My Two Lovely Girls

Got nothing much to say.. just want to share their pictures I took last Sunday. =)

Our Arcade day at the Timezone

Last Saturday, I together with my hubby, our cute babies, and sisters & brother in-laws went to Market!Market! for some arcade gaming fun at the Timezone. I and Robin have been enjoying this past time since we were still at the courting stage of our relationship (was there really such a thing?!lol). I've actually kept over a hundred of Timezone and Worlds of Fun tickets! Hmmm.. does these tickets have their validity dates? Hope not.. so i can still exchange them for some prices for Missy and CJ.

My favorite arcade game are those with the guns because it makes me feel like i'm a totally different person. I also enjoy car and motor racing games like Daytona because it raises up my adrenaline=)

The new arcade that caught our attention that day was the Deal or No Deal! Everyone enjoyed playing this too. The only thing I didn't like is that it only gives out one third of the amount of your winning ticket. So even if you win 30 tickets on your case, the machine will only give you 10. Not a good one.

Now sharing with you some shots we took that day. Hope your weekend was fun as ours!

Having fun on the Internet with your Baby

I so much enjoy the internet because it gives me vast knowledge and new insights everyday. And so I thought, wouldn't it be nice if we could also share, enjoy, and let our kids learn new things through the internet? Lucky me I found this Fisher Price website last weekend that is made especially for our little ones. The site has featured games and materials that caters infants, toddlers, and preschool. All of which are colorful and interactive so your babies will definitely have fun.

My 1 yr old enjoys pressing the computer keyboard keys while playing peek-a-boo. Her 2 yr old sister is now learning ABC's with animals from A to Z, Numbers, Colors and Shapes, and Musical Instruments! I am so happy and amazed that kids as young as 1 and 2 years old can now use the computer as an aid for learning and enjoyment.

This for us has become one of our educational bonding activities. I greatly encourage all moms to try this one out. I'm quite certain that your kids will enjoy and at the same time learn from it.

Have fun!

Proud Milestones of my daughters as of Today

For the past few days I noticed that my youngest has already started practicing on her jump. She smiles and gets thrilled every time she sees her sister jump up and down. And she looks so cute when she attempts to do it because her feet don’t really get off the ground yet. Lol:) My hubby said that he saw her lift up her feet off the ground a few centimeters high when she attempted to jump from the bed. But I didn’t see it so I won’t count that yet. Haha. Anyway, I hope I get to take a shot of this new milestone that she’s learning within the week.

Here are some funny things that CJ can do at age 1 yr and 1.5months olds:

1. Knows how to bless (part of our Filipino culture, a sign of respect for elders)
2. Dances when you say dance
3. Says up when she tries to stand up
4. Dances and imitates some of our actions when I, her dad, and her sister sing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and I have two hands.
5. Brushes her teeth on her own
6. Climbs on the sofa and toy box
7. Playfully turns off the television and laughs or grins when you try to scold her
8. Asks you to carry her on your back by tapping your back when she sees you kneel down.

And here’s what big sister Missy can do at age 2 yrs and 4 months old:

1. Can sing action songs like Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star; I have two hands;
2. Can sing A-B-C, not yet perfected but tries her best to finish the tune:)
3. Greets good morning in the morning and good night before going to bed
4. Knows how to say thanks or thank you when given something
5. Knows how to say you’re welcome when you say thank you
6. Enjoys playing with other kids
7. Says hi and hello to everyone she meets (even to strangers!).
8. Answers you with yes, no, and okay.
9. Says I’m sorry when she has a fault
10. Says it’s okay when you say sorry to her or when she sees that you’re sad
11. Interacts and imitates the song or actions she sees on television
12. Knows colors, shapes, and numbers very well
13. Know some of the animals though sometimes she still associates rabbits with cats. Lol:)
14. Forces to wake up her dad when I tell her too:)
15. Enjoys eating solids and seldom requests for milk once she’s asleep

Enjoying Sunday at Dave's Fun House

Our family had another fun filed day last weekend.=) After going to mass at the 3rd floor of Market! Market!, we had the two girls with their nanny play at Dave's Fun House for a treat. Missy has been here several times already but it was CJ's first time to go in this cute little playhouse. This playhouse has miniature kid’s size facilities like the clinic with doctor and patient’s uniform, bed and other medical items; the salon with toy scissors, razors, blow driers, and artificial hairs; fast food outlet that has Mc Donald and Jollibee looking foods such as the fries and burgers; a grocery store with lots of vegetables and cute little carts and an ATM machine located outside of the grocery store; cute little rides with a gas station on one side; and a house with small home furniture like living room set, water dispenser (with no water of course), refrigerator, and microwave oven; plus two TVs where kids can watch and play games. With all these miniature stuff our girls sure did had a blast!

