Fall? in Manila

Stacey and I have had the strange sensation of knowing that the seasons are changing at home, but the weather here continues to be hot and sunny.  We are looking forward to feeling some cold, clear air when we are home in December.

It has now been a long time since I have posted photos, so I thought I might put a few new ones up.

Grandma Dalea gave Clara and Lucy a golf club set when she was here.  They really enjoy it!  Here is Clara looking very pleased.

Water break.

Take a look at how much water is actually going into the cup versus watering the artificial turf.

Clara reaching the top of the climbing wall.

Just getting her footing.

Pure joy!

Lucy wanted the added challenge of holding the water bottle the entire time she played.

The girls love clinging to these poles, even though they can't climb up or down them yet.  Clara hanging on with Lucy in the background.

 

Lucy on the curved pipe.

Clara

Lucy

Lucy looking at Mommy's iPhone - probably as we Face Time with a grandparent.

Lucy with Mommy.

The girls go to preschool three mornings a week.  Yesterday was United Nations day at the school, so they joined one of the other kids for a patriotic "presentation."  Apart from the red, white and blue clothing, we read a story and played "Stars and Stripes Forever."  They all seemed to enjoy it.  Other kids represented China, Brazil, Australia and, of course, The Philippines.

This morning Lucy filled in some words I couldn't get and Clara caught up on some reading.

Maggie

Second birthday!

Clara and Lucy celebrated their birthday on Saturday.  Actually, the celebration kicked off on Thursday when Stacey invited three other mothers and their kids from our apartment complex over for a little birthday gathering.

Their actual birthday on Saturday was pretty low key.  We had planned a special dinner since Grandma Dalea was supposed to arrive earlier in the week, but due to some mishaps she was delayed until Saturday night.  So, on Sunday morning the girls were quite surprised to find Grandma in the next room, even though we had been telling them she was coming.

We had a really nice celebration day on Sunday.  The highlight for the girls was playing with Grandma, but they also got new scooters and we had cupcakes after their nap.  

Today (Monday) was the celebration at school, which I believe is the final installment.  They have a nice tradition at the school where they light a candle representing the sun and have the birthday child (or children) walk around the sun with the earth, representing the passage of a year.  They do one rotation for each year, naturally.  

Here are Clara and Lucy with Stacey at school.  They are holding the globes to make the loop around the sun twice.

Stacey and Grandma brought treats for all the kids.  Part of the tradition is also for the child or parent to reflect.  Stacey brought a photo of the girls last year and told what big changes have happened since then.

Discovering Grandma:  they did not know what to make of finding Grandma in the playroom.  They were very cautious.  When Grandma started talking Clara ran to grab a wooden giraffe and headed for the door.  We imagined she scanned the room to see what she could save in this situation.  It didn't take long for them to appreciate how much fun Grandma is.

On Sunday afternoon Clara was the first to discover something very interesting in the living room.

Lucy wasn't far behind.

The girls had used neighbors' scooters before, so they knew exactly what to do.

Post nap snack and birthday cupcake.

Here's Lucy taking a taste of her cupcake frosting.

An enthusiastic response from Clara!

Working hard at opening a gift from Grandma.

It's a tiger.

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Lucy got a lion.  Perfect gifts since both of the girls love roaring like wildcats to scare us.  Somehow, even when they do it softly, it manages to get a reaction from us.

Testing out the new wheels.

A break at the koi pond.

Riding double (we've seen this before).

Clara and Lucy did not want to put on their birthday hats, so Dalea and Stacey showed them how it's done.

Maggie.

Adoption anniversary and beach weekend

June 6th was our one year adoption anniversary.  Since I actually traveled on that day, we had a celebration the evening before.  In the photo below we took our one-year photo in the garden outside our apartment.  We then went out for dinner, which was nice since the girls were in good spirits and we had a pretty nice meal.

This is a fairly recent picture of the scene before bedtime.  I think this was just after teeth brushing and before milk/story time.  

This past week I took a couple of days off and we spent a long weekend in an area called Puerto Galera.  Getting there requires a two-hour car ride from Manila to the south and then a 90-minute boat ride from Batangas.  On our way we had a private boat that dropped us off right where we were staying.  On the way back we took a much cheaper and more difficult ride on a public boat.  The worst part was we were delayed about 30 minutes and had to sit in the hot boat with people climbing over us while the girls cried.  It may sound glamorous, but it wasn't as fun as it sounds.

The place where we stayed was in a pretty location, but I don't think that we will probably go back.  It was outstandingly mediocre and the clientele (not us of course) were an odd lot.  It all worked out pretty well, but for a rare escape from Manila we were hoping for something special.  

The girls were not very interested in the water, but they loved playing in the sand.  The hotel provided baskets of beach toys and they loved them.  

There were two hammocks under the palm trees by the water where Stacey and I sat while the girls played in the sandy area between us.  They would take breaks from their work to sit with us.  

The rainy season has officially started here, so we were really lucky that the weather was good for us.  On our first full day the rain started just as the girls went down for their nap and ended just as they were getting up.  That was about it.

Clara (L) and Lucy (R) having their morning glasses of milk by the water.  They were thrilled that they had small chairs and tables they could use.

Lucy busy at work.

Clara planning her next move.

Clara enjoying breakfast by the water.

Lucy in her trademark relaxed pose enjoying her toast strip.

Who can resist?

Outdoor dining. 

Ahhhhh.