The Poser thrives

It seems she's enjoying her camera poses and so she's been at it again! This time we had consumed an entire memory disk as she won't stop posing and smiling at the camera (how showbiz!) and later, I found out these print-outs cost a fortune! So here's a few that I chose to show how Amber Declan is such a poser at the age of 3 years and 11 months!

Poser!

I'm not so sure if my daughter has what it takes to be in the public eye. When she was younger, about 2 - 3 years old she'd dance or sing at a request, more promptly so, with a bribe of candy or toy. Now she's beginning to feel a bit shy and admits to it by saying, "Oh I'm a little bit shy!" She admits to being a little bit looney too - scary stuff.

So here I was asking to have my picture taken to renew licenses and stuff when she asks if she can have her picture taken too. She chose her own chair, sat and striked a pose and viola....Amber Declan Casas-Eliserio, folks.

Philippine National Anthem

As Filipinos living abroad, it is often dificult to introduce our children to Filipino culture. Recently, I have been teaching my three-year-old how to sing the Philippine National Anthem. Since this has been my interest, I went online to search for a sound file that I could use for her to listen to. Oh boy, did I find out a lot about my country's anthem.

I knew that the Tagalog version was composed by Julian Felipe to use for the establishment of the first Philippine government under Emilio Aguinaldo. However I did not know that the lyrics weren't written by Felipe. The original lyrics was, in fact, written in Spanish by Jose Palma, a year after the marching band anthem was played in 1898. Later, a bloke by the name of Felipe de Leon translated it into Tagalog in the early 1900s.

During what my grandparents called peace time and after the Japanese war, an English version of the Philippine anthem was written and had been what my grandparents sang in school.

Here are the webpages that helped my in my anthem quest:
an MIT page
The Wikipedia
And a site that has an MP3 audio file

But the main reason of this posting, and why it is here under "Amber's Nanay" section is because it seems, my daughter has had a new take in the songs lyrics and even a bit of deviation from the original melody.

Here side by side are the original Tagalog (first stanza) and my daughter's own:

The Tagalog version Bayang magiliw Perlas ng Silanganan Alab ng puso Sa dibdib mo'y buhay

Amber's own Bayan may giliw Pera sa Silangan Lab nya ang puso Sa didib may Dubai

But she later changed Dubai to buhay when everyone guffawed at her attempts, sensing not only dischordant notes but irregular lyrics as well. But it was a blast listening to her. Hmmm, maybe an audio file of Amber's version? In the next post perhaps....

Meet Amber!

Most recent picture of Amber Declan, taken on 19th May 2006 at the Al Ain Palace Hotel swimming pool.

Amber Declan - a new thread/blog

My daughter, Amber Declan, is quickly growing up and I have to catch my breath sometimes and just hold still for a few moments to wonder and ponder at how quickly she is growing, changing, developing into this person that she is trying to become.

From birth to present - she is 3 years old - she has been a joy and a marvel. A truly positive force in my life. She was a happy baby, not very fussy, only when she felt tired would she cry. She seems to be fighting off sleep, impatient to learn about her world, not wanting to miss anything.

So I'm creating a separate blog thread just for her. To recall her infancy, which was just a few years ago, and to give an account of how she is growing up. To share with family members and friends and parents who like me, just feel so blessed to be able to have a child.

Finally, this is also for my daughter - so she never forgets her past and where she came from.