For a very reasonable price, putting your kids in a make believe fun house like this one and seeing them get fascinated and enjoy the entire time is worthless. So if you're planning to visit Market! Market! for the coming weekend, be sure to bring your kids along with you and try enrolling them there too. By the way, the fun house requires all kids and guardians to wear a pair of socks.

I didn't notice how much each child cost, but we paid Php395 for two kids, one guardian + extra socks. Wish we could have enough space at home for a playhouse so the kids can enjoy playing in such at their own home.



At Dave’s Fun House
NOTE : Double-click on the image to get a bigger view of the pictures.

Feedback and Thank You's on CJ's 1st Bratz Birthday Party at Jollibee McKinley Branch

This is an overdue post about my feedback on CJ’s birthday party supplies. I made an earlier post to thank all our friends and relatives who were able to make it to the party. You can click on this link for that thank you post.
Here goes my feedback:

1.Venue and Setup – Jollibee McKinley Branch
I already knew that Jollibee offers Bratz Pixies as one of its party themes. Considering our limited budget and the fact that everyone loves Jollibee, this venue was for us a perfect choice.

We initially wanted to hold CJ’s birthday bash at Jollibee The Fort branch. But after going there to inquire about their packages, we got a bit frustrated..

Reasons for our disappointment:

• There was only one slot available for the September 20 event so we had very limited choice on the time of our occasion.
• The manager mentioned that they do not offer any other themes anymore except for the Jollitown character themes. I was upset after hearing this since I have already started creating my Bratz themed layouts for CJ’s banner and favors with thank you notes. Worst is, he mentioned that all Jollibee branches now are only offering the Jollitown character themed birthday party.
  

However, since we always pass by Jollibee McKinley branch, I know that that guy we just talked to was probably misinformed because I just saw the McKinley branch hold a Bratz themed party a week before we went to The Fort branch.

To cut the story short, we went to McKinley branch and reserved the 4-6pm time on September 20. We were so fortunate that nobody yet has reserved for an event on that day=)

The party package we got already included 30pcs of balloons and Bratz themed party supplies such as the party hat, name tag, banner, loot bags, prizes, plus a gift for the birthday celebrant.

We were so happy that we decided to hold the party at Jollibee McKinley branch. Everyone enjoyed the entire time because the two party host were amazing! They really knew how to make the party fun and full of life. I personally enjoyed Jollibee's four wishes because he always dances before and after he gives his wish.

2.CJ’s dress – Muńeca from www.sears.com
This dress was given as a gift from my aunt Becky. Both my two girls had exactly the same design. I wanted both of them to wear it on the event so that the elder one won’t feel at lost. These dresses looked so fabulous on them. It even has an underwear to match the gown. Thanks for these gowns ninang Becky!

3.CJ’s shoes – Baby Shoes from SM Makati
We were already set to buy CJ’s shoes from Chicco. But since my two girls are wearing the same outfit, I thought it would be nice if they too wore the same kind of shoes. Unfortunately, the cute Chicco shoes we saw doesn’t have a size that would fit her sister’s so we opted to look for another one. Luckily, we saw this adorable pair of shoes that both has CJ and Missy’s size. The color of the shoes perfectly blended with their dress. We also bought the black knee high stockings from SM. I could probably say that both the shoes and the stockings were comfortable on them cause they would normally remove it if incase the stockings made them itch or if the shoes didn’t fit right.

4.CJ’s Cake – Max’s The Bake Shop and Kitchen Krafts
CJ had two cakes on that day and I was so blessed that those cakes were sponsored by two of her godparents. We were not able to distribute it on the venue though since Jollibee prohibits distribution of edible items other than those they have. Anyway, we shared the cakes to some of our guests and neighbors when we got home. Without doubt both cakes were yummy! I enjoyed eating Kitchen Krafts's cake because it was moist and not too sweet. I also heard lots of complements from Max's Caramel Butter cake. Thanks for the cake ninang Lourdes and ninang Che..!

5.Banner, Favors & Thank You notes : My DIYs!
I created the layout of the banner, Cj’s images on the favors, and the thank you note using Adobe Photoshop. I had the banner printed at Signex for a very cheap price=). The printed copy was a bit darker that expected though. So, incase you plan to have your banners printed by them, maybe in would look better if you give them a bit brighter image.

