TOPAZ HORIZON

Last week, Vince and I suddenly decided to hie off to Sofitel and escape the terrible heat. We were looking forward to the super sink-in-heaven king bed, the amazing cuisine, and the fantastic pool. The one thing I wasn't looking forward to was the cost (haha). Sofitel's one of the priciest hotels in the city but Vince told me it was his anniversary gift to us so I should stop looking at the cost (which always takes away my enjoyment!) and just scratch the credit card (and whenever my hubby says that, he gets sexier haha!).

We were also anticipating Vito's enjoyment. Last time our son was in the pool was at Shangri-la Mactan (a very hard act to follow) and he seemed to love the pool then so we were hoping for another happy excursion. Well, we were not mistaken! Just lookit that face!

Here's Vito stripped down to his board shorts. He likes trying out his words so here he's saying, "Wa-ker." That's his word for water. He totally loved splashing about the toddler pool. Poor Vince had to stay in the toddler pool, too!

The pool wasn't enough for our Vito. He just had to run around everywhere. He was in full explorer mode. Never mind that the ground was hot--he just sprinted over it even if Vince kept running and I waddled after him, concerned about his baby feet.

Here we are exploring while Vince enjoyed a really cold Pale Pilsen (he does not believe in light beers) by the pool. I'm pointing out the helicopters flying overhead at regular intervals. Can anyone tell me why there are so many helicopters flying by this part of the bay?

I had planned on dipping in the pool myself, but since our decision was so sudden, I didn't have time to buy a maternity swimsuit. I figured my bikinis would do but, oh my, I'm so huge now (I'm 9 months pregnant!) that the cloth triangles just couldn't contain me. I was a wardrobe malfunction waiting to happen! So I hid my blue bikini under my coral dress and just waded. The cool water was awfully tempting, though!

After our afternoon swim, we retired to our cold room (ah, sweet relief!). We ordered room service because we love room service! Oh, and because we had Vito, a.k.a. the Tasmanian devil, around so a peaceful romantic dinner was never going to be possible.

Vince had lamb chops with mashed potatoes, buttered vegetables and an extra side of potato gratin. I had a bowl of Korean something. It was very good. Vito and I shared the bowl and we still weren't able to finish it--that's how large the serving is!

Sofitel also sent us a surprise! Our own anniversary cake! This cake is pure chocolate delight. Vince, Vito and I enjoyed our surprise dessert. Thanks, Sofitel!

Time for bed! Vito stayed up waaaaaay past his bedtime, so excited was he. But soon, finally, he dozed off. Vince and I had been planning to get romantic--well, no more sex this late in the game so just cuddles!--but we were so tired from our swim and Vito-chasing that we just lazed about in bed. Sofitel's beds are soooo comfortable. The best hotel beds ever. Except that since my body is so heavy now, I had little panic attacks--I felt like I was sinking too much!

Another thing that prevented me from sleeping was the event at the tent outside (Sofitel has two huge tents). OMG. For what felt like forever, the performers at said event just blared away singing. The speakers were on full blast so that it felt like the singers were standing on our balcony. With megaphones. But finally, the event finished and Vince and I slipped into blissful sleep.

The next day was buffet breakfast! Too bad the famous Spiral restaurant was closed for a major renovation. It was devastated by Typhoon Pedring late last year, so we all had to line up at Le Bar. The food's still amazing, of course, but Le Bar is like a fourth in size as Spiral so the line was long. And I'm the kind of person who gets pressured by lots of people waiting so I scarfed down my breakfast. It would've been nice to just sit back and savor my coffee.

Anyway, after Vito's morning nap, off to the pool we went again!

Vito's wearing a special diaper meant for swimming. If you want to win one for your kid, click here!

So there! We had a wonderful time. Well, we were beyond exhausted, too. It's hard to have a super active toddler tagging along. I don't even know why Vince and I thought we'd have some time alone to celebrate our fifth anniversary. So it's a good thing we already had some special time on the day itself. But we don't regret anything--Vito may have been the focus of our little getaway that was supposed to be our mini-honeymoon but he was also the big reason why we had so much fun. It's nice to be a family. It really truly is.