I'll never forget 2010!

Because of this little Jelly Bean!

Pregnancy was a roller coaster ride. There was a lot of changes and I can't say they were all good but if I had to do it all over again, I would... but with more grace and joy.

One of the funny things that came out of the pregnancy was I was touted by Style Bible as stylish. Me? Stylish? I had to get knocked up to become stylish! Imagine that!

This was the year I also discovered that there's SO MUCH LOVE in the world! Many people--some from complete strangers!--sent their love and well wishes and a good many presents to make my pregnancy more comfy (like this yummy carrot cake!) and to welcome the Jelly Bean. In fact, we got so many presents that the only things we bought for our son was the crib and milk bottles! Incredible! Thank you!

This was definitely my year of discovering friendships. I had always been the sort of person who kept people at arm's length. And yet... Turns out that there are some things you just can't escape from. And am I glad that there were a lot of people who chose to love me, like this group of lovelies who threw me a surprise baby shower!

Here are my dear old friends from Assumption, just as pregnant Pinky Jacob Ileto and wise mommy Kristine Claudio Baradi. This year I again realized that friendship doesn't need to be high maintenance and that some things can really bond women together. And motherhood is the most powerful bonding glue!

And here's the Jelly Bean! We named him Vito Simon. Vito means "life" and Simon means "he who listens." Because he was an unexpected life who changed our lives. And because we want him to listen to others--listening is an act of selflessness and wisdom! Great names, if I may say so! 

And here are the two men I love most in the entire universe. Without Vince, I'd never have discovered who I really am. Without Vito, I'd never have discovered how it means to completely give myself. This was definitely the year of discovery!

Me and Vito when he was just 2 months old. He is a darling critter. We adore him. We always thought we had a good life but when the little one came along, now we really know that our life is beyond blessed. So this was the year of realizing and appreciating life. We are truly grateful!

So 2010 was the year of love, friendship, family and deep joy. I'd like to thank all of you--and you know who you are!--for the gifts of love, time and friendship you've shown to me and my little family. You can't truly imagine the happiness you've brought to us. Thank you, my dearest friends. The journey to motherhood was unexpected and not without its bumps but because of you, this adventure is all the more exciting. I'm definitely looking forward to 2011 knowing I have friends like you. God bless you! 

Vote for Sophia!!!

I'm playing PR girl to this adorable sweetheart (it's my gift to her Auntie Jackie, my fellow super hot momma!). Little Sophia is one of the cuties in googoo&gaga's contest for Kooky Kid of the Year 2010!

Just lookit that pic! She's definitely kooky, if you ask me. And with that fist pump, Sophia already looks like a winner! Make it so, my friends. Just go to googoo&gaga's Facebook page and like Sophia's pic. Voting is on its last two days (ends Dec 31 noon) so please please vote!

And if you want to get Sophia's uber cool onesie for your own bundle of joy, it's called the Pink Peace style. I love it!

Jackie, I hope your niece wins. She's a cutie pie!


*photos from googoo&gaga's Facebook page

Vito's first Christmas!

So sorry I haven't been updating. This particular holiday season was super stressful! I almost was a Scrooge and if I could just tell you all the reasons why I didn't feel like celebrating this Christmas, I'm sure you'd forgive me if I said, "Bah! Humbug!" Let's just say Vito saved me from becoming one. Thank God for you, Vito!

Let me share with you Vito's first Christmas with his Sales family. Sales gatherings are overflowing with noise, hyperactivity, food and fun. Photos here are from my sister-in-law Lizelle's camera. I haven't downloaded ours yet! Anyway, Vito was a bit overwhelmed at all the commotion but I can't wait for him to start enjoying Christmas--the gifts, the talent shows, the love!

Rabbit Family photo!

That's Vince's niece Elizabeth and Auntie Gay getting gigil with Vito.

Vito likes being surrounded by girls.

Vince's sister, Anj

Vince's dad, Lolo Mon

Vince's mom, Lola Digna

And the whole Sales family!

How was your Christmas? I hope it was merry and blessed!

babyGap Glorietta opens

It's babyGap! It's just inside Gap Kids.

