Next, we checked in on our photographer’s schedule and booked her right away.  Once those two very important items were secured, I relaxed a bit and took my time planning the rest of the party.

Sunday, May 30th, dawned bright and clear — a preview of lots of good things to come.  We spent the morning doing backbreaking work at the clubhouse setting up for the party.  By quarter to 3, everyone gathered at St. Rita Catholic Church in Wellington for Baby’s Corrine’s christening.

It was a brief yet touching ceremony — even Mommy Coy cried during the short sermon.

A beautiful baby made pure by the sacrament and welcomed warmly into God’s community surrounded by her family and friends.  What an awesome blessing!

After the ceremony, we trooped straight to the clubhouse!

Theme: Barney goes to the Beach!

Joshua was crazy in love with Barney for a while and watched his DVDs over and over again.  Plus, his favorite color was PURPLE!:)  And thirdly, it wasn’t too boyish of a theme to share with little Erin.

Since the party was held during the Memorial holiday which usually heralds the beginning of summer (our favorite season by the way!), we decided to add a beach theme.  This made things more fun and gave us additional options for decor, giveaways, etc.

You’re invited!

If I could work with Melisse with every single party that we throw for our boys, I definitely would.  She is such a joy really and her work is undeniably superb.  Just look at these layouts of the save the date and invitation. 

We also printed out address labels and thank you stickers based on the layout she created.

Keepsakes

Josh’s party favors were purple, green and yellow pails with shovels filled with the essentials of summer — floaters, sunglasses, sand molds, beach balls and other goodies.   And in line with our theme, Erin’s souvenirs were miniature beach chair photo frames (which I was told can double as cell phone holders).

Deck the halls

We used the colors of Barney & Friends to dress up the town hall. 

The centerpieces were miniature beach scenes — sand and shells, hand-sown beach mats, beach balls, mini-pools.  I scoured craft stores, even pet scores to find all the supplies.   The end result was just as I envisioned.:)
  

We put inflatables all throughout the party hall.  The kids especially enjoyed playing with the mini beach balls.

The Feast

As always, Lola took care of what she does best — the food!  We had 3 different kinds of noodles, assorted meat, chicken and fish dishes and a whole lechon to celebrate the occasion.  The deserts were overflowing too!  A special thank you to the Daorerk family for helping us.

We prayed for more blessings for Joshua and as soon as Topher was done with his welcome remarks, the guests proceeded to the buffet table. 

While the guests were enjoying the feast, we trooped outside to take pictures.

Photographs and Memories

It is all we have left after the fun has come and gone so it was very important for us to have beautiful photos.  We’ve known Stacy of Just to see you smile photography for close to 5 years and she has never let us down.  She once again gifted us with priceless memories of that fun, fun day! 
 
 
 
  
 

She also took amazing pictures of our friends and family.
  
 
 
 
 
 
 

That’s Entertainment

Joshua loves mascots so I had to make sure that Barney showed up at his birthday party.  And it wasn’t easy to find Barney because he is not that popular anymore.  Luckily, I chanced upon and ad by M&S parties as I was browsing through a parenting magazine.

They drove all the way from Miami (at no additional charge) and their package included a bubble machine and a clown host who led the kids to dancing and games.

The kids squealed as soon as they saw Barney.  They hugged him, they touched his tummy, gave him high and low fives.  It was so much fun to watch! 

There was a lot of singing and dancing, plus they also played a few games, including the pinata.

Barney also led the kids in singing the birthday song.

Sweet tooth

We had two cakes — a Barney-themed ube cake and a beach-themed mango cake.  Both were absolutely delectable!

Having Barney at our party was a treat — and these photos of the kids and the birthday boy are just precious.  It made all the hassle (and cost) worth it!

Let the games begin

As soon as everyone had their fill of cake, the kids proceeded to play more games.  The musical chairs game (a.k.a. trip to Jerusalem) kept everyone on the edge of their seats (no pun intended).

Another crowd favorite is the pabitin.  I think more adults than kids joined in this game.:)

The kids had a blast!  Our boys had a blast!

Happy birthday to our one and only Joshy boy!!!  Papa, Mama and Kuya Topher love you very, very much!

Epilogue

We love throwing parties and we will have celebrations for our children for as long as they want to have them.  It is something I look forward to twice a year — now maybe three times a year, with the addition of our little Princess into the family. 

