DA-LA-WAAAA!!!!

birthday boy with his lil' john tigger cup

if you ask gani, "how old will you be on your birthday?", he'll reply "tyoooo!" well, after practicing that and singing the happy birthday song and fake blowing out candles for weeks, he's finally TWO! we started the morning off with his best buddy lupita. our wonderful friends made a so so delicious breakfast of huevos rancheros, mimosas and topped off with tres leches cake and round one of the "happy birthday" song and two rounds of "las mananitas" sung by lupita. they are so precious together! once we got there, lupita was running endlessly up and down the hallway with excitement to see gani. while i know gani was so happy to see her too, he doesn't show his emotion quite as enthusiastically. he tries to play it cool and pretend like he's not phased, so instead, he takes her toys. it was a perfect way to start off his birthday, and mama and papa had a nice buzz going to carry us through the day.

(some funny pictures to come of this morning!)

after breakfast, we had to rush to the haight to bring our young women to a screening of an independent film "american blackout", which looks at the way the black vote has been suppressed in american democracy. it was a great film, and the girls left pissed off (but inspired) about what they had learned. the director, ian inaba was at the screening so they were able to ask him questions and share their thoughts. the girls really liked the film. gani wasn't so into it. he ended up just going up and down the aisle throwing tigger and ko-koy at random people and eating popcorn off the floor. gross. but he was generally pretty well behaved and patient, and let me stay long enough to make sure the girls would be ok to get home on their own.

at this point, gani had only taken a 20 minute nap, so around 5:00, i was contemplating whether or not to put him down before we had people over, or to just keep him up. after about three tantrums, he went down for a nap, which worked out perfectly for us. we cleaned, ran last minute errands, got all the food ready and he woke up just in time to greet people as they came. we had a "small" party this year for him. but being that our house is so small, it felt HUGE. it felt great to have friends over for gani to celebrate with. all in all, we had a GREAT time. a ton of food, lots of kids and just a really chill time was what we totally wanted, and it was perfect.

rizalene (visiting from ny), maricel, justin and baby miles

emalyn, ninangs ann & jaylyn, and mark

doing his "tricked you!" move on mileskii

another jaelyn! the pink princess

nesma, samya, sexy gael and a grown up rio

the mitchell's cake was the perfect re-energizer at 10:30 pm!

everyone went straight for the toys!

notice how in the above picture, gani looks like he's about to bash someone over the head with a frying pan. yes, there were many fights that broke out over balloons, bubbles, and random things like string and pillows. but those are always signs of a good party.

again, i can't say enough how wonderful it was to have some of our closest friends to share in gani's special day. it was truly a trip to see gael and gani hanging out. i had a moment where i was like, "whoa! this is weird!" as if time was supposed to stay still and gael was supposed to stay the age i saw him last. we haven't seen glades, marco and the boys for probably over a year, and the timing for a reunion was perfect. we also had never met miles (bad mama, i know!) until that day. he is indeed the most adorable little boy! those cheeks and his temperment are all that a mom could ask for. i PROMISE to have more playdates.

thanks to everyone who came and made it so fun. lola, auntie pam and uncle jr; rizalene; dj's celskii and jus; dj opus and jenita and baby boy ;); morad and mel; marco and glades; ann and werner; tina; jaylyn and mark; floyd; emalyn and collin; rommell... and of course the kids nesma, samya, miles, rio, gael, and jaelyn! gani monster had a blast!

the party boy the next morning,
after a night of over-stimulation, sugar and crashing at midnight

opening gifts and chillin with papa

and the birthday celebrations continue! once we figure out when we can go down to west covina, we'll have another small celebration with his favorite girls in the world, his cousins!!! he can't wait. he keeps screaming for his "lolo!!!" and points while grunting at marley's picture as if i can just make her appear. i think it's time to get party #2 started. he's been practicing the "happy birthday" song and blowing out candles twice a day to keep his skills sharp.