Lazy Sunday

Baby's almost walking....

Hi All, We've been trying to get Liam to practice his walking as much as possible lately.  I think his record is still about 15 steps, but we thought we would share a little of the practice sessions.  PS - This is Andrew, and my first blog, I won't even try to live up to Tess's blogging skillz.

Grandma & Grandpa Powers Visit & Liam's 1st Birthday

We have had a busy last couple of weeks. Andrew's parents came to visit and Mr. Liam turned one year old! It is crazy how fast the last year was and we had a lot of fun last week celebrating for him. We were so thankful to have Grandma & Grandpa here to ring in the big 1. Andrew's parents arrived to Manila late on the 25th. They were tired from travelling and were able to sleep most of the night which meant they were ready to go the next day! I still can't believe how well both sets of our parents did with jet lag (or lack there of). We did not do as well as they did when we first arrived. Anyway, to kick off their visit we ran a couple of errands around Makati and then met Andrew for lunch at his work. This day was pretty low key, and they were able to nap while Liam did in the afternoon. Andrew took off Friday so we all headed down to Intramuros so that they could see this historical area that we have talked about so much. I think we are getting really good at knowing our way around Intramuros since we have visited so many times now. We weren't able to tour San Augustin church which is one of my favorite things to do in Intramuros because there was a wedding. So, we mainly enjoyed a surface tour of all the different landmarks in Intramuros. Before we headed down to Intramuros we took them to lunch at our new favorite restaurant in the Manila. Funny enough, it is a small German cafe with sausages and sauerkraut called Mikeys. We think it is funny that we came all the way to Asia to find a great German restaurant : )  Grandma & Grandpa gave their seal of approval and verified that we weren't crazy and the food is delicious.

 In front of San Augustin

 Enjoying a drink at a cafe

 The gate to Fort Santiago

 A view of the slums across the river from where we were. Grandma & Grandpa got their first sight of the poverty on this trip. 

Liam hamming it up for his visitors. 

If you can see the two scratches on the left side of Liam's face that is from a big fall he had with me! We were walking the day before our visitors arrived. I tripped while Liam was in the baby bjorn in front of me. We fell really hard and Liam's head hit! He got those two scratches and a scrape on his nose. My knees and hands got banged up as well, but this fall was probably one of the most traumatizing experiences I have had a mother. I felt terrible and I was panicking when we fell. It was so terrible because no one stopped to help us. Liam was screaming and I was shaking I had to sit myself on the sidewalk and compose myself before I could get Liam out of the bjorn and comfort him. I got a lot of dirty glares from passerbyes, but luckily Liam didn't seem to badly hurt besides the scrapes. He stopped crying as soon as I got him out of the bjorn and comforted him thank goodness! And also thankfully he was back to his normal rough and tumble self after his afternoon nap. 

So, anyway back to our visitors. Saturday was the day we had planned Liam's 1st birthday party with our friends here. So, most of the day was spent preparing for this. But, on Saturday morning we were able to go and see Andrew's intramural team play. This is entertainment in itself because Filipino basketball is quite different from American basketball...mainly that no one moves their feet and they just smack at you and the ball. Also it is sortive funny because Andrew is the Post on his vertically challenged team. Andrew's parents really enjoyed having a blast from the past watching Andrew and he scored his first points with them in attendance! 

 Last game of the regular season. And yes, their team name is the GreenDay (as the band) Packers 

That evening we had Liam's birthday party and it went really well! I was worried that we wouldn't have enough food because we ordered pizza from Pizza Hut and Andrew ordered family size which we thought was large, but it was the equivalent of a US medium. So, I was sortive freaking out until the other dish we ordered, Pancit arrived. Pancit is a traditional Filipino noodle dish, and the one we ordered was HUGE. We were eating Pancit for days after the party. But we ordered this dish because it is customary in Filipino culture to have Pancit at a child's first birthday because it symbolizes long life. So, we felt we needed to do as the Filipinos do while living here and celebrate Liam's birthday in true Filipino fashion. The other reason it was silly for me to worry about having enough food was that I kinda went a bit overkill on the desserts. I guess maybe it is my sweet tooth or I don't know what. But I made sugar cookies, chocolate cupcakes, and a yellow cake. The yellow cake was my big project because we did a sesame street theme, and I wanted to put Elmo's face on the cake. After some major brainstorming by Andrew, his parents, and myself I am happy to say that the cake turned out amazing. I hate to toot my own horn, but it looked professional : ) Ok maybe not, but I was SUPER proud of the cake so much so that I felt like Andrew was tearing up my best childhood coloring books when he cut the cake! Besides the cake though the party was great. A bunch of our friends and their kids came and it was fun had by all. Such a wonderful way to celebrate our baby turning one. 