Our boys are at the age now that they look forward to this too.  In fact, Topher wants me to start planning his 5th birthday.  He already has a theme in mind.  And he came up with the wording on his invitation all on his own.  He wants it to say:

Splash the day away…
Topher is turning 5 today!

He really is his mother’s son — we both have the party bug!:)  And we hope you never get tired of joining us for our celebrations!

As soon as we arrived at Lolo and Lola’s, the boys greeted all the dads, a happy father’s day.  While waiting for the food, Joshua played with his favorite cousin.

Brunch consisted of bangus, bacon, hotdogs, eggs and sinangag. 

After the meal, it was time to give our gifts to the wonderful men in our family. 

We took a walk around the village afterwards.  Kuya Topher has been very helpful — he always insists on pushing Josh’s stroller. 

He got hot and tired after but we swam the afternoon away before putting the boys down for a nap.

That evening, we attended a going away party for Andrea.  She will be attending college in Gainesville.  The fathers were honored there as well.

Everyday should be father’s day, don’t you think?:)

At the station, Topher and Josh met Natalie and Zach, brother and sister from Naples who were visiting their grandparents.  They were also on a “field trip” because apparently, they are also train fanatics.

When we boarded, Joshua made sure he sat right next to Natalie.

Chris and I were sitting right behind them.  I was trying to join in on their conversation so I stuck my head in between the seats — and my litte 3 year old, pushed me away saying “No Mama!”  Our little playboy!:)

Topher sat with Zach in another row and he pretty much monopolized the conversation with a couple also with their kids on the train (a lot of folks on field trips that Saturday morning).  The man had wanted to take a nap, but with Topher sitting in front of them talking nonstop, his plans were thrown out the window.:)

I wonder if the boys will ever get tired of trains?:)  Maybe never, if they meet cute ladies on board.:)

The birthday girl is starting to appreciate the perks of having her birthday every month — she seems to be fascinated with balloons and wouldn’t let go of hers.:)

As usual, her Kuyas were as boisterous as ever!  Pretty soon, Erin will be big enough to want to blow out the candles on her own.  But until then, the boys will be more than happy to do it for her.:)

After the hearty meal, it was time to do some Pilates!:) But I think they laughed more than they exercised.:)

Fun evening as usual.  Happy monthsary Princess!

It was a big day for our family as Courtney celebrated her 18th birthday!  Relatives from California arrived and it was a sweet reunion.

On that Saturday morning, we decided to have breakfast by the beach first.

And in the evening, it was time for the main event — Courtney’s Grecian debut!

It was such a fun evening — the kids danced even to the music from the slideshow presentations.:)

The traditions followed –

And special presentations…

 
Then it was time for dancing — it seemed like everyone was on the dance floor! 

Topher strutted his stuff!  So proud of my boy!:)



It was an awesome celebration!  Congratulations Courtney and happy birthday!!!

We started the morning with brunch at our favorite diner!

We asked Josh where he wanted to go next and it really wasn’t a surprise when he told us he wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese.  But on the way, we stopped by Pinewoods park first!

Then it was time to heed the birthday boy’s request — so off to Chuck E. Cheese! 

And of course the mom and the dad both jostled for playing time, LOL. 

Chuck E. Cheese is really the place where a kid (and their parents) can be a kid.:)

We sort of lost tract of time so we were a few minutes late for the boys’ dental appointment that afternoon (bad!).  It was Joshy boy’s first time and he made us so proud — very cooperative, minimal crying,  no kicking or screaming.  Super brave talaga!  Kuya Topher also made our hearts swell with pride too!  Aaaahhh, even dental visits are simple joys for us parents!:)

The boys napped in the car and before our party at home, they played at our village playground with their Tita KM.  Where do they get their energy??!!

Then family gathered at our home for a party!  The boys were excited — balloons, gifts, yummy food — who wouldn’t be? 

Baby Erin was there to celebrate with her Kuyas — so adorable!

And everyone’s favorite — cake time!

After stuffing ourselves, it was time to get pointers from our family therapist, Lola Sally, on how to improve flexibility.   And yes, the boys still had energy to spare.:)

Jampacked day for sure!  But our birthday boy was all smiles — and that’s all that matters.

Everything conspired so that I could get off work early that Friday afternoon — except for that letter I opened just before Chris came to pick me up.  Would rather not remember the details of that letter — but needless to say, I had to call the police to do a safety check.

