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!
