Thomas At Mirdif City Centre

My boys are huge fans of Thomas and friends. Lately Kaden has outgrew his Thomas addiction and moved on to Bakugans and Power Rangers so he passed on his train collection to his younger brother Carlos, who is now the Thomas addict.

For Dubai Summer Surprise, they had this little Thomas presentation at Mirdif City Centre, so I took my boys. My little Carlos was beyond shocked at the sight of Thomas and Sir Topham Hat that he froze in his stroller seat. I had to carry his little stiffened body over to a higher place so he could get a better view. 

See his arm? It's been suspended in the air like that since he saw Thomas.

We didn't go close to the stage because I don't want to bring the three kids to tight places when I'm all by myself. The distance didn't bother them at all, they still enjoyed the show even from afar. 

The pictures and poor quality because they are just from my phone camera but Carlos loves the poor quality video we took of the show. He watched it 20x when we got home and each time he was just as excited as the last. I regret not bringing my camera that day. 

Little Amber was fast asleep in the stroller and missed the whole show. Bob The Builder is at the Mall of Emirates but it's too far for me to take the kids, I wish my husband were here so we can take them all together.

Kaden, My Little Bookworm.

My five year old is starting to develop a keen interest in reading beginner books, which of course delights me because once upon a time I was a big [pocket] bookworm myself.

I can never forget the book that ignited my interest in reading. I started in third grade, much later than Kaden.  I was introduced to Sweet Valley Kids , by Owesa, a classmate of mine who transferred schools the next year. We were not close friends but because of this, I never really forgot about her. :) 

The Twins Go to Hospital (Sweet Valley Kids) 

This is the first Sweet Valley I ever read.

One book and I was hooked! I started my Sweet Valley Kids Collection the very next day. I saved up my allowance; scrimped on canteen food; bypassed street vendor mangga with bagoong, taho, and my favorite scramble; just so I can get a new book or two every week. From there, I collected Sweet Valley Twins, Sweet Valley High, and Sweet Valley University! I remember how excited I got when they had a Sweet Valley High series which ran for like three seasons but  then it got canceled due to low ratings. 

I also remember reading my those dusty, antique, hardbound Nancy Drew books at my Lola's house, as well as Sweet Dreams, Love Story and Archie comic books. But then by the time I was in high school I started finding these books boring. I wasn't too fond of my mom's romantic novels so when my Uncle Jong introduced me to books written by Sidney Sheldon, James Patterson, John Grisham & Mary Higgins Clark, I couldn't put them down! Of course, I do like reading my mom's nakakakilig na Judith McNaught novels, as well as an occasional Danielle Steel but that's mostly as far as I go when it comes to romantic novels.

But I digress. I am actually very supportive of Kaden's new interest. I used to read stories to him every night before going to bed. He has shown a keen interest in reading by the time he was three by reciting the stories of his favorite books. Back then it was Three Little Pigs (Little Golden Book), Walt Disney's Peter Pan (Little Golden Book) and Guess How Much I Love You. By the age 4, he showed readiness for reading so while I was in Carteret preparing for little Amber's debut, my mom enrolled him in Kumon for three months. That's how long took for him to master reading and he now likes to read on his own.

Kaden in the earlier days of collecting

He started with one Thomas & Friends book which he tremendously enjoyed when I read to him that he ended up reading it by himself the next time around.

It started with me reading him stories before bedtime, then we started alternating pages to read, until he finally read the stories on his own. I'd encourage him to read out loud so I can tell if he is reading them right and I can easily help him with words he is struggling with. It's also an added motivation when I tell him his brothers and sisters are "listening" to him.

Out of 65 on this collection, his Mama (my mom) bought him 20 of them and his Ninang Jen bought him another 20, he bought the all the others from his "allowance" and now he finally has them all.

Kaden likes reading to his baby brother.

and his baby sister.

Kaden very proud of his collection.

Recently he's had a new found interest in Dr. Seuss books and I'm encouraging him to collect them. They are very fun to read for kids his age!

He only has two so far. But he loves them!

I just hope that Kaden will keep his interest in books even though he is addicted to video games (DSI!) and tv shows (bakugan & power rangers!). When I was younger, I always found guys who actually read for leisure very appealing. Actually, I still do. ;) I shall teach my sons that these days being a bit nerdy is pogi points.