G at Three

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On 8th October 2010 Georgia turned three years old. Georgia may not fully understand the concept of birthdays yet, but she seems to have a feminine ability to understand and exploit their implications. For weeks Georgia had linked the amorphous notion of a birthday with another visit to Disneyland, and she used with skill the moral leverage of her birthday over her parents.

But before Disneyland there was the ritual opening of birthday cards while lounging on the bed. We read them to Georgia, and she smiled and admired the pictures, while Byron waited on the sidelines for a chance to test how tear-resistant they are. Downstairs, Georgia got her first sight of the array of presents people have kindly sent her. Presents were certainly a concept Georgia understood, and she took to the task of unwrapping them with delight.

Later that day some friends came over for Georgia's birthday party, that featured an over-dose of sugar followed by the compulsory "run around the tennis court until you're exhausted" method of child management.

We had already been to Ocean Park and hugged the pandas in a prelude to G's birthday, so the weekend was dedicated to further exploring Disneyland - not an unpleasant prospect to Georgia. This included staying at a nearby Marriott hotel, where Asif, one of the senior managers, gave Georgia the royal treatment, such as a birthday cake in the shape of Mickey Mouse's face. The mezzanine level at the hotel includes a long, mirrored corridor. It is empty during the day when the bar/nightclub are closed, and so it became G & B's favourite racetrack. Georgia’s godmother, Jacqui, and her partner, Mike, also came to lunch, making it a feast of friendship as well as delicious food.

At Disneyland Georgia and Byron hugged Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse, and went on rides, including the flying Dumbo ride.

Throughout the fun we underlined the special nature of a visit to Disneyland and a hotel stay, but to no avail. On Monday morning Georgia insisted all the way to the kindergarten bus that we were going to Disneyland, and when she was gently told that wasn't on the agenda, she responded that she wanted to go to the hotel to see Asif. That good thought was also rejected in a vote by her parents, but maybe, just maybe, we'll do the Disneyland adventure one more time in the few remaining months before we leave Hong Kong.

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