So we've learned and been told about the Golden Birthday. It is when your calendar day of your birthday matches your age. It only happens once in your life. It is a "golden moment". Today, January 5th, 2015 is Graeme Robert Hawken's Golden Birthday! He turns 5 years old and we could not be prouder of him! He is celebrating this day in Nong Kiau, Laos. I've made a bit of a tradition of recapping his year on this blog for his birthday so here we go:
Graeme flew just over 33,000 miles this year. He visited 8 countries, adding places like Philippines, Sumatra, Hong Kong and Laos to his list of first time visits. He is quite the traveler and makes our journeys easier to deal with - 4 year olds are not worried about layovers and delays - they want to be in the moment and play. Having Graeme as our traveling companion makes even the most miserable traveling experiences not just tolerable but actually fun.
Graeme is such a worldly old soul. He has an incredible awareness of the entire world and his perspective is developing into quite an interesting view. Graeme knows where we are traveling to at all times, he learns the language basics in terms of Hello, Please and Thank You plus some bonus phrases based on our engagement in a particular place. He is more then aware that different places have different cultures, languages, foods, mindsets, etc. Graeme is also starting to help us determine where to travel to - making requests based on where his friends in his class live (they represent 9 different countries in his class) or places his friends have been to and they've told him about.
Graeme had some great visitors to Vietnam this year. His Aunt Donna, Uncle Keith, Cousin Sammy + Noah took the trip and boy oh boy - did we have some Cousin Fun! Graeme showed them all of his local haunts and had a blast during pool time with the boys as well as when it was time to relax.
Uncle Matty made the trip as well, and although a quick one, Graeme got to show him the wonders of the Mekong Delta.
A year in the life of a toddler can't be complete without some milestones - this year Graeme visited Disneyland for the first time on a visit to Hong Kong. Hanging with Mickey and his pals for breakfast then charging the park from first gate to last firework - Graeme dove right in and took advntage of every moment Disney had to offer! His favorite ride was Space Mountain, even getting to sit in the front seat!
Another milestone involved Christmas. This was really the first Christmas Graeme was 100% involved - from visiting Santa to writing a list to Advent Calendars to playing with new toys for hours on end the following few days......It was such a pleasure to watch him experience the magic and joy involved in it all. But what really stuck out was that this was Graeme's 5th Christmas in his 5th different country! He has never celebrated the holiday in the same country twice. This is not something we planned but it has just seemed to work out that way. I know Christmas is a lot about tradition and I think this is one we need to keep going! To me that is just an incredible event in his life. I still am in awe of it.....
Gaining in age and maturity, Graeme has been forging closer relationships with playmates in his class as well as out of it. There is an incredible community of kids where we live and he is blessed with being plugged right into the middle of it. He is such a social creature and has the ability to attract attention and spread his joy, while at the same time learning what others have to offer him. We are seeing incredibly close friendships start to develop....
Spending time with Family and Friends in both California and New Jersey are very important parts of Graeme's year...Playing catch with Miss Sienna Puppy, cruising the beaches in Jenner, romping with his blonde California Cousins Avrie and Piper and enjoying the hijinks of G Pop are just a few of the West Coast shenanigans he enjoys. On the Right Coast the annual Hawken Day barbecue has become a big hit, roughhousing with his cousins and dragging Pops outside or stealing his banana each morning are all becoming fast traditions.
Graeme's love for the ocean is also growing. We are very lucky to be able to travel to places where we can explore the ocean and all it has to offer with him. Be it romping in the waves or exploring the living creatures on a reef, Graeme truly enjoys and respects all that the ocean provides...
What a year! Our little man makes us so happy and as we watch him grow and bring joy into everyone's lives we could not be prouder of him. Looking forward to another wonderful year ahead please join us in wishing Graeme Robert Hawken a Happy Golden Birthday!
Hoà Bình,
The Hawken's in HCMC
#thetaoofgraeme
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