Liam and some of the other boys enjoying Mickey Mouse's clubhouse.

 My masterpiece

 We used the same #1 candle that Andrew used when he turned one!

 Liam's first taste of cake. There was only one other bite after this. He didn't really like the cake. I am sure it will come eventually.

 This picture was taken right before he threw his cupcake thinking it was a ball. 

 Liam's friend Mijla joining in on the cuddles from Daddy.

Pooped and ready for bed.

Sunday we spent around Makati again since we were all tired from the party the day before. But we did get to see something new for us. We went to the Legazzspi open market. This market was neat because it had mostly arts and crafts and it was different from the market we go to each week. Sunday night we met our Friend's Maria Elena and John for dinner at a Japanese Shabu Shabu. Which is a restaurant where they give you a broth and then you order the fixens and make it at the table. It was something new which is always neat. 

 The men at shabu shabu

Liam opening his present from Isabella. They couldn't make it to Liam's party the night before. 

On Monday we drove down to Taygaytay where Taal volcano is located. This is a small town which overlooks the lake which Taal volcano is located inside. We started the day at a starbucks which has an amazing view of the lake and volcano. Even with this good start, the main attraction of the day was our lunch reservation at a bed and breakfast Sonya's garden. This was an incredibly enchanting place. It was definitely one of the most beautiful places we have been in the Philippines. On our drive home we also visited the Divine Word Seminary which was a quiet retreat away from the hustle and bustle. 

Grandma & Grandpa's little darling

On Tuesday we drove up to Subic Bay and had lunch on the beach, and then visited the ocean adventure park. The big event here was that we got to get in the water with the dolphins. This was a lot of fun because none of us had ever touched a dolphin. Otherwise, there really wasn't much else to see at the ocean park so we headed out after our dolphin encounter. Wednesday, Liam's actual birthday was Andrew's parents last day here. So we enjoyed a day around Makati where we visited the Kultura store. At this store they have all things made here in the Philippines. When we were there we were able to see the staff perform a native Filipino dance which was again something new! It is crazy how many new things you can see even when you feel like you have seen everything already. Later, to celebrate Liam's birthday, we went to a nice restaurant called Top of the Citi. This dinner was a nice culmination to a great visit. We have been relaxing and being pretty lazy since they left because the rainy season has started and the rain makes us want to stay in. But we need to get moving because we now have just over three weeks left here in Manila before we head back to the US. It is so crazy to believe that our six months is almost over!! Hope everyone else in the US is staying cool sounds like it has been HOT. Until later!

 The beach around Subic Bay

 Sleeping off a long day

 Dancers at Kultura

 Liam's #1 : )

 A picture on top of the city

Happy Birthday to our Baby Boy!

Papa Don & Grandma Pat's Visit

Now that it has been two weeks since my parents left I guess it is about time for me to finally blog about their visit. We had an incredible time with them. We have been missing home, so having them here brought a bit of the US here to us. They arrived here in Manila late on Monday night, and their trip started out with quite a bang. While they were in the Tokyo airport there was an aftershock earthquake which was measured at a 7 at its epicenter. Luckily, no one was harmed and they made it safely to our place pretty energized from all the excitement. The next day I hadn't planned much because I was thinking that they would be needing to sleep, but they were champs and were ready to go. We just stayed around our neighborhood and walked around so that they could see the busy streets and shops we frequent. Then on Wednesday we were able to get out more and we took them to Intramuros. We were able to eat at a small cafe in an old Spanish area of town, and they both tried a little Filipino fare. After lunch was the highlight of this day when we toured San Augustin Church which is the oldest church in the Philippines. This was probably the highlight of the day because it had a great deal of rich Filipino history. We toured the museum and enjoyed all of the intricate artifacts. We learned the interesting story about how this church survived World War II since pretty much everything else in the area was wiped out by bombings. San Augustin church survived the air attacks because the Japanese held hundreds of monks hostage here to prevent the church from being bombed. Unfortunately, they killed all of the hostages before surrendering. But we were able to see the monument to all the people lost there. After this we took a tour on a horse carriage around the area. This was a good way for us to see all of the key areas in Intramuros without having to do much more walking.

