The card reads - "Louraine at 18". 18, my youngest is already 18. She used to be the "baby" of the family. Well, she still is. Writing this, I try to reminisce the time she came to us.

Tatay was holding the yellow baby carrier, a mini kuna that could be hand held. I could still recall the excitement Jaene and I had, we were jumping over, trying to see the "new" baby Tatay was holding (we still don't know that she'd be named as Louraine then). Only to find out that there was no baby. Tatay was just mocking.

"asan na ang baby?" we asked

"naiwan sa ospital...." along came with another made up stories such as – "walang pambayad sa ospital, kaya ayun, naiwan si baby... etc... etc."

However, Nanay's story of Louraine's coming was the opposite. She told us that Jaene and I wasn't really excited at all. She overheard the two of us with this conversation while she was still pregnant with Louraine -

"hay naku, si nanay, buntis na naman"

"oo nga, may aalagaan na naman tayo"

I can't recall Jaene and I having that conversation. Oh well, I was just seven that time.

Later, we found out that the baby had to be thoroughly checked-up since the doctors suspected that she had some illness, I heard Nanay calling it Jondis. She had to stay at the hospital for three more days.

And she finally came. She was a cute baby. Chubby, so chubby that her legs and arms looked like they had hamburger deposits. Her cheeks are all reddish, as if it was pinched forcefully. Nanay recalled that she had the same color as macopa.

I couldn't remember anything after that. The next memory of her would be of diaper changings. Yes, Lola trained Jaene and I how to change diapers. Some downside of being the eldest, I had to learn errands adults also do. Jaene and I would take turns on swinging her duyan, so she could sleep continuously. If she peed or had her unwanted outputs all over, Jaene and I would have to sweep the floors, or gather the dirty diaper.

From a cute baby to a cute kid, she still haven't outgrown her baby fats. I would always bite her arms, her chins her chunky fingers. She cries everytime I do that, and would say my sorries afterwards. I remember way back, she was 5 or 6 then. I bit her chin so hard that it left a mark (some purplish to yellowish mark, the one you'd see on fraternity hazing victims). She refused to go to her ballet class, embarrassed that her teacher, Ate Gigi, and her classmates would see her unsightly mark. She was crying so hard. I tried to pacify her and told her that it's not that obvious. I failed to convince her. The bite mark was the size of a 5 peso coin, only the blind will fail to see that. And then, I thought of make-up. Jaene was also there, we both tried to conceal the bite mark using foundation. The make-up didn't completely hide the mark, but at least it was less noticeable.

From a cute kid to a chubby teenager. She took up swimming lessons to reduce her baby fats. Yeps, she became a good swimmer, but the baby fats were still there. Like any other teeners, I've seen her in her rebellious stage. That didn't take long, she was smart enough to not to waste her time on angst and other irrelevant emotional junks.

And now, she's in full bloom. Not just because she's 18 already. She has somewhat dropped some unwanted pounds, if not all. She could cook. She cleans the house well (payback time, my dear sister, it's your turn to do the errands this time). She knows her responsibilities and sets her priorities properly. And even if I don't admit it, she's getting prettier everyday.

My dearest Louraine, our home would never ever be the same without your laughter and childish giggles. Our lives would never be the same without you. And I could truthfully say that I am really really lucky to have you as a sister.