I can only think of one thing that is related to this week’s Mommy Moments’ theme of “So Little,” and those are my son’s toys. You see, he has lots of small cars and small trains. Undoubtedly, trains and cars are his favorite toys. He simply can’t get enough of them. As a matter of fact, those are still what he asks us to give him as Christmas gifts. Are those the same things your sons would like to receive from Santa? I sure would like to know. In the meantime, I hope you have a good time looking at my son’s tiny toys.


His miniature cars


His teeny-weeny trains

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My son has a new toy. Nope, it’s not a newly bought toy, but “new” because my son managed to create something new from his old toys. The battery-operated cowboy/horse toy was a gift from one of his godmothers that he received on his first birthday. I still haven’t disposed of it yet because he still likes it.

Two nights ago, while I was still working, Justin found a way to keep himself busy with his cowboy/horse toy and his drum set’s foot pedal. He asked his yaya (babysitter) to tie the string of the foot pedal around his cowboy/horse toy, so the horse can drag the foot pedal. He made the horse run back and forth while pulling the foot pedal slowly along from place to place. He was having so much fun with his “creation” and even telling the horse these words: “Go horse; you can do it!”








What’s good with kids is they never run out of ideas to keep themselves entertained. When they get bored, they find or “create” new and exciting things to amuse them, just like what my son did. What about you? What ingenuous “creations” have your kids came up with recently?

It’s a known fact that my son loves toys, especially trains and cars. I have written about some of his favorite toys in the past, so for this week’s Mommy Moments’ theme, I’ll focus on my son’s love for gadgets.

Because my son is a curious lot, he is interested in many things, and gadgets are one of them. It used to be just my cell phone. He would borrow my cell phone to take pictures, to delete a game, to add a folder, and to add new contacts to my phone book.

He didn’t stop with my cell phone, however, because soon he started using our desktop and later on our laptop. When his Dad bought an iPod Touch, that became his newest preoccupation. He would play Plants vs. Zombies there and watch videos in YouTube.

Now, that iPod is in a repair shop and currently waiting replacement. Good thing it’s still under warranty! Is my son to be blamed for this? Perhaps. If there’s one thing I’m sure of it’s that my son will grow up to be a techie, so unlike me. Come to think of it, exposing our kids to gadgets early has its advantages, too.


Watching Thomas & Friends in YouTube


Recording his voice using my cell phone


Tinkering with his Dad’s personal digital assistant (PDA)


After 5pm Mondays to Fridays, it’s Justin’s turn to use our laptop


His newest preoccupation, his Dad’s iPod Touch
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Aside from school that he’s really enjoying, there are his new toys. The drum set and the busy ball popper are courtesy of his Dad’s officemate. Her sons have already outgrown these toys, but they’re still working, and my son loves playing with them.


Drum set


Playskool Busy Ball Popper
And these are some of the toys he received as birthday gifts when he turned four last July 7.


Buzz Lightyear from Ninang Belen


Thomas the Tank Engine & his buddies from Tita Sharon, Tita, Zen, and Tita Mina
My husband and I didn’t buy him anymore birthday gift because he has enough toys to keep him busy. Besides, his renewed interest in going to the playground in the afternoon after his nap keeps him preoccupied, too.

Kids don’t need expensive toys to show their creative and skilful side. Children can be enterprising when the situation calls for it, that is, ordinary things in the house can be their playthings, too. All it takes is just a little imagination. That’s what I learned after watching my son play on two separate occasions.


His Daddy’s slippers make for great borders, too!


He makes believe that the hanger is a crane lifting his police car up, just like Cranky in Thomas & Friends.
What about your kids? Are there items in your homes that they consider as playthings, too?

Since our last helper left us in December, the task of general housecleaning every weekend falls on my shoulders. It takes me hours just to dust every nook and cranny of our small condo unit, not to mention my son’s personal stuff. His toys are everywhere, some of which have no use for him anymore because he has outgrown them. So I decided last Sunday to rummage through my son’s toy box and get the toys that he doesn’t play with anymore so that other kids in my parents’ neighborhood could benefit from them. Everything was done with my son’s permission, of course.


Justin’s toys for disposal
The house felt so much lighter without those toys. I should have discarded them sooner. What about you? Have you done some de-cluttering lately?

Justin is such a fan of Thomas & Friends. When asked what gift/s he would like to receive for his birthday, he would mention the names of the characters in the show. He already has Thomas (with Annie and Clarabel), which his Daddy bought for him last December. Next came three miniature tank engines (James, Percy, and Edward), his rewards for completing his summer class. A week before his birthday, his Dad bought him a new Thomas rail set as his advance birthday gift. His Daddy’s friends and officemates, Tita Tess and Tita Sharon, gave him Gordon and Percy, respectively .(Thank you so much! You made my little boy so happy!)


Justin’s first Thomas rail set


Justin’s Talk ‘N Action Magic Rail Set; the accessories weren’t put in place yet


Gordon from Tita Tess


Percy from Tita Sharon
Do you think he’s had enough? Not quite. If you ask him now which character he wants next, he’ll say “Arthur.”

Well, it’s not really a toy, but my son Justin considers my cell phone something that he can play with. Every day after my work, he would ask for my cell phone doing all sorts of stuff with it.

These are the things he’s done with my cell phone so far:

1. He takes pictures of just about anyone or anything in the house. He actually took a good shot of mommy last year (See my post “Justin Takes Mommy’s Picture.”)
2. He creates subfolders. More than once, I was surprised to discover new subfolders under my Dictionary folder.
3. He adds new contacts to my phone book. I saw three new entries in my phone book today: E.d, Jd and Tjmd and they all have the same telephone number, 123666.
4. He deleted most of my ringing tones. I’m left with only five ringing tones right now. He also deleted one game, which, unfortunately, is one of his favorites.
5. He plays soccer and Sudoku on my cell phone. He likes to play the soccer game by himself, but the Sudoku game he plays with mommy. I’m the one who tells him what number to key in and where to place it.
6. He has altered my time setting. My cell phone’s clock is now one hour late and I have no idea how to reset it.
7. He calls the numbers in my phone book and when he does, he makes sure he’s standing or sitting as far away from mommy as he can so he can talk to the person on the other line.
8. He texts. Yes, he can. He knows how to put letters and numbers in the message box and he even knows how to send his text message. Sometimes, people listed in my phone book or those I’ve just texted would text me saying they received a garbled message from me. A friend actually thought I sent him a cell phone virus because he couldn’t make out the message. LOL)

Justin is now 2 years, 7 months and 17 days old. I wonder what other gadgets will tickle his fancy when he turns three.