End of First Day

after getting haircuts, nails and massages (the basics) done, we went to magllanes (apeh's place) to celebrate the birthday of apeh and charlene's birthday. most of the family were present, as usual with our birthday celebrations and weekly family gatherings. for dinner, we had king prawns (they were really gigantic, haven't seen it that big), pansit (for long life), pork barbecue (with the typical filipino prk fat at the end of the stick), and sisig (pork ears and tongue). it was a pretty good dinner, with the usual chaos considering how big the family is getting.

then we had two cake candle blowing by the kiddies - pao-pao, philip and ally. i think they blew the candles for like a good five to seven times. ally sang the happy birthday in chinese - she was absolutely adorable.

i miss being around these kids. i would carry pao-pao and he'd tell me "bigat ako, di mo ako kaya" (i'm heavy, you can't carry me). then there is philip who we'd go to his eye level so that he could take a proper picture of us. ally was just full of energy and antics. jackie, well, she warmed up a bit - after her mom telling us that as soon as they got home last night my dad and her mom told her off. benilyn, has grown so much, i remember her being a baby and me taking care of her - feeding her, putting her to bed, giving her a bath.

i just wish i could always have these little kids in new york. a house is really different if there are no kids running around, i know it could get annoying and tiring at times, but that's always a part of it. for me, hearing a kid's laughter is a more than a delight.