We celebrated Javi's birthday a couple of days ago. But unlike his other birthdays, this one seemed more special. He now understands that birthdays are quite different from all other days because gifts are given, cake candles are blown, and special meals are shared. Very early that morning, I took him gift-shopping. We were at Toys R Us as soon as the mall opened. It was Jollibee spaghetti, his favorite, for lunch. Then pancakes, his 2nd favorite, for dinner. When I asked him if he liked his pancake, he said, "I loved it, Ma" spoken like a true cartoon-junkie. After dinner, on our way back to the car, he kept saying, "Ma, birthday ko." As if the idea is still sinking in. When we arrived home, I had a chocolate cake waiting for all us. Yep, that's another favorite. We patiently waited for him to blow the candles until Kuya decided to help out Javi. We had the customary family shot. Unfortunately, at this stage, we ca...