The holiday collection for babies

Style essentials for kids from newborn to toddlers

Now where was I when babyGap opened here? Vince and I love Gap and Vito has a few babyGap pieces in his closet so we would've loved to have gone to this store's opening! It looked like fun!

WeeWillDoodle doodled away.

And these cute boys did so, too!

Art and style. It's a father-and-son thang.

These girls took to that wall!

Come one, come all!

And here's the finished product!

Gap Kids and babyGap are available at Bonifacio High Street, Shangri-la Plaza Mall, SM Megamall, SM Mall of Asia and Glorietta.

*photos courtesy of Visions & Expressions

Out to meet the girls

Hi, my name is Vito Simon Amper Sales. And I am cute! Pardon my bathing photo. I don't wish to scandalize you, but today, I have a date with two of my mama's girlfriends, Auntie Nic and Auntie Nikki. They're two of my biggest fans and they're very very stylish. So I have to look great!

First, I took a bath. I like using Kiehl's Gentle Foaming Baby Wash. Either that or Lactacyd Milk Wash. They make my skin soft and me extra cuddly.

Then, I put on my Tushy Wushy cloth diaper. You're never too young to save the planet! I wore my orange one to match my...

New Mothercare Little Monster onesie! It's a gift from another gorgeous friend of mama, Auntie Paola. Don't I look tough?

I know, I know. The monster bit might scare people off... but look! It's multi-colored stripes at the back! I think the stripes make me look friendly enough.

Oh, I'm so excited for my date! See you later, Auntie Nic and Auntie Nikki!

Vito's tushy loves Tushy Wushy

Here's the baby boy in his Tushy Wushy cloth diaper:

Yo, mama!

We love it! Since it's made out of cloth, it's gentle on his skin, cool and makes his skin breathe, is environment-friendly, and saves us money. It lasts for up to 4 hours. Not bad! We use it during the day. At night, however, we use Huggies Dry Comfort so Vito can sleep all night.

I wanted the red ones.

It comes in many colors but we got Vito black, orange, blue and army green.

They're as soft as pillows!

He loves his Tushy Wushies! If you're looking to help lessen your kid's carbon footprint and make him look stylish at the same time, try Tushy Wushy!

My Tushy Wushy doesn't have silly patterns
that show through my onesie.

I like that it doesn't have all thsoe silly patterns on the disposables. Those just ruin his outfits, ya know?

Nope, this isn't a sponsored review! We just really love Tushy Wushy. Click here to buy your baby a set.

Voodoo

Vito's yaya, Ate Marita, is what some people would call a manghihilot. Once I had one of my infamous migraines, the kind that lasts for three days. Within minutes, Ate Marita massaged my stomach hard (and I yelped, "My tummy doesn't hurt!) then she applied pressure on my temples, then she practically pulled out my hair and then... my migraine disappeared. Weird! But effective.

So when I come home from work and see that she's applied some of her strange practices on Vito, I kinda let it slide.

Exhibit A: Vito is sucking on a boiled octopus tentacle. He really liked it, by the way. I was just nervous because his parents (that's me and Vince) both have asthma and allergic rhinitis so I was scared Vito might be allergic to the octopus. What it does: This supposedly protects the child from pilay should he fall or have an accident, which is often the case with active kids. This also makes good luck make kapit well.

Exhibit B: Vito has a dried kalabasa something pinned to him. That something is that round thing on the vegetable that the stalk is connected to. This supposedly will protect him from fever and pain when his teeth come out.

Exhibit C: Vito has a loose thread from his diaper stuck to his forehead. This supposedly gets rid of hiccups. In our experience, the hiccups went away when they wanted to go away, as hiccups are wont to do!

I think there's no harm but some people, especially my Born-Again friends, have said this is witchcraft. I got frightened by that and so have told Ate Marita to cease and desist. She was really hurt when I said that because she will never do anything to hurt Vito. And I believe her! But some superstitions and superstitious practices may stem from wiccan tradition so, to be safe, I have stopped this.

But I'm not with Vito 24/7 (more like 20/7) so, because I can't be around all the time, I just cover my son in prayer. How about you? What superstitious things do you practice on your child?