3 Years Old in Laos

If you’ve been following our adventures for a while, you’ll know Lori and I aren’t big on going all out for holidays and parties. We like to keep things pretty simple and definitely aren’t into buying a lot of gifts.

If we are going to do something special, we’d much rather put the effort into some sort of memorable shared experience rather than some fancy new gadget, etc. The same goes for our kids. And just like last year, Noe’s main birthday celebration was at his nursery school.

A lot of parents here (particularly Laotians and other Asians) feel the need to plan something extravagant and sink as much money as they can afford (or not afford) into impressing their family and friends.

Even [especially!] if it’s for a three-year-old who’d likely be happy with whatever their parents do and won’t remember the whole affair, anyway.

I’m by no means trying to be critical (though some of these parties are pretty ridiculous, particularly in the context of one of the poorest and least developed countries in the world, okay, maybe just a bit critical).

All I’m saying is that it ain’t our bag, baby.

Noe’s birthday was on a Friday, which also happened to be the day that Noe’s nursery school was holding it’s summer festival later that evening. Undoubtedly, it was going to be one big day for the Mister.

Over the previous month, we had procured three gifts for Noe: A cooking apron, a second-hand animal floor puzzle, and one of our best finds of the last couple of years, a large bin of second-hand Duplo Legos to add to Noe’s set.

The evening before the big day, everything was ready to go but for one crucial piece: The birthday cake!

This is the little local cake shop where we had Noe pick out his cake. When we rolled up to the cake shop where we’ve bought his cakes for his last two birthdays, we were disappointed to discover they had closed permanently (replaced by a Chinese massage parlor).

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So we drove around the neighborhood a bit and found this other one, which is basically the same type of deal.

Every time one of the kids at Noe’s school has a birthday, their parents bring a cake to school to have a little celebration with their classmates. This happens on average about twice a month.

Noe doesn’t get sweets at home (unless you count fruit as a “sweet.” Noe holds fruit in a whole other category far above sweets, and gets plenty of fresh tropical fruits here in Laos), but he’s been doing this birthday thing at his nursery school since September 2017, so nobody can say the kid is deprived.

But this time, it’s Noe’s birthday cake, and Noe gets to pick it out!

To say he took his job seriously would be an understatement.

For some reason, his first choice was this plain white cake. We gently steered him towards other, slightly more festive, offerings.

He finally landed on one that we all were happy with (and knew his classmates would be too).

Crazy Rich Laotians in town gladly fork over an obscene amount of money at really fancy cake shops for their three-year-olds, but not us. We were quite happy with our $5 cake (including “#3” candle), and so was Noe.

The next morning was the big day. Lori and I looked around Vientiane for a local newspaper with the date on it but didn’t have any luck. So, we settled for a digital screenshot instead.

I rode Noe to school as I do most mornings. It was a brilliant, blue sky day, highly unusual for this time of year in Vientiane (it’s been doing this lately), but eerily reminiscent of the day he was born in Portland, Oregon (and it was a bit unusual there too).

Lori and I met up again at the school around mid-morning with the cake. It was evident by the number of shoes outside that this French-Lao nursery school was definitely in session.

Noe and his schoolmates were knee-deep in storytime (in French). Noe was excited to see mommy and daddy, but also very engrossed.

After storytime, it wasn’t quite cake time. They always do mid-morning snack first (presumably so the kids don’t just fill up on cake…though Noe made a valiant effort to fill up on both. He may look small, but the kid can pack it away).

Fruit time!

With snack time over, we were just moments away from the main event. Unlike his previous birthdays, this one was extra special because Noe actually understood what the heck was going on. And the anticipation was killing him!

Here it comes!

Noe was just a little bit excited…

As is customary at the nursery school, the cake went around the room twice so everyone could see, before finally coming to rest in front of the birthday boy.

Everyone sang happy birthday in a few different languages. Then, it was finally time to blow out the candles.

1…2…3…

Just then, one of Noe’s closest friends at school blew out the candles. Noe’s face says it all.

No worries. Noe’s teachers lit the candle right back up and Noe had another go.

Noe was all smiles. I get the sense it wasn’t the first time that’s happened.

The cake was promptly divvied up, with the first piece going to the birthday boy, of course.

Noe was one of the first finished with his piece and got a SECOND.

We were a bit concerned about how his nap might go later that day. Surprisingly, he didn’t seem to have any issues.

In the evening, we returned to the school for their summer festival.

There was potluck food, dancing, and singing. I’m not sure if it was because it was his birthday, or if he’s always like this, but Noe by far sung the loudest, even on the French songs.

There was also a “slider.” We thought Noe would be a bit apprehensive, but he took to it right away. When I read in the email invite that the party was going to feature “sliders” I was expecting tiny little burgers. Admittedly, I was a bit disappointed, but Noe most certainly was not.

It was after dark when we got home, so we waited until the next morning for Noe to open his presents.

He was quite excited by all of them, but the Legos took the cake. We were both eager to see what we could build with all of the new blocks, right after Noe and I gave ’em a quick little scrub down.