I'm excited as much as my two daughters when we watched Moana, the last animation film from Disney we watched last November.
If my kids are excited with the cute Moana baby (who had some resemblance to Cassandra), me and the rookie mom were anxious if Cassandra can make it through the ending without crying.  But she was brave and finished the movie 'til the end.

​Here are some of the things I learned from the movie:

The saddest part of a man's journey in this world is not dying but rather having not lived.
Both the short film and the movie talked about our individual calling. You hear lines such as "the ocean is calling..."
In life, one of the best things that could happen to a man is when he finds his purpose. In the short film, there was a boy who is caught in the rat race.  Always doing what is  A lot has been said about time management but sadly, managing time is not at fault but rather our laser focus to our purpose.  When we know our reason for living, time won't matter anymore.

Narcissism
Maui's intention of stealing the Heart of Te Fiti was to be able to give everything MAN wants.  Not because he loves humankind, but rather he wants acceptance.  He wanted the applause… the feeling of being depended upon. 
Well, that's a classic example of what we dads, should be mindful of.  Have you ever been in a situation where you wanted to do everything for your child?  Like tying her shoelaces, drawing a better stick man or solving her math assignments?  Well, if your kid knows how to do all of these yet you still do it for them, what you're showing is not love but rather you are intoxicated with the feeling of being depended upon.  This leads to the child not learning or being too dependent .
Going back to Maui's story, his insecurity came from his parents not wanting him and giving him away… that giving everything to mankind will give him glory as he's hungry for attention.

Bitterness
When someone steals your heart and use it for his own interest, this leads to bitterness.  As with Tafiti, she became the evil lava monster when she lost her heart.
We become a monster when we give up on love.  The green grass turns into arid lands.  The lush and bountiful forest becomes destroyed by the red hot lava.  Anger. Sadness.

If we fail, we cannot assume our kids will suffer the same fate.
Moana's dad prevented her to explore the sea beyond the reef.  Simply because he lost a friend when he was young while trying to pursue his own dream of going beyond the reef.  Then he trained himself on accepting the status quo.  To be happy where you are…
Well that is good.  To find happiness wherever you are.  But not to the extent of killing your purpose.  Because when you don't pursue your purpose, despite being happy on where you are, your heart will always yearn to where it is called.
As a dad, I had a lot of failures.  Some of them, I wasn't able to overcome.  But I have to be mindful now on not transferring these fears to my kids. Because I want them to be free to pursue their purpose… their dreams… their greatness.

Training
When Maui yields to Moana's desire to be  a good wayfarer, he was able to mentor her well.  Being a mentor means partnering with your trainee to properly understand on how to become great. It also needs a lot of humility both for both the mentor and the mentee. For the mentor, being sensitive to the person you're mentoring knowing that you also started without any knowledge.  For the mentee, having that opened mind that your mentor will be able to fill your learning cup.

​Overall, the movie was great.  Knowing Disney and Pixar, they always try to embed good and inspiring values in their stories.  I have a feeling that my kids' generation are very fortunate as they are exposed to finding their purpose earlier in their lives so they could reach their full potential.

And just like that... Cassandra's TWO.

I'm sure some may have heard these from our elders...
​
​"Enjoy your kids while they're young, pretty soon you'll realize that they're all grown up"

​Yes, they're right.

It was a quick two years... probably because of the series of life events that happened... or just plainly how life works.  This year, we celebrated Cassandra's 2nd birthday with our closest relatives and friends at Jollibee.  It's amazing how they designed his face to appeal to toddlers.

Funny thing about Cassandra is that she tries not to smile whenever we're taking her pictures.  It's one of the greatest challenge for us as a photographer couple as we're able to make most kids smile except her.  During her birthday, there are even scenarios where she was super happy but when we focused the camera on her, she tries so hard to cover her smile.

Looking at our rare family picture, I just can't imagine a decade ago that God would bless me this much.  Now our youngest turned two, I look forward to how can God even bless us more.

Some say that we have to watch out for the TERRIBLE TWO.  But I would rather think of it as her TERRIFIC TWO.  Just adding up a dose of positivity in this world enveloped by negativity.  As a parent, I know that it'll be another milestone of always running after Cassandra so she won't fall while running, or prevent her from sticking her tongue in the power outlet, or even stand up on her high chair... but nothing would beat seeing her light up and laugh about all these tiny discoveries she will experience on her life as a two-year old.  And with these simple joys, more terrific adventures await us...

Speaking of how time flies fast, seeing Ate Amanda on this shot made time fly faster.  I know that no matter how I want them to stay as Daddy's Little girls, soon they'll be adults and will be making a good difference in this world.

