We began the birthday celebrations at Mimi and Papa's house for Sunday lunch to wish the family members with May and June birthdays Happy Birthday. Amelia was able to celebrate with Daddy and Uncle Gaines (May Birthdays) and Cousin Dusty and Aunt Lauren (June Birthdays). We had lunch, fun birthday singing, cake, and presents.
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| Amelia LOVED the umbrella that she requested from Mimi and Papa! |
Uncle Austin was not able to be at Amelia's party, so he took her out for dinner. We enjoyed a great night of Thai food at Surin.
We were also able to celebrate Amelia's birthday with a breakfast party at our house. Friends and family arrived at 9:00 to eat breakfast and play.
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| It was a breakfast party, so Amelia chose a donut cake. It was YUMMY! |
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| Sneaking some fruit before the party... |
The children had lots of fun playing in the heat and humidity of the back yard.
Amelia became extremely shy or embarrassed once everyone started singing the birthday song. She wouldn't look at anyone or try to blow out her candles. David and I had to blow out the candles for her. We had even been practicing this, so it made me sad that she wouldn't try to blow them out herself.
Present opening was lots of fun! Amelia received such nice things from everyone. Thank you!
Amelia's actual birthday, today, was spent going to church, lunch at the Indian restaurant (Amelia wanted to eat at the place with white rice) with Poppy and Paw Paw, and then off to Wal-Mart to purchase "Frozen" with some of her birthday money. We had rented Frozen from the Red Box one night and had a picnic in the den while watching it. Amelia thought it was great. She's not a big television watcher, so I didn't think a movie would stick, but Amelia kept saying that she wanted Frozen for her birthday. This wasn't one of the presents that she received, so when she asked for it again this morning, I told her that after lunch she could use some of her birthday money to go buy it. She made her first purchase today with her own money.
Amelia was so excited about getting the movie that she asked if she could take a nap with the DVD! We plan to have a picnic and watch the movie tonight.
As I think about Amelia's birthday, I hope that her birth mother feels peace. I know there is no way to tell her how much we love this child, but I hope that she somehow knows that her daughter's parents are so very grateful to have her in our family. Amelia has added so much more to our lives than we could have every imagined when we started the journey to China to bring her home. Her tragic beginning has made her strong, brave, and independent. The addition of a family to her life has made her thrive and feel truly loved. We are so thankful to be her parents!
