Sophie's Happy Day

Yesterday, Hubby took Caila to an event she won through Ejunior. Unfortunately, the invitation/prize was for 1 kid and 1 adult only. So just to help Sophie from feeling bad and left out, I told her I would take her to Sparky’s, Al Ghurair so that she could ice skate. She’s been wanting to go ice skating for a long time (the last time was August last year at The Galleria Ice Rink) so you can bet she was very excited.

Happy Emojis for Sophie's 5th Birthday

Ever since we received the news that Sophie was accepted in her big sister’s school, I immediately knew she would celebrate her next birthday there. And after speaking to her teacher during the Parents Orientation to make sure it was ok to have it on the date of her actual birthday, I set to work in planning and preparing.

ItadaKids Sushi and Maki Making Sessions

Even though Itadaki Japanese Restaurant is located all the way at Wasl Vita in Jumeirah, our family frequently dine there because we love their food and it’s our girls’ favourite place to eat. They have a wide selection on their menu, most of which are creative rolls of maki and sushi that are so tasty and delectable, you hardly need to dip them in sauce.

One day, we were informed that Itadaki would be having its own ItadaKids sushi and maki making sessions, so since we didn’t enroll Caila and Sophie in any activity this summer, we eagerly registered them for the first batch.

The Day I Gave Sophie a New ‘Do

Yesterday I did a very bold thing…something I have always left for others to do even though I had to pay them because I was scared I didn’t know how and my kids would hate me if I made a mistake. But yesterday, I decided to face my fear and just do it.

I cut my youngest’s hair...all by myself! ☺

Sophie's Last Minute Book Character Parade Costume

When it comes to resourcefulness and creativity, nothing brings out these qualities faster from a mother than her child who has an activity or requirement at school and there's no time or budget to go out and buy.

Yes, that's what happened to me when I read in my youngest's school diary that they were having a Book Character Parade the following week...and only remembering that she still didn't have a costume two days before the actual activity would take place.  Aacckk!

The Moment "Love You Forever" Became My Favorite Children's Book

One of Sophie's assignments at school is to have someone read to her regularly.  Earlier, like all the other nights, I told her to look for a book.  This time, though, she couldn't (or didn't want to) find one that she liked.  So looking through all the books we have, I pulled out one that I was sure she would enjoy.

Me:     This is a nice one! It's a very nice story and it was Ate Caila's favorite.
Caila:  No it's not!
Me:     It was when you were very small.  You even couldn't go to sleep without it.
Caila:  I don't remember. Can you read it to us?

A PJ Masks Birthday Party at Popeye's, Karama

We had originally planned for Sophie to have her 4th birthday at school. A simple one with a cake, cupcakes, and lootbags like her sister…nothing too fancy, just something to celebrate her special day. But because of the school’s rules, we opted to give her a party elsewhere instead.

And since it was almost last minute when we had to change our plans, naturally, all the popular fast food restaurants that had party halls were already booked for the date we were eyeing. It’s a good thing when I called Popeye’s in Karama, they were available on the date and time we wanted, so Hubby and I rushed over after work and paid Dhs200 as deposit to book them.

First Day of School Photos

By now, I’m pretty sure all of the schools in the UAE have started their new school year. How did your first day go, mommies?

For me, since my girls go to different schools (it’s a long story), I had two first days. Just like majority of the schools, my eldest’s first day was on the 28th of August. My youngest, on the other hand, started school on the 1st of September (although, in reality, her official first day was on the 4th of September).

Letter to Sophie for Her 3rd Birthday

Dear Sophie,

I know this is a bit late, but I couldn’t let any more time pass to share what happened on your birthday this year.

First off though, (belated) Happy Birthday! You’re 3 already! Wow! At this age, you’re already showing signs of becoming a future entertainer by singing, dancing, and talking non-stop. You also like to dress up, pose and ask me to take your picture. Your cute and funny ways are definitely one of the reasons why we find you adorable.

You’re growing independently so fast, anak. Most of the time, you want to do things by yourself: get food, eat, wear clothes, putting the seatbelt on, clean up any mess you made, and so many other things. It makes us so proud! Since you came out into this world, you made our lives more fun, entertaining, and crazy (in a good way); and we’re just so thankful at how wonderful our days are with you around.

sophie's rainbow birthday party (the actual party)

In an earlier post, I shared the things we did to make the party fit the theme. However, I wasn’t able to share how the party went. So, here goes…

Since ours was the first event of the day at Chowking, we had enough time to check the set-up and arrange the cakes and cupcakes. Guests began arriving at 10:15am, and by 11:30am, the Chowking host started the program. Sophie’s Ninong Eugz said the opening prayer, everyone sang Happy Birthday, and the games began immediately after.

For the first game, all the kids were each asked to say Happy Birthday Sophieeeeeeee for the longest time possible.

The next game was a team relay, again for the young kids, wherein they had to balance a small object on a spoon in their mouths.