Cassandra's birthday reminded me of three things:

1. Masks cannot cover feelings.  Before the party started, we overheard the man behind the Jollibee mascot talking someone on the phone and was shouting at the top of his voice.  He's upset to something or at someone.  In short, he's really angry just before he wears that Jollibee costume.  The result, when Jollibee showed up at the party and tries to hold Cassandra's hand, she said... "NO!"  Maybe kids have this sixth sense. That no matter how happy and jolly Jollibee's face, they can feel the negative aura of the person wearing it.  Take note that we chose Jollibee because this red happy mascot always light up her face when she sees one in the street.  We were quite surprised she acted that way when she saw Jollibee in person.
2. Presence not presents.  We were touched by the people who made it to the party despite the horrible traffic in C5 during that time.  One of Cassandra's Lolos was there despite recovering from an operation. Some came all the way from Cebu. And others despite their busy schedules, freed up some time just to be there. Truly, the best things in life are not things... but people who invested their time to be with you because they love you.

No it's not Best Fried Chicken or Best Friend's Camote

It's Benign Febrile Convulsion.

It was early morning on Friday when I lost sleep as our Little Ate Cassandra woke me up for a diaper change twice already.  She's having diarrhea. Well, it was on Wednesday that she vomited almost six times as she's having an upset stomach.  We called her pedia and she prescribed some medications already.  On Thursday morning she's ok already so it was only during Friday that her stomach rumbled again.

During our power breakfast, the two kids were done eating ahead of us so they went inside the room and watched some videos.  After a while, Ate Champee went out of the room with a calm voice saying "Cassandra fell."

We thought it was nothing since we didn't hear Cassandra cried. But then... 

Horror!

Cali found Cassandra lying down on the side of the bed thinking she was just playing... A second look made her realized she's already having a seizure and then began to not move anymore.  Her face turned purple (not in a cute way) already.

We panicked!

We thought we lost Cassandra.

The sequence of events that followed were so fast... in fact it's super duper fast that I realized I was only wearing this while we were in the emergency room.

I'm not sure if it's just me, but this is one thing I dread for my kids to have... an IV.  But it's inevitable in Cassandra's case as she needs to replace all those lost minerals and fluids in her body.  Later on she was diagnosed with benign febrile convulsion or BFC.

This is what I got from Mayo Clinic's website:

"A febrile seizure is a convulsion in a child that may be caused by a spike in body temperature, often from an infection. Your child's having a febrile seizure can be alarming, and the few minutes it lasts can seem like an eternity."

Yes indeed, it's like eternity.  I remembered having a hard time some days back with Cassandra.  That it's hard to comfort her when she's crying and that she's too active (more active than Ate Champee when she was the same age).  But when this happened, I realized that all of those things were just petty.  And that I wouldn't mind being woke up super early in the morning by her cries, or playing with her even if I'm super tired after work.  It doesn't matter anymore.  I just want her back up and healthy.

A Parent's Pain
It was painful to see her had seizure, but then I wonder how those parents cope up with their life when they lost their kid.  I had a privilege of talking to a dad last weekend where he lost his eldest many years ago.  As they say, kids should be the one burying their parents and not the other way around.  I've experienced losing a friend, and a mom.  But I would say, nothing would compare to a parent's lament when they lost a child. When he was telling me the his story, it was as if it was just yesterday.  But one thing that struck me was that, he needed to stand up and move on because his two other kids need him.  I admire him.  And I admire all those parents who were able to rise up to the challenge of facing life with that tremendous battle scar.

Then we had visitors...

Ate Champee made a Get Well Soon card for Cassandra.

Three things I learned from this experience:

1. Always keep a nice shirt at hand :)) - Boy Scouts training make sense.  So to save myself from public scrutiny, I need to always be prepared. A good shirt in the car would at least cover me from another trip to the emergency room. But hey, those perfect sandos makes me feel at home.
2. Nevermind the petty things. - The people closest to us need our time, attention and love. If small things bother us, we lose the opportunity to make wonderful memories with our loved ones. I remember Covey's First Things First... It's ok to live an unbalanced life, people should take precedence more than your planner.  When we fend off our kids, spouse, friends, officemates or just about any person because we need to get back on track with our schedule, we lose living life to the fullest.  After all, why do we do the things we need to do... Is it because of money? Or because of our loved ones?
3. Monitor - We thought Cassandra just had a mild fever. Next time, at the onset of any fever, we need to monitor her temperature and prevent it from rising.  Plus remember to follow the doctor's advise on the onset of another seizure... don't panic and lay her on her left side.

The Red Eye Flight

Early morning flight... two kids, a pregnant pretty mom and a pogi daddy :)  (sorry guys, this is my blog and I'm entitled to my own opinion)...

Horror... It's already 3 am and we haven't packed half of our things yet... too late for a 6am flight.  I think it wouldn't be much of a big deal if we're just packing for the two kids and us... but, we also have our photobooth and camera stuff to pack. With God's grace and our penchant love for grace under pressure (in short not so prepared:)), we're able to pack our things, drive to the airport, check in the over-the-limit baggage and make our flight on time.

