We were planning to have a church wedding that same year, but with the birth of our son funds had to be reallocated for other stuff. Once things settled down, we got back on track and took some seminars at the Church of the Holy Redeemer here in Bangkok in order to get a certificate allowing the union of a disparity in religion. Incredible amount of paperwork and bureaucratic red tape was mixed in with all that as well.
DAY 01
We flew back to Manila on December 14th, and Little Nio's first flight was delayed by almost two hours.
Here we are at the Suvarnabhumi Airport, the New Bangkok International Airport. Little Nio in a carry harness with his Daddy, wearing a set of denim overalls and a white long sleeved shirt with these really cute brown shoes.
Here he is tanking up on a full tummy of milk for the long haul. On the whole, Little Nio was very well behaved on the flight and there ware no major incidents.
We eventually arrived in Manila without much fuss, but with all the holiday traffic we got to our house very, very late in the evening. My sister, Via, was there to pick us up from the airport and was great to see her again.
DAY 02
We spent most of our second day at home recovering from our trip in from Bangkok. You can see that my wife, Kanittha, looks a lot more alive and rested as well. Here's Little Nio, munching on a cucumber with his Mom and his Grandmother. He really surprised everyone by his ability to crunch down on veggies (mostly cucumbers and carrots) without choking on any bits.
DAY 03
Our third day in Manila started out nice and slow.
Here's Little Nio getting a special breakfast from his Mom with my sister, Via, looking on.
Here's Little Nio being carried by my brother, Nico, and with them is his cousin, Jose. This was taken in our house, with the Christmas tree in the foreground.
Today is a very special day for Jose because it was his eighth birthday. He had a fantastic cake that was designed to resemble a basketball. Jose is the eldest child of my other sister, Tessa.
Riding in a makeshift chariot — a box being pretend towed by a couple of stuffed elephants. Little Nio really enjoyed this game. When he gets older, we're going to show him this photograph again and let him watch "Ben Hur". I'm sure he'll find this photograph even more amusing and endearing in that context. Although he will wonder about the elephants.
His cousin, Sofia, looks on from the lap of her nanny with bewilderment. She is the youngest child of my other sister, Tessa.
DAY 04
Our fourth day in Manila started out with a nice refreshing bath for Little Nio.
Here he is with his Mommy, ready to get clean. Every blog needs a little bit of gratuitous nudity to improve ratings. But don't worry, we're not into the exploitation of cute babies for pornographic purposes.
Spending time out in his Grandfather's garden with his Mom. Little Nio is fascinated with the many, many things to see and touch. Of course this invariably extends to things to taste, many of which aren't meant to be sampled in that manner.
Little Nio in a borrowed stroller getting pushed around by his Grandfather. Despite the implications, they both seem very happy with that arrangement. For now. Here they are both enjoying the garden while basic preparations for the reception are underway.
Back inside again, sampling some of his Grandmother's cooking. This photograph was taken in Lola's kitchen, which is one of the nicest places in the world.
DAY 05
Our fifth day in Manila had us running a lot of errands, but Little Nio did get to spend a bit more quality time with his Lolo before leaving the house. Here he is wearing a stripped jumper with Lolo in the garden.
After a round of some heavy Christmas shopping, we decided to call a time out in the day and spent a bit of time in Tita Via's apartment in Makati. Little Nio sitting comfortably on his aunt's lap spying a stuffed kitty that sort of reminds him of our cat, Samuel.
Both mother and child are exhausted by the stresses of power shopping during the Christmas season in Manila. Here they both are collapsed on the sofa of Tita Via.
And then the shoes and socks come off. Napping on the sofa escalates to a full on snooze on the bed at Tita Via and Tito David's apartment.
Back home in Marcelo later that day after a refreshing bath, Little Nio gets to spend time with his Daddy. Note the matching color outfits.
And then later on, spending time with his Mommy.
After all that shopping and taking care of Little Nio, my wife takes a quick time out for a delicious snack of squid balls smothered with a spicy sauce. Despite the lethal nature of the spicy mix, it doesn't even tickle her palette but instead she thinks that it's a bit sweet.
She also thinks that a good combination of squid balls and fish balls might be better renamed as "squish balls". Sounds uncomfortable.
DAY 06
More Christmas shopping was necessary on the sixth day of our visit. So we went to shop at one of the favorite malls of my wife named, "Market Market". We went out with my brother Nico and his girlfriend, Jocelyn. Here's Little Nio posing under the gigantic Christmas display setting in front of the main entrance with him Mom.
After four hours of some serious power shopping, Little Nio needs to take a break to tank up on a tummy of milk.
Our shopping wasn't over yet, so we continued to walk around buying stuff and crossing folks off our list. Despite the bustle, Little Nio decided that it was time for a nap, so he settled back for a snooze in his borrowed stroller.
Later that evening, we stopped for dinner at Italiannis at Ayala Alabang, where Little Nio enjoyed sharing some superb pumpkin soup with his Dad.
He also got to take some nice refreshing cold water from the big glass of Daddy.
DAY 07
We all knew that our wedding was going to be on the next day, so we made sure that all of us were well rested. Here's Little Nio getting some quiet time in a crib borrowed from his cousin, Sofia. We also noticed that Little Nio's hair really started thickening and growing out while in Manila.
More resting. Power nap with a full tummy load.
No comments:
Post a Comment