Chloe Chanel's Adventures

This little girl who had been once inside of me - who became much a part of me – will always marks the largest imprint on my heart, in my entire life. - G.R.Rondolos

So, we’re approaching the “terrible two’s” and we’d like you to join us for cake and ice cream on our second birthday. (Happy dance!!) Let me put the accent on “cake and ice cream” since we’re not providing lunch, drinks or anything. Just kidding!

Though we haven’t kept up on a toddler’s rapid development in the world of speaking, the good news is that we are well able to say and understand the word “no”. Yay! And the sweetest thing is, we’re giving away flying and wet (yikes) kisses by surprise and it’s pretty special. And astonishingly, we’re grateful to wrap-up these places we’ve been for the past 2 years that even our grandparents never dreamed possible. Hahaha

Okay,

As parents, we all want to raise our kids to extraordinary levels. But the definition of “extraordinary” vary from one parent to another depending on our own perspective and other environmental factors but mostly influenced by how we were raised up. I don’t know about you but that’s how I summed this up as I connected the dots, backward.

Fast forward to now, out of the ordinary would mean; for my kid(s) to see the world. (Yes, we’re planning to have 2 or 3 kids more in the future, lol). I mean “I decided” since Chloe is still a baby but in due time her life is her own adventure. I’ve always wanted to go places, beyond anywhere, more than anything else. And these experiences and moments I’ve navigated along with my daughter and husband are the only details I want to remember and treasure forever.

This realization came to me unprompted when my father left me a comment during our Krabi trip later last year, “Are you happy you’re able to take Chloe with you to places you’ve never been to as a kid but always wanted?”, with that sweetest sadness in his eyes. I just smiled, “Thanks for coming with me on this trip Dad”, my only serious but honest response and then came the tears.

Woah.

Great.

Alright, let’s go back and talk about Chloe and her pretty amusing adventures, shall we? I’ve created a simple list we’ve been to, together with some superb episode with her (good and bad) and we hope you can hop on board with us next time?

Let’s start,

 Manila & Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines

Perhaps the most unforgettable trip was this flight back to my hometown. Chloe made her first visit when she was 11 months (I know she probably can’t retain information except colds hahaha). This was also the first time my parents and some relatives met her and thought she was a boy. Oh man, it must’ve been the haircut if not the “too much water (or wood?!)” in her personality thing she got from me lol. I’m planning to fly her again this Christmas and hope we can stay a bit longer.

Singapore, Singapore

OMG, I love this. Singapore (was) my dream destination (I don’t know) but there’s something about the write-ups, news or its history that sound so fashionable and appealing to me. I dragged Chloe and my husband on this trip because a bighearted airline (Air Asia) granted my wish. Singapore lived up to my dreamy expectations and it’s beyond posh. Chloe was very helpful on this trip by not letting us go inside pricey restaurants and high-end shopping malls. Economizing at its finest! She worked wonders by misbehaving all the way from the train to Orchard Rd., from Merlion up to Resorts World Sentosa.  Good job, babe!

Krabi, Thailand

Chloe was definitely on her best during this trip. Nothing but happy thoughts, knowing I’ve won the struggle of convincing my parents to come with us. Yay, if you want to know more of our Krabi travel diary, you can check out this post.

I was hesitant to jump on a boat with Chloe and goes Island hopping, knowing this stubborn baby will definitely dive in the water if she sees one, no matter what. What's more, the budget is so tight that we settled for a staycation. We’re definitely going back to this place.

    Out-of-Town Trips, Beaches

I’ll be honest with this, an out-of-town trip may seem like the easiest one to pull off but it’s conflicting. It’s like always planning for a battle especially if Daddy was not around. We made a quite few trips to the beach last year, Bangsen, Pattaya and Cha-am, where Chloe was in her “terrible one” stage most of the time and we can’t help but yell at each other. The only most agreeable thing on this trip was when she’s scared of sand touching her feet and wants nothing but cuddle with mommy. But once she gets used to the feeling, saying goodbye beach, was the hardest part.

      Phuket, Thailand

This shouldn’t be on the list but I’m just way too excited. I booked the whole family to 7 nights 6 days trip to Phuket on my 30^th birthday. Hahaha. So I’ll leave this blank and fill it up with amazing memories come August.

Ciao,