Sophia's Birthday and the Moon Festival continues

After three trips to various stores: supermarket, bakery and the "beer store" corner market, and an afternoon of preparation -- we were ready for our big event : Sophia's birthday party and Mid-Autumn festival celebration. Today is both her 2nd birthday and the actual day of the festival by the lunar calendar, although people are celebrating all week long, as you can tell. Above is Sophia posing with her giant wrapped cake (since it was only $7, I had no idea it would be so huge), and the prizes for our moon festival gambling game to make the evening even more festive. We had some guests -- Deborah and her daughter Kate (the other Fulbright family), Tian (from the international faculty office -- he escorted us from Beijing to Xiamen and has become a friend, especially to the children), and Simone, a German teacher who lives downstairs and has just arrived in Xiamen. So it was a real party. I made dinner in our tiny kitchen, which was a bit of a challenge. I did manage to make pesto with no food processor by chopping everything and then wrapping our hammer in a plastic bag and pounding it for a looong time. Thomas was amazed, which made it worth it , and the birthday girl had three helpings. I also made a fruit salad with watermelon and dragon fruit (I have not seen this fruit in the US -- the inside is white with black seeds like a kiwi and the peel is red and rather outlandish looking -- I'll take a picture next time). I also made a meat stir fry which didn't turn out so well, and oversteamed the dumplings, so it was a little embarrassing, but no one but me seemed to mind too much.


Finally it was time for the elaborately frosted birthday cake -- the bakery sold me the candles too. Sophia was a little concerned with our singing.

But she did manage to eat quite a bit of cake! She got some presents, including a baby doll we brought from the US, blocks, a bell which she loves to ring and....

A tricycle! this is the typical kind around here -- quite elaborate, with a sun shade, parent handle, and even foot rests when the kid is tired of pedaling or before they are old enough to. After the birthday festivities, Michael had to go to class and Tian to another party, so the rest of us settled in for dice rolling in true Mid-autumn in southeastern Fujian style! When the pencils, erasers, candy, treats, and grand prize pillow were all won, moon cakes distributed (OK,these were a little better -- still rather fruit cake-like) our guests left and we went for a walk to look at the MOON!

And here, peeking through the clouds is the full moon shining over China tonight -- a time for giving thanks.. and I am surely thankful for the abundance in our lives this year -- the chance to be here, the good friends we have already made, the outpouring of support from our family and friends and even strangers who have been reading this blog and sending their thoughts. Most of all I am thankful for Michael and the kids and the family we have made together which can withstand this much adventure!