...and then there were two!

Happy (Chinese) Birthday

Okay, let's see... according to the Chinese calendar, DN is 3 years old.

My MIL patiently explained the intricacies of the Chinese way of counting birthdays to me, a "product of western influences". According to the Chinese, a baby is 1 year old when he/she is born because the time spent in the womb is counted as well. (Don't waste time ok!) When the Chinese New Year rolled around, he turned 1 year older. So, on 2 Sept 2006, DN was 1. On 7 Feb 2007, DN turned 2. His Chinese birthday was on 22 Aug 2007 and he turned 3!

Er... I hope I got that right. Info is usually lost / distorted during conversations between my MIL and me. My inbuilt translation device has never worked properly despite years of personal Chinese tuition. -_-

It is a Chinese custom to playing this "grabbing game" with babies on their 1st birthday. The baby is presented with an assortment of objects and everyone waits in anticipation to see what catches the little emperor's fancy. Will he pick the book? (scholar) Chicken? (chef) Jewellery? (rich) Toy? (gamer??? something was lost in translation here...)

DN was offered a chicken drumstick and a book.



DN doesn't seem that hot about his drumstick. I, on the other hand...









It only LOOKS like he's taken a bite. DN wasn't impressed with the drumstick at all.








He chose the book! Heh heh.