Buhawi
33, musician, visual artist

Thirty-three-year-old Buhawi works late into the night?as visual artist and as bassist of Parokya ni Edgar. But he always makes sure he wakes up early for his four-year-old Zephyr Bo and two-year-old Braden Zayd.

Buhawi, who describes himself as ?a normal hands-on Dad,? cannot forget the moment his sons were born. ?The first time I held them in my arms and spoke to them, they recognized my voice and tried to open their eyes to look at me. It was a life-changing moment.?

Are you strict or are you a spoiler?

?Just balanced. I discipline my sons well and give them more love than material things.?

How do you bond with your kids?

?Everything from giving them a bath, eating together, playing and learning, to even bringing them to my work.?

What?s your favorite thing to do with your kids?

?Skateboarding in our neighborhood.?

Any favorite stories about your kids?

?Whenever my wife and I would enter an argument, Zeph would butt in and say ?Momsy, Popsy, quiet! Stop it!? Then Zayd would go in between us and cover our mouths with his tiny hands as if letting us know he would appreciate it more if we gave him our attention instead of arguing.?

What?s one lesson you want to teach your child?

?To always be humble.?

Freddy Gonzalez
31, entrepreneur

Thirty-one-year-old entrepreneur Freddy Gonzalez likes getting involved in his kids? lives. He makes sure he knows what 11-year-old Adriana and one-year-old Stella like?whether it?s toys and video games, movies and music.

Sometimes, he says he gets carried away. ?Sometimes I overdo it and actually know more about their world than they do.?

He says every single day with his girls is unforgettable. ?They are always learning something new and I am always learning something new about them.?

Describe yourself as a dad.

?Like my wife, I am very hands-on.?

Are you strict or are you a spoiler?

?I?m a little bit of both. My wife and I try to balance it out as best we can.?

How do you bond with your kids?

?We pretty much do everything as a family so we are always interacting and bonding with the kids.?

Any favorite stories about your kids?

?I remember when my wife was about to give birth to Stella, I wanted to capture everything from the start. I got really carried away buying all this photography equipment. I was never really into photography and everyone I knew was wondering why all of a sudden I had all this professional equipment. I really felt that I had to get the best stuff in order to capture every moment of her growing up. In retrospect though, I probably could?ve just gotten by with a nice point-and-shoot camera because lugging all that equipment around is really a hassle, especially when we go on trips.

Adriana likes to talk to us a lot and sometimes she can?t stop. Many times Adriana would be telling us something and my wife and I would be listening to her and we would get a call or have to discuss something important, and we have to tell Adriana to hold on first because we have to take the call or discuss something?and it goes in one ear and out the other and she continues to tell her story as if we didn?t say anything. Once she starts talking, it is hard to make her stop and I love that because it reminds me of how my mom was.?

What?s one lesson you want to teach your child?

?There are so many things I would like to teach them but I hope that I can at least teach them to be principled, tolerant, respectful and honest.?

What do you love the most about being a dad?

?Experiencing life with my children. You never stop being a dad no matter how old your kids are so I hope that my experience with them will go on ?til I am very old and I will be able to see them start their own families.?