These Days

Neil turned 8 this month and here's what he's been up to. Physical Stats Height: 4'5" (90th percentile). Up to my chin! Weight: 55 lbs (50th percentile) Reading - The Magic Treehouse series. This was the series he chose after going through most of Geronimo Stilton. He finishes one book per day on average and keeps a log of what he reads, continued from 2nd grade. We make weekly trips to the library to make sure he does not run out of material. Pickings are getting slimmer on Magic Treehouse so we need to look for another series. Playing - Rich introduced him to Final Fantasy X this summer. They have been playing this almost everyday for the last couple of weeks. We got generally lax about the screen time because there's no school but he does other things regularly so it's not really a big concern. Learning - He's still very much into geography. Whenever he's on the iPad or borrows my phone, you can bet he's checking Google Maps. He kn

There was a photographer at Ela's dedication who took pictures of the families before the ceremony. We got the printouts in the mail today! First pictures of our family taken professionally.=)

And one with me.=)

We bought this balloon cow for Ela but he ended up playing with it more. We named it Becky. Becky the baka.=) Birthday morning

Neil turned 8 last Thursday, July 14. He's a great kid - kind, honest, smart, curious and caring kuya to Ela. He's makes parenthood and our family life a joyful adventure. I took the day off work and we went to Six Flags White Water to celebrate. The night before his birthday, we decorated the house to surprise him. Richard and I made birthday cards and slept late so Neil woke up before us on his birthday. He opened his gifts in the evening. He still loves geography so the talking discovery globe was the perfect gift. Happy birthday, Neil! We love you very much.

There are  a lot of options in Atlanta for July 4th fireworks. The closest to us was less than 10 minutes away which was great because it wouldn't take long to get home, considering Ela. We left the house at 9:15PM to catch the fireworks at 9:45PM. We had just enough time to park and find a good viewing spot. I have seen more spectacular displays than these but fireworks by themselves are always awesome, appreciated by everyone no matter what age. Ela enjoyed them, too. She was awake and amazed the whole time. Happy birthday, USA!=)

I've been on a sewing kick lately and I'm really happy about it. I got the sewing machine last year and most of the things I've done so far are repairs. This time, I made something new.  I bought a white dress from eBay years ago and it has remained unused because I did not like how the bottom part looked. I turned it into a blouse for me and a dress for Ela. It's so fulfilling to make something useful with my hands. I have a few other projects in mind, mostly repurposing barely used clothes. This should be fun.=)

I've been wanting to go to the High Museum for a while to check out the new temporary exhibits and we finally made it happen last weekend. It was definitely worth the visit. Tiovivo: Whimsical Sculptures by Jaime Hayon The Rise of the Sneaker Culture Vik Muniz Eric Carle. Who doesn't know 'The Very Hungry Caterpillar?' Interactive art space.

Two Sundays ago, we participated in the parent commissioning service at church.  This is similar to a child dedication service but the focus is more on the parents who make a promise to bring up the child in a Christ-centered home, and then the whole congregation pray for the families. It was a special moment making this commitment for Ela. We invited friends to church to witness and we all headed to a buffet restaurant to celebrate afterwards.