the Cacing Diaries #15

The biggest Cacing news is that she gave up on her milk (the brand is Nan). According to my wife and nanny who tasted promptly the old formula, it was too bland in taste and smell. Cacing probably got bored! Suddenly, she just gave up and decided to drink less than half the number of bottles she used to consume. Like a curve ball that hits you hard, this sent us into a mild panic.

Good thing that Nitzi, my ever knowledgeable friend who recommended Nan milk the last time that we had to replace Cacing’s old formula Similac (see diary entry #4), suggested that we try Promil Gold (stage 2). The new formula worked like a charm. It must be the combination of more sugar and a more pronounced sweet smell.

So normalcy is restored.

This early, everyone can tell that Cacing has taken the gene of “slight frame” from me and my wife. Like us when we were infants, she is on the low end of the weight scale. She simply does not eat or drink enough to be the typical cute fat kid. While she munches on every solid food we give her, we know that at her young age only milk can give her enough calories to get more heft and bulk.

Just like our own personal science project, we are doing the best we could egging Cacing to drink more, eat more and sleep more. Yet wherever and whenever, Cacing is a firebrand who is just too active, too talkative and too feisty. We can only dream on!



Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/100s, f/1.8, 50mm, ISO 16000, +1/3EV
My mom and Cacing facing off at a wedding reception. Carrying Cacing is my friend Dara. at Vistamar, Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu, the Philippines



Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/200s, f/2.8, 100mm, ISO 200, -1.0EV
Cacing actually had 4 pony tails here. The 4th one at the back of her head cannot be seen in this view. at home, Cebu City, the Philippines



Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/30s, f/2.8, 100mm, ISO 100, -1.0EV
Cacing flashed her killer smile here but she moved out of the frame and focus. at home, Cebu City, the Philippines


channeling Jackie O

Today, I could not help but post pictures of Cacing in her Jackie O moments. The strawberry shades are a gift from my sister in NY and it is her first time wearing them. She doesn’t mind them at all. In fact, the challenge in photographing her was not that she wanted to take them off but that as always, she doesn’t want to look at me. Instead she took a liking to the table she was sitting on, trying to feel the shiny surface with her hands. It took me time to get into her good graces and she did not fail to emote.


Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/640s, f/1.8, 50mm, ISO 100
at Lai Garden Restaurant, the North Wing of SM, Cebu City, the Philippines


Admittedly, taking pictures of my daughter is never easy and I can say it must be the same with others who have kids her age. They simply do not understand verbal instructions so the best I could do, and this I would recommend to others, is to be patient and be prepared to click as the next move could be the best pose yet.


Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/2000s, f/1.8, 50mm, ISO 100, -1/3EV
at Lai Garden Restaurant, the North Wing of SM, Cebu City, the Philippines



Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/400s, f/1.8, 50mm, ISO 100, -1/3EV
at Lai Garden Restaurant, the North Wing of SM, Cebu City, the Philippines



Canon EOS 350D Digital, 1/160s, f/1.8, 50mm, ISO 100, +2/3EV
at Lai Garden Restaurant, the North Wing of SM, Cebu City, the Philippines