Adam's Top 5

After Adam was born we received so many beautiful presents.  We loved every single one! 

These are the ones that Adam likes to give as gifts when a new friend is born or has a birthday.

1) Blabla doll.  I love these dolls. They’re so special and soft! Adam has a bit of an addiction 🙂 

Here is Belky (thanks Erika and Henry!)
 
Here is Raki who sleeps with Adam every night, but lately when I go in to get Adam in the morning he’s trying to stuff Raki in between the crib and the wall.  I’m not sure who’s at fault.
 
 
 And here is Phil the Fel
 
Blabla
 
2) Also a big hit in the Ali home is the Jellycat doll.
 
Adam had a crocodile names Niles, but he was sadly left behind on the plane when we flew to Russia.

 
 
but not to worry, we had some spares 🙂
 
 
 Here is Detroit Elephant (or Delf as he’s affectionately called) and Astin the Aardvark.   Gifts from Roman and Eli!
 
Jellycats
 
 
3) One of our favorite gifts was a beautiful blanket Aunt Sandra got for Adam from Pottery Barn with his name on it.  Adam loved it so much he got the same one for his good friend Nadia.
Those cheeks kill me! And those little baby hands.
 
We also loved the super soft Serena and Lily blanket Megan and the Diracles Miracles gave us.  It kept Adam warm and cuddly when we decided he should see the Lincoln Memorial at 3 weeks old in December.
 
 
Pottery Barn kids blanket
 

4)  We love Playsam Cars.  We found a great blue race car for Roman in this amazing baby shop in Chartlottesville for his third birthday.  When we got there he already had one in orange! But a boy can never have too many race cars.

 
 

Then for Adam’s birthday Nadia gave Adam an awesome black race car and for Christmas Roman got Adam a Playsam plane!  These are so beautiful and are such a fun collection.  I just need to convince myself that Adam can play with them and take them off the shelf 🙂

5)  Last on the list was such a creative present, from our friends Matt and Joni and their two kids Conor and Clara.  They sent Adam a block set in Arabic!  This has been sitting on Adams shelf in DC but whenever the boat gets here with these blocks Adam will love playing with them!

We’re off to Hong Kong tonight! See you all on Monday.

Day of Valor

Yesterday was a holiday in Manila.  Which meant Randy was off!  We had a great day.  We met friends for brunch in Makati at 9:30.  They have a 20 month old so they understand that when you’re up at 6am, brunch happens at 9:30.

Then some of us got to sneak in a little treat!

We had dinner next door at a friend’s house at 5:30 but by 3:30 we were all feeling a little stir crazy.  An air purifier can only provide so much entertainment.

 
So we decided to walk over to the American Cemetery.  We can see it from our window and have been meaning to go.  Seeing as it’s not even five minutes away it’s really embarrassing it’s taken us this long to get there. 
 
View of the cemetery from our window
 
It is really beautiful.  There are graves going around in circles and in the middle a grassy path that leads up to the center. In the center there is an circle of grass and lists of names of people engraved on columns.   There are 17,206 graves in this cemetery, which apparently is the largest number of graves of any cemetery for U.S. personnel killed during World War II.  It holds soldiers from the Philippines and other allied nations as well as the US.   It’s located in the middle of the city but is very peaceful.
 
 

 
Some of us couldn’t be contained in our stroller and wanted to be free to run!
 
 

 
The center was great and had a huge open grassy space which was perfect for Adam to run around in and explore.
 

 

 
It turns out that yesterday was the Day of Valor and that was why Randy was off.  This day is to commemorate the heroism of Filipinos and American Soldiers when the Japanese occupied the Philippines during World War II.  So it was pretty fitting that we ended up at the American Cemetery. 
 


Happy Tuesday

I came across this the video the other day that Gabby and Lev made me for my 30th birthday and even though its not my birthday this makes me smile every time I watch it so I’m going to share 🙂 After all, its almost my half birthday 🙂

http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/ornjq_-dx6Q&source=uds

I love that they took the time to make this for me (it was pre-Mendel of course when they had more time on their hands 🙂 Such amazing friends!

I wish we could go with them to Tartine every weekend for some pudding.  Even thought Mendel and Adam don’t get to see each other often I know they’re going to be the best of friends! 

Now hurry up and get to Manila guys!

Routine

Adam has been on an amazing nap schedule for a while now.  He would take a two hour nap in the morning and then a two hour nap in the afternoon.  It was amazing, mostly for me!  I would be able to clean and cook during the morning nap and and write emails, blog and work on job applications during the second nap. 

