The first five birthdays of my son's life where odd affairs, he did not show any signs of actually understanding what was going on. He did not know for example that a present was something to be opened,  and that before it was opened the contents were to be anticipated,  that ones heart was to beat a little faster in this anticipation. He fared no better at Christmas, it was his sixth Christmas though when things began to change. He spent that Christmas with his favourite cousin and her obvious excitement was I am sure infectious almost as if she was teaching him how the whole present thing worked. She is almost two years younger than him and was just as excited opening his presents as she was her own. By the end of the day he seemed to have at least grasped the concept,  also he got some presents that he really liked,  and as it turned out wanted.

His birthday falls a little before Christmas so it was the following year his sixth birthday, six months into our new life, that again with the connection he felt with another child, also a girl, he seemed to finally understand what was going on. Approaching his sixth birthday I really did not know what to do and it was purely by chance that a German girl in his class invited him to her house for a cookie making party which coincided with the evening of his birthday (her parents were working in Scotland for a two year contract) It is tradition in Germany to do this every year friends and family gather and make Christmas cookies, the girl in his class had taken a shine to my son and he had also formed a bond with her so he was looking forward to going. I prepared a birthday cake for him to bring with us and explained when we got there what day it was. I think they thought it a little odd that on such an important day I had not arranged anything else but they kept there thoughts silent. As he had said nothing about his approaching birthday and shown no interest in the fact he was going to be six I just did not have the heart to make a formal celebration on the day,  but as it happened it was arranged for me.

Another tradition in Germany is to have the child celebrating their birthday sit on a chair while the grown ups lift then in the air and everyone says something,  I can't remember now what. After making the cookies and decorating them, to round of the evening the father of the girl asked if we could do that with my son. "Yes!" I said,  by this time,  he was very much in the party mood enjoying the atmosphere and the company,  feeling very secure. The act of being lifted and the obvious excitement of everyone around him responding with smiles and laughter some how cemented the day in his mind. "This is my birthday" I think he thought "mine" We both left that evening enjoying our respective warm glow's."Its my birthday" my son said ...