Jo-Lo is 2 years old!

I couldn't care less when they say how kids grow fast. But now that we have Jose Carlos, I couldn't help but be amazed at how fast the transition was from crawling to running, from milk to solid food. I can still remember the time when I held him in my arms in the hospital room as I tried to burp him on Father's Day.

And last weekend, we celebrated his 2nd birthday! We had the party at home, and we asked our parents and siblings to help out with the perparations. My mother does wonders with macaroni, and she made her famous macaroni soup and salad with sugar beets, along with lumpiang shanghai (the secret is in the shrimp!). My sister cooked kare-kare, her specialty. My wife's brother cooked menudo with gusto, while my mother- and brother-in-law Jojo made fresh lumpia with that special peanut sauce. My brother's wife made buco pandan. The fresh veggie salad was my idea but because I was busy with the decorations, my wife obligingly prepared it. I delivered the cake. :-) The kids (and grown-ups too!) had hotdogs, ice cream, and cake, and an assortment of sweets. And of course, no birthday party is complete without pancit for long life, lovingly prepared by my sister.

Throw away your diet plans today, ladies and gentlemen!

This was the day before the celebration. While the afternoon sun provided cool light and warmth, the preparations turned were moved outside the house.

Candle-blowing marked the start of the festivities

Eating time!

After lunch, the kids had loads of fun with games. Yours truly was one of the hosts so I wasn't able to take many photos. There was the "palayok", relays, newspaper dance, stop dance, and lots more.

I was amused when I announced "Next game: Trip to Jerusalem! Those who want to play, raise your hands!" I was met with curious stares. What game is that? When I explained that they have to grab chairs when the music stops, their faces lit up and and raised their hands eagerly. Me! Me! hahaha!

Ummm... Mommy Tina, where are you bringing that cake?

And of course, it was gift opening time at the end of the party! Jo-Lo likes this huge Command Center with sounds. I like it too. May I borrow it, Jo-Lo?Happy 2nd birthday, Jo-Lo!

[More photos can be found at Jo-Lo's Blog!]