Chloe in Filipiana at the Pista sa Raya

Last August, Raya school held their little Filipiniana program! Mommy Angel had to run out to good old SM to find her the appropriate attire!

Chloe sings to Cole

Louie, Angel, Chloe and Cole spent the day in Megamall last Sunday... without a yaya or any other family member or friend tagging along. One stroller. Two kids. At one point, Chloe was sitting in the stroller when Mommy Angel had been carrying Cole and he had fallen asleep. Chloe was asked to step out of the stroller (since technically, the stroller belongs to Cole) but she said she was tired. She gamely agreed to having Cole put on top of her. (Note, Cole weighs 21 pounds).


For what seemed like thirty minutes, Chloe had Cole on her and we put down the cover of the stroller so he wouldn't wake up. But someone was singing! Mommy Angel listened in and faintly heard Chloe singing Cole a lullaby...

"Bayang magiliw, perlas ng silangan, alab ng puso, sa dibdib mo'y buhay... "

She sang the entire Philippine National anthem to him to soothe him!

Reasons Why I Should Model for a Living

1. I ain't camera shy.

2. I know my best angle...

3. I can strike a pose...

4. I can do the non-chalant, casual thing...

5. I can work with professionals...

6. I can accessorize...

7. I can get creative with my facial expression...

8. I can put on lipstick...

9. I can keep my underwear on when necessary...

10. I can sell a sea lion when I smile.

(Thanks to Uncle Rony for alot of these pictures taken while I was in Hong Kong)

Music & Lyrics

Chloe (Singing):
"Are you sleeping
Are you sleeping
Brother Dong
Brother Dong
Morning bells are ringing
Everybody's singing
Ding, ding, dong
Ding, ding, dong "

Angel: "Chloe, it's supposed to be John, not Dong."

Chloe (singing with a devlish smile):
"Are you sleeping
Are you sleeping
Brother John
Brother John
Morning bells are ringing
Everybody's singing
John, John, John
John, John, John"

(Can you believe this kid?)

Chloe enjoying Kindergarten at Raya

July 16 was National Children's Book Day at Raya School, so all the kids were supposed to dress up as characters that you could find in an Adarna/Lampara book. (I'm sure you see the incoming dilemma). Luckily, teacher Isbel helped us out by telling us to check out "Ang Pambihirang Buhok ni Raquel" - a story written in both English and Filipino. It's about how this little girl adores her cousin Raquel who had FANTASTIC hair! So there were all sorts of things in this pambihirang buhok that the girl was so envious of (butterflies, flowers, cupcakes, and all sorts of wonderful things). At the end of the story, you find out Raquel is wearing a wig because she has leukemia. (Talk about crashing back to reality.) And the kid finds out she's alot luckier than her cousin, Raquel.

So we came as Raquel...

With matching butterflies in her hair... (we were up at 645am doing this!)

On another note, it's a real challenge to pull Chloe out of school everyday (it takes an average of 15-20 minutes from the minute her Mommy steps in the school). Apparently, she's just having too much fun...

It's a small class of 9 adorable kids. Thursday is PE day and clearly, the self-proclaimed day to let loose!

Happy Father's Day!

Chloe and I spent Saturday afternoon of June 16 painting in SM megamall. Painting ceramic thingies to give to Tatay (Angel's Dad), Lolo (Louie's Dad) and Tito Carlo (Louie's brother). I told her it was for Father's Day. Chloe was so excited about the whole ceramic painting though that she was begging Mommy to allow her to paint things for me, Tita Mirzi, Nanay (people who clearly were not um, fathers).

Upon reaching home, I told her very clearly told Chloe not to tell Lolo about the surprise ceramic things we made. I came downstairs to dinner where Chloe and Lolo were sitting. She gave me the biggest smile and said, "Mommy, I did not tell Lolo about our painting!"

Suddenly, she realized that she had done exactly that!

Since Louie's dad isn't a strong believer of Father's Day anyway, he got his little ceramic thingy a day early. :-) Chloe was so proud of it, she was ready show Lolo the gifts for everyone...

Morale: If you want your kid to keep quiet about something, do not tell them to keep quiet about something.

Birthday surprise! (Not)

It was Louie's dad's birthday yesterday, June 4. Louie had gotten his dad a shirt, wrapped it and told me to have Chloe give it. So I went up to Chloe, told her it was a shirt gift for Lolo because it was his birthday, and not to tell anyone at Frisco that she was giving him a gift so it would be a surprise. She quietly agreed.

Later that morning, Lolo, Lola, Chloe and I were in a new, fairly empty room at the office. Seeing we were alone, she asked me if she could tell Lolo that she had a gift for him. I smiled and said "Sure!"

She calls out to her Lolo... "Lolo, I have a gift for you!" with the biggest grin on her face. I was so proud.

"Mommy says it's a shirt."

(AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Moral of the story: Do not tell kids less than 7 the contents of anything intended to be a gift.

Chloe and her mommy

Chloe at the Photo Studio again!

We love Blow-up Babies!

Snippets of a Birthday

It started out like a song...

At home

At the Laparan offices

At school

Happy Birthday, Chloe

Our little Chloe is not so little anymore... Happy 4th Birthday, sweetie!

(Shots 1,2,3,6,7 taken at Blow-up Babies, Shots 4 & 5 taken at Picture Company.)

Chloe's Surfer Dude Outfit from Auntie Joy

Chloebear at Blow-up Babies

Last February, Chloe and Cole had their first photo studio session ever -- at Blow-up Babies in Gateway. It was such a fantastic experience. Chloe absolutely loved her outfit. It was so tough to pick out which photos to print.

Brother Cole also had the most adorable pictures (Chloe tells everyone that Cole had his picture taken inside a giant's shoe. Check out Cole's blog!)

Lastly, here's a most fabulous one of Chloe and Cole together...

Starting School

Upon the recommendation of my cousin who lives 5 minutes away, Chloe tried out the Cradle of Joy Center of Learning starting last January. You can enroll for just the month, it's a nice way of easing a kid into school. January's theme: Noah's Ark. So the kids learn about the story of Noah, the colors of the rainbow, animals and the value of obedience. Check out Chloe's first day!