I, like a toddler, love routine and I loved that there was a predictability to our days.  I am a creature of habit.  When Randy used to go on business trips and I didn’t have a toddler who needed a well balanced meal I would eat orzo every night.  Ok, this was part habit and part laziness. 

Here is Adam month four when he would mostly nap on me.
The past two weeks though Adam has, as toddlers tend to do, changed and he has decided he only wants to take one nap.  It’s been throwing me off completely.  I kept trying to get him to take two naps and he of course did not want to.  I think I selfishly wasn’t ready to enter into this next stage of life and I also was completely thrown off my routine and felt out of sorts.  Adam, of course, took less time to adjust and I finally feel like I’ve caught up.  The past three days he’s taken one long nap from 12-3.  Which, I have to say is still pretty nice. It means we can go out in the morning and not have to race back.  It also means that here, where I have help, I have three whole hours to do whatever I want and I don’t even have to clean and cook!
 
So what do we do to fill our days, you ask?  This weekend we did nothing and it was great! We went for long walks in the morning, followed by a nap and then some pool time.  It has gotten HOT here and it’s so nice to have a pool downstairs.  When Adam wakes up from his nap it’s a great time to go.  The sun isn’t as strong and loads of people are down there.  As Randy said – it’s like a Budweiser commercial. 

Adam has really started liking the pool, now he just needs to learn how to swim!

 
 

We also found time this weekend to go to our friend’s birthday party! With one nap we were able to  stay there all morning.  We did all need a nap afterwards.  Why are kids birthday parties so exhausting for parents?? Basketball, balloons and clowns, it was Adam’s dream.

Adam has been really into basketball lately ! He is his dad’s son 🙂 

Thanks Aunt Sandra for the awesome shirt!

This birthday party was really cute, it was animal themed, so there were masks, stickers of animals, even a little farm.  There were also clowns….I think perhaps a lot was lost in the translation but the first joke out of this clown’s mouth was- ‘Is my nose bleeding?’ Is this even a joke? For a room full of kids? Anyway, thankfully his show did get better from there but was still pretty interesting to watch.  At one point he asked the children to find things in the room to win a prize and among the things to look for were a hot mommy and then their very own yaya (Filipino for nanny). Lost in translation I think. 

Sunday nights we’ve been going to Aria, a pizza place on the high street.  The pizza is delicious and the waitresses love Adam so we can enjoy our food while they fawn over him.   We’ve started to really settle in here and enjoy life so far.  I think the tropical weather, pool downstairs and countless amazing places close by to travel to make us feel like we’re perpetually on vacation.  We felt the same when we first moved to London, so I know as time passes and we get more used to life here that feeling will fade, but for now it’s really nice.

Thank you Manila

You made Adam’s week.  I don’t know when it happened, but Adam has become all boy. He is now obsessed with fire engines and helicopters and this week we got to see plenty of both.

This morning a helicopter circled right in front of our window for a full hour!  No idea why it stayed for so long, but it made Adam’s morning, and mine too since I had plenty of time to drink my tea and relax while Adam stared out the window. Thanks helicopter!

Then, yesterday, we were leaving our building and heard a siren.  When a fire truck passed right by our building and stopped down the block, we decided to go see what was going on, like any good rubber necker would do. 

Luckily it was only a fire drill.  This was BY FAR the most intense fire drill I have ever seen.  It seemed to be more a drill for the firemen than the people in the building.

The fire engine arrived and proceeded to spray water at the same spot of the building for a good thirty minutes (I think that one window is now safe, firemen).   Then there were some mock paramedics saving an injured man.  They raced out of the building with a man on the stretcher and then heaved him onto the gurney (I use the word heaved purposely here).  Let’s just be glad it was a fake injury and not a spine or neck injury.

Adam watched every second with huge eyes.

What happened next in this fire drill? Well, I’m glad you asked.  Next a big fire pit was brought out.  I thought maybe they were going to cook up some lunch.  But no, that was not what was planned.  This big vat was filled with water and chemicals from three different plastic jugs and then this was lit on fire.  Then volunteers from the crowd were brought in to practice using a fire extinguisher and put this chemical fire out.  While it is good for people to learn to use a fire extinguisher perhaps they could practise just as well on a fake fire?  Where did this demonstration take place you ask, why in the middle of the street of course. 