Since the thank you note was in a form of a picture and was not covered or protected by any plastic or frame, I decided to have them printed at the Kodak kiosk. I’ve heard that pictures that gets printed from these kiosks are water proofed and has lifetime warranty (from dust and lost of color due to age). Sweet..!

We bought the favors from Divi mall in bulk for an incredibly cheap cost. Like what I mentioned on my previous post, a piece of this favor would cost you Php50.00 in Market! Market!. The ones we got were 50% lesser than that! Another cheap buy for us;-)

6.Photographer – Tita Lala
Due to our limited budget, we had no choice but to utilize our own digital camera. Thank God my cousin offered to take the pictures on that day. Thanks tita Lala..!

Unfortunately, some of the images didn't come out well since the camera had low resolution. For this reason, I just though of grouping the images into a digital scrapbook pages.

Hope you enjoy looking at the pictures as everyone enjoyed the event.=)

Carrie Justine’s 1st Birthday Party
NOTE: For a bigger view of the images, please double click on the slide show above.

She's not afraid to walk anymore=)

As mentioned on a post I did last July , CJ has already started to learn how to walk since her 10th month. But it was only until her birthday party last Saturday when she finally had the courage to really walk on her own. And now that she realized how much mobile she can be without my assistance, you won't easily be able to stop her walking from one place to another.

You should see how much excitement she has while she plays tag with her sister! The entire house is so full of their thrills and laughter.. They never actually stop til' they really feel tired and sleepy. And I so much adore seeing them enjoy each others company. I just love it!

Happy 1st Birthday Carrie Justine!

I am so happy that everyone enjoyed CJ's birthday bash last Saturday, Sept. 20, 2008. We held a simple celebration of CJ's birthday last Sept 18 (that's her real birthday) and schedule for a bigger celebration at Jollibee McKinley on a Saturday. I'd like to use this post to send our heart felt gratitude to everyone who made this event a success.

First, I'd like to thank God for making this special event in our child's life a success. All my little prayer requests were granted such as that there'd be more kids than adults on the party, that the final cost wouldn't reach our limited budget, and that everyone would enjoy the party.. Thank you Lord for always hearing my prayers!

Next, I'd like to thank my husband for being supportive while I plan for CJ's birthday party. My hubby really doesn't agree in giving out big parties like these but I'm so happy that he allowed me do anything I want for this one. So..thanks for that dad!

Third, I'd like to thank our family for the BIG help and support! They've always been behind us and I know always will be. Special credits goes to my mama and papa=)

Fourth, I'd like to thank the party hosts (coz we had three of them), Jollibee mascot, and the rest of the staff of Jollibee McKinley Branch for making the birthday party a hit! I really believe that the party's success also greatly relies on the party host.

And lastly, I'd like to thank CJ's god parents (specially those who sponsored some of her party supplies), and all our guest who came over, played, laughed, and enjoyed the entire time with us. Words are not enough to say how much we appreciate the time you devoted to help us celebrate and make this day a fun-filled one=)

Since I am still not able to edit the pictures at this time due to my dead laptop, I'll just put you on hold and keep you excited for a while. Anyway, I'd try my best to post the pictures latter this week or most probably early next week.

Thanks for the read my friends:)

Today CJ Officially Turned ONE!

Wow! Time really flies so fast.. My youngest sweetie is now 1yr old. I can still recall what happened on this same day of last year.. She came to the world three weeks earlier than expected because my latest biophysical score showed that the amniotic fluid was already below the normal range.

A lot of moms were delivering on that day. So even if I was scheduled for a C-Section at 5pm, we had no choice but to wait until almost 7pm. At 7:10 I was already in the operating room. The first epidural anesthesia was given at around 7:30pm. But since I was still able to move the lower portion of my left body even after 15 minutes, they had no choice but to do a retap (my second shot). Weird thing is that they still had to literally sway my legs from left to right to spread the anesthesia on both sides of the lower portion of my body. Good thing the swaying helped because one of the doctors mentioned that it's not advisable to do another shot(third shot).

The operation started around 8:20pm and CJ came out crying at around 8:32pm. I really did a time record of all the events that was happening during the operation and I made sure that I won't fall asleep (even with two epidural shots!) because I wanted to hear her first cry and of course I wanted to make sure that she was alive and safe.

