Wordless Wednesday #105 | Big Baby Girl.

On Maggie:
Minnie Mouse tee and sneakers from the Disney Store,
shorts from Just Tees.

Christmas is the Best Time to be the First Grandchild.

There's a distinct privilege to being the first grandchild in the family. I know that for a fact, because I'm a first grandchild myself.

For one, you almost always get anything you want. As a child, I practically got almost everything that any little girl would desire - pretty dresses, fancy hairclips, Barbie dolls, and all the latest toys featured on Uncle Bob's Lucky Seven Club. (If you're a kid of the 80's I'm sure you know what this is. LOL.)

Another thing, you always get brand-new stuff. I never got hand-me-downs or second-hand anything since there's no one ahead of me.

Also, you get everybody's undivided attention - unless you're born with a twin, that is. And since I don't have one, I once enjoyed being the star of my Mum's household.

I was lucky enough to have a (late) grandfather who used to work abroad. He showered me with all things wonderful, as I was the apple of his eye. And I have a stage lola for a grandmother. She enrolled me in practically all summer workshops available during my time. And made me join all sorts of contests and kiddie pageants to boot. She's Anabelle Rama and Lolit Solis all rolled into one. Haha!

This same privilege that I basked in some xx years back is the same privilege that my son is enjoying right now. Not only is he my Mum's first grandchild, he also happens to be my Grandmum's first great grandchild. Just imagine how pampered and doted upon my little man is in this side of the family.

To give you an idea, here's his Christmas loot. And all that came from just my Mum, my brother, my sister, and my cousins from London.

The only thing that came from his Dad and I is that Cars pillow, which is a last-minute substitute because our real Christmas present got stuck somewhere in the Bureau of Customs. Bah, humbug.

He had too many presents under the Christmas tree that it took us until 3am to open them all. Yes, we have the traditional Noche Buena (midnight dinner) here - glazed ham and all. And this was my most favorite photo of Yue from that night.

That's the reaction you get when a child loves the present he got.

Eyes widening in delight when he saw those three familiar letters. Written on the shirt and pants set that he got from my Mum were G-A-P. Haha! This kid knows brand names already, thanks to his Lola Mama.

The little man still has a few more presents on their way, aside from the ones that got stranded. They're from his godparents who never forget to send Yue their love. (I have the most amazing friends, you know.) I have a feeling those presents will elicit the same response from John Cena's number one fan. That's a dead giveaway as to what gifts are coming.

How was your Christmas? I hope you (or your kids) had an eye-widening, jaw-dropping gift-opening moment, too. Cheers to the Holidays!

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Byzmo Win, and another Onitsuka Tiger.

Last May, Byzmo, one of my favorite online stores, turned two. In celebration of its anniversary, the store opened its very own Facebook page where a contest and a raffle was also held.

The mechanics were pretty simple. For the contest, all you have to do is post a photo of your Byzmo-bought products. The picture with the most 'likes' wins. For the raffle, submit a testimonial for Byzmo and whoever gets picked by via random draw wins.

The prize? Two $50 gift cards - one for the photo contest and one for the raffle draw. These gift cards can be used to buy items from any of the US pre-order sites frequented by Byzmo.

I've been a regular costumer for about a year, so I sent Jaimee (the woman behind Byzmo) this photo of my son. I included a small description of this photo, which served as its caption. It read: Bought a surprise gift courtesy of Byzmo. Yue's Perry the Platypus is the envy of many. :)

Since I did this out of goodwill for Jaimee, I didn't bother rallying for likes from Facebook friends. For me, it was returning her the favor for the trust and accommodation that she has given all this time. On top of that, I've never really had much luck with raffles and contests. Remember those Red Cross raffle tickets from grade school? I never won in any of them. Not even a consolation prize. And those raffle draws during company Christmas parties? Zilch. The most that I have won from those was a not-so-expensive pressure cooker. TV set? DVD player? Never.

So imagine my surprise when Jaimee broke the news in her Facebook wall. My name got picked in the raffle! I won a $50 gift card! I knew right away where to spend my prize - Zappos! Here's what I got:

Onitsuka Tiger California 78, baby! Another one to add to my collection!  I've fallen in love with them since my first Mexico 66. My feet are most comfortable when I'm wearing OTs. :)

These shoes are beyond cool. It's low-profile design and super sleekness adds even more to its charm. And yes, they're authentic. Check the tag. It's like a mini-booklet, and it's tied with a rope. The counterfeits use plastic safety tags instead of the woven rope. They don't have the mini-booklet as well.

This win from Byzmo has definitely ignited my fire. Now I join blog contests and giveaways, with hopes that I'll get lucky again. And luck has indeed been very good to me, as I won in another online giveaway a few days ago. But let's save that for another entry.

To sum it up, my hats off to Byzmo, my heartfelt thanks to Jaimee, and... my Onitsuka Tigers rock! ;)

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