Two months before Sophia’s 4th Birthday and Mateo’s Baptism Party, we haven’t finalized the theme yet. I know I said we’re having a Nemo Party as per the little girl’s request but you see, the dad including all the party organizers I talked to doesn’t really love the idea. They find the theme a bit odd for a 4 year old and a little girl at that. Hmm, now I’m also having second thoughts about it.

So as a result, for days now we have been trying to talk to the little girl about having a different party theme instead. I have tried bribing her too but to no avail. The dad had a brilliant idea however. He suggested that we just give the little girl a small Nemo Party in school while she gets to have a different party theme on her real party at C3 Events Place. Now I think this is going to work. (I hope!) Why didn’t I think of that? Maybe because I thought that the dad won’t agree to another party as we are already having one that requires quite a big budget but apparently he is up for it. Wow! I wonder what he ate, LOL!

So now I am searching the net high and low for a nice theme for Sophia’s 4th Birthday Party. I want something really girly. No High School Musical and Hannah Montana though as Sophia barely knows them. You may find that odd and I swear I do too but what can a mother do? She really isn’t inclined to singing and dancing. She loves ballet though lately as she has ballet books such as Angelina Ballerina and I’m thinking maybe she can have a Ballerina Party? The dad thinks its a nice idea but I don’t know yet. I wonder if I can pull that off so I’m still looking for other theme alternatives. The thought of Sophia in a Ballerina Princess costume though is such a delight and I’m sure she’ll love it and will look good in it too as she wears her leotards and tutu almost everyday at home. Getting her a Ballerina Princess costume won’t be a problem too I think because I’ll just check my favorite online store that sells different costumes either for Halloween and Kiddie Parties. They happen to have the nicest bunny costumes I’ve ever seen too. Not that I need one now but if ever I will need one in the future I know where to get such already. You should try them too for your costume needs.

Anyway, back to the party, any suggestions of better party themes? Let me know and I’ll be so happy and grateful of course. I can’t seem to think of any right now as my mind is so blank for some reasons. Hay, the clock is ticking. I need to finalize things now as I’ll be meeting with the invites supplier in a week or so.

Here’s Sophia pretending to be a ballerina by the way. You think a ballerina party suits her?

I love taking photos of them before we finally go to dreamland.

My sister in law had a short vacation in the country last Christmas. A 10 day vacation to be exact. Jon took her to Tagaytay Highlands last December 24 as she has never been there. Sophia was with them while Mateo and I just stayed home. They came home early afternoon with a brochure filled bag of houses and condos up for sale at Highlands and Midlands. Although Jon and I have no plans (yet) of buying a property there, we can’t help but check out the House Plans that came with the brochures as payment scheme was very good. We specifically loved the log home floor plans but these houses were way out of our budget. Maybe if we win the lottery or something, we’ll consider. LOL. The Country House Plans at one of the villages at Midlands caught our attention though as the house was the size we wanted and the price we can afford in the near future. We believe this is a good investment if ever. Even our families think so too so I do hope that our dream of having another property will be realized really soon.

Dez awarded me with this one and with two kids to attend to now, I hope I really am her.

The rules for these awards:

1. Please put the logo on your blog
2. Place a link to the person from whom you received the award
3. Nominate at least 7 or more blogs
4. Put the links of those blogs on your blog
5. Leave a message on their blogs to tell them.

I was reading up on Caribbean weddings the other day when the husband came home. You see, I’ve always been fascinated with one of a kind weddings as I had a traditional one. If I were bold enough, I would have wanted to try getting married in an unconventional way. But I wasn’t, unfortunately. Anyway, back to what I was saying, the husband came home and we had a very nice talk over dinner. Something we rarely get to do these days as the newborn is usually up and about dinner time. We talked about how good 2008 was for us and we just hope 2009 will be as good, if not better. We also talked of how it’ll be so nice for us to reward ourselves with some romantic vacations as every couple needs time to be alone every once in a while. I just hope we get to manage to leave the kids even if we are not used to it. I told him about the Jamaica all inclusive resort I found over the web and he seems to like it too as the place looks very relaxing. I really hope we find time to make this dream vacation happen. After all, we all need to site back and relax once in a while right? Wish us luck.

Literally - for the little girl.