Thursday we visited Andrew at work for lunch and then we went to one of the large malls to shop at the Kultura store which has all sorts of Filipino crafts, jewelry, and souvenirs. They were able to find a few keepsakes to take home with them. Thursday evening we had our good friends over so that they could meet Dad and Pat as well. The next day we were able to visit an American cemetery that a bunch of ex-pats had been recommending to me. And when we got there we could see why. The cemetery was a beautiful monument to all of the lost soldiers from WWII. The park was incredibly peaceful and it was easy for me to forget that we were still in one of the largest cities in the world. Finally, on Saturday we were able to get out of the city. We traveled up to Subic Bay which is the site for the old American Naval base and also not far away is the old Clark Airforce base. I think they really enjoyed getting out of the city because it is a vast difference to what you see in Manila. I believe I have said this before, but it is so easy to forget where we are if we stay in Manila. But once you leave the busy developed metro area you are able to see the beautiful hills and countryside. The other thing you see is the poverty. Even the old military bases that we visited were really run down. It has been approximately 20 years since the US left, but much of the buildings and facilities have been run down a great deal. Our real big adventure in Subic Bay was our trip to the Zoobic Safari. First, Geofry (our new driver) didn't know how to get there and when he asked no one seemed to be able to tell him exactly where it was. So, we headed out away from civilization into the hills and trees. We drove for so long and so far, we all worried that we were going to end up lost in the jungle. But luckily the shaky directions got us to Zoobic, and we couldn't believe our eyes when we found it was really busy. And after we made our way through the zoo portion and to the main attraction, the Tigers we understood why. First, the zoo portion was interesting in itself because they were all native animals to the area so we were able to see some animals we had never seen before. But it was also something to marvel at the lack of facilities. Most of the animals were not really caged up and the ones that were it seemed we could have easily stretched our hands out and had our fingers bit off. I guess there are laws in the US keeping the animals away because I have never been this close to animals at a zoo before. And when I am mentioning close that brings me back to our Tiger safari. We were able to buy some chicken to feed the Tigers and get them to come close to us....Little did we know they got REALLY close. I will show the pictures because they do a better job of showing than I can say : )

 Feeding the birds not quite as delicately as a disney princess.

 Bear Cats. And yes they could have just jumped down on our heads.

 It was a HOT day and Liam's hair could attest to that.

 The car in front of us.

 They weren't scared!

 Here Kitty Kitty....

Yup my baby was this close : O

After our safari adventure we headed back to the city since it was getting late and it is a two hour drive back. Sunday ended up being a pretty low key day around here again. I think we were all tired from the trip up to Subic Bay. But in the evening we went to Rojas boulevard and checked out Manila Bay, and then visited Rizal park. Rizal park is a beautiful park where the grave of one of the biggest Philippine heroes J.P. Rizal is. Again there was a lot of history here and monuments to pretty much every Philippine revolutionary hero. And since the Philippines has been through a lot of revolutions there were a lot of statues and monuments to see. 

 Rizal's grave where there is always someone standing guard.

Monday we had to get up really early to get down to the bay by 7:00am so that we could visit Corregidor island. Corregidor is an island which sits right in the middle of the opening of Manila Bay. This island has been used as a fortress since Spanish times to protect Manila from attack. Our day included an hour cruise to the island and then a guided tour of the island. Most of the tour was again focused on WWII. I personally found this to be the most interesting of all the WWII history that we saw while Dad & Pat were here. This island was at one time an advanced US military base, but after WWII much of the island's former glory has been reduced to ruins. We all really enjoyed our day here, and it was certainly an eye opening experience for me. To actually see a place like this where so much blood was spilled really brought some perspective about how much soldiers really sacrifice for their country. 

"I Shall Return" is what General Douglas Macarther said before fleeing the Philippines. And he did he helped take back the Philippines from the Japanese in WWII. 

 This tunnel was a bomb shelter and hospital below.

 That's not a gun...This is a gun.

 These were the "Mile Long" barracks which were destroyed, but as you can see they were once the longest barracks in the world.

 This lighthouse has been rebuilt and there have been several to stand in its place. Dad & Pat hiked up the 100something stairs while Andrew and I were lazy with our sleeping baby ; )

 On the boat home

Manila's skyline in the distance. 

Our last day again was spent around Makati. We had wanted to take another trip down to a volcano, but we were unable because it was active and emitting gas that was harmful. So, another day of relaxing at home with Dad & Pat before they had to leave. The trip went too fast for me and we were missing them when they left. They left a lasting impression with Liam as well. I kept teasing them because during the 8 days that they were here Liam started making all sorts of silly faces that he had never made before. I guess their funny faces inspired him to start making funny faces back. Liam also decided that he needed to show off for his grandparents and he started clapping while they were here as well : ) To say the least we miss them a lot and unfortunately the US even more now. But we hope that they had as much fun as we did and hopefully they got a good feeling for the Philippines. 

 Lounging at our place

Grandma showing Liam the Easter Bunny

One of Said Goofy faces : )