I haven’t had the time to create a post about this story so I think this is the perfect time to do it.

Anyways, here are some pictures taken on CJ’s birth day!




Her christening day followed three months after. Check out my post about her christening day and my preparations from this link.

CJ's latest Photo shots for her coming birthday=)

This is the last weekend before Cj's big day. So obviously my entire weekend was devoted to her birthday preps. Yesterday I again had another photo shoot with the coming birthday girl and this time I made her wear her birthday outfit. You can check out our first photo shoot from this link.

I am really happy and excited that everything is ready (except for the tarp and the signature frame which needs to be printed early this week of course.)

Anyways, here's her gown from US which really looks extravagant on her,







Her adorable shoes which nicely pairs the color of her gown,


I got her this cute crown at the well know Divi Mall for only 75.00PHP!,


My do-it-yourself favors with the ribbon,


And some of my favorite shoots of CJ! (pictures edited by me)




Hope you liked my shots! Wait til I post the birthday pictures next week:)

Preparing for your Toddlers Room

We have been noticing lately that both our two girls enjoy sleeping together. This for us is a good sign that they are already prepared to have their own room!=) Yeah! Personally, I am soooo happy about this great news because I will be able to utilize one of my sleeping and long lost talent in interior design! I'll tell you about my other sleeeeeeping talents on another post;) If you're also planning to decorate or prepare for your toddlers room then you'll surely enjoy reading this one.

Okay, now let's get down to the details of our project. The size of the room, color, and the theme are some of the important things to consider when doing interior design.

Let's start focusing on the size. Since our pad is a bit small, cute little kids bedroom furniture like the ones below would be perfect!

I love the dollhouse like headboard on this white toddler bed


But this one is way better than perfect!!!


It would be nice to pair it with a toy box too


When I was a kid, I did enjoy having a kids desk in my own room coz with it I more enjoyed writing, coloring, and most importantly i did love pretending like my room was my office space. Hahaha=)! So I'll definitely get one of this and hope that my daughters will share the same feelings that I had back then.

The next thing to consider is the color. Experts agree that lavender and pink go together. And since both Missy and CJ love watching Dora the Explorer (who happens to be using these colors), I am more and more absorbing the idea that these two colors might just be best choice. Also, I believe these colors will give that baby girly atmosphere in the room.

Lastly, the theme of the room. I would say this is the easiest and most fun part of the conceptualization process. I find it similar to picking a motif and a theme for your wedding! Since my soon-to-be new room owners are two baby girls, let us then settle with a Dora the Explorer Baby theme=)

Now it's so easy to decorate and select what items you want to buy through the help of online stores. There are exceptional online stores like the one where I got the images above. Honestly, this is the only online store I found so far that has the widest variety of wooden children's furniture.

DIY Preps for My Little CJ's Coming 1st Birthday - Part 3!

My official count down to CJ's birthday is now down to only 1 week and 6 days! And this time, I'm almost done with my to-do's.

Here are additional updates I have as a continuation of the Part 2 post:
1. We have already given our down payment at Jollibee McKinley. The cost of the down payment broken down into the following:
a. 50% of the food package for the kids which already is inclusive of the Party Favors (with 20 assorted game prizes, 10 crayons, 1 mascot appearance for 30 mins, 30 party balloons, and a themed guestbook)
b. 50% of the food package for adults
c. 100% of other party add-ons such as the loot bags, nametags, party hats, party liners, etc.

My side comment : I find this branch better than the other branch we visited along Fort Bonifacio. All the staffs here from the service crew up to the manager are very friendly, courteous, and easy to talk to. Even if we were not able to get the invitation the day we paid our down payment (due to their stock shortage on their bratz themed invites), i still would recommend people near these locations to choose this branch rather than the other i mentioned earlier.

2. I'm almost done with the thank you note / souvenir item.=)

This is what we're giving out on that day


Here is what it looks like with the Thank You note clipped

Check out the different selection of CJ's growing up pictures that will be given out on her birthday from here.

I just need to add white or gold or both colored ribbons before I consider it done.

3. We already got the party invitations and have already distributed them to most of our guests. I really love Jollibee's Bratz Themed invites!! So glad we decided to choose Jollibee and this theme for our baby's birthday.

Sharing some sample shots of the Bratz themed invitation card

This is the back portion


This is the front portion


And what you'll see when you open the card


4. Her growing up collage which will also stand as her signature frame is also almost done. I only need to take a picture of CJ on her real birthday(September 18) before i have it printed.