Anyhoo, we left our house at around 6PM and spent the night in Key Largo.  The following morning, we were supposed to ride the glass bottom boat at John Pennecamp but the winds were too strong so the trip was cancelled.  We decided to drive directly to Key West.

The route was so scenic — we were in awe.
 

The song playing on the radio was so appropriate!

The first thing on our itinerary was to ride the conch tour train.  The address we had turned out to be for the roundhouse, not the actual train station — but even this routing boo-boo was fun for the kids as they saw trains being repaired, cleaned, etc.

We bought tickets to the train and enjoyed the ride.  It was quite breezy so the boys eventually fell asleep.  The entire tour was about an hour and a half and it gave us a good glimpse of the city and its history.

 
 
 

Did you know that Key West does not have its own sand?  Listen to our tour guide to find out where the sand on Key West beaches come from…

After the ride, we had lunch at Chees Burger.  No seafood for us (Topher is allergic)– but fortunately, the food at this Key west resto is divine!  Yum!  We burned off some of the calories by walking down Duval Street.

We also had tickets to the Key West Aquarium — it didn’t look like much on the outside… but it was teeming with marine wildlife on the inside.

We attended a shark feeding and the boys were even able to touch a baby shark’s tail!

And not only that, they even got to hold a baby gator!

What an experience!

There was more to see and do, including a touch tank which the kids enjoyed!

After that, we cooled off the rest of the warm afternoon with the boys’ favorite — strawberry ice cream.

We l-o-v-e the city of Key West — it has a laid back feel to it — simple things, simple joys.

Our scheduled sunset glass bottom tour was again cancelled due to small craft advisory warnings so we decided to attend mass instead, at Mary, Queen of the Sea parish.  After that, we hit the beach — in time for sunset.

The boys even went to the nearby playground as soon as they were dry enough to walk there, but I was so tired by that time to take pictures.:)

We crashed into our hotel as you can imagine — thankfully, it had a restaurant adjacent to the lobby so we were still able to have a filling dinner, even in our PJs.:)

After a hearty breakfast at that same joint the following morning, we set out on a joyride around town to take pictures of various historic landmarks around the city.

Southernmost point, Mile 0, Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum, Fort Zachary Taylor State Park, Little White House…

Here are the boys singing one of their favorite tunes while cruising down Duval St.

We headed north after lunch.  On the way back, Papa just happened to notice the sign for Theater of the Sea in Islamorada (we were actually looking for it and missed it on our way to Key West) and made a quick detour. And boy, were we very happy that he did!

We started our Theater of the Sea experience with an amusing parrot show that included an adorable parakeet that could count and do simple arithmetic.

Then it was on to the popular dolphin show — a real crowd pleaser.

Topher volunteered to have a close encounter with the dolphin.  He was supposed to be kissed but he decided he just wanted to “pet” the friendly creature instead.

We then moved on to the sea lion show. 

When the host asked for volunteers, the boys’ hands immediately went up in the air and both of them were picked.  Josh wanted to be kissed, whiskers and all; while Topher stayed a safe distance and shaked hands with the sea lion’s flipper.

The last part was a bottomless boat tour around the lake.  The dolphins swam in and out of the boat’s middle entertaining the passengers with their stunts and tricks.  Really cool.:)

After the ride, we spent some time walking around the park — we were amazed to see several giant sea turtles swimming in the lagoons.

Truly, an unforgettable experience for the boys and for all of us!  It capped our weekend getaway to the Keys perfectly!

They boys definitely want to go back to the islands… so the mommy is planning a return trip in the near future!:)

Happy birthday Joshy boy!  We love you very much!

While waiting, the boys got their “free” haircut. 

Then they let off some steam at the pool.  The sizzling 95 degree SPF weather did not stop them –they had so much fun!
  
 

Finally, the mouth-watering food arrived.  Ninong and Ninang ordered a few dishes too so there was quite a spread!

The kids ate poolside.:)

After lunch, they took their naps that extended into the early evening hours –they were pooped!   After dinner, they had langka and avocado ice cream.  Holiday talaga!

It was such a great day for us moms — even if it turned out to be all about the kids.  Because that’s what we’re here for anyway, right?  They are our purpose and our calling — and they make every single day worthy to be called Mother’s Day!