Birthday Party Souvenirs

Yaya teased me the other day. She said that Belle's daddy escaped spending money for Belle's 2nd birthday last year, since we only celebrated it at home, and did not do anything fancy. I only bought some seafood at Seaside Market in Baclaran, and called my family to have dinner with us. Now, since Belle is enrolled in school, yaya said I cannot help but spend a bit for a school party. Most children have school parties nowadays, not like when I was younger, when birthdays were just "Happy birthday!" and just that. Now, moms like me have to buy souvenirs, a cake or cupcakes, drinks, and balloons. Some even bring clowns and entertainers to their kid's classroom.

I told yaya that I really don't want to make a big fuss over every birthday. Belle might grow up thinking birthday parties are a must, instead of a privilege. So I think I might just bake the cupcakes and the cake myself, and yaya volunteered to cook spaghetti. I'll just buy juice in tetra paks to complete the food. Most of the parties in school had food brought in from McDonald's or Jollibee, but I really dislike that kind of party. I think that kids are entitled to a happy birthday, not a birthday party per se. I said that we will have a bigger party when Belle turns 7 years old.
But of course not everyone shares my opinion. My friend is determined to give a birthday party for her sons every year until they turn 7. That's 14 parties in all! I'm helping her choose lootbags this year. I told her the fastfood giveaways and the stuff she can buy in Divisoria are so cheap-looking. I gave her the site where she can order classy-looking kids backpacks. That is the kind I want to order for Belle's 7th birthday party souvenirs.
I will have it personalized with each child's name. Cool huh?

Belle at Raleigh's Party

Pictures of Belle at the 1st birthday party of Raleigh yesterday.

inside the giant bubble

had a Minnie Mouse tattoo

having her nails done at the kiddie salon

(pardon the blurry shots)

Conflict in Schedule

We have a



on Oct 26.

We planned on attending the Trick or Treat at Rockwell Power Plant, but I just remembered we also have an invitation to a birthday party on that day. The Trick or Treat is supposed to last from 12 noon to 5pm, while the birthday party is scheduled for 3-7pm.

Guess we just have to look for another Trick or Treat event at another mall.

Happy Birthday Babes!

Happy Birthday to my hubby Willy!

Willy's Chinese Birthday

Willy's mom suddenly had the urge to celebrate Willy's chinese birthday this year. We don't normally celebrate our Chinese birthdays, since we follow the Gregorian calendar and the Chinese dates move every year. But she wanted a get-together so she called us to go to her house. She cooked birthday misua and I just bought a small cake from Red Ribbon.
After Belle's afternoon nap yesterday, we asked my brother to drive us to my in-law's house in Baclaran. Good thing he was going to Makati yesterday anyway, so it wasn't out of the way.

Ama, Atsi Kato, Atsi Irene, Daddy, and Belle

Our happy family

Belle eating cake

A Home-Style 2nd Birthday

My daughter celebrated her 2nd birthday 12 days ago. It was a simple dinner party here at our house. I bought fresh seafood and had them cooked at Seaside Market, 1 grandmother gave misua, the other gave sotanghon, so we had 2 noodle dishes! I borrowed a picnic table from my mother, had someone buy half a dozen balloons from the church, and with the birthday cake my dad gave us, we were all set!

birthday cake from grandpa

This cake gave us a laugh. My dad had the shop put in only his name, no thought for the rest of us.

birthday girl with grandma, with a mouthful of icing

with uncle Oliver, and cousin Nico in the background

with cousin Alex in the ball pit

We had a big bash for Belle's 1st birthday last year, in thanksgiving for the gift of our daughter, and for her health. You see, we have infertility problems, and we went to so many doctors in the past 6 years before she was conceived. We had many treatments, both western and traditional, but nothing worked. But at last here she was, our precious baby, Belle Lorraine.
After the party last year, Willy and I decided to keep birthday celebrations to a minimum. We don't want Belle to get used to having a big party every year. We want to mark birthday milestones with family gatherings, not necessarily big parties. That way, Belle will grow up knowing the importance of family and with an appreciation of all her blessings, big and small.

Birthday

We celebrated Belle's birthday last Friday with dinner at home. We invited family to our small party. My mom came, with my sister, my brother Oliver and nephew Llance, my brother Louie and sis-in-law Claire came with their boys Alex and Kyle. My cousins Roland and Lulu came with her kids Bianca and Nico. All in all, an intimate family get together.

