Ian's 6th Birthday

Waking up to the family singing a non-harmonious version of "Happy Birthday" might cause some people to bury their heads under their pillow and wish for more sleep, but not Ian.  He woke up to our serenade with great enthusiasm, he was so excited to be 6.

Before going to school, Ian opened Grandma & Paka's birthday card - a fun Scooby Doo talking card with a $20 bill.  A huge smile lit up his face until he realized he couldn't use that money here.  But, his smile grew even bigger when we explained the exchange rate was 8 times the dollar so he really had 160 patacas, Ian felt like a rich kid.

At school, Ian's class sang "Happy Birthday" to him in Chinese and English and ate American style cupcakes (a new treat for many of them).

After school, we took a few of Ian's friends to the Qube, an activity center for kids.  

They spent 2 hours playing on the bouncy castles and maze,

inflatable slides,

 air hockey and foosball tables, 

or at the wii/kinect/x-box stations. 

 It was hard to pull the boys away from all this fun 

but we enticed them with frozen yogurt and cupcakes.  

According to Ian, it was the "best birthday ever".

Ian's a good natured, happy, creative little boy who loves to make others laugh.  At times he's a bit forgetful, like when he walks out the door without shoes or puts his pants on backwards, but he laughs at himself just as much as we do.  At school, his teacher says Ian makes friends with the kids that don't speak English well because he can always make them laugh - a language everyone understands.  And recently, Ian told me his purpose here in Macau is to be an example of silliness and obedience (which he claims he's the best at in class).  We love our Ian!!