Tuesday, April 20, 2010

18 candles

It was my cousin's 18th birthday this weekend. Turning 18 is a big deal in my culture. It's celebrated with a big birthday party called a debut or cotillion.

My cousin's debut was held at a nearby hotel. When we arrived, Pia insisted on stopping and smelling the roses....uh make that lavender.


and then Zoe asked me to take a picture of her and her new necklace (it's on her head... don't ask)


When we finally got inside, we stopped to find our table...


sign the guest book...


pick up our giveaway


and take in all the special touches my aunt and cousin had planned.



Of course we had to take some photos...


my sister, her boyfriend and my girls

our little family

my hubby and me

my mom and my cousin

my cousin , me and zoe

my sister, me and Zoe

we took about 20 photos and this was the best one and pia is still not looking


my sisters and my now legal cousin

pia eating cheese cake and saying "cheese"


There were 18 special roses... this particular rose seemed to be just a little more special than the rest...

And there was a special performance by the debutante and my other cousins.


And what birthday wouldn't be complete without a cake?!?

Happy Birthday Marion Anne! We Love you!!

P.S. Thank you for all your well wishes about being the MC for the evening. No one threw tomatoes or hissed at me, so I am assuming I wasn't half bad....

27 comments:

Cynthia said...

So beautiful!! Thanks for sharing!! I loved looking at every single picture. Looks like it was an amazing day. Happy birthday to your cousin!! :)

Rena said...

LOL Your little girl is too cute! A necklace on her head? ehhee

<33 Rena

Alexis said...

You're daughters are adorable. =)
Lovely pictures!

Catherine said...

Wow this looks amazing! I thought 18th birthdays were big in the UK, but they're nowhere near as exciting as this!

Looks like you had a fun day!!

Katie said...

Wow! Looks like a wedding! Your girls have the on the cutest dresses! Did you make them?

Sandy a la Mode said...

happy birthday to your cousin! it looked like a very lovely party!! your daughters are adorable and i just LOVE your captions too girl!! you're soo funny!

E said...

Your whole family is gorgeous...but especially your mother...wow :)

sheer whimsy said...

ooooh, i love debuts! congrats to your cousin! and you looked super lovely!

Anonymous said...

Jozen my lovely girl, you have such a beautiful family. I have said this before and I say it again, you are truly blessed. Looks like you all had a wonderful time. I wish your cousin a very Happy Birthday.

<3 Dena x

raven said...

your 'little lovelies' are just TOO cute!!!!

xo
raven

Vera said...

beautiful photos :) looks like everyone had a lovely time!

Anonymous Me said...

GoingTwinsane from Swap-bot now following you!

Wow, what an amazing custom! I'll have to remember it when my twins turn 18 in four years!

carissa said...

what a special celebration! i love the family pictures of you four. and your cousin is gorgeous and her dress is stunning. i knew you'd do a great mc job!

Lucie Le Blanc said...

Wow ! What a formal affair ! So beautiful ! I am so glad that you shared this particular tradition with us.

Lulubiz, following and assigned partner for the more blogger followers swap ;)

Gracie said...

That's lovely! I'm so glad it went well for you as MC.

I forgot what a big deal the 18th birthday is in Filipino culture. I had an 18th but not a cotillion. And I did the 18 roses :) Great photos by the way.

I do remember my oldest brother's ex-gf had a cotillion and I though it was amazing. Like a wedding.

Ky said...

Hi there! This is Ky from Swap-Bot and I'm a follower now! :-) I agree your girls are beautiful and I love their names! My daughter's name is Isabella and my first name is Gabriella but I use Ky which is my middle name.

Sera said...

Hi! Following you from the Swap-bot swap :) You are one of my partners. Thanks for sharing, very cool 18th bday party!
-Saristotle

Becky said...

wow -- looks like it was a big day for your cousin. Your girls look so cute!

Small Burst said...

Oh, this looks like so much fun. I love big parties! Did you ever see that movie, Debut? It's pretty funny. Your girls are just so adorable. Love the necklace on the head. Glad your MC-ing went well.

Alexandra said...

This looks like so much fun! Your girls are beautiful- and they look like they have such fun personalities!!! Kids are really the cutest :-)

Julie said...

your family is so cute! the party looks like it was a lot of fun!

i'm following you from swap-bot!
128julie

come by my blog sometime!
creativetastes.blogspot.com

Sharon Lei said...

What a beautiful family you have Jozen!! :) Less than a month and we get to chill! Yay!

xx Love & Aloha

Nicc79 said...

Hi,

nicc79 from swap-bot now following your blog
" I want more bloggers followers "

Nikki
xx

Melanie said...

Looks like fun! A good friend of mine had a debut in highschool. It was almost like a second grad dance for our group of friends. It was really sweet to see all her family and friends together :)

Alely said...

i'm glad the MC'ing went well! so loved seeing all of your pictures of you and your family. it's really making me miss my big filipino extended family in CA : (.

MadsaboutU said...

So cute! Your little girls have matching outfits! Your mom looks hot!:)

Tiffany said...

This party was so pretty and your cousin's dress was gorgeous!

Your daughters are simply adorable. I love the peace sign in the photo with your sister and her boyfriend.