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!

We were out the whole day last Friday to attend to some errands. Yes, when I say “we” it includes our little prince, Mateo. I know, I know… bad parents we are but hey, we’d rather take him with us than leave him at home with the yaya and helpers alone.

So where were we the whole day Friday?

First stop – Boni High Street. We finally got Mateo’s ride at Hobbes and Landes. And what did we settle with? This one below.

Bugaboo Bee – Made for life on the fly.

We then trooped to Greenhills to finally pay the reservation fee at C3 Events Place for the joint party of Mateo’s Baptism and Sophia’s 4th Birthday come March. No turning back this time, reservation fee in non-refundable. Blue Leaf is reserved for Mateo’s 1st Birthday, right dad? Jon wanted Blue Leaf kasi.

Since it was already lunch time while we were in Greenhills, we had lunch first at Conti’s. The yayas took turns in staying inside the car with Mateo, by the way.

Right after having lunch, we headed to Powerplant Mall to grab Nama Chocolates from Royce as we are giving them to friends as Christmas gifts. I ended up getting additional 6 boxes solely for Jon and I, grabe! Addicting.

I was so disappointed to find out that the new Baby and Co. is still under renovation up to this time so we settled in their tiny space again in the ground floor to get some stuff for Mateo. Was able to buy Sophia another pair of pink Havaianas from the store beside it though. Anyway, a trip to the mall won’t be complete without having to stop at a bookstore to get books for Sophia so we spent some time at Fully Booked.

All this time, Mateo was behaved as ever. He was on his new ride and he seemed to like it and was very comfortable in it. His achie – Sophia had the time of her life pushing the “bee” too. Ang kulit! Nevertheless, Jon and I were very happy that our little princess was very affectionate with her baby brother. We couldn’t believe how she has grown too and seeing our kids together – one pushing the other while on his stroller is such a sight to behold for us. Hay, we really are getting old! Haha.

Here are some of the kids’ photos.

And here’s kulit, ayaw paawat. She was very insistent to be the one to push her baby brother.

We went home immediately after so I was not really able to go around the mall but I took notice of the LCD HDTV on sale. Not that we still need one though but those of you who are planning on finally getting one, you might be interested to know.

Santa has been extra generous. He was also a week and a half early in giving the little girl one of her many gifts this Christmas. Look!

It now completes the set.

My gift has arrived too aside from the digital frame I requested and got early last week. Will post it next with a photo too of course.