Emalie loves to tease me by saying, "Where'd your baby girl go?!" It seems with each passing day day a pair of pants is that much smaller, a word she couldn't pronounce rolls off her tongue or she accomplishes a new feat with ease. In these moments, I ask her "Where'd my baby girl go?!" On their children's birthdays, biological mothers think back to those moments she first heard her baby cry or her baby was placed in her arms for the first time. I am not the mother that got to experience these firsts with Emalie. An adoptive mom's first moments are when she first lays eyes on her child-to-be in a far off land (at least that was our path) or the first time that child comes to her for comfort. We celebrate Emalie's 'gotcha day' every year on July 23. This is the day that we met Emalie, and the day she was 'born in our hearts'. Moments from that day are what I think of on Emalie's birthday. This was the day she joined our family. So for us, we get to celebrate twice what most families only celebrate once. A dear family member, prior to us bringing Emalie home, sent us a book called Every Year on Your Birthday. It follows an adoptive child from China as her childhood birthdays pass and the milestones she crosses. I love to read this book to Emalie, of course, "every year on her birthday." I know the days are coming when her special day will foster questions that I assume will be both hard to hear and hard to answer. It's inevitable. I recently completed a maternity photo session. Her wide eyes of wonder could not shy away from the 'big, baby belly' on my computer screen. I held my breath and waited for the puzzle pieces to fall together for her. Thankfully, for me, I was bought a little more time with this topic. Her only response? "I don't like that one, or that one, or that one. I don't like the big, belly pictures." Whew. I guess we can wait awhile before those questions come. And, I know, they will come. But, for now, I can take delight in the simple pleasure of the look on Emalie's face when I commend her for her articulate pronunciation of the word "three" now that she is FOUR! Happy birthday to this little girl who has rocked our world and made our family complete. I hope the whispers on the wind that leave my lips fall upon the ears of Emalie's birth mother: "She is loved, OH SO LOVED. Thank you."
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| Thank you, Uncle Thad and Aunt Kelly! |
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| The first of Emalie's "must have" gifts: a drum. |
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| Thank you, Montana family-- Emalie's first snow globe. |
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| The other thing Emalie wanted: a big bike. We compromised and got her a Strider Bike that has no pedals. Hopefully, it will help her with her balance and she'll be ready for that big bike in no time. We were prepared for some disappointment for the lack of pedals, but because of our very hilly neighborhood we are hoping this might be a safer option for now. |
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| The day after Emalie's birthday, we had a dinner party for 3 of our close neighbor/friend families. Her gift loot was hysterical. There wasn't a non-Spiderman item in the bunch! Boy, was she one happy little girl! This Spiderman phase is lasting much longer than I ever expected!! |
