*this has been sitting in my drafts for more than a month. i made it a point to finish it today because tomorrow would be too late (literally! hahaha)*
Whenever I'm in front of the laptop, Haley would show up beside me saying "san betdey ko Ate Em?". It's her way of telling me to play a video clip of her second birthday party for the nth time. I get pissed sometimes but when I see her scream out of happiness watching it, the irritation vanishes into thin air and is replaced by that overwhelming feeling of joy and pride that I was able to give her the celebration that she wants. Call me stage sister but I wouldn't exchange that moment for the world ^_^
Now allow me to share how it turned out :)
The original plan for her 2nd birthday is to just celebrate it at home: mom and titas would cook food, kids from the neighborhood would come over for some games and loots -- mostly DIY stuff. But since the little girl, whenever asked where her party will be, says it's gonna be at Jollibee, I made both ends meet to give it to her. And I am so glad I did! Here's why:
I'm working on a limited budget so I chose to have a small affair, with only family and close friends invited. Funny because there were more adults than kiddos! And since we're not a fan of moving birthdays to a different date and most of the guests have day jobs and her Ates have school, it was set for dinner. Not your average children's party, eh?
There were only a handful of kids, most of them between 2 and 5 years, that's why they enjoyed every single part of it! Unlike other parties where they are outnumbered by their ates and kuyas, this time they're the stars of the show. They joined the games, won a lot of prizes and had a jolly good time.
Obedient little girl.
They we're asked to close their eyes while the hosts hid their shoes for the game.
Of course the adults had fun too! They even made fun of me in this game called Maximum to Minimum. It was a team game wherein members have to arrange themselves based on different criteria. For example, the host says "Maximum to minimum - arrange yourselves according to age", it's going to be oldest to youngest. My team was leading, 2-0, and during the third round the instruction is minimum to maximum according to face value. I got a big ego so yeah, I insisted I should be at the back of the line. Guess what, we lost! Meanwhile on the fourth round, it was max to min based on waist line and all of them was shouting that I should be in front! I hate them to the bones! Hahaha. But we won, so it's all good. :)
This is what I look like while everyone's laughing at me.
You nasty people! Hahaha.
Haley was having the time of her life – running around, posing for pictures, joining her little friends in the games – until her special guest came...
Yeah, she's scared of Jollibee! We asked her everyday for weeks before her big day and she consistently said she won't be afraid anymore but there she was, trembling and holding on tight to whoever carries her whenever the mascot is near. Hahahaha. But in fairness, she handled her fear pretty well because she still managed to smile for group pictures.
And then came the obligatory candle blowing, which she didn't enjoy much on the spot because she's still conscious about Jollibee being at her back. Good thing I had the presence of mind (despite being the busy bee) that I was able to capture it in video. Now she relives her moment every single day and she has the same excitement as the first time she saw it. Mind you, it's on repeat pa!
Afterwards she opened a few gifts. She actually got Nonong Jhay's presents (a Jollibee stuffed toy and a bracelet) the moment she woke up. She loved the toy so much that she carried it around the entire day and it's very thoughtful of her two friends to give her Twirlie and Hetty during her party. Now Jollibee has playmates and Haley couldn't be happier!
In a few minutes it was time for wrap up. We conveyed our birthday wishes for Haley then said our thank yous to everyone who came. It was indeed a small party but Haley's memories of it was greater than we've ever imagined.
