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. 

Zoe's first solid food

First meal: Mashed carrots

Preparations for Zoe's 1st birthday

Wow, how fast time flies by. Zoe's turning 6 months this Tuesday and here I am making my research and preparations for her 1st birthday in September. I remember starting this blog as a journal to document my journey to mommyhood and I cant believe my darling girl is starting to eat her solid food. Migosh, talk about being sappy!

So I've been browsing the party packages of different restos but found nothing that hits the spot. Then I recently read a blog about a Shakey's kiddie party where they served the Monster Deal Meals instead of the usual party package and it gave me an idea. So now, Shakey's is back on my list as a possible venue along with Fazoli's Eastwood. Dan and I will just need to do ocular inspections as well as talks with several Shakey's branches and with Fazolis too.

I initially thought of having Luau as a theme but decided against it anyway since it works well with pool parties which is not what we'll be having. So instead, what I have in mind are Ballerina Baby, Cheerleader Baby, or Butterflies. I've also listed down my party requirements which includes the following:

1. Venue (choice among Shakey's El Pueblo/E Rodriguez or Fazolis Eastwood)
2. Cake (Swirls N Sprinkles)
3. Photo Booth
4. Face Painting
5. Balloon decors
6. Loot bags and party prizes
7. Invitations
8. Host (not sure yet if I'm really getting one cus Shakey's can provide anyway)
9. Photographer  (will hopefully be my good friend, Mae Mae's brother)

I've scouted for several suppliers for the these and have sent them emails for rates and packages. I'm also still thinking of whether to get a party planner since the party I have in mind isnt really super grand.

So in the next couple of weeks and months, I'll be telling stories about my party preparations and will also be reporting about my experience with suppliers. Just thinking about Zoe's party is getting me all excited!

Search for Zoe's shoes

I'm back!!!

Zoe's a week shy of her 6th month, time flies by so fast that I dont know whether to be happy or sad. Anyway, she's outgrown her Nike Mary Janes and is on the verge of outgrowing her Guess shoes so hubby and I (actually, more of  I only) began scouting for Zoe's new pair of shoes. I browsed the Pediped site and came upon Pediped Caroline and immediately visualized it on my Zoe. This is the picture of the shoes:

We went to all Hobbes and Landes branches that we could go to but we couldn't find this design. Saw a couple others which were nice too but couldn't find Zoe's size. So finally, I decided to order it through my Multiply contact who can order it in 2-3 weeks time fresh from the US. I was so ecstatic! Oh and yeah, I ordered one of those Gap overruns too which only cost me 380 pesos teeheehee :)