happy 2007 from the Dimaunahans

My Christmas Season

Merry Christmas everyone! It has been weeks since I last posted an entry and I am guilty of neglecting my blog-friends for the sake of shopping for gifts for my family, friends, co-workers and God children. So for those who missed me online.. below are some highlights of my Christmas Season.

AJ's First Christmas

I want AJ's first Christmas to be memorable. Since, he won't be able to remember what his first Christmas was, hubby and I brought him to Picture Company (the same company that took my preggy photos). We had some family shots and he had some solo shots generally with a Christmas theme. I ordered a collage of his best photos and put a tag line "Andre's first Christmas". The family photos were great too, some pics with mom and some pics with dad and pics as a family.

Will post some actual pics as soon as I get the proofs.
Above are the proof, how cute baby AJ is on a gold pot :)

The day before Christmas Eve, Dec. 23, we went to hubby's hometown (Nasugbu, Batangas). It was our first trip as a family.. no nanny... no Mamita... just the dimaunahans.

my 29th birthday

Last December 22, after AJ's photo shoot at the Picture Company, AJ and I and Hubby ate lunch at Banana Leaf Curry in Podium. It was my first time to eat at this Thai restaurant so I pretty excited to be seated and start ordering. AJ slept the whole time. That's why he was so cranky when we left the studio. Anyway, surprisingly, everything that we ordered was delicious ( fried rice with shrimp paste, chicken pandan, Tiplapia with malayan creme sauce and Thai style baby back ribs, we had sticky rice with mango for dessert) and expensive. I guess you pay for what you eat :) I'd definitely will go back and try their spicy curry next time.

Anyway, that sumptuous lunch, we went to my office so that my officemates can finally meet AJ. Of course, he was a hit with everyone... Even our manager cuddled him for a few minutes :) They also surprised me c/o my Birthday Santa, Irish with a Gift Certificate from VNC (a shoe shop) worth P1,000. :) Irish was also my birthday Santa 2 years ago..

*The birthday Santa is being chosen via draw lots at the beginning of the year. You are the birthday Santa of whoever your pick in that draw lots. Then before the day of his or her birthday, you route an envelope so that your officemates can contribute for the gift. The Birthday Santa will choose from the wish list of the birthday celebrant and buy the gift in behalf of the officemates. Gift is given with lights off and everybody singing "Happy Birthday".. this has been a tradition in the office since I joined them 6 years ago.

the Christmas lunch date

December 17, my college friends and I had our annual christmas get to gether at fish & co. in Shangrila. Exept for Mimaw and Jac, all of them has not yet seen AJ. We enjoyed the chit chat very much since we only see each other once a year. We also had exchange gifts but most of the gift that I got was not for me but for AJ. He was fussy and cranky when we arrived at the resto because he's already sleepy.. as soon as he was as sleep I was able to bond with the girls... Hubby was there to assist me with AJ. When he woke up.. he was ready to give smiles to the girls and he let them cuddle him. We ended lunch with hugs and kisses... 'till next year's Christmas Lunch.

smitten by mike enriquez

GMA 7's Imbestigador host visits our PH office earlier today. Our company will be featured in their Christmas episode on Dec. 23,2006. Mr. Mike Enriquez is helping a father and son who used to be drug addicts to have a better life though a new career.

He's the first news anchor to come to our office and we have to have this photo op. This is the closest thing I get to a celebrity. Hahaha! When I came in the door, and I was surprised to see him for he was standing beside our manager and they were in my way.. out of nowhere, I uttered "hi!" as I passed by and he said "hi" back at me with a smile... heheehe ... ano ba!? this is Mike Enriquez... Hahaha! no kilig factor here...but I guess celebrities will always be celebrities.. who ever they may be.

My (revised) Christmas and Birthday List

I'm doing my revised christmast list. From the last list I made, I already got the havaianas and the baby couture diaper bag is reserved for Abi...I've also realized that no one (in his or her right mind) is going to give me an ipod nano or that sony cybershot T10 or the manuscript of Shopaholic & Baby... So after pondering.. Here's what I want for Christmas and birthday (as of today).

