The Yellow Barney Shirt

My daughter loves Barney. As in she gets all excited when she sees that big, violet fellow on TV. She sings and she dances. I'm so mangha because at 19 months, she is able to memorize the actions and some of the words in the songs. Ang downside lang dyan is that when Barney appears on the tube and dances, Anika will drag my ass to join her dancing. Ay mga ateh, hindi pwede yung paghinila ka niya eh, tatayo ka lang dun. Dapat you're dancing din otherwise, magwawala yan.

Seriously.

Anyways, Alvin has this Barney shirt and Anika wants to keep wearing it! Okay lang sana except that it's too big for her! (sorry for the blurry photos, Alvin's dslr is so weird)

When you tell her to take the shirt off, she'll make this face:

Ang adorable di ba? So we let her play wearing that shirt. Alalay lang because it's too long baka matisod.

Yun lang, she wore it until her bed time.

We tried taking it off her kaso manalo ka ba naman diyan?! We waited until she fell asleep then we took her Barney shirt off.

Hay kids! They're really so adorbs!

Ang Balikbayan Box, Bow.

My dad has been based abroad for as long as I could remember. However, he never sent a balikbayan box before. I dunno why pero ang saya saya pala when you receive a balikbayan box! Para kang may extra large boxed gift full of goodies!!!

Lemme show you.

Papa sent this box from Amsterdam. It arrived last weekend.

The little girl couldn't wait to get her hands on her new twoys!

Super daming stuffed toys from Ikea! Anika kept on shouting "WOW!"

Stuffed toys ba ang gusto niyo?! =D

Sobrang daming toys. Nagrereklamo na ang Girlie.

GIRLIE: Ati, ang dami na talagang laruan ni Anika. Kelangan na natin ng bagong bahay.

ME: Ay naku Girlie bukas na lang. Weekend, sarado ang mga bangko.

The next day.

GIRLIE: Ati, sana wala na munang toys ha. Ang dami na talagang laruan ni Anika eh. Di ko na alam san ko itatago. Serious!

Apektadong apektado ang lola niyo! =))

Anyways, there was this elephant na I couldn't figure out kung para san ba ito.

Carpet ba itech?!

There are plastic bibs which will be super usable for Anika.

The best part here is that finally, after 19 months of her existence here on earth, may high chair na si Anika! Don't look at me noh! I placed an order sa Ikea distributor here in Manila a long, long time ago kaso ang tagal dumating. Baka mag-debut na anak ko, wala pa ding high chair.

Enjoy na enjoy ang bagets!

Promise hindi exage but naging magana talaga ang Anika kumain when she started eating on her high chair.

Papa sent another one in white. I'm not sure yet but I think Papa wants me to sell this. I have to confirm with him first. I'll let you know =)

Olives, pesto sauce, strawberry jam and chocolate spread! Yummy!

Disposable plates, utensils and glasses for Anika from Ikea! Ang dami noh? I gave all the boy colored ones to her one and only cousin, Gabo, pero madami pa din! I love these because they're very light and I can bring them with us whenever we go out. I don't like kasi Anika using the restaurant's plates, utensils and glasses eh. For me, it's more hygienic for the babies to use their own eating utensils whenever you dine out. #akonaangpraning

Wines for Christmas.

Dutch sausages! Me and my brothers love these!

Beer for Alvin =)

Chocolates =)

Noodles ba gusto niyo?! Good thing these will be distributed in four houses (mine, LT's, Mama's and Toots') otherwise, hindi ko alam gagawin ko sa mga ito! Haha!

Chocolate drink mix!

ALVIN: Ano ba ito?! (referring to the milk drink)

JEKJEK: Chocolate yan kuya. Titimplahin, parang Milo.

ALVIN: Ah...

JEKJEK: Ang labo nga kuya eh. Goody Cao daw eh monkey naman ang nasa picture.

ME: Galing kasi yan sa CACAO Jek, hindi sa COW.

=)

Anyways, back to the box... Papa also bought us hanging storage baskets.

Another favorite balikbayan box content is this Ikea table and chair that my dad bought for Anika. It came in my favorite color: RED!

It was so easy to assemble.

No tools needed! The small "screw" was kasama in the package.

Alvin assemble the chair while Anika supervised.

After, the bagets did some minor "adjustments" hehe.

Next came the table.

Anika helped this time.

Whew! Table and chair, DONE!

Anika very happy!

Remember the flattened elephant that I showed you? Ganitech pala iyon! Cutie noh? =)

How I wish the put up authentic Ikea stores here in Manila. Dun na ako titira! =)

Thanks Papa for your gifts!!! Anika and I like them so much!!

See you in a few weeks!

Abbey+June: The Reception

The wedding reception of Abbey and June was held at One Esplanade. The place was beautifully decorated by K by Cunanan.

Hanging from the ceiling are glittery stars that the couple lovingly DIY'ed.

The table was decorated in the romantic chic shabby way.

The principal sponsors table.

I love the cake! I remember talking to June while they were still preparing for the wedding. She was getting frustrated already because the cake suppliers that she talked to cannot execute the cake that she wanted. Si Goldilocks lang pala ang sagot sa kanyang wedding cake dilemma. The wedding cake was gorgeous!

Wedding cake by Goldilocks

If you didn't notice, the flowers used in the cake were the same ones used for June's bridal bouquet. Oh yes. The bride's bridal bouquet was edible! More on that later =)

The newlyweds area.

The menu list for the VIP table. Same food was served in the buffet table.

The salad which I found uniquely prepared: Insalata caprese, orange, walnuts, feta, stawberry vinaigrette

I usually take photos of the food pero the caterers didn't open the chafing dishes until it was really time to eat so the only photo for the dessert is this:

... which I forgot what it's called pa! =/

There was a mobile bar too!

There was a wish tree ba tawag dun?

Vodka shots.

In lieu of the traditional bouquet and garter tossing, the wedding host called out around 10 pairs of couples, married and soon to be married ones. Siyempre kasama kami ni Alvin. The ladies were to be blindfolded and lined up in front. The men stood behind us and were reshuffled. The game was that the ladies only use their sense of smell to find their partners. And then once we find them, we should look for the three safety pins that were pinned on their coats. The winning couple will be treated to a dinner for two at Vikings Restaurant.

Guess who won?!

Oh yes! Of course kami ni Alvin! Hahaha!

After the game, they made us do the putting the garter on the leg thing. It was a nice coincidence because two years ago, it was June who got the bouquet and Abbey was the one who got the garter in our wedding! =D

Anyways, after watching the really nice on-site video and listening to the touching (and funny) speeches, we were prepared to call it a night. But before we left, konting photo op muna =)

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Abbey and June now lives two doors from us. We visited them and I saw June's bouquet. When I made it bati, she told me that everything there except the nest base was edible.

I couldn't bilib it! See for yourself!

Edible flower bouquet from Goldilocks

Even Abbey's boutonniere is edible!
 

Amazing huh? =)

Again, congratulation and best wishes to Abbey and June!