Fake Vegetables, November 12, 2008

About a year ago, when Diego was still learning to eat vegetables, broccoli was one of his favorites (corn on the cob was the other).  He wasn't too keen on trying other vegetables.  One day I decided to let him try 'cousin' cauliflower.  He took one look at it and said, "fake broccowi?  No, thanks!"

Now, however,  Diego is the first to ask for vegetables.  He looks for the peppers and carrots in kaldereta, and the green peas and potatoes in igado.  If the dish isn't a stew, he is happy with blanched green beans or munching lettuce on the side.  He even eats sitsaro, which I only started to like when I was already in my teens!

So, I guess I was to blame when a couple of days ago I served him pork adobo and didn't serve any veggies.  In the middle of lunch he asked for "more vegetables, please!"  I apologized for not having any vegetables.  But he said. "Menon (meron)!  There!"   I tried to discern what he was pointing at in the monochrome of that comfort food and gravely realized what he wanted.  "Diego,"  I carefully pointed out, "hindi yan vegetable, taba yan!" *

From now on I'm putting potatoes in the adobo.

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* "That's not a vegetable, that's fat!"

DNC Convention August 27, 2008

(To understand this bubuwit, you may have to watch this first:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCDO8LlIRj8 )

We are constantly amazed at what Diego observes.  Sometimes he would see a toy he has as part of a small picture in a magazine. "Oh, look!"  He would suddenly say, "Kangina, wight?!"  He uses "kangina" (a while ago) to refer to past events, even if he refers to something that happened, or something that he saw, weeks ago.

When it is our turn to watch TV, Diego sometimes watches DVD's on the laptop, which is usually placed on the dining table.  So it was when we were watching the Democratic Conventions leading up to Obama's acceptance of his candidacy as the democrat's presidential bet.   At the end of one speaker's turn, the Democrats were prompted for the refrain that Obama made popular after the New Hampshire primary.  "Can we do it?"  And the audience replied:  "Yes, we can!"

Diego looked up from the laptop, looked at the TV, and said "Oh, Boh Da Bidda!" 

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Bob, The Builder is a kids TV show that features Bob and his crew of construction vehicles.  He fires them up by asking "Can we fix it?"  And they reply "Yes, we can!"

Diego is not half off, too.  Bob, The Builder has been around for some time and is probably a show that Obama watched as a kid.

Olympic Fever, August 23, 2008

After watching the track-and-field events, Diego wanted to "run, run!" Mae let him get "ready....set....GO!" And Diego, from his own version of a crouched start, would run towards the front door. Every time he returned he would jump and declare "WINNER! WINNER!" After three 'races,' he pulled Mae's hand towards his mouth panting: "Micwophone...micwophone." He then 'entertained' a short interview, most of which was in his "native" language. And then he leaned on the bed and said, breathing heavily: "Next time....(pant, pant)...Olyntic Games".
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Sometimes, instead of reading a book for bedtime we make up stories. One night, Mae was telling the story of a certain swimmer.
"Minsan, may isang batang mahilig lumangoy, Ang pangalan niya ay Michael Phelps. Langoy siya ng langoy hanggang sa gumaling na siya sa pagkakarera. Pinapanood siya ni Diego...." * **
Diego remarked, hopefully: " Diego? Me? Diego, Micha Pheps? FWENDS?!"

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* There was once a boy who loved to swim. His name was Michael Phelps. He swam and swam until he excelled in racing. Diego would watch him...
** We talk to Diego mostly in Tagalog and he answers, for the most part, in English. Almost all the English he knows he learned from watching television!

Real Pirates, July 2008

Ever since seeing Pirates of the Caribbean, Diego often "AAARGH!"s running around the apartment. And whenever we're at Toys R Us he would hand me a foam sword so we could do some swashbuckling (a little girl once joined us, too). So when the Real Pirates exhibit opened at theFranklin Institute, we were all excited to see it. It is the first exhibit, or finding for that matter, of real pirate treasure (click on the link below). In it you get to actually touch the treasure! Some pieces of eight are framed in plexiglas with finger holes.

Entrance to the exhibit was done in batches every 30 minutes. So while waiting for our turn we decided to watch a 20 minute 3D film entitled "Sea Monsters" featuring prehistoric sea creatures. Diego, with 3D glasses on, watched quietly. Occasionaly he would look towards the back of the theater where Mae stood while watching, rocking Pio in his baby sling. It was more than halfway into the movie when Diego leaned toward me and whispered inquiringly: "This Pirates?"
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The Franklin Institute is a hands-on playground/museum with two movie theaters (the other shows IMAX films).
Bubuwits is inspired by Kidbits, my high school batchmate Liza de Leon Echevarria's Yahoo egroup of anecdotes about her kids. We used to call Diego "Bubu" (Pio, we call "Sweetie", because of his generosity giving kisses out)

http://www2.fi.edu/exhibits/traveling/pirates/
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/seamonsters/educators/