Today marks my Mom’s birthday. Known affectionately as “Lola” to her grandchildren, Mom has taken on the mantle of grandmother without losing one bit of her beauty or energy. My brother Paul is going to cook dinner for her today, and Andy has baked a cake, so the family will get together in Amsterdam this evening to celebrate. Happy Birthday Mom! I love you.

Last week I attempted to cook a Filipino dinner ~ adobo, pancit, and baby bok choy. (Inspired partly by an adobo recipe and story that appeared in the New York Times, as well as fond family memories of the dish.) All but the pancit turned out exceptionally well – the pancit was slightly disappointing because I couldn’t find the Chinese sausage that my Mom uses in hers, and the chorizo substitute lent the dish a more smoky flavor.

The kitchens of my aunts, and the crowded houses of extended relatives, always revolved around one thing: food. My favorite childhood memories are of those special gatherings that were crowded with family, crowded with love, and crowded with Filipino food. Several women occupied the kitchen, cutting up vegetables, frying something on the stove-top, shoving dishes into the oven. It was a maelstrom of culinary activity, with insanity and raised voices, and I loved it all.

My own parents would create the same excitement when we had family visiting, whipping the kitchen into its own fun frenzy of food, culminating in dinner each evening, where we would quickly eat then hide under the dining room table or scurry off to play with our Uncle.

Since losing my Aunt and Uncle, cooking Filipino food is one way to keep them close to me. It’s never quite the same, but if I close my eyes, breathe in the steam coming from the dishes, and listen to the sounds of the kitchen, I can almost hear the Tagalog again.

Last week we celebrated Mom’s birthday with a dinner in our home. It was my niece and nephew’s first visit, and they did quite well. (Of course, it turns out our house isn’t exactly baby-friendly, but the babies enjoyed it – especially the spoons.)

This time around Andy made a lasagna and Erin brought a salad. I opened the wine.

Andy also made a chocolate mint birthday cake – which was the same cake he ever made for my family. For the next family gathering I’m going to make a full-fledged Filipino dinner. The next few weeks of winter will provide plenty of practice.

If there’s one thing that makes winter in upstate New York bearable, it’s the closeness and warmth of my family.

After returning from Boston, I made an overnight stop in Amsterdam to visit my niece and nephew and take some photos at my parents’ house (they were taking a vacation in Florida). Here is Emi rolling around the dining room.

And finishing up with dinner.

And here is Noah, in a rare moment of sitting still. Like his father, he needs to always be on the move. Crawling everywhere, lifting himself onto his feet to see anything and everything, he is more active than Emi, who is content to sit and watch and play in one place. In a lot of ways that is exactly how me and my brother were as babies, or so I’m told.

I can’t wait until they start walking and talking…

These two adorable babies are my niece and nephew, whom I got to see while Lola was babysitting last weekend. As you can see above, Emi already has great taste in shoes, as well as track-suit colors. Below, Noah takes after his Uncle with a fixation on the mirror in hand. Both are growing into their own distinctive personalities, and it’s going to be a treat to see them celebrate their first Christmas.

Noah and Lolo.

Emi and Lola.

The famous holiday staple – grasshopper pie.

Father and daughter.

Mother and son.

A tantalizing trifle.

Hi Randi!

The pumpkin pie has my name on it.

While Suzie was missing from the festivities, this bird stood in for her at today’s traditional Thanksgiving dinner at the Ko’s.

Andy and Lisa came up from NYC.

My nephew and niece – Noah and Emi – celebrated their first Thanksgiving.

Green pickles amid green glass.

And Brussel sprouts.

Yesterday we celebrated my Dad’s birthday with a Filipino family dinner in Amsterdam, NY. Here’s Noah with his Lolo.

And here’s Emi with her Lola.

(I almost wore those same pants… no lie. Not sure what it says about my current fashion state that I’m dressing like a 6-month-old.)

Never one to be outdone, Emi had her ears pierced and they look lovely.

For dinner, Mom made this sweet and sour salmon (one of my favorite dishes of all-time, recipe courtesy of Aunt Luz) and the pancit pictured below. Both were delicious, and brought back family memories of extensive Filipino dinners, where extended family members spent hours chopping up food in Auntie Naty’s kitchen.

