Sobie: 1st birthday party

November 12, 2011
PSE Auditorium

As I said before, Mommy Jeng likes to plan ahead. So, when we were packing up after shooting Sobie's baptism in February last year, she asked me if I would already be working again in November (I was planning to take a few months off after giving birth) so she could get me to photograph Sobie's 1st birthday party. I said I would love to do it! But I was silently hoping she wouldn't change her mind once she saw the photos of the baptism. (Hehehe.) Well, fortunately, she didn't!:) Sobie's baptism was the weekend of Pete's birthday, and I normally turn down bookings during important family events. However, I also usually make exceptions for super nice clients like Jeng.;)

For some reason, all roads in Metro Manila were jammed on the day of Sobie's party. Most of the guests and even some of the suppliers were late! It was such a fun party though with lots of cool side activities, foodcarts, and really lovely details! No traffic jam could stop all the guests from enjoying the afternoon.:)

Here are just some of my favorite shots from the party:

We started shooting at the Linden Suites where the family was checked in.  I got there a couple of minutes late (traffic was that terrible!) but Jeng already had Sobie's outfits ready for me so I promptly took some shots of the beautiful dresses.


Sobie had a few pairs of footwear for the party, although Jeng told me she never likes to wear them.;)


Look how she's grown! And still as pretty as ever!


Awww...look at those gorgeous eyes!

The birthday girl getting dressed up.

Then we were off to the party venue.  It was still quite empty when we got there because most of the guests were still stuck in traffic. So, I proceeded to take photos of the beautiful set-up by Kidstar Kastles.


Colorful stage backdrop.


Balloons!!!


Sobie's beautiful cake.

A closer look.


More details...





Daddy Boyito requested this shot up onstage.


Then I asked them for this shot.

Every guest got a lei. Some of the kids even came in their luau costumes.


Sobie enjoying her dinner while watching the program.





I was using my 200mm to shoot candids of Sobie from afar. She caught me photographing her though and started smiling at my camera.:)


Flooch was awesome, as always.


Blowing the birthday candle!


Décor - Kidstar Kastles
Caterer - Verleo
Birthday Outfit - Baby Fashionistas
Cake - Les Sucreries
Host - Flooch
Candy Buffet - DIY
Side Entertainment (Bead Station, Hair Salon, Airbrush Face & Body painting) - Party League

The heat is on...

...in Saigon!;)

When my good friend Lyra learned that she was pregnant, she asked me if I could take her maternity portraits again like I did when she was pregnant with her eldest. Of course I said I'd be honored to do it! But the thing is Lyra lives in Vietnam now, so it took a bit more planning to get the shoot together. So yes, Lyra will be flying me (together with Pete and Paco, of course) out to Saigon next week to do her preggy portraits--and to do the tourist bit as well!:)

When we were chatting about what we could do the rest of the time that we're there, Lyra and I got this idea to offer a few more portrait sessions to some of her Filipino friends there. She mentioned there may be a couple who will be interested. And then we decided we should just make it official and announce the portrait sessions to the public as well. Ok, just to be clear, I'm only going to shoot the portraits for 1 day. That means there are very very few number of slots--like a maximum of 4! (Hey, I'm going to Vietnam for a vacation so I want to take things easy.) Anyway, here are the basic info. If you're in the area and are interested, please email me for the rest of the details. Hope to see you there!:)

Paco is 8 months old today!

Our little baby is growing up so fast! He started crawling just a few weeks ago, and now he's learned to  stand up and even likes to show off by supporting himself with just one hand. If it was exhausting taking care of him before, I can't even begin to describe the torture my muscles go through daily these days. I don't regret the decision Pete and I made to take care of him ourselves though (That's right, no yayas, no other caregivers). Even if it means I need to limit my bookings. Even if it means I can only work around 2 hours during the day and have to work late at night to make up for it (just like tonight). Even if it means I get a backache every single day. It's all worth it. Yep, I wouldn't want it any other way. :)

I try to take photos of him as often as I can. Here are just a few from this month.