Ava's 3rd Birthday

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A letter to my daughter on her third birthday

Dear Ava,

It seems like it was just yesterday that you were just a little baby that I carried in my arms and now you are three!  You are so independent; it amazes me how much you really can do without my help as you claim you can do everything by yourself.

Your culinary skills are growing both in your play kitchen and the real kitchen.  You tie on your own apron like a master chef and you work in your little red kitchen to put together plates of wooden toy delicacies that you serve to our guests. Even at three, you know that presentation is everything. Your little green stool is one of your most prized positions as it gives you freedom to access the things that are out of your reach.  While I am cooking, you pull up that little stool to help me with the food preparation. You love to taste all of the colorful veggies as it gets chopped up, even when it has yet to be cooked (your impatience you get from your daddy).  Your table settings are always perfect and I love to watch how you maneuver the forks and the spoons until they are in just the perfect place (your perfectionism you get from me). As you grow older, I look forward to cooking side by side and teaching you the family recipes that my mom and grandmother taught me.

You have such a great sense of adventure and I am always amazed at what a great little traveler you are, even when you are strapped in a seat for hours or when we catch flights that leave at midnight, with layovers that have us sleeping in airports.  This year during your travels you made friends with the local island children on a small, rustic island in Indonesia.  You saw blue whales, peacocks and leopards in Sri Lanka.  You even held tiny baby sea turtles in your little hand. You basked on the beaches of Danang and admired the lantern filled streets of Hoi An. This summer’s travel found us traveling across the great South West; we drove from Southern California to Oregon, Denver, Santa Fe and back to spend some time with our family.  You even caught your first concert at the famous Red Rocks of Colorado.  You zoomed around Bangkok in a Tuk Tuk, where you enjoyed plying the streets for yummy eats. One of your favorite places to visit this year was Disneyland, where you met Tinkerbell, Winnie the Poo and Mini Mouse. After all of these travels you are always happy to return to your home in Saigon.

You love smelling the flowers and picking them to wear in your hair or to give to your friends. Cupcakes are a favorite treat and you love to first lick off the frosting and then save the cake for later.    You are full of giggles and involuntary songs, and you say very funny things and ask very strange, yet wonderful questions. You love fairies and butterflies and you are determined to fly, but you often remind us that “I need some pixie dust to fly.”

Your style has changed in the past year.  Before summer your style was eclectic and colorful, with your curls pulled back with a pair of goggles and layers of colorful clothes were paired with your wings. Now you only want to wear pretty dresses that twirl when you dance and the outfit is only complete with matching accessories and movie star sunglasses. Even I have become one of your accessories as you tell me what dress I should wear so that we can match.

I am loving that you are wild, spunky, a talker, and all self-sufficient. Luckily for me though, you still like to be carried up the stairs, cuddled while read to and tucked into bed like a little burrito. You still request the goodnight lullabies to sing you to sleep and the light to stay on to scare the monsters away. 

To me you are a soft cool rain on a hot Saigon day. You make me laugh with the funny things that you have to say. You are that warm feeling I get, when I nuzzle your neck and tuck you in at night. You are the light of my life, my darling daughter Ava. Have a wonderful third birthday my baby girl.

Your loving mommy

December 5, 2012

Searching for Santa in Saigon

This past Saturday the Johnston family had a very important mission, we were looking for Santa Clause.  I had heard a rumor that the portly, white-bearded man was going to be at a place called The White Palace. The name alone evoked a vision of busy little elves, flying reindeer, eggnog and sugar cookies.

That morning I told Ava that we were going to visit Santa Clause and of course Ava was quizzical, who is this Santa you speak of?  Why are we going to visit him and where will we find him? When I explained to Ava that we were going to visit Santa so that she could tell him what she wants for Christmas, her response was “Why?”  I guess we haven’t done a very good job of spinning the Father Christmas fairytale, because all of this was news to her.  Once she heard my story, she said that she was going to put on a pink scarf and pink hat and she was going to ask Santa for “a pink present.  No, two pink presents!”  I then had to explain to her that she wouldn’t need that hat and scarf and that Santa was going to be right here in Saigon at The White Palace, and then I could clearly see that Ava had her own visions of swirling snow and princesses dancing around in fluffy dresses.

The impetus for this sojourn to the White Palace was to get our picture taken with Santa, as a photo with the big guy is usually at the top of Grandma Shirley’s Christmas list, and we wouldn’t want to disappoint grandma.  So Ava put on a pretty dress and we were off by taxi through the streets of Saigon in search for Santa.  As usual, Ava took up position in the taxi to greet the waves of people that flowed around us on bicycles, motorbike, xiclos, etc.  Like a princess in a parade, she loves to blow kisses and smile and wave as our car maneuvers through the crowd.  It is not uncommon to look out the window and see a crowd of people smiling back at this cute little girl as she blinks her “pretty eyes” and puckers her little lips.  Today however, our ride was much longer as this White Palace was much farther than we thought and we began feeling the heat and the hunger long before we arrived. 

As we neared our destination, we spotted our White Palace rising up above the dingy store fronts and when we arrived, suited men with gloves greeted our car and invited us in.  Once we ascended upon the grand staircase, all of our visions began to melt away.  What we saw before us was a huge, smoke filled hall with long lines of people awaiting entrance to the ball room.  After a bit of pushing and shoving we were able to make are way into the ballroom that was packed with thousands of people.  The consulates in Saigon had set up tables to sell a variety of wares that represented their countries.  I would have loved to do a bit of Christmas shopping but there were throngs of people hovering over the tables, elbows were flying, cash was pouring out of wallets and I couldn’t manage to squeeze in. Luckily we did spot Santa and he was surrounded by a quiet oasis (I guess none of the other visitors wanted to spend 100,000 Dong on a photo with Santa). Once we managed to squeeze our way through the mob, Ava saw the mythical man in the furry red suit and she was instantly frightened.  She really didn’t want to get near this guy, presents or not.  Luckily for Grandma, we were able to persuade her to get close enough for  a photo and luckily for us it took the photographer several attempts to get the perfect shot, thus allowing us a bit more time to work up the nerve to make our way back through the crowds of people.

While waiting for our photos to be ready, we did manage to acquire a sampling of food from Germany, Russia, India, Malaysia, Lebanon and even the US. Thankfully with a daddy that is 6’6” he was able to wrestle his was to the front of the line and bring his girls back some treats.

Upon leaving The White Palace, with photo in hand, Ava was asked to pose with a few locals and the photo shoot began.  These ladies knew how to get a smile out of her, as they gave her a decadent cupcake and she was instantly inspired to pose with them all.  We could have set up a booth for photos with Ava and maybe even drawn a bigger crowd then Santa himself.  In the end, the white gloved man helped us back in our taxi and our mission was accomplished, we found Santa in Saigon.