Happy 5th Birthday to Ava!

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Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Ava! Happy birthday to you!!!

I put the videos on Promptfile again. So, you will need to click on “continue” a few times and deal with a pop-up or two. Here’s the video of the teachers singing to Ava:

http://www.promptfile.com/l/153908C94F-0316A74616

I can’t believe that my little girl is 5 years old! Even though she’s quite naughty, I’m really proud of her and am amazed at how much she’s grown up in the last year. Not only is she a lot taller, but she’s also turning into quite the young lady.

For Ava’s first birthday, my mom and I had a big lunch with most of our neighbors and many friends. It was a lot of work and I told myself that I wouldn’t do it again until she turned 5. So, for the last 3 birthdays, she has had small dinners out and birthday cakes with just our immediate family. It’s been quiet, simple, and nice. However, my birthdays spent overseas or on vacation have been some of my favorites and I am happy to say that I think Ava’s 5^th birthday in Nanchang has been great.

Ava and I have quite a few things in common and one of these is that I also did not like cake as a child. I remember asking my mom if I could have birthday pie instead. Since we don’t have ovens in our apartments, I figured it was the perfect time to ditch the traditional cake idea. Ava had been telling me for the last month that she didn’t want a cake, so I decided to make dirt cake.

For those of you who don’t know about dirt cake, it is make with layers of Oreo cookies and chocolate pudding. In most places, it’s easy to find instant pudding at your local grocery store. However, this is not the case in China. I found a recipe for homemade chocolate pudding online and Lauryn and I had a fun time making dirt cakes on Friday night. The pudding was actually so yummy that we asked Zac to pick up extra chocolate on his way home from teaching so that we could make some extra pudding to eat that night.

I also had given Ava her big present that afternoon. I bought her rollerblades with pads and a helmet. Here’s the video of her opening some of her gifts.

http://www.promptfile.com/l/07AC306F6B-3F9BF491E4

Lots of kids use them here and she has been begging for them for the last few months. She spent most of the afternoon rollerblading around the apartment. Actually, she was still up after midnight practicing.



Here is a video of Ava rollerblading for the first time. http://www.promptfile.com/l/348C73C33F-7568EF2DA1

On Saturday evening, most of the foreign teachers joined us for dirt cake and we all sang Happy Birthday to Ava and watched her open presents. She got a lot of art supplies from the other teachers. Here’s a video of her opening some paint.

http://www.promptfile.com/l/77714D70F7-C2657D82B6

Jason bought 5 rolls of firecrackers, one for each year of her life. The guys put them in the shape of a 5 and lit them off. They light of firecrackers on birthdays and weddings because they believe that it scares off evil sprits. There is still a 5 burned into the concrete from these firecrackers. I took video!

http://www.promptfile.com/l/1D154FA58B-04433A9D5D

On Sunday evening, Lemon and Lisa came to celebrate her birthday along with Candy and Xan (her two best friends from school) and another girl from the neighborhood. So, she had 5 of her best friends over and their moms. It was a packed house. The moms really liked the dirt cake and the girls really liked singing Happy birthday and playing with Ava. She got some really nice presents from her friends and she will make thank you cards for everyone this weekend while I finish grading the first part of my final exams.



Ava's actual birthday had awful weather with rain and sleet all day. So, we went to the cafeteria on campus and had fried chicken and french fries since KFC is so far away. I gave her the last of her gifts (earrings and leg warmers). I think that she really enjoyed turning 5 in China. Thank you all for being a part of Ava’s life!

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Comments

[Katherine O'Keeffe]

Happy Birthday Ava!!
I am glad to hear that Ava had a wonderful birthday. It sounds like you are all doing very well. We miss you all a lot and hope that you continue to enjoy living in China. Let everyone know that I wish them a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. with love, Katie

[TravelingBirds]

Hey Katie!
Thank you Katie! I tried to call you on Skype the other day but it wouldn't go though :-( We miss you too.