 Note water jug full of chemicals

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?videoUrl=http://redirector.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?id%3Dee18164bfff83f3a%26itag%3D5%26source%3Dpicasa%26cmo%3Dsensitive_content%253Dyes%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1367817838%26sparams%3Did,itag,source,ip,ipbits,expire%26signature%3D466949AAB9EA10D5C15105FBDE3718AC31642886.1B3FAC0EE5810ECE7288AADEC28B08DB1404FEB5%26key%3Dlh1
Some video for full effect of the ‘fire safety demonstration’

Adam also has developed an excited voice. It’s been hard to catch on tape since it happens out of nowhere. It’s prompted by dogs, bulldozers, cats, big trucks, sometimes a lizard, balloons, sirens and bubbles. There was so much to be excited about here that I was able to catch it on tape.  Fair warning, I would turn the volume down if you’re at work. 

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?videoUrl=http://redirector.googlevideo.com/videoplayback?id%3D16c97817e7c90390%26itag%3D5%26source%3Dpicasa%26cmo%3Dsensitive_content%253Dyes%26ip%3D0.0.0.0%26ipbits%3D0%26expire%3D1367817844%26sparams%3Did,itag,source,ip,ipbits,expire%26signature%3DA706DCEAFED4CAB9348AD3DFFDE74B49CC71F2F9.A8A0A52EDCA7036AC639FF06AFA5C42390CD4AFA%26key%3Dlh1

Happy Friday People!

This video cracks me up every time I see it.  Adam carried over Randy’s work shoes and Randy decided to put those babies on and show Adam how it’s done.

I think my favorite part is by far the arm flourish that Randy throws in the end to show that all of his years of tap lessons paid off (before I get a flurry of emails, Randy did not actually ever take tap lessons).  

 

 

A Movie Star and Vin Diesel in Leyte

In Leyte, this is what would happen when Adam would walk around. 

I would have thought everyone was waving at Vin Diesel but then this photo session happened.  At first it was two girls who wanted to take a picture with Adam. 

 
Then more people started wandering over and wanting to take pictures with the newest Leyte star.
 
 
 This ended with a huge photo session. Guess who loved every minute of it, Adam.  This boy was born to be in front of the cameras, which is good for Vin Diesel’s son.
 
 

 

A Perfect Day on a Boat

The second day in Leyte we decided to take a boat trip to Limasawa Island. It’s about a 40 minute boat trip from the southern tip of Leyte where we were staying.

The night before we were told the trip runs from 9-5.  I immediately decided that there was no way Adam would be able to handle the whole day out with no nap.  The next morning I woke up still thinking it would be best to cancel, but luckily Randy convinced me it would be ok.  And you know what, it was better than ok.  We had the most amazing day.  Adam was an angel and loved every second of it.  Toddler lesson number two- learned.  It’s always better to try and see, because when the stars are aligned it’s amazing.

This is just another reason why I love Randy, he forces me to move out of my comfort zone and try things.  With a toddler, this is really, really good.  I get stuck in our routine and worry that any change will mean Adam turns into a gremlin.  But Randy reminds me that even if things end up not going well, it’s always better to have tried.  I also love Randy because when I told him I was wearing flip-flops that couldn’t get wet, he looked at me with a confused look on his face and honestly asked why they would make flip-flops that aren’t waterproof.  This stuck in my head all day, and you know what Randy, that is a really good question.

We got suited up and were ready to roll. Safety first people.

(Note to self- next time don’t take the picture looking right into the sun)

Then we walked over to the boat…I again came this close to calling the whole thing off. 

But once we were on I felt totally safe and the two captains were experts.  We hardly felt any waves and we were able to relax and enjoy the view.  We were looking for dolphins which were hiding that day, but that’s ok because it was still beautiful.

We stopped at a little beach where we got to snorkel.   I’ve always been a little scared of snorkeling, but here the water is so clear and the fish so beautiful, that I soon forgot to be scared.  They have these amazing blue starfish that come out of nowhere.  They look like they’ve been planted there by Disney.  We don’t have an underwater camera but here is what they look like. You’re just swimming along and all of a sudden this super bright blue starfish is laying there.  It looks so out of place and is so pretty.  The fish are all so brightly colored, red and yellows and blues that are so bright!
After snorkeling we headed over to another beautiful beach for lunch.  We had some free time to explore before lunch was ready.


Lunch was amazing and they even had Adam’s favorite – corn! He managed to eat his, mine and Randy’s piece.

After that we took a short boat ride to the part of Limasawa where Magellan first landed in 1521 and held the first mass.  The 492nd anniversary of this event was taking place the day after we visited the island.  (ps- shortly after this, Magellan sailed to Cebu, another Philippino island, and was killed)
Our friend Vincent who was staying at the hotel with us is on the left.  There were five other kids there, but they were all older. It nearly broke my heart to see Adam wanting so badly to play with them, but being too young. 
Adam walked through this town like a superstar.  Everyone wanted to say hi and wave at him, which he LOVED! He even got to ride a motorcycle (don’t worry Grandmas- it wasn’t turned on).  How will Adam ever go back to boring Manila, where we walk to the grocery store on foot every day.
On our way back, Adam got a little snooze in.  Randy and I got to snorkel at yet another beautiful beach. 
To top off our pretty amazing day, there is a flock of bats that migrate every night over the hotel and Adam was in heaven.  He watched until the very last bat flew past.  I thought they were pretty creepy looking, but my boy does love him some animals and he doesn’t discriminate.