Willy and I were worried that the dining table wouldn't be enough for all of us, so I borrowed my mom's outdoor picnic table and some chairs. I asked someone to buy half a dozen balloons from the church.
I asked my mom to accompany me to Seaside Market in Baclaran to help me pick out the freshest seafood. More in a later post.
Belle and Alex had fun in our small inflatable pool which yaya put plastic balls. But when Llance and Nico came, it was the big kids' turn to get in the ball pit. The babies just ran around and had fun.
Some food pics from the party.

Shrimp Tempura


Crabs in Chili Garlic Sauce
(this was the best-seller that night)

Pictures from Last Saturday

Pictures from my mom's birthday dinner last Saturday.

Standing: brother Oliver, SIL Claire, brother Louie, me, Willy.
Seated: nephew Llance, Ama, nephew Alex, sister Vanessa, Belle.
(note: hubby and I can't wear red because his dad passed away just last year)

My little family

Some kissing scenes

Willy and Jenny

Claire and Louie

Happy Birthday Mommy

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOM!

In a little while we will be preparing to go out. I'm not sure where we'll have her birthday dinner, but it will be a quiet celebration dinner.

Wishing and Hoping

I want this cookbook. I hope the hubby reads this post and remembers it for my birthday.

Sophie's birthday

We attended Sophia Paige's 3rd birthday last Sunday. It was a very simple party at her parents' house in Talayan Village. There was a pabitin and a pinata, and a pin the nose on Mickey Mouse game. We enjoyed the merienda fare catered by Golden Cape, especially the cupcakes. Belle finished half a cupcake! That's a lot for her, considering we don't usually give her sweet desserts. Only fruits like papaya and mangoes and pears.

How do you like my gift wrapping of Sophie's gift?

Look at this balloon Belle got. It was taller than her standing up. :)

Jan 2008 Birthday Celebration

Dinner last night at Annapolis Seafood Restaurant. It was a joint celebration of Joanne, Hans, and Stephen's birthdays. Happy birthday to our January celebrants! Present were, Hans and Dimples, Oliver and Joanne, Mark and Gwen, Roy and Val, Monching and Olie, Willy and I, and Stephen.

Note: Husbands were standing behind their wives, except for Stephen(in the green and purple stripe shirt), who's sweetie Gina was in her hometown of Bacolod. :)

Cake Tasting

Here is Belle having some cake during Yaya Lory's birthday last month. Sansrival cake is our favorite. Cashew and buttercream. YumYum!

Jacey's 7th birthday

Yesterday was Jacey's birthday party. Belle wore her new Guess blouse, a birthday gift from Tito Doy and Tita Angie, with her white leggings. Yaya also took out Belle's new Disney shoes, another birthday gift, but I forgot who gave it na. She looked so cute! I wore an old spaghetti top and jeans, with my new white Sketchers shoes.
The Lounge at Oasis, Aurora Blvd, was so-so as a venue. The aircon was good, but the ceiling was low, and there were some pillars in the middle of the room. Jacey had a Dancing Princess party theme, so Belle got a tiara. It kept falling down her head. They had clowns for the entertainment. The clowns had a hand-held puppet, and they said it would be a puppet show. But it was a ventriloquist act, really. A poor one too, since the clown only covered up his mouth with a microphone when he was speaking with the puppet voice. But the kids had a good time.
We were there at 11 am, the kiddie party had already started. Mom, me, Belle, Yaya Lory, Claire, Alex, and Rachel. Louie and Vanessa had to wait for Llance, so they were very late. So late in fact, that the guests were already leaving when they arrived. Good thing there was still lots of food.
After the party, we went to give a copy of the reservation receipt to Makati Parks and Garden, for Alex's birthday next year. It was the first time Mom saw the venue, and she said it was nice and cheap pa.
Then we went to Rockwell. We went inside True Value, where I saw a nice shoe rack. I may go back to get it. My shoes are all in their boxes and its really messy looking inside our storeroom.
We went around the Baker's Dozen pastry fair, and I had to restrain myself not to buy all the yummy goodies in sight. We went around tasting all the treats, but I really thought there would be more exhibitors. I don't know why I thought that, but there it is.
I almost forgot to get our pictures from The Picture Company! Our pictures were wonderful, as usual. Belle is really pretty, and her pics with her dad were the best ever. The foam board we ordered was great too. I asked them for a soft copy, or an email picture of it, so I can put it here on my blog. they said yes, they will email it to me. Yay!

What to wear? what to wear?