Sophia was overwhelmed with all the gifts she received last Christmas. Needless to say, she got PLENTY. Here are SOME I got to take photos of. Some, I was just too tired to as she opened the gifts on several days. Ang dami naman kasi so I made her open some even before Christmas Eve.

Anyway, here are the ones from Santa, Papa Jesus, Mommy and Daddy aside from this one.

(dollhouse - the best I could find here, cash register toy and 2 in1 desk and board with art stuff)

And here are those from family and friends.

(Nintendo DS Lite, Baby Alive, Ponyville Teapot Palace, LeapFrog Word Whammer, Polly Pocket in a Bus, Zip Bin Fairy Castle, Tickle Me Elmo, Big Cinderella Doll, Medical Trolley and books)

Now, her playroom needs an overhaul. Yaya already started sorting the toys yesterday and so far so good. The rubber stamps I have been looking for ages now that made me turn our house upside down were found in her heaps of toys would you believe? Hay naku, kaya naman pala I can’t find them.

Anyway, I’m hoping to have a garage sale to discard other toys and send some to charity too. What a good way to start the year 2009, right?

How was your Christmas, everyone?

Ours was uneventful yet meaningful. Naks. Seriously, we just stayed home since we have a newborn in the house. Jon’s family was with us Christmas eve while my family arrived Christmas Day. I did all the cooking with very little help from the helpers (who did the cutting of all the ingredients) and Jon (who did the mashing). Well, we had very simple and easy to make dishes anyway - Wagyu Rib Eye Steaks, Mashed Potatoes, Buttered Veggies and Baked Macaroni.

Sophia had fun opening her giftsssss. All the stuff she got is worthy of another post. Will write about them once I download the pictures. I’m just too lazy to look for my camera now and get my new flash memory card.

Anyway, Christmas Day also marks Mateo’s first month. He’s by far the greatest gift and blessing we’ve ever received (after having Sophia of course) and having him in the family makes Christmas all the more joyous and merry. We really can’t ask for anything more. We’re a family of four now and we can’t be any happier - for real.

Here he is - our month old little boy.

My sister will be visiting the US early next year to try her luck there specifically at New York City. She’ll be staying with my cousin who is based there now. Speaking of this cousin of mine, she has been very fortunate to have landed a job in one of the big advertising companies there even if she had no legal papers to begin with. She relied on her pure talent in drawing and sketching that even if she didn’t have the papers, her boss took her in and was even the one who fixed her papers. Such stories are very rare nowadays but still, they do happen. She now lives luxuriously in a house big enough to house all my relatives. HAHA. Her lifestyle even has revolved 360 degrees. Aside from owning two luxury vehicles she even managed to have cosmetic surgeries here and there. She looks different now in a positive kind of way. I remember her always being insecure with how she looks that last time but now, she has never been more confident. I guess, looking good really makes a big impact on how one feels about herself. Cosmetic surgeries are her thing and if she feels good having them, by all means, we are all for it. Last I heard, she was planning to have her teeth fixed and is looking for a New York Cosmetic Dentist. I once read about a certain Dr. Shapiro, Cosmetic Dentist NYC who has been really good in this field so I told my sister who’ll see her next year to tell her about him. I even saw this website that talks about how this Cosmetic Dentist New York changed some people’s lives so he must be really good. I think my cousin needs to try him and she’s sure to be in good hands.

This bag was supposed to be my mom’s but when my sister in law who arrived from the US handed it to me, I can’t help but want one for myself - ora mismo. So I or should I say “Santa” got it for me instead. Good thing a friend is coming home from Guam on the 30th so I can just ask her to buy one for my mom. I hope they have one in stock!

Damier Neverfull MM

I love to cook. Although I’m not really good at it, I still love to try! Last Christmas, I did almost all the cooking. Although the dishes I whipped were nothing really fancy, I’m still proud as they tasted good. Well, the husband said so and I believe him. LOL.

It has been ages since the last time I cooked and used my kitchen actually as I have just given birth a month ago. And since my helpers use the dirty kitchen when cooking, nobody knew that my kitchen sink was broken and already needs replacement. So now I am looking at Copper Kitchen Sinks over the net as I have read good feedback about Copper Sinks. And style wise, I think, a Copper Sink will be a nice touch to my very modern kitchen. I hope I could find and order one online before New Year’s Eve as I am planning on hosting a small party for friends on New Years Eve. I’ll do the cooking again, of course. Wish me luck!