Ambassador Duty

Mum and dad saw an ad in the paper that OshKosh B'gosh was holding a model ambassador search for the brand. We both looked at Jakjak and smiled (more of an evil grin actually). While we had to buy our entry to the contest (you had to purchase a certain amount worth of OshKosh products), we figured it was just fair. Jakjak needed new shoes anyway (or so we kept telling ourselves), and that alone was already more than half of the required purchase. So we got him the shoes and told him all about the contest. There was a little bit of hesitation between the 3 of us then, but we thought, what the hell, let's just do it anyway.

We have always believed that Jakjak was photogenic. But since we are his parents, we thought that was just natural. I mean, no parent would dare say that their child isn't cute or adorable, right? So we have always just kept that between ourselves. While on the topic of photography, it's also best that people know how shy Jakjak is in front of the camera. Or so he says. What he always tells people, is not always what he is. To be honest, he is far from being shy. Well, at least not too shy to be a charming little prince.

What followed next were a few photo-shoots  After all, we did have to prepare him for modelling duty if needed. A few good shots here, a few good shots there, and more hours of frustration than was required and we finally had something to send to the contest coordinators. It's not that he was difficult to shoot, in fact, most of the time he was in the mood to do the shoots. It was just, well, we never really had modelling experience. Both the model and the photographer. So sometimes it was awkward, and sometimes it was hopeless. Most of the time it was just full of fun and silly things. And that was how it went on most days. And all that labor of love brought us to the interview and screening day.

On hindsight, we did not really get Jakjak ready for any interview. We just told him that there would be one. That they would probably ask him about himself, and that if they did, he can tell them anything he wants to tell them. We knew that he would have to model his clothes and told him to just follow instructions from whoever was coordinating the shoot. We did not tell him what to say, we did not teach him how to pose (goodness, we probably should have). We just let him do whatever he feels like doing and have fun doing it. It looked like he did have fun while we were there. Too much fun probably as he was in a most cheerful mood all day. So we figured, he did good. He did very good, that he received a round of applause from the crowd. After that, was the excruciating wait for the results.

Responsibility. Too Much, Too Soon ?

Jakjak had a scheduled learning journey with his class to the Botanical Gardens. On his school journal, it said to bring a hat, insect repellent and a camera. That last bit got me, for real. These are 6-7 year old kids who don't pay much attention to their belongings, and they want them to be bringing cameras. Cameras come in a load of different flavors now, but you still can't call them cheap (affordable, yes, but not cheap). I was having second thoughts of letting Jakjak bring one, I know him. One minute he is holding on to something and the next minute he does not even know he had had it. But at the same time, I did want to see if he had grown responsible enough to be entrusted with such a thing.

Well, I got to test it anyway when Jakjak asked for permission to bring his camera on their trip. We did get him one that was shock proof, dust proof and water proof (just to be on the safe side). And it wasn't cheap (affordable, yes). Since he asked nicely, I gave him a chance. I attached a neck strap to the camera (replacing the wrist strap) so that it would be easier for him to lug around. I spoke to him about his responsibility to take care of the camera. That he should make sure that it does not get lost or get snagged by giant spiders. And he was quite sincere and honest that he would do all that as well. So we taped his name, address and our contact number on all sides of the camera just to be on the safe side. And we let him bring it.

One hour into the trip, mum asked one of the parent volunteers to take pictures of Jakjak and the trip. Her friend then informed mum that Jakjak did not have a camera, and when asked, he said he must have misplaced it. Ouch! I wasn't really angry, after all, I did let him bring the camera (thinking that he would be responsible enough now for it). Well, it became a costly lesson for me (and him, hopefully). I was still hopeful that he left it someplace where people would find it and return it to him (like the bus), or maybe back in school. I was thinking about it all through the day until finally, one of the parent volunteers told mum that the camera was found in school! Somehow, he left it at his desk and his form teacher found it. Sigh!

Care Bear

I got a boo-boo in my hand. Somehow, I accidentally cut my finger with a razor (yes, it's pretty lame). And of course, it bled. Jakjak saw this and was immediately by my side looking over the boo-boo. In the blink of an eye, he was dragging a chair to the bedroom. He was soon up on it and inside the closet. He reached out and grabbed our first aid kit, opened it up and took a plaster from it. He told me to wash my hands and before you can say ouchie, he was putting the plaster on the boo-boo. One can't help but smile over something so simplistic and yet so meaningful. For him, he was helping out in a way that he knew how (by watching mum tend to his own boo-boo). To me, he was showing how much he has grown and how responsible he is towards people.

Maybe it's a one-time thing for now, or maybe it's not. After all, he had always had a kind demeanor. He looks after his peers like a big brother. And that is one of his most noticeable traits (next to being so talkative at least). He truly is one of a kind, and he has done a lot of things that make us proud.

A child copying what his parents are doing is one thing, and a child genuinely showing compassion is another. As parents, we may overlook this, but if we forget for a moment that he is our child, one will notice that all of it is real. That he is not simply copying what you have been doing, but he had learned why you are doing it and is actually emphatic about it all. Once you realize this, you can smile and rest on the fact that he is growing up as a fine child indeed.

Meeting Mister Maker

Mister Maker is the host of his self-titled show on Ceebeebies, a kid channel under BBC News. It's not really an entirely new concept in children shows. I have watched art shows on the telly when I was younger myself. What was great now was, that we had an opportunity to meet Mister Maker. 

Mum had entered a contest on Facebook to get an invitation to meet Mister Maker. It took 2 weeks before we got a reply and it was quite frustrating. Not because it took that long, but because Jakjak told us that he did not want to meet Mister Maker. He said he was shy (just like what he tells us about everything). He was really reluctant to go, to the point that we had to actually argue about it. But mum wasn't about to let that invitation go to waste. So that morning, we went to Plaza Singapura to meet Mister Maker.

