Pumpkin Carving at High Park

Another event leading up to Halloween is the annual Pumpkin Carving and Float at High Park. It's pretty straightforward - for $2, you get to pick a pumpkin from the back of the truck. Go the shed where organizers have set up knives, spoons, basins, wet wipes. And carve away. As first-timers, I'd say we did pretty good. Except Rama was vacillating between This is fun and This Is Gross. Eww daw, as I was emptying the gourd of flesh and seeds. She's a prissy one.
After you carve your pumpkin, walk over to the nearby wading pool. There you get a black styrofoam plate and a tealight. Light up your pumpkin and let it float on the pool. Pretty neat. But we didn't hang around long enough to actually see the lit lanterns at twilight. And Rama did not want to part with her pumpkin, so we took ours home.
There was also a side event, a pony ride. I asked Rama if she wanted to ride. She just wanted to play in the playground. I asked her why. "Baka the horse doesn't like me."

What To Think About, Late At Night

Late night. Playtime with Rama. On the floor, with princesses.

Rama: Ok, what story do we make up now?
Me: I can't stop thinking about ice cream.
Rama: Oh, you can't think about ice cream, you can't have ice cream, 'cause we already toothbrush. Think about, uhmmm, vegetables!

More on Playtime

So I was down on the floor with Rama, playing with her princesses. It was an ocean scene, with the prince and princesses on a boat. I had Ariel. Ariel swam to the edge of the boat and chatted up the prince.

Me, as Ariel: Hi, Prince! Ano'ng ginagawa niyo dito?
Rama, protesting vehemently: Hindi Tagalog! Hindi naman si Ariel nag-tatagalog!
Me: Bakit?
Rama: Tignan mo sila, mukha silang lahat English! Hindi Tagalog!

Zombies

Today, we went to check out the zombie walk. Rama asked, Are they real zombies? I just said it was all pretend. But when you see them en masse, it's still pretty creepy.

But fun! Before the walk started, there were prizes awarded to the scariest walk, the scariest moan, etc. The scariest of all was a zombie carrying a plate of brains. With a lone candle on top. It was actually made of jello. But you wonder where he got the mold.

I managed to get her to pose with some zombies. Her favorites were the zombie brides. But after a while, she wouldn't pose anymore. She didn't enjoy the parade as much as I thought she would - come to think of it, it's been weeks since she asked for a scary story.

Rama At Play

One of my favorite things about Rama is watching her play solo. She can go on for hours making up stories with her princesses. Here, they are having a concert. On a concert stage. Made out of Jenga blocks.

Sometimes she asks other adults to play with her. After a while, she'll eventually say, Can I play by myself? So, more often, it's just really her in her own world.

Compassion

One of the games that Rama tried to play on line is Picnic Panic. It's pretty simple - spray the ants with your ant spray before they take any food. I helped Rama with the instructions and then left her. When I checked back, she wasn't playing at all and was just watching the screen.

Me: Hindi ka na naglalaro?
Rama: Hinahayaan ko lang sila kunin yung food. Hindi ako nag-spray. Kasi naaawa ako sa kanila.

Saturday Round-up

In the morning, we chatted with family in Manila. She showed off her new toys. At two, we caught a puppet show at a nearby bookstore. After that we played in a nearby park and grabbed some fish n chips. We had a brief argument here - she wanted fries, but I didn't want to go to the fish n chips place at first because the line-up was too long. Eventually, after a short trip back to the bookstore and a quick check at a nearby patisserie, we ended up at the fish n chips place. While waiting for the order, Rama chastises her mother: Sabi ko sa yo kanina pa, dito talaga dapat tayo. Ok lang naman ang maraming tao. 'Pag wala nang tao, ibig sabihin, close na yung store.

All in all, it was a good day. Rama said so herself. On the ride back home: Mommy, it's a very nice day. I'm so happy.

Roll!

I bought Rama a new set of pens. One end was the usual pen, and the other end had simple shapes -hearts, flowers, dolphin- that you could stamp. One of the shapes was a spiral. So I thought I would teach her.

Me: Rama, that's a spiral.
Rama: No, that's cinnamon.

Saturday

Rama hams it up while we take a walk by the lakeshore.

It's a cloudy Saturday. But, dry, thankfully. We just played around. She wanted to take home interesting rocks. Of course, I dissuaded her. She made like Ariel; we were near a body of water, after all. We went into the neighborhood trattoria for my coffee and her gelato. Then walked a little bit further to the butterfly habitat. Then made our way back home for dinner and more cuddles.

J'Adore

Waking up next to Rama is a joy. Excellent for my ego. The following ode is pretty standard morning fare.

Rama to me, while cuddling: Your so cute! Cuter than a squirrel. Cuter than a teddy bear. Cuter than a kitty cat. Cuter than a pink puppy with a ribbon on her head!

You're beautifuler than Tinkerbell. You're beautifuler than my favorite mer-fairy.

Some mornings are funnier than others. One time, she was being silly: You're so cute-icle!

Hair

I don't think I've ever met a 5 year-old as involved with hair as Rama. Her favorite toys include a couple of long wigs (one fuschia, one blonde and wavy). She has a systematic, standard, precise way of brushing her hair, short as it may be - brush sides down, brush front down, then the final stroke: one clean brush of the front to the side. Ever since Honey taught her this way to brush, she had never deviated, as far as I know. And she never leaves home without her crown. So she's pretty much all about hair/head. Last night, on the way home in a cab, she noticed the driver's hair (or lack of it).

Rama: Bakit wala siyang buhok sa likod?
Me: 'Pag tumatanda, nakakalbo na talaga.
Rama: Eh ang mga lola?
Me: Ganun din. Nakakalbo din.
Rama: Pa'no pag naging lola na ako?
Me: Ganun din.
Rama: Ayokong makalbo forever!

Disclaimer: Photo taken while hamming it up on the subway. Cab ride came later in the evening. The delivery of the line was quite deadpan, as usual.