June 13, 2007

Today was Hope's 1st birthday! I'm so happy that we were able to celebrate this day with her. She was happy all day. We slept in and had a late breakfast. Then we played and she napped for another 2 1/2 hours!
She must have been growing or something. ;)
WS Lobby

We got ready and headed to the lobby for the traditional "red couch" photos. We were there early so we took that opportunity for some cute individual photos of Hope. She was in such a good mood!





















































I'm very proud of this one. She was reaching for me! :)





















When some of the other families started arriving we let the girls socialize for a bit before we tried to pose them for the group shot. That was an event!
Hope and Ava

Hope and Olivia

All the girls - This was the best one with all the girls looking, except ours of course. But, we have others on the couch with her sweet smile so that's OK. :)

All the Siblings - Only minor chaos was required to make this happen.

Other Lobby Photos with Tu




Hope and Anna waiting patiently for MORE pictures. Hope had a quick costume change. We opted for more red, white, and blue for the Embassy appointment.


Families - Group 91

To the Embassy - No photos are allowed inside, but Andy snapped this one as we were getting off the bus. We had to show the officer Hope's face so he could compare with her visa photo. We are all who we say we are. We waited a while and then all took an oath promising our paperwork answers are truthful. We were given instructions and the sacred brown envelope for US customs when we entered the country on our way home. Hope became an American citizen when we went through customs in LA. This oath was another emotional moment for Mommy, but I'm sure that is a surprise to nobody.

On this evening Tu arranged a celebration for all of us in honor of the completion of our time in China and the girl's birthdays. We had reservations at this Cantonese restaurant, apparently a hot spot for locals, too. Our food was delicious! I think judging by my expression in the last picture here that I'm trying to escape the grabby waitresses. Hope must have charmed them. At one point one of them even picked her up out of her highchair and carried her away to show her to another girl. Tu intervened here on our behalf. It was awkward because I certainly didn't want to offend anyone, I just kept smiling, but I was thinking..."PLEASE! Leave her alone." Anyway, Tu did some scolding and we had a peaceful dinner from then on.



Here is our cake. Hope even got to try to blow out the candle.
Birthday Girls - Since we've been home we've been asked on multiple occasions if our girls are twins. Though they are both pretty darn cute, they do share a birthday, and we hope they always call each other 'sister' since they share such an important past, we don't think they're twins.




Birthday Tradition - Tu explained to us that on a little girl's first birthday, it is tradition to place a series of objects in front of the child. Whatever object they reach for is said to be indicative of a future characteristic in her life. So, Tu set out a number of things and then explained each one in Chinese to all the girls. Well, there you have it! Hope is chose the lipstick, which symbolizes beauty. Was there any doubt?



Mom's Favorites - After Dinner



I don't know what Andy had for dinner (or to drink with dinner), but he was entertaining us with some karaoke on the bus ride back to the White Swan.

As we spent the day honoring our new daughter's birthday last year and today, I couldn't help but think of Hope's other two mommies. Are they thinking of her today? She has touched so many lives in her two years. She is simply amazing.

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HAPPY 2nd BIRTHDAY HOPE! We are so thankful for your tender presence in our lives. We love you more than we ever thought possible. Though our journeys were long and scary at times, the perfection of God's plan has come together, converged our paths, and blessed us all as family.

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Here is Hope's addition to today's entry. Since she just woke up from her nap and it IS her birthday I thought I'd let her have a chance to "bush buttons."

hhhhhhhyvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvygg35444ss
ssssssu sssssszzzzzzzsszzzzaa aaaaaasgw

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P.S. Happy Birthday Olivia!