Sabre's 7th birthday photoshoot

Sabre turned 7 years old last week and we all know this is a big milestone in any child's life. We didn't have a big party and just chose to go to Hong Kong for a family vacation. He did have a small pool party though so he could still celebrate with a few friends.

A 7th Birthday Pool Party

For my son Sabre's 7th birthday, we just decided to go to Hong Kong for a family vacation instead of having a big party. However, he said he still wanted to celebrate with his friends so we just threw him a small pool party right after we got back from our trip.

A Pineapple & Flamingo Party!

My eldest turned 8 years old a few days ago and I really can't believe how time has flown!

All Aboard! A Train Themed Birthday Party

Skyler is now 4 years old, and as you all know, I love doing different themes for my kids' birthdays every year. Even if it's just a simple set-up at home, I still want it to be special so they'll have nice photos to look back on when they grow up.

Long weekend staycations

I haven't been blogging lately since I've just been enjoying time with the fam, especially with all these long weekends. We love going on staycations and I made sure to take advantage of all these rainy day promos the different hotels have been offering.

Celebrating my birthday at Disneyland!

I'm now officially in my mid-thirties! Usually I don't even celebrate my birthday, but this year hubby decided we should go to Hong Kong and spend it at Disneyland. :)

Smart Parenting feature

Check out Smart Parenting online where I was featured as one of 4 Pinay Moms who Share Useful Tips for Their Pre-Birthday Shoots.

I already posted about my daughter's 7th birthday shoot before, so you can click HERE to see more photos from that day by Mhel Mesa Photography. And if you want to read the whole article, head on over to SmartParenting.com.ph. :)

A LEGO Birthday Party

My little boy Sabre is now 6 years old and he wanted to have a Lego themed party this time around.

A 7th Birthday Photoshoot

For my daughter's 7th birthday, I knew I definitely wanted her to have a photoshoot to capture that time in her life. She had a small party in McDonald's but I didn't hire a photographer anymore for that day since I was just the one who took the photos. I figured I'll just spend for her pre-birthday shoot since that's where I wanted the photos to look extra nice.

An Under the Sea Mermaid Party (plus supplier ratings)

I have a love hate relationship with planning and throwing parties. I love the whole creative process of putting together a theme, searching online for pegs and inspiration, and doing DIY projects. But what I hate sometimes is looking for suppliers and trying to stay on budget, without sacrificing the look you envision. Plus, hoping those suppliers deliver without leaving you disappointed.

Anyway, my brother-in-law and his family visited the Philippines last year, and part of their trip was celebrating the 2nd birthday of their daughter here in Manila. It would be the first time most of the family would get to meet Avianna, so her mom wanted to throw a big party. Of course, since they were in the States, I was the one tasked to plan and organize everything here. I was actually excited to do it since it would be like throwing a party without having to pay for anything haha! Ganon pala ang feeling ng party planner? ;p But I still felt pressured because I hoped my sister-in-law would like the suppliers I chose and everything.

Her mom wanted an Under the Sea Mermaid theme and she sent me pegs of the look she wanted and also her budget which was about P100,000. In the end, everyone had a great time at the party and my sister-in-law was happy with how it turned out. I did have some issues with some suppliers though, so I'll just share the pros and cons of each below. Take note that this was last year though, so prices and packages may have increased or changed already as of this time.

DIY Tissue Paper Flowers

Remember my daughter's birthday party in McDonald's? Well, I mentioned in that post how they already have existing party decors but I still wanted to add a little something. My husband was saying I was just making my life more difficult haha! But come on, DIY makes me happy! If I could have decorated the whole McDonald's, I think I would lol. Since my daughter's theme was rainbow colors, I decided to make these paper flowers as centerpieces for the tables.

A 7th Birthday Party in McDonald's

To be honest, I already had visions of my daughter's 7th birthday party when she was still a baby, since it is a big deal here in the Philippines. I mean, I remember my 7th birthday was held in Manila Polo Club and my mom even got Lou Hilario as the magician. Well, I had dreams of throwing my own daughter a fashion themed party (with a runway) and going all out with decorations and stuff. But as the years went by, I realized that spending hundreds of thousands of pesos for a few hours just isn't worth it for me anymore. I believe you can create memories even with a simple celebration. Pero if you have the budget, go for it haha! But seriously, I think more parents are choosing to be practical nowadays and just going on a family trip or something. And when I asked my daughter about it, I was surprised when she said she would rather get her own room than have a party!

See, she currently shares a room with her brother, but of course we knew they would need their own space when they got older. So we figured it would really be the perfect gift for her. Instead of spending all that money for a party, we would just use the budget to fix up one one the rooms in the house. Plus, she really wanted a loft bed too. We already ordered one and I can't wait to see everything set up!

Anyway, I still wanted her to have a party since she wanted to celebrate with her friends and classmates. So we chose to just have it at McDonald's! Besides, I think everyone should have a McDo party at least once in their lives right? :)

Rainbow Art Party Loot Bags

Miley turns 7!

Oh my, I'm getting all emotional since I can't believe our firstborn and only daughter is now 7 years old. How time flies...

A Race Car Party: Skyler's 3rd birthday

Skyler, our youngest, is now 3 years old! It was easy to think of his birthday theme since he absolutely loves cars for quite some time now.

Birthday staycation at Crimson Hotel

My son Sabre turned 5 a few weeks ago, and all he wanted for his birthday was a staycation at Crimson Hotel. I actually wanted to try another hotel since we've already stayed in Crimson twice in the past (you can read about it HERE and HERE). But my in-laws went ahead and booked a stay for all of us as their gift to Sabre! Yey! :)

A Star Wars Birthday Party

Happy 5th Birthday to our dear Sabre! Since his birthday falls in April, he wasn't able to celebrate with his classmates last year. So he's been bugging me for the longest time that he wanted to have a party in school this year. We actually threw his party in early March, before their moving up day, so it was a super advanced celebration. ;p

DIY Owl Loot Bags

For Miley's OWLentine party, I made these super cute loot bags to fit the theme. Read on for the easy tutorial.

A Happy OWLentine's Birthday

It's getting harder and harder for us to pick a birthday theme for my daughter as she grows older. First it was Wonder Pets. Then she wanted a colorful art party. Then My Little Pony. Then Sleeping Beauty. Then she wanted mermaids! I was getting so confused until finally, we both decided on an owl theme (we have a love affair with owls ever since she was a baby). Then she said she wanted it to be an OWLentine party (she coined that term herself ha!) since her birthday was close to Valentine's Day.

A BabyTV Birthday Party

Our youngest is now 2 years old! I've been so sentimental the days leading up to his birthday because I can't believe how fast time flew by. I still remember giving birth to him so vividly and how he was so small in my arms. I don't know if it's because he's our bunso, but he still seems like such a baby in our eyes. Probably because he doesn't fully talk yet (just babbling a lot, but he's always saying Daddy lately) and also most likely because I'm still breastfeeding him until now! Actually, I don't have much milk na but it's more of a comfort thing for him. But I really have to wean him na huhu... ;p