing until dinnertime.
Note to self: next time get a party host.
Miguel told all of us his birthday wish: "I wish I could spend more time with mommy!"
I didn't know if I should feel flattered or embarrassed. Nevertheless, my sister was right: I think he's gonna get his wish.
32/100
(For Sunday, May 28, 2006)
Here's the boy playing with mosaic tiles. Excellent toy. Helps hone his "Math wizard" skills. He wanted to do every design on the box, then have me take a picture of each work.
This is also the first time that I'm publishing a picture of him in glasses.
27/100
(For Sunday, May 21, 2006)
It's late and I'm short by one post. So here's another quickie: Miguel reunited with his teddy bear. It's the most adorable thing, and I upon my suggestion my mom got it for him 4 Christmases ago. So why "reunited?" Well when he was a toddler he kept on getting colds and rashes, so my then pediatrician had me allergy-proof my son's environment.
That meant restricting certain foods, keeping a food diary, removing the bedside curtains, and banishing Beartrolucci and all other stuffed toys. He also took prophylactic antihistamines until age 4.
Thankfully he outgrew the rashes and has adjusted to previously allergenic foods like chicken, egg, and chocolate. Then a few months back he requested for Beartolucci, so here they are, together again.
It was kinda cute last week when Miguel wanted to play cards with me just as I was about to take a shower. I told him to find somebody else to play with first. So he propped Beartolucci on some pillows on his bed, dealt out the cards, and they played a game. I wanted to take a picture but I was busy in the john :)
Well, you should've seen it.
20/100
I've had this picture for a while. It's from graduation day at Gueli's swimming class. When I first saw it I was amazed at how much he looks like me.
What does it do to a parent to have her child look like her? Does it make her love the child more? Love herself more?
Funny thing is that the moment he was born, I thought he looked like his dad. Maybe all these years with just me has made him more like me.
But as early as now, I already tell him, "You are not your mommy. And you are not your daddy. You are Miguel."
Sometimes we make the mistake of thinking we're just like our parents. Well maybe that's not so bad since there are things about them that I admire. But there's some good in knowing that you're different and accepting yourself as so.
Or maybe I'm getting ahead of this identity crisis thing.
15/100