When he was seated, he still clung to his mum like he was the shy-est 6 year old there. Soon enough, some other kids shared his table with him. The good thing was that the kids that he got to share the table with were English speakers and were as talkative as he was. The siblings were then joined by one more "shy" kid. While they were starting to get cozy with each other, the parents were then asked to move out of the activity area as the show was about to start (and as one would have hoped, he was already his normal not-so-shy self at that time).

The activity was not that long, as time was short. But it felt like what a Mister Maker making area should feel like. Mister Maker himself was spot on as to how he is on the telly, which probably means that is how he really is. I guess what followed next was what the parents had been waiting for, a photo session with Mister Maker. Proof that their child had actually met Mister Maker. And even through the long sessions, Mister Maker had been jolly and  cheerful like how he is on the telly. He was absolutely brilliant. I wouldn't really mind meeting him again.

That Big Head

Boys will be boys. So the saying goes.

And what is it that boys actually do? Let's see if I can remember as much as I think I can.

Back in the Philippines, we had an electric fan. A small desk fan with plastic blades and rather standard sized grills. Jakjak was just a year and a half old (I'm guessing here). While the fan was dwindling down after being turned off, he stuck his finger in. It rattled a bit and we only saw his arm retracting back to where it had been previously. "Ouch", he said.

There was this time that we were sitting patiently at Food Republic in Suntec while looking around waiting for a seat. Jakjak was just a little more than 3 years old, and he was sat beside a candelabra lit with a standard incandescent bulb. Curious, he touched the bulb and all we heard after that was a swoosh. His hand flew out of the candelabra faster than how it went in, and then a small squeal, "ouch", he said.

When he was 5 years old, he had a Valkyrie. That's a Robotech toy, a jet that can transform into a walker and then a robot. It was one of those Japanese culture unique super deformed toys. This one, however, had tires that could be removed (but shouldn't). One day, there was supposed to be 2 tires, but there was only 1. When we asked him where it was, he said he put it in his nose. We did not want to believe that he would do that to himself (we taught him better - or so we thought). Since mum did not want to take chances, she brought him to the doctor. But the local doctor was not fit to remove the tire from his tiny nostril, so he had to be sent to a specialist children's hospital. True enough, they plucked the tire out of his nose (after knocking him out with some sleeping gas).

Recently, he had been in and out and down and under the shelves at a shop in the mall. He always does this, to hide inside the clothes hanging on the racks so we paid him no mind. He soon stuck his head between two rails holding the shelf up. "Mum, I'm stuck". When we found him, his head was under the shelf with his body dangling out from the opposite side. "Mum, I'm stuck. Really!". And as we tried plucking him out, we found out that his big head was indeed stuck between the rails. While trying to get him out, we caught the attention of a couple who were probably thinking "what in the world are those three blokes doing?". A few nudges and pulls later, we decided to do it the other way around and push him in further. Luckily, his body was small enough to fit further in and he managed to get on the shelf and slide out from the side of it.

Oh yes, the things that little boys do.

First Day At Hogwarts

Coming from a fresh start of the day, Jakjak had been in a jolly good mood since morning. He did not want to go to the Harry Potter : The Exhibition when it first came out because he said he was scared (admittedly, the Deathly Hallows wasn't the best movie to take a 6 yo kid to). However, he seemed to be in a very good mood and immediately said "yes" when we told him that we wanted to go to the Harry Potter exhibit.

Unlike mum and dad though, he only had rudimentary knowledge of the HP universe, that is from the few movies that he has seen. Mum and dad had read all seven books (and then some) and have been fans of the series. The books had always has a special place in our hearts, and we are waiting for Jakjak to grow up old enough for reading the Harry Potter books (right now, he has graduated from Dr. Seuss to Geronimo Stilton books).

While he was being sorted though, he had already fallen into the HP trance. He was talking and telling stories to the host about what he knows in the HP world. Most notably, the dragon from year 4 (The Goblet of Fire) and how he used his broomstick to outwit the Hungarian Horntailed Dragon (which was inside the exhibit as well). 

"Better be, Gryffindor!"

That was how our journey began. Of course, it wouldn't be complete without seeing the Hogwarts Express in all it's glory. The portraits adorning the Gryffindor House were also there and you can't really miss the singing lady. Bits and pieces of every character were scattered across the room. It was arranged in a not-so-chronological order with odd pieces showing up with groups from a different book, but you really wouldn't mind. Hagrid's hut is a place that invites you into the world beyond the castle, and it feels as though you are there, with Hagrid's massive costume looking down on you. Let's not forget about wands and broomsticks. The Nimbus 2000 and 2001 make their appearances. The Elder wand loomed ominously in one corner as well as dragon eggs, imps, elves and dragons (well, dragon heads anyway). You also have giant Acromantula spiders, Centaurs and the Hippogriff Buckbeak that made it's appearance in The Prisoner Of Azkaban.

Props and artifacts were there. Jakjak immediately recognized the Golden Snitch and the Nimbus 2000. The Elf, Dobby was also there hanging around with the costumes used by the actors in the movie. The wardrobe, the feast in the great hall and a Dementor even showed up (which of course sent Jakjak under my arm being "scared" of it). 

The tour ended with the shop. And what a wonderful shop it was. It felt like Diagon Alley. You can buy wands, and scarves, and beanies from all the house colors. There are chocolate frogs complete with collectible Wizard cards and of course, every-flavored beans. There are tons of memorabilia available. Some with sky-high prices (that is to be expected) and some that are reasonable enough. This is the reason why, we ended up with a Nimbus 2000 for Jakjak.