The curly baby

"Ang cuuuuute!"

That's the common response elicited by this month's cover. And after that, a shocked and somewhat amused reaction when I tell them, "...and he's a boy ha?" "Boy 'yan??!!" they all retort.

His name is Kiian Huey Tolentino and he and his parents plus a few other relatives flew all the way from Iloilo for the photo shoot. Kiian is the Visayas-Mindanao winner of SM's Star Baby Contest--a quarterly competition for which three winners are picked.

The April issue is a bit different from the others as it is somewhat light. It's summer, after all, so we shall go with the season's leisurely flavor. Hence, there's a lot of summer-related articles this month -- sun-proofing your kids, helping toddlers get used to the water so they don't end up being traumatized by the experience, yummy easy-to-make fruit shakes you can concoct with your little ones, the basics about chickenpox as well as playtime fashion from labels such as Peppermint, Big & Small Co., Spin, Girls Edition, Mothercare, Billy & Elli, and Gingersnaps.

Other articles are "The adoption option" (the basics on the process of properly adopting a child), "Sleep in heavenly peace" (ways for pregnant women to get more adequate sleep), "Tiny babbles" (speech development on the baby's first year), and "Gizmos, Doodads, and Good Dads," which is this month's Fatherspeak piece. Columnist Manny Escasa writes an entertaining and thought-provoking piece about effective parenting in this age of gadgetry.


There's lots more to read so do grab a copy. Baby magazine is available at:

SM department stores (look in the baby section)
All major National Bookstore outlets
Baby & Co. (The Podium and Power Plant mall)
Bufini
Big & Small Co. (the Shangri-la mall branch)
Selected Powerbooks branches
Selected Mio Magazine shops

For subscription and other inquiries, call Lourdes at 728-3655/56.

Nothing like a baby's laughter

Saw the following video on Yahoo! and I must have played it six times, one after the other-- and laughed delightedly each time! It shows a baby and his incessant laughter over the simplest thing: tearing a piece of paper.

This is my first time to put a video on a blog. Hope it works out.

Praise, image and hard work

BRIGHTEST GIRLS PIN TOO MUCH ON SUCCESS

Bright girls whose self-image depends on success and praise are not well equipped for life, says a British education specialist. Professor Guy Claxton told a teachers' conference that girls are always hearing they are smarter than boys, but this makes many of the brighter ones "brittle", afraid to try anything new in case they fail, and unable to cope with failure when it comes. The problem is aggravated by parents who regard praise as essential to a child's self-esteem and who may be tempted, if they are working full-time, to pile on the praise to make up for not spending enough time with their children.

Professor Claxton said research was showing that telling children they are smart may be doing them a disservice; the need to maintain this image becomes a prime concern. This is true of both boys and girls, but it hits girls the hardest, he added. The solution was ensure that praise is specific and relates to the effort the student has put into their work. A girls' school principal agreed: "We have to teach all young people how to lose and how to fail, not just how to succeed. The best girls' school are doing this."

Source: Family Edge (March 13 issue), the weekly newsletter of MercatorNet

Veiled threats

Girls wore traditional mantillas for a school procession in Seville, the Andalusian capital in southern Spain. The mantilla is a lace scarf worn by women covering their head and shoulders. It is often worn during the Holy Week before Easter in Andalusia, the southernmost region of Spain ruled for nearly eight centuries by the Moors.

Marcelo del Pozo/Reuters


Source: The Christian Science Monitor

Hodgepodge artistry

Sky's the limit when one puts his God-given talents to good use. Take artistic creativity, for instance. Over the years I've had the chance to follow links that lead to websites and blogs of truly brilliant artists. Their art is not what I'd call profound, but art isn't measured solely by depth of meaning. What ultimately matters is the love that goes into its rendering--and only the artist himself (and the One who bestowed that artistic talent on him, of course) would know for sure what kind of and how much love was involved in the making of the artwork.

I've been visiting again some of the websites on the list of links here, and I've discovered some more but haven't added them to the list yet. Karin's Style Blog is wonderful; it's owned by a ceramic artist from Sweden who makes vases, bowls and tealight holders but isn't limited to such. Her products are unconventional...but then isn't convention relative? Let's put it this way: anyone who's accustomed to things American (whether it be decor, cinema or manner of dressing) would find Karin Eriksson's work pleasantly unconventional. Consequently, the photos of sightings and other artists' work she posts in her blog are a refreshing change as well. Her style blog chronicles her day-to-day sightings and goings-on but you can view her products here.



Calling these little things edible art would be misleading, but they sure look good enough to eat! They're from Robin's Jewelry Box. The Bagel and Breads with Cream Cheese necklace is made with polymer clay and food mini's, while the serving dish is of acrylic and measures 2x2 inches in diameter, it says on the etsy page. The Chocolate Truffles necklace is made of Plaster of Paris and is approximately one inch in diameter. I think these are better off kept away from children because it wouldn't be surprising if they reached out and tried to bite the yummy-looking pendants!




Same with these "frozen delights"--which aren't frozen at all though they're delightful to look at. They're soap! Sometimes the bathroom is easy to overlook when it comes to maintenance and decor. But it wouldn't hurt to spruce it up a little; after all, it is part of the home. And germs can accumulate more easily in this part of the house if one isn't careful. Whether the "soapsicles" are going to be used for decorative or practical purposes, they sure will give a bathroom more character! More designs at Soapylove.

Now this flower vase made of magazine pages I saw at Karin's Style Blog but failed to note whose work it is. It is indeed very practical--and imaginative! Not to mention, considerate of the environment.