Happy Father's Day Babykins =)

‘Any man can be a Father but it takes someone special to be a DAD.’

Dan and I have been together for 6 years and 2 months to be exact and I have seen every facet of his personality – son, brother, friend, and husband. People thought of him as distant and mysterious (as I did) when we started dating because he would choose people he would smile and respond to, and even so when he did, he would give one liner statements or answers. As I got to know him better, I saw how loving and generous he is with his family which made me consider the fact that this will be the same way he will be towards me and our future child.

In all our years together, Dan has given me the greatest love that he can. He is always patient with my erratic moods, he indulges me in my shopping habits, he hugs me tight when we talk about our future, and he laughs with me like no one else can. Clearly, I could never ask for a much better husband.

Now that the two of us became three, I admire every bit of the Dad that he is to Zoe. I love how he embraces Zoe at night, how he reads stories to her complete with elaboration, the way he plays with her and makes her laugh, and how he just looks at her with so much love. He may forget some things like the milk dispenser when we go out but he doesn’t forget to say I love you to Zoe. He sometimes spills Zoe’s powdered formula on the floor but he cleans her up and changes her nappy at night. He may spend a lot of time in front of the PC when he gets home but he carries Zoe at night when she cries even if he’s really groggy from sleep. He may raise his eyebrows when I shop a little bit too much for Zoe’s clothes but he beams like the stage father that he is when he sees her in those cute little outfits. He may not be the perfect father but he gets my (and Zoe’s) vote as the BEST DADDY in the world.

Thank you Baby Daddy for being the best person for us. God couldn’t have given me a better husband and Zoe a better Daddy. We love you so very much. Happy Father’s Day!

Father's Day 2011

It's the first time our little family has celebrated Father's Day and so we decided to make a big deal out of it. 

Saturday - We had a family photo shoot session at Mrs. Pixels, thanks to the Deal Grocer voucher I bought. We ended up shelling out 1800 though cus we decided to get extra prints since there were just too many to choose from. The pictures will be given next Saturday and we can't wait to get them.

- We also booked Shakey's El Pueblo for Zoe's 1st birthday in September. There were initial disagreements on the contract but we managed to iron out everything and put them in black and white.

Sunday - Happy Father's Day Danilo Dy II! We had lunch at Bonchon Libis (which wasnt really an ideal lunch venue for me but since Daddy's the king that day, I indulged on his craving) and went to Eastwood Mall after for some coffee.

- The highlight of this day was when Dan bought me a car. It's a green automatic 94 Mitsubishi Lancer GLXI and while it's not the most modern of all cars, I love it to bits! It's the perfect gift, runs well, has nice interiors, plus, it saves me forevermore from daily commute to work! Thank you so much Dan, I love you sooooo much :)

Meet Pickle

- Last stop for the day was at my BIL's house in Cainta where Dan's family were. We didn't get to join them for dinner anymore cus they took too long to plan, plus, we had to get *ahem* my car :) So we just joined them for drinks after.

Zoe's first 2 teeth

First 2 teeth appeared on her lower gums. She was 8 months and 2 weeks then:

Zoe's recent milestones

Zoe's turning 8 months this Sunday but there are no visible signs of teeth yet. She recently achieved the following milestones though which made us really feel that she's growing up so fast in front of our eyes:

Sitting up unassisted - She's been trying to sit up on her own for a long time but it was when she turned 7 months that she can sit on her own without any support from us. She has yet to learn how to sit from a lying down position.

Waving hi and bye-bye, close open - The first time Zoe waved her hand 'hi' was when we were checked in at Crowne Plaza for my birthday and I was so amazed, I literally teared up (hello stage mom!). We've also been teaching her to close and open her little fists and it's so cute when she just goes at it whenever she wants to.

Stranger anxiety - Yes, this is a milestone. Gone were the days when people can just snatch her off me without her bawling loudly. Even our relatives can't just carry/cuddle/kiss/hold her if she's not familiar with them, otherwise, she'd cry loudly as if she feels really violated. Normally, Zoe will give strangers a long, head to foot, curious look. If they touch her hand, she will pull it away while looking at them. On a really bad day, just a simple cooing at her will be enough to upset her.  This is one thing we are trying to work on now since my husband feels bad that she reacts this way to his family so I thought of showing Zoe pictures of my in laws regularly so they would look familiar to her.

Recognizing Mommy and Daddy - Zoe has already mentioned 'mama' a couple of times and it was such an overwhelming feeling I cant describe. Recently, she has been showing her prefence for us over my mom or any other people in our house. Whenever Dan and I are around and we don't pick her up, she would crawl towards our direction or would fuss and look at us.

Groupons, groupons, and more groupons

Lately I have been addicted to Groupons. It all started when my hubby introduced me to Deal Grocer where we got our discounted room rates at Crowne Regency Hotel. After that, I just couldnt stop on browsing all the Groupon sites I could get my hands on.

Here are some of the deals we have brought recently:

Lunch/dinner buffet for 2 at Manila Pavilion Hotel for only 1350

Mrs Pixels deal at Deal Grocer (not so much a favorite since the terms weren't clarified earlier)

Zoe's high chair

Since Zoe has started eating solids already, Dan and I have been in constant search for a nice but sturdy and affordable high chair so Zoe can sit with us during our meals. Earlier on, I wasn't sold on the idea of having Zoe use a high chair since my nephews didn't use such but that actually resulted to bad eating habits such as not eating on the table and watching TV during meals.

Recently, my General Manager announced that he was resigning and going back to the US. There was not a dry eye during his announcement but we were all able to accept his decision since he was doing it for his family. He decided to sell some of his stuff for a super cheap price and it included his son's Baby Trend high chair which he sold for only Php1,000. As soon as I saw the high chair and the picture on the list, I was really ecstatic! The chair is in top condition and barely used since his son hated being strapped in it (he hated eating too). So I bought it instantly and picked it up in his condo the following week. Dan and I agreed that it was such a nice deal since the cheapest high chair we saw was 4k and it wasn't even nice enough. Now I was kinda happy that my boss left hehehe.

A day before my boss flew back to the US, he called me and asked me to stop by his Eastwood condo since he had a lot of other stuff to give to Zoe. I got a load of Aveeno baby wash, the biggest J&J powder and oil bottles, Fisher Price toys, Infantino carrier, picture books, classical CD set, big unused Cradle bottle cleanser, unused box of Cycles detergent, Munchkin Fresh Food feeder (still sealed), and other stuff. He wanted to give me his son's playpen but Zoe already had one so I said he can give it to his other subordinate who just gave birth recently. Being a non-hand-down-fan, I was surprisingly happy to get all those things. Couldn't be any luckier right?

Birthday Plans

April is a big month for us since this is when we celebrate our couple/wedding anniversary as well as my birthday. This year is a whole lot more special since there are 3 of us celebrating. We originally planned to stay overnight in Taal Vista Hotel Tagaytay since I haven't been there for only who knows how long but recently we found out that Taal volcano is on level 2 alert so the being the ever panicky and paranoid parents that we are, we decided against the trip and chose to stay at a local city hotel.

Which now brings me to the deal that we got at Deal Grocer. Hubby bought a coupon for an overnight stay at Crowne Plaza Hotel Galleria for only 3500 through Deal Grocer. Nice right?

Other birthday plans include dinner out with Zoe and hubby somewhere I have yet to decide. For our anniversary, I'm secretly hoping that hubby has something for me as I was unsubtly dropping hints that I want to be surprised for our 6th anniversary.