1. Love, Friendship and Peace.

2. Sports Bra
3. Nike Yoga Mat (this is cheaper than Lulu Lemons hehehe!)
4. Capri Yoga Pants
5. Shu Uemura Eyelash Curler
6. SPA Gift Certificate
7. DVD of Cars and The Incredibles (Pixar) - NO to Piracy!
8. Half Blood Prince in Paperback
9. Powerbooks gift certificate
10. VNC gift certificate

11 days before Christmas and 8 days before my 29th birthday... Happy Holidays Everyone!!!

flip flops galore

I'm so happy to share that I am finally a proud owner of a pair of havaianas flip flops. Oh, its not just 1 but 2 pairs. I've persuaded hubby to get me these for Christmas... And I'm so glad he said yes..He is not the kind of guy that would surprise you with gifts.. He's more of a "ask and you shall receive so I won't have a hard time thinking or looking for a gift that you'll love" type of guy. I say, he's just practical and does not want his gift to go to waste. Since we don't have time to shop together. I suggested to just swipe my supplementary card to purchase the flip flops since I have easy access to the shops and our office is located inside the mall.

And so after I had my pedicure, I headed to the Chocolate Clothing store to buy my self 2 pairs of havaianas. I'm happy! ecstatic! Thank you Be! muwah!!!

AJ @ 6

Notice something different? Yup.. this will happend to your blogspot if your stupid enough to convert to the beta version. And yes I'm sooo damn stupid and I blame all of this to my curiosity.

I can't remember if I really did understand their disclaimer... I think I read that I can revert back to my old template if I want to... but I have been trying to manipulate the html format but still to no success.. I'm afraid I'm stuck here.. to this simple template... Its true, nasa huli ang pagsisisi.
I don't have a choice but to deal with this... and move on...

OK.
Moving on.. today is AJ's 6th month birthday... I was looking forward to see him this evening ... I even bought pansit malabon to celebrate but when I got home from work... this is what I saw... my birthday boy is calmly sleeping in his crib. I didn't bother picking him up so hubby, mamita, my bro and yaya share the pansit and the black forest cake ( bought by my bro) instead.

Next week, its my turn to have a birthday and I'm treating AJ for a photo shoot at the Picture Company (same people who did my preggy photos). I've been so looking forward to this since I gave birth.. I'm just so excited.

2 foods, a wedding & a visa

The week (and the week before) that was...

My brother arrived from Singapore last November 25 for his interview at the US Embassy last November 27. And yes.. he got an approval for his application and now holds a H-1B visa. He'll be away for 3 years and we'll surely going to miss him...and AJ too who is close to his uncle/ ninong, his eyes lights up whenever he sees him and always wants to be picked up. My brother leaves for Singapore this Saturday (Dec. 16) to finish his contract in Singapore and will go straight from SG to Alabama where he'll work as an aircraft mechanic. I don't want to sound materialistic but I'm looking forward to those balikbayan boxes that he'll be sending...hehehe!

Last December 6, when my brother celebrated his 31st Birthday, its also the day when AJ started his solid food. My mom gave him an oatmeal cookie to munch and he was so delighted to have a taste of something other than his milk. I scouted for some cereals in the grocery but all of them indicates "traces of Soya" on the label. Since AJ is G6PD deficient, I cannot give him anything with Soya, so I ended up buying 3 bottles of Gerber ( sweet potato, squash and oatmeal with applesauce and banana). He loves the squash and the oatmeal and can now finish 2 teaspoon in one sitting. I also bought him a sippy cup.

December 9, was Kim and Dom's wedding. Its my first morning wedding. The usual wedding that I have attended were at 3 or 4pm. I guess there's always a first time for everything. The wedding rites where held at the old church of Nuesta Senora de Gracia in Guadalupe and Lunch Party was held afterwards at the Ballroom of Mandarin Oriental Manila. Kim walked down the isle with seriousness on her face but teary eyed. I guess she's trying not to cry. But Maya and I are already in tears as she passed by us. The brides dad cried from the time he handed over his daughter to the groom (aww! sweet!).

