My aunt Juliet will be flying in from New York tomorrow morning to greet the New year with us. Aunt Juliet is my mom's elder sister and works at the Merill Lynch, NYC. She is a respected and very active member of the Filipino-American community in New York. Below is a photo of myself, Lyle, and Aunt Juliet clowning around in her Queens apartment when Lyle & I were in New York.

Aunt Juliet took care of me when I was younger and became like a second mother to me. Even now that I'm all grown up, she still putters around me like a true mother, and has become one of my very good friends. Lyle thinks she's cool and calls her "Aunt Lola", being that she's his grand-aunt. You'd never know though because my aunt is still very much "hip" and in touch with the younger generation.

Lyle was presented the Citizenship Award once again this year at his school's morning assembly. It's Pajama Day at school, so he looked adorable -- oh sorry, he told me not to use this word -- I meant, cool. He looked cool in his Disney jammies when he went up to receive his award.

I received the letter last week from the school's principal:

"Dear Parent,

We are pleased to announce that your child Lyle will be recognized for outstanding achievement earned in citizenship and work habits during the month. We invite you to a special Citizenship Assembly on Friday at approximately 8:55 on the back playground.

Your child will be presented with a special certificate.

Congratulations to your child for achieving a high standard of performance. We hope you can join us for your child's award presentation."

MY LITTLE ELF

LYLE WITH HIS CITIZENSHIP AWARD

Click here to view the morning assembly

Lyle's Schoolhouse Chess Club held its tournament last Friday, December 8, 2006. This little First Grader received a First Place ribbon, a chess comic book, and a magnetic chess set. I'm not sure who was more proud, Lyle of himself, or me, teary-eyed mom.

Visit Lyle's Album

People Watching Can Be a Hobby

Sometimes I like to just watch people's actions, how they interact, and what they say. Below are some quips I overheard yesterday that I found amusing:

Two girls on their bikes, possibly sisters, riding off towards school. Says one girl to the other, "Hurry up, you little maggot!". The other girl is panting and trying to catch up.

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It was Lyle's Kindergarten graduation picture day yesterday, and he was telling me how 2 of his classmates weren't there to get their picture taken.

"Hailey and Bailey were absent," Lyle says.

Me: "Oh, their names rhyme."

Lyle: "That's what everyone in my class says. They both have blond hair, but they're not twins."

Me: "Oh cool, blond hair. What color are their eyes?"

Lyle: "I don't know. I don't look at their eyes."

Me: "Why not?"

Lyle, in a whisper: "Mom. Because it's impolite to stare."

 My little man

I can't believe he's turning 6 this July. Time goes by so fast. I remember being impatient, wondering what he'll look like, when I was still pregnant with him. I remember holding him for the first time in my arms and looking at his sea of dark brown eyes. Mesmerized, hypnotized by such a tiny little being.

He was born July 10, 2000, Year of the Dragon and a Y2K Baby. His favorite foods are cereal, macaroni and cheese, spaghetti, instant noodles, buttered popcorn, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, apples, anything cheesy, and anything strawberry-flavored. He loves the Power Rangers, Ben 10, Spongebob Squarepants, Yu Gi Oh, Shaolin Showdown, and a bunch of other anime character shows I can't spell.

At age 1, he memorized the entire alphabet and could count to 10. He began talking in complete sentences by 15 months. He learned all the colors and shapes, including what a trapezoid was, by 18 months. He started adding things a month after he turned 2. At age 2 1/2, he said he wants to go to college. He could tell the time at 32 months. At 34 months, he started reading. A few weeks after starting to read, I taught him the American Sign Language, which he picked up quickly. When Lyle turned 3, he wondered why day turns into night and vice-versa. He then learned about the Earth's rotation and would proudly relay this fact to anyone who'd listen. At age 4, he enjoys putting puzzles together and is now able to complete a 100-piece puzzle of the United States map on his own (recommended age on puzzle box says "For ages 7 and up"). As a 4 year old, he was able to read Grades 1 and 2 level books.

Lyle started Kindergarten last August 2005. His teacher gave him a Reading Comprehension test, and he's currently above Grade 6 level in Reading. He's had Literacy Specialists and Gifted Kids Specialists come see him. His school's principal had a talk with me about him, and the advantages/disadvantages of having a Gifted child, and being parent to one. The state of Nevada's Board of Education Highly Gifted program contacted me to allow a pre-screening.

Lyle's someone special indeed, but he's also another normal 5-year-old who whines about going to bed, picky about crusts on his bread, pouts when he doesn't get his way. 

And I love him all the ways that he can be.

 Lyle in front of the Family Room entertainment center.

Yes, that's a 50" television, and if I were a man, I'd prolly appreciate it more. It's some sort of today's high technology, but to me it's just a pretty piece of furniture.

Lyle loves that TV. And getting pictures taken of himself.

There's nothing Lyle likes better than to pose in front of a camera. When he was younger, Lyle used to be really shy and didn't really know what to do when someone told him to sit still, and smile for the camera.

Pretty soon though, he caught on and ever since he figured out that taking pictures meant an opportunity to show off, he would love to make silly faces in front of the camera. "Take a picture of me," Lyle would say. "Please, Mommy! I want to say CHEESE!" And he'd direct me to continue clicking away as he posed in front of his toys, made a funny face, or as he put on his superhero cape.

Click here for more pictures of Lyle that I took today & other photos of him (they're not yet all sorted out in a timeline)

Alely, Tita Anna, and Peter -- Roan's younger sister, his mother, and his stepfather -- are currently in the Philippines on vacation. All three reside in the East Coast (Alely in Queens, NY, and Tita Anna & Peter in Maine), but vacation was long called-for when they decided to head on back to the mother country to attend Angel's graduation (BS Pharmacy at CEU), and at the same time, get caught up once again in the hustle and bustle of Philippine life.

"Sayang wala ka dito," (too bad you aren't here) said Alely in an excited voice when she borrowed the phone from her Kuya Roan during one of his calls to me. "Ang saya saya dito!" (it's so much fun here!). There was no sound of jetlag or tiredness in her voice, just sheer happiness. I've talked to Alely several times on Yahoo! Messenger, and she's a really sweet person -- a year younger than Roan, she works as a nutritionist at a hospital in Queens. "Di bale, we'll see each other soon over there,"  Alely assured in a bubbly voice.

It seems both Alely and Roan took their knack for conversing from their mother. One could literally spend quite some time talking to them and not run out of things to talk about. Whenever Roan's mom calls me up when she's here in the States, she jumps from topic to topic and you can never get bored listening to her.

To the vacationers in the Philippines, may you all continue to enjoy your stay there. Have a safe and joyful reunion with your loved ones, hold them while you're still together for when the time comes to return to life back here in the States, you'll surely miss them.