Harvey the Horsey

A few days ago, Berry saw a rocking horse with a friendly face at Oddjects in Parco at Millenia Walk. Without hesitation, she excitedly clambered onto it. I let her rock on it for a bit, and when I told her it was time to go, she wouldn't dismount. And after going around the mall and finding our way again at Oddjects, she just had to say hello to the horse. In short, she fell in love.

I took a picture of Berry on the horse and emailed it to Dada. Dada sent the photo to Amah, and of course, she said, "Yes, yes, get it!" To cut the story short, we eventually brought the rocking horse home.

It wasn't a flight of fancy. Berry could never really forget about this horse. As soon as we told Berry she could have the horse, she couldn't contain her excitement. Every day she would say, "Berry, Horse!". 

The other day, we went to a mall, and I told Nana we should check out a toy store. Berry immediately said, "Berry, Horse!" She really had this horse on her mind all the time.

When we got home, I asked Berry, "What's the name of your horse?".

Berry: "Hah-vey, Baby Hah-vey."

Dada: "Pambihira, kapangalan ko pa yung kabayo!"

*Translated, Dada said: Unbelievable, I have the same name as her horse!

Dada Style: Casual Fridays

Fridays are dress down days at Dada's firm. The dress code at his office is pretty much business casual most days, so they can go extra casual and wear jeans on Fridays.

Here's what Dada wore: a button down oxford shirt, jeans and his current favorite Ferragamo loafers.

Which is perfect for loafing around with Berry, who incidentally, named her new rocking horse - Baby Hah-vey (Harvey)! You will meet her newest "pet", in the next post! =)

Happy Dada's Day!

Today we focus the spotlight on Berry's Dada, aka Mr. MFO (heehee).

A couple of days ago, I told him "Hey, for the first time I like your outfit, pwede na kita i-feature!"

Well, I was just teasing him really, because Dada really dresses nice for work and play. He loves wearing Brooks Brothers suits and Italian oxfords or monk straps to power meetings. His business casual days are all about slim shirts and slim chinos. Weekends are for J.Crew shorts and his pique shirts. He still wears Børn slip ons with jeans (slim cut, of course) though, but he likes them, so ok, fine.

He lets me wear leopard print sandals and my studded Miu Mius which he finds too West Coast for his New England prep aesthetic. But in a relationship, it's really about give and take. Of course, Berry gets away with anything. Even pink zebra print pants which she paired with her Tres Chic shirt (told ya it's a fave!)...

...and her all-natural Hopscotch Kids nail polish in Red Rover, Red Rover (she chose this outfit herself, down to the color of her toes). Incidentally, Berry & I brought in Hopscotch Kids to Manila, and I will tell you more about this wonderful line of baby and pregnancy friendly water-based nail polishes, soon!

Now, back to Dada. I won't wax poetic about his traits any more, because words will never be enough. Let's just say Dada is the husband I prayed to God and St. Joseph for and the best Dada in the world (Berry even composed a song for him which goes like this, "Pretty, Pretty, Pretty Daaa-ddy!" LOL). 

Not only is he first and foremost a wonderful family man, he is also accomplished, brilliant and astute. Not to mention, he is quite the stylish man. So, our Father's Day gift to Dada is a monthly feature on his style! Yihee! Chic Boy (short for chicken baboy, joke)!

I would also like to greet Daddy Henry (Angkong) and Daddy Efren (Lolo) a Happy Father's Day!

Thank you for all the life lessons you taught us. We love you Daddies!

Happy Weeksary Berry! + Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Today, June 24, Berry turned 1 week old!

From this little squirt, fresh from Mommy's tummy one week ago...


She has cleaned up quite well with daily sponge baths...heeheehee. We still haven't figured out who she looks like exactly. At first glance, she looks like me. But when we look long and hard, she turns into Dada's mini-me! There are angles where she looks like a little Tintin, some angles, the resemblance to Dada is very distinct. We've come to an agreement that she's a split...hahaha!


Some Berry important milestones on her first week:

- She is a healthy baby! Her Apgar score was in the high 9s, hearing is perfect, and she passed meconium right away. Except she was slightly jaundiced when she was discharged from the hospital but the pedia said it's nothing that water and sunlight can't fix!
- She latched on perfectly for breast feeding on her very first try! Even the lactation consultant was so surprised, she said "Oh, guess you don't need me here!". What a good girl! Not only will she get all the health benefits of breast feeding, we will get to save lots of $$$ because we don't have to buy formula! That means, mommy's shopping fund safe! Oh, I mean, Berry's Ivy League (or fashion school, wherever she decides) fund is safe, hahaha!
- She is a bit of a crocodile. Anything that comes into contact with her lips, she wants it in her mouth - Dada's finger, Mom's arm, her bib, her shirt, her mittens, nothing is safe!
- Our doctors (both the OB and the pedia) and the lactation consultant said never offer breast milk with formula, but for Berry, she never gets confused, and she never picks one over the other. She'll take milk in whatever shape or form! She's breast fed the entire day, except for her 12 midnight feeding time. Because formula is heavier on the tummy, we feed her that so we can at least get 3-4 hours of straight sleep in the evenings. So far this strategy works.
- She can't be fooled. She'll take anything - breast milk, formula (we got to take home a lot of the hospital supplied 2 oz. Similac bottles from the hospital thanks to the nurses!) and water, but she won't use a pacifier! She knows she won't get anything out of it! Very smart!
- She is so smart really, when it comes to food. She likes holding on to her bottle, and when she wants more breast milk, she knows she just has to scratch Mom's boobies and pucker her lips when we sleep side by side at night!



- Amah (Dada's Mom) says we need an octopus to take care of Berry. While Amah is giving her a sponge bath, Mom is giving her water to suck on. While Amah massages Berry's legs, Mom is drying Berry's hair and brushing it. When her diaper is being changed, she sucks at the air while wailing loudly, expressing her need for milk RIGHT NOW! This girl needs full service deluxe all the time! Whatta Diva!
- She cries with real tears! Usually, real tears start flowing at the end of baby's first month...
- Berry's umbilical cord fell off one week after her birth date!

Oh oh oh! And she can mowdel! Amah gave her the coral bracelets that Dada wore when he was a baby. And to make it real pretty, Amah strung gold balls in between. We wanted her to show off her bracelets to her grandparents and aunties and uncles back home so we did a photoshoot. Look at how graceful her hands are...


When she opened her eyes slightly to check out why we were all fussing around her, I told her to look at the camera and show her bracelet. Guess what she did! She looked at the camera and raised her left hand all by herself! No kidding! We were all so amazed! It's probably just a coincidence, but I would like to think she knew what she was doing! Hahaha!


June 24 not only marks Berry's first week in this world. It's also my Dada's birthday! So Happy Birthday Dad! From your Dychiao family!



I always use this photo of my Dada in my blog even though it's almost five years old and he retired from the AFP 4 years ago. My Dada has to be forced to give a huge smile in posed photos, but the Tatler folks got him to smile here. Heehee. And I am always proud of what he has accomplished considering his humble beginnings.

See, this was during his birthday at home, two years ago. (Funny story, check out the 8 candle, Conti's gave me a 0 instead of an 8 and to rectify the situation, I used ketchup to make it look like an 8! Clever huh?! Hahaha!)


So Dad, as my birthday gift to you, first there was me...


Now there's 3 who love you through and through! Harvey, Berry and me!