Baby’s Afternoon Out

Yesterday, Michelle went to Divisoria with Yvette and my mom-in-law. So I was left with Jeanne after breakfast. We played with her Duplos and watched YouTube videos on the iPad. I also told her we’re going to Gymboree in the afternoon.

After lunch, I gave Jeanne and bath, dressed her up, and then took a shower myself. We were sitting on the sofa watching TV while waiting for Gretchen, when Jeanne suddenly went over to me, asked me to carry her, and then in minutes was asleep. She slept for over an hour while I continued watching TV. When she woke up, the first thing she said is “I want to go to Gymboree.”

So off we finally went. Since this was her third or fourth visit, I decided to go ahead and get a membership. They offered me the annual membership which costs P1800 and comes with 5 GymPlay coupons (GymPlay normally cost P350). They were already done with the paperwork when I noticed a “lifetime” membership in their literature. I inquired about it and it costs P3600, comes with 10 play coupons, and it’s good for until the child reaches 5 years old (I guess “lifetime” sounds more enticing marketing-wise). I went for that instead.

After Gymboree, we went to get groceries, another activity Jeanne enjoys. We didn’t have to buy too much stuff so we were done pretty quickly. Just as well since I needed to join a family meeting.

We got to the meeting just in time. While it was going on, Jeanne played, drew, and occasionally would ask for my attention. After the meeting, we headed home and to mommy.

Pino and Pipino

After SeriAsia, we went with MBA friends to Pino for dinner and to celebrate Val’s coming of age :P Teachers Village, a heretofore purely residential zone, has seen some rather rapid commercialization in recent years. Among these commercial establishments are Pino and the related Pipino. Pino is supposed to mean “fine” as in fine dining. But it most certainly is not. More realistically, pino means “Filipino“. Their menu is full of Filipino fusion dishes. And by fusion, it means a Filipino dish fused with another Filipino dish. For example, bagnet binagoongankare-kareng bagnet, and laing-stuffed crispy pata. One thing you immediately notice is that  these favorites are heart-stopping dishes. Yummy stuff but definitely not for the faint-of-heart. Good thing there’s Pipino just upstairs which offers healthier, animal-anguish-free, vegetarian meals. Pipino incidentally means “cucumber” which is a pretty accurate representation for a vegetarian restaurant. Hooray for choice!

SeriAsia

Michelle and I had a massage and facial at SeriAsia courtesy of gift certificates from Yvette (Thanks, Yvette!). It was great except I felt that the facial was a bit too harsh. I prefer more gentle exfoliation for my sensitive skin :P

Some Dads Do Diapers

Read this article about how even in academia, dads don’t do diapers. First, is academia supposedly the last bastion of exemplary daddyhood? Second, some dads DO diapers and not just in academia. I’m proud to say I’m one of them. I do Jeanne’s diapers, I [used to] launder her baby clothes, I give her baths (on weekends), I take her to the playground (when I get home early enough), play with her, draw with her, sing with her, teach her, feed (or encourage her) to eat, give her vitamins, brush her teeth, wipe her down, put on her jammies, read her books at bedtime, go on leave from work to babysit her, etc. So here’s to the few, the proud, the dads who do diapers!

Jeanne Is Weaned!

Breast milk is best for babies up to 2 years old goes the compulsory reminder on baby formula packaging. We agree with it, especially Jeanne, so she was on breast milk from birth. Later, this was supplemented with baby formula. But as soon as she turned two, we began the process to move her on to baby formula. We started by offering her milk in a cup, which she had always declined preferring mommy or the bottle. But lately, she’s been drinking solely from the cup. Of course, three nights without mommy and Gretchen’s constant coaxing helped. And today, I officially declare that Jeanne is now weaned!