The Newlyweds, Mr. & Mrs. Dominique Soliven

It was a very intimate family affair with lavish food. Her motif was champaign gold and brown and a Christmas themed reception. They had a Snowflake cake ( which I suggested *wink*), silver Christmas tree as their center piece and the giveaways were Christmas balls that doubled as jewelry case. The food were indeed delectable, the buffet had 6 different dishes with overflowing sushi and maki. The newlyweds are now in Singapore for their honeymoon.. Congrats Kim & Dom!

L-R: Kim, Mishy, Dom & Kim, Maya and Me.

for couples only: the newlyweds with hubby and me

After the party, hubby, me and Maya drove to the Fort to see if the long lines to the Krispy Kreme store subsided since our last visit. And luckily, yes,I was able to get in but as soon as i enter the door (plus a couple more people), the guard has stop letting people enter.. and the line out side started all over again. I'm just glad I finally had a taste of this much talk about doughnut. Even my hubby's grandma is a fan... she always eat krispy kreme everytime she's in LA.

More of Kim & Dom's Wedding pics here.. and more pics of our quest for krispy kreme here then here.

my scooting baby

December 3, 2006. AJ was caught on video in his attempt to get near to a drumming Santa Claus by using his new milestone... Scooting! You can hear me and mamita giving moral support. Go Baby Go! Hopefully he'll be sitting up soon on his own and starts crawling.

a bridal shower amidst the storm

Despite the signal # 2 over Metro Manila, our shower party for Kim pushed through. There was no rain, but the wind was a bit strong. I was hoping that the rest of the day will stay that way. I arrived 10 minutes earlier in Galleria so I went straight to Starbucks and bought a cup of toffee nut latte. The Honoree (Kim) saw me as I got off the escalator and we headed to our meeting place (Gloria Jeans). Maya emerge for the basement of the coffee shop fresh from the shower of Gold's Gym (which was right below the shop). While waiting for Rachel, updated each other with the latest chikas and we briefed Kim on what to expect.. of course we lied and told her that we hired some macho dancer to give her a lap dance...hehehe!

We left the cafe around 11:30am and we're already running late, so we cancel our plan to do some shopping at Rustan's annual sale (we also couldn't find the freakin' building)so we decided to get lunch. We really didn't plan were to eat... i guess we wanted to be spontaneous and feel where our taste buds will lead us. Since we're already in Makati, we decided to go to Rockwell and start from there. We walked the whole stretch of restaurants but couldn't decided. In the end we stopped at press. where the food was good and price friendly according to Maya.

While waiting for our orders, Kim opened our gifts and giggled as she read each of our gift notes to her. We're glad she loved all our gifts and good thing that we didn't give her anything that she already got from the other bridal shower that was given to her. Of course pictures where taken to preserve the moment and her non-stop smile and laughter. Soon our food arrived. The highly recommended OMM (onions, mushrooms mozzarella) was a sure winner.I ordered pumpkin cream soup which was very savory and pasta. After the hearty meal, Maya and I agreed to buy havaianas since we don't own one yet. But after scouting from different stores and checking out different designs, I was not convince that I have found "IT" ~ the havaianas that were made for my feet. In the end, Rachel, who already got a pair... left the Chocolate Clothing store toting a shopping bag (havaianas inside).

pumpkin soup and the OMM with pita bread.

After finding Maya's car (we got lost at the parking lot because we were searching the car at the wrong side of the building..haha!)we headed to our surprise for the bride.. an afternoon at the spa and a free shiatsu massage. Kim was placed on the hot seat when we were in the jacuzzi asking questions that we not dare to ask in any other place or occasion. We had an hour of relaxing massage to end our day. Amidst the storm, I'm glad this bonding day con bridal shower pushed through. And delighted that our bride enjoyed her last weekend with us as a single woman.

getting ready for our afternoon at The SPA.