Johan's 3rd Birthday at the Manila Ocean Park - The Musical Fountain Show

This is the final installment to our Manila Ocean Park trip and the last attraction we went to was the Musical Fountain Show.

The Musical Fountain Show started around 6:30 PM and by the time we reached the area where it will be held, it was almost full with the other guests and we were lucky to still be able to get good seats. By this time, we were all tired from all the walking around the park and we're thankful that this would be the final show already. :)

The show was very entertaining! Everybody in the audience were just amazed with the lights and the fountain and they truly are breathtaking. The most appreciated part was when Nemo suddenly made an appearance and the kids went crazy! Johan kept on shouting, "Wow!" and every time the show would shift from the lights and fountain to the narrative story with the entertainers, he would shout, "More, more!".

Here are a couple of videos I took during the show, enjoy!

Nemo made an appearance! An amazing show of lights! Our Manila Ocean Trip was a huge success! I'm glad that the birthday boy had a blast and that we waited until he's three before we went to MOP. He's at the right age where he's curious, asks a lot of questions and very appreciative of everything that's happening around him. Every "Wow!" and every "That's cool!" coming from the little boy made this trip all worth the money and the effort. For those of you planning your own Manila Ocean Park trip, here are a few tips:

1. Try to arrive early. If you're going to get the same package that we got, it would be best to arrive around lunchtime so you'd catch the shows and still have time in between shows to walk around the park.
2. If possible and the budget allows, see all the attractions at the park. It's too bad that our tickets didn't include an entrance to the Trails to Antarctica, it would have been great to see live penguins. 
3. Bring water and a few change of clothes. When we were there it wasn't too hot but it's pretty humid and with an active toddler, pretty humid is just enough to make him dehydrated and his shirt wet from all the running around that he did. Make sure that you'd let the kids drink water every now and then to keep them hydrated.
4. Bring enough money. Since our tickets were already paid before we got to the park, our only expenses were for food, water and a few other items I got from one of the stalls. There are many food stalls scattered around the park and if in case, you'd get hungry there are many to choose from. There are also some stalls selling knick knacks like shirts, accessories, toys and other souvenirs. 
5. Familiarize yourself with the area and where certain shows will be held. I asked for a map when we got in and it was very useful since I remembered where all the shows will be held. That saved us time from running from one place to another trying to look for a certain show. If all else fail, ask the staff, they really are very helpful.
6. Plan your itinerary. Before going, I made sure I checked the MOP's website and list down the schedule of each show. By doing that I was able to maximize our time at the park and saved us from rushing from one show to another. 
7. Bring extra batteries for the camera or a power bank for the gadgets. My phone's battery died down before we even get to the final show.
8. Eat before you start with the tour. We had lunch before we watched the first show and with lunch out of the way, we had enough time to enjoy the attractions without our grumbling tummies bothering us.
9. Dress comfortably. As I've said, it can get pretty humid inside the park as not all areas are air-conditioned so it's advisable to wear comfortable tops and a pair of shorts. Wear flip flops if you can as you'll be doing a lot of walking, you wouldn't want to have blisters on your feet by the end of the day.
10. And the best advise I could give, ENJOY! Put down the gadgets, log out of Facebook, Instagram and all the other social media and just be in the moment. It is not everyday that you'd get to see the marine animals and be surrounded with all the beautiful creatures at the park. Act like a kid and share the wonder that only a kid's eye can see.

Johan's 3rd Birthday at the Manila Ocean Park - The Oceanarium

We saved the best attraction for last - the Oceanarium. I've been looking forward to this trip just because of that huge tunnel of water that I used to see just in photos on the internet. It's just unfortunate that we were sharing the park with a huge number of kids on their field trips so my goal of taking a picture of us inside an huge, empty aquarium tunnel was a fail. But we all had fun, anyway!

Pardon me for the photo quality on the next batch of photos, MOP is implementing a No Flash Photography rule inside the Oceanarium to prevent the stress it would bring the marine creatures. I only hope they'd enforce this rule a little bit more rigidly and put more MOP staff inside to remind the guests as I saw a lot of people not following this rule.

As soon as we went in, the birthday boy shouted excitedly,"Nemo! Nemo!" and so that began our search to find the tank where we can find the world's most popular marine specie.

There's Nemo!