...but we made it, yey!  For the single people who are backpackers, preparing your luggage and making your flight may not be a big deal... but if you are a parent with two kids these things may not be as easy as it looks. 

​We've been to Cebu a couple of times but this weekend was extra special. It's Tito Kevin and Tita Tei's wedding. I could still remember the first time we saw them together in Manila on Champee's birthday.  That same night, armed with a shotgun, we tried to interrogate Kevin about his intentions (just kidding ;) Well he's still lucky as Mama was not as tough on him unlike when I was courting Cali.

Mabuhay Cebu!

Finally we're on Cebu after an hour of flight. But before we left the airport, our little Cassandra strutted her way to the conveyor belt fashion runway.

When we were able to settle in our free accommodation, thanks to Boss Jerry of Sta. Lucia Cebu (a cousin of my cousin... so is he my cousin then?) it was time to meet the Thompsons over to Kristel and Kevin's place.

I wasn't there since I dropped by at our Cebu office on that day. But it was nice to have the Calingasans see all of Kevin's family.

And that same night, we went to the dinner to formally meet them. It was actually what we call the pamamanhikan. It was in TGI Fridays where the love team KeTel was formed (lol)

It was cool to meet an American family with close family ties. And I think Kevin oriented his family well as they brought us "pasalubongs" from the States. 

The following day we went to Taboan (the best smelling market in town).  Then off we go to the rehearsals.  It was a good time to teach some Filipino games to the kids.We played luksong baka and patintero.

Surprise
​That same night Cali and the rest of the girls had a surprise bridal shower for Kristel.

And the boys, as expected, didn't prepare any for Kevin. But it's ok since we had a good time just hanging around at a bar nearby.

The Day That Didn't End
​We slept about 3 am but woke up at 4 to fetch some of the family's guests at the airport. Fortunately the flight was delayed.  Unfortunately, we knew about it when we're already at the airport.  So we went home, get some half an hour sleep more before going back to the airport, then to the hotel, then back to the airport to fetch our video crew.

The day ended, with everyone settling at the hotel to finally relax before the big day.  We also took this short time to get some shots that will be used in the video.

The Big Day
Everyone was in a happy, excited and anxious mode at the same time as we all want to have a perfect wedding day.

The preps were both fun and tiring as some guests weren't used to the cameras.  Fortunately, the kids are natural models... hmmm, maybe they got it from their parents... ahem.

...well maybe the kids got it from their grandparents.

The Flower Girls
Ever since Amanda became a flower girl from a friend's wedding, she's always looking forward to wearing gowns and makeup to all the weddings she's attending.

The Entourage
​It was an intimate wedding where all the guests are Kevin and Kristel's family and closest friends. Here's a picture of my girls with the entourage.

A Great Wedding!
What makes an event successful? It's not the dress, the makeup, the flowers, the bridal car, the picture perfect beach nor the barongs. It's all about the celebration of love. It's the essence of why we're celebrating in the first place. The wedding was a big success because everyone felt the love in the air. The love of the couple. The love for the family. The awesome love from their friends. And most of all, God... the giver of Love.

No we didn't go to the beach nor went out of the country... we just, well, spent the whole weekend together.  For me, going through the traffic and pressures of the work week means a lot of time away from the kids.  Having to spend the whole time on Saturday and Sunday with them means a lot to me as I get to invest little seeds of love with them.

The photo above was Amanda's hangover from the wedding of my good friends Jed and Mel during Saturday.  Under a normal weekend, we usually have either a photo coverage or a photobooth, both of which require me to spend time away from them.  However, it was good that we were able to bring them in our event to meet old friends and serve them through our photobooth (www.peeknclick.com)

The following we were able to finally serve the Caliuag Kids through Amanda's yearly giving back program coinciding her birthday.  It was surprising that the Kids for Christ who were serving before are now Youth for Christ.  Can't believe it's already five years since we started this activity.  And every year, we kept on reminding Amanda to always count her blessings and learn to share with others who need our help.

It was fun seeing Amanda already participating in the activities.  She even learned and taught a new song from Ate Lezley about family.

We also wanted to honor the Ates who took the time to serve and help prepare the activities.  We have a new set of kids in this batch and just realized that it's been five years since we started Amanda's Giving Back project.

After the tiring but fulfilling activity we went home.  I thought Ate was super tired, but when we parked, she saw her friend in the playground and got to have bonding time with her a bit.

I thought our day was over and we're ready to relax that night, when suddenly we heard a loud noise... followed by a loud cry.

Our little angel Cassandra fell on the floor while sleeping.  We applied ice compress immediately to prevent swelling on her forehead.  It was the longest cry ever, but fortunately it subsided and she's ok now.  Thank God!