I’m not a huge fan of kids – it’s well known and well-documented – but these kids are freaking cute, and I can’t wait to see who they become.

My birthday started off in the best possible way – with breakfast at a diner. Since Andy doesn’t really like the morning meal, I rarely get to indulge in one of my favorite things to do, but since it was my birthday he had to oblige.

In this case it was Quintessence, that venerable Albany landmark that recently (or not-so-recently) re-opened in the hope of recapturing its former glory, and from most accounts it comes pretty close. The last time I was here was in the mid-90’s, with Suzie for a brunch or something if I recall. Not much has changed, which is why I wanted to revisit it.

There are few joys in the world as satisfying as a good diner breakfast. Something about it makes everything taste better. (Especially the toast - how do they get the toast to taste so good? And how come mine never approaches that melt-in-your-mouth magic? No matter how much butter I throw on it, it can’t compare.)

Even the simplest glasses of OJ and coffee become works of art in a proper diner.

And while they don’t serve eggs benedict on weekdays (even if it’s your birthday – though I didn’t tell them), a good ham and cheese omelette works just as well.

The side of potatoes was the only off-key note of the morning, tasting merely like, well, potatoes. Plain potatoes with nary a hint of spice or seasoning. (I’ve suddenly gone all Albany Jane on you.) Luckily, Andy’s French toast, and the few bites I was afforded of it, made up for this.

After breakfast, we headed back home for the lady to do our house appraisal. Yes, somehow it got scheduled on my birthday, but I could have cared less, for I was off shopping. For one day I got to do two of my most favorite things in the world – breakfast and shopping. I found a pair of deeply discounted Cole Haan suede shoes, so someone from up above was wishing me a Happy Birthday too.

After that, it was off to Amsterdam for a family dinner, including appearances from the cutest babies in the universe – my niece and nephew. Here is Emi Lu on my lap.

And here is the funniest baby Noah. (You should see his smile – it’s insane.)

And one more of Emi…

For their first few months, Noah was the easy-going, quieter one. Now their roles have reversed and he’s going everywhere, while Emi can sit still and contemplate. It will be interesting to see where they go from here.

As for me, I’m 35, married, with no children, and there’s not much more to say about it. I can’t complain – I still lead one of the most charmed lives of anyone I know, and I am very grateful for that. Now it’s time to dive into the next year.

The wedding coat was finally unveiled, indoors to protect it from the rain, and I had the honor of standing beside the woman who sewed it, Marline’s Momma. As can be seen, she did an amazing job, and I owe her more than a few bottles of wine.

With all of the chartreuse and aqua, I wanted something to stand out, so I found this astounding hue, somewhere between fuschia and violet, in dupioni silk, then added a train of ruffled silk and organza roses (each hand-sewn by yours truly), filling in the rest with a ton of tulle.

{Skip is totally jealous, and pissed that he chose to change into that golf shirt.}

{With cousins – Bobby & Kate}

A hug from Marline.

With Jen’s husband Mike.

With stylist Jeff.

With Gin-Gin.

And with Jo-Jo. 

This was easily the most fun item of couture that I have ever worn in my life, and if it wasn’t exactly conducive to walking, it certainly lent itself to photographs (and this is likely not the last time you’ll see it somewhere). It was worn for the briefest of moments, which had always been the plan, and then it was back to our barong tagalog shirts that worked out well with the stifling heat.

The barong tagalog is a traditional Filipino shirt for men, usually worn at formal events such as weddings. It is designed to be light and breathable, successfully serving its purpose on this humid evening. Our flip-flips (mine in lime green, Andy’s in turquoise) matched the color scheme and kept our little piggies cool.

{More family – Erin & Paul with my nephew & niece, Noah and Emi}

{Sherri, Jim, and Maria – Jim is such a ladies man.}

{Rick, Guy & Eric}

{Jo-Jo, Paul, Mom, & Bobby, stepping in as bartender}

{Rob & Jason}

{Dan, Rob, Scott, & Laurie}

{The Cape Crew – Lee, Wally, Carolyn, & Kim}

{The stunning JoAnn MacKinnon, a.k.a. Jo-Jo/Josie/J-Bop/BOOM}

{Crazy, Noreen, & Marline}

As the evening was winding down, there were still cupcakes to be had… so stay tuned.

Final installment of The Wedding Party coming up…