Star Wars Kinder Surprise Toys

Looks like Star Wars mania isn't finished yet.  Not in our household, anyway.  When we saw the promotional box of new Kinder Surprise with Star Wars toys, we definitely had to buy some to review.

There's a special box with 3 eggs in it for NZ$5 each.  We opted to purchase 2 boxes.

(We actually purchased 2 more boxes a couple of nights ago and it's already $5.50 per box.  Still $0.50 cheaper though if you buy individually, at $2 each).

From this batch, we were able to get 4 unique toys.

Princess Lea aboard the Tantive IV

How to borrow e-books from the Wellington City Libraries

My son has received a Kobo Mini e-book reader over the school holidays, and he enjoys reading from it.  It has become his nightly habit, prior to turning in for the night.  Here is a quick tutorial on how to borrow e-books from the Wellington City Libraries.


Do subscribe to the YouTube Channel Jo-Lo's Hangout, for kids' toys, hobbies and crafts videos!

Jo-Lo on ukulele

My son sang a song while playing the ukulele at their school assembly recently.  Proud Dad!

Jo-Lo's Hangout No. 6: Yellow Submarine

From my son's YouTube Channel:My little sister Christine loves bubbles. We saw this toy on sale: a bubble machine in the shape of a submarine, and thought she might like it. But she's not fond of vehicles, just mostly stuffed toys and her Duplo. Will she like this toy just the same? Watch the video to see her reaction!

Jo-Lo's Hangout No. 3: Rock Climbing

From Jo-Lo's YouTube Channel: We went to Lower Hutt in the weekend for my friend's birthday party... with rock climbing! My Dad says it's actually wall climbing, but I pointed out the name of the place, and it said Rock Climbing!

The Time-Travelling Gift Box

"Wow, has it been 7 years ago already? I can still remember Jo-Lo's celebration in Baguio when he turned 1!", one of our friends exclaimed when she saw the photo we tagged her in Facebook where Jo-Lo was opening the gift from her.

It's a gift that was given to Jo-Lo for his 7th birthday... when he turned 1.  On his first birthday, we thought it would be fun if the guests also brought along a small gift which Jo-Lo will open when he turned 7!  Why at 7?  Because it's a milestone birthday for a Filipino boy (the other birthdays are 1 and 21).  And some gamefully wrapped something up, which we stored in an airtight container, to be opened 7 years later.

This is Jo-Lo's Time Travelling Gift Box.

Who would have thought that not only would it time-travel, but it would cross over to another country as well?  When we visited the Philippines back in 2010, we brought along some stuff back with us here to New Zealand, and the gift box was one of them.

We couldn't help but smile and reminisce that this box and its contents are now 7 years old.  I was actually thinking that on Jo-Lo's 7th birthday we would ask the guests to bring something again for when he turns 13 (officially a teenager).  But who would have thought we'd be celebrating his 7th in another country?

Close a door, open a window

Many have been wondering how come Jo-Lo's blog blog has suddenly become a "by invitation only" blog. Well, I feel that the time has come when I need to close this baby project, and present it to Jo-Lo when he's old enough to appreciate the first four years of his life chronicled, and I will leave it to him to do whatever he wants with it. I am hoping though that he will take it up from there and continue the blog. Wouldn't that be amazing?

And if you were following his blog, I think it's safe to say that you won't be missing much. I will be uploading content there from time to time, but no longer as frequent as before.

BUT if you'd still like to follow Jo-Lo's adventures, all you need is a Facebook account, look him up, become a fan, and get updates on your Facebook wall. You can easily look for him by clicking on his Facebook widget on the bottom part of the left sidebar of this blog.

See ya on Facebook!

Jo-Lo's extended birthday celebration

A simple dinner made special by friends.







Everybody brought something to the table, but more importantly they brought laughter and merriment to this special day.


Happy, happy birthday, Jo-Lo!

