Simple Trick: Get Baby to Look at the Cam

Yes, capturing a baby's backside is precious.

Even a baby's feet flailing out of a crib looks adorable.

But eventually, you'll want to capture his face. With Mommy or Daddy trying to catch his attention on the sidelines, you get photos like this.

So how can you get your toddler to look straight at the camera and give you a big happy smile?

This DIY Elmo on your camera will.

Made with a red scrunchie, white & orange felt and two black buttons.

  

Because what kid doesn't love Elmo?

Photos from acupofjo, pinkwallpaper, here and nyctaughtme.

Click here for previous posts from the Simple Trick series.

ready for takeoff

I haven't traveled in a while. I have missed it so much that during my nightly Merville-service-road route, I find myself wishing the nightly traffic would put me at that portion where the service road crosses the NAIA runway (where the sides of the road are barricaded with runway lights). I look forward to that wonderful feeling of being right under a landing airplane. That feeling - the sudden rush - so reminds me of the anticipation of an upcoming travel plan.

Don't get me wrong, my motion sickness as posted here keeps me from enjoying a plane ride. I seriously wish I could skip plane rides altogether and just magically get to my destination. But plane rides lead to wonderful new (even old) places that the sight and sound of airplanes either remind me of a delightful travel memory or ignite excitement for an upcoming trip!

Tonight, I am sneaking in a short trip with my favorite travel buddies. It's just a weekend trip to Hongkong. There won't be any new sights to explore unlike Rick Mereki here who spent 44 days taking 18 flights to 11 countries filled with the most stunning views.

But I am just happy to get the chance to fill up my trusty giant Le Sportsac duffel bag - that is always folded flat inside my trolley when I fly in, but becomes additional luggage (that makes like that car in Sesame Street that fit all those clowns) when I fly out - with shopping loot.

I am also looking forward to the gastronomic experience that always comes with traveling! See Rick Mereki's here.

So ta-ta for now... Hope you have as fun a weekend as I am determined to have (read: am praying hard for a typhoon-free weekend)!

Photos of a 2011 Louis Vuitton ad campaign from theessentialist. Rick Mereki videos via acupofjo.

muppet giveaway winner!

Thank you to all those who joined my 2nd month-sary giveaway! You all know your Sesame Street muppets!

So I put all your names in Sherlock Hemlock's hat, tapped it with Mumford the Magician's wand, and drew out the lucky winner...

Congratulations Trisha! Please email me your mailing address so I can send you your giggly monkey. :)

Muppet photos from muppet.wikia and Google.

muppet names giveaway

Just a nostalgic note to remind you that you have...

... days left to comment/email the correct muppet names for a chance to win your own giggly monkey!

Original post on giveaway here.

Photo from here.

muppet names & giveaway

Can you name these (less popular, yet just as loved) Sesame Street Characters?

While you're thinking up their names, here are some names my silly husband gave to our kids' stuffed toys...

So where are you on those Sesame Street names? A comment or email with the correct answers gives you a chance to win a Washing Matsing of your own! You can rename him as you wish but it needs to be a funny name because he's a giggly monkey (when tickled). 

Draw is on my blog's 2nd month-sary, July 22, 6pm. Sorry, you need to get all 4 names right in 1 comment/email and you need to have a Philippines address to win. Goodluck! :)

Photos from moi, gund and muppet.wikia.

some polka dots i spotted -er, googled...

Okay fine, they're NOT polka dots. They're power pellets.

Last Wednesday, Google changed its logo to mark another significant event (the summer solstice) and this reminded me of my most favorite Google doodle, the playable Pac-Man game that replaced the usual Google logo on May 21, 2010 to commemorate Pac-Man's 30th anniversary. I had so much fun playing the game like I used to in the 80's - with the arrow keys (somehow, I can't seem to score as high on my iTouch. Eeep, does that show my age?).

As I was searching for the event that Google Pac-Man logo was celebrating, I found out that it cost the worldwide economy millions of man-hours that day - haha! I also came across this article in The Telegraph where I discovered that if you clicked the insert-coin-button twice, you could play a two-player game! With one player taking the role of Miss Pac-Man and controlling her with the W, A, S, D keys! I was mighty dismayed when I found out that I missed out on the 2-player opportunity (with Ms. Pac-Man at that! Aaackkk!)...

... until I discovered the Google Pac-Man logo is still accessible and playable here! What fun!

And how fun are these other Google doodles?

Discovery of the X-Ray (November 8, 2010)








 Samuel Morse's birthday (April 27, 2009)

Sesame Street's 40th Anniversary (November 2009)

 

I love that Cookie Monster's eyes form the letter O's. And the bites on the cookie letters! Hehe.




Of course, The Count gets numbers as his Google letters!

Les Paul's 96th birthday (June 9, 2011) merited an interactive Google logo that allowed users to play ten notes on the electric guitar (which he pioneered) by hovering the mouse over the guitar strings.

This doodle was not only playable, but also recordable by clicking the little button. Jammers not only got a playback but Google also provided a sharable link. Since the web was flooded with recordings of songs Google users played on it, Google decided to keep this doodle alive here. See how your songs compare to the greatest hits from the Les Paul Google doodle here.

Total Lunar Eclipse (June 15, 2011). As I was writing this post, my son spied this logo and exlaimed, "Transformers Dark of the Moon!" One-track-minded, isn't he?

 And how can I write a post on Google logos without including this one made especially for us on June 12, 2010?

You'll find these photos and more on Google Doodles.