The boy spent a huge chunk of time just staring at "Nemo"

When the boy finally agreed we continue on with the tour, here are some other marine creatures that we found inside the Oceanarium.

I love it that they named each section of the Oceanarium accordingly depending on the marine life to be found on each particular section.

The Oceanarium is huge and I think we spent an hour and a half touring the area until Johan got tired, asked for milk and fell asleep on one of the ledges.

Deep in his sleep

While he was sleeping, we all sat down, talked about things and just enjoyed the serenity - of the moving creatures gracefully swimming about - brought to our tired bodies and minds. I truly love being around sea creatures and having this huge aquarium with all the many species around relaxed me. I honestly think I am one of them in my previous life. :)

Johan was out for a good one hour and when he finally woke up, we only have a few minutes left for more photo ops until it was time to head back down the Acquatica section for the final show of our trip.

The final show on our Manila Ocean Park trip - The Musical Fountain Show - coming right up on the next post.

Johan's 3rd Birthday at the Manila Ocean Park - The Shows

After having our lunch, we immediately proceeded to the area called Acquatica to catch the first show on our itinerary - The All Star Bird Show.

Patiently waiting for the show to begin

The show is finally starting!

Johan enjoyed the show and even cheered on the birds while they were
doing their shoot-the-hoops trick

The birds were just awesome! They did tricks like shoot-the-ball, shoot-the-hoops, find the object and one bird even did math! The trainer wrote down 10+15 on a board and the bird would choose the answer from a set of numbers hanging on another board. It was amazing that the bird chose the number 2 and the number 5! The students watching with us cheered when the bird put 25 after the equation written by the trainer. Simply amazing!



When the show is over, we stayed awhile at the area thinking that it'll be the same area where the Sea Lion Show will be held, but upon asking, we found out that it'll be at the other side of the area so we immediately ran to the Marine Life Habitat to be able to get good seats for everyone.

The Sea Lions are here!

The happiness on Johan's face is priceless

The dancing Sea Lions
The Sea Lion Show is a joy to watch! The Sea Lions are smart and their trainers are crazy-in-a-funny-kind-of-way people! There were lots of funny moments, especially the part when one of the trainers did "twerking" to the tune of  Gimme, Gimme and his Sea Lion mimicked his every move! Everyone is just laughing their hearts out - kids and kids-at-heart alike! If there is only one attraction that you would be visiting at the Manila Ocean Park - let this be it. Definitely worth your money!

Our next stop is the Penguin Talk Show which runs every thirty minutes so don't worry that you'll miss this. 

The Penguin Talk Show is definitely not one that young kids like my son would enjoy. We first thought that we'll be seeing a live penguin and a host will just be there to walk us through some trivia about them but we were wrong. There is only an animated penguin on screen that interacts with the audience. This show might be enjoyed by school-age kids. We did not last more than 10 minutes inside when Johan got bored and pulled us up to leave.

Next post will be about the other attractions at the Manila Ocean Park.Stay tuned!

Celebrating Johan's 3rd Birthday at the Manila Ocean Park

I planned on doing this last year for Johan's 2nd birthday but then I realized that Johan might be too young to fully enjoy the experience so I postponed the trip until this year when he is a little older.

Ensogo posted a deal a few weeks back for the Manila Ocean Park Sea Breeze Express 8 Package at 69% off and I immediately bought four vouchers. I paid only Php 600 per voucher and even got a 60 peso discount because they offer an additional 10% on your first voucher during the weekend that I purchased mine. I think it was a steal given that we would be touring eight attractions already at the Manila Ocean Park which included the following:

• Oceanarium
• Sea Lion Show
• Marine Life Habitat
• Musical Fountain Show
• Jellies Exhibit
• All Star Bird Show
• Birds of Prey Kingdom
• Penguin Talk Show

I carefully planned our trip -  read reviews here and there, saved tips on what to bring, what time to come in and how to maximize our stay at the park. We left home around 10 in the morning and arrived at Manila around 11:30 AM. We decided to drop by Ermita Church to say thanks for another great year that our little boy was blessed with.

After saying a few prayers (and a couple more photos at the church grounds), we were off to our destination - The Manila Ocean Park! 

