Normally the birthday parties in our family involve a theme, a fancy cake, decorations, and a bunch of special party games. Well, this year there was a lot going on so we took a lighter approach of more self-directed fun. We invited friends to the community center in the compound and played with folding and decorating paper,
bopped balloons around, played a couple of games, had cake,
(the birthday boy)
(Tobias, C, Dane, A, Lucas)
(Tom, Alex and his mom)opened presents,
and then went swimming. Many thanks to Gigi for providing pictures...
I was extra glad it worked out (and nervous) because for his birthday dinner we planned a sure-thing: KFC at the skate park. Either there was a special event or it's just going to be mobbed for the rest of the winter, but there were at least 10 times as many people as we have ever seen at the family park. Poor C; it just wasn't much fun and they weren't able to practice on the skateboards at all.
But the party was a laid-back good time; the boys were just really excited to be together and they didn't need a lot of bells and whistles to have fun. C is just so happy to have school friends. I remember being amazed at how J matured when he went off to kindergarten - he really felt good about himself, he enjoyed being around kids his age, he learned so much about friendship. C is there now and it's just a joy to hear him talk about how he has so many friends, and to watch him make artistic creations out of everything he can get his hands, scissors, and some glue on.
I think C was the perfect age to come here. J and A felt really uprooted - they were pretty established and happy with their daily routines. Of course, being five years older J dealt with the stress better than his sister did but this hasn't been as easy for him as I thought it would. For C it was going to be a time of upheaval anyhow, going off to school for the first time, so he didn't have any rigid expectations of what his life should be like. It will be harder for him to leave Doha. J and A both really miss their friends in Pittsburgh and talk about them often; their home base definitely without a doubt did not move.
That night we also said goodbye to Gigi and Grandpa Dave. It was wonderful to see them and I remain thoroughly impressed that they made the trip. Now, I don't know how spectacular Doha seemed to them in the wake of a whirlwind tour of London, but they certainly seemed amused and happy to be part of all the Halloween and birthday festivities. I guess those events were the main attraction here more so than sightseeing. It was a long way to come and I'm sure they're exhausted but we really enjoyed seeing them and we appreciate that effort.