We have a 7th birthday party invitation on Sunday, Oct. 21. It's Jacy's birthday. Jacy is my brother Louie's godchild. It will be held at the Lounge, Oasis, Aurora Blvd, Sta Mesa. What is Belle and Mommy going to wear? Hmm...
In November, Daddy Willy is going to be godfather to his cousin's 3rd child, a son. We don't know the boy's name yet, the church, and the reception venue. Not even the date! But never mind that. What's Mommy and Belle going to wear? Hmm...

1st Birthday Party!

It rained yesterday Sept 23, the day of Belle's 1st birthday party. It was ok, since they say rain is a blessing on birthdays and weddings. Oddly enough, its also good NOT to get rain on party days. A major contradiction, if you ask me.

We got to Phil Stock Exchange (Tektite Towers) at 2:20pm. Our party was supposed to start at 2:30, and there were already several people waiting for us. How embarrassing to be the hosts and be late to your own party.

Jhoanne, our super party coordinator, was doing the final touches to the party. The emcee Dennis and the balloon twister was already there. The puppet show was set up. The buffet, lechon, and snack carts were ready. All was in readiness.

The guests started to arrive. We had planned for 150 guests and 40 kids. But Willy decided to add 2 additional table set ups for overflow. It was the right decision. I don't know our final headcount, but the 17 tables were just enough for our guests. Some of the guests left early and their places were quickly taken by the late arriving guests.

Willy and I greeted the guests. All of them exclaimed how cute Belle was and how she had grown. Yaya Lory even said guests were saying how cute Belle was without knowing she was the celebrant. Syempre, lahi namin ni Willy yan. LOL

The program started at around 3:30. The games were quite good. The puppet show was super enjoyed by the kids and adults alike. Frankie, the hubby of Belen and father of twins Frances and Maxine, sought me out to say that it was very unique. A lot of the guests were asking how we found the auditorium of Tektite to be our venue. Belle's Ninong Monching said our rental for it was very low, and it compared favorably to a ballroom in a fancy hotel. I was glad we made the right choice of venue.

Verleo catering was ok. We expected their food to be good, since they have good reviews and we had already tasted their food at another party. The only thing I didn't notice at the start was that their halohalo station was at the side, it wasn't very noticable, so we had a lot of halohalo leftovers to take home.

Elars lechon was demolished. The only things left were the head and bones.

The snack carts
The mini pizza cart ran out even before the party started! The pizza guy reported that some of the guests took 2 or 3 pizzas at a time. No wonder he ran out of pizzas! I ordered pizzas for 100. But thats ok, since sayang naman if d naubos.
The chocolate fountain was enjoyed by all. My sister Vanessa especially enjoyed dipping the grapes. Even Belle liked the Rosquillos biscuits, though Yaya Lory didn't put any chocolate on her biscuit. We took home some leftover biscuits and sliced apples.
The native taho was almost finished too. Only 1 handspan worth of taho was left in his buckets.
Kettle Korn was also very popular. We caught some guests taking 3 bags to take home pa!
The glitter tatoo/face painting was the best of all! She had a long, never-ending line, and the designs she created simply blew us away. Belle's Ninang Joanne, mom of Lia and Nik, lamented the fact that it was a Sunday, the designs had to be washed off for school the next day. Vanessa even said that if she knew adults could have their face painted, she would have been the first in line.

All in all, it was a blast! Super thanks to our wonder girl party coordinator, Jhoanne Paris Henson-Alon. She did the party from the ground up, helping me with my Baby Einstein concept, finding the venue for us, contacting the caterer and the snack carts, the emcee and the puppet show, the invites and the balloon decor, the pinata and the lootbags. I wasn't stressed out at any time because I had her. I highly recommend her services. I would get her services again, only Willy and I decided not to have another big party until Belle's 7th birthday.

Belle's Birthday!

We celebrated Belle's birthday in 2 ways. My MIL came here to our house and made offerings to the chinese gods. She bought assorted meats, fruits, and sweets to offer. She folded and burned paper money. The whole house smelled of incense as she lighted a lot of them inside our bedroom, in the living room, and outside the house where she also burned the paper money. The people who live in the 5th floor of our apartment building wondered about the smoke. Seems they thought there was a fire!
Claire brought Alex over for a playdate. The 2 cousins stared at eacr other and reached out to each other. But since they're still babies, they might have hurt each other if we didn't catch their quick little hands. Louie came over after he closed the hardware store.
We all walked together to my mom's house on the next corner for our dinner celebration. We bought chicken and pansit bihon. After dinner, we all sang happy birthday to Belle. All in all, a nice family celebration.