The Manila Ocean Park is located behind Quirino Grandstand at the Luneta Park in the City of Manila. It opened its doors sometime in March 2008 and paved the way for Filipinos to enjoy "the first world-class marine theme park and a premiere educational facility. An integrated urban resort with marine life attractions and aqua-themed hotel, the park is geared towards an all-year, all-weather destination for locals and tourists. Everyday is a holiday and an ultimate fun place for all ages." (Quote taken from the MOP website)

Upon arriving at the park, I was a bit disappointed to see buses and buses of children lined up at the park's entrance. I thought that since we were there on a weekday, the park would be less crowded but luck's not on our side yesterday as schools unfortunately scheduled their classes' field trip on the exact day of our trip. But then, I didn't not allow this to dampen our spirits and proceeded on to have one great, fun-filled day for the birthday boy.

We just have to have photos at the iconic Manila Ocean Park signage!

My super excited little boy!

Family photo op

I had to coax him to have this picture taken as he is already running
towards the entrance to the park

I should say that redeeming our Ensogo vouchers is like a walk in the park. There was no line at the counter, the lady at the window was very accommodating and explained to me in detail the inclusions of our voucher.

When we finally entered the park, it was already 12 noon and we were all hungry. We decided to eat at Gerry's Grill while waiting for the first show which was scheduled at 1:15 PM.

From L-R: Kilawin, Bagoong Rice, Pork Sisig, Pancit Bihon, Johan enjoying
his Pancit, Banana Split, Johan enjoying the Ice Cream and Leche Flan
freebie for the birthday boy courtesy of Gerry's Grill

I'd like to commend the staff of Gerry's Grill inside the MOP grounds for graciously giving in to my request of putting a candle on top of the Leche Flan that they gave Johan so we wound not miss the blowing of candle tradition on his exact birthday.

We filled our tummies with our lunch and prepped ourselves for hours of great entertainment and wonderful memories to make with our now three-year-old little big boy.

The shows and other attractions coming right up on the next posts!

Happy 3rd Birthday, Johan!

Dear Johan,

Today marks the 3rd year that God gave you to us. Daddy Deck and I couldn't be any happier whenever we come home to you and you abundantly give us hugs, kisses and tireless "Love you, Mom" and "Love you, Dad". We are sorry for having to go to work everyday but like what we've always talked about, we are working so we could buy "bread, chicken, hotdogs, cookies, milk and above all else, SM". Thank you so much, baby, for being a happy kid and for making us laugh all the time. As I've said before, I am happy when you are happy. And we do hope you get to enjoy what we have planned for today! Happy 3rd birthday, Johan! We love you forever!!

Love lots,
Mommy

Potty Traning - We're Getting There

We're starting to potty train the little boy and I would have to say that he's made a lot of progress. At the beginning of the week, I instructed my MIL not to make Johan wear disposable diapers during the day and teach him where he should make "wiwi" and "poopoo". He didn't like not wearing diapers and would put up a fight every time we'll try to make him wear briefs. Eventually, he gave in. During the first day of potty training, Johan wet his briefs, as expected, and peed whenever he needs to regardless of where he is. He hated his potty. We didn't know why. So, his Lola taught him that he either needs to go outside or go to the bathroom instead of going to the potty whenever he needs pee. According to MIL, Johan usually just goes outside but he still wets his briefs because he didn't want to take them off. Hubby would really have to bring Johan with him whenever he needs to do the number one just to show the boy how it should be done.

This morning while I was browsing Pinterest for activity inspirations for the little boy, Johan called out to me, "A-my, wet!" and pointed to his briefs. He just peed without telling me and I didn't hear the front door nor the bathroom door open so I thought he must have peed on the floor somewhere.

So I asked him, "Where did you make wiwi?", to which he answered with, "A-my, come", pulled my hand and brought me outside. He then showed me his potty and boy, was I the proudest Mom when I saw that he indeed peed in the potty! Good job, Johan!

One potty day at a time and I'm sure we'll soon be diaper-free at last!

Feeding a Picky Eater

It may not be obvious that my son is a picky eater because in most photos that I upload on Facebook and here on my blog, he is usually holding a biscuit, a hotdog or a glass of Taho. Well, actually, those are the only food that Johan can finish in one sitting.

He is still more into milk (in a feeding bottle) and he consumes 6-8 bottles a day. Recently though, I was so surprised when he came up to me while I was having dinner and asked to be fed with what I was having. My MIL also told me that Johan's starting to like eating rice and would usually asked to be fed alongside his cousin.

