Well, that was way longer between blog posts than I intended! SO much has happened in the last couple of months but I should finish G’s birthday before I get into all of that.
After celebrating it up at the mall on her actual birthday we had a little party at home the next night. A little chalkboard art is fast becoming a birthday tradition around these parts. (Although I’m quite sure that I will run out of ideas before I run out of kids!!!)
We opened presents first, which was a VERY bad idea. It started out well enough. G has that “cheese” face down!
I sat down to get some pictures and sent M to go get the presents and bring them in. G immediately saw one (that was too big to wrap) and this was her reaction.
From this moment on she pretty much wanted nothing but that big, pink ball. She LOVES balls! She just kept saying ball, ball, ball, ball. . . .
She did put it down for just a second to open the other present.
Then it was time for cake. She was NOT happy about leaving that ball to go sit in her high chair!
I got a few smiles out of her by playing peek-a-boo from behind the camera but it didn’t last long.
Even with the promise of cake she was still not having it!
A few snuggles later and she calmed down a little bit.
Once we started singing the tears came out again.
I got her to try to blow out the candle on her own but in the end she needed a little help.
When I took the wrapper off of her cupcake to let her eat it the water works started up again! (I’m not totally convinced there is not an actual DNA link between us. . . )
I tried to get her to eat a little bit of the cupcake but she ADAMANTLY refused. No frosting, no sprinkles, no cupcake, no ice cream - NOTHING. So in the end we just let her play with her big, pink ball because that’s what she really wanted anyway!
The rest of the kiddos gobbled down their cupcakes without any coaxing at all.
Quirkiness? Yes. Coaxing? No.
She was happy as can be once we just let her play!
This one just ate and ate and ate. . .
It was a good night celebrating G's first birthday with her forever family. How we all love this precious little girl!!!
A few things about G at 2:
- a few of her nicknames are Chubby Buddha, Big G, Buddha, Chunk, Chunky Lady, (anyone else notice a theme here?)
- she has grown by leaps and bounds in the 7 months she’s been with us. Here’s a picture I took of the stats the pediatrician gave us at her 2-year well check. Reading left to right her stats are listed as current (March 2014), December 2013, and a week after we got home from China. She’s gained 8 pounds and grown 5 inches in height! She was wearing 12-18 month clothes in China and when we first got home and now is in 3T (surpassing E!) She’s also in the same size diaper as S (size 5) up from a size 3.
- She started ECI (Early Childhood Intervention) services back in October and after being in developmental/language therapy for six months has graduated! She tested out way above her age level in several areas. It’s just been amazing to watch how far she has come! Girlfriend has only been hearing English for 9 months and is already understanding at 3+ year level. Her speaking is spot-on, if not above, where a 2-year-old should be. She is doing very well with walking and trying to run as well. All on age-appropriate levels. I’m pretty sure she’s a genius and way smarter than the rest of us!
- She is very neat and organized. She sections out all her food on her tray at mealtimes. It’s kind of funny to watch. I usually just start dumping things on her tray and I’ll turn around a few minutes later and she’s separated everything into nice, neat little piles. She’s still mostly finger-feeding or being fed by Josh or me but she loves to try to use a spoon or fork on her own. She is extremely patient and persistent when she does though. She will not give up easily and doesn’t get frustrated quickly like you would think a 2-year-old would.
- She is my shadow following close behind me all day long, watching intently to what I am doing. She’s been knocked down several times by me because I will turn around and not notice her standing super close to me. She really loves to help and especially loves to throw things away. This girl will wait patiently by me when I’m changing someone’s diaper (because when am I NOT changing someone’s diaper?!) just so she can throw the diaper away when I’m done. Or she’ll stand waiting by the kid who’s folding clothes so she can find the used dryer sheet and throw it away. She has been known to throw a full-on tantrum if I throw out a diaper without her. Crazy.
- Girlfriend still loves her food. She really loves all fruits (except bananas) and veggies. Those are definitely her favorite - and cheese. The only thing she really refuses is a PB&J sandwich. I can usually get her to eat one by bribing her with a grape per bite though. She’s just not a fan of breads in general. She’s by far the best eater I’ve ever had though. She’ll even eat a green salad and beg for more!
- She loves to get a big reaction out of anyone. She thinks it’s super hilarious to throw something on the ground and get me (or whoever) to gasp or scream all dramatically. Her laugh is SO funny. She also loves to be tickled. She is especially ticklish around her collarbones, inner thighs and her sides.
- She still sucks her two middle fingers although it’s pretty much only at bedtime/naptime and when she’s bored in her carseat.
- She makes us all laugh and smile all day long. She is such a joy! I can’t imagine our family without her!!!
Happy belated Birthday to Grace! I love your chalkboard. When I look at her stats they are very similar to our daughters. She was 24 pound in January when we got her and now she is 30 pounds. We call her Buddha sometimes. Not really to her face, but I call her that with love. I sometimes worry about her weight because I don't want her to have food issues as she grows older. The strange thing is that she doesn't really over eat any more! She is pretty good at stopping when she is full. Good to see she is pretty much in the norm.
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