What followed next was a trivia game where 2 teams (men vs. women) had to answer the most questions correctly. The questions were mostly about Sophie and our family; it was fun to know who really knew us and the birthday celebrant. Naturally, since all players were adults, the game was a riot. Puro asaran at kulitan.

with the winners

While waiting for the food buffet to be set-up, the walang kamatayang Bring Me game was played. However, I made sure the items that we asked for were not that common: an insurance card with dental coverage, key-ring with the most keys, mobile phone with the oldest sms, any object that started with the letter S, etc.

Finally, it was time for lunch and Mike Y., another of Sophie’s godfathers, lead the thanksgiving prayer.

During this time, Sophie had fallen asleep, so it was a good time for Hubby and me to eat and mingle with the guests.

When we noticed that most of the guests had had their fill, the host called for another game. This time the kids had to fix up their moms’ hair, and the mom who had the best-looking do (judged by the rest of the guests’ applause) was the winner.

After that game, everyone’s attention was on the birthday celebrant as we all sang Happy Birthday again, helped Sophie blow the candles, say a few words and wishes, and cut the cake.

all of us blowing the candle...except the birthday girl herself

Mama sharing her wishes for Sophie...and the little girl listening closely

Sophie may not be able to remember that day, but as they say, the first birthday is usually for the parents…and I definitely had a good time that day.

sophie's rainbow birthday party (details)

When I decided that Sophie would be having a rainbow-themed party for her first birthday, all I knew was that it would have be colourful, and this could easily be solved by balloons and decorations. As I browsed the internet, I was amazed at all the unique ideas I found to incorporate the actual rainbow theme (and not just colors). And so here are the things I did to make the party over the rainbow…

Her birthday this year fell on a Friday, and since it’s a weekend, I told Hubby that we needed to book the venue months in advance. With the number of friends we would be inviting, Chowking in Al Ghurair was the only choice we had. Their affordable packages (which already included the decorations, host, a few games and prizes) and the big hall sealed the deal for us. The variety of food in their selection were safe picks as well; at least we wouldn’t have to worry if any of our guests wouldn’t be able to stomach the food.

To make sure that the food buffet had a touch of the theme, I prepared the labels myself.  You can see a glimpse of one of the labels in the photo below.

For the cake and cupcakes, I already knew what I wanted them to look like; the only problem was who could actually do them. I sent pictures of the model cake and cupcakes to many cake-makers, but Tita Rina was the only one who assured me that she could actually do the challenging design. All communications were exchanged through messages on Facebook, and on the morning of the party, Hubby and Gabe went to her home to pick up our order, along with the cake stand Tita Rina lent us. The cupcakes looked exactly what I had in mind, but the cake really surpassed my expectations.

The layers were very thick and each color vibrant. A simple design, but perfectly unique just the same. I didn’t have to worry about the taste because they were all so delicious and moist. The layers of the rainbow cake were vanilla-flavored, and the cupcakes were either chocolate or red velvet. The added bonus was the price was very, very reasonable.

Instead of an ordinary guest-book or asking the guests to write messages or wishes on pieces of paper (which majority rarely do, based from experience), we asked them to make their mark on Sophie’s special day by putting their fingerprint on a framed A3 paper with their names. The simple white frame was bought from Ikea, and I got a pack of assorted colored stamp pads from Tchibo.

I’ve been to several events where PartyRock provided the photobooth, and although they’re generally ok, I wasn’t completely satisfied with their backdrops (the background paper where the celebrant’s pictures or event details are printed). So when I booked them for the party, I told them that I would print the backdrops myself. I have to say though, that their understanding and patience was excellent. I was only able to send them Sophie’s photos less than a week before the event. They sent me the sample layout for the photobooth prints a few days later, but it wasn’t until Thursday morning (the day before the party) that I was able to find time to look at it and give my comments. Several messages were exchanged with all sorts of changes I wanted done, until finally I received a layout that I was happy with. And when I apologized for my “kaartehan,” the reply I got was “It’s your right.” Oo nga naman.

PartyRock also supplied our candy buffet. Their original package included the chocolate fountain and 7 varieties of candies and jellies, but they agreed when I asked them to replace the chocolate fountain with 3 more candies. And although the buffet was colourful and pretty by itself, I couldn’t help but add a Candy Buffet poem from a co-n@wie and the internet.

I looked practically everywhere in Dubai for a colourful dress for the birthday girl, but I didn’t find anything that I liked. Then I realized that since everything else would be all sorts of colors, Sophie should stand out…in white. It was at a small stall in Dubai Festival City (sorry, I forgot the name) where I found the perfect white dress that had a pink belt and linings to match her pink shoes and white socks that we bought from Mothercare.

Finally, our attire.  Of course our family needed to be color-coordinated too, but again, it was practically impossible to find nice, decent clothes to fit the rainbow theme. It was only when I realized that if we included the rest of our family (Mama, Ate Ning and Gabe), we could still fit the theme if each of us wore a different colour of the rainbow.

rainbow family

And those are the small things we did to make Sophie's first birthday as colorful and rainbowy as possible.