HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAI-KAI

THREE YEARS OLD

We had an early celebration of Kai's birthday yesterday in the park. Like any three year old, I don't think he really knew that the day was for him. Since Lindbergh Park is his daily turf five days a week, I think the event was highlighted in his mind that people who were familiar to him were present. There was his cousin Lauren who played with him, and the rest of the Van Patten clan. Rodin and Julie brought him a tricycle and a kite and he was able to fly that before opening the other presents. Judy his Grammy was telling me that while they are trying to fly the kite, she was amazed that Kai-Kai started giving her a countdown. As she was waiting for the next breeze to come...here is Kai counting one, two, three, and continuing to count, "four, five, six..." until she was able to launch the kite. He loved his birthday (cup) cake! He just couldn't wait to lick the icing. By the way, his cake was make of assembled cupcakes in a tier having the number three-candle on the top of the tier. Each of the cupcakes had letter spelling "HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAI." I made three-noodles (rice-flour, wheat-flour and tapioca-flour) "pancit" to signify his third year in this world, with chicken, pork and shrimp and ordered a quarter of roast pig. Initially, I liked to have bought a piglet; we call it "de leche" in the Philippines, but all the places I called said they can't provide me with my order...So I ended up with a ten pound side of a roasted pig. The theme of his party was "FINDING NEMO." I have to compliment Tisha for all the detailed plannings she made. I think it has to do with the genes...and WE HAD A PARTY!

He got too many toys...and the things he got that day will be another addition to his collections. I think when he outgrows all of those, I will collect them and put them together as a sculpture...this way he can always have them even when he is a grown man. When he arrived today, Umma had a gift bag for him with two cars, a shirt and a learning book for telling time. We really did not intend to get him more toys to clutter their house. Last week after the CPR certificate renewal at the concourse downtown, we stopped at the Discovery Store in Horton Plaza and got him an Ant Farm. After surfing the internet for the farm, I came across the new space age innovation of an Ant Farm that was based on technology used in the shuttle experiment by NASA. It is a replica of what the astronauts brought with them in Space Shuttle. "Space Age Ant Gel Habitat" that's what they call it. It's neat. Very different from the old ones with sand. Rather than using sand or soil, it utilizes a special gel; serves as food and water as well. The live ants had to be ordered separately and it took ten days before it arrived with the mail. By chance, it came today, in time for his actual birthday. The harvester ants are "big" compared to the ants that he knew crawling in the park...yet he still wants to use his "fying glass" to look at them. They are digging tunnels now. I would imagine by tomorrow morning when he arrives, there will be several tunnels in progress.

This is amazing...This year marks a half century since Milton Levine, now 92 years old, began selling his Uncle Milton Ant Farm - a sand filled, clear plastic box through which ant voyeurs could watch the insects tunnel and eat, and later die. Things come and go, but the Ant Farm is very much like Barbie or GI Joe or Hot Wheels that have managed to survived. The novelty is in creating a whole world that Kai can see...as curious as he is, he just loves it!