It was a very long weekend, but it's all worth spending the time not just with the kids but with other people that our family wanted to help out.

At the back of my mind, spending quality time is ok, but it should also be accompanied by quantity time. Me and the rookie mom were discussing after Cassandra was ok that the same incident happened to Amanda when she was small.  Unfortunately, it was with her yaya and we were not at home when that happened.  We can't imagine the horror that she felt during that time.  Plus the fact that almost everyday, we both leave going to the office by 7am and go home by 9pm.  It was a lesson learned the hard way which help us decide that one of us should stay at home first.  The primary concern was financial and career.  But after three years, God never failed to provide for us and comfort rookie mom whenever she feels she's not doing well.  But I want to honor her for being a very amazing woman to juggle the mommy duties and the entrepreneur tasks everyday and for simply being the most beautiful mom for our family.

Last week, we celebrated Amanda's Fifth birthday.  Our first itinerary was her request long time ago during their field trip.  She wanted to go back to Kidzania.  So we took the morning session as we assume there will be lots of kids in the afternoon as this was a Sunday.  And true enough, there are only a few kids which means she doesn't need to line up that long when taking the make-believe jobs.

To start off her experience, she had a bonding time with mommy at the lounge to create bento boxes.  A creative way to entice kids to eat.  While they are busy preparing their lunch boxes, me and Cassandra went into the toddler rooms.  

After the bento making sessions, Amanda went to her first job at Cebu Pacific as a pilot.  Hello there Captain Amanda!

Then she went on to the hospital emergency room to become a paramedic.  Below is Doc Amanda to the rescue.

After the quick briefing, they hurriedly went to the ambulance as there was an emergency call.  Someone is in trouble.  Hope they could be there on time.

At the accident site, they found the patient.  Doc Amanda applied what she learned to help him out.

She then went to Holiday Inn to be a housekeeper.  I think this is the task she can readily do at home.

I found an article before about Navy Seals why they make sure they fix their beds at the start of the morning. It's the first accomplishment a person can achieve so she can complete bigger tasks throughout the day... a good way to jumpstart any day.

After the job hopping,  it was time to finally unwind and be kikay...

Can't believe that it's been five years.  There were a lot of unknowns when Amanda was in Mommy's tummy.  But God prepared us so we can overcome our fears and help raise a beautiful, smart, loving, talented and God fearing girl.

Happy Fifth birthday Amanda. Mommy, Daddy and Baby Cassandra love you so much!

I just finished washing the car when Amanda showed me a treasure map she draw. She said she has a surprise for me before I prepare to go to the office. So we followed the map and when we're on the treasure spot she asked me to close my eyes. And then she gave me the brown paper in the picture. When I opened it, it was our family picture from the party last weekend by www.peeknclick.com (the best photobooth in my opinion :))

​What a sweet girl.

Cheers to our Super Dad, our Veteran Dad - Lolo Ador... Happy 79th Birthday!

Champee created the Birthday card to Lolo which she gave yesterday. When she woke up today, Lolo Ador responded with a Thank You note.

Please take note, like most dads during his generation, they're not too expressive. Champee was extra lucky that she gets a response from Lolo. You could see his Engineering Lettering response in the first picture.

​To our super daddy and awesome Lolo Ador happy birthday. We love you so much.

During last year's Hi Five visit in MNL, we were sad that it was Stevie's last performance.  We were ecstatic when we found out in his Instagram that his Super Dudes is not just a book but also a show.  So when we found out that they're going to do a series of shows and meet & greets, we took the opportunity yesterday.

Being Super
One thing that struck me during the show was the lesson they were teaching the kids.  That each person has their unique super powers. Just like strengths-based leadership, where we concentrate on where people are good at and use it to move the team forward.  In the show, they've used Pirate Pencil's power to to create a new super hero for the lucky volunteer.  (I saw Amanda raising her hand when they were calling for a volunteer... she said her super power was her amazing running speed)

Confidence
Aside from using a person's unique ability, the show taught the kids how to be confident.  At one point, Super Stevie didn't know what his super power was until his friends cheered him up... eventually he was able to discover his dancing skills and do the worm :)

Amanda super liked the show as she asked to watch the show twice. We just took a coffee break when we found ourselves still at the mall for the last run so we might as well grant her request.  For parents, I think one takeway from the show is identifying our kids' super powers and doing our best to support it. For Amanda, since she just finished her second year in preschool I'm beginning to see her talent in words and drawing.  While for Cassandra, it may be too early but she's making us laugh with those funny impersonation of all the people or even animal she's seeing.  She can even bark like a dog now :)

To Stevie and the Super Dudes, hope more kids will enjoy your show to be more SUPER.

Hello everyone! The kids had a great idea two weeks ago.  They wanted to create their own YouTube channel to share the things they're experiencing to the rest of the world.  Hope you can join their cute adventures and subscribe to their channel.