Birthday Boy

On Wednesday Peter had his 10th birthday. We carried on the birthday cup tradition which brings lots of laughter. Peter has been planning and dreaming about his 10th birthday for almost a year now and I think he was not disappointed.

Just an interesting note about birthdays and the kids. They both have quickly caught on to the importance of birthdays and parties here in Canada for little kids. It's become a bit of an obsession talking about their parties and who they want to invite and what they want to do. To the point where we've basically banned Gaelle from birthday talk.

But one day it was just the 3 of us in the car and birthdays came up. Peter observed that if he was in Haiti he wouldn't be celebrating his birthday. So I said that he had birthday parties in Kay B.

And can I just say that Molly still sends birthday greetings to the kids and how much that brightens their day. Can you imagine how she manages to keep up with all of the kids that have passed through the doors of Kay B? She must have amazing organizational skills. Thank you Molly!

Yes, Peter had parties at Kay B but according to him, nobody else in Haiti celebrates their birthdays. But in Canada everbody does. Why is that? So we had a conversation about the differences in countries. We have different traditions and different celebrations, etc. And Peter threw out the concept of poverty, which quite often is not on his radar when it comes to Haiti. But he stated that people in Haiti are too poor to celebrate their birthdays.

Peter and Gaelle rarely exhibit gratitude which can sometimes be difficult to accept and yet we're happy they take so much for granted. After all, this is their life and they accept that. Anyway, Peter verbally stated how thankful he is that in Canada so he can celebrate his birthday. I'm thankful for that too!!



Peter's main gift from us was drawing and painting supplies. Just for him. He is not allowed to share his special supplies with Gaelle. He was thrilled.

Just another note of interest. Most parents encourage their children to share but with our kids we see 2 different dynamics going on; control and lack of ownership. We want the kids to feel that certain items are special and because they are special we need to take good care of them. They're no longer in a setting where easy come, easy go. I know, I know, in our society we hold onto things too tightly so isn't this good? Not always. There is a definite balance and we are trying to help the kids learn how to take care of our belongings.

We also notice that the kids are quick to try and control others with their "things" and with "sharing". This of course is common with all kids, but we really notice it and try to eliminate the opportunities for control.



Peter chose a lemon meringue cake for his birthday cake. All 3 boys in this family love this cake and ask for it on their birthdays. So it warmed my heart on more than one level that Peter asked for this.



Peter recieved drawing instruction books from his 2 older sisters. He really is good at this and he's been having fun with the step by step instructions and seeing how his pictures look just like the original.

Another note of interest. When it comes to birthday talk, presents are almost never mentioned. We've said it before and it continues to be true, that "things" just aren't very important.



Once again, Josh is missing from the birthday shot. We missed him but maybe next year he'll be around during the birthday month of March.