My daughter received bunch of toys and goodies from my officemates and relatives. As a Dora the Explorer fanatic, she loves the Dora-inspired doll and the Dora Kaleidoscope. From the cash gifts, we bought a toy laptop which was (slightly) broken when she accidentally slipped outside our house, just 24 hours after we opened the toy. I realized that at her age, the most advisable things for her are either clothes or stuffed toys.
Our neighbors organized fun games for kids on New Years Eve. Thea won a prize when joined (saling-pusa in Pinoy term) the Hep-Hep-Horray game. It was a pencil case; I might save it up for her Day Care class this coming school year hehe.
Then came New Year’s Day, lunch time, kids of Zaballa clan, were just so excited to fall in line in front of Tatay (grandpa), Titas and Titos (aunts and uncles). It was the time for giving out cash gifts to the kids. I represented Hubby in the fall-in-line thing. And guess what made the folks laugh – Thea who always stood in front of the queue no matter what happened… then, every time she got money she handed them down to her Tita Neneth who took charge of her bag (a gift from her Tita Rica).
This is the first New Year that I saw Thea’s excitement and appreciation; despite the fact the see didn’t want the sound and sparks of firecrackers and fireworks.
