Four Years Old Today! (Kind of)

XiXi has a fantastic birthdate--7/7/07.  As a mother of five, I very much appreciate this easy-to-remember date and should have thanked the orphanage staff for choosing it.  However, this July 7th, his biggest sister was away at camp and she begged to postpone the festivities until the 9th so that she could celebrate with him on his first birthday home.  Thankfully, he doesn't know the difference, so today was the day!

He requested a "tasty and pretty cake with strawberries".  Our garden has been full to bursting with strawberries, so the strawberry part was not a problem.  We also had the tasty portion of his request down, but the "pretty" part of cakes has always eluded me.  It's eluded me so much that I decided long ago that the 9X13 quickie option is my cake love match and haven't looked back.  I managed the strawberry border, and XiXi was in charge of candle placement and any extra decoration.

He chose this challenging spread-out candle arrangement and then opted for a 

 large strawberry grouping for balance.

He seemed pleased. 

His siblings took so much  time picking out his presents.   Rose found him figurines of all the animals he said he had in China--pigs, goats, and chickens.  Lucy and Bruder bought a large pack of various airplanes, which XiXi loves, Maya got him an "Elefun" game for them to play together, 

and from Mom and Dad, XiXi got a play ambulance.  

He said the person being rushed to the hospital had "a sore dudzuh".

When it came time for the song, he sweetly looked around the table at each person, 

smiling to beat the band. 

With the candles blown out, I'd say this boy is officially 4 years-old.  

Well, two days ago he was 4 years-old.

 But now he knows it!

Happy Birthday Mr. XiXi!