Elle is TWO in Laguit...

Elle turned 2 last October 1, 2008. Aside from her birthday party in Toddlers Unlimited, we decided to have another one in Laguit, Bugallon, Pangasinan where the farm being managed by Noy is located.

The children in Laguit are very close to our hearts because everytime we bring Elle to Laguit they would treat her like a "movie star"/ "princess". They would crowd around her, entertain her, play with her. Elle loves them too... Everytime she sees them she gets excited and automatically plays with them. These children reminds me of how simple life should be... there are times that i worry a lot about elle's complexion (that she should put on sunblock everytime she is out of the house), i worry about what toy to buy for elle, i worry about elle's look, i want her attire to be ALWAYS color coordinated, i worry about her shoes that it should match her attire... at times i really worry a lot but looking at these kids... i am humbled.

Of course i wanted my daughter to have a fair complexion but as Noy would always say it should be the least of my concerns! Should Elle's foreigner classmate sees Elle's tanned complexion for sure they would want to have one also; considering that our living room already looks like a toddlers school because of the soo many toys that was given to Elle, I still find time to worry about what toy i should give Elle... while the Laguit kids just get contented with swimming in the sapa, playing with cheap, barbie immitations...Once I got a request from one of the kids... she requested me to bring her back with us to Manila because she wanted to play with Elle in our house. I asked her why because she can already play with Elle in Laguit... I was almost in tears when I heard her answer... "I saw in Elle's picture that she has a lot of toys. I just want to play with them even for one day"! Grabe! Anyways, these are the reasons why we decided to hold Elle's second year birthday party in Laguit.

We were expecting 40 kids to come. Given that it is so difficult to go to the farm without transportation, (we fetched the kids from the barrio with our ever reliable UNA) I was thinking that possibly it can go up to 50... BUT to our amazement, more than 60 kids arrived! YES most gatecrashed! And they walked very long just to get to our place. I was in awe! We ran out of giveaways (but we prioritized the toddlers) but the food was more than enough. (some even took home some food). Funny but the "cotton candy" man that we got almost surrendered with the number of kids asking for cotton candies!!! We had longest happy birthday, balloon walk, apple eating, bring me, banana eating, longest line, beer drinking(for fathers), softdrink drinking (for moms), break the pot and pabitin!

At first i was worrying about the venue set up, tables etc BUT i was amazed how innovative people from laguit can me... they sat on the trees, some looked for a big rock and sat on it, three kids were even sharing in one paper plate... they never cared about the party lay out or decoration... they just want to eat and enjoy!

At the end of the day... the kids and parents really had a great time. They told us that it was the first time that they were invited to a birthday party as grand as that (ngek) They were very happy with the giveaways, all of the kids are excited to go to school because they have new school bag and school supplies...


When we were left alone, Noy, Elle and I swam on the natural pool beside our tree house and thanked God for all the blessings that He has showered us with. He has showered us with each other... supportive friends and families, good health and just enough financial resources to keep us alive...