Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Birthday parties galore!

Hmmm, what to do, what to do? Work on the spreadsheet I brought home from work, or update the blog? Work, or blog? hehehehe.... not much of a decision huh?

My problem comes, though, in trying to select pictures to post. I try not to include other children in my pictures here, as I wouldn't want someone posting Maya's pictures without me knowing it, but it's kind of hard to find a picture at a child's birthday party without other children in it! I'll have to break my own rule and post this one anyway.... this captures my baby's personality to a 'T'!




Yes, she does that backward fall into the pool all the time. And she usually precedes it with a "Watch! Mommy! Watch!" She's absolutely fearless when it comes to water. Which terrifies me with the big swimming pool right outside. Eric is supposed to get a lock for the pool gate, as she does know how to open doors now. And we have GOT to get her signed up for swimming lessons ASAP!

She also loves to face the water and sort of dive into the little pool face first. Either way, she always comes up laughing and smiling. The first time she did both stunts, she just about gave her old mom a heart attack!

Two years old. Have I mentioned she's TWO YEARS OLD now? I know I'm being repetitive when I say I just can't believe it. But truly, I can't believe it! I look at her now and see a young girl emerging. She has all but lost the baby-Maya look. Occasionally we'll see the open mouth, wide-eyed stare we knew and loved so well in all her pre-placement pictures. And oh, the memories that come rushing back. I'll just say that 2 years have never gone by that fast before in my entire 42 years. Wait ... I take it back. The first 9 months of those 2 years positively dragged and I thought I would die from the anticipation ... all we had were pictures of her those first 9 months. It was the moment we held her that time seemed to incrementally speed up, at approximately 10:15 a.m. on May 1, 2006, in the lobby of the Marriott hotel in Guatemala City. Whoever coined the phrase "time flies when you're having fun!" certainly knew what he was talking about!

Anyway, on to the birthday parties!

We had 13 people attend her birthday party at my parent's house on July 15th.
We had 31 people attend her birthday party at home on July 28th, and 21 people attended the party at home on July 29th. That little girl is very much loved by a lot of people! Only 3 people invited couldn't make it Saturday, and 17 couldn't make it Sunday (those 17 were only 2 families, however!) The parties at home were swimming parties, and we set up Maya's little shark pool beside the big pool. We had several children there around Maya's age, and they all seemed to enjoy both pools. But having the little pool was nice, so that they could get in and out as they pleased without an adult freaking out if they got near it (as we tend to do around the big pool). Both parties at home were 2:30 - 4:30, but of course family and friends hung out until close to (some even after) 6:00. Some people brought gifts, of course, even though I added "no gifts" to the invitations. I certainly understand wanting to bring presents, but honestly, her toy-cup overrunneth! Now mommy has to do a major clean out of toys this coming weekend. It's such a difficult thing to balance .. you want them to have it all, but not be greedy or selfish. You want them to always be happy, but to be humble. You want them to enjoy childhood, but not be a brat. You want them to be healthy, but to enjoy cake and ice cream and cookies and ... well, you get the idea.

All of her parties were "Nemo"-themed. I don't understand the facination with fish, but she's hooked! (pun intended...) My best toy-investments ever were 1) her $15 Target clearance-priced orange cat-chair, which she dearly loves and kisses so much that it's little nose and mouth are constantly brown instead of off-white; and 2) her $15 Belk cheap-plastic fish screen (shaped like a plasma tv, but quite simplistic) that she loves to turn on in the mornings. We count "1-2-3!", and then she yells "Wake up, fishies!" And then, as if by magic (or a very good mommy), the light comes on and the fishies start 'swimming' across the screen. I can't tell you the wondrous joy I get from watching her little face light up from those two items. She has other favorite toys, of course, like the meowing cat that Auntie Lisa gave her, and her teddy bear that she wakes up to each morning in her crib, and any bag that has ever been given to her. She loves bags. And her newest birthday gifts, of which her favorite seem to be the fold-out Dora couch, the little veterinary shop with the 6 doors that lock and unlock with color-coded keys (given to her by a coworker of mine), and the little pet shop parlor with the tiny hair dryer that really makes noise (given to her by a friend of mine and her 3 girls, who watch Maya on Tuesdays and Thursdays).

I could go on and on ... and I think I did! But I have enjoyed seeing my daughter have such a wonderful time with her very large, loving family and her friends. And I look forward to the day when we can finally bring her little sister home. These kids are my life now, and I wouldn't trade it for all the riches in the world. Being a part of their lives is something I will treasure for as long as I live, and I hope they come to know that one day.

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