Sunday morning we squeezed in one last beach and pool trip before our journey back.

On the way to the airport we stopped at MacArthur Park which is near the airport.  It’s pretty remarkable how this one small island is steeped in so much history.  Why a park dedicated to General Douglas MacArthur in Leyte, you ask? 
Well, according to wiki the story goes-
MacArthur made his promise to return to the Philippines when the Japanese occupied the country in 1942. By this time, the Allies had already decided to attack Japan directly rather than battle the Japanese in the Philippines. MacArthur, however, convinced President Roosevelt and Pacific Commander Chester Nimitz to send forces to the Philippines to fight against the Japanese forces that had overtaken the country. The U.S. 6th Army stormed the beach and the U.S. Forces defeated the Japanese soon afterward in the famous Battle of Leyte Gulf. 
I think this story is why my dad actually knew where Leyte was when I told him we were going.  I was shocked that he had heard of it, but as he’s read almost everything on World War II, it now makes sense.
I have been cut out of this picture for your benefit.  A cold shower that morning and lots of humidity made for some really, really bad hair.


Some of us were more excited about the dog that walked by than the statues.  In fact every time I show him a picture of MacArthur park he starts barking. That dog really made an impression 🙂

We arrived home Sunday night missing Leyte and already planning our next trip out of Manila.  We’ve had some after vacation blues, but we’re combating it with some pool time, gymboree and walks to the fountains.
Hope you all had a great Easter! 

Island Life is the life for me

This past weekend we had a four day weekend and we decided it was a good time to start exploring the Philippines.  We headed off to the island of Leyte on Thursday.  We can see the planes taking off from our kitchen window and Randy has taught Adam to wave to every plane that passes.  It was fun to head to the airport knowing Adam gets so excited when he sees planes.

After a quick check in in and a short three hour plane delay where lots of laps were made around, friends were made and planes were watched from the windows, we were on our way.  The flight was only an hour so we passed the time eating pretzels and drawing.

We knew we were close when we saw this out of the window.

Next up a three hour car trip.  We knew this was coming but with the plane delay it was later than expected.  Maybe this ended up working to our advantage because some of us used this time to take a cat nap.
We got in too late to do much besides have dinner and head to bed. The next morning we woke up and had a delicious breakfast.
After breakfast Adam helped me unpack. His newest obsession is putting things in things.  This resulted in him taking everything out of the suitcase and then putting everything into either his crib, the garbage can or the toilet.  That bag of dried mangos made it to the toilet.  The rest luckily mostly ended up in the crib and the garbage can. 

(this picture was taken before the mangos were in the toilet)

 
Randy headed off to swim with whale sharks and Adam and I had the day to ourselves.  We spent the day alternating between the beach and the pool. 
Beach
Pool
We dug our bathing suits out of the garbage can and headed down to the beach first since it was early morning and not too hot.  The beach was a pebble which for me is much preferred to sand.  I’ve always preferred pebble beaches, maybe because I used to go to so many in Greece when I was younger. This preference has been made even greater with a toddler who manages to get food bits inside his diaper even when wearing a onesie so I fear to think where all that sand would have ended up (seriously how does that happen?).  Adam loved it.  He filled up his bucket in the shade while I looked for seashells in the sun.  Not a bad way to spend the morning.

After a dip in the pool we had a yummy lunch of spaghetti and fruit.  Look at my lunch date! Sitting in a chair and everything 🙂

After a long nap where I was able to read my book (Shanghai Girls- I’m addicted) it was back to the beach for some more seashell hunting.

  

We cleaned up and met Randy to hear about his day and tell him all about ours.

Then it was bed for Adam.  As if this hotel wasn’t awesome enough, our room was right by the main deck where we ate dinner so we were able to have dinner, just the two of us and be in earshot of Adam (and have the video monitor for added peace of mind).  This hotel- Padros Burgos Castle is owned by a husband and wife team.  The husband, who is Scottish runs the boat trips and the wife, who is Philippino, cooks all the meals.   Both are amazing at what they do.  Everything we ate was delicious! Friday night we had a huge tray of delicious crab with vegetables.

What an amazing day!