Jo-Lo's first day of school

Our rambunctious Jo-Lo attended his first day of school yesterday!

Part of Early Childhood Education (ECE), Kindy's and chreches are located in suburbs where kids the afternoon session, from 12:45 to 3:15PM Mon-Tue-Thurs. That's a total of 7.5 hours per week. He can spend the remaining 12.5 hours in other kindys. When he reaches 4 years 3 months in age, he will then be transferred to the morning session which runs from Monday til Friday. The school provides for all the things the kid needs; we simply have to provide for a couple of fruits per week and a packet of biscuits for the entire term for their snacks. If you go beyond 20 hours, you pay for an hourly fee.







Jo-Lo enjoyed his first day of school, and eagerly looks forward to going back.

How fast they grow!

Jo-Lo is attending Kindy starting 3rd November!

Kindy, or Kindergarten, is the stepping stone to formal education here in New Zealand. Going to school is mandatory for kids aged 5 and above. Education here til Year 8 (that's high school for us) is free in government-subsidized institutions, though there may be some donations that may be asked for school upkeep. Everything else is provided for. In Jo-Lo's case, all we did was bring along his passport for his "enrollment". Kids aged 3 can start schooling, so they are better equipped with social skills and get acquainted with a classroom atmosphere. Wonderful, isn't it?

He is slowly but surely gaining ground in graduating from his baby talk to phrases we readily understand. A couple of days back we were at Countdown and stocking up on biscuits. We have chosen a few packets when Jo-Lo suddenly blurted out, "Cookie Bear please!" It's a brand which even my wife and I love; the Hundreds and Thousands cookies remind us of Jack n' Jill Pretzels. So Cookie Bear went home with us. For cookies, juice, cereals... Jo-Lo's getting preferences and at the same time he now eats whatever we serve on the table; it was a challenge before in Baguio.

Jo-Lo's really adapting quite well here in New Zealand. And he's growing even faster.

Jo-Lo is 2 years old!

I couldn't care less when they say how kids grow fast. But now that we have Jose Carlos, I couldn't help but be amazed at how fast the transition was from crawling to running, from milk to solid food. I can still remember the time when I held him in my arms in the hospital room as I tried to burp him on Father's Day.

And last weekend, we celebrated his 2nd birthday! We had the party at home, and we asked our parents and siblings to help out with the perparations. My mother does wonders with macaroni, and she made her famous macaroni soup and salad with sugar beets, along with lumpiang shanghai (the secret is in the shrimp!). My sister cooked kare-kare, her specialty. My wife's brother cooked menudo with gusto, while my mother- and brother-in-law Jojo made fresh lumpia with that special peanut sauce. My brother's wife made buco pandan. The fresh veggie salad was my idea but because I was busy with the decorations, my wife obligingly prepared it. I delivered the cake. :-) The kids (and grown-ups too!) had hotdogs, ice cream, and cake, and an assortment of sweets. And of course, no birthday party is complete without pancit for long life, lovingly prepared by my sister.

Throw away your diet plans today, ladies and gentlemen!

This was the day before the celebration. While the afternoon sun provided cool light and warmth, the preparations turned were moved outside the house.

Candle-blowing marked the start of the festivities

Eating time!

After lunch, the kids had loads of fun with games. Yours truly was one of the hosts so I wasn't able to take many photos. There was the "palayok", relays, newspaper dance, stop dance, and lots more.

I was amused when I announced "Next game: Trip to Jerusalem! Those who want to play, raise your hands!" I was met with curious stares. What game is that? When I explained that they have to grab chairs when the music stops, their faces lit up and and raised their hands eagerly. Me! Me! hahaha!

Ummm... Mommy Tina, where are you bringing that cake?

And of course, it was gift opening time at the end of the party! Jo-Lo likes this huge Command Center with sounds. I like it too. May I borrow it, Jo-Lo?Happy 2nd birthday, Jo-Lo!

[More photos can be found at Jo-Lo's Blog!]