Sunday, September 3, 2017

Happy Birthday Dear Chapman!

This sweet girl has waited all year for her special day....she has watched all five of her siblings blow out candles and unwrap gifts, she has attended the birthday parties of friends yet TODAY it was her turn and she was on cloud nine!
 Sweet girl was in awe and she was so excited.  All day people would see her and sing to her and she would smile so big!  People called to sing and she beamed from ear to ear.....
 though it was her third birthday, it was her first with us!  It was the first time that the day was all.about.her!  She relished in every second!
 She picked out her cake all by herself, Moana is a huge hit this year with the littles!
 And she was all about the icing, not so much the actual cake.  
 Last year on her special day, Ryan and I were making our way closer and closer to her.  We were on a train from Beijing to Shanxi and we were just one night away from meeting her.  I am sure there wasn't any celebrating on that day....not that they didn't want to celebrate but because it isn't typical in Chinese culture to celebrate birthdays the way we do here in the US.  
At the age of three, this little is potty trained (a HUGE praise due to her Spina Bifida), she is somewhat independent - always wanting to at least try it on her own OR just doing something instead of asking for help, she attends preschool two mornings a week, she loves to swim, she loves the beach and chasing seagulls, she loves to be held, she loves to draw, she is the perfect baby to the family who makes everyone laugh and cringe quite often - she can be very loud when she is mad, her favorite food is guacamole, she is very curious and investigates most everything before moving forward....
My favorite comment lately about Chapman came from Maryn.  In the beginning, Maryn would ask quite frequently if we could possibly send Chapman back.  Basically Chapman was rocking her world and she didn't quite know how to handle that situation.  About a month ago, Maryn looked at me and said, "Mommy, can we just get another baby sister just like Chapman? Please!!!  She is so cute!!!"  
We are so thankful for our little firecracker!  She is everything nice with a little spice and we are looking forward to watching her grow this year!
We love you Chapman McKensie!