October 07, 2006

Hat Couture

My family recently escaped to cool, breezy Tagaytay for some business mixed with pleasure. (Read: My husband had to do an out-of-town location shoot and he had no choice but to have his loony wife tag along with the baby!)

When we arrived at our designated suite at Taal Vista Hotel, we were aghast to discover something missing from the gazillion things we packed for the excursion -- Niccolo’s cap!

It was always a struggle getting our hyperactive toddler to wear a cap; ten seconds was the record for the longest time he allowed something to lay on his head before impatiently yanking it out. We figured our mischievous menace must have surreptitiously ditched his cap somewhere in our condo before we boarded our vehicle bound for the windy hills.

Since the weather where we were was chilly and damp, proper protective headgear was an absolute essential for babies. The harassed Mommy therefore had no choice but to flee the scene in search of a kiddy hat. The first store I stumbled upon turned out to be a gift boutique. All they had available were cheesy souvenir hats labeled “Tagaytay City.” Desperate as I was, I didn’t care. I hurriedly picked out the least awful one I could find that would fit my child and prayed the imp would let it stay on his head for at least twenty seconds.

When I got back to the hotel, I tentatively put the brand new blue hat on our son. I then stood aside, let him be, and instinctively started counting to twenty under my breath. As I did this, I observed our little one amble over to the mirror, carefully check himself out and suddenly break out in a gleeful smile.

Then, he proceeded to run around the room like an energizer bunny, dance like a dizzy duck, and bounce up and down like a crazy kangaroo on the bed…… with his hat still on his head.

With amazement, I realized that more than sixty seconds had passed from the time I began my countdown. I stopped and simply looked on in amusement. By some strange twist of fate, our tot was actually thoroughly enjoying his silly, silly hat.

In fact, from that moment on, he adamantly refused to remove his floppy hat. It thus came to be that we ended up spending the remainder of our trip with our very own Mad Hatter.

Lo and behold… the new poster boy for Tagaytay City’s children’s hat couture line!










Visit Tagaytay now!

Aha! Miss Tourism Philippines has just found her successor!

YIPEE!

23 comments:

Jules said...

HAHHAAHAHA that's so adorable!!! Your family pic is beautiful too. What a darling family you guys make. :-)

Irene said...

Thanks, sexy Julie! Successfully having a decent family picture taken with our hyper toddler is another crazy story altogether. That photo I posted with the three of us is a rare one snapped by our nanny! c",)

Jules said...

It's also hilarious to me how your little one always looks so pissed off in the pics. Like, "Don't mess with me!" :-) That would make a fun Xmas card picture!

Irene said...

Bwahaha! I know, Julie! With his eyebrows raised, our baby is a miniature version of "The Rock!" :p

sage said...

cute kid! And yes, if tackier the clothing, the more kids will be attached to it! it's a rule of nature. Thanks for visiting my site.

Neila said...

Oh my goodness! He is so sweet! You have a beautiful family. I wish your son could give my daughter a lesson on hat wearing. She refuses that and any sort of clips or ribbons in her hair!

Irene, I've just tagged you for Morgen's Halloween Meme!

Unknown said...

Oh he is so beautiful! Thanks for sharing those gorgeous pictures!

abovo99 said...

You guys are so beautiful...especially, the one with the blue shirt and hat...I am attracted by his huge beautiful eyes...maybe I'm in love. LOL.

Tim Rice said...

Great family pictures. Gotta love them!

ditzymoi said...

He is adorable! I could never get any of my babies to wear a hat!

thethinker said...

His cheeks look so pinch-able!

Cherry Popcorn said...

Your baby boy is so cute!!! =) brought a smile to my face when i read it..!!! So very adorable esp with the hat! Wonder wat made him like it! hehe...

Irene said...

Sage - Uh-oh! I hope my son eventually outgrows his taste for silly clothing. That souvenir hat won't look so great when he's 18! Thanks for dropping by. Feel at home here. c",)

Neila - Buy a ridiculous looking hat. It just might do the trick for your daughter! :p

I can't believe I'm tagged again! Ok, ok....I'm on it! c",)

Carmel - Thanks a lot. You're beautiful, too! c",)

The Body Talk - You think you're in love now? Wait til you see him shake his tiny tush when dancing. HAHA! :p

Irene said...

Tim - Thanks for visiting! Kids are really something, aren't they? c",)

Kim - When it comes to children's clothing - the sillier they are, the higher the chances of their being worn! :p

The Thinker - Oh yes! His cheeks really are pinching magnets...to my poor baby's consternation. Haha! c",)

Princess Shin - Thanks! Up to now, he favors that hat of his for some unfathomable reason. Sigh! c",)

Hanuman - Thanks! Hope to catch you again soon! c",)

Girlie said...

You have a beautiful family.

The hat rocks!

I've never been to Tagaytay. I should next time I'm there.

Girlie said...

None of my 5 kids would wear a hat, not even in the hellish Texas summer. They all would yank it off within 5 minutes max.

Ian said...

Kids are surprising. Sometimes you buy them something small, silly, or stupid to ameliorate their attitudes, and they become more attached to it than if it was glued to them.

Ian

Irene said...

Shoshana - You should definitely try visiting Tagaytay. The weather is so cool and breezy and there are many nice places to go with a gorgeous view of Taal Lake.

Wow, you have 5 kids?! Hats off to you! (Pun not intended.) Just 1 child and we're already going crazy! HAHA! c",)

Irish Ian - Aaah...the never ending surprises! It's what makes having kids such a loony roller-coaster ride, isn't it? c",)

San M said...

Hi Irene! I don't know if you remember me, but we met on several occasions while your hubby was shooting for HealthToday. I am My, part of the HT staff who shot Pops and Lucy last year. Saw your blog link through your friendster page (so in case you're having a hard time remembering me, just open my friendster profile in your friends' list) And yes, I was also the one who liked playing with your kid, although I'm sure there are many who do that once they see your cute boy.

Great pics! Loved your blogs, too. I'd love to put your page on my "Blogs I Read List," if you don't mind.

If you have time, check out my blogsite, www.andthencamelife.blogspot.com. That page is about married life in the twenties. Ah, a whole slew of tales to tell. I'm sure you remember how it was.

Regards to Allan!

Irene said...

My - Of course I remember you! I never forget any of Niccolo's favorite playmates! c",) Thanks so much for the kind words about my site. I'll link you to my page as well. Hope to work on another shoot with you again soon!

Best,
Irene

Anonymous said...

I like the first picture. The depth-of-field is beautiful and plus the expression that you manage to get; really nice.

(:

Jim said...

The kid is beautiful, really handsome! You are maybe the cause of that? I think so. A really wonderful family, and the photography is excellent, I am envious! You are a very fortunate woman. And the Philipines seems a great place to live. Thanks for the intro.

Irene said...

Jim - Thank you so, so much for the wonderful message! You're too sweet! c",)