And so, we did the traditional thing of having a mini birthday party for Joey at her school. According to her, everyone in school does it, and so, being the very kiasu kind parents we are, we had to have a party as well. You know, it’s totally for the sake of my child’s esteem system, nothing to do with ego or peer pressure. Absolutely.
But I’m really glad we decided to go ahead with the party because suddenly, all the names that I’ve been hearing at home are now attached to a certain face each. Makes things a whole lot easier, especially at the fast rate at which she friends and no longer friends someone in class. I’m sure you understand those stuffs – We’ve all gone through it ourselves.
It was cute to watch how when Joey came out of her class for her toilet break, she turned into this shy and coy girl who can’t walk in a straight line. Thereafter, she transfigured into the protective big sister, hugged her little sis and started introducing her to every one of her classmates. After she proudly proclaimed to everyone that Little Jayne was her baby sister, she started introducing her classmates to me one by one. Interestingly, everyone thought that Little Jayne was too cute and adorable, and started chatting her up. “What is your name?”, “How old are you?”, “You are sooooo cute!”
It was really cute to watch. I thought Little Jayne would be intimidated, but she took everything in her strides. She was coherent in her replies to the big sisters and big brothers, and even seemed to enjoy their company.
In Joey’s kindergarten, there is apparently a fixed order for a birthday celebration. We waited outside the classroom for the teacher’s cue to set up the cakes and drinks. Once we were inside, the teacher promptly told me that Joey will be seated at the ‘special birthday table’. Therefore, the girls will gather for group photo, then the boys, then everyone, then I’m supposed to light up the candles, sing birthday song, blow out candles and cut/distribute the cakes to the kids. Not that I’m complaining though – It was much easier when there was a protocol to follow. I love brainless operations. It just felt rather mechanical at some point. =P
It was funny how Joey wanted Jayne to sit next to her during the celebration. It was as if she needed her to boast her confidence. =P With two mini cakes infront of them, it looked as if they were BOTH celebrating their birthdays. Haha..
Happy birthday, Babe! One final celebration next Sunday! =X
