The Kulas: Proud Birthday Boy: Sebastian, age 3

Beaming proudly in his new birthday outfit. Thanks, Alihan!

Sebby had a wonderful day on his birthday. He's so excited to be 3!

First, he had a small celebration at school, with cookies and juice. He also took balloons to share. His teachers blew them all up and piled them in the corner until going-home time, when each child got to take one. When I came to pick him up, he wanted to make sure he got a balloon, so I told him to ask his teacher. He thought for a moment, turned to his teacher, and asked, "Mojna sharik?" ("Can I have a balloon?" Mojna is a very useful word meaning "can I have...?" or "is it possible...?")

Showing off his balloons and surprises at his preschool.

His teacher tied three colorful balloons together for him, and also made sure he had his party hat, blow-up butterfly, and birthday card to take home with him. He was absolutely thrilled with all of his little presents! I love how such little things can bring so much joy to kids. And even though all three balloons ended up popping before we managed to get them home, his spirits were not dampened. He took it all in stride, and was even more excited to see about 10 more balloons in our house!

Sebby's home party turned out nicely. We invited two neighboring families, so we had a total of five little boys running around our house - but amazingly, they didn't break anything! I made a delicious lagman meal (meat and veggies over noodles) and a chocolate zucchini cake - also very tasty.

Discovering his presents!

Getting busy opening.

As soon as Sebby saw his presents, he couldn't help but rip them open, so that happened before the cake instead of after. But it didn't really matter. He got six or seven cute presents, nothing overwhelming, and he was delighted with his new paints, pail and shovels, farm animals, bouncy balls from Misha, and the remote-control car from Vladik and Yarik. It was just right.

Cuddling with his bouncy balls from Misha.

Cruising car!

Farm play time.

Finally, it was time for cake. This flower candle opened up and spouted a few very short-lived fireworks. Then we lit his number "3" candle and sang to him.

Blow, blow, blow!

What a smile!

Mom with the birthday boy.

Earlier that same day ...

We inadvertently scheduled a dentist appointment on the very day of Sebby's birthday. But we decided we might as well still get the dentist over with! So after school but before our party, we took a trip to the dentist. Josh and I had our teeth cleaned, and we were happy to have found a pretty normal dentist in Kyrgyzstan. Misha had a stubborn baby tooth pulled. The permanent tooth had already grown in behind the baby one, doing nothing to dislodge its predecessor. Luckily, the dentist was so gentle that Misha barely noticed when he pulled it out. Misha was brimming with happiness at being able to hold his first tooth in his hand ... that is, until he accidentally dropped it down the drain. We eventually managed to console him with the fact that he could still show off the hole in his mouth to his friends at school, and that he still had another 19 teeth to lose.

I realize that not everyone likes to look at pictures of teeth, but the first lost tooth is a big deal to a kid, so I can hardly leave these photos out! Take a look ... or don't, if you'd rather not. :)