So, I think it is the best time to become creative with his meals. I've read somewhere that to make my picky eater become a healthy eater, I must make his meals visually enticing. So, I logged on to Pinterest to gather ideas and look at what I found!

Pin after pin of wonderful creations!

Just look at all those colors! Now, I'm very inspired to get started and I will be dropping by the mall one of these days to look for cookie cutters, egg and pancake molds and colorful plates for the little boy. I hope I can find egg molds like the ones below, I can already imagine starting our weekends with flower-shaped eggs! I'm already loving it!

However, should I not find cookie cutters or molds to my liking within the week, I would have to settle for this easy weekend project. Rainbow pancakes!

The ingredients are pretty simple: pancake batter, maple syrup, butter and food coloring in different colors of course. For a step-by-step instruction on how to make a rainbow pancake, I suggest you click on this link: How to Make Rainbow Pancakes, because that's where I'll be referring to as well when I try and create my own this weekend.

I'm so excited for this and I am also praying that this would help me make Johan eat healthier. Let's do this, Mommies!

My Kid says the Darnest Things

After two days of being absent from work to take care of the sick Johan, me and my son were having this conversation:

Mommy: "Johan, Mommy will go to the office na tomorrow, okay?"
Johan: "No!"
Mommy: "Tomorrow, Johan, not today."
Johan: "No!"
Mommy: "I said tomorrow, not today."
Johan: "Mom, no!"

Okay fine.

One morning, the hubby's playing with Johan:

Daddy: Johan, I'm going to kiss your neck!
Johan: No!
Daddy: I'm going to kiss your neck!
Johan: No!
Daddy: I will kiss your neck!
Johan: No! Bang!

Binaril na, kulit mo kasing Daddy ka. :

Yesterday, I brought Johan with me to the bakery to buy pandesal:

Johan: Ate! Ate!
Tindera: Ano gusto mo, baby?
Johan: Dat one, Dat one!
Tindera: Okay na?
Johan: (with matching turo ke Ate) Best!

You're the best daw, ateng tindera. Hehehe!

Smile, Be Happy!

Forgive me for not posting something sensible tonight. I am just so tired and so sick and so impatient for the weekend to come. 

Let me just make it up by posting one wacky photo of Johan that never fails to make me smile.

Sick Mommy

I have a bad case of colds since Monday, I even thought I won't be able to go to work today but, I've been dragging myself out of bed everyday thinking that soon it'll be the weekend and I will finally have the time to rest.

Ironically, this has also been my busiest week so far - with changes at work, meeting and webinar schedules piling on top of each other - I found myself rushing today from a team meeting to a webinar that I totally forgot I was scheduled to take.

Ahh, I really can't wait for the weekend. Another thing that I feel bad about is this:

Hubby's niece had a school competition and since nobody will be left at home to care for Johan, my in-laws brought him to the school as well. I heard he's had lots of fun running around the place, looking at the dinosaur statues, playing with the other kids and dancing along with the cheer dancers. Too bad I wasn't there to see my son's amazed look when he saw the dinosaurs or heard him laugh while dancing.

I should have been there. :(

Saturday Impromptu Date

Hubby had a dentist appointment this afternoon to (finally!) have his braces removed. He went to the dentist clinic alone but came back sooner. He said he's still on the waiting list and it'll probably take a while before his number is called so he came back to pick us up. We'll go to SM afterwards to run a few errands.

When we arrived at the dentist's clinic, there was still a patient inside so I decided to bring Johan to Jollibee to pass the time as I'm sure that the little boy's patience is shorter than mine and hubby's. :)

As expected, Johan's face automatically lit up when he saw his favorite mascot and when asked what he wanted to order, his immediate answer was, "fe fies". Fe Fies, it is!

Here are a few photos of our impromptu date:

Oh yes, he loves his fries! He can't wait to eat not one but two at the same time!

Johan also loves drinking Pineapple Juice.

Spending time with Johan is always fun and I'm planning to start an exclusive Mommy and Johan Saturday date. I'm already looking forward to next Saturday.

Hmm, where should I bring this little cutie next time?

By the way, if in case you're wondering if we ever made it to SM. No, we did not because this little boy probably had too much fries and pineapple juice, he made a tiny accident when we went back to the dentist's clinic after our Jollibee date. And the ever efficient Mommy chose today of all days to forget to bring an extra set of clothes. But, good thing is, we still